Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	jessicaruizw....well you are ahead of me, my boss has no idea I'm even thinking about leaving. And now that we are in AP, with more reason I'm not going to tell anyone, because who knows when we'll be done :-/ Hopefully will put up the review this week. Take care	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-10-04 19:26:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	jessicaruizw....I have learned that you really can't plan around dates....you never know what will happen. I have not done the consulate review yet, I've had lots on my plate, but plan to do it soon. In any case, they didn't really ask me anything at all.	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-10-02 08:55:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks for the clarification. Darnell, I don't know if you saw the piece of paper....I posted it. As you can see, there is nothing for me to address, they did not request anything. And when we emailed the embassy and they responded, they specifically said that all of our documents were in order and they need nothing else. So now it's just a waiting game...	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-30 09:38:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks Darnell and Lalo & Susana. Darnell...one additional question: I was trying to google what you said about timeticks, but couldn't find information. The timeticks that you mentioned, such as "visa packet sent, administrative processing started, etc." - will the DOS tell me that? Because when I called all they said was that it was under "administrative processing" and nothing about when it has started or any additional information. Maybe I just need to be more insistent. Thanks!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-29 16:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks, Caly!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-28 13:07:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks, Sweetcheeksss. Just posting here for any future VJers that get put on Administrative Processing, this was the Santiago Embassy's response (I just put it in Google Translate in order to not have to translate it all myself): Mr. .........: There are many cases that require additional administrative processing. This is determined only at the time of the interview end. This happened with you. It is not possible to determine how much delay this process. We cannot give time estimates. You met all required documents and your case is in order. Just need this extra step is necessary. As I explained this happens frequently, and that is why we advise against making travel plans or purchase tickets before receiving their visas approved. Once your visa is ready, we will send via DHL. It is important for you, register now and select from that branch would like to withdraw your visa once issued. Sincerely, Immigrant Visa Unit ___________________________________________________________________ So the waiting game starts. Please send good vibes!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-28 11:29:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks bigdog. The Consulate just responded saying that we just have to wait, they cannot give us date estimates. They dont need any additional papers from us. Any estimates on how long AP usually takes? Ive seen posts on VJ that it could be anywhere from a week to someone who was in it for 15 months!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-28 08:28:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Lal & Susana, muchas gracias! That's exactly why this seems so strange. Darnell - my intention was not to confuse or mislead. When I first posted on this site, we had JUST finished the interview, and I was so shaken and stressed that I forgot to mention an important element: the slip that they gave us. I am attaching the paper. Although it's in Spanish, I think it's understandable: it says that we have not presented the necessary documentation, but they also request NO additional documentation (there are no check marks). http://i1339.photobu...zps39feb62f.jpg When we asked about the slip, the CO simply told us that we in fact ARE approved, but because they are having some printing/admin problems at the Embassy, he has to give us this paper that proves that we came to the interview. We asked again, since it made no sense, but he said that that's the way it is, that we are approved, but he has to give us something while we wait the five or so weeks for the visa. He told us to not come back and not bring any other documents. He had everything he needed. In fact, they gave us another slip (also attached) where we have to register with DHL so they can send us my husband's passport (again, all of this because supposedly everything is set). http://i1339.photobu...zpsd3aa76d8.jpg Will keep calling DOS, Darnell, as you say. Thanks also for the explanation of timeticks. Still no email response from Consulate....	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 17:57:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Givemegoodnews...I'll be sending you good vibes. Sweetcheeksss....nope, it says something along the lines of "Consulate of the United States of American in Chile, Immigrant Visa Department" or something like that. It looks similar to this: http://www.***remove...=1&d=1239557867 However, the only box marked is the one that says that they cannot give us the visa immediately because of elegibility or something like that. None of the other boxes about bringing in anything additional are marked. I will scan the document tomorrow and post here. I insist, what seems bizarre to me is that the CO told us the embassy was having printing issues, that was the only hang-up, all of our documents were in order, so the fact that he gaves us that form just baffles me.	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 15:35:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Pushbrk, I did not send you on a wild goose chase. What I am saying is that the paper does not ask us to bring ANYTHING. The CO told us that NOTHING is missing, only that they could not print the visa immediately. On the paper, the only thing that is marked is that they cannot give us the visa at this time and that we have to wait. No documents are marked or written in that we have to supply. I can scan a copy of this paper if you want. As I mentioned the same exact thing happened to a friend's husband: they told him everything was ok and that he was approved, but that they couldn't give him the visa for a month (and almost two months have passed since then). I am wondering if putting everyone on administrative processing is their way to protect their behinds and so justify to the DOS why they are not giving visas (if it is really a printing problem). Again, to clarify, we were told in person "YOU ARE APPROVED. WE NEED NO OTHER DOCUMENTATION FROM YOU. BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT UP TO FIVE WEEKS TO GET THE VISA."	