Sukie

Good luck to you! Sukie in NY

I am a child of the 50s. When I was growing up, we were encouraged to use our first name, middle initial, and last name as our "legal" name. Then Passports had to be in your FULL name. When a woman married, her middle name (initial) was her maiden name. My passport and SScard have my full name. Driver's license has middle initial. All my banks accounts have middle initials. I use my middle initial for Credit Cards, but my latest card from Citibank omitted the middle initial. Go figure. @JeanneAdil, I laughed at your entry about your late husband..... Sukie in NY

TXDOC, add a paragraph to your cover letter/Table of Contents about how you handle your finances together. Better to explain that you use your credit cards for everything up front than to have them ding you for not having bank statements. Lots of couples do not have joint bank accounts. Just tell them how YOU do it. Sukie in NY

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Same with us. I already owned the house. We just had a paragraph on our cover page which explained this (no mortgage as I owned it free and clear), and why she was on the title of the car, but not the registration (had to have a NY driver's license which she did not have yet). Both names were listed on the car insurance which we included. You will be fine. Explain how you do your bills through your Cash Management account in your cover letter, Sukie in NY

It will settle down in a few months after everyone gets their letter. I understand your impatience with the amount of traffic, but it's such a big deal for soooo many hopeful people. Good luck on your journey! Sukie in NY

The services listed here are top of the line, and we did NOT do all of these! We provided our own kennels (you do not need a wooden crate for a cat, for Pete's sake), The first time I flew home from Hong Kong, my cats were on my flight. I held the paperwork, and presented the paperwork to Customs and Immigration when I arrived. Honestly, the guys at JFK looked at me like I was crazy. They had NO idea what to do with my paperwork (because the US, per se, does not need it for cats). They ummed and ahhhhed over it, took it to another guy, brought it back to me, and about 20 minutes later, here came my cats on a baggage cart. I used an agent in Hong Kong who picked up the cats, and us!, and drove us to the airport. He took us to the freight dock, where we turned in our paperwork, kissed the cats goodby, and that was that. When we moved from Australia, we used JetPets. We got our own certificates at our local vet. In this case, we were flying from Brisbane to Hong Kong to the US, and the cats were not allowed to transit Hong Kong. So JetPets picked up the cats the morning we left (we were on a night flight), took them to the airport, and got them on the flight to LAX. They emailed us when the cats got to LAX, sent us pictures of them, said they were eating well, and we felt good about that. The cats had about 16 hours in LAX until their flight to New York. We arrived JFK in the evening, checked into a local hotel, and then showed up at the Lufthansa depot the next morning. We were informed along the way about flights and timing. There are other companies besides PetAirUK that are highly rated, according to Google. Call around. If one of them forces you to use THEIR crates, think twice. I don't know how vet services work in the UK, but I was able to get all the proper paperwork done by my own vets in both Hong Kong and Australia. Oh, and in my experience, my vets did NOT want to sedate my cats. Yes, it's scary, but unless you have a very skittish cat, they'll be ok. Best of luck to you and your kitty! Sukie in NY

Wahid, We used "JetPets" from Australia - and they have a partnership with a US company, but I don't remember who it is. See if you can find a British ex-pat site and ask them who they used. I picked up the cats myself at the Lufthansa Freight office at JFK. I flew in on a Thursday, and the cats flew in on a Friday. So I just stayed the night at a hotel near the airport... I had two cats, and it was about $2000, and it was in 2011. However, this included being picked up at our apartment, Delivery to the airport, their flights, and a "spa day" in Los Angeles waiting for a connecting flight. We flew Cathay Pacific - the cats flew Lufthansa Freight. I know it probably sounds really expensive, but if you feel about your cat like I feel about mine, it's totally worth it. I was a nervous wreck. My kitties were just fine. Sukie in NY

Also, you will need to consider the vaccination requirements for both the USA AND the state in which you arrive and choose to live. Some states are much pickier than the Feds. We used a pet moving service, as we were unable to have our cats on our flights (because of routing). To the best of my knowledge (and in my experience moving cats from the US to Hong Kong and back, and from Australia to the US), all international pet imports must travel as freight - meaning, you cannot have them in the cabin with you - they'll be in a pressurized portion of the cargo hold. The carrier must be big enough for the animal to sit upright - so the carriers are usually much bigger than the one you use to take your pet to the vet. Hopefully your vet can answer a lot of your questions. FYI - New York requirements are strict - please toggle New York in the link below. https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/cats.html Sukie in NY

You cannot go wrong if you bring a copy of your tax return to the interview. You do not need to volunteer it, but it is really good if they ask for it, and you have it. We interviewed in early April - before April 15th. Our instructions did not specify that we should bring the prior year's return. I had them, and volunteered them. The officer took them, but never looked at them AT ALL. So...have them up your sleeve, but they should not be required prior to April 15th. Sukie in NY

