Gretch

Just to clarify - I just bought a ticket today mind you:

I, the US Citizen, will be sending out my wife's I-130 packet at the start of next week. I plan to go visit her in August; will I have a hard time going to visit once we start the process? Is there anything I should take with me? or is it more so my wife that will have to have the proof that she is going back to the UK if she decides to come visit me here in the US?

I just want to make sure because I do want to fly over and get turned away and vice versa.

Thanks!

If I'm understanding this correctly, you're visiting the UK and you want to know if you'll have any trouble with British immigration because your wife is applying to immigrate to the US? Of course not. I mean, they'll ask you what you're planning to do in the UK, but that has nothing to do with the American immigration process. They won't know whether you're in the process or not.

Update: my husband ended up going to Nairobi to get his Certificate of Good Conduct. Happily, they processed it without too much difficulty (he did have to go back to his school and get a letter confirming he was there, in addition to his diploma and transcripts... not sure what the point of that was). But because he applied in person, the CID says they can't mail his certificate to Rwanda, it has to be picked up in person! Love that bureaucracy. Luckily, an old friend is willing to pick it up and mail it. The CID said it would take 30 days. Here's hoping there are no more glitches.

You're still within the timeframe. Likely it will come this week or next.

Look at this set of statistics (Igor's List) and you'll see there are several people from January still waiting for approval. It seems like 7-10 people from each month don't come back to update, but there are still 18 from January, which means they're still working on January. You filed about three weeks behind me, and I got NOA 2 about four weeks ago; Nebraska sped up but then slowed down slightly.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthly_filers.php?form=2&visa=3&scenter=5&option=2&sortby=2

It's true that some vaccines are not given based on age, but that won't create a problem for you; if the doctor says the vaccine is not valid or not available for her, the embassy won't require it. I do not know of any problems with a 13-year-old repeating vaccines either, if she is an average healthy girl.

Regarding police certificates, check your country's requirements. In many countries a police certificate is invalid after six months or one year, if you are a current resident.

I am a nurse (in the US). Of course I can't give you medical advice as I do not know you personally and am not treating you or examining you, but I can tell you that for the average person, there is no problem with repeating any vaccine that was given long ago. This is actually commonly done in the US for people who have lost their vaccine records. In some cases the lab test can be done, as you say, but other times we just give the vaccine--the vaccines are cheaper here than the tests, anyway.

The hepatitis B is one example of a vaccine series, and I have seen that the series does not need to be complete in order to get your visa approved. There's always the possibility that the doctor or person interviewing will insist upon it, I suppose (I have lived in SSA and have learned never to assume any government official will go by the written rules).

My husband doesn't have his vaccine records and I am advising him to redo whatever the doctor requires (he is also a nurse and agrees with me). In Rwanda some clinics are cheaper than others, so he will probably go to an inexpensive clinic for the vaccines we know he needs and get a vaccine record there to take to the official doctor, since we don't know how much that doctor will charge. I always suspect that anyone who knows my husband is married to an American or applying for a visa will try to charge him extra.

This is off-topic, but have you gotten your police certificates yet? I just mention it because even though the process looks simple, in both Kenya and Rwanda it has turned out to be more complicated than I ever expected. I wish we had started that process sooner.

My IV bill is taking so long to be invoiced compared to some people... I got the case number, received/paid AOS on 5/23. Since I can't be in any hurry right now--we are struggling to get police certificates and birth certificate anyway--I didn't call to get the 261 reviewed for a while. They did it over the phone with me very politely on 5/31 and told me not to worry because my case is actually moving very fast. (Looks about average to me, but ok.)

Like I said it doesn't matter too much because I have to wait who knows how long to send in the AOS/IV packages, but I'm anxious to do SOMETHING!

I really think you might be okay. If your birth certificate and passport say two different things, she obviously had to choose one to follow for the paperwork. I wonder if it's possible to get a new passport with your name written as it is on your birth certificate. I would ask about that at the passport office. Otherwise, I think again it will depend on the individual who reviews your case. Again this is a common issue in Africa. The officials will be familiar with it, and even if they say your documents are not acceptable, I don't think they'll say it's fraud; they'll give a checklist or tell you to come back with a corrected passport. Take courage, this will probably not be the biggest problem you have.

In many countries in Africa, they don't have the strong distinction between first/middle/last names, and some situations put the last name first while others have it last. My husband often transposes my name, and is hazy on the whole concept anyway. The last letter he sent me was addressed to [first name, last name, middle name]. The one before that was to [last name, first name, middle name]. In the reciprocity information for Rwanda, the state department acknowledges that Rwandan names can be transposed without affecting the legality of the document. It even says (accurately) that Rwandans frequently substitute L and R even on official documents; so my Rwandan friend Alice wouldn't think anything was strange if her birth certificate or marriage document had her listed as Arice. Many people there just don't see the difference. It's like a native English speaker trying to understand the difference in Chinese tones, where the word "ma" can mean four different things depending on a difference in tone that most Americans can't even hear.

