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The Khans

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    How do people cope

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Ah! finances. My wife visited me in Islamabad once every year. I know you would just want to be with your spouse all the time. I've been there and I completely understand.

     

    Suggestions

    1. It is hard but if you can stack your money and invest it in something that gives you a nice return, you might be able to quit your job and live a more happy life with your spouse in the long run. Remember, spouses are forever, you must think long term. 
    2. Secondly, in the mean time, while you are away from your spouse, hangout with friends more often. Trust me, good friends can make a year go by quickly. 

    Lastly, a rule of thumb for making financial decisions is this: Direct the flow of your money towards investing in things that make you more money and away from spending on things that don't make you more money.

    Issued CR-1 over 2 years after marriage, how do I change to IR-1?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    What Is Conditional Residence?

    If you have been married for less than two years when your foreign citizen spouse enters the United States on an immigrant visa, his or her permanent resident status is considered “conditional.” The immigrant visa is a conditional resident (CR) visa, not an immediate relative (IR) visa. Source:travel.state.gov

    Your permanent residence status is conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than 2 years old on the day you were given permanent residence. You are given conditional resident status on the day you are lawfully admitted to the United States on an immigrant visa or adjustment of your status to permanent residence. Source: uscis.gov

    From these 2 websites it seems that the residency status revolves around my day of entry in the US. But then what about the fact that it still says CR-1 on my visa even though it was issued after two years of marriage? Will they just ignore it and give me IR-1 status at POE since my marriage is already more than 2 years old?

    Issued CR-1 over 2 years after marriage, how do I change to IR-1?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Hi!

    We got married on 6th June 2013 and on 25th August 2015 my visa was issued. I, unfortunately, observed later that it is a CR-1 instead of IR-1 which I now learn from visajourney that I was supposed to get!

    1. Please tell us in detail how we can fix this? And if possible without going back to the embassy. (the one here in Islamabad is no delight)
    2. I also read that by showing the Marriage Certificate to a CBP official, I can request a IR-1 status instead of CR-1? but I am a bit confused if it will work in my case since the issue date of my visa is already beyond the 2 year mark.. will they make an issue of this?
    3. If left the way it is, will it cause any problems on entry?

    On a side note I will be pre-processed in Abu Dhabi. And my flight is in 15 days so pour in your replies, it's urgent!

    Thank You!

    Do I need a 2nd polio vaccine to exit Pakistan?

    in Asia: South

    Posted

    I had my medical at Aziz Medical Center in Islamabad. They've given a yellow colored "certificate" of polio vaccination, IPV, that was injected into my arm.

    Now, what really bugs me is that when I was all done with my vaccinations, inculding polio, the doctor at the said center told me that I have to get another polio vaiccine oraly, OPV, from a government hospital before I leave for US, THREE days prior to my dparture because the Gov. of Pk only recognizes certificate from its own hospitals???

    Is this really how it is? Did anyone else in my situation have to get a 2nd polio vaccine, OPV even though they were given IPV, before dparture from a Government Hospital? I tried to get it touch with government offcials at Drug Regulatory Authority in Islamabad but they are not answering the phone.

    NVC Filers - May 2015

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Hi everyone! Our aos fee just got paid. How long will it take for us to wait so I can filled up the ds260? NVC sent me an email saying ds261 will be reviewed within 42 days. I filled up our ds261 on April 2, 2015.

    I would suggest to call them and ask the operator to review and confirm it with you (petitioner) right there on the phone. That's what my wife did and we got our IV bill 3 days after the call!

    PCC says Canada instead of USA, problem?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Can you please share the link to the PDF on Islamabad Embassy website stating that Police Clearance Certificate is required from the residents of Pakistan?

    http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/%5E;/immigrant_visas_faqs.html

    It was the above link but it's dead now.

    There was a question in the FAQs to the immigrant visa section and if I remember correctly it went like:

    "What do I need to bring to my interview?"

    and in the answer to that was a PDF which I downloaded. It had in it a list of documents to bring. One of the documents on the list was : Police Certificate.

    But now, they've put up a checklist at the following link:

    http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/document_checklist.html

    Going down the list the following is mentioned:

    Police Clearances: If you lived in a country other than Pakistan, Afghanistan or the U.S. for one year or more after turning 16, please submit a police clearance from that jurisdiction. You can find details on applying for police clearances in every country on the Reciprocity Schedule.

    I don't know about you but if this is what it said when I was looking around and deciding whether to get a PCC or not I would've decided not to get one. Damn that PDF! :ranting:

    To gain more surety maybe you can start a new topic and ask all PK couples to tell us about their experiences with the NVC and the ISB Embassy regarding the PCC? That can serve as a definite answer for all the other PK couples about to enter these phases and are deciding on the PCC.

    PCC says Canada instead of USA, problem?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    PCC is not required by the NVC nor the US embassy for Pakistan. Really you wasted your time, but as it's your time, that's your choice. Best of luck.

    Just for reference:

    http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country/PK.html#documents-0

    Police Records

    Not available. Pakistan has no nationwide tracking system in place for criminal activities. Police Character Certificates are available for a fee from District Coordinating Offices. However, they are not an accurate reflection of an individual's criminal record. An applicant who has committed a crime in one district may be able to obtain a clean Character Certificate from that district or another. Given the inaccuracy of these certificates, they are not required for consular processing.

    I appreciate your reply and you're right. I had read that too and thus was not going to send in the certs but then curiosity got the best of me and I contacted a PK couple here on VJ who were at the NVC stage and apparently they got a RFE for not submitting the PCC. On top of that I read this PDF on what to bring to the interview at the Islamabad embassy site and in it, along with medical reports, they had specifically mentioned the PCC. Hence, ended up confused, played it safe.

