Gretch

First time I've heard about a supervisor actually calling someone back! Congratulations!

I would be cautious about asking your case to be sent to a supervisor before the six weeks is up. As soon as it's sent there, another six weeks starts. It's possible yours could still be approved (or get a checklist) within six weeks. I know how frustrating it is to see others fly through NVC in less than a month. I wish I had some advice, but I'm stuck in the same limbo. I just second-guess whether I did right to have mine sent to a supervisor after I got a checklist by mistake; the call rep told me "just ignore it", but I didn't see how I could when they were asking for something I couldn't provide. Now I have no idea when my case will be done.

Thank you so much. When I moved to the US in 2000 as an immigrant we got madical insurance through the state H&W. But till my parents got jobs with benefits. I thought becuase my husband has a joint sponsor he does not qualify cuz the sponsor is liable for his expenses since I live abroad and we used her income. We will need any kind insurance if I do not get a job right before we move. It is very difficult since we have to get lots of stuff done when we get there since we both are here abroad.

OK, now I understand your original question--you asked "will I be able to get medical insurance at least for my girls", and what you meant was "will I be able to get medicaid" (government-sponsored medical insurance). How long it takes to get signed up for Medicaid, and whether you qualify, depends on the state. You're right (as far as I understand) that your husband can't get medicaid, but he can get private insurance. I would start checking now for the medicaid requirements and process in the state you're moving too--everything should be online, although as a PP said, it can be better to apply in person if possible; a lot of the online systems for applying are a mess. But at least you'll know exactly what to do when you get there.

Are your girls us citizen or green card holder? There are health care laws. Everyone living legally has to get health insurance. They may be able to get some under medicare.

This isn't quite right--technically if you don't get health insurance, you have to pay a fee. It isn't really mandatory. However, as it sounds like the OP already knows, it's a big mistake to go without it (for any of you, including your husband--I'm not sure what you mean when you say he doesn't need it because he has a joint sponsor). You can buy it month by month until you get a job, if that will be soon; it will be expensive, unfortunately.

The program your family might qualify for is medicAID, not medicARE--based on income. Medicare is for elderly and disabled people. What insurance is available to you, and how much it costs, varies by state. Good luck!

I wouldn't call myself a lucky ones, just someone who spent hours and hours making sure to send the documents right and in proper folders and such. I believe that paid off. I took my friend's advice of putting my documents in binder dividers (folders).

Um, no. You ARE lucky. If you read through these threads you will find many, many stories of people who have been held up through no fault of their own. Most people spend hours and hours trying to make sure their documents are correct. That's nothing special.

In the NVC stage alone you will find people like me who got checklists meant for other people; people whose packets were simply ignored for six weeks, sending them into a second six weeks for supervisor review; many people whose documents were mysteriously "lost" by the NVC; and people who will just never know why their documents took 45 days to reviews when other people took 18. And that's not even talking about holdups at the USCIS or in getting documents sent over.

So count your blessings, and remember your post if you happen to get delayed somewhere in the embassy stage or administrative processing. You can do your best but some of it is still sheer luck.

You don't necessarily need an official certificate of matriculation or whatever it is that would be hard to get--tell her to bring anything she's got. I don't know how school works there, but anything like a tuition receipt, printout of classes registered for, current student ID, whatever. Obviously none of those are definitive to say she's going to return, but they back up her story. I think if she can say confidently that you're having a civil ceremony "but then I'm going back, here's my return plane ticket, I have to go back to school and this is my registration info, I only have one year left so I don't want to move to the US yet, my fiance has been researching the CR-1 visa and our plan is to start immigration proceedings in December and hope things will be completed by November 2017 so I can move to the US then"--anything truthful and calm that makes it clear you have a definite immigration plan for the future, not now.

Go to the websites for the senators in your (or your spouse's, whoever is the US citizen). Most or all of them have online forms to submit or directions on how to contact them regarding immigration. It should be the US citizen who writes to the senator.

