Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
US Citizenship General Discussion	Pre-Interview Case File Review, Yellow Letter - Odd and Incorrect	I got the same yellow letter on Friday.  It has a whole list of things including my taxes (I already sent), voter registration (ridiculous) and other things.  I did use the new application form, so maybe the barcode theory is right.     I called USCIS on Friday when I got the letter but they were not helpful at all. The rep put me o hold for 10 minutes, then suggested I talk to a lawyer or make an infopass appointment, so I did - for this Wednesday.  But now I'm thinking if it was just a stupid processing mistake I will just be wasting my time driving 1.5 hours to the closest USCIS center.   UGHHH!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2014-10-06 00:13:00
Canada	Vacinations	I didn't have a copy of my immunization record. I emailed the Public Health Unit for my county (Guelph-Wellington, Ontario) and a lady there emailed me a copy the very next day! I grew up in a different county (Kitchener-Waterloo) and lived there until I was 12 but they must have transferred the records over when I started school there. Good luck!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-08-25 14:36:00
Canada	how long does it take driving from Toronto to LA,CA	QUOTE (ashenflowers @ Sep 1 2009, 01:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've been wondering whether or not I want to drive over when I move too (from London, ON to Santa Barbara, CA... so very similar to your route). I've been told it takes 5 days all things considered, at a relaxed pace (and I'm not referencing speed limit here.. lol) but I think 3 or 4 days of steady all day driving could be done. But, let's face it.. unless you're in a hurry, it would NOT be enjoyable to just be booking it through at 12-16 hour days. My parents will be driving over for our wedding, but I'm telling them to anticipate 5 days for sure, because they'll want to stop and see stuff all the time I think.. lol Although my dad's a driving beast, my mom would make him stop... or he'd stop just to get out of being stuck in the car with her a bit It wasn't too bad for us. It was me, my USC boyfriend (now Fiance!! ) and my 10 year old daughter. We made stops for meals and breaks, and we only drove during daylight hours (except the last night... we had planned to stay in Reno, but decided to push on since we were so close to home - made it home 10:30pm.) It was a nice drive. Very boring though. We also drove through a tornado warning in Wyoming (we didn't know it at the time). If you are interested, we kept a blog during our trip: http://bewhereuwantobe.wordpress.com/	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-04 14:36:00
Canada	how long does it take driving from Toronto to LA,CA	I drove from Toronto, Canada to Turlock, CA (but only started recording time in Buffalo, NY). We took the I-80 pretty much the whole way. The GPS said that we did 42 hours of DRIVING (not including stops, meals, sleep). It took us 4 days to make it across the country! Good luck to you!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-01 15:14:00
Canada	importing car	Thanks trailmix! I'm going to be going through the same process. I came to California on a J-1 only intending to stay for a year which wouldn't require me to import my car... but now that I'm getting married (in 22 days!) I will have to import it. I've read that I can go to any POE (I'm thinking Sacramento Airport) to import it, which is good because I crossed at Buffalo and drove all the way across the country to get here and I NEVER want to do that again What do manufacturers charge for a compliance letter? Will I need to get the car safetied first or are they just commenting on the car as it was manufactured?	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-11 14:34:00
Canada	Having a tough time...	Hi Laura, I'd just like to say that I think it is incredibly responsible of you to realize when it's not the right time for you to have another baby. I think a lot of women see other women having babies and decide to get pregnant without much thought to how it will affect their future. My best friend had a baby a couple of months ago (and had a tough time of it - 1 round of IVF & a C-section) but it got me feeling like I really wanted to have a baby *NOW*. I already have a 11 year old daughter (and my husband-to-be has an 11 year old daughter and 13 year old son) so besides the fact that he's had a vasectomy, it wouldn't even be right for us to have another child when we already have 3 (that will be going to college at the same time). My advice is to try and relax and realize that you have lots of time... you'll be able to enjoy the experience much more when you are in a better financial situation. Take care, ~Miranda	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-08-24 14:57:00
