paulfrederic

So... Here's the second part of the story.

The Waukesha SSA office told us to go to the Homeland Security Office in Milwaukee, we went there with an infopass appointment today, and they said that there is nothing they can do about the issue, (and that for some reason offices like Waukesha SSA tend to refer people to them for miscelaneous problems like this) So, they referred us to the CBP office for Milwaukee. We spoke on the phone with them, and they said that they cannot do anything about it either, and that we should probably go to the Chicago airport to see what they say.

At this point we were getting incredibly frustrated, so instead of pursuing this endless bureaucratic loop, we decided to go to another SSN office (in Milwaukee this time) where my wife successfully applied for a SSN despite the missing passport stamp (they said it wasn't a big deal).

So, lessons learned:

1- Always check that the other people handling your case are doing everything ok, and not missing any steps.

2- It's always better to deal with offices that handle large volume of cases (Waukesha SSN office didn't even know what a CR-1 visa is).

3- Even if you checked that box in the DS-260, your SS card is probably not going to arrive, and you're much better off going straight to SSA office.

Thanks for the prompt advice to everyone in the forum.

Regards,

Hey, thanks for all the replies.

We spoke on the phone to the USCIS, and they said that we need to get an infopass with the homeland security office in Milwaukee, and that they should take care of the issue.

Luckily there was open appointment for next Monday. So, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted on it.

I'm a little pissy about the airport people missing the stamp though... oh well

My wife just finished her DCF in Frankfurt, and we entered to the USA through the Chicago airport.

They took her visa package, and sent us through customs, after which we just entered the country. Her passport was never stamped.

Since her SSN hasn't arrived (we did check that box in the DS-260, and we've been waiting for more than 3 weeks) we went to the SSN office, and they asked to see her Visa, at which point they noticed that it wasn't stamped, so it's technically "invalid"...

We don't have any kind of receipt from the visa package (they just took the whole thing), and we don't know who to contact regarding this problem.

Also, the people at the SSN office said that (at least here in Wisconsin), my wife is not going to receive the SSN just because we checked the box in the form ds-260, that we need to apply for it there no matter what.

Any tips on our situation? Who should we contact regarding her non-stamped passport? Should she just wait it out until the greencard arrives?

Thanks!!

Dude, I don't know what is your gripe. And I don't have anything to prove to you. I am no troll though and being accused of "playing with people" over here is not cool.

I had my I-130 approved in just 20 days (Not 70).

I lived in italy three years before moving to germany, and I opened my account around that time, so perhaps I had Rome set as my consulate, but that is irrelevant, since I did the whole process with the Frankfurt embassy.

DCF is pretty fast, like I said, I had the I-130 approved in 20 days, and if I would have had the packet 3 ready for dispatch as soon as they sent it, I would have finished the whole process even quicker. Look at Queen penguin story, she completed the whole process in just a few weeks.

I am not trolling you or anyone here, I am not playing with anyone. Read some experiences about DCF in Frankfurt, and you'll see that they are very similar to mine.

Hello to all.

The letter was delivered on a timely manner, it just never got updated on the website (It still says "In Zustellung")

Anyways, this was a while ago, since then, we had the interview at the consulate (which was very chill) and everything went well, so now we are just waiting for the medical exam results to get to the consulate (they could not approve the visa yet, since they don't have this). Hopefully this will be fast.

I wanted to thank everyone who wrote and helped! I'll be writing a post detailing all the process soon.

Stressed out, how are you doing? do you have an interview date yet?

Camelott, I don't know if you are talking to me or what?, I never had Rome set as my embassy. But yea, 70 days isn't even all that fast. If I would have had the packet 3 ready as soon as they contacted me, it could have been done even quicker. Notice that this is DCF, not the regular process.

Ok, so I just booked an interview today. They had open slots for the 18th, 19th and the 20th, and then there were more for the other week.

Basically, you'll get an email from them, saying all your documents are ok and that you're clear to book an interview. So you'll go over to the website, and request an interview.

They will email you again saying that you are allowed to book it, so you'll have to log in again in the website, and it'll display a calendar from which you'll be able to choose.

I think you schedule the interview on the same website where you put your mailing address for the consulate.

They will write you an email asking you to book an appointment, once they received and looked at everything in packet3.

If anyone who already went through this is reading, please let us know how its done

Hey everyone! hope youre all doing good.

I sent the package 3 with all the documentation to the embassy on wednesday last week, and it's still not delivered...

I sent it with Deutsche Post with tracking, but it's stuck on "in delivery" since friday.

Does anyone know if there are any special security procedures at the embassy, or any reason why it would take so long to be delivered?

I'm a bit nervous because all the original documents are in that package....

