Green Card on Hand!

I can now visit Pinas and Re-enter U.S without hassle

Yay! Finally my Conditional Green Card/Permanent Resident Card was approved without interview and it has arrived yesterday! My hubby tried to surprise me by hiding the mail from his back not knowing I saw him from the door's peephole lol! Ended up laughing with each other. So happy and such a relief. All of those paper works paid off but.... it doesn't end there. Need to start consolidating evidences for a bonafide marriage in preparation for the ROC then last step is the Naturalization/Citizenship. Go lang ng Go! hehehe!






♥M

Weekdays' Marathon

countin the days ;)

Days gone by pretty fast, I barely notice it's TGIF again. I was hooked watching Nikita Season 1 TV show streaming in Netflix (nice chemistry of Maggie Q & Shane West). Obviously, it temporarily occupied my days enough. Thanks goodness done with the 22 episodes during weekdays,(I want my weekend unoccupied with such you know... :p).Well here's why... while there's no much difference actually between weekdays and weekends. It's just the latter gives me and hubby enough bonding time together and it's enough reason to excite me to look forward to it always without any other interruptions.

On the other hand, just to give some update about my Biometrics appointment, it was a breeze.Was a short drive from our place and fortunately, there was no line when we arrived there, so it just took me 5 to 10 minutes for fingers scanning and photograph. Staffs at USCIS  local office in Hackensack NJ were all nice. In fact the guard and hubby had a good short talk while I was getting my stuff done. Nice huh I really feel that am getting close having my Employment Authorization and Green Card on hand.  For the meantime just wanna seize the moment of not having an alarm clock every morning.

On the same day (Wed 11/3) we went more shopping for winter clothes at Macy's which by the way we  really had a good dealtat as always. Thanks to Macy's Coupons for their members. And oh I love going to shop on weekdays while people are busy in their office working. It sure is an advantage for a smoother transaction such as no lines in the fitting room nor when checking out. Thus it saves our time. So after shopping we headed at Grandma's place right on time for delicious dinner. Loved it!

♥M

Getting NJ State ID

Guess what?..I got my first ever United States government ID.  I know there's no big deal..well actually it is for me! It unlocks lots of business transactions, example is when opening a bank account  (some banks are too picky, if you're a new immigrant, they would ask for a State ID aside from Passport and SSN card). So, here's the lil drama that we went through over the process...

Last Saturday, Hubby and I tried to get me a State ID but unfortunately it was unsuccessful due to some lame reasons that the lady from State of New Jersey MVC told us. Despite of presented to her my Passport with attached valid I-94, K-1 Visa, SSN card, Married Cert., first class mail from USCIS and a bill that's under my name, she was not satisfied still. Instead she told me afterwards that I need to get my Biometrics with USCIS done first then come back later. Hmm I guess this is more likely to happen to new Immigrants with pending Adjustment of Status for Permanent Residency. We told her that our case is in process already but she wouldn't want to consider it. Apparently, we don't have much choice that time but to leave the office. We don't wanna discuss more that time because we forgot to print what's stated in their website about the requirements (which I supposed they should know) though I vividly remember I have met their 6 pt. ID Verification when I took it online. Ugghh! if only I wasn't too confident that these people who work for NJ MVC knew what they're doing, I should have brought the validation note from their website. My bad, well lesson learnt. Never assumed!

Anyhow, what happened didn't stop our plan to come back this morning...we arrived around 9am and there was a short line outside the office already. I really don't mind falling in line, I kind of used to it in Pinas so while others' started to get annoyed I enjoyed the cold breeze :P. Few minutes later we're inside. We presented same documents we had last Saturday to a black lady and as expected confusion drew to her face while reviewing my requirements. At this time we shown her the printed confirmation from their website but oh boy she still wouldn't want to trust it. Geeezz what's up with that? She let us seated while she go spoke to her supervisor for like 20-30 minutes. It made me think is my case that rare or it's them who's not doin their assignment? Maybe it's in that branch only. Whatever it is, we were hoping for a positive outcome. Oh Speaking of positivity her she is walking slowly as if nobody is waiting, but at least we're right she told us we are good to go for the next step. Alright, so we proceeded to another counter for photograph and thanks goodness this time the lady did her job swiftly.

After the not so smooth transaction we had, nonetheless we leave the MVC office happy especially me having my NJ State ID on hand :D. Then, we went to Asian Grill to have our lunch with hubby's best friend, enjoyed their delicious foods as usual and afterwards we went to Starbucks and enjoyed our Frappe ;)! Ended great! yeah!

To those with pending case AOS status and want to get a State ID, I wish you guys to have a pleasant experience at your State's Motor Vehicle Commission.

♥M

Biometrics Appointment

Had a good news yesterday, I got my Biometrics notice from USCIS for November 2 appointment (roughly a month after their acceptance date) at their local office in Hackensack NJ and guess what?..its pretty close to our place so it's a bonus! lol ;).  I was worried the last few days coz every time I checked my case status in the USCIS website it prompted a "case not found" message, ugghh the website is unreliable. I'm guessing it under maintenance.  I would no longer rely on the website itself henceforth  to save myself from any anxious feeling that would haunt me, especially after reading in some forum about case that got lost and was just back on track after week-months more of waiting game. I thought it's better to call 'em.  Well now it's exciting for me knowing that my AOS and EAD application is on track. So am feeling lucky that my case is moving and I'm hoping for a smooth journey likewise to other AOS Filers.

