Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Filing for K-1 Visa while Fiance is in USA with tourist visa?	Ok great thanks! Looks like we will pursue filing for the K1 visa while she is here visiting with the tourist visa then! I just wanted to make sure that this would not jeopardize our plans of being together. I kind of got the feeling while speaking to the lawyer that follows the law 150% and did not even want to consider any alternate options of us being together during the processing period. What about marrying here on a tourist visa, filing paperwork for I130 , and then sending her back home before her 6 months are up? Then she could come back when the I-130 and other documents are all said and done? Would doing this also be legal? Thanks and good luck with your situation! I'm sure that's why the lawyer told you to wait til she was back home. Just wanted to make sure there was no chance of you getting denied. As long as she's always returned on time in the past and has a return ticket, it shouldn't be an issue. The reason it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to marry while on a tourist visa and then adjust status is because you have to be able to prove that she entered the US with no intention of getting married and adjusting status. Because you two have been visiting back and forth, this would probably be extremely difficult to prove. If you got caught, it would be considered visa fraud and she would be sent back to her country. In your circumstance, I would definitely go for the K1. Good luck again!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-01-13 13:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Filing for K-1 Visa while Fiance is in USA with tourist visa?	My fiance and I were in a similar situation. We were together for just under a year and he'd visited me 3 times in the US, never overstaying. We sent in our I-129F while he was still in the US (September 2011). We just made sure to submit copies of all his boarding passes/passport stamps and flight intineraries (to prove he'd never overstayed and had booked a flight back home to Australia). We were approved with no RFE's and are now waiting for our case to reach the embassy! The reason they don't want you coming to the US on a tourist visa and then marrying and filing for AOS is because it is illeagel to visit the US with the intent to marry. When you have a tourist visa, you have to return home before that visa expires. It doesn't matter if you file for your K1 while your fiance is the US, she can even visit you while it's processing (or you can visit her). The lawyer probably just advised against it because the safest bet is to file while you're each in your own countries. Good luck! Hope I could help! Danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-01-12 15:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	packet 3...W2's vs tax transcripts.	My fiance and I just received Packet 3 yesterday. I have my W2's for 2011 (although I have not filed my taxes yet), or my tax transcripts for the last three years (2008-2010). Which should I submit with Packet 3? I read on one of the consulate reviews that having not filed your taxes yet can cause trouble with the approval. Help me! Thanks	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-01-19 14:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	packet 3. cover letter? need help ASAP!	They have to attach the DS-1076 as the "cover letter". It's the check list of documents. I put my document in the order that they were listed on that sheet. Here is the P3 info: http://canberra.usem...e_niv_appl.html It's not any more difficult than they explain there. Thanks so much! That's what I figured but I didn't want to leave anything out. I sent him way more stuff than necessary (extra copies, etc.) just to be sure I didn't miss anything. I was only wondering because I'd seen a couple posts on cover letters with packet 3 for different embassies, but clearly that's just consulate specific. And also because I sent off a boat-load of supporting evidence for the I-134 so I wasn't sure if we needed to type some sort of index as to what was attached or if they'd just be able to figure it out! Thanks again! Danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-16 15:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	packet 3. cover letter? need help ASAP!	Danielle no order really just get him to have the the official papers from them on top with the checklist and the DS 230 part one and 2 if he has not already sent off part 1. Put all the papers in order of the checklist with paperclips darl that's all that is needed.. Put passport pics in a little snap bag if he can and what I did was place them all in a business brown envelope, addressed and our case number and then placed all that in an express post envelope to send off to the consulate. Friday there now so if he sends it today express they will get it Monday as we don't' have Sat post back home. Thanks so much Barbara! Will it be a problem if he attached the passport photos to the DS156 already? In the little space they have for the photos? Or does he need to send 2 MORE photos? Thanks again! Danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-16 15:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	packet 3. cover letter? need help ASAP!	