schinx87

Just received my 10-year green card about a month ago which also had a typo (just missing the dash between my last names). When I made an infopass appointment they said it currently takes in the order of 9 months to do a replacement card, so I wouldn't be worried with regards to timing yet.

The biometrics might or might not have still been valid from the first greencard - I think they are good for a year, but not entirely sure. If you haven't heard from them yet, I would assume they were good with the ones that were on file - or they might schedule your husband in again; either way no reason to worry about this specifically.

What would make me worry is the missing NOA - you should have received an acknowledgement afaik (they said they couldn't give me the passport stamp until I have the notice at my infopass), so there is a chance that they don't have the correct address for you on file for this petition (have they possibly sent it to the German address for the original application?) - I would try and figure out what's going on there...

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your tip!

We know they have the correct address on file -- as they sent the 1st Green card to the correct address here in the USA. So I think all is okay with that

That was my next goal too -- work on the NOA, but for that we need to get through to the 2nd tier of customer support and speak to an immigration officer. The one time we did, she obviously saw something on the screen we didn't, so the first customer rep. who I talked to said there is most likely a new case number that we just need to find out about. I hope I get good news. We will try again next week when my husband is back from his business trip. Maybe the border agent in Texas (he is travelling back from Mexico) will be able to tell him something?? (Doubtful... lol)

Thank you for your feedback and for sharing your experience!

All the best,

Katie

Sent my i90 in May 2014, got my new GC in Nov 2014.

Did he do biometrics?

When I first called to report the problem, they mentioned the topic of Biometrics -- and that they had to check with the local office to see if they had everything on file for him without us having to go down again to a local office. With Direct Consular File, my feeling is you do Biometrics when you go through POE -- but I'm not sure as the process is pretty different. That being said, they said something along the lines of "we are going to check and let you know when we write you". The letter with the info we had to submit has no instructions saying we need to go do Biometrics.

Also, as I haven't gotten a new case receipt number or any communication, I don't know if we're missing anything or we need to submit anything else :-/. Our last resort is going to the local office, as we would both have to take a vacation day

Hi everyone!

I wondered if any of you could provide any insight -- and I hope I've found a relevant category to post this in!

My husband and I applied for his permanent residency while still living in Germany and everything was smooth sailing, literally, til we hit the US Border We entered the country just fine, but after that, it seemed like one nightmare after the next. First we had huge issues getting his social security card (it did NOT come automatically....as indicated it would). In the end, with multiple visists & a lot of waiting in line at the Social Security office and persistence, we managed that. The typo on his Green Card has, however, taken the cake.

It arrived not too long after we entered the country (I'd say just over a month) and of course there was a big fat typo in his last name. My heart sank, as I could already see hours of paperwork ahead of me.

I had my first experience calling USCIS, and realized I will never be able to do it without my husband standing near the phone and saying "yes, you're allowed to talk to my wife". My husband's English is good, but because I've done all the paperwork, he usually leave this thing to me!

Anyways, I reported the typo on August 26th and received a mail packet on the 13th of September with, in my opinion, very vague instructions of how to get the typo fixed. I wrote a custom cover letter explaining the situation, sent them the incorrect card, and got a tracking number. Furthemore, they asked me for my "original appilcation (no form number or anything)" which is complicated -- we applied overseas and technically the Frankfurt office has all of that. The packet we gave to border patrol upon entry was taken from us. I searched through my copies of what I had and filled out an I-90 anyways and tried to attach what I thought are "relevant documents from my original application" -- which by the way, all have the last name spelled correctly.

Either way, I got confirmation from the USPS that the package arrived in Texas, where I was instructed to send, on Oct. 9th, 2014.

After not hearing anything, about 2 weeks before Christmas I called again and got patched through to an officer (2nd tier) after being on hold for nearly an hour-- now learning this is "normal". She said "I see your card is in processing and you will have it very soon). Needless to say, it is now Feb. 3rd and we tried calling last week. Due to the huge snow storm on the East Coast, we were told an officer would call us back in 3-5 business days. 7 business days later we have heard nothing.

The first tier of customer support at USCIS said to me that it was very unusual I didn't receive a new receipt number after the Texas office recieved my form and that I should really try and get this number to get regular updates.

