biggish data

Tax docs required

I don't have the IRS transcripts that I have read are needed for the NVC. I have a complete printout from a tax preparation program from 2009 and a copy of what my accountant filed for 2010 and 2011. Will these be acceptable? They are many pages, particularly the printout from TurboTax.

Thanks.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-25 01:38:00

Co-sponsorship + Documents to show ownership of home in U.S.

Page 8> Part 7 : http://www.uscis.gov.../i-864instr.pdf

Thanks for that. I exceed the minimum requirements by quite a bit. However, I do not currently live in the U.S. so I think I must show that I have ties there in order to be able to sponsor my husband. That's why I asked about the mortgage documents needed. In addition, I am leaving the UAE before my husband to move back to the U.S. and I might not have a job by the time he has his interview.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-25 02:22:00

Co-sponsorship + Documents to show ownership of home in U.S.

Sorry for all these posts. I thought it would be easier to post each question separately...

I own a duplex in the U.S. The deed is in my father's name as well as my name, simply because I need him to have power of attorney to deal with any issues arising with it, as I live outside the U.S. and it is rented out to two families. The mortgage is solely in my name.

Will this ownership be sufficient to not need a co-sponsor? I have savings and investments in my name in the U.S. in addition to the home. And if it sufficient, what documents do they want to see to prove ownership? Will a printout of my monthly mortgage statement be enough?

Thank you.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-25 01:43:00

Emailing the DS-3032

Everyone can email the DS-3032, no certain circumstances for that.

By the way, why does your country profile show Syria as your country when it states in your timeline and signature you're in UAB? I was about to give you some advice for those in Syria when I noticed you were actually in UAB.

I am American. My husband is Syrian. We live in the UAE.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-29 13:17:00

Emailing the DS-3032

Are there only certain circumstances under which someone can email the DS-3032? Or should I just send it and wait to see if they accept it or not? I want to overnight it today if it is uncertain whether the NVC will accept an email or not. I've looked at the link that shows the proper format for emailing the form (and I've downloaded it), so I know what to do. Thanks!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-29 03:38:00

AOS barcode can't be printed until fee shows as 'paid', right?

Thank you for all the replies!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-29 15:38:00

AOS barcode can't be printed until fee shows as 'paid', right?

I should have checked my email again for posting this message. I have a message with a PDF of a cover sheet that has a barcode on the bottom. Is this the barcode they are talking about or is there another one? From what I've read, I understood that they were two separate items.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-29 03:43:00

AOS barcode can't be printed until fee shows as 'paid', right?

I just wanted to make sure I understand this exactly: I just paid the AOS fee online. But I won't be able to print out the barcode and cover sheet until the fee has cleared with my bank and shows up as 'paid', right? Thanks!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-29 03:29:00

AOS fee paid but App Processing Fee not showing up to be paid...?

I have paid the AOS fee - it is still processing according to the website. But the button to click to pay the processing fee is greyed out and there is no fee listed for me to pay. Is this normal? If not, should I call the NVC to find out about it? Thanks!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-30 13:12:00

Police Clearance Certificate Expired

My husband is from Syria. He got a police clearance certificate in 2008 for his time in Syria (up to 2008) but it was valid for only 3 months. Going back to Syria now to get one is obviously out of the question and it is impossible to do at the embassy here in the UAE as well (Syria's ambassadors have been kicked out of almost all countries). He's been in the UAE since he was 19, so he can get a police certificate for the 13 years he has been here without a problem but needs a valid clearance document for his time in Syria, ages 16-19.

How does Immigration handle issues like this? This is the only hiccup in our case. I consulted with a lawyer from a highly regarded immigration law firm in my state this summer and he told me that the U.S. will make allowances for such situations in which a person cannot get into their country due to violence.

Thanks in advance for any advice and information...

Edited by andreamo, 25 November 2012 - 01:31 AM.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-25 01:30:00

How long a wait for DS-3032 email to be read by NVC?

I'm just curious how long it's taken for others to have their DS-3032 email read and acknowledged by the NVC? We are at Day 9 (6 business days) now...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-09 11:26:00

I would expect a LOT of problems fixing this....and incredible delays...this sort of thing might be viewed as an attempt by him to avoid AP or other security checks...but now, those checks will be carried out in a very slow painstaking manner, and it's doubtful that anyone (such as an overpriced immigration attorney) can rectify this with some silly affidavit or notarized letter from a relative...did he say why he decided to make this alteration???? (makes no sense unless he is trying to hide something...)

