Matt1968

The basics are that since she was married before to her ex-husband (of which she had 3 kids with)they think that all "they" are trying to do, is get together (since he can't petition for her) because of past crimes and the fact the he is only a GC holder, not a USC. They believe it is a fraudulent marriage.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, that's a tough one to get around. So it sounds like you need to prove that she is coming for you and not him. Is the ex-husband married to someone else here? Maybe he's with someone else here whom he has children with? Maybe trying to show he's moved on will help your case.

Matt

Read it again my friend, I did specify why they denied the second interview They believe she is trying to use me, to reunite with her ex-husband.

Yes, I know you said that, but officially what was the reason. There not going to just say that and tell you to leave. What did the letter of denial give as the reason? What made them think she was using you? It's more detailed than just "She is using you."

Matt

This will be kind of long, so i'm sorry if it is TOO long, I just really need some advice. I'll try my best to keep it short, so i'll give out the basics, if there are any specific details you would like to know, just ask. I don't know what to do anymore!!!

I have been married to my wife (beneficiary) for about 6 years now. We have been at this process for about 5 years, with no positive results. She has had 2 interviews at the embassy already, and has been denied TWICE. I have spent about 20grand already just on this. I went through this whole process WITH a lawyer, because I had no idea on how to do this stuff myself. I tried it first with the K-1 Visa (I-129F petition). In about 8 months she recieved her interview (I wasn't present at the interview), she was asked an array of questions (she got some of them wrong) and was denied. Then my lawyer suggested we get married, and try the IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process, and we did. She got her second interview months later (not sure how many) and I flew down to DR to be present for that interview. We took all kinds of evidence, but again were denied. They even took me into a room, to have me sign a paper (which I believe was to have the marriage nullified or something) But I refused to sign anything, and we left. They also pointed out that they looked her up on facebook, and saw that she had no pictures of us together. Also stating that they believed that she was just trying to use me in order to be with her ex-husband (which is living here in the US) they didn't believe a woman like that would get with a person like me for honest purposes. The reason why they denied us was later relayed to us by mail aswell. It stated that they believed she was trying to use me and/or commit fraud, etc...

Yet, almost 3 years later, (after that last interview) we are still together and married. We don't know what to do, and I feel like my lawyer is just trying to keep his pockets flowing. He insist I try again, but that this time, he will fly over to DR with me, so that he can legally represent us. Reappealing the denial will cost alot, but it is nothing compared to what my lawyer is asking in return for his presence at the interview (6k) which he says, will cover his expenses in DR (Give me a break ) What should I do???????????????

Wow, sorry to hear about your struggle. The first denial wasn't surprising because for D.R, you have to be there with her, so that denial was pretty much automatic. D.R. is a high fraud country. Don't know how much good your lawyer could do going down there sounds like he wasn't giving good advice to begin with. Someone else will have to help with that, but you never said why you were denied the second time. They're not going to deny because of Facebook, it will more or less support the decision they've made. Without knowing more about your case, not much can be done.

Matt

My cover sheet included:

I-864 Coversheet(with barcode)

Form I-864(Signed and dated)

5 current paystubs

2010 tax return transcript

2009 tax return transcript

2008 tax return transcript

Matt

Sounds good, but wait? They are open at 6pm?

Alright Steph! Good going!

Hi. Matt,

Is there an official name for cases combined? I called and asked NVC to combine them, but they didn't sound they knew it. I'll wait to get the EP confirmation, and will call them again if no satisfactory answer.

Thanks

Jiang

Hey Jiang,

I have a question, did you send both I-130's together or seperately? No there isn't a name for when they are combined. What I would do is send an email to them with your name as petitioner and both beneficiarie's name and case numbers and request they be combined. This should be done automactically at NVC but sometimes they miss. Also, on the payment portal there's a related cases spot. For mine it says:

Related Cases

John Smith, the petitioner of this case, SDO********, has also at least one other related case which is currently in process at the National Visa Center. The AOS fee payment for this case will satisfy the AOS fee requirement for the related case(s) listed below.

-SDO**********

If you see this then they are combined.

Matt

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Angelique (full name)

(permanate address)

(email address)

USCIS address.

To whom this may concern:

Please fine enclosed my Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on behalf of my husband, Gregorio (Full name).

