Matt1968

quick and short answer to your post:

i plan to file married filing jointly - my wife lives in pakistan and works there.

i will file this was for a couple of reasons - of course financial benefit but also to have additional eveidence of co-mingling of our finances to the USCIS/NVC/Embassy

A W-7 will be required - you can get this from the www.irs.gov site - this will need to be signed by your husband also - along with the required identification requirments (notarized copy of passport, national id card etc - see the list that the form requires in its notes.)

After two in person visits the local tax office also gave me the following tellephone numbers to call and get further info - i have yet to call them - but i fully expect to have to show my wife's limited income (by US standards) and have no problems doing so.

Specialty Tax hotline 1800 829 4933

International Taxpayer customer service 1 267 941 1000

Hello,

Just to add, I filed MFJ as well only because the return was much higher than MFS. My wife worked overseas also and that income can be exempted with a form 2555 if your spouse makes under 90K(can't remember exact amount but it's around this). I used Turbo tax and it does it for you automatically.

Matt

So, my question is as follows.... I had originally filed a 129f however being that I actually did not follow the directions on the application and failed to submit my supporting documentation, it was obviously denied and they sent a notice to appeal. I will not be filing the appeal because i just intend on getting married next month come back and file the I-130 in early May. That I am thinking will not have any effect being that my 129f was denied correct? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hello,

I'm confused, how did you get to the interview without submitting any supporting documentation when you sent in your I-129. If you did that you would get an RFE. You said you were denied, so i'm assuming you went to an interview since you got a notice of appeal. Either that or you're leaving out a whole bunch of information. Also, if you plan to file an I-130, it will be denied also, if you haven't addressed the reasons why your I-129 was denied. Maybe you could give a little more background on what you did or didn't do and how far you got? Then you could receive more accurate information.

Matt

Matt.. Look into a taxi about renting him for the day. That way he can drive them as well as wait for them and drive them back. It will be cheaper than staying overnight. I do know taxis do this. A reputable taxi company in stgo is Emi taxi.. Check them out. Best of luck. btw you might have to return to the docs since I believe with children they have to go back 24/48 hrs after exams to check on some reactions to the vacines.

Moca is on the way from stgo to santo domingo. I would like to know what bus lines this was?

Sup Neo,

someone else also mentioned Emi taxi, so that makes two people who recommends them. I will have my girlfriend call them. Also, yeah she knows she has to come back in 3 days for the TB results for my step-daughter. I got some great ideas from people so all this is greatly appreciated.

Matt

Hi! We filed two petitions, one for me and one for our daughter last October. I'm still waiting for our NOA2's, but I'd like to fill out our DS-230's ahead of time so my husband can bring all the documents with him when he returns to the States (to save money). I noticed that the expiration date on the DS-230 is 2/29/12.. Is this all right?

Also, I've got some questions about filling up the form. Some of them might sound "DUH" but, oh well, I just want everything to go smoothly and not get an RFE for filling it up incorrectly.

1. For the parents' year of death if deceased: they're not deceased, so do I simply leave it blank? It won't allow me to write N/A. Or should I manually write the N/A after printing the forms?

2. Childrens' address, if different from your own: Do I leave it blank if they live with me? Or write "Same"?

3. Educational institutions attended: Do I include the courses which I haven't completed? Like if I studied one year of Medicine, but didn't go into second year, do I still include it? Also, I don't really know what to write for the last two columns - course of study and degree/diploma - for my secondary and primary education. Can anyone help me out with this?

4. I'll be filling out a separate DS-230 for my daughter (still a toddler). I should be the one to sign the forms for her, right? And should I indicate that I'm the mother?

Thanks very much for your patience in answering my questions! =)

Hello,

1. Print it out after you completed it and write N/A manually in the box

2. Write "Same"

3. Yes, include every school, even if you didn't finish. For primary and secondary just write "N/A"

4. yes, you sign your name on your daughters' DS-230 and next to it in paranthesis write (Mother).

These are the answers I used, and I had no problems.

Matt

I can't afford to fly there just for the interview and then go back in a month just to get him. I don't even want to hear my mother's mouth if I tell her my grown as$ man husband can't get on ONE plane by himself so I have to go pick him up. With you it's different, because your wife will come with her daughter etc, but my husband is a grown man. LOL. I want to do interview and POE all in one trip. Well I hope.