First of all, why are the affidavits of birth silly? I don't know where you come from but there are places on earth where they don't keep careful birth records, or any birth records at all. Secondly, he didn't make the alteration. His 65-yr old mother made it in an attempt to fix the problem of his birth cert birth date not matching his passport birth date. He is not trying to hide anything at all. He's never needed to worry about this alteration until now.

And immigration attorneys may be overpriced but fortunately for me, I am from NH - where the NVC is located. And where congressional influence on a state level might actually mean something.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-19 14:05:00

why jordan ? he is living in uae. read the post carefully.

he still can authorize a lawyer. should contact syrian embassy in uae.

I will ask him to call them tomorrow about this. The Syrian ambassador is no longer in the country and the Embassy is performing only limited services.

Anyways, we've worked something out that will hopefully be ok...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-19 13:57:00

if your husband has a proof of his correct birth date he should authorize any one in syria or relative to correct it and send him the new qayd nofos. it is easy. then he can issue byan welada from embassy in uae, it is issued in the same day.

The UAE Embassy doesn't do anything for people not born in the UAE. He must get his byan weleda from Syria, unfortuantely.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-16 09:59:00

So his passport shows the altered date? I think it will almost certainly cause delays either way, because either you have a passport and birth cert with different dates, or you have a passport with the same date as a birthcert that was clearly altered, thye even if they accept it, they will need to do extra background checks on both birthdates.

Can you get other records maybe, such as directly from the hospital or from the doctor that delivered him?

His passport shows July 2, 1978. His birth certificate shows Jan 2, 1978. Syria is basically embroiled in a civil war right now. Even if my husband felt it was safe to go back to get a new birth certificate, he cannot for political reasons. Nor can his family members there get new documents for him or get affidavits. Two of them are in hiding from gov't forces. We can only do things outside of Syria.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-16 09:56:00

He has now told me that there are other copies of his birth certificate that are unaltered and translated. But they also show the same mistake in his birth date as the one his mother changed.

Can we submit one of these and explain that they don't keep accurate records in Syria? Or submit all of them to show the problem has persisted through time? (Two of them were obtained and translated in 2008 and the other in 2010.) That is, that it isn't a problem we created in trying to falsify documents? We can also send canceled passports to show that his passport birth date has not changed since he got one.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-16 04:30:00

I discovered last night that my husband's birth certificate was altered with pen by his mother because the agency that issued it made a mistake with his birth date. It's in Arabic and she added a small line to make a '1' into a '7'. I really want to scream. We had everything ready to send to the NVC. My husband claims he told me about this about a month ago and I said it would be ok. (This absolutely can't be true. If I had seen the birth certificate, I would have immediately told him we needed to figure something else out. My husband's English isn't perfect and I think this was something that was lost in translation.)

My husband is Syrian, so getting another BC from his country is out of the question. Plus, the Syrian embassy is doing limited services because the Ambassador was kicked out of the country. (We live in the United Arab Emirates.) They cannot issue him a new BC.

So, we need to get an affidavit (or two?) of birth. The problem with this is that both of his parents are dead and getting in touch with his one uncle that lives outside Syria is next to impossible.

He has a brother and a sister whom are U.S. citizens. Right now, they are the only immediate family members from whom we could realistically get notarized affidavits. But will this be enough? Does he need one or both of them to do this? And does anyone have a link to the form(s) that need to be used because I can't seem to find it online.

Thank you very much for any and all advice!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-12-16 03:22:00

Possible to send AOS and IV stuff in same package via DHL?

I have to resend the IV app with modified answers as well as supporting docs for the AOS. Originally, we sent these in separate packages through DHL. They cost $75 each. Is it possible to send them in one package or do we need to do them separately again? Just trying to save $75 if possible...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-11 14:09:00

So if Im understanding this correctly, you have a birth certificate with an incorrect date on it? Youre hoping that they will accept it because you are unable to provide them with the corrected one? (Im not saying this in any kind of sarcastic tone).

If thats what youre trying to do, then yes, it can happen. The USCIS policy on that is as follows-

There are situations in which primary evidence is unavailable. This gives rise to a presumption of ineligibility , which is the applicant or petitioner’s burden to overcome.

