blanche

Just did some quick googling and apparently he got the 10 year one since we've been married more than 2 years.  Phew!

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We got his Green Card in the mail today, yipee!  And it seems to be a TEN YEAR GC somehow!  Did most people who went through this process get a 2 year one, I'm curious?  This one expires in 2027.  Will be great not to have to spend all that money on the I-751.

Thanks Looky!  You're in Philadelphia?  We're about an hour from you if so!

I was referring to food stamps in the form of benefits - not unemployment.  I went ahead and applied for them using just my son and I and someone from the office has already been in touch with us to sort it out.  She said food stamps should have no impact at all on my husband's status.  I'm off work today so going to do some more reading up about it to see.  Things are getting better but it would be nice to have a bit of help in that way.  Thanks for your input.  

Hi everyone! Hubby's green card got sent to my parents address... and they were in another state for a few months ... so it got returned!  I had no idea it would get to us so fast.  Now we're awaiting a replacement one.

Anyone know about applying for benefits?  I know my husband is forbidden to get any kind of gov assistance because he was sponsored but ... what about my young son and I?  Our pay checks just are not cutting it, sadly.

Hey dub42 and everyone else!  We have been here since January and settled in Pennsylvania.  Love it here.  All the nature and climate that I missed so much.  Exciting!  Our little boy loves it, too.  Good times.  Not much money but ... at least we're here!  I haven't gotten my DH's green card yet.  I'm off work today so maybe I will go ahead and call immigration.   I called a few weeks ago and they said if it hasn't been more than 120 days then just keep waiting.  Anyone get theirs yet?  Hope everyone is doing well and finally here in the good ol USA!  

Hi everyone!  Happy to report that we finally got to the US in January and have been here for a month now  Amazed at all the abundance here in so many ways.  And how kind and considerate people are.  We're having so much fun and looking forward to what comes next.

How do I check the status of the green card?  I went to the links I found online but they are telling me the numbers I'm putting in are invalid.  I thought I'd write here to let you all know we're finally HERE!  And to ask this.  Thanks so much!  I'm so happy we're finally here!!!

WOW!!!!!! That is so awesome and your giving me even more hope that ours will be approved soon as well. I know that we are at total different embassies but hearing that you all or approved makes me so happy for you. I emailed our Consulate as well this pass Monday. We haven't heard anything back yet. But my saying always is "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS IN MY BOOK". But we're still praying that it's approved before the New Year.

Yes, that's what I tried to stick with all along, too - that NO news is GOOD news. Hope it will be done for you all soon.

excellent news, great to hear best of luck with your big move now!

Thanks Dub!

Hi! Happy to report that we got approved on Dec 20th and Visa is at the local post office, ready for us to pick it up tomorrow. Will be booking flights once it's in our hands and hopefully flying out next week, woo hoo!!!

Just saw another friend on FB saying her DH had to go get fingerprints today at immigration. They've been in America for one year now. I guess I need to look up what comes up NEXT once we are finally there. Don't ever want to go through this saga again!

What's your status, Mrs. Brown?

Yes I've been getting notifications all day abt his flight. It just saddens my heart and mind that he's not on it. I feel like I'm just going through the motions of today lol. But you said you contacted your your local office. Which office was that??? Congress or Visa???

Oh dear, I can only imagine how frustrating that must feel.

I simply wrote an email to the Consulate here. It's the office that's handling our case. Still no news. For two weeks now I've been telling myself, 'any day now, any day now' .....

Oh gosh, I'm very sorry to hear Mrs. Brown. I was rooting for you all. Same here - just one disappointment after another. I wrote to our local office the other day and today received a generic reply - saying they are working on it, yadda, yadda - nothing much. I, too, check the ceac status at least 5 times a day, it's just pathetic! I also had dreams this would be over by Christmas. Heck, I thought this would be over this past summer! So many disappointments. I don't think I've had so many disappointments in my whole life! My husband says, sarcastically, that it will make it even sweeter once it happens. Maybe he does believe it, too. Just so tired of this waiting game and not many answers from the other side. I see planes passing by and literally want to be on one of them!

Hey everyone I read and am sending prayers to and for you all.. on my side I have interview date for Jan 14, hubby went to do medical. Baby is growing and is home no more Nicu.... can't wait for them to meet, my son looks just like his dad it's scary.... much love everyone

Thanks for the prayers. We need them! Glad your baby is home now. The newborn stage is so magical and surreal all at once. Hope you have some help. It's not easy to do it all alone. Good luck to you guys with your case, too.

Congrats dub42!

Sorry to hear sanil1986 but at least you are THERE! Are you not able to work yet?

