Dear Applicant/Petitioner:

Your USCIS application/petition has been received and routed to the National Benefits Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number NBC*00269xxxx. With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your application using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.

In addition to the email, I also received a text message on my mobile phone with essentially the same but shorter notice:

USCIS: Your application was received. Receipt # NBC*00269xxxx. Official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) to follow in mail. Msg & Data rates may apply. NO NOT REPLY.

Even though I haven’t received Form I-797, I was able to check the status of my application online using the receipt number included in the email above. Surprisingly, my case status is already at the Initial Review stage (not Acceptance as I was expecting).

On May 11, 2012, we received this N400 APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you…
During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation. USCIS reviews the applicant’s/petitioner’s criminal history, determines if there are national security concerns that need to be addressed, and reviews the application/petition for fraud indicators.

Also on May 15, 2012, my check for the payment of $680 was cashed.

May 17, 2012:
Received Form I-797 via regular mail. The notice contains three dates:

• Received Date: May 10, 2012
• Priority Date: May 10, 2012
• Notice Date: May 14, 2012

I will try to be as specific as possible, with hopefully enough details to help other DIYers. At a minimum, I would like to document the entire process so that people thinking about becoming a citizen have a live example to reference to. However, please keep in mind that your situation may be different from mine and adjustment in your application may be necessary.

Eligibility
First thing first, let’s check to see if I’m eligible to apply for citizenship, by going through the requirement list line by line:

• You are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder): Sure.
• You must be 18 years of age or older: I wish I had to think twice about this but yes, I met this requirement years ago! Oh well……time flies.
• You have resided in the US as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for at least 5 years, with no single absence from the US of more than one year. Absence of more than 6 months may restart the clock of counting Continuous Residence: Check. I did leave the U.S. several times on business and personal trips, but none exceeded three weeks, so I’m good.
• You have been physically present in the US for at least half of the last 5 years (30 months): No problem. The total time I spent outside the U.S. in the last 5 years was less than two months, so I definitedly meet this requirement.
• You have resided within a state or district for at least 3 months: Yep, been calling California home for 10 years now.
• You must be a person of good moral character: I certainly think so
• You can read, write, speak and understand basic English: No problem.
• You have a basic knowledge of US history and government: Check (Note to myself: Go over the test questions before interview just in case).
• You must show attachment to the principles of the Constitution: Done.

So, it appears that I’m indeed eligible. Now the question is when to file an application.

Note that my case is based on permanent residence through employment, but there are other ways to become an LPR and their naturalization requirments may be slightly different. For example, if you obtained your green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen, you only have to wait 3 years instead of 5 to be eligible for citizenship. Also, members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces, as well as their dependents, may be eligible for citizenship and may even qualify for expedited processing.

When to file?
You can apply for naturalization at any time as long as you meet the requirements at the time of filing. But if you want to become a citizen as soon as possible, you need to figure out the earliest date you can submit your N-400. USCIS will reject your application if you file too early.

You may submit Form N-400 up to 90 calendar days before your 5th (or 3rd if marriage-based) anniversary of becoming a permanent resident. For example, if your green card says “August 1, 2007,” you meet the 5-year permanent residence requirement on “August 1, 2012.” The earliest date you can apply for naturalization would then be May 3, 2012.

I’ve built a date calculator that can be used for this purpose. All you have to do is to select your anniversary date, and subtract 90 days (not 3 months) from it to get your early filing date.

The USCIS considers an application “filed” when they receive the package, and they don’t go by postmarks. So if you are in an absolute hurry, and want to make sure your application is received on exactly May 3rd as in the example above, you can actually mail it on the 2nd if you choose Next-Day courier service. If you use regular mail you have no control over when your application will be delivered, so the risk of filing too early would be higher. If possible, give it a few days of cushion just to be safe.

Form N-400
The Form N-400 is fairly straightforward. It took me less than half an hour from start to finish. One thing that helped was my habbit of scanning all immigration related documents, making it easy to search for information. My scanned old passport, for example, allowed me to quickly figure out the exact dates I was outside the country.

USCIS has the form, instructions, eligibility worksheet, and document checklist on their website for free download.

