jorgegoco

So we were in the same situation as stated previously, went down to SSA office and applied over two weeks ago, got a receipt that the card was applied for. Went back yesterday because no card yet and we were told that we never applied and they have to open an investigation and will call us??? I seriously doubt we will ever get a call from the SSA, anyways, according to SSA office our application was "lost" - we applied in person with original documents. This is really screwing us up financially, any suggestions on what we should do?

No, it's more likely DHS just being DHS.

You should contact one of your congressional representatives to get this straightened out for you.

I'm trying that now, thanks for the suggestion. My husband just went back to the SSA office today and they state his application was never submitted even though they gave him a receipt and that they can submit it again... which of course will not help. When I talked to DHS their response was simply that most people in the SSA are not trained properly or know what they are doing.

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I went through a lengthly hardship waiver process when he received a 10 year ban for overstaying his tourist visa. The waiver got approved in September, he had to do another interview and medical test, and he finally entered the country January 25th 2014. I paid the fee for his greencard on January 19th per the instructions. We checked off YES on the DS-260 immigrant visa app and waited 3 weeks for the SSN per the instructions, but no card. We went to the office numerous times and finally just applied for a number at the 3 week mark with all his original documents again. They gave him a receipt - but apparently he still does not have "clearance from DHS" and that can take up to 8 weeks?? I've called USCIS, social security admin, and gone to the local office several times but they all say a different thing and cannot now confirm if he will be issued a number or not, if or not it will be mailed, they have no idea. This is really hard because I really am economically and medically in a difficult situation and my husband cannot work and we cannot file our taxes or get health insurance without the SSN. Does it really take 8 weeks to get an answer from USCIS on if they sent his info to the SSA or not? Any ideas on why this is happening? Is it because he was a I-601/I-212 ?

It's been 5 weeks since my husband entered the country and we checked "yes" on the DS-260 to needing a card and still no card! We did what they told us and applied in the office two weeks ago and now nothing! When I call them they say it can take up to 8 more weeks! Nobody at the SSA or DHS seems to know what is going on. This is completely screwing us over since my husband came here on a hardship waiver and I cannot keep supporting him without him having a job which of course requires a SSN!

We ticked to apply for the ss number, when we sent in DS 260. Unfortunately, it never came and after waiting for weeks we found out that the best thing to do is go to your local ss office and apply there. We got the card within 5 business days. Very exciting day!!!!

Same thing happened to us.. waiting 3 weeks from entry date and no info on file at the SSA office yet. I don't understand the point of them implementing a system that only works some of the time.. I wish I had read these threads sooner, bleah

Yep, this 'pattern' of not receiving a SSN hasn't changed this year or last.

It's like a really cool 'carrot on a stick' scenario...

Seriously, it's 'hit or miss' on receiving one - I say go to a local SSA office 2 weeks after POE date, see whats what (in the SAVE database system with a SSA clerk) and apply..

Just wanted to update this thread... it's 2014 and DHS/USCIS still apparently has issues with the SSN requests from the DS-260.. My husband entered 3 weeks ago and we went to the SS office and they still have nothing on record for him. It's such a pain because you can't do ANYTHING without a SSN. What is the point of having the option on the form if it only works some of the time?

Yeah, this was for a K-1 medical and they will skip the vaccinations. Medical results are picked up later the same day.

It is ridiculous. Your vaccination records should have been used to see which vaccinations were already given so none had to be repeated. Also, varicella should not have even been given if he already had the chickenpox. Sounds like they just wanted to gouge you for as much cash as possible.

I totally agree, not only did he have chicken pox, he had gotten the varicella vaccine at the SAME clinic from the SAME doctor exactly a year before and brought and showed the ORIGINAL physician signed document they gave back to him the last time. If you showed up to your doctor with his/her own records showing you got something already do you think he/she would find it medically necessary to do the same thing all over? I have no idea who regulates these clinics, but this one is approved and recommended by the consulate (there are only 2 on their list for Juarez). It somehow doesn't seem safe to me to inject people constantly for things they don't need but maybe that's just me. I doubt they care about complaints or malpractice. Juarez is a big scam, but it's something you just have to deal with unfortunately.

did you need another I-864?

No we did not, they just used the original documents however the attorney did instruct him to bring our most recent tax return. He brought it but I don't think they really looked at it. Two weeks after the follow-up appt and my husband is now in the US and waiting for his green card and SSN. So hopefully it will go just as smoothly for you. Good luck!

For what type of visa? Juarez typically does not bother to give vaccinations for K-1 applicants, even when asked for them to do it so we did not have to bother with a civil surgeon in the US. They refused.