Title 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2) sets out the procedures relating to unavailability of documents. A petitioner or applicant cannot simply assert that the primary evidence does not exist. The absence of a primary record, instead, must be proven either:

·By a written statement from the appropriate issuing authority attesting to the fact that no record exists or can be located, or that the record sought was part of some segment of records which were lost or destroyed; or

·By evidence (such as an affidavit) "that repeated good faith attempts were made to obtain the required document or record."

(So in theory, your verbal or written affidavit that you made a good faith attempt to get the corrected BC could be enough)

BUT- according to the DOS Foreign Affairs Manual, birth certificates from Syria are available. They are not classified as a country where records can not be obtained, so you truly are banking on the compassion of the person in front of you.

http://travel.state....l?cid=9712#docs (manual)

If I were you I would stress the 'repeated' good faith attempts at obtaining the corrected document. Remember its your burden of proof to overcome.

You are right, birth certificates are available in Syria. I didn't mean to suggest they weren't. If there were no conflict, my husband would be able to eventually get one. (In order to change his birthdate, he would have to go through the court system, which would probably take a while. But it could be done.) However, his city has been destroyed by the conflict there and, because of the conflict, he cannot enter the country. His family name is well-known due to its political and social status within the society and certain members have been very vocal about their opposition to Bashar. My husband is concerned that he will be taken by the government if he were to step foot in Syria.

I don't know if this is something we should tell the embassy but it's the truth. If my husband would fear for his life in his country, why would I ever ask him to go there and get a new birth certificate? And, unfortunately, I didn't learn of the problem with the birth certificate until we had made it through USCIS and were preparing to move on to the NVC. So we had already gotten the ball rolling with his paperwork...

I don't know how we'd demonstrate "repeated attempts" to get a BC. We can't even attempt once. I guess we're screwed.

Maybe he should just enter the U.S. illegally through a fence and then be pardoned by the gov't. Clearly, that's the easier route to U.S. citizenship...

I'm totally regretting this whole process now and wish we had never started it.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-27 13:43:00

We have decided to deal with this issue at the interview and not before. We need compassion to jump this hurdle and that will not be present in the equation if I try to rectify it by phone or mail. So come what may, that's what we're doing...

I have talked to some friends here about our situation and I have received mixed responses. Some people have said to play stupid - which would have been my real reaction had I not realized my mistake before going with my husband to his interview - and ask what to do to rectify it once they've brought it up. Others have said to offer up the other translation only if asked. Others have said I should bring it up but not until the end of the interview.

I don't know what to do. I'm going to have to think hard about this. If he is denied, we are in real trouble. As aforementioned, we have two small children, and I no longer have a job after this coming Thursday. I have to go to the U.S. regardless of what happens.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-27 11:43:00

Our lawyer is not filing our papers for us because he is located in the U.S. and we are in the United Arab Emirates. We hired him from here. He is from my state, NH, where the NVC also happens to be located. I hired him because he has contacts with the NH governor's office and I knew he could probably speed up this process for us using his clout. I was right. Our case is currently being transferred to the embassy in Abu Dhabi to be expedited.

The mistake is that I matched my husband's birth certificate with the wrong English translation. The birthday months do not match but they wouldn't have known this at the NVC unless the person checking his documents knew how to read and write Arabic. (I won't go into why he has translations that don't match - it will take a few paragraphs.) I realized my mistake AFTER the package had been sent - only @ 5 days ago, really. As I mentioned above, we live in the UAE together - my husband is not in Syria. His interview will be in Abu Dhabi, not in Amman. Obviously, people here know Arabic. If an Arabic speaker here checks the birth cert with the translation, they will catch the mistake.

We can bring the correct translation with us to the interview and explain the mistake. But that will cause a problem because it does not match his passport birthdate. The mistake on the birth cert was made by the gov't office in his city in Syria that deals with such matters. He never had it corrected because you have to initiate a court case in Syria to do so and he hadn't needed his birth cert for anything up until now. He has 4 copies of his birth cert - two have been altered with pen to match his passport birthdate and were translated into English with the mistake. That's how I matched up the wrong ones.

I am not sure at this point how to correct the problem before the interview (I've been told the case has been transferred to Abu Dhabi but I have not been contacted by the embassy here yet) and anyways, it's the kind of problem that could get him denied as I'm sure you all know. I'd rather speak about this with someone face-to-face because my husband cannot get another birth cert due to the violence in Syria. He absolutely cannot enter his country and his family cannot help him as some of them have fled his city and another is in hiding. (And he cannot get Affidavits of Birth. We've already checked that option out.) I'm banking on the CO's compassion at this point because we have two small children and I'm moving home to the U.S. to be with my dad who now has cancer. I need my husband with me.

