RobEnglish

Thank you for your help.

And I'm guessing that nothing should be stapled together?

Thank you very much.

Hi,

After a long and drawn-out process with many delays, at last we’re ready to send the DS-230 and the I-864. I wanted to double-check the list of supporting documents etc. but I’ve just going round in circles trying to find exactly what I’m looking for, without much success and a lack of time (this is the last day I’ll see my wife for several months!) Meanwhile, I have a list I made earlier – plus a few questions. Please can someone confirm?

DS-230

• Bar-coded cover sheet
• DS-230 form
• Original marriage certificate
• Original long form birth certificate
• Police certificate
• Photocopy of passport biographic data page
• Passport photos x2
• Immigrant Visa application payment receipt
• Photocopies of all documents

I-864

• Bar-coded cover sheet
• I-864 form
• Photocopy of recent tax return
• Letter from employer

My question is: are the following required in the I-864 package?

• Photocopy of passport biographic data page??
• Passport photos??
• AOS payment receipt??
• Photocopies of all documents??

Finally, can each section of the forms and paperwork be stapled, or only paper clips?

Thank you!

Thank you for these replies and for your help!

Hi, I’m currently in the USA visiting my wife. Can I send the DS-230 Application For Immigrant Visa And Alien Registration from here in the USA, or does it have to be sent and postmarked from my home country? It would be quicker, cheaper and easier to send it from here, but maybe it has to be sent from the UK (home country). Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks.

Read the contract, the guides on the NVC website and the instructions for the I-864. Should have everything they need. They'd go after petitioner first. Lol.

PS: I've read what I could find on the NVC website and also the I-864 instructions. I’m not sure which contract you refer to? And none of the information I’ve seen so far mentions anything about defaulting on a loan or medical care etc. Any ideas? Thanks

Ok, I read those before, but will re-read.

Ready to send my IV application form now. However, I’m about to make a two-week trip to the USA. Wondering if I can send it from there – or does it have to be postmarked from the UK (home country)?

Looking forward to posting good news here in future, instead of questions!

thanks!

...At least it was the AOS bill you have to pay again and not the IV.

Paying $88 again > $230.

That's very true!

3 - no. Only if the beneficiary uses means tested benefits.

Thanks again, NikiR.

But please can you elaborate on that, just so I fully understand and can reassure our friend ?

Hi,

I’m back again! I have a few more questions, if anyone can help, please?

Regarding the I-864, Affidavit of Support:

(1) Regarding question 1 on the I-864: my wife is the petitioner and our friend is a joint sponsor. Even though technically between them they are “joint sponsors”, it looks like one is regarded as the petitioner and only one is a joint sponsor. Is this right? So, regarding question 8: “I am sponsoring the principal immigrant named in Part 2 above” – do both the petitioner and the joint sponsor need to say “yes” to this?

(2) Regarding question 21, Household. My wife needs to include herself, of course, and then the form asks if she is currently married – yes, = “1”. Part “h” says: “Add together lines and enter the number here” which means household size is “2”. But her household size is currently “1” and I will be the second person – but right now only 1. It seems a bit misleading. Is it okay to write “2” as total household size, even though I WILL BE the second person, but I'm not there yet?

(3) Our joint sponsor has raised a concern, which I hope won’t bring bad news. Does a joint sponsor have any financial liability if I were to, for example, default on a loan, medical care etc.? Please can anyone advise me further?

This has been a complicated process with many delays and difficulties, but I hope it will all be resolved very, very soon. It would have been much more difficult without all the help on this forum. Thank you!

As long as it is a valid US bank it is fine to use.

Best of luck with the rest of your journey!

Hi MedRoni,

Thank you. That's very good to know.

All the best!

2. I didn't know payments could "expire"

8. Oh, that's USCIS, not NVC. Two different departments. But regardless, they should update that little tidbit, not only with the updated form name, but also about the process.

If you don't continue with the next stage and a year passes, apparently they do! But we're lucky that we could still resume from where we left off, even though we have to pay $88 again (a small price to pay, I guess)

Yes, two different departments, but both providing information about the process etc., and some of the information is outdated. Not helpful, is it?!

All the best!

Thanks, NikiR.

At last I found out that apparently the payment cannot be made online because, because we made the payment before, got delayed, and then it expired. So the payment has to be re-made, this time via one of the alternative methods (e.g. money order). It seems ridiculous that the NVC website works best with Internet Explorer, that it shows another payment is due, but won’t let me make the payment online – it’s 2013 after all!

Anyway, my question is this, if anyone can please advise me: can the payment be made from a friend’s US bank account, or does it have to be my wife’s US bank account? It’s convenient right now to ask a friend, as my wife and I are both travelling overseas.

Thank you!

Thank you very much for your replies and invaluable information!

A few more comments / questions in relation to your replies (I’m keeping the numbers as they relate to the questions and answers above):

2. The IV bill was invoiced and now I’m completing the DS-230. What is a DS-3032?

5. Police records. You suggested to read about UK documents at http://travel.state....l?cid=8993#docs – I had seen that. But under the police certificates section, there is a link, but the link is dead. However, I googled the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Criminal Records Office and found the application form. Another form! No peace for the wicked (or even those without a criminal record!)

8. Amazing that the NVC website has dead links and references to forms that have been superseded! It's really not helpful, is it.

Thanks again for your help. I'll start browsing the NVC filers thread next. I didn’t know it existed.

No you do not need to file I-601a

Send the two AOS packages together.

Thank you!

Hi, sorry in advance for many questions! Any help would be much appreciated.

