I-864 Photocopies of Signatures now accepted

[JessieABC 159]

Thought I'd share - seems like NVC has updated their requirements to consider the fact that sending signed I-864 forms between spouses is quite the hassle.

Photocopies of inked signatures are acceptable as long as the original was signed as of December 28, 2016:

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/news/ink-signature-no-longer-required-on-affidavits-of-support.html

Edited April 4, 2017 by JessieABC

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Thanks for sharing! The question on wet signature for affidavit of support always comes up  I've bookmarked this.

[verwen 33]

Wonder if that applies to people who filed DCF?

[cordoba2015 224]

Thanks for sharing! I actually just posted another thread asking about this a few hours ago. It is such good news, considering how much of a hassle it is to have to worry about mailing the ink signature, and making sure that one piece of paper makes it to the consulate.

[JessieABC 159]

12 hours ago, KULtoATL said:

Thanks for sharing! The question on wet signature for affidavit of support always comes up  I've bookmarked this.

You're welcome! 

 

12 hours ago, verwen said:

Wonder if that applies to people who filed DCF?

 

Note sure about DCF but seems nvc has updated their website for the visa interview process to require only a photocopy of the signed original as well:

 

"A signed Affidavit of Support from your petitioner and any additional financial sponsors who submitted a Form I-864 on behalf of your visa application. Applicants may bring photocopies and scanned versions of signed Forms I-864 and associated documents. (Please note that the form must still be signed; typed names and electronic signatures will not be accepted.)"

Edited April 4, 2017 by JessieABC

[bcking 3,157]

This is awesome for people! My first I-864 got "lost in the mail" and we were just waiting on that only to send in the packet. I ended up spending 50 dollars for "next day air" with FedEx to get a new "original" copy of that single form to my wife because we didn't want to wait around. The original one I sent to her showed up 4 weeks later in the post. It was silly that the ink needed to be real.

[JessieABC 159]

3 minutes ago, bcking said:

This is awesome for people! My first I-864 got "lost in the mail" and we were just waiting on that only to send in the packet. I ended up spending 50 dollars for "next day air" with FedEx to get a new "original" copy of that single form to my wife because we didn't want to wait around. The original one I sent to her showed up 4 weeks later in the post. It was silly that the ink needed to be real.

I've been hearing so many stories of lost files.  In the November forum with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, even lawyers were asking what shoudl be done if checklists were issued for documents already provided.

 

Did you know they're launching a new ceac Portal this year (supposedly in April) and they're expanding their EP locations also?  Too bad London still isn't included or I'd be flying through once they launch.

[bcking 3,157]

20 minutes ago, JessieABC said:

I've been hearing so many stories of lost files.  In the November forum with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, even lawyers were asking what shoudl be done if checklists were issued for documents already provided.

 

Did you know they're launching a new ceac Portal this year (supposedly in April) and they're expanding their EP locations also?  Too bad London still isn't included or I'd be flying through once they launch.

I don't understand how they pick electronic processing spots. The current list seems rather random. You'd think the low fraud, english speaking countries (UK included) would be top of the list. No translations, similar socio-economic status. Honestly we actually would rather live in the UK but my job is the secure one and it's in the US for the time being. UK (and many other countries) should be a quick and easy process. 

[cordoba2015 224]

2 minutes ago, bcking said:

I don't understand how they pick electronic processing spots. The current list seems rather random. You'd think the low fraud, english speaking countries (UK included) would be top of the list. No translations, similar socio-economic status. Honestly we actually would rather live in the UK but my job is the secure one and it's in the US for the time being. UK (and many other countries) should be a quick and easy process. 

It really does seem to be random how they picked the locations for EP. Glad to hear they will be expanding that option; it really ought to be available to everyone, since this process really ought to be modernized. The AOS scan is a big advancement. Paper and mailing is so old-school, especially with all the technology available these days. I was bored and made a list to see all the places that allow for EP, really wondering how they decided on these locations.

