MedRoni

The police certificate is a record covering the following:

You must submit police certificates which:

Cover the entire period of the applicant’s residence in that area

Have been issued by the appropriate police authority

Include all arrests, the reason for the arrest(s), and the disposition of each recorded case.

My husband went to the local police station and they were able to provide him with the Police Certificate. It is only valid for 3 months though, so don't get it too early. In his case he had to get one (and get it translated) to send to me for the NVC, then he had to get another one (again translated copy too) for his interview as his original one sent had expired. The embassy was very on top of the expiration date. I am just glad he thought about it ahead of time.

As for the proof of not being in the military, my husband was not either. They never asked.

Best of Luck!!

For what it's worth all my forms were done in black, no issues.

I would say it really doesn't matter unless the form instructions tell you otherwise.

Great News! Congrats~

At least the next round of waiting should be much shorter!

hi everyone,So Happyyyy. i just called NVC and a lady told me your case is completed on 10th October, but when i asked her have you sent me a notice of completion , she said we don't send you email until interview time! is it true? NVC doesn't send applicants to announce their case is completed? can i believe my case is completed???

thanks

You can believe it - I never gave them the chance to notify me since I was calling ever day

Seriously though - I received nothing until the notice of our interview date. So hang in there... you will see it before you know it!

...is it a good idea to take that if in those chats you are normally arguing and fighting alot? It will seem bad right? But if you take NONE wouldn't it look suspicious?

This implies you never have good chats or sms messages. Surely you must have some good ones? Just use those.

If you do not have any, I would say you have other things to worry about as well.

Try to focus and find all the positive proof you have - maybe facebook posts, pictures, notarized letters from family and friends, etc. and best of luck!

No,it's because they are severely understaffed right now and processing is backlogged with cases. It took a over 6 weeks for them to reply to my fiance just to schedule an interview, but they finally did just this past week-- so they're working, but it's just taking a lot longer at this time because of under staffing.

This is correct. I have been working very closely myself with this embassy and they are in fact extremely understaffed. The embassy is working as usual, no problems from Libya or any foreign affair issues. Just a bit more patience on your part and she will have it before you know it. Great news here is... it is any day for you!

By the way - you don't need a certified translator, the officer said it just needs to be a 3rd party that is not the beneficiary or the petitioner. as long as the person is competent in the languages and makes a declaration about it, it's enough.

OK... but the requirements listed on our final interview paperwork from the NVC clearly stated certified translated copies only. I would personally be better safe then sorry. Why would you trust just anyone that can translate without certification with the most important paperwork of your life? That's just me being me though

Either way good luck to you - I hope it all goes smooth from here!

Police check has to be with in ONE year! No criminal record = NO fingerprinting!!

My husbands Police record was only valid for three months in Algeria. Check it by country. When he went for his interview he had to get another one since the original one sent expired, way under a year. The embassy called him on it, but we were prepared with the new copy. But the previous answer was from Canada... so they override here.

As for the vaccinations, yes you can get them anywhere, however my husband got his during his medical exam. They just gave him any he was missing and was good to go.

Hello,

Went for my interview yesterday and was requested to provide translation for some of my documents by a 3rd party(I translated originally).

On the back of the 221(g) form they wrote P.T.O - does anyone knows what does this mean?

Most likely professional translators office, however I am not from your Australia so no guarantees!

I do know all translated copies are required to be done by a certified translator, who actually stamps the translated copies with proof of their certification. This is who we had translate ours and they went through just fine. I wish you well!

Ah... on the back... most likely does mean please turn over... but the translation requirement still stands

Its simple for us, lol, we agree to disagree. Sometimes I think we agree more than it seems at first as things get lost in translation. I think its one of the many good things about our relationship, is that we can discuss things, heated things, but neither of us is inclined to take it personal when we disagree. I can tell him I think he's out of his mind and vice versa, and we laugh it off. It has taken me a bit to get used to his view of the US (not our people, but policy) that I am not used to hearing-- as in world politics/ foreign policy mostly. I've definitely had to reevaluate my views and make them more broad.

