biggish data

CONGRATS to all who are moving along! :thumbs:

I'm still praying for my fellow refugees who are stuck in limbo... keep the Faith!! You're almost there!

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-09 22:15:00

Now we just have to wait for TSC/CSC to approve everyone and NVC to assign everyone numbers, then I can do it

Absolutely... I'm hoping for the best for the rest of our peeps here

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 22:04:00

I shall and I'll even take a picture of it and post it here

brilliant

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 22:01:00

I have a sheet of gold star stickers somewhere in one of my boxes. I'll add it to the printed spreadsheet with a little note below saying it's from celldoc

I really think that's a brilliant idea! You seriously better do that

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 22:00:00

That is an excellent idea! I'm just going to have a couple pages of purple lines posted on my fridge

If I could I'd give you a gold star sticker to put on the print-out :lol:

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 21:56:00

Hi all, congrats to my fellow refugees who have received their NOA2.

For the sake of our friends who are still waiting for approvals, please consider asking your NVC-related questions in the thread titled "CSC to TSC to NVC: the Saga continues" thread.

As you know, prior to approval it can be extremely frustrating to see other people getting advanced to the next level and you're still stuck in the black hole. Repeatedly asking non-TSC-CSC questions here, specifically regarding the NVC, AOS, etc., in my opinion is in bad form, and inconsiderate towards our friends who are still waiting.

Please do think about this and take your questions to the "CSC to TSC to NVC: the Saga continues" thread.

To those of you still waiting, we're all rooting for you, keep the Faith!! :thumbs:

No problem I like numbers. I dunno what I'm gonna do with my spreadsheet once everyone's approved and have case numbers. No more updating people's lines with pretty colors

Put it on your fridge! :lol:

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 21:51:00

Only 16 more people! Go TSC/CSC go! Approve these remaining people tonight!

As always, thanks so much for the stats Saylin! :thumbs:

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 21:44:00

Just got my case # ! woot woot. Party over here!

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 18:51:00

We have good news. A week ago, one month after responding to our RFE, we received a letter saying we needed to wait another 60 days for a response from TSC. So (on Friday) we went back to our congressman. They contacted TSC immediately requesting an expedite, and we received an email today stating that we'd been approved. We are very, very happy and look forward to moving to the next phase.

Best of luck to those who are still waiting - you have not been forgotten.

CONGRATS!! :thumbs:

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-08 06:32:00

Have to Pay to Have the Interview?

OMG...YOu guys....I'm laughing soooo hard becuase it's soooo true....

Everybody down there has to say what they think even though they have never been through it! I posted earlier this weekend about the document verification (thanks again) knowing I would get a correct answer and was able to answer hubby's question.

And he's smart...because with this issue, he just asked me to please post the question on the forum to find out.

Ok...so we will only need to pay the document verification fee of the letter and the fee for the visa afterwards (shipping/mailing, etc)

Thank you all for your responses. I knew I could count on you guys to help me out.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-04-17 20:38:00

Have to Pay to Have the Interview?

Another question forallmy Snto Domingo pals:

I was speaking with hubby this afternoon and he told met that someone mentioned to him that he needed to pay a fee at the embassy to have the interview.

I gave him a confused look. The only thing that came to mind was that for a fiance visa, the payments are done partially at the bank before the interview and the other part is done the day of the interview at the consulate. For a spousal visa, all payments are sent to the NVC before the interview is scheduled.

Does anyone know what he could be talking about? Anyone that has received a CR1 visa at Sto Dmgo and had to pay a fee to actually have the interview?

Please advise...to calmmy nerves...

Thanks! :help:

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-04-17 17:39:00

Have to Change Interview Date

Hire a baby sitter?

I did not ask for advice on 'what to do', I asked for advice on how to re-schedule the interview. If you can't answer my question, do not write on my post.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-04-27 12:52:00

Have to Change Interview Date

VJ Pals:

We are now confronting a situation. I have a 7-year-old daughter from my previous marriage. For our interview for next week, I had plans to leave her with neighbors and they bailed the other day. The only other option was my ex-s family...they are going out of town.

So, I cannot be at the interview. From what I have read, if he goes by himself, it will not be approved.

can someone please provide direction as to how we can re-schedule the interview date?

Thanks for your help.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-04-27 09:08:00

Our Visa Was Approved!!!

My thanks to all of your well wishes!

I just came back this afternoon from Santo Domingo...our interview at the embassy was on May 4th and his visa was approved! I am sooooo glad that this nightmare is OVER!!!! He will be here soon and we can finally be a real family under one roof.

I will post my experiences later for everyone to read...once I take a nap, eat something and calm down. It was very stressful, but wegot through it together.

I couldn't have done this without God's help and without the help of all of you on this site. Thank you for posting your questions, for all your responses to my posts and for your support.

