Sydney Consulate Appointment Date Sent- in 10 days, HELP!

[JimmyJane 23]

Hi everyone,

 

I just received the email containing my consulate appointment date here in Sydney- for Jan 24, which is 10 days away!

 

I had started gathering the things I knew would take some time-

- I have my Australian police check

- UK police check as I lived there longer than 6 months

- Still waiting on police check from Canada as I lived there longer than 6 months...they are waiting for notarised copies of my ID to reach them in the post, and will then post me my police check so the likelihood of getting that back by the interview is slim to none!  Is this going to be a problem at the interview? Would they even know if I needed a Canada police check?!

 

- Vaccinations: my doctor lost all my records (fabulous!) so I had a blood test  this week for the ones they can test for immunity but I don't get my results back until my GP appointment Jan 20.   Failing being able to get an earlier GP appointment, does anyone know the cost of getting all the vaccinations at the visa medical at George Street Medical Centre?

 

- And on that subject- the Medical Centre for the visa medical is not open weekends so I cannot contact them until Monday 16th to see if they even have an appointment available before Jan 24.

 

- DS-160 complete form- I submitted my DS160 application without printing it and now can only print the confirmation page.  Do they require the entire form? If so, is there any way to retrieve the form to print it or do I need to reapply and print the new application and submit the new confirmation number to the consulate?

 

- I need the I-134 from my fiance- it says original only, so I'm assuming he will have to send them all to me from the US (can send express).  Does all the supporting documentation have to be originals too?

 

- Termination of prior marriage- my fiance is divorced; do I need his original divorce decree, or is this only pertaining to me? (in which case, easy- never married before)

 

Is all of this impossible?!  Should I email the consulate to ask for a later appointment date?  Will they immediately scrap my current appointment or will they let me know the next available date and let me decide (if I do have a choice, with all of this being potentially impossible!)   I am just concerned the next available date might be months off.

 

Any advice on this would be hugely appreciated!

Edited January 14, 2017 by JimmyJane

[khtak716 15]

Hi JimmyJane,

 

Sorry to hear about your situation!  Below are my suggestions and some information that I found.  I was referencing this form (not sure if it is the one they gave you or up-to-date), because I wanted an idea of what they are requesting from you for the interview in Australia:  https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/pk 3 supplements/SYD - Sydney.pdf; but if something conflicts with what they provided you, definitely disregard my recommendation.

 

Of course, you have 2 options:

1. Go to the interview with what you have, listing out all you are waiting on; you will be interviewed and get a 221g and go into Administrative Processing until you can resubmit all the required documents/medical info; they may schedule a 2nd interview (not certain; for some embassies, info can be mailed to the embassy through their chosen courier service; or in some cases it can be scanned and sent electronically).
2. Reschedule - I would first try call customer service number before emailing, due to timing; from: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/au-main-contactus.asp

            Telephone: Please contact a customer service representative using one of these telephone numbers:

•        In Australia, call +61-1-300-139399.
•        In the United States, call 1 703 520 2230.
•  
•      Also, you or your fiance can call the NVC at 603-334-0700 - this is the immigrant line which you want (since the K1 is ultimately for immigrating). They may have info. 
•      Press 1 for English, and 4 for Time and Date of your interview - the recording says that you will speak to a representative (not certain if this will be useful).
•      Realize that rescheduling may lead to delays in your case.

Questions:

• Would they even know if I needed a Canada police check?! -  If you were over the age of 16 in Canada and lived there for more than 6 months then you need to provide a police record (if you have any record, age is not a factor). (The form I link, above, shows 12 months, so it may be outdated; the link, below, is from travelstate.gov and shows 6 months like you said).  So it sounds like, going by travestate.gov, you would need a police check done for the UK, as well, if you were over 16 when you lived there.
  They would know you lived in Canada from either the G-325A residence section (only if you lived in Canada within the last 5 years).  The purpose of the NVC's assessment is to conduct background checks on you, so they could potentially find out you lived in Canada from those checks. From: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/family/fiance-k-1.html, "Police certificates from your present country of residence and all countries where you have lived for six months or more since age 16 (Police certificates are also required for accompanying children age 16 or older)".
• Vaccinations - I don't have the answer as to the cost of the vaccinations there.  You will have to fill out a medical form and show your vaccinations records and have them reviewed by a Civil Surgeon for the AOS, once you are in the US; if you are lacking vaccinations, you can complete them in the US. See: http://www.visajourney.com/faq/6.2.2
• However, I believe you must have the other medical tests completed and the results reviewed by the embassy for an approval - so that would go into AP, if you can't provide results on the day.  Often, medical results are not yet in when folks interview, so the AP may be short - just waiting for those final results to come in for verification.
• DS-160 - https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/forms/ds-160--online-nonimmigrant-visa-application.html says you only need the confirmation page: "Print and keep the DS-160 barcode page. (You will not need to print the full application.)"
• I believe you do need wet signatures, still, for the I-134.  However, for the I-864 Affadavit of Support (used for K3 spousal visas and when you submit the AOS in the USA), as of 12/28/2016 a wet signature is no longer required https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/news/ink-signature-no-longer-required-on-affidavits-of-support.html "As part of our ongoing efforts to be responsive to customer needs in immigrant visa processing, the Department of State is pleased to announce that original or “wet ink” signatures are no longer required on submitted Forms I-864, Affidavit of Support. This also applies to the I-864A, I-864W, and I-864EZ."
  I would honestly print off the page I linked, here, showing this update and add an attachment with an explanation that the copy you have does not have a wet signature and why; you could have your fiance get a notarized copy of his signed I-134 form, write a letter that he is mailing the original, as well, and show them a copy of the notarized version.  Seems strange to do that, but from an auditor's perspective, that may be more legitimate in terms of documenting the issue.
• Supporting Documentation - anything with a signature must be an original (except the U.S. petitioner's passport, of course), when you submit this to the embassy.  In the I-129F petition, it is noted that for any copies of official documents you provide, originals will made available - you will need those original proofs at the interview, including original boarding passes, receipts, birth certificates, divorce decrees, etc. 
• You will need your fiance's divorce decree (official).  You will also want to reconfirm in a letter, similar to the one in the K-1 petition, your letter of intent - that you are free to marry and still committed to doing so within 90 days of your arrival in the USA (called a reaffirmation letter); your fiance must sign a new copy of this later, with the present date, and send that with the other supporting documentation.

