Vickys_Mom

ASK HIM if he was convicted of anything. Don't play games and say, well, the ACRO didn't say anything, so it doesn't matter... And upload the document either way. You want to prove you went and got it. Try not to be cagey on this document. If he did something and he was convicted, spell it out. Dodging something here is potentially going to cost your time, money, and even your marriage in the years to come. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Be patient. It takes some time from when the officer says "approved" to the "approved" showing up in the system. Among other things, there's the potential for Administrative Processing which might be fast or might take forever...no one knows. "Refused" does not mean "rejected". It's a holding marker to indicate that they can't issue it at this time. It will update when they decide what to do next. DO NOT make plans. Do not buy non-refundable plane tickets. Do not close up the house or apartment. Wait until you have the visa in hand. Regards, Vicky's Mom

My mother-in-law is 71 and just arrived in the United States last year. She has no medical issues. Since she has never paid into Medicare, she is not eligible for Medicare for at least five years. In Nebraska, she was "evaluated" and determined not to be eligible for Medicaid, again for at least five years. Neither my wife or my health care insurer would allow us to add her to the policy. "Parents" are not dependents as far as they are concerned. So we went through the healthcare.gov marketplace. The *cheapest* option we found cost about $700 per month. This provides her basic health care coverage. We'd still have a lot of out-of-pocket if something happened to her. I saw other polices that went as much as $2,000 per month. I also looked at programs that would provide her with "travel insurance" including the extended "stay" in the United States. The best of those were still $300+ per month. And you could make an argument that if she's an LPR she shouldn't be "visiting" the U.S. for insurance purposes. If something happens, I promise you the insurer would do just that to avoid paying any claims. You certainly have the option of not getting her health insurance. There are all sorts of horror stories on the Internet about what happens in the U.S. if you have money and no insurance. We plan to wrap her in bubble wrap anytime she goes out. Regards, Vicky's Mom

If you were not working through an agency I'd tell you to go ahead and upload the rest of the documents. Two documents is probably not enough for someone to make a decision. Can you upload documentation even though the agency didn't? Do they have "control" of the account? If you can't upload it yourself I'd ask the agency. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Current income, and the prospect of that job continuing in the future, is given a higher weight than past income. Regards, Vicky's Mom

Both. My mother-in-law came over from Jakarta in October of 2023. Her documents were done electronically. But I've seen people on here recently who have had to carry the envelope over with them. You might try asking in the regional forum (I think you're in the UK, but I'm not sure). You might also get more specific information if you give the embassy you're working with. Regards, Vicky's Mom

It's a mistake, but it wasn't an intentional act of fraud. You thought it was A and it turned out to be B. At some point they will want to see the actual birth certificate. That's the information they'll want to use...especially since there's a question about which one is correct. One or both of you will do an an interview. When you do, point out that it was originally reported as A, but the birth certificate actually says B, and provide a copy of the birth certificate. They can fix it. The only place I see both Springfield and Decatur are in the state of Illinois. Illinois Department of Public Health says "...approximately 12 weeks from the time your paperwork is received." It also appears that you can request the certificate directly from the County Clerk's office which might be faster. Vital Check indicates that they can provide it even faster albeit with a lot more cost. And no, this isn't the Netherlands. 12 weeks for normal mail processing sounds about right to me. Eight months is too much. (I've gotten one on the spot before, but I had to go directly to the State Department of Health and do it in person. And that was years ago before identity theft became an issue.) You're not screwed. Just a little off-center. But it's fixable. Your fiancé should join us on here. Much of what we talk about involving procedures is specific to the US citizen. Regards, Vicky's Mom

My wife's was a renewal...this was the 10th year since her naturalization. We mailed it on 18 March 24. We received the new one on 01 May 24. They sent her (cancelled) old one back on 09 May 24. So it was 45 days in our case. Regards, Vicky's Mom

It's Memorial Day weekend. If I was going to do a software upgrade and needed an entire weekend to do it, I'd do it this weekend since you'd have the extra day if you needed it. I agree that they should have switched over the servers to an "under maintenance" page and stopped accepting requests, but things happen. Check back again on Tuesday. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I never had to deal with it since my family members all had last names. (They were of Chinese ancestry, so they actually had two names...their original Chinese names and the versions that Indonesia required them to adopt in the 1960s.) There is an Indonesian politician on Wikipedia named Wiranto. The Wikipedia entry includes "In this Indonesian name, there is no family name nor a patronymic." The wife said he's just referred to by his single name. Regards, Vicky's Mom

The English word is mononym, by the way. Indonesia is another culture that uses single-word names for people. (My Indonesian relatives were Chinese in ancestry so they all had given names and family names.) I saw nothing definite in the searches I did for I-130 and "single name" or "mononym". I saw some people said that they put the single name as the Given Name and the Petitioner's (Spouse's) name as the Family Name, but I agree that means the name on the I-130 won't match the name on the passport. I don't know if it would be worth a call to USCIS to ask. If Google can't find it, I'd be surprised if it comes up on the scripts that Tier 1 uses when they answer the phone. Maybe a Tier 2 agent would be able to find an answer. You might also (email and?) ask the embassy or consulate in Bangladesh how they handle it. This must come up enough for USCIS to have a rule for how-to. I just couldn't find it. Regards, Vicky's Mom

You will get the old passport back (voided). For some reason they send them in two separate envelopes now...my wife got her new passport, and about a week later her old one was sent back. You can take both of them to the interview if you want. But as @Crazy Cat notes, USCIS should already know you renewed. Regards, Vicky's Mom

