Hi,

Just wanted to say thanks for posting all of this helpful information. It would have been a nightmare to navigate this on our own.

We got married on May 29 and sent off the I-130 packet for my husband to Frankfurt last Weds-- it was signed for on Sunday (yes, Sunday!) by the USCIS at the post office. I sent it with a credit card form that I found on the USCIS UK site (crossed out the "London" and wrote "Frankfurt", we will see if that flies) so that I can check my credit card balance and know when it goes through! Just looking for the baby steps for encouragement.

I will try to create a timeline to keep you fellow Frankfurt DCFers posted. From what you have written, it could take 2 weeks or 3 months to get the I-130 approved, so we're just hanging loose & enjoying being married. Good luck to you all!

hey, Congrats on getting your start!

You've got lots of great, recent experiences to lean on in your research---should be a snap!

Welcome, welcome

Congratulations on your marriage!

I'm DCFing through Frankfurt also, I'm on my third submission (but this one hasn't been sent back...so far!) as per my timeline, so we're probably pretty close with dates.

Wishing you a smooth and speedy journey

Thanks for the well-wishes!

Whoo hoo, credit card payment went through on Weds! I had tried to call about 6 times asking for the credit card payment form from Frankfurt with no luck in getting an answer. Ended up using the one I found for London here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/forms/inscredit.pdf and crossed out "London" & put in "Frankfurt". Luckily that seemed to do the trick. Guess that doesn't mean anything more than they have my money though! Hah!

Also going through Frankfurt...

Just received Packet 3...

Good luck with your journey, Suzy! I'll be posting as much as I can about my experiences.

We were (pleasantly) shocked to find packet 3 in our mailbox this afternoon after only a couple weeks of waiting, especially since we mailed it in instead of going in person.

Sounds like they have gotten whatever issues people were complaining about before resolved. Candace said she got hers today too-- so it's a good day for us Frankfurters!

Congrats, Suzy and Candace!

Suzy, your petition was approved quickly! That's the kind of quickness I expected with my petition. I was disappointed by that. I complained about it because I couldn't understand why a person who enters the Consulate gets their petition approved that day while a person who mails their petition must wait almost two months. I understand that there must be a waiting period for those who mail in their petitions, but a two-month wait is sort of ridiculous in comparison to those who come in person.

Have you gathered all of your documents?

Where do you live in Germany?

Thanks! Yes, this was a bit faster than I expected.

We have almost everything gathered, I think.
-We have his English police certificate in hand, and just need to get the one for Germany (we live in Munich), which is supposed to take about a week or so.
-We have an I864 for joint sponsor already filled out with supporting docs in case they don't like our assets and need another sponsor. I'm finishing up my last tax return now for mine. He will also do an I864A since we have shared a household for 6 months.
-I collected some pictures of the 2 of us from various trips (and wedding pics, with family, etc), though someone who just went for an interview a week ago reported they didn't look at them.
-We got his vaccination records to prepare for the medical exam. He will make the appointment this week.
-Passports & birth & marriage certs from before.
-We need to get more passport pics though!

I guess we will try to send in the checklist and DS230 next week if it is all in order.

Just an update...

We had our interview yesterday and were approved! Took about 3.5 hours total.

We got there at 8:15 for our 8:30 appt. We had to get a number outside the consulate building and this number was what they used to call us for each of the steps. We talked to 4 people total: 1 to take the money, 1 to take the DS-230 part II and the picture, 1 to check the docs & make sure the affidavit forms and evidence looked generally ok, and then the last was the consular officer. There's not really anything tricky I have to share though. The only thing we had done wrong was put my (US citizen) address on his DS-230 part II but the girl just crossed it out and asked me to write my US address instead. Actually the best advice I have is to bring a sweater because it was cold in there!

It took the longest waiting to be called for the doc check. Then the lady looked at my (the sponsor's) affidavit of support. I guess since my job (German income) is ending and my assets alone didn't qualify, she asked if we had a joint sponsor. We said we did (we had all the paperwork from a friend just in case) but that we were hoping to use my husband's assets to qualify. So she looked at his I-864A and said OK that's fine and did not even take the stuff from our friend. We had made copies of the tax returns (I submitted 3 years federal and 1 year of state to help with the domicile part) so she kept those. I also had copies of a couple credit card mailings, my last bank statements with the same US address (printed off the internet), and a copy of my insurance profile that lists my husband as my spouse as evidence of address and relationship. I also wrote up a short note about how we intended to return to the same address in the US with references to the other docs. He submitted copies of his last bank statements, investments, and documents about the house he owns. His job is also ending when we leave Germany.