My thought is to get ALL you can in terms of evidence - all they ask for - if you don't have it add a letter of explanation. The give even more info, to support your case. Add a section on continued proof of relationship - give extra evidence on support, pictures from vacations and communications you all had between the date you sent the petition until now.  You could even fill out the I-864 (NOT REQUIRED) and give 3 years tax returns, which you can download from the IRS site:  https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/request-a-transcript-or-copy-of-a-prior-year-tax-return since you won't have your original I-134 (the I-864 has to prove you make 125% over the poverty line, whereas I-134 is 100%).  If you provide a well-documented packet and a cover letter showing all that's in it, with explanations of all that is still in process, then I think your Admin Processing would be straightforward (but that's just my best guess). But if you feel it will leave you too unprepared, it is possible to reschedule.  Either way, you will have a bit more delays, ahead, due to the scheduling issue, but it doesn't stop your process.

 

I don't know the statistics on the delays of rescheduling vs. the delays of having to submit evidence later and going into AP.  I have seen others advise people to attend the interview and submit the documents when you can submit them, as rescheduling can be difficult and you will not get top priority over others.  But still, people sometimes do need to reschedule, so there is a process for that.

 

If you can call and find out about the appointment options, that would give you more information to make a decision.  Again, I'd try to call, first. I did find this page http://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/au-niv-appointmentschedule.asp which has a link to schedule/change an appointment (online), once you decide.  It does note, "Restrictions to Changing Appointments - Applicants are limited to the number of times they can reschedule their appointments. Please plan accordingly so that you are not required to pay another visa application fee."  So obviously rescheduling does occur, if they put a cap on how many times you can do it before needing to pay again.

 

Take heart and try not to worry over the right thing to do.. there is no right or wrong answer, really.  Both options will lead to your evidence being reviewed and you getting an interview.  I will pray for you all that it goes along faster than you expect.  Good luck!!

[JimmyJane 23]

Thanks SO much for the incredible answer!

 

I will definitely try calling the consulate to ask what they suggest I do- come in with what I have or reschedule.

 

Do I need my fiance's (the petitioner's) original birth certificate too, or are they just referring to mine?

 

 

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

1 hour ago, JimmyJane said:

Thanks SO much for the incredible answer!

 

I will definitely try calling the consulate to ask what they suggest I do- come in with what I have or reschedule.

 

Do I need my fiance's (the petitioner's) original birth certificate too, or are they just referring to mine?

 

 

You don't need fiancé' original birth certificate. That's only needed at initial petition stage.  Only your original birth certificate is needed at interview. Good luck.

[khtak716 15]

58 minutes ago, ShanghaiSurfer said:

You don't need fiancé' original birth certificate. That's only needed at initial petition stage.  Only your original birth certificate is needed at interview. Good luck.

Requirements may differ, at different embassies, but for the embassy at Sydney, it is saying you must have the original.

 

Also, the I-129F instructions (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf) sate that copies, not originals, are needed, but you may be required to provide originals at any time. In terms of the birth certificate it says "If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate."

 

Per the form I linked at the top of the page (instructions in the letter from the embassy in Sydney, for things you must bring to the interview), you will need an original (and a copy) of your fiance's and your birth certificate.  Your fiance or you should have the letter/email of instructions from the embassy, which might be more updated that the one I linked above.  The one I linked says you must bring:

BIRTH CERTIFICATE(S)

Birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages for each applicant.  Original and one copy.

 

Our embassy instructions for Algeria were worded differently, but had the same requirement: "original birth certificate of each person named in the applications is required".

 

To note, this birth certificate must be an official copy from vital records, not one that says it is for 'Medical and Health use only.' Your fiance should have supplied them a copy of his official birth certificate for the I-129F petition, so he should send you the original of that (plus any originals of other official or singed copies of documents or evidence that he provided in the petition). I'm pretty sure your fiance must have the correct kind of birth certificate, or you would have gotten an RFE during the USCIS review, but just make sure.

 

Best wishes!!!

Edited January 15, 2017 by khtak716

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

My bad. Thank you for correcting my post. Nothing worse than posting incorrect information.

 

Good luck to OP. 

[khtak716 15]

No worries.. I had to double check to be sure