Canada	Did you feel safer in Canada or in the U.S.?	I definitely feel safer in Canada. My city (Guelph) barely had any crime (comparatively), I grew up there my whole life, and I felt safe and comfortable. Here in California I don't feel safe at all. I live in a pretty good neighbourhood and all but I almost feel like I'm bombarded with stories of horrible crimes that are happening all around me. The Modesto newspaper website has a link on it where the Turlock police list a lot of arrests and calls that they make in a day and that doesn't help my paranoia either. We live on the second floor and my fiance likes to keep the windows and patio door open at night, but I made him start closing and locking the patio door at night because it seems like it would be easy for someone to climb from the stairs to our balcony door. I know a lot of my paranoia has to do with the fact that I've only been here for 3 months. I'm sure once I get more comfortable, I'll be able to relax a bit (hopefully!!).	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-08 15:28:00
Canada	Border crossing	I'm so sorry to hear about your situation, LandRStepp. I hope you and your son can figure out what your next step is. Personally, my boyfriend and I met online and in January we decided we needed to spend real time together to see if we were truly compatible. I began looking for an internship and had plans to quit my job and move with my daughter to California (from Ontario). Thank goodness I found this site and began to read some of these stories or I fear I would have been in the same situation you are. Fresh out of university, no real estate, no money, basically no ties at all in Canada. I was even driving my car across the country. I had to get creative when coming up with evidence to show I was coming back after 1 year. My boyfriend flew into Buffalo (the day before) and we drove down to Fort Erie. I was SO, SO nervous of being turned away because of custody of my daughter, havin just quit my job, the funds to support myself, or a million other reasons they could have cited to turn me away. I got called up, I spoke to the BG. He seemed angry and barely asked me anything. Where am I going, how long I am staying, can he see my internship paperwork AND if I was on any medication. Actually, he asked that last one twice. I guess I was more nervous than I thought. After that, he let us through. He even spent 5 minutes rummaging through the office for a special stamp to put on my daughter's passport (she was 10). But what I got from that experience is -- the whole thing is one big crapshoot. You could have all the evidence in the world, or none of the evidence and it doesn't make any difference whether they let you through or not. It is totally out of your hands, and completely in theirs. If you get stuck with the wrong person, or that person is having a bad day, or they're new, or their dog just died, you may ultimately pay the price. Unfortunately for you, you got stuck with one of the bad ones and now you'll have to deal. It looks as though you'll have to go home and put another plan into motion. If Greyhound won't refund your money, contact some local (or national) media outlets and let them know your story. Greyhound is already catching bad press for threatening to cancel some rural Canadian routes if the government doesn't subsidize them, so I'm sure they don't want any more bad press. Good luck, and keep us posted!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-17 15:00:00
Canada	You moved to the U.S. to be with your SO	I've been here almost 4 months now, and I really haven't had a hard time at all. There are a lot of little differences. It sure doesn't feel like home, but I'm okay with that. I have work to keep me busy (I started a week after I arrived) so I know that has helped. I imagine if I was sitting around the house with nothing to do all day my mind could probably make up a million reasons why I miss Canada, so I'm lucky in that respect. I'm very proud of my daughter and how she has been handling things. She talks to my parents almost every night on google chat and emails her friends back home regularly. She's had a couple of breakdowns about missing home and wanting to go back, but they have all occurred when she was already upset about something and/or tired. She's having a bit of a hard time making friends since she is in grade 6 at a middle school (grades 6, 7 & 8) and 80% of the kids are hispanic and speak spanish to eachother all day long. I think she feels like a bit of an outcast some days, but she's a strong, outgoing girl and I know she will be okay. I wish I knew when I was going to feel comfortable here. Or IF I'm ever going to feel comfortable here. I guess 4 months isn't the magic number. AND I am getting married this weekend , so when the excitment fades and the reality sets in maybe it will feel more like home.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-29 14:23:00
Canada	Anyone watch Hells Kitchen on Tv this season?	I've watched every season of Hell's Kitchen. I'm a Gordon Ramsay fan It's disappointing to know that the job the winner takes isn't as "big" or "glamourous" as they make it out to be... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell's_Kitchen_(U.S.) Scroll down to "Seasons" to see where they are now. None of them have the "top" jobs at restaurants!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-21 14:50:00
Canada	SSN, DL and Immigration Name Issues	Wow, sorry to hear that. I wonder if I'm going to have the same problem	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-11-03 15:22:00
