casualsurfer

Big congratulation sir !

Nice post! Congrats to you and your wife! Now your real married life begins! Much love and happiness!

So glad to hear that you've reached the end of your visa journey and the start of the rest of your marriage, what a celebration!
I agree - we would not have been able to tolerate this process the way we have without the support and knowledge of everyone here and the VJ resources.
We wish you all the very best with your new life in the United States xx

When my wife and I started this journey, I didn't know it was going to be the roller coaster that it is. As a USC we tend to take for granted what we have and how difficult it is for those who are not to become one of us. Anyone who has seen some of my posts/rants know how much ups and downs I've gone through since November. I've thought about class action lawsuit against the government, I've thought about cancelling the application due to the difficulties my wife and I had, and certainly calling and checking regularly with USCIS and then NVC was at best a horrific experience.
At the end of the day, almost exactly 10 months to the day when I dropped the I-130 packet off, we had our POE and finalized this portion of the journey. Through it all I am most grateful to everyone on VJ for the support (and some not so supportive), the resources, the readings, the checklists, and most importantly the sharing of collective experience. In a lot of ways I feel very fortunate compared with others - when I first joined VJ I was told 13-15 months and we were able to do it in 9 months, 10 months if you count POE date, and there would have been no way for me to be able to accomplish this without the resources here and I will be forever grateful for what I've learned, and I hope to continue to contribute to others who are trying to enter this country by wading through the horrible maze that makes up our broken immigration system.
Thank you VJ and the fine people who make this community possible.

@ casualsurfer
I just noticed in your time line that you have sent the AOS package to NVC. But have they reviewed it? If they have not reviewed it, chances are those docs have not been forwarded to the embassy. This happened to me. When my case was expedited, all our fees were paid, I had submitted DS-260, our AOS package was reviewed and our IV pack was received but not reviewed. And guess what, NVc did not forward the IV docs to the consulate! Thankfully, I had another set of IV docs with me, except my MC. Just recently NVC returned my original IV docs to my husband in the US and advised me to " carry them with me to the interview". My interview was almost two months ago!
Anyway, I strongly advise you to send another set of AOS docs to your wife in Taiwan, just to be on the safe side. That means filling out another I-864 with your original signature.Everyone is really confused when a case is expedited mid processing, so chances are NVC has NOT forwarded the docs which are not reviewed yet.

