Well, I graduated from law school in two different countries and have never encountered the term!
It's sort of beside the point. The reality is (1) bogus charges were brought against you and (2) the court said they were bogus. This is great! All you have to do is tell USCIS this exact truth. You look good and totally vindicated. Not disclosing it makes you look bad and like you're hiding something. Transparency is key here. Be transparent, and things will go much better than if you don't.
I hope you make a great salary and your child support payments are very high, I as a man could not imagine abandoning my children over bruised feelings
If she is unwilling to fill out the forms and provide the required un redacted evidence then you can expect not to get a visa. You are going to need all of this for your interview.
Yes, the W2s will be fine. Just as a side note, you may be surprised how quickly a letter from the IRS arrives. I had a mistake on my return a couple of years ago, and I had the letter pretty quick... Good luck!
Some of my friends locally here in Arizona that are going through the ROC said that once the paperwork is filed they send you a letter that says, "you have been granted an 18 month extension to live, renew DL, work, travel in/out of the US until they can find a way to get their &&^% together. " This is much better than what the ROC people from a year or two ago went through where they didn't get the extension letters until they were out of status while waiting for the ROC.
As I sit here now, three days after the fact, I still can't believe that after months of paperwork, waiting and more waiting, my Visa has been approved!!
Obviously, I'm elated and happy beyond belief and wanted to share my experience with you all for a few reasons. Primarily, just to let anybody in a similar situation to mine read over my experience and the like. But I also want to generally share in my excitement with people who truly understand the frustrations of this process, and start some small celebrations while I wait for my Visa itself to arrive!
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(The following was written in my notebook on the train home from the interview, so I apologise for any poor wording, etc. I'll be editing my terrible written grammar when typing it up here, but won't be making any more substantial edits beyond that. As a writer by trade, I felt it necessary to explain this before jumping in...!)
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The Day Before...
Finances permitting, I would absolutely recommend for everybody to stay overnight before your appointment. Even though I barely slept, the principal of being close-by was soothing; especially since I actually live in the East Midlands, so travelling to London isn't exactly a quick trip for me!
The hotel that I stayed in was the London King's Cross Royal Scot, an older hotel not too far from Kings Cross Railway station, and it included a full, unlimited breakfast (yum!!). I brought along my best friend of many years (twenty, to be exact...!) to be my moral support and travelling companion, and we both appreciated the large breadth of good food to start our day!
The Big Day!
We made sure to hop on the tube after peak times, and made the necessary changes to the Victoria line before hopping off at Vauxhall. I'd absolutely insist that you take Exit 1, as outlined in the interview guidelines, because the walk along the Thames is absolutely breathtaking if the weather is nice. I was very lucky to experience a sunny, temperate day in London on the 15th.
Not only was it stunningly beautiful, but it allowed me plenty of time to try and calm down. I obviously wasn't 'calm' by any description when arriving at the Embassy, but every little helped when it came to soothing the frayed bundles that I call nerves.
Anyway, back to the scenic walk! You really can't miss the Embassy on this route, thanks to its outside facade. I sat outside for a while with my friend in the sunshine, happy that I chose the 11:30am slot and not having to wrestle with commuters. Because I started to get anxious, I approached the outside Visa desk too early, and was sent away to return at 11:10am. Hold your nerve and head up to get your documents checked later rather than sooner; you'll get sent straight on through to security regardless.
All I needed at the outside desk was my appointment confirmation/ instructions email and my passport. I fumbled about with my DS-160 for no reason! Have it ready just in case, but I was never asked by anybody to see that piece of paperwork.
After another check at the desk at 11:10 this time, I was sent up to the security entrance where a security guard checked the same paperwork as stated above, and sealed the deal with a high-five and fist-bump to wish me luck. One thing I'll say with absolute certainty is that the staff you encounter when going through with the interview process is absolutely critical, and this interaction was such a relief to experience. Glimmers of humanity!
I benefited from leaving my luggage with my best friend, because I was through security in less than a minute. I only took my phone, coat and documents, and I'd absolutely recommend travelling as light as possible. Less to faff around with is always better.
Once inside, I queued like a good Brit, and was soon met with the Embassy staff asking for anybody doing immigration Visas. In spite of the K Visa technically being of the non-immigrant variety, you absolutely fit into the immigrant category. The guy checked my confirmation email and ushered me up to the desk, before checking me off the list and sticking some tickets on my print-out. He told me to go up to Level 1, turn left and left again; insisting that I don't follow any other instructions. I was confused by this insistence of his until I reached Level 1 and Embassy staff tried to direct me over to the non-immigrant side. If not for this initial point of contact I had, I would have likely slipped over to the non-immigrant side without a second thought.
And so, I did just as I was told; turned left, and then left again. I found myself in a smaller, somewhat secluded waiting area for immigrant visa interviews and had barely sat down before my ticket number flashed up on the screen (the ticket will be stuck to your confirmation print-out when heading inside). What followed was the document collection portion of the appointment, and I nearly had a heart attack.
