TnN

Thought so...just checking as I never went through Lagos for any visa processing. Thanks!

I have family members going as a group to their interview for visitors visas, all were scheduled for Monday (Oct 21). Suddenly (today, the 18th) there was an e-mail (very poorly written) that states that one of the applicants must re-pay the fee and re-register for the appointment or he will not be admitted. This sounds so bizaare to me, and also the e-mail was sent from an aol account. Is this a fraud attempt? Has anyone had this before? What should we do? Everyone was set to travel there as the appointment is on MONDAY!!

Help, what can we do?

Thanks!

Yes, you being 23 years older than your wife IS a red flag. It just means you have to provide more evidence of an on-going relationship, visits, chats, phone recoreds, pictures etc. to overcome it. As far as paying the IRS I am not an expert but I would think as long as you're paying and have filed your taxes it would be a minor bump in th road. Will you be having a co-signer?

It seems that entering Kenya through the Ugandan border without a visa would be illegal for a Somalian passport holder. I understand African border controls, but it would be at your own risk. Have you asked other Somalian members what they did?

from what I gathered from your post is that your fiance is Somalian, assuming with a Somali passport, needing to get to Kenya for the medical and interview. In this case yes, your fiance needs a visa to enter Kenya with a Somali passport.

That's so wonderful!! Are there any tips you have to share as I will be inviting family, some older, some have businesses etc. Any input as to what they took to the interview/application would help.

Thanks!

You can only do DCF in china if you (usc) are a resident in china (x or z visa) for at least 6months prior to filing, so do you fit that criteria?

Amyl we were just approved in a similar situation, both living in our non native countries. I had every document translated and notarized with a certificate stating that the translator was competent etc. Also I would front load your I130 with all evidence you have, pictures of you both, bank statements, leases, plane tickets, anything showing that you two have been living together and known each other (all must be translated). you may want to consider an EOR, but its not necessary. Also as far as the birth certificate I sent ours in with the I130 because the more you have the better off you are. I'm assuming you're doing DCF? And in that case you have little chance to submit evidence after the petition is sent in until the interview. A lot also depends on the consulate in Spain though too.

I wish you luck! -T

Just updating:

I e-mailed the consulate yesterday (Jan 23) after I posted this message and they responded within hours of my request and stated that my husbands file was received and IV Info packet(3) was on its way via EMS. Well today (Jan 24) We got our packet!!

Lesson Learned: Waiting another day wold have been OK, but the e-mail response came with our case number...which is helpful if your packet doesn't arrive.

Background:

- I DCF filed for my foreign spouse in Beijing on November 21, 2012

- Received NOA2 via e-mail December 31, 2012 with approval date of December 21, 2012 written on the letter dated December 27, 2012

- Still have had no contact from the Guangzhou consulate...

Should I call? E-mail? Wait?

I am unsure of this timeline as it's DCF and we're interviewing here (both as foreigners, not Chinese, if that makes a difference)

How and when is the best way to contact them? I know CNY is coming too and the process will slow a bit...

Thanks a lot!!

We have a bit of a different situation. I'm from US, husband is from India (just married last month, hoping to start on CR-1 soon!). I will be working in South Korea for a year teaching (on E2 working visa). Husband will join for part of the time (on F3, accompanying spouse visa).

Is it possible to do DCF from Korea since I will be living there for a year? Would we qualify if my husband is also from a different country? I don't qualify to file in India, but not sure if it's better to apply DCF or to mail into USCIS. Sounds like DCF is much faster.....

thanks for reading!!

I'm in the same situation as you are and we did DCF which is usually much faster, especially in Korea! So I'd consider yourself lucky. One thing you have to be careful about is that 1) you meet the residence requirements for the Korean embassy to accept your DCF application which is usually 6 months living in the foreign country on a legal working or student visa 2)Decide where you want your spouse to be interviewed, can he be legally in Korea when the interview date arrives? and 3) in general I've heard and was advised legally you must present evidence of your continued domicile in the US and provide evidence that you will be returning to the US in the relative near future.

If I were you I would look at all the requirements on the US Ebassy, Seoul website to get the specific requirements.

Good Luck!!!

whoa - wait a mo . I not twig that yer a DCF filer.

Now I do. Disregard, as NVC is not involved with DCF'd casefiles, for China.

So there's no NVC if DCF in China...what should I expect to come then? it's been difficult understanding it all because of the different situation we're in.

thanks again!

Darnell thanks for the great info again...does nvc typically receive the entire i130 packet if dcf or should I just play safe and resend all Bona-fides again? I did front Lora quite a bit.

po box is perfectly fine.

you planning on interviewing in Guangzhou ?

NVC EP - http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Electronic_Processing

Thanks Darnell!

Yes, waiting for NVC Guangzhou...hoping they will receive it soon!