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 14:41:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Anh map....I am not missing anything. The CO very clearly told us that all of our documents are in order and we are approved. Just that they weren't going to be able to give us the visa in up to 5 weeks. However, now that the DOS tells me we are in admin processing, I don't understand anything... Same thing happened to an aquaintance, as I mentioned above. Her husband was told on Aug. 8th that he was approved, but is not in admin processing with no visa in sight.	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 14:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	And I just found this spreadsheet...but it's only updated to Aug. 16th. http://photos.state....-Aug16_2012.pdf Nevermind...that's only for non-immigrant visas. Edited by lemayz, 27 September 2012 - 02:13 PM.	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 14:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	I just spoke to an aquaintance whose husband also interviewed here in Santiago for the CR1, but on August 8th. He is still in administrative processing and the Embassy won't give any answers. Could they have put the whole boat of CR1s in administrative processing because they are having printing problems? It also sounds a little bizarre...	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 14:05:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Thanks, Chrismanilyn. I just called DOS...the woman told us they have not made a decision and that our visa is under "Administrative Processing." How is this possible if the man told us yesterday in person that we were approved? What can we do at this point? Any advice, suggestions, good vibes? Thanks	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 13:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Ramey & Lo: thanks for posting your experience. I think I saw you at the interview then...were you wearing a flower in your hair and a pink shirt? In any case, congrats! So they told you two weeks tops? Perhaps it's different because it's K1 but I still find it strange... I'm going to get in touch with you via the personal messenger system, so perhaps we can keep in touch and you can update me when you get your visa...? I wish I could call in but I have no contact number for the Embassy, do you? All I have is the email address... Pushbrk...thanks again for the response. Darnell...thanks for your response. Will call DOS today and report back here what they tell me. Found the number in your profile. Just a question...what do you mean by "timeticks"? Thanks!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 11:24:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Penguin, thanks for your response but I dont think that's the case. The CO clearly told us that everything was fine with our file, but the printing issues would hold us up. Pushbrk and Darnell - im a bit confused, ate the visas printed in the embassies or does DOS do it and send them to embassies? In any case, should the DOS have all the last minute info on the visa or is it only the Embassy? Id like to at least have some way to get updates but of course there is no way to call the consulate, so is calling DOS my only option?	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 08:34:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Well but I wish they would've at least given us some kind of paper that said we were approved but they didn't. In fact the guy told us that he was giving us a paper that demonstrated we had gone to the interview, which unfortunately we didn't read in the moment. Outside of the embassy we read it and it said that we were missing papers and so ineligible....and that we have to come back with the other papers. I thought that was also very strange. I emailed the Consulate about, but we'll see what they say.	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-27 05:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Jessica - yup! Darnell - based on your response it almost sounds like this is semi-normal? (you dont seem surprised at all by my question). Perhaps I am not familiar enough with the process but the DOS will say "visa packet sent" in response to my specific case? I did not realize that the visas had to be sent...I thought each consulate printed them. All of the people I have spoken to that have gotten visas through the chilean consulate have gotten them in 3 days tops so the fact that it will be 5 weeks is unbelievable to me! I dont know how we are supposed to plan tickets and such with this type of wait! Thanks, Darnell for the response and patience pep talk!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-26 21:04:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post-interview problem - five weeks to get a visa!!	Hi everyone! Well, we finally had our interview today, and the result was not fantastic. At the end of the interview they said we were approved, but told us that the Embassy was having some kind of problem printing visas or something like that, and so we might not get my husband's passport and visa back for up to 5 weeks. FIVE WEEKS!!! We tried to ask more questions, but they would not give us any more information. We don't know what to do....we were going to buy plane tickets and quit our jobs tomorrow, but now that we don't know when we will get the visa, all of our plans are postponed. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we might do? I am emailing the local Embassy/Consulate right now to try to get more clarity, but what else can I do? Should I call the DOS? Who can possibly help us? Five weeks is an awfully long time to wait to even have an idea of when we can leave. And they didn't even sound 100% convinced that it would be less than five weeks. Please help!!! Thanks	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-09-26 19:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	APPROVED after 3 weeks of AP! And Miami POE question	Thanks! Anyone else.....Miami POE experiences?	