I had a friend here with an Indian husband with a similar problem with his passport and birth cert. They told the CO at his interview what was going on and the CO thanked them for their honesty and gave him an IV despite his discrepancy. I am hoping the same thing might happen with us.

The lawyer's opinion is to only offer information if asked - typical lawyer response. But he is with a highly respected firm in my state and, even though it's not his life that will be affected by the outcome, I do trust his judgement. He thinks they won't notice the discrepancy.

I am not trying to be deceitful here. It was an honest mistake made. I can't be the first one to make it, I imagine....

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-27 01:57:00

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

I recently discovered a mistake in the documents we sent to the NVC. (Without going into great detail, our applications were not put together as carefully as I would have liked due to circumstances at that time.) However, it appears to have gone unnoticed. What are the chances of it being picked up at the interview? Would you bring up the mistake or wait for the CO to mention it first? It's kind of a big mistake but nothing can be done about it due to the current circumstances in my husband's country.

I have our lawyer's opinion on how to handle this. I'd like opinions from people here, as well...

Thanks...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-26 15:32:00

A Few Questions about the Interview

My husband seems to be nearing the point of being given an interview date. I was wondering if the Embassy reviews all of the forms from the NVC either before, during or after the interview? (Or is the review of those documents completed at the NVC?) Also, my husband and I have been married nearly 8 years and we have two children (born 4 years apart) with American citizenship. What kinds of questions will they ask my husband? It's hard to believe they would ask him what my favorite food is and how we met when we're clearly an established couple.

Thanks for any and all advice!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2013-01-23 14:56:00

Whar kind of visa does your husband currently have? Entering the US while applying for IR1 does not void anything.

I don't know what the type of visa is exactly. It's a visit visa. Because he's Syrian, they are valid for 2 years. The immigration lawyer told us this summer that he cannot enter the U.S. on that visa now that we have begun his immigration papers. I believe what he told me as he's trained in these matters...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-22 03:11:00

It's cool. If you click on "timeline" where you replied to my post, you can set it up that way.

It might not. I wouldn't expect it to take 8 months. That would be April or May, 2013. I mean, I would still plan for the worst and hope for the best, though.

I see you just updated your timeline to Texas. So Texas is going by pretty quickly. They are presently at around 90 days on average to approved the I-130, then add 2 months (probably) for NVC and another 2 months (probably) for your consulate in Syria. Your hubby could be in the US by March, 2012. IF you are auto-expedited (which is possible) you could be looking at January, 2012. I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up. It's possible (if you are auto-expedited), but highly unlikely that he will be in the US by Feb, 2012 with his green card.

I made a timeline but I don't know how to add it to my signature. There isn't much on it right now, unfortunately, so I'm not sure how much help I will be to others until we find out what is happening next.

If I chose Texas, that is incorrect. I didn't choose anything for that field because I really don't know which office it went to. Maybe it defaulted to that choice?

I should add that my husband has been in the U.S. 6 times on 4 different visit visas since 2006 - he actually has one that is current now but he can't enter the U.S. on it again now that we have started the immigration visa process. The lawyer told us if he does enter on it, his application becomes void. (And we chose not to have him enter on it and then apply for change of status.) But he is in the U.S. system - fingerprints and all. I'm hoping all of this helps our case.

This past summer when we arrived in JFK airport for our annual visit home, the homeland security officer at passport control asked my husband why he wasn't a citizen yet. Ha!

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-21 13:37:00

I just looked online and it seems that you can't call about your application until 30 days have passed. Would this be 30 days from the day the check was cashed? Or maybe I'm incorrect?

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-21 13:16:00

I never received an email either. Have you called uscis to see what your receipt number is so you can check your status online?

I'm sorry, I didn't see this reply. I haven't called yet. I wasn't aware that I could and I have to google the phone number. Gosh, I thought I was prepared but I'm feeling like I'm totally in the dark here...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-21 13:11:00

Where was your petition sent to? Vermont, California, Texas? We would need to know this. Are you applying for his green card as his sponsor? If you update your timeline properly, it would be easier to answer your question. Your status shows that you are applying for an I-1 visa? You probably didn't fill out your profile correctly if you're sponsoring him. I'm just assuming this.