ADD = Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AKD = Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

AMM = Amman, Jordan

BGH = Baghdad, Iraq

BNS = Buenos Aires, Argentina

DMS = Damascus, Syria

FRN = Frankfurt, Germany

GTM = Guatemala City, Guatemala

GUZ = Guangzhou, China

HNK = Hong Kong

KEV = Kyiv, Ukraine

MRV = Monrovia, Liberia

MTL = Montreal, Canada

PHP = Phnom Penh, Cambodia

RDJ = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

SYD = Sydney, Australia

TGG = Tegucigalpa, Honduras

THT = Tashkent, Uzbekistan

[bcking 3,157]

17 minutes ago, cordoba2015 said:

It really does seem to be random how they picked the locations for EP. Glad to hear they will be expanding that option; it really ought to be available to everyone, since this process really ought to be modernized. The AOS scan is a big advancement. Paper and mailing is so old-school, especially with all the technology available these days. I was bored and made a list to see all the places that allow for EP, really wondering how they decided on these locations.

 

ADD = Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AKD = Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

AMM = Amman, Jordan

BGH = Baghdad, Iraq

BNS = Buenos Aires, Argentina

DMS = Damascus, Syria

FRN = Frankfurt, Germany

GTM = Guatemala City, Guatemala

GUZ = Guangzhou, China

HNK = Hong Kong

KEV = Kyiv, Ukraine

MRV = Monrovia, Liberia

MTL = Montreal, Canada

PHP = Phnom Penh, Cambodia

RDJ = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

SYD = Sydney, Australia

TGG = Tegucigalpa, Honduras

THT = Tashkent, Uzbekistan

I guess some may be where it is difficult to get mail (Ethiopia, Uzbekistan?) but then I find it funny that like Germany has EP, but no other country in Western Europe? 

 

Yes it should be electronic for everyone. Just the amount of time it would save waiting for mail (Waiting for USCIS to receive it, waiting for USCIS to send it to the NVC, waiting for the NVC to send it to the Embassy) would be significant. Then you factor in the organizational benefits (You could upload specific documents with specific titles so they can quickly pull up each piece they need without having to sort through a giant envelope).

[JessieABC 159]

35 minutes ago, bcking said:

I don't understand how they pick electronic processing spots. The current list seems rather random. You'd think the low fraud, english speaking countries (UK included) would be top of the list. No translations, similar socio-economic status. Honestly we actually would rather live in the UK but my job is the secure one and it's in the US for the time being. UK (and many other countries) should be a quick and easy process. 

 

Agreed.  I had no checklists and my I-130 alone took 6 months of processing. Probably another 6 months before we complete the case since we're still waiting on case #.  I would have loved to hop-skip to the UK , hit foreign tax treaty with a passion, leave all my US tax obligations behind, and enjoy the countryside   Like you, US will be more conducive to career growth and my job here is secure as well so we decided on coming here.  Give me another 3 months with the NVC and those sentiments might start shifting radically.

Edited April 4, 2017 by JessieABC

[bcking 3,157]

18 minutes ago, JessieABC said:

 

Agreed.  I had no checklists and my I-130 alone took 6 months of processing. Probably another 6 months before we complete the case since we're still waiting on case #.  I would have loved to hop-skip to the UK , hit foreign tax treaty with a passion, leave all my US tax obligations behind, and enjoy the countryside   Like you, US will be more conducive to career growth and my job here is secure as well so we decided on coming here.  Give me another 3 months with the NVC and those sentiments might start shifting radically.

We sound very much alike. 

 

Long term we think our plan is to stick around in the US until our kids are nearing school age (we don't have any yet so who knows how long that will be), then head back for them to be in school in England. We both prefer the system there, and University fees are still much lower than most in the US. She grew up in Wiltshire, so we'd end up looking to be somewhere like that. I'm a Pediatrician so I would just need to be close enough to a "city" (I could commute to Bristol quite easily).