Either way, that's the story -- I was wondering if any of you out there experienced similary unfuriating contact! It's been so long now since August, that I'm starting to get a little worried that we may be cutting it close to our July date. All of this to fix one typo. I know our I-155 is good for one year -- the stamp in my husband's passport is really clear about that. (One year is up in July!)

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

-Katie

Hey there! --

It's not as complicated as it sounds. Basically; you don't "hand over" your Niederlassungserlaubnis to anyone -- nor would I. I still have my card in my wallet. You never know under what circumstances you might need it. (I.e. You hear stories of people going back shortly after coming to the USA for a severe illness; as the German insurance sometimes has more advantages if you can't afford US insurance). Your permanent residency becomes invalid after 6 consecutive months of being out of the country. If you were to theoretically go back to Germany after that, you would have to start the whole visa procedure over again -- which wouldn't be terrible becuase its much more painless than re-applying for a US visa.

Either way, before you leave, you just need to make sure you tell the Einwohnermeldeamt that you are leaving. That is sufficient. You will need this "official Abmeldung" anyways. Some organizations (i.e. Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung etc.) need this piece of paper proving you are officially "giving up your residence" before they will let you out of contractual agreements.

Hope that helps!

-Schinx

January would make it 4 years of me living in Germany, so good to know you basically were in the same boat as me. May I ask how you gave up your residency in Germany, though? I can't seem to find any solutions online (Googling stuff in German just doesn't work, haha) and was wondering if I have to physically hand over my Niederlassungserlaubnis to the authorities or what. I just don't want to leave here on a bad note.

Well -- I sent everything off yesteday -- also added additional proof of correct spelling on two receipts I found on ELIS that I used to pay for the actual card We will see what happens!!

I won't even begin the story of the stress we had to get a SS# It was way more stressful because my husband found a job quickly and needed it. But of course...this too shall pass!

His passport is endorsed as a temp. I551 for a year, so he'll be fine

I don't know where you are currently located, but if you want peace of mind -- contact a US CPA located in your country. They could provide a lot of insight. I had an excellent CPA in Germany who was very knowledgeable and could give me specific legal advice on my situation. Everybody's situation is different, so it's not a bad route to go

Good luck!

I don't think I filed for the past two tax years, because my income wasn't high enough either year.

Nonetheless, the I-864 form has this requirement:

I am the petitioner. The co-sponsor is my father, who definitely fulfills the income requirements and tax return requirements of the I-864 form.

However, the I-864 in my case is a little bit more difficult. Is there any way I can file at this point? Is there a way to file via the internet? What do I show as proof?

I just don't even know where to begin. I had a couple employers in 2013, but I have no idea how much I made in total from either of those employers. I am currently living abroad, so it's not very easy for me to figure this out. My parents used to pay an accountant to file our taxes, but it seems they haven't paid for the guy to file my taxes in the last couple years.

I also was self employed for a number of years in Germany, so I also appear to have a negative earning on my tax return coupled with the fact that I filed with the foreign tax exemption. I went back and forth deciding on what to do -- and in the end I put exactly the number from the line they requested.

If you're concerned about how it will look, you can always get a co-sponsor (which we did) and everything worked out in the end. The embassy is specialized in what they are reading -- they will figure it out

Hope that helps!

Hello everyone, I am just wondering what I should do when filling out the I-864 form. Luckily, my father is going to be the co-sponsor, which is pretty straightforward in his case. Nonetheless, I understand that I need to fill out a separate I-864 form as the petitioner, which is rather complicated in my case.

I have some doubts. First, I am technically currently self-employed as a publisher, a company I created by doing a DBA statement in the local paper a couple years ago. I have no employees and am a sole-proprietor. I published one book. I sell the occasional copy on Amazon, and even more rarely on my own website. I certainly have not sold enough copies to break even after spending thousands of dollars getting my book printed and paying for all the other costs incurred during the production and marketing of my book.

My I-130 petition got approved yesterday by the US Embassy in Lima. In the G-325A biographic information form that I submitted I stated that I am currently employed by own publishing company.

Now on the I-864 form Part 6 should I just put that I am unemployed or should I put that I am self-employed as a publisher? It asks what my current annual income is. Should I make things simple and put $0? I haven't had a job since I quit my last job at the beginning of January of this year. In any case, what do I need to submit as evidence? My bank statement?