Finally we were called to see the officer. He was very friendly and professional (the other one working that day looked pleasant as well) and just asked us a few questions, mainly directed at my husband. Mostly it was stuff off his applications, just to verify, and some questions about me. When we met, what my college major was, etc. Definitely not trying to trip us up, just checking things out. He asked why we were moving back to the US and if we had jobs there (we don't but are now applying). Then he looked over the affidavits and asked me if I was currently working. I said yes but my last day was the end of this month. He said, but you are employed as of today? I said yes. He said, well that is good enough to qualify as the sponsor then, it is relative to the interview date (my salary is high enough and I had the last 3 years of tax stuff so I think that was good, though he said we only needed one, I didn't have enough assets though). Actually I had not even included a letter from my employer or my last pay stub as I thought it wasn't going to help anything. We had both written on our affidavits in the employment section that the jobs were ending at the end of Sept & we were qualifying on assets alone. We did write our salaries in just b/c it seemed to make a better impression. Anyway, he kept my husband's form just in case anything got questioned later. We used the new forms, BTW. He wrote a big fat OK on the bottom of the form and said, you know what that means, don't you! We were done by 11:45 or so and he said we would have the visa in 2 weeks. He gave us a green form (this is also the form they give you if something is missing) with the contact info if we didn't get the visa by that time. And he gave us the extra pictures back from the I-130, which was kind of funny since we had to give them another picture on that day!

So that was it. We had brought pictures of us with both families, wedding pictures, receipts from the wedding and our rings, airline stubs from the honeymoon, a copy of our first email, bank statements from a year back in some cases, etc... and they didn't look at any of it. That said, I am glad we had all of it because if they wanted it something we didn't have, it could have caused problems or delays, and it made us feel more prepared.

Sidenote: I was able to also file the form for my updated social security card with my married name afterwards (again I am the US citizen, to avoid confusion. we checked that we want a SSN for him on the DS-230) in the same building. The advantage of this is that you don't have to mail in your passport. They make an "official copy" of your passport and marriage certificate and mail in the form for you. I should get it in 2-4 weeks at our German address.

Now we just need to book the airline tix, pack up house, etc etc etc!

Ah... just to clarify something... I looked at the new I-864 form again just now. It says: "In order to qualify based on the value of your assets, the total value of your assets must equal at least five times the difference between your total household income and the current poverty guidelines for your household size. However, if you are a U.S. citizen and you are sponsoring your spouse or minor child, the total value of your assets must only be equal to at least three times the difference." So actually, we were case #2, and my assets actually did meet this smaller criteria with no income included, so I was an OK sponsor by the book. Not sure why he asked about the current employment then and used that as criteria. Just did not want to confuse or mislead anyone, you should always go by the rules and not make assumptions anyway!

Congratulations Suzy!!! So pleased it all went smoothly for you!

I was going to ask about taking 'personal' relationship stuff - I was also going to take some joint bank statements, photos, cards and emails etc 'just in case'. Like you said - better to be over-prepared!

All the best for your trip home!

Congrats, Suzy!

Happy packing, happy travels and don't forget to scan the Arriving in America thread--and hopefully add your own story soon!

good luck on your journey

Visa arrived today-- so quickly! And everything is correct to boot! Oh happy day! The Frankfurt consulate has really been on top of it.

Quick update... we entered through Dulles on Oct 24. No problems whatsoever. From the time we landed (United Airlines flight) til the time we finished re-checking the bags and going though security again after going through immigration, it took exactly an hour. I sat with my husband in the secondary immigration check for his CR-1 visa for the whopping 10 minutes we had to wait (included in the hour time). We got there on a Tuesday around 2:40pm-- there were plenty of people coming through but the staff at that airport is very organized and know what they are doing. Everyone we saw at the secondary station was just being called up to the desk for a documentation check and that was about it. No one asked about the xray.

I'll post again when we get the green card & social security card in hand.