 

Since you are from the UK - Don't make the mistake we made. Make sure the UK birth certificate is the "long form" with names of parents. Oftentimes the "original" that parents would have received in the hospital is not that version, and they won't accept the shorter version even though it is truly the "original". It says it under the UK specific stuff, but the main page under birth certificate just states he has to be "original", doesn't mention the thing about parent's names. That set us back 11 weeks.

[JessieABC 159]

I'm actually the U.S. Sponsor  But yes, I made sure he requested for extra copies of the long version and applied for his ACRO already.  

 

Had a fright since his mother has a different "Maiden" name listed on his BC.  Apparently, "Maiden Last Name" in the UK simply refers to last name and can change.  His grandmother was married to Mr. X which is what his mother listed on the BC at birth.  Since then, his grandmother has gotten divorced and his mother reverted her maiden name to the previous family name "B".  Hopefully, this won't cause issues since we have been and will be using "B" as his mother's maiden name on the G-325A and DS 260.

 

We actually had the same discussion about kids and costs (we don't have any yet either) as well as financial impact of both locations on pensions/savings.  UK seems to be the best bet for retirement so we're thinking to stay here until he gets his citizenship, then reassess what we'd like to do.  We actually visited Charmouth a few months back!  It was absolutely gorgeous out there.  Are you both done with the process now?

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, JessieABC said:

I'm actually the U.S. Sponsor  But yes, I made sure he requested for extra copies of the long version and applied for his ACRO already.  

 

Had a fright since his mother has a different "Maiden" name listed on his BC.  Apparently, "Maiden Last Name" in the UK simply refers to last name and can change.  His grandmother was married to Mr. X which is what his mother listed on the BC at birth.  Since then, his grandmother has gotten divorced and his mother reverted her maiden name to the previous family name "B".  Hopefully, this won't cause issues since we have been and will be using "B" as his mother's maiden name on the G-325A and DS 260.

 

We actually had the same discussion about kids and costs (we don't have any yet either) as well as financial impact of both locations on pensions/savings.  UK seems to be the best bet for retirement so we're thinking to stay here until he gets his citizenship, then reassess what we'd like to do.  We actually visited Charmouth a few months back!  It was absolutely gorgeous out there.  Are you both done with the process now?

Interview was today, so she just needs to wait for the visa. Planning to book her flight on the 23rd (She has a hen party and a baby shower to go to before she leaves). While we've been waiting I moved from Manhattan to Houston, Texas because she works in oil and gas so her job prospects are best here. Bought a house that I've been living in (quite empty, dont' want to buy furniture without her) since October. If she gets a job here (Not the best time to be looking, but we'll see) we will be both doing quite well for our age so we'll save a lot while we're here. That will help account for the reduction in pay I will have to deal with in the UK (I'm making more now as a very young junior consultant than pretty much any consultant makes in the NHS since salaries are capped).

 

Charmouth is great. Lyme Regis is right next door. She grew up going to that coastline with her dad to hunt for fossils (She and her dad are both geologists and you can literally find them in the rock on the beaches). She is volunteering at a fossil museum on the Jurassic Coast right now while she has been waiting for the visa. Would love to live around there, and I could work in Southhampton. 

 

She has debated whether she wants to go the full way and get citizenship. We need to investigate more about what it would mean if we leave in the end. If you make above a certain threshold abroad you have to pay US taxes as a citizen, and both of our jobs are high paying enough that we would be expected to. I don't know if we would pay taxes are our joint income if only I was a citizen, or if I would only pay on my own. If we moved back to the UK though unfortunately we'd have to be close to London initially (All of the companies in her field are London based). Perhaps retirement. 

 

As for the birth certificate - I don't know about the UK, but did he go through any process to legally change maiden names? Or his mother? Does his mother have anything with the old maiden name on it? Old passport/ID? Perhaps provide a copy of that?

[Ortolan 381]

Re: photocopied signature: that's great news! That was a complete pain in the neck, sending documents back and forth, expensive, and time consuming. Good progress!