Normally i couldn't afford it either, but I'm expecting my taxes back before I go back to get them. Without that I would not be able to do it either. I hear you, your man is grown yes, but as you and I know, coming through immigration alone can be very daunting. Hell, I speak perfect english and I was confused as hell my first time going through customs and immigration so I can imagine how a dominicano/a would feel. Besides, there is no way on God's green earth she would come alone, that was never an option. But depending on when we get our interview, I might be able to bring them back with me after the interview, that would be ideal.

Matt

Hey,

I missed the white out part in your post. Yeah, don't try it, if you're caught it could be very ugly.

Matt

I am anticipating a May interview, although I do not have it yet I am pretty sure it will be then. I am just preparing the logistics.

I am a US born citizen and I know I need a return flight to the USA if I fly anywhere international, which in this case will be Dominican Republic. I will probably be flying with JetBlue and they are pretty strict about having a return flight to the USA. The point is, assuming we are approved, I want to stay a couple of weeks or less in DR depending on how long it takes for his visa to be issued. This can take anywhere from 1 week to months. I am willing and able to stay up to 3 weeks in order to try and do POE with him, but if his visa is issued in 3 days I will be ready to leave ASAP, with him. The point is, I would like to buy a one way ticket, and then purchase the return ticket while in DR after his visa is in hand so we can fly together. I don't want to buy a roundtrip ticket for 2 weeks and be able to leave before that, and then have to pay a ridiculous fee to change my flight.

A friend has told me she has done this many times by purchasing a return ticket from another airline and putting a 24 hour hold on it. She then prints it, uses wite out to cover the 24hr hold part and presents this to the person checking her in. She has done this various times without any problems and it works since one airline cannot get into reservations of another airline. I have asked my cousin who works for JetBlue and he told me this could very well work, but he does not recommend it because if I get caught I could get in huge trouble.

Are there any other options for me? I just wanna be able to control what day I am leaving since I don't know how long it's gonna take for my husband to get the visa in hand.

Hey Steph,

I'm also thinking about this scenario. My plan was to fly down there two days before and then wait 3 or 4 days after to fly back. However, you never know what might happened and the visa might be delayed. So what i'm doing is im going to fly down there for the interview and then fly back 2 days later. Someone had said that if you wait to purchase tickets until you are down, you might not be able to get seats together, it depends. I think the biggest issue is not knowing exactly when the visa will be in his hand and that's the biggest issue with me buy tickets for them to come back with me. So i'm going to wait about a month and fly back there to bring them back. Besides, she is really in no rush to leave and I understand why.

Matt

My fiance lives in Moca and he wemt on a bus at 430am and they left him right in front of the Consultorios de Visas. I dont think theres anything wrong on going early in the morning. The earlier she gets there, the earlier shes going to get out!

What bus line was this?

Matt

These are all good options Matt. Tell her to think about it, and if you do decide a hotel is best, you can find a nice reliable one and I am sure her and her daughter will be fine. Perhaps she can have a cousin, friend or someone tag along with her so she feels more at ease. The good thing is that there is still plenty of time.

You're right, these are good options. I like to have everything planned out far in advance because i worry alot. My Wife is one of those women who've never left her city and doesn't know anything about the outside world, that's why she's afraid to stay at a hotel without me. She's also afraid that people might take advantage of her if they find out she's not from around there. It would be so much easier if i was there with her, but that's not possible. I'm going to talk with her and see what's best for her, I told her money isn't an issue but her safety is.

Matt

Matt here goes the information from both my friend and the Medical place which i confirmed with them...

1- they do have lockers which are free of charge.

2- a cab from santiago to santo domingo is $4000 but if she talks to a cab guy on the side he will do it way cheaper

3- the metro is $110 per person child is $80 from santiago to SD then she will take one of the cabs that are there for another $150 to take her to the medical place.

4-outside of the medical place she can take a cab to the metro when she is done and do the step 3 in reverse.

5-I believe that there is a metro that leaves santiago at 530am and one at 730am if she needs to get there before 10am it is only an hour on the metro. to play it safe she should take the 530am

Thank you In, that's very helpful. $4000?????? i'm assuming that's pesos..lol. the cab from metro to medical is $150 dollars or is that pesos? I wonder if taxis in Santiago know where the medical is, if she gives them the address. Thanks again for the info.

Matt

They have lockers and hold your phones for yous. I am pretty sure paying a cab is the best option. I also know that whoever takes her waits for her. You would have to pay your 4,000 mayb 5,000 but its cheaper and safer then staying at a hotel by herself.