This was not a K-1 visa, we were already married and had to go through the I-601/I-212 waiver process because my husband overstayed his tourist visa before we married and had a 10 year ban, which is a much more difficult process and probably has more strict requirements. Still, requiring two vaccines for chicken pox in a one year span (which he had when he was a kid) seems a little ridiculous to me.

DEFINATELY leave a day between the medical exam and appointment to be safe, they usually want you to get the results the next day in the afternoon and you will need to be at the consulate ready to go by 7:00 AM. Here is something really annoying that I noticed. My husband had his initial appointment last year and then a follow up after his waiver was approved this year. The first time he took proof of his childhood vaccinations (his mom miraculously still had them) but they gave him a shot for everything anyway which brought the total charges over $500. Exactly one year later, he brought the original medical record of vaccination from the SAME clinic and they made him get ALL the vaccinations AGAIN over $500. Is it just me or are these clinics just money mills?

Yes, because our attorney is getting us our appointment & people have told me that they give their appointments for 3 months later, im like waaaaaaat!!!!! Im tired of waiting

As long as you get the letter saying you need to do the appointment you can do it. The process is really easy for Mexico and you set up the appointment on the consulate website. When I signed in to make my husband's appointment, I got him one in two weeks. His appointment was on a Friday and they shipped out his Visa DHL the following Monday and he got it by Thursday the same week and he lives one the opposite side of Mexico from Juarez. We are paying the Green card Fee this weekend and he is flying up the week after. They were extremely fast, and from what I hear he should get his SSN and green card within 3 weeks of arrival. Just make sure you pay the fee per the instructions before you leave. In my experience, so all in all from date of appointment to date of travel we have 3 weeks of space, not 3 months, VERY fast in my experience. Good luck

Hiii, I just wanted to ask since your case is very similar to mine, how long in advance did you get your appointment for???

Do you mean in advance of travel?

From my current experience, my husband is from Guatemala, this interview would be a visa interview? Has the lawyer explained what it means? Because if it is a visa interview, then he needs to bring with him proof of your relationship, your daughter's birth certificate and marriage certificate, both in originals is best. Make sure you know what this means for him. If his waiver was approved, than you don't need to worry about anything except proving your relationship is real. Hope everything goes well!!

I just thought I would follow up on this, first of all my husband got approved! The officer didn't ask for anything that he brought with him, just the original birth/marriage certificates. He had photos and correspondence. He said the officer asked him 4 questions and said congrats your approved, your visa will be sent DHL within a week. It was WAY easier than he thought, he was in Ciudad Juarez Consulate. He spent more time waiting outside than he did actually turning in documents and interviewing and they didn't even make him pay the fee which is what the letter said. I worried WAY too much about it I guess because it turned out well. Thanks everyone!

We submitted our waiver November 2012, it was approved September 2013 - My husband was sent a letter via DHL with instructions to create a follow up appointment and medical exam. We did the Visa application electronic for the initial interview where he had to get denied. NVC automatically sends the app back to the consulate and you are free to schedule the appointment. We had to bring proof we are still in a relationship because he lives in Mexico and I live in the US, original birth certificates, passport, medical exam re-do. We got lucky they didn't charge him the interview fee again. Just do whatever the letter tells you to do, it took about 4 weeks to get the letter from the date the waiver was approved. You are pretty much done! Congratulations!

My husband was just approved at his interview today! He was told his passport would be sent VIA DHL to his hometown with the visa. It is my understanding he has to enter the US within 6 months and then we can pay the Green card new $165 fee and then that is mailed to us at home in the US. I was a little worried about his passport info changing but not being updated on the DS-260 but he brought his old and new passport so they didn't make an issue of it. FYI for anyone in the future, I learned this the hard way, after a waiver I-601/I-212 is processed and the initial visa application (DS-260) was electronic they automatically send the visa application back to the consulate and you are not able to edit it online unless you make a special request that takes from 3-5 business days to process. Also it was an extra bonus that the letter he got said he needed to pay the interview fee again, however for the follow up he did not get charged.

From my current experience, my husband is from Guatemala, this interview would be a visa interview? Has the lawyer explained what it means? Because if it is a visa interview, then he needs to bring with him proof of your relationship, your daughter's birth certificate and marriage certificate, both in originals is best. Make sure you know what this means for him. If his waiver was approved, than you don't need to worry about anything except proving your relationship is real. Hope everything goes well!!

Thanks for the feedback - He already did his visa interview a little over a year ago, this is an administrative processing follow-up. He is bringing proof of our relationship, although it's difficult because we have lived in different countries for the past 3 years - I printed out phone records, text messages, skype history, and entire online conversations, pictures of our visits, family, our daughter's birth cert, marriage certificate, and our birth certs. He printed out our text conversations and asked me if he should show it since it has all of our fights in it.. I told him to bring it anyway because a real couple has fights, lol

Congratulations on the approval! From what I hear once the waiver is approved it's just follow up basic updating information with the interview and medical so I think the hardest part is now over.