Yay Suzy! Glad it all went smoothly for you! Hope you're settling in well.

~Candace

Thanks, we are doing fine. I started work last week already! Alan has had a promising interview for a job he is very interested in.

The only small snag we have had concerns his social security number. We checked the box to have an automatic application upon entry. He called social security and he is still not in the system. I believe the instructions mdyoung (or what is his name?) gives say to go & apply if you are not in the system in 3 weeks. We figure if he is not in the system at all after 2 weeks (even without an assigned number), something didn't work quite right so he is applying tomorrow. Actually, I am not sure I read about anyone where the automatic SSN application worked out in a timely fashion.

It's not a huge problem except for the fact that his UK driver's license is not valid after 60 days as a resident in the state of NC, and we need the SSN to get the new driver's license here. If we wait around and the trigger never happened, we could get in a tight spot waiting on a new application to go through.

We also tried to buy a car in both of our names & thought we were successful using his UK drivers license. The application bounced at the DMV for the registration/title because he didn't have a US SSN to go along with a foreign driver's license, so we have had to redo all the paperwork in my name only. They wouldn't take the alien registration number instead. Both of my banks (state employees credit union and wachovia) would not give him an account without an SSN so we are just making due for now.

Suzy,

Your experience is similar to mine.

My husband's social security number was never generated. I think we waited about five weeks because we calls the SS office and they told us to wait. We waited and then he went to our local SS office and applied for one. He received it about two weeks later.

We were able to open a joint Bank of America account without his SS number.

Thankfully, since he's from Germany, his license can be transferred to a Massachusetts one without him having to take the written or road test.

And we also bought a car, but it could only be purchased in my name because he had no social security number. He had his permanent resident card at the time as well and that was not good enough.

Lastly, he also went on three job interviews and has been recently hired by a local software company. So he's enjoying America, for the most part. (He's getting a better understanding, though, of American politics.)

Good luck!

--Z

That's awesome you guys are settling in well! I will heed the non-appearance of SS number and get that checked out - it will certainly be a huge pain if that happens to me, as I am entering the US only to leave again and come back to Germany until later in the year!

I wonder if there is anything I can do, if indeed this happens. I am in Seattle for two weeks before leaving for Philadelphia, I guess I could wander to the SS office just before we leave and check out if they know who I am? What do you think? I guess applying and thereafter getting one twice is either impossible or causes problems?

We already have a BoA account so that should not be a problem. But eeugghh, I have to take both written and road tests for my WA driving license - what a nightmare!

~C

Hi everyone this is Alan, Suzybandseers' husband.

Just a quick update on my SSN problems, I went my local SSA office for an update, and found out that the DHS has not completed their security checks on me. The SSA cannot start the SSN process until the checks are completed and my Alien registration number is inputted to the SSA database.

I have just spend 30mins on the DHS trying to find a contact number to ring and see if there is a problem or it is just held up in a backlog. I found a 1800 number ,however, the person at the end of the phone cannot give me any details on the status...

So if anyone has been in the same situation and has any good ideas so trying to find out what is happening in the DHS, I would be extremely interested in hearing them!

Thanks,

Alan.

PS- Also just in case the automatic SSN registration does not work I applied today for a SSN as well!

Hi Alan,
It's not a lack of security checks, but rather that your entry has not been recorded in a database called SAVE that SSA must use to verify your status.

There is nothing you can do to influence DHS to get them to input you.

What did the SSA worker do with your application? She is supposed to hold it for 10 days and keep checking for your SAVE status before starting a manual verification. You can keep checking back weekly with SSA.

I have a question about my SS number so I hope you don't mind my shameless piggyback on this thread. I am in WA for two weeks after entering POE Seattle on 3 January.

If my SS number does not arrive within the allotted time (is it five weeks?) is there *anything* I can do from Germany, or would I have to wait until we move over to the US 'properly' in November/December?

Do you think I could do anything to pre-empt this problem (is it such a common problem or were Zauber and Suzy's husbands just very unlucky?) while I am in WA?

So many questions...sorry!

It's suzy again. Hmm, since you don't need it right away, I would just wait on it anyway. You will have to put an address that it can be mailed to, so make sure you can still get mail at that address while you are away.

