VisaBound

If its possible for you two to stay in Korea about 8 months longer you should consider DCF processing through the Seoul Embassy.  The process is easier and faster than doing it though NVC in the states.  Of course this is all predicated on you being a work visa holder E-2 or other classification besides tourist class.  When my wife and I did our processing the first time it took us 8 months.  We went slow and careful and had no hassles at all.  

Toda,y we got our IR-1 at the Seoul Consulate.  The whole process for us was unusually fast It took 84 days from beginning to end.  I-130 took 3 business days to process.  Filling out the DS-260 and collecting documents for the final interview took 18 days.  The rest of the time was waiting for the interview.  As posted above the observations were spot on.  Generally a very efficient process.  We've done this once before a number a years ago (2012) and both of us thought this time was better.  Still stressful getting thing done and trying like the dickens to not make any mistakes.  In the end if you take your time ask as many questions as you can from many trusted sources you will come out on top.  All in all I would say both my wife and I are very happy by the way things worked out.  

Correct you are.  Initially I did just that.  I just wanted confirmation that I did indeed make the right choice.  Besides, I had the time and was in no particular rush to make a mistake.  Especially on a form that can't easily be changed once the button is pushed.  As the old saying goes, "Patients is a virtue".  Especially in this game.  Better to get it right the first time then suffer the delays that almost certainly would follow.  That kind of stress is just not productive to a happy life/wife.  

Update:  After contacting the NVC Consular Section U.S. Embassy Seoul this is the response that I got.

Dear Visa Applicant: 

Thank you for your inquiry. 
1. Please enter your last five US visits regardless of your entry status. 
2. IR1 is an Immigrant visa, you may choose OTHER-Immigrant Visa and enter notes on the remarks block if IR1 visa type is not listed on the drop down list. 

Sincerely, 
Immigrant Visa Unit 
Consular Section 
U.S. Embassy 
Seoul, South Korea

This issue seems to have corrected itself.  Access is now restored and everything is back to working as it once did.  Thanks everyone if you put time into helping out but have yet to respond. It was appreciated very much.

The portal at https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx seems to be broken.  When I try to log in to update some information on my DS-260 it only allows a partial log in.  Meaning it will take your case number on page one.  On page two it allows you to enter your birthdate and applicant along with the captcha stuff.  When you push the continue bottom it appears to try and contact the state department and says it is waiting for a reply.  This takes about 30 sec. Upon which it errors out with an application error page that says to try again latter.  This event is very troubling.  I am almost finished with filling out my form and was going to sign and submit today.  But now I have no way to know how to even proceed to contact people to let them know there is indeed a problem.  I can tell you that this problem is not related to platform.  It errors out on a MAC and a Windows PC.  It does it with IE, Safari, FireFox (MAC or Win), Chrome (MAC or Win).  Please help.  Below is a screen capture of one of the events.  If some one could forward this to the correct people it may help.  Thanks you very much for any help you may have given.

Hey people I have a question for you.  I am currently filling out the online DS-260 and am wondering what the appropriate answer should be for two parts of the "Previous US Travel Information" section.

Question 1:   This relates to the question that states "Provide information on your last five US visits."  Should we list travel that was undertaken while being an LPR living overseas under a reentry permit?  Long story short my wife had a green card for a while and it was abandoned about a year ago.  We are currently going through the immigration process again and have not traveled into America since the card was returned.  There were several times we traveled to the states prior to getting the green card.  Some with an embassy issued visa but most of them through the visa waiver program.

Question 2:  Under the "Previous US Travel Information" section there is question that follows "Have you ever been issued a US Visa?" namely the "Visa classification" question.  How do you classify an IR-1 Visa on the web site?  There is no definitive match.  I have chosen "OTHER- Immigrant Visa".  What would be the appropriate choice for a US Citizen married to a foreign national having previously obtained an IR-1 visa?  

Any insights into the best course of action would be would very much be appreciated.  Thanks for the effort and the time.

Just a little note on my experience for those that may be considering DCF processing through the Seoul, South Korea field office.

Overall the experience was great.  The embassy officials and security staff were kind, helpful, considerate and professional.  The total time to get through the whole process from arrival to finishing answering all our questions was around 20 min.  They opened the customer window early because we were the only people there at the time and we were a few minutes early for our appointment.  Here is a list of documents that they took when we submitted.  In the end the list of documents asked for was minimal and pretty straight forward.  

