Alcurin

My wife and stepson just completed their IR-1/IR-2 interviews in Manila. IR-2 is for the child and I will leave him out of the explanation below, but the rules are the same.

All of these petitions start out as CR-1. They remain in that category if the immigration occurs before the second wedding anniversary. If the immigrant arrives in the USA after the second wedding anniversary, the visa becomes IR-1.

CR-1 is "Conditional Resident." Upon arrival in the USA, the immigrant is given a green card good for two years. 90 days before the expiration date on the green card, the petitioner must sign a form to have the conditions removed and submit it to Immigration (BCIS). Upon approval, the immigrant will beome a permanent resident and receive a renewable green card good for ten years.

IR-1 is "Immediate Relative." Upon arrival in the USA, the immigrant becomes a permanent resident and is given a renewable green card good for ten years. There are no conditions to remove at a later date.

There is no form to convert CR-1 to IR-1. It is accomplished automatically based on the second wedding anniversary date, as described above.

Ok i am not getting answer. Am i responsible for him or not? I am wondering why we sign this affidavit of support? Is it a joke or what? So they can only collect it if they sue? Who the government? If so this would take many years. What about credit cards? What am i exactly responsible for? Or maybe its a mystery.

The government does not make you get the I-864 notarized becuase they intend to ignore it.

Read the I-864 package. The sponsor has to provide his/her Social Security number.

Why? Ever heard of garnishment?

Each state administers their own public benefits (translates to "welfare") program. Some are more generous than others. Some are also more likely to collect from an individual if that individual is liable for the benefits paid out.

The I-864 is a promise from the sponsor to the government. Only the government can release a sponsor from the liability for the beneficiary (unless one of the four conditions in post #2 of this thread are met).

Here is the text from the I-864:

"Civil Action to Enforce.

If the immigrant on whose behalf this affidavit of support is executed receives any Federal, State, or local means-tested public

benefit before this obligation terminates, the Federal, State, or local agency or private entity may request reimbursement from the

sponsor who signed this affidavit. If the sponsor fails to honor the request for reimbursement, the agency may sue the sponsor in

any U.S. District Court or any State court with jurisdiction of civil actions for breach of contract. INS will provide names, addresses,

and Social Security account numbers of sponsors to benefit-providing agencies for this purpose. Sponsors may also be liable for

paying the costs of collection, including legal fees.

Form I-864 (Rev. 11/05/01)Y Page 5

I acknowledge that section 213A(a)(1) B of the Act grants the sponsored immigrant(s) and any Federal, State,

local, or private agency that pays any means-tested public benefit to or on behalf of the sponsored immigrant(s)

standing to sue me for failing to meet my obligations under this affidavit of support. I agree to submit to the personal

jurisdiction of any court of the United States or of any State, territory, or possession of the United States if the court

has subject matter jurisdiction of a civil lawsuit to enforce this affidavit of support. I agree that no lawsuit to enforce

this affidavit of support shall be barred by any statute of limitations that might otherwise apply, so long as the

plaintiff initiates the civil lawsuit no later than ten (10) years after the date on which a sponsored immigrant last

received any means-tested public benefits.

Collection of Judgment.

I acknowledge that a plaintiff may seek specific performance of my support obligation. Furthermore, any money

judgment against me based on this affidavit of support may be collected through the use of a judgment lien under 28

U.S.C 3201, a writ of execution under 28 U.S.C 3203, a judicial installment payment order under 28 U.S.C 3204,

garnishment under 28 U.S.C 3205, or through the use of any corresponding remedy under State law. I may also be held liable for costs of collection, including attorney fees."

Still think that the I-864 is a joke?

The I-864 obligation that your sponsor has does not go away until you:

1) Pay into Social Security for 40 quarters (a total of 10 years of employment);

2) Become a naturalized citizen of the USA;

3) Leave the USA permanently; or,

4) Die (probably just as well that your divorce is an amicable one)

Divorce is specifically mentioned on the I-864 as not removing the obligation of the sponsor(s). If you draw any public benefits, the sponsors might have to pay the government back. Knowing Washington state, I would bet that repayment would be actively and aggressively pursued.

I have been to Anacortes many times. I used to live in Oak Harbor.

