Wife had her interview this morning. We were thrown something at us that neither of us have heard, either on this forum or elsewhere.

My wife and I were married in the USA, in Florida. She was here on a student visa when we met, and so had been in the USA already, for a while.
We have a marriage certificate, and submitted it to the NVC. However, this morning at her interview, she was told that the marriage was not registed in Turkey. She had her name changed on her birth certificate and it says "married" on it.......etc.......but still, apparently, we were supposed to do more than that, and from what I gather from speaking to the embassy this morning, there was some other things we were supposed to do. Apparently, if the marriage took place in the USA, it does not show up in Turkey.....and that is apparently necessary.

Even after speaking to the embassy this morning, this is still a bit confusing.

My questions are.....

1) Can this be done in Turkey? Or only through the Turkish consulate in the USA?

2) How long does this take? (We've waited over 2 years already to be together......this was all we needed to hear this morning......that we have to wait even more... )

3) If this can be done in Turkey, can you tell us where it can be done? Is there a place in Istanbul that it could be done?


By speaking to one person from the embassy, by phone, this morning, she seemed certain that this could be done in Turkey, and in one day. However, the other person I spoke to, was not as confident that it could be done from Turkey, and may have to be done through the Turkish Consulate in New York. I am hoping that the latter.......is not the only way, because from what I read on the Turkish Consulate webiste, it seems like another lengthy process.
I have tried to call, and get through to the 1-888 number, but haven't been able to.................and so can't get an answer to my questions yet. Line is always to busy and I am told to call back later.

I really hope the one woman from the embassy was correct and this can be done from Turkey, and so shortly as she hinted.

Finally, one last question..............................did everyone's spouse, after the marriage, have their passport changed to the married name? I was told my wife needs to do that too. We held off on doing so, since at the time of the paperwork that was sent to USCIS and NVC, we did not submit the "married" name......but wife's maiden name. We had assumed that since she could not legally change her name here when she was in the USA (she tried, but was told she had to be a permanent resident first before doing so).......that we should not. We did not want to make things more complicated.

Thanks for any help you can give on this issue. As you can imagine......been a pretty disappointing morning so far. Been married nearly 3 years.......and haven't been able to spend one anniversary together yet. Sometimes......if I didn't have so many years at my job here in the USA, with a pension etc........I would really consider moving to Turkey and telling the USA to screw off. Just seems at times, like it'd be easier if I just moved to Turkey, than to keep putting up with all this.

Thanks again........

Hello MPGGPM,

Sorry to hear that.

We got married in the US too. After that I returned to Turkey. I tried to register my son at Turkish Vital Statistics Office. I found out that I needed to have the birth certificate (in your case marriage certificate and your birth certificate) translated by a sworn translator through a notary and take it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Ankara..I am not sure the ministry's Istanbul office does it) and have it approved (signed and stamped). You can do that too. And then all you need to do is go to a Vital Statistics office with the stamped/approved and translated documents and have your marriage registered. If they ask you to do it through the consular offices abroad you can tell them that you are in Turkey now and you have no chance but do it there.

I hope everything goes fast and problem-free for you/your wife.


P.S. Here is the link (that says you can have it registered yourself in Turkey) to Ministry of Interior, Citizenship and Vital Statistics Directorate (in Turkish): http://www.nvi.gov.tr/11,Ana_Sayfa_Evlenme1,3.html

How come your wife has her surname changed on her birth certificate and it says married on there and still the embassy says it has to be registered? If she has your surname on her birth certificate (vukuatli nufus kayit ornegi) and it shows there that you are married (your name must on there too) then it means your marriage is registered. American embassy has no way of knowing otherwise. Actually they should not even ask you to register one's marriage in Turkey at all since you got married in the US and you have an offical US marriage certificate. That must be the only document American embassy should take into account..not a Turkish document.

Thanks,

I appreciate all the answers and help you have given....this time...and previously. Being a US citizen, I often do not understand how the Turkish system works.

First....I am in the USA now....not Turkey. I did not attend the interview this morning. I only learned the details by speaking to my wife, and by calling the embassy .

Second, I finally got through to the Turkish Consulate here in the USA. A woman answered and was very helpful. She will be calling me back later with more details, but from what I have understood, my wife did indeed ALREADY "register" the marriage with the Turkish Consulate back in 2005. I actually went with her to the post office here in Florida that day, and remember mailing it. However, from this morning, I did not understand if what my wife had submitted back then was the paperwork to register the marriage. It almost sounded like she had not.