Thank you! It's a relief to hear that, I actually called the NVC to double check on what he needed and they told me he just needs the updated medical, passport, and DS-260. They told me to update the DS-260 with the new passport info since his old one expired, but I tried to go online and do that and reprint it (what he told me to do) but I cannot update the DS-260 since it was already submitted for his last appt. I tried to call the number listed on the DS-260 questions page but its busy!

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3177.html

(603) 334-0700

Going to try to call the NVC back again and see what they can tell me. Bleah

I see, that's great! My lawyer and I worked very hard in submitting documents for my hardship levels. Now did your spouse have any type of criminal past that he had to show rehabilitation for?

I do not, but he got pulled over 2x in 2006/2007 in the US for suspected DUI - he was never convicted of a DUI because of lack of evidence but he plead guilty to two misdemeanors for driving without a license (he used an international drivers license which are not accepted in certain states) and driving without insurance. We had about 15 notarized letters from friends, family, a psychologist he saw when he was here, and a former congresswoman who knows us well enough to vouch for him. I think this may be why they asked for additional evidence because he DID have some criminal record. Other than those two things though he had nothing and has a clean record in Mexico. Hope that helps.

Hello Jorgegoco,

Congrats on the approval! I am waiting for that one moment where I get an email/text from USCIS responding with an approval decision. If I may ask, what did your RFE ask for?

Thank you

Thanks! It was extremely generic and just gave the main categories (medical, financial, safety, etc.) and said they didn't have enough to prove extreme hardship. I had a medical condition that had developed in the 6 months while they were reviewing the application. I submitted medical records and x ray reports which I think helped get the final approval. We also put in additional character references and proved additional financial hardship which probably helped a little, but if you can show that the petitioner needs your help to stay physically healthy that is a pretty good argument.

Hello,

My husband is emigrating from Mexico, he had a tourist visa and entered and left the US without a problem for years for his job. His problem started when he stayed and decided to work with his tourist visa. He got pulled over for a suspected DUI over the weekend and while he was dealing with that, the police put an immigration hold on him (this happened before we were married) The DUI was thrown out as he was not over the legal limit, but by then he was in deportation proceedings. He missed an appointment with the immigration judge and by that time we were dating and he wanted to stay so for the next few years he lived like an illegal immigrant. He decided he wanted to do things right and so we hired an immigration attorney and he voluntarily deported to Mexico, leaving myself and my daughter in the meantime while the case ran its course. He was worried about going back to jail and not being able to work so he decided it would be best to go home where at least he could work. Due to his overstaying his visa, and misrepresenting his intent when he entered the US, he had a 10 year ban - so when he went to his Visa interview he was denied as expected and instructed on how to complete the waivers for I-601/I-212. We submitted everything with the help of our attorney and after about 9 months and a request for additional evidence, his waiver was approved because I had a ton of evidence to prove hardship. This was in September 2013. He has a follow up visa appointment on Friday and I'm really nervous. We have invested over 3 years (spent apart) and about $20,000 in attorney's fees, travel expenses, Visa/waiver fees, and medical exams. He is taking all the documents the attorney told us, using the existing DS-260 we put together for the first appointment, and is getting a second medical exam. Hopefully I can help in these forums from these experience - also i'm looking for anyone else who has gone through this same process as it's nerve wracking. I feel like within the next few months our lives will change. Either my husband can come back to us in the US, or I'll have to move to Mexico which will result in extreme financial and emotional hardship for myself and my daughter. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

S

The I-601 and I think its called I-212 for my husband took about 9 months and included a request for additional evidence. It took about 8 months (processing time listed is 6 months) to get the request for additional evidence. After we submitted the additional evidence, it was approved in about 3 weeks.

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I have 3 years and about $20k invested in his immigration case. He came to the US with a tourist visa from mexico and overstayed so he got a 10 year ban. We hired an attorney and did the whole I-130 process, he interviewed in Juarez and was denied as expected. Then our attorney helped us file two waiver packets. The waivers got approved from USCIS in September after almost 9 months of waiting. The waiver case went back to the visa processing center from USCIS and he got a letter sent DHL requesting a follow up medical exam and consular interview since exactly one year had passed since his first interview and more than 6 months from the medical. I scheduled the appointment for this Friday and sent him the documents the attorney said he needs. Has anyone gone through the follow up interview in Juarez? We are both very nervous since if anything goes wrong we could possibly lose 3 years of work living apart (myself on my own taking care of our daughter), plus all our money we've invested. The list of documents the attorney said we needed seemed short so I'm really nervous... I'm under the impression that the DS-260 from the original appointment is still used? At least that is what the attorney said. I would really like to hear if anyone else has been through this and what happened.

Thank you!!

S