Vickys_Mom

I asked my mother-in-law not to carry her green card around with her because it's expensive and difficult to replace. She has a photocopy of her green card. She also has a Nebraska State ID card that includes the Real ID marker on it. I figure that if she's contacted by local law enforcement the State ID card will make more sense to them. Since her English is poor, she also carries around a piece of paper with several phrases on it in both English and Bahasi Indonesian. Things like "my English is poor" and "my daughter can translate...here's her name and phone number". The worst case I could think of would be my wife and her mother being separated somewhere in public. That's what I tried to anticipate. We are nowhere near the border here in Nebraska. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Any of the immigration programs that President Biden put in place with executive orders over the last few years can be removed as soon as President Trump is in office. If you can apply for one of those programs, make sure you do so now. (Applications already in the process have a better chance of getting approved than ones that haven't started yet.) Regards, Vicky's Mom

When you re-upload, change the description to say something like Dad's Birth Certificate in English. You don't know what the reviewer was doing. They might have had a batch of Philippine applicants that were all accompanied by separate English translations, and then got to yours and assumed. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Google Translate from German: After taking part in the Green Card raffle, I was contacted by an agency and commissioned by them. The employee informed me that I did not need to fill out Form I-601 because my vaccination status would not be checked during the medical examination at the consulate in Germany. Can this really be true? I thought there were mandatory vaccinations when entering America. The agent told me that all I needed to bring was a blood test from my family doctor confirming that I was free of serious illnesses such as AIDS or cancer. I can't imagine that it shouldn't be a problem that I'm unvaccinated, since I've already followed so many threads from people who had to apply for a vaccination exemption and therefore had a longer processing time of around two years. Does anyone have experience with this and can report back?

You said you were sentenced to 3 days and the $500 fine. List both in "What was your sentence (if applicable)?" As you've already disclosed the issue to USCIS, a three-day difference in your date of birth is not going to "...automatically dismiss..." anything. You've already owned up to your mistake. Don't change the story now. It *could* affect your Naturalization application, but if it's the only thing you've got on there I'd expect you to make it to the interview. Bring your records and continue to accept responsibility for what happened. It seems a fairly small crime, but part of what you're evaluated on is being honest about it. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Did you indicate that you're planning to have him come to the United States on a visitor's visa and then file an Adjustment of Status? Regards, Vicky's Mom

My employer offers me a 401(k), a Health Savings Account, and several different life insurances. I put my wife on all of those and used them as evidence. Corollary: make sure your ex-wife was removed as beneficiary everywhere. Our cars have both names on the titles. Our car insurance has both of our names on it. I provided copies of those. My wife was already in the U.S. on a student visa and had a Social Security number, so we added each other to all of the bank accounts. I know some banks are going to hassle you about needing the SSN to add her. I'd still do it as soon as possible. And make it a "main" account that receives paychecks and pays bills...not one that you created just to throw some money in and say, see, joint account. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I wanted my mother-in-law to have a state ID so she could carry a photocopy of her green card instead of the original. (It's cheaper and faster to replace a lost State ID.) I made a donation to a local charity in her name and asked for a paper receipt. She's on their mailing list now and gets mail from them all the time. I also wrote out two envelopes (nothing inside of them) addressed to my MIL at our address and sent those. When they got back to us, I saved them. We presented the three pieces of mail when my MIL applied for her state ID card. No problem. Regards, Vicky's Mom

This is you first post, so I'm going to make assumptions because I don't know anything about you. Until you have your passport in hand with a visa in it, never make any plans. Don't buy non-refundable airline tickets, don't sell all your furniture, don't give up your housing or lease. We've seen examples on here of people who do their interview, are told their visa is approved, and then get stuck in Administrative Processing. People can spend days, weeks, months, or even years in Administrative Processing. It's individualized based on what they think they need to approve your visa. You can use what happened to others as a guideline, but it's just that. Your case can (and appears to) be different. You need to start thinking about what you're going to do if you don't get your passport and visa back before August 13th. At the very least, you may have to change your departure date. No one can tell you how long you will be in Administrative Processing. Regards, Vicky's Mom

On your copy of the N-400, did you select 1.A. (five years as an LPR) or 1.B. (spouse of U.S. Citizen)? If you selected 1.A. and the interviewing officer treated it as 1.B., I guess you have an argument that it was handled incorrectly. They are supposed to handle it as you requested on the form. You can make the argument that the IO made a mistake and should have reviewed just your information. But the IO has reviewed it and issued an RFE. It might be better to go ahead and respond to the RFE. Asking for the documentation that indicates your U.S. citizen spouse paid their taxes or entered into an agreement to pay their taxes doesn't seem like a big deal. She might have screwed up. But if you respond to the RFE successfully and naturalize, how you got there won't matter. I'll suggest it's better to go with the flow and get it done. You will be so much happier when these people are in your past. Regards, Vicky's Mom

It is what it is. You weren't trying to lie or anything. You gave the wrong date, and now you have the correct date and you'll report that. I don't see this being something that stops your application. I would bring the document with you to your interview and make sure the date is corrected. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Check and see if your conditional green card expiration has been extended. If so, you need the letter that extends it. If you have the extension letter and your green card you're good both ways. One of your concerns will be the airlines. They sometimes get hung up on six months..."you have to have at least six months left on your passport", etc. Your travel may be legal with respect to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but people at the airlines tend to be risk-averse and may not understand. Even worse, the airline people in the U.S. might understand but their employees or contractors at the foreign airport might not. (Don't take it personally. If they let you travel and you're not legal for entry they get penalized.) My mother in law has a 10-year green card. She's been here less than a year now. Her Global Entry application is still "Pending Review" after two months. I believe this is still within normal processing time. I have no reason to believe she will be rejected. You might not get a Global Entry card before November even if you start now. And the GE application specifically asks for the expiration of your green card, so you might have to wait until it's renewed. (The TTP people *should* understand how an extension letter works. That doesn't mean they will.) Regards, Vicky's Mom