Mrs. Brown - will he be on that plane on Thursday?? Hope so!

No news from me. Wrote to the consulate today to bug them. It's been 15 business days. I suppose it should be or could be any day now. Or not, LOL. Ughhhh.

Anyone else stuck in AP with us? It's been almost 3 months since interview and now 15 business days since the last papers they asked for. Naturally, I want to go back to the US asap or else I wouldn't have done this whole process. Any recent experience? Thank you.

Mrs. Brown - how do you know that he'll be able to pick up his passport on that day? We didn't hear a thing from the Consulate yet. I hope all goes well for him/you and that he's on that plane on Thursday!

The reason our case has been delayed is because at the interview on Sept 22nd, they said he was approve BUT they needed 'proof of domicile' from me which I had totally forgotten about when I sent him on the interview. I thought I had everything covered for him but obviously not.

They also didn't think his military certificate was valid so they asked for a new one.

And the real delay came from us trying to be exempt from the Affidavit of Support. We lived already in America for 13 years and he was a valid green card holder. He worked and I worked and we contributed to Social Security. In the law I found, it said that if you can claim 40 social security credits (you can combine them, too, if you were married while you earned them) then you don't need a sponsor. So I looked around on-line a lot and was SURE that we qualified. Got both of our SS documents together to prove it, etc. BUT then the consular officer sent us an email on Nov 8th saying:

"The law you quoted in your letter concerns the period of enforceability, not the underlying obligation. Please note that the petitioner will have to submit a fully completed form I-864 and, as there is no income attributed to petitioner at this time, a joint sponsor will be needed (form I-864 with all supporting documentation).

Also, kindly send in your passport along with the required documents."

So that was very disappointing. If I had the funds to hire an immigration lawyer at that point to FIGHT what they wrote to me, I would have. But of course I don't. Such a bummer. So I went back to my parents in America and asked if they would be the joint sponsor. They agreed and got a transcript of their tax returns. They filled out the form and Fed Ex'd it to me. I got it on Nov 24th and on that same day, sent all the documents, along with my I-864 and copy of passports to the Consulate.

The rec'd it on 11/28. I check 'status of D-260' on a daily basis and on 12/5 it says it was updated but still in Administrative processing.

I was SURE that last week I would get something in the email from them or a notice to go pick it up from the courier but still nothing.

I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to hear from them. Today is a regular business day in Israel but it's not for the US Consulate. They keep normal American business hours. So my hope is that ONE day this week, maybe tomorrow, I will hear from them.

It's been 10 business days now that they've had the papers in their hands. I'm so anxious to get moving. And also all of my family are meeting up in Virginia for the holiday's. I haven't seen them all in 7 years so I'm really hoping we will be able to fly there before Christmas.

I don't think there is anything left for me to do other than wait and try to say calm. Any tips, advice, et?

Say a prayer for us, please!!!!!!!

Thanks for your support.

Congrats to you Happy15!

Oh my goodness! Broken hip! Yes, that is definitely painful. Hope you have a smooth recovery. Still no news on my end.

Guess what, folks? We are STILL waiting for approval.

My heart is in my throat most of this week as I THINK this is the week they should finally send us the approval. But I can't be sure - of course, none of us can be on this journey. So just wanted to let you all know. I'm more than eager to get back to America. Please say a prayer or anything you believe in to help us get his visa this week.

The US consulate has his passport now along with the last batch of papers they asked for. I don't feel like getting into all the details as I already run them through my head on a daily basis! But the last e-mail I got from them said "send in the form along with his passport" which makes me believe the case is approved now once they got that. And they got it on Nov 28th.

When I checked the status on-line it seems like our case was updated on the 28th of Nov then again on the 5th of December so I'm HOPING that means all is flowing along and it's just the logistics of printing the visa, preparing the package for us. I HOPE SO!!!! I keep telling myself that no news is good news. My hands are almost shaking every time I get a notification of a new e-mail. Nerve wracking! I just want to get this moving abroad show on the road finally! Thanks for listening! Blanche

Aw, thank you. That's kind of you to take the time to write that and encourage me!

I've just asked in a group here what they know about 'katzin ha-ir' and one of my friends who was in the military for many years tells me that their is no such thing as Katzin ha-ir anywhere now! So there is a new thing that you can call - maybe more organized? We will call them tomorrow to get it figured out.

Good luck to you! Yes, being organized is a plus out of all of this! We didn't have to get anything translated here for this end of things but I suppose it would be good to have it done later on. Now they give the Israeli birth certificate in Hebrew on one side and English on the other - so that makes things a bit easier.

Thanks again!

