Question about Address Format in Costa Rica

[CRSpouse 0]

My husband and I are just beginning the process and gathering information for formI-130. He is in Costa Rica and I just returned to the US to begin the process. At this point I am only confused on the address format the US requires on the form. Costa Rica address format is very informal, which is probably why mail is impossible. Addresses being a distance from a land mark, such as; 50 meters N of Rubi's Super, Orange House.

Is this how we should write an address on the file?

He has lived and worked in VERY remote areas, that just plain Do Not have addresses...

How do we list those?

Thanks for the advice!

[TBoneTX 43,058]

You may get quicker & better answers in the Latin American regional subforum. I will ask the moderators to transfer your question there, si man.

[Krikit 1,163]

Transferring from K-1 Progress.

[CRSpouse 0]

Also, he has a precious little daughter, but was not present for the birth and is not in any sort of system or birth certificate as being her father.

Do we list her on his G-325 Bio Info, or leave her off?

Thanks for Any Advice!

Nikki

[FrancElsie 6]

My husband and I are just beginning the process and gathering information for formI-130. He is in Costa Rica and I just returned to the US to begin the process. At this point I am only confused on the address format the US requires on the form. Costa Rica address format is very informal, which is probably why mail is impossible. Addresses being a distance from a land mark, such as; 50 meters N of Rubi's Super, Orange House.

Is this how we should write an address on the file?

He has lived and worked in VERY remote areas, that just plain Do Not have addresses...

How do we list those?

Thanks for the advice!

Hi...and Good Luck!!! I have a similar situation with my fiance'... the way I get mail to her is by using a local Post Office (Oficina de Postales) in a larger city. She calls by telephone to see if the package/mail has arrived. IF it has....she goes to retrieve it ASAP.

The postal system in Costa Rica is VERY BAD...and there is nothing that can be done about it until the government decides to standardize addreses throughout the country. Until then, you'll have to use the informal address and HOPE that everything arrives there. I've had mail delievered fairly quickly (<10 days) and I've had mail "LOST" forever. Unfortunately, there is a problem with dishonesty and theft in many Latin American countries. Packages/mail that arrive from the USA are assumed to contain money and valuables. Therefore, they seem to disappear frequently.

Another option is to use an international shipper such as DHL Worldwide...but the costs are OUTRAGEOUS. I checked out the cost to send a 5 pound box of stuff to Costa Rica through them and it was over $110+ ... United States Postal Service was about $35.

My point is....list what you know to the best of your ability. The people at USCIS know that not every country has a postal system like the U.S.A.!!!!!!!!!

Regards,

Franc

[CRSpouse 0]

Thanks Franc!

That's what we'll have to do I guess.

We're going to try looking up the GPS coordinates of some of the places too.

I hope it works!

[Josh and Nathalie 0]

My husband and I are just beginning the process and gathering information for formI-130. He is in Costa Rica and I just returned to the US to begin the process. At this point I am only confused on the address format the US requires on the form. Costa Rica address format is very informal, which is probably why mail is impossible. Addresses being a distance from a land mark, such as; 50 meters N of Rubi's Super, Orange House.

Is this how we should write an address on the file?

He has lived and worked in VERY remote areas, that just plain Do Not have addresses...

How do we list those?

Thanks for the advice!

Yes, put the best address that you have for him. They don't mail anything to the person anyways. When the papers come in for him later in the process, they will call him and have him come pick them up.

[brucester 0]

My husband and I are just beginning the process and gathering information for formI-130. He is in Costa Rica and I just returned to the US to begin the process. At this point I am only confused on the address format the US requires on the form. Costa Rica address format is very informal, which is probably why mail is impossible. Addresses being a distance from a land mark, such as; 50 meters N of Rubi's Super, Orange House.

Is this how we should write an address on the file?

He has lived and worked in VERY remote areas, that just plain Do Not have addresses...

How do we list those?

Thanks for the advice!

Ask him to give you a bill for utilities, phone, anything, and use the address exactly as it is on anything that gets mailed to him. It looks impossible, but it actually works. I just went throught the same thing with my fiancee, spent much time in San Jose, and the word for address in Spanish, at least there, is directions. Postal workers seem to remember where the green door was even when it has been painted orange.

Good luck, Brucester.

[brucester 0]

Ask him to give you a bill for utilities, phone, anything, and use the address exactly as it is on anything that gets mailed to him. It looks impossible, but it actually works. I just went throught the same thing with my fiancee, spent much time in San Jose, and the word for address in Spanish, at least there, is directions. Postal workers seem to remember where the green door was even when it has been painted orange.

Good luck, Brucester.

A bit more on addresses and mailing in Costa Rica. I mailed a package first class from the US. It did not arrive. More accurately, it was not delivered. My fiance finally asked the postal worker who delivers the daily mail to her house, and she was told the man who delivers boxes has been sick for some time and that she should go to the local post office and ask for her package. She did, and she got her package. After 6 weeks. I am sure it sat in the post office for at least 4 weeks while the gentleman was ill. Nobody stole any of the contents. In the meantime, I flew down to be there for the embassy interview, SUCCESSFUL!, replaced what was in the package that Tati had not yet learned she should "go pick up," so she got double presents.

Edited February 18, 2010 by brucester

[CRSpouse 0]

A bit more on addresses and mailing in Costa Rica. I mailed a package first class from the US. It did not arrive. More accurately, it was not delivered. My fiance finally asked the postal worker who delivers the daily mail to her house, and she was told the man who delivers boxes has been sick for some time and that she should go to the local post office and ask for her package. She did, and she got her package. After 6 weeks. I am sure it sat in the post office for at least 4 weeks while the gentleman was ill. Nobody stole any of the contents. In the meantime, I flew down to be there for the embassy interview, SUCCESSFUL!, replaced what was in the package that Tati had not yet learned she should "go pick up," so she got double presents.

Yeah, mail is really flaky there. My husband doesnt get daily mail & hasn't heard of daily mail from anywhere he's lived. Only government notices are generally delivered to the home. We lived in a real remote area. Now he is living in Buenos Aires and anything I send him he must pick up from the Post Office, he goes after about a week or 10 days, then just drops by daily until it arrives. Sometimes it's already there, sometimes he just keeps checkin in. Thanks for all the info. I have my fingers crossed that all the substitutions are accepted. I think the pregnancy will hopefully convince them that our marriage is bonafide, lol. It's rediculous the hoops we have to jump through, only to Proove we are Not Lying. Not exactly the "Innocent until Proven Guilty" policy when it comes to immigration. lol

[Eric-Pris 1,602]

Not exactly the "Innocent until Proven Guilty" policy when it comes to immigration. lol

It's literally the opposite for immigration purposes.