Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	I was trying to maintain high spirits; mental mantra of "things will get better, things will move forward". Got my passport earlier in the week, called the county my marriage certificate was issued in to try and sort out some things, called the IRS and H&R Block to get more information on the ITIN and had even been working on a painting. Yesterday, my mom calls me to tell me my grandfather is on his deathbed. He's on a breathing machine, they've moved a special bed into his house, people taking care of him. They doubt he'll make it through the weekend. She had came back to her house for a few minutes (living next door to her parents) to call me and update me. She wanted me to call "next door" to speak to my grandmother and maybe grandfather. I wait a few minutes after hanging up the phone, both to give my mom time to get back next door to answer the phone and to work up my will to dial. I call and speak with my grandmother a few minutes. Barely can talk, just trying to make sure she is okay, has people with her, apologizing for not being there, all in tears. Then she puts my grandfather on the line. I don't think he was even holding the phone. I can barely hear him over the breathing machine. All I can do is tell him I love him and I'm sorry I couldn't be there. Eventually, my grandmother gets on the line, asks me if I could hear him, repeats what he had said. She's crying, I tell her I love her, I thought she was going to pass the phone to my mom but instead she hangs up. My husband is out at the lake with his dad. I don't want to call my MIL because she's sick and I don't want to strain her because I know she'll feel terrible for me. My husband calls later that night and I let him know, he says he's sorry, I just tell him to enjoy the lake. He also tells me not to be concerned, but he wanted to make sure I had the gun nearby for self defense. Tells me to call his mom tomorrow for the details. Apparently it's nothing too serious (or something). Maybe some druggies are breaking in to peoples' houses again.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-31 09:05:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	@ Flames9_RN Wow! That's a lot of links - thank you! The Diatomaceous Earth sounds like it will do the trick for our yard. It's gotten to the point where I feel like there's no fleas left outside anymore because they're all on our dogs! @ LiLMermaid I hope that the next day is better. /hug! @ charles! That definitely sounds like a sad sight. I hate seeing roadkill. Some folks definitely go out of their way to hit animals crossing the road (around here). It is an upsetting sight.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-30 09:20:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	depends on how big ur dog is, the price on that site ranges from $47 to $58 for 6 tabs of Comfortis 2 dogs; 1 is around 40lbs, the other is under 20lbs. Unfortunately, it looks like it could easily add up to around $100 and that's out of our ability to afford. Thanks for the insight though - very appreciated!	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-29 18:55:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	When my cat was under 2 years old, he would jump onto one of our bookcases because there was a desk beside it. The bookcase has been relocated and now that he doesn't have an extra "step" to get up, he never bothers. Plus, I think he's become increasingly lazy with age. I hope the medicine works for Finnegan! In the course of typing this reply, one of my dogs came up to me to "ask for food" and lo - 2 fleas have jumped off of him and onto my shirt. Bleh. I will be so happy when we can get some Comfortis.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-29 17:23:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	http://www.petsuppliesnet.com/shop.htm I have used this Australia company since 2005 with success and so have my friends! MUCH much cheaper than Costco, 1800 pet meds, etc!! $4.99 for shipping! takes around a week. Think longest was 10 days! My last order came in 5 Thank you for the link! Perhaps one day we will be able to buy in bulk and can use that provider. We're having to go through a local vet in order to get 2 Comfortis tablets for our dogs, costing roughly $30. I've yet to find a vet here who sells Program tablets individually which would make sense because Program is half the cost of Comfortis. They'd not be able to turn as big a profit with Program as they can with Comfortis.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-29 17:14:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Thanks Tick Tock, that's a good idea to ask for a copy. Probably a good thing to have whenever I can get around to looking for an actual regular doctor here too. Since they're one of the CS offices listed on the USCIS website, I imagine they are familiar with these cases... I would hope (we're in a high-immigrant area), and the lady I spoke with on the phone seemed to understand importance of the deadline at least. It just seems so much longer because I have to wait past the weekend as well. Sigh. On the plus side, I have more time to do laundry/dishes/other housework today... yay? Glad to have mentioned about the copy! I had a medical done 5 years ago and actually never got an unsealed copy for personal records. I am not sure if that "allowance" was made later or if they were just lazy. That CS office was listed on the USCIS website too, and was in a high-immigrant area. It definitely shows that one can't be too careful. :S Ugh, housework. I have too much time on my hands since I can't work. I hope you can at least get out of the house and go somewhere on your own to avoid this "stuck in a box" thing I'm going through. All house and no outside makes Tick Tock go something something... As for your kitty - STEALTH KITTY! However! Poor Finnegan's getting fleas and eggs all over the place. :S I've a cat and 2 dogs and we live out in the country so fleas (and ticks) are something we're fighting a losing battle against. Have you tried giving Finnegan some sort of flea medication? I can't use Frontline or any sort of drops on our animals because it doesn't tend to do well (and I like petting my animals), so we're going to get some Comfortis for the dogs. There's Program for the kitty, but we'd have to order it online and can't afford paying for 3 months at once. Both Comfortis and Program are chewable tablets. *sigh* Well, I'm here to vent. I took my very first road test this morning and failed it. Yep. I've been driving my car around for the past two months and I was feeling super confident and secure. I can parallel park, reverse back in and everything. Even my husband who is NOT an easy sell and a very harsh critic commended me on who good my driving is -- how safe he feels driving with me. So today, take the test, do the field course no problem, park, reverse, 3 point turn, all good. We get out onto the highway and the trainer tells me to prepare to take a right hand turn. I see a right hand turn about 50feet or less from us but I'm not in the right lane and we get a red light, cars are stopped. So I assume she can't have meant that turn, must be the one past the lights. Um, no. It was that one. So, because we deviated off the course, it was an automatic disqualification, we had to pull into a parking lot so she could drive me back to the MVA. Sucked so hard. What a crappy morning. /vent I'm sorry to read this, Igg! I've never had a driver's license but I think what you did was the right decision and I do not think you should've been penalized for it. My non-driver logic is telling me that in most real life situations, you can always proceed forward at the light and either make a legal U-Turn or otherwise get into an upcoming driveway/parking lot, correct yourself, and end up catching that turn at the light once again. I've got a bit of a phobia with driving - I hope your instructor doesn't have a twin living in my city! He probably works part time for USCIS as well! Edited by Tick Tock, 29 July 2010 - 04:50 PM.