Roland3337

Hello everyone. My wife arrived in the U.S. (Pennsylvania) in October of last year, and she has been here for almost 8 months now. She is having some substantial problems with culture shock, and she could use some social contact with other Russian people. That might make things much easier for her. Additional information: she is 40 years old, from Novosibirsk, and we are expecting a baby in January. If there is any interest, send me a personal message or post here. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a mildly stressful, but not atypical interview. You are already married so you don't need another wedding. Keep a few translations of the marriage certificate. They kept the passport and did not give you a 221G so just wait a bit and you should receive the passport with the visa.

The lack of a 221(g) and the fact that they kept my wife's passport is not something I gave much thought to, after we left the interview. We were both too freaked out. But I take both as a good sign. Thanks for the reminder. It gives some comfort. The wedding after she would finally arrive would be less for civil purposes, but maybe more for us. We were married in Istanbul, and it was a tedious and stressful process. To marry here at home could be something we could celebrate, without thinking about immigration and navigating red tape. Ironically, both or our Turkish friends who were witnesses in Istanbul are now local (reasonably) since they both escaped Turkey after the coup attempt in July, and they could be present here for and American wedding.

Hello everyone,

My wife and I had the visa interview at the consulate in Moscow just a few days ago (9/29) and it did not go as smoothly as we'd hoped. The consular officer had some questions during the interview we were not prepared for. At first, my wife went into the interview first, and I sat in the waiting room. Then after about 10 minutes, she emerges in tears, and asks me to join her in the interview room.

The first question he asked me was about the sample of emails included in our application: The pattern of writing seemed suspicious to him (i.e., "You are very pretty girl and I very much want" instead of "You are a very pretty girl and I very much want you.") This is a pattern that I developed in my writing to her because I know that sometimes electronic translation programs that we sometimes use do not handle such activators as "a" and "the" so well, since Russian does not use them. I explained that to him, and he seemed to accept it. I also told him that I spoke Russian, so this is why I knew about this.

Then he asked about how we met in terms of the website. This is a website that neither of us could remember, since it was 4 years ago, and we barely used it. All that we could tell him was that it was a free site, that featured mostly women from Ukraine, and we otherwise could not find it anymore. Likely it had been closed down. This line of questioning obviously pertained to the IMBRA regulations that I thought spousal visas were exempt from (obviously, that was foolish on my part). He seemed to conclude that whatever website we used, was not a marriage broker agency.

Next, he asked about the timing of our relationship, since I asked my wife to marry me while my divorce from a previous wife was still in process. I told him that my previous wife and I were separated at the time, with her living in the upstairs portion of the house, while I was in the downstairs basement for more than a year. When the divorce was finally finished, my wife and I were married about two months later.

The final closing questions were mundane: What did my wife plan to do when in the U.S.? (wife and hopefully mother) and would we have another wedding after her arrival? (probably, since it would be better to have an English marriage certificate instead of a foreign one, for the many other civil issues we would encounter that required a marriage certificate).

He then said he had a few other things to check out, and that he would call my wife's mobile phone the next day, if there was anything else he needed (he did not call). He also said that her passport would be delivered to her via pony express 5-6 days after the visa was prepared.

I have checked online since then, and our case is listed as being in "Administrative Processing." We were not given a 221(g) form before leaving the interview.

If anyone has a read on what we can expect next (denial, or just mundane processing, etc.) I would love to know. This was a painful disappointment for both of us, and some hope would be nice.

Thanks in advance.

R.

I am getting extremely frustrated with the NVC part of getting my wife's visa.

The confusing part is what supporting documents should I include in the IV package? I don't want to send superfluous things, that could cause delay and confusion. But I also don't want to leave something out. I've reviewed the wiki, and this is what is listed:

-Bar-coded cover sheet from payment portal
-Cover letter (optional)
-Two passport-style photographs (2" x 2") of beneficiary (on the back, write: beneficiary's full name, date of birth, and case number)
-Copy of bio-data page of beneficiary's unexpired passport
-Photocopy of beneficiary's birth certificate
-Photocopy of marriage certificate
-Photocopy of police certificate(s)

I get all of that. But the bar-coded cover letter asks for things that are confusing me:

-Marriage termination documents (she's never been married, but I'm divorced. Send my divorce certificate, or not?)

-Proof of relationship (Our photos together, boarding passes from meetings, passport stamps, etc?)

-Proof of U.S. status (My passport? My birth certificate?)

-Petitioner documents (which ones?)

If someone else has recently been though this with a spouse and could help me out, I would be extremely grateful.

You can send everything together after the AOS payment has been received; you don't have to wait for the IV invoice.

Thank you for your answer. I really feel like instructions for the NVC part of the process are harder to come by, compared to the petition and USCIS.

I wonder something else: I have read the Wiki on this, and it indicates that the NVC part is all about the beneficiary. I have been gathering most of the same documents that I submitted for the petition. Such things as my divorce certificate, proof of meetings (photos, boarding passes, passport stamps, itineraries, etc.) a copy of my passport, and my birth certificate.

I am trying to err on the side of giving too much stuff, instead of too little. Like everyone else, I would like to get through this without making a mistake.

But is it necessary for me to duplicate so much of what I included in the original petition application package?

i have what I fear is a dumb question. Sorry, but the whole process after the NOA2, and then dealing with the NVC is really confusing for me. My question is this: After my AOS has been paid, and my AOS package and IV package is ready, can I send them both off together, before I get the IV invoice? Or should I wait for the IV invoice?

Hello everyone,

I filed an I-130 petition in early January, and my wife and I have been (im)patiently waiting for approval of the petition. I was expecting it sometime in May, but I checked online and I was pleasantly surprised ( ) to see that it was approved on April 7th.

Something puzzling to me, however: No email notice, and no NOA2 in the mail. It has been two weeks.

Is this lag unusual? If that notice was somehow lost, or a nasty neighbor grabbed it out of my mailbox, can I request a duplicate?

Thanks.

My Russian fiance and I were recently married in Istanbul. I filed for her visa almost a month ago, and I had some questions about her name change (which was required by Turkish civil officials). When I filed the I-130 form, I used her new married name. Right now, we are trying to determine if she needs to go through the tedious process of obtaining a new Russian passport with her new name. Or whether or not we can wait until after she arrives, and we apply for her SSN.

Getting her name changed for the new Russian passport would require getting an apostille stamp on our marriage certificate. And that would require either another visit to Istanbul, or sending the certificate to a Turkish consulate either in Russia, or here in the US. So, we are trying to avoid this if possible.

I also wonder: which name will the American Embassy use when sending her the forms she will need to complete, when the process here with the USCIS is finished? Will they use her new married name (which could confuse a Russian post office or mail carrier), or will they use her maiden name, or both?

Or is all of this stuff done online now, so her name (maiden or married) makes no real difference?

Thanks in advance.