I kind of feel like just putting unemployed and saying that my income is $0 just to avoid the hassle, but I'm worried about the potential consequences. I definitely did not keep a good accounting record on my sole-proprietorship, publishing business.

What should I do?

I had been living in Germany for nearly 5 years & had a Niederlassungserlaubnis (permanent residency) when we applied. It was no problem -- you can prove Domicile in other ways

(I used US Bank account, US Credit Card & Student Loan Payment Transfers to US bank Account to prove it)

Hi there! Thanks for your responses already:

Here's the thing -- it asks for a copy of the "original" application, and since I never filed an I-90, there is no original.

The only thing they could have pulled info from, is as milmelo suggests, the DS-260. My only other guess where they pulled info was at the POE Detroit...the officer filled out a form manually there and took my husband's finger prints and said this form will be used for your Permanent Residency card. Obviously we have no copy of this anymore.

When I paid the 165$ Fee via ELIS, I just filled out basic info, paid with the credit card, and that was it. I am double checking all my receipts and records from this phase, but I still can't find a typo here!

I was thinking of providing, for good measure:

-Cover letter explaining our situation and the nature of our DCF filing in Germany

-Copy DS-260 (all names are spelled correctly in this)

-A newly-filled out I-90 with the "mistake was USCIS fault" -- No fee required

-Copy of his Immigrant Visa in Passport w/Endorsement

-Copy of his SS Card with the correct name (I will probably black out the first 5 numbers on the PDF for mailing-security)

I don't see the logic of re-sending all of our birth certificates, marriage certificates, police certificates...etc. Firstly -- they are all in German and because we filed in Germany, we didn't need to provide translations. I don't want to open another can of worms where they refuse to process us because there is no translation. After all, everything was correct; otherwise, we would not have received my hubby's immigrant visa

If you have any further thoughts, thanks for your input!!

They want the DS-230 (or is it DS-260 now) as that's the form they pulled the info from. That fee you paid for the green card ($165) - what sort of info did that ask for?

In any case, I'd go with the I-90 (no fee of course), copy of spouse's immigrant visa in the passport and any other paperwork you received or handed to the embassy/consulate - copies are fine.

If all else fails, include your congressman's immigration liaison - they have direct line of communication with USCIS and can guide you what to do, who to contact...

Ummm, only thing I can think of is maybe the application they're referring to is the I-90 form as they've stated next to it NO FEE REQUIRED, which is true for cases where USCIS has made the error and not you.

Hi there!

I wonder if any of you can provide some insight!

So, my husband and I arrived and it was pretty smooth sailing until we had some issues getting his Social Security Card (We did not get it automatically, despite checking the box in the DS-260). We were able to sort that out, but then got his Permanent Residency Card in the mail with a big FAT Typo in the last name. The mistake is surely on the part of USCIS -- the name was spelled correctly on his Visa that they put in his passport and was endorsed when we crossed the POE in Detroit.

The day the incorrect card came, we called USCIS here in America and they filed a case. We got a response from them recently asking us to return the following:

-Return the incorrect card (check)

-Include a personal statement indicating what is wrong on the card, in detail with supporting evidence for misspelling (check)

-Include a copy of your original application -- NO FEE IS REQUIRED

Okay -- so, that all sounds pretty logical. But do ANY of you have ANY idea what could be meant by "your original application?!". Should I send every last document that we did for the DCF? Do any of you know any different procedures or forms that someone may have filled out for a non DCF case? I have a copy of the DS-260 still with everything correctly spelled Not to mention copies of the correct spelling of his last name as in his visa in the passport. Obviously I don't have the visa packet that we had to hand over at POE Detroit....

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

All the best,

Schinx87

So what's your advice on when to schedule the medical exam? 14 days prior to the interview date or even 21 days?

Thanks

You should schedule your medical exam as soon as you get your interview appointment.

It's kind of a delicate balance ---the validity of your visa starts from the day of successful medical exam. That's why they make you wait so long. On the other hand, as you saw with our experience, even 10 days before was cutting it close.