You can call into USCIS to get the application number and that will tell you where it was sent. Please see "Processing Times" in the blue menu bar above. If you are actually applying for your husband's green card, then your visa type is IR-1, not I-1. If you go to the right hand side of the page at the bottom, then you should be able to find the time frames according to Visa Journey. Click on the link and it will show you all of the stages and how long it takes for each service center. If you are wanting official time frames from USCIS (usually not as accurate as VJ), the top left of that page will show "USCIS Service Centers" and a drop down box which you can use to select the service center your I-130 petition was sent to. I sent my petition June, 2012 to Chicago and it was sent to Vermont, so I'm not expecting to be able to leave Canada until February, 2013 at the earliest since Vermont takes a while to process. California is fairly quick. They could get you to NVC a couple of months earlier or even auto-expedite you if you put your foreign address on all paper work. For more info on auto expedite queue, see here: http://www.visajourn...d/page__st__255 .

After the service center stage, your application goes to NVC where it usually takes an additional 1-2 months to process different forms that you will be asked to provide.

After this, your paperwork is usually sent to your consulate to set up an appointment for his immigration interview. This can take another month to set up depending on the consulate. It could be quicker for a UAE consulate.

Please update your timeline and your profile correctly so that VJ can determine processing date accurately. It wouldn't be fair that you use this forum and then not give back to it by inputting your data. Plus it helps you to determine how far along you are in the process.

If your case is auto-expedited, you could definitely be in the US by February; if not, you might have to wait an additional month or two depending on the processing times of NVC and your consulate. March or April, 2013 might be more accurate if no auto-expedite is given. It's possible you might qualify for an expedite if you send in a request. They might let you based upon dire circumstances. I don't know though. I've also heard that unless it's a life or death situation or unless USCIS makes a mistake, usually they won't expedite per a request. I hope your case goes quickly, though. I really don't mean to put a damper on your hopes. I hope to be as realistic as possible. Also, I hope you get sent to CSC and/or auto-expedited.

Thank you very much for your reply.

I apologize for not setting up my account properly. I wasn't really sure how to add the timeline feature and I don't know where my husband's application was sent to. Honestly, I didn't realize it would be sent out somewhere else. I swear I have read numerous websites on the immigration process as well as the USCIS website and the Abu Dhabi Embassy website. I didn't come across that info on any of the webpages I found. I guess I must call USCIS to find this out...?

Yes, we are applying for an IR-1 visa. I am applying for him.

I hope that this doesn't take the 8-12 months it seems to take for other folks on this forum. If he isn't approved by March 3, I will have to leave the UAE by myself with our children and wait for him in the U.S., which would cause a number of problems for us. I know I haven't left much time but obviously, I didn't know my father was going to become sick. Where can I get forms to expedite his case? Or who can I talk to about this?

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-21 13:06:00

Hi Everyone,

My husband's I-130 application was received on Sept. 5 in Chicago and my check was cashed on Sept. 10. (We live abroad in the UAE.) It is now Sept. 21 and I have not received an email. We've been married for 7.5 years and have two children, both of whom are American (as am I, of course). I assumed our case was black and white - and we were told as much by an immigration lawyer in the U.S. one month ago.

I know it's still early as it's only been 11 days since they cashed my check but I am wondering when I should start worrying? We are on a time crunch here. My job ends on Feb. 4 and I must leave the country with my children within 30 days after this date. It was a quick decision to leave the UAE and move to the U.S. as I found out that my dad has cancer this past July and handed in my resignation soon after.

Anyways, I'm not really sure how one follows up if nothing seems to be happening. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can be prepared.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered...

Andrea

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-21 10:57:00

I-130 application transferred from CA to Missouri?

I received a notice stating that my husband's application was transferred to the MO office from the CA one. On this forum, the Missouri office is listed as dealing solely with benefits and not I-130 forms. Does anyone have any idea what this could mean?

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-09-24 10:08:00

you could certainly wait on nvc to send you things via postal mail .
That's the 'old-school postal notification' that's still in place at NVC.

However, most people here at VJ want speed, and have learned how to get speed.
The FIRST part of getting speed process is to call in to NVC, talk with a human, inquire about the casefile.
When NVC TeleOperator FINDS your casefile, he/she will give you (over the phone) the NVC casefile number, and usually asks for your email address and the email address of the foreign spouse.

When that occurs, expect the AOS fee bill and a DS-3032 to arrive via email.