Before we even began talking about moving forward with an engagement, we tackled all the major issues. Once we knew we were compatible with those things, the rest we can work through.

Same here... I actually couldn't have said it any better myself!!

Amazing! Happy for you!!

Thank you so much!!

Woo-hooo!! I'm so happy for you! Well done! Like they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Kudos to you for being one mighty squeaky gal when it mattered most !

Ha! It takes a while to get me squeaking... but when I do you would wish I never started!! Thanks so much for the support!

my friend , traveling and going there will not change any thing, they will let you go inside the embassy and then told you the same stuff, i have seing that happen in front of me at the embassy of tunisia , my adcice for you is to check with good immegratiom lowyer , he will be able to check and find out , trust me

Thank you, however I am not going there and there is no need for a lawyer. Since I was able to reach them by phone they have approved him and are issuing his visa next week!! But I do appreciate the post

Mine took 7 months with no issues when the website had stated 5 months as the processing time.

Remember, it is only an estimate. The wait is tough... but worth it!

UPDATE - so apparently all your advise here from all paid off - thank you so much... I received a letter/email from my Senators office today with an update from the embassy. The email reply from the embassy stated:

"“We have been in contact with the petitioner by telephone and will be following up on the case this week. At present, there appears to be no issues and we believe it will be issued within the next week or so”

So... getting through to them by phone was the key, also letting them know a mistake was made on their end and that I tried getting it corrected for a month with no answers from them. Once I got her on the phone she spent the 45 minutes with me getting to know us and our situation. 5-7 month AP averted!

Looks like there is an incredible chance he will be here before months end, inshallah! This is what it's all about...

Good, In your opinion, how many years for her (minimum) to spend here before filing for an IR-1?

it's just a matter of 6 months to determine , i get the visa or get her to me

do u think we can save time if we get her to live with me here ASAP? without waiting for the USCIS to reaffirm or not - NOID/NOIR, (6months from now). we will feel bad if the chance for a next interview in 6 months is possible, but to not feel bad she has to remain in the US in her job, she's ineligible to sponsor me anyway as she made $14,000.00 in 2011, it seems to me that since she needs a co-sponsor why waste time trying to be eligible (by the end of 2012 she will have made enough for only 1 year of the 3 years the CO look at, that means she will have to work steadily the whole 2013 and 2014 to have the 3 years fully covered) noway!!!! what pushes me to say this is because i don't see any co-sponsor out there, and i don't know if we can use my share of property that i have here.

we discussed that even last year, hopefully a co-sponsor appears very soon to rescue us, otherwise we have two choices, one of them is not an option, and the other is to get her to live with me.

It's hard to anticipate

It IS hard to anticipate... for all of us in our process. Sometimes it is better to try not to anticipate but be less emotional and more practical when it comes to our decisions. It is hard, trust me I know.

I think you might as well wait and see the final outcome of your application you have already submitted, assuming she can find a cosponsor. I believe this is your biggest obstacle both now, and in the future. Without a cosponsor you may very well need her to have three qualified working years herself regardless. She was not just borderline, her past years were way under the minimum.

It is unlikely she would just be able to pick up and move overseas without some planning on her end anyway. She has to have the funds for the plane ticket, putting everything in storage, or moving it… possibly selling it, getting personal affairs in order – bills she currently has may need to be paid off (since she most likely will have a difficult time paying them overseas), etc. Also there is the case of her and any visa/paperwork from your country for her to stay there long term. She can always start paying things off and saving for her plane ticket now, also check into your countries rules – that way you guys are doing something constructive in the meantime while you wait for the final decision of your original application. She should also work on who she knows that would be willing to cosponsor.

I am sorry but I really have no opinion on how many years she should spend over there minimum.

