biggish data

Insight into USICS Service Center

LOL... You would say something like that .

And mine too. So get in line

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-17 09:50:00

POE

IMO, the airline that issued you the tickets.
They're driving the plane, after all.

Love that!!!

So it's not a consulate and not you it's airline :rofl:

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-21 06:52:00

I-134 affidavit of Support

My BF and I are looking into the processes between the Fiancee Visa and the Spouse Visa. I know that during the fiancee visa you have to fill out the I-134 but do you have to fill it out for the CR-1 as well?? I worry about this because I am currently paying back my student loans from college ( which is about 67,000) and am not able to live on my own, so I am living with my parents. Would this be a problem when the USCIS looks at my financial situation? and deny my bf to come over to the US? Anyone going through a similar situation? Any advice I would greatly appreciate! Thanks!

They are only looking at what you are making and not at your debts. As long as you make over 125% of poverty guidelines you should be fine. If not you will need a co-sponsor.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-11 12:10:00

k1 visa help

hello all,
im new to this so im not sure exactly where to post this but i need some help. i went to the ghana consulate and was given package 3 and 4 together. In the package 3 it had biographic data that it claimed i must fill out and bring back in order to get my interview date; but my interview date was given in the same envelope( package 4 ) so do i still have to fill it out and return it? also it says to bring the visa application in on the day of the interview which seem odd to me. If any one who has gotten through the k1 visa through the ghana consulate can offer any help, it would be greatly appreciated. thank you guys so much for your time

Nothing odd about it. You do need to fill out the biographic and bring it with you. As well as you do bring your application to the interview, they don't need it before that.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-21 06:18:00

i-134 and Tax Papers for K-1 Interview

hello Everyone i have a Question we are sending back our Packet 3.5 it says attaching i-134 is optional while you sending your
packet 3.5 and Proof of engagement so i'm planning to send them with my packet 3.5 so my question is i have a co-sponsor and my fiancée one year tax paper these papers she sent to USCIS with i-1864 so should i include the tax papers also with i-134 to attach with packet 3.5 your Respond will be much appreciated and waiting for the respond thank you

I am not sure why did you sent I-864 to the USCIS as it is not needed for K-1.

But you would need to attach all the proof of income you have for I-134 and just one year of tax papers will not be sufficient. You will need 3 year tax papers from your co-sponsor, pay stubs, W2's, employment letter. Anything that can show that he is making enough money to sponsor you.

Edited by Oksana & Max, 24 October 2011 - 09:44 AM.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-24 09:44:00

Affidavit of support?

Depend on consulate some do use I-864. Check with your consulate

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-24 21:05:00

Bobby, it was more than three years ago and to be honest I do not remember. I DO remember alla said she wanted to answer all questions in Russian, and she said this in Russian. We really had no questions in our interview and I remember her taking the oath (she thought it was really wierd)

she is here, I will ask her if she remembers.

I asked her "Alla do you remember in Kiev you had to take that oath and raise your hand?"

Oh, yeah.

"Did you take the oath in Russian or English?"

Are you kidding me?

She doesn't remember either, but I do recall it was a very simple thing.

Gary & Alla,

Thanks for clarifying what type of oath we are talking about.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-19 12:34:00

Yeah that's what I was thinking... I also have been having my fiance go to English classes as well, but she is still paranoid about this. My fiance and I communicate daily via Skype, e-mail, or text message and I think her English has improved well in the past 5 months. We have tons of evidence for her interview in one week. I also bought the 5 level set of Rosetta Stone for her for $300 (normally $500) from Border Bookstore when it closed, so I am going to have her study English with once she comes to continue to help her.

I just can't wait for this madness to be over with...

I am with you. I just couldn't wait for my NOA-2 and going to visit my fiancee for the Christmas Holidays. We are alos communicating daily I have ton's of evidence to proove it. I just want her here near me!!!

I got Rosetta Stone here, so it is all ready for her, when she comes

Though we can speak russian to each other, so no language barrier here.