However, I am beginning to feel (although I will learn more as time goes on , and when I get a return call from the Turkish Consulate)................that what the problem was is that the "card" which my wife had assumed was not the "birth certificate" required for the application. I have seen the card, and apparently, it must just be the ID card that Turkish citizens use while in Turkey. I don't remember exactly what it looked like, but I believe it was red. But I remeber seeing it because I sent it to the NVC.

And apparently, what she was supposed to have submitted, was a more "lengthy" birth certificate? I am guessing that that card she submitted was not the right paperwork needed.

The woman from the Turkish Consulate told me that since my wife appears to have registered the marriage, that if it is just a question of submitting a birth certificate which will show me as the husband etc....that it can be done while in Turkey.

It appears like the delay will not be as long. I am still unsure at this point. But thankfully, it does not appear as though the marriage will have to be registered, since it was already done. Good news.................considering I was told that process takes 3 months. (That's all we need).......

When we registered the marriage, it was in her maiden name. But if it is just a matter of changing her name etc on the birth certificate, then I would imagine it can be done in Turkey, and once she does that......and has that document which will also show my name etc.......then hopefully that will be all we need.

At this point...a lot of this is confusing. I had felt that I was careful with the paperwork, and had everthing ready. So, this surprised me this morning. And obviously...the wife is very disappointed right now.

From what you have written, I believe that if it just a matter of obtaining a birth certificate which will show me as the husband, and also include her "married" name, it can be done from Istanbul.

Been.......a VERY long morning and day............a lot of phone calls etc.........

I hope to get this straightened out and that our wait for the visa won't be much longer. We will see.....................

Thanks again for all the help.

That was EXACTLY what the woman from the Turkish Consulate had a question about. She could not undertsand that either. This is all very puzzling to me.

The woman from the Turkish Consulate is going to call me back. I believe she is as puzzled, as you and I are. She told me the same things as you, and could not understand why, if I submitted a marriage certificate from the USA.............................why there would be any need to register the marriage in Turkey at all.

So, apparently she is checking on this situation, and contacting the Turkish Consulate in New York.

She seemed to agree with you, that registering a marriage in Turkey should have been a matter of choice for the spouse, and NOT required.

I was puzzled at the time when they asked us to register our marriage in Turkey. Not now..although I still say that it is absurd what the American Consulate in Turkey does: wanting to see a Turkish document and not being satisfied by an offical American document.

The red document you wrote about must be the international marriage document..it is like a passport..just bigger than a passport. If you have got it it means your marriage is already registered.

The American Consulate website states that they require a longer form of a birth certificate called ' Vukuatli NUFUS KAYIT ORNEGI'.
Although a birth certificate in English can be obtained from the Turkish Vital Statistics Office branches American Consulate does not recognize them since the is not a party/signatory to the international agreement creating the legal base for that particular birth certificate form and international marriage certificate (booklet).

Good to hear that hopefully it will be solved soon and your wife can be issued her visa without further delay.

I made copies of everything I sent in, thankfully...........

Although, unfortunately, when I made a copy of the document I sent in, it was partially covered by a "sticky". However, it says this at the top........


TURKIYE CUMHURIYETI
NUFUS CUZDANI


What exactly is that document then, if it was not what was required, and was not the birth certificate?

I thought that pink card Nufus Cuzdani would be enough as well. But before i just sent that i did some digging and found out that what they need was (NUFUS KAYIT ORNEGI) with both of your name in there as a couple. Since i got her Nufus Cuzdani i went to the Turkish embassy in NYC and they were able to give me a translated copy of it with Turkish governments seal on it. So i sent that one along with her Nufus Cuzdani. Did you do this? If you didn't that might be the reason of the problems.

Nope.....


The more time goes by....the more I am realizing THAT was one of the problems.

The confusion this morning was that people at the embassy kept telling me that the marriage would have to be "registered". And at this time, I am still confused as to why they do NOT see the registration of the marriage. The woman from the Turkish Consulate told me that the marriage WAS registered......although I have to admit, it took her a while to pull the information up. Perhaps the people at the embassy had a problem seeing the "registration" as well.

I don't know what the "entire" problem is right now......and wife was too upset this morning....to really get the whole details. We couldn't talk much more because at this time, she is traveling back to Istanbul. I will speak to her more later.

However, I am positive now...by reading yours and Internetkafe's responses.................that one problem was definately, that we did not send in the lengthy birth certificate that they required. My wife had felt that the "NUFUS CUZDANI" would be enough, and that was what they were asking her to submit to the NVC. Apparently, we were worng and made an error.

What more that we need to do....................at this time I'm not sure. It might just be a matter of obtaining the required birth certificate, and nothing more.

I suppose one other thing she will need to do is change the passport name.....since the embassy told us to.