Canada	SSN, DL and Immigration Name Issues	Well, I went into the Modesto SSO today. I was called up to the window right away. As soon as I told her I was on J-1 status and my maiden name was on my DS-2019, she told me I would need to have that changed or my application couldn't be processed. I showed her the email that I received from the SSA stating that as long as I had a valid I-94, DS-2019 and marriage document that it could be done. I showed her the policy that Kitkit posted the link to in this thread. I said "If you read here, it says that as long as I show proof of legal authorization to work and proof of name change with biographical information, you can issue me a new card". She kept saying "that's not how I interpret it. I interpret it as <insert BS here>". This went on for about 20 minutes and I asked to speak with a manager. The girl was gone for another 20 minutes and came back with the manager who told me I didn't know what I was talking about. She explained that if they try and process my application, it will not go through the system and will be hung up until my name is changed with DHS because the system checks the names against eachother. I said, if that was the case, why did two separate SSA reps email me evidence to the contrary? The manager took away the emails and was gone for another 15 minutes. She comes back and says "I'm going to let the customer rep put this through the system and it will automatically be placed on hold, so I will contact the regional office who really know their stuff. If they say to override it and push it through then I will". Then she left. The original girl at the window took my information and processed the application (I actually had stupidly forgot the ORIGINAL DS-2019 at home and had picked up my daughter's instead, but always carry a photocopy in my purse which I put on the counter underneath the pile hoping she wouldn't notice it was a photocopy -- and she didn't!... or she wanted to just get me out of her face). Anyway, she input all my information and it got sent to the printer. She comes back with the paper in hand and said "well isn't that weird... it went through the system. If this is the case, we will have to have a big meeting and send out notices because we were under the impression that we couldn't do that". So... we'll see in under 2 weeks whether it worked for sure or not. I'll believe it when I see it. In any event, I still have my SSN in my maiden name so I'm not very worried. I'd just like to change my bank account, apply for my drivers license, etc. I can think of better ways to have spent my afternoon!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-28 21:50:00
Canada	SSN, DL and Immigration Name Issues	Did you have any success Hugglebuggles? I'm going to take the SSN Policy and try on Wednesday....	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-26 15:06:00
Canada	SSN, DL and Immigration Name Issues	QUOTE (Krikit @ Oct 8 2009, 06:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The identity document used to establish the old name must match the name on the current SSN record. The identity document is acceptable even if over two years old or expired. Note: Refer the Social Security office personnel to EM-06064, which was issued 10/02/2006 and EM-07045, which was issued 07/03/2007 for the current procedures regarding name changes based on marriage. Thanks for the link! The policy states: C. Procedure - Immigration Document as Evidence of Legal Name When issuing immigration documents, the Department of State and DHS issue them in the person’s legal name. The legal name is also generally the name in which the foreign passport was issued. When an alien applies for an SSN card, presume the name on the immigration document is the legal name unless the applicant presents evidence of a legal name change (e.g., marriage) that occurred after the immigration document was issued. In cases where an alien applies for a replacement SSN card and submits an immigration document showing a name that is different from the name on the prior Numident record, accept the immigration document as evidence of the legal name. In these cases, the prior SSN card may have been issued in a name that was not the NH’s legal name. EXCEPTION: For foreign students (F-1 and M-1) consider the name on Form I-20 the legal name. For exchange visitors (J-1), consider the name on the DS-2019 the legal name. My DS-2019 is in my maiden name, and that's the form they want me to have updated. Am I reading this right that I do not have to have that form updated? I'm going to try at the USCIS office on Saturday but I'm not convinced they will want to issue me a new one in my new name?	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-08 14:28:00
Canada	SSN, DL and Immigration Name Issues	I tried the same thing this past Monday. I came into the country on a J-1, got married this weekend and wanted to change the name on my SSN so I could get a California Drivers License in my new name. I brought my card and the marriage certificate with me. Waited around for 45 minutes (it could have actually been a whole lot worse) but when I got up there, she said I needed to change my name with USCIS. She gave me a piece of paper with the address (which was down the street). I went there, and they are only open on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Saturdays! ARGGHH!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-07 14:21:00