Edited by Oksana & Max, 19 October 2011 - 08:21 AM.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-19 08:20:00

what OATH!?

maybe it was a passage to read?.. your friend could have been LOST IN TRANSLATION

I have never heard you are required to read a passage either during K-1 interview especially in Kyiv.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-19 08:17:00

Hello Fellow VJ Members,

I just heard this morning from my fiance, that her friend went for her K-1 Visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, and was asked to recite an oath in English, but she was unable to do so in English so she was denied.... She mentioned that the interviewer was American started the interview in English and did not know Russian (supposedly). I do not know the other circumstances of this interview, other than the girl did not know English that well, and it had been 14 months since she last saw her petitioner. I also heard they don't communicate daily. So I wonder if not enough evidence contributed to this denial as well. I'm trying to get more details on the situation today from my fiance.

Does anyone have a copy of this "oath" anywhere just in case so my fiance can practice?

Thank you!

Dustin

P.S. I didn't know whether to post this question here or in the Russian, Ukraine, Belarus forum section...

Recite oath in English???? Seriously, I doubt that they would ever ask it. I just want to know how many people who leave in US, and speak english can do that.

I think there is more red flags in this case. As you mentioned they don't communicate daily and didn't see each other for over a year, this is somewhat long. Especially since USC doesn't need visa to travel to Ukraine.

This is at first I hear something like that about Kyiv Embassy, my fiancee is also in Kyiv, luckily I sent her to the English courses, so she can start learning before she come here.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-19 08:07:00

Well good thing. I was able to get a hold of the customer service for my calling card, and they were really helpfull and sent me the calling log for the last 12 month. Since I only call my fiancee with that the pattern will be quite visible how much time we spend talking to each other.

Thanks everyone for their feedback and recommendations on that.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-27 06:55:00

why do you not buy Skype credit?. I use Skype credit to call my bf use unlimited plan and it has history on account where, when, how long I call him.

Not every country have unlimited plan. Unfortuantely Ukraine doesn't. So I would rather stay with calling card, especially since I found a way to get a call logs.

Thanks

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-23 09:45:00

Just to be cleqar, because now I am confused...

evidence of "meeting in person" is needed for the PETITION, I-129f. And you only need to document ONE meeting in person.

"Evidence of relationship" is needed for the visa interview and needs to be much more substantial. I was under the impression we were talking about that. Good news on the call logs though.

Yes we were talking about that. It's just all the posters transfered to the other thing. I did send the meeting in person with my 129f actually send it for both meetings

.

I guess I should be good to go now......

Waiting, waiting, waiting........

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 19:29:00

I want to thank everyone for the responses. And I think I will close this thread on that.

Just to recap.

I do have evidence of meeting in person: photos, credit card statements, tickets, hotel invoice, passport stamps, etc...
I also have google chat logs and skype logs as I mentioned earlier.

And what I just found out even made me feel better.

I called my calling card company customer support center, and they are more then happy to assist with that. Only 48 hours notice and I will get a print out of 12 month worth of phone calls that I made to my fiancee.... (I hope this should be enough).

Thanks again for everyones response.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 18:16:00

why dont you use skype to make all your call. you can get a skype to go number which will allow you to make calls from your cell/land phone at skype rates. you can get your call logs when you use skype to go number. you can also use an application that can get you all your call logs from skype. i think skype is cheaper and more convenient.

Skype rates to call Ukraine are really expensive. So I am trying to get a call log from the calling card, or will switch to another one that will get me the log for sure.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 12:07:00

Ever heard of Magicjack? You can call anybody in the US and Canada for as long as you want and just pay a very cheap yearly rate. You can get a screenshot there. It shows the date, time and length of conversation
If you're talking though chat, Skype, make sure it shows the call logs.
I do not use Skype but if you are taking the screenshot of your conversation, make sure it shows the date.
Email- sort it according to the sender. Make a screenshot too.
Snail mail- of course the one with a stamp.
Airline Ticket and boarding pass-photocopy
Stamped part of the passport of the petitioner-
Chat- try to get a screenshot of your web conversation that has a yahoo news on the side where it shows a date.
Credit card statement of the petitioner (if you can)

My fiancee is in Ukraine, so Magicjack will not work for me.

I don't have boarding passes, as at the time I didn't know, however we have passport stamps, I believe this will show it, that we were in the same place at the same time.

I can get Credit Card statements as well, it shows the rental car and several restaurants where we ate.