Form N-400 requires the following information, and some of them , if applicable to you, may need extra time to gather:

• Part 1: Your Name and A-Number, including opportunity to change your legal name
• Part 2: Your Eligibility
• Part 3: Personal Information: SSN, DOB, Date of Becoming Permanent Resident, Current citizenship, Marital Status, Waiver Requests, etc.
• Part 4: Address and Phone Number
• Part 5: Information for Criminal Records Search: Gender, Height, Race, etc.
• Part 6, Residence and Employment History for the Last Five Years
• Part 7: Time Outside the U.S. including Exact Dates for Each Trip
• Part 8: Marital History (including Current Spouse’s Marital History)
• Part 9: Information about Your Children
• Part 10: Long List of Yes/No Questions
• Part 11, Your Signature
• Part 12: Signature of Person Who Prepared the Form for You
• Part 13: Signature at Interview (Don’t Sign Yet!)
• Part 14: Signature for Oath of Allegiance (Don’t Sign Yet!)

Application Package
My naturalization application package included only five items:

1. Form N-400
2. Copy of both sides of my green card
3. Personal Check for Payment of $680 ( = $595 + $85)
4. Two Passport-Style Photos
5. Form G-1145 for Electronic Notification (Optional)

Photos

The photo requirements for naturalization are the same as other immigration related applications. You can get them at any place that offers passport photo services, such as the Post Office, Costco, CVS, or even online. However, it is also quite easy to do it yourself with a digital camera and an inkjet printer.

I did mine at home: Stood against a white wall, made sure the lighting was good to avoid shadows, used a tripod, and took a bunch of pictures. Then I simply picked the best (looking) one and used the State Department’s online photo tool to crop it. Finally I printed two photos on glossy media using an all-in-one printer. The hardest task was actually cutting out the 2″x2″ photo and I used a precision knife and a metal ruler to do the job (and it worked out just fine). My camera is a DSLR, but even point-and-shoot cameras in recent years should have sufficient resolution and image quality for this purpose. Cell phone cameras shouldn’t be used, however. The State Department has a resource center offering extensive information on passport photos, including the photo tool I just mentioned.

After all the work, the photos you submitted are probably useless. USCIS will most likely take your photo during your biometric appointment and use the digital image instead. But since they still require actual photos, we’ll have to submit them.

Good enough for now. I’ll update whenever there is a status change.

The first count, conducted on April 9, 2012 is about three times more than last year’s. If this turns out to be a trend, H-1B visas could be exhausted much faster than last year, during which the regular cap was reached on November 22, 2011.

The graph below will be updated regularly to show H-1B visa filings for FY-2013:

Below is last year’s H-1B cap count (FY 2012) for reference:

I know I’m not the only one, though. In fact all my friends face more or less the same problems. So I’ve been thinking about posting some easy-to-follow travel guides on immigrationroad.com to hopefully make their cross-ocean journey less stressful. I already did the first one: A list of English/Chinese translations of frequently used terms around an airport, on board an airplane, and going through Customs inspections. If it turns out useful, I’ll add more content and maybe even have it translated into other languages as well.

Other than translations, I also did a few things that may have helped my parents previously. I’ll list some of them in case you haven’t thought about them:

• Fill out a sample Form I-94 so that they can simply copy all the information while completing the real I-94 card during a flight;
• Explain and translate all items on the Customs Declaration Form as well;
• Have them carry a card with your phone numbers in case of emergency;
• If they have medical conditions, have them carry a brief description (in English) with them at all times;
• Book non-stop flights if at all possible. It is easy to imagine how struggling they will be to catch a connection flight at a foreign airport, not to mention a potential delay or cancellation. I know some of you live too far from a major airport, and direct flight isn’t an option; what I meant was that if you do have a choice, even if the ticket may cost a bit more or you have to drive farther to pick them up, a non-stop flight should really be on top of your priority list.
• Send them a detailed airport map and instructions if they do have to deal with connection flights;
• Have them bring a copy of the entire itinerary with them so that airport staff may be able to help without a translator;
• Although most airlines flying to and from China will have Chinese-speaking attendants, it is not guaranteed. If this is important (they need special assistance, for example), then obviously China-based airlines would be better options. Air China and China Eastern sometimes have Chinese-speaking staff at the airport to help passengers going through Customs inspection, which is very important for first-time visitors.

If you have other tips or materials that you would like to share, please drop me a line.

Updated 4/1/2012: Added Airport Inspection Process in Simplified Chinese (and English)

Mr. Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State, announced at the AILA Midwest Regional Conference on March 16 that EB-2 priority dates for India and China could potentially retrogress all the way back to August 2007! Any this may happen during either the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin.

