PMRS

Congratulations!

You have many of the same questions and wonderings I had a year and half ago.

You could have a Catholic wedding in Mexico, which is not legally recognized in Mexico, then pursue a K-1 fiancee visa. Only civil weddings are legally recognized in Mexico. However, you will have to be careful with USCIS. You don't want to be applying for a K-1 visa if you're already married. So, if you pursue this route, don't show any photos or evidence from your Catholic wedding.

The K-3 is also an option, which is what we pursued because it seemed easier to me (at the time) then pursuing a K-1 visa. It took us 8 months to get it, whereas K-1's take about 6 months. It would have been quicker for us had we turned in the I-129F sooner. The CR-1/IR-1 immigrant visas take over a year to get.

You will need to get permission to marry from the Mexican government. You'll apply for permission at the immigration office closest to where you'll get married. It typically takes a month to get permission. We were lucky because my suegro went to law school with the director of the immigration office located in my husband's hometown, so we were able to pick up our permission letter the next day. It costs about a $100 dollars to get permission. I tried to contact the Mexican consulate in San Francisco to see if they could help me start this process from here in the U.S., but I didn't have any luck doing so.

Another question... have you had your baptism, first communion, and confirmation with the Catholic church? The priest at my husband's church said I needed to have all of these sacraments before getting married in the Catholic church. So, I'm taking class for my confirmation before we have our big wedding.

Good luck!

I firstalled the California DMV to check, after having read the website. I was told that my husband needed to apply for a SSN, even though we already knew what without his EAD he would be inelligible for a SSN. Then my husband and I took the letter from SSN stating he was ineligible for a SSN. The DMV can check a database with names and SSNs. The DMV accepted, after we persisted, his K-3 visa and I-94 as proof of legal residence. I had to be very persistent because they thought the I-94 was a border crossing card only valid within 80 miles of the border!!!! Thankfully I asked for a supervisor who knew about K-3s and I-94s. So, even though it seems silly, you'll have to apply for a SSN before you get your EAD, then you can go to the DMV and get your license. Good luck!

Can you translate for your spouse during the AOS interview? My husband speaks English, but I'm sure he would like some things clarified in Spanish. I'll get him ready for the commonly asked questions in the meantime.

Thanks everyone!

We just got our interview date, scheduled for September 17, 2007 in San Francisco!!! Well, the checklist says to bring the I-864 Affadavit of Support plus a letter from my current employer and pay stubs for the past two months. I'm a teacher and I've had my current job for three years. I'm on a 10 month pay schedule, so I don't get paid in the summer. My last check was issued June 30, and my next check won't be issued until September 30. I can bring prior paystubs dating back to January 2007. I also used the I-864 EZ and included tax transcripts for the past three years. Will there be any problems if I don't have paystubs for the past two months? I make well over 125% of the poverty line. I'm going to ask HR to note in the letter that I'm on a 10-month pay schedule.

What you guys need to really compare is interview dates and not the actual approval dates. Everyone needs to remember the NVC has to process CR1/IR1 and the K-3 only passes through the NVC and gets to the consulate much faster.

True! Also consider that some consulates have a huge backlog, such as Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Over there it takes about a year to get a CR-1/IR-1 interview. It only took us 3 months to get a K-3 interview. For us, it was definitely worth getting a K-3 visa.

My husband got his shots with our family doctor and just paid the insurance copay. Then he took his vaccination record from Mexico plus his updates to a civil surgeon. The civil surgeon transferred the info. to the I-693A and put it in a sealed envelope. It cost $50 here in Oakland, and I did call a few places and found they all charged the same amount. However, we didn't want to travel very far so we just paid more to save us time. I've heard of people mailing their I-693A vaccination supplements to civil surgeons in Texas and they only paid $20 or so. If you have time, then check this out. But if you want to file by July 30th before the fees go up, then I'd do it here.

I love the Bay Area, but the cost of living is hecka crazy!

Thanks! The EAD card still hasn't arrived. We have an Infopass appointment tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get it soon!

My husband applied for EAD in May and got an email on 6.7.07 stating card production was ordered. On 6.11.07 he got an email saying it was approved. He still hasn't received the card. We might do an infopass appointment early next week to see where the cards are.

Good luck!

I'm wondering if we should make an Infopass appointment for this.... here's our EAD timeline

5/12 EAD mailed to Chicago lockbox

5/14 received

5/16 NOA 1

??? transferred to California Service Center (I gotta look this date up)

6/5 Biometrics appointment and touch

6/ 7- card production ordered (email)

6/11- approved (email)

As of today, July 11, 2007 no card or Notice of Action for the approval has been received. The USCIS online case status tool states it was approved on 6/11/07. I'm confused because it seems on most VJ timelines that the EAD card is received a few days after approval.

The I-765 was transferred to the California Service Center, and I am aware of the delays with printing the Notice of Action. I already emailed CSCNoNotice@DHS.Gov as specified on the announcement about delays at CSC. I spoke with an USCIS Customer Service Agent on Monday. She said it takes about 30 days to produce the card, then up to another 30 days to receive it. She said they can't really look into the case until 30 days after the approval. She said I could call on July 11th. I asked if it would be better to make an Infopass appointment and she said it probably would because they might have access to another database.

So, do we have to wait the 90 days after submitting EAD before we can investigate where the card is? Or can we do it now because it's been 30 days since EAD was approved? Is it better to call the Customer Service Center or make an Infopass appointment?

Thanks!

I hope you get touched soon.....an approval would be even better. Aren't you waiting for EAD so you can qualify for AOS. I hope you can file AOS before the fees go up!

@PMRS Did you get a NOA from California saying that your file was there or did you just get the e-mail???? I only got the e-mail saying its pending there and when I call the info line it says the same.

