Coraliine

Hi, so my husband's AoS was declined because the USCIS mailed our interview request to the wrong address (we have proof of changing our address before they sent it...to the wrong address). We already filed the form to re-open the case and went to an Infopass. They informed us there that the USCIS made a mistake, that the case would be reopened once we submitted the form, and that they shouldn't be taking the fee, but to include the check anyway just in case.

Well, turns out they gave us an outdated form at that field office, so we got it returned. Re-sent it and it appears today that they cashed the check. I wrote in the cover letter the explanation of why it was refunded and that the agent (I included his agent ID number) stated that it shouldn't have a filing fee since it was a USCIS mistake.

Does anyone know if I have a leg to stand on to request a refund? It feels really horrible to pay $675 for a mistake that I didn't do. I did everything right; I informed them of our move within the time period, we called the USCIS 3 times a month to find out our case status (after the interview request went out - I included these phone records), we submitted 3 official requests for information (these all went unanswered and were in the time span of the interview letter being sent and our denial), and I did an infopass and they didn't know it had been sent. I literally couldn't have done any more to find out that we had had an interview scheduled. But the USCIS still took the filing fee.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

All right, thanks everyone. I did exactly as suggested, printed the directions, highlighted it. Included a copy of the NOA1 of I-765, as well as a copy of the letter granting him his first EAD.

His expires at the end of the month and I sent it in, certified, on Thursday. The envelope was supposed to arrive yesterday, but it wouldn't be the USPS without a delay. I'm waiting to hear back from them, but hopefully it arrives today.

As long as it arrives and we receive the notice of receipt we're good, right? Or does the USCIS need to physically open it to have it considered a "timely filing"? My worry now is that they may not actually open it and log it until September, which would technically make us overdue.

This whole process is such a nightmare. D=

We'll approach my husband's employer (also my employer) with the original EAD and his NOA once it arrives to ensure his continual employment.

1 minute ago, p-ana said:

Sorry, I read it wrong. You should be getting in line for interview, if you do get one, and should be called within their processing times. 

As for the ead, it's taking 3-4 months now to get a new one, but as I said, uscis came up with an automatic extension https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/automatic-employment-authorization-document-ead-extension

so he should be good, but to be on the safe side, I'd apply for renewal anyway

Are we put at the back of the line for it? Does anyone know how that works?

Do we need to do anything for the automatic extension?

The renewal costs $410. We don't have that kind of money...

2 minutes ago, p-ana said:

If you guys moved to ny, you should expect more time to get an interview, if you do get one, ny offices are super back logged.

 

as for the ead, you can renew it with no fee, if you send your package with the i485 noa1, to show you still have a pending aos case and therefore have the ead fees waived

We moved to California from NY. And they are working on cases from November/December. So they're not as backlogged as NY.

Is there still a 3-6 month processing time for that? My husband could lose his job.

Hi everyone. So my husband moved to the US in February of 2016 and we got married and filed the AOS from a K1 in June. In August they sent a RFE to which we gave them what they wanted. Did the biometrics. Then it was radio silence.

In May we moved to California from NY and we did the change of address/transfer thing. Now the USCIS is telling us that his case is going to take an additional 12-18 months because of it?! And his temporary work permit is set to expire at the end of August and they're saying that in order to extend it we have to pay $410 to refile and that it will take up to 90 days. That's completely at odds with what my Congressman told me, he said that it just gets extended immediately until the AOS is complete.

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm at my wit's end.

Do I still need to see a civil surgeon to fill out any of the I-693 form or no?

Well I believe that was done. But that was taken at the embassy and put into the sealed envelope that I don't have. They also accidentally took the NOA2.

So since I do not have that form do I need to see a civil surgeon? They have that info in his file, however. Or at the very least they should.

Hi! So we finally got married last Sunday after taking care of our birth certificate debacle. Now I'm filling out the mountain of paperwork for the AOS and I am really confused about what to do with the I-693. My husband (feels so weird!) got his medical exam last fall, so we're well within the 1 year limit. He got the only shot he was missing (a booster) and the doctor only filled it out on his official government immunization paper from the Dutch government. He also gave us a receipt in it (in Dutch). My GP is a civil surgeon in my area, so I don't mind going in to see him to fill out the I-693 if needed, but I don't know if it is.

I don't have any other official paperwork from the US government regarding his vaccines, but the Dutch government paper is signed and stamped by the doctor and does provide both English translations and literally his lifetime of vaccine records (dating from infancy). Do I need to go see the civil surgeon and have him fill out any part of the I-693? Do I need to even submit it? If so, what parts? The information I've found here has been slightly confusing and I don't know what to do and don't want to get an RFE.

Another thing.. what can I provide as supporting documents for the interview when I get there? My husband and I don't share finances (we don't believe in it), we have no children (childfree), pay no bills together (currently living with my parents - my dad works for the government and gets discounted cellphone bill prices so we're both on his plan and I pay him directly), and had a very small wedding ceremony in the living room with only 8 people there (not including ourselves). We have a dog together that we got when I was living with him in Europe. We have plenty of photos, and the entire wedding ceremony was recorded. The judge who did it is a close family friend and is willing to write a sworn statement that he presided over it if necessary. But I really don't know what I can give them. Any correspondence goes to a PO Box (no home delivery here). What can I offer them as proof?