His prediction, always considered trustworthy given his position, caused widespread frustration among EB-2 filers. It seemed particularly disappointing because the category’s cutoff dates have been advancing rapidly for months. However, many people were kind of expecting the bad news, since Mr. Oppenheim did warn about potential retrogression at some point this year. So it was his other prediction that appeared to be hurting: No EB1 spillover to EB2 this year.

A visa “spill-over” means that unused visa numbers for a given EB preference are re-allocated to the next category. In recent years, spillover from EB-1 has helped the EB-2 category tremendously. But Mr. Oppenheim believes that all EB-1 visa numbers will be consumed within the category this year. On top of that, due to the government’s heavy promotion of investor visas, the EB-5 category will likely exhaust their allotment as well.

So all of these have painted a bleak future for EB-2 for the remainder of FY-2012. Coincidentally, there is now a petition proposing a thorough investigation into EB-1C, reserved for multinational managers or executives. A group has set up a petition to Congress: Stop EB1 C ABUSE and FRAUDULENT filing. Here is what the petition says:

We would like to appraise you of a particular area of United States Immigration law that has a huge potential of fraud and misrepresentation along with being unfairly biased in favor of the people who choose to abuse it. We are talking about the Employment-based first preference category EB1C (International Managers). As you are already probably aware, the requirements for eligibility in that category is just a year of overseas managerial experience in a company that conducts business in both US and abroad. We are sure you will agree that compared to the fair and stringent requirements of EB1A (persons of exceptional ability) and EB1B (outstanding researchers), this is a rather simple qualification to prove. Moreover it opens up avenues for fraud and misrepresentation particularly by overseas companies doing business in USA to unfairly take advantage of this simple requirement.

In some cases, a journey from L1 visa to EB1C green card does appear to be much shorter, compared to those who studied in the U.S. for a degree and then had to wait many years for their EB2 or EB3 green cards. On the other hand, there are indeed people who worked really hard overseas, climbed up the ranks, and eventually got transferred to the States as managers. So I hope the petition, if fruitful, will help block the loopholes where (staffing) companies simply assign manager titles to people for the purpose of gaining an advantage in immigration, rather than closing the door for legitimate candidates.

Visa bulletins are used to regulate the allocation of visa numbers. When demand goes up, cutoff dates may have to be moved back to prevent accidental over-consumption of visas. On the other hand, if demand level is low and there is a possibility of having unused visa numbers in the end, cutoff dates will be advanced accordingly to avoid wasting any. So there is still a chance that BE-2 will move forward again, and if it does, it will probably happen around July time frame.  In addition, if there is visa spill-over, meaning that unused EB-1 visa numbers are being passed down to EB-2, we might see another jump in the Summer.

Below is China EB2 visa bulletin movement so far for fiscal year 2012 (India EB2 is the same for this period):

All EB-1 categories, as well as all EB-2 other than India and China, remain current. This means that anyone who belongs to one of these classifications is eligible to file new I-485, and if they already did, their applications are eligible for approval.

All EB-3 categories are still heavily backlogged, while moving at an extremely slow pace from month to month. Here is an comparison for April:

Interestingly, as of late Friday night, the Department of State hasn’t updated their Website to show the April 2012 Visa Bulletin. However, the PDF version was posted earlier today and the voice recording (202-663-1541) has been updated with new cutoff dates for April. So the visa bulletin is indeed official, but it appears that someone at the Visa Office simply forgot to update the visa bulletin page before leaving for the weekend.

There is no formal template for a Certification of Translator. However, the translator (you or someone else) must certify that s/he is competent to translate the foreign language into English, and that the translation is accurate to the best of his or her abilities. The certification should also include the person’s name, address, signature and date of translation.

Below is an example preferred by the USCIS:

Certification by Translator

I, ____________________________ [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant)

in the English and ____________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an

accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature________________________________ Date_________

Typed Name__________________________________________

Address______________________________________________

This is another sample, provided by the Immigration Court:

CERTIFICATE OF TRANSLATION

I, __________________________, am competent to translate from
(name of translator)

_______________________________ into English, and certify that the translation of
(language)

_________________________________________________________________
(names of documents)

is true and accurate to the best of my abilities.

