nicholemariev

So I'm filling out the DS-260... and I think whatever example I used is missing a question. For "Family Information: Children" I put that my husband has one child, which he does, and then I selected "No" for "Does this child live with you?" because he does not live with my husband, he lives with his mother.... and a little pop-up appears asking for my husband's son's address. Of course, that's like the one piece of information I don't have. *sigh*

I guess DS-260 submission will have to wait until Saturday after I skype with my husband. Good thing I'm really good at waiting!!!

Is writing "N/A" absolutely necessary? The instructions do say to leave it blank... I hope the fact that I left blanks doesn't end up in a checklist...

So far, as far as I can remember, the only question left blank that results in a checklist is the one on place of residence (and it may be specifically for just the I-864EZ and not the I-864 [if someone got a checklist for this for the I-864, please share!]). On that question, it says something to the effect of 'if different from mailing address'. For most people, it's the same. So, if there's one question to not leave blank, it'd be this one, as I see a checklist for it all the time.

I know you've already submitted it, but to everyone else: just re-enter your address on this one.

Edit: if someone's gotten a checklist for leaving something blank for another question, please share, so I know for the future

I filled out the regular I-864 and left blanks all over the place. Husband's mailing address is different from residence, so either form I would have had to fill it in. My AOS was approved, no checklist. Ditto to everyone who has commented that the most important space to not leave blank is the place of residence for I-864EZ. Haven't read about any other blank-space related checklists.

i really need your help saylin please .. just help me separatly to filling this form again ..please i m begging you for this ..

I-864, Affidavit of Support Checklist

[x] The Affidavit of Support is an important legal contract between you and the U.S. government. During our review, we identified one or more sections that were either incomplete or contained incorrect information. Please review the additional instructions below then complete and submit a new Affidavit of Support. You can download the I-864 form and instructions at http://www.uscis.gov/i-864.

...

Saylin does have a life outside of this website you know lol. She is allowed to eat and sleep and go to work too. But not much other than that! There are many other people here who can help you as well...

If jsumner's answer still doesn't help, tell us what numbers you originally put on the I-864 for those sections and explain a little about your situation. We can tell you which sections need correcting, but we can't tell you what to put on the form just by reading the checklist.

Good morning everyone, I have successfully re-schedule my interview earlier...Instead of August 18 will be August 5

Oh that is great news! Congrats!! You'll be here before you know it!

This is interesting-- when I was preparing my husband's IV packet a few weeks ago I heard a similar rumor floating around (that the translations can't be done by the beneficiary or the petitioner) but no one on this forum responded when I asked for verification, and I couldn't find that any official source said anything about it... so I sent in my own (petitioner) translations-- we will see if anything comes up. Although it was more a case of being on the safe side, officially I did not need translations, as the documents were in the official language of the country where the interview will take place... and I sent a translation of the birth certificate but not the apostille attached to it-- I hope that doesn't annoy anyone. But I was tired of being fearful about every little thing that MIGHT cause a checklist, so I decided to be optimistic that whoever reviews the documents will do their job as they should... If I get any negative feedback on either of those things I will definitely let folks here know... good luck to everyone trying to figure these requirements out.

I checked http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/submit/documents-to-submit-to-nvc.html and the NVC Wiki and couldn't find any information that the petitioner or beneficiary is not allowed to translate your immigration documents.

I'll post this question on one of the Facebook groups that I subscribe to. I'll post more information later on this issue.

I just called NVC and talked to an agent named Lea. According to her, anyone (including the petitioner and beneficiary) can translate a document as long as you include the "certification by translator" sentence. http://www.uscis.gov/.../general-tips-assembling... Then, you'll need to get it notarized by a notary public.

However, I remember reading some people's comments on this issue. They had no problem translating by themselves and didn't even get their documents notarized.