They are not here now. Skip 38.a. through 38.h. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I have a dumb question, but I'll go ahead and ask it anyway. To get a green card, you have to have paid the fee *and* your beneficiary has to have entered the United States. Have they entered the U.S. yet? Regards, Vicky's Mom

Could they ask about it? Of course they could. They are going to assume that you are bringing her to the U.S. and plan to change her status while she's here. That's a violation of her visa (you can't visit the United States with intent to immigrate) and is going to influence everything you do from now on. So make sure you have evidence that it's not going to happen. Make sure she has a return plane ticket. Make sure she has something from her employer indicating that they know she's visiting you in the U.S. and she plans to be back on a specific date. Make sure you have enough evidence to convince them that you guys are playing by the rules. Don't give them too much information, but if they ask you straight questions like "are you married", answer honestly. You can explain that you know she's required to go back and wait in her own country until the immigration process is complete. She's allowed to visit during the process, but it has to be a visit. Do not lie. Do not mislead. The worst thing you can do is give them any indication that you're not telling the truth. You're playing a long game here...it'll be years before she has a permanent status in the U.S. You want these people to be understanding and cooperative. (removed) And if they separate you, you can volunteer to stay with her and translate. But she really needs to be able to present her case by herself. They'll find someone to translate. The worst case is that they decide not to let her in the U.S. on this trip. It's a very low chance, but USCIS can refuse admission to anyone they want. Allow for that possibility. Regards, Vicky's Mom

My mother in law is 71 years old, in good health, and has never lived anywhere else but in Indonesia. She's not qualified for Medicare or Medicaid here in Nebraska. The best offer I had under the ACA was about $700/month. Some plans were quoted as high as $2,000 per month. You can call the ACA and ask for an estimate in advance. They can't commit to an amount until you actually apply, but at least they'll give you some idea. If she plans to keep her citizenship, I'd almost suggest some sort of travel insurance that would provide for emergency health care and medical evacuation back to her country. But with her already having had heart issues I'm guessing the cost is prohibitive either way. Wrap her in bubble wrap? Please keep us informed. The more information we all have, the better off we'll be. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I used a translation service based in California for all of my family members' documents from Indonesia. Each translation came with a letter from the service stating who they were and something about "declare under the penalty of perjury". I didn't need any additional endorsements from a notary or apostille. USCIS and the embassy accepted the translations as they were. (I did send along the letter from the service with the translations. I don't know if it was needed, but I certainly paid for it so I wanted to share it.) Regards, Vicky's Mom

It's a dice roll. You could write out the translation yourself and have either you and/or your spouse sign it and say "I/we are fluent in Dutch and English". Or you could take the documents in just as they are and see what happens. I still think a big part of what we do in the immigration process is compliance. They could certainly read the English portion of the document, but they want to see if you will make the effort to translate it. Weigh that $25/page translation fee against an RFE, having to go to the "back of the line" and start over again, etc. Between my wife, my sister in law, and my mother in law, I probably paid $500 in translation fees. No one at USCIS or the Embassy ever argued with us about it. But I'm #######-retentive. I wanted a piece of paper with a company's letterhead saying that we paid them to do the translations. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Paid fees: 14 Jul 23 POE: 30 Oct 23 Card delivered: 08 Dec 23

Yes. The visa gets you in the United States. The green card is proof of your permission to stay here. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Your ex-wife has legal custody and you plan to move *her* child out of the country. Yes, you need your ex-wife's consent to do this. Don't muck up your visa paperwork with a parental kidnapping charge. The embassy *should* ask for a copy of your divorce decree, and they *should* confirm who has custody of any child you're listing for visas. They might not. It might not ever come up. But if it does, it becomes bad. You either have a civil conversation with her and convince her the child will have a better life with you in the U.S., or you go to court and have the custody reassigned. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Find her something to do. A hobby. English immersion classes. Volunteer work. Some other people in your area that are from her country or have recently been through the immigration process. You don't want her going stir-crazy while she waits for everything else to happen. Regards, Vicky's Mom

My mother-in-law can't leave the U.S. for another six months because I don't want to give CBP any excuse to argue that she's not a resident. It's not a law. It's my interpretation of what might happen and how much hassle I'm willing to deal with. (So far, the women are letting me make this decision.) I was concerned they were going to argue with her about almost-six-months and it turned out not to be an issue at all. And they flew into LAX. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I have one anecdote for this. My mother in law arrived in the U.S. on 30 Oct 23. She got her green card on 08 Dec 23. The same day there was a death in the family in Indonesia. She flew back on 10 Dec 23. She was in Indonesia just shy of six months resolving the estate. She returned to the United States on 03 Jun 24 using her green card and Indonesian passport. She experienced no delays at the airport. I've told her and my wife that she can't go outside of the U.S. for the rest of the year. She can visit in January. But I want her to have a confirmed six-months-plus-a-day before she leaves again. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Don't wait for an invitation. Regards, Vicky's Mom