Ok, but then, in the future after couple of years living here, how can she sponsor me not living in the U.S? The rate of incomes here is low comparing to U.S in case she finds a job here knowing that she speaks only english and little spanish, but she will have to learn arabic or french in order to do well in job? is it a possibility, in the future to mingle our incomes to submit an international tax, do u have any idea?

in 1 week our marriage will have 2nd anniversary, because we got married on October 11, 2010, will our petition automatically switch to IR-1?

Thanks

Boiler is correct, after the few years are up your wife will have to go back and get a job, or she can have someone be a cosponsor for her. It may not be the easiest route, but it is a route. She could possibly teach English over there, there are programs out there for that. It is something to check into anyway. As for her learning the language over there - I am sure she would pick it up pretty quickly. I was amazed how much French and Arabic I had already learned from my husband. I didn't think so until I was over there.

Hang in there, you never know yet - it might all work out just fine from this end. Either way as mentioned before she might start looking for a cosponsor now for the next review. Good Luck!

Sorry to tell you we deeply know the sadness of being far away from each other not being able to wake and look at each other everyday.I live alone with my daughter's.I have friends but I don't go around hanging out.I'm lonely without my husband.If your wife don't want to go there to be with you even if having bad experience what does that tell you? I had bad experience in Egypt before scarey matter of fact but I keep on going to see my husband.why??? Because he is the love of my life who I wanna spend the rest of my life with so some bad experience would never stop me from going there.Anyway good luck and GOD bless

I kind of thought the same thing here. I would go in a heartbeat if necessary.

You had said your wife had a bad experience there, but you also said where she lives now she has fears of being followed and attacked, she lives with drug dealers in the neighborhood, she is afraid of being robbed... of being alone. I can't imagine that actually being with you in your country would be worse then that... even with the bad experience in the past.

I would trust my husband 1000% he would not let anything bad happen to me. What it boils down to is depending on your outcome she may not have a choice. If she truly loves you and needs to she will come. After a few years and you have enough proof, the two of you can return here together.

Now with that said... let's hope it doesn't come to that~!!

I understand, we have to prepare for the worse, but by the end of 2012 she will have made enough to sponsor me, what is NOID?

By the end of this year will not be enough. They are looking for consistent income, over time. That is why they ask for the last three years of tax info. I am with Ebunoluwa on this one. Especially since you said it was one of the first issues the CO had.

NOID = Notice of Intent to Deny

Yay ! Some movement ! I am a fan of being assertive - though I truly hate 'the shift' required to get a human to focus on YER casefile, always.

It's so worth it, to get to the right human.

Boy you got that right!

I don't like having to be assertive, however she knew exactly who I was when I called which is good and bad. Good because she knew I had been trying to reach someone for so long which means she saw all my emails coming in... and bad because she knew I had been trying to reach someone for so long which means she ignored my emails coming in.

She did give me some valuable information though as far as the internal workings there. She said they are currently still working on cases that have been at the embassy since May for AP. So I guess a 5 month wait is not out of the question, ugh. Although I am hoping my 45 minute phone call with her might help persuade her to move faster

Hope everything works out for you. Since they marked him as a no-show, do you have any proof that he was indeed there?

Not really... they took everything, his medical exam paperwork, fingerprints, etc. He said they had workers replacing a door that day if that knowledge helped. I am sure they would have video tapes if needed. I finally just got through by phone by being a little (ok, A LOT) 'Aggressive" and she was able to confirm she shows he was actually there. She said it must have been an entry error between them and the state department. She is looking in to see what she can do to help move this along quicker and will get back to me by the end of next week since the original interviewer is on vacation until Wed.

Thank you so much for the well wishes, we can use as many as we can get right now!

OK Update...

You guys were so right, or so it seems so far!

I called the American Citizen side, he told me he cannot transfer me to the consulate section. I told him they have screwed up and entered my husband as a no show for his interview... I cannot get through by phone and I have emailed eight times. I insisted I speak to a live body that can help me. He transferred me with a very brief wait.

