Libersolis

Background check came through on time. Wife coming home TODAY!

Well I was a bit worried that she would be able to make her scheduled flight because at her interview they told her they would have to run background checks on her new name because she had changed it after the paperwork had been filed ( Tuesday) Amazingly today the background checks came back and she is on her way to pick up her visa and then catch a flight this evening. I can't believe it all worked out!

Beats the fu ck out of me. Moral of the story is don't change your name after important immigration documents have been filed in another name.

The name change was a legal name change. She added her previous middle name that she removed 10 years ago and changed her last name to my name. I don't think they were hard on her about it, but they obviously would have to run extra background checks.

Well the good news. My wife had her interview and was approved for a K-3 Visa yesterday.

Bad news. She changed her name some time after the papers had been filed ( added a middle name and changed her last name ) and once the consulate recognized this yesterday, they told her that a new background check would have to be done. Obviously it makes sense that they have to do it, but I am just wondering if anyone here has any experience with this sort of thing or an expectation on how long it might take? ( ie days weeks months) Unfortunately for her she has a plane ticked departing on Friday, so unless some sort of miracle takes place she is going to have to cancel the ticket and reconsider her options.

The consulate told her that everything was done electronically and that they had put a request in for the background check while she was still there. Other than that they could really give her no time frame. Any experience or advice in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Update:

My wife had her interview yesterday. She was approved the visa, but does not know when she is going to get it because she changed her name after the papers had been filed and now they must run extra background checks ( or a new one all together ) before they can actually physically give her the visa. Now everything is back to a waiting game. At this point I figure that I have done all that I can do and she will just have to wait on her end. The good thing is she that she passed the interview.

Yes I did, for some reason it keeps unchecking the military box.. Will there be any problem if I hand check that part of it while the rest is typed?

So this means I am the one that has to check or not check the box? For some reason the PDF won't let me check it whenever I check the "citizen" box on question 19. I guess I should just check it with a pen?

Question number 20 asks about military service and active duty. It says it is to be completed by petitioner sponsors only.

My dad is the Co Sponsor, but when filling these forms out through the PDF it would not let him check the box no. Usually this happens becuase another box was checked, I am assuming in this case the co sponsor box.

Is this a box he should check? What exactly is a "petitioner sponsor"? Thanks

Obviously each situation is different. I am a firm believer in being upfront and truthful in regards to everything in this process.

My wife visited the United States from South Africa last year and had absolutely no intention of marrying me, nor did I have any intention of marrying her. She owned a house, had a job, a child and was in her final year of law school. She was able to prove to both the tourist visa interviewer and the POE official that she did indeed have ties to her home country and was not coming to the United States to immigrate. She returned home as was indicated by her flight itinerary, even though it was the hardest thing in the world at the time. That being said, I am glad she did do that, because it was the right and proper legal avenue to take and also the responsible and moral thing to do.

I think people freak out about "oh no we got married on a tourist visa" without realizing that marriage is a fundamental right given by just about every country and can take place in any country in the world.

The USCIS is not concerned with the place you were married. They are concerned with seeing that nothing underhanded or illegal has taken place before or during this process.

hi everybody.

how are you guys?

im planning to go to the philippines to spend time with my wife for a month (FEb to march).

her I-130 petition is pending at CSC since december 2, 2006 and her I-129f petition (K-3) is pending at CSC since january 4, 2007.

we are just waiting for the approval (hope it will arrive soon)...

do you think its ok to go to the philippines for a month even do her petition is pending here in the states.

are there any petition paperworks that i should be worry about while im out of the country.

i though had my sister here in the states to check my mail everyday.

thank you guys.

good luck to all of us.

hope we will be with our loved ones soon.

God Bless us all.

Not only is it ok, but it's a good thing considering it will be evidence of your ungoing relationship. If you have someone checking your mail then you are fine. If something arrives they can alert you and you can take action from there.

I have found it difficult for anyone to help in regards to help my wife and I merge our finances. The bank wants her to be there in person, the apartment complex needs her to be there in person.... Obviously that isn't going to happen until she gets here..

Sorry I thought I indicated in the OP

I am refering to the I-864.

Sorry if this is a quick, dumb or obvious question, but for the life of me I couldn't see any instructions on where the notary was supposed to stamp and sign. Today I had it done and the notary stamped and signed right near the signature.