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-10-20 12:52:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	APPROVED after 3 weeks of AP! And Miami POE question	Thanks so much! Best of luck to you with your interview!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-10-19 14:54:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	APPROVED after 3 weeks of AP! And Miami POE question	Hi everyone, First of all, thanks a million for all of your support....we are finally approved! Thanks especially to Saylin, Darnell, Ryan H, Bigdog, Pushbrk, and SO many others that helped along the way. I called the DOS on Tues, they said it had been approved last Friday, and by yesterday it had been sent to our local DHL office. We are so lucky that our AP was relatively quick! And taking advantage of the thread to ask a question....I looked in the POE area, but there are very few recent reviews of POE at Miami. I am looking at a flight that would give us a 4hr layover in Miami (we would be getting in at 6:10am on a Weds)....would that be enough most likely? I am trying to buy a ticket with my miles, and so that is the only option I have. Two other questions related to this: 1. We will be flying together, so when they take my hubby to the "immigration room," they will let me accompany him, right? 2. We are both going to fly on one way tickets....that should also not be an issue, right? AGAIN, THANK YOU EVERYONE! And I will still be on here every once in awhile to try to help out others and surely to figure out removal of conditions and all that...	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-10-19 12:20:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	USC petitioner living abroad	Congrats, JNENG, that's fantastic! I agree with both JNENG and chaine1 that it would be really helpful if we could make a group for those of us filing from abroad. Anyone know how to do this?	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-03-23 07:51:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	USC petitioner living abroad	JNENG, yes those are sort of the same documents I'm planning on submitting, plus my driver's license. Unfortunately I don't have my voter registration card or kids to enroll into school, but I do have some bank accounts and a car title. I didn't think about the SSN card....would that help too? It's a good idea to get moving estimates, even though in the end I know we won't hire a moving company (so expensive!) and we'll just come with the clothes on our back, hehe. Another piece of advice I saw on a board is sending a copy of a resignation letter to your current employer. I am not planning on resigning before my husband gets his visa, but maybe I can send the copy of the letter and submit it to my employer later down the road... Mariay.....I'm wondering what you are planning on doing in this case, since it seems like you have been living abroad longer than most of us!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-03-20 07:39:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	USC petitioner living abroad	Yes, seems like your case was pretty straightforward, that's great! In my case, I won't have a job or be moving back before my husband, so it's a bit more difficult. I am wondering if other people also have experiencies in this area....?	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-03-19 15:31:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	USC petitioner living abroad	Laure&Colin....such a good idea to put this together, since I think it can be really helpful for people just starting out with the process, seeing as how it is a new development. Here are my answers: 1. Country USC resides in: Chile 2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No 3. When did you file the I-130: Feb 2012 4. How long had you been living abroad: 6 years 5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes 6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other - Work 7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes 8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? No, I sent it to my mother in the US, who then sent it to USCIS. 9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Not on purpose, but documents dealing with bona fide relationship, marriage certificates, bank accounts, etc. all showed that I was living abroad. 10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? No 11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 11 days. I am thinking that one element we could add to this discussion is how all of us are going to show proof of domicile for the NVC stage. I realize that this is not directly related to the original post (sorry Laure&Colin, I'm not trying to hijack!), but I think it IS very relevant for all of us. Seeing as how we all live abroad, we have similar circumstances and difficulties in how to prove US domicile or reestablishment of domicile. I'd love to hear people's experiences in this area. Thanks!	lemayz	Female	Chile	2012-03-19 13:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Journey Starts Today	Congratulations I sent ours today, too!!! It's a good day...	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-08 16:12:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	help! living abroad during the process... confused	i have been filing my fiance visa from abroad and to make it easier I would suggest putting down your chile address but also putting the address of a trusted family member in the US to make sure that all of your notices get delivered and u can get access to to them somehow. Being in Egypt the mail is really unreliable so I use my mom's address. There is really no difference between filing in the US and filing abroad outside of having to pay for international shipping for your documents. and like everyone else said DCF is only for immigrant visas and also depending on the consulate you can't file on DCF on a student visa because its not a resident visa. And i dont know the case for Chile but in Egypt you have to prove residence for 6 months prior to filing in order to be considered for DCF good luck with the whole process Good to hear from someone else who is filing the fiance visa from abroad and to know that it is indeed possible. So if you've been putting your Egypt address and a US address (like your parent's) where exactly do you use which address, so that the information doesn't look inconsistent? Like on which forms did you put the Egypt address and on which forms did you put a US address? I haven't seen space on the forms for two addresses.	