pluis

I have done work before I received my SSN, but I didn't get paid until after I received it (and told the employer my number)

We lost a chess board - it cracked, but that was it, I think.

I was concerned about water damage and paper-eating vermin since 90% of what we shipped were books, but nothing of the sort seems to have happened, so I'm quite pleased with how it went.

The more stuff you ship, the cheaper shipping by boat becomes. This is because there are a lot of fixed costs (customs, etc) involved with shipping by boat.

As an example, I shipped around 600 lbs and paid $2500. It was nice though, because after I filled out the forms they sent someone to load it from my old house and unload it again at my new house.

I am glad that you found it useful. As it happened, I just got my stuff today.

A fair amount of the boxes that I used were severely damaged. I used boxes that had been moved during previous moves as well, and they could not stand up to the handling. So, if you decide to go with a 'groupage' shipment in a shared container, ensure your boxes are super sturdy!

Don't worry LoveExile, the topic wasn't very active to begin with.

Me, I just didn't post for a while because moving to another country is a lot of work. Sooooooo busy!

Hey, have you gotten a NOA 2 yet? If not, I hope you get one soon.

I only moved my books (but I have a lot! Well over 1000), some clothes and keepsakes such as photo albums. I did this through an international moving company. I boxed everything up, they came with a truck to pick it all up and then they put it in a 'shared' container that goes on a freight ship.

Once in the US, customs had to clear the goods, the container needed to be broken up into it's several shipments and then my freight would be transported from the port to the final destination (which is on the other side of the country). I've been here for two months and I expect them to deliver everything in the next week or so.

It's not cheap and it takes loooong, but for over 600 lbs (300 kg) of stuff, it is well worth it.

Hm. I arrived precisely a month ago (on CR-1, so I was authorized to work immediately). While I've not received an SSN yet, I've been applying every day and have managed to land a few days of freelance work that is close to my area of expertise. No 'real' job yet, but I'd happily work as a freelancer if I can make enough money that way.

For the record:

I'm in north California, have a Master's degree, five years of relevant experience as an employee and a list of freelance projects outside of those five uears. My field is writing / editing for educational and general texts and translation of non-technical material.

Consider doing business with a credit union if you can. They're much more willing to work with you than most banks (also, they're non-profits, so you don't get ripped off nearly as badly.

As an example: my husband (USC) and I (immigrant) recently moved to the US. He had been gone for 12 years and had no credit history. Since he comes back to go to grad school, he's unemployed. Since I've not found work yet, so am I. Yet, she credit union allowed us to put an amount aside (it becomes untouchable) and use that as the backing for a credit card. So, now we have a couple of thousand dollars in credit open.

I, too, experienced no problem when wanting to open a savings / checking account without an SSN. However, I became a member of a local credit union instead of a 'Big Bank', so different rules likely apply.

They do require me to show my SSNcard once I receive it, but were fine now when I showed them two forms of (foreign) ID with pictures on.

Hey does anyone have some advice on how to ship personal things from the NL to the US?

Thank you in advance

We'll likely be working with a company called Crown Relocations.

They're pretty full service (pack stuff for you, unpack it later, handle all the paperwork at customs, etc.) and seem reasonably priced. They're also the one company that I contacted that called me back the same day.

However, I recommend being very critical of what you'll bring. Shipping (even in 'groupage', which is likely what you'll do, unless you have enough to fill a 20ft or 40ft container all by yourselves) is pretty expensive and to may make financial sense to bring only mementos and highly personal stuff and just buy the rest in the US.

Just to compare: we'll be shipping a maximum of 3 cubic metres of stuff, all boxed and ready. The price for that (minus possible additional cost if something gets delayed / there is a paperwork mess) is pretty close to € 2000. I've heard prices of well over € 10.000 for people who brought actual furniture, bikes and whatnot. You can buy a _lot_ of stuff for that kind of money, so unless you own high quality, inheritable or otherwise valuable things, I'd not bother bringing them.

I can't point you in the direction of a good lawyer, but I recommend looking into lawyers that advertise to expats. They'll likely have the international experience that you're looking for. We did our pre-nup with legal professionals who cater specifically to international couples, and were therefore able to create something that will likely be enforceable no matter where we would be.