And today I called USCIS. At least they really did have a supervisor call me back, but he was so awful... I told him that I got a notice from NVC saying I had a waiver of unlawful presence waiting to be adjudicated but neither I not my husband ever filed one, because he's never been to the US on any basis, and he launched into an explanation of what the waiver is. (He started with "Now first ma'am, let me tell you that our website is uscis.gov and you can find the form there" and just kept on going.) When I started to say "I know what the waiver is" he cut me off and said "Let me finish this and then I'll listen to whatever you have to say", and kept talking. Finally I said again "We didn't file that waiver, my husband has never been to the US" and he said "Well, sometimes it's just needed if a person is barred for any reason" and again kept talking. I repeated. "I DID NOT. FILE. THAT. WAIVER. My husband is NOT BARRED FROM THE US." "Well, if that's really the case, then why are you telling me the NVC says you did?" "It was sent by mistake and I'm trying to find out where the mistake was made."Oh, well, ma'am, it's possible that it was just a clerical error, I have no way of knowing how that might happen, I don't know why you called me."

"I only called you, as I said several minutes ago, to find out if you have any record of having sent the NVC a notice of a waiver application regarding my case."

"No, I do not."

Honestly, I don't even think he looked.

So, after getting a checklist saying that NVC was waiting to act on my husband's case until I got approved by USCIS for a "waiver of unlawful presence" (something we never filed for that wouldn't be applicable in our case), we were moved to Supervisor Review. I was told by the first rep that my case was "almost finished" and that I would probably be able to get case complete and interview scheduled at the same time with a supervisor, "very soon". That was two weeks ago. I've called three or four times since then to see if there was an update. One rep told me she would have a supervisor call me so I could make a complaint--as far as I can tell, a supervisor has NEVER called when a VJ member has been told they would. "It may not be today, but they will call," I was told. The next rep denied that and said no one would call me until they had something to tell me. The next one said I would just have to wait and that "government takes time", and it would be another six weeks from when I was sent to supervisor review. All three of these reps told me that contrary to the checklist I got (which was very official, had my husband's name, case number, and birthdate), there was no hold on my papers.

Today I got the nicest rep I've had so far, who for the first time acknowledged that it was wrong that I was being penalized for a mistake made at NVC. He also told me that: my papers had been reviewed and were complete, and they were only waiting for a response to that waiver! (which everyone else has denied was even marked on my case)

This rep told me my case has now been sent from Supervisor Review to Document Review. He said that's where they wait for an answer regarding the waiver. He didn't have an answer as to whether that adds another six weeks on, because in normal circumstances they wait there until the issue is resolved, but in my case it's never going to be resolved (that is, they'll never get an answer from USCIS about our waiver because it doesn't exist).

I did send an email to asknvc a week ago, because I'd read that some people got emails responded to faster than other channels. That seems to be what triggered the move from Supervisor Review to Document Review. I have no idea whether that actually slowed my case down!

Everyone at NVC has always said just to wait, and it could be that if I had just waited and accepted that I had gotten a false checklist, my case would have been completed long ago. But it's also possible that it would have just been put aside indefinitely. It's so hard to know what actions to take. But I do think I would advise people to hesitate before asking for supervisor review, if possible.

I know, it's so frustrating. If people after us have been getting case complete very fast, why are ours being skipped or held up by NVC making errors? We all paid the same amount for this "service".

It's so interesting they told you to call back every couple of days. I got a very strong "don't call us, we'll call you" message.

But really, isn't this what SHOULD happen when there is a delay through the fault of NVC? This poster isn't having his case pushed ahead of other people, the case is being caught up to where it should have been in the first place. It isn't slowing other people down.

I read this wondering if I should also ask for expedite, since I also had a possible 4 weeks added to my waiting time through no fault of my own; but even though I think my reasons are at least as valid, I'm afraid the request would be denied and possibly add even more time on. It's rough watching pretty much everyone else with scan dates later than mine forge ahead.

I wonder if the expedite was granted because of NVC's initial error, rather than because of the reasons outlined.

Yes a week Now

Why was your case sent to supervisor review? As an above poster says, once it's sent for supervisor review they start the clock over again. Mine was sent like that when I called to check on it after four weeks, without the call rep informing me it would cause more delays.

