biggish data

What are the mile stones for me to actually get the visa on my passport??

if you study your timeline, all timeticks for what to do are in there.

if you don't have a timeline, make one.

Study my timeline.... hmm.. the USCIS website says my process will be done in 6.3 months i dont even know what the .3 means 3 days? 3 weeks?

And it doesnt seem like I can make my own timeline since it all depends on the US governament....

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-17 14:59:00

What are the mile stones for me to actually get the visa on my passport??

Didn't sound like the OP was in the US to me. Especially when she says she misses her husband and kid.

What is na OP?

And if u dont me asking why does some people send the packages to 2 offices?

My husband send the i-130 and i-485 all in one package to and office in Arizona.

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-17 14:57:00

What are the mile stones for me to actually get the visa on my passport??

You say you were in the US, how were you there? Did you have a valid visa to be there?

http://www.visajourn...p/EZGuideSpouse

There is the guide to the procedures and depending on how long you were in the US and how you were there, there might be other milestones

good luck

I overstayed a visa just like my mom i think it was a A-3 type of visa asked lawyers and they said that it doesnt matter if i was married if i was under 18 when i left the US i have no time bar on me and i was i was 17 and 9 months

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-17 14:55:00

What are the mile stones for me to actually get the visa on my passport??

So I am Brazilian my husband is American we are married for over 4 years and have a 5 year old daughter... She is american born. I was in the US with my mom when i was a teenager, she was trying to make a life there with an overstayed visa and it didnt work out and we all came back to Brazil me with my daughter and my husband i was 17 years old.

My husband went back to the US on February of 2013 and the package he sent to an office in Arizona was received on february 28th(almost 5 months ago). After that email that they received our package we got no other e-mails i keep thinking its good cuz if they needed other information theyd contact us but im still worried, and my daughter and i miss my husband to death sometimes i wish i have never accepted to move back to the US... Anyways is this normal? What am i waiting for? an email? a letter? if i get approved with the i-130 what is the next step? and how long after i am approved they will schedule my interview here in Brazil at the American Consulate??

Basic question:

What are the milestones to my case?

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-17 14:16:00

Questions, as always

You won't hear anything from the USCIS until you are approved, denied, or receive an RFE. If the process goes over 6 months the USC has the opportunity to ask for a service request or involve their congressman and/or senator.

Your visa and subsequent green card will come in passport name. Should you want to change anything you can, both during and after the process. The fee for changing the green card to a new name is $450. The next opportunity after recieving it is when you ROC (removal of conditions) if you are a CR1.

They should not need to be translated as you can have them in english or your native language. You also do not need to have anyone translate anything for you, unless the embassy requires an official translation. Normally you can do everything yourself or by someone who is fluent in both languages and signs it as such. There are examples on the internet easily found by google.

He needs to prove that he gets X amount of money per month and yearly via however he gets it. Does he live of social security or retirement or have money in the bank? Hopefully someone with this issue before can help you out a bit more.

Thank you uve been very helpful

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-30 18:50:00

Questions, as always

I started my process at NBC for the i-130 in february its been 5 months with no letter or email about the process which pisses me off anyways..

Questions:

My passport has my maiden name ive emailed the consulate here in Brazil and they said its no big deal, is it really? NBC USCIS wont reply

Does the birth certificates and police records from Brazil needs to be translated? some say yes some say no... how will i know for sure? before my case gets held up cuz i didnt send the translation...

How does my co-sponsor get an employment letter if he is retired???? How does he prove his income??????

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-07-30 09:01:00

Need avice

im sorry but now that everything got complicated and u guys really want to live in the US its time to bring in an immigration lawyer to help you with your case or u just might be wasting more time...

Ana&Sean

Female

Brazil

2013-11-17 09:38:00

I-30 Cover Letter - Is this sufficient?

Not needed or required for the USCIS or in Canada for the interview. I specify because some countries do require a relationship timeline at the interview (Vietnam for example) but Canada isn't one. To be honest, in Montreal, the interview feels more like a formality. The USCIS and Montreal are looking for genuine relationship evidence which the OP should have more than most considering he lives with his wife.

Any idea about Russia? Would you recommend that I create a relationship timeline for my Russian wife and how we met?

