Ms. Curious

Hi everyone,

My wife just went through the medical examination in Singapore. When we informed the doctor that she is still nursing our baby, the doctor advised against the MMR and DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) shots. The flu vaccine was administered.

When we asked the doctor if it will affect the embassy interview, he said the embassy will make a decision.

Anybody have similar experiences? Should we be worried?

We hope it won't delay the process. Our embassy interview is coming up next week.

Any recommendations, advice, suggestions?

Thank you!

That's what we thought. Thank you for the reassurance! Much appreciated!

Thanks for the prompt response.

I have pasted the instructions below. I have added a next to the fingerprints section. Also, a majority of these instructions were taken from the following website: http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/cert_issued.htm

______10 - SINGAPORE POLICE CERTIFICATE:___________________________

Certificate of Clearance

Available. The police records for Singapore may be considered complete from their origins to the

present, except for the "occupation" period during World War II.

For all applicants, a form letter from the requesting/processing office (NVC, KCC, Embassy, employer

etc.) is required to obtain a Certificate of Clearance (COC). Such letter should specify the need for the

clearance and state explicitly that "a statutory declaration of no criminal conviction by the applicant is

not acceptable as evidence that he/she does not have criminal convictions". The COC will be sent

directly to the requesting/processing office.

For this request, the COC should be sent to the following address:

National Visa Center

ATTN: DR

31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 100

Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914

Applicants residing in Singapore are to appear in person at the COC Office located at Blk D Police

Cantonment Complex, #02-07/08, 391 New Bridge Road , Singapore 088762. The office is open from

8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Applicants residing overseas should submit their applications (original) addressed to: Head Criminal

Records, CID ( COC ), Blk D Police Cantonment Complex, #02-07/08, 391 New Bridge Road ,

Singapore 088762.

Processing time for each application is about 10 working days.

Processing fee is S$45.00 per application. Payment can be made by cash, NETS , cash card, or credit

cards (VISA/MASTERCARD) for walk-in application. Application sent by post (from overseas) must be

accompanied by a bank draft made payable to ‘Head Criminal Records CID ’ through a Singapore-based

bank. In addition to the processing fee, a postage fee of S$5.00 must be included in the payment (total

S$50.00) if the COC is to be mailed. Payment is non- refundable once the application is accepted.

All applicants must complete the Certificate of Clearance application form available at

http://www.spf.gov.sg/faqs/doc/coc_appform.pdf in full and submit it with the necessary supporting

documents:

• A set of applicant’s fingerprint impressions (ten prints). Applicants applying in person will be

fingerprinted at the COC office at the time of application. For application by post from overseas,

the applicant must submit a set of his/her fingerprint impressions taken by a qualified Fingerprint

Officer at a Police Station or an authorized office of the country he/she is now residing.

• A photocopy of applicant’s valid passport (showing biodata page).

• Two recent passport-sized photographs. Instant photo machine is available outside COC Office for

applicants who appear in person (cost: S$7, approx. USD5.50, for 4 passport size photos).

• Photocopy of document from relevant consulate/immigration authority/government bodies or other

requestor to establish that the certificate is required by such authority and that a statutory

declaration of no criminal conviction by the applicant is not acceptable as evidence that s/he has no

criminal convictions. All documents are to be translated into English if written in other languages.

Note: Non-Singapore citizens requesting a Certificate of Clearance must also submit a copy of the letter

found on our website

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Request_Letter_for_Singapore_COC.docx after adding the

names of the principal and dependent applicants as indicated, along with the checklist letter from the

NVC.

Please refer to http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/cert_issued.htm for further information and updates on

Certificate of Clearance from Singapore.

Hello,

We have obtained the police certificate (Certificate of Clearance CoC) from Singapore. No complications, no questions.

Then.... we received the checklist from NVC asking for the police certificate and in the instructions, it asks for a set of 10 fingerprints.

Is this part of the requirements to obtain the certificate from the Singapore police or does NVC require fingerprints?

Has anyone from Singapore submitted fingerprints?

Please advise!

Thanks!

Hello,

We brought the confirmation email to the CoC department and picked up the CoC on the 10th business day. No complications, no questions.

Then.... we received the checklist from NVC asking for the CoC and in the instructions, it asks for a set of 10 fingerprints.