If you call again they are probably going to tell you, as they tell me, that there's nothing they can do about it until another six weeks have passed. They've been real jerks about it. One person said she'd asked a supervisor to call me but of course I've never heard anything. The next person said a supervisor would never call me until my case was finished, and no, I couldn't speak to a supervisor.

Best of luck to you. I hope your case is resolved more easily than mine.

Mine was received on 8/3 (based on receipt) but NVC has my scan date as 8/4. Not a big difference, but just FYI, the date received isn't always the date processed... I guess it depends on when the mail arrives and when someone goes through it. So if your package was received on the Friday before Labor Day, as an example, the official scan date might actually be four days later.

I did sideload a few things--I made a trip to visit my husband, so I sent in the flight itinerary (the case was already at the NVC when I went to visit). I think I sent a couple of other pages of documentation, like my insurance showing him as the beneficiary. I just tucked it in with the IV/AOS packets. Meanwhile, my husband has prepared a portfolio to take with him to the interview if they want to see things there, including pictures from my trip as well as the originals of everything. I've heard that at some embassies, they only really look at what has been sent in and ignore any evidence the applicant takes to the interview.

Call them and tell them it has been more than six weeks; ask what the hold up is. They should tell you something besides "you have to wait six weeks" after you tell them you've waited longer than that already. I'm sorry this is happening. I'm also getting held up at NVC.

NVC has been really cold to me the last two times I've called... I called yesterday because I'd been told a supervisor was supposed to call me back when one wasn't available (from what I've read here, a supervisor NEVER calls back) and the rep was like, "they'll call you back when they have some news for you", which is not what the previous person told me (that a supervisor would call me so I could explain the problem). I'm going to wait another week to call if I don't see 3 N/As--I'm afraid I'll hamper the case somehow, even though I also feel like by just letting it go, they aren't going to do anything at all. If I don't hear anything by six weeks I'm going to write my senator, although I know NVC would just say I have to wait for six weeks after supervisor review.

I really wish everyone there wasn't so casual about the fact that I'm being penalized for a mistake made at NVC, not by me!

I did send an email also; I saw that someone else in a similar situation filed for an expedite recently and it was granted, but at this point I'm afraid to do anything that might end up restarting the six week clock again.

I'm sorry to read it Gretch, I imagine how you feel and how frustrating this is. I have good expericiencies with supervisor they're people like us making their jobs to feed their families and sometimes they make mistakes to affect us a lot (on my case they did it) I understand you're very upset about all this, I know about your anger, your fears, your frustration and desesperation (that's how I feel sometimes) and you're right, but everything happens for a reason Gretch. Why don't you write them? I read in other forum that someone email them and they answer very fast. So, you're not alone there are a lot of us suffering the same as you and anything you need we're here. (Except for money lol ?) Greetings from Mexico!

I did write to them, thanks, and hope to hear from the supervisor soon; I can understand that mistakes happen, but in my opinion, when a mistake happens that is completely the fault of the NVC, they should immediately take care of it--not put it on the back burner! I really wonder what kind of accountability there is here. When a mistake like this comes to light in other industries there would be an investigation to make sure it doesn't happen again--I wonder whether that happens at NVC.

aaaaaaah I called NVC this morning to check on the status of my case, after it was sent to supervisor review on 9/2 because I called and said I got a checklist claiming my husband had filed for "waiver of unlawful presence" (which he definitely didn't do) and my case was on hold.

Now they're telling me that sending it for supervisor review started the 6-week clock over again!

(The person I spoke to last week told me that my case was "almost complete" and I would be hearing from the supervisor "very soon" and they could probably finish the whole thing right then.)

I said "So because someone at NVC made a mistake, I have to wait an additional six weeks? That doesn't make any sense."

I asked who I could make a complaint to, and the call taker said she had tried to put me through to a supervisor but there was no one available. Finally she said she would put me in the queue for a supervisor to call me.