_________________________________ _________________________________
(signature of translator) (typed/printed name of translator)

___________________________________________________________________________________________
(address of translator)

___________________________________________________________________________________________
(address of translator)

_________________________________
(telephone number of translator)

Question 1: Can I, as a petitioner, translate my own documents?
I’ve seen articles on the Internet stating that a petitioner or beneficiary of an immigration application/petition cannot translate their own documents. However, I have not been able to find any official statement from any government authority supporting that claim. So I’m not sure. If anyone can point me to the correct source, I would highly appreciate it.

In any case, you don’t necessarily have to use a professional translator. Anyone who is competent can translate the document(s) and certify them.

Keep in mind that what we are discussing here is about translating documents for immigration purposes. It is different than acting as an interpreter during an immigration interview. In that case, I know a petitioner is not allowed to be an interpreter for his/her relative during interviews.

Question 2. Do I still have to submit my documents in foreign language if I already have them translated?
Yes, the English translations are required to accompany those documents in a foreign language, not replacing them.

Question 3. Must each document have its own certification for translation?
Each document not in English must have a translation attached, but if you have multiple documents in the same foreign language in the same package, my personal opinion is that you can include one certificate of translator listing all documents translated and certified by the same person. However, if you choose to attach a certificate to each document (in addition to the English translation), it is certainly acceptable too.

Question 4. Do I need to have the translations notarized too?
Notarization of the translations is not officially required, but obviously won’t hurt. I personally wouldn’t do it, but if you’re extra cautious, go for it.

Question 5. Can I use a computer or Website-based automatic translating service?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Although you can use them, such as Google Translate, for certain words, you really don’t want to rely on them for translating an entire paragraph or even a full sentence. As a minimum, you need to double check and verify its accuracy before using it as your translation. Your birth certificate, marriage certificate, degree certificate, etc. are all important documents supporting your application, and you want to make sure they are translated completely and correctly. If you don’t feel comfortable, you should consider hiring a translating service to do it for you.

Question 6. Should I follow the same format of the original document while doing translation?
Yes, absolutely. Your translation must resemble the original document in layout and general formatting.

Although visa number consumption is carefully regulated by the Department of State, there are occasional hiccups, or even big mess up sometimes, like the one in 2007. You can spot those patterns and sudden changes easily with the new table format. Visa allocation is dependent on demand data, which always fluctuates making it difficult to predict next month’s bulletin. But over a longer period of time the overall trend stays relatively stable. The retrogression tracker has a graph showing this effect for EB2 and EB3 only, but the new data tables cover all categories and all countries. Here is an example for India EB2′s Cutoff Dates:

Janet’s personal blog: http://janetliang.wordpress.com/
Save Janet Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/236450299768633/

In short, here’s how you can help.

1) Register in the National Bone Marrow Registry.

2) Spread the word to your friends via social media, word of mouth, whatever means you can think of. We really need to spread the word!

3) Start a Bone Marrow Drive! Depending on where you live, there are excellent resources of people and organizations that can help and through your personal connections, we can continue to spread the word and get others to register too! – Janet Liang

With the establishment of a new Visa Pilot Program, the department plans to reduce the amount of visa interviews for certain foreign visitors, including people renewing their visas, and children or elderly first-time applicants. This will not only save foreign travellers a considerable amount of time and money, but also free up resources at Embassies and Consulates to focus on higher-risk cases. In the end, a much more streamlined visa application process for everyone.

This is, in my opinion, long overdue! Take my parents as an example, they are over 70 years old and have been to the U.S. six times in the past ten years. We have taken many out-of-state vacations together, as well as frequent weekend trips. Despite their contribution to the travel industry and their track record of never over-staying their B2 visas, they had to re-apply every couple of years. Even with automatic visa re-validation (they were eligible once or twice before), it was still a hassle. And they are even considered lucky because there is an U.S. embassy in the city they live in. Others may have to travel by train, stay at a hotel, and wait for several days just to get a B visa which they had before.

I’m glad the administration recognizes the unbelievable waste of resources on processing these low-risk applications, and are taking initiatives to improve it. The pilot program (details still to be released) is certainly a step in the right direction:

The pilot program will streamline visa processing for certain low-risk applicants, such as individuals renewing expired visas, or some categories of younger or older first-time applicants. We expect that this will benefit tens of thousands of applicants in Brazil and China; saving them time and money, and encouraging them to choose to visit the United States again. However, given that national security remains this Administration’s highest priority, individuals identified as higher-risk will remain subject to interviews – in addition to the full screening and review all visa applicants receive.