Is this part of the requirements to obtain the CoC from the Singapore police or does NVC require fingerprints?

Has anyone from Singapore submitted fingerprints?

Please advise!

Thanks!

Bumping this, please help!

Hi,

Need advice/clarification please!

PART 1

In the PREVIOUS US TRAVEL section, the form asks for previous US travel. I included POE in 2000. Since then till 2012, I have travelled out of US for vacations. The longest being 5 months. Do I need to include each times I came back into the US? I lost my green card in 2013 when I stayed out of the US for more than a year (due to pregnancy).

PART 2a

The form asks if I have been issued a US visa. I did receive a CR-1 during POE in 2000 and then IR-1 in 2002 upon removal of conditional status in the US. In my passport, I have the old style of visa stamp. There is no visa number, only my Alien Registration number. Is my Alien number the same as a visa number?

Part 2b

In the dropdown menu for type of visa, there is no CR-1 or IR-1 visa. The most accurate visa I could select is K3, SPOUSE OF US CITIZEN. Is this correct?

Your assistance is appreciated, O Wise Immigration Gurus!

Thank you!

MaLo, thank you for the reply.

AOS supporting documents are the I-864 + tax returns from last 3 years, right?

What are the IV supporting documents?

Hello,

Applying for IV, paid for AOS fee, completed Form DS-261 and next step is submitting the AOS forms and taxes.

Question: do we submit all documents immediately or do we need to wait for NVC to issue an invoice, make payment and then submit documents?

I have read conflicting directions/guides, so any assistance is appreciated.

Thank you!

Hello,

Can someone please review our timeline (http://www.visajourn...e.php?id=155571) and offer advice on what we should do?

Our home, belongings, our whole life is back in the US. We travelled out of the US for a short visit but due to an unexpected pregnancy, we could not return before the 1 year deadline. We have applied for my 2nd visa and only received the NOA1.

On our timeline this is mentioned:

Based on timeline data, your I130 may be adjudicated between March 15, 2014 and April 3, 2014*.

Does this mean, the next step in the visa journey will occur or the final decision?

Please advise whether we should call USCIS, email them, or any other advice?

Thank you!

This is only an estimate when your I-130 might get approved.

There are two more steps after I-130 approval.

• NVC: read the first two posts here : http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/468369-nvc-filers-december-2013/
• Interview.
• And then, and only then- POE.

Good luck

Blueberry, thank you for the link. From what we are seeing, there are cases from Singapore (where we are applying from), filing later than us and getting the interview done. Yet, we are still waiting for NOA2.

Should we call, email, scream?

Thanks!

Hello,

Can someone please review our timeline (http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=155571) and offer advice on what we should do?

Our home, belongings, our whole life is back in the US. We travelled out of the US for a short visit but due to an unexpected pregnancy, we could not return before the 1 year deadline. We have applied for my 2nd visa and only received the NOA1.

On our timeline this is mentioned:

Based on timeline data, your I130 may be adjudicated between March 15, 2014 and April 3, 2014*.

Does this mean, the next step in the visa journey will occur or the final decision?

Please advise whether we should call USCIS, email them, or any other advice?

Thank you!

Still confused.....

We still maintain our residence in California (paying rent, utilities, etc.) but we are currently in Singapore.

On the I-130 and G-325a form, should we list our current address as our residence in California or our physical address in Singapore?

We want to show that we have ties back in the US however, all mails from USCIS will be sent to the mailing address, correct?

Any advice???

Darnell, we tried and we tried again. Only the officer would talk to us.

Ms. Curious - if'n you are a US Citizen, what's up with talking with a Vice-Consul again at the US Embassy in Singapura ? Man, if that was me, I'd be all over that and that human, trying to get a re-entry permit or travel document.

And, I really mean 'talking' , face to face. I think yer approach to this is a bit off, as well.

The step by step guide for the IR-1 visa here on VJ says that I should photocopy all pages of my passport. I have seen elsewhere that only the biodata page is needed. Any advice?

Hello,

Has anyone applied for an IR-1 visa a second time? Did you successfully have a green card previously, left the US for more than a year and have to apply for a green card again?