Canada	Importing Vehicle	I got my compliance letter from Volkswagon Canada, and it was free as well. What's up with Ford charging $100? EDIT: Or BMW charging $500??? Yikes. Edited by Miranda&John, 09 November 2009 - 04:05 PM.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-11-09 16:03:00
Canada	Weird Things Americans Have Said To/Asked Me	QUOTE (warlord @ Sep 23 2009, 02:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually it was a Guelph thing, didn't live in Windsor until College and that's when I noticed Canadians pronouncing it as Zed instead of Z. I've lived in Guelph almost my whole life and I say "Zed". My daughter had to do a vision screening test here in California for school in August, and when she read the Z's she said "Zed" and the person marked her wrong for every one. If she had failed the vision test I would have said something but she passed even having been marked wrong for the Z's. On another note, I was wedding dress shopping last month at David's Bridal in Modesto and was waiting for one of their salespeople to help me. She was taking a long time so I asked the greeter where the washroom was. The woman looked really confused and said "the what...?". I said "washroom". There was an awkward moment and she said "I don't understand....". Then my daughter said "THE TOILET". To which she responded "Oh... the RESTROOMS... they are through that hall on your left." Wow.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-09-30 15:35:00
Canada	NS woman denied entry	I read so many horror stories on here (and other forums) before I crossed the border activating my J-1 status that I hired a lawyer to represent me. I drove down to Fort Erie, stayed overnight in a hotel and then drove down to the border the next morning. Wthey sent me into the building for processing, she was there waiting for me. I didn't end up needing her, as things went relatively smoothly, but the comfort added just knowing that she would be there to stand up for my rights if they tried to pull any funny-business was well worth the money. Maybe that's why it went so smoothly... they saw her coaching me before I was called up to the window	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-01-08 14:18:00
Canada	The Great Dinner vs Supper Debate	Haha... my daughter and I just had this conversation the other day. She calls it supper, I call it dinner. I think my mom called it supper when I was growing up, so she's where my daughter must have got it from Edited by Miranda&John, 19 February 2010 - 02:41 PM.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-02-19 14:40:00
Canada	Getting a Driver's License in the wonderful state of Maryland	Very glad it worked out for you, darkchilde! When I came here on a J-1 visa, I got a SSN in my maiden name. When I went to change it to my married name, I was turned away. I came back on VJ, armed myself with their own policies, went back again and had to argue with the manager who eventually put my information in the system and what do you know - it went through. Then I applied for a California drivers license, went through the whole testing process (written, and behind-the-wheel), was issued a temporary full license (one of those pieces of paper) and was told that my actual license would come in the mail when they confirmed my "legal presence" with DHS. So here we are, over a month later and my status is still apparently "pending legal presence check". I googled it, and apparently people sometimes wait a YEAR for their status to be confirmed, having to extend their temporary license two and three times. What a nightmare! Edited by Miranda&John, 01 March 2010 - 03:54 PM.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-01 15:53:00
Canada	driver's license req.	In California, Canadians are required to take the written and behind-the-wheel test over just like a new driver. I'm not sure about plates yet -- I'm heading to the Sacramento airport next Monday to import my car, then will attempt to register my plates on Wednesday. I will bring my Canadian & California driver license, social security card, marriage cert, passport, J-1 visa paperwork, and proof of having filed AOS and hopefully that will be enough for them. I think they'll be more than happy to take my money! I think my car needs to have a smog test too. I'm going to call their MIS-information line this week (several times) and see what they have to say... and then average out the different answers and come to my own conclusion.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-01 15:23:00
Canada	Canadian Degrees in the US?	haha I have a diploma in "Law & Security Administration". Try figuring where THAT fits! Fortunately, I went on to do a BA in Poli Sci, so most of the time I don't even bother listing the other one.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-15 15:42:00
Canada	Canadian Degrees in the US?	I have a college diploma, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's the equivalent to an Associate's Degree down here.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-15 15:20:00
