ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionCalling all grad students...
Thanks!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-11-06 19:27:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionCalling all grad students...
I am a graduate student who receives a teaching assistantship every semester. In my program, while teaching-related compensation is not guaranteed, it's a secure bet, and between that and summer teaching, I earn my keep.

My checks are signed by the university. But that's a big structure, and I'm not sure exactly who I would have sign a letter that says a) I'm in good standing and B) I'm going to teach at a rate of $X dollars per semester plus $X summer teaching. The two are related: if I'm not in good standing, I can't teach, but they're different administrative functions within my department. No one 'hired' me. The contract I have is from February of 2002.

Any other grad students (or law, or medical) deal with this? Did you talk to your departmental registrar? Your advisor? The dean?

Advice appreciated. :) (The only thing I'm certain is that whoever signs the letter, it's going to be on Big Honking Letterhead.)
CaladanMaleCanada2006-11-06 17:02:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionYet Another I-134 Question
My bank gave me a letter that gave my current balance and date of opening the account, but they were unable to give me a summary of the deposits and withdrawals over the past year. Any suggestions on what to use as a substitute?
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-12 22:06:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionHmmm...No Deposit info on Bank Letter
I'm in the same situation. The letter from my credit union won't give the deposits & debits, so I'm going to give them the last couple months of bank statements along with the letter I do have. (My other bank did all the information just fine.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-15 23:24:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionVisa Denied
Hoo boy. Sorry to hear of the setback. As I understand it, the I-134 varies by consulate regarding whether they want 100% or 125%, and it's just their way to gauge whether you have a chance of successfully adjusting status.

I think your best bet here is going to be to try to convince someone Mandi knows to co-sponsor. A couple questions for you:
1) It wasn't clear from your original post whether Mandi makes 100% now or 125%. If she makes 125% (and she's had this job a while), when she files her 2006 return, she'll be above the poverty line and you won't have a problem adjusting ceteris paribus. Taxes aren't due till April, but she can file as soon as she has her W-2 (prolly mid-January.)

If that's the case, you two are in a similar position as me. My 2006 return is fine, but my 2005 return is $499 bucks short. Here's what I'm doing.
- My parents won't co-sponsor for the I-864, but after I explained at length and ad nauseam what the I-134 was, they agreed to sponsor for the fiancé visa. Mandi may have to sit her potential sponsor down and explain it carefully, as my parents' initial reaction was 'Absolutely not the Canadian government doesn't need to have the rights to take my house.' (For fun, count what's wrong there.) Maybe someone through her church if her family doesn't want to? It's not a statuatory requirement, just an administrative one, so it's not legally binding.
- I received a nice letter from my employer that explains what I make, how long I've been there, and the like.
- Does Mandi have any kind of savings? If she's meeting 100%, she can make up the difference with assets (assets count a fifth as much, so if she's $1000 short, she'd need $5000.) You can get the bank to document that.

Since they asked for a co-sponsor, though, best to get line up one.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-17 00:23:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionI 134 Is Pissing me Off.
Thanks so much. :)
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-18 12:14:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionI 134 Is Pissing me Off.
Lol. Okay. So it's not just me.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-18 11:59:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionI 134 Is Pissing me Off.
Need Adobe Acrobat help here.

I'm filling out the I-134, and whenever I enter my (the USC) birthdate, it fills out automatically the date of petition submission. If I correct the date in one, it changes it in the other.

The form must have the date fields linked, but obviously they shouldn't be. Anyone know a way to turn this off?
CaladanMaleCanada2006-12-18 11:54:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionSelf-Employed Co-Sponsor
They only ask for one year of tax returns. (I-134, not I-864.) But the 1099 is what they'd want, you think? Small business taxes are sort of complicated; I'm not sure if they need the quarterly schedules.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-01-06 15:44:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionSelf-Employed Co-Sponsor
So, the I-134 asks for a notarized copy of the tax return, but the Vancouver consulate also requests W-2s from the sponsor.

My co-sponsor is self-employed. He doesn't receive a W-2, but a 1099 from his clients.

Perhaps this requirement is unique to Vancouver, but I wanted to ask out here to increase the numbers of self-employed people likely to have experience with this.

If you're self-employed, did you submit a 1099 along with the rest of the I-134 requirements in lieu of a W-2?
CaladanMaleCanada2007-01-06 09:25:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionCo-sponsoring a K-1 applicant
I think I'm right on this one, Yodrak. 'Daughter's fiancé' and 'future son-in-law' are synonyms. In this context, they should be substitutable.

"What is the Future Mr. Caladan's relationship to you?"
"He is my daughter's fiancé."
"He is my future son-in-law."

Two terms in a non-reflexive relationship.

If I were saying 'future father-in-law', you'd have a point. But I don't have the relationship backwards here.

If I get denied over this, I'll buy you a beer.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-01-09 20:37:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionCo-sponsoring a K-1 applicant
Hiya,

My parents are helping to sponsor my fiancé, too, and we're going through Canada.

Basically, there isn't a separate 'co-sponsoring' form. If you want to sponsor your daughter's fiancé, you just 'sponsor' him by completing the I-134 (and collecting the supporting information.)

My dad put 'Daughter's Fiancé' in the blank for 'Relationship', and 'No' for the question that asks if he'd filed a petition on behalf of my fiancé. (He didn't fill out the I-129F, I did.)

My parents file their taxes jointly, but my dad is the primary breadwinner. For the I-134 we're using their joint tax return (shows the income from his business) and his 1099. I just have his signature on the I-134.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-01-09 17:45:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionI-134 Affidavit of Support
Yes, you could each submit a separate I-134.


I'm a Ph.D. student, too, and when I called to ask for a letter, the first thing they asked as 'Do you have your original acceptance letter? That would work.' Since I've been in the program since 2002, they wrote up a summary of my income and signed it.

Your living stipend of 20K counts as income. Foreign graduate students bring over their spouses all the time.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-01-15 14:33:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionQuestion about the updated letter of intent...
Our NOA2 expired two days before the interview. I e-mailed Vancouver asking for an extension. They never got back to me, so I called the day before it expired (the number here, plus ext. 234), and they e-mailed back saying the consular officer extends it on the day of the interview.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-03-18 10:27:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionMust US Spouse Attend Interview at US Consulate
The U.S. spouse (or fiancé) is permitted to attend the interviews at the consulates in Canada, but it isn't required, nor is the absence of the spouse or fiancé taken as evidence that the relationship isn't real. C. went to his interview by himself; it wasn't worth it to me to fly to Vancouver ($$) for a two-day visit when we knew the interview would be the 'easy' part for us.

So no, you're not required to be there. And even if you were, it isn't the same as being subpoenaed by a jury. I think your stronger claim is that you *had* sought out approval, and that your excuse wasn't frivolous: you weren't legally required to be there, but it wasn't like you were going out for lollipops at the circus, either.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-03 08:58:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionMake a Web page.. to show proof of relationship???
It's a good thought in general! Your parents, his parents, your friends, &c, will love to see the two of you happy and enjoying trips together. Just not, unfortunately, ideal for an interview. Would make some of it easier, if you could send them video of the two of you talking!
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-16 00:31:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionMake a Web page.. to show proof of relationship???
That's not the issue. Webpages aren't static evidence. You can't put them in an envelope and say that USCIS and DOS evaluated the same package.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-15 16:39:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionMake a Web page.. to show proof of relationship???
Better, I think, to put the pictures in a package; they can't ship the web from USCIS to the consulate, and while it's readily accessible, they can't put it in a file, and you certainly wouldn't want to hope that they have the time and Internet access to go through your photos.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-15 16:17:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK-3 Denial - Morocco, of course
That's one thing you can address in that letter: consulate assumed you couldn't communicate, but you have three languages to play with. Do you have university courses or certifications in either French or Arabic? That would count as proof on your end that you have the proficiency to communicate.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-15 13:49:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK-3 Denial - Morocco, of course
Your letter's a good start, but it might help to strip it of some of the background. They're not going to give a damn that he was tired or had a long commute or was mistakenly asked for originals if none of that figured in the 221g.

You say in it you've studied philosophy, so you know how arguments work. Grant the assumption; undermine the premises. I'd start with the correspondence they gave you that explains why they denied it. Analyze it into reasons: no common language, including reliance on translators; way of meeting that looks like he went American hunting; and no intimate knowledge of your life.

Then rebutt those one by one with evidence. Are they wrong on the facts? Then show how. Are they wrong on the interpretation but right on the facts? Show them why your interpretation is better. Did they misunderstand him during the interview? Explain what he meant and back it up with documents.

Another thing I thought of as I was brainstorming how I would prove that C. and I were real if it came up....: do the two of you have e-mails where you discuss your future plans, not just get to the USA plans, but things like whether you'd have kids, or whether you'd want private school for them, or whether you think ballet is good for girls or leads to eating disorders? or your favorite memories or stories of your grandma or the little stuff that doesn't look like anything but forms the fabric of the relationship? Things that show that the two of you know each other well that doesn't look like a laundry list of common facts.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-15 12:37:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK-3 Denial - Morocco, of course
aicha, I've read over your account, and the summary given by the consulate is shorter, but it doesn't seem to contradict anything in your account except that the two of you don't need his friends to communicate in person.

There's a different spin on it, obviously. You see your husband as answering the questions and the interviewer sees a guy who describes the website (but doesn't say Yahoo personals) and how to search for the sort of women he wants, who doesn't (in the Consular officer's mind) speak adequate English, and who can reel off a list of facts about his intended, suggesting that he's been well-coached.

And it's good that you've provided this because the interviewee thinks he's answering some simple questions, and the interviewer draws a lot more from it. It's like giving an interview with a reporter and being surprised when the article comes out.

So the question is, where do you go from here? I think you're going to have a hard time arguing fabrication; even if that's true, the consular officer's account seems to jive enough with yours that you'd have a very hard time proving it.

The big worries here seem to be that his English isn't good enough to communicate with you (e-mail is fine, but e-mail, in the COs mind, doesn't have to be written by the interviewee) and that his description of the site sounded like he went hunting for an American (to an unsympathetic mind, and they are unsympathetic), and that his knowledge of you seems to be limited to 'name, rank, serial number.' That's what needs to be addressed.

So, some things to think about: can you show that his English has been improving over the year you've been together? What about your Arabic? Has it been improving? That would show he's not overly reliant on friends. Can you explain that you met on Yahoo! Personals? Who contacted whom? Did you meet while chatting, or by an e-mail? Has he met your children? Does he talk to them online or e-mail them? Photos?

They probably have a lot of this information, but what you're doing isn't providing just more information. You're providing the sort of narrative framework that allows the CO to see all the evidence as you see it.

You're very brave for posting this, and best of luck.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-04-15 12:01:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussionmy calling card

i have TONS and TONS of pictures....an engagement ring on her finger (the receipt too)....pictures of me with her family...multiple stamps in my passport from where I have visited Thailand....no emails between me and her though....and I have a chat log that I think I can pull from MSN Messenger, im not sure if MSN auto-saves all convos though


do you think all this is enough without the need for the phone call records??


Some phone card companies, if you call, can give you a transcript of the numbers called. I'm not sure which ones they are, but it might not be a bad idea to find one that can give you a transcript and use it sometimes (if it's a more expensive option, maybe use it as your 'short call' calling card and use the cheaper one as your 'long call' card. But a box of phone cards doesn't prove anything, unfortunately, on its own because it doesn't show a record of calls.

As to whether it's enough, without the phone records, check out the experiences of other people going through your consulate. When C. interviewed, I sent him two months of phone records, but they never asked for them. But Vancouver isn't Vietnam.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 08:29:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionIntent to still marry
They CAN ask for anything, but there's a limit, and this is how I handled my own personal case, to how much of the consulate's odd and unstated requests you can reasonably anticipate, especially when your source is information about another consulate. And it's a judgment call as to how much you include. I tend towards less to the kitchen sink approach on the grounds that if you wanted my phone number and I gave you my number, the phone book, a laptop containing the internet yellow pages and my mother's number just in case you needed it, I would have buried it. Bad noise-to-signal ratio. YMMV, of course.

For example, like I said, the consulate specifically asks for the I-134 going through Vancouver, and the I-134 asks for financial documentation. It would be foolish if we had not included it. Reading through people's experiences, it's also good to have the all the originals of evidence with you, photos, phone records, that sort of thing. Beyond the basics of your own consulate, though, I think it rapidly becomes an area where VJ has one or two examples of a problem that may or may not have more to do with the specifics of an individual case or case officer rather than a problem that generalizes for other people. Especially since people are loathe to disclose problems except piece-by-piece.

And it's a judgment call at some point: should the VJ guides be updated so the example letter is longer and contains more detail about the relationship because of a handful of blue slips? I personally think not because I don't think the letter counts as much evidence on its own. If the consulate can ask for anything, imo, better just to give them the things they do ask for and the things they commonly ask for, and when they come back asking for the USC's Sunday school records and lifeguard credentials, give them that.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-05 09:14:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionIntent to still marry

For our interview, I changed the header and the date but left it as a variation on the one-line response. No problems. I'm not sure what a personal letter would accomplish -- it's not a letter to your SO, it's a business letter to the consulate.


E a c h c a s e i s d i f f e r e n t. You will never know what parts of what you provided or didn't provide are needed until you get a temporary denial asking for something you didn't provide. Many of my China friends were never asked for any financial documentation at interview but my wife certainly was. I'm glad I had that base covered instead of listening to those that said they weren't asked for it.


The consulate asks for financial documentation. I don't think they ask for a letter showing anything beyond intent. I'd bring the letter along, and I haven't said ignore those instructions asking for a letter (!), but I certainly wouldn't worry that it didn't sound like Shakespeare or terribly romantic. I have not seen a denial for a insufficiently flowery letter of intent.


A Consular officer can ask for anything they damn well please. I've never heard of a denial fo insufficient floweryness either and never suggested anything of the kind. I have seen blue slips request an evolution of relationship statement from the petitioner. That's why I suggest a short one (flowery or not) be included with the updated letter of intent.

A fiance visa interview is not simply about meeting requirements. It is about convincing a Consular officer that the required papers are in order and that the relationship is ongoing and bona fide. If they have doubts they are free to request anything they think they need to satisfy the doubt, including proof of a former spouse's current address and their SSN. You can take the kitchen sink approach and have everything ready or just wait for something extra to be asked for. For most, the decision is easy. They would rather have anything that might be requested, rather than risk indefinite delay.


If you read the OP's post, she was wondering specifically whether the sample letter on VJ was too cold or if it would be better to explain how much they were in love. I was responding to you mostly to clarify that I wasn't saying DON'T send a letter when it's asked for, but that the content of the letter didn't need to prove one's love, just one's intent to marry. Apologies if there was confusion due to the quoting. :)

The evolution of the relationship might need to be clarified (though question 18 on the I-129F probably should contain that already), but I find a lot of this varies by consulate and the expected fraud level, and it's a fine line between being well-prepared and excessive stress. Plenty of people have succeeded with just the sample letter of intent VJ offer. Some haven't, but there's only so much preparing you can do based on other people's unique experiences at different consulates.

The best source of information is really other people going through the same consulate, because while the kitchen sink approach is certainly one way to go about it, it's not the only way. (E.g., I wouldn't advise a Canadian couple to ensure they had lots of pictures showing them in different clothing and proof of at least three visits, but for some consulates, that's smart.)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 15:03:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionIntent to still marry

For our interview, I changed the header and the date but left it as a variation on the one-line response. No problems. I'm not sure what a personal letter would accomplish -- it's not a letter to your SO, it's a business letter to the consulate.


E a c h c a s e i s d i f f e r e n t. You will never know what parts of what you provided or didn't provide are needed until you get a temporary denial asking for something you didn't provide. Many of my China friends were never asked for any financial documentation at interview but my wife certainly was. I'm glad I had that base covered instead of listening to those that said they weren't asked for it.


The consulate asks for financial documentation. I don't think they ask for a letter showing anything beyond intent. I'd bring the letter along, and I haven't said ignore those instructions asking for a letter (!), but I certainly wouldn't worry that it didn't sound like Shakespeare or terribly romantic. I have not seen a denial for a insufficiently flowery letter of intent.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 12:26:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionIntent to still marry
For our interview, I changed the header and the date but left it as a variation on the one-line response. No problems. I'm not sure what a personal letter would accomplish -- it's not a letter to your SO, it's a business letter to the consulate.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 12:02:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionSending Money
Ask this in the ME/NA forum. There are lots of women there who will be able to give you an idea of the cost.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-04 12:07:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionWife raped
QUOTE (Mags @ Oct 3 2007, 11:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (G_and_S @ Oct 3 2007, 10:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
A decent person who is considered to be one person's friend would not rape his female friend. The story did not make any sense at all.


You'd be surprised how many women have had "decent" male friends who then have raped them. Don't discount the story just because you cannot see the scenario happening. wink.gif


Exactly. It's actually more common than the proverbial dark man in the bushes jumping out and attacking someone. (And one reason a woman might not want to come forward is the people who will say 'you can't have been raped because you know the guy, you must have provoked him.')
CaladanMaleCanada2007-10-03 10:57:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionWife raped
QUOTE (rebeccajo @ Oct 2 2007, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Are you all trying to tell me that a woman from the Philippines would be too ashamed after a rape to disclose it to her American husband after it happened?

I am NOT being a wise-a$$ - is that a cultural truth?

Rape is a very traumatic experience. It's difficult for me to understand why a woman would NOT tell her husband immediately. Telling your husband you have been violated isn't the same thing as telling everybody in the village.

If there is ANYTHING about this story that doesn't wash as culturally believable to the CO, it's not going to matter diddly-squat if the OP makes more visits or is even present for the interview. If the CO views the beneficiary as using an American citizen solely for the purpose of immigrating, the visa will be denied.


I could see delaying telling a spouse even in the case of an American woman, if it were a case of acquaintance rape, because of the shame and because of how awful people treat rape victims when it isn't a stranger jumping out of the bushes. I could easily see someone deciding to keep it quiet or not going to the cops. And that's without having a visa process to jeopardize.

I can even see keeping the baby. What I can't see is giving the baby to the rapist's family to raise. And while the OP's wife might be totally honest with him, the fact is that there's a more plausible story to the CO: girl has a Filipino boyfriend, means to use the American for a green card and petition for him, oops, gets pregnant, has the 'rapist' take care of the baby so that sometime after lifting conditions they both can follow to join.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-10-03 09:00:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionMarriage license as a proof of relationship
Most states (I'd say all, but there's probably an exception somewhere) require both parties to go in person to obtain the marriage license, and most of the licenses expire after a certain number of days so even if you could get it, by the time you got it to her and she had the interview, it wouldn't be proof of anything.

Even if it were proof. It's not a proof of relationship. It's a proof that you intend to marry (if you could get it, which you can't), which your letter of intent does just as well, but it's not as though having a marriage license makes you more serious or believable.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-10-06 10:45:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionConcerns about the I-134...
You still have to fill out the I-134 (as the fiance, you're the primary sponsor), but you can have a co-sponsor to help you meet the income threshold. Your situation isn't uncommon; lots of people meet while students and broke.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-11-30 09:49:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionIf someone's K-1 visa gets denied
QUOTE (panamania79 @ Apr 20 2008, 10:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Or are there any options ?


It largely depends on the reason for the denial.
CaladanMaleCanada2008-04-20 10:50:00
CanadaRather a silly question...
I'm the USC. (posted before your last post.)

Anyhow, okay. It shouldn't be hard -- I've signed my lease effective two days before I leave for a whole year. Plus the schooling and all.

Edited by Caladan, 18 July 2006 - 10:57 PM.

CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-18 22:56:00
CanadaRather a silly question...
I'm 27 and he's nearly 30. (But he's insisting he'll be 29 for a few years yet.) I'm the USC. I refer to him as 'the boy' just for fun; 'boyfriend' seems a little weird for someone I'm probably getting engaged to in August, and he always starts phone calls, with 'Love you, how's my girl?', and I respond, 'Doing okay, how's my boy?'

Yeah. Weird.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-18 22:52:00
CanadaRather a silly question...
...anyone ever had any problems entering Canada? We read so much about occasional stop coming into the U.S.. but what about the other way?

I'm visiting the boy in August for two weeks. Can't wait! But freaking out over silly things, of course.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-18 22:42:00
CanadaIn need of a bank...
Excellent. Thanks for the advice; I'll be sure to check it out.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-09-06 14:06:00
CanadaIn need of a bank...
My fiancé and I just became engaged. He's the Canadian, I'm the USC. In preparation for his move here, he and I would like to start a separate savings account into which:

1) he will put the money (Canadian dollars)
2) I will withdraw the money (US dollars)

for things such as wedding expenses & set-up costs for once he moves down. Obviously too early yet, but once it's closer to the time, he wants to help pay without the hassle & surcharges of money orders.

Does anyone here have experience with a good bank or money-transferring type place that would help with something like this?
CaladanMaleCanada2006-09-06 08:48:00
CanadaPassport Canada
Thanks for your help!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-09-14 12:33:00
CanadaPassport Canada
He stopped in, so he says, about four weeks ago and they said 'in two weeks.'
CaladanMaleCanada2006-09-14 12:26:00
CanadaPassport Canada
Anyone had a hard time getting Passport Canada to process a passport in a timely manner? My fiancé applied for his passport back in July and they say 20 business days processing time. It's now September and no passport.

How can we light a fire under their behinds? What's the Canadian equivalent of 'call your Congressman and ###### about it'? It would be ironic if we move faster through the visa process than we do the passport process. And I'm going to be royally pissed off if I do everything right on this end and we get held up because of his end.

This is partially stressing me because I'm annoyed with my fiancé's last-minute attitude towards things. I've been trying to get him to apply for a long-form birth certificate for weeks now, but apparently that's somehow really hard requiring all of ten minutes of paperwork. Meanwhile, I put together a sixty page I-129F application by myself except for the signatures.

I love him, but I'm going to kick his butt if I hear another excuse about how hard it is to get a birth certificate.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-09-14 12:18:00