    PCC says Canada instead of USA, problem?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Thanks everyone! Took your advice and got my PCC corrected. Now it says U.S.A instead of Canada, as it should.

    Getting a PCC in Pakistan, My Experience:

    I got my Police Clearance from three provinces in Pakistan. My experience with the police in each province was as follows:

    1. KPK (NWFP) Police: Very cooperative and professional. Gave detailed info. about the process and told me outright that the PCC is FREE and to report anyone who asked for money. No one did. Gave me a number for their Public Assistance Line (known as PAL) which I could call anytime I needed help with the PCC or for anything police related. Please note that bribing is a serious crime in KPK and has a penalty of six months in prison, do not attempt it. As a side note, I called their Central Headquarters in Peshawar before going to KPK for the PCC. I was told to call after 15 minutes as everyone was busy. I forgot to call them back, so, they did something that I never expected from police, they actually called me back on my cellphone, apologized for making me wait earlier and inquired about my problem and then gave detailed instructions on solving it. Took 1 week to get cert.
    2. Punjab Police: Gave detailed info. only after I pressed for it, kept delaying the process in the hopes of a bribe but since bribing is just unthinkable for me (religious reasons) I didn't and it took 2 weeks to get my cert but without a bribe, thank God!. :dancing:
    3. Sindh Police (Karachi): My dad went to them on my behalf since I couldn't go to Karachi (this is legal in Pakistan by the way) with all the forms I had filled and signed. They told him outright that it would cost $30 (it was a bribe, the pcc is free throughout Pakistan) my dad didn't know that at the time however and thought that it was a processing fee and payed them. They handed over the certificate in three days with mistakes on it, resubmitted for corrections, got it back the next day. So, four days total.

    Hopefully, after this, you get an idea of the experience you can look forward to with these PDs.

    What I learned from my experience:

    1. If you persevere they eventually give up on the bribe, takes time and effort though.
    2. If they harass you or cause unnecessary delays, complain to a senior officer at the station. All stations have complaint cells now, use them (I did).
    3. Thinking about moving to KPK, seriously. :idea:

    Lastly, never bribe, assert your constitutional rights instead. If everyone refused to bribe, the police will learn to not expect it in the first place, thus, extending democracy and justice in our countries. Even if just a little bit, we must do our part.

    Stay strong and good luck to all who are in the process of getting their PCCs.

    PCC says Canada instead of USA, problem?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    This is not right you should correct the mistake from karachi police concerned authorities. I got from character certificate from islamabad police. On bottom of this certificate its written this certificate is valid for immigration purpose.

    It says that on mine too. They are not changing it, unfortunately. What problem do you think it might cause? It still vouches for my clean record.

    Anyone?

    PCC says Canada instead of USA, problem?

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    So I got my police clearance certificate from Karachi, PK but inspite of me telling them clearly that I was immigrating to the US they have somehow put Canada on it. When I pointed out the mistake they just said that it doesn't matter and that I should be fine.

    On my PCC, it goes like:

    Country for which certificate is required: Canada.

    So, is it really going to be ok since the certificate's main purpose is to prove that I have a clean police record or will this be a problem?

    i had my interview yesterday for 4 hours ..most worse omg .i need help

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted · Edited by The Khans

    Well my wife has the address on her passport of hers ex bf home address so I think they tracked it by address so may be they did investigate and also hers Ex bf is used to work for states and hes retired correction officer ..

    I think this is the ONLY way they could've known about her ex. and there is nothing shady or NSA top secrety stuff about this too, infact, anyone can put the address on her passport into an online directory service and can find out who lives at the address, their phone number and who owns the residence.

    Once you have the name and number of the person living at the address all that's needed to find out about their past relationships is to call them and try to get the info through some good old social engineering, like saying something like:

    CO: "Hi, I'm calling from RipOff Insurace, Miss X (your wifes name) applied for our COMPLETE RipOff Plan, is this her residence? "

    Ex: "I'm sorry she hasn't lived here for the past x years."

    CO: "O ok but this IS her family home right 'cause its on her ID (or some form)?"

    Ex: "No, that may be because we used to live here thogether but decided to separate."

    CO: "I'm sorry to hear that, I understand this might be hard but will you be willing to answer a few questions about her that might help her in getting a good plan with us?"

    This is just an amateur example, they ofcourse are way better at it, but you get the drill, basically, just to make the ex divulge the info without him realizing he's giving away anything significant.

    Also, in your case it would've been even more easy for them since her ex was a government employee and governments keep a track of their employees it's possible that he might've mentioned her on his files somewhere or maybe the Gov. investigated him during his tenure, specially, if they were living together. So, all they had to do was to ask his department to share information and yes they can do that, according to their own laws.

    So really, its all public information easily available online to anyone who is willing and has some tech and social skill to find out, it has nothing to do with snooping through your mail or facebook so please don't assume that whatever intimate stuff you have said to each other in your mails or facebook is in the USCIS knowledge.

    The only reason I think they're bothering you is because of the age difference, apparently in america its a thing, but here is the good part, they cannot deny you based solely on that as you haven't violated any US law by falling in love and marrying an older person, no matter how unhappy the CO wants to be with it. And you should be fine with his unhappiness, afterall, you married for yourself not for these irrelevant people.

    Stay strong and be bold when you talk to them if you shy away and cry it sends the wrong message as if you are scared, ashamed or guilty of something and are trying to hide it, PLEASE BE BOLD and happy, I cannot stress this enough. Smile during the interview, its a non-verbal way of implying friendliness and humans are like that, remember the people interviewing you are also humans like you and have emotions that you would want to influence positively.

    Wish you all the best and if you need anyone to talk to you can talk to us, anytime.

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