The department also provided some figures to demonstrate the economic impact of the new policy:

For example, this will make it much easier for many Chinese tourists to renew their visas – a group that spends more than $6,000 per person, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce. Over the course of the year, this policy could open as many as 100,000 interview appointments for Chinese travelers applying for visas for the first time. That increase in tourism could support as many as 1,500 travel and tourism-related jobs.

Alaska Coupon Books

Even if you are not a typical “coupon clipper,” don’t overlook the Alaska Coupon Books. They can easily save you hundreds of dollars. The one I bought is called Alaska TourSaver, priced at $99.95 on Amazon. Despite the high price, I’m glad I bought it since the first two coupons I used already recouped the book cost. If your plans include train tours, glacier cruises, flightseeing, river rafting…your savings could quickly add up with those buy-one-get-one coupons.

Some places, especially hotels, accept only a limited number of coupons per day. So again, book early if possible. The TourSaver’s website lists all the coupons in the book. You can find out beforehand if a particular activity offers a coupon, and whether there are validation or other limitations. Do not tear off the coupons just yet; many places require the entire book, with the coupon still attached, to honor the discount. Alaska Railroad, on the other hand, asked me to mail the coupons to them, which was interesting.

Other than the Tour Saver, another coupon book called Northern Lights is also quite popular. Although there are overlaps, the two books do offer different coupons. Another tip, if you’re planning a trip for later in the summer, you can probably grab a lightly used coupon book off eBay for half the price.

Best Time to Visit Alaska

Alaska is open to tourists all year round, but obviously the majority of people go during the summer. Alaska’s travel season is usually May 15 through September 15, peaking from mid-June to mid-August.

Our late July trip was during the peak season, but honestly I didn’t feel over crowded at all. The sky was light nearly all night long, air was fresh and pure, temperature was surprisingly pleasant (even at night), and nature was in full bloom. If I’m travelling to Alaska again I might choose early June or late September, just to see something different, but I wouldn’t mind any month, really.

Cruise or Fly

We thought about going for an Alaska cruise, which is certainly more comfortable and relaxing than a road trip. And cruise excursions do offer opportunities to further explore the inland. However, we decided to fly to Anchorage instead, especially since JetBlue just launched a non-stop flight from Long Beach to Anchorage in 2011. A DIY road trip can be more flexible and does allow a more up-close experience with Alaska, in my opinion.

Hotels

Being a tourism state, Alaska offers plenty of lodging options. In Anchorage, you will see luxury hotels, national chains, independent inns, and many bed-and-breakfasts scattered across the city. They are on the expensive side – roughly double the price I usually pay at similar hotels elsewhere. It is understandable, though, given that many hotels will probably only see guests one third of the time in a year.

Since we prefer suites, we quickly narrowed down our choices in Anchorage and eventually booked Homewood Suites by Hilton, through Expedia.com. It was very nice with complimentary breakfast, free wifi (that actually worked), and a tiny kitchen in the room. All the hotels we looked at offered free shuttle service too. The shuttles not only pick up and drop off guests at the airport, but also go to the train station, downtown and a few other designated locations. All we had to do was to call dispatch and a shuttle usually showed up within 10 minutes.

If you are also heading up to Denali, my recommendation is to stay at a Bed-and-Breakfast in Healy, a short drive from the park. I would avoid the pricey and over-crowded hotels at the park entrance. More on this later.

Train, Bus, Shuttle, Rental Car, RV

Although a rental car gives you flexibility and convenience, you don’t necessarily need one in Anchorage. Shuttles can take you around town, and trains/motor coaches connect Anchorage to everywhere. Alaska Railroad operates scenic train tours (slow but very comfortable) to Seward, Denali, Fairbanks and Spencer. The trains are narrated and will even slow down when noteworthy animals (bears, anyone?) are present. The schedule is also coordinated with many local tours, such as glacier cruises. You just have to try it!

We didn’t have a rental car for the first three days of our trip, then rented a minivan to drive to Denali National Park. I reserved it in mid-May, and at that time almost all rental companies were out of minivans. I eventually spotted one at Budget, but for a six-day rental, they were asking for $1700. I tried all the codes I could find from Costco or AAA, but none worked in Alaska. Just when I was about to give up and shell out the money, a coupon offered by an airline that I found online magically worked, and knocked the price to about $900. I took it without any hesitation

At Denali I saw an army of six RVs leaving the park together. They were apparently rentals. I thought that is a good idea too, especially if you have friends going with you. They aren’t cheap, but offer a unique experience. I’m actually thinking about giving it a shot, maybe at Yellowstone.

