Hey guys,

good news!
Today was my interview at the consulat in Frankfurt. I had to be there at 9am. Got there about
25 minutes earlier. After registration and security check I went into the main hall and
was immediately called to the last window on the left (is it 21, 22?) to hand in the DS-230
part II and my passport. Then I had to pay the visa fee at the cashier and was told to sit
down until my number was called. The first two guys at the windows were super nice.
I waited for about one hour when my number was called and I had to go to window 19. It was
a very nice lady going through my documents with me. She then told me to sit down again until
my number was called again. About 25 min later it was time. :-) This time, I was called to window
17 where a nice guy was waiting. He asked me if all information I filled on the forms was
the truth. I said "yes" and he made me sign the DS-230 part II. Then he said that they looked
through my documents and approve my visa petition. My visa would be mailed out next week.
YAY! And that was it! :-)) No question about our relationship or other stuff. I was a little
suprised, but also happy and relieved! I had an unnecessary sleepless night and "destroyed"
my photoalbum for nothing (I had taken some photos as proof). Now only the German mail has
to do their job and bring me THE envelope next week! :-))

So, I have my eyes on flights for Nov. 10th. But I will wait until I get my passport and the green card
back and then book. I'll keep you up to date. Can't wait to be there. :-))

Congratulations

Hey Everyone

got a job, got my greencard two days ago, two welcome notices so far, might get a car soon, practical driving test on the 19th of Oct. everything dandy

no internet at home yet

Concratulations

Hey all, I madeit to Florida. Flying with CONDOR and 2 children wasn't a good idea LOL,I was like sooooooo stressed out and tired, POE was Orlando and why in the world did I had to take the huge XRay envelope with me? nobody wants it at the POE it's with me @the Hotel now LOL

My hubby already has a great job and we are house hunting, we already love Ocala :0)

We paid 597 Euros for 3 Persons from Frankfurt to Orlando including all Fees and Taxes meaning 199 Euros per person. BUT Condor has small seats, you have to buy your earphones to watch a movie and you have to pay for snacks LOL, the food wasn't that great :0( but hey it was cheap so I wont complain

Glad you are enjoying your new life in Florida, Mamimaus!

I am also glad the interview went well, julchenno12!

I wish my husband could get take his driving test, but the BMV refuses to have anything to do with him until he has a SSN. We still don't have that and just got the green card this afternoon. I hope you have better luck with cars than we have had. We are on car number 4 and I have only been here 6 months and two of them we have bought in the past month (first of which another driver destroyed being an idiot a few days after we bought it (thank god the other guy had insurance!) and the second is the temporary replacement)!

I have a quick question Mammimaus ... what exactly did they do at your POE? How long did it take? I am already looking at flights and wonder how long my layover has to be at the POE, as I will have to book a connection flight.
The guy at the consulate said that it might take longer than usual. But he didn' sound too sure about it and couldn't tell me how much longer than getting through immigration as a tourist.
Good luck on house hunting. Can't wait to start that as well in Austin! :-)) Enjoy FL! :-)

Julchen

Hi there,

POE in Orlando took ca. 30 minutes. I went thru the US Citizen & Residents showed them my German Passport with the Visa I-551 & my girls US Passports. He asked me how I am related to those children LOL DUH I am their Mother LOL, he looked @ my Passport I handed him the Big unopend envelope and my X-Ray. He handed the X-Ray back to me and told me to go to the office on the right sit down and wait for fingerprinting. I was so tired but oh well it has to be done. I received a welcome to the USA verbaly had to sign some papers and gave 2 fingerprints and was done.


@Wacken: Don't you think you should go to your local Social Security Department since 4 weeks seems a little long. It says on the paper if you haven't received you SSN# Card withinn 14 days contact us in person. They willbe able to see what happend and if the Card has been lost in the mail they will tell you your number and will send you a replacement card.

Huh? We never got a letter that said he would have his number in 14 days. I just assumed from reading timelines that it would be issued sometime shortly after the green card arrived. I guess we can go down and ask.

Oh, I called them about it and apparently they have no information about him at all and said it could take as long as five months. WTF?

What? that is usually with Newborn Registrations like that. How long was everyone else here waiting for their social? in that one book it states it two, it takes 14 days,my first Social in Texas I also received after 10 days.

