S. Korea - Interview Document Preparation questions

[Thomas W 70]

Hi everyone, I wanted to make this as a repository for info and questions on Korea procedures.

 

First, the Korean document list is here:

https://kr.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/K1.pdf

 

The Korean embassy has a great series of instructional pages, starting here:

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-niv-visaapply.asp

 

Ok, I do have some questions of my own, now that our application is about to move over to Seoul from the NVC.

1. Has anyone used Electronic Funds Transfer in Korea yet? Is the system well-integrated with the interview scheduling site?

(info here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-niv-eft240.asp)

 

2. For the "Marriage Relation Certificate," it is unclear if this is necessary to bring regardless of marital status. I assume it is. Where do we obtain this? (You can see this mentioned under the Divorce Decree or Spouse's Death Certificate section of the document list).

 

3. Where do we obtain both versions of a birth certificate? Basic Certificate (기본증명서) and Family Relation Certificate (가족관계증명서)

 

4. In this forum, there have been mixed reports on the success of obtaining the proper police certificate (실효된 형 등 포함). Are there any updates on this? Several people suggest needing to go Anguk police station, near Insadong. My fiancé lives a long way from Seoul, so I hope to avoid this.

 

5. Lastly, now that I have my case number from the NVC, can we schedule the medical, do the DS-160, AND schedule the interview? I'm pretty clear that the first two are possible, but I'm unsure about the interview itself. Is there anyone with experience on this? We don't expect the packet to arrive to Seoul embassy until April 5-8.

 

Thanks!

-Thomas

Edited March 25, 2019 by Thomas W
Clarified some details

[RichMichelle 9]

1. We didn't use the ETF so I can't speak to this but we paid in cash at a Citibank branch and it took almost a whole day for the payment to process. The payment needs to be processed in order to schedule the interview.

 

2. The "Marriage Relation Certificate"  is only necessary if the petitioner was previously married.

 

3. These documents are available at the Family Court. 

 

4. My fiance got her police certificate in Busan. Just double check and make sure it is the correct form. She didn't have to go all the way to Seoul.

 

5. You can only do the DS-160 at this point as far as I know. Once you get the cover letter from the embassy (Packet 3), you can then pay the fee, schedule the interview and schedule the medical exam. You might be able to do the medical but the instructions say to bring a copy of the letter with you to the appointment. The letter only has the applicant's name and the case number so it might be fine as long as you have the number.

 

 

[Thomas W 70]

Thanks RichMichelle. I'll give some updates now, first about DS-160.

DS-160 Instructions: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-niv-ds160info.asp

DS-160 Application: https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Default.aspx

 

After we received our case number (from calling NVC--they still have our documents until probably April 2), we started to work for DS-160. Using Zoom, we were able to screen share and talk the whole time. Working together, it took us about 2.5 hours to finish everything. A few tricky parts included:

- we had trouble logging in with Chrome, so we used Firefox.

- at this point, K1 is treated as immigrant visa

- gathering her US driver's licenses (she previously lived in USA)

- gathering her previous USA trips (she had been here 6 times)

- she doesn't know if her father is alive or dead, or where he lives, so we had to research to put Yes (alive) and UNKNOWN for address.

- Several times, the connection ran out of time, and we had to type everything again on that screen. Make sure to save a lot!

- For the question "Did anyone help you prepare it?" We put NO. First, she was able to read the questions herself, and second, I'm not an official helper. 

- I made sure to actually download and open the IMBRA pamphlet at the end (it's a mandatory document that you should read, to finish the application)

- I made sure that she was the one to actually sign and submit the document,

 

That's about it. Otherwise, it just takes a long time. 

 

I'll comment on other parts of document collection next.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Thomas W

[Thomas W 70]

Another update on the timing of the process:

NVC sent our packet to Seoul on Tuesday April 2. There was a mistake and the packet went to Puerto Rico, but it arrived to Seoul on Monday April 8. The embassy sent me (Sponsor) the Packet 3 email on Friday April 12. I had to forward the email to Seunghyean. This email only had links. We got the documents at https://kr.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/packet3-k/ This is actual link they sent me.

 

I have seen several people who scheduled the interview before they received Packet 3, but the embassy discourages this and told us "please wait until you receive the email." So we waited. But now, the next interview date is June 12. We will try to find a closer interview. Seunghyean will call tomorrow (Monday).

 

I post a document update, below.

Edited April 14, 2019 by Thomas W

[Thomas W 70]

Here are the main documents Seunghyean had to collect. The Korean embassy information is very good.

https://kr.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/K1.pdf

 

I will make some comments on some of the documents.