I had a green card for more than 10 years but I have to apply for a new green card because I have been out of the US for more than a year (unexpected but joyous pregnancy).

Any advice or tips are appreciated.

Penguin, thank you. Much appreciated.

If you are self employed, they will go by line 22 on your tax return.

Sure, a US friend can mail- remember some items will require original signatures from you though.

Thanks for the prompt response.

My 2012 tax returns were filed as self-employed.

However, my status is different now.

On the I-864 form, I have state my current employment status, correct?

1. No

2. No, but by preparing all your documents and things ahead of time you can make it go as fast as possible; it should take less than a year.

3. No- you can get a co-sponsor or file base don assets.

4. Only if that job will continue in the USA once you move back, ie you will get an intra-company transfer.

5. Yes, if they transfer you back when you move back to the USA, ie intra-company transfer

In terms of your baby and the concern about vaccine: is your child not a US citizen? If you are, there is a very strong chance the baby is too, and so is entitled to a US passport- no visa needed, no vaccinations needed.

Hello Penguin,

If I am a self-employed business owner, can I show that I am collecting consulting fees as part of my income?

Also, can I ask a friend in the US to mail our 1-130 application packet from the US on our behalf?

The US Embassy website in Singapore says we should mail our application to the Chicago lockbox.

However, form I-130 states that if we reside in California, we should mail our packet to Phoenix.

Any advice?

Thank you.

They can do blood tests to find out what her immunity is. She likely would have had some already because of the pregnancy (such as rubella.)

Ok, thank you.

No. They won't give vaccines that would harm the baby. If your wife was a GC holder before she should be good on vaccines anyway.

Hello Harpa, that's great news. My wife first got her GC in 2000 but we don't have records of her previous vaccinations.

Hello Penguin,

Thank you for your answers.

Sorry we didn't clarify about the vaccination, what we were concerned about is the vaccinations for my wife and how that can affect our nursing baby. Can we get a waiver for my wife's vaccinations based on our baby's needs?

Any advice, suggestions, comments are appreciated for our situation.

My wife and I left the US for a short visit to Singapore. We expected to return in 3 months. However, we found out that my wife was pregnant during our time abroad. We had been trying to have children for a while so we were overjoyed with the good news. We extended our itinerary to 6 months. However, after many doctors informing us that my wife should not travel, we decided to have the baby in Singapore.

My wife has had a green card for over 10 years. Due to the pregnancy and delivery, her time outside of the US lapsed for more than a year. The main reasons were:

- doctor's advice to avoid long distance travel

- daughter's US passport and registration of birth abroad was only approved after the 1 year deadline for my wife to return

- wife needing time to recover after an emergency C-section surgery

- baby had severe jaundice

We applied for the returning resident visa SB-1. We provided 2 doctor's letters, many emails from our landlord showing our monthly utility bills, many emails from family and friends back in the US waiting for us, car insurance bills, car loan bills, etc.

Even though, we showed proof that it was beyond our circumstances, social & economic ties and medical letters, our application was still denied.

So now we have to re-apply for my wife's IR-1 visa and this could take a long time (from what I am reading here on VJ).

Our concerns:

- our whole life is back in the US. We never planned to be away for so long. Our furniture, our lease, our property are all pending.

- vaccinations, possible side effects for our daughter who is still nursing (100%)

- difficulty in finding a job while overseas

Questions:

1. Is it beneficial to ask our congress representative to intervene and reverse the SB-1 application decision?

2. The US embassy in Singapore does not offer DCF. Any other way to expedite?

3. Do I need a US - based job?

4. Can I work for a foreign employer to show means of support?

5. Can I work for a US company but based overseas?

Timeline:

• March 2012 - Flight to Singapore for 3 months (planned)
• May 2012 - Discovered we are expecting first child
• June 2012 - Extended return date to September 2012
• August 2012 - Doctors advised us to avoid long distance travel
• February 7, 2013 - Baby's arrival
• February 26, 2013 - Applied for US passport & registration of birth abroad
• March 9, 2013 - 1 year lapse of stay out of US
• April 1, 2013 - Final doctor's visit for baby's jaundice blood test & observation
• April 26, 2013 - Application for SB-1 visa
• June 6, 2013 - Letter received from US embassy denying SB-1 application

We feel so lost and stranded.