Is this adequate or am I missing something...

Ahh great. For some reason the consulate in South Africa has made us use I-864 for the support forms. Is this common or could it just be a new thing for this particular consulate?

Some W2's are going to be hard to track down after all this time. Are they needed?

You can add interview date to my file Februrary 13th to be exact.

AHH I see now the example for is an old form? I am assuming the one you can download from the "downloads" section is the current and correct form to use?

I am trying to fill the info out now in PDF format. Checking certain boxes unchecks others.. is this supposed to happen?

I was just reading what I am assuming is the old I-864 form on visa pro (I assume this because it is different from the one on this site and it has an expiration date of 2006 at the top right corner of the document) On the old form it states that joint sponsors must show proof of either citizenship or resident status. The newer form mentions nothing of this as far as I can tell.

Can anyone who has used a joint sponsor tell me if I need to get my fathers proof of citizenship or if this is not needed anymore..

Thank you in advance.

If you had read the book you would know he isn't an absolutist. He simply believes within a high degree of probability that there is no god. My point in this is that these conflicts would be less likely to happen in the absence of religious belief.

I show them my big Paypay

If you want to find out the true person/people to blame check out this insightful and wonderful book I just read.. I believe he hits the nail on the head and the present day conflict is indeed a result of mans preoccupation with believing in religions created thousands of years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_God_Delusion

Please

I posted this on the regional board, but figured this one was a little more active.

Positives

-The Natural beauty of the country is beautiful. I spent 3 days in Cape Town and saw some of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Being up in the mountains and looking down at the Indian and Atlantic oceans is quite a site. I also managed to see and take a picture of a Puma in the mountains, which I am told is quite rare to see. I also saw several other animals that in no way shape or form will you ever see in North America. Overall the best thing this country has going for it.

Negatives

Social-Society still very segregated. You hardly see anyone of a different race socializing with someone else of a different race. Even people who you would think would be of the same race even segregate themselves further. Whites segregate themselves based on language, Indians by religion and blacks my tribe and even skin color.

Safety-Crime is a SERIOUS problem in this country. You can hear and see things on TV about it,but until you experience everyday life here it is hard to imagine. Almost everyone lives in homes with huge walls surrounding them. The walls will have razor wire, barbed wire, and electrical fencing. Once you get on a property you have to deal with bars on all the doors and windows and tons of locks. This isn't just in a bad area, BUT ALMOST EVERYWHERE You go. Driving is dangerous as well as beggars line the streets and come up to your car at almost every red light to try and get money from you. With the amount of car hijackings, you definitely feel a sense of fear. You see no police officers anywhere and the roads are dimly lit, making travel at night quite harrowing.

Economy-The countries major industries are all monopolized and owned by the government ( or at least some significant percentage) thus making it difficult to do the most basic things. The telecommunications industry is lagging behind the rest of the world, not because of technological deficiencies, but because Telkom ( the phone monopoly) is trying to squeeze every last penny out of the consumer, while providing minimal service. For example, they have some of the highest rates in the world, BUT STILL CHARGE PEOPLE FOR MAKING LOCAL PHONE CALLS. You would think that these terrible policies wouldn't last, but the government sets up road blocks for any other company to get into the communications industry. Overall not good for the people living here as they continually get shafted.

Poverty- People who talk about poverty in North America really should visit a country like this and see the unlivable conditions the poor live in each day. AIDS, hunger,and filth fill the Shanty Towns to the point that you can't help but wonder why you happened to be fortunate enough to be born into a clean and healthy society.

Work Ethic- I realize every society has different standards and cultural ideas when it comes to work ethic. That being said I saw some of the most outright lazy stuff while I was there. Going to a restaurant was the worst. Now I realize that not every place has the same level of service I have come to expect here in my home town, but the "service" level offered was just pathetic and I say this as someone who has waited on tables and is VERY sympathetic to people in the service industry. It usually took a while before anyone would even acknowledge our existence at the table, and once they did they would take our drink orders( take abotu 10 min to bring some water) then finally come back and take the food order which most of the time was wrong. After they brought it we weren't visited again until the meal was almost over. During the meal you could see about 10 waiters standing around doing either nothing or better yet talking to their fellow employees, all the while not even bothering to see if someone at their tables needed something. The only "waiting" that was done was when we had to wait for them to finally decide to bring us the bill. This kind of service was pretty much the same no matter where we went as it doesn't seem like they have a concept of time.