Hope this will be sufficient

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 12:03:00

Here are some better examples:

EMAILS
PICTURES W/ DATE STAMP
TRY CALLING FROM YOU CELLPHONE IF YOU CAN, HIGHLIGHT THE PHONE NUMBER YOU CALL FOR THE PHONE CARD AND STAPLE A COUPLE PHONE CARDS TO THE LOG THAT YOUR PHONE COMPANY PROVIDES
LETTERS
TRAVEL RECEIPTS

Be creative, basically what you guys do day to day, try to show this in the form of hard proof. If not you will regret it when you get a RFE or denied =/

What we do day to day is talk on the phone since we are far away from each other.

I don't have picture w/ date stamp, as not every camera gives this option.

Calling from the cellphone is to expensive as it is like $3.00 a minute, I think it is a little bit ridicoulus paying a money like that.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 09:52:00

That's it? No photos, no receipts from the meeting? No letters or cards sent? No receipts from a gift sent?
No emails?

You need to tell the story of your relationship; what you send them should make it obvious to the consular officer.
It is suggested to generate different types of evidence just to be sure you have enough.

Let me clarify it.

I do have emails, pictures and iteneraries when we met, as well as CC statements for Car Rental and everything else. Which this is what I sent to the USCIS, I will bring it in as well, I am talking about the evidence from the time I applied for the I-129F till the interview.

However my pictures don't have date stamps, they were taking on the camera that doesn't do that, so what should I do???

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 09:48:00

they have clean cards, what fab rate are you paying?

I am paying 7.9c p/m with no connection fee / maintenance fee / and rounding to one minute.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 06:45:00

#3 is meaningless without the log...

try uniontelecard.com... good rates and call logging

They might do call logging, but rates are the worth I have ever seen. Charging for connection and maintenance seriously in 21st century??? Don't think I would go for it.

Hopefully someone else can provide a better information.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 06:34:00

I have a question about proof of ongoing relationship for K-1 interview.

Here is what I have

1. Google chats
2. Skype logs
3. Calling Cards - I am using calling cards to call my fiancee, and talk to her at least twice a day. Unfortunately calling cards don't track the number you call as there is no billing nothing. Is just reciepts will suffice? Or what should I do?

Any other suggestions please.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-09-21 06:25:00

I-134

Yes your fiancee still need to fill out I-134.

I am not sure specifically what you send in Packet 3, as it is different by country.

But I would sent both and bring both as well for the interview.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-27 05:43:00

DS-156 Question #37 illegal family member.

So my Fiancees father left her and her family when she was about 5, she has not seen him since then. She does not really know a lot about her father, she does not even know his address. She talks to him on the phone every blue moon, but that is all the contact she has with him. She thinks he left on a tourist visa, but he has been living in the US illegally for a long time. She has heard from her other family members that he has been trying to become legal, but she is not sure.

Anyway, I know that we have to mark that he is in the US, we would never chance lying to the consulate, but the way the question is worded makes me a little confused. Should we mark that he is in the US, and say in the blank that he is illegal, or should we say in the blank that he is working. Because he is working, he is actually a pastor in a Brazilian church... it says in the instructions, that you are to mark yes or no and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.)

let me know what you guys think.

If she knows for sure that he is in US, then mark it. However if she is not sure about his whereabouts 100% I would just say "No". It is not lying if you are not sure about his whereabouts. I was going thru the security clearance and had the same situation as they were asking the location of my biological father, which I have no contact with, so I just put "unknown". I knew where he could be, but I wasn't sure. And I had no issues.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-18 17:03:00

Income proof for US citizen

Yes you do need tax returns and the co-sponsor would need to submit it too for previous years.

The one thing you need to make sure that your embassy allows co-sponsoring. Not every embassy allows it.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-10-27 08:07:00

Enough Evidence?

Before I go any further preparing my I-129F packet, I want to ask if I have enough evidence proving a relationship/that we met. This is what we have so far:

- Passport Visa scans of our 5 trips (totaling 2 full years of being together in person) to visit each other (passport pages with stamps scanned, plus the first two pages to show whose passport it is) All pages will be signed and dated.

- Scans of airline boarding passes/itineraries (including one we flew together on) All pages will be signed and dated.

- Photos from our 5 visits. We selected 10 and made sure to include one with me with his family together and one with him and my family together. All of the others have the two of us in very different settings (in a snow igloo, in Australian rainforest, King's Island amusement park right in front of the sign, etc.) I printed these off 4x6 glossy style and will be writing on the back who is in the picture, place, and date it was taken. Plus signing/dating each one for good measure.

