biggish data

Speaking to a representative

I've been trying to call the USCIS office for a bit now. It says to call back between 8 am to 6 pm to speak to a representative. The return address is in Kansas. It's well past 8 am in Kansas, and it still is not giving the option to speak to a representative. What's going on?

matlm

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Israel

2013-05-16 09:23:00

One other thing - I've talked to people at the call center about a dozen time. about 90% had southern accents - I believe the call center is in fact located somewhere in the South. The two people I spoke with had thick New York accents. it's annecdotal but suggests my call backs weren't coming from the same place.

matlm

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Israel

2013-08-23 08:45:00

I don't think that this was from the call center though. When I started the process the call center told me that they were unathorized to do this, which is why I had to wait for USCIS to call me (unless there is an intermediary between the call center and USCIS). The person refered to himself as officier so-and-so.

matlm

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Israel

2013-08-23 08:32:00

This is what went down:

I called the regular customer service number (the one listed on the NOA1) over a month ago to request an expedite. They told me that they could not do this on their own and they had to put in a request with a higher office, and they would be in touch with me.

An officer called my yesterday and told me that they weren't doing expedites per se any longer, which he said took 5 days, but rather something called a "general inquiry," which takes 15 days and I will receive a response in writing.

So this wasn't me asking an immigration officer off hand about the matter, but rather what seems to be an official respone.

matlm

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Israel

2013-08-23 07:30:00

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

I was told my an immigration officer that uscis no longer processes expedite requests for medical reasons and instead does something called a general inquiry. How is this new process any different?

matlm

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Israel

2013-08-23 03:37:00

Interview to CR-1 timeline (Jerusalem)

Spent the past hour and a half looking for some solid information for the Jerusalem Consulate's reputation in terms of processing times, how much they scrutinize you etc... Couldn't find anything substantial.

My wife has her interview next month. If someone has some information on how things work at the consulate - especially how soon after the interview you get your visa - I would really appreciate it.

matlm

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Israel

2014-05-03 14:41:00

That settles it then... (pun intended)

HAHAHAHAH!!!! :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil:

matlm

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Israel

2014-05-19 15:06:00

You can say that Israel is a western-style democratic country, which is not the same as saying it is a western country. Western it is not.

Of course it is. First, the designation of what is and what is not part of the West is pretty much academically settled. As with all definitions, there is an arbitrary element to *how they are formed*, but once formed, they are solidified via convention. Second, on an intuitive level, why should Oceanic states be considered Western but not Israel? Because they are part of the Anglo-sphere?

matlm

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Israel

2014-05-19 15:02:00

I've always thought of Israel as a Western Democratic Country..

Definitely. There is so much to the terminology these days that it gets confusing. A Western democracy is the same thing as a liberal democracy. So India is a Western democracy because it is a liberal democracy. BUT a Western democracy is not the same thing as being a Western country. India is a Western democracy but not a Western country.

I would say Israel is both due to its being largely developed and governed by those from Western countries similar to Australia and New Zealand which are considered part of the West.

matlm

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Israel

2014-05-19 14:18:00

Yes, and an Israel basketball team just won the european championships.

Still not the west

Actually it is (in the same way New Zealand and Australia are). If you like I'd be happy to link you to some academic literature on this matter.

Edited by matlm, 19 May 2014 - 09:37 AM.

matlm

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Israel

2014-05-19 09:35:00

immigranting wife's permanent address on marriage certificate

My wife is an Israeli Citizen, I'm a US citizen. On our marriage certificate from Cyprus, we listed her permanent address as my address in the US. The marriage office said its fine as this is where she is to receive official documents. She is, however, not legally domiciled in the USA (obviously). For the i-130 I'm thinking its best to put down where she is legally domiciled as her permanent address.

Will this discrepancy cause any problems with processing her visa?

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-09 11:06:00

proof of living together - affidavit from landlord?

I believe the lease must be translated by someone registered with the government. An officially licensed translator. This is quite pricey. 45 Euros a page.

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-10 08:55:00

proof of living together - affidavit from landlord?

