chaine1

The fact of the matter is that things are changing.

I know this doesn't help your immigration journey, but I find the above quote (and corresponding post) interesting. I've lived in the Middle East for five years, and while I do see the desire for political change, I have yet to see any social or family structure changes. Where I am, it would still be extremely haram for an unmarried couple to live together (and, in fact, it is illegal here).

Anyway, I hope everything goes smoothly for you. Best of luck.

Every problem has a fix.

Maybe, but sometimes that fix should be a divorce. People grow and change. In my opinion, it takes a lot more courage to say 'hey I made a mistake, and I really need to end this relationship it so we can both have happier futures,' than it does to stick around in an unhappy and unfulfilled relationship.

Ask them if it is is easy? not it is not a piece of cake. it is a lot of work.

Sorry, I'm of the opinion that a good relationship is and should be easy. I think the point of being in a relationship is to have a partner in life. If my partner and I constantly disagree, then what kind of partnership is that?

I strongly disagree with your statement that a relationship is 'work.' Give and take and compromise, yes. But never 'work.' What does 'work' actually mean anyway?

I've never had to go through this before, so it's tough

Saylin,

I'm sorry you are going through this. From personal experience, I know it sucks.

Once the shock was worn off, I want to strongly encourage you to try to use this as a learning experience. I was married at 23, then divorced at 24. That was probably the darkest time in my life, but it also allowed me to learn an enormous amount about myself and my role (or lack thereof) in relationships. Nearly ten years later, I am in a very healthy, happy relationship. I feel I owe much of this success to the lessons I learned during that divorce. That divorce forced me to look at myself (and how I function in relationships) in ways I never would have before.

I'm not talking about blaming partners, but gaining an intimate understanding of what a healthy relationship looks like, and then the behaviors and attitudes that should go along with it. That might seem easy, but it took a long time for me to understand what roads I should not walk down, which roads I should, and then the courage to walk those (sometimes hard and difficult) steps.

If you cannot look at your relationship objectively, then definitely find a counselor who can help you. I went to a marriage counselor on my own for a few years, and it was probably the best money I ever spent (and I was a student with little money too).

As cliche as it sounds, I would not be where I am today without those lessons. Find a way to make something positive come out of this.

Stay strong, and good luck.

Cheryl

I'm not sure but for what we figure it out is that you are not suppose to send the petition from overseas, that may be THE BIG REASON witch it doesn't make sence, but that's the only thing I can think of. Sorry about that

Lots of people who live abroad have sent their packet from overseas. It makes no difference.

Great advice...thanks for this. I will report back if I experience this rapid response!

Hi LD,

I was one of those who reside abroad and was auto-expedited. My I-130 was approved in about 2 weeks. You still have to go through the NVC at the usual speed, so that has taken me roughly two months. Basically, see my timeline at the bottom of my post. I'm currently waiting for an interview to be scheduled for my husband. I'm expecting the whole process, from start to visa in hand, will have taken about 5 months.

Read through this thread here to understand this auto-expediting thing more. Make sure you list your Oz address on your I-130!

Good Luck!

Hi all!

I received a checklist yesterday for a police clearance from Canada for my husband. We didn't include it because, as per NVC's instructions, he does not need a PCC from a country he has lived in for less than one year. He was in Canada for seven months, traveling.

Has this happened to anyone else? I know I need to call the NVC, but now it's the weekend, and I'll have to wait until Monday. I'll be fretting about this for two days now - can anyone put my mind at ease?

Many thanks!

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to send the IV packet, and have a question regarding the translation.

Our marriage certificate is in Arabic, and my husband will interview at the embassy in Kuwait. Our marriage certificate was translated by a certified translator here in Kuwait, and the translation has a certification stamp on it.

Do you think I still need to have the translator fill out something that states he/she is competent to translate English?

Thanks for any help...everyone has been an amazing help!

It's places they have lived in:

- for 6 months in their home country (some places don't have a nationwide police clearance document I suppose)

- for 12 months abroad

If you're on the NVC website, you've probably found the table they have explaining this.

Thanks Laure,

Yes, the table is what we have been going by. The embassy letter threw me for a loop, and this process is starting to get me a little bit paranoid. I was wondering if had missed something?!?

Hi again all,

I just picked up a letter from the US embassy here in Kuwait (husband has to get a letter from embassy in order to request a police certificate from local authority).