Apparently the lady he transferred me to has seen all of my emails and knew who I was. She spent almost 45 minutes on the phone with me asking details about my husbands interview, clearing up anything I wanted to tell her... she asked me questions and basically interviewed me then apologized profusely for the lack of response to date. She said there are only two of them and it is no excuse, but it is what it is.

She promised to get back to me next week and gave me a way to contact her directly. I once again have hope!

Thanks guys for the support. You rock~!

My husband and I have been married for four years and we haven't seen each other for 5 months. We are both getting discouraged and frustrated because we still haven't heard anything from the USCIS we put his papers in April 12, 2012 by the way. It's just hard trying to have a relationship through Skype? So my question is how do you guys cope with the seperation?

I haven't seen my husband for 15 months now as traveling overseas is not an option I can do often with work. Remember... Skype is better then nothing. We spend four hours a day on it, and text when we are not on it. I too sleep through a lot of it when I am not talking with him as it does help pass the time. A good solid relationship will stand the test of time.

As my sweet one tells me, by missing each other more we are stronger... absence does make the heart grow fonder - and just imagine when he finally gets here and it is forever. Never to be separated again. The trying times will be so very worth it!!!

I know that's what I am gonna do, and I intend to wait them out.

My husband is actually checking tomorrow if it would be faster for me to get my visa from the Algerian Embassy in Tunisia so I could visit him while I wait. Monday I find out from the Algerian Embassy in the US how fast I can expedite it here. One way or another the embassy in Algiers will have to answer me. One would think they would have preferred the easy, nice way!!

Thank you Coincidentally, I just sent an email to NVC last Thursday simply because embassy has been completely unresponsive and petition expires in 2 weeks (I realize they tend to automatically extend validity in instances like this, but it seemed to give a legit sense of urgency for contacting NVC)

The other poster's point about patience and lockdown is well taken, but this was a problem for me and fiance even before the regional chaos broke out in early September-- plus from what I understand, DZ embassy has been comparatively unaffected since then and consular operations are business as usual (at least that's their PR stance)

It is discouraging though.. scheduling an appointment should be straightforward enough. If we are having such difficulty even doing that, I can't imagine the communications nightmare I will encounter once it's (invariably) put in AP after his interview with all our five-alarm-red flags. That's actually the more optimisitic outcome (preferable to me beseeching them to overturn a denial) Guess I might as well get comfortable and keep an eye out for good airfares :/

Please keep in touch about your case as well. Thanks and best of luck.

Actually you are correct - they are not in lock down and have been totally unaffected. My husband's brother has a friend that works in the Embassy and had said it is all business as usual. I have also received "read receipts" to the emails I have sent so I know someone is at least there!

You are also correct in the fact of if it is this difficult to get an easy task done, what is in store? The good news is once he goes into AP (assuming) you can follow it through the State Department which I have called several times and always get a live body with zero wait times. If the embassy process it properly, which is not the case here.

Of course everyone is right about the patience, however I do think you may want to think about those tickets as it will still be a good while yet! It's a nice time of year to visit... at least it is cooler then summertime!

When we were being blown off in Ecuador, I finally phoned the USC side and asked to be transferred. They said, "We're not supposed to do that." I said that they should and would, because I was a U.S. citizen and no one was going to deny my request. (I was prepared to ask for name & position, if any flak were forthcoming.) I further stressed that I was to be transferred to an American who was physically at his desk and present to answer the phone.

I was placed on hold for perhaps 7 minutes before someone came on. It was the head of the IV Visa Unit himself. He was neither gruff nor cordial, but he didn't blow me off, and after I followed the procedure (in this case, sending an e-mail with "For Chief ____" in the subject line), we got some action.

Whether we're blown off at the interview or afterwards, we need to play the "American citizen" card. No Foreign Service National (the locals who help at the consulate) have the right or the power to hose us, and this needs to be emphasized to them.

You have convinced me - thank you!

I have no problem being assertive and if that's what it takes I have no issues. I know their weekend is Fri/Sat so I will try this first thing Sunday morning their time. It's nice to see others succeed and share. Thanks for the help!