Government corruption-Jacob Zuma is scheduled to become the next president. He recently was on trial for rape and in that trial he said that he was careful to take a shower after having sex with the HIV positive victim to prevent himself from contracting it. It is also likely that he has been involved in high level corruption. You would think he deplorable actions would be widely condemned yet he stands to become the next president. He is really only one person out of many with this mentality. While the people suffer he lines his pockets and sends the country into further decay. Deplorable, yet widely accepted.

Well overall I think South Africa is a beautiful country, the people are generally nice, but this place is going down hill fast and unless things change it could go the way of many other failed African States that came into being in to 20th and now 21st century.

Positives

-The Natural beauty of the country is beautiful. I spent 3 days in Cape Town and saw some of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Being up in the mountains and looking down at the Indian and Atlantic oceans is quite a site. I also managed to see and take a picture of a Puma in the mountains, which I am told is quite rare to see. I also saw several other animals that in no way shape or form will you ever see in North America. Overall the best thing this country has going for it.

Negatives

Social-Society still very segregated. You hardly see anyone of a different race socializing with someone else of a different race. Even people who you would think would be of the same race even segregate themselves further. Whites segregate themselves based on language, Indians by religion and blacks my tribe and even skin color.

Safety-Crime is a SERIOUS problem in this country. You can hear and see things on TV about it,but until you experience everyday life here it is hard to imagine. Almost everyone lives in homes with huge walls surrounding them. The walls will have razor wire, barbed wire, and electrical fencing. Once you get on a property you have to deal with bars on all the doors and windows and tons of locks. This isn't just in a bad area, BUT ALMOST EVERYWHERE You go. Driving is dangerous as well as beggars line the streets and come up to your car at almost every red light to try and get money from you. With the amount of car hijackings, you definitely feel a sense of fear. You see no police officers anywhere and the roads are dimly lit, making travel at night quite harrowing.

Economy-The countries major industries are all monopolized and owned by the government ( or at least some significant percentage) thus making it difficult to do the most basic things. The telecommunications industry is lagging behind the rest of the world, not because of technological deficiencies, but because Telkom ( the phone monopoly) is trying to squeeze every last penny out of the consumer, while providing minimal service. For example, they have some of the highest rates in the world, BUT STILL CHARGE PEOPLE FOR MAKING LOCAL PHONE CALLS. You would think that these terrible policies wouldn't last, but the government sets up road blocks for any other company to get into the communications industry. Overall not good for the people living here as they continually get shafted.

Poverty- People who talk about poverty in North America really should visit a country like this and see the unlivable conditions the poor live in each day. AIDS, hunger,and filth fill the Shanty Towns to the point that you can't help but wonder why you happened to be fortunate enough to be born into a clean and healthy society.

Work Ethic- I realize every society has different standards and cultural ideas when it comes to work ethic. That being said I saw some of the most outright lazy stuff while I was there. Going to a restaurant was the worst. Now I realize that not every place has the same level of service I have come to expect here in my home town, but the "service" level offered was just pathetic and I say this as someone who has waited on tables and is VERY sympathetic to people in the service industry. It usually took a while before anyone would even acknowledge our existence at the table, and once they did they would take our drink orders( take abotu 10 min to bring some water) then finally come back and take the food order which most of the time was wrong. After they brought it we weren't visited again until the meal was almost over. During the meal you could see about 10 waiters standing around doing either nothing or better yet talking to their fellow employees, all the while not even bothering to see if someone at their tables needed something. The only "waiting" that was done was when we had to wait for them to finally decide to bring us the bill. This kind of service was pretty much the same no matter where we went as it doesn't seem like they have a concept of time.

Government corruption-Jacob Zuma is scheduled to become the next president. He recently was on trial for rape and in that trial he said that he was careful to take a shower after having sex with the HIV positive victim to prevent himself from contracting it. It is also likely that he has been involved in high level corruption. You would think he deplorable actions would be widely condemned yet he stands to become the next president. He is really only one person out of many with this mentality. While the people suffer he lines his pockets and sends the country into further decay. Deplorable, yet widely accepted.

Well overall I think South Africa is a beautiful country, the people are generally nice, but this place is going down hill fast and unless things change it could go the way of many other failed African States that came into being in to 20th and now 21st century.