Man, it was so long ago that I originally did my research on translating docs to send to USCIS... I can't even begin to remember where I read it. It could have been a really old requirement, or just a suggestion. I tend to rely a lot on logic (although this process is not at all logical, so that could be my downfall ) so this is kind of how I reasoned it out to myself:

My husband's first language is Wolof, and I also speak Wolof. However, the national language of Senegal is French. Let's say we had some sort of traditional wedding in his father's home village (or whatever lol...) and our marriage cert was written in Wolof and all the dates are spelled out in words instead of numbers. If I then go and translate it, what's there to stop me from writing out that we were married 5 years ago instead of 1. I can go straight to IR1 instead of this CR1 nonsense. I highly doubt anyone at USCIS or NVC speaks Wolof and will be able to figure it out.

I guess requiring a third-party, impartial, translator just makes sense to me as another layer of fraud protection. If I were in a high-fraud country, I would definitely think twice about translating my own docs. That being said, that's just my own reasoning, and I'm sure you will be totally fine submitting your own translations. If I ever do find where I originally read that I will be sure to post the source.

Edit: just kidding! I just started going through my bookmarks and this is the first one I clicked on:

http://www.***removed***/immigration/document-english-translation.html

I'm thinking that's where I read it. This isn't any sort of official publication and could be really old. But it's on the internet, so it's real right?

Quick question!

I think I know the answer, but I'd like to double check on this.

Anyone can translate a document as long as they include the below sentences at the end of the translated document according to http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing, correct?

In other words, you don't need to use a service by a certified translator, correct?

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

Correct! I've also read that the "translator" cannot be the petitioner or beneficiary. But I can't say that I've ever heard of that being a legitimate problem for someone. Also, it's not like anybody is going to call up the "translator" and verify their translation qualifications... if you catch my drift....

This is terrible! It's been over 30 biz days since my ds261 was scanned on June 3rd and still nothing with my IV invoice, I really thought today it would be available but nothing still, on another note I sure ame happy for Samreen she had such a terrible time with me in USCIS since June 2013 so I'm glad she is getting through this step a little quicker, but I want mine too!!!

I hate to be like this, but it's actually been 29 biz days since June 3rd. That being said, it's still a really long #%*@&$*%( time to wait for a stupid fee! The good news is, tomorrow you can call them and really get on them for not following their 30 biz days rule, and they can't just tell you to wait 30 biz days. They have to come up with something else to say!!! I know how it feels, it really sucks, but call them and see what's up tomorrow.

Hi everyone, I have a question. For the civil documents on the IV packet (marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc) do the documents have to be apostilled? I have seen no mention of this on the WIKI page or in anyone's comments, just wanted to double check...

My understanding is that it varies according to the embassy-- for example, my husband is Venezuelan, and at some point we realized that the embassy in Caracas requires that Venezuelan birth certificates be apostilled, but not other documents such as the marriage certificate-- it caused a lot of headache for us to rush around and get the apostille in hurry, as we hadn't been aware of that until another VJ member pointed it out to me... I think there's a link on the State Department's website where you can check document requirements by country...someone else may have that link handy and be able to post it. It seems like mostly they are not necessary.

Good luck!

Check out here:

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

(type in the name of the country in the first field)

and here:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/submit.html

(scroll down to "Select a PDF" and find your embassy)

FINALLY received the IV invoice today..... never been so excited to pay the government in my life!!!

Really interesting that they're just randomly willy-nilly sending out IV invoices now regardless of DS-261 dates.... my guess is that they took so #$%*#@#! long to invoice a whole month of us that now the IV review team is just sitting there twiddling their thumbs with nothing to review. Better start sending out invoices now!!! lol makes no sense..... sigh.....

Hello to all!

So, we have sent both the AOS and IV packet. We received RFE for AOS and my husband already sent it on the 5th of July. The tracking number says it arrived on the 7th. When my husband called them, they said they cannot review the IV packet before the AOS is complete. Is that true?