Oh also! I don't have my NOA2. I've read that this isn't really a problem. Can anyone verify? I'm meeting with my Congressman next week (another close family friend) and he's going to go through the paperwork with me/prod it along.

@teeak: Thanks! I'll look into filing for that.

@Fr8dog: Yeah, my fiance was saying that it's basically impossible to get one since he isn't there. I just find that so strange! What about people who live out of the country? Hopefully his parents can go pick up a copy and then overnight it to us. I am going to talk to the town clerk to see if she can just give us one without the birth certificate. I feel like a passport is enough proof of a birth date. Wish me luck!

So my fiance and I are finally in the US. However, we didn't realize that they would be taking the paperwork at immigration from us. We didn't think ahead to get a second copy of my fiance's birth certificate, because I expected that they would return it to us. So now we're ready to file for our marriage license and we have no birth certificate for my fiance!

Do we get these items back in the mail or something? Or do we just need to file with his embassy/consulate/hometown to get a new one?

Oof. Luckily it's our final stop (My parents live on Long Island). I just am going to have a very rowdy and pee/poo full German Shepherd who wants to get out of his crate asap.

I'll have to call around as I don't want to leave my fiance in a room for several hours without his bag. And I also don't know if I can take his bag through security with me so I can take the dog to the bathroom.

Ah ok. I have never had anyone there directing people, actually, and I fly into JFK about 2-3 times per year. I'll try to find a customs/immigration official and ask when we get there. =]

I'm not 100% sure if this is the correct section to post.

My fiance got his K-1 in early December and we're going to be moving to the US in March. I currently live in the Netherlands with him and our dog, so all three of us will be arriving together at JFK.

I get to go through the super speedy US/Canadian/Non-first time ESTA/Green Card/Whatever section. My fiance has been through it a few times after his first time with ESTA.

So my question is which line does he have to go on when coming on his K-1? His ESTA officially expired in December and obviously we aren't renewing it as he has his K-1 now. It's so much nicer when we can both go through the same line - opposed to him waiting for 1-3 hours in the very slow moving 'everyone else' line.

I need to know before we book our flights so I know whether or not I should register our dog to both my fiance and I or just to myself. This way I know if I should just rush through and get the dog and go out to my parents or if I should just wait with my fiance.

They have no telephone number. You can only contact them via e-mail.

So I have probably been overly annoying to the Amsterdam consulate, but my parents are sending all of the supporting I-134 documents for my father's co-sponsorship soon and I want to make sure they have everything before sending it. I have e-mailed the consulate three times now over the past few months.

First was over the summer when I asked what supporting documents my father needed for his I-134. He is an elected official, so I wasn't sure how it would work out. They told me a notarized tax return from last year, or letter from employer, or letter form bank with bank statements. He ended up getting the first two.

Then I e-mailed them again two weeks ago to verify the information before they sent it. I got an e-mail stating that it didn't have to be notarized or even the original copy (which was stated in the first e-mail) and that they actually wanted around 3 years of tax return W-2s. I was confused, so I copy and pasted the original e-mail and asked them which information they wanted, because I wanted to be sure. I asked this the same day I got the first response. I have yet to get a response to that.

Over the weekend I was Skyping with my parents when my mom told me that the NOA had a expiration date on it. She had never told me this before, so I was quite panicked. On Monday I e-mailed the consulate asking for an extension, but stupidly forgot to list what type of visa it was for. So they e-mailed me back asking which visa, I responded with a k-1. This exchange all happened on Monday, and I have yet to get a response to that.

I'm getting really quite frustrated. There is absolutely no way for my to contact the consulate outside of e-mail, and they haven't responded to my last two. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I managed to come across an old phone number listed on this site and I called it, but every phone option you click just says that you have to e-mail them, and then it hangs up.

I've dealt with consulates in the EU in the past in other countries, and have never had them not have a working phone number. I can understand if they get a lot of silly repeat phone calls, but this is really freaking frustrating.

Anyone making wedding plans yet, any dates in mind ?

Also can the beneficiary contact the NVC to try to obtain the case number ?

We're doing a shotgun courthouse secret wedding and then doing an official engagement and wedding in a year or so. We don't have the money for rings, let alone a ceremony haha.

Can't your fiance give it to you? I don't know if they're going to just give out information over the phone or e-mail.

Can anyone give me any info?

I got my NOA2 on the 19th after waiting only 5 weeks from filing date. It went so much faster than I expected. However, during the time between filing and now a job offer I had received in the US fell through. I'm still actively looking for work back home but I am currently unemployed and residing in my fiance's country on our relationship visa. My dad offered to co-sponsor the visa for me, and he meets the qualifications sufficiently. I just have a few questions because I don't know what to do with a few things.

Since I have no income, do I need to provide any supporting statements? I have a bank account here in the Netherlands that is literally unused. Other than that I have nothing else.

