PDF Filler

[bobby_kvisa 7]

Once most people decide that they are going to file for a visa, the first thing they decide is whether K1 or CR1. After that decision is in place, they next try to look up all the forms that have to be filled out and get that information filled in.

Most people prefer to type rather than hand-write everything (at least I do) but those forms just don't seem to cooperate so well with the Fillable PDF option. What if you want to enter "N/A" into a field that only accepts numbers? Or what if you want to enter "NONE" but it is not letting you?

What if you want to enter the FULL address for your beneficiary's third world country. You are limited to only a few characters in those fields, but your wife tells you her complete address must be written as

"35/2 Green Road, Second Floor, Rear Flat, Next to the Fire Station, Santa Vihar Extension, Ghajanpur, New Delhi, India 110090." Miss one thing and the mail won't get there. Oh and make sure to write one or two phone numbers on the envelope two just in case the courier gets confused.

Anyhow to solve a lot of these problems I have been using a pretty versatile PDF software to fill out all the forms in this process. The software is PDF Filler available at www.pdffiller.com

The online software is pretty easy to use and you can do things like change text size, position the answer anywhere you want, and you don't have to worry about entering N/A or NONE into a field that only accepts numbers.

There is some type of a yearly fee if you want to get all the features of PDF Filler - but it is not that much. I think some features are available free, but I do not remember the details.

There is one BIG caveat to note when using PDF Filler. The software is not very good when you download PDF files. The quality of electronic PDF files it produces is somewhat degraded in quality. However, PDF Filler does not seem to have the same low quality if you choose to PRINT directly from the online PDF Filler software itself. In that case the quality is preserved and you will get crisply printed PDFs. Also it is recommended that you print the final file onto a Laser Printer if you have it (not inkjet).

Also please make sure also to check the Bar Code on any PDFs that you print. The I130 and I129F both have barcodes in the lower left and if these are somewhat skewed it could pose a problem. PDF Filler also has pretty good customer support if you ever need to ask them any questions.

I guess I am a bit more technical so I understand how to work around software limitations because of my consulting background. But for forms like DS-230, G325-A, I-864 and others that have to be filled, PDF Filler seems to be a really good choice because of its flexibility.

[Darnell 8,478]

hey - did you do any acid test with Foxit, as well? I'm huge fan of Foxit, but never 'pegged a test' for 'full address' thingie.

[Amit-N-Melody 11]

OMG... ummmm ok

[Tuanv 2]

Nice.

[tokyo.lovers 6]

What if you want to enter the FULL address for your beneficiary's third world country. You are limited to only a few characters in those fields, but your wife tells you her complete address must be written as

"35/2 Green Road, Second Floor, Rear Flat, Next to the Fire Station, Santa Vihar Extension, Ghajanpur, New Delhi, India 110090." Miss one thing and the mail won't get there. Oh and make sure to write one or two phone numbers on the envelope two just in case the courier gets confused.

uaahhhhh.... :wacko:

why not give GPS coordinates or LAT LONG lines? hahaah

[hobokenworkingman 4]

Once most people decide that they are going to file for a visa, the first thing they decide is whether K1 or CR1. After that decision is in place, they next try to look up all the forms that have to be filled out and get that information filled in.

Most people prefer to type rather than hand-write everything (at least I do) but those forms just don't seem to cooperate so well with the Fillable PDF option. What if you want to enter "N/A" into a field that only accepts numbers? Or what if you want to enter "NONE" but it is not letting you?

What if you want to enter the FULL address for your beneficiary's third world country. You are limited to only a few characters in those fields, but your wife tells you her complete address must be written as

"35/2 Green Road, Second Floor, Rear Flat, Next to the Fire Station, Santa Vihar Extension, Ghajanpur, New Delhi, India 110090." Miss one thing and the mail won't get there. Oh and make sure to write one or two phone numbers on the envelope two just in case the courier gets confused.

Anyhow to solve a lot of these problems I have been using a pretty versatile PDF software to fill out all the forms in this process. The software is PDF Filler available at www.pdffiller.com

The online software is pretty easy to use and you can do things like change text size, position the answer anywhere you want, and you don't have to worry about entering N/A or NONE into a field that only accepts numbers.

There is some type of a yearly fee if you want to get all the features of PDF Filler - but it is not that much. I think some features are available free, but I do not remember the details.

There is one BIG caveat to note when using PDF Filler. The software is not very good when you download PDF files. The quality of electronic PDF files it produces is somewhat degraded in quality. However, PDF Filler does not seem to have the same low quality if you choose to PRINT directly from the online PDF Filler software itself. In that case the quality is preserved and you will get crisply printed PDFs. Also it is recommended that you print the final file onto a Laser Printer if you have it (not inkjet).

Also please make sure also to check the Bar Code on any PDFs that you print. The I130 and I129F both have barcodes in the lower left and if these are somewhat skewed it could pose a problem. PDF Filler also has pretty good customer support if you ever need to ask them any questions.

I guess I am a bit more technical so I understand how to work around software limitations because of my consulting background. But for forms like DS-230, G325-A, I-864 and others that have to be filled, PDF Filler seems to be a really good choice because of its flexibility.

ok i got around this problem like this (fortunately, i have the full version of acrobat, so i can do this; not sure if you can save in other formats with the adobe reader). save any problematic pdf page (where there is not enough space - i leave those fields blank) as a jpeg file in acrobat. then open ms word and open a blank page and insert the jpeg file and enlarge it to fit the page. so now this thing pretty much looks like a real page. then for the missing fields, insert a text box (w/o borders or anything) using reduced font size as necessary. filled out all my forms this way. alternatively you can also open pdfs in ms word now (i think)(???), so only 1 step may be needed. anyway, hope this helps, cuz not everyone may have full acrobat (you may have it in your office computer tho)...

also, if you have the full version, you can use the wonderful typewriter tool where the font can be adjusted...

forgot to mention that you can always just put it in a separate sheet of paper and write "see attached for qyestion # xx") - works just as well...

Edited August 2, 2010 by hobokenworkingman