As time goes by today, and when I speak to my wife more...............we'll learn more.

Thanks for the reply

*What exactly is that document then, if it was not what was required, and was not the birth certificate?*

Nufus Cuzdani is the name for Turkish ID.
Of course it is not the same as birth certificate. Do they accept Driver's License when you apply for passport as proof that you are a citizen? They ask for a Birth Certificate.

How did you send your wife's ID card? What did she do without one?

I thought by red/pink document you meant international marriage booklet/document.

It happens...the details could be overlooked.

Well, for one...I'm not Turkish. I wouldn't know a Turkish birth certificate from a hole in the wall........

The thing is, I actually copied the webpage from the embassy that said to submit the Nufus Kayit Ornegi , and sent it to my wife by email months ago. For some reason, she sent me only what I now know is just a Turkish ID card. DOH!

Why she did that.....and assumed that was all they wanted, I don't know..........................but turns out, that is what we sent. When submitted to the NVC, they accepted it.........and sent the paperwork to the embassy in Ankara.

I just spoke to my wife a few minutes ago.................she's still pretty upset as can be expected, but................good news is, she already has the required birth certificate now, and was able to get it from Ankara before she left. Part of the confusion this morning ,was, that she was told by the embassy to get it from the Turkish Consulate in New York.....and that "I" would have to do it......which obviously was a mistake, as she was able to get it from Turkey, this morning in Ankara.



She is in Istanbul now, and tommorrow, will go to change her passport. That will take a few days, then we will send it and the certificate back to the embassy............


I am hoping after we send what the embassy is asking for.................it will be the end of all this.

Of course you know that she also needs to have the certificate translated by a 'sworn translator'.

Evet. Tesekkurler.

Hey MPGGPM,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. But tell your wife not to worry too much. My wife also got that green sheet. Tell her to goto "Nufus Dairesi" and ask for a "Nufus Kayit Ornegi" Make sure she has it notorized, and then translated by a sworn translator.

How did her interview go otherwise? Did they tell her she had to come back? If they told her she can just mail everything then you aren't that far away from getting the visa. If they asked her passport to be changed, she can do that in one day.

At my wife's interview we were missing W-2's and her previous passport that she used to enter the U.S. with a year ago (with her maiden name) You have two choices when changing her passport, either get a brand new one, and they punch a hole in the old one, OR get it amended with her new last name. We opted for the cleaner new passport, but again, that was something they wanted to see at the interview since it contained her original J1 visa.

So check to see if they can be all done through mail. Get the new passport or change her passport, get the Nufus Kayit Ornegi / notorized / translated by sworn translator and send those all in with a letter stating the situation.

let me know if you need any help (especially in dealing with Turkish Consulate in NYC, they can be a pain in the rear)

Best of luck.

Thank you.

In my calls to the embassy after the interview happened etc....they also seemed confident, like you, that my wife just needs to submit the document and mail it back with her passport, and that she will get the visa.

I am glad you responded, since you have been through something similar,(getting the "green" paper), not to mention that you happen to have a "wife" immigrating from Turkey, where so many of the couples on this website, from Turkey, are the opposite and it is a "male " immigrating.

It helps because were it a male, the passport name would not have to be changed. They don't have such an issue.

I DO have one question I'm trying to understand. My wife has already begun to make the change to her passport. You said that she could have it "amended"?

I don't know if that is the same thing we are doing , but what my wife asked for them to do was to add a page that will say something like...."Also known as Johnson-Smith (as an example..not our real last name). The passport will include both maiden and married name now.

Is that what you were referring to when you said "amended"? Do you think that will be acceptable to the embassy? (to just "add" the married name)

(I have emailed them as well...but will take a while to get a response, and we didn't want to wait.....we just went ahead and made the change)

By the way....we do not have to worry about the "registration" issue. That morning, my wife was so upset, and the feedback we were getting from the embassy only made it more confusing. But, as time went on , things started to sort out, and I now realize that what the embassy was trying to tell us, when they mentioned the Turkish Consulate in New York, was that they had thought that we needed to have the marriage registered. So, that was why they kept bringing up the issue of us having to speak to the New York Consulate.

However, and thankfully!......2 years ago, my wife (I actually was with her when she mailed it)......sent all that information in to NY in 2005. If she had not, right now it would be a mess....we'd be looking at a 3 month delay (at least).

But, it became clear as the day went on what had happened, and through the confusion, we realized that all we had to do now, was to get that certificate, which she could (and has already) get in Turkey.

So........we were REAL fortunate to have registered the marriage already. 2 years is long enough to wait. We would have a hard time facing another 3 or more month delay.

