M in CA

You're getting great advice from people, but since you asked for my feedback...
Ultimate authority on AOS is the NVC
Link to NVC site (scroll to bottom for co-sponsor scenario)
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3197.html
HOUSEHOLD co-sponsor checklist:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3203.html
PRINT these next two files out and review them before you send in your forms.
Nice PDF file of OFFICIAL instructions for I-864
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864instr.pdf
Nice PDF file of OFFICIAL instructions for I-864A (co-sponsor form)
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864ainstr.pdf
And, as always, if you get a nice phone rep, he/she will try to help you with these questions.
“A separate Form I-864A must be used for each household member whose income and/or assets are being used by a sponsor to qualify. This form must be submitted simultaneously with Form I-864.”

yeah - true, the embassy makes the final decision, but I meant the government agencies who publish the instructions are the authorities on how to fill out the form. Not VJ.
My links are to really detailed instructions on how to fill in the forms - published on the USCIS site, not the NVC site. Odd, but true.

Hi Courtney
Morocco is tough--it takes extra time and TONS of documentation to prove your relationship, and even with everything you can think of, you may be sent back for more. Search on Morocco on this site and read everything you can find, plus everything in the embassy tab at the top of this page.
There are lots of folks here who have gone thru Morocco, and many who are still in the process...they will start showing up here, and listen to everything they say. It ain't easy.

Congrats A&M! A long time coming! Wow! they really had you jumping through the circus hoops. I read that you had indicated in your IV package cover letter that you included your military record. This tells me that the reviewers may not reading the cover letters as closely as they should, if it all.
I may be assuming to much that all reviewers are not reading cover letters, but it seems to me that either the reviewers are so accustomed to processing these IV packages over and over, everyday, that they probably toss aside the cover letter when they receive a IV package and just start looking for the "standard" items, jumping to certain questions on the DS-230 that are commonly missed or misinterpreted. When a case is missing one of those items and/or falls outside of the "norm" CR-1/IR-1 cookie-cutter processing, they just send an RFE and place the burden on you to justify.
I think that the folks working on NVC cases see so many cases a year, and then "quickly" look for certain items and have an internal checklist, if it's there then they stamp it in the corner and done. If something makes them search more than a few minutes, then RFE, without taking the time to check a cover letter that we carefully type out for them. After processing thousands of these things they probably become separated from the fact that people's lives and family cohesion are at stake. I'm sure their supervisors try to remind them at their weekly or monthly team meetings, that "applicant's are real people waiting", but the fact remains that it is human nature that they become somewhat desensitized in their cookie cutter methodology...
A big issue to me is the lack of transparency in this process. Of course the DOS will cite "national security" and immigration fraud issues, but really as we all know on this forum, we have little knowledge of the internal workings, and little recourse to challenge or inquire. Got to love those "NVC inquiry response" emails, makes me feel, well, almost helpless and at the whim of a private contracted SERCO employee who could care less about my family.
but maybe I'm reading to much into the NVC
congrat A&M! now the wait...now hopefully we don't have to wait to long for an appointment between all the Embassies holidays (they get both US and foreign govt holidays paid days off).

The AVR NEVER updated right away with any of the steps on our case. It always updated overnight. So I wouldnt say that it updates automatically the instant it's done. That's not true.

Hey Journey...
Get through the interview, head to the States, and then let's see what happens...once you are here, there are all sorts of options open to you, and we'll all help you work through them. And let's hope there are no other surprises once you get to the embassy...this is messy, so come back if you need more help after the interview.
Bless you.