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-29 16:48:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Ashenflowers, Whenever you do get to go to your medical, make sure they give you an exact copy of the sealed package - but the copy is to be unsealed. You are entitled to receive a copy of your completed I-693 as far as I know. It makes sense; having a copy you can look at is an easy way to spot mistakes and help relieve worry about "what's inside the mystery envelope?!?!" It sounds like you've covered all your bases in deciding what to bring to the medical; you should be able to drive home the fact that you are under RFE time constraints just in case someone decides to play dumb or insist that they can't speed up processing. I sympathize with you; the process I am going through hates me as well. It kind of feels like some sort of computer game where you end up having surprise hurdles tossed into the path.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-29 12:32:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Ant! I'd been wondering how you guys were holding up (hopefully that doesn't sound weird, lol!) It's good to hear that your house wasn't damaged and you guys are okay - though a shame for the trees that have fallen. Depending on what kind of trees, you can always use them for firewood or building. We've been getting rain, but I'll happily take some of yours in order to fill up our well. It's a shame; with all of our rain, our grass is still looking dead. As for the post - you bet I remembered! Well, not word for word since I have a terrible memory, but I do remember asking/partaking in a conversation about surnames so I figured I ought to refresh my memory before venting Thank you again for the well wishes! I feel a bit renewed by having my passport back again and having such good people to confide in on VJ is reassuring. Being able to vent about the small things makes a bit more room in my head for the big things, so to speak.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-28 19:03:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Typing this up on my husband's computer because my computer's power supply unit died after 1 year. Might be able to get one in 2 weeks roughly. Here's hoping nothing else was somehow affected. My passport arrived yesterday! They didn't give me back my original though. I was disappointed and am wondering if that's standard procedure for passports being sent to the US, or if someone overlooked that checkbox. My oven's door has come off of 1 of its hinges, missing a tiny washer-thing to keep the (hard to reach) bolt in place. I'm afraid to use the oven in case it doesn't close all the way (even though it looks fully shut). Hopefully no other door-related issues will happen - that's 2 in less than 7 days. I called the county clerk's office to ask about my marriage certificate. Not much help there - no surprise. For a huge tourist destination, I would've hoped they had more experience dealing with problems relating to less-than-normal names. What I was told translates to this in terms of USCIS: If USCIS sends me an RFE because MY name on the marriage certificate doesn't match up, I should not worry. Essentially, I was discouraged and denied of taking any preventative measures to correct what looks to me as a typographical error; there being a space present in my name where there should be none. What makes it not so blatantly obvious is the space occurs after a hyphen, therefore it somewhat looks like I have a middle name. IMHO, folks, anyone considering giving their kids a hyphenated name... Please for the love of fluffy kittens and sanity, avoid hyphenated names. There's far too much follow-up work involved in correcting the mistakes of others throughout one's own life to make that itty bitty "minus symbol" an enemy that should be nuked off the face of the earth. Or, perhaps the hyphen should be hyphenated so it will live through the frustrations it has caused its poor victims over the course of their lifetime! Beyond that... I got an answer regarding the changing (or not changing) of my surname upon marriage that was confusing. From what I can piece together: US citizens manually have to change their surnames at social security offices to legally use them instead of their maiden name. Non-US citizens must follow their home country's rules on the issue. The county clerk lady didn't know anything about Canada/Ontario's procedures so that was a dead end. I wasn't expecting her to be omniscient but again, in dealing with a huge tourist base, I was hoping they'd of had some sort of manual or person who was an uncanny fount of knowledge. I figured, okay - I can use my Google-fu to make some headway! If a centimeter can be counted as headway, I guess I made some. Ontario Government says: Marriage - Changing your Name after Getting Married You do not have to get a legal name change to use your spouse's name as your last name. Instead, you can assume your spouse's name. Assuming a name is not a legal name change, so it does not change your birth certificate. Most people assume a name instead of undergoing a legal name change. I still remember what Ant+D+BabyA told me when I was trying to sort things out and I'm running with it unless someone tells me right now that I'd be doing it wrong. The advice: "A note about the AOS/Green Card...Make sure that whatever name you want to use on your Green Card is filled out correctly on the AOS forms." Which means I will be filing my AOS package using my married surname and of course including copies of my marriage certificate to comply with requested documentation. Next up on the Giant Checklist of Doom; filing for ITIN and addressing the jungle that is my husband's tax situation.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-28 15:50:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	TickTock-Lol..I guess it got lost amongst the 'turkey talk'....Nevertheless, glad you were able to find the reply... Lol..Our washer/dryer is about 3 years old...We purchased it brand new when we moved into our old house, and then we moved it to our current new house..."We're taking the washer/dryer with us...No way are they getting that!", I said when we moved..So we took it with us in the UHaul....