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Author Topic: [snip] hitting the fan...  (Read 11612 times)

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Offline jm21-2

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[snip] hitting the fan...
« on: March 21, 2011, 11:52:57 AM »
So found out last Thursday (3/17) that we had an interview date on 3/23. Never received any sort of appointment letter or packet. AIT will only accept communications by e-mail or fax. I've e-mailed them twice now and no response. Will send a fax today from my office.

I think we have everything ready for the interview except for the medical exam report. She's been calling the doctor's office that did the exam and they keep telling her to call back later...

Wondering whether we just need to reschedule the interview, but if AIT doesn't respond, it seems impossible to reschedule. Not sure they will let her in for the interview without an appointment letter. Posted on VJ but never got any response.

What a nightmare :/. It's several hours by bus to Taipei and she would have to stay there overnight in order to be on time for the interview. But not even sure if they'll let her in.

EDIT:
Finally got hold of someone useful at the DoS. Interview appointment was made on 3/16. He said to just go in for the interview and worry about missing forms later, and the medical exam information should have been sent to AIT. Said trying to get in touch with them would be wasted effort because they're too under-staffed.

Basically there was no way the letter would have got to us on time. Glad I called to check the status...
« Last Edit: March 21, 2011, 12:21:35 PM by jm21-2 »

Offline Ray

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2011, 03:06:07 PM »

So who makes the appointments? Taipei or NVC?






Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2011, 03:18:37 PM »
My understanding is that AIT sets the interviews. Could be wrong there....but given the time frame involved our paperwork would have just gotten to AIT on maybe the 14th or 15th so it doesn't seem possible it was forwarded on to NVC that quickly.

They suspended interviews to deal with evacuees from Japan but looks like they're done with that.

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2011, 03:18:37 PM »

Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2011, 01:30:35 AM »
Another lesson to be learned from doofus Jm21...though having an incredibly short period to figure out the stuff for an interview hasn't helped....

I had sent an ATM card to her to cover expenses. It was a couple hundred short and I didn't realize there was some probationary period where the amount you could transfer per month was really  low. I sent some money by western union to cover her travel expenses and some fees.

Didn't realize it would take her hours and hours and hours to get money from western union. She found out the medical report was ready today but it took so long for her to get cash from western union she may not make it in time to pick up the medical report. SEND THAT MONEY EARLY.

Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2011, 09:29:27 PM »
She had the interview today and they asked her to leave the passport there and drop off a more recent copy of her household registration. She went to the government office that gives them out and then took it back. So signs are looking good that the visa was approved...don't know why else they would want to keep her passport and tell her they will send the passport to her home.

Offline Ray

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2011, 12:19:55 AM »

Yep, they keep the passport so they can print the visa in it.





Did she get any weird questions at her interview?


Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2011, 12:41:21 AM »
The only question she was concerned about was when I proposed to her. I originally talked about getting married in April of 2010 as we planned our second trip together, then brought it up seriously when I went to see her in May of 2010. She wasn't ready yet and we waited until August of 2010 to send in the paperwork. I put down in the documents I submitted with the petition that we got engaged in August of 2010, but when they asked her when I proposed she said April of 2010. That was the only potential problem we had.

It would be incredible to finally be done with this....we are both worriers and this has not been an easy process for us. I think we've both lost about 5 years of our lives. She was deathly afraid of this interview after being treated like [snip] during her tourist visa interview, so she was totally freaked out before the interview. After the interview she was back to the sunny, happy, wonderful girl I loved. The last couple days have been a real roller-coaster.

Offline Jeff S

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2011, 08:15:12 AM »
Well, sounds like she did fine. Good work to both of you for sticking this out. Pretty amazing the crap you have to go through - but I guess you get to thank the many before who jobbed the system. Looking forward to this being over and done with, I bet. Well, it won't be long now, and think of the great stories you'll have to tell your friends.

Offline whitey

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2011, 08:21:14 AM »
I remember how stressed out I was jumping through all the paperwork hoops to get married ... so far our visa process has been very smooth by comparison ... but it's not over yet!

Hang in there!
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Offline fathertime

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2011, 09:32:33 AM »
well jim you have waited long enough so hopefully this all passes without a glitch...then  all you need to do is buy the airline ticket and see how compatible you two worrywarts are together!  :D  Don't forget to try to enjoy the journey leading up to your life's goals.

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Offline Researcher

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2011, 09:36:30 AM »


  Hang in there JM. This stuff seems like it will never end but eventually it does.....I hope!!!


      Researcher
Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Offline Capstone

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2011, 10:50:31 AM »
I know that you will miss dealing with USCIS and DOS but don't worry, you still have AOS & ROC to look forward to in the not to distant future - LOL!