That's great! I didn't know about that. So the taxi's wait? is this what you did?

Matt

Matt I don't know how close it is but I am trying to find out. I actually tried calling the place but of course no one answers but I called my friend up so she could tell me cuz I also need to know since my husband also is going with his son. I will def let you know as soon as I hear something..

Ok, thanks. I'm going to tell her to look more into this, because i can't do to much up here. She's afraid to stay alone in a hotel, but she might have to. I think that might be the easiest way.

Matt

I thought I saw somewhere on the website that they have lockers where phones can be kept.

The NVC website or the Consultorios de visa website? I didn't see anything that mentioned lockers. I'll check them both out again.

Matt

Well remember, money talks!!

yeah, you're right. I was hoping it didn't have to come to that. I know there are many people who've done this already and was hoping to get more imput and ideas, but so far hardly anything. I know she can't bring a phone with her, which sucks because how will she be able to contact anyone or me? I might just tell her to catch a cab both ways, I don't want her walking around lost, especially now that she is pregnant and will be with her 7 year old daughter.

Matt

Matt she can take a cab there someone who is well known and take the Metro back to Santiago. That is what a friend of mine did with her daughters. I think it works out best. I just dont know how far the metro is from the medical place Did she find out how far it is?

That's not a bad idea, do you have an idea how much it cost your friend. I think i might have her do that. I need to find out how close the medical place is myself.

Matt

I just got a false checklist for the IV package even though both were sent on the same day (in separate envelopes). Strange.

My AOS package was reviewed and accepted though!

Hello, I got about 9 checklist total..lol. I called NVC after the first one and asked, "What's up with this??" They said, "Don't worry about those, the computer sends those out automatically when they recieve the AOS and not the DS-230, or DS-230 and not the AOS." So I just collected them and put them in a folder.

Matt

The medical needs 2 be done atleast a week b4 the interview. Depending on your schedule maybe you have the time to go with her and just wait for the interview.

Not possible, I'm going to be making two trips already in the coming 3 months. No way I can get the time off from work. Along with the financial hit for airline tickets, it's no feasible.

Matt

Does she have a family friend that can drive her? Doesn't the medical only take a few short hours. She could go back to Santiago the same day.

I'll mention it to her and see if it's possible. It's about a 2 hr drive and I don't know if any of her friends would make that kind of sacrifice.

Matt

What about caribe tours

I looked at them and metro bus. She has to be there before 10 and I don't know if the schedule will work out.

My wife stayed with a family friend. She left the day before the interview and slept over. She attended the interview the next morning and traveled back to her home which is in Puerto Plata(3 hrs by Metro bus). Where does your wife live?

She lives in Santiago. I suggested to her to go down the day before and stay in a hotel, but she doesn't want to stay in a hotel alone.

You pretty much answered your own question.

lol. so true.

Hello,

This question is People who've done the medical for D.R. How did your spouse handle transportation to the facility. Did they stay in Santo domingo or did they take public transportation very early in the morning. My wife is scared to be going there alone and she's never left her city before. We've discussed taking one of the those small buses that leave at 5:30 in the morning, but I don't really like the idea of that. How did some of you handle that situation?

Matt

I know but the FAQ says that there are "pros and cons" of sending them together or separate, and since my crystal ball doesn't seem to be working today that's why I'm asking the question. What are the pros and cons of sending the AOS and the IV packets at the same time to NVC?

They go to two different departments, whoever opens the package is just going to send it to the other department. But why risk it getting "lost" or "misplace" that way. Just send it express to the address it's suppose to go to and avoid all that.

Matt

Five months is fine. Since pay stubs are optional in the first place, there's really no "minimum" (or even "maximum") amount to send.

no, no I sent my last 5 recent paystubs, not 5 months..lol

Matt

Wow! my goodness, you guys AOS is packed!!! mine was only like 18 pages.

Matt

There we go. They should be getting to your DS-3032 email soon

Yeah, if you have the tax transcripts for 2008-2010, then no need to include the 1040s and W2s.

As for the pay stubs, do they have a YTD amount on them? If so, then only the most recent one is needed.

For my paystubs I only included my last 5, no way was i going to try to send 6 months.

Matt

I feel like giving up and just moving to DR.... But DR is not very "wheelchair" friendly. It is difficult to get around.

You're right, it's not wheelchair friendly at all. I asked my wife what do they do about handicapped people getting around and she shrugged her shoulders.

Matt