EG&XY

All, has anyone encountered the need to a sputum test for suspected TB? I know this is common in the Philippines. We recently encountered it for my MIL when she went for her physical for her IR5. They took the samples and results are due any day (they say 8 weeks even though the test only takes 6 weeks). From what we have heard it seems like this has been happing quite a bit with the physicals in guangzhou lately.

Mostly we are looking to try to figure out how long it will take for them to reschedule her interview once she has been cleared (assuming the test comes back negative [no TB]). I’m hoping it will only take a couple of weeks to get the new interview since she would hopefully just still be using the original physical. And I’m guessing the actual interview date would be about 1 month out once we get it. So maybe late Nov or early Dec.

But does anyone have any recent experience with this through guangzhou?

The concern is not the the impact on same sex marriages. The concern is the impact it might have on the access to certain federal rights (e.g., immigration).

2 minutes ago, samuelam said:

Same process, 

Can you clarify? It is still the same process as it was in 2017 or there is no longer any distinction/difference?

We are in the process of getting an IR-5 for my mother-in-law. When I sponsored my spouse (2017) there was a process to request that NVC use the electronic submission system (case number converted to a GZO rather than the initial GUZ default case number) rather than being handled as a paper based submission. At the time this resulted in a much faster processing time (documentarily qualified within about 1 week, rather than several months with the paper system).

I realize things have changed quite a bit since then but I don't seem to be able to find a clear answer. Does anyone know if there is still a similar process for China, or all all cases at NVC now handled electronically and they all end up in the same queue? Our new (IR-5) case just got to NVC so I'm trying to figure this out before we start submitting documents.

@Crazy Cat, Do you recall this? Do you know if it (or something similar) still exists? Or did this go away when NVC went electronic for most/all cases? 

It’s not that hard to find the punishments from the IRS. He has two options (assuming he doesn’t qualify for “head of household” status):

- married filing jointly

- married filing separately

why does he want to file as single?

50 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

I think for GE it has to match the document used for re-entry i.e. the GC.  However, with GE you also get PreCheck, and then you have to use the name that is on the ticket, so if you get GE in the GC name, but the airline tickets are in the name on the foreign passport, then she would not be able to use PreCheck.  My wife was in that situation for three plus years as like Ukraine, Russian passports are difficult to affect a name change due to marriage.  When my wife naturalized and got her US passport, we then applied for GE using the married name on that passport.

 

Good Luck!

 

P.S. also keep in mind that if your wife has a 2 year GC, then when she goes through ROC and travels on an expired GC and extension letter, she cannot use GE or the kiosks. Therefore, it might be better to wait until she either gets her 10yr GC or naturalizes.

As a clarification, while ROC is pending I think that you can still use GE, you just can’t use the kiosks. Instead you have to use the GE card to skip ahead of the