Anyway, that's Rwanda; is there any similar statement in the reciprocity information for Nigeria? In any case, it probably depends on the official who reviews your paperwork and interviews you.

So my Rwandese husband spent three years as a college student in Kenya, and he needs a Certificate of Good Conduct (police clearance certificate). Fine.

There's plenty of information online about how to get one if you are no longer in Kenya. Most of the Kenyan embassies around the world have this information on their websites, and the one in the US even has an online form to fill out that you then sign and mail in with your fingerprints, taken at a local police station.

But the embassy in Rwanda is absolutely refusing to do their job in this matter. Even when my husband carried a printout of the directions from the CID in Nairobi, they said it was wrong. Their claim is that because he was never fingerprinted in Nairobi when he lived there, getting fingerprints now is useless because they have nothing to compare it to. Which is not the point at ALL.

The embassy in Rwanda doesn't even need to do anything other than accept my husband's fee payment and give him a receipt to send in to the CID with his fingerprints, but they refuse.

ARGH! At this point my husband has been to the embassy three times, and the official is only digging his heels in. He is NOT going to admit that he was wrong.

The Kenyan embassy in the US would possibly process my husband's certificate if there was no embassy in Rwanda, but because there is, they say it is that embassy's job. They say it's very simple and they don't know why the embassy in Rwanda won't do it.

The only good thing is that it isn't a huge hardship for my husband to go to Nairobi and apply for the certificate in person; it's a short and inexpensive flight. It's just a waste of time, money, and stress when there's absolutely no reason for it. I'm also worried that he'll get to Nairobi and run into trouble there. My husband is used to bureaucracy and people saying "no" or "come back tomorrow" and does what he's told, whereas I (being a pushy American) will fight back.

I want to call the CID in Nairobi and ask if there is another way for my husband to pay the fee from Rwanda, since the embassy won't do their job, but none of the phone numbers I can find are getting through... !!! It says you can mail a check instead of the receipt, but I don't know what kind of check he could get in Rwanda that would be honored in Kenya. And then there's the issue of how to pay for return postage.

I can see from searching VJ that lots of people have had trouble getting police certificates, especially from third countries. I wish I had realized what a headache this would be when we started the process, because we would have gotten going with the PCCs earlier. But when I looked online and it was so straightforward for Kenya, I didn't worry about it. I was more concerned that he might get a PCC and it would expire before the visa was issued, so we held off.

But if anyone has any other ideas please let me know... If only he lived in Malaysia or Japan or Germany (or here in the US!) the embassy would know what they were doing.

This is like trying to get married in Rwanda all over again... paperwork is a full time job!

Here's what puzzles me: why is Cambodia even in the question here? Weren't you effectively a tourist there? I have traveled a lot, and unless I had a long-term job in another country (paid taxes) or went to an official school (and not a private language school, cooking school, etc), I would never consider it as a "country of residence". Did you enter it in your I-129 as a place you lived? If not, how would they know how long you'd been there? (I'm NOT advocating holding back information, I just don't know how it would come up.)

Unless I'm missing something, or you did list it as a place of residence on the I-129, I would just not mention a Cambodian police certificate at all. If someone does some math based on dates of a trip you took together and thinks you need clearance, I guess they would send a checklist.

I changed my address with the NSC and it didn't delay my NOA2 at all; I was the first January filer on here to get it. You're still well within the time frame.

Hi all!

I was very active on this board back in 2012/2013 when my husband was immigrating on an CR1 visa. My husband had a great and easy experience with the Nairobi embassy back in 2013. Now we are currently going through the process again for my stepdaughter. We are at the NVC stage waiting for her case complete notification and then we will also be awaiting the interview date to be scheduled. Please let me know if I can help to answer any questions as I will be happy to if I know the answer. Best wishes to all.

Hi loveyourlife! I see you were in a similar situation to me. My husband is from Rwanda, which just started processing immigration visas; until a few months ago Rwandans had to go through Kenya. So there isn't any information about the process at the Rwanda embassy.

Anyway, my question is this: my husband has a son who we are not applying for at this time. Do you remember, when your husband applied, whether you submitted a birth certificate for his daughter? Both the Kenya and Rwanda embassies have said this is necessary, but when I asked around on VJ, several people said it wasn't true. My husband is trying to get a birth certificate for his son but it's likely to take several months. I don't know whether to send the documents I have to the NVC now, knowing it's possible I'll get an RFE if they want the birth certificate, or wait many months until it's available.

Since my husband lived in Kenya for a couple of years he's also trying to get his Certificate of Good Conduct from there... the directions online are clear enough, but the official at the Kenyan embassy in Rwanda told him it's not possible. Gotta love Africa! I swear, government officials in Rwanda don't give up documents until you've asked three times. "Impossible." Next day: "Impossible." The day after that: "fine, if you come back tomorrow." The day after that: "Who told you that? Impossible." (and so on...)

I envy people whose spouses live in countries where everyone has a birth certificate!

