A+B in Haiti

My husband had his interview in Chicago on Dec. 10th, and he was approved (yay!). But we are still waiting on an oath ceremony letter. It's been over three months at this point, and I don't know who to contact. If we log into the website will we be able to make an InfoPass request?

Hi. We are trying to help my father in law apply for a visitor's visa. He lives in Haiti where there isn't much of a postal system. He does not have an exact physical address, nor does he have a mailing address. Has anyone else dealt with this? Can we use our address in the US as his mailing address? It doesn't appear that we can skip those boxes on the online DS-160 application website. There are mail companies that have PO boxes in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale that fly the mail to Haiti several times a week. Does he need to get service with one of those companies while doing the visa process.

We dropped our stuff off at Haiti Messenger on Dec. 19th and they said to return on Jan 10th. Our interview was Feb. 14th.

I think the only issue would be having documentation of the vaccines for the doctor who is going to do his official medical exam.

My husband ended up getting all of the shots required because that Haitian doctor required him to. He had the Tdap vaccine just before our son was born, but he got it again (just 3 months later) because we didn't have adequate documentation.

What did you bring in with you at the interview as far as paperwork? Thanks

We didn't take much to our interview. Pictures from our wedding, a small album of our pictures from before we were married, and our 4 month old baby. I think our son was the key piece.

In our packet we had all of our evidence for co-mingling finances (lease with both names, bank account statement, etc.).

Just wanted to let everyone know that my husband was approved for the IR-1/CR-1 visa last week. Our appointment was on Valentine's Day and I could not have asked for a better V-Day gift. I didn't really care about that holiday before, but it holds a special place in my heart now!

We filed the I-130 at the consulate in middle of October and will have his visa by the end of the month (Feb.), so it only took 4.5 months or so to get his visa. His interview was ridiculously easy, maybe because we are married and have a baby? They didn't even care that we didn't have our marriage license extract. They only asked him how we met, where we got married, if my family came for the wedding, what kind of work I did in the States and if we have any children (our baby was with us). The questions were so easy we thought it was a trick, but she said "Tout bagay anfom" and that the visa would be ready in about a week. We are thrilled that this process is over! Now to plan our move to the US.

We're also in this situation. We are missionaries in Haiti, and are applying for the CR-1 visa. We have our interview on Feb. 14th. There's a waiver you can apply for when maintaining permanent residence as a missionary. Check out document N-470 and the instructions.

We currently live in Haiti, and applied for the CR-1 visa (we've only been married a little over a year). We originally planned to be in the US during the summer months and spend the school year in Haiti, as our ministry is with a school. When we filed the I-130 in Port au Prince last fall and had an interview with them, we gave them the address that we intended to be our permanent address (my parents' address). When he asked about jobs, we told him what we would pursue if we lived in the States full time. We just left out the fact that we weren't planning to live in the States full time. Now that we are planning to be in the States full time, none of our answers have changed. It feels a little bit like deception, but I don't think you have to tell them that you plan to go back to the DR.

The archive extracts are proof that the original document was registered. So your fiance needs the birth certificate extract to show that his birth certificate is legitimate. It does take time to get the extracts, but it shouldn''t take three months! I think it took us about a week or so to get our marriage license extract. Also, if he has an ID card, I'm pretty sure he already had to get the extract at some point.

Also, there are some things listed in the packet 3 that not everyone needs, it's just if you have them you provide them (divorce papers, death certificates, etc).

We have our interview on Feb. 14th. We are supposed to take our marriage license archive extract and proof of our relationship. We'll take wedding photos, pictures of us throughout our relationship, our son and his birth certificate. I think our son is pretty convincing evidence, so I hope we don't have any problems. I am the USC and I've lived in Haiti for our entire relationship. We don't have phone records or anything like that, but if we had them I would be taking them.

Hello. When my husband took all his documents to Haiti Messenger to send them to the Embassy, they told him he needs to complete the medical exam before they will schedule an interview. This is contrary to everything I have read online, but whatever. The Haiti Messenger people told my husband the letter is old and that's why it wasn't clear that he needed to have the medical exam paperwork with his packet. We are working on getting an appointment for the exam, but we're wondering if the price of the exam is still $150 or if that has changed too. Also, which doctor do you recommend we use? Does it really matter which one?

We received Packet 3.5 through e-mail. Now we are gathering all the documents. I think we are ready to submit them, but I'm wondering if we can send copies and keep the originals until the interview. Since we're in Haiti we have to take the documents to a courier service, who will make an official packet for us, and then take them to the Embassy.

He doesn't need a police report. My fiance got one from DGPJ (Direction General de la Police Judiciaire), but they never asked for it or accepted it as part of his packet. The only reason he got it was in case he needs it down the road for employment here in the US.

THANK YOU!!!

An update: I e-mailed again, but included our birth dates and the fact that we didn't have a case number yet. We heard back within 24 hours that we were approved!!! So thankful. Now it's on to working on Packet 3

I'm working on the I-864, Affidavit of Support, but I'm a little confused about what all I need to include when submitting it. I know I need my most recent tax forms, and am planning to include the past 3 years. Do I need to include evidence of domicile or is that assumed since I have a US address on the form? Also, can I include income from properties I own (rent from tenants) on item #23?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

My husband just received his Packet 3 from the Embassy. We didn't see anything about needing a police record. Others in Haiti, did you include a police report when you turned in the DS-230? If you did include it, how did you get it?