- The explanation of how we met attachment is pretty detailed about our relationship timeline.

I have read that the Sydney consulate isn't that bad to deal with. Is this enough evidence to get us through the visa process? I really don't want to print out 50 pages of AIM conversations or mess with notarized family letters if I don't have to... No reason to waste a tree if it's not needed. =)

It is enough evidence to submit the I-129F Packet. As it only needs the prove of meeting in person. However when you will go to the interview you will need to provide a proof of ongoing relationship. Which it might be 100+ pages of chat logs, phone logs, emails, or anything else you can come up with. While I am myself a big initiatior for environmental sustainable environment, you want to make sure you get a visa. So get ready to print all those papers and everything.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 06:08:00

US citizen marrying Foreigner that alreadys is in the US

If you are planning to marry in US and stay here you can go with I-130 and I-485 approach. If you are planning on going back your country and wait for visa it will be I-130 for CR-1 (could take about a year to get it).

Looks at the guides on the forum. You can't go with K-1 as you will be married, and K-1 is a fiancee visa.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 11:12:00

I-129f check amount

You need to resend the whole package with the correct amount which is $340.00. While VJ is a great site and have a lot of information it is important to check the USCIS for those things.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 11:15:00

approved petition statistics

So while bored out of my ever loving mind today I did some counting.. I love numbers and statistic. If nothing else they show patterns
So from January 2011 until October here are how many were approved. VSC
Oct - 35
sept - 62
aug - 111
july - 120
june - 133
may - 79
apr - 5
feb - 2
jan - 0
so not sure what it is telling us exactly...lol.. just know I'm still waiting and we have an NOA1 of April 27

How can a process like this turn us logical, mature adults into whining, crying, temper tantrum throwing adults...

How about take a country into account and do a full statistical analysis. For example to determine a correlation between approved petitions and country of the beneficiary. This way we may be able to find out that some countries get more scrutinity.

Just an idea :rofl:

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 07:16:00

Calling your Congressman?

I've seen a few posts mention contacting their Congressman. Is there any evidence that this really helps? What do you ask them to do?

You are still too far away from contacting Congressman. You just submitted your's in August and according to the USCIS site for VSC they are currently processing March 15th. So hang in there.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 13:08:00

Question ON K-1 APPROVAL

Presence of fiancee does help in some countries better than in others. Some countries are not even allowing fiancee at the embassy.

I will give you one hint. When you come to the interview the CO already knows whether they will approve you or not. They have guidelines they are following, as well as number of visas to be approved. You are from one of the countries with high fraud rate and a lot of time they will put cases to the AP, after the interview.

As long as you got strong evidence of your relationship and interview well you should be just fine. Proove of engagement alone will not be sufficient you need to show evidence of day-to-day communication between each other. Like phone logs, skype logs, chat logs, emails, etc... Showing that you are in the relationship. So make sure you have all of that. Really important to present evidence of ongoing relationship.

Edited by Oksana & Max, 01 November 2011 - 01:06 PM.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 13:03:00

I am so excited, its almost the end, BUT.....

Hey VJ Fam,
I think I'm making this situation a lot bigger then it actually is.....here's the deal, I work part, part-time ha...if that makes sense, anyways I am a full time student and in my senior year, I obviously don't make anywhere near enough money to support my fiancè and my mother has agreed to be a Co-sponsor. I am starting an internship soon and I will have to stop working on those day I will be at the internship which then makes my income lower...what my question is will me not working as much lower our chances of getting approved...even though we have my awesome mom co-sponsoring?! I mean in the end my internship can end in a great paying job and with benefits for us both, will they even consider that?! Any advice is greatly appreciated!! Thanks everyone for being so helpful!

Co-sponsor income should be sufficient. Though make sure that your embassy allows to have co-sponsor, not every embassy will allow this.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-03 09:28:00

K-1 Visa Not Granted at Jamaican Embassy

My fiancee went yesterday to Kingston, Jamaica for his interview. They asked him the same questions repeatedly that he provided a sufficient answer to, but they just kept on. They alluded to the fact that our relationship looked orchestrated, which of course is not true. They did not give him a formal denial (no stamp in his passport, no blue form, no reason for denial) the only explanation given was that what was in the paperwork did not match what was said during the interview. They said they would send his papers back to the US and they would contact me directly. Now we are not sure what to do. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions on what to do next. We did not hire a lawyer to do our original paperwork.
Thanks for your help!!