My wife was naturalized in Little Rock, Arkansas at the USCIS office there. An actual U.S. Circuit Judge conducted the ceremony. By him administering the Oath, and by her saying her "new" name, she was granted a Name Change similar to if she had gone into his court room. Hers was a Judicial Oath. (Her new name was already on the Naturalization Certificate...they copied it as entered on the N-400 application.) Regards, Vicky's Mom

The example Texas Marriage Licenses I see online don't say where the ceremony was performed. It does say "County of Marriage" and then "(blank) County, Texas". A Texas marriage license shouldn't be valid for a marriage in Mexico. On the application you put the town or city in Mexico where you got married. That's truthful. And you include the Texas Marriage License. And you wait to see what happens next. If they give you an RFE because they can't reconcile it, one of the options is to get married again. A Utah Online marriage would be valid. A Vegas wedding would be valid. (The Clark County, Nevada marriage license does require the officiant to say exactly where the marriage was performed. Mine did.) Even a Justice of the Peace in Texas would be valid. Now you're going to have two licenses and you're going to have to attach an explanation...we were married in Mexico and given a Texas license, USCIS refused that license, so we married again. (And figure out which day is actually your "date of marriage".) This might be a case where you contact an immigration attorney and ask for some free or cheap advice. (The less it costs, the lower the quality.) It's not sounding like a do-it-yourself application. Regards, Vicky's Mom

It is reasonable to assume that the American Embassy in your country of residence will have access to any past visa applications or grants. If you haven't done anything wrong in the past, then it doesn't matter. I could see them asking you to confirm you had a visa in the past, and asking you what visits you did during that visa, just to make sure what they see on the system matches what you say. But there shouldn't be any repercussions if you're honest with them and have nothing to hide. Do make sure you have everything they ask for. If they ask you why you didn't have all your information on the previous visa, you can honestly tell them that you tried to obtain it but couldn't. Regards, Vicky's Mom

If someone asks a direct question like "is his employment secure for the next six months", neither of you want to lie. I agree...don't volunteer anything. But have a fallback if it comes out. Get a joint sponsor in place. And if you're employed again before it happens, then it's just extra credit and less things to worry about. Things happen. Have a plan just in case. Regards, Vicky's Mom

You have to prove that it's been treated and cured...you're not actively infectious. It doesn't sounds like just the blood test results are enough. I'd make a call to the screening doctor's office and make sure you have what they want before you go. You don't want them to decide you haven't been cured. Active syphilis is an automatic disqualification. You don't want to waste your DV and have to fight with them because you didn't have the right piece of paper. Regards, Vicky's Mom https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-10-prepare-for-the-interview/medical-examination-faqs.html#:~:text=What if the applicant had syphilis%3F,the applicant was adequately treated. What if the applicant had syphilis? Applicants who have had syphilis must present the panel doctor with a written certificate, signed by a doctor or public health official, proving that the applicant was adequately treated.

While past years' filings are important, they are weighted differently. You will file for all three years...that's compliance. All you can report is what you have. You could also check with the Social Security Administration. They should have a copy of how much income you had in each year for Social Security purposes. That might be a better number. Your Social Security Statement is available online. Try to give them everything you've got for those three years. You don't want an RFE if you could have avoided it. The important part is that your income is getting better. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I knew it was too good to be true. (smile) Regards, Vicky's Mom

I won't promise you that you won't get a request for a joint sponsor. But I did my mother-in-law's IR5 last year, my wife and I combined are about where you are in your current salary, and we didn't need a joint sponsor. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I have seen people on here say that after six months they had to do a new medical. I've also seen people say that they had to be in the United States before the six month period is up...that's from the date of the medical, not the date of issue for your visa. I made sure my mother-in-law entered the U.S. within six months of the date of her physical and had no issues. (Her interview and visa issuance went quickly.) An immigration attorney mentioned this last week on social media, and I went to look up the USCIS statement: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-announces-new-guidance-on-form-i-693-validity-period U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced (PDF, 317.28 KB) that any Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that was properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon on or after Nov. 1, 2023, does not expire and can be used indefinitely as evidence to show that the applicant is not inadmissible on health-related grounds. This policy was published at the start of April 2024, so it may be that not every IO is up to date on it. That same article mentions that previous policy used a two-year or a three-year expiration date for I-693s. My own experience is that if you're in the U.S. before your medical is more than six months old you're fine. Regards, Vicky's Mom

There's always a risk. They could see the $78k number and still decide you need a joint sponsor. It all depends on who reviews the paperwork. Make sure you provide information on your current income in addition to your past income. If they can see this year is trending towards that $78k, it's more likely they'd take that and "overlook" the 2023 numbers. Regards, Vicky's Mom

When you request your father's birth certificate, send them a copy of the RFI. You obviously have an official need for the document. If your mother doesn't have the marriage certificate you contact the county they were married in. They will have it. In both cases you can show the deadline that USCIS gave you. It might speed things up. You can certainly ignore the RFI, but your naturalization petition will be rejected. Don't expect USCIS to do anything for you on this. It's on you to get things together and respond to the RFI. Regards, Vicky's Mom

I think repercussions is the key point. It might be that no one notices. But most people who get a 221(g) aren't allowed to enter the U.S. (or get their visa) until the AP is resolved. It's going to hurt if someone decides you're trying to game the system and revokes your visa, especially if they decide your efforts were with malice and hand you a ban at the same time. In my opinion it's not worth the risk. Regards, Vicky's Mom

You could go back to the United Kingdom and abandon the process. You have to decide if the pain of going through the divorce will turn you off entirely on the United States. Regards, Vicky's Mom