The only concern we have now....is the certificate........the passport change...............and the mailing of it back in to the embassy.

And from there,we'll just keep our fingers crossed.

Yeah that's what I meant by amended.

I don't see why there'd be any difference in doing that vs. getting a new one. It's not an uncommon thing to change the passport to reflect new last name, especially if you had a previous visa to some country that was still valid and didn't want to have to re-apply for it. It should be perfectly fine.

Good to hear that you can get that all mailed in, send it via UPS and you shouldn't have any problems and hopefully get your visa within a week or so.

I think the fact that they only look at your packet just when you arrive at the interview is a very bad practice. If they actually looked to make sure everything was good to go, and then call you for an interview just to ask the usual questions, it would be better and people wouldn't feel so terrible traveling all the way to Ankara just to return back with that green sheet of paper.

Yeah...you don't know the half of it (or...maybe since your wife went through this...you do)...

But, before the interview, my wife spent all this time making an "album" with pictures, getting all her pay stubs etc to show her proof of serving 2 years, gathering any kind of document she could find to bring. She told me when she went to the embassy, she had a "bag" full of stuff.

They didn't even look at a thing. She said the interview took 5 minutes. They gave her the green paper......and that was it. Off she went.

It was awful. Spending 4-5 hours traveling to Ankara,(and back) ....the day before the interview she got her hair all fixed up etc.....trying to look the best she could.....waiting outside the embassy all morning, just to eventually get let in, and then find she'll have to wait some more, in a room full of people, until she finally got her interview , one hour later than scheduled.

All was a waste. to get the documents, pictures, and do everything else to get ready for the big day. And then........................in 5 minutes it was done, and they hardly asked her anything and didn't look at any of the stuff she brought.

We thought the same way as you, when we talked later. That......maybe had they at least looked through the documents ahead of time, maybe a "phone call" or something would have been nice. Just a quick call or message letting us know something was missing. It would have been so much better.......and less humiliating for my wife.

I guess the one bright side is...............she doesn't have to go back.

Finally.....just to make sure I made myself clear. The passport..............we are "amending" it and as you said, it should be okay. But to be clear, we are not just changing the name, the passport will have one page that says for example "Susan Johnson".......and then the next page inside will say something like "Also known as Susan Johnson-Smith".

We did that to make sure the name on the front is still the one she applied for the visa with, and then the name on the second page is the married one.

So two separate pages...each with a different name (I believe that's how my wife said they will be updating the passport).

Again......thanks for all your help. It's really appreciated.

It is NVC's known practice that they do not contact petitioner/beneficiary in case of a missing supplementary document. The ones which are in Turkish especially. Birth certificates, military discharge papers, passport copies anything like that..as long as they get a document they do not tell you if it is the right kind or not.

The Consulate however knows it and should notify the people involved before the visa interview to prevent any delays and extra work both for them and the beneficiaries but they do not do it.

I told you so months ago that interviews take no more than 5 minutes usually. But you have to have everything with you in case they ask for it. As a precaution.

To NY_IZMIR,

I've been trying to get in in touch with the Embassy. (the day before, dialing for 90 minutes straight between 3:30 to 5 am eastern......which is the only time they allow immigrant visa questions......couldn't get through to one person! Terrific system they have there.......... )

I sent an email yesterday, and the Embassy responded this morning, with a short one sentence reply, and said that the documents which we sent back are being "reviewed by a consular officer and my wife will be notified in 2-3 working days ".........of the result.

I had actually written in my email, for them to contact "me" when/if the visa is issued. But in the reply, they said they would contact my "wife".

My questions to you, since you went through something similar, is............................did the Embassy actually contact your wife before they mailed the visa back to her? How exactly did they contact you(or wife) so that you knew the visa was going to be mailed?

Or did they just mail it without saying a word?



Thanks again for the help.


Maybe this will be the end of all this in a few days......maybe it won't be. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers (and every other part of my body that can be ) ...crossed.

Uhhh.......hmmm.........I think I'd better rephrase that.......to read ........ALMOST every other part of my body.

Forgot one other question.

When you look at your timeline, you "appear" to have sent in the passport and other items they requested on the 22nd of March.

I can't tell by the way it was written if you "sent" it on the 22nd, or if they "received" it on that day. If they did.............then 5 business days to get the visa? (if they got the information on the 23rd......then 4 business days)

Was the 22nd the actual day that they received what you sent to them?