Attractions and Activities

Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, and acts as a hub to other parts of the state:

• North: Denali National Park, Talkeetna, Fairbanks
• South: Seward, Kenai Fjords, Whittier, Homer, Central Kenai Peninsula, Girdwood
• East: Valdez, McCarthy Kennicott
• Inside Passage: Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Yakutat

Some of the most popular tourist activities include:

• Glacier and Wildlife Cruises
• Flightseeing
• Rafting, Kayaking
• Fishing
• Dog Sledding
• Northern Lights Viewing
• Hiking and Camping
• National Park Tours
• Train or Road Tours
• Marine Highway

Anchorage Weather and Rain

On our July trip the weather was very pleasant in Alaska, around 70′s during most of the day and dropping only to the 50′s at night. The weather forecast, before our trip, showed 50% chance of rain everyday, but it only hit us on the last day. Below is a chart I made based weather.com data for Anchorage:

Miscellaneous Equipment to Bring

Mosquito Repellent: We definitely heard about Alaska mosquitoes, so we brought plenty of bug repellent with us. Fortunately in the Anchorage area mosquito wasn’t a problem at all. At Denali National Park, however, we did see more than a few and the battery-powered mosquito repeller we brought helped (kids somehow didn’t like the spray-on type of repellent). The bed-and-breakfast hotel we stayed at sit deep in a wooded area, and had a pond nearby, so yes, there were plenty of mosquitoes.

Binoculars: Good binoculars make glacier cruises, bird viewing and bear searching more enjoyable. I would recommend them. Some day cruises also loan binoculars to passengers if they don’t have their own.

Portable GPS: If your rental car isn’t equipped with GPS, a portable one does come in handy. However, the highway system in Alaska is the easiest to navigate through compared to every other state I’ve been to. I would recommend one for the peace of mind, but you probably won’t need it much.

Lots of storage for your photos and videos: I brought a laptop (primarily for this reason) and was glad I did. I had to transfer images and videos off our cameras and camcorder everyday. In the end I managed to come home with about 50GB of digital files – a lot more than I expected.

Don’t worry if you forget anything; shopping is very easy in Anchorage. The Costco we visited had some huge fishing nets for sale – now that is convenient.

Last year we spent our summer vacation in Alaska. For a family that tends to choose nature over big cities, the trip was truly amazing and unforgettable. I always wanted to write something (sort of like a user review), or just post some photos, but never got to it until the other day when I talked about fee-free entrance days in the national parks.

I realized that if you are thinking about visiting Alaska in 2012, the time to start planning is about now. Alaska is a busy and expensive place to visit during peak travel seasons, so it pays off to get a head start. In the next few posts I’ll talk more about the trip, and along the way provide my personal reviews, a few tips and of course lots of pictures.

Our itinerary, although not perfect, worked out quite well for us. As a family of six (grandparents, two kids, wife and me), we felt that we experienced Alaska as much as we could, without feeling exhausted or rushed. We certainly missed some “adventurous” activities, but no regrets whatsoever.

• Day 1: Fly to Alaska on JetBlue (non-stop Long Beach to Anchorage), check in with Homewood Suite
• Day 2: Anchorage downtown, local fair, Anchorage Zoo
• Day 3: Alaska Railroad 5-hr train tour to Seward, Major Marines 3-hr Wildlife Cruise, same train back to Anchorage
• Day 4: Pick up rental car, drive to Whittier, take 6-hr glacier cruise by 26Glaciers, back to Anchorage
• Day 5: Drive to Denali National Park, check in at Faith Hill Bed-and-Breakfast
• Day 6: Take Denali’s 8-hr Tundra Wilderness Bus Tour
• Day 7: Denali Wilderness Center, Sled Dog Show, Savage River
• Day 8: Return to Anchorage
• Day 9: ULU factory tour, local parks, evening flight back to Long Beach

Now off to trip planning.

Some national parks don’t charge an entrance fee, but others do. However, every year those parks that usually charge a fee will be open for free on given days. For 2012, the fee-free days are listed below:

• January 14-16 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend)
• April 21-29 (National Park Week)
• June 9 (Get Outdoors Day)
• September 29 (National Public Lands Day)
• November 10-12 (Veterans Day weekend)

New Grounds – Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
by Brendan Graham

On the first day of January,
Eighteen ninety-two,
They opened Ellis Island and they let
The people through.
And the first to cross that threshold
Of the isle of hope and tears,
Was Annie Moore from Ireland
Who was all of fifteen years.