1.  i-130 and i-130a petition

2.  2 color USA Passport size photographs.  1 each for both of us

3.  Copies of the biographic pages of our passports

4.  Copy of my alien registration card

5.  Copy of my wife's Korean ID card

6.  Copies of my wife's Korean Family Census Register - 3 separate parts as outlined on the Seoul Embassy website

7.  Copy of our marriage certificate

8.  Copies of my entry and exit into and out of Korea to coaberate my address history.

9.  Fee of $535 USD

The one thing that has surprised us both is how quick approval came.  We applied on Friday September 9 just before the Labor Day weekend.  We thought it would mean a delay of a few days in what was explained to be an 8 week process.  Well, we were wrong.  The USCIS approval came on Wednesday September 6.  So in reality is took just 3 full business days to process us through DCF Seoul.  Just keep in mind that our case is very rare.  On average it is more like 5 weeks with more complicated cases taking longer.  I hope this helps people get ready for this process.  Also keep in mind that how well your documents are prepared will have a bearing on the time it takes to get through this stage.  Make sure all copies of documents have a header that lists the petitioner and or beneficiary along with the date of birth.  If you have an A-Number be sure to include that as well.  Peace to all.  Good luck and have a great one.

Thank you very much for you thoughts.  I have answered literally.  I will take you advice to heart.  Peace

Details and Clarification For Anyone Interested:

On September 1st 2017 I submitted an i-130 application for my wife.  I now realize I may have made a mistake and wish to ammend my application for her with updated address history information.  The information listed on Page 2, Part 2, Address History, Physical Address #1 and Physical Address#2 may need to be corrected.  

Reason:

    This mistake came about because I forgot about her abandoned green card from 2016 along with the domicile address used in applying for it.  The reason for not listing this period on the form is mainly due to time actually spent in Korea after she got her green card.  

Details:

    After my wife cleared immigration at the port of entry we returned to Korea a few days latter she so she could try to sell a house she owns.  When it became obvious the time needed to sell our property was going to take a while we applied for and obtained an i-131 Travel Document - Reentry Permit.  As a result, except in a tempary capasity, she was not physicall present in the USA while holding a green card.   This made it possible for us to continue living in Korea during this lengthy proccess.  The delay in selling propery here in Korea was the cause of her abadoning her green card in 2016.  This coupled with the fact that we have maintained our current address here in Korea thoughout this whole proccess is what caused this inadvertant mistake.

Any further insights on what should be done are welcome.

Thanks for the reply Viinashh

I thought so too but after OCD kicked in I thought that having a green card means you are living in the states and that the i-131 is just temparary permission to stay out of the states without penalty.  Sort of like and extended vacation.  Another question is that if this is approved and it moves forward to the ds-260 stage US immigration will have my listed addresses in the states for this time and our address history will not match.  Any insights would be helpful.

Hi everyone this is the story.  Yesterday we submitted our i-130 in Seoul for processing.  I think we made a mistake in filling out the form.  On Page 2, Part2, Address History it asks for your all the places you have lived for the past 5 years.  Prior to this filling we had gone through and obtained a green card that was subsequently abandoned.  During the time of having the green card we lived in Korea on an i-131 travel permit in order to sell our house.  Should we have listed the green card address used during this time?  We never completed the move to the states and just rotated into and then out of the states after landing at our POE.  Should I have listed the time we had the green card along with the domicile address used even though we were not physically present in the states during the time?   

That's what I will do. Anyone want to give there experiences in regards to this situation?

I have an unusual situation here. We are hoping someone could clarify and ease some nerves My wife had to reschedule her biometrics appointment for an i-131 application for a travel document due to the original first appointment letter arriving late from USCIS-Neraska. Four days later- In a follow up call- to USCIS we explained the situation and wanted to make sure that her case would not be considered abandoned. The Immigration officer told us he would try to escalate the case for us. After that we did not give it much thought. A reschedule letter generated on the 26th arrived from ECS-Vermont and we made travel plans based on it that can not be changed. A week latter we got another letter generated on the 21st from USCIS NSC-Nebraska with an appointment date earlier that the first letter.

We now have two letters from USCIS from different processing centers with identical LIN numbers but with different dates to show up at our local ACS. We assumed that the letter generated on the 26th takes precedence over the one generated on the 21st. Any help in what we should do or info we should know would be very grateful. Thanks for you time and help.