(along with the rest of our stuff)...And it still works today..lol... And we had the most hilarious time moving....There we were..Me driving the minivan..2 weeks after giving birth and still recovering form that, and the newborn baby screaming in the backseat...And my husband and BIL driving the UHaul...In the middle of the night, down the country dirt roads...It was crazy..But we got it all done, nevertheless...Thank goodness... Ok..Moving story aside....Hope you get your dryer fixed....and you do find the replacement part and get that into the dryer As for the laundry now...Is there someone you can ask for a ride from? Or is there a community transportation system (bus, taxi, etc.) that you can get a ride from too? You can take a little bit at a time...So at least you can get some clothes dried that way...Meanwhile, I guess the hagers and shower rod will have to do. Too bad that the laundry line broke...Maybe you should get that replaced too? Yeah...Totally understandable about the snowfalls...They can break a lot of things...Thank goodness it was only the line that broke, and not anything more than that.. Hope you get your passport soon too...Two weeks is not unreasonable to expect such in the mail, as likewise, that's how long it took to get mine (applying in-person in Canada and having it shipped to the USA). If it takes any longer than a few weeks....Then yes, do give them a call. By the way, did you apply in-person or by mail, as that makes a difference too. The photo specs and guarrantor specs can cause problems too...So hopefully this doesn't cause problems for you either... Lol...I don't mind cows and goats and other farm animals too...I just don't like them at 4am in the morning making loud sounds running wild across the yard....Seriously..We thought they were going to run into our house...Crazy..... I agree, farm animals are best off left at a distance to observe instead of close-up....... Too bad you don't see those cows/goats that you saw before...Who knows, maybe there will be new animals in your area someday...Until then..Enjoy the peaceful countryside (cool too, that you live in a country/rural area) and the nice view out your window.. As for accepting "help"...Lol....I know they mean well...But...As the old sayings go.. "If you want something done right, do it yourself" and "If it ain't broke, don't 'fix' it"........ Good luck in getting your jeep fixed too... Ant Man, it sounds like you all had your hands full with that move! Hopefully you guys won't have to move any time soon - it seems the moving process is always hectic, but to varying degrees. In your shoes, I also would not have left the washer and dryer in the old house - no sense buying a new one when you've got one that works. Best I can do for my laundry situation is go over to my MIL's place (with someone driving me there) - she also lives a drive away. We've a few neighbours but I wouldn't feel too right (comfortable? embarrassed?) with asking to use their washer/dryer. There's no public transportation in this town aside from a single bus - moreso reserved for elderly and more than likely not a true "public" thing. It certainly would've been handy to have a working wash line... I'll have to see if anyone sells those cords, though money is tight. We were expecting one of the huge pines to break and fall on the house, but they thankfully survived although some limbs did not. Crazy weather for this area. For the passport, my father actually dropped the form/photos off in person, along with my consent form. As it was a passport renewal, there was no need for a guarantor and my listed references haven't told me they've been contacted yet. Maybe everything is processing smoothly - a gal can hope, at least! It sounds like your house was close to being a petting zoo with the animals hanging out so close - not so great at 4am indeed, though! I think living in a rural area certainly has its ups and downs. In our particular situation, it kind of feels like more cons than pros, though. I'd be afraid to ride my bike down the road (no sidewalks) because of people speeding in their Big Trucks down narrow country road lacking in shoulders. Hopefully your road is more peaceful and devoid of people peeling out of gravel driveways late at night, noisy liquor cycles (eesh) and loud music. The Jeep, thankfully, has not yet started to exhibit any symptoms of being borked, but it's definitely a concern on my mind. The husband of one of my MIL's friends is the gent who "fixed" the air conditioner. I'm just hoping by some miracle he added the right fluid. My MIL had to drive the Jeep around and she couldn't tolerate there being no AC, which I'm totally understandable about. I just hope that her decision won't result in vehicle troubles. Wouldn't be mad at her, but with the gent who should've known what he was doing (being a retired mechanic and all). Not exactly a vent but it's more of a follow-up..... We got the house windows tinted.. What a relief to the heat and humidity we've had in the house! Ok...Now the vent part... Yet another tornado/severe storm warning for our area....... It's raining non-stop!.....Hope we don't get flooded..... Ant Tinted windows! That sounds awesome! I'll have to keep that idea tucked in the back of my mind. Filed in that mental drawer labeled "things to do when I have an income" hehehe... Though, those warnings do not sound good at all! :S Locally, they will warn us on the news when there's any sort of more-than-normal rainfall. I've always found it kind of ridiculous because it seems like an over-exaggeration. I know it's because the area had bad flooding a few years ago, but they do seem to overdo it. I feel as if they're acting like Chicken Little. I definitely hope you don't have any flooding, and those tornadoes had better stay away! Be safe, you guys!	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-25 10:31:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	TickTock-Sorry to hear about your dryer.... Lol..I would lend you mine if you lived closer..... Hope you get that fixed so that you can get your dryer working again soon.... Another solution would be to find a local laundrymat..And see if you can get your clothes dried there too....It might cost few quarters or so...But it will be nice and worth it to have dry and clean clothes... Hope you hear from Passport Canada soon too...How long have you been waiting for them? If they take too long, then by all means, contact them to see what the problem is.... Lol about your cow situation too....And glad that you got a chuckle out of it and that they finally got rounded up back to their farm....Glad too, that they had a nice time munching on your tall field grass...Now wonder why they wanted to come over.... Ant Ah, completely missed this reply! Sorry! Haha, if your dryer was too new, we probably wouldn't be able to run it on account of old wiring, no outlet is truly grounded with today's standards - but thanks for the sweet thought! I think I've found the replacement piece online; now