For months, I got the runaround in the USA about booking flights for my wife and stepson to fly from MNL to ATL in May. I was told by travel agents to make the arrangements in Manila.

So I tried when I went for the IR-1/IR-2 interview. In Manila, you have to provide copies of the visa(s), and the original certificate from the Department of Tourism for the discount on the tax that children pay to leave the Philippines (adults pay 1,620 Pisos, children pay 810 Pisos and EVERYONE pays a per-person 550 Piso departure tax at NAIA).

Finally, I just went to an online airfare booking service and booked one-way tickets on Cathay Pacific to HKG and then on United Airlines to SFO and ATL. I was not asked for any visa or passport or tax information. As an adult, I believe that I can take care of those matters when I am at NAIA with my family in May.

I probably paid a little more, but I have all seats reserved together for my family and I am free of the hassle of providing visas, passport numbers, and tax forms in advance.

Sorry, "IIRC" is short for "If I recall correctly..."

I have originals of all the other forms in the packet (the NVC sent me two sets since I was processing an IR-1 and IR-2). I'd be happy to e-mail them to you if you send me a private message with an e-mail address to send them to.

Yes, you are correct about calling to try and get the packet sent to St. Luke's. I have seen many other posts where others have the same problem.

If you are the agent of choice that the NVC sends notices to, I doubt that your wife will receive ANYTHING from the NVC or the Manila embassy. My wife did not.

I used USPS Global Express Mail (GEM) to send my wife the package that you just received from the NVC. IIRC, it has the letters about immunizations, location of St. Luke's, interview documents required, etc. in it.

I would make a copy (scan it, if possible) of the appointment letter. It is the critical document to get into St. Luke's and then the embassy. If the express snail mail does not reach your wife in a week, send her the appointment letter by fax or an e-mail attachment. Your wife will need any proof of vaccinations that she has received before the exam at St. Luke's.

I took a copy of the NVC package with me when I went to Manila to attend my wife's interview. She had the originals that I mailed her.

The fees are described at the following link:

http://www.philtourism.gov.ph/ttax.html#t_tax_whatis

Everyone (yes, we were all sworn in by the vice consul) should know birthdates, marriage date, etc. without any hesitation. My stepson had to answer what his name was for the vice consul (he is four years old).

The Filipina interviewer and the vice consul did attempt to question my wife about my stepson and the events surrounding his birth, but they did not fluster my wife and they did not try many questions about him with me present. Because of the focus of those questions, I believe that my wife would have faced a vastly different interview without my attendance at the interview and her application would likely would have been placed in AR.

The Filipina interviewer told my wife that my income was high enough that we should have six more children! She asked me for my certified copy of my divorce decree, photos of the wedding, copies of e-mails, and snail mail letters and cards.

The vice consul asked me where I work, had I flown in just for the interview, how long I was staying after the interview, and remarked that my wife and I had been waiting a long time for the immigration visas.

That was the extent of it. We spent no more than ten minutes being interviewed either time. The Filipina was a bit less friendly than the vice consul, but everything was handled professionally and competently.

By the way, CR-1/IR-1 interviews are all set for 8:00 AM and are the last cases to get their appointment numbers. There is no point in being early to the embassy because all the fiancee visa cases will be called first. You can arrive between 6 and 7 AM without any issues about waiting too long to be interviewed. Enter the embassy at the gate directly across the street from the Bayview Park Hotel.

I just attended my wife's IR-1 and my stepson's IR-2 interview in Manila.

From the list:

1. Embassy had the I-864 from last year. It was still good.

2. Not required.

3. Not required (I participate in the TSP retirement program as a federal employee).

4. Two photos of wedding surrendered and were sufficient.

5. No phone statements required. We did submit e-mail and letters/cards.

6. Not required (but evident by the stamps in my passport).

7. Not required.

8. Not required (my wife uses an ATM card).

9. Not required. Embassy had our 2002, 2003, and 2004 returns in the file.

(Note: 2005 return may be required for interviews after 15 April 2006).

10. Appointment letter is only required to get into embassy.

11. Embassy only asked for NSO copy of my stepson's birth certificate.

12. Only two passport photos of each person required, but extras do not hurt.

13. Not applicable to me, but probably required if you use a co-sponsor.

14. Passports do not have to be new.

Overkill. You are going to stress everybody out needlessly.