Canada	Why all the fuss about the 2010 Census	That bit is easy enough for the government to interpret. If you put "A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N" for your race, you are either retarded, or a borderline nutjob conservative. Make no mistake here,it is conservatives by and large who object to this information being collected about them. Saying that its racist or racial profiling is a red herring. They are just scared that the big bad government is keeping files on them and are going to come take them away for their beliefs (or some other conservative rambling). Well I don't want to insult anybody, so I'll just say yes -- they happen to both be conservative	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-19 16:13:00
Canada	Why all the fuss about the 2010 Census	We got ours and already sent it back. There seems to be a big fuss around here about it too. My husband's parents were complaining about having to provide the information and couldn't understand why government agencies couldn't just talk to eachother to figure out how much she made, her race, etc. Someone else I know checked the box named "other" for race and filled in A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N. Maybe it's the Canadian in me, but I don't mind taking a couple minutes of my time to provide the government with some information to help them make better policy decisions. Edited by Miranda&John, 19 March 2010 - 03:04 PM.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-19 15:04:00
Canada	Kind of an odd question	Does your friend or family have a blackberry back in Canada? If they do there's a cool iphone app (and blackberry app) called Whatsapp. It's basically a text messaging app that allows you to send free text messages to any blackberry or iphone all over the world. I have an iphone and I use it to text my best friend in the UK who has a blackberry. I love it!!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-24 12:23:00
Canada	Immigration PTSD..	I have developed a POE complex. I'm afraid to attempt to cross the border or fly out of an international airport LOL Although I surely won't even attempt it until I have the greencard in my hand the end of April!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-25 14:17:00
Canada	Best Travel Job EVER!	Thank you! And good luck!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-31 12:04:00
Canada	Best Travel Job EVER!	Hi all, I kinda feel like I'm spamming the board a bit here, but if you live in Canada, the Flight Centre is having a contest where you can win a $500 travel voucher just for voting for one of the videos! My best friend Sara has signed up (and I really do think she's the best girl for the job!). So if you decide to register and vote, please vote for her!! http://besttraveljobever.com/scifiSara	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-03-31 10:31:00
Canada	Zed or Zee	QUOTE (trailmix @ Oct 7 2009, 12:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Miranda&John @ Oct 7 2009, 01:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I crave Swiss Chalet chicken (with the dipping sauce!!) SO BAD sometimes. Which is super-bad because my husband (and his children) are vegetarians! Although I'd settle for just the sauce. So have you become vegetarian too Miranda? I call myself a "vegetarian-in-training". I eat a primarily vegetarian diet but occassionally (usually once a month) I will order something with meat when we eat out at a restaurant . I can't help it! Vegetarian options are so limited. There's only so much pasta, salad or vegetarian pizza a girl can take! My daughter consistently orders meat whenever we go out to eat. She's pretty resistant to giving up meat.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-07 15:12:00
Canada	Zed or Zee	I crave Swiss Chalet chicken (with the dipping sauce!!) SO BAD sometimes. Which is super-bad because my husband (and his children) are vegetarians! Although I'd settle for just the sauce.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2009-10-07 14:27:00
Canada	Thinking Canadian in the USA	The general American focus on 'me first' or 'my needs are more important than yours' or 'what I want is more important than what you want'. This one really frustrates me. Sometimes I think people here are incapable of seeing things from another person's perspective. As long as their needs are taken care of, who cares about anyone else. And what is good enough for me, is good enough for you - circumstances be damned. It's almost unreal. I had to stop myself from reading the news so much, because when I would read the comments on the news stories, I'd start having physical responses to the anger I felt from the ignorance and stupidity that some people spout. I feel like back in Canada, there wasn't as much of that. Or at least, I could respect other people's opinions because they were based on something. With the heathcare debate, a lot of people are really against the bill (even though it is now a LAW), but they couldn't even articulate why. And the funny part is, almost all of our friends are conservative. I have a perfect example of my frustration. A wife of a friend posted on her facebook the other day, and here is how the conversation went : K "Make no mistake, a 'yes' vote on the Democrats' health care bill is a vote for taxpayer-funded abortions."- tis the truth! As a catholic and as woman I find this revolting....pro-life all the way~! 