DS-160 Confirmation Page: See my previous posting.

Police Certificate: We found that there is a new option for the police certificate that many older websites don't mention. At the national police station, there is a short paper application form. You can request "For permission of foreign country immigration and stay". If you really want to be careful, just make sure that it will include Criminal Records and also 실효된 형 등 포함 which is Lapsed Records. I will post a photo of our results, below.

Instructions for police certificate: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-iv-policerecords.asp

Basic Birth Certificate (기본증명서) and Family Relation Certificate (가족관계증명서) with English translation: Very simple to get, from the Family Court. 

7 new passport-style photos (2"x2" or 50mmx50mm): Don't wear glasses. 5 for medical, 2 for Visa interview.

Electronic Payment for Visa Fee: Most people use Citibank in-person. We tried the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) option, which worked well. This will just be from your bank's website. The confusing part is that the recipient name is very long.  (BANA SEL re Stanley US visaCol SFA). It will not all fit in the online EFT form. That's ok, just put as much as you can. We called the embassy to double check this. Our bank had space for 20 characters, but the name is 34 characters. Here is the link for EFT instructions:

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-niv-eft240.asp

If you prefer Citibank in person, it is here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr_kr/kr-depositslip.html?amount=265&country=korea&visaClass=K

Vaccinations: Seunghyean had to get several vaccines. Start EARLY on this (months before your medical appointment) just in case you need vaccines. For example the Varicella vaccine requires two doses, which are 2 months apart. Here is a long list of vaccines. Many of these are given in a combo dose. (e.g. TDap and MMR). Probably you don't need all of these, but we aren't sure yet. https://kr.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/2016/08/Vaccination.pdf

Medical Exam: We haven't done this yet, but I *think* you have to schedule your Visa interview, then you can get the medical appointment.

Visa Interview: We haven't scheduled yet, but here is the website. Be careful because now you have to choose Immigrant Visa for this step if you are K-1.

Instructions: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-niv-appointmentschedule.asp

Scheduling: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/?language=English&country=Korea

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Thomas W
correcting typos

[Thomas W 70]

Here is a picture of our Police Certificate. Very straightforward actually.

Note that the Purpose of Reference says "For permission of foreign country immigration and stay."

Edited April 14, 2019 by Thomas W

[Thomas W 70]

Last quick post:

For my i-134 packet (sponsor), I had to include co-sponsor. I did very safe preparation, so we had:

3 letters (Intention to Marry, Statement of Financial Viability, and a letter from my co-sponsor)

3 years tax returns for sponsor (including tax transcripts)

3 years tax returns for co-sponsor (including tax transcripts)

Evidence of on-going relationship: bank statements, photos, flight ticket, AirBnB reservation, emails, texts, phone calls, gifts). I even did a Vimeo videos page.

 

It was over-prepared, but that's my style. I recommend people to use tax transcripts, because it condenses a 20 page tax return into 3 pages. They can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript If the electronic verification works, you can get them instantly. Otherwise, you will have to wait 2 weeks for a letter giving you an access code for the e-transcripts. Or, you can just request a paper copy.

 

Ok I think that's my last post for a while. Good luck all!

[Thomas W 70]

Alright! This will be my last documentation post for this forum because we finished everything.

 

We got approved after her interview, which was May 9! (We found an earlier option than June 12, luckily).

 

Medical Exam was easy but expensive. You will receive a packet in the mail several days after your exam. This includes a sealed envelope, which you should not open. Bring this to your Visa interview.

 

The Visa interview was difficult. Because the appointment was 7:30AM and my fiance lives far from SH, we got an AirBnB close to the embassy. She came the previous day to Seoul. At the interview, we had some trouble. Because of our unique immigration background, the officer asked many questions. SH (my fiance) accidentally stayed too long in the USA one time. He definitely mentioned this, and she was honest when he asked. Her overstay was less than 3 months, so it didn't prevent our approval. 

 

Second, I (we) don't have enough money for sponsorship for now (I just finished grad school last year). My Mom agreed to co-sponsor. The officer didn't care much about my finances, but carefully reviewed my mother's. Also, he didn't care about three years of tax information--just last year. So, most of my documents were useless. 

 

His only other questions were about the relationship history, like "how did you meet?" and start dating, etc. Basically, his job to make sure about the relationship, and that there is enough financial support. He will identify any weak area and ask about it. My fiancé and I definitely have a trickier history than many people, and we got approved too. So, good luck, take a deep breath, and the interview will be finished within 10 minutes!

 

I'm happy to answer questions if you have any, but my using this website will start to reduce for now. 

Good luck everyone!