Thanks for the replies!

keep the faith stressed out. i'm sure they will reply soon

Also, another question!

It seems the Frankfurt embassy requires certified translations for all documents not in english or german. (we have several in spanish and italian)

sources:

http://germany.usembassy.gov/visa/iv/step4/

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/frankfurt/9318/consular_pdf/Instructions%20for%20IV%20and%20K%20Visa%20Applicants.pdf

Has anyone had any experience with this? Do I really need to go to a translator? Most other CR-1 in other places (at least as far as my research has shown) don't require certified translations...

Hello Everyone.

We are getting ready to mail the package 3 and 4.

But the information regarding the content is a bit confusing.

I've read in several posts that you have to mail the following:

-Original and a copy of Birth certificate

-Original and a copy of Marriage certificate

-Original Form I-864

-Original form DS-230 Part I and II

-(Both original and copy of divorce certificate if applies)

-Photocopy of passport

-Original Police certificate of current location, and every other location (6+ months)

-And the whole medical examination report thing

So, does this sound good? I think its a bit strange we would have to send the original birth certificate and marriage certificate. Shouldn't we just send the copies and bring the originals to the interview?

I know there is a lot of info on the forum, I've been reading a ton.

Just asking to confirm with you guys who went through (or are in) the same situation right now.

Kindest Regards to all!!

Just received the I-130 approval notice today! Very happy right now!

Hello Stressed out! thanks for your reply.

I received an email from uscis about a week ago saying that they got all the documents that I sent, and that the case is with the officer for review.

I'm taking this as a NOA. I wonder how long it will take until we get the i-130 approved (or declined, although hopefully that wont be the case!).

I sent them about 40 pages of bonafide evidence, hopefully that should be enough.

My kindest regards to everyone replying, and helping out!

hey Bybbies,

Im not an experienced member here, so don't take my word as final, im sure other's will chip in soon.

I wouldn't worry too much about the passport, I had to submit two passports (a different situation though), but each one serves as proof of something. So, you can use your personal passport for yourself, and the RPVC one for 2 year proof.

Regarding addresses, I think the general consensus is to be as detailed as possible, as to avoid RFE's, you can use extra paper pages.

About your fiancees father, that's a tricky situation. I guess you will need to enclose an explanation in a separate page.

Thank for all your replies!

I received in the mail an RFE, which was emitted the day after we submitted the I-130 (Even prior to me emailing this evidence).

Should I print this stuff I emailed and send it with the RFE just in case?

About translations, did all of you have the documents translated by an official registered translator?

Thanks for all the help!!

Hello Harpa, thanks for your reply.

Yes, we hope the I-130 gets approved and we will bring all this documentation to the interview.

I just hope they file the email together with the I-130.

Cool! Thanks a lot Confusedtinybird.

It kinda sucked at the embassy, when they rejected these documents. I know it seems dumb, but we took so long to prepare everything, and we thought everything was good, never expected to have these things bounced back. Anyways, hopefully they will read the emails.

Anyone else in the forum has had any experience emailing further documentation?

Hey there,

Thanks, I guess postal stuff is a good idea. Also, we just asked some friends for affidavits. Thanks for the advice!

I'm just a little worried about sending it by email after already filing the I-130

Have you (or anyone here) ever sent supporting documentation before NOA1 by email or post?

Do you think they will receive it and add it to our files?

Hello Forum!

Last monday me and my wife (currently living in Berlin) travelled to Frankfurt for our appointment at the usics, and we submitted the I-130.

The issue is mostly with the bonafide marriage proof.

Most of our documentation proving that we've been living together the last 4 years were receipts and documents from which the only relevant piece of information was our name and address and date (all of which stay the same no matter what language they are in). We didn't translate these documents (some in italian, some in german), and therefore they were not accepted. (I know!, huge fail on our behalf).

They did accept some photos though...

So, they told us to email them with these documents and the translation, as further support documentation of our case.

Now, a few question to you guys, what do you think our chances are? will the emailed documents make it to the file? we haven't received NOA1 yet, so, should we wait until that, or should I email ASAP?

We didn't think this bonafide evidence was such a big deal, but now after the fact, reading the forum, and the huge comprehensive list of things some people submit, we are totally disheartened.

Any word of advice?

Hello VisaJourney.

I'm a guy from new jersey, I have dual citizenship (USA & German)

I just got married in Argentina, my wife has also dual citizenship (Argentina - Italian).

I have legal residence in Germany for the past year, and we just moved to Berlin. So we are planning on doing a DCF in Frankfurt. She will be filing her residence here next week.

I have a question to start. How does the address thing work? our housing status is very precarious (we might be moving to a different house in a month) Can we list a friends address as our mailing address?.

Any advice ahead of time?

Thanks!!

P