23 March at 12:52 · M But there is an existing law prohibiting federal funds for abortions, there is nothing in the heathcare bill that mentions that, AND the President himself signed an executive order reaffirming that no government money will be used...? Why do you think this?23 March at 13:56 · K An executive order won't supersede legislation passed by Congress and courts will look to the legislation rather than the executive order when ruling on federally funded abortions.23 March at 18:47 M I know, but there already is legislation. The Hyde amendment. Google it. The executive order was just overkill to try ease the minds of over-zealous republicans.23 March at 19:05 · K Whatever it may be I don't trust Obama. He is a liar and a snake. He's represents everything I don't believe in. Thanks for your thoughts though! 23 March at 19:10 Since when did BELIEF hold more weight than FACT?	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-14 12:07:00
Canada	Weight loss support	I like this thread! It's nice to see so many people wanting to improve their health! I'm currently at 190lbs. I gained 20lbs over the past year with the stress of moving here and unfamiliar surroundings/routines, etc. Then I went to the doctor the other day who made me do some blood tests, and she says I'm borderline low thyroid and that could be the cause of some of the weight gain, and most definitely the reason why it's been hard to take it off. I'm not taking medication, she wants me to test again in another month (she thinks I'm low because my body was fighting off a virus, but I suspect otherwise). In the meantime, I have decided to put myself on a low GI diet and this is the first week for me. So far it's going well. My husband and step-children are actually vegetarians so it's a little bit harder in that respect (actually we've been more like bread, pasta and cheese-tarians) but I don't feel deprived so far. I'd be happy at 155-160lbs (I'm 5'6"). My goals: Short term: 10lbs by June Long term: 30lbs by December	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-02-17 13:11:00
Canada	The Annoying Co-Worker Thread	I'm currently on an internship, and work right beside the boss's secretary. She is supposed to be passing on work for me to do so I'm not sitting here reading the news, or VJ all day Well I think she is afraid of me taking over her job, so she wouldn't ever give me anything to do. Then one day when she was off, I decided to go through her inbox and find something for me to do (she had actually given me her inbox to sort for her before, so it wasn't like it was a private inbox). She gets back from her vacation and said in a really snotty tone "WHO WENT THROUGH MY INBOX?" and I said "Me, I was looking for something to do". She didn't speak to me for the next day or two. After that, she made a "Do Not Touch" sign. I talked to my boss about her delegating work, and he spoke to her. It was better for a couple of days, but now it's back to me doing nothing. She is also continually late. Late coming in, late getting back from lunch. She takes off 15 minutes after she gets in to go chat with coworkers and comes back an hour later. I actually timed her one day to see how much time she actually spent away from her desk chatting with coworkers or on the phone -- 3 hours!! I also have a problem with coworkers speaking spanish to eachother right in front of me. Especially when I know that spanish is not their native language. We had sensitivity training about a month ago where they pointed out that it was rude and can cause tension but I guess they had tuned out or just don't care! Needless to say, for my first experience working for an American company, I'm not too impressed. I don't think I want to stay here for much longer. Edited by Miranda&John, 19 January 2010 - 04:53 PM.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-01-19 16:51:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	I woke up this morning to an email/text that our AOS has been approved! YAY!!! What a way to start the day. Happy Friday! And good luck to those who are still waiting!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-16 08:56:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	Just got back from my interview. It was... interesting. We showed up about 30 minutes early to the building in Fresno. My husband, daughter, and I went through the medical detectors and then were escorted up to the 3rd floor. We put our appointment letters in a box and then waited in an empty waiting room until 10:30. At 10:30 my name was called, and we all went up to the door. The IO took everyone's ID and then told my husband and daughter to continue waiting in the waiting room, while I followed him to his office. He swore me in, and then asked me some questions: What is your name? What is your address? What is your birthday? What is your phone number? Why did you come to the U.S.? Did your J-1 visa have a 2 year residency requirement? How long have you lived with your husband? Who else lives with you? Then he asked me all the questions on the I-485. He asked for my J-1 paperwork and if I had anything I wanted to show him that proved my husband and I lived together. I said "do you want copies or originals?" because I had organized a stack of copies for him to have before hand. He said he would look at the originals then keep the copies. He also asked if I had any photos and I indicated that they were on the bottom of the pile of copies. He had me sign off on the