Well, on the 9th of July we received another check list saying the following:

F - FINANCIAL EVIDENCE:

The NVC has received the requested DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa Application. However, we are still waiting for the response to the checklist letter for the Affidavit of Support. Please return the requested information so that we may complete your case.

_10 - BRAZIL CIVIL POLICE CERTIFICATE:

Certificates of Good Conduct (Atestados de Bons Antecedentes) related to possible violations of state law are available to persons 18 years of age and older from the Secretaria de Seguranca Publica in each of Brazil's states. Because each state maintains a separate database of violations of state law, a prospective immigrant must obtain a separate record from the Secretaria de Seguranca Publica of each state in which he or she has resided within the past five years.

So, I called today and they said one of the police certificate is missing (because in Brazil we need to send 2 types, the civil and the federal), but I did send both with their respective translations. My husband even did a cover letter specifying all the documents. I told them I had sent both of them and the lady said she was going to ask for a verification in the IV packet. But they said above on the F item that only the AOS was missing to complete the case! I am so confused! Has it happened to anyone already in this group? If they said they need to complete the AOS before the IV, why are they asking for a police certificate I have already sent?

Thank you so much in advance for any comments on this issue.

I have never heard before that they can't review the IV before the AOS, they're 2 completely separate things. I bet you either talked to a newer agent, or it's just too soon for them to tell what's actually going on. I would give it another day or two, and then call back and ask for further clarification. If they really are asking for a police certificate that you already sent them, request a supervisor review.

I have a question about field validation on I-864 form.

The PDF form won't let me enter the long address and apartment of principal immigrant. It won't let me enter special character like "/" or commas. Any idea on how to fix it? but I had to hand-write it down on the form and scan it and convert it into pdf. Will it be okay?

Thanks!

Hand-writing it is fine; what you did will be perfectly fine.

Operator said the "checklist removal" isn't showing in the system now.. And of course the supervisor we spoke to, who said she would remove it, is in a different department now.. WAITING for a supervisor to call us back now. If she did this when she said she would, we would have had case complete last month!!

I'm sick of this whole process. It's rubbish!!!!

I seriously think of you guys every day.... I can't believe that this has happened now as well. I think I read on the interview forum that somebody (dirk_diggler maybe?) requested an expedite based on NVC error and it was approved. If you haven't already, might be worth it to email the NVC expedite people. I'm so sorry guys!!!

I thought mine is July 17, but maybe I forgot some holidays! Haha it's not fun at all～plzzz NVC!!

Here's the business days calculator that someone posted earlier: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/workdays.html

I think I'll add it to my signature. I've been obsessed with it since someone posted it on here. Very Helpful!!

I skeeeewd up

Yesterday i logged on to ceac to see if IV was available . I accidentally clicked on the ds 261 complete tab . I got out of there without submitting anything

and it showed in red letters INCOMPLETE..

I resubmitted the original one without any changes the only thing that changed was the f ing date . Soooo i am presuming my 30+ business days start over as of yesterday right ?? The AOS package has already been received

I would call them tomorrow and tell them exactly what happened. Depending on which agent you get, they may be able to help you out. For almost everyone that this has happened to though, yes 30 biz days started over on the re-submit date.

Finally, It's time for the Interview for my wife after 4 Hours.

Finger Crossed.

Good Luck!!!! How exciting!!!

I have a questions about Ds-260 ?

In previous us travel part

The question is

Have you ever been refused a us visa , been refused admission to the united states , or withdrawn your application for admission at the port of entey ?

What can i do

I have been refused to get b1-b2 visa to visit my wife at the last christmas ? -Tourism visa-

-the officer at the embassy told me : if u want to see ur wife at the christmas and ur frist anniversary

She must came to me but i cann't go to her and i must wait for my cr1 visa to be issued -

And she actually came to visit me

And on 2012 i have get denail decision from uscis for k1 visa

i will answer this question by yes and write this or by no

Helpppp me becouse the ds 260 will staret 2day and i don't know what to do ?