Now I should clarify -- we live in Berlin -- and apparently there is "something with the Berlin doctor and paperwork" (haha) but that's why I say be a bit cautious about getting ahead of the game. Otherwise, also weigh up your option if you will need as much time as possible, due to the validity date.

We just scheduled her interview at the Frankfurt Consulate for June 26.

Now going to get the medical exam on June 16!

Here's something I wish somebody would have told us -- we did the Medical more than 10 days before the interview and they barely just sent off to Frankfurt in time for the interview -- one of the consular workers literally left us standing at the counter to go check the most current post.

Make sure and keep on top of the doctors office so they don't delay releasing your visa

Hi everyone,

I'm still in the petition process with my husband but I'm trying to get prepared for when we start NVC.

So here's my question: I know that during the AOS process, I have to submit tax returns and that I'm supposed to be making a particular amount above the poverty line. Until this past year (Oct 2013), I was making way below. I was in grad school and working part-time and interning. Now, I have a full-time job where I make enough, but because I haven't done this during the past, should I get a joint sponsor? There's no reason to believe that I wouldn't continue making enough money, as I'm in my career now, but I'm not sure what is the best way to proceed. I'm considering asking my parents.

Thoughts?

Though I filed DCF in Germany, I think this particular part of the process is universal :-)

That being said, the form requires in the tax return section that you put your Adjusted Gross Income from the Last three years, even though you are only required to submit the most recent tax return. I am not an expert, but I certainly spent a lot of time interpreting these forms (haha) to see if I could reduce the amount of paperwork I had to submit. In the end, though, I do think the government likes to see a "positive trend" in the last three years.

My situation was slightly different, but long story short we used my mother as a joint sponsor and it gave us peace of mind in the process. I think in this particular part of the process, peace of mind & being "better safe than sorry" is always a good idea and can only influence your application positively :-). There is obviously a legal obligation on the affidavit of support that your parents will need to be okay with, but I know for a lot of family members that's just a formality!

Good luck!!

Congrats!! All the best for your interview!!

Hi Schinx87,

Could you maybe share your results from the I-864, especially what you ended up providing for your questions #1, 2 & 4? I am filling the form, and have the same questions.

Cheers!

Hey Denali --

My biggest success was when I quit over analyzing the form (as you can see from my questions above, I had a lot on my mind!) I think I was worried how my numbers might "look" and how it could potentially negatively influence our application...but it was totally fine.

Basically, I simply answered the questions as they were -- so for my point in 1) I put my actual current income, as earned here in Germany, truthfully. I also submitted my recent pay stubs. Nobody asked me at the consulate if my income would continue.

For my point in 2) I put the number of the exact line the instructions said to. (It wasn't a pretty number, but hey...following the instructions worked out for us!)

And for my question in 4) -- we did provide proof just to be on the safe side.

Long story short, I think our case was made stronger by having my parents be the co sponsors -- and more important by simply entering what the instructions say (Even if it looks like a bad number, due to foreign earned income).

I hope my answers help

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply. Wow, your visa journey was a short one... Congratulations on your approval!! :-)

So, just assuming I got the letter with my interview date and the medical has not been done yet. Can I re-schedule the interview for a later date (like a month later)? Or is that going to "upset" the consulate?

There comes a point in the application -- I think after your 1-130 is approved, where it asks you to consider when you want to leave. Your 1-130 is active for quite some time (I think 1 year) -- meaning you can start the second phase (the visa application, providing affidavits of support) at a point that makes more sense for your departure.

Regarding the medical: Frankfurt doesn't want you scheduling your medical until they tell you to do so (Which is basically after NOA2). We had about 25 days to schedule it -- but we live in Berlin where there is an approved doctor, so it wasn't such a big deal. If you're not in a big city, there could be this additional coordination involved.

I personally would take what the embassy gives you in terms of an appointment-- I cannot speak for the embassy if it would annoy them, but based on some communication I've had with them, I would generally say you should apply for the visa when you KNOW you will be leaving 6 months after they give you your interview appointment :-) That is the best rule of thumb.

Also, please keep in mind you're dealing with a lot of validity dates with the documentation you're providing. The interview is a formality to approve the visa -- but the dates of validity printed on your visa are based on your med. exam. Some of the supporting documents you provide with your visa application are also time sensitive (i.e. Police Report, Passport MUST be valid 6 months in advance of when you apply etc.-- we had to renew my hubby's!) Based on this, it doesn't make sense to do things TOO far in advance.

