SSN

Luckily, you do not need much to request the Social Security Card.

First, you have to fill in a form, which you can fill once at the office while waiting to be called, or bring it filled from home.
Second, you need a document that proves where you were born. I brought both my Green Card and my Spanish birth certificate together with the official translation. It ended up being that with the Green Card it was enough. 
Lastly, but not least, the passport (any nationality).

NOTE: Instead of the Green Card you can use the Employment Authorization / Advance Parole Card. That way you may get your SSN before your Green Card! 

The office normally opens its doors about 30 minutes before the official opening, so you can go and get a number. Be ready to wait, depending on how busy it is you may be there a long time, or not.

The number of the Social Security Card will be assigned a couple of days after you apply, and the card itself will take about 2 weeks to make it to your house. In case you want to know your number (which you may need for a job contract or to register in university classes), you will need to go back to the office and wait on line (they do not give it to you through the phone). However, if you do not need to know it, just wait until it gets to your house!

Well, I hope this was helpful!

Green Card - Green Card

This is the look of the Green Card, of course it was going to be green.
It took a week and a half to arrive, with the Christmas holidays in between,
thus it was quite fast!

Green Card - Interview

Finally, the last step of immigration.

For this step we had to bring many documents that we had already been asked for. Its purpose was in case they misplace something. Also, they ask for documents that prove you are a legitimate couple. For instance, pictures, house title, car title, bank accounts, and in a nutshell, anything that could have both names (yours and your spouse's). It's used to demonstrate that the marriage is not a fraud just to obtain legal residence. 

We didn't have much official paperwork yet, only the bank account, so we brought printed pictures of our last 4.5 years of our relationship.

To enter at the interview place you will have to stand in line and pass controls like the ones in the airport, they even made me take the shoes off. Once passed the control, you get a number and wait your turn. They then call you to start the interview (you and your spouse will go in together).

Both of you will be asked for identification documents, and both will have to swear to tell the truth and only the truth while raising the right hand. Time to start the interview. We were interviewed by a woman that at first seemed cold and kind of mean, but once she got the feeling that we were legitimate, she happened to be really nice and even told us a story that she had never told anyone.

As you know, it's better to be safe than sorry! Thus, we previously looked online at possible questions they may ask on these interviews, and luckily for us it wasn't as long as some of the ones we read about. They barely asked anything from what we read online. Initially, they asked some of the personal information reflected in the documents (names, dates of birth, affiliations, etc), and to the "alien" (the foreign spouse) they repeated the typical "Are you a terrorist, do you intend to help terrorists, are you a spy, do you consume drugs..." questions.

Then, they asked about how and where we met and some other details of how our relationship moved forward. We just told them the truth and all the truth. They also asked some questions repeatedly as to make sure we didn't make the answers up. Later, as she looked through our pictures she asked some more questions about them and as far as I remember, that was all.

After the questions, they told us that we passed and I would be getting a Green Card, which is only valid for 2 years, in the mail. It is our responsibility to remember to do the corresponding paperwork at the 2-year point. If we don't remember to do it and it expires, then I will be called to court and then they would potentially deport me back to my home country. The process to renew it can be started 90 days before the expiration date, and the paperwork is quite similar to what you just did but shorter and presenting more proofs of the validity of your marriage.

Another thing you may need to do during these 2 years is to inform USCIS of certain changes such as change of address, husband's name change... if they were to occur.

And lastly, they keep the Advance Parole card and the I-94 immigration document, both documents that identify you as immigrant; however, if you passed, you are a legal resident and not an immigrant anymore. Thus, there is no longer need for them. At the same time, for the next 2 to 3 weeks, as you wait for the Green card to arrive... You will only have your passport as ID (unless you got your license in the meanwhile).

Stay posted!

I hope all this was helpful

Green Card - Employment authorization + Advance Parole

Another step moving forward in the legalization process.
Do you remember the picture they took on the Biometrics? well, it shows also in this document.

Today in the mail I got a letter and a card document. Le letter explains that the document is my work permit and in case of being a combo card (such is my case) it allows me to leave the country and re-enter without abandoning the legalization process. Ready for a trip home? Yes I am!

This is an example of the card mentioned, this is just the plain one, not the combo like mine.
If you would get the combo it would say "Serves as I-512 Advance Parole"

NOTE: With this document, regardless of being employment authorization only or combo, you can request a Social Security Number (SSN) and start studying or working. For more information about how to request SSN click here.

Green Card - Biometrics

Once finished with the immigration doctor and having sent all the paperwork to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) you will start receiving receipt-letters, one per sent document. Among those receipt-letters you will receive an appointment letter informing you of where and when to take your biometrics.

What is the Biometrics appointment about? is the part of the process in which they ask for and collect your unique physical recordable data and your picture, among other things. Do you remember when you entered the country and the passport control took a picture of you and your fingerprints? The biometrics is similar, but a bit more intense. They will take your fingerprints of each individual finger and of groups of fingers at a time. 

However, before they take your biometrics they make sure that you have all the documents needed for the appointment. In other words, the appointment letter with your appointment information, an Identification Document (ID), and in case you are changing your last name, the marriage certificate.

Then they ask you to fill in a paper with questions about your physical attributes: weight, height, hair color, eye color, etc. So make sure you know all that before you go!
   
NOTE to all people involved in the process: if you cannot make it to the appointment, make sure you follow the instructions on the letter to change it (but hurry up, because the later you request the change, the longer the whole process will be). Be aware that if you do not show up it will considered that you abandon the process... you do not want that.

My experience with this part of the process was quite positive. The place where I had the appointment was about 2 hours away by car, and fearing being late we arrived 1 hour before the appointment time. That was not a problem, they checked my documents, gave me a waiting number and asked me to fill in a paper in the meanwhile. I waited 2 turns and there I was, putting all my fingers, one after the other, in the little screen. After that they took a picture (for what I was not prepared) and they made me take the glasses off. It turned out that they used this picture for the Green Card itself, so make sure you are looking good!     

And done! In 30 minutes I was back in the car and on my way home happy as can be with my accomplishment for the day. Now what is left to do is wait for another letter that will inform me of what step comes next.

Green Card - Immigration doctor

WHERE
To find an immigration doctor in your area you can check here.

WHAT DO YOU NEED  
Make sure you bring you vaccine record(s) to prove you have all the mandatory vaccines (a list can be found here). If you don't have them, or if you don't have proof of having them, you will need to get them and pay for all of them. They also check your blood pressure, listen your heart and lungs, look at your eyes and ears.  

Next, they draw some blood to check a few things (among them the chickenpox teeter, so if you have proof you had the chicken pox you may want to give it to them). The more blood they draw, the more you pay. So anything you have or had, bring documentation and show them because my experience was that they do not ask for anything - they just take the blood samples and pass you the bill. 

Finally, you pay and go home (they may have you pay, then get the blood drawn, and then go home). The following is a breakdown of the costs I payed as of 2011 per a North Carolina immigration doctor.
-Physical exam $150
-RPR (STS) $20
-QuantiFERON-TB Gold $60
-Varicella Teeter $30
With a total of $260, out of the $350 we expected after our research.

About 10 days later you will receive a copy of the completed paperwork for you, and a sealed envelope (not to be open) to be sent to USCIS with the other paperwork.

Updated January 2017

Green Card - Checklist

We used a checklist when going through all this process, and the checklist looked something like what follows. I invite you to print yourself a copy to help you and keep track of what you have done and have yet to do. I hope it helps!