My wife and I are living together in Spain. For the I-130, affidavits attesting to the marriage are offered as an alternative to providing a lease showing joint tenancy. It would be quite expensive to have our lease translated from Spanish into English. In addition to affidavits from friends and family attesting to our marriage, how would an affidavit from our landlord confirming our residency in his property be looked at?

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-10 08:47:00

Do the authorities accept videos on DVD?

Will they accept links to videos?

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-10 09:13:00

Do the authorities accept videos on DVD?

My wife and I have both my proposal to her and our marriage on video. Do the authorities accept DVDs? We are applying for the I-130 at this point.

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-10 09:02:00

Waste of time to get third party affidavits for I-130

For proving the bona fide nature of my marriage I've got 1) certifications from city hall (Madrid) showing that my wife and I live at the same address 2) A phone bill with both of our names on it 3)airline tickets showing travel together on multiple occasions 4) pictures together with family over a long period of time 5) A notarized declaration from my parents regarding the bona fide nature of my marriage.

Is there any reason whatsoever for me to include an affidavit from her parents as well?

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-15 09:11:00

What address to put for I-130 - permanent or current?

What address should I list on my I-130? My permanent address where I am legally domiciled or my current, temporary residence. Seeing as how it does not ask for permanent address, I think I'm fine putting my current address. Please confirm.

I am a US citizen with the permanent address - my wife is the alien relative domiciled in Israel but without a permanent address at this time. We live together in a third country.

Edited by matlm, 26 April 2013 - 01:05 AM.

matlm

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Israel

2013-04-26 01:03:00

Visiting USA while awaiting CR-1

Well that's the thing - a return for her isn't necessary. She has no obligations in her country of origin come December. She does, however, come from a low-risk country (Israel) when it comes to immigration offenses.

Even if she does come to the USA, she would have to return to a foreign country at some point for the interview, correct? You can't do that in the USA?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-29 14:57:00

Visiting USA while awaiting CR-1

I've seen this asked a few times, but not extensively and not in-depth.

My wife has had a 10 year US tourist visa for quite sometime - several years before we met. Is she allowed to come to the USA while her immigration is being processed?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-29 14:33:00

Who has my I-130?

Thanks guys. So 5 months from the date it gets to the field office, not the date that I got my NOA1?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-29 14:31:00

Who has my I-130?

I filed an I-130 for my spouse. On the USCIS website, the only location option I am given is the Vermont service center for a processing time estimate, but I am reading here that I-130s are being transfered to local field offices. Which is it? If it is the local field office, then is the processing time estimate given for the Vermont office meaningless?

Edited by matlm, 29 June 2013 - 01:30 PM.

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-29 13:29:00

I-130 etc. Processed faster if living abroad?

anyone else have some insight?

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-06 14:04:00

I-130 etc. Processed faster if living abroad?

I've been seeing some snippets of those who are living abroad saying that their I-130s were processed relatively fast. I haven't found anything comprehensive, except discussion of the file being processed by the NBC and they have receipt numbers starting with MSC. Can someone please shed some light on this?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-30 13:53:00

grounds for expediting CR-1 and potential repercussions

Vanessa, you are, of course, right on the money. I was just hoping to get some sort of feel for things. My intuition was pretty much what you said - if you live in a country that has a top notch medical system, then you would really have your work cut out for you requesting an appeal on medical grounds.

I thought it would be interesting to see if there was someone on the forums at some point who was in a similar position. Found several cases, although it seems all of them were in the developed world.

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-10 14:56:00

grounds for expediting CR-1 and potential repercussions

Thanks. I've seen this. It's too wide open for me to gauge. What constitutes a humanitarian situation?

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-10 10:28:00

grounds for expediting CR-1 and potential repercussions

Is there a rule of thumb (collection of anecdotal accounts etc) used to determine what medical conditions qualify one for an expedited CR-1 processing (starting with the I-130)?

My foreign-born wife was recently diagnosed with very early breast cancer. While her life is not in danger today, this obviously has to be dealt with appropriately. We're currently living in Spain, which has great health care (although virtually none of the doctors speak sufficient English), but I would of course prefer that we have the option of treatment in the USA available to us - I live 40 minutes away from Johns Hopkins.

