DCFAMS

I received a call on Friday to come on Monday to drop off my passport, I sort of stammered thank you like 10 times and then hung up the phone.

I did however forget to ask whether this meant my visa was approved, but I cannot imagine that it means that it is not at this point. I cannot imagine they would need my passport for anything other than to put a visa in it and everyone who I spoke to said that this is almost always a very good sign. I will be calling on Monday first thing to confirm and then to ask whether I need to bring anything other than my passport as well.

Best wishes with your journey! Hope that you can pick up the packet and be reunited with your husband asap!

That seems oddly arbitrary, might it have something to do with her being a German citizen and you Australian? That seems to be the only differentiating factor between you two.

If there is some channel within the military that you can make use of to complain to with regards to the decisions made regarding each of your cases at USCIS/DOS I would see about using them if that factor is not relevant in the decision made by USCIS.

Also, I was so taken back that I forgot to ask whether this meant my visa was approved. Has anyone ever been in a situation where his/her passport was requested for drop off and a visa was not placed in the passport and promptly returned to the beneficiary via mail and/or courier service? Of course I will ask via phone first thing Monday morning, as well as ask if I should bring any other documents with me, but just throwing this out there to the VJ community and asking if anyone has any feedback.

I mean I cannot imagine that they would call me and ask me to drop off my passport if they were not going to put a visa in it for travel, however at this point I have learned that it is better to not assume anything (it tends to make an #### of u & me)...

In my complete flabbergasted state I also forgot to ask if I needed to bring anything else with me on Monday, I will most likely call first thing in the morning to ask that as I would hate to have this process be delayed any longer because I neglected to make sure I had some piece of paper or something else with me.

To everyone still in AP I do hope that it resolves itself soon. It is a very difficult burden to bear.

IR1 and CR1 visas are basically the same visa as far as steps, paperwork and processing, the only difference if you have been married less than 2 years from the day your spouse goes through POE into the USA the green card issued will be conditional and expire after 2 years and 90 days before the 2 year mark you will need to file paperwork to have the conditions removed and get your spouse a 10 year green card.

If you have been married for more than 2 years CR1 is of no concern to you, you will be filing for a IR1 visa.

Average processing times are hard to estimate as they vary wildly from country, region and various other factors. Sometimes it can take as little as 3-5 months from start to finish (especially if you are lucky enough to be able to file via DCF) however I would give yourself about 10-12 months from the day you filed the I-130 so you do not set unrealistic expectations. As an example, on average a DCF filing via Amsterdam takes 3-5 months, however due to various factors our process ended up taking almost 10 months. Give yourself as much time as you can so that you are not disappointed.

After 43 days of AP I received a call today to come and drop off my passport Monday of next week at the consulate. I do think the lady on the phone got quite sick of me saying thank you by the end of it, my hands are also still a bit shaky.

I just want to thank everyone on these forums for the many supportive words you all post regarding your various stages of AP. I have been a silent sufferer, only reading what other people post but the many encouraging stories people have shared here have given me strength to endure the last 6 weeks while I agonizingly waited to have this process resolve itself. I know that for many a mere 6 weeks is but a blip and that my struggles pale in comparison to what some others are going through, I cannot imagine how this process would have affected me had it gone on for many months, or even years.

To everyone else still in AP, I wish you all the absolute best in this incredibly difficult and challenging journey. I hope that for all of you it also ends soon, and that you all may soon be reunited with your loved ones.

It has not

Will be coming up on one month of AP now in a few days. We've been calling DOS every few days to get updates but they're not very informative. I wish I had some idea what is going on or what seems to be causing the delay.

No, that's the standard AP letter. I got one similar to that one however the wording for AP was slightly different, it differs from embassy/consulate.

Just do what it says and continue to call/email/harass the embassy/consulate and the Dept of State (through their phone number). My best wishes to you and hope that you do not endure an AP longer than a few months.

Well had my interview today, felt like everything went well, no major grilling questions or anything.