I would suggest maybe later checking in with the Frankfurt SSA folks, but I applied for my updated card (US citizen SS card) through them (I am not sure if they entered the form there or sent it to another office, but the address was entered as Munich, North Carolina (combination of my old & new address) which does not exist, and therefore never arrived! I had to visit the local SS office to get it fixed anyway,

No problem, there *are* lots of questions.

If your SS card has not showed up in the next two or three weeks, go into SSA and put in an application SS-5. Make sure you have a good mailing address so someone can receive the card for you.

The automatic card system does work for a lot of people.
And then a lot of people don't want to wait and feel better if they go shake the tree. It's hard to tell who it works for and who just gives up early--I know people need the number to get things done, or at least, get them done more easily.

Thankyou for the replies! Yes we have our home of record (also Chris's parents' house) where all mail related to the immigration will be sent and safely received after our departure mid-January, so at least I will know if the card comes! Since I am in no hurry for the SS# I will just see if it shows up within a couple months, if not then I could chase Frankfurt (I didn't know there was SSA there - Suzy do you have the contact details you used?)

Happy Friday!

Hi Meauxna,

Thanks for your reply, the person at the SSA printed off the new application for me to check and sign and I think she was going to send off along with a copy of my passport and visa for processing.

I would prefer not to have to go back and wait the 1.5 -2 hrs to see someone at the SSA, is there no other way?

Alan.

Hi What's his name here. LOL

RM 00202.315 Enumeration At Entry
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100202315

If you answer "Yes" to Questions 33a. and 33b.on Form DS-230

You will then need to allow at least 3 weeks to see if the Enumeration At Entry process works. If you don't receive your SSN card within 3 weeks it's time to head on down to your friendly neighborhood SSA office.

Find office:

http://www.ssa.gov/locator

If you have been assigned an SSN the office can provide you with the number. However, it is has been over 14 days from the day the SSN was assigned and you haven't received the card you will probably need to
apply for a replacement card.

Take proof of age, identity and work authorized alien status. Proof of age is not needed for a replacement card.

Birth certificate, passport and I-551 card or MRIV with temporary I-551 language should be enough to take into the SSA office.

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203410
RM 00203.410 Evidence of Alien Status for an SSN Card for an Alien Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence

B. KINDS OF EVIDENCE ESTABLISHING LAPR STATUS

-- I-551, Permanent Resident Card
-- Machine Readable Immigrant Visa with Temporary I-551 Language

Note: The MRIV shows the alien's identification number ("A" number) as the "Registration Number" in the upper right-hand corner of the MRIV.

If you apply in the SSA office for an original SSN or replacement card the SSA office will try to verify your status through the SAVE system while your are in the office. If they can't, they will send a form G-845
to immigration for manual verification.

If the SSA office does send the G-845, I suggest that you go back to the SSA office every couple weeks with your documents to (1) ask them to check SAVE again (2) ask if they sent a G-845 (3) if yes, did it come
back (4) after 30 days ask if they have followed up on the G-845 by calling or sending another mark "second request."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203720
RM 00203.720 Verifying Immigration Documents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203735
RM 00203.735 Requesting Online (Primary) Verification By SAVE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After having waited at least 30 days and your local SSA office doesn't seem too concerned you can try contacting the SSA Regional Office (RO) responsible for your state:

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/natlpocontacts.html

Refer them to this:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203740
RM 00203.740 Requesting Additional (Manual) Verification By DHS

B. PROCEDURE – HOW TO REQUEST MANUAL VERIFICATION

STEP 6

DHS should respond to SSA within 15 federal work days after receivingthe Form G-845. If DHS does not respond within 15 federal work days from the receipt of the G-845 from SSA, follow-up with the DHS, USCIS
Immigration Status office. (Allow 15 days plus five additional federal work days of mail time for the G-845 to be received at and returned from DHS.

Follow local practice to follow-up with DHS. Some SSA offices have an arrangement with the DHS, USCIS office to telephone for the follow-up contact; other SSA offices send a copy of the original G-845 annotated
“second request.”) If the DHS response is still not received within 15 federal work days after the follow-up contact (if the follow-up is by mail allow five additional federal work days of mail time for the G-845
to be received at and returned from DHS), make a second follow-up contact. If the DHS response is not received within 15 federal workdays (again, if the follow-up is by mail, allow five additional federal work
days of mail time for the G-845 to be received at and returned from DHS), after two follow-ups, contact the RO. Also report to the RO any trend that shows a serious deviation by DHS from the above time frames.
The RO will consult with central office.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for the people that have left the country and returned to Germany, you can go to the Federal Benefits Unit in Frankfurt to see if you have been assigned an SSN. You can also apply there for either an original or replacement card. Now if it was me and you are coming back to the U.S. anytime soon I would wait to apply once you get back in the U.S.


