elvenshadow

I left the cents and wrote the city and state after the comma before I saw this reply. Sent the package out right before the post office closed. Hopefully NVC doesn't bust my balls. Thanks for all of your help up to this point. Now to wait a long time for IV fee to be invoiced.

I'm sorry to say they could. People do get checklists for cents not matching their tax transcripts, so I assume they scrutinize every field in the same way. I wouldn't change it by pen, as that would look suspicious. Personally I wouldn't risk a 30+ day delay if it's something I could fix in less time myself. I'm so sorry. I've been there! My joint sponsor sent me their form three times before it was correct, and I'm still praying I don't get a checklist.

P.S. As a friendly nudge, could you fill out your signature? It would be helpful to all of us in this thread.

I've given up hope on even getting an October interview at this point. I sent the packet with the assets off by one cent as it was. For the employer section after the comma I just wrote in the city and stat of the store location since it is at least on the supporting documents. If I get a checklist then screw it. I've already heard so many stories about checklists for certified copies of marriage certificates and even though I have a certified copy ready to send and lost the original and that's all I can give them, I'm sure they will just checklist me for IV packet anyway. I just feel like at this point no matter how hard I try or how much research I do, I'm screwed anyway. Here's hoping my wife can handle her interview without me and that it doesn't take too much longer after I'm forced to leave Japan.

Re-do it.

OK, they re-did it and I just got the new ones in the mail. I am about to send them off to NVC but I noticed 2 new mistakes about the I-864.

The value of my joint sponsors total investments from the documents provided total $106,493.06 but they typed $106,493.05 on the form. If I leave it one cent UNDER is NVC really going to checklist us?! Do I need them to send the form AGAIN!? Should I just change the 5 into a 6 with a pen!?

For name of employer, he previously wrote it as "company name, store number, name of mall store is in" but I told him to delete the name of the mall because it doesn't appear on any supporting documents. However, he forgot to delete the comma after store number. What should I do? Can I just leave it? Change the comma into a period with a pen? Write the city it is located in since that IS on the documents?

Post office is closing in about an hour so if I don't fix this soon I have to wait until next Monday to send... Any help is once again very much appreciated.

Oh no..... the value of my joint sponsors total investments from the documents provided total $106,493.06 but they typed $106,493.05 on the form. If I leave it one cent UNDER is NVC really going to checklist us?! Do I need them to send the form AGAIN!? Should I just change the 5 into a 6 with a pen!?

Aaaghh.....

If your bank is showing the payment, I'd say you are good to go.

It shows it on list of transactions on my checking account but it still says pending next to the transaction, though the amount has already been deducted from my current available balance. Do you still think it is OK?

I also have a non-related question. My joint sponsor had previously listed his employer as

"company name, store #, name of mall store is in" but I told him to delete the name of the mall because it is not listed that way on his documents that show proof of employment. However, he forgot to delete the extra comma after the store number when he re-printed the form. If I leave it as is, is NVC going to checklist us? Do you think I should hand-write something after the comma that matches the document to save face? Will they be suspicious if half the field is typed and half is hand written? Asking him to send it again will delay us another 4-5 days....

My AoS packet is finally ready to be sent out! I can do it today but my AoS fee still says in process and on my bank's website when I log in, it says pending as of yesterday. I paid it 3 days ago. Do you think that it will be safe to just send it out today? It would probably arrive Monday or Tuesday. I want to save time but is it risky since by the time the receive the files, the payment status still may be in process?

The DS-261 is completely pointless anyway. I bet 99.9% of the people who don't use a lawyer just have the petitioner as the main representative / person who needs to be contacted (aside from the beneficiary) anyway. You already give them your email when you call to get the case number so what's even the point? It was obviously just created in the first place so that they can buy themselves time to process cases when things get too backed up (like right now.) If they are so backed up, why don't they just hire more people? There are enough people out there looking for jobs right now and processing a case can't honestly be that hard. Any of us who had to go through this process seems to know more than some of the operators at NVC even! It's insane.

I will be sending my AoS packet either today or next Monday. I have a question about the address.

The NVC website says to send to

National Visa Center
Attn: DR
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 100
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914

But the cover sheet is different in the "Attn:" part and says

National Visa Center
Attn, CMR AOS
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 100
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914

Which one is better to write on the envelope? Does it even matter?

OK, I just paid the AoS fee 5 minutes ago. I got emails from NVC stating that it was ready. It is 7/2 in Japan but the printed cover sheet says 7/1 since it is still 7/1 at night in the US. so I guess I should update my timeline to say 7/1.