I have nothing against preparation. You will find that the vice consul will look favorably upon the fiance/husband attanding the interview and that will remove a lot of the questions that might be asked. If you sent all the required documents to the BCIS and NVC, they will be in the file.

Just be ready to recall important dates/names/places accurately from memory.

Someone suggested that it should be printed out front and back like the original form from immigration. Has anyone just printed 4 pages one sided and was that ok? I know it's a silly detail but trying to explain to my wife how to do things with the computer is a multi-hour long task! :-)

Joel

Four separate pages is fine. At least it was for my wife on 9 March 2006 when she signed the DS-230 and her IR-1 visa was approved.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/ty...types_1309.html

When you click on that link and choose the Philippines application procedures, you get a list of documents that you must obtain and send to the NVC before the interview will be scheduled.

Note that any document that you send them, such as NBI clearance and Affidavit of Support, that has an expiration date will have to be replaced with a current one at the time of the interview. The file will contain the documents and be sent to the embassy by the NVC, but the documents will need to be current and valid at the time of the interview.

The NVC works with the U.S. Embassy in Manila to schedule the interviews for CR-1/IR-1.

I just returned from Manila after attending my wife's successful IR-1 interview.

Classic,

You will wait for about 6 months for IR-1/IR-2 interviews after case completion.

I just attended my wife's and stepson's IR-1/IR-2 interviews in Manila.

Case complete date was 1 Sep 05. Interview date was 9 Mar 06 for both of them.

I was the designated agent for my wife and stepson, so the NVC mailed me the notice of the interviews. I received the NVC notices about four days after I saw the interviews scheduled on the list on the U.S. Embassy in Manila Internet site .

I believe, MrsBruce is gathering 864 requirements for co sponsers to send it over to the NVC. So, she will need Pay stubs and employment letters for co-sponsers as well..

I did not send an employment letter or pay stubs to the NVC. Just the W-2s and the tax returns. The NVC forwarded the documents to Manila and they were in the file at the time of the interview.

Perhaps co-sponsors must send those documents, but I did not require a co-sponsor.

My wife and I were not asked for pay stubs or an employment letter.

My wife is a student and I work for the U.S. government as a civil servant. The W-2s apparently contained all the information that the U.S. Embassy required.

After waiting one year for I-130 approval (approved in February 2005), the NVC completed the case on 1 September 2005. The interview occurred just over 6 months later.

The best part of the time required is that my wife will not be a conditional permanent resident when she arrives in the USA. We had been married for over two years before the NVC completed the case.

As of my wife's interview on 9 March 2006 in Manila, three years of tax returns (and supporting W-2s) are required for CR-1/IR-1 visas.

I was there and watched the embassy staffer open the file and verify that the documents were present.

I had copies of my 2005 return, but I was not asked for them. The 2004, 2003, and 2002 documents were adequate.

This comes directly from the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch01.html#d0e1644

"Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one spouse is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other spouse is a nonresident alien at the end of the year.

If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated for income tax purposes as residents for your entire tax year. Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect and you are both taxed on worldwide income. You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice, but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years."

The W-7 is also clear about how to obtain the ITIN for a foreign spouse and/or dependent. You cannot file an income tax return without the SSAN or ITIN information.

I provide all the support for my wife (academic scholarship student) and stepson and I am entitled to claim them as dependents under U.S. tax laws. I have done so since 2003 and I do not worry at all about an audit.

You need to apply to the IRS for an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number).

I got married in 2003 and my wife's IR-1 interview is next month. I have filed "Married - Filing Jointly" since 2003 and my wife has never been to the USA.

You will need to make a copy of her passport bio page and then take the passport and the copy to a notary public. Notarization of the copy as "... a true and correct copy" will permit you to apply for the ITIN.

The IRS form you need is a W-7.

Other forms of ID are acceptable, but I used the copy of the passport.

If you wife has income, however, you will have to declare it and pay tax on it.

March interview dates were released last night on the Manila Embassy Internet site.

My wife was assigned a March date for her IR-1 interview. Her case was completed on 1 Sep 05.

I called the NVC last week and was told that March scheduling would not begin until this week and would not be posted until next week.

I work for the Federal government and I am used to the typical attitudes of, and misinformation provided by, such employees.