Hey MPGGPM,

So our interview as on the 21st, I emailed my wife the w-2's that I scanned in that night and she had everything ready and sent the paperwork via UPS on the 22nd. We tracked the UPS package and i think it was delivered on Friday the 23rd. (or perhaps Monday the 26th, I don't exactly remember) They did not inform either of us in any way that they were sending the visa. We would've received everything back on Thursday the 29th if my wife was available for the delivery. They left a notice with her coworkers which, and she called them up later and told them that she'd be at work the next day and gave them her cell # for the delivery guy to call her if she wasn't at her desk.

So 8 days total including a weekend between us sending them everything and getting things back. Hope this helps.

Oguzhan

It helps tremendously.

I asked this question in the Embassy forum, but helpful as everyone is and tries to be, it's always hard to give an answer to something that you don't have a personal experience with. So, the answers were more general and speculative.

Nothing is more useful than having someone who not only has gone through something similar, but has also gone through it so recently, that it is all still pretty fresh in their mind....like in your case.

What you wrote confirms a few things. Mainly................that we will not get any word on the result, and I guess what the embassy really meant when they emailed me, was their roundabout way of telling me that we will either get the visa in the mail..............or heaven forbid, some other kind of RFE. But, apparently......they don't plan on letting us know ahead of time, either by a phone call or email ,and we'll just have to find out when we receive whatever it is that they are mailing to us. (although I did send another email today......to keep them on their toes. )

We sent our package back by UPS as well. It was received on Tuesday the 10th, at 11 a.m. (Ankara time).....according to the UPS website. That would mean, by what you wrote......that it is even possible that my wife could get something as early as tommorrow!

I know every situation is different, and the embassy might be busier now than they were in March, but, at least your response gives us hope that there is a slight possibility of getting it so soon.

If my wife were awake now, I'd call her and let her know what you wrote, and to tell her to keep an eye out for the mailman tomorrow, in case. But.....being that it's 2 a.m. over there in Istanbul right now, I think I'd better wait.

I think and hope it is just a matter of a day now....or at worst days (because of the weekend).

In either case, no matter when it happens....................I am very grateful to you and to everyone else who responded on this thread. You all have been very helpful.

No problem,

Yeah it could be as early as tomorrow. But don't stress if it's not. You both will be jumping up and down in joy soon enough.

As far as contacting the embassy, they were very helpful in the early days before the interview and responded to email very quickly. But when I wrote them a "somewhat" nasty email about how they made a mistake in not granting a visa in the spot for my wife, I never heard anything back I'm glad I didn't send the initial version of that email and calmed myself down and wrote a less toned down one. Otherwise, maybe they would've just kept me in perpetual wait

Thought I might mention that................


MY WIFE GOT HER VISA TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We both couldn't believe it. We kept thinking FOR SURE....we wouldn't get it until next week. She actually got it on a Saturday, in Istanbul. Didn't expect UPS to be delivering anything today, especially because I was checking their website, and we were told it would be the same tracking number as the package that we sent to the embassy. Turns out......it wasn't. Even UPS informed us wrong. So, since we didn't see signs of any package coming on the UPS website, we weren't expecting anything.

Was such a shock to my wife this morning. Suprised the heck out of her and the family over there.

I thank ALL of you members from Turkey that helped us along the way, these past 2 years and 1 month..........

All of your help and responses to our questions were really invaluable.

It's really hard to believe it is all FINALLY over!

Been soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long......!

AWESOME!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!!!

Congreatulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been following your stressful thread, and am delighted everything worked out. The information you shared is so helpful for us, particularly the timing of Visa delivery.

I wish you both the best!
Christine

Congratulations. I am so happy for u guys. Just a note I am going to Istanbul on May 4th and we are having our interview on May 8th. Hope everything goes problem free for us...

Thanks for the wishes.

I saw on your timeline that your case had been fowarded, and also saw your interview date. I felt confident that your interview would be around that time, but didn't see it on your timeline for a while, and so started to wonder.....

Guess you've been busy, and have other and more important things on your mind these days than updating your timeline......

I am sure things will be fine for you and your wife. At least on the bright side, you DO have the right certificate. (DOH!) So, no worries about facing the same thing that happened with us.

But.............., even so (although unlikely)......even if by some chance you DID get that dreaded "green" paper that my wife and NY_IZMIR's wife got..........well, even if that were to happen, it's not the end of the world. Just delayed my wife and I by about one week. The worst part was just the wait and worry in between.

But, as I said...I don't think that will happen to you both. Most likely you and your wife will end up just fine.

My wife is here now in the USA (been one reason why I'm not on as much anymore )........and things are great.

Just have other things to take care of now, like the SS card etc....

But being together...............sure does have a way of making those things that we still have left........seem MUCH more minor now.............and no big deal.

I am just sooooooooooooooooo glad the hard part is over with.

I wish you both the best of luck...........and hope you both are together soon, as well.