Good luck!

Dear all,

we're (finally ) ready to apply for my visa with the Frankfurt consulate. We'll be applying for a CR 1.

So my questions are: How long is the current approximate time frame for Frankfurt until the visa will be issued given the fact there won't be any RFE's?

We're planing to move to the US early next year. I would like to have all the paperwork done asap but is there a possibility to prolong the last step of the visa process until - lets say - the end of this year or can the consulate issue the visa for a later date?

Thanks for reading

K.

Hey there -- check out my signature and you'll see a very, very recent time line

Please note that I also had about a 2 week delay on waiting for original documents from the USA. Long story short -- your organization of documents will influence the time of your process

Best of luck to you -- it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...

Dear all,

we're (finally ) ready to apply for my visa with the Frankfurt consulate. We'll be applying for a CR 1.

So my questions are: How long is the current approximate time frame for Frankfurt until the visa will be issued given the fact there won't be any RFE's?

We're planing to move to the US early next year. I would like to have all the paperwork done asap but is there a possibility to prolong the last step of the visa process until - lets say - the end of this year or can the consulate issue the visa for a later date?

Thanks for reading

K.

Oh I forgot to add -- the Visa is only valid 6 months after the date of your medical exam. So -- please keep in mind you will need to leave the country by that date. But as I said before, you can influence how quickly or slowly you turn in your paperwork if you want to buy yourself some time.

Hello,

I read somewhere that as long as the docs (birth certificate, marriage cert. etc) are in English or Spanish then no translation necessary when sending in the 130 for DCF filing.

Anyone know if this is true and can you provide a link of some sort?

Thank you.

I'm not sure if it's the same standard for all DCF filers -- but we had to provide translations for the supporting documents for the I-130 while filing for Frankfurt Germany -- as the I-130 goes through USCIS and not the Immigrant Visa Unit. When we filed the remaining docs, we were able to file in English OR in German.

Luckily, the embassy was okay with me translating my own documents during the first part of the process -- if you follow their desired formats. Again, not sure if its the same in Mexico, but I imagine the process may be similar!

Good luck!

Thanks awaywego,

Just received Packet 3 in the mail on the morning of May 10 and filled out the DS-260 online.

Wife has already ordered the Police Report on May 9.

Will submit the DS-260 this evening.

Just have to finish the I-864 for me and I-864A from my parents. The reason we are submitting the I-864A from my parents is that I don't want to send in only my fully signed offer letter from the company that I will begin working for in July in the US. Plus, while I can submit the last 3 tax returns, I cannot submit a W-2 with them, as the German company I'm currently working for doesn't issue W-2's. The I-864A is our safety net to decrease any delay in timeline for the Visa issuance.

Thanks for everyone's time. I will update our timeline as new things happen.

Have a great week!

Hey there! I think in your case you file two separate I-864s -- and only file the I-864a if you're in the same household. I filed an I-864, and my parents filed, a separate I-864, as they were our joint sponsor As your US taxes filed in Germany will include foreign income, you should be able to submit proof of German earnings (you get a year end summary here) in lieu of the W-2s -- as you have to submit some kind of pay stub to show where your earnings came from as a supporting doc with the I-864s. This worked fine for us -- we weren't requested to bring any additional proof to the interview.

Hi schinx, that's great you were able to figure out how to print the confirmation sheet with the barcode! This is really a complicated website, not very user-friendly. Good luck with your interview!

Thank you

Hi Schinx,

we submitted our paperwork roughly the same day as you :-), how did you get a barcode on the confirmation page?

( I sent the confirmation page without a barcode with my documents, but if I do get one with, I'll bring it with me with the interview)

Thank you for your help,

Sandra

I will try my best to explain, Sandra, but as the website is not user friendly -- you may have to just play around with it for a while. My first advice would be to to the home page of http://www.ustraveldocs.com/de/index.html?firstTime=No and scroll almost all the way to the bottom to the section with the heading that says "Immigrant visa applications". Click on the category "Select Document Delivery Address" and go to the bottom of this page and click on the link to register. Here's where it gets weird -- it prompts a password and brings you back to your dashboard...