I got a NOA 1 and a letter saying the case was transferred to the California Service Center. On June 7th we got the following email. When I look up the case online it says the same thing.

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On June 7, 2007, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow

30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you

we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call

customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we

process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

There's no rhyme or reason why some applications take longer. The only thing I can guess is that the background check went quickly. My husband has a common name and first last name, but his second last name isn't that common.

Good luck to everyone!

Thanks!

Here's our timeline for EAD. We will file for AOS next week after Guillermo gets his vaccinations.

5/12 EAD mailed to Chicago lockbox

5/14 received

5/16 NOA 1

??? transferred to California ( I gotta look this date up)

6/5 Biometrics appointment and touch

6/7 email saying EAD card production was ordered. Does this mean we're approved?

This seems rather quick compared to other folk's timelines. I wish everyone good luck with this process.

Our petition was approved in Feb. and left the NVC in just a couple of days. I got the packet in March. My husband got the packet in April. We were surprised he actually got it. His interview was May 4th. Once you get the packet you can snail mail it or scan and email it. The visa application needs to be filled out online and printed. The only thing you need from the packet is the appointment letter. All the other information is on the CDJ website under K-3 visas.

Guillermo had his interview earlier this month. I didn't go because of work and school obligations. I wrote a letter affirming my support and reasons why I couldn't attend, since it was STAR testing time at school. Memo said this was helpful. He said there were a lot of people, and most people on the street were haggling him to help him with his paperwork. He said it was very creepy. He paid the interview at Banamex in his hometown. He went for the medical exam the day before and picked up the results in the afternoon. There was a lot of waiting in line and once again waiting in the different buildings. They don't allow any metal or cell phones in the consulate, so be prepared. Only your spouse is allowed in, but they'll call the US citizen if they want to ask more questions. You are not required to be there. They consular official asked him in Spanish about how we met, my visits to Mexico, our families, and our wedding. We had pictures, emails, phone calls, joint tax returns. However, the most important piece of evidence were the photos. After showing the photo album and telling stories about each page, the consular official told Guillermo, "Su visa esta aprobada!". He left around 1 pm and crossed the Cordova bridge around 4 pm. There they looked at his paperwork and gave him the I-94 arrival/departure record. He said the officials in the consulate and at the border were very nice, the only problem were the people on the streets of Juarez. Good luck during your interview and hopefully you'll be reunited very soon!

Welcome and congrats! We also got a K-3 visa from Juarez. Our I-129F was approved in February. I got the packet in March for Guillermo's interview on May 4th and he actually did get it in the mail, but not until April. Guillermo was asked a lot of the same questions that K-1's are asked. If you read this thread you'll find out more. We also had additional proof of our marital relationship. We also had a joint tax return and letter from owner of our apartment stating she'll add him to the lease. However, the photos were the most important piece of evidence. Guillermo was muy sonriente when he showed the consular official our photos and told him about our experiences together....after seeing the photo album he said the most magical words in the world....."Su visa esta aprobada!" We'll have another interview for his greencard though. Then we'll be prepared to show a joint life now that we're actually living together (eg. bank accounts, leases, insurance, etc.). It was a hard process but definitely worth it! This weekend I took him down the Pacific Coast Highway through Monterey and Big Sur. He finally met my family and everything turned out to be wonderful!

Let me know if you have more questions about K-3 visas.

We're checking this out too. I know that K-1's/K-2's don't have to do the medical exam again for AOS, they just need a vaccination supplement. My husband said they kept everything except the X-rays at the consulate and/or point of entry. I've been told by other VJ members that this requirement also applies to K-3's/K-4's because K-3?k-4 is also a nonimmigrant visa. I'll be calling civil surgeons in my area this week to check this out. I'm going to ask them if we can update his vaccinations with our family doctor since it's covered by our health insurance, then have his vaccinations approved by the USCIS approved Civil Surgeon. I'll keep you posted.

We didn't translate his birth certificate for the interview. We are translating it for AOS. I'm doing it myself and adding the following:

I certify that I am competent to translate from the Spanish to English and that the above Marriage Certificate/Birth Certificate is a correct and true translation to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I signed and dated it and added my contact information.

I also translated our marriage certificate myself and so far haven't had any problems.

Buena suerte y felicidades!

Does anyone know what happens if you started NVC processing with the I-130 and then never finished because you decided to go with the K-3 visa? My husband arrived a few days ago on a K-3 visa and now we're preparing the AOS documents.

Great! We'll have the doctor update his vaccinations as necessary, then present it to the Civil Surgeon. Now we just have to find a CS here in California.

Thanks! I did read the instructions but I was a bit confused. I didn't know that K-1 instructions applied to K-3 as well. I know that both are nonimmigrant visas. However, I've learned with all this immigration stuff that you can never assume anything.

Hello! My husband just got his visa on Friday and arrived here on Cinco de Mayo! Isn't that funny???

Well, now we're filing EAD and possibly AOS. Considering he just had his medical exam last week, does anyone know if

K-3's can just get a vaccination supplement? Or do we have to do the medical exam all over again? Can our family doctor update his vaccinations, or do we have to get these done with a Civil Surgeon? By the way, we're from the Bay Area in California.

Thanks fellow VJ'ers! All your advice has been VERY helpful so far.

I don't think we'll need it for the interview. I'm thinking ahead about applying for jobs once his EAD is approved.

Hello all! My husband has his K-3 interview next week. We're wondering if his diploma from la preparatoria, or Preparatory school, will serve as the equivalent of a High School diploma here in the US? He also has studied at the University, but he doesn't yet have his bachillerato, or Bachelor's degree. I'm assuming we have to get his diploma notarized and/or apostillated. Does anyone have any information for us? Thanks!