My dad is an elected official. He's a sitting politician and therefore has no boss who can sign anything stating his income. What should he use to provide proof? Are his most recent tax return and bank statements enough? He is running for re-election this year, and while it's basically guaranteed that he will be re-elected, is there any chance that this could cause an issue? If so I can easily ask my sister and brother-in-law to co-sponsor instead, but I would prefer to use my dad since he is more financially capable.

NOA2 on the 19th as well!!! Oh man! This is all moving so fast. I have to find a job in the US before we can even move there!

They will send notices, so using a US mailing address is best. Your parents can let you know when you receive something, such as an RFE that needs to be responded to in a timely manner.

See this post about mailing to the lockbox > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/538432-process-for-the-mailing-and-receiving-of-i-129f-petitions/

Damn Texas.. all right thanks. Disappointing because their wait times are so long.

No, the I-129f's go to either Texas or California. There is a list somewhere on the site that shows which States belong to which service centre.

Really? I read that Vermont does it as well on this website among with others.

Does anyone know where I can get a list? I tried googling it but I can't quite find it.

Well I don't live in the US, so what then? My parents are in NY, and I'm considering using their address for correspondence. If I use their address does it go to Vermont? If I use mine overseas then where does it go?

Will that cause an issue though? Part of my proof is that I live with my fiance here in the NL and have a residence permit based on our relationship. If I use that as proof but list my mailing address as US based will that be a problem?

Another question, I'm looking at the processing times for the different lockboxes. MUST I send it to the Texas one? They have the longest processing time at the moment of over 200 days, where others are listed at 26 or 64 days.

I would ask what they want to see, since you recommended me asking them what they wanted to see.

Unfortunately houses are very small in The Netherlands and I doubt either of his parents have room in their homes after years of accumulating their own stuff. But I will check.

Does anyone know if I can have a check signed by someone who isn't myself as the payment for the I-129F? I have no access to checks here but my mom does. I can send the paperwork to her to put with the check and then send to the lockbox. But I wasn't sure if they would make a fuss since we don't have the same last name.

I actually don't know who to ask regarding the necessities for the Netherlands as we can't file directly with the embassy here. There is no USCIS in the Netherlands, so I have to file directly with one of the offices in the US. Would I still be able to ask questions of the consulate in Amsterdam? The last time I needed help from them (getting a verification that I was unmarried for my Dutch visa) they were really unwilling to help and ridiculously standoffish.

As for when the job starts, I'm not 100% sure. I'm putting off final interviews with all the companies because they require me to go in on site in California, and that's pretty expensive to do at the moment. But they've all basically said that they'll be pretty lenient since I have this whole situation. I need to start by July at the absolute latest since I have to start paying off my student loans in August. Having my dad's employer sign a piece of paper would be.. impossible haha. He's a politician who holds public office, so I don't really know who exactly would sign that form him other than all of the people that voted him in, I guess.

As for the dog, no. It's not allowed with KLM, which is the airline we're taking him with. Apparently it can cause some serious issues and is generally advised against nowadays, which surprised me because when my parents took our old dog on a flight it was recommended that he get sedated.

Yeah, the hardest part is deciding what stays and what goes. I had honestly expected to be in Europe for the rest of my life, so I bought top of the line kitchen items (I like cooking) and lots of other expensive and not easily replaceable items. Since the economy here is absolutely terrible and job opportunities for me are hard to come by, we're going to be heading back to the US.

I am filing a K1 for my fiance, who is Dutch. We live together in the Netherlands and have been living together for almost two years now.

When filing the I-129F I need to pay the fee in USD. I do have a US bank account with Bank of America currently, but I have no checks with me in the Netherlands. Does anyone know if there is a way to make the payment either using Bank of America or some other way when living abroad?

I also have proof of our relationship with my visa from the Netherlands. It is a relationship visa that is given to me by the Dutch immigration department on the basis that we live together and are in a romantic relationship. My visa is in both English and Dutch, can/should I include this in the documents we have? I can also include our address registration from the town hall showing that we live together in the same address. Does anyone know if this is accepted proof? Naturally, I have other things like photos and travel records of us going to/from the US within the last two years for visits and family events.

Am I allowed to accompany my fiance on his trip to the consulate for his interview, when the time comes? Naturally I want to go with him, as hell, it's my own consulate.

Regarding co-sponsorship: I work freelance in Europe, but have not been making enough money to provide as proof (cash payments). I just graduated from college in February, so I was not working full time during that time. I will be asking my father to co-sponsor the visa, which will be more than enough. Other than the I-134 is there any other document that he would need to sign? I was recently offered a job in California which would pay me well above the required salary. Is including the job contract enough to prove I have sufficient income to support the two of us? I also have quite a bit of money in savings in the US, more than enough to satisfy the income requirement, but it's not an income. Should I include this on the form?

Thanks y'all! Fingers crossed that this process goes quickly, the companies I've been interviewing with are quite pushy about me starting work soon and I want to try to get this visa done before all that as we have to move our German Shepherd to the US as well. Who knew trying to move to my home country would be this much of a pain! When I moved here all we had to do was write a letter about how we met, get my birth certificate and passport, and pay a few hundred Euro and now I can live in the Netherlands with all rights (including voting!!) for 6 years!