Beneficiary moving to a different country

[Potatoes 0]

I am a Bulgarian citizen and I've been living in Korea for nearly 4 years. On the petition we submitted to USCIS we asked for the interview to be in Seoul. However, my housing contract here expires in August and I was hoping I could get the visa not later than the middle of August which might not be possible. I could stay in Korea after August waiting for the visa but it will be inconvenient and expensive. I am planning to go back home for a couple of months before moving to the US to spend some time with my family (they haven't seen me in a while!), so the earliest time to get to the US would be January or February next year. So since it looks like it's gamble whether I can get the visa in August, is it possible to request for the interview to be held in Sofia instead? So this way I can leave Korea in the middle of August, take a police certificate from here before leaving, and have the interview at some time in August or Sept, or even October (we're not in a hurry for me to move to the US, even March or April next year would be OK, I want to work in Bulgaria for a couple of months and save some money). Is this possible? What do we need to do? When and how should we inform the USCIS? Is my timeline realistic?

Thank you!

[A'n'L 735]

This is certainly possible.

Someone else may be better informed about what time it is better to request the transfer of the case to Sofia. I believe you can at least do it when it has arrived in Seoul (by contacting the embassy). This will cause a delay, but sounds like you are OK with that.

Remember, the expiration of your visa will be 6 months after you have your medical - so don't rush that one.

Depending on the embassy, they may also request additional documents (e.g updated letter of intent etc) if your interview should be scheduled after the original expiration of your NOA2.

[Potatoes 0]

Thank you! And since he will be visiting me soon here in Korea and we can get a lot of evidence during the visit, will I need to submit evidence to the embassy that I was in Korea at the same time he was? I have a Korean alien registration card, not a visa, and they will probably take it away when I leave the country. Should I make a copy of it? Or are passport stamps enough? Depending on when the interview is, I might need to have a new passport issued. Will that be a problem?

[teanet 20]

I transferred my case from Brussels to Prague because of moving. When we submitted request it took them about month to give us new case number specific for the country , but it was when our case was still at NVC and not at embassy. If you transfer your case when its at embassy it might take longer as they have to send your documents to other embassy.

[A'n'L 735]

Thank you! And since he will be visiting me soon here in Korea and we can get a lot of evidence during the visit, will I need to submit evidence to the embassy that I was in Korea at the same time he was? I have a Korean alien registration card, not a visa, and they will probably take it away when I leave the country. Should I make a copy of it? Or are passport stamps enough? Depending on when the interview is, I might need to have a new passport issued. Will that be a problem?

Sounds like a good idea to have a copy of your registration card. But, passport stamps (and maybe evidence of lease for your apartment or similar?) should be sufficient.

Not a problem to have a new passport, keep the old passport if you are allowed to or make a copy of it. You need to fill in your passport number on the visa applicaiton (DS160), so be sure to have your new passport in hand before you start doing that.

It's a good idea to have a "fresh" passport before you move to the US, so you don't have to go throught the hassle of renewing it for many years.

Edited April 20, 2016 by A'n'L

[Potatoes 0]

Thanks! I can certainly submit my lease contract but it's in Korean. Will the embassy in Sofia accept a translation made by me?

[A'n'L 735]

They might, best to check with them about that. If they do, you need to add a statement that you are fluent in both languages and sign.