I tried calling once, they said the same thing about it could take forty days; I got an email this morning with the case number. It was assigned May 20 (Friday) and I got the email Monday without doing a thing--pretty pleased with that! I've already filled out my choice of agent form and paid the AOS fee.

They said they received the case May 4 and began inputting data on May 6. I had called to check in on May 11 (that's when they told me to wait). But they were very polite when I called all the same. I hate making phone calls so I was glad to get the email, even though I was going to call again today.

Yes, that's exactly what I sent in (and got approved), then. Maybe you can download some California divorce law stuff and send it in with a note of explanation? I think I did send in not just the judgment, but several of the other pages from the divorce court.

I can't speak to the issue regarding traditional vs civil marriage. Regarding your divorce, I was also divorced in California. I sent in as evidence the final "judgment" papers I got from the court that says the marriage was terminated on [this date]. I never received any other papers; I'm not sure "divorce nisi" is something that is issued in California. Are you sure you sent the final judgment? You mention the paper you sent said the marriage "should be terminated" on [this date] which doesn't sound final.

Got my NOA2!

I think I may be the first of the non-Filipino January filers from NSC? It's about three weeks ahead of the original prediction.

Can't wait for the next step, although it's been kind of relaxing not worrying/just waiting for the last few months... NVC stage is so much busier. See you all on the other side!

What makes you so sure of that? I mean, this is the information given by the embassy in response to my specific question about the CR-1; a version of it is listed publicly on the Nairobi embassy website for all permanent visa applicants; Frankfurt has it here: https://de.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2016/03/Instructions-for-IV-and-K-Visa-Applicants.pdf Of course I've heard the stories about employees of the USCIS not knowing what they're talking about, but that seems like a lot of corroboration.

It doesn't seem "obvious" to me at all that this info is only for follow-to-join, etc. At this point we're going to go ahead and get the birth certificate (these are relatively new in Rwanda so it's common not to have one, even for children), but I think it should be clarified for anyone with the same question.

All right, I got the definitive answer from the embassy, same as #3 above:

"Each applicant, including adults, must present a birth certificate. Birth records must be presented for all unmarried children under age 21, even if the children are not applying for a visa at this time. For individuals born in Rwanda, the only accepted birth document is the acte de naissance. Please note that attestations de naissance will not be accepted. If the applicant does not have his original acte de naissance, or if his birth was not registered within 15 days, he must petition the court to issue an acte de naissance. If an acte de naissance is issued on the basis of a court judgment, he must also present the court judgment at his interview."

So here comes yet another court case... At least the birth certificate will be ready if and when my stepson joins us in the US, or at least comes to visit one day.

Does it appear on your income taxes? How many children do you have? That changes the amount needed. I am no expert but from what I have heard, you may need to delay filing until you have more of a record of income. I have even heard that people who made a good income in 2015 but on a temporary contract abroad don't qualify, because that non-continuing employment counts as "zero". (That might be the case for me as I was gone all of last year, and paid no US income tax because my salary was earned abroad and I spent no time in the US; luckily I have enough savings to qualify through savings alone, and will have about seven months of 2016 salary to show by the time of interview.)

I would have a hard time finding a joint sponsor as well (no one in my family is wealthy, but even if they were, why would they agree to be financially responsible for a foreigner? y'all have some generous families) so I understand your concerns. Congratulations on finishing nursing school. I'm a nurse, also. I hope you have a job lined up! They can be difficult to find, although it's getting a bit easier.

I Sent the RFE documents & arrived ;;;; when i expect reply?

It seems like people get approved within a couple of weeks after RFE. Can you share what additional documents they requested?

Thanks for moving the topic. By googling the phrases from response #3, I found that many embassies specify that birth certificates for non-immigrating children ARE necessary (Ghana, India, Kenya--which is where I probably first saw the information as until recently Kenya covered immigration interviews for Rwanda). Unless someone here has a different thought, it seems like I should have my husband get a birth certificate for his son. Unfortunately this will not be easy.

Has anyone with a non-immigrating stepchild gone through this process WITHOUT providing a birth certificate?

Okay, #3 is the information that I read before regarding the beneficiary's non-immigrating child. Which checklist is that from?

Okay, I'm sure I read this information somewhere, but now I can't find it.

I've applied for my husband, who has a young child, but his son will be staying with his mother for the foreseeable future. Of course I listed my stepson on the I-130, but I thought somewhere I read that we will need to send in a copy of the child's official birth certificate with the IV packet, even though he isn't going to be immigrating. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Birth certificates aren't easy to get in my husband's country, so this is a roadblock and needs to be figured out ASAP. Thanks!

It's funny because here on this forum the receipt for wedding rings is often included as recommended evidence... I thought it might be to show that the couple actually spent money on rings, a financial outlay that might be avoided if the marriage wasn't "real". Anyway, I stuck mine in because it's recommended so often.

Take heart, if you look at others' timelines who have gotten RFE, you'll see that they are almost always approved very quickly after they send in their additional evidence. It isn't the answer you wanted, but if you can send in whatever they want quickly, you'll probably still be approved faster than some of us at other service centers. Good luck!