Wacken, don't waste time anymore and go and apply for a SSN.

Mephibosheth, congratulations

Mammimaus2007, enjoy Florida

I BOOKED MY FLIGHT!! Nov. 10th! Unbelievable. And my husband had a job interview yesterday. It looks good. They really want him. Now just the CEO has to approve! Yay. Everything is working out perfect.

Now I have one more question: do you guys know if the I-551 serves as a work authorization until the Green Card or SSN arrives, or do I have to wait for the Green Card/SSN and then can apply for jobs?

Concerning the SSN ... on the paper they gave me at the consulate, it says that it should arrive latest 21 days after entering the US. If you don't receive it until then, call their local office (you can find them in every phone book), or at their toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 or via www.ssa.gov.

Yes Wacken, go ahead and apply for one at the SS Department, because that is taking way to long with yours and if they have no info on you then I guess YOU have to give them the info.

Great julchenno12, who you are flying with?

Hey,
I made it. I flew with Delta from Duesseldorf. The price was awesome.
I entered in Atlanta and immigrating was a piece of cake. Everybody was very nice and from the first immigration to the final 'welcome to the United States', it took me about 15 minutes. :-))
Now I'm here in Texas and we are working on our duplex. Yay! I'm glad everything went so smooth.

:-)

Welcome to US julchenno12

well what can I say LOL, my SSN hasn't arrived yet and neither has my Greencard????? But I received a Welcome to the USA Letter yesterday in the mail. I enterd the US September the 28th shouldn't my stuff already be here? thanks God I still have my old SSN Card.

Hi,

me and my wife live near Stuttgart.
She moved to Germany last christmas.










DCF TIMELINE FRANKFURT:

Filed I-130 in person September 20th 2007 in Frankfurt
Filed Form DS-230 Part I May 24th 2007 in Frankfurt

Wow ... it got really quiet here! ;-)

Yesterday, I got my welcome letter! Yay. Although we thought it is the Green Card. We were kinda excited and then a little disappointed when it was "just" the welcome letter.
Does anyone now how long it'll take now to receive the Green Card?

For my husband it was:

Sept 28, 2007 - USCIS Welcome Notice arrives.
Oct 6, 2007 - Green Card arrives.
Oct 18, 2007 - SSN arrives

We had to actually physically go to the SSN office to apply for a number. I think it took 7 days or so to arrive.

Wow ... that was fast now ...
I also had to go to the SSN office to apply in person. I had the feeling that no one knew what was going on with my SSN ... but after applying for it
again physically at the office, I received it about 10 days later.
So, the Green Card should be here pretty soon! How exciting! :-))
Thanks for your quick answer!

No problem. Everything going well otherwise?

Yes, everything is going super! I am really happy here. Just started working part-time at a private high school and they'll hire me full time in July. I really like it there and my students are super sweet kids. :-) It can't be any better right now!
Hope everything is going well with you!
Greetings from TX!

Glad to hear things are going well. Things are OK here. My husband just passed the second portion of his A+ exam so is feeling pretty good about that. He has been quasi-volunteering some at a computer recycler because we are moving soon and he doesn't want to get a permanent job yet. Rocky start, but smoothing out now.

Hi there

Quick question I currently live in the US and have my 10 year Greencard but I am planing on moving back to Switzerland in August. Is there anyway to keep the GC or to apply for citizenship earlier?

How long has the process for the second GC taken?

Susann

WHOHOO ... got my Permanent Resident Card! And two more welcome letters! ;-)) Funny.

You have to wait the two years and 9 months from the date on your green card to apply for citizenship. That is the fast way. There is no way to keep your green card if you have no real intention of living here full time.

You would probably file DCF to come back so your reapplication for a green card would be most likely shorter.

Congratulations

well uhm im new here and i figured i'd pop in here as well lol
we have started our visa a long time ago but never had enough money to finish it now we do and need to go to the doc in frankfurt and see what happends there.
what WILL happen there? i mean what will he do?
and uhm when do they take that damn fingerprint? because they never took ours!( meaning mine and my daughters)

thanks!!