@casualsurfer
I am going to help you out here, because I have been through this myself two months ago. What you can do right now is DO NOT SEND ANYTHING TO NVC ANYMORE. sorry for all caps, but it's important. The file is out of their hand, it's with the consulate now. All paperwork should be sent to your WIFE from now on, she has to carry them by hand to her interview.
My case was also expedited in May and within three days it had arrived at the consulate in India from NVC. The consulate did not contact me, I contacted them after I checked my case status on CEAC and then they sent me link on ustraveldocs to schedule my own biometrics and interview online.
Here is what you can do, go to ceac.state.gov and under immigrant visa category check your case status. You can put your case number and it will tell you if it is "At NVC" or " In Transit" or " Ready for interview". If its " ready for interview" it's already in Taiwan, you can contact the US embassy customer service by sending them email at <support- taiwan@ustraveldocs.com>, then they will guide you from there.
You spouse can go for her interview within a matter of days now, depending upon the available interview slots at the embassy and her readiness with required documents. I would advise you to not be too hasty and do your AOS paper work first and send them to your wife before scheduling anything with the embassy.
The IV fee can be paid at the embassy at the time of interview. To the embassy, your spouse should carry the exact amount in CASH, they do not take credit cards. You can still check online on ceac.state.gov if IV fee payment option is available to you now or not,
your wife should fill out DS-260 online if she has not already. I am assuming it should be available to her even if IV fees are not paid, since this is an expedited case. If its not available yet, she should contact the embassy and they will assist her in accessing it online.She needs couple of printouts of the DS-260 submission confirmation page.
Since you were in the stage of paying fees, I am assuming the civil and AOS documents have not been sent to NVC. If you have not done that, the best thing you can do is DHL the following to your wife ASAP
1. Filled and signed I-864. If she is the only person immigrating and you are the only sponsor and sponsoring from your income which can be entirely accounted for by W2, it is advisable to use I-864 EZ instead. Much less headache.
2. About six or seven recent pay stubs of yours, originals not necessary, xerox will do. If you are using other means as proof of income, then documented proof of that, including bank statements. Please note, bank statements are not necessary if the income stated on your W2 are above required minimum amount, which is around $22k/yr.
3. Your 2013 tax return transcript or copy of your 2013 form 1040 which you submitted to IRS. This is mandatory.
4. Optional is previous two years tax return transcripts, you can add them if you have them, or download them from IRS.gov
5. Your job letter, if any, which states you salary, length of employment etc.
Your spouse should not schedule the interview in haste before all the documents are received by her and are ready.
For civil documents, she should carry her original birth certificate, original marriage certificate, any record of previous marriage(s), divorce record(if any), original police clearance certificate from her local passport office, two 2by2 passport photographs, her DS-260 confirmation page and of course her passport with at least six months left on it.
AFTER she receives all the AOS documents from you, after she has successfully submitted DS-260 online and prints out the confirmation page, when she is confident she has all the AOS and IV docs ready to go, she should call the embassy again to schedule her biometrics and interview. She can do it herself online on ustraveldocs.com/tw or schedule it over the phone. She should print out the IV interview schedule confirmation page which will have her name, the time of biometrics appointment and time of interview on two different days, her passport number, her visa category etc.
Next thing she has to do is call the US embassy approved doctor nearest to her and schedule her physical. They will need the interview confirmation page, which is nothing like the interview letter people generally receive from NVC and they will need the DS-260 confirmation page which has her case number along with 2by2 photographs, and her original passport for verification. Most people, starting from the doctors assistants to the embassy officials, do not know how to go about an expedited case, so they might keep on asking for the NVC interview letter, but she needs to explain that hers is an expedited case and take a copy of the expedite request approval letter with her if available.
She needs to have enough time in between her medical and biometrics appointment so that the doctors report is ready before she goes to the embassy.
Doctors reports come in two sealed envelops, one is her medical checkup report and the other is the Chest x-ray. She needs to bring only the smaller medical report with her to the embassy on the day of the actual interview. She is not allowed to open those envelops.
To the biometrics appointment, she needs to take the DS-260 confirmation page, her biometrics and interview schedule confirmation page and her passport. The process takes couple of minutes. they will stamp the interview confirmation page after the fingerprints are taken.
To her actual interview, she needs to take that stamped page from the biometrics along with all her docs, which will include, but not limited to
1. Her valid passport and all her previous, old, expired passports if she has any, including passport of any other country if she has dual citizenship.
2. All her AOS docs from you
3. All her original civil documents plus photocopies of the said documents
4. Proof of bona vide marriage. You know this can include a lot of things, but lots of photographs of the two of you is a must.
5. Her sealed medical report.
6. Again, the DS-260 confirmation page and the stamped interview confirmation page from the OFC appointment. The biometrics appointment is called the OFC appointment.
7. A great attitude.
Phew! I hope this answers your question.

Called the NVC hotline and the very helpful lady told me that August interviews are out as they just "got" my AOS on 6/30 (even though it arrived a week prior), and it takes 30 working days to get it processed. No idea when IV is available.
If my marriage holds, and I'm now completely unsure where my wife and I are heading, it would seem that September may even be out of reach for the interview.
I hate this process, I really don't want to put a negative light on those people working hard at USCIS and NVC but they don't know their lack of resources is killing my marriage and god knows how many others.

Called the NVC hotline and the very helpful lady told me that August interviews are out as they just "got" my AOS on 6/30 (even though it arrived a week prior), and it takes 30 working days to get it processed. No idea when IV is available.
If my marriage holds, and I'm now completely unsure where my wife and I are heading, it would seem that September may even be out of reach for the interview.
I hate this process, I really don't want to put a negative light on those people working hard at USCIS and NVC but they don't know their lack of resources is killing my marriage and god knows how many others.

