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Hello guys! The only thing I've been doing since we got our NOA1 is eat, sleep work and research more on this process, feeling depressed one minute and euphoric the other, lol. Which is why I'm making this post to say hello to everyone but also to find people who are in a similar situation of this process as I am or just somebody that wants to chat about it! I don't know if I can speak for everyone here, but personally this, even though very fresh experience, already has felt quite isolating. Quick sum up: Met my fiance on a site for writers looking for other writers in 2019. Didn't really start talking much about writing til weeks later due to how interesting we found each other as people. We made things official on March 26th 2020 since I was hesitant about an LDR, especially because I was 16 at the time (he is one year older than me). Ever since then, we spend as much time as we could together and our matching interests make it easy and it seems like we always have something to talk about. Unfortunately right after we started dating COVID hit and we couldn't make a trip in the summer happen. Besides, he is a university student and still is, graduating almost a year from now. So the only time we can really make meeting happen, is in the summer, as I also work myself and these trips are very expensive for people our age and circumstances. Regardless, he finally came here in 2021 for 2 weeks and met my family. My german family is quite sucky with english and I had to translate almost all the time, but regardless of that they still loved him (especially because he's just such a lovable guy and gives off that vibe). Saying goodybe was harder than I thought it was going to be but we were able to make meeting happen again in 2022, of course me coming to the USA for the first time in my life ever. Customs were a nightmare, they thought I was suspicious due to my nervousness and the fact I was "hesitant" about admitting to the fact we were dating and my already homebound flight did not convince them so I was pulled for further questioning. Awful. I liked Minnesota more than I thought I was going to even though it's so much different from Germany. I got especially along well with his mother and brother and even met his baby nephew! His brother makes jewelry and we made each other engraved rings that I just never really take off and almost haven't for a year now. I stayed for 3 weeks and saying goodbye again, was so painful. But he always assures me theres going to be a point where we don't have to say goodbye anymore. With me coming of age, 20 now, I feel like it got harder to deal with the distance. I loved him as much as I love him now but a part of me was childish and maybe I am still to an extent. But I'm properly becoming an adult and so is he and I want us to set our life up, together, you know? He had talked to me about K1 and CR-1 before and I acknowledged it even though it still to this day took me a lot of research to properly understand it myself. We were going to wait a little bit more, but sometime this January I was just like: This can take longer than it will, even with my wishful thinking and we can afford it right now, so let's do it. We went through Boundless because it made my partner feel more calm about the fact we might do something wrong on our petition, they also had a reduced price deal for the time being because apparently it's going to get more expensive to apply soon? Not sure if it actually will or it was a marketing thing, but regardless we were going to apply. So we received the NOA1 March 28th. The waiting game begins. I feel a little bit hopeful about statistically faster processing time for February and March but I will keep my cool and just wish that they keep up what they're doing right now. Also he's going to be coming again this summer, I'd rather wish I could go there again due to some of my home circumstances making me believe it wouldn't be as nice but honestly, it's him that matters. We're both too anxious about me trying to go there especially because of what happened last time and of course all they can do is send me away but that would be a lot of money lost. So! If you see yourself in a similar position, or not even at all but have some wisdom then I would really welcome you to send me message, maybe! (picture of him at lake superior that he took us to last year!)

So I would like to know how I can tell which processing center the case went to . I found online that the three letters before your receipt number usually indicate the office or service center where your case is being processed. I got IOE which stands for USCIS Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) . How can I check their processing time since I couldn't find it online ? I found 5 different processing centers but none of them mentions the one I got . I would really appreciate your help with this .

I am currently filling up the I-130a form . I am a student , and have been doing my bachelor's degree and now my Master's. I don't have an employment history yet other than one internship I did . Should I put that I am a student in the employment area? This is what they said to do " Provide your employment history for the last five years, whether inside or outside the United States. Provide your current employment first. If you are currently unemployed, type or print "Unemployed" in Item Number 1. below. If you need extra space to complete this section, use the space provided in Part 7. Additional Information." It doesn't mention studies anywhere in there. I would really appreciate your help with this . Thank you so much

I am currently getting all the paperwork together for a visa application. For the police records we can get a standard police record or an extended one. However the extended version is only available if you are applying for a job that requires it or something. The state department website says just the normal one however we want to be as through as possible. For reference the country the police certificate is from is Germany. We would like the extended one because there was an incident that may be on the record but isn’t on the normal one. The documents are called ”Führungszeugnis“ and ”erweitertes führungszeugnis“.