Went to one window, gave them the forms with copies and everything, went to another window and paid a fee then got the the third window (well it went window 5 first window, window 7 second window and then window 6 as the last one):

Had to raise my right hand, yadda yadda do you swear to tell the truth etc, and then the CO typed some stuff into the computer and I had to provide some fingerprints again after he looked at the screen and made a weird face. Asked me if I had been in the USA before, which I had for 2 different student visas and showed him my previous passport with the student visa in it. Then asked me when I had last been in the USA, I said I had been there June & July of this year for a wedding, visiting friends and family. Asked me if I had had any issues, I mentioned that as per the course of since I got married I have always been sent to secondary processing and had my bags searched (never happened before my wedding, has been standard since) and this has happend when I traveled by myself to the USA for business and when I went with my wife for pleasure as well. He asked me if I had lived in the USA before, I answered yes, in two states for education and then he asked if that is how I met my wife, I said yes that is correct and explained how we met.

Then he asked me what I did for a living, what my wife did, and whether she had come here to be with me. I replied in the positive and explained that my wife was here with me from date X to date Y, completed her studies here and relocated back to the USA to establish domicile while my immigrant visa was pending. Then he disappeared for a bit and came back, got a white slip saying that my case needed to undergo some additional administrative checks and that it should take 1-2 weeks, but if I had not heard anything in 3 weeks that I should email them.

All in all, rather frustrating since I honestly don't know what seems to be causing the issues. Our petition has been flagged for additional, secondary or extra screening at every step of the way, from the I-130 through to the DS-230/I-864 phase. I figured since they pulled the I-130 for secondary screening that all the background checks etc would have been done but I guess not. I honestly don't really understand but it may have something to do with my dual nationality, my rather frequent coming and going to the United States (wife's family is from there and we go twice a year to see them, especially now that her grandparents are starting to deteriorate in health, not to mention I like visiting all my buddies from college) and all that. I honestly believe it is some massive comedy of errors/series of unfortunate events that given a rather odd and specific set of variables we seem to throw up a red flag but anything I type is nothing but conjecture and hearsay at this point. Hopefully it will all be done in 2 weeks like the form says and otherwise I will have some kind of answer after 3 weeks although hearing some of the AP horror stories from other members does somewhat make my heart sink

I still honestly don't know what seems to be causing the problem, and likely never will given how odd the US gov't is with clearing information and general transparency about these kinds of issues, although I do hope I don't get stuck in endless AP limbo as that would be really devastating, especially after enduring an 8 month wait just to get an interview (although I am sure that some people will scoff and say 8 months is nothing, but for DCF that is waaay outside general guidelines). I am also sad that I will be missing xmas with my wife and her family as well as the NYE party with our friends that we usually always go to. I do hope that once this is all over I will be able to look back on this and say that it was all worth it, but right now I do have to admit that I am on some level incredibly disappointed with how slow and bureaucratic the US gov't can be.

Congratulations and all the best for the rest!!!!

Thanks!

Got my interview already lined up for December 15th, but I have pretty much everything all ready to go so after my medical (scheduled for the 30th of November) I am going to call the consulate and ask REALLY nicely if they can move the date up at all, I figure I have nothing to lose and the worst that can happen is they say no.

Just have everything ready to go go go and I'm just in a holding pattern waiting for the medical and the interview.

Co-sponsor will not be necessary, I have plenty of assets to support us.

It's more of a question of how we are supposed to fill in her section regarding income as the wording in the instructions and the step by step is a bit vague.

We're currently filling out the I-864 and we had some questions as to how and when my wife's income starts to count, but I'll elaborate:

We resided abroad in The Netherlands from 2008 until September of 2011, when my wife relocated back to the USA after filing I-130 and after she had completed her studies to seek employment and establish domicile. As of the start of October my wife has been employed and her pay is more than adequate the meet the guidelines established in I-864P for a household of 2 in the contiguous 48 states. Prior to the job she started in October of this year she had only been employed on various internships while she completed her studies here in The Netherlands and what she earned from these internships did not meet the guidelines in I-864P. If we take the total amount she earned in 2011 at her internships along with her current job it just meets the minimum if we use gross pay, not net.

So more or less my questions are:

- What do we put down for her individual annual income, what she can expect to earn at her job if she worked there for a full calendar year or what she actually took home as pay this year?

- Do we use gross pay or net pay?

- Will it be an issue that she has only been employed for a 1 1/2 months to 2 months when we file the I864 and state her income? Is there a certain metric used here to determine when the income counts, when it does not?

I had overlooked that you are a military family and likely subject to less stringent controls than civilians, not to mention being able to speak to DHS and State Dept officials directly as opposed to via email or over the phone.

From what I gather you're doing everything correctly, if you have done your medical as well and they've taken the results they will keep those and hand them off to the Consulate for processing and then for your interview.