Hi all, I've been MIA for quite a while. My fiance is finally about to send off Packet 3 today (when he wakes up in a few hours). We spent hours on Skype last night making sure we had everything and it was in proper order. My question is: Is there a certain order in which the documents have be in? And a certain way to have them assembled, like with paper clips/folders/etc? Also, do we need to write any sort of cover letter or index to mail off with it? I'd appreciate any quiock responseS since we're sending this off in a few hours. Thank you so much! Danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-16 14:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Packet 3, Medical Records?	When you say label everything with your case number, do you mean every page? Not sure how I missed that! But we will do it! Thx. No, no. On the forms, just list it where it is required. On the envelope you send with Packet 3 to the consulate, make sure it's on there! And if your physician is going to send the medical results straight to the consulate, make sure he puts the case number on that envelope as well.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-17 11:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Packet 3, Medical Records?	Hello everyone, This may or may not be directly related to being in New South Wales Australia but I'm not sure. However, because I'm in NSW, Au the fingerprints for packet 3 are being shipped from the police department straight to the embassy. I have scheduled the medical exam, it is the end of this month. (We're trying to get one sooner though because we've had packet 3 for about 1-2 months) Will the results be shipped to the embassy just like the fingerprints or are the results given to me for me to ship? In the checklist for readiness to be interviewed it says arrange a medical appointment but at the bottom with all the boxes to check off it says medical records. So do I need to wait for the results or is it safe to send in the Packet 3? I'm worried that we're running out of time because we had to wait so long before receiving and sending the packet 3. I was just in a similar situation. We got packet 3 in mid-January and immediately got the police check done and booked the medical appointment (the earliest he could get in was Feb. 12th). He saw Dr. Waks in Sydney and the doctor said he almost always mails the medical straight to the consulate because they're in a big envelope which normally doesn't fit in people's letter boxes. The doctor told my fiance that this is what he does for almost every case. We just sent Packet 3 yesterday, so no worries. Just make sure everything is labeled with your case number and everything should be fine. Hope I could help!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-17 11:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Changing Jobs Post-Filing I-129f	Won't be a problem at all. About a month after filing my i-129F, I started a new job making more money. You'll just update yoru job info after you receive your NOA2 and you're working on your next set of paperwork! No worries!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-02-22 08:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Employment Verification letter	I had my employer date the letter a few weeks after they wrote it because I had an approximate date I knew we'd be sending off Packet 3. I'd wait til after NOA2 before you have your employer write the letter. After you get NOA2, you still have some time before Packet 3, so get it then an have your fiance send it to you!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-05-02 11:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-134 Help: Bank can't provide deposit information on account verification letter	I bank with Chase and tried at three different branches (spoke to managers, etc.) and called the bank's hotline numerous times and they couldn't provide me with a letter. I just printed out my bank statements for the past year and just included the pages with all my deposits (which I highlighted) in my Packet 3. That should work!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-09 12:48:00
Australia and New Zealand	how long for packet 4?!	Oh my! While I have no clue on how long it takes in Australia, I feel your pain! I dropped mine off, personally, on Feb 16th... we've had 3 holidays since then; which means the Embassy staff didn't go into work. I'm so anxious I think I'm going to go shopping or something... to ease up on the anxiety! I keep telling myself "Tomorrow you'll wake up and find an Email from the Embassy".... so far it hasn't worked. Staring at my email inbox, hoping to magically produce the email, hasn't worked either lol i actually just decided to call up the DOS since we hadn't heard anything yet. the lady told me that his interview is booked for march 13th at 11am. i don't know why we haven't received anything confirming that yet but i'll sort that out monday cause for now i am SO EXCITED.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-02 15:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	how long for packet 4?!	