Federal Benefits Unit
American Consulate General
Giessener Str. 30
60435 Frankfurt, Germany
Phone: 49-69-7535-2496
Fax: 49-69-749-352

http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/frankfurt/services/fbu.html

Alan, follow mdyoung's good steps there (thanks for answering the page mdyoung!!!).

I have never had to wait more than 15 minutes at my SSA office; I suggest you shop around for a 'better' office (any one can serve you) if you want to follow up in person.

You've now put in a regular application, so one or the other will work. If there are some problems that you're unable to solve without the SS#, speak up. There may be workarounds for no number situations that someone can help with.

Best luck!

The welcome to the US letter arrived today (entered country Oct 24, info entered in system Nov 7, letter generated Nov 8) so we expect everything is in good order.

Thanks for the suggestions!

At last... Alan's green card arrived this past Wednesday, about 5 weeks after we entered the country, along with a 3rd welcome letter. He went to the social security office on Friday and was able to get a printout with his social security number, so now we can get his banking stuff set up at the same bank I use. Next hurdle is getting his driver's license, but then all the IDs and docs should be in order for a while. He also has a job offer at a great company, so we feel like our start here has gone pretty well!

Does anyone know much about the passport photo requirements in Frankfurt? I read that both ears need to be visible, but I have a German style passport photo where my right ear is visible, but my left is a bit hidden by my hair (although you still see part of it). Are they very picky about the photos?

Thanks,
Mary

Hi Mary,

here's a link to the passport photo requirements:

http://www.usembassy.de/germany/visa/photo_req.html

I don't know if Frankfurt is especially picky, even though they did take a good look at my pictures and commented on the visibility of my ears. (I have long hair and had it up in a ponytail on the photos)

There is the possibility of taking photos in the embassy in case they don't like yours...

Good luck!

Hello Mary,

Frankfurt in my experience are very fussy about having both ears showing. I had quite the argument with the lady doing the checking of photos at Frankfurt as my ears are very flat to my head and even though I wore the front part of my hair up and out of the way for the photo (I had mine taken at the machine in the lobby the day of my interview) you still cannot see my ears. The lady was not going to accept them at first, so I asked her what else she thought I should do (perhaps stick something behind them??!) and in the end she said 'well, you will have to argue at your POE.' I told her that since I was planning to take my (flat) ears to POE with me, I didn't think there would be a problem.

If you're not sure about the photo you have, just take it along with you, the photo is checked at the first window after you pay. There is plenty of time for you to go and get a set done if you get the ear police like I did

Good luck!

Sophyie and Candace,
Thanks so much for responding to my question regarding the passport photos. Your responses were very helpful. We just mailed the I-130 packet today. Reading about everyone else's experiences here has been incredibly helpful. I'm not sure we could have figured it all our on our own. The USCIS page for Frankfurt has so little information.

In any case, we plan to track our progress on here in hopes that it might help others as well. My husband (who's German) and I were married in August. We're hoping to be able to return to the States in June. Hopefully it will all go well. The biggest obstacle seems to be the I-864. Although my husband teaches here, I'm currently writing my dissertation and consequently unemployed. I did work earlier this year in the States, from January to August, but I doubt that will help much now that I am unemployed. In any case, my parents have agreed to sponsor him in case my income earlier this year and my assets are not enough.


Best wishes to all,
Mary


12/07/06 Mailed I-130 Packet complete with I-130 application, 325-A for both my husband and myself, copies of my passport and birth certificate, copies of his passport, passport photos, and copy of our marriage certificate)

Belated congratulations on your marriage Mary! You're following along behind quite a group of us who have recently completed DCF at Frankfurt. Check out posts from users Germlish, Zauberblume, Suzybandseer as well as Sophyie and I, I think we have all posted our interview experiences somewhere within this forum. I think your timescales are within reason, I personally would have most likely been done from start to finish in under 3 months if I hadn't had a problem with payment in the first instance and held onto my checklist before sending it back for an interview appointment. Sophyie's journey was particularly quick as well.