CHORUS:
Isle of hope, isle of tears,
Isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it’s not the isle you left behind.
That isle of hunger, isle of pain,
Isle you’ll never see again,
But the isle of home is always on your mind.

In her little bag she carried
All her past and history,
And her dreams for the future
In the land of liberty.
The courage is the passport
When your old world disappears,
But there’s no future in the past
When you’re fifteen years.

CHORUS:
Isle of hope, isle of tears,
Isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it’s not the isle you left behind.
That isle of hunger, isle of pain,
Isle you’ll never see again,
But the isle of home is always on your mind.

When they closed down Ellis Island
In nineteen forty-three,
Seventeen million people
Had come there for sanctuary.
And in Springtime when I came here
And I stepped onto its piers,
I thought of how it must have been
When you’re only fifteen years.

CHORUS:
Isle of hope, isle of tears,
Isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it’s not the isle you left behind.
That isle of hunger, isle of pain,
Isle you’ll never see again,
But the isle of home is always on your mind.

I don’t remember how much taxes I paid over the years, but I do recall the pain every year before April 15. So today when I saw a hot deal on Amazon’s tax software, I jumped on it. Now, I may still find other excuses to procrastinate, but at least shopping for a tax program can’t be one.

I have been using tax software and e-filing for nearly 10 years, mostly TaxCut (now called H&R Block at Home – quite intuitive, huh?) but for a couple years I did try TurboTax. I never had an accountant do my taxes before, although some friends strongly recommend it. Maybe some day I’ll give it a shot. I only know one person that still fills out paper forms and does calculations by hand, so he is my hero.

There are two major commercial tax programs on the market: TurboTax and TaxCut (H&R Block at Home), with TaxAct being a third option. They are priced pretty much in that order, from high to low. They can all import last year’s tax returns, as well as financial data from certain institutions. They are somewhat cross-compatible. There are many articles on the Internet to compare the three, but my personal experience is that they all get the job done. You may prefer one’s user interface, or certain features, more than the others. For me I started with TaxCut and found no reason to switch.

Tax software usually comes with four editions: Basic, Deluxe, Premium, and Business. The basic version handles simple returns (1040EZ, e.g.) and is often free. Deluxe is the most popular, which covers common tax situations including regular 1040, investment, home mortgage interests, donations, other itemized deductions and tax credits. Premium adds income/expenses from rental properties, self-employment and more complicated investment. The business version is useful for small business owners.

If you live in a state that collects state income tax, you will need to select the combo pack while purchasing the tax software. Although you can add the state option later on, it will certainly cost you more money. As to e-filing, the software you purchase usually comes with one free federal efile (or even five), but will charge you somewhere around $20 for electronically filing your state tax return. A smart marketing move, because at that point most people will probably just pay up to get the thing done. Note that if you have the simplest return to file, or your income is below certain level, you can use many free programs online to prepare and e-file your return.

All three tax programs mentioned above have desktop and online versions. You can buy the desktop version either in a retail package that includes a physical CD, or by downloading it directly from an online store. While preparing your tax return, you save the data locally on your own computer. You only submit them to the IRS and/or state board when you are done. The online version, on the other hand, stores your personal, financial and tax information in the Cloud – the software company’s web server. Your data will be encrypted, and you can access them anywhere. Online security is indeed a concern for many people, but your own computer may be hacked too. So neither method is risk-free.

A few tips for new immigrants and non-immigrant visitors:

• You may have to file a tax return even if you don’t owe any tax. This may be a new concept to many who are not familiar with the U.S. tax system. So double and triple check if you think you can legally skip it. The IRS has many helpful documents.
• Some tax software programs may not include all necessary forms for non-resident aliens.
• Non-resident alien and resident alien for tax purposes is different from your immigration status. You may be an H-1B worker without a green card, but must file tax as a resident alien, for example.
• Most F-1 and J-1 students can file tax as nonresidents during their first five calendar years, while J-1 scholars are considered nonresidents for taxation purposes during their first two calendar years of presence in the U.S. Your filing status is very important because your tax return should be prepared differently due treaties, social security taxes, etc.