How do they consider requests for expedition based on medical reasons - especially when it applies to those currently living in countries that have solid healthcare (as opposed to countries where you virtually can't get treated). In other words - are people not in the third world granted an expedited process on medical grounds?

As of January 1, 2014, insurance companies can no longer deny treatment or price-discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions, and we can more than afford private insurance until she finds a job and is covered. Moreover, my father will be filling out an I-864 as a joint sponsor (we're students) and he makes about 250k. With this in mind, would there be concerns that she could become a public charge?

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-10 10:10:00

Health Insurance Requirements

Wouldn't accepting subsidized insurance be considered a public charge?

Okay, gotcha on whether it applies to CR-1s. Wasn't sure if a Conditional Permanent Resident was considered an LPR.

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-12 15:02:00

Health Insurance Requirements

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm familiar with what will happen at the beginning of next year, but to what extent does the law apply to an individual with a CR-1 visa? I'm guessing this law applies to them? Looks like we are in the same boat.

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-12 12:51:00

Health Insurance Requirements

Prior to leaving for the states, what health insurance requirements are demanded of the foreign spouse? I have private insurance not obtained from work and therefore cannot add my wife onto my plan.

Edited by matlm, 12 July 2013 - 12:07 PM.

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-12 12:04:00

Advising on 2014 mandated Health Insurance at Interview etc..

As we all know, in 2014 all legal residents in the USA are required to have health insurance. Has anyone bringing their spouse over received notification of this as part of their process, for example during the interview, or is USCIS operating under an assumption that we are aware of these new rules?

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-13 14:15:00

Domicile on I 864, can't we just mention USA

If I am not mistaken - the I-130 does not ask about domicile. It asks only for address. We are living in Spain and put that down as my address. I attached an addendum, however, notifying them that I was domiciled at a certain address in the USA. My I-130 is being processed through the NBC (not local office).

matlm

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Israel

2013-07-13 14:12:00

Thanks! Well, a couple of things. Hopefully we can make some sense of them and determine if things are good for me.

1. my NOA1 has a return address of the NBC in Overland Park, Kansas.
2. My receipt number starts with MSC. I've read this is in Missouri.

That's all the info I can seem to get before the offices open tomorrow and I can call.

Where in Spain are you by the way??

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-30 13:15:00

I need to look over my i-130. I don't have it on me this second. If I received my NOA1 at my address in Spain, then that's where they consider me living and that's what I filled out in part b of the 1-130, right?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-30 09:15:00

Thanks for the great input. i was under the impression that i130 processing time is dependent on which field office handles the claim rather than what your current country of residence is. Please explain

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-30 05:11:00

Sent an I-130 in for my wife at the beginning of May. We're currently living in Spain until the end of December. If the I-130 is processed within the average time (5 months), we can expect an NOA2 in October. Should I start the NVC process intended for the Spanish Consulate in hopes of the small chance that we can be interviewed before the end of December, or would it be too much of a hassle to switch and I should have the process initiated with respect to our next country?

matlm

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Israel

2013-06-30 02:02:00

when is our file sent to the consulate?

So until I get an NVC number, I can't even submit a change of address?

matlm

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Israel

2014-01-05 12:46:00

when is our file sent to the consulate?

We received our NOA2 about two weeks ago. We've since moved from Spain, where we were temporary residents to Israel, where my wife is a citizen. I'm hoping our file hasn't been sent to the consulate in Madrid. Would they have sent it without any other action from us after the NOA2?

matlm

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Israel

2014-01-05 06:25:00

bring documents to USA?

Currently awaiting an nvc number and in the country where my wife will have her interview. I'm going back to the USA for a few months. I send the original documents (marriage certificate birth certificates etc) to the nvc and they forward to the embassy, right? Trying to figure out if I should take documents w me to USA and send from there (not big on moving them around too much for obvious reasons).

matlm

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Israel

2014-01-14 15:06:00

changing last name after i-130

Searched through multiple threads and couldn't find a straight answer. We completed the i-130 process under my wife's maiden name. Currently awaiting nvc number. My wife's passport is up for renewal. What effect will it have if we change her last name now and that is reflected on her new passport.

matlm

Not Telling

Israel

2014-01-22 08:22:00