I wish you all the very best.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-05 15:39:00

Thanks for all of this useful information. I've been stressed out a bit about getting my husband a job. He somewhat understands English if you speak slowly, he can more or less understand what he reads and he knows a few phrases but when I make him read out loud his pronunciation is still pretty bad. I don't really think he is ready to work here unless it's a job where he doesn't really have to speak in English. I've looked on Craigslist but they don't have many decent options there. Does your husband have to speak a lot at his job?

On a side note, my husband and I started to talk about marriage after 5 months of knowing each other (during my first trip to meet him in person) but we discussed it as a possibility because we were both still in school and wanted to get that out of the way. We only waited till 2010 because that's the year he graduated. I definitely agree that you can just know right away.

Anyway, back to one of the main topics. Amesa, let us know how the search for a job for your husband goes when the time comes.

Thanks! I feel pretty calm about the process. My husband is a college graduate over there who has a degree in business administration. He works in payroll/finance and does a little human resources. He's bilingual in english and spanish, so I think coming to the Miami area will be pretty easy for him. We'll work on his resume when he gets here because we have to totally re-format it. Things over there are way different than in the US when it comes to this type of thing.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-10 08:14:00

Congratulations, My question would be, /Where did you translated the papers? in the dominican and in that case are you able to translate it yourself?

I did not translate them. I had them translated here in the US at a place close by in Miami. I can give you the contact information if you want. I also used another one, so let me know and I can post both.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-10 08:12:00

Man, they should have at least offered to give you the translations back! x-( Congratulations on your approval! So the burning question is...how long DID you know each other before you got married? ;-) Just curious! I know we put our wedding off a couple months just so it wouldn't be TOO quick, ha ha (we got married 8 months after we met).

RE: Food--My husband has gained almost 10 pounds since he got here, and almost has his first panzita! (almost, ha!) We did discover yesterday at a wedding that he's allergic to fish or seafood or something, when he broke out into hives all over his torso :-/. Nothing serious though--but enough to remind me that he needs health insurance!

We knew each other 4 months before getting married. Quick - I know- but when you know it's right, you do it.

My husband is allergic to seafood as well. He can't even stand the smell of fish. I get after him for not eating well, as he is always tired or doesn't feel good a lot of the time and I think with this stressful immigration stuff we just finished going through, it made it more difficult. I keep telling him to eat his veggies and eat more protein...but that avena y arroz with leche seem to hit the spot with him. Good thing he's coming to Miami because he will at least be able to find his mangos and platanos that he likes so much. LOL.

Let me ask you a question: how long did it take for your spouse to get his visa, passport and case file from DOMEX? I think I may have to start a new post on networking ideas for SOs that get here and want to start looking for a job. I don't know where to start except make sure that he has a valid driver's license and a current US-formatted resume. Any suggestions on that one since you recently went through this yourself?

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-08 21:21:00

Great review. It was very detailed and easy to read. I'm surprised though that they threw away your translations. I think that on the US Embassy at DR's website they have a list of documents needed at the interview and on this list it states that all civil docs need to be translated to English even if they are in Spanish. It's a shame they got rid of it too because translations aren't cheap.

Congrats again on your approval!

Yes, I was surprised too because even from the get-go, the instructions indicate that all documents that are not in English need to be translated. I translated his birth certificate, our marriage license, his police certificate (twice! since he needed another one at the day of the interview.) Translations are not cheap and I was horrified that they threw them in the trash. All I couild think was that was money down the drain. But, better to have them done than not.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-08 15:29:00

How long did it take to have the visa in hand? Was it mailed to the home or did you pick it up at SDO or Santiago Office? Thanks!

Once my husband dropped off the missing documents, he was told that he should receive the visa in 2-3 weeks, but it could be sooner. He told me last night that if he hadn't received anything by the end of next week, he was going to try and pick it up. As soon as I know, I will put it on my signature and let you all know the timeline.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-08 15:26:00

The food is still an issue... Just today, for instance, I came home from work and he had cooked... A pretty tasteless burnt white rice and some fried chicken :-( I don't like Dominican food, in general, and I really don't like HIS food...

Thanks for asking though!

At least he cooks! My husband is as skinny as a rail...he does not eat well (doesn't want to cook) and typically eats oatmeal with milk or rice with milk, or boiled platanos. Bleech.

I already told him to be prepared because after he gets here, we'll eventually have to get him a new wardrobe because he's going to eat better.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-07 18:59:00

congratulations! good review
did they ask for newer tax returns? from 2010?

When I submitted by financial support information, I submitted my tax information for 2010, 2009, and 2008. I brought my pay stubs for this year, that I have received, but I never needed them. I had also included an employment verification letter from my employer as well.

If you only submitted for one year, I would be proactive and prepare statements for other years just in case they do ask you. You honestly never know.