it's just a matter of seeing if I can find it locally and then get someone to take apart the dryer to replace it. We've got a laundromat a little down the way, but I can't drive and it would not be a safe or easy walk going down a highway's shoulder with a huge basket of clothes. :S Right now, I've been putting the clothes on hangers and leaving it all across the shower rod. Our outside laundry line broke in the winter when several heavy pine branches broke on account of a huge snowfall. I've been waiting for the passport for just over a week. I by no means expect to receive the passport already since processing time averages 2 weeks and then there's mailing on top of that. Since it's now Saturday and they haven't called me to say my photo was unusable, I am thinking they managed to work out a solution. Fingers crossed! I wouldn't mind having someone bring cows or even goats over to graze, so long as they didn't go too far down the hill and end up on our driveway or at the house. I haven't seen those cows at least for 1 summer now so I am wondering if they were sold. They were, at the very least, something neat to observe from a distance. I think we should just stop accepting "help" from people - someone added refrigerant to our old Jeep to get the air conditioner working again. Though they were a mechanic for years and years, I have the feeling that they were not supposed to put in R134A because I'm doubting the Jeep (1989) was converted to use that type of coolant. I'm just waiting for the thing to break so we can paddle further up this s-creek.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-24 07:46:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Sorry to hear about your hives, Ontarkie! :S We have some tomato plants as well; I always wondered why whenever I touched them, my hands would retain the smell of the plant even after washing. I'll now remember that as a "warning, don't touch me too long". I have a very bad reaction to poison ivy and running hot (borderline not-tolerable) water over the area tends to help me, but I have read that hot water can make hives worse. Would it be possible for you to get to the doctor? Corticosteriods are prescribed again for dealing with the swelling and itching from poison ivy, but I've read that it may help with hives. Prednisone is the one corticosteriod I see mentioned most. In my world... Our dryer is broken. Specifically, the little dryer switch is snapped. It's a metal bar that gets pushed in (I think) whenever the dryer door is fully closed in order to act as a safety. Switch not pushed in? Dryer won't start. This wouldn't be so bad if... 1) I didn't have a wet load of clothes. 2) I had a washline outside (basement washline in smelly basement? No way!) 3) My husband's work was competent enough to give him his properly sized uniform... With more than 1 pairs of pants (cheap). 4) Sears' Parts & Accessories website decided to crash after I figured out the potential part number! On the upside, I haven't heard from Passport Canada. So either they're backlogged and haven't even looked at my application, or my photo is usable and they had no problems whatsoever. Ant, hehe - we've had cows cross into our property before too. However, there were only 2 or so and were taken care of within hours. I think there was a break in the fence and they just decided to come on over and munch on our tall field grass. We were not so fortunate to be treated with bread, veggies and conversation, but we at least got a chuckle. Edited by Tick Tock, 23 July 2010 - 08:06 AM.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-23 08:04:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	All I have to say is T.G.F.V.J. ! Thank Goodness for Visa Journey!	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-16 21:23:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Kathryn, those are all great ideas. I have been so hung up on the "what I can't do"s that I did not even stop and think of what I could do. I know I am still (unfortunately) a few months away from being able to send in my AOS and I will not be able to apply for permission to travel. You've all been very kind and have given me several positive ideas on how to approach a negative situation. Thank you all.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-16 18:35:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Gemmie, thank you for the warm thoughts. I am glad that you were able to deal with the loss of your grandfather. <3 The idea you had about releasing a balloon with a letter is a sweet one. I do not know if I'll be able to do something exactly similar, but writing a letter may help me cope. I was not incredibly close with either of my grandfathers, but they are still close relatives who were present in my life and that's certainly not something a person should overlook. I don't know how well it would work to "appear via speaker-phone" because with my heritage, funeral viewings go for a few days usually and close relatives tend to stay each day for several hours at a time. Mainly to shake hands/speak with those paying their respects, or to stay and grieve/cry. I was able to see my grandfather (and vice versa) via webcam when he was recently hospitalized. I would like to accept this as some form of "point of closure" but that's not sitting entirely right with me. Hoping that doesn't sound melodramatic. Aside from this all, I've decided not to attend the funeral today for my relative-in-law. I know I would be going to pay my respects to her, however I know I would also inevitably end up thinking about my grandfather and (not to sound selfish) I do not want to make more emotional/psychological stress for myself. I'll hopefully be able to see Bob (not real name), as he's one of the relative-in-law's son. Bob is a super awesome guy and I want to get the chance to give him a big hug and give him my condolences. Bob is the only member of that part of the family I've seen/spent time around on a more regular basis. If I had gone to the funeral, Bob would be one of the few people I'd recognize and would have reason to talk to other than obligatorily (but honestly) shaking others' hands and offering condolences. About family treating members "poorly"... To Gemmie, Sprailenes and Kimbear, Ontarkie and Hugglebuggles, More hugs for you guys. I hate to read about other people being treated with a lack of respect by family - whether family is unaccepting, insulting, jealous or what have you. It certainly is not fair and yes, I think in some cases, perhaps said family members just cannot recognize or comprehend that a person is happy with their life and would hope that their family is happy FOR them. Distance can certainly be comforting but definitely creates problems as well. Colleens makes a great point: "The rest of my family is very supportive and we have a great relationship, so that is who I choose to surround myself with!" You all are good people - thanks for the kindness.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-16 12:23:00