Included documents:

*Cover letter

*G-1145 E-Notification

*Personal Check/Money order of $420

*I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

*Copy of unexpired U.S. passport (Petitioner)

*G-325A (Petitioner)

*Passport Style Photo (Petitioner)

*G-325A (Beneficiary)

*Passport Style Photo (Beneficiary)

Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

*Letter explaining our relationship history, marriage and our future plans together

*Copy of Marriage Certificare from Dominican Republic, and translation.

*Copy of bank statement showing joint account from Dominican Republic.

*34 pictures of us, outside, wedding, and with friends, and family

* And can I just go to my local drug store and take my passport type picture?

* I dont want to send so much proof now, due to we wont have much to show for later. What do you recommend to me to do with my Cover letter? Is there anything I need to change/add?

* Also, my mom will be my co-sponsor would I add her form that she filled out in the I-130 cover letter and packet as well? ( and i lost the name of that form what is it called?)

* Also, do you know how to write the Affidavit of support? Can I ask my friends and family to write them?

* For my birth certificate I was reading that I can send a certified copy of my birth certificate or I can get a certified copy, can I just copy mine? or does it have to be certified? I heard they expire as well?

* Name change, what papers do I need to go to the SSC office to change my name?

Please and thank you.

Hello,

I would only add that you could enclose copies of your passport stamps going to and from D.R to visit your S.O as proof of on-going relationship. Also, I think 34 pics is overkill. 6 to 8 would be fine. I also went through D.R, I sent two photos from wedding, one with her father, one with her mother, two with her daughter, and two out and about. Also, could you please update your timeline.

Matt

Hello,

I received my Case number 3 days after they received my files. But I guess it depends.

Matt

Hi.,

Here's my case. I'd like to know the next steps to bring my wife and step-daughter (13 yr old) to the US.

1) Both i-130 approved

2) Both have NVC numbers

3) I enrolled my wife to electronic processing, and I paid AOS bill and IV bill online for my wife, and it showed paid status.

My question is what to do with my step-daughter. I never received any AOS bill, I email to NVCinquiry, but haven't heard back for a week. Should I email NVC my step-daughter's DS-3032? Or should my wife send in DS-3032 for her daughter? I want them to go to interview together.

Please help. Thanks

Jiang

Jing, could you please update your timeline so we can more accurately help you. I'm going to assume that the cases were already combined, if not then you need to request NVC combine them asap. Since the cases are combined you only make one AOS payment. This is for both your wife and daughter. Since you paid it for your wife the cover sheet will have her name, you use that cover sheet for both. I paid it first for my Step-daughter and used her AOS cover sheet for both. I also sent them together in the same package asking them to be process together. You can use your wife's email address for your daughter if she doesn't have one. I sent DS-3032 for my wife and step-daughter from my wife's email address(My step-daughter is 7). The email has to be sent from your wife's email address, if you can access it then you can send it but it has to be from her email address. But you need to make sure the cases are combined first and foremost.

Matt

We just received our NOA2 notification by text/email last Friday March 2nd. From recent timelines it would seem that NVC is taking about 10-14 days from the time of the NOA2 to receive the I-130 petitions from USCIS and assign a case number and IIN. I have read through the NVC wiki and think I have everything ready to go but had a few questions that I wanted to clarify.

In our case there are two visa applicants, one is my wife and the other is my step-daughter who is 5 years old. They intend to immigrate at the same time.

For the AOS it is my understanding that I will pay one AOS fee but will be required to submit 2 copies of the I-864 document along with 2 copies of the supporting documentation.

For the IV it is my understanding that I will pay the IV fee twice and will be required to submit a completed DS-230 for my wife and a DS-230 for my step-daughter. The part that I am not sure about is how many copies of the documents I will need to submit with each. Here is what i'm currently planning to submit:

Original Marriage Certificate plus one photocopy (wife)

Original Birth Certificate for my wife plus one photocopy (wife)

Original Birth Certificate for my step-daughter plus one photocopy (step-daughter)

Original Divorce Certificate for my previous marriage plus one photocopy (wife)

Original Divorce Certificate for my wife's previous marriage plus one photocopy (wife)

Original Police Certificate for my wife plus one photocopy (wife)

Copy of biographic page of passport for my wife (wife)

Copy of biographic page of passport for my step-daughter (step-daughter)

2 passport size photos of my wife (wife)

2 passport size photos of my step-daughter (step-daughter)

I am also planning to include English translations of the foreign documents even though they probably aren't required, because I already have them from my I-130 petitions. We also have a notarized document signed by the father of my step-daughter giving us permission to take her out of Chile. I don't think the NVC will need this but we plan to bring it with us to the interview.