Great description of the interview--thank you so much. I

You are very welcome! I hope our errors help you and others out so that it's a little smoother.

Best wishes and congratulations!

Thank you Aztec & Taino! I have appreciated your advice and thoughts over the months, as well as those from others. How are things going with the food issue that you posted about? Are wedding plans moving along? Good luck to you both!

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-07 13:19:00

Here's the link:

http://www.visajourn....php?entry=7561

Thanks again to all of you for your kind words and support. I wish you all the very best as well.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-07 12:25:00

Hello fellow VJers:

For those of you that will need to go through the embassy in Santo Domingo, I just finished posting my interview experience. I apologize for taking so long...between work, travel,andpure exhaustion, today was the first chance I had to sit down and write about what happened.

I wish you all the best in your experience and may the Lord bless your efforts.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-07 12:20:00

attorney says case will not go through NVC

CAUTION! The attorney seems to be engaged in processing a K3 visa instead of a CR1. If that is the case, there will be no correspondence with NVC. They will need an affidavit of support but it will be the I-134 carried to the interview, not an I-864 sent to NVC. Until the actual visa category being pursued is clarified, speculation is not helpful.

As always, pushbrk gave very good and straight forward advice. FInd out what visa the lawyer is requesting. We don't hear much of a K-3 anymore...

Thanks for clarifying.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-31 17:49:00

attorney says case will not go through NVC

The lawyer also said that I don't need a sponsor right now because I will be getting a conditional green card when i arrive in the US, and after that when we will be trying to adjust my status to pernament sponsors will be needed.
I have no idea what to do anymore. can anyone else give me some more info?

I haven't read the other posts to see if someone already answered your question or not, but the petitioner IS your sponsor...I don't know what the ####### the lawyer is thinking. Permanant sponsors???

If your spouse, who is the petitioner and your sponsor, doesn't meet the 125% poverty line in earnings, then co-sponsors will be required...this information is to be submitted with the financial affidavit that the petitioner completes and submits to the NVC AFTER paying the fee for its processing.

You desperately need another lawyer.

In all honestly, if you read through the information on this site, you and your spouse can do all of this yourselves without paying a lawyer. And without getting incorrect and misleading information.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-31 17:32:00

attorney says case will not go through NVC

So my husband just met with our lawyer, and he said our case will not be going through NVC but straight to the consulate?
He said to chill out and wait 4 weeks for consulate to send me something. #######? can that be the case?
Supposibly NVC has all of the documents aready and we don't need to send anything to them. By the way, we filed for i-130

I'm sorry, but your lawyer is an idiot. All petitions that are approved for spousal visas, such as yours, go through the NVC. They compile your case file by requesting additional documents from both the petitioner and the beneficiary: petitioner submits financial stuff and beneficiary submits immigrant visa application and supporting documentation. It is also during this stage when the financial fee is due as well as the immigrant visa bill. Once both are paid and all required documentation has been received, THEN the NVC schedules your interview at the indicated consulat/embassy and forwards the entire case file to that embassy.

Only the finance(e) petition files go straight to the embassy/consulate. The NVC assigns a case number and moves it along and all contact is done directly from the consulate.

If a lawyer does not know this, I would fire him/her.

If I missed anything, please, someone let me know, but from going the CR-1 route, this was my experience.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-31 12:06:00

Thanks. There is a Dominican embassy in Boston luckily. I'm glad I inquired about this early, I didn't think there was so much paperwork involved.

I would strongly recommend that you take some time next week and go to the Dominican Embassy. That is the best thing to do. They will tell you exactly what you need and how it needs to be. When I went, they gave me a contact for a translatin service whose translations are accepted by the DR. They were a HUGE help in getting all this paperworkin order. You can't go wrong by doing this.

When I did it,I just stopped in and talked to the admin person in the front. She brought someone out to talk to me and we got all squared away.

It will make your life SO much easier if you do this.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-27 19:00:00

Okay thanks guys. One of the things I'm confused about is the difference between legalized and notarized. BocaChicaBabe, what is WEDO?

Also I have my BC, but it is my original one from when I was born 21 years ago, so it's kinda wrinkly and worn out. If I go to city hall and request another one, will this one have the apostille? I'm assuming the apostille is that big star looking thing on my BC.

Also who writes the single status letter? Do I? Is there a format, or does the embassy do that.

thanks again EVERYONE. Your responses are greatly appreciated.

Legalization is for civil documents. It is usually a stamp on the document authenticating that it is a real, valid document used in the country of orgin.

Having a document notorized means that there is an offical person that verifies you are the person presenting the document. This is usually for personal documents that need your signature. It confirms to the entity receiving the document that you are who you say you are.