Dear OP, I understand why you ask the question about invitation letters. In India, one must have an official invitation to apply for a tourist visa. This does not apply in the US. Your parents will have to apply for a visitor's visa strictly on their own merits. Your graduation (wedding, baby, whatever) is wonderful, but it is not part of the visa process for entry into the US. Good luck to your parents, and congratulations to you. Other Visa Journey people, please do not assume people are stupid or clueless when they ask questions like this that are common in their own countries. Some gentle guidance is all that is needed in this case. Sukie in NY

Hearty Congratulations! I am so happy your journey is complete! Sukie in NY

OP, yes, you can visit on your ESTA. Just be careful. We did it (Australia) during our journey, but we kept visits to about 80 days max, and did the twice-as-long-out-as-in route. We were also VERY prepared to say, "Yes, I am am married to a US Citizen, but we have filed the I-130, and we do not want to jeopardize the process at all. I am going back to Australia, and we will follow all the rules." We had no issues. Best of luck on the (too long) journey!!! Sukie in NY

No experience with Legal Zoom. Just be very careful, as each state has different rules for wills and poas. In some states you are required to use an attorney. In some states, the attorney keeps the original will in their office safe. In some states you name an "executor" of a will. In other states, they are called the "personal representative". Just an FYI so you don't have trouble down the road. Sukie in NY (where one attorney kept our wills in their safe, and the next one did not)

I can't answer your question, but I can surely say "WAR EAGLE!" Best of luck with your specialty!!! Sukie in NY

Officer is incorrect. When we were in the expired-green-card-extension-letter phase, we always carried a copy of the "rules" with us. Never needed it, but I would have whipped that outta my purse faster than lightning if anyone had given us a hassle. Sukie in NY

I think many of us think of "consummation" in terms of definition #3. As far as USCIS is concerned, it merely means to have fulfilled the requirements to have been in the same place at the same time. consummate kŏn′sə-māt″ transitive verb To bring to completion or fruition; conclude. To realize or achieve; fulfill. To complete (a marriage) with the first act of sexual intercourse after the ceremony. Sukie in NY

Sometimes you will get it within 2-4 weeks, and sometimes not. Here's the thing. When you processed through your POE, the officer may or may not have checked the box on his system to send a message to the Social Security Administration. The officer's system does NOT issue the SSN - it merely sends a message to the SSA that you have requested one. Based on my years on Visa Journey, our own experience, and that of others who have posted here, I would estimate that this works less than 50% of the time. If you have not gotten your card in 2 weeks after your entry, then make an appointment at your local SSN office and apply for one. You will then receive in in around 1-2 weeks. Ours took 5 days. The reason to wait the 2 weeks is to see if the request actually went through. Best of luck to you! Sukie in NY

Well! I am glad to know this! Our journey is over, but I often help people organize their packets. Now I know the "new" suggestions! Thank you for pointing this out! Sukie in NY

We used ACCO clips (two-hole punch in the tops of the pages). This is what they prefer, and we thought it would be good to hand it to them like they like it. We had five different sections, and I had one big rubber band around the five of them. Table of contents is helpful. Just remember - print on one side only, and for your safety, if you have a piece of paper that is not 8 1/2 x 11 or A4, tape it to a blank sheet of paper of the same size as your stack. The first thing they are going to do (besides cash your check) is scan all your documents - and if you have one that is off-size, it can easily get lost! Best of luck! Sukie in NY

We filled out the form digitally, printed it, signed it, then scanned it. Sukie in NY

We did quarterly statements, as we had really strong financial co-mingling evidence. Please: SEND EVERY PAGE of a financial document. Do not just scan pages 1 or 2, just because 3-n don't have anything important. Missing pages raise questions and suspicions. And, make it easier for USCIS, and save yourself possible heartache of missing pages. If you have double-sided documents, scan/print them one-sided. A USCIS clerk takes your packet and has to scan every page into their digital system. It makes their job so much easier and faster if they can just set the stack of your papers in a machine and turn the scanner on. If you have documents that are not letter-sized, tape them to a letter-sized piece of paper, or shrink them to fit on a letter-sized piece of paper. Best of luck! Sukie in NY

Something for you and your spouse to consider...if you are granted a Green Card, you must enter the US tax system, meaning any income you make anywhere in the world must be entered on your yearly tax return and may be taxed by the US. There are tax treaties between countries which attempt to alleviate any double taxation, but if you are not SURE you are going to end up living in the US, you really don't want the unfortunate situation of having to be taxed on your income. Just another piece of the puzzle to think about. Sukie in NY

Not all couples co-mingle finances, but joint bank statements seem to be one of the things they look for. They want to see how you do and pay for your life together. If your spouse is not on the deed or mortgage, then be SURE the spouse's name is on the homeowners insurance policy. If you do not own a car together, and your spouse drives, be SURE your spouse is on the auto insurance. If you do not have joint bank accounts, then write a short summary of how you pay for things (gas, groceries, utilities). It doesn't REALLY matter if one partner pays everything, or if things are not divided evenly. But if your situation is not half/half, all you have to do is explain how YOU do it. Do explain that you already owned the house prior to your marriage. Best of luck to you! Sukie in NY

It is fine to mix typing and handwriting. Good luck on your journey! Sukie in NY