The letter casually mentioned at the very end that all applicants have to get a police clearance from places they have lived in for 6 months or more. However, we've been going by what the NVC website says (click here for the link, then scroll down).

The NVC website says applicant needs a police clearance from every country lived in for 12 months, not 6 months. Am I missing something here?

My husband traveled around Canada for 7 months, and we hadn't planned on obtaining a Canadian police clearance.

Can anyone advise?

Thank you!!

I don't have an answer to your question, but I just wanted to say Congratulations!!

hi,

Im filling out my forms now and i got a question, cos my husband is the USC and he is living abroad with me.

How can we get our case expedited? I thought it wouldnt be able but maybe we can. We are planning to send it to his father and he would sent it to Chicago, but should we put in the forms his address in Brazil or his address in the U.S? We put his address in the U.S cos he is not legal in Brazil anymore, he's visa already expired but still can we put in the envelop that we are sending from abroad and get it expedited?

Thx for helping me =)

I'd encourage you to read through this topic to gain a better understanding of this issue.

I can't comment on how you should handle it if your husband is out of status in Brazil...For what it's worth, in this process, I have not been asked to prove that I am in Kuwait legally (yet). Maybe someone else would have a better answer - I'd encourage you to start your own topic so you might get a better answer.

Good luck!

Actually there were several of you who sent the package to a parent to add the check, and had them forward it. It doesn't seem to cause a problem.

Just to clarify, I meant that it was me who had the parent write 'filed from abroad' on the package. I do realize that there are several of us who did not mail directly from overseas. But yeah, it doesn't seem to matter if the package was sent from inside the USA or from abroad.

Good Luck TattoedAesa!

one of the 'things' that I gleaned from Laurie's topic/poll,

was that there was ONE respondent that filed in the same manner that you are suggesting,

but

had 'Filed from Abroad' written in huge letters on the outside of the package.

and then that petitioner got into the special queue.

That was me! Like you TattoedAsea, I was worried that there might be some kind of system where they separate the 'international mail' from the 'USA mail,' and that the 'international mail' led to some kind of faster queue. So I had my mom write 'filed from abroad' on both the Fedex envelope and the envelope that held my file. I don't think it mattered - I was expedited. I really think the key is the address you put on the I-130. But as JNEKG and Laure noted, there could possibly be other issues at play too.

Good Luck and let us know how you make out.

What address should my wife write in the PART B of i-130 from as she is living with me, for more than 1 year, in saudia and we are filing from saudia to CHicago lockbox.

Hi there,

I live in Kuwait and filed for my husband from here. Kuwait has awful, nearly non-existent post, but I still used my Kuwait address, because, in most cases, it seems the USCIS is 'auto-expediting' petitions from people who reside abroad. So if you want to your petition approved fast, use your Saudi address. If you are not ready to move to the USA for another 9-12 months, then you can use a USA address.

I'd suggest reading through this topic to get some more info about this issue:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/357465-usc-petitioner-living-abroad/

Best wishes.

Hi again all...

I got my case number and IIN today (YAY!).

I want to get our DS-3032 in, and I know it should be emailed. Am I correct in understanding that I use the email template and simply send the email to the NVC inquiry email address? With no attachment or signatures at all?

I apologize for this ridiculous question, but it just feels so....weird...to not fill out some long form, and then sign and mail it.

Thanks for your help (and patience).

It would be nice to have a dedicated group for USC filing abroad - like the country groups. Can that be done?

I agree with that. It would have been extremely helpful for me when I was putting together my I-130; there were so many situations in which I was the exception to the rule, and getting all that straight took a huge amount of time. It would have been nice to have a direct location where I could ask people who had been in the same position before.

Does anyone else think this could be helpful? Perhaps a moderator could tell us what the possibilities are for this option?

Joint sponsors generally fill the I-864 (whether household members are not). Generally, the I-864A is for the spouses of joint sponsors. So, for example: the petitioner files an I-864, the petitioner's joint sponsor (who is his father) files an I-864, and the joint sponsor's wife (who is contributing income) files an I-864A.

In your case, I'd suggest your dad file the I-864, the same as you.

Once again, thanks Saylin!

That brings up another question though...My mom hasn't made any income in 5 or 6 years, but she and my dad are married and are members of the same household. Should she fill out I-864A? I had assumed, since she has no contributing income, that she would not need to file.

Thanks again - and I will be submitting my birth certificate too!

Our Australian address.