♥M

Adjustment of Status sent

Picture of our packet :)

Yay! Finally, my AOS (Adjustment of Status) paperwork done and sent to USCIS Chicago Lock box.  It took us 6 weeks from the date of my arrival to submit my stuff. Whew! Entering here in the United States as a K1 Visa holder is definitely no joke. Tons of paper loads awaits once you got here, not to mention from the day back in Philippines for the U.S. Embassy interview. Still, in spite of all those argument and annoyance while doing it, I feel so grateful seeing my hubby helping me keenly. 

Anyway, here are the documents that I included in my AOS packet just in case somebody who is in need pass by in my page, I could at least give him/her an idea.

• Payment in the amount of $1,070.00 payable to U.S Department of Homeland and Security (personal cheque)
• G-1145 - Form for E-notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (optional)
• 2 US passport size photos
• I-485 - Application - Application to Register Permanent Residences or Adjust Status, signed and dated
• G-325A - Biographical information form
• Certified true copy of Marriage Certificate
• Photocopy of passport biographical page
• Photocopy of K1 visa in passport
• Photocopy of USA entry stamp
• Copy of I-94
• Copy of I-797 - Notice of Action, Approval of K1 petition
• Copy of NSO Birth Certificate (Baptismal - optional, I just included mine just in case coz my BC is blurry)
• Sealed I693 - from Civil Surgeon
• I-864 - with 3 years IRS Tax Transcripts, Employment Letter, 6 months pay stubs (My husband's)

Documents I submitted for Employment Authorization Application:

• G-1145 - Form for E-notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (optional)
• 2 US passport size photos
• I-765 –Application for Employment Authorization
• Copy of Marriage Certificate
• Photocopy of passport biographical page
• Photocopy of passport visa
• Copy of I-94

Forms are available in USCIS Website

Send the packet to : USCIS P.O. Box 805887, Chicago IL 60680-4120 for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliveries
                            USCIS Attn: FBAS 131 South Dearborn-3rd Floor Chicago,Il 606003 for express & courier deliveries

So that's it guys! I hope and pray that our AOS application will be a smooth and RFE free.
Good luck to those who are in process also!


♥M

Filing SSN

Few days ago, Me and hubby went to Cliffton SSA office to get  my SSN. There were few people on the waiting area but most of them are for benefit claim. I filled up the form and after like 5 mins. my no. was called. We were assited by a nice american-indian guy. He took my Passport and checked my attached I-94, Marriage Cert. He typed my info in his computer and after couple of mins He asked me to double check the infos and that's it we're done! He gave me a letter stating that within 2 weeks my SSN card will be mailed to our address. To  my surprise I got my mailed SSN card already just today (took only 4 days)! Yay!Thanks God! We're almost there - submitting the AOS.

So the requirements are (for K1 Visa Holder) :
Passport
Valid I-94
Marriage Certificate (if Married already); A K-1 visa holder may also apply for SSN prior their wedding day and go back to the SSA once married already to update her name.

 Social Security Office Locator 

♥M

NJ Civil Surgeon

On the day after our wedding, Me and hubby went to see a Civil Surgeon for my medical requirement/ I-693 completion. We found one nearby our place and there we met Dr. Jaroslaw Pondo, MD of  Rutherford, NJ. He did asked me few questions about my medical history. By the way, i brought with me the CD X-Ray and vaccines records, the ones that is given to me by St. Luke's Med as my personal copy. Dr. Pondo reviewed my records and told us that all vaccines were met but I still need to do CBD test since I don't remember if I have done it before. He also extracted blood sample for some additional testing (forgot whats the term). It was done quick. On Wednesday Sept. 14, we went back to the office to get the result and thanks God was negative and there's no need for me to undergo X-Ray because the bumps of CBD test is 4mm (law requires to undergo an X-Ray 5mm and up)We paid $175 total. Yay! we got our sealed I-693 already. Over all it was a nice experience and we're happy we met a nice Civil Surgeon, to those who are interested and in need here's his ofc contact # (201) 896-0050 .

Civil Surgeon Locator near you

♥M

I ♥ this day (July 19, 2011)

Finally, the most awaited part of my phase for our US K1 Visa is done!
I should say that all the worries and too much nervousness is useless!LOL. It was pretty much easy just double check all your DOCUMENTS and organized it well to avoid delays.


I arrived at US Embassy Manila extra early, but it really doesn't matter what time you'll arrived there as long as it's before your appointment because the guard will call the applicant by batch based on the appointment time.


6:00am: Got inside the USEm
7:30: Did finger scanning (asked name and birthday)
8:30: Pre screener Interview and asked the ff. questions:
 What's your name?
 Petitioner's name?
When and where did you meet?
When did you meet in person?
When was the last time you see him?
How many times he visited you?
Does he own a house?
How old is he?
What's his work?
She took my NBI, CENOMAR, BIRTH CERT., I-134 together with Employer's Letter, Bank Statement, W2's and ITR for 2009 & 2010.


Waiting time again and finally at 9am my # flashed on the screen yay! I smiled and greeted her.I was assigned to window 61 with a middle aged with curly hair american consul. She was nice, she asked me the ff. questions:


Hello, how are you?
Asked me to raise my right hand and swore.
What's your name?
petitioner's name?
What's his work?
Has he been married before? kids? (she asked me same questions)
Which state he lives in?
Do you plan to work?
Wedding plans?
Do you have pics together, can you show me one?
She paused and typed then she said, WELCOME TO AMERICA and goodluck! you promise to marry your fiance within 90 days okie? Go back to your seat and wait for your name be called for Visa delivery details! yesss!




Very easy and quick interview! Thanks God Almighty!


Goodluck to those who will have their interview!


♥M