I think you just have an X-ray, bloodwork, and vaccinations done, if needed. Nothing hardcore.

I am not sure about your other questions. I was not there when all of this was going on.

thx wacken!!! i just hope we are soon done and over with all this! since we will move to the states this summer

just wanted to see how everybody is doing????

I received my permanent Residence Card in December finally LOL, already made my FL Drivers License which wasn't a biggy since they just swiched it over.

HAPPY EASTER to everybody

Just wanted to revive this thread since I will finally getting around to file the I-130 in Frankfurt on Friday. I am trying to do everything I possibly can in advance in order to push this thing along as quickly as possible. I know my efforts are likely in vain but if there is a chance it could help then I'm going for it.

So, I've prepared the I-130 and 325a for each of us and tonight will complete the DS-230 for us. I've made copies of my passport and hers, as well as each of my visa's including my last which is a perminent residency visa. Also marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc.

Questions:

1. Since she is Ukrainian and not German, we didn't change names yet otherwise it would delay everything as she would have to go back to the Ukraine to change it all, time is not on our side. Is this going to be a problem or if I explain it in the cover letter perhaps that may help?

2. Police check; She has lived in Germany for 7 years, do you think they will want one from Ukraine as well or just a German one should do? How do I apply for it and can I start it now already? I only know they come from Berlin and take a few weeks to come back.

3. For the support form at interview time, would an offer letter and perhaps pay stub work? I will start a new job in July in the US and haven't filed my tax returns for the last 3 years although I am working on it (I've filed in Germany for 2005 and 06).



Any other tips or suggestions are appreciated. Would also like to know how others are getting along that have filed through Frankfurt recently.

I don't know why name changing would be a problem. I did not take my husband's name when I married.

They will need a police certificate for every country she lived in over 6 months, I believe.

You can have a letter of an offer from an employer, but without the money in the bank, it doesn't mean much. They may ask for a co-sponsor or assets anyway even after you get your first check. Hard to know. I would just ask them myself in your situation. Frankfurt isn't a difficult consulate, but you never know.

Hey .... haven't been around for a long time

1. Since she is Ukrainian and not German, we didn't change names yet otherwise it would delay everything as she would have to go back to the Ukraine to change it all, time is not on our side. Is this going to be a problem or if I explain it in the cover letter perhaps that may help?

I guess the question is, are you planning on changing it later? If not, that's not an issue at all, if you are, then you just have the problem later of taking care of it all (new passport for your wife, new greencard for your wife, which I don't think would be too complicated, but I don't know). My wife didn't change her name for about a year later, but the easy part was that she was the US Citizen. We also waited because of not wanting to wait for a new passport for her.

2. Police check; She has lived in Germany for 7 years, do you think they will want one from Ukraine as well or just a German one should do? How do I apply for it and can I start it now already? I only know they come from Berlin and take a few weeks to come back.

To get a police check (Führungszeugnis) you would usually go to the Einwohnermeldeamt which is usually in the city hall (Rathaus) and then they can send it to your address. You can also request one by fax or mail, but that seems more complicated to me. I think she would have to apply for it though, not you (you can call the city hall of your city and ask them). If you can get one from the Ukraine and she lived there for more than six months, then you should get those as well (same applies to any other countries she might have lived in). Sometimes however police checks are considered unobtainable (for example, the USA doesn't offer them) but you would have to check if the Ukraine offers them or not.

3. For the support form at interview time, would an offer letter and perhaps pay stub work? I will start a new job in July in the US and haven't filed my tax returns for the last 3 years although I am working on it (I've filed in Germany for 2005 and 06).

A pay stub should be good stuff, also account balance print outs showing payment... an offer letter may work as well, depending on your other financial info. The main thing they actually look at is if you met the requirments for the past year(s). Of course I'm not sure if anything has changed in this field, so you could go with Wacken's advice and call them.

Thanks guys.

Well I have the appointment tomorrow morning and have gone over the forms like mad making sure there are no errors and leaving anything questionable blank. I'll ask them at my appointment about the financial part perhaps, I want to start getting that prepared. We are going to go into the local rathaus on Monday to get the Police Check started.
We've already started putting together a photo timeline kinda thing too for the interview, which I likely won't be here for since I have to go back to the US to begin my new job. One of my friends and his wife came to Copenhagen for our wedding so hopefully that will be a bonus too. I just don't want to end up being a 6 month or longer case, hoping we are a 3 month start to finish visa process


Thanks again!