Snipe

Male

Russia

2013-08-21 11:43:00

Affidavit of Bonafide Marriage typo!

Thank you! I sent it yesterday so I guess I will update this thread on the result whenever that is

Snipe

Male

Russia

2013-08-28 15:42:00

Affidavit of Bonafide Marriage typo!

Alright thank you so much for the prompt response!
In that case I am going to get all together and send it in the mail as it is. Thanks!

By the way, how many pages of facebook chatlogs do you guys recomment. I am right now sending about 20. along with 13 pages of skype call records. seems okay?

Edited by Snipe, 22 August 2013 - 11:17 AM.

Snipe

Male

Russia

2013-08-22 11:16:00

Affidavit of Bonafide Marriage typo!

Very fast question!

I made a typo while creating an affidavit of bonafide marriage in the part where I list my name and my wife the beneficiary. It is basically in the middle name instead of Xandrovna, I typed xandrova, (it was notarized liked this with the error)

I could do it again but my father who is the person doing it cannot do it for about a week because he has no time to go to notary. is it worth delaying a week the sending of my package and fixing that or should I leave it and just let it be.

Maybe I can write something in the document stating the error?

I am also sending photos, receipts of stuff we did together in trips, tickets, skype and facebook logs and a letter showing I have a debit card for her bank account.

So what to do?

Edited by Snipe, 22 August 2013 - 06:54 AM.

Snipe

Male

Russia

2013-08-22 06:53:00

I-130 application

Yeah i read it ... Thank you...

mai_02

Not Telling

Philippines

2013-10-20 21:53:00

I-130 application

Thank you guys for all your replies. He applied for his certified BC in philippines But they said he have to wait for another month before it will release. I just wanna make sure if i have to include it with my I-130 filling before i send my application base on your experience guys. Coz i dont wanna wait for another month before i start filling, coz i know the wait time is kinda long now.i know i will be needing his BC , im just not sure if i have to include it in filling I-130. Thanks guys again.

mai_02

Not Telling

Philippines

2013-10-20 21:46:00

I-130 application

Hi guys. I'm planning to start my I-130 application for my spouse whose in the philippines.. But the thing is i still dont have his birth certificate yet, but i have the rest of the requirements though.. I read on uscis website that i dont need to include his birthcertificate in applying for I-130. Pld help.. Thanks

mai_02

Not Telling

Philippines

2013-10-20 21:10:00

For this question, you would list yourself as your foreign spouse's "spouse" and your foreign spouse's children as their children. There is no place on the I-130 that ask about the US Citizen petitioner's children.If your foreign spouse has no children, then N/A where your own name should have been will not be a problem as long as you checked the husband or wife box at the top of the form.

Oh okay, thank you so much! Really much appreciated! Yes I put my name on the first part.

meljon

Female

Philippines

2013-04-15 08:23:00

For this question, you would list yourself as your foreign spouse's "spouse" and your foreign spouse's children as their children. There is no place on the I-130 that ask about the US Citizen petitioner's children.If your foreign spouse has no children, then N/A where your own name should have been will not be a problem as long as you checked the husband or wife box at the top of the form.

Oh okay, got it! Thank you so much for being kind answering my query. And thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts about this. Really much appreciated!

meljon

Female

Philippines

2013-04-15 08:15:00

Just to add, NO, #17 does not ask about former spouses. It asks about the beneficiary's children, no matter who the other parent was. If the foreign spouse was married 4 times and has 8 children, list all their children, but list yourself as their current spouse.

yes you're absolutely right. but what will happen to N/A answer? I hope our petition will not be affected by this.

meljon

Female

Philippines

2013-04-15 08:08:00

Thanks for your responses. We're both single when we got married and we don't have a child yet. I'm just confused and want to make sure that I'm right since it says "list your spouse" which I didn't notice. But if my answer is okay, I'm glad to know it and still waiting for my NOA2, mAR'13 MSC-CR1 filer.

Thanks for your answer again, at least now I'm worry-free.

meljon

Female

Philippines

2013-04-12 03:52:00

Hi to all,

Good day everyone! "On the form I-130, question #17 asks to list the spouse and all children including the ones from previous relationship, but I overlooked at it and I marked N/A. I'm worried about this, has anyone had any issues with this?"