Canada	The Vent Part Quatre	Tick Tock's totally restrained vent-in-a-nutshell... 1) Family visited; left a few days ago. Stress the entire time. Need to do the "I am an adult, I made these choices" talk-thing. Holding off because I'm afraid of the consequences (gotta get over that) and I'm sure my parents don't want to deal with me/that discussion on top of: 2) Grandfather is in the "we can only make you comfortable" stages of cancer. He will pass away. I am stuck in USA. Both my grandfathers will have passed away without me being able to see them before, or pay respects. Living with this guilt. 3) Aunt had big surgery. She's recovering and dealing with her father's (my grandfather's) declining health. 4) Brother just got wisdom teeth out. I'm sure he's miserable, on top of stressful atmosphere at home. If something serious is affecting 1 person in the close family, it tends to affect everyone, or at the very least, everyone knows what's going on. Moving onwards... 5) Father dropped off my passport at a Passport Canada office 30 minutes ago. a) FIRST, he was told at the initial counter that I was lied to over the phone by someone working at Passport Canada because it is NOT possible to use a permission letter to allow family (like parents) to drop off an application form on the passport holder's behalf. The next person he spoke with (after his number was called), had no issue with the permission letter and accepted the application. However... b) He was told they may not accept my pictures because they were taken on a gray background. I'm waiting to hear from Passport Canada, but there's no guarantee when they may call by. All I know is that if I don't hear from them, they either haven't gotten to processing my application OR there the pictures are usable. If they call, I will need to take more pictures. For the 4th time. Moving on... 6) One of my relatives-in-law has passed away from cancer. She led a full life and lived older than my grandfather. I am going to try and attend the funeral later today and pay my respects, and respects on behalf of my husband. Thoughts on the brain... a) Attending funeral of someone I barely knew but will be unable to go to my own grandfather's funeral. b) Afraid I'll start crying - for my grandfather rather than the relative-in-law. c) Maybe I shouldn't go? Big hugs to everyone who's feeling down - whether related to family, the immigration process, or just stubbed a toe on top of a bad hair day.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-16 10:16:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Food stamp ramifications?	Hey there NateM, Have you looked up any information on the food stamp program offered in your state? In reading your thread, I decided to look up the program offered in NC. They have guidelines for qualifications - I am not sure if these vary from state to state. For NC, here's the bit that I thought would apply to your situation - though of course you may not be in NC. Household Composition Individuals residing together, but purchasing and preparing their meals separately, may participate in FNS as a separate household. Some individuals must participate in FNS as one household even though they purchase and prepare their meals separately. Individuals who must participate in FNS as one household are: * Individuals living together who purchase/prepare their food together or will do so upon receipt of food assistance * Spouses living together or individuals representing themselves as husband and wife to the community * Individuals under 22 living with a parent * Individuals under 18 under the parental control of an adult living in the home; or * Two unmarried adults living in the same home who are parents of a mutual child Citizenship/Immigration Status Each member of the FNS household must be a U. S. Citizen or an immigrant admitted to the United States under a specific immigration status. Citizens and eligible immigrants must also meet all other FNS eligibility requirements to receive assistance. Bolded parts would be applicable in your situation. So, I think that if you have not already, you should first see what your state's program requires to qualify. Income is one thing, but in some cases you must count X individual (like for NC) as well. I wish you the best of luck. Here's a thread you may find useful in helping to save money on things like groceries. Your mileage may vary but I do hope it can help some. http://www.visajourn...shopping-forum/	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-06-11 09:45:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	I passed my Interview today.	Congratulations to you! congrats po ...may i ask how many years do we have to be in US for the Naturalization?and where can u get these 100 questions to study???im just curious but I know someday Ill plan to get it too... thanks... Sorry for the absurdly long link, but here's the 100 questions! http://www.uscis.gov...000b92ca60aRCRD I think I found this website mentioned somewhere by a VJer. It presents the questions 1 by 1 and you click a button to be shown the answer. Very helpful, I think. http://amaruk.atspac...CivicsTest.html	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-06-03 06:09:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Took Oath in Charlotte 09/01/2010	Indeed - nice to "meet" you as well, haha. My original birth certificate didn't have a hyphen but my mother later decided to have it changed - gee, thanks mom. My brother's first name is also hyphenated. We were named after our grandmothers and grandfathers (respectively) and I guess putting a grandparent's name as a middle name just didn't show enough respect or something. I'll hope for the best and expect the worst with USCIS. I'm not surprised to hear that IO was demoted. Thanks, hopefully this will all end in some form of success. Best wishes to you and your husband.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-09-05 10:11:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Took Oath in Charlotte 09/01/2010	Since I'm in WNC, I believe I will be dealing with the same USCIS offices that you have been through. I have only had a potential issue with my hyphen in regards to my marriage certificate so far (in regards to US documents) and even then, I was suggested to not be concerned unless USCIS had a problem. I want to work in such a zero-accountability office one day! If I do make it through this process, I may just change my first name altogether. I do sign official documents with my full name (hyphen included) but I pretty much gave up caring what people called me when I hit gradeschool. I am tired of spelling my name slowly, having to stress "hyphen... hyphen... it's a dash, darnit!" I salute you for your endurance.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-09-04 15:34:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Took Oath in Charlotte 09/01/2010	As another individual who has a hyphenated first name, my reaction to this is as follows... I hate hyphens. Beyond that, a hyphenated first name, without the hyphen on a legal document, is a typographical error. It's like someone named "Tommy" having their name spelled "Tomy". Laziness on part of USCIS. Brilliant. :\ Edited by Tick Tock, 04 September 2010 - 02:04 PM.