Really. How have you been?

HI folks! I'm another one who has filed DCR in Germany. So far:

sent I-130 to Frankfurt, Germany on May 10, 2008
USCIS took payment on May 20, 2008 (hmmm they sure take the time to get their money quickly don't they?)

Well I finally filed mine on Friday. I thought I had put everything together but guess I misunderstood one thing; They want the proof of relationship together with the I-130 application. I thought it was for the interview portion so I was still collecting it all. So now I will send off a packet tomorrow containing all the proof I have.

They did confirm I have to get the police check done for Ukraine, which is going to be a complete nightmare. We have everything already collected for the 2nd part except that. So we could have essentially been done really fast, according to the lady at the consulate. Now we'll have to wait on Ukrainian officials and may have to travel there in order to start that process.

That is OK. Normally it takes between 6 weeks and 4 months for the I-130 to be approved. There is time to get the certificate.

If you have a child together, generally the birth certificate with both of your names on it is all you need for further proof of a relationship. We sent the Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificate and they were fine with it.

well lots has happened. not sure where to start. I'm still in WA, north of Seattle at the same christian camp & conference center, no longer a cook, but a Guest Service Host. Generally things are going well. In January our first child was born, a little girl, which was quite an amazing event to witness. Though all seemed well following the birth, to our deepest grief, our newborn daughter died the same day of an infection. We had a lot of support from our community, friends and family and our faith, so that we were able to carry on, but of course this isn't something that will ever seize to effect us. So.... On a brighter note, we're going back to Europe in the summer for 2 weeks for my brother's wedding (in Denmark) I'm really looking forward to see my family again.

that's a bit of my life in recap...

also....

my passport runs out a few days after returning from Europe. Silly me for not thinking about that sooner. And now I've found out that to get a new passport i have to go to San Francisco !!!!! (crazy!) so... I'm going to risk traveling with my almost outdated passport since from what I could gather it should be fine. And then I guess I'll go to San Fran sometime in the fall?! Stupid electronic fingerprints!

Not sure if anyone else has any updates, I haven't been back in awhile with so much other stuff going on. In any case my time is running out since I have to report for my new job in the States on September 15th. We filed in person on May 30th but still no approval for the I-130. We have to give up the apartment by the end of September so its not looking good for us. We tried contacting them today but I guess you are not allowed to request information until the processing time exceeds 90 days (Sept 1).

Anyway, just wondered if anyone else is having a slow run through Frankfurt currently.

Just to let you know.. I jumped in the same boat of filing the I130 in frankfurt.. but I did it 3 weeks after you..
I'm flying to the states in 10 days.. and we still havent heard anything yet =( I'm bummed that I'm going to be flying alone.. but hopefully it all goes through quickly.. maybe you'll meet my wife for your interviews!!!

ps. PLEASE POST if and when you hear anything.. it'd be nice to know about WHEN this is all going to be finished...

peace

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter.

Yeah, the passport thing sucks. We have to go to Chicago in a few weeks so my husband can renew his. We are going back to Germany in December for a month. I hope you enjoy your brother's wedding (or enjoyed it? Haven't been upstairs in awhile!).

Glad to hear from you again!

hours lady.. my wife gave me the call.. interview apt. Sept. 15!!!

Praise God!

Congrats on your interview!

Well we called to check the status of our I-130 and were only told that it was sitting on the Officer's desk, so hopefully that means it'll get approved before the month is over

Any idea how long after you get the notice that your I-130 is approved and when the interview notification is received? Since we give up the apartment my wife is being forced to return home until we know when the interview is because she will have nowhere else to stay in Germany. I was really hoping she'd be on her way to join me in the States before the end of October, had a trip planned for us

Hi everyone

I was busy having a baby, but now I'm back to visa journey. My appointment interview is 15th Oct. I changed my address and my husband changed his job after the embassy received our Ds-230 form.
I'm a little stressed, because we are already buying our tickets to the States and I hope I will have visa then.

Should I send another form with updated info?