DS 230 questions (merged)

[L37 0]

My wife and I are filling out form DS-230. Question #2 asks for other names/alias, and if married to give maiden name. My wife did not change her name after we got married, nor does she intend to. Should #2 be "none"?

[NikLR 13,234]

don't write none.. they'll think it was none! Leave it blank

Edited May 23, 2013 by NikiR

[L37 0]

Also, what if I don't have a house phone...just put my cell phone?

[L37 0]

1. DS-230 question 31a states "Person(s) named in 14 and 29 who will accompany you to the United States now."

I am the USC, my wife is the beneficiary. I reside in the US full time, but plan to go "pick her up" once she gets her visa. Would I be the person accompanying her to the US, or is this question only if the person in 14/29 is also receiving a visa?

2. Regarding educational institutions attended, is that referring to post-secondary, or is it all educational institutions since birth?

3. We have no children. For 29, would "None (no children" be appropriate?

4. For question 35, my wife has never visited the states. Should I just write "Never" or "Have never visited the United States"

5. Regarding employment for the last 10 years, should it also have no "gaps" (as we are advised in the I-130), and that gaps should have "none" or "unemployed"?

Edited May 23, 2013 by L37

[NikLR 13,234]

that's what I did.

[Jeisson&Ellie 2]

that's what I did.

ITS OK TO LEAVE IT BLANK? BECAUSE MY HUSBAND IS PLANNING ON PUTTING "NONE."

[PuppyLove 24]

1. I think they mean spouses and children who need a visa

2. We put down all schools since birth

3. Yes, write None

4. Yes, write never. Reread the instruction line on 35. It says write never if never visited.

5. Writing unemployed or student for the gaps seems like a better idea. If you are talking about a couple months in between I probably wouldn't write it.

[PuppyLove 24]

The instructions say to answer ALL questions. They will not mistake "none" for your name! That's absurd.

Read and reread and reread again and again all the instructions on the DS 230. Most of the answers to your questions are on the DS 230.

[NikLR 13,234]

Actually they can take None to be a name. But go ahead.

[Ryan H 3,900]

Actually they can take None to be a name.

Correct, in some areas "None" is a name and I have seen posts on VJ where people wrote "None" only to have it end up as a name.

Instead of leaving the field blank, it can be filled in with dashes; like this: -----------

[Ms Hogan 296]

The instructions say to answer ALL questions. They will not mistake "none" for your name! That's absurd.

Read and reread and reread again and again all the instructions on the DS 230. Most of the answers to your questions are on the DS 230.

Ryan and NikiR are correct. There is nothing absurd about their comments.

Try to keep in mind that None IS a surname and could also of course be a first name as well. Just because it is unlikely to be used as a name in the English language does not mean it is not used elsewhere. If you do the research there is actually information about the name None.

'None' should not be written, in my opinion, anywhere that it could be taken to be a name.

[L37 0]

So a USC spouse "picking up" a person to bring them to the US would not be one of those people, even though they are mentioned in question 14 (spouse information)

Edited May 24, 2013 by L37

[PuppyLove 24]

Yes. Some parts are odd that way, like the affidavit which asks you to mark 1 for the immigrant you are sponsoring and mark 1 if you have a spouse. When your immigrant and spouse are the same person, you can only count that person once. So you have to write 0 for spouse, even though it seems like you are saying you don't have a spouse. The forms are confusing that way because they are used for more than just spouses. And anyway, it is not guaranteed that a USC spouse will actually be able to go "pick up" their immigrant spouse so it seems silly they would ask about that as there is not really any importance in knowing that info. I think they just want you to name any other immigrants who are being petitioned with the person named on the DS230, so they make sure all DS 230's are together as a group. In your case, there is no other immigrant besides your wife and you are not filing any other DS230's that need to be matched up. Does that make sense?

[PuppyLove 24]

Ryan and NikiR are correct. There is nothing absurd about their comments.

Try to keep in mind that None IS a surname and could also of course be a first name as well. Just because it is unlikely to be used as a name in the English language does not mean it is not used elsewhere. If you do the research there is actually information about the name None.

'None' should not be written, in my opinion, anywhere that it could be taken to be a name.

I wrote None in that field and somehow magically it didn't get noted as my name. Try to keep in mind that machines are not processing these forms. People with critical thinking skills are. I have confidence that they are able to discern when none means none and where "None" is actually a name. It's not that challenging.

[Ms Hogan 296]

I wrote None in that field and somehow magically it didn't get noted as my name. Try to keep in mind that machines are not processing these forms. People with critical thinking skills are. I have confidence that they are able to discern when none means none and where "None" is actually a name. It's not that challenging.

I believe you are one of the fortunate ones. While I agree that machines are not processing these forms, we see time and time again that those adjudicating are lacking in "critical thinking skills" a lot of the time! People HAVE wound up with None as a name. It is better to be safe and avoid the potential mistake in case they are not as fortunate as you are.

None IS a name.

I just hope nobody winds up with n/a or ------ at some point!