hello all! how long has everyone waited for packet 4 from sydney? tuesday will be 2 weeks since they received our packet 3. how much longer should we expect? this stage is almost worse than waiting for the NOA2 cause we know how close it is! -danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-01 13:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Yep I would. Make sure he prints the email AND P4 so if they query it he has proof he's done what they said to do. He should be able to get a receipt as well. Worst case scenario there are post offices in Sydney and one probably close to where he's interviewing. He'll be right Vanessa, one more thing! Does he need to bring more passport photos to the interview? He sent 3 in with Packet 3. What else should he bring to the interview?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-09 14:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	That looks nothing like the email I got for my interview last September. However maybe they have changed the format since then. Mine didn't mention the actual amount to pay anywhere, either in the email or the attached interview appointment letter. It just said in the letter to pay the "K immigrant fee" at Australia Post. Mine also didn't mention my address, just my name and DOB. I mean, it came from them. So I guess that's how they do it now? I'm the most confused by the cash at interview. Cause everywhere else (including the embassy site) says to pay it at Aus Post. Shannon is just going to do as the emails say though, and bring the cash to the interview.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-09 14:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	That is really weird. The US consulate in Australia mistaking Australia for Austria? And asking for $3500 cash instead of a $350 receipt from Australia Post? What email address was the packet sent from? Came from the same one that sent us Packet 3, and the same one we emailed (sydneyiv@state.gov). This is copied/pasted straight from the email with P4: ***Shannon's full name*** ***(Shannon's street address)*** BLACKTOWN NSW 2148 AUSTRIA This is from P4: FEES: AUD $3500.00 -payable in CASH at the Consulate on day of interview but THIS is from the response to our original email (the one that came right before p4): Fee: Please bring AUS$350.00 in cash to pay at time of your interview. So weird, right?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-09 13:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Yep I would. Make sure he prints the email AND P4 so if they query it he has proof he's done what they said to do. He should be able to get a receipt as well. Worst case scenario there are post offices in Sydney and one probably close to where he's interviewing. He'll be right That's what he's gonna do! We even notcied two typos in packet 4. In the email it says Austria instead of Australia and in the packet 4 attachment it says $3500AUD in cash instead of $350AUD in cash. Still think it's weird they're asking for cash. Could this be a new thing? It worries me a bit! But I'm probably just being silly! Thanks again for all your help Wow, i'm glad you finally heard something! Sydney seem to be so ####### at replying to emails lately. Good luck with your interview. I'm sure you won't need it though Me too! Huge relief to finally have heard back four days before the interview. I keep imagining what would have happened if I'd never called DOS! We might have never received Packet 4 and missed the interview altogether. Thank you	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-09 12:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Here is the link re fees from the embassy site: http://canberra.usem...ov/iv-fees.html you'll see there's a section for K visa applicants mentioning paying at Aus Post (non-immigrant visa). I recommend emailing them in reply (lol) and confirming the cash notation even though the link states paying it at Aus Post. We have got packet 4 now! Finally! It says cash in packet 4 too. So strange. Should he just bring the cash since that's what they say? So relieved. Thanks for all your help	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 18:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	I called and couldn't get through to anyone. Just a switchboard. Then about 5 minutes later Shannon texted me saying they emailed him. Saying they confirmed his interview day and time as well as his correct address and that another email would be sent with packet 4. Such a relief! It does say on the bottom of the email to bring 350 AUD to the interview in cash. I thought he was meant to pay this fee at a post office?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 16:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	I wouldn't waste time with DOS. I WOULD call the consulate as soon as it opens. Something is going wrong. They normally reply within a day or so. I've never heard of someone waiting this long for a reply (let alone a reply to so many emails even with a "we are reviewing the situation" or something). That's what I'm saying! It's ridiculous we've been waiting since SUNDAY for a response. I'm going to call as soon as I leave work in 10 minutes. I will keep you posted. Thank you so much for all your help!