Many Thanks!

meljon

Female

Philippines

2013-04-11 13:46:00

Hi,

If you come on tourist visa and then stay back here it will affect your application adversely, as they might consider it a wrong intent in getting the tourist visa, that is if you get a tourist visa (if you haven't by now).

2 ways to proceed, pick one that suits:

get fiance visa, and come here, get married and apply and then you don't need to go back, if you bring all your documents from norway and have your fiance collect his before hand.

Have your fiance visit you, if he hasn't by now ( if he hasn't then that diminishes chances of getting fiance visa, and your final green card petition also). When he visits, you both should get married, and give him copies of your paperwork required, then he can file for spouse visa, (fast process).when you come here, you'll be given green card.

My fiance was here for the first time in May this year, for three weeks. I have been visiting him three times for three weeks. Is that good enough for my chances to get a visa?

I have a tourist visa (the visa waiver program) which I got approved in May 2012, so it's valid till May 2014, but I can only stay three months at a time and no more than 180 days a year. What do you mean that if I come on a tourist visa and stay there it will affect my application? When are gonna get married, I'm gonna go there, get married, stay 3 months and then go back home. My fiance will apply as soon as we get married, but I will still leave when the 90 days are up.

We don't want to get married in Norway. My family and friends are able to go to America to attend the wedding, but his family and friends can't come all the way to Norway (we have a different system in Norway with paid holidays, easier to get time off work, more used to traveling, more money to spend, etc).

Does anybody else think it will cause me trouble to get married while on the WVP, apply for CR1 Visa right after, then I go back to Norway after 90 days?

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-06 17:07:00

If your wedding plans aren't already locked in and paid for, you could look into the fiance visa (K-1) it works in a similar fashion to the spousal visa, but you don't get married until you come over here. It is considered a non immigrant visa and may get you an interview closer to where you live and be a little less hassle.

I have no idea if this is even feasible for your personal situation, but thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't considered it yet

We were thinking about it at first, but we have heard that it's better to do the CR1- Visa (cheaper and takes less time).

The embassy in Oslo only do interviews for the following:

students (F or M visas)
exchange program participants (J visas)
work petition beneficiaries (H, L, or P visas) who need to report to a U.S. educational institution or employer by a certain date, and
medical emergencies

So I guess I will have to go to Sweden no matter what Visa we apply for.

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 16:42:00

It's not illegal to get married in the USA whilst IN the USA on the VWP, at all.

I know that now, but for some reason I always thought it was illegal, and that you could get deported. But I'm glad that wasn't true! And I have no intentions of overstaying my VWP.

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 16:32:00

You will have to be in your home country to go through the interview process. You should be able to enter for visits on the VWP if you have strong enough ties showing you will go home, but a part of the process is that you be interviewed at the embassy of your home country, so you will have to be back there for this, and not in this country. Basically you can visit, but you can't live here while waiting for your visa. Hope that made sense

It made a lot of sense, thank you I was hoping it would be possible to do the interview in America, because unfortunatley the American embassy in Norway doesn't do immigrant visas (only non immigrant visas), so I will have to go to Stocholm, Sweden then, which is rather far from where I currently live.

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 16:28:00

Yep! You can start the process the very day after you're married if you want. Your new husband (exciting! congrats!) sends off the first part (the I-130 package, noted in the guide link above) and that's the first step. So long as you are home before your tourist visa expires, that's fine.

What I would say, though, is on your way into the US for your wedding trip that you carry some documentation with you to show that you're going home after the marriage - they can be suspicious and may deny your entry if they don't believe you're going to go home again - return flight details, evidence to ties back home (like a rental agreement, job etc.) - that sort of thing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write me back, feels so good that finally somebody are able to answer my questions

I will definitley keep that in mind, and bring documentation to prove that I am going back home.

There's one more thing I am wondering about, after we have gotten married, and I've been back home, I'm gonna go back there again, after the CR1 application has been sent, can I stay there until the application has been approved? How do I prove that?

You may also research what documents you will need to apply for a marriage license.

Licenses are issued by county clerks and if your fiance is from LV, here is the link pertaining to Clark County, NV:

http://www.clarkcoun...gelicenses.aspx

Thank you so much I was just about to ask that! Yes, he lives in LV.