back of our I-485 forms that I opted to have the interview without my lawyer. After that, he went on to my daughter's application. He asked me her name, birthdate, asked to see the original of her birth certificate and compared it to the one he had in our file. When he asked her name, I included her middle name. He was a little bit worried that (and I didn't realize this) her passport doesn't have her middle name on it. BUT, I have her expired passport that did and I showed that to him and he seemed satisfied. I asked him if he wanted a copy of our 2009 taxes and he said "no, you've given me quite enough". He also asked if my daughter was on any medication (which she is). I don't know why he asked this...? When he was done looking through my daughter's portion of the file he said "well, everything looks good but I can't approve you today because I have to verify that your J-1 visa does not have the 2 year home residency requirement (which it doesn't). I explained to him that I would have liked him to stamp my passport, but he said they don't do that anymore. I told him my work authorization and AP hadn't been approved yet and he seemed shocked and said it was really strange that my daughter had received her AP and not me (although clearly not very sympathetic to the whole situation). He explained the removal of conditions and gave me another piece of paper that just had today's date on it and said "You will receive notice by mail." I said "so, that's it? You don't want to talk to my husband or daughter?" He said nope, you're free to go! I called my lawyer, who was equally as frustrated. What have they been doing with my file for 4 1/2 months, if not figuring out if the 2 year rule applies? My husband thinks he just had to have his supervisor look it over to approve it. My lawyer says I should receive approval soon.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-15 15:16:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	That's good news, Miranda&John. By the way, how did you bring up your "immigration status" with your employer? I have a job interview coming up in a couple of weeks and am wondering how I should mention the fact that I am waiting on my EAD/AOS. Well, my case was a little special because: a) I was here on an internship visa, and my resume clearly stated "intern", although I didn't mention anything about the immigration process (they didn't ask even though almost all of my work experience is from Canada). During the interview I (very briefly) mentioned that my internship was ending because I'm expecting my work authorization and green card (when talking about another subject). They didn't ask me anything more about it, and I think it was because... b) I looked it up, and this particular employer (a university) has an actual HR policy of NOT discriminating against those who do not yet have work authorization, but have applied for a job, granted that they will be able to show proof of authorization on the first day of work. If I were you, I'd do exactly what I did - if the employer doesn't bring it up, mention it in passing near the end of the interview. I mean, if you are planning to have your green card BEFORE you begin work, then it's really none of their business. As long as you bring it (or your EAD) on the first day of work to fill out the I-9 then you are fine. But if you think there is a chance that it could be postponed (like in my case), it's worth the chance of throwing it out there in the interview, or else they might think you were trying to lead them on or be dishonest with them.	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-09 20:45:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	[quote name='Hugglebuggles' date='06 April 2010 - 02:32 PM' timestamp='1270589570' post='3851742' Miranda- Did you have an update on the job situation? Did they agree to wait a couple more weeks for you? [/quote] I emailed them on Tuesday, and they just called me today - they are willing to wait as long as it takes for me to have my greencard! YAY!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-08 18:54:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	The infopass system is really great, I wish I would have known about it before. Getting to speak face to face with a real person who knows left from right is pretty refreshing! Miranda- Did you have an update on the job situation? Did they agree to wait a couple more weeks for you? I emailed her today, but she is out on a furlough day. I hope to hear back tomorrow. I think they will agree to wait for me, but you never know. I'm just trying not to stress out too much! I'll be so happy when this process is over!	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-06 18:14:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	I'm not sure how an infopass appointment will help you if you've only applied for EAD with in the last month or two.... I'm unclear with your timeline, but still. You can 'hope' for it... we ALL 'hope' for it when it best suits us (i.e. IMMEDIATELY), but we all have to respect processing times and can't expect special treatment. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with making an infopass appointment to talk to someone who actually KNOWS what is going on. That's what they are there for	Miranda&John	Female	Canada	2010-04-06 15:27:00