I live in a country outside of the USA right now so all of my residential/mailing addresses during this process have been China, not the US. However on the DS230 it asks for mailing address in the USA if different from residential address in the US: which it is... Is it alright to place a PO Box for the mailing address in the US and the GC etc. will be sent there or should I put another house address even though it doesn't correspond with the residential address. I just don't want any problems receiving correspondences while back in the US.

I'm trying to figure out the amount I should place on the I-864 form line #23: my current individual income. I live and work in China where I get paid, obviously, but have no proof of that income nor do the work places give me tax forms. I also doubt I'll be claiming this income on taxes due to the lack of evidence (though I am working here legally). Anyone have suggestions?

Also would I need to file my 2012 taxes already and have transcripts ready for a February or March interview?

Ps I have a co-sponsor.

Thanks for all your help!

Thank you for your information, I'll wait a bit longer until I make contact!

Just updating my post, I got my NOA2 via e-mail on December 31 with an approval date of December 21 and letter written on the 27th of December. I am in the US right now so am unsure if the letter was mailed or a text was sent to me.

It was an exciting New Year's Eve!!

Thanks for the input, maybe someone else has more information they can share?

Just an FYI for others: I called the police personnel in Lagos we dealt with when we orig were issued the certificate and he stated that the prints and the certificate are only valid for 3 months so we must return the prints and certificate along with a new set of prints to receive an updated certificate.

Yeah I know what you mean about the mail , I left mine in Nigeria because I knew it would expire before I would have been able to use it . It was easy to send it back to me. I don't think you'll be able to call the officer though.

Maybe someone else can comment on this , there may be another option

Thanks for the input, maybe someone else has more information they can share?

The fingerprint section is valid for 1 year , so you don't need to be physically there for them to issue you a new certificate as long as it's within that 1 year. Just send the old certificate with the fingerprint section back , have someone do it for you in Nigeria and send it to you. That's what I did

Thank you for letting me know that information. I'm still hesitant about sending mail to and from China/Nigeria and currently have friends there that will be coming back to China (better to have something in hand than lost in the mail). Is there anyway to get around sending the fingerprint section back? Calling the officer that did it the first time? etc.?

I'm wondering if any of you know if I can get another police clearance certificate issued from Nigeria for my husband without being in Nigeria. We got one issued while we were in Nigeria, but since then it has expired (3 month validity). I don't want to (can't) send the expired one in without a new one, but also don't want us to have to travel to Nigeria just for this. Any advice is welcomed, Thanks!

Normally, if you appear in person in Beijing once the officer accepts your application after review such as you described the petition is as good as approved. Typically it takes 2-4 weeks before the actual approval. You might get an approval notice but in many cases the first notice you will get is P3 from Guangzhou. I would email USCIS Beijing and the GUZ immigrant visa unit at around 4 weeks if you haven't heard anything. If the P3 comes when you are back in the US you can address upon your return.

Thank you for your information, I'll wait a bit longer until I make contact!

I DCF the I130 for my husband here at the US embassy in Beijing on November 20. I talked to the USCIS officer at the embassy as he paged through my application and all attached documents, asking for clarification on a few things. After the officer looked at the documents he ok'd them and I paid the fees at the embassy in cash on the same day. I also filled out a paper which gave the embassy/USCIS my e-mail and phone contact information. Since then I have not heard anything. How long am I to wait? Will I receive an NOA1 or was my accepted application in person along with payment that notification? I'm a bit confused as this situation doesn't seem to be discussed in the forums or timeline stats (or I haven't seen it). I'm also planning on going back to the US for the holidays and don't want to miss this notification if it is sent in the mail...

Thanks for any information you all have concerning this process!

Hi Everyone,

I've been following this site for a while now and it's helped me out a lot and would like to thank you all for your great information. Tomorrow we will be filing our I-130 petition with supporting documents here at the US Embassy in Beijing, China...YAY!!!

Though I've been reading posts of filing in China and other places I've failed to find many informational posts about filing in China for non-Chinese citizens. Is there anyone who has gone through or is currently in the process of filing for your spouse in China where neither of you are Chinese and can share your stories? Just curious...

Also, in general I've found USCIS of the US Embassy Beijing to be helpful and replying to my inquiries within one or two days which has been great.

I'll continue to update my timeline and this post as our story continues.....

looking for advice from others more experienced in this area:

first here are the facts of our case

1)We are both living in China on foreign resident visas

2)there is a USCIS office here in Beijing at the embassy

3)Married in husbands country (Nigeria)

4)Need to get immigrant visa for spouse ASAP

Questions:

1) Where is the best place to file the I-130 form? and have an interview?

2) Is it faster to process everything in China or to send it to the US or file it in Nigeria?

3) If I send it to the US, where would he go for the interview?

4) What are your stories for filing your paperwork like this, since we are both outside our native countries? How long did it take?

Thank you for sharing your information