Here's the email: Papcons@state.gov

They won't give you any information over the phone without a PIN from CIVA. Try email. Include date of birth information for both you and just let them know you don't have a case number. I know they were closed two days for the hurricane, and another two days because of a holiday. They'll probably be closed tomorrow (Monday) too. If that doesn't work, if you're the USC, maybe you can go to the ACS at the Embassy and make an inquiry?

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I have used that e-mail in the past and gotten no response, not even an automated "someone will reply to you soon" type email. When I wanted information about reporting my son's birth abroad, they were very fast in replying. It's so frustrating that the immigration questions are so hard to ask/get answers to!! Anyway, I hope with our dates of birth and the explanation that we have no case number will help move things along.

Thanks for your reply. Every time I call the Embassy they direct me to call CIVA. The problem is we don't have a case number and filed our I-130 in Haiti, so there's not a paper trail to follow. The immigration officer told us he would call 3 weeks ago to tell us what their decision was. I just want to know what's happening!!!

What email did you use to contact the Consulate?

Has anyone in Haiti used CIVA to keep track of your visa application? what's your experience with them been?

I just realized I said "pink card." lol. I've been working in insurance too long. I've got it on the brain.

Heehee. I just thought you knew something I didn't.

Primarily if the passport of the green card holder had to apply for a visa for the country they wanted to visit in advance. To illustrate, a green card holder who holds a Mexico passport wants to travel to Russia. Since Russia requires Mexico passport holders to have a visa prior to arrival, the individual would have to apply for a visa from the appropriate diplomatic mission. In that application process, a Russian CO can demand to see the actual green card.

Thank you for the example!

Not quite, CR-1 (and IR-1) visa holders will receive a standard entry stamp on the page of their passport next to the visa from CBP. The CBP officer will write in relevant information in the entry stamp fields. It is a combination of the entry stamp and the visa itself that acts as a temporary green card until the actual one arrive. The temporary green card is valid for travel (although other countries are not obligated to accept it as valid and can demand an actual green card).

What reason would another country have to see an actual green card?

Outside the Embassy is controlled chaos. There were a lot of lines and none of them are marked and in the time I was standing there (we had an appointment with USCIS, so we were in a different line) I could not tell what each line was for. Around 7am they start letting people in. You can't take any electronic devices inside, so leave them in the car or check them at the table by the door. You also cannont take any water bottles, lotions, liquids of any kind, etc. inside. You'll go through a security checkpoint, where you have to remove your belt if you have one, so be prepared for that. Then you go outside and to the left. In that building you go through a metal detector again, but they are much more lax about it. Then you go into the waiting room on the left and wait, wait, wait until they call your name. You can hear them talk to the people at the windows if you sit close enough, which is interesting to me. They call names on a PA system and direct them to a window. It's got great air conditioning, so take a sweater if you get cold easily. And take a snack too. You might have to wait for a long time.

Thanks for your prayer! The interview went well. The immigration officer was very nice. He wasn't overly friendly, but he was very helpful in answering some questions we had. AND best of all he gave us some advice about the timing of our travel.

Our interview to submit the I-130 consisted of swearing to tell the truth, and then answering his questions.

• what's my full name, do i have any other names
• where was I born
• what do I do in Haiti
• is it a paid position or volunteer
• how long have I been in Haiti
• when did we get married
• did my family come for the wedding

He asked my husband to answer the following questions

• what's your full name
• what's your date of birth
• where do you currently live
• have you ever been to the states
• what is your job
• when did you meet your wife
• did you have a religious or civil ceremony

He asked both of us

• why don't we have an extract of our marriage license (because we can't get one yet, we've been married less than a year)
• do we have any kids from other relationships
• do we have kids together
• is this the first marriage for both of you
• what's your plan for the future

He said they would call us next week with their decision and indicated they would send us a packet to work on for the visa application if we were approved. He made it sound like we would definitely be getting that packet, so I'm hopeful that we will be approved.

We just spoke with an immigration officer at the Embassy. He said it could take up to 2 months to get my husband's permanent residency card after he enters the US. For those of you who have an IR/CR-1 visa, how long did it take for your green card to come in the mail?

Also, is it true that you can't travel out of the US until you receive the green card?

I've not been very active on here because we hadn't filed the I-130 yet, but that has changed. We were at the Embassy last week to report our son's birth abroad and apply for his US passport and SSN, so we asked about filing the I-130 for my husband while we were there. After waiting FOREVER (well it seemed like it because we had our newborn with us, I think it was only an hour) a nice lady came and accepted the petition and all our documentation. She said we'd have an interview with an immigration officer on Monday. That's today!!! I'm not sure what to expect with this interview because I don't know anyone who has filed the I-130 abroad, but I'm hopeful that they will give us approval on the spot to start the actual visa application and that we can travel to the States for Christmas. I'm not holding my breath though.

We appreciate any and all prayers for success today at the Consulate! Our appointment is at 2pm.