VisaBound

I need some help. I have been trying to reach a human through the USCIS phone system today at 1-800-375-5283 and no one seems to be there. Is it a holiday for them on Wednesdays? Are all the humans off on Wednesday due to the sequester thing? The automated system just will not let me reach a real person. I only get, "call back between 8 and 6 Monday through Friday". I tried calling during all four time zones at a little after 8am starting with EST and working my way over to PST. BTW I am calling internationally if that makes a difference. The last time I tried several weeks ago I had no problem. I have a pending i-131 issue that must be handled via a real person and I have a limited time in which to do this. Any help in understanding what might be going on here would be great. Any help in knowing how or when to reliably reach a real person would equally be nice. Thanks for the effort in any event. Take care to all.

Visa Bound

Thanks very much. You have not only saved us some serious cash but have brightened our day. Take care and God bless.

Visa Bound

First off I need to say up front this question is rather involved so please accept apologies in advance.

What I am wondering is can I make an application for a social security card in a state other than the one that I have residency in. When we return to the states this March from South Korea it will be only for 1 week at my brother's home in California. I would rather not have to fly all the way back to New Mexico and make an application there if I don't have to.

Background: My wife applied to have a social security card sent to her when we filled out the DS-230 form. We thought the SSC would arrive at my parents home in New Mexico. Long story short it never came. Inquiries were made in Korea through the Philippines office and she was not in the system at all. A SAVE search turned up nothing. We applied for a card and our forms were returned do to insufficient documents. We thought that we would just wait and apply in the states once the house sold. As a result we have decided to come to the states and just make an application here and try to avoid the time lag ( 6 months) and hassle of going through the Philippines.

Any insights for help would be very much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.

The cause is a coding error from the web developer. Use the "new user" button found at the bottom of the web page and fill out the form along with the capta section and everything should work as advertised. As far as the capta box is concerned I used a space between words as well. I hope this helps. Hopefully someone can let the web developer know that their code needs to be checked.

Good news for you: no police record is needed for the US. The consulate/embassy can run their own checks as they're American.

I lived in the US for 2 years and didn't need a PCC for that very reason, just like the many others that have gone through the same situation.

Your wife will only need a PCC for Korea.

Thanks for the help. This will shorten the time needed to get everything done. This is greatly appretiated.

Visabound

Here is the deal. My initial I-130 petition went through with out a hitch in Feb. this year and now we are preparing to finalize the immigration process and want to file the DS-230 Part I fairly soon. Which leads me to my primary concern. My wife lived in California before we knew each other for just under a year taking care of her sister who was sick at the time. She returned to Korea and subsequently married me a US Citizen who is now living with her in Korea and have been doing so for over five years. Will my wife need to get a criminal background check done in California as well as a local check here in Korea or will she have to go to the FBI and have it done through them. I have heard that if you have lived for less than a year in America then an American CBC is not required just the local. And on a related note does any one know how long a California CBC takes to process and can my wife apply on line? Any insight or guidance in regards to this matter would be smiled upon. Thanks in advance for the help.

Opps. My bad. Chalk it up to being nervous about the process. After rereading the instructions I to have come the the same conclusion NavyK. Only my wife will need to come up with the data asked for. Which for her will not be a problem. Again thanks guys for the input. Much appreciated. Take care.

Visa bound.

I have question about the DS-230 Form. Upon looking it over I notice that they want all places lived since age 16. I can find most of these things but there are a few durng my university days that are almost impossible to find out. So my question is seeing that the form does not ask for street addresses only town and time spent there I was wondering if I can aggregate the times in question spent in my university town as one lump time? I hope this is enough info. This is scarring me. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.

Can the address listed match the address given to the, "Applicant's residence last five years" question with out any problems?

I am assuming they can match.

Any thoughts on this would be helpful.

Thanks in Advance.

Do they want overseas residence or US domicile?

I am assuming overseas address.

My domicile address and resident address are different along with the times in maintaining each. I have resided here in Korea for over the past 8 years while maintaining a domicile presence in the States for the past two going on three years. During this time there has not been any overlap in the two. Any help in understanding this would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

I am a US citizen filling out an I-130 petition for my wife who is from South Korea and I am wondering if I should use the g-325 or the g-325a? I am not in the military nor am I a DOD civilian here in South Korea. Any help in clarifying this would be great. Thanks in advance