US Immigration from Ecuador

This is the continuation thread for

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/730651-february-2020-aos-filers/

which was closed because of its large size.

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Everyone who is still waiting can take heart that approval will eventually come.

Those of us who've been through this definitely support you.

This is the continuation thread for

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/747478-vawa-part-20/

which was closed because of its large size.

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The Part 20 thread reached closure size in record time, chiefly because of many approvals and positive reports. May those both continue in this thread!

Hello all,

I am almost ready to submit everything for our I-130 package.

We want to have my wife's green card issued with her married name (my last name). However, her Ecuadorian passport will always be in her maiden name, since Ecuador does not change names on passports due to marriage (Source: 1, 2).

From the second post in this discussion, "the name on your visa must match the name on your passport so if you are wanting to immigrate under your new name you will need to update your passport." Is that correct?

At this point all of the evidence I have gathered is under my wife's married name. Is this going to be a problem when the case goes to the Consulate?

All of the other cases from Ecuador involving name changes that I have found on this site did the K-1 process (which we had originally been doing), so I am not sure what will happen when seeking a CR-1.

Any advice would be appreciated.

My husband and I filed Adjustment of status with I765 and I131 after our marriage July 2019. After sending RFE in December 2019 we waited and moved to our new, when Covid happened. We had changed the address, but still no notification. Finally, we hear July 2020 that we have an interviewed scheduled. We were called the same week to not attend since our interview was not necesarry. We were ecstatic. We have been checking USCIS update status online since. Finally, today we saw our I495 was approved. We then noticed that our I765 and I131 was approved since april 2020 and card sent, but we never recieved a card nor any notification of approval.

The question is, what do we do to get his work permit card and approved travel letter? We obviously need this documentation. We have suffered him not working because we didn't have this documents. Please help?

I'll keep this as short as possible because the details can get overly nuanced - but my wife is attempting to get a driver's permit (she was not a driver in Ecuador so can't just use a foreign license) and state ID. The goal was that while she awaits her EAD (Sent 9/30, NOA1 is 10/14) she can be learning to drive with me. After three months of practice she could sit for her real license.

The first time we went, in early November, the representative understood K-1 totally and said he will start a case for her and check with USCIS - and to expect a call in 3 days or less when her name was cleared by USCIS. He started a case and said USCIS would be contacted. He said the marriage license, visa, proof of health insurance, passport, bank statement, proof of social security number (she has one), and I-797(NOA) were enough. He said, rightfully, that an expired I-94 is totally acceptable with a K-1 visa because of it's 90-day nature - and that this "happens all the time".

We didn't hear from the DMV - and since you sit on hold forever, reaching anyone on the phone takes almost as long as going in person. We decided to just go in person with all the necessary documents. Unfortunately, that same knowledgable representative was no where to be found, and we got a different representative who said they absolutely cannot issue you an ID or permit or license with an expired I-94. This woman that she'll have to wait until she gets her green card because an expired I-94 cannot be used under any circumstances. We asked to speak to the manager, who told us the same thing - but said a work authorization would also work (we never mentioned that she also applied for EAD since it would give them the opportunity to say "it's only a few months". We'd rather them think they are causing us a year of delays. It's better for your leverage as a customer).

I followed all of the NJ MVC advice given in another VJ post that I'll attach to the end of the post. I used the same (Lawrence, NJ) MVC that the poster said to use. Of course that was 2018 and personnel changes all the time. The person in that post was able to do exactly what the first representative told us was possible - using a marriage license, K1 visa, passport, and expired I-94 to prove you are here legally and able to get a state ID/license in NJ. It's just a matter of getting them to understand this, or finding someone who does.

Does anyone have any experience in being able to get anything from motor vehicles in NJ (or even another state if it's relevant)? We were thinking of calling USCIS to get some sort of letter, but I don't know if their folks even have the time to do that stuff.