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-09-04 14:01:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	TickTock-I thought they did mention that already? The people whom I spoke with (that I had mentioned in a previous post), were relatives. My mother-in-law was one person whom I asked, but I believe she was married in a different state than I was married in. At the time of the wedding, within the actual office where I filled out the paperwork, I was not told about surname changes (how it is done, if it is automatic, etc). I have already once called the county in which I was wed, but they told me two things: 1) If any changes had to be made, they would require ID faxed. 2) Since the marriage was not a recent one, they told me to call a different office. I haven't called the other office because I do not have my renewed passport yet; if ID would be required, I would have to wait until actually having such ID. I'm sorry for any confusion I may have caused.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-30 14:26:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	Ant+D+BabyA, Thank you.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-28 08:19:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	My marriage is going on 5 years. I honestly wonder why they didn't mention anything about a surname change alongside/after marriage, even if it was just to "put it in your ear" as the phrase goes. Off topic slightly, but belated congratulations on your wedding Arabella! Edited by Tick Tock, 27 May 2010 - 10:39 AM.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-27 10:39:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	What did you sign your marriage certificate with? With your new name (the last name of your new husband) or with your maiden name? I would think you should be signing all documents with whatever name you signed on your marriage certificate (changed or not, as the case may be). The marriage certificate I have has both of our names (husband's name and my own) filled in via computer; we have no signatures on the certificate, anywhere. My name is recorded as a maiden name, and I do not recall being given instructions to write down my name with my husband's surname. The only fields handwritten is the Reverend's signature, the county clerk's signature and the day of our wedding. I got married in an area that has a lot of wedding-based tourism; I think they computerize what they can because of the sheer volume they have to deal with. I honestly don't have any other wedding documentation other than this marriage certificate. I will most definitely be calling the county office to get any possible issues with my name and/or the certificate straightened out when I get my renewed passport. Simply to be on the safe side, rather than get a RFE later on. I should have had more of a critical eye; teaches me to trust "the professionals". Tick Tock- You're welcome. Yes, I am talking about the N-400: Application for Naturalization form (you can find a copy of that on the USCIS website, if you want to see and print out for yourself). There is a section on the first page of it that says "do you want a name change" (or something along those lines)...Just checkmark "yes" and fill in the "new (first, middle, last) names" you want to change to....And when you say your oath (note: it has to be a judicial oath, in front of an immigration judge in a court) they will recognize that "new name", as well your new "US Citizenship status" too. That "new name" will appear on your naturalization/citizenship certificate....And then you can use that certificate to update various government agencies (social security, driver's license, passport, etc.) and others about your new name... And yes, it's perfectly legal to do... And it is a great 2 for 1 deal from the USCIS! (and others have done it before too...see the US Citizenship VJ forum for further examples from VJers).... Hope this helps too. Good luck. Ant P.S. As for getting married and then changing your name...You can use your married last name whenever you want to, regardless. That's legal and perfectly fine to do. Just make sure you fill out all your paperwork (for example, all immigration related paperwork) with your married last name, and show your marriage certificate if need be. Hope this helps too. Again, thank you so much Ant+D+BabyA for your response! I have this thread bookmarked for future reference. This issue was just mind-boggling to myself because I really did not have much paperwork to do for the wedding and the only documentation I have is the marriage certificate. I started thinking, "well, I didn't ask them to change my name and they didn't ask me if I wanted to have it changed..." Since the N-400 provides such an opportunity to alter one's name, I'll have to give that a lot of thought. It would be nice to change my name; signify a new start, while keeping my maiden name (my roots) and adopting my husband's surname (my future with him). It sounds like I will be able to fill out my AOS package using his surname without having to do paperwork to "update" my surname, since such paperwork is unnecessary. My passport will stay in my maiden name for sanity's sake and since I don't have ID to show change like SS card; I can change it later. Thank you guys.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-26 17:55:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	I tried to do a search and it seems it is state by state, but I think that refers to name changes for reasons other than marriage or adoption. I did a quick search for changing your name on your ss card and it does seem that the evidence (marriage cert) must be current, 2 years. I'm sure there is a way after that, but I don't know what it is. But once you get the SSN in your new name, nothing else should cost more than replacement costs. If you were changing your name from Moon Unit Zappa to Mary Smith because you don't like Moon Unit (who could blame you) it would be more involved. Thanks for the insight. I've tried checking various websites and I think the easiest thing for me to do is ask the state/county office that my marriage is documented at. I'll just make one huge, all-purpose phone call when my renewed passport is mailed back to me. That way I can ask about my first name - if they goofed it - and how the heck the state of Tennessee handles things, plus asking if TN's "rules" apply if you are living in another state (but were wed in TN). TGFVJ! (Thank Goodness for Visa Journey!) Hi Everyone, I'm not sure if this helps....But.. If you want a legal name change (first, middle, last, etc.)...You can also do so if/when you apply for US Naturalization/Citizenship.... So if you want to wait awhile to decide, you can pursue this option later on when you get this done too.... It's included in the $675 fee....US Citizenship + Name Change.....2 for 1 deal..... Hope this helps too. Good luck with the name changes. Ant Thank you, too, for the insight! I suppose the form you are talking about is N-400? That would make things easier, perhaps. Certainly something I'll have to remember.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-26 11:28:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	I think if you are hesitating, keep your name. You can always change it later. As far as I know, changing your name in the US is just a matter of using it. I have been trying to figure out if this is true or not. People in this thread have mentioned that it was something you have to pay for - as in, filling out forms. What is the story on this? Is it a state-by-state issue? I'm still curious about the questions I asked on page 2; a response would be appreciated.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-25 15:35:00
