Next Steps....

[mamaronga 2]

hey all,

i´m not sure if this is still the appropriate forum to put questions about the next steps after the NOA2...if not i apoligize and i hope that someone can direct me to a better forum! but if so, here are some questions we have come up with about the next steps before the interview!!! please help out if you can...thanks!

A few questions about the next steps:

1) So once the NVC mails out our application, we just wait for Guayaquil to send us the packet 4 before doing the medical or anything? or is it best to use the info they have online and get the medical exam done first?

2) Packet 4: The version on Guayaquil´s site is from Sept 2008. do you know if that´s the latest version?

it includes an older version of the DS156K then i found elsewhere.

3) Medical exam: it says vacines aren´t necesary for k1 visa applicants. really?! cool. but anyway he wants to get them here because they are cheaper. do you understand when they talk about the age-appropriate vacines? if he´s already older than the age they put, does it mean he doesn´t need it anymore? link:

http://guayaquil.usconsulate.gov/uploads/i...VACCINATION.pdf

4) Evidence: it talks about bringing evidence of the relationship to the interview. I´m guessing this includes orginal evidence...from before AND after the petition. But with original evidence, how do we submit it? do we just show it to them and they give it back to us, or will we loose it to them? How to submit small papers like reciepts...does one tape them to full sized sheets? is bringing a photo album a good idea?

5) NOA2: do we need the original at the interview or just a copy is okay?

6) DS-156: Q 36 "Has anyone filed on your behalf?" should i put my name in there, as i filed for his I-129F?

at the end of the form, is it okay if i put that i filled it out on his behalf... (because it´s in english)

7) Language: for the interview stage, can documentos, forms, and evidence be in EITHER spanish OR english?

[TBoneTX 45,522]

(Hearts are sinking as we read where you're interviewing...) Unless you play the game 100% Guayaquil's way, you're going to suffer mightily when dealing with that rogue, #######, hellhole consulate. See the **** interspersions within your message:

1) So once the NVC mails out our application, we just wait for Guayaquil to send us the packet 4 before doing the medical or anything? or is it best to use the info they have online and get the medical exam done first?

**** Don't wait for anything from that outfit, which has been described as "the worst DMV office on earth" (a puny understatement, because they are evil as well as incompetent). Download what they have online, and use the newest versions of everything (they sent us an obsolete Packet 4, and I had to compare the mailed & downloaded versions word for word, side-by-side). Wait a bit longer before doing the medical, such as right after you receive your interview notice (if you ever receive it).

2) Packet 4: The version on Guayaquil´s site is from Sept 2008. do you know if that´s the latest version? it includes an older version of the DS156K then i found elsewhere.

**** Use the newer version. The GYQ staff can't find their hindquarters with either hand.

3) Medical exam: it says vacines aren´t necesary for k1 visa applicants. really?! cool. but anyway he wants to get them here because they are cheaper. do you understand when they talk about the age-appropriate vacines? if he´s already older than the age they put, does it mean he doesn´t need it anymore?

**** The vaccinations are indeed not necessary at this point, but if he receives them there, be sure to get THREE originally signed copies by the doctor or lab that performs the vaccinations, with every administered vaccination listed on one page, if possible. Also, if he had a disease in the past (such as chickenpox), have the medical facility clearly state that fact on the same vaccination form, with the month/year of the illness (estimate it, if he can't clearly remember), and with the word "confirmed" after it. The age-appropriateness will really have to be determined by the U.S. civil surgeon (strong recommendation: Dr. Arnold in Austin, TX) as part of the I-693 form's completion for AOS. Personally, I would recommend holding off on the vaccinations, because they may not be necessary if the visa is refused.

4) Evidence: it talks about bringing evidence of the relationship to the interview. I´m guessing this includes orginal evidence...from before AND after the petition. But with original evidence, how do we submit it? do we just show it to them and they give it back to us, or will we loose it to them? How to submit small papers like reciepts...does one tape them to full sized sheets? is bringing a photo album a good idea?

**** The Section Chief of the Immigrant Visa Unit, Philip Linderman, spent several years with the OAS in (you guessed it) anti-human-trafficking, before he was yanked from that cushy D.C. job for another consular assignment in a dangerous city. An attitude (resentment? anti-human-trafficking?) pervades everything that this visa unit does and thinks (if it is capable of either doing or thinking anything). Specifically, the main and perhaps ONLY evidence that GYQ cares about is THE PRESENCE OF THE USC at the FIRST INTERVIEW. They will keep everything. Bring every last scrap of everything that you can lay your hands on. Tape receipts, photos, etc. onto blank paper, and provide a caption to explain what each item is. The consular staff is protected from the wrath of abused applicants by a Plexiglass shield with a small curved slot under it (much like a bank), so a photo album would certainly not fit. Keep for yourself TWO complete sets of whatever you're handing over to them.

5) NOA2: do we need the original at the interview or just a copy is okay?

**** Bring the original and a copy; the copy should suffice. Make sure that you have at least one copy of the NOA2 for yourself at home.

6) DS-156: Q 36 "Has anyone filed on your behalf?" should i put my name in there, as i filed for his I-129F? at the end of the form, is it okay if i put that i filled it out on his behalf... (because it´s in english)

**** I'd need to look at the form as a reminder. Someone else can better answer this. The point to keep foremost in your mind is that these people are looking for any reason at all to REFUSE the visa, so avoid giving them any openings.

7) Language: for the interview stage, can documentos, forms, and evidence be in EITHER spanish OR english?

**** Yes, but provide everything possible in English. If you are interviewed by the dullard vice-consul whom we burned veterans call "Mr. Silver," his Spanish is weak (he admitted this outright to one applicant).

If you have other questions, please pose them. The only other recommendations for now are very intense: READ and HEED the embassy/consular reviews for Guayaquil (click atop any VJ page), and read the thread "US Consulate in Guayaquil, Ecuador" in the Latin American subforum. It cannot be emphasized enough that IF YOU ARE NOT AT THE FIRST INTERVIEW WITH YOUR FIANCE, YOU WILL BE PUT ON 221(g) OR BE REFUSED OUTRIGHT. Sorry if this scares you, but you and every subsequent GYQ interviewee needs the unvarnished truth so that you're not blindsided the way so many of the rest of us were.

By the way, the consular reviews for this outfit are FAR more positive than reality reflects, because so many applicants were refused visas and didn't or couldn't submit a review. After almost a year since our own mistreatment started (including somehow sucking a visa from there and just recently achieving the first green card), I personally remain so livid that I haven't yet posted a review. Please keep in touch here as your case progresses.

Edited April 22, 2009 by TBoneTX