PokuPoku

hopefully a mod can change it. I've been following it a lot but luckily double checking everything.

The fee for I-485 applications includes the cost of the I-131 and I-765 (no need to pay for them if filed with or while your I-485 application is pending adjudication) Is this still accurate? Doesn't appear to be so "If you filed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, and your Form I-485 is still pending. $260" https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator?form=i-765

We had no issues with it, but her daughter has no father listed on the birth certificate. You'll have some issue if you want to change your child's name or if the step father wants to adopt your child. That will require permission from the father or required you to convince a judge that the father isn't part of the child's life.

We printed the photos of us meeting in person and also screenshots of us on video call. Included text explaining how we met and time we spent together, and also a plane ticket stub. put it all in a folder and shipped it in an envelope. Its best to include photos that show where you are, such as near a landmark, so its obvious the photo was taken in that country.

So I believe I understand it now. My step daughter 99.99% chance won't be eligible for CHIP/medicare, BUT, to be eligible for the marketplace, she must first be denied by the state for chip/medicare. She is required to be denied from that before she can be part of our family plan. The requirement for kids to join a marketplace plan is to be denied a chip/medicare plan, which she will since she hasn't lived in the country for long enough. It all makes sense to me now, I believe. I just had to piece together all of this.

That would take months, probably. We're still waiting for her SSN (its been 10 or 11 weeks now) and who knows how long work authorization would take. I'm just going to call the healthcare marketplace tomorrow to see if I can get answers since its all really confusing and I probably need very specific help with my specific situation.

eh, wouldn't it mostly be based on my previous year's income? That was $48k. The healthcare thing is based on my estimated 2025 income, which I expect to be lower. Also, looks like CHIP availability in my state is $38k, which is higher than 125% poverty income (household of 3). I'd like a family plan that covers all of us, but current situation looks like it would just cover me and my wife, and we'd need to apply for CHIP for our child? confused by how that all works.

I'm self employed, so no. I was over it in 2024 but I estimated my income will be a little lower this year because of how the economy is doing and that seems to have put me just under 125% poverty for 2025, but I have a lot of money in stocks and CDs. My income is extremely hard to estimate.

We just got married so I'm (american citizen) am wanting a healthcare plan to cover my wife and her child. I'm going through the healthcare marketplace to do it. I submitted the application and it said we are eligible but her child isn't? But "May be eligible for Medicaid based on this month's household income". Kinda confused by what this means. So if I enroll in a plan, our daughter won't be able to use our plan for free check-ups and such? Is medicaid/chip even available to her as a non-citizen or green card holder? Do I just need to call the marketplace, or is there something else to it? The "next steps" section for her says "Wait for more information from your state agency about Medicaid coverage. You may need to provide more information to the state.". So maybe I just wait?

ok thank you I finally understand now. We've had so many delays and complications out of our control, I want to make sure we do everything 100% right. I thought just getting one or 2 copies, but it makes sense to get more, we'll do that. We'll be able to get this all moving forward today or tomorrow for sure.

ahh, I read the FAQ, I didn't see the other link. So the i-485 and 765 were the first forums you used the new names? Would this work with changing her daughter's name too? We want her daughter's name changed too, but we want her first and last name changed. Or will that just be a totally different process?

We don't need a marriage license, we only fill out the certificate, and it looks like this. So do we put her current name or new last name under the "name" section? Thats helpful to know. I was thinking about asking about middle name too since she current has no middle name (not a thing in her country) and not too sure if she should have one or not.

So if she wants to change her last name, we just write her new last name on the certificate? Thats what I was confused by since nowhere I looked explicitly said thats how you do it.

we called the local and national office and they told us its being processed by the department of defense. no, we were waiting for the SSN since thats what people said to do first and the SS office keeps telling us it will be finished "soon". now we gotta get married before the 90 days end.

I googled this for 30 min and couldn't find answers. I read before its easier to change name during marriage as opposed to any other time, but I can't find information on how thats done. We live in Alabama. Also, is it ok to do this before she gets her SSN? We applied for it 10 weeks ago but still haven't received it.

"still being processed" Well, we're getting married next week since time has run out. Hope getting married while SSN processes won't screw things up.

We called the national office and they told us the DoD is processing it and it can take up to 8 weeks.

We called the office again and they said its being processed and there is nothing they can do at the local office about it.

We were given the number after visited the first time. Appointments are required so idk if we can just go walk in or how we'd know we'd get the same person helping us again.

Not true. We called the local office. When we called the national office, they told us to call the local office, which is what we did.

I read recent posts that said you don't really need to wait 2 weeks and just a few days is fine. I thought 13 days would be ok. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/785129-how-long-after-entry-to-apply-for-ssn-with-k1/#findComment-10689938 I'll call again this week and see what they say

She's never been married. We're not married yet since we're getting her SSN first before marrying.

Things went very smoothly at the office and he said it would take up to 4 weeks. When we called last week, they said they were still processing it and thats all she knew.

I thought it only takes 2 to 4 weeks, but its been almost 6 weeks now and still no SSN. We applied in person on Jan 6th. We called back last week and they said they are still processing it. Is this normal?

FYI Its now required to make an appointment before getting a new SSN. This change was made literally the day we went up there to get a SSN