Help -- status question...
 

I think this question has been asked before but I've been unable to find a solid answer on this forum or elsewhere.

I just filed for AOS about a week ago. I entered from Canada, and ended up getting married, so... no visa. What would my status be right now?

The reason I ask is this: My husband wants to add me as an authorized user on his bank account. The bank says all they need in order to do that is my passport, and something proving my status. All I have is my passport with the little entry stamp, proving I was inspected when I crossed the border in January. I don't even know what to tell them my status is though. Do I just bring my passport and marriage certificate and try explaining it to them? According to the banks corporate office, they don't need a social security number or anything to be added as an authorized user - just ID and proof of address. So - providing I can explain it to them in a way that they will be able to understand - I think it should go alright. The problem is though, I'm not sure what to tell them, as right now I have no real PROOF of anything other than that I'm married to an American, and crossed the border legally.

Any advice at all will be GREATLY appreciated.

Re: Help -- status question...
 

hi andrea!
my best advice would be wait for your receipt notice from INS that says they received your application, this would prove that you are known to INS and awaiting adjustment of status... by the way im pretty sure that your status now is "I485 pending"

abbie

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Your AOS is pending as it hasn't been approved yet (doh!:)), so You can tell them that you are currently waiting to become a conditional permanent resident or permanent resident:)
Don't you have the so called Grocery receipt that you get when you file for AOS??.
Take care!:)

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Not yet. I have nothing yet.

We actually went to the bank and tried, and they were total jerks to us. We ended up calling the corporate office and complaining about the person we dealt with at the branch. They wouldn't even let us talk to the supervisor because they were supposedly on a conference call... (which we later found out was a lie). Anyway... when we called corporate, we also found out that all you really are supposed to need is ID - no visa or anything necessary. So, we're going to try going back durring the week when the manager is in and speaking to them.

Re: Help -- status question...
 

:eek: :scared: If I were you I would try in a different bank, I wouldn't like those jerks to have my money!!
Good Luck!!:)

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Yeah we are trying. Its just stupid because my husband is in a band, so he goes on tour a lot in the summer. He's leaving in 2 weeks for like a month so we have to have SOMETHING straight before then so that I can take care of the bills and whatnot while he is away.

We just started this immigration stuff really and its already SO frustrating... between that and trying to get a license (Canada won't let me renew mine because I'm not physically there, and the US won't give me one because I don't have an I-94 - since I came from Canada, so I have to wait until I get my EAD...). I'm just about going crazy over here...

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Aww!!! I sent you a pm:)

Re: Help -- status question...
 

I am curious why you did not properly go through the i-130 or i-129f process? This would have relieved alot of stress for you especially when you go to the AOS interview. One of the things that I noticed when my husband had his interview was that considering the questions others have been asked, his interview as easy, since he did not have an illegal entry or overstay in his record. Also consider that since you are Canadian, you can come and go to the US at anytime (I know this for a fact since I am from Buffalo and live 15 minutes from the border)

As a piece of unwanted advice, next time do things the right way so that in the future you will have proper documentation for drivers license and opening bank accounts.

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Hi, we did do things "properly". We didnt do the K1 or K3 process, but we did the I-130 when we did the I-485. I do not have illegal entry or overstay. It's easy to come and go from the US to Canada any time, but extremely expensive since I'm from the west coast of Canada and my husband is from NYC. He proposed while I was down in the US already, and we decided that it would be better for our particular situation for us to just get married while I was still here, rather than having me leave the country and file for a K1, and come back. We did things completely legally. It's not the suggested way to go because people can assume that it was preconceived when I entered the US - however we have plenty of proof that it was not, and since we haven't done anything in the least bit shady, I'm not concerned about the AOS interview. We're completely on the up and up, so we're confident that proving that won't be a problem. The only reason I don't have the proper documentation for a drivers license or bank account is that they didn't give me an I-94 when I came in from Canada (they rarely do). Once I get my EAD, I will be able to get both of those things. As you may or may not have noticed, SEVERAL people that do things - as you refer to it - the "proper" way, have the same issues.

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Bring your passport and your cancelled checks from your i-485. There are no solid answers. I had no problems at one bank and major hassles at my credit union. If you cannot get satisfaction check with other banks. Maybe bring your marriage certificate also.

Good Luck.

Anthony

Re: Help -- status question...
 

I think all Eptiomee was trying to get across was that technically, if you had entered on the K1 or K3, you would have the necessary docs to prove your status to the bank, and thus, would not have the current issue you have with them.

Out of curiosity, what kind of proof do you have that proves you did not have pre-conceived intent??

Cheers,
Jamie

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Well, I've seen people complain of similar situations to mine with banks and DMV's giving them a rough time, even if they did enter on a K1 or K3 visa. Even if I would have done that, I still would not necessarily have all the supposedly required documentation right away (SS#, etc). We did things completely on the right side of the law, and therefore I don't see how one can say we haven't pursued this "properly". Sure, perhaps it is not necessarily the suggested way to go, because of possibly being accused of some sort of visa fraud, but as I mentioned before, that's not much of an issue for us, as it is fairly obvious in our case that I had no intent.

Anyway, as for "proving" that there was no preconceived intent... I left behind a good job, an apartment, tons of belongings when I come here... Just kept extending my "vacation", and eventually (upon the decision to stay here and marry) had family/friends move my stuff out of my apartment and put it in storage, etc. All of my belongings are still up there, with the exception of some clothes. Not to mention we didn't even discuss marriage until 2 months after I had come into the US. He's got recepits from the engagement ring, etc. Any of our family/friends will be willing to sign statements saying that it was a total shock that we decided to get married. Our wedding itself consisted of only us and a few members of our very immediate family (it was great, we got married on the beach... so perfect...), thrown together within a few weeks, the few people who booked airline tickets to come to the wedding booked them long after I was in the country - and I asked them to maintain the documentation stating that. Sure, I know none of this is rock solid PROOF that theres NO WAY that we could have had preconceived intent, but from what we've heard from laywers and others who have been in similar situations, everything should be totally fine. The bottom line is that we truly had no intent when I crossed the border, and proving we have a bona fide marriage is not going to be a difficult thing to do either. Immigration officers are not stupid, I'm sure they can tell when someone is being honest and when they are lying - especially when they have things to back them up.

Re: Help -- status question...
 

You make it sound so simple, Andrea. Wish it had been easier for us, but we had our reasons for going down the K1 route. At least if you had entered on a K1, you would have been entitled to a SSN right away! And thus, probably wouldn't have too many issues with your hubby's bank.

I have to agree with others, that your current status is "CPR - pending." If the bank does require more evidence, you may need to wait until you get your receipts back from the Missouri Service Center (assuming your local office forwards apps to the MSC). We didn't any kind of receipt from our local office either. But it took about 15 days for us to get our receipts in the mail.

Good luck!

Re: Help -- status question...
 

Well, its been anything but simple :) But thats the way it goes. Just as you had your own reasons for going the K1 route, we had our own reasons for going the route we decided to go. I'm not disagreeing that some things may have been simpler if we would have gone that route - but on the other hand, some things would have been more difficult. Anyway, I didn't mean to totally go off there - so I apologize for that. The comment that was made about how we "should have done things properly" just annoyed me because whether or not it was the best way according to someone else - its the way we chose and I was just trying to figure out the best way to proceed from this point forwad with the one particular situation. In any case, I am hoping that some sort of receipt comes soon - I don't like having any proof at all of my status (other than copies of the checks we sent with the forms we filed... but that doesn't mean much to people), especially since my husband is leaving very soon for a significant period of time.