What i'm unsure of is if I need to provide additional copies of the marriage and/or divorce certificates since they might require a set for my wife's application and another set for my step-daughter's application. If they do want a set for each do I need two original documents and two photocopies?

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

Don't know if your question was answered, but you can see from my timeline, you situation is exactly the same as mine. What I did was submit the original marriage certificate with my wife's application and a copy with my daughter's application. I sent both DS-230 packages together in the same envelope with a letter telling them why a copy was included with my daughter's application and not the original and requested that they be processed together. It worked fine.

Matt

Thanks you I found the information, I watched this video and it answer all my question Thanks http://www.consultoriosdevisa.com/evaluacion.htm

Hello,

I should be receiving my interview date in a week, and I also had questions about the medical. Too bad it's in Spanish, so I emailed it to my wife and told her to read the info and watch the video. It's exactly what I was looking for also.

Matt

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to USCIS Service Centers forum.

Firstly, the I-130 is not an application, nothing is being applied for. The I-130 is a petition form.

Processing times at service centers can vary, however, you should not expect an NOA2 sooner than 5 months and be pleasantly surprise if it does come sooner than that.

I agree with this. I received my NOA2 after 54 days from VSC, I had hopes of getting approved quickly because of others who've had theirs approved quickly from there. But I was also prepared to go the distance as well. Like Ryan said, I was "pleasantly surprised" when I got my NOA2 in the mail so soon. I hoped for the best but was prepared and so should you.

Matt

Took me 9 days from NOA2 until case number.

Matt

Thanks again Matt..Sorry for being so repetitive. I just don't want any hiccups with this.

No prob. I had the same concerns when I started this phase. It can be very confusing and seems very difficult but after you figure it all out, it's not so bad. Just time consuming.

Matt

I also got married in Domincan republic, and I had a situation where I put the wrong name on the I-130 for my wife. When the petition was approved and sent to NVC, I called them and asked what to do. They said, send an email with the petitioner's name and beneficiary name, along with a scan copy of her passport, and tell them what my wife's name should be going forward. The name on the NOA2 was the one I initially put on the I-130, but after I sent them the email, all further correspondence had her new name which she had on her passport. The woman explained to me that the visa is issued to whatever name is on the passport. So if you want her visa to be issued to her married name you need to have her update her passport quickly, because if you are in VSC they are approving D.R petitons pretty fast.

Matt

Thanks for clearing this up. So correct me if I'm wrong. 3 seperate cases. I pay one AOS but fill out 3 AOS forms (1 for each). It is possible that they link them or worst case I will have 3 appts but for same day. I think I'm all clear now ..thanks all.

Yes, they will be linked together, but you only have to pay one AOS fee. Yes, they will need 3 AOS forms. I sent both AOS forms together with another cover sheet requesting they be processed together to be on the safe side. they should already know that, but you can never be to safe.

Matt

If you filed them together, they will be processed together but as three separate cases with three separate case numbers from start to finish. Three NVC case numbers too. The only thing singular will be the $88 AOS processing fee at the NVC stage.

Yes, this is exactly what I did. I sent the I-130 for my wife and step-daughter together in the same envelope, with a cover letter requesting that they be processed together. It was that easy.

Matt

I hear ya when you say "Someone made a observation that it could be as simple as whoever is approving the I-130's, looks at a huge I-130 with tons of stuff and think "Dam, I don't want to deal with that" and then looks at a smaller I-130 and think "I can be done with this very fast and approve it quickly and lower my average approval time." I chose to try that route". I too think of that clerk/Adjudicator and really want their life to be simple. Everything I have is on 8X11 paper even pics so in the scanner no need to take out unfold or anything. When I hear the stories on how some people present their stuff its no wonder they sit in USCIS so long (I feel). I can see the office pool taking bets who gets the 5 inch binder with flowers and plastic folders for every single picture and stick ums. WOW

Trust me I have gone from 375 pages down to about 190 of evidence to present. But God help them at the interview because we are coming fully loaded. You see with high fraud we also have a 21 year age difference (me older). So want to put best foot forward. Well you I see are almost at the end of your road. Look forward to watching your story unfold. Love happy love stories.