There is really nothing you can do at this point. What seems like that there was an issue during interview. Possibly you didn't had strong evidence to proof a bonafide relationship. There is really nothing you can do at this point. You can try to wait till you get "Intent to Deny" from USCIS. Which could take months and months down the road. Or you can try to apply for a new case but to make sure you cover all of the issues, including proof of the relationship and etc.....

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-03 12:35:00

Importance of communication screenshots and ongoing relationship proof during interview

I'm not putting a lot of time and effort into screenshots as they are weak evidence.

How many of us recorded WC screen shots in the beginning of the relationship? How many of us thought "Hey, lets record this in case we get serious later and need it for our K-1?". In addition to most screenshots lacking a timeslot, I think most CO's realize that this type of evidence is usually only a few months old when the applicants started building evidence. I am not saying it doesn't hurt. but I doubt if the CO's put a lot of trust in something that can be easily faked, or so new that it doesnt show the length of the relationship.

Chat logs are probably not of huge value either. With exception most can be easily faked. Anyone can create several online ID's, and crank off page after page of ficticious chatlogs. Again, they dont hurt, but are probably of little value. As with the screenshots, how many people "save" chat logs?? Most chatlogs are overwritten or erased by default after a set time period to prevent filling up the hardrive, and as in the screenshots these documents would probably only exist for recent conversations.

E-Mails seem to be of more value. Although the dates can be faked, I doubt most people would go to that length of deception. Additionally, the topics and events described in the emails can usual be read in succession and can show a rough timeline (ie talking about Chrismas, holidays, birthdays, etc..). Even without datestamps the emails hold some weight. I've printed out my emails to include the 'headers" showing the routing of the emails.

Photos by far are the superior evidence, even without datestamps. I couldnt remember the dates of some of my photos, but was able to match them up by looking at our wardrobe, hairlength, and type of weather outside. Heck, could even match a few by the depth of my summer tan! I doubt that a trained CO would have much trouble spotting fakes either. I've seen a few rejections on this site where the reason was "Inconsistent" photos, and I imagine the rejected package showed photos dated years apart, but with the couple in the same clothes and hairstyles.

I don't want to scrutinize your post, but according to you everything is fake and doesn't show proof of the relationship. Well let me tell you like that. As you stated: "Photos by far are the superior evidence, even without datestamps" I can fake photos as easy as I can fake everything else. There are great software programs that will let you do whatever you want.

So according to you again the K-1 visas shouldn't even exist as you can never proof a relationship since everything is fake.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-04 07:41:00

Question

Then one that will be POE. So in your case Miami.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-04 07:47:00

K1 August filers- Vermont

I am I am July filer and still waiting.

So you are still long ways to go.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-01 12:45:00

I-129F Application Returned - Incorrect Fee?

I made the check to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

I know it is a dumb question, but I hope you didn't post dated it.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-04 08:41:00

I-129F Application Returned - Incorrect Fee?

Hi everybody,

Ok. First, I submitted my I-129F package September 6, and waited for three weeks. I did not receive a NOA, and the check I submitted was not cashed either.

I called and USCIS advised me to wait 30 days. So I waited, but upon calling them in October, they said I submitted an incorrect fee for the I-129F, and they mailed back the package on September 20. I told them this was strange because I made a check out for the amount of $340.00, and everything was correct on the check.

Moreover, I have not received my package since USCIS mailed it back on September 20. It is now November 4. USCIS advised me to e-mail the Texas lockbox center; I have, but have received no reply.

What could have gone wrong with the check I submitted? Should I submit a new package?

To whom you made your check?

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-04 08:37:00

I-129F Application Returned - Incorrect Fee?

I was wondering which the correct ones? Some other VJ member said that her fiance petition get returned it because he overpaid. Here the link . http://www.visajourn..._1#entry4987207

The correct fee is $340.00 according to the USCIS web-site. A lot of people make a mistake and send $350 which is a fee that is paid in the consulate for Visa processing.

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-04 08:33:00

Is DOS closed today??? 11/7/11

I guarantee you they are not closed, because I am at work

Oksana & Max

Male

Ukraine

2011-11-07 09:55:00