[and that's what you need to do to jump start this process, short-circuiting any postal notification ]

some light reading for you:

1. preppin a ds-3032 email - http://www.visajourn...il_DS-3032_form
2. LingChe NNV Shortcuts - http://www.visajourn...he_NVC_ShortCut
3. Official Department of State Instructions:
DS-230 - http://travel.state..../info_3190.html
I-864 - http://travel.state..../info_3730.html
General NVC stuff - http://travel.state..../info_1335.html

----
so, you've some reading to do. I suggest you never read this stuff from a handphone web browser - use a PC connected to the internet, instead, or you'll miss 80 percent of the important stuff. Postal notification at NVC is about 3 months per thing, and there are 3 things for doc intake at NVC - so you could languish for 9 months or more waiting on each postal notification. EMAIL notification, otoh, combined with the NVC Online Payment Portal, really rocks for speed. Want Email Notification with NVC? Use a telephone, please.

Good Luck !

Thanks so much for this! I will call Monday. Hopefully, someone will answer before I have to go to bed.

Hiring a lawyer is a personal decision and if you feel you need one, you can choose to hire one.
However, most of us are all doing it on our own with assistance from others on the forum.
I think you can probably do it on your own if you have a little faith in yourself. You've made it this far!
Also, I'm sure we can all attest to reading a few horror stories here about lawyers that just don't know enough.
Doesn't mean you can't get a good one! Just means there are plenty of bad ones out there too lol

I've decided to use a paralegal for questions I have. I think I can manage without a lawyer but I have lots of questions about details.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-24 23:19:00

Good point, that is not the way I saw it either. Either way she needs to get on it, sounds like she should have at least sent the DS3032 and paid/sent the AOS by now.

Yep, I am getting on it!

I will call Monday. From what I have read on various sites, I had thought I needed the letter from the NVC in my hand before I could continue. I didn't realize I could pay the fees and send a form without it physically with me. And I am in the UAE, not in the U.S. So everything takes longer by mail - which is why I was waiting.

Maybe I need a lawyer. I'm feeling overwhelmed.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-24 14:14:00

Post #2 has most of the info, shouldnt be more than a 10 minute read. The most important thing about self filing is making the time to understand the process.

Once you read you will see it is always better to have all your documents in order well before they are due, the only thing to look at is if there are expiration dates such as some police certs. Either way there are several "wait" periods in between steps during the NVC process as well, feel free to see my signature for my NVC journey and I am going warp speed, most people need 1-2 weeks for the DS3032 (choice of agent) to be accepted.

I really insist you read the topic suggested earlier in order to have a better idea of the process and set proper expectations.

Good Luck.

Update - I can see you should already be calling the NVC in order to get your Invoice ID number and NVC case#, also give your email addresses, and pay the AOS fee and send the packet, I believe you are already letting valueable time pass. get on it!!

Thank you. I am 9 hours ahead of EST (I live in the UAE) and I work so it's hard for me to call the U.S. But I will do it on Monday, for sure. And I am still unclear as to how this invoice # and NVC case # will help me if I don't have the letter in my hand yet. I have read through some of that page - I have to give it a more thorough look tomorrow.

I am debating whether or not to hire a U.S.-based attorney. I have definitely decided to use a paralegal but maybe having a lawyer will make the process go more quickly...?

About the police certificates: my husband got one in 2008 from Syria but it expired within 3 months. For obvious reasons, he cannot go back there now to get one. Will this be a problem? He's been living in the UAE since 1999 but still needs a Syrian police cert for 1996-1999. Does anyone know how this will affect his application?

Edited by andreamo, 24 November 2012 - 02:11 PM.

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-24 14:06:00

Many of your questions can be answered here in post 1 and 2:
http://www.visajourn...-november-2012/

If you have any additional questions, there would be a great place to post them.

Thank you. This is a very large forum and I am very tired with very little free time. I appreciate others' help in navigating my way around...

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-24 12:38:00

Hello Everyone,

I have recieved approval for my husband's I-130 application. My question is: must we have the hard copy of the letter from NVC in hand before we start getting documents together? I'm asking this because my husband wants to do his police clearance certificate now. (We have everything else ready and want to have the package ready to go by courier the day we get the letter from them.) But the date stamped on the certificate might come before the day they mailed/will mail the first letter to us. I am worried this might be a problem. Several other websites I have looked at have said to "not take any action until the letter from the NVC has been received."

Any advice is greatly appreciated...

Andrea

andreamo

Female

Syria

2012-11-24 12:26:00