The man who saw me was very pleasant and I chatted with him for a while before we got down to business. Then, my organisation started to pay off. He asked for my confirmation email/ instructions sheet, followed by my passport and birth certificate. He specifically wanted the original, even though I had taken photocopies just in case. Then he asked if I had been married before (no), adopted (no) or if I had lived anywhere else since turning 16. This led into him asking for my original ACRO, the police certificate. I had all of this information paperclipped in corresponding order within my document wallet, so I was quick with giving him whatever he needed, and I was starting to feel pretty great about the whole process.
But then came my worst fear: the Affidavit of Support, that dreaded form I-134.
This document has been the bane of my existence from the start of this year. My fiance was in the midst of changing careers this year, with an income $100 below the requirement last tax year. As such, we turned to his sister to be our support because of her high income, long history with her employer, and close proximity to our address. After much agonising, back and forth and contradictory information as to whether we'd need Affidavits from both the sponsor and fiance, I had it all compiled. The general consensus within the VJ community was that London weren't bothered by who the sponsor was, as long as the income requirement was met and evidence provided.
The minute I handed over the documents, however, the previously cheery, talkative man frowned.
"We still ask for an Affidavit from your fiance."
What?! I started to panic and barely held myself together, calmly explaining our decision and the circumstances around it. My fiance didn't earn enough last year due to a fluctuating retail job, his new job is less than a month old... etc. The document collector became quite stern and said that the interview officer would review it all and decide what needed to be done, which, as you can imagine, wasn't a lot of reassurance.
I honestly couldn't breathe. He took copies of my Visa photographs (I took four 2x2 images) and then told me to take a seat.
Never has a wait felt so long.
It probably wasn't much longer than 15 minutes, however, and my turn came. I positively bolted up, said a few prayers, and went to meet my interviewer. She was a nice, softly-spoken American lady. I could feel that she was quite stern as she politely asked me to raise my right hand and take the oath, but the questions she asked were conversational and easy. These questions are as follows:
"Have you had any previous US Visas?"
"Have you overstayed any of them?"
"When did you meet your fiance? How did you meet? How long have you been together?"
"How often have you seen your fiance since getting together?"
"What does your fiance do?"
"What does your future sister-in-law do?"
"What do you plan to do for a career in the United States?"
As always when I'm nervous, I felt like I babbled a little too much, but I was honest and kept a semblance of cool. I'm not honestly sure what brought the approval specifically, but I sensed a somewhat positive reaction when I explained how long my fiance and I have been together, with specific recollection of long visitations with one another, and my chosen career path as a Teacher.
So, even though the document collector scared me half to death, my app was approved rather swiftly. I probably only stood in the booth/ window for less than five minutes!
I almost burst into tears of joy on the spot, thanked the interviewer a thousand times, and practically skipped out of the Embassy! Now I need to wait for the arrival of my passport and the famed BBE, big brown envelope, and I'm US-bound!
Even though it didn't end up mattering or delaying my approval, I would recommend that those of you with a sponsor also get your fiance to fill out an Affidavit. It'll save you a lot of stress and anxiety after getting an ominous reception from the document collector, that's for sure!!
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Thank you all for reading my ramblings, and for helping with all of my previous questions along the way! This approval is a huge weight off my chest, and now I can't wait to get myself out to the States. My life has been on hold since we decided to pursue this Visa, and now it finally feels like it's in the 'Play' position again!
In peoples' experiences, how long does it take for the documents to arrive with you? I have paid for courier delivery to my home, so I'm unsure if that will speed up the delivery once everything is processed (which I know takes between 7 to 10 working days... curse you, bank holidays!!).
I know that it isn't recommended to book a flight until you HAVE the documents, but flights are already looking expensive right now. I want to safely book a flight which will ensure the arrival of my documents in time, and won't bankrupt me for a one-way trip, so it's a difficult balance to strike. My absolute ideal would be for me to jet off as soon as possible; I've been away from my fiance for too darn long as it is!!
You can print his i-94 from cbp page and take his passport and birthcertificate and go to get his social security number, i did that when i arrived on my k1 visa, before i get married
Lol no one here is an #######. OP did some poor planning and broke FIRST GOLDEN IMMIGRATION RULE - never plan anything until you have visa/green card/AP in hand. Not our fault that truth is harsh.
Also HMMM - Six29 account open 5 minutes ago. You're totally not OP's second account.
W-9, 1099, w-2, etc. are not sufficient to prove income. The instructions are clear, provide IRS transcripts, or COMPLETE tax return including all forms, schedules, w-2, 1099s, W-9s, etc.
You only provided part of a tax return, twice, hence the denial.
I would fire your lawyer. Any competent immigration attorney should have known what to submit.
If at this very early stage (where she has not even arrived in the USA) you already have reason to lose trust in her word, then you have bigger problems than just a few hundred dollars visa fee to be honest. When trust is gone, everything crumbles and it is even worse in cross national relationships. I sincerely hope it is just a miscommunication between the two of you and not the beginning of a pattern of lies.
I'm not sure the UK is the same, but I got a CRBA for my son born in Mexico, I did have to provide transcripts from HS and College to prove that I had lived continuously for 5 years in the US, since I was living in Mexico at the time. My name was on the birth certificate as well. It took about a month or two, I can't quite recall the exact time frame. I hope this helps.