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-02-19 15:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	help! living abroad during the process... confused	DCF is for a spouse. Assuming you still want a fiance visa then just file it normally to the Texas box. They will assign it a service center for you. Thanks for the replies! Yes, we definitely want to do a fiance visa. So I follow all the steps the same, sending my I-129F packet to the Texas box and they automatically assign it to a service center? Is there anything I need to know ahead of time that might take longer or be different doing it all from Chile instead of the US? Like putting my address on things, I use my address here in Chile and that's ok?	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-02-19 15:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	help! living abroad during the process... confused	Hi everyone, I have been living in Chile with my fiance for almost a year now on a student visa, and it is now being changed to a temporary residence visa. We are starting to gather documents to send with the I-129F, hopefully at the beginning of March sometime. I'm confused about how I do this whole process being in Chile and not in the US. Is it considered DCF? From what I'm reading that's only for I-130 and not for I-129. Do I still send the I-129 packet to the Texas Lockbox address? And what USCIS service center will I use?? Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you!!!	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-02-19 14:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	g-325a question	Hi all, On the G-325A when it asks for the "applicant's residence last five years" should I include college dorm addresses and apartments throughout college when I was changing like every six months? Or can I just put my parent's house up until the date that I moved into the place I am now? How crucial is it to include all the dates and details? many thanks as always	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-02-24 13:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	A#	The first you know of this is is on I-129F approval notice. "NOA-2" Perfect. Thank you!	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-02 12:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	A#	What is the A# referred to on so many forms and how do you know if you or your fiancé have one? A million thanks as always	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-02 12:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	payment method	I live abroad in Chile with my fiance, but I have a checkbook for my US bank account. Can I write the i-129F fee with that check? In the USCIS Instructions for form I-129F it says "the check or mondey order must be drawn on a bank or other financial institution located in the United States and must be payable in U.S. currency; and Make the check or money order payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, unless:" .... and one of the "unless" options is "if you live outside the United States, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands, contact the nearest U.S. consulate or embassy for instructions on the method of payment." My question is: Is it necessary that I contact the nearest U.S. consulate for instructions on method of payment since I live outside the United States, or can I still write a personal check since it will be drawn from my US bank account? Thank you!!	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-02 15:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	fiance's child	thanks everyone!	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-03 13:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	fiance's child	I am putting together documentation to send the I-129F packet. I have written my fiance's daughter's name where it asks for children of fiance. Is there any additional information or documentation required at this point for her to have the possibility of a K2, aside from putting her name on the form? Gracias	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-02 21:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Translations	I am including the rent contract for the apartment where my fiance and I live in Chile as supporting evidence of having met in person in the last two years. The contract is in Spanish and is four pages long. Do I need to translate it? If so, is it necessary to translate all four pages? Or could I just translate the first page that gives the most important information like our names and the time limit of the rental agreement. Thank you!	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-03 14:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F packet last few questions	ah yes, my bad. I know it is proof of meeting in the last TWO years (FIVE was a typo). sounds promising that you sent a birth certificate like the one I have. Does anyone think I should include copies of all my passport pages just to be safe (as the alternate way of showing US citizenship)?	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-05 09:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F packet last few questions	I just want to be 100% sure, when it asks for a copy of the U.S. citizen birth certificate, does that mean a photo copy from a copy machine or an originally copy requested from the register of deeds? Also, I see many people have mentioned to be sure it is the "long version" of the birth certificate. How do I know if it is the long version? Mine is about half the size of a regular piece of paper and is from the Dane County, Wisconsin register of deeds. It includes my name, gender, date of birth, file number, date filed, county of birth, date issued, maiden name of mother and name of father. Lastly, has anyone included a cover page or sort of table of contents for the section of the packet with proof of having met in person within the last five years? Is it a good idea to make a cover page listing the contents of that part, in addition to the main cover letter, which lists the contents more broadly?	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-05 08:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	foreign fiance is paying student loans	Great! Thank you all	kels1787	Female	Chile	2011-03-22 09:59:00