I filed single for the last 3 years (even though i was married) because i didnt know any better, he didn't have a SSN so I figured that was what I was supposed to do. Now I read that if i turn in my tax transcripts and it shows SINGLE our case will be denied. I am already at NVC. Just paid my AOS bill and filled out DS-261. Amending my last tax return is not easy. It will take God knows how many weeks to get a signed W-7 up from mexico, plus 7 weeks for them to issue a ITIN before I can amend my return as Married filing separately, and THEN it takes 12 weeks to process that. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I CAN NOT GET MY AMENDED TAX RETURN IN BEFORE I TURN IN ALL MY AOS DOCUMENTS TO NVC? WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DO NOT AMEND MY RETURN? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!! I feel like I just put a 6 month delay our case, my family has been separated for 4 years... we are 5 months away from being done, this can not be happening!!!!

Don't panic. You don't need his ITIN to file "married filing separately". You can amend your returns to say that your husband is "NRA", non-resident alien--put that in the box for social security number. Amending the tax return is actually a pretty easy process. You can get the forms at IRS.gov.

I don't know how long after that it takes them to actually do the paperwork and amend the return so that it will show up on a tax transcript so there may be some delay. You can probably call someone and ask for a timeframe. Tax transcripts do arrive very quickly.

It's not a sure thing that you would be denied--my understanding is that if the consular officer has doubts that you have a bona fide marriage, that can be used as a point against you ("if you're married, why are you filing singly?"). If it were me, but understand that I am also just at the NVC and I'm not an expert, I would send in what I have and if they ask, have your husband explain that you misunderstood tax law; he can have a copy of the amended return form you filed, or bring an updated transcript if you have it by then. The consular officer isn't a tax official and is more interested in the bona fide evidence and your salary/assets than whether you followed tax law. Again, this is just my understanding.

Still waiting waiting waiting... I thought I would have seen those 3 N/As by now! I'm worried about that false checklist and the supervisor review, even though they told me just to ignore it... or maybe I worry because they told me to ignore it! Can you imagine if any other industries sent as many false checklists as the NVC seems to? "Oh, sorry, those results saying you have lung cancer were supposed to go to someone else."

Right, you have to have the SS or the ITIN--didn't think about the ITIN because for most of us that's either difficult or impossible to get with the passports. The OP mentioned that in the first place.

But, for the record, getting married in December in order to get the tax break is exactly what "gaming the system" is. There's nothing WRONG with it. It is neither unethical nor illegal. That's just what it is! Why not get the money if you can? I would. I was pointing out that the money was not somehow "owed" to the OP--it's not losing something, it's just not getting it. I guess that phrase put some people on the defensive. I'm dropping that topic.

Thanks for providing the info about how you filed for taxes; I don't think it's widely known, though not applicable to most CR-1 people. Those in VWP countries might be able to do it.

If you do end up looking for a nursing job in Tanzania, there are some things out there but the picture changes fairly often. Check Partners in Health and other orgs; check the "volunteer nursing" specialty on allnurses. (Don't bother checking now, it's mostly me there.) Most jobs don't pay well, but occasionally they do. Hopefully this doesn't end up being necessary; I came home from Africa in large part because it was easier to petition for my husband from here.

I can't advise you specifically on whether you should have filed taxes for the last few years, but there is a place on the form to explain that you didn't have to file taxes and for you to give a reason. So the first step is to do research on whether you should have filed (look at all sources of income, irrespective of whether it was earned abroad; use irs.gov). If you determine that you were okay, as I think you might, forget it and when the time comes, state that you didn't make enough income to have to pay taxes. I think you mean that you plan to file taxes for 2016 (which, yes, you fill out in 2017).

There are lots of foreign freelancing blogs out there so I'm sure you can find the basic info you're looking for there about how to go about filing the 2016 taxes.

I don't think it will matter as far as your bona fide relationship, etc goes. If your co-sponsor has plenty of resources, that will cover you; and the taxes are just a financial matter, not related to the rest of the application--that's my understanding.

I would ask in the NVC filers area whether anyone's had that request recently--or in your regional forum.

Does Montreal list the W2s in their country-specific requirements? I guess we can never predict what the embassies might ask for, but the NVC is pretty specific. Thanks for the info.

If it were me, I wouldn't delay sending in packages while waiting for the W2s.