Ask the lawyer if you have a choice in what law (Peruvian or US (and then what state) law applies to your marriage. Also ask them, with regards to the state to which you plan to move, what the enforceability requirements are for pre-nups. It may be that both you and your wife need legal representation. It may also be that what is enforceable in one state, is not enforceable in another.

Another note: if a pre-nup is deemed unfair, it is possible that a divorce court throws it out, no matter how legal the document is. So, maybe get some advice on what is considered fair under different marriage laws. As I understood, American courts (even in community property states) tend to be okay with keeping pre-marriage assets separate, but they tend to balk at keeping post-marriage income separate. Getting actual information (from a legal professional, not me) on things like this, can help you create something that protects both your wife and yourself.

Ps. I'm not sure what purpose the pre-nup would serve, but they're also excellent for safeguarding assets from bankruptcy in case one of you starts a company.

Hey Ariduvenna,

I read both this topic and the one about the medical. Thanks for the informative write-up!

Seeing as that I'll have my interview soon, there is one thing I wanted to ask:

do you know if you really have to hand over identical passport photo's at the medical and at the interview? I've not heard of this requirement before, and it would actually cause me trouble.

When I began the whole process (CR-1, in my case) I had six passport photo's printed, of which I have (after the medical but before the interview) one left. My plan is to have new photo's taken (I'll need more in the US anyway..) and take the one old one and two of the new ones to the consulate with me.

Could you tell me if you think this will be problematic?

Thanks!

*sigh* Apparently the Amsterdam Consulate had to let go of some of their people because of budget cuts. Now they only do visa interviews twice a week. So when we called to ask if there was a way to have an earlier interview, we got as a reply that our interview has been postponed.

Now I'm annoyed. I see so few cases for the Amsterdam Consulate, why does it take them so long to talk to me for a few minutes.

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August Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
missing you babe....08/14/12....04/01/13....05/21/13....IR-1.........Yemen

December Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
Gringa Chapina......12/11/12....04/19/13....05/22/13....IR-1.......Guatemala

March Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
meltemapo...........03/01/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Turkey
John & Jeni.........03/01/13....03/29/13....05/14/13....IR-1/CR-1....Greece
oohpartiv...........03/05/13....04/24/13....05/29/13....IR-1/........Ecuador
K n E...............03/08/13....04/02/13....05/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan
Highyella72.........03/11/13....04/02/13....05/06/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Aladlhassan.........03/13/13....04/02/13....05/20/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
Judy2Rock...........03/13/13....04/02/13....05/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....Jamaica
TeamMcGregor........03/15/13....03/29/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Dominican Rep.
Mina90..............03/15/13....04/01/13....05/05/13....IR-1/CR-1....Bangladesh
martha brown03......03/18/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Kenya
FeFrSaKa............03/19/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1.........Ecuador
MeredythB...........03/20/13....04/01/13....05/07/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ireland
Vicki&Nanuka........03/20/13....04/30/13....06/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Mar_Wil.............03/20/13....03/30/13....05/02/13....IR-1.........Philippines
Sunflower123........03/20/13....03/29/13....05/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Mexico
Roosha .............03/22/13....03/29/13....05/19/13....IR-1/CR-1....Qatar
kwakuoj ............03/22/13....04/01/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ghana
Oriz................03/22/13....04/01/13....05/06/13....IR-1.........Israel
babyjk .............03/26/13....04/01/13....05/08/13....IR-1/CR-1....Barbados
elle13 .............03/26/13....04/01/13....05/02/13....IR-1/CR-1....Malaysia
Bongnhanna..........03/26/13....04/02/13....05/28/13....IR-1/CR-1....Phnom Penh
Toff................03/26/13....04/10/13....05/07/13....IR-1/CR-1....Australia
MikeJill............03/27/13....04/01/13....05/14/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
Mrs&Mr..............03/27/13....03/29/13....05/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....Greece
RajNav..............03/29/13....04/01/13....05/10/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Aleigh36............03/29/13....04/01/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
watergirl76.........03/29/13....04/03/13....05/08/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada
lonelyboy2003.......03/29/13....04/30/13....06/11/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ho ChiMinh,Vt Nam

April Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
s$susauk............04/01/13....04/01/13....05/28/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
floyd...............04/01/13....04/01/13....05/09/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Chetsky.............04/02/13....05/01/13....06/03/13....IR-1.........Philippines
NYCBound............04/02/13....04/12/13....05/15/13....IR-1.........Canada
valprime............04/03/13....04/12/13....05/30/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada

romanticminds.......04/03/13....xx/xx/xx....xx/xx/xx....IR-1.........Cambodia
Aprice138...........04/04/13....04/10/13....05/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....New Zealand
YA 1127.............04/04/13....05/01/13....06/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....Dominican Rep.
lyra................04/05/13....04/11/13....05/16/13....IR-1/CR-1....Malaysia
dopeyzn.............04/06/13....04/10/13....05/02/13....IR-1/CR-1....Switzerland
srloring13..........04/09/13....04/30/13....06/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Zara1124............04/09/13....04/10/13....05/29/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan
sai.mi28............04/09/13....05/01/13....06/04/13....CR-1.........Philippines
Panda Sky3..........04/10/13....04/11/13....05/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Myanmar
arriyan.............04/10/13....04/29/13....06/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....Singapore
EmilyMary...........04/11/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Bermuda
teysha..............04/12/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Haiti
SundayBelinda.......04/12/13....04/30/13....06/06/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
NikiR...............04/15/13....05/01/13....06/03/13....CR-1.........Canada
ErinBeth............04/15/13....04/30/13....06/11/13....CR-1.........Morocco
JandRP..............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Jamaica
fav13259............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....06/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....Mexico
Pluis...............04/15/13....04/29/13....06/25/13....IR-1/CR-1....The Netherlands
Jbda................04/16/13....05/01/13....06/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....Turkey

champi..............04/16/13....05/01/13....06/03/13....IR-5.........India
Avram...............04/17/13....04/29/13....06/26/13....IR-1/CR-1....Macedonia
Jonelo..............04/18/13....04/30/13....06/12/13....IR-1/CR-1....Romania
A & C...............04/18/13....05/02/13....06/03/13....CR-1.........Canada
MGRD................04/19/13....04/29/13....06/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....Haiti
Ess.................04/19/13....05/01/13....06/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan

Mady................04/22/13....04/29/13....06/04/13....IR-1/CR-1....Egypt
Icede...............04/22/13....05/01/13....06/04/13....IR-1/CR-1....Lithuania
Ludakrishna.........04/23/13....05/01/13....06/12/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
T & P...............04/23/13....05/01/13....06/12/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Sarsoor............ 04/24/13....04/29/13....06/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Egypt
hikergirl...........04/25/13....05/01/13....06/19/13....CR-1.........Canada
SerenityNOW.........04/26/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-2.........Bulgaria

Dr. H and Mrs. H....04/29/13....04/30/13....06/06/13....IR-1/CR-1....Malaysia
lucy................04/29/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/xx....IR-2/CR-2....Barbados

daphoknee...........04/30/13....05/01/13....06/17/13....IR-1.........Canada

May cases waiting on interview:

NAME COMPLETE RECEIVED INTERVIEW VISA TYPE EMBASSY

Tanithw.............05/01/13....XX/XX/13....06/03/13....CR-1.........UK

Eliano..............05/02/13....XX/XX/13....XX/XX/13....CR-1/IR-1....GEORGIA

We, too, have an interview date now. Thank you, VJ, for helping me find everything I need and teaching me so many useful things. Extra shout out to Saylin and Darnell for being the two most devoted forum tigers I have ever seen!

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August Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
missing you babe....08/14/12....04/01/13....05/21/13....IR-1.........Yemen

December Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
Gringa Chapina......12/11/12....04/19/13....05/22/13....IR-1.......Guatemala


January Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
ik2011..............01/13/13....03/06/13....04/02/13....IR-1.........India
ndu26...............01/28/13....03/05/13....04/19/13....CR-1.........Nigeria
olumides_wife.......01/31/13....03/05/13....04/16/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria


February Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
2HeartR1............02/04/13....03/05/13....04/16/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
dwheels76...........02/05/13....03/05/13....04/15/13....IR-1.........Nigeria
A.J..........,,,....02/06/13....03/15/13....04/02/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
PARISS..............02/12/13....03/15/13....04/03/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
M&C.................02/12/13....03/13/13....04/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Carlos1986..........02/12/13....03/06/13....04/03/13....IR-1/CR-1....Colombia
PuppyLove...........02/12/13....03/05/13....04/18/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan
papiakumi...........02/14/13....03/05/13....04/18/13....IR-1/CR-1....Venezuela
sugarbritches.......02/14/13....03/06/13....04/22/13....CR-1.........United Kingdom
wellensky/denise....02/15/13....04/01/13....Got it......IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Carry...............02/15/13....03/04/13....04/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada
LoveyDovey..........02/15/13....03/07/13....04/01/13....IR-1/CR-1....Philippines
elicearea...........02/18/13....03/05/13....04/25/13....IR-1/CR-1....Romania
EmilyS..............02/19/13....03/04/13....04/05/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada
bluetina............02/19/13....03/14/13....04/04/13....IR-1/CR-1....EGYPT
chuhuchu............02/18/13....03/18/13....got it .....IR-1.........SINGAPORE
ebe.................02/20/13....03/06/13....04/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Chile
regw76..............02/20/13....03/13/13....04/08/13....IR-1/CR-1....Japan
Rezahoss............02/21/13....03/06/13....04/09/13....IR-1/CR-1....Abu Dhabi
Sangita.............02/23/13....03/06/13....04/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
RFQ.................02/24/13....03/14/13....04/03/13....IR-1/CR-1....Egypt
God's mercy.........02/25/13....04/02/13....got it .....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
sic2005.............02/25/13....03/07/13....04/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Bangladesh
Gregger235..........02/25/13....03/07/13....04/12/13....IR-1/CR-1....MEXICO
sonineni............02/26/13....04/07/13....04/04/13....CR1..........INDIA
austex..............02/26/13....03/06/13....04/08/13....IR-1.........Australia
flamgirl............02/27/13....03/06/13....04/29/13....IR-1/CR-1....INDIA
PerthtoMass.........02/28/13....03/06/13....04/30/13....IR-1/CR-1....Australia
Mzsitcheron.........02/28/13....04/06/13....04/25/13....IR-1/CR-1....Jamaica
leszeku1............02/28/13....03/08/13....04/04/13....CR-1.........Philippines


March Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
meltemapo...........03/01/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Turkey
John & Jeni.........03/01/13....03/29/13....05/14/13....IR-1/CR-1....Greece
JLCANDRLF...........03/04/13....03/07/13....04/12/13....IR-1/CR-1....Brazil
Mrs. AJ.............03/04/13....03/07/13....04/09/13....IR-1/CR-1....Cameroon
lovecyercat.........03/05/13....03/06/13....04/30/13....IR-1/CR-1....Russia
oohpartiv...........03/05/13....04/24/13....05/29/13....IR-1/........Ecuador
VikingMamma.........03/06/13....03/06/13....04/10/13....IR-1/CR-1....Iceland
Grace2013...........03/06/13....03/07/13....04/16/13....IR-5.........Guangzhou
sld.................03/06/13....03/14/13....04/03/13....IR-1/CR-1....Philippines
pogipatrick.........03/06/13....03/24/13....04/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Brazil
smkr................03/07/13....03/12/13....04/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
K n E...............03/08/13....04/02/13....05/17/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan
niyapravi...........03/11/13....03/12/13....04/18/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Highyella72.........03/11/13....04/02/13....05/06/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
hamigirl710.........03/13/13....03/15/13....04/30/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
Aladlhassan.........03/13/13....04/02/13....05/20/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
Judy2Rock...........03/13/13....04/02/13....05/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....Jamaica
Mntjc...............03/13/13....03/12/13....04/03/13....CR-1.........Belgium
TeamMcGregor........03/15/13....03/29/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Dominican Rep.
Mina90..............03/15/13....04/01/13....05/05/13....IR-1/CR-1....Bangladesh
martha brown03......03/18/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Kenya
FeFrSaKa............03/19/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1.........Ecuador
MeredythB...........03/20/13....04/01/13....05/07/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ireland
Vicki&Nanuka........03/20/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Mar_Wil.............03/20/13....03/30/13....05/02/13....IR-1.........Philippines
Sunflower123........03/20/13....03/29/13....05/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Mexico
Roosha .............03/22/13....03/29/13....05/19/13....IR-1/CR-1....Qatar
kwakuoj ............03/22/13....04/01/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ghana
Oriz................03/22/13....04/01/13....05/06/13....IR-1.........Israel
babyjk .............03/26/13....04/01/13....05/08/13....IR-1/CR-1....Barbados
elle13 .............03/26/13....04/01/13....05/02/13....IR-1/CR-1....Malaysia
Bongnhanna..........03/26/13....04/02/13....05/28/13....IR-1/CR-1....Phnom Penh
Toff................03/26/13....04/10/13....05/07/13....IR-1/CR-1....Australia
MikeJill............03/27/13....04/01/13....05/14/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
Mrs&Mr..............03/27/13....03/29/13....05/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....Greece
ImmigrationReform...03/28/13....04/01/13....04/09/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nepal
RajNav..............03/29/13....04/01/13....05/10/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Aleigh36............03/29/13....04/01/13....05/15/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
watergirl76.........03/29/13....04/03/13....05/08/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada
lonelyboy2003.......03/29/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam

April Cases Waiting on Interview:

NAME................COMPLETE....RECEIVED....INTERVIEW...VISA TYPE....EMBASSY
s$susauk............04/01/13....04/01/13....05/28/13....IR-1/CR-1....UK
floyd...............04/01/13....04/01/13....05/09/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Yugo................04/02/13....04/11/13....04/23/13....IR-1/CR-1....Algeria
Chetsky.............04/02/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1.........Philippines
NYCBound............04/02/13....04/12/13....05/15/13....IR-1.........Canada
valprime............04/03/13....04/12/13....05/30/13....IR-1/CR-1....Canada
Aprice138...........04/04/13....04/10/13....05/21/13....IR-1/CR-1....New Zealand
YA 1127.............04/04/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Dominican Rep.
lyra................04/05/13....04/11/13....05/16/13....IR-1/CR-1....Malaysia
dopeyzn.............04/06/13....04/10/13....05/02/13....IR-1/CR-1....Switzerland
srloring13..........04/09/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
Zara1124............04/09/13....04/10/13....05/29/13....IR-1/CR-1....Pakistan
sai.mi28............04/09/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....CR-1.........Philippines
Panda Sky3..........04/10/13....04/11/13....05/13/13....IR-1/CR-1....Myanmar
arriyan.............04/10/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Singapore
EmilyMary...........04/11/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Bermuda
teysha..............04/12/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Haiti
SundayBelinda.......04/12/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Nigeria
NikiR...............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....CR-1.........Canada
ErinBeth............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Morocco
JandRP..............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Jamaica
fav13259............04/15/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Mexico

Pluis...............04/15/13....04/29/13....06/24/13....IR-1/CR-1....The Netherlands

Jbda................04/16/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Turkey
Avram...............04/17/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Macedonia
Jonelo..............04/18/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Romania
A & C...............04/18/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....CR-1.........Canada
champi..............04/18/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-5.........India
MGRD................04/19/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Haiti
Mady................04/22/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Egypt
Icede...............04/22/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Lithuania
Ludakrishna.........04/23/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
T & P...............04/23/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....India
Sarsoor............ 04/24/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....IR-1/CR-1....Egypt
hikergirl...........04/25/13....xx/xx/13....xx/xx/13....CR-1.........Canada

The time lapsed between my NOA 1 and NOA 2 was 55 days, which is considerably faster than almost any petition filed by a petitioner inside the US. These people routinely wait for five to seven months, just to get to the first part (the I-130) approved. So, as far as there is an expedite, I sure benefited from it. For the record, we filed in early November, expect an interview in June and could have easily won a month of time (or so) at the NVC stage had we ourselves been faster.

The form doesn't ask to send any proof for marriage. Do you need to bring this to the interview instead?

The form itself doesn't, but the instructions with the form do. It's certainly advised to send in a nice package of evidence, including your marriage certificate (this last item is mandatory). f you want to see what we sent, I made a list of it on my personal blog (link). A good general guide for things to include is found on VJ itself, namely here.

- We are not yet married but planning to do so in about six weeks. I'm assuming that we have to wait for the marriage before filing the I-130? (instead of already filing and bringing the evidence/marriage documents to the interview)

Yes, you can only file after you've gotten married, because the marriage certificate needs to be included. However, you can have the package ready to send out the moment you have the certifcate in hand if you start compiling evidence now.