The exact same thing happened with my husband, he applied for a Tourist visa to come visit me, and was denied, and told he needs to do the CR1. I plan on explaining the whole story on the DS-260 form itself. Put as much information as it will allow you, more information is better than not putting enough info. Explain the 2012 one as well.

Hello,

I have a quick question for you all and I apologise if this has already been answered in the thread. To give a brief overview - I was living overseas with my husband until the end of May when I returned to the US. I am actively seeking employment here but have not had any offers as yet. Becasue of this, we were required to use my mom as a joint sponsor. However, we just received a letter back to say my mom does not meet the income requirements (she is under by about $400) and they have requested we have my dad fill out an I-864A with his income information. I have spoken to several representatives at NVC and done a bunch of research but keep coming across different answers. Here is my question - my parents HOUSEHOLD/JOINT income is well above the poverty guidelines for their household size. Will this be acceptable or is the joint sponsor required to solely meet the income requirements independently?

Thank you to anyone who has advice, suggestions or experience to share.

Cheers!

Ok, if I understand correctly, your mom's income alone does not qualify, and your dad's income alone does not qualify, so you would have your mom fill out the I864 (like you already did) and then also fill out the 1864A with your dad's info, and these can be added together to qualify as a household. Did they file their taxes married filing jointly? Do you have their tax transcripts from the IRS?

I am feeling so discouraged! So down and upset! My husband and I submitted our DS261 May 27th and we have still not herd anything. I called two weeks ago and they told me give it two more weeks and I should be able to pay the IV fee. I just dont get why it is taking so long and I see some people who were in the same place as my husband and I have interviews scheduled. I am feeling so down right now and I dont want to call and yell at NVC, but how is this ok!

I just needed a place to vent it out.

You don't have to yell at NVC when you call them, it just seems like maybe they have forgotten about a week of us. It's been over 30 business days, so you have the right to call them and request that someone looks into the situation. A few of us have had to do that so far, and apparently they had to push through our DS-261s (whatever that means) and they say we should get the invoice next week. I also sent them an email, you could try that. You're right, it doesn't make sense why it's taking so long. It totally sucks.

I completely understand! I'm extremely grateful that my process is moving along but it isn't fair that others, yourself included, have been waiting so long. I accidentally re-submitted my DS-261 on July 5th because it showed incomplete. That's what I called to complain about. The lady wasn't the nicest person to me, but I don't know what happened that softened her up to speak to a supervisor. And then she came back and told me it would be approved that day.

My heart goes out to you. This process is miserable. I hope it picks up for you.

You're a saint. Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully more people will try this and have a better experience.

Guys do you think We can get help from senators... Hope this process ends soon... Praying..

I'm so close to the end... but I am thinking about doing something like this... I'll be praying too.

Hey everyone,

IV invoice just turned to PAID and I will be sending the IV package tomorrow so they should receive it tomorrow. My DS-w261 was reviewed and approved pretty quickly. I called and was very nice to the rep and complained about the process briefly and she spoke with her supervisor and they approved it that day. The next day, IV invoice became available. I'm hoping that our AOS documents get scanned in and the review process begins soon. Good luck to everyone else!!!

I mean absolutely no offense to you; this is 100% anger towards NVC. That is complete and utter BS that you got your IV invoice so quickly. You submitted the DS-261 almost a month later than LRKO, Lottry, me, and I'm sure many others, and you already have your IV fee paid before we get the invoice. It's one thing that NVC has the stupid procedure about people with lawyers getting both fees at the same time... but then to arbitrarily award people special timelines. That makes no sense at all. I work at a call center, I'm extremely nice on the phone, I complained nicely but firmly twice, nothing happened. Guess I got the wrong agents.

Ok, rant over. I'm happy your process is moving along spaghettikat. Enjoy some of that LA sunshine for me.