I am sure you will have no problem with the sponsorship, you will always have to be the primary sponsor even if your income/assets are not sufficient and your parents joint sponsors, but that's awesome news they have agreed to help and so long as their income/assets meet the requirements then your journey should be smooth.

Best wishes

Hi Candace,
Hope all is well with you! Thanks for your helpful message. After reading it, I checked out a lot of the posts from the other members who've filed from Frankfurt, and learned a lot more as a result. Everyone's posts answered many of the questions I'd had.

We know that Frankfurt has received our I-130 application as of December 11th. My credit card hasn't yet been charged, but I'm hoping that it will be soon. My husband's requested his police certificate, we've filled out the DS-230, and we're in the process of collecting information for the I-864.

I'll post more here as we continue going through the process.

Best wishes,
Mary

Just an update: Our I-130 application was received in Frankfurt on December 11th, and my credit card was charged the $190 on December 21st. Haven't received official approval yet in the mail, but we're hopeful.


Happy Holidays to everyone!

Hi there!

I have a quick question regarding DCF and where else could I ask if not here!? I am so glad that someone set up a forum like this where the "new ones" to the visa process can get help from the "old ones" who have already gone through the process.

Here's a quick overview about my and my story:
My name is Julia, my husband`s name is Corey, he's American, I am German and we met more than 3 years ago in the States where he lived and I worked as an au pair. We have been dating ever since we met and after 2 years I had to return to Germany to finish school. Since we did not want to have a long distance relationship we decided that Corey would come to Germany with me and would work as a civilian for the Army in Heidelberg, which he is doind right now. We got married December 16 and Corey wants us to go to Frankfurt to hand in the petition tomorrow. In the States I first have to complete a 10months internship requirement to be able to graduate from school. Since the time period is very limited, I have 10 months and 2 weeks to complete the 10 months internship and then be back in Germany for the oral final I need to know if I can start working there the second I arrive even if I have not received my green card.
I read that SuzyBandseer posted that her husband received his green card 5 weeks after arriving in the States and now I am only wondering if he could have already worked within those 5 weeks.

Thank you very much for your answers! Hope you can ease my mind!
Take care, Julia

Julia,

Theoretically, you can work immediately.

Practically, some employers may not feel comfortable employing you without having seen your permanent resident card. It depends on how much a potential employer knows about the immigration process. You can tell them that it's pending.

My husband worked immediately upon his entry into the United States. He worked as an independent contractor. Strangely enough, no one at his company asked for his permanent resident card or his social security card. Now that he has been hired as a permanent employee, it looks like all of this information will be required, so we are happy that we do have the permanent resident card and the social security card as that will make the hiring process much easier.

Good luck!

--Z

My husband (German) and I (American) are going to be filing shortly. We intend to stay in Germany for a while, however we are trying to get things taken care of on both sides of the ocean, as I am sure everyone here is.

When looking through the paperwork we noticed there were things about domicile... we live in Germany (Munich), however I assume my parents house that I grew up at in Ohio is sufficent.

Does anyone have an idea what I am supposed to put for that?

Also, when making the payment what are the options? I am going back to the states in a couple weeks, and while I understand Frankfurt does not take personal cheques my other options are what? Credit card or international money order (is that in USD then I assume)?

Thank you for your help - this website is a life saver!

Duellema,
For your domicile, so long as your parents still live at that address in Ohio, I think that will be fine to use.

You can use credit card to pay the visa fee for Frankfurt. There's a form to fill out with your credit card information, although I forget where to find it. If you check posts from Wacken, i think that Wacken's posts might contain a link to the form. Let me know if you can't find it.

Best wishes,
Mary

Duellema,
Just in case you didn't find it:
http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/img/a...7/ccpayment.pdf

That should open the credit card form you can use with Frankfurt.

Best wishes,
Mary

I waffled a whole load on page 2 of this thread; in continuation I just wanted to let you guys know that my SS# did get generated automatically (no unnecessary trips to Frankfurt, yay!) and both it and my green card arrived without much of a delay (dates in my sig.)

~Candace