I think all you have left to do now is wait for them to finish processing your DS-230 and have them give you an interview date. I am not sure how it works with your child although I imagine that he/she is automatically a USC given that he/she was conceived during your marriage and you are married to a USC.

Just make sure you come prepared with 2 pictures, completed affidavit of support along with any supporting documentation, and the originals which you had to provide certified copies of when you submitted your DS-230. I would also bring an additional copies of most forms you submitted, as well as marital bonafides, and anything you feel will cement your case in front of the eyes of a consular official that your union is true and genuine. However given that you are military, married for 4 years and have a child together I would find it difficult as to how they could find fault in your case. I would prepare just in case, but I really don't think you have much to worry about.

Why did you file DS-230 at the same time as I-130? That doesn't seem to be the standard protocol for immigrant visas.

First I-130 is filed along with supporting documentation, this is then processed and adjudicated. Based on the outcome of I-130 you will be presented a package of documents with instructions containing forms DS-230 Part I and II, DS-2001 and Form I-864 (affidavit of support).

You then fill out From DS-230 Part I and II (except not that part at the bottom that says do not fill this out until a consular officer tells you to), collect supporting documents (Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Police Records, Court/Prison Records, Deportation Records, Termination of Prior Marriages, Translations, Passport copy of biographic page) and package this together into a packet of documents. You then fill out DS-2001, which essentially becomes the cover sheet for the packet and send this to the consulate.

This is then processed and adjudicated upon which a letter will be sent to you with an interview date and instructions for a medical exam. After the medical exam you go to the interview date with completed I-864 and based on outcome of consular officer's interview you may/may not receive an immigrant visa class K1/K3/IR1/CR1

At least this is how the process has been progressing for us, I am not sure if yours might differ for any reason or not.

My personal experience is that USCIS Frankfurt Field Office is not terribly fast, they do however process immigration petitions for the entire Benelux region, Germany, and Switzerland so that may be a factor.

My wife and I filed in Amsterdam and our petition had to be forwarded to USCIS Frankfurt for additional screening (or something like that). It took 120 days for them to eventually issue an RFE, RFE was responded to and they received this for processing October 11th. They finally approved the petition on November 4th.

So, it was 120 days to adjudicate petition and send an RFE

Upon RFE receipt at their office for processing it took 24 days to complete adjudication and approve our petition.

I hope this information proves useful.

It took 6 months and 15 days from my wife initially filing the I-130 at the US Consulate in Amsterdam (with one RFE speed bump there in the middle), but our I-130 was finally approved and I received packet 3 in the mail last weekend!

I can only sincerely hope that filling and processing the DS-230 and I-864 doesn't take a similar length of time, although I cannot imagine why as given all the extra time I've had we've done so much research and preparing and we've gathered enough documents and evidence to make any government bureaucrat cry tears of joy.

We're not there yet but it is a significant victory towards finally being reunited with my spouse

I had to provide such documents when I was in the process of getting married in the Netherlands and each state in the USA handles the process a bit differently. I had to perform this process for NY and FL.

Basically what you need to do is request a record search in that state for a marriage certificate bearing your name, when the record search returns negative you basically acquire a 'certificate of non-marriage'

Usually the department of health and human services holds these records, or the department of state. I would inquire in California which governmental department keeps the marriage records in that state and ask them to perform a record search with your name. Also, since the document is to be used outside of the United States, it is not unreasonable to consider that you may require an apostille for the certificate, since it is a government record that is to be used in a foreign country.

I don't think anyone wishes ill of anyone on this site, but I do think that some of the 'colder' responses come down to the following:

For the petitioner or beneficiary this is a very harrowing, anxious, nerve wracking emotional process that is fraught with danger and setbacks are sometimes very hard or difficult to absorb and process. Most of us want nothing than to be reunited with our loved ones, spouses, family, or simply want to ensure that we succeed in acquiring the papers that we need to forward what we each feel is our destiny in life. That being said the people on the other side of the isle at the DOS and DHS are just doing a job, like it or not, for them this is a daily routine of analyzing forms and interviewing people and doing what their training has taught them is the proper course of action.

I think that some of the less emotional people on this website want to constantly remind us that you do really need to leave your emotions regarding immigration somewhere else, because they have no place here. This is a process, a highly bureaucratic (and sometimes very frustrating) process, with rules, regulations and quite significant penalties for failing to properly follow instructions. I honestly do not think that anyone wishes ill upon anyone else on this site (although sometimes you wonder what some people posting were thinking when they describe their situation) and want to constantly remind people that in this process there is a fairly clear cut way to succeed and that you need keep your wits about you, remain logical and rational you will succeed and that doing what your emotions tell you to do is not always the best way.