Hostages do sometimes "love" their sadistic captors! (Stockholm Syndrome)

That's us and NVC LOL

I suppose that would explain the people who call every day. They just can't get enough!!!

I've only called a total of 5 times, so I'm not there yet. I wonder what the stages are though....

I'm somewhere between extreme emotional trauma and complete nervous breakdown.....

Noooo! These words are what nightmares are made of!!!!

hahaha no kidding... Soloenta don't read my post.... don't want anymore nightmares....

Don't cha just love NVC!

lol not sure if love is the right word....

On hold for an hour. I talked to Mel. Nice enough... kinda dumb lol... can tell he is new. At least that means they're hiring more people right?

AOS package reviewed and accepted as of today. Woohoo no checklist! Tears of joy for that!

He says that my "DS-261 was pushed through today, should receive the IV invoice mid to early next week."

At least some progress... LRKO you should be looking at early next week.

"Because of the personal attention given every caller, you may experience a brief delay. Please remain on the line. A representative will assist you momentarily........."

JUST IN CASE you guys wanted to know..

FYI

ON Monday July 7th I called Nvc to knw status on my case and the women who answered said that my IV documents that they received on May 27th were accepted and that my AOS documents they received on May 29th we still under review and to call this week to get an update...

SOOOOOOOOOOOO

that was the reason for my call today.. to check up on my AOS package.. and to my surprise they told me my case was completed on June the 8th and that my interview was ON the 6th of August..

Thanks for the info! Congrats! You're so lucky to have received your interview date so soon!!! Hopefully your good luck will rub off on some of us still hanging out here.

So last night I received a checklist from NVC stating that we have not sent our DS-261. But I have already confirmed with them that they received it on May 29th. I was thinking this is a false checklist and AOS was accepted since scan date is June 3rd.... but that would be semi-logical... so....

I called NVC today around 7:20am PST, only on hold for 15 minutes, talked to Olivia, she was really pleasant and professional. Refreshing. However, she said our AOS has still not been reviewed yet. I asked about our IV invoice, she said "Yes, today is 30 business days since your DS-261 was received. I will ask someone to review that." Not sure what that means, or who she can ask, but this means I will be calling morning and night until someone actually does something.

I've been waiting for this 30 business day mark so that I can finally freak out at someone lol

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/us/obama-seeks-billions-for-children-immigration-crisis.html?_r=0&referrer=

Obama wants about 4billion $ to aid border....4billion!!!! how about throwing a couple million and hiring more NVC workers :-/

That is exactly what I thought when I read about that this morning. Let's spend WAY more money keeping people out, instead of spending a little more money helping USC's to be reunited with their families the legal way. Makes no sense.

Anyone left who's document scanned for june 2 or june 3???????????????????????????

AOS scan date June 3rd, just called NVC, not reviewed yet.

June 2nd case complete today ,, thanks everyone

Congrats!!!!

I think your accountant needs to have a conversation with the IRS lol I called them 3 times before I filed and got the same answer every time.

When your foreign spouse os overseas and your spouse is not going to request an ITIN, you can't take the spousal exemption (because they're not here and you're not supporting them over here) - but you're married. Married is married, think Sixteen Candles and Long Duck Dong's conversation with Jake Ryan!

You can't e-file without a social security number, so you have to mail it in and write NRA on the spouse's social. Some accountants think because you can't e-file you can't do it lol I filed married separate and there was no issue :-)

Fabulous explanation! I met with a tax advisor who told me I couldn't file married because my husband didn't have a SSN. Good thing I didn't believe him and read through all of the tax documentation myself.... I did exactly what you explained here.

Paid our AOS invoice today! Woop woop!!!

Any idea on how long it´s been taking for the IV costs to be invoiced? :/ Hopefully we aren´t moving too slowly!

IV fees are being invoiced around 25-30 business days after NVC has received your DS-261 form.