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 16:21:00

It's entirely legal to marry in the USA whenever you like, however you like. What's not legal is marrying on a tourist visa with the intent to not go home when your tourist visa expires.

If you want to marry in the USA, do so, but then you should return to Norway and follow this guide to file for your I-130 petition and then CR-1 visa: http://www.visajourn...tent/i130guide1

The reason people do the K1 is it is a legal means for someone to marry in the US and then also adjust their status to immigrant without leaving the country.

Thank you so much for your answer! Of course I am gonna leave when my tourist visa expires, that's always been the plan, and I would never overstay the 3 months. For some reason I thought it was illegal to get married at all, not only if you have no intention of going home. So if we get married while I'm on my tourist visa, I go home after 3 months, stay home for a bit, can I get back and then we start the process of applying for the CR1 Visa?

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 16:07:00

I'm from Norway and my fiance is American, we want to get married in America and then apply for the CR1 Visa. But how do we get married if it's illegal to get married while I'm on the Visa waiver program? How do we marry legally in the United States, without going through the K1 (fiance) visa process? We want to apply for the CR1 Visa because we have heard it's faster and cheaper. I appreciate all answers

I forgot to say that to apply for the CR1 (Spouse) Visa, you have to be married (right), but how do we get married if it's illegal to get married while on the Visa waiver program.

ninafinaa

Male

Norway

2013-06-05 15:59:00

certified copies of marriage cert.

Thank you very much
One more question I'm sending the I-130 tomorrow we put in two affidiant sign by our friends ,our lease agreement and bank balance with both our name is it ok or should i include more proof?

iafiaf

Male

Israel

2013-10-29 12:08:00

certified copies of marriage cert.

do you need a certified copy of your marriage certificate to send in with your i-130?

what about a certified copy of divorce papers? are regular copies of these documents accepted?

Edited by iafiaf, 29 October 2013 - 01:32 AM.

iafiaf

Male

Israel

2013-10-29 01:31:00

Better to apply in US or Canada?

Thanks so much!

Will be looking into that right away

Unamae

Female

2013-08-07 22:37:00

Better to apply in US or Canada?

My husband is a USC and he plans to file for myself and our 3 children. Sadly, we have been through the process before, successfully. When we returned to Canada (temporarily) for my husband to do some graduate work, we were informed that we had abandoned our status as permanent residents.

My husband is now leaving Canada to return to Las Vegas for work. He starts September 1st. We will have to stay behind and go through the process.

The residence questions are difficult for me because we are in transition.

Do we apply now with our current residence (we have sold our house - closes Aug 30) knowing that there will be an address change? Or do we wait until he arrives in the US and apply for us there? We are staying with my husbands parents & my husband is house sitting in the US until we all get there. Who can afford to keep 2 residences AND pay all the fees?!

We looked into DCF but it doesn't appear to be offered in Canada anymore. We have also looked into applying for the K3/K4 visa but looks like it may be considered an 'obsolete' visa and our oldest some has only 2 years before turning 21.

I just can't believe that we didn't file for citizenship before we left 6 years ago...

Unamae

Female

2013-08-07 12:34:00

Bona Fide Marriage Question

I am not sure if anyone else has had this problem or not, but our US tax returns (1999-2007) were all filed jointly. When we moved to Canada, our taxes were filed individually. Also, all of our utilities etc could only be put in both names - they will put the spouse on as a named user but they don't show up on the statements. When I requested the accounts be in both names I was told that it doesn't work that way here.

I receive all of my bank/credit card statement online and my name doesn't seem to appear there when I print them off, however I am off to the bank to see if they can do anything for me. Thanks so much for the ideas regarding health insurance, car insurance etc. We have been married 21 years! You'd think it would be a simple request for us!!

Unamae

Female

2013-08-15 15:01:00

Bona Fide Marriage Question

May I use a voided check to cover the 'co-mingling of finances' option?! Or does it have to be a printed bank statement?