Thank you, I hope you are succesful as well!

Matt

I like your packet short and sweet. You always wonder how many pictures and all that. For us unfortunately we were given original copies (photographer has since deleted mater copy) well luggage got lost and wedding pics (courthouse wedding) are gone. So sad and heartbreaking so will have to just send in other pics we have thank God that was on camera and sent through emails and such.

But for us we are dealing with a high fraud country (Nigeria) so don't want them second guessing us.

Thank you, and sorry about your luggage. I hate when things go wrong, but are completely out of your control. I agree with you concerning a high fraud country, I guess it just depends on what country you're dealing with when it comes to sending in proof. My wife lives in D.R. I'm not entirely sure but I think that might be considered a high fraud country. Many people say don't send to much and others say send as much as you could. I chose the first option. Someone made a observation that it could be as simple as whoever is approving the I-130's, looks at a huge I-130 with tons of stuff and think "Dam, I don't want to deal with that" and then looks at a smaller I-130 and think "I can be done with this very fast and approve it quickly and lower my average approval time." I chose to try that route. I sent two I-130's together(Mother and daughter) and kept them small and compact with the proof I stated earlier and it sailed through. That being said, of course YMMV.

Matt

for number 11 I was thinking the same thing. But I wanted to add them to show when my Spouse departed the USA to return home. They never did stamp her passport when she departed the USA. I wonder if they can look her depature in there database? If not..... I want to make it clear to them of her complete travel dates. But I will take your advice and not show my tickets of my travel to Romania because the passport has ALL the arrival stamps and depature stamps.

13 is something they ask for in the instructions so I will keep this.

14 to 17 are optional. so I might as well include them.

As far as proof is concerned, I can tell you what i sent and my I-130 was approved in 54 days.

Copy of passport stamps,(When you leave the USA, you don't get a stamp. Only when entering a foreign country, departing a foreign country, and entering the states).

I also wrote out below it the actual entry and exit dates for each trip.

2 Affidavits from witnesses to our marriage,

Marriage certificate with translation

8 photos(1 with her father, 1 with her mother, 2 from our wedding, 2 of us out and about, and 2 with her daughter)

If you like, shoot me a PM and I will send you a copy of my cover letter.

Matt

I'm ready to send this in.

am I missing anything?

thanks VJ!

I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative

Petitioner: SMITH, Robby

Beneficiary: SMITH, Susan

Contents:

1) G-1145

2) passport style photos

3) $420 payment

4) I-130 form

5) G-325A forms

6) Petitioners Passport and Birth Certificate

7) Marriage Certificate with translation

8) Church Wedding Certificate with translation

9) Photos of us together

10) Passport pages to show travel to each other

11) Airline Tickets to show travel to each other

12) Affidavits by third parties

13) Comingling of funds

14) Email between Robby and Susan

15) Letters from Susan

16) Recent History of Video Calls

17) Recent telephone Calls

.

In my opinion, I think that number 11 is not needed because the passport pages show the same thing. 13-17, I don't think are needed either, might be overkill and are probably better for the interview. How many photos you sending?

Matt

Matt

Hello,

I don't know what you sent with your package, but what I sent was:

Marriage Certificate

Translation of certificate

Copy of passport stamps, with dates of entry and exit

2 Affidavits from witnesses to our marriage

and 8 photographs(2 from our wedding, 2 with her parents, and 4 with her and I about the city).

That was it, and it was enough.

Matt

I put the photos in a clear ziplock bag and paperclipped it to the form. From my understanding from reading the forums, staples aren't to popular and paperclips are the way to go.

Matt

at a bank?

also they didn't need the real person there (your wife) present to get it notarized?

i guess for me i'll do Apostille notarized, since it is not with me in US

No, I went to a Notary public near my work. I showed them the color photo and the passport. They notarized it right there on the spot. When I initially asked them to do it, they had puzzled looks on their face like, "why, you want this notarized?" I told them I needed it for tax purposes and of course, like many others who don't know what they are doing, they said, "Oh you don't need to notarize it." I said, yeah I do and explained to them the rule. They said ok, and notarized the copy.

Matt

Some States allow notaries to attest to a photocopy being an actual photocopy of an original document. Other States only allow them to witness signatures. For a passport, the notary is just attesting to the copy being an authentic copy of an original document they also physically saw.

I brought my wife's passport back with me and had a photocopy notarized in my state.

Matt