OldUser

If it's not checked, then it means you're just waiting. At some point in future you'll get scheduled for interview.

Credit card! Risky stuff, glad it worked!

Illegal route may be even worse : 1) OP marries in October 2) Leaves the US 3) Attempts to reenter the US on J-1 with intent to adjust 4) Gets caught by CBP. Held in secondary, questioned, phone and personal belongings searched 5) J-1 is cancelled, entry denied, sent back home 6) Now OP is facing 3+ years consular process overseas AND needs to seek waiver for misrepresentation

@katywalla read my comment posted earlier. You're OK marrying now, filing for adjustment, and leaving the US for trip in December if you have advance parole or green card then. Why is it OK to adjust now? Because you didn't have intent of staying in the US when you last entered to the country. However, if you leave now without filing for adjustment and plan to reenter with intent to adjust, then you have potential issue with misrepresentation / fraud in the future. Most of AOS applicants have interviews nowadays. At the interview adjudicator may dig deep into your relationship timeline, reasons for marriage etc. If they suspect you played the system by entering the US with immigrant intent on non-immigrant visa, you'll have serious issues. Also, the chance of reentering on J-1 after marrying US citizen is also decreasing significantly. That's why it would only be safe to leave on Advance Parole, because then you would be upfront to CBP: yes, I married, yes I have immigrant intent, here's Advance Parole.

Thank you for very valuable datapoints @Ontarkie! Seems like there's a pattern with DMVs!

Did you provide marriage certificate for her only marriage?

Wow, thank you this is super valuable! I almost attempted using PCC at SSA, but I just showed US passport to speed things up (wasn't in mood to try)

Awesome thank you for sharing this report and even sticking to the format 😃 This is super useful! I'm yet to try it at DMV.

You cannot travel on J-1 especially after you marry and apply for adjustment of status. Your option is to marry now in court, apply for AOS immediately (with application for Advance Parole I-131) and hope you get it before your travel. If you don't have advance parole or green card by the time of your trip, you cannot leave the US. You can always have a celebration of your marriage in October as planned earlier. You'll be just legally married by then. Or if you don't want to legally marry until October, you can say goodbye to that trip, it won't happen. You just can't have it all, unfortunately, due to how restrictive immigration process is.

If you use USPS, make sure to send with proof of delivery

Interesting... If you're using Sufshark etc do you think VPN software itself can break DNS resolution? This is what I observed with some VPN solutions in the past. E.g. you disconnect, but then some website domains don't resolve. A reboot may help, or need to look at system DNS settings. I use VPN with VJ exclusively so cannot comment accessing without VPN.

Yes, sadly most of SSA locations now require appointment.

Sadly, they have 120 days to make a decision according to law.

Did you try this link to request missing notice? https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/ndn

Yes, you're allowed to travel. Just don't have any trips over 6 months and try to spend as much time in the US you can. Good luck!

EDLs are not available in California, sadly. I have mDL on my phone, it's an interesting idea. The only concern is privacy when handing phone over to other people.

It depends whether you checked box on I-485 to get new SSN card and whether you get lucky. If you don't receive it within a month, just get appointment at SSA and get replacement card. Typically you can fill form SS-5 to get replacement card with no DHS wording on it. Why is it important? Because you never want to show GC to employer. Many HRs don't understand how immigration works. Especially with 2 year GC, they start freaking out when it expires and ask for new GC and or don't believe the extension letters. So the best course of action is showing unrestricted SS card and valid DL / state ID for I-9. Employer cannot demand to see GC, they must accept List B + List C documents which SS cars and DL are.

Now that I got PPC I'm prioritizing using it for 2 reasons: 1. It doesn't show my home address. I don't want any guy at grocery store, Home Depot or night club / bar to know my home address. With DL, in some states you can get a PO of course and put that as mailing address that would appear on DL. 2. DL number doesn't change (AFAIK, at least in California), but PPC number does change every 10 years. If info gets to wrong hands, I suspect more damage can be done with DL. I just think of TurboTax and some online government websites where they validate identity using DL number.

Different documents - different numbers? Two PP would have different numbers too, even if issues to same person.

At my oath ceremony, we were told to sign it at home on good even surface, because signing at USCIS may result in bad signature or damage to certificate.

Which state(s) say Driver's? California DL says "Driver License"

If you mean I-751, then yes. You can successfully remove conditions on your own, without spouse, if you can prove your marriage was real and not for immigration purposes.

This is similar to the sister thread: The focus of this thread is tracking my attempts of using Palau digital resident ID card when interacting with different businesses and organizations. I'm certain the success rate is going to be a lot lower than US passport card. Feel free contributing to this thread if you have this ID or have questions. Below is what Palau digital resident ID card looks like in June 2025:

MM/YYYY: June 2025 Location: California, US Business / organization: Home Depot Check type: Identity verification Reason: Online order pickup Result: Success Details: Got asked for ID by a young man (potentially of Indian origin) at customer services. He looked at it for 20-30 seconds. Literally held it in his hands and checked front and back very closely. He was very curious, probably never seen it before. Said "oh, it's a passport card" right before returning it to me. As he was finding order, I had a little bit of chat about DLs vs passport card as I got his interest. Here, in California DLs and IDs are only valid for 5 years, but passport card is 10 years and it's similar price.

Hi guys, I'm going to create a thread where I'm going to be posting field reports on using my US passport card domestically and internationally. Sure, this ID should be universally accepted in the US anywhere, even to enter federal facilities and cross border with Mexico and Canada by land. However, we all know sometimes clerks and other people make mistakes and reject to accept one form of ID or the other. Feel free contributing to this thread. Below is what US passport card looks like in June 2025: