biggish data

I will convince him that we need to apply for CR-1 visa....

Its just confusing....

kiyomi

Female

Japan

2008-05-07 11:06:00

QUOTE (pushbrk @ May 7 2008, 08:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (kiyomi @ May 7 2008, 05:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just called the National Customer Service Center 1-800-375-5283 to ask about filling the CR-1 paperworks but I can go through to the operater...
caa you give me the instraction???

My husband just called them and talked to the operater but she didnt know about CR-1 visa ...

Whats wrong with them???

USCIS doesn't deal with "CR-1 paperwork". They deal with I-130 petitions. The Department of State knows about CR1 visas. I can't imagine any question you would have had that couldn't be answered here and probably already has been. If you insist on calling the misinformation line before filing, ask them about filing an I-130 for spouse.

Hi thanks for your reply..Ive been calling to National Customer Service Center but I cant through to anyone....how can I talk to a live operater??

kiyomi

Female

Japan

2008-05-07 10:01:00

Hmmmm...from this site ,Ive learned that CR-1 is the best option for us but my husband says K-3 is....he even says K-3 is faster and cheaper...is it true??I believe that if we file for K-3visa we have to pay about $1000 for filing for adjustment of status ....right?

kiyomi

Female

Japan

2008-05-07 08:26:00

QUOTE (brnidokiegurl @ May 7 2008, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

what is it you need to know, there are instructions here on site and you did alot of posts earlier and had your papers ready to mail, i doubt they could instruct or answer anything until they get your papers

well.... I wanted my husband to call them and find out about the difference between K-3 and CR-1 visa...he heard from his friend that K-3 visa is faster and cheeper so he called and tried to find out about it but they told him that there is no CR-1 visa and told him to aply for K-3visa....

kiyomi

Female

Japan

2008-05-07 08:21:00

I just called the National Customer Service Center 1-800-375-5283 to ask about filling the CR-1 paperworks but I can go through to the operater...
caa you give me the instraction???

My husband just called them and talked to the operater but she didnt know about CR-1 visa ...

Whats wrong with them???

kiyomi

Female

Japan

2008-05-07 07:57:00

i-130 intended address?

My husband is a Japanese citizen and I live in Japan on a work visa. We don't have any intended address in the states as of right now. I have seen it recommended that we should put my parent's address in this field or just include an intended city and state. Does anyone have experience with this particular situation? There seem to be lots of topics with suggestions, but never any follow up on what was chosen in the end...

I am also (probably irrationally) concerned that including a US address will slow our processing time - can I put that fear to rest?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-02-27 06:51:00

Paying the RCMP

Can you not get a Money Order in Canadian dollars from your bank in Japan?

The banks claim that it's either not possible, non-existant, or that it will cost something like $100 in fees on top of the actual $25 check. When we agreed to pay the fee, suddenly they didn't know how to do it anymore.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-07 06:53:00

Paying the RCMP

My husband is trying to get his fingerprint report from the RCMP but we don't have any way to pay the $25. We both live in japan and he hasn't been a student in Canada for years - we have no ties to the country other than it being a place he used to live. No friends who can help us out either. The RCMP will only accept Canadian certified cheque or money order or Amex travellers cheques (which only come in denominations of $20, 50, 100 or 500 with the RCMP only accepting the exact amount). The Canadian embassy in Japan has nothing to say other than "we don't know" and the RCMP have stopped responding to our emails and phone calls. The frustration level is getting very high and I'd hate for this to be the thing that stops up our whole process. Any advice?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-07 03:08:00

I-864 Affidavit of Support

Ah, ok. CO-sponsor it is, then

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-31 07:36:00

I-864 Affidavit of Support

I am working on getting together my tax and income information for my husband's visa. I have a co-sponsor lined up, however when reading the requirements for the affidavit I started thinking that I may qualify on my own. If am am %125 above the poverty line for a two person household, is anything else necessary? I am also living and working abroad, but once my husband receives his visa, we will be moving to the states - I suspect that this will change my ability to sponsor, correct?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-30 05:38:00

The RCMP

And now the RCMP website is saying that the wait time is only 4 weeks. WHAT? Am I taking crazy pills? Because I swear that thing said 11 weeks about 2 hours ago.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-04 13:26:00

The RCMP

After two months of very delayed non-responses from the RCMP and Canadian embassy in Japan, my husband and I found an old friend in Canada to purchase a money order on our behalf and submit my husband's police check. We tried diligently to get the check started a while ago, but no one would help us with information about payment. People at the embassy just flat-out refused to offer any answers or even suggestions. "I don't know," was the best we could get for about a month and a half (when they responded at all).

Anyways, I'm starting to get very worried because the wait time on the RCMP website is 11 weeks and when calculating the rest of the visa process, it's getting closer and closer to our planned departure time. My contract and visa are both going to expire at the end of August, so I HAVE TO go back to America. This means I have to leave my husband here when moving to the states, which is not something I'd like to do for serious financial and logistical reasons.

I've been reading about the police checks and certificates required and am curious if anyone has recently gotten their RCMP check done? If so, did you submit it from abroad? Has anyone had problems with their police check holding up the whole process? Does the NVC have any sway over this sort of thing? Can my NOA2 expire if RCMP doesn't get back to us on time?

I'm sure you are all familiar with the feeling of intense frustration in dealing with the visa process, but I'm reaching a breaking point here and anything you could share would be greatly appreciated. The worst part it that this whole thing is THEIR FAULT! We tried to get this under control in plenty of time and were brushed off over and over. Sorry for the length of this~! Needed to vent a bit, apparently.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-04 12:16:00

OK. Thanks for the information! I'm either going to have to get really convincing, or really crafty...

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-18 02:01:00

I'm starting to worry. If I can't provide the necessary support and the only people who I know are able to co-sponsor are not going to do it, what can I do?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-18 00:48:00

I don't have a job to come back to at the moment - my current contract in Japan is up at the beginning of August. I have been looking for jobs and have a place to stay when I return, but nothing is sure. I'm under the impression that if I don't have a job prior to or upon return to the US, I can't be a sole sponsor for someone on either the K3 or CR1, correct?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-18 00:13:00

My joint-sponsor is backing out and we have already received NOA2 and are in the process of putting together our required documents. As we are both abroad, I don't think I qualify to solely support him when we move back to the states, so I am wondering if it is possible to change our application to a K3 where I am told this requirement doesn't exist.

My other thought was to borrow enough from family member to meet the requirement for financial holdings... is this possible?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-04-17 23:45:00

Should we wait for the I-864 packet?

OK, Thanks for the advice! I've already got everything together and I'll send it out ASAP.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-02 09:25:00

Should we wait for the I-864 packet?

My husband and I both live in Japan. We have recently received our NVC case #, sent our DS3230, and paid out AOS fee. I know that the I-864 is next on the list. Because we are abroad, it might take a long time for us to receive paperwork via snail mail... Do we have to wait for the I-864 package to arrive, or can we send all the required paperwork now and eschew the weeks of delivery time?

Also, I don't think Japan accepts scanned/emailed paperwork at the moment.

Edited by OhNoRobo, 02 June 2012 - 01:41 AM.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-02 01:39:00

Choice of agent email?

We got a notice from the NVC inquiry this morning that our DS3230 was accepted and that I am now the agent for my husband. I haven't received any info from them yet regarding the bill pay, but they did say they would be sending the information to the address we chose - will they also send the invoice to my email like the AOS fee? Or should I call to find out if they've generated the invoice and number?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-07 07:26:00

NVC split up our paperwork?

Good luck with your interview and I was seeing your post on visa journey and my I-130 petition approved on May 7 and I'm still waiting NVC receive my petition. So I feel your pain that NVC taking forever for everything! Hope your interview goes well!! One more step to go!

We had a 2 month wait before we got our case to NVC - after a month, we found out that USCIS has misplaced (misfiled?) our paperwork. If you email the NVC inquiry address now, you might save some time if the same thing has happened for you!

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-26 03:11:00

NVC split up our paperwork?

Thank you! I will talk to them about the SafeFile. I feel like such a pain in the ####. I've had to cry to our embassy for help during every NVC step (which they have gone out of their way to give!)... I imagine that this is just the special NVC farewell gift! One more screw up before we're free

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-24 07:31:00

NVC split up our paperwork?

We have finally been NVC approved, and were waiting for the embassy to contact us about our interview - but, when they called, they told us that the NVC hadn't included my husband's other official original documents (police reports, birth certificate, etc.). The embassy claims that they cannot schedule our interview without that paperwork. When I spoke to the NVC they told me that they had sent those particular items to me, for some reason. I'm really worried because we live abroad and things have a tendency to take FOREVER to arrive at our place (which I would assume is an NVC issue and not the post due to the postmarking on the mail).

Is this common?

Is the embassy really required to have those things before they can schedule, or can we provide them at the time of the interview?

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-06-24 06:59:00

After speaking to a manager at NVC, I asked them to verify the tracking number/s for the civil documents they "sent". It's been a day and they can't seem to do it, which I think is proving my point. Hopefully.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-07-10 12:19:00

Same thing happened to me but they only lost my AOS.

What did you do? We can't really replace everything in the DS230 package without taking quite a while to find all the paperwork again - plus we would need to wait for another police report from Canada :/

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-07-09 18:10:00

Update!! The DS230 apparently never made it into their system! We have proof that the papers arrived and were signed for - I suspect they're just sitting around someone's office like decorations >_<

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-07-09 13:58:00

Our embassy requested an expedite which was approved on 6/18 and were were sent a letter to that effect. On 6/28 we were sent our I-864 via DHL express. According to NVC the only mailings that were sent to us were the aforementioned two. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. NVC and it's operators won't listen no matter how many times I explain what is going on, they apparently don't have tracking numbers for the items they've sent, and can't grasp that while we've received 2 pieces of mail, only one contained civil documents and the other was just a letter. We are owed one more package (our police reports, birth certs, etc.).

I have a theory that the expedite was accepted before our DS230 was processed. Maybe it didn't make it into the system?

Questions:
- Are civil documents always sent via express mail, with tracking numbers?
- How can I verify the ACTUAL location of our documents?

I emailed the embassy and explained our problem, so hopefully they can help...

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-07-09 12:57:00

USC petitioner living abroad

1. Country USC resides in: Japan
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: February 3rd, 2012
4. How long had you been living abroad: almost 3 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: Work (work visa)
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes, other than the required US address where I used my parent's home address.
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes.
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Not really, other than current address and marriage license from Japan.
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, I explained that I was filing from Japan for my Japanese husband.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Not sure yet - haven't received NOA2. Edit - Yes! 13 days!

Received our NOA2 today - edited to give that info.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-27 08:26:00

USC petitioner living abroad

1. Country USC resides in: Japan
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: February 3rd, 2012
4. How long had you been living abroad: almost 3 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: Work (work visa)
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes, other than the required US address where I used my parent's home address.
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes.
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Not really, other than current address and marriage license from Japan.
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, I explained that I was filing from Japan for my Japanese husband.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Not sure yet - haven't received NOA2.

OhNoRobo

Female

Japan

2012-03-14 13:10:00

I-130 Supporting Docs

Hi everybody, I've been lurking here for awhile and am hoping that I can submit an I-130 to the USCIS without any problems. We recently got married in Okinawa, Japan on 14Feb (Valentine's

). The problem is that although we're married by paper, we have not had our wedding ceremony. Therefore, I cannot provide wedding photos. We do have photos of us together throughout our relationship since 2007. Also, I plan on providing affidavits from two friends from the US and two friends from Japan (will be translated by certified person). I am hoping this will be enough? We do not have any joint accounts yet...

Also, we had about 40 (4x6 inch) photos developed, so it's quite a stack... Rather than just placing them in an envelope and submitting as a stack, I would like to somewhat organize them. Can I organize them in individual album paper and paper clip them to the I-130? I was also planning on writing the description of each photo on the back. I'm really nervous about this whole process...

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2012-03-10 22:41:00

I-130 Address to Use

Thank you!

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2012-04-16 16:33:00

I-130 Address to Use

Hi all,

I'm hoping somebody can help me with what I'm hoping is a simple question. My wife is Japanese and we both currently reside in Japan. The complication is I'm not sure which address to use on the I-130 and the G-325a . I have my home of record address back in the States, my address on the military installation (FPO AP address), and lastly my house address (actual Japanese address). I'm not sure if it's that important, but I just want to make sure just in case. Thank you in advance.

Edited by ThrottleChunker, 16 April 2012 - 08:48 AM.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2012-04-16 08:44:00

Police Report in Japan

Thanks Ryan H. The NVC operator made it seem like nothing was sent to me and that my only option was to submit my package as is. Once the reviewers notice that the police report is missing, she said they will send me an RFE, which I can use to show to the Police Department. I'll do what you suggested, I have a feeling she is giving me bad info.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2012-10-01 23:16:00

Police Report in Japan

Hello VJ members! I'm live in Okinawa Japan and am wondering what we need to show the Police Department to get a copy of my wife's police report. They won't give it out unless we have a valid reason. I called the NVC for advice and they told me to go ahead and send in my package to them as is without the Police Report. She said that I can use the RFE resulting from the missing Police Report to show to the Police Department. Something just doesn't seem right about that... Is that how things are supposed to go?!

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2012-10-01 17:35:00

I-601A Provisional Waiver

Hi VJ'ers! Like what this site advises, I called the NVC to check on my AOS and IV packages statuses. The NVC informed me that my case was completed on December 13th! However, I received somewhat of a puzzling email from the NVC today. They attached a letter with the subject, "I-601A PROVISIONAL WAIVER OF UNLAWFUL PRESENCE". The body reads as follows:
---------
This notice applies to you if you are currently in the United States, are or have been unlawfully present and plan to apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens may apply for a provisional waiver of inadmissibility due to unlawful presence before leaving the United States. For more information, please visit immigrantvisas.state.gov.

Before filing Form I-601A, YOU MUST NOTIFY THE NATIONAL VISA CENTER (NVC) by emailing NVCI601A@state.gov. Failure to notify the NVC that you plan to file Form I-601A will delay your visa application.
---------
Admittedly, I was alarmed when I first read the letter, but after doing some research realized it doesn't apply to me and many of us on this forum. It applies to those who have been in the US without an IV for over 6 months and have to depart to their country to finish off the IV process. I'm sure many others on this site received the same letter and hope don't get too alarmed when they receive it.

Edited by ThrottleChunker, 04 January 2013 - 08:39 AM.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-01-04 08:36:00

Tax Information Regarding AOS for NVC

I sent in my tax transcripts. You can order them for free from the IRS website and they will mail them to you within a week or so. I am in Japan so it took a little over a week to get them. It may be the fastest to have them ordered to your mother's address and have her scan and send them to you via email. I did not send in my W-2's.

Edited by ThrottleChunker, 09 February 2013 - 08:26 PM.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-02-09 20:24:00

ya, you only have a small window for this, aye?

Sometimes it's hard to remember, coming off a long, grueling international flight.

Suggest you write yourself a note, paperclip it inside of the passport next to the bio page.

They usually not ask - you have to get the CBP officer's attention and tell them about the address change.

Done!

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-02-09 20:45:00

Thanks, I'll make sure to tell them about the change of address when the big day comes.

Edited by ThrottleChunker, 09 February 2013 - 03:56 AM.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-02-09 03:56:00

fix it at the POE <EOM>

This means they'll give us the option to change our address at the POE?

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-02-08 22:36:00

Hi VJ'ers! My wife's Immigrant Visa came in today at Japan. We currently live together in Japan and intend to live with my parents when we return to the US. When I put together our DS-230 package, I used my parent's address as our intended residence and for where to send our green card to. Now my parents are moving while we are still in Japan! I'm more concerned about our green card being sent to the old address... I would like to change the address where the green card is being sent to, but don't know where to get started... Can anybody provide some insight on this? Thanks in advance.

ThrottleChunker

Male

Japan

2013-02-08 21:54:00