Hi Maria,
Just checking-in to see if you'd followed-up and read the other responses. I see that you've gotten some good feedback from Just Bob pertaining to applying for citizenship under the 5-year rule. Also, I can tell from your previous posts, you are not confused about how the First Time Homebuyer's Credit for homes purchased after 4/8/08 and prior to 01/01/09 works, i.e., that you pay back the credit taken on your 2008 return interest free over a 15-year period starting with the 2010 tax year return. You didn't say anything about it, but I'm guessing you paid your 1/2 for 2010, $250, on the 2010 return you filed for yourself? Each year you are supposed to recieve IRS Notice CPO3a, "Repaying your First-Time Homebuyer Credit", that tells/reminds you of the portion of the original credit you need to "recapture" on the current year's tax return. I'm curious, did you receive such a notice in advance of filing your 2010 return?
So with that out of the way, I think it is safe to assume that you correctly understand that the annual repayment of your share of that credit over 15 years (14 years left now since 2010 was the first repayment year) does not show-up as an outstanding or past-due tax obligation/liability. It's just an additional $250 tax (1/2 of the $500 x 15 years) each year and becomes due with that particular current year's tax return.
My concern, as a Tax Professional, is that while it's apparent that you've read the basic rules concerning the 2008 First Time Homebuyer's Credit, you might not be fully familiar with all of the triggers that can take place upon certain events, i.e., when the home stops being your personal residence, when it is sold, when your ownership share is transferred to the other spouse, etc., etc. Additionally, I also have concern that you may feel like you are obligated to payback 1/2 of the credit when it was taken on a house "supposedly" purchased, and claimed on an amended return that you had know knowledge about (i.e., your signature was forged). Lastly, I'm concerned that you felt it necessary to file your 2010 return as a "single" taxpayer instead of "married filing separately" because your estranged husband has led you to believe such base on his filing as being single.
You were not "stuck" with filing single because your estranged husband filed his return that way. If you were legally married on the last day of the tax year and did not maintain a home for a dependent child, then you should have filed as "married filing separately" regardless of how he filed his return. You are also not stuck with paying back 1/2 of $7,500 credit he claimed on the amended 2008 joint return if he did so frivolously without your knowledge.
You've stated that you've gone on to become a professional engineer, so I trust that you appreciate that there are times when it is best to seek advice from a professional with training, experience and expertise in a particular field. That's exactly what you should do concerning your current tax matters and quit relying on the advice of a guy who has claimed a tax credit on a home "supposedly" purchased by filing an amended joint return without your knowledge.

Hey Navy...
Don't be a stranger !! Best wishes in everything you do

Hullo - it's both !
Originals OR certified copies (certified from the issuing authority)
plus
standard photocopy.
Please read all 7 pages, at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html - this is a 'base thing' - and if yer not sure on this 'base thing', there may be more things yer missing.
Good Luck !

That is what the other names used part of the application is for. As long as you filled that out with all other names you have gone by you are okay as they should be able to look at the transcript and find the name on the form. If not, I would only send in the last yaers tax transcript as it has the amount over the poverty limit.
Good luck.
Dave

Visa is good for 6 months

The consulates are U.S. soil, and USCs have every right to enter. If some foreign security guard tried to keep me out, I would play the "USC" card: "Are you an American? No? Well, I am. Explain to me exactly what right you have to keep me off U.S. property?" Upon any resistance, I would insist on meeting with higher authorities until I was granted entry.OP, that's a heckuva story of persistence and triumph. Much happiness to you, si man!

Check the "Immigration Timelines" section "IR1" subsection "full" and sort by NVC receive date to see who is getting what & when.
One of the most informed USCIS April filers (we'll call him "Dave") had to wait 40 days from NOA2 to NVC case#. He has spent the past 4 months helping everyone on VJ, and yet he had to wait SO long. No logic to the trends.
Once you have the case# it is possible to be done with billing and paperwork filing in 1 week, if you are exceedingly lucky.
Spend your time prepping so you will be ready to send your 3032, 840 and 230. After that it's about 2 weeks of scanning and checking to case closed & forwarding to embassy. Expect to get an interview date at least 1 month after the case closed.
So you can see there is hardly any wiggle room for an NVC expedite.
Until then, please understand that there are many here who have been waiting a VERY long time. Some still don't have their NOA2, and some are stuck in the USCIS mailroom --> NVC mailroom contractor holding pen.
For advice, read the "April 2011 USCIS filers" thread - about 650 entries there.
And the "CSC - NOA2 to NVC Delay" with 563 entries will give some tips and perspective too.
And to answer your question more direcly: calling every day just helps us all feel like we have some modicum of control and influence, but the effect is questionable at best.
:)M.

looks like a Direct Consular Filing, if the spouse has a permanent visa to live in Brazil and they filed in SaoPaulo.

The affidavit of support is a contract between you and the government to guarantee she does not become a liability to the US taxpayers - which means that if she takes advantage of any means-tested benefits the government has the right to request you to repay them. The affidavit of support does not mean that you have to provide you with a regular income if she chooses not to work to support herself. If she is capable of working, then in the divorce decree make sure that the attorney is well aware of that fact. She should be self-supporting since the relationship is no longer valid. The affidavit isn't to provide her with an income although some attorneys have tried to take it in that direction, with mixed success. Once divorced, you are not responsible for any other bills she incurs which are not with the government.
If she does not yet have her green card then you can withdraw your Affidavit. It will mean that she does not get her green card and unless she obtains other valid status in the US will have to leave the US.
If she already has her green card, then the Affidavit is in place until one of those conditions you listed above is met. If her green card is a 2 year conditional card, then she needs to apply for the permanent card by filing the I-751 checking off the waiver option from filing jointly with you. It still does not release you from the Affidavit of Support - which, remember, is a contract with the Government and not with her. You might want to spell that out for her. Are you already divorced? You are not supposed to be a meal ticket for her so you may wish to call her bluff - she probably doesn't qualify for means-tested benefits at this stage anyway.
If she fails to file the I-751 either during the appropriate time before the 2 year expiry date or earlier if the government finds out she is divorced, then she will be out of status in the US anyway and not allowed to remain here. It is up to you whether you wish to advise her of this fact or not. Her immigration status - and maintaining it - is now her responsibility, not yours.