This is where I was like...huh? Until I started clicking around. Above the different boxes on your dashboard, there is a little blue header with some writing -- there should be some text called "Visa Type" -- click on this, and like a button it will lead you through some steps. Fill this out, and it actually brought me to that barcode page. This is the best way I can think to describe this very user-unfriendly website. Maybe my weird guidance will help...

Hope it works for you!

Best,

Schinx

Yes, so after our interview we emailed them and told them of this technical issue we're having with this site. We gave them our login information and they must have done something because after that when we logged in, our account profile had additional information listed (which wasn't there before) and we were able to print a confirmation page (but it didn't have a barcode). We sent them this page the next day and yesterday we received the visa. So it all worked out. You can either email them before your interview and let them know that you can't print a confirmation page or tell them at the interview. But bring your login information for this site with you in case you do that. We didn't have it on hand, so we had to email them after the interview.

Hey Maeve --

Thanks so much for your post -- I was able to get it to print a barcode page with a LOT of coaxing. If you wouldn't have brought up this post, I wouldn't have even thought I had done anything wrong -- so this was super helpful! I've sent off EVERYTHING and now we are waiting for our Interview!

Sorry that it caused you grief, but thank you for posting and bringing it to "general attention".

Best of luck as you return to the States!!

I emailed the Frankfurt consulate yesterday and told them of the technical issues I'm having with the ustraveldocs.com/de site. They haven't emailed me back yet, but a couple of hours after I emailed them yesterday I logged in again and this time my account profile looked different. I had given the embassy my username and password, so they might have logged in and done something. So when I logged in again I was able to put in my case number and navigate to the confirmation page to print out the confirmation page. This page didn't have a barcode, so I'm not sure if this is the page they want to have, but I printed it anyway and sent it to the embassy yesterday. I will see if they get to me.

Hmmm, since my husband and I are pretty much at this phase, I would be interested to see what happens! I found this step very confusing. I was able to create a "profile" with an address -- but this also didn't print any confirmation page with a barcode either!

The only page that printed a confirmation page with a barcode was the actual visa application...hmm! Keep us posted!

Hi,

We finally send out our I-130 petition to Frankfurt on the 14th this month and now we have some questions [ ]

1. My husband is a dual citizen (american/german) and we try to find out if he has to send in tax returns for the sponsoring.He lives and works here in Germany for the last 7 years. We do know that all american citizens have to file taxes in the US, but maybe there is some exception for special cases. Is there a place we can call or ask questions about this?

His father is going to be the co. sponsor and we would like to know what paperwork we need from him for that besides the form? Tax Returns for how many years? pay checks ect?

2. What paperwork will be needed for the interview appointment? Is there a checklist for that, because I can not find it anywhere.

3. Has anybody filed lately for that kind of visa and how long did it take?

Thanks alot for your help.

Hey there

I can only agree with what Maeve808 has already mentioned. There aren't many exceptions that exist re: filing US taxes, other than earning no income at all (as far as I know). However, there are plenty of very knowledgeable U.S. CPAs located in Germany who could give you sound advice on that. I would ask ones that practice in Germany, as I have gotten plenty of incorrect information from CPAs in the states who are not familiar with this kind of tax law. I can highly recommend mine -- but send me a PM for his contact info.

The process went really fast, and has been unexpectedly delayed for while we're waiting for the original signed affidavit of our joint sponsor to arrive in the mail from the USA But so far, the process has been very quick (you'll see in my timeline below). We expect our mail on Tuesday or so and will most likely send package 3 in next week.

Hi Schinx, I just tried to answer some of your questions in the other thread. Hope it helps.

Thank you so much, It has been the worst form (for us) so far to fill out! Your input has definitely helped! Keep us updated on how the interview goes, I know yours is coming soon!

Hi Frankfurt DCFers

You have been of great help to me already -- I was wondering if anyone currently in "packet 3 phase" could help me with some I-864 (affidavit of support) questions. I posted something on the main DCF thread, but just wanted to make it known here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/488551-filling-out-i-864-advice/

Thank you in advance. I want to make sure everything is done correctly before I send it all in

All the best,

Schinx