Unamae

Female

2013-08-15 14:25:00

Civil Status Report - Morocco

Ok. So, I asked my husband to send his birth certificate for the NVC IV package. He, instead, sent the "Civil Status Report." This has recently been instituted by the Moroccan government with the new National ID card. The new ID has all of the birth information on it, so that a Moroccan citizen can go to any city's registrar and get this "Civil Status Report" in lieu of a birth certificate for legal purposes in Morocco. It even states on the certificate "replaces document certificate of birth." NVC will NOT take this new document. I asked if he could bring the BC to the interview, and was told "no, the BC is required before an interview will be set."

Sooooo, for anyone about to go through NVC.... Stress to your husband/wife/fiancee that they need to get the actual birth certificate! (and translation, of course)..... Now, we are praying for September or October.....

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-06-26 18:49:00

Marriage in Morocco

We were married in Fes in December. We have a translator there that we still are using and the Adoul was close to the courthouse. Pm me if you have ?'s

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-08-05 09:06:00

Marriage in Morocco

here's Abbi627's experience http://www.visajourn...ied-in-morocco/

Here's mine from December http://www.visajourn...o-for-marriage/ It took us about 9 days. For setting up the appointment at the Consulate, you can do that on-line before you go. I had that set-up and we went straight there after my flight landed (I flew into Casa that trip).

Good luck and feel free to ask questions. There are a few topics where we discussed prepping for our trips as well (i.e. the documents both needed, translations, etc)

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-08-04 10:11:00

Stress and life in the US

Abbi, I'm sending you hugs! (and some bandages for the war wounds from the cat bath) My husband, as I've said somewhere on here before, intends to come here and save money so we can retire in Morocco in "a few years." I keep telling him that it will take more than a few to save up enough money for retirement. He knows what I make (which is not extraordinary, but above average) and I think he's under the impression he will make that much too. The reality is, he'll be lucky to make minimum wage nowadays... He's used to hailing a cab to be taken anywhere in the city, or walking when it's close enough. Here, everything is so spaced out, and a cab would cost a small fortune! If it weren't for both of us agreeing that my student loans need to be paid off, I would have moved there. We are lucky, though, that both of our families are accepting of our choices. Even though I'm not incredibly close to my family, I can't imagine not having them there. I'm so sad for you on that front. I have to take my hat off to you for teaching kids. That's an honorable accomplishment, especially since it's a physical battle some days for you (or any teacher).

Many of the experiences I've read in this thread, give me hope that my husband will do well. I know he will only show frustration on the worst days, which is kind of sad, but a great thing. Many of my friends say to try and get him hired where I work, but unfortunately, my company doesn't pay well for most of their associates and the benefits are not that great. As much as I love my job, I feel for those not in a specialty field. He will take what he can get originally, and the "extra" income will help. He'll be making less than I do for a while, and I don't know how he will feel about that. We do discuss it, and he says it's ok and that it will make him work harder to do better.

He has mentioned, a few times, that he sees what the U.S. is like in movies and he's not intimidated.... I tell him it's similar, but so different, and he can't "be prepared" by what he sees in movies....

mimolicious - Walmart is notorious for having a "no retaliation" policy that they do not always uphold. Good luck to your husband fighting that. I do feel for you guys.

Thanks everyone for sharing. Abbi, hang-in there... I'm stilling playing the image of giving a cat a bath.... I've tried that. It was quite painful for me, and none to pleasant for the cat. LOL

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-08-11 11:29:00

Stress and life in the US

I tell my husband, too... He wants to retire to Morocco. Which is great, but to get to the point of being able to..... I don't think he realizes how long it will be..... He's so optimistic! All I can do is be here for him and work with him to achieve that goal.

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-08-04 23:19:00

very confused and need help!!!

Thanks for help

The thing confusing me is i me and my wife are in egypt , how to pay fthe fee for i 130 from egypt ,can i do a check from a bank in egypt and send it with the file to uscis .?

Thanks

First, you shouldn't hijack some one else's thread..... but to answer your question, it must be a check or a money order drawn off of a US bank (I believe that is stated in the instructions). Some people will have a relative send the check to them overseas, others will send all the packet to the friend or relative in the States to have them drop the check or money order in and send off from the States. You can wire the money to them.

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-07-28 06:21:00

questions about chat logs and photos

I used express mail for all of my packages. It has tracking and is fast. I waived the signature required for all of them.

Happytobe

Female

Morocco

2013-06-18 14:45:00