Hehe, you mean like they do it in China?
I headed a company in China where I saw my assistant's mom get thrown out on the street from the hospital because she didn't have enough money to pay for surgery. Every person for themselves is how medical care works in China, I think that's what folks like you want.
If we don't want insurance to cost so much, we should not mandate hospitals to take patients who can't prove they can pay first. Because all those people not buying insurance and going to the emergency room is costing everyone a few thousand bucks each time that happens, multiply by tens of thousands of cases each year and you've got real money that we are all on the hook to pay.
What's next? I don't want to pay for the neighbor's kids education so I shouldn't pay property taxes?

Saw this on a tweet: "Sharia law is having a great week in Iraq, Syria, and USA."

Saw this on a tweet: "Sharia law is having a great week in Iraq, Syria, and USA."

As said earlier, just send them a letter with the USCIS and NVC case #'s and let them know you want to cancel it. You can also call them up and ask to have your case # cancelled I believe. Think long and hard about doing this because if you do so and then change your mind then you'll have to start all over again at the USCIS and it'll be tough to explain at the interview. IMO I would not do it (and if you look at my history I did contemplate this sad choice at one point) until the ink was dry on the divorce documents.

Hehe, you mean like they do it in China?
I headed a company in China where I saw my assistant's mom get thrown out on the street from the hospital because she didn't have enough money to pay for surgery. Every person for themselves is how medical care works in China, I think that's what folks like you want.
If we don't want insurance to cost so much, we should not mandate hospitals to take patients who can't prove they can pay first. Because all those people not buying insurance and going to the emergency room is costing everyone a few thousand bucks each time that happens, multiply by tens of thousands of cases each year and you've got real money that we are all on the hook to pay.
What's next? I don't want to pay for the neighbor's kids education so I shouldn't pay property taxes?

Saw this on a tweet: "Sharia law is having a great week in Iraq, Syria, and USA."

You should know better. The religious crowd only defends the sanctity of life until the baby is out of the womb. From that moment on it is every man for himself.

I don't know about K-1 but it took them almost exactly 1 month before NOA2 to getting the IIN and case number on my application.

My accountant has, for the past 4 years, filed for extension on tax filings. I have not yet filed my 2013 1040 yet (or rather, my accountant hasn't) but I do have 2010, 2011, and 2012 filings. Should I push my accountant to file the 2013 ASAP (and therefore get my wife's ITN application in as well), or would the 2010 ~ 2012 1040 be OK along with my employment letter and W-2 for the past year?
Thank you.

OMG!! I just got notification of approval!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!! I'm in tears!

OMG!! I just got notification of approval!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!! I'm in tears!

I love how people complain about proper English on an immigration web site.

What else can I do to help?
Donate some money to Congressman/Senator? Get some face time with them? It seems with these people money gets you access. It's about getting a policy issue addressed and FIXED. These people keep talking about family values, what kind of family values is USCIS promoting by preventing our spouses from being with us?

The form you are talking about is a Congressional Constituent form....it allows your congressman to speak to USCIS on your behalf. If Congress offers to help..accept this help. Our Congressman helped us, and it went from 7 months with no NOA2...to an expedition all the way to the embassy. Good luck to you.

I don't understand some people's comments: "only 4 weeks"? Just because you're willing to bend over and accept whatever comes your way via the USCIS doesn't mean I do. Keep in mind this agency is perfectly capable of getting I-130s out in less than 2 weeks, case and point bunch of Philippinos on this board thanks to that typhoon.
Yes I'm bitching and moaning about the over a year wait which many of you seem willing to accept as the norm. Would you accept over a year wait if a storm came and knocked your house over, then hear Bush or Obama say "you just gotta be patient, wait a year in the open while we process your paperwork." Some may say it's not the same, but in my mind if we are all paying pretty good money (ie taxes and fees), then I'm gonna be damned sure I get what I pay for.

All thanks to a typhoon...for the rest of us it's a year-long slog.

What else can I do to help?
Donate some money to Congressman/Senator? Get some face time with them? It seems with these people money gets you access. It's about getting a policy issue addressed and FIXED. These people keep talking about family values, what kind of family values is USCIS promoting by preventing our spouses from being with us?