It gives you the option to print your receipt for the AoS fee in addition to the cover sheet. Is this also just for my own reference or should I include a copy of the receipt along with the cover sheet in my AoS packet?

By the way, I am waiting for some papers to come in the mail before I can send my AoS packet but they will probably arrive on Friday. If the AoS fee doesn't say cleared yet, do you think it still would be OK to just go ahead and send the AoS packet on Friday anyway? I figure since it says it takes 3 business days that it would most likely be cleared by the time the packet arrives at NVC anyway but... what do you all think? Thanks for any advice!

I had that message for about 1-2 days tops. If it's still like that on Thursday, I would call NVC to check in. You will get the barcode cover sheet after paying the AOS fee. Then there is a separate one after you pay the IV fee. The DS-261 confirmation is for your records. Don't click on the DS-261 again after submitting!! I'm sure you've read it here already, but doing so set me back 10+ days of waiting.

Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully it will be available soon. I'll check a few times every day.

Yea, I read about a few people re-submitting DS-261 and it causing delays. It currently says completed on the site so I am not going to touch it again. I will only click the payment portal link from this point on.

It really sucks that NVC is so backed up now. I am really hoping we can get an interview before October 29th because that is the last day I can legally stay in Japan since my job ends at the end of this month. I want to go with my wife to her interview and go back to Chicago together. Hopefully it works out. Good luck everyone.

I posted this in the June thread and just realized it is now July. Repost

OK, I was finally able to fill out and submit DS-261 today. I still can't pay the AoS fee but the error message has now changed to

I know that this means that they are probably getting it ready to pay. Any idea how much longer I should expect it to take based on this information?

Also, I printed the receipt that has barcodes on it and the confirmation number after submitting the DS-261. Is this the barcode cover sheet or is that something I get after paying the IV fee? I thought it was after paying IV so is there anything I need to do with the DS-261 confirmation sheet or is it just for my records?

OK, I was finally able to fill out and submit DS-261 today. I still can't pay the AoS fee but the error message has now changed to

I know that this means that they are probably getting it ready to pay. Any idea how much longer I should expect it to take based on this information?

It has been exactly 2 weeks now since I got my case number and I still can't pay the AoS fee nor can I fill out DS-261. I know I need to be patient but is it taking this long for anyone else lately?

BTW, I called NVC last Friday and talked to Joy....... when I gave her my case number, she asked for my email address but I already gave them my email address when I called to get my case number. Do you think they didn't enter it into the system and it resulted in a delay for my AoS fee and DS-261 or do you think she simply asked to confirm?

You should be okay if you re-do it yourself, as long as you don't sign for him.

How much/what kind of stuff was he hand-writing? Most people just have to hand-write one or two things; sounds like there's a lot in your case. It may be better to just create a supplemental sheet instead with all the information that can't fit on the form. I have an example, if you're interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lNEm0btviWXw89jNWv0fh1sgPpo8-f2DpVXdv3SFWss/edit?usp=sharing (pay attention to the header, footer, and the fact that you have to write out the entire question).

It isn't that much stuff. Basically, our foreign address is too long to be typed but if you write really small by hand, it can fit. However, he messed it up so I would have to write it in again by hand. That is one page and it is the only thing on the page that is hand-written. The other page he wrote on and messed up is actually just a number for income. I have no idea why he decided to hand write it in, but he started writing the value and crossed it out because I guess he made a mistake. then he wrote the value but it goes outside the boundary of the box. If I was to re-make this page, I could just type it. Other than that, He hand-wrote "N/A" in a bunch of fields that wouldn't allow him to type it because they done accept non-numerical characters for example, and in some cases, he was sloppy and his lines go beyond the borders of the box for that field. So, I would just need to fix like 2 pages but I worry because different pens / handwriting / printers / paper etc.

Got it. Thank you!

How about the question related to printing and replacing pages of the I-864. My father messed up by writing outside the fields and crossing stuff out. Rather than asking him to send the entire thing again by FedEx overseas, I figured I could just re create the pages he messed up on and write it in again myself since the one with his actual signature is fine, but I worry that they would detect differences in the type of paper, pen used, hand writing, etc. I also am unsure about the bar code and whether or not it would be different from the rest of the pages as a result. Do you think it is OK for me to do this or should I just have him re-send everything?

Well I have no experience on this. You may want to consult Saylin on this.

Yes, I would be very grateful if you could chime in, Saylin.

No, that's not what I said. I said you can write on the pages you already have. Why would you need to print new pages? Be specific.