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 15:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Makes me wonder whether you were told about the interview wrong... On the up-side if he did or does miss his interview you have lots and lots of proof that it was due to no fault of your own so it would be easily fixed. It's weird 'cause I've never heard of this issue. What would happen if he missed it? Is it possible they sent it to the wrong email address even though DOS confirmed they had the correct one on file? I have no idea what to do. Should I call DOS one last time to confirm? And then try calling the consulate?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 15:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Geeeez. Good idea on the FB page!! Did you call? Anything come of that? The consulate information says that visa inquiries can be made via phone on Fridays from 8am to 12am only. So he's going to try today. But whoever responded from the consulate on FB said that they are required to document every bit of communication on the case so that email is really the only contact. I don't understand how someone is sitting in the consulate on Facebook and no one has time to answer FIVE urgent emails. So frustrating.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 14:10:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	No he can't. They won't let him up without a print of the interview letter (it's emailed so it won't be original). Have they replied to your emails at all? It's very odd that they haven't... Did you mark them urgent and with the heading I suggested? Here is the consulate info: http://www.visajourn...alia&cty=Sydney it has a phone number on it. Try calling the phone number and see what happens. We've emailed once every day this week so far. 5 emails. Marked with the heading you suggested. And no responses. However, Shannon posted on the Consulates Facebook page last night and someone responded to the Facebook comment saying they would have someone contact him as soon as possible. Still no idea what to do.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-08 14:02:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	i've got all my fingers and toes crossed for you to hear soon! Vanessa, Shannon and I still haven't heard anything or received Pkt 4. What can we do now? Can he/should he still attend the interview without the appointment letter?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-07 23:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	i've got all my fingers and toes crossed for you to hear soon! Thanks so much. Still no response and I am so panicky.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-06 20:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Because she's a moron DOS doesn't know what each different country does. Some countries mail, most email though. That email address is correct. Saturday they're closed of course and Tuesday is still early in the week. I would assume that their w/ends are pretty email intensive so another day or so should do it. That would make sense. And also explain why I got such different and inconsistent responses from the two different people I spoke with. I hope we hear back today! Thanks for all your help! You're the best!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-06 13:13:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	It's not mailed, it's emailed... same as P3 was. If he filled in the form changing the email address (I changed it to mine from Tony's) check that email account. Check junk mail. Check your email. Check your junk mail. I'm not sure what email he used to email the embassy (double check the address) then send them an email with "URGENT - INTERVIEW BOOKED BUT INTERVIEW NOTICE NOT RECEIVED" as the subject line. Mark it urgent. Then in the body state you have called DOS who say your interview is for X day and yet P4 has not been received. DOS has nothing to do with it at this stage (Sydney does, they know what's going on) so I'm not sure why you keep calling them. Email Sydney and they WILL get back to you ASAP... if you email the correct address and in a manner that suggests urgent (and within a day or so if you don't mark it urgent). I got a reply within an hour on the day of my interview (BIG drama :S) I've dobule and triple checked mine and Shannon's email. We did send the form back with both of our email addresses on it. And the lady at DOS confirmed both of our email addresses. Why would she tell me it was mailed and not emailed? Shannon emailed sydneyiv@state.gov. That's the correct address, right? We've sent two emails now. One on Saturday (Aus. time) and one yesterday evening (Aus. time) with similar subject lines and haven't heard back. What am I doing wrong?	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-06 13:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	interview in 6 days...still no packet 4!	