viv85e

If you download the trial than it is free, or you could google search for a software that offers this feature. I really just wanted to share the idea of automating the work. I'm a photographer so I already had this software (Photoshop).

I highly doubt you could get the same thing from a photo store. I don't know any that have offer this service or would do it to my specifications and liking.

I know this won't work for everybody but for those who already have the program or are a little tech savvy- this is a nice alternative to making the album by hand.

The first time around I didn't do this, and it took FOREVER to organize the pictures by date, label them, etc.

Now that it is interview time, the Embassy wants more photographs, so I discovered this method using software to do the work for me. You need to have some kind of software for this to work, fyi. Also this method is for printing on regular paper, not fancy photo paper. So it is cost effective too.

Idea:

• Use Adobe Bridge (which comes with Adobe Photoshop) to create image contact sheets.
  
• Open bridge and find the album you'd like to use.
  
• Select all the images you want to include.
  
• Click output to pdf button on the top menu bar.
  
• Customize the paper size, margins, number of images per page, etc. and hit "create pdf".
  
• DONE! It automatically created 11 pages of photos in one pdf file for me.
  
• Afterward I open the PDF and type in labels/descriptions for each page using the comment tools.
  

Attached is a preview of what one page looks like. I decided to put 4 images per page but you can make it any number.

If you don't have Adobe Photoshop and Bridge you can try the free trial on their site:

http://www.adobe.com/products/catalog.html

Or try some other software like this one (haven't tried it so can't confirm if it works):

http://download.cnet.com/Contact-Sheets/3000-12511_4-10556168.html

I hope this info proves helpful to others. Maybe someone has other suggestions for making a quick photo album?

All the best - Viv

Since we're all talking about lawyers I'll add my experience to the list. We applied for a CR-1 visa and hired a lawyer to walk us through the process. At this moment we are a couple of weeks away from our interview.

Pros: I could email my lawyer anytime when I had a question about a form or the process in general and get an immediate response. It felt very reassuring to get a definitive answer specific to my case from a professional. If you can afford a lawyer, I'd say consider the peace-of-mind you'll get by using a qualified one. As much as I appreciate VJ (truly an amazing resource) I would have gone crazy searching/posting and waiting for responses to every question I had throughout the process.

Cons: A lawyer's services are not cheap. Our lawyer was very friendly and helpful but it is true---they are busy people and it is impossible for them to care more than you care about your application. As others have said, a lawyer will basically be doing what you yourself can do which is fill out the paperwork and send it in. It is not a complicated process to mail forms but it can be tricky knowing how to fill them out exactly right. Our lawyer was in NY and we were in Romania throughout the entire process.

Verdict: I don't regret hiring a lawyer but I also don't think it is absolutely necessary. After my experience I would recommend going to an agency or charity group that assists individuals with the immigration process instead of a lawyer. It sounds like they offer the same kind of assistance but at a lower cost. You really just need someone to help you fill in the forms correctly, either use this website, your own research, or hire someone. In my opinion some guidance is helpful.

depends on the time of day.... you can look at CBP.gov and it will show you the average wait time at a POE during the day

moving thread

I know this is an old thread but thank you for that very helpful bit of information! The stats are immensely helpful while I try to choose the best flight for our return to the US. It offers information you just can't get from POE reviews here on visajourney.

Original poster here with an update.

Our lawyer spoke to the NVC and confirmed that yes, we have to send originals. This may not be the case for every country but it is in our situation (husband is Romanian). DHL'd the docs yesterday evening. They should be in NY by Friday morning. Thanks for the help everyone! Our journey continues

i also sent the original Birth certificate and marriage certificate to the NVC..i'm praying that they won't lose it

Ok

After messaging other couples from Romania it seems to me that this is one of those grey areas where the decision is up to the individual case reviewer. One Romanian couple filed the same as we did (copies of official documents that are officially notarized/certified by a government approved notary and translated) without any problems from the NVC while another couple was told that they needed to send originals. Both those couples interviewed the summer of 2011. Anyway we've done as much weekend research as we could here on visajourney and I've gotten some helpful input. I feel a lot less stressed I'll update later in the week when we get the final answer on sending originals or not.

@Jason/Shifa -If it is any comfort the one couple that I wrote to who did send originals said that they got them back at the interview without any problems.

Sorry, it's also worth noting an NVC operator instructed us to email with SUPERVISORY REVIEW as the subject, with our case number. To that, we received a response stating a new, certified copy was required (#######?!) – but it may be worth the OP trying this too. Whatever NVC will have you believe otherwise, they do NOT respond to emails in the order they are received by NVC. If you put a supervisory request as the subject, they'll read it that day – this is what the NVC operator told me. It must be right, though, because when they had spelled my name wrong on the IV invoice, I emailed with "incorrect name spelling" as the subject, and it was fixed in a day.

Thanks for the tip about emailing NVC, def. good to know. I'm also wondering what is up w/their case reviewers, it seems some people get a picky one that wants originals while others don't. Goodluck with your journey!

If you want "originals" back after the interview, make sure you take photocopies to trade for them.

That is a good idea which I haven't thought of, thank you for mentioning it.

viv+cata

alas, these 'certified copies' apparently weren't with the 'right' certification. Why do I say that? Because a checklist letter response was issued about it.

If, OTOH, you feel that the certification was from the issuing authority, then it's worth a phone call INTO NVC, and talk with a supervisor (very important) then

ask the supervisor to request another eyeball review, as apparently the NVC Reviewer has gotten it wrong.

Actually we didn't get a checklist letter yet. I happened to call the NVC just to see where our case was and the woman casually told us we were on hold. Big surprise for us! I notified our lawyer about it but she too found it odd that they are asking for originals. Thanks for reminding us that NVC does make mistakes and we can ask them to double check things. I am so glad we have visa journey to talk things out with others

At the NVC stage, you definitely send original certified copies of documents. For this kind of document the "original" is usually held at a government office, so only a Certified Copy is available. China is an exception where the original Notarial Translations of documents are what is sent.

Exactly what do you mean by certified copy? In this case a certified copy is the original document you would obtain from the government agency that holds the original. You send an "original" certified copy, not a photocopy of the certified copy.

We sent officially translated and notarized copies (not copies from the issuing institution as it is *not* possible to do so in Romania). Unfortunately Romania has a different system when it comes to important documents that doesn't really fit well with the American system. In America you can get certified copies all day long, in Romania no such thing exists! To me it looks like we will have to send originals but first I will speak with the NVC and make sure we will get them back.

Just a thought, did you send in the un-translated version as well as the translated version?

Yup, sent both.

Wow, absolutely awesome to see everyone chipping in their input!

@ANH +@QueS. We sent officially translated and notarized copies (not photocopies and also not copies from the issuing institution as it is not possible to do so in Romania)

@Louza I'm tempted to just send the originals w/DHL guaranteed delivery and hope for the best but it is a little scary.

@mobob Thank you so much for your suggestion/help. I think your country and Romania have a similar system so it helps to know how you handled it. We will be going to the issuing institutions and trying to get the docs 'reissued'.

Just heard from the NVC that our case is on hold because they require original birth cert. and marriage cert. We only sent certified copies of those because we are mailing all the way from Romania and it felt safer to send copies.

Is this standard practice to require the originals? This really took me by surprise, we tried so hard to make sure everything was done right.

When do you get them back?

So frustrated that this is putting our case on hold plus it is the weekend so I can't call them Any help welcome.

-Viv