Sorry. Specifically what I mean is that my father hand-wrote in some fields but he crossed stuff out in pen and then re-wrote it and what he wrote goes outside the boundaries of the provided field (he wrote outside the lines). I know NVC will checklist us for that. So, what I was thinking was that since only 2 of the pages of the I-864 that he physically mailed me have mistakes, I could just re-print them (using a printer) and then write in the parts that he messed up on again myself, replacing the ones that had mistakes and keeping the originals he sent for the rest. The only page that normally he would physically need to write on is the one that requires his signature but our foreign address is too long to fit in one of the fields so hand writing it allows it to fit, but he still screwed it up and wrote it wrong. There are other pages where he wrote "N/A" by hand a bunch because the way the PDF file is formatted, it doesn't allow for certain character inputs so he couldn't type it. So, if I was to physically write something on the form using a different pen than him and having different hand writing, I worry that if they compare it to other sheets, they will be suspicious. I also am concerned because the bar codes may differ if printed at different times from different computers. Do you get what I am worried about? Should I just have him re-do it and send the whole thing again by FedEx?

You can write on the pages you already have. No problem that he made notes on the statements.

Gross pay is correct.

Thank you again for the quick reply. So just to clarify, I CAN go ahead and just re-print and hand write myself on pages that he screwed up and replace them completely? My concern is that the paper color/ thickness or the color /texture of the pen used and also handwriting will differ from the other pages of the I-864. I also am honestly curious about the bar code. It says that it changes as you fill it out. Aren't they going to be able to tell that it was printed and prepared by different people at different locations?

NVC issues checklists for very small matters e.g.: not putting N/A or rounding up the income etc. it is much faster and better to send them I-864 as per instructions and wiki on VJ. Edit is up to you. You may want to print/write a new document and ask your sponsor to just sign and not to write anything else. In our case NVC issued checklist for a very small thing on April 30th. We sent checklist reply ( we have two IR5) cases. My checklist reply was reviewed and case complet on June 4th. My wife sent the checklist reply twice on April 30th still they could not find her email and even supervisor review did not help but delayed by another week as she had to send the same email reply that she sent on April 30th again on June 10th and was put in another 30 days BS. We are EP filers.

Make sure that your I-864 is correct before you send.

Jag

Well it's not so much a matter of the actual I-864 being accurate. I am well aware of the whole N/A thing and filling out all fields correctly. My question was about writing on supporting documents such as bank statements or pay stubs with comments explaining things about them. Is this something I would get check listed for?

Also my joint sponsor's household member calculated current annual income using GROSS pay from pay stubs but wouldn't it need to be the value of NET pay?

I have an important question. My dad (joint sponsor) mailed me his I-864 but he made a mistake on a couple of the pages where he needed to hand-write something that wouldn't fit in the box if typed. He did it wrong. If I was to just print and write on those pages myself and replace the new ones with the ones he made a mistake on, would NVC be able to tell? I know it has that bar code on the bottom. Would it end up not matching the other sheets or something? I can have him send the whole thing again but it will take several more days.

I have another question. Our joint sponsor also sent us documents like pay stubs and financial asset statements. On these statements he wrote all kinds of stuff explaining what they are in pen and circled important numbers. This would be an alteration of the original document. I always thought that we would have to explain things like that on a separate notes sheet. Is NVC going to accept files that are written on like that or are we going to get a check list if we submit them?

I have another question. Our joint sponsor also sent us documents like pay stubs and financial asset statements. On these statements he wrote all kinds of stuff explaining what they are in pen and circled important numbers. This would be an alteration of the original document. I always thought that we would have to explain things like that on a separate notes sheet. Is NVC going to accept files that are written on like that or are we going to get a check list if we submit them?

I have an important question. My dad (joint sponsor) mailed me his I-864 but he made a mistake on a couple of the pages where he needed to hand-write something that wouldn't fit in the box if typed. He did it wrong. If I was to just print and write on those pages myself and replace the new ones with the ones he made a mistake on, would NVC be able to tell? I know it has that bar code on the bottom. Would it end up not matching the other sheets or something? I can have him send the whole thing again but it will take several more days.

I just want to clear something up that I am unsure about. I was always under the impression that the AoS fee cannot be invoiced until you fill out the DS-261. Some posts I am reading lately suggest otherwise. Are they completely independent of each other? I still can’t do either one but should I be constantly checking both, or just the DS-261?

My dad is a joint sponsor in my case. I only submitted the details of his front page of his passport to show his US citizenship & never got checklisted for it.

Remember, you are showing his US citizenship/ residency status not showing his travel record.

If his domicile country is not the United States then they won't accept him to be a joint sponsor. Hope it helps!

OK, thanks. He lives in the US so no problem.