Hello my VJ friends! So I'm in a bit of a panic over this mysterious missing Packet 4. Here's what happened, and I'll try to keep it brief! Sent off Packet 3 to the consulate in Sydney on the 17th of February. Delivery confirmation says they received it on the 21st of February. Fast forward to this past Friday, March 2nd and we still hadn't heard anything back from the consulate or received Packet 4 via email or post. I decided to call up the Department of State to see if an interview date had been set. The lady I spoke with said the interview had been set for Tuesday, March 13th at 11am. Of course, this was great news and I was so excited to hear that we finally had a date set. I then inquired as to why Shannon had not received Packet 4. She had me confirm his email address and mailing address. She said the mailing address I gave her was "not the one they had on file". Instant panic set in. We had put the same mailing address on every form since day 1 and have never had a problem. The woman at DOS then advised I have Shannon contact the embassy to confirm that they had a proper address and to confirm the interview day and time. That same night Shannon emailed the embassy about this issue. We still haven't gotten a reply from them. So then yesterday I called up the Department of State again. The woman I spoke with this time confirmed the interview but when I mentioned the lady I had previously spoken with said something about an incorrect address being on file she sort of laughed and said "I'm sorry about that" but then confirmed that they had the correct address. She also confirmed that Packet 4 was sent out to him on March 1st. I asked why he hadn't received it yet. Seeing as yesterday was March 6th in Australia, shouldn't he have received it by now? The lady just kept telling me not to worry and that "it takes some time" and didn't seem to understand that the interview was less than a week away and we have no confirmation or paperwork from the embassy. Monday DOS it was sent to the proper mailing address, why did the DOS woman on Friday say the address was incorrect? We emailed the embassy again last night. No response. What should we do? I'm panicking because I know we have to have Packet 4 when Shannon attends the interview. Any advice, consulate specific or not would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! Danielle	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-06 11:29:00
Australia and New Zealand	Xrays, best way to take them with you to US	My fiance said the Dr. told him to put them in the envelope in the bottom of his suitcase!	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-13 10:36:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	approved....now AP?	Then, don't worry, or to make sure email the embassy. I've done that! Hopefully I was just worrying for no reason. Darn DOS Thanks for the help! Well then I'm pretty sure everything is fine. Does Shannon have the tracking number from his Australia Post envelope that he should have left them when he had his interview?? If so - have you tried checking on that? That will at least let you know when the package has been sent. Like I said - I had my interview on a Tuesday and got the visa on the Friday. I don't recall seeing it take longer than a week to ten days or so (I'm talking about in cases where everything was approved without further info required). He does have the tracking number and has been checking it but it has not been sent yet! We were hoping to get it by yesterday, but now praying it will come Monday or Tuesday! Thanks again Hi Danielle I had my interview on the same day Tuesday 13th and was given a sheet of paper Refusal Worksheet which is to do with section 221(g). I didn't have a US Federal Return from my Petitioning Relative. So my Visa was put on hold until I can email a Federal Return to them which I have done. I haven't received a response from the US Consulate in Sydney regarding my matter. The Sydney Consulate doesn't really respond to many emails, you just have to wait. I spoke to one of the security Guards after my interview emailing to the Sydney Consulate. He said they get 100's of them a day that they have to sort through. I'm not expecting to get a email response to say that my Visa has now been granted. It will just turn up in the mail. If and when it will come. It's a waiting game. My wife and I wanted to travel over to the USA next week, looks like we will be in Australia for another couple of weeks. Getting to your situation. I believe you have been given the wrong information. If Shannon got the piece of paper that said "Congratulations you have been granted" then he has been approved. That's what I was hoping for but it didn't happen that way for me. At least I have hopefully sorted that out now. I reckon Shannon will have his Visa next week. Just give them more time. The US Consulate in Sydney have been busy of late. I guess everyone wants to move over to the US. Good luck with your future Darren Darren, Sorry to hear about your situation. I feel your pain with the embassy never responding to emails. It's just so frustrating! I hope it all works out for you and you and your wife can come to the US soon! You're right. Just need to wait a few more days before I start to worry! I always get so worked up for nothing! Good luck and thanks for the help Danielle I agree completely that DOS gives the wrong info, much too often. Calling again and speaking to another person, asking them to take the time to look into it a little more, might be the best bet I agree. But I've given up on DOS. I spoke to THREE different people yesterday who all gave me completely different information. Two of which seemed to not have a friggin clue what they were even talking about or what AP even is. And I had an issue with receiving Packet 4, and called DOS for help and they gave me different information every time as well.	danielleNJ	Female	Australia	2012-03-16 11:51:00