In all seriousness though, congratulations and I hope that the visa delivery turns out to go smoothly and you can start making plans to get your fiancee here asap. Let me know if your fiancee would like to talk with someone about the process of acclimating to the US, etc - my wife would be more than happy to speak with her and my wife speaks Taiwanese as an added bonus, so I am sure that they could gab for a while.

Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2011, 01:28:28 PM »
Man, the last day was hell for her...she was so stressed out before the interview....too much going wrong at the last minute but everythign seems to have worked out in the end.

Hopefully she'll be here soon, but the timing could be a bit tricky. My dad finally retired and he and my mom are going on a month-long trip to Europe in late April...they really wanted to be there when we got married....and her mom might fly over....

She's got to have a wisdom tooth removed, not sure whether to do that in Taiwan (national health insurance) or here (better dental work).

But certainly a huge load off our shoulders now that the visa process seems to be pretty much done. She had so many unexpected problems the last two days that she just about snapped....

Then we can start worrying about honeymoons, cars, and adjusting her status, yay....at least almost all the house projects are done.

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2011, 01:28:28 PM »

Offline Capstone

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2011, 01:48:34 PM »
Then we can start worrying about honeymoons, cars, and adjusting her status, yay....at least almost all the house projects are done.

I would suggest that you and her hit the ground running almost immediately after her arrival on a few things - doing so will make things so much easier to deal with in the long (and even short) run. Some of these things would be:

1. Visit your local Social Security Office about 2 weeks after her arrival and apply for her SSN (need to wait about 7-14 days after her arrival to insure that her information has been uploaded into the SSA system). You will find that her having a SSN number will make a lot of things go so much smoother such as adding her to bank accounts (or her opening her own), etc. Should take less than 2 weeks after applying for her to receive her SS card.

2. If she didn't already do so in Taiwan, make sure that she gets the required vaccinations administered and then signed off on by a US Civil Surgeon (will fill out a couple of sections of the I-693 which will be needed for AOS).

3. If WA allows it have her get a driver's license asap. I just briefly took a look at the WA State Department of Licensing website and it appears that she should be able to get one after she receives her SSN and then presents her passport/I-94/K-1 visa and her Taiwan driver's license (assuming she can pass the test of course, which I imagine should not be too much of a problem since she already drives).

I would also file for her AOS, EAD and AP immediately after you guys get married as it will take a while to get processed through the system.


Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2011, 02:33:34 PM »
She'd like to take a honeymoon to Mexico or the Caribbean so we will be filing for advance parole as soon as possible...and we will need a second bank account (my personal checking is attached to some client trust accounts). Thanks for the tip about getting the SSN as soon as possible!

I think she got all the vaccinations done already but will double check with her....

The driver's test in Taiwan is just going through a basic obstacle course...no test on road rules or anything like that. She didn't pass the test in Australia but they seem pickier than here. Some of the things like physically moving her head when switching lanes may be difficult for her to remember but I think she'll do OK. I think I remember reading that she can use her Taiwan license for a while, but will have to check that again. She took some driving classes in Australia and they gave her some advice that makes her driving a bit funny (like if you turn the steering wheel while the car isn't moving it will break the power steering). At least her mom was strict with her when she learned how to drive so she doesn't do the go-into-opposing-lane-of-traffic-while-taking-a-blind-corner-on-narrow-windy-mountain-road that is so prevalent in Taiwan....there are some roads here where that habit would literally be a killer.

Looks like there is a flight that leaves Taipei Saturday afternoon and gets into Seattle Saturday afternoon around 2pm that will work out nicely. I was planning to go to Uwajimaya's in Seattle with her on the weekend she gets here but maybe she'll be beat and just want to nap a bit. She drinks a lot of Japanese Maccha and will want some Chinese herbs...I'm hoping they have something similar to what she's used to there...the Maccha I found online was expensive as hell. She buys her favorite brand from the Taiwan Costcos but the Costcos here don't have it. From what she said, I think it's actually made for the Starbucks in Japan and they sell any extra produced at Costco....small world. You would think of all the places in the world Seattle would have Starbucks merchandise....There's anotehr Asian mall on the way back from the airport that might be a better idea if she's cognizant enough. Not that great though.

Offline Ray

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #15 on: March 23, 2011, 04:06:37 PM »

Just a couple of points:

If she applies for her SS Card while in K-1 status, she will get a restricted work card. After you marry, she will need to go back and get her name changed on her account and get the unrestricted card with her married name. Note: After she applies for the card, she should be able to get the SSN over the phone from SSA within about 24 hours if she needs it before they mail her the card.