First of all - Thanks to everyone who updated their timelines and experience in VJ. It helped me to prepare and complete the whole process in a breeze. To start with I had my medicals in Frankfurt on August 4th, 2022. I had an appointment at 10:00 am, Everything was good it took a total of 2 hours Step 1: Enter and get the number from the receptionist and move to the first floor. Step 2: Wait to be called and Submit the form, interview appointment letter and answer basic questions ( Medical history, chicken pox, etc). Get photographed and understand the next steps. Step 3: Go to the basement for blood, urine, and X-ray collection and come back to the first floor Step 4: Wait to be called for a personal medical checkup by the doctor: Checking vision, lymph nodes, reflex check, etc. Step 5: Asked for any pending vaccination and go to the basement for vaccination. In my case I didn’t have my Hepatitis B vaccine. Once the vaccination was done, the doctor said everything looks good and told me all the details are processed online she told me it would be sent to the consulate in 2 days. I mailed them on 6th August and they replied saying the details have reached the consulate. TIP: I paid around 450 euros. You can pay by card. Interview day September 7th, 8:00 am: From the experiences shared on this site, I knew the exact steps. Step 1: I reached the consulate by 7:30 am. My wife and I came to Frankfurt a day before ( yesterday Sept 6th) and stayed in the best western hotel which is right beside the consulate. Step 2: I carried only my wallet and my file to the consulate, there was already a line of around 15 people. It took 20 - 25 mins to reach the windows where they asked for my passport and gave the sticker and number and asked me to go to window 22 once I reach the main building. Step 3: I moved to the security check since I didn’t have any electronics, it was smooth, and moved to the main building. Step 4: I walked directly to window 22, there were only 3 Immigrant applicants before me. In Window 22, the officer asked for my passport, one photograph (2x2) with my full name written behind it, and my Visa delivery registration page. He asked me to wait in the lobby and told me my number would pop up on the screen with the window number. Step 5: I sat for 5-10 mins and my number popped up for a window the officer there took my biometrics, and personal details & collected my original documents - birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificates, and my wife’s W2. He explained to me the next steps, explained about the visa and stuff. I wanted to change the address in the US and asked him if I can change it there. He got the new address and updated it in the system. Step 6: After the document collection, I was asked to wait in the lobby again for the interview. I was called in 5 mins to a window where an officer greeted me and asked me to take an oath that everything I say is true. She took my biometrics and confirmed my name, DOB, etc. She asked me basic questions like how did you meet your wife? How long do you guys know each other? Where does she live? Are you planning to move there? When are you moving there? She told everything looked good and that she will be approving my visa today. Fingers crossed everything should be fine. I entered at 7:45 am and was out by 8:45 am. Documents I prepared: 1) Original Birth certificate 2) Original marriage certificate 3) Photograph (2x2) 4) Police clearance certificate ( all the countries - in my case it’s India and Germany. 5) Passport 6) Appointment letter 7) Passport delivery registration. Other documents which I carried along 1) Tax transcripts 2021,2020 and 2019 2) W2 and 1099 for all these years 3) My wife’s passport copy 4) My wife’s birth certificate 5) All copies of the originals carried 6) My wife’s lease agreement 7) Our travel history and pictures 😎 Other documents. I hope I covered everything. Prepare and over-prepare the documents. Everything will be a breeze. All the best everyone! Quick Update: My visa status changed from Ready to Administrative Processing. I believe it’s normal process. I will keep this thread updated. Thank you.

Hey everyone, My fiancé is beginning to gather the necessary documents to apply for AOS once we are married and has run in to a question about her birth certificate. Specifically, does anyone know if USCIS accepts the "extract from birth registration no." (Auszug aus dem Geburtseintrag Nr. XXXXX) document as a valid English translation of a German birth certificate? She got this document from the same office (civil registry office - Standesamtsbehörde) as her true birth certificate and it contains all the same information as the true birth certificate in several languages (including English). I tried looking around on VJ and found a few posts suggesting that for EU citizens USCIS would accept these birth certificate extracts for I-485 but wanted to double check. Thanks in advance for the help!

I have been trying to schedule a medical exam for my Ukranian fiancé through the link I was sent to the Frankfurt, Germany doctor's website. I have to schedule using the doctolib link on that site but all I get when I click "Reason for Visit- Medical Exam USA" is an error that says "Sorry. An error has occurred." I've used multiple browsers and different IP addresses, but I still can't get it to work. Does anyone know if there are technical problems? Or what the problem could be? I sent the doctor's office an email so I will see if they respond tomorrow. Thanks!

Hey all, I've skimmed the Forum for a while and while I realize that most members recommend the CR1 route over the K1 route, I'm hoping to get some specific advice for my fiancé and me. To provide you all with some Background info: I'm half German and half American with dual citizenship. I grew up and spent most of my life in Germany and moved to the US a little over 6 years ago (As I mentioned, I have dual citizenship with a US passport, SSN card and I live and work here like any other citizen). My fiancé is Germany and currently lives in Germany. We've known each other for nearly 10 years but only started dating in August of last year when I went back home to visit friends and family. Since then we've been dating via long distance and have seen each other five times (We met in Canada during the time period where no visitors where allowed in the US, after the re-opening she's come to visit me here 3 times and I went back to Germany once. There is no significant age difference between us (we're both in our 30s) and neither of us have been previously married or have any sort of criminal history. We know we want to get married and for various reasons relocating back to Germany is not an option for me at this time. We've looked into our options and it seems like it really comes down to either the K1 or CR1 visa but we have some questions/concerns and can't decide which one is best for us. The most important thing is for us to be together and for her to move here as soon as possible, everything else is secondary as of now. We realize there is a significant backlog right now either way, but it is my understanding that at this point the fastest way for her to stay here with me legally and long term would be the CR1 visa, is this correct? If we do go with the CR1 route, we could easily get married in Germany on my next visit, but I've read on the USCIS website that they require proof that the marriage is "bona fide" and that's where we have some concerns. We can't really provide any of the suggested examples, such as joint bank account statements or a joint lease agreement. Are these absolutely necessary? Would it be enough to provide them proof that our relationship is genuine like photos of our trips together, phone logs, plane tickets, etc. as well as the marriage certificate from Germany? I would really appreciate any advice or insight from personal experiences. Thanks!

Im not seeing much topic on co sponsors, and I need help. Cause this girl is scared of this process. My fiancé is from Germany, I am from America. we want to get married and I do not meet the financial requirements for the K-1. I have a co sponsor who does, but is retired. has anyone gone through this process with a. I sponsor before? Can you help me understand if I will be able to marry my German fiancé if I don’t meet income requirements and have a co sponsor ?