Canada	Change my name or not??	Hey there folks, interesting thread. I have a rather naive question to ask. I got married in the state of Tennessee. After the marriage certificate was issued, I do not recall filling out any additional paperwork, nor do I have any paperwork in my possession to indicate a name change. Now, here's the naivety... In talking to other people, I got under the impression that my maiden name was replaced by my husband's surname upon marriage. Is this true? I have relatives who, I do not think, ended up filing any paperwork but have since marriage used their husband's surname. See the following for Common Law Rule (which now has me more confused) http://marriage.abou...mmonlawrule.htm I have been signing documents using my husband's surname - nothing major mind you. Should I stop using this new signature and sign my maiden name? As for all of those AOS papers I've been working on - should I use my maiden name? Did anyone get hassled at their interviews for keeping their maiden name rather than switching? I like my last name a lot (it is Italian). I dislike my first name for it is hyphenated and has caused me so much trouble. In fact, it seems my marriage certificate may be filled incorrectly despite my best efforts at talking very slow and explaining things as clearly as possible. I believe they've put my name as "BLAH- BLAH" - there should be no space after the hyphen and it seems like they put the second "BLAH" as a middle name rather than a continuation of my first name. Unfortunately, I need to renew my passport before I can pursue this, in case I need to fix my marriage certificate (which will require ID faxed). Passport will remain in maiden name as I have no documents of evidence to show surname change; marriage certificate is not primary evidence but may be requested. Edited by Tick Tock, 25 May 2010 - 10:53 AM.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-05-25 10:50:00
Canada	travel to canada	Insight is appreciated, thank you guys. Seems in the time I started typing, several better answers were given. As I noted above...the US border guard rarely asks for the Cdn passport...they're more interested in their id, which is the GC Gotcha. Thank you.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-06-03 15:10:00
Canada	travel to canada	I believe your wife will be able to re-enter Canada on an expired passport. I do not believe it is possible to exit Canada unless the passport is renewed. However, even in the off-chance that it is possible, it is wise to take advantage of being in the country since one can drop off the application form in person. 2 weeks processing if dropped off as opposed to 4 weeks if sent in by mail are the estimations provided by Passport Canada. If I am incorrect, I am certain someone will correct me - I do apologize ahead of time if I am wrong. I sympathize with you and your wife on the frustrations of having acceptable passport photos taken. Hopefully this weekend, I will be taking my third set of passport-style photographs. The first set taken were far too bright (Rite Aid pharmacy chain). The second set (at Sears) have a bit of a shadow around the neck area. The third set I will be taking will once again be done at Sears because unfortunately, there are no other stores/photographers nearby. By contrast, the first set of pictures taken for my original passport were done at a Walmart portrait studio in Canada and they were perfectly fine. Sears portrait studio uses software for lining up and sizing passport-style photos; they have a software setting for Canadian requirements and US requirements. Hopefully, this information might be useful for anyone in a similar situation. Might I ask, what were the issues your wife's pictures were facing? It is amazing that pictures come out incorrectly when Passport Canada has a very clear sheet of paper outlining specific requirements in layman's terms.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-06-03 14:38:00
Canada	Ease up on phone bills to your loved one	Right now, we're stuck with The Evil Bundle through our cable company: phone, internet and television. We were going to get ooma on promotion, unfortunately things happened and we couldn't go for it. We had been debating between ooma and Vonage; main difference being that although ooma costs more for the initial unit, the standard package has no monthly charge. If you wanted the "premium" package with ooma, you can pay monthly or yearly. Both require highspeed internet connections and it is a very good idea to check your "jitter" through an online test. If the internet connection has too much jitter, call quality may be affected. Ventrilo is a nifty option: you can either pay a monthly fee on various websites for them to host your server. You can also, internet connection permitting, run your own server. It can be likened to a conference call on a phone. I know it has been mentioned before by GLo; I wanted to extrapolate a bit since it may not be all that well known. It is most often used by folks playing online computer games to help co-ordinate things or just to talk verbally rather than type.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-06-16 10:45:00
Canada	Canada Abbreviations?	I think it goes like this: Canadian = CDN. Like "Canadian dollars". Could be wrong though - just how I always understood that specific abbreviation.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-07-15 10:08:00
Canada	Medical Redo for RFE, cause THEY LOST IT	The potential problem here that I see... From reading how the medical goes, the only medical form accepted USCIS are the ones that are enclosed in an envelope. I recall my envelope was both stamped and sealed with a label to ensure that the contents would not be tampered with prior to reaching USCIS' hands. As such, the only person (from what I understand) who can provide such secure documentation is the civil surgeon. So, to ensure that one had usable backups, it would be the civil surgeon's responsibility to provide a duplicate sealed envelope, as well as the "open copy" that I have read they are supposed to give us (as immigrants). This certainly would take a bit more effort on the civil surgeon's part - presuming photocopies are unacceptable by USCIS - but it certainly would help in the situation of RFEs, especially since the I-693 is valid for 12 months after completion. I read elsewhere that USCIS started taking feedback both from employees and others; can't recall if it was people who already went through/are going through USCIS processes. I think there was a whole load of insight that they missed out. Back to topic though! Ashen, I hope that they require nothing else from you for RFEs. Take a bit of time to relax now; you seem to have hurdled the problem.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-03 08:23:00