Just looking at the Katzin Ha-ir in Tel Aviv and it looks pretty darn sketchy, too, LOL, but I suppose lots of places here do. I'm sure we'll find a warm and friendly person to help us, though, right?! Hahahaha you have to laugh or you'll cry.

Great! Thanks so much. Yes, we live in Kfar Hanagid - outside of Rehovot - between Rehovot and Yavne... and so I thought we'd go to the City Officer there but it's apparently permanently closed for some reason. So we'll try the one in Rishon or in Ashdod. I'm glad to know there is ANOTHER one that they might take more seriously! Cuz yes, I know the lawyer fees can be insane, even if my hubby's mother is friends with a lawyer. And we just couldn't understand WHY they were questioning the one we had since it came from City Officer, has a stamp and a real signature by the officer who printed it. Strange. I'll let you know how it goes!

We also have to proove 'my intent to establish domicile in the US' (as if going through this process, paying the fees, etc, doesn't make it clear enough!) ... so I'm working on trying to open a bank account in the States. I don't know how many more things I can do. My NY drivers license expired since I've lived here and we haven't been back. I'm about to mail out my 'voting from abroad' letter, so maybe that can have some weight, too.

Frustrating - like you said - why they are giving us the run-around. That's exactly what it is. They just have to be 100% sure that all documents are lined up in case someone goes back to review them one day. Sheesh, I'm so ready for us to be standing in line at immigration in NY already!

My 4 year old is screaming at me in the background to come help one of his toys get out of jail so got to run lol. Thanks again, though!

Oh great, thanks for your input. Yes, he was released in 1991! A very long time ago! And he doesn't even remember getting a release form. We've called Katzin Ha-ir and they say their isn't anything else they can give him. Maybe we should have this one notarized by a lawyer to prove it's legitimacy more. Thanks a lot. Eze balagan! I'm so ready to LEAVE already!

Trying to get anyone on the phone from Katzin Ha-ir is nearly impossible so maybe we should go with my gut instinct on the day he was denied the visa and GO there to speak with someone. He's off work tomorrow so looks like we could try tomorrow.

Thank you! Yes, bummer. Big time! But ... hindsight is 20/20. I think I just blocked out anything about ME and focused on all the stuff about HIM. Live and learn.

Hi. My husband failed his Visa interview for lack of evidence by ME that I plan to establish domicile after being gone for 7 years. Silly oversight by me that is costing us time, etc. I knew about having to do this but sent him there without anything from my side regarding establishing domicile. Just totally overlooked this detail in the stress of worrying about OTHER things, I guess.

So now I am asking my parents for help in getting a back account opened for me (fingers crossed), in writing up a lease for us to rent a cottage on their property and writing a letter for them to send to help our case.

Should I ask them to send me the letters via express international kind of mail (we're in Israel) .... so that I will be sending the letters to the Consulate here with REAL signatures from my parents?

Or would an email from my parents suffice?

Thank you.

Anybody? I'm convinced we have the CORRECT Military form and for some reason the Consulate didn't accept it. I wasn't there so I don't know what happened! Could it be they just kept seeing the copy we had and never the original? Ugh, frustrating! My husband came home with all the documents I had arranged so neatly in a heap basically. I thought the entire folder had flown out the window on the way home or something. He said they had ALL the documents ALL over the desk while interviewing him. Could it be he got a not so experienced officer or something???

Today my husband had his interview at the Consulate in Jerusalem and was denied for two reasons. The officer thought his military release form looked like a copy, even though it is not and has a blue border, blue print and black print, a stamp from the office that creates them and all his info.

Also at the NVC stage, our case was delayed by about 6 weeks because they, too, said they didn't receive the military release form, even though I sent it to them. I assumed they had just lost it somehow, not that it might be the wrong form.

Back then, I re-sent the copy of the one I had here.

Tonight, someone who is fluent in Hebrew checked around the internet to find out what an ORIGINAL 'form 807' looks like and it looks JUST like the one we submitted both today and several months ago to NVC.

What would you do? Send this same original back to the Consulate with a note saying it came directly from Ktzin Ha-ir (which it did)?

Ask once again for another original?

Kind of banging our heads on the table over this one.

They gave him back his passport, took fingerprints and gave him a paper saying what he needed to do to get approval.

The other reason was that I didn't provide enough evidence of my intention to establish domicile, so I am working on that part, too.

Thanks for your help.

Thank you. He didn't get approved right away because they say his Military certificate is not the original. But it is the one the military sent us. so we have to figure out how to get the one they want. They also want proof of domicile in the US - something I thought might get brought up but I didn't know how to do it since I've lived abroad for 7 years. Time to do some more googling to help us get past these obstacles. Once he mails them these 2 things they will approve the visa.