Hello all plz i need help urgently. i submitted a police report to nvc and my form DS230. and this is the letter i got from them below,

I do not really understand what they are talking about here because i have lived in only two address from the time i was born till now, and i lived for more than six months in those places so what do i do?

- IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION PART 1:_______________________

Please submit a completed copy of form Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration -

Biographic Data (DS-230/DS-260) for this applicant. In reviewing the form that you submitted, we note

that the section pertaining to applicant residences from the age of 16 is either blank or incomplete. The

applicant must list all places lived for at least six months since reaching the age of 16. There must not be

any gaps greater than six months. You will need to complete and submit a new form with the changes.

Your visa application cannot be processed until this form is complete.

A gap exists in your residence history of more than six months. When completing the information in

this section, please refer to the following instructions below on Police Certificate(s):

? Police certificates are required for each visa applicant aged 16 years or older, based on where each

applicant lives or has lived previously.

? Police certificates are also required from all other countries where the applicant has resided more

than 12 months. Present and former residents of the United States should NOT obtain any police

certificates covering their residence in the U.S.

? Generally, applications for police certificates should be made directly to the police authorities in the

district in which you resided. The police certificate must:

1. Cover the entire period of the applicant's residence in that area, and

2. State what the appropriate police authorities records show concerning each applicant, including

all arrests, the reason for the arrest(s), and the disposition of each case of which there is a record.

? If you have any questions about where or how to apply for police certificates in other countries, you

may communicate directly with the U.S. consular office processing your visa applications.

? NOTE: Police certificates from certain countries are unavailable. Detailed information is available

from the NVC or the nearest United States immigrant visa processing post

Plz someone help me out with these. am so confused now!!!!!!!!

I somehow feel like you answered your own question. You must then provide the two addresses, showing that:

You lived at this first adress from age 16 until whatever age you lived there until you moved to the other address and provide the second address which you lived at until the present day. If these two addresses are in different countries you must provide police certificates for both, or if they are in two separate districts/counties/provinces/etc you must then perhaps provide separate police certificates from both districts.

The instructions were quite clear in that you cannot have gaps between the addresses that are longer than 6 months, if you for example say that you lived at one address until date X, and then started living at the second address from date Y and the time period between Y and X is greater than 6 months they will send you this notice asking you to clarify your residence history.

Can you demonstrate where you read that it is necessary?

All that is required is a letter from current employer with address, number, and annual salary. This is the same letter that some creditors require. When I filed our affidavit in 2008 I filed that letter and printed out (1) pay stub with it, attached it to 2007 tax return, and that was it. It was accepted with no question or issue.

There is a lot of time available between Packet III and Packet IV. If they do not have enough assets to qualify, then that time can be used to obtain employment and send the affidavit back to be submitted with Packet IV

This is assuming the beneficiary can travel back to the country of filing to interview.

I am not denying that the requirement is necessary, but various conversations with consular employees in Amsterdam and an informal chat with a friend of ours in NL who is an immigration attorney stated that in a majority of cases proof of employment should be traceable back at least six months if the previous year's tax return did not have enough employment to demonstrate sufficient income. However, the Instructions for Form I-864 seem to contract this statement so frankly I think your best bet is to very carefully read the Instructions supplement and ensure that you qualify based on the information provided in that document, as that comes straight from USCIS.

I am quietly thinking that he can return to the US, get a job, and send the affidavit back between filing and interview and there is no six month requirement for employment of a returning spouse in the US before sponsorship.

Could you demonstrate where you read that this 6 month requirement isn't necessary? If you read the Instructions for Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, Part 6, Section 23, it says:

For example, you may include

a recent letter from your employer, showing your employer's

address and telephone number, and indicating your annual

salary. You may also provide pay stub(s) showing your

income for the previous six months. If your claimed income

includes alimony, child support, dividend or interest income,

or income from any other source, you may also include

evidence of that income

This is in reference to expected income for the coming year if you cannot demonstrate previous income in past years through the most recent US federal tax return. So you will either need a letter from your employer or 6 months of pay stubs. You are not required to demonstrate this evidence, but only if a Government official requests it, but you can bet your stars that if you write an income on that line they will expect to see evidence that you can back that up somehow, which will either be through a letter from your employer OR 6 months of pay stubs.