Canada	You know you wanna be Canadian!	I am sure my husband would not enjoy the video because of the line pertaining to guns. At least I can get a laugh out of the piece in its entirety. Thanks for posting it!	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-05 14:27:00
Canada	FInally Married	Congratulations to you and your husband!	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-15 12:20:00
Canada	Our Family in Grief.	My condolences to you and your family.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-22 00:59:00
Canada	questions re: medical	I-693, unless things have changed recently, should be valid for 12 months. The validity period should be listed on either the website, the form, or even both. I do know it is mentioned but cannot explicitly recall where offhand. Unfortunately, I cannot help with your other questions.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-09-03 13:39:00
Canada	Anyone feel like they've made a huge mistake?	Increasingly, I am feeling like some sort of toy top. One that has been wound up until it can wind no further, but is not being released. A few years ago, my best friend (Canadian) was engaged to a US fellow. Their plan was for him (USC) to come to Canada, get married, that sort of jazz (in whatever correct order of course!). I did my best to look up information that may help them on their own journey and was amazed at how easy the process seemed, in contrast to my own US journey - which still has me at the starting line! Things did not work out between them and so over time, I lost the information I had gathered for them. Today, I started looking into Canadian Immigration once again - this time for my husband (USC). My husband holds no interest in this path, but this toy top is getting tired. It wants to spin rather than sit in some suspended animation. I figure, at the very least, compiling such information may aid with some sort of Plan B as Plan A has not yet started and when started, (I think) will go at a snail's pace. Unfortunately, I don't know how feasible this would be even if my husband were to agree to this path by some miracle or another. I have no savings or assets to secure living arrangements for us immediately and I would be very surprised if the help my parents had offered regarding this path still was "valid" given their feelings on my marriage with my husband. I certainly could not ask my parents right now, since I am just dealing with extremely optimistic hypotheticals. Frustrated, tightly-wound top signing out for now.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-09-21 17:48:00
Canada	Anyone feel like they've made a huge mistake?	Yea, the murder happened many years ago. I told my husband that next time we go back to Woodbridge, we're getting a veal sandwich! I don't think he's ever had one, so mine as well go for something good. When I looked for lady fingers at the grocery store, I found them in the bread aisle....after I searched up & down in the cookie aisle. Huh. I did not know they used Woodbridge in a movie...learned sommething new, hehe. I may have been too young to hear about the murder, or perhaps I heard it in passing and it never stuck in my mind... There's a list of foods I'll be eating whenever I get to go back. I anticipate some weight gain as such. I don't think my husband has ever had a veal sandwich either, but I'm not sure if he's even going to go back with me to visit as he doesn't care much for my family (aside from my grandmother). I wish everyone would be on okay ground with one another but I don't think that will ever happen. :\ If I can get to an Ingles (kinda like Longos) at some point in time, I'll start a darn crusade to find mascarpone cheese and lady fingers. I think it was my mother who told me about Woodbridge being used for the Disney movie, she was down on Woodbridge Avenue and saw a bunch of action going on. Today was a bad day for me - I ranted, I raved about how much I hated being here and how I just can't find the right pocket of friends. I hate the traffic, people's attitudes, people at work, the weather....today just wasn;t a good day. My poor husband So almost 3 years later it happens every once in a while. Hopefully tomorrow will be better *Big hug* We're only human. I hope the next day is better for you. @ Nab I've read about bread machines - they definitely seem like a good investment, though I imagine it can be kind of hit or miss. If you buy a not so great one, you may end up with less than desirable bread. I don't pass into our local Goodwill too often, but I have never seen a bread machine. I think most people here just buy bread, especially if they hear that there is any snow forecasted. Lots of people have trouble getting out of their driveways when it snows here so they all buy up lots of milk and bread just in case they get "snowed in" or the power goes out. I hope that you were/are able to get out to the doctor's and that it wasn't too stressful on you. At least you have a pastime that helps you relieve stress and results in tasty things to eat! What you've said about bagels sounds logical to me. A punching bag sounds awesome - my parents had one but I never had a need for it really. I greatly dislike going down into our basement so I would not really use a punching bag if we had one because that's the only place we would be able to put it.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-06 12:08:00
Canada	Anyone feel like they've made a huge mistake?	Actually Trader Joe's isn't as expensive as people think. All of their stuff is VERY affordable - they don't carry brand names, only Trader Joe brand name stuff, and it's very good quality. Reminds me of President's Choice stuff. Not sure if its worth a 40 minute drive, but if you're ever in the area you should check it out! The milk, bread, etc. prices are all cheaper than some of our discount grocery stores. I love Trader Joe's. Surprisingly we've noticed it's not really more expensive than a regular grocery store. It's actually one thing I would miss if I were to go back to Canada. Go figure. I forgot about Kinder Surprise Eggs (used to have a shoebox full of the 'surprises'). Now I am sad. I am surprised to read that their prices aren't too bad. A 40 minute drive is certainly out of the way, but I would not mind to pop in if ever I was in the general vicinity to have a look-see. Ashen, I'm right there with you in saddened by not having Kinder Surprise Eggs here. There's so many small things in Canada that I can't find here. So far as cuisine goes, I don't think there's anything here that I would miss if I were back in Canada. Well, maybe 1 thing. There's some pretty good pulled pork BBQ, but I don't eat it often enough to foresee myself missing and craving it.	Tick Tock	Female	Canada	2010-08-05 16:21:00