Good Luck! I hope you are expedited. Please come back to let us know if that happens or not.

We are in the same situation. My dad is my joint sponsor and I also used his address for the US address where we are intending to live. We considered the I-864a for awhile too but finally went with the I-864 and we had no problems at NVC. Good luck!

Thanks a million for the help, Amanda! Can I ask if you went ahead and sent in a copy of your birth certificate to prove your relationship to your father? I know I have to prove my dad is a USC, and will get him to send in a copy of his birth certificate, but I am wondering if I need to send mine as well.

Hi all,

I'm working on completing my AOS for my husband, and have a question for which I can't find an answer.

I'll be returning from abroad, and on the I-864, for mailing address, I used my parent's address in the USA. For place of residence, I used my address abroad.

As I'll be returning from abroad, I am using my Dad as a joint sponsor, and having him fill out the I-864, instead of the I-864A. We are not members of the same household, but I have used this address on the I-130 for the 'address you intend to live at in the USA.'

I think I might be worrying too much, but will this cause the NVC to think my Dad should be filling out the I-864A?

I'm over-analyzing, aren't I? Or not?

Thanks for any help!

For those of you who have already posted could you please update which service centre you went to? Give us some California sc people some hope. Thanks

Mine was sent to the California Service Center. What address did you use on your I-130?

One question Chaine1: does your spouse reside in Kuwait with you? Or are you alone in Kuwait while she's waiting in New Zealand?

My husband lives and works in Kuwait too. We met here. I realize that might not be perfectly clear based on my profile...when we started the process, we were unaware that DCF had stopped and thought he would have to go home to New Zealand for the interview. We are leaving Kuwait for good at the end of July, so are on a bit of a time crunch!

1. Country USC resides in: Kuwait

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: February 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other - work

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes. *See note below about this*

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? No - sent it to my parents for them to add a few things, they then forwarded it on to Chicago. Had my mother write across the envelope 'Filed from Abroad.'

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? No, not direct evidence, like a copy of my work permit. Evidence that showed residence abroad indirectly: Our marriage took place in Kuwait, so my marriage certificate is in Arabic. Also, as part of proof of a bona fide relationship, we included numerous flight itineraries that showed travel together. Most of these flights departed from Kuwait.

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes – mentioned it in cover letter.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes. 13 days between NOA1 and NOA2.

Here I would also add that my husband is not a Kuwaiti citizen, so it doesn’t seem to matter if the USC resides abroad in the spouse’s country, as has been mentioned.

**Kuwait has terrible post, but I still used my Kuwait address because I was hoping for the expedited approval. In order to circumvent this issue, I included an attachment that gave my Fedex account number. The Tier 2 Operator at USCIS told me they would try to honor that request, but couldn't promise. Well, nearly one month onward, I have received no Fedex package, or anything through regular mail (but that doesn't surprise me).

Don't argue, just do it. This is your wife, be her man. Men solve problems, just solve it. Marshmallows, if you must, look for ways to avoid responsibility, whine, make excuses and generally disappoint everyone around them.

I agree with Gary and Alla. If your wife wants the rabbits here and you can afford to do it (even with scrimping and saving), you should do it. Although it is a long and possibly dangerous journey for a pair of rabbits. If you wife is aware of that and still feels she needs to take the risks, then you should do it.

We shipped our dog with Lufthansa all the way from Kuwait to Houston, Texas. It wasn't cheap (and we were traveling with him, so it was cheaper than cargo), nor was it fun for us or the dog, but necessary. Lufthansa was great. If you have to ship animals, Lufthansa is the way to go.

I wish I had it in me to say, "Just leave 'em in Germany, we'll get new ones," but she probably wouldn't have married me if I were that sort of person.

You are right. If my husband had told me to give up the dog and find him a home in Kuwait, I would have questioned who I married. No way was that in the equation. Figure out how to make it work.

I am a USC residing abroad, and I file my taxes each year with TurboTax. If your wife made less than $91,400, it will take you to Form 2555 (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion), which will be completed along with the 1040. You won't owe any taxes on the salary, as long as it is below the $91,400 threshold. If she made more than $91,400, then she will probably want to consult someone who is experienced in dealing with expat taxes. I believe the US government has tried to reduce double taxation (paying taxes to both county of resident and the US), but I can't offer advice about how those are handled.

Here is some info from the IRS website:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108276,00.html

Good Luck!