Thank you everyone for all the replies!

Well I have plenty of all that stuff, pictures, facebook messages going back and forth, skype logs, postcards, phone logs etc etc

I'll be adding that to the pile of stuff going to USCIS Frankfurt.

Question about pictures: Will they only take pictures taken with a camera that prints the date on the picture on can I print pictures I have on our computer and scribble when the picture was taken on the back in pen?

So as posted in a different forum we filed our I-130 with Amsterdam which was then sent for secondary review to USCIS Frankfurt. After 120 days they replied with a RFE requesting:

Item 1:

Please submit documentation to establish petitioner and beneficiary are residing together in a marital union and have been doing so since the inception of marriage. Such documentation may be, but is not limited to, copies of: birth certificates for common children; rent receipts; joint income tax returns; joint banking accounts, joint bills, joint credit cards; joint ownership of property; joint automobile insurance; life insurance; leasing agreements or mortgage statements.

Item 2:

Please submit a written statement, signed by both parties, of the history of the relationship between petitioner and beneficiary including detailing where, when and how you met.

Now my question is should I submit evidence beyond the list they provide in the letter? I can provide without much issue: joint lease, joint credit card, joint bank account, joint automobile insurance (my wife recently relocated back to the USA to look for work and housing while our petition is being processed and we purchased a vehicle together and I am included in the insurance) and joint income tax returns (2010 joint returns filed in the USA and The Netherlands as required by law).

However should we submit more than that such as pictures of together through the years at various landmarks, pictures of our engagement party, pictures of our wedding, postcards sent to each other, notices sent to us by our vet that our pets required vaccination boosters, thank you's from charitable organizations addressed to both of us thanking us for our donation etc?

Will these supplemental documents help/hinder our petition and is it worth the trouble? Reason I ask is that USCIS will only accept documents translated to English and having many documents translated if it will do nothing to help our case does not then seem like it would be worth spending time and money on.

Sponsorship questions:

1. Yes, it is ok for your husband to return to the USA to seek employment and then be able to demonstrate that he can directly sponsor you.

2. According to the terms outlined in the I-864 he would have to be employed at least for 6 months before being able to file an I-864 to sponsor you

3. That I cannot answer for sure, I believe that the ultimate decision lies in the hand of the officials reviewing your case, but technically the I-864 is NOT complete without the last 3 years of income tax returns. I find it somewhat hard to believe that in 3 years your husband cannot produce tax returns for the various countries he lived in and worked. As blunt as this may sound you and your husband should have exercised due diligence and kept accurate records of your finances, the US gov't will be no less blunt with you about this.

Case transfer questions:

1. I do not know with 100% certainty but everything I understand about filing through consulates says that this will not be possible, you will have to kill your current petition and refile through the Thai consulate/embassy (as you will then be a resident of Thailand and not ROK)

2. I would not count on this even being possible, and if it was I would consider that refiling may be faster and more efficient than trying to transfer a file from one consulate to another. The USA is painfully bureaucratic in many regards and deviations from standard procedure only confuse them and create problems, best would be to just follow the standard track and kill your petition in ROK and refile in Thailand.

3. Expect that if it is even possible, that it will be SUCH a hassle that pursuing this avenue will not be worth your trouble and headaches.

The short answer is: yes you can

However, repeated trips in and out of the USA can create delays in the processing of your petition, as they will scrutinize this during the review process. You also risk the chance of being denied entry at the border by a CBP official in which case you will then never be eligible to use the VWP program/ESTA again and will always need to apply for a B class tourist visa to be able to enter the USA at the consulate/embassy. If you are married and he is already living in the USA the chances are of the B visa being approved are incredibly slim as you will just be seen as an immigration risk who will misrepresent themselves, enter the USA under false pretenses and apply for an AOS (Adjustment of Status) once inside the USA. You will then also need to disclose this in the later forms that you were denied entry at a POE (port of entry), which will cause them to take an even bigger magnifying lens to your application.

The best advice I have is while your petition is being processed to simply stay put and not draw unneeded attention to yourself, even if you have good intentions the immigration process is an incredibly arduous bureaucratic process and what may seem harmless to you could be seen as red flags or warnings to Immigration and Customs officials. Best to just weather the storm in the basement until it blows over, to use rural parlance.