OMG guys!!! Just checked my AOS fee right now and it's N/A... Hoping for CC ..I'm calling NVC now.. USCIS_2013 for sure yours is coming soon.. last scan date june 2...

Am I reading your signature correctly? Your I-130 was approved the same day that USCIS received it? I mean... even if you were expedited... that's just crazy! If so, congrats, you may be the luckiest person in the world.

my husband just called NVC 2 get the case number its been over 30 days now they are saying that they done have any records of our case in there system..... What should we do?

Scan the NOA2 and send to NVC like they suggested. Then call USCIS to confirm shipping date, ask for Tier 2 rep. I've seen some people who have had their case misplaced or sent back to USCIS in error, so definitely track that down if you've been waiting a while.

Ok so we found out the problem - we sent our AOS packet on 7th May BUT it wasn't scanned in until 12th June!!!! That's 26 working days to just scan the ****ing thing into the system. What a joke! Well at least we know what the hold up is... And still we wait!

That's so terrible. Praying for you guys.

Thank you samreen!! Would you happen to know if its taking 30 days to review the ds-261 as well??

The wiki has a flowchart that shows the order in which the documents follow. I think you have some of them confused.

For AOS: Pay AOS fee, send AOS Docs, wait for review for 30-45 days.

For IV: Fill out DS-261, wait for "review" for 30-45 days, receive/pay IV invoice as soon as DS-261 is accepted, send IV docs and around this same time you will be able to access the DS-260 and fill that out, wait for review for 30-45 days.

You can receive a checklist somewhere in the mix too, and that adds 30-45 days of waiting but may be concurrent with the waiting you are already doing for some other part of the process. Hope that helps!

I've been trying to call the NVC number and it's a disconnected line tone I'm hearing. Please help.

That's normal. Just keep re-dialing until you get through. Best time to call is when they first open in the morning.

pls help my husband is about to pay iv fee and this shows

This case is in the process of termination. Fee payments and online forms can no longer be accepted. If you believe you have received this message in error, or to resume processing of the case, please contact the NVC immediately.

what should we do?

They are inputting data for your case, most likely the IV invoice. This message is normal, although it looks scary, it's actually good news! Check out Saylin's wiki from the first post!

I apologize in advance if this question is answered somewhere else. I assure you all I have read the Wiki at least 45 times (a day ) and I have looked at the spreadsheet tracking processing times. There is something I just don't understand. It says in the Wiki Page that you can send the AOS packet and the IV packet at the same time. Indeed, according to the spreadsheet many people did just that.

However, you have to pay the fee that corresponds to each packet before sending that packet, correct? From what I can tell, currently the AOS bill is being issued long before the iV bill. That would mean either delaying the AOS package or sending the IV package before it is billed. Am I missing something, or has the process just changed a bit?

If you have a lawyer, you do not need to fill out the DS-261, and therefore, you will receive the AOS fee and the IV fee at the same time. I would say that is the case for the majority of the cases you are seeing on the spreadsheet where they have sent the packets at the same time. However, there are a few people who got tired of waiting for the IV invoice and just went ahead and sent the IV packet before they paid the fee. Not sure if we've heard yet how that went for them, but I personally think it's risky since you're sending original documents that can be hard to replace. Don't wait to send the AOS with the IV... majority of checklists are received for the AOS, so it's good to send that one asap, just in case you do get a checklist, so you can respond to the checklist asap as well. Hope that helps!!

we received the NOA2 on may 31, we have yet to receive our case # wen my husband call the NVC it's constantly busy is there another number apart from the 603-334-0700 number?

Nope, that is the only number, and it is almost always busy. You just have to re-dial until you get through. Best time to call is right when they open (7am EST). Take a look at Saylin's spreadsheet on the first post of this thread to track when you might receive a case #. Good luck!

Still no IV invoice. DS-261 received by NVC on May 29th.

I feel like a teapot that has just barely started to boil... any second now I'm going to start screeching....