1. On the DS-230 form, 31a, it asks to list “Person(s) named in 14 and 29 who will accompany you to the United States now”. Only my wife is named, in section 14. She is a US citizen and is currently living in the United States. Do I need to include her name in section 31a? She isn’t going to “accompany” me because she is already there. However, I note the green card is to be sent to a USA address, so maybe she is meant to bring the green card and accompany me?

2. When my wife received the AOS invoice, there was also a page to fill out for “choice of address or agent”. I just realised, this never got completed and sent. Do we have to submit this, and if so, do we have to send it before my wife send AOS paperwork?

3. My wife’s address has changed. Who do we notify? Is there a formal procedure for notifying NVC or can I just email them? Or even by just putting the new address on the forms without directly mentioning the change.

4. While the visa process is on-going, can I still travel to the US on the visa waiver program?

5. On this page: http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_5455.html?cid=8993

It says that I need to: “obtain a statement from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Criminal Records Office. Applicants will find further guidance and application forms here.” The linked page is: http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/%20http://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx. But the link is dead! Any advice on getting the police certificate would be appreciated. Unfortunately, I’m not in the UK right now, which makes it a bit more difficult. (In fact, this whole process is double-stressful because of current circumstances!)

6. For the AOS, I note there are forms I-864, I-864A, I-864W, or I-864EZ. I presume I-864 is the one we need to file. And the petitioner and co-sponsor both need to fill out an I-864. And it needs to be completed in capital letters – even if typed?

7. The AOS form that officially expired on 30-09-2012 is definitely still valid?

8. I came across the following online: “Give the completed affidavit of support with all required documentation to the sponsored immigrant to file with either: a Consular Officer with a completed Form OF-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, or an Immigration Officer with a completed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status”. What’s the OF-230 and I-485?

Thank you!

Thanks!

Sorry, another thing to check. I don’t need to file a Form I-601A if I’m not in the USA now and have never overstayed etc.?

Thanks for the information!

When I made the IV payment, the information that followed stated: “To complete your Immigrant Visa application you must also submit civil documents. Go to www.ImmigrantVisas.state.gov and click Establish communication with the NVC and register an address or agent” and gave the following URL regarding what paperwork is required: www.ImmigrantVisas.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_5165.html

But the URL is not working! I will see if I can find the information elsewhere.

As I understand it, we will be sending 3 packages:

1. I send the immigrant visa application (DS-230 form and required documents)

2. My wife will send the AOS application (I-864 plus required paperwork including tax transcripts, employment letter, etc.)

3. Our co-sponsor needs to send an AOS application (I-864 plus required paperwork including tax transcripts, employment letter, etc.)

Please advise me if I'm wrong. Maybe everything needs to be sent together?

Will all three of these require a bar-coded cover sheet?

Will all three require passport photos?

Thank you!

Hi,

Thanks for comments and suggestions. I think the payment problem is solved.

In haste, according to the notes of what to do next, “Each applicant must next submit a visa application with supporting civil documents”. I haven’t had time to look any further, but please can anyone tell me briefly what the “supporting civil documents” are? We already submitted copies of marriage certificate, birth certificate etc. with the I-130. If these are needed again, I need to act quickly as I’m overseas for the next few months and these documents are in the UK.

Thank you in advance!

Hi, thanks for replies.

Yes, we received the AoS and application bills. The two payments due are shown online.

Yes, tried three computers now. Two PCs and one Mac. Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox. Wired and wireless. VPN and no VPN. On a machine with virus software and no virus software. Ad blockers are the only things I didn’t consider so far.

I’ll try again.

Hi, I’ve been trying to pay the Affidavit of Support fee online but keep running into problems. NVC recommended we use Internet Explorer, and so far we’ve tried Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox. But we cannot make the payment!

We just keep getting an error message stating: “Sys.WebForms.PaageRequestManagerPaserErrorException…..” etc.

Has anyone else been having this problem?

Thanks

Thank you for all your help!

An additional question: do we need to notify NVC of our intention to have a co-sponsor before my wife (the US citizen) pays the AoS fee, or can we go ahead with that?

Hi,

My wife and I need to ask a friend to be a co-sponsor for our application. I’ve seen the list online (see summary below) of what the co-sponsor needs to submit with the AoS form, but do they need to submit all of these things? I guess the IRS tax information is the most important. But if they don’t submit pay stubs and employment letter, is that ok? And will photocopies suffice (e.g. W2s and 1099s)?

Also, I understand that the co-sponsor's responsibility lasts until the immigrant becomes a citizen (this is not an intention -- is dual British-American citizenship even possible?) So if the immigrant gets a very good job some point in the future, is the co-sponsor then technically no longer responsible? And what if the co-sponor is due to retire after ten years, and will then be on a lower income?

Thanks for any advice!

• RS Tax information (photocopy or IRS Tax Return Transcript) - 1 year is required, up to 3 years may help.
  
• Tax Return Transcripts, optional but may help. The I-864 form requires a "Tax Return Transcript" and not a "Tax Account Transcript."
  
• W-2s and/or 1099s
  
• 1040 from most recent tax year
  
• Pay stubs for current year (6 months should do)
  
• Employment letter showing your income and position.
  

Hi again,

After some delays and email correspondence with NVC, I’m getting back onto this. Waiting for some NVC mail to be forwarded to us as we are currently overseas, and will then pay the AOS fee.

An email from NVC stated: “Once the (AOS) payment is received and processed, you will be given instructions on how to download the instruction packets and the appropriate forms online. You will need to mail the appropriate forms to the NVC in order to complete your immigrant visa processing.”

Can anyone please give me the heads up on what these particular forms will be in this next stage? Presumably it is was pushbrk was referring to – eg I can’t pay the IV (immigrant visa) fee until the AOS has been paid? So after paying the AOS, they’ll then send the IV form and invoice to me? Any advance notice on the "appropriate forms" will be useful.

Thanks all