- We are planning to live in the US for around two years. The I-130 form gets my wife an immigrant visa though. Should we indicate that we are looking to immigrate to the US for an indefinite period, or for two years? Or doesn't it matter?- I-130 seems to be the best way for my wife to get to the US and be able to work. An alternative however seems to be the L1 visa (I need to work in the US for my own company, which has offices in the UK, NL and US), as it seems to be processed quicker (around one month, egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do)? In that case I wouldn't 'use' my US citizenship though and hence it would be awkward if it would be the better route?

I suppose you could go for an L1 if your company qualifies and have a partner visum for your spouse and while it may perhaps give you a short term benefit (maybe!) of a quicker filing time, it gives you less certainty. Perhaps you and your wife decide that you'll want to stay for more than two years, for instance, or maybe something unexpected will happen with your company. With a green card for your wife, you'll be the safest and the most flexible to respond to what may happen in the future. I would personally counsel to deal with the somewhat longer wait now, but to have the certainty of an unlimited stay later.

Washing my hands of this thread. I'm trying to help you but you only want to complain or justify your actions, instead of answering direct questions. I can't help you without those answers. You're on your own.

No, OP is not 'complaining and justifying', OP is trying to explain hat they sent, but is running into a cultural (and likely linguistic) misunderstanding here.

Maybe I can explain it in a way that makes more sense to you.

Belgium has no 'birth certificates' in a form that is directly translatable to the US form of the certificate. All births in Belgium are registered in centralized systems, where they can be accessed by the government. The official document of a registered birth is kept in a locked down governmental archive and is never given out to an individual citizen. Instead, a citizen may request an abstract from their entry in the government database to provide to authorities who request it. This abstract is the most official document to prove the birth and parentage of a citizen of Belgium, but it doesn't look much like a birth certificate.

In a sense, OP is right when they say that what they sent to the NVC is a 'copy', because it is a formatted print out of this governmental database, but for all intents and purposes the NVC may have, it is the original document for which OP has had to identify at city hall. The document was printed by the municipal authorities specifically for the purpose of sending it to the NVC and has been stamped and signed so as to verify that it is not a forged document. Yet, it remains and abstract of a governental database behind which there is the archived document that was once filed by OP's parents.

For purposes of identifying oneself to a foreign authority, one can request this abstract in a special multi-lingual format, so that it can be read by almost any authority, regardless of their official language. It is likely that this international abstract (the official stamped and perhaps signed proof of birth and parentage) has simply been misunderstood by the NVC people, leading to an RFE for OP.

Does this help, pushbrk?

Hi rvd,

There is no such thing as Direct Consular Filing anymore for us Dutchies.

I'm going through the same process as you, except I'm in the position of your wife, and this is what I would do in your situation:

- We put our Dutch address on the I-130. You'll file the I-864 at a later time and you can then declare that you intend to establish domicile in the US. Be prepared to show proof for this (and so maybe get started on gathering this proof now)

- Wat number is the question on the I-130 that you refer to? This form is supposed to be filled out by the UCS for a foreign spouse, so they're likely asking for your Dutch address. Yes, add an explanatory note / cover letter explaining that you're a USC who resides in The Netherlands who wishes to move to the US with his wife.

- It seems a waste to have your wife go to the US on a VWP before you're finished with the visa process. She won't be allowed to work yet and she'll need to be in The Netherlands anyway for her medical and interview. It's better to wait a few months and then just move permanently.

Otherwise, spoeedwell says many valuable things about how to establish domicile and about filing taxes. Making sure you've filed US taxes correctly is a _big_ deal and you can forget about her getting a visa of you don;t file.

Yaaaay! Case complete as per April 15.

Keeping my fingers crossed that our embassy has plenty of room to interview me, so that NVC can schedule me soon.

Wow, I'd not expected the largest group to be 21-25.. Makes me fee old.

We'd known and face-to-face dated each other for about two and a half years and lived together for 5 months before getting married.

We had an intimate civil ceremony in one country, a family reception in the other and then later another reception for family and friends in the first country.

I voted for the museum option. We got married in the library of a historical observatory (you know, where they have telescopes) that is now used as a museum. They still have a working, antique telescope that we got to look through.

I voted for:

It creates some bumps sometimes but nothing significant

I think I can attribute at least a part of it to my husband having lived in my country for several years before we even met and decided to move to his country. Also, we're both from western countries, so while there are differences in culture, they're not vast.

Thank you, NikiR