Before you can apply for Advance Parole or work authorization, you will need to marry and obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate, then apply for AOS. DO NOT leave the country without the I-551 or AP! I think I would do the honeymoon here in the USA if I were you. How about Hawaii?

I would get her dental work done over there. I don’t think it matters where they pull a tooth. They likely use the same pliers anyway.   :D

Ray



Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #16 on: March 23, 2011, 06:24:57 PM »
Her brother had his teeth pulled and they tweaked a nerve which caused him to lose feeling in part of his face...I had a jaw surgery when I was in middle school and they got a nerve and the same thing happened to me. Took me many many years to get some feeling back. So, even something simple can have consequences.

We've talked about Hawaii too. It's pretty cheap right now. She thinks Mexico is a lot more interesting though and I was thinking if we waited until the weather here turned south in the fall, which we might have to do anyways to get the AP, it might be a welcome relief to her to go someplace warm for a bit. We'll see I guess.

Offline Capstone

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #17 on: March 23, 2011, 07:32:17 PM »
Just a couple of points:

If she applies for her SS Card while in K-1 status, she will get a restricted work card. After you marry, she will need to go back and get her name changed on her account and get the unrestricted card with her married name. Note: After she applies for the card, she should be able to get the SSN over the phone from SSA within about 24 hours if she needs it before they mail her the card.

Before you can apply for Advance Parole or work authorization, you will need to marry and obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate, then apply for AOS. DO NOT leave the country without the I-551 or AP! I think I would do the honeymoon here in the USA if I were you. How about Hawaii?

She actually won't be able to get an unrestricted SS card until she receives her green card - she can go back to SSA after getting married and have her name changed on her card but it will still be a restricted card.

Good point about the AP - don't let her leave the US without first receiving it (assuming the green card doesn't arrive first. My wife's AP took about 60 days to arrive after sending in the paperwork and her green card took around 90 days.

EDIT: I just went back and took a look at my wife's AOS documentation and was wrong about how long it took - it actually took less time than I had remembered. It only took 6 weeks to get her AP & EAD and 9 weeks for her green card which is not too bad at all.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2011, 07:48:49 PM by Capstone »

Offline Ray

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #18 on: March 24, 2011, 01:34:59 AM »

Thanks for correcting that Cap...  ;)

Ray


Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2011, 01:45:00 AM »
AIT finally responded to the e-mails I had sent them with a message that her visa was approved and her passport was being mailed back to her.

There's an Asiana flight that is just about perfect for timing and cost on Saturdays so will probably be booking that. Leaves at 1:30pm from Taiwan and gets into Seattle at 1:50pm, $865 one way. Hoping for April 9.

We will probably do a wedding at court....will be a tiny bit odd since the court commissioner I do about 80% of my divorce proceedings in front of is the one who does the marriages here.

Offline thekfc

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #20 on: March 25, 2011, 05:11:33 AM »
There's an Asiana flight that is just about perfect for timing and cost on Saturdays so will probably be booking that. Leaves at 1:30pm from Taiwan and gets into Seattle at 1:50pm, $865 one way. Hoping for April 9.
$865 one way is kind of high for Taiwan to the West Coast.
Call the airline (s) directly - they do not publish their lower price class fares.
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Offline Jeff S

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #21 on: March 25, 2011, 08:06:21 AM »
Only a 10 minute flight? That's cool! Hey, it's a 16 hour flight going the other way. That jet stream must really be smoking up there. (Sorry - couldn't resist.)  ;D


Looking at a typical Mercater projection map of the world, you'd think Seattle is the same or farther from Taiwan than Los Angeles, but we're actually about two hours farther away down here.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2011, 08:08:35 AM by Jeff S »

Offline Capstone

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #22 on: March 25, 2011, 08:58:12 AM »
Asiana is a good choice - great airline. I guess that she will probably need to change plans at Incheon on that route, right?

I wouldn't make any concrete plans until she actually has her passport & visa back in her hands though just in case some sort of mailing or visa printing delay occurs - I have heard of that happening plenty of times at Guangzhou. Of course the likely hood of something like that happening is probably pretty slim but then again tickets from Taipei to Seattle aren't exactly cheap so why run the risk of potentially eating the cost of a ticket.

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #22 on: March 25, 2011, 08:58:12 AM »

Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #23 on: March 25, 2011, 12:52:01 PM »
Yeah, we'll wait until she gets the passport in hand before booking. I'll try calling Asiana as well, thanks for the tip. The one way prices don't seem much less than roundtrip.

Offline jm21-2

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Re: [snip] hitting the fan...
« Reply #24 on: March 25, 2011, 01:02:09 PM »
Price was quoted almost $300 higher from Asiana and they said no seats available on April 16 :/. tempting to just book....guess I'll give it to Monday.

 

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