Apostilles are separate documents. They are not stamps, but a separate document that goes attached to the birth certificate, divorce certificate. YOu have to place a separate order. You need to contact the State Department of Health of the state you were born in, or divorced in, in order to get that apostille. It only comes from Department of State. I would highly recommend that you order a new original copyof your birth certificate, with an apostille. You will most likely need to send two separate payments...I did. Once you receive those documents, you need to have each one translated for the wedding.

Like I said in a previous answer, per the Dominican Embassy, you have to go to the Marriage License Bureau in your county/city and request a single status report. They will know what you are talking about. They will also notorize it for you. This will also need to be translated. It shows evidence that from the date of the report, you are still single and free to marry and will need to be given to the judge prior to your wedding ceremony with all of your other documentation. The costay vary state-to-state, but here in Miami it cost me about $7.00. This is not something you write yourself...per the Embassy.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-27 17:15:00

I thought the single status letter had to be done ONLY in DR? The reason I ask about only marrying with a passport and not a BC is because it really depends on the person who marries you and SOME don't require the BC. Some places even give you the marriage certificate the same day.

I'm just trying to shop around for the best rates and least amount of work

You have to do the single status letter here and take it with you. It's required by both individuals. My husband investigated several spots and got the information that I gave you. If you can find anything different, then great.

Honestly, I would rather play it safe than to get there and not have a document that they require. When I inquired about the single status letter, I went directly to the Dominican Embassy and asked. The information I gave you is what THEY told me.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-27 12:36:00

For DR VJ members,

For those of you that got married in DR... Were you able to get married WITHOUT a birth certficate and just your passport? I know not all places require a BC, and i'm trying to go that route because i'm gonna have to translate/legalize mine in order to get married over there since i'm American. I would appreciate any info on judges who do this in DR (name, location, price). Preferably Santo Domingo and southern DR.

I am a US citizen and my husband is from the DR. We married there last September. You have to bring your passport AND an original copy of your birth certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. If you have been married before, you need to bring an original copy of your divorce certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. The apostilles also need to be translated into Spanish.

Besides these civil documents, you also need to bring a letter from the marriage license office (here in the US) indicating that you are single. That also needs to be translated into Spanish.

Remember, they do things differently over there. All information will be written down in a marriage book and that will be taken to the wedding ceremony to be signed and stamped by the judge. Once that is done and registered, then you can obtain a copy of the marriage certificate about a week later.

amesa

Female

Dominican Republic

2011-05-27 11:46:00

question on Petitioner address

Many thanks for the insight

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-05 13:36:00

question on Petitioner address

Hi everyone!

I just received my NVC and IIN numbers, and I'm going over the VJ Guides... lots to read up on!

I have a question, not sure if anyone here might know the answer though. If not, I will call the NVC Monday and ask, but I thought I'd try here anyway

Here's the deal- I'm the U.S. Citizen petitioner, my wife's the beneficiary. I've been living in Miami since last summer, having moved here from up north shortly after getting married. I wasn't sure for how many months I'd be staying at my current apartment in Miami so I've been using my parents' mailing address up north as my own up till now.

I'm about to send the DS-3032 out via my wife's email, and now I'm wondering if I should still use my parents' address from up north or use my apartment address in Miami.

Any thoughts from my more experienced friends out there?

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-05 11:54:00

DS-230, Name in Native Alphabet

I wrote Names, Locations and Addresses in CAPS, and everything else Normal

Thanks for the input :thumbs:

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-19 11:51:00

DS-230, Name in Native Alphabet

Hi all,

Question #3 in the DS-230 requires the beneficiary to write their name in their native alphabet.

My wife's from India, and she has 2 copies of her birth certificate, 1) in English and 2) Hindi/Gujarati.

Question is, should she write her MAIDEN name out in Gujarati (thereby being in concurrence with the birth certificate) or her married name?

Her passport currently reflects her maiden name, however we're applying for her visa with married name.

I'm inclined to say that she ought to write her maiden name in Gujarati, but I'd feel better if some kind VJers out there with more experience can weigh in.

Additionally, does it matter if the DS-230 is typed in all CAPS or not? I don't think this matters, but again, never a bad idea to run things past experienced folks

As always, thanks for the help :thumbs:

Edited by celldoc, 19 March 2011 - 11:35 AM.

celldoc

Male

India

2011-03-19 11:33:00

The Interview

Congrats!!

You are one step closer to making your wish reality..

good luck!!

Jackie&Yosdani

Female

Cuba

2007-05-23 13:11:00

could you say a lil prayer?

done!

Jackie&Yosdani

Female

Cuba

2007-05-24 08:16:00

Friday

TGIF!!!

Jackie&Yosdani

Female

Cuba

2007-06-08 12:02:00

Personal Attacks?

good Post!!

I've seen it happen too.. i think alot of people have hate in their heart and wake up in the morning just waiting to see who they can make feel bad..
You just have to learn how to ignore them..

Jackie&Yosdani

Female

Cuba

2007-06-08 11:53:00