Dear NVC I.T. Crowd:
Please run the server script for AOS "accept payment" trigger that sends an electronic receipt to the banks so the Invoice System will register past 2 week's AOS payments as "PAID".
Thank you,
NVC Petitioners Longing to Print Cover Sheets

If you got your NVC Case Number and Invoice Identification Number from NVC (call 603-334-0700, press 1 and then 5 to get to an operator and ask for these two). Then logon at https://ceac.state.gov/CTRAC/Invoice/signon.aspx and ther using these two numbers you will be able to pay the fees. This is the only way you pay fees.

Please don't panic - a few days here and there is a criterion to panic. If I am right, NVC got all our papers and are getting those entered with their skeleton staff. You will get your in a day or two.

I called NVC today and the goes "hat's the first I heard about a problem at CSC". nervous chuckle.
Our NOA2 was approved 7/7 so I got another 2 weeks of this
Here are two phone numbers for people at CSC I found on the web. they do reach live phones.
Lets start calling CSC directly and maybe we can get an answer.
949-389-3007
949-389-3252

Hi all, I just talked to the NVC and the lady told me that they don't know why our files aren't coming in and they are trying to figure it out.

Congrats to all who got their case numbers. Please update your timelines, so that the reports will reflect the current position. I am waiting for 6/20 guys to get thier cases, so that I can be next.

Big red flag there. Be careful!

Get the "IR-1" I-130 out the door ASAP.
Include signed I-130, copy of marriage license, payment, G-325a for each of you + passport-style photos on each (2" square with white background), your birth cert., US passport ID page for you + pages that show you traveled to/from Phil.. Incldue a cover letter describing the EXPEDITE request re: humanitarian need. I would also do the cover sheet G-1145 e-notification so you can immdiately call USCIS customer service number to remind them of the expedite request.
IMO: on her G-325a : write on her signature line: "WILL SIGN AT EMBASSY"
Make a back-up copy of the whole packet before you mail it. Make sure you write "EXPEDITE 1-130 SPOUSE" on the envelope!
best of luck.

Please remember that the OP started this discussion with a statement that she was venting. We have all been there and done that, maybe not all on Visa Journey, but somewhere and to someone in our lives. The immigration process is hard and it often appears unfair. Sometimes it very obviously is unfair. It is one thing to intellectually read that the process takes XXX number of days and months at each stage, but it is a totally different thing to experience the waiting emotionally. It can drive even the most rational of us around the bend sometimes. I sure know it did for me a number of times
The OP didn't ask for family planning advice, or life choice advice. She didn't come for political commentary about illegal or legal immigration. She came because she needed to vent. She is stressed, she is unhappy, she if frustrated. I think virtually all of us can appreciate those feelings.
So, instead of jumping on her for venting her frustrations here on this forum among people who honestly should understand and appreciate her situation, instead of trying to blame her or her choices or tell her she doesn't have a right to feel like this because others have waited longer, it is alright just to say 'Yeah, I hear you. It does suck. I hope we all get some good news soon".
This isn't a situation any of us can repair. All we can really do is empathize, support and share. If you are not able to do that, then maybe it would be a better idea just to move on to the next thread and not respond in this one.

Well, I swore I wasn't going to get into this discussion, but it is taking a bad turn.
First of all there are rules and procedures every step along the way, and the fact that some people are able to take advantage of some of the exceptions is good, not bad. We may all be envious when we see it happen, but they didn't hurt us in any way, so I'd rather applaud that the system worked in their favor.
But we also have to remember that some people are very fragile and have no idea what they are getting into when they start down this path that we are all on. Yes they whine or strike out at others, and generally cause upset, but it is only because they are fragile. Most of us are strong--very strong--so we can take it, and if at the margin we can help, even better.
I don't like the whining one little bit, but it doesn't change my life, and if I can help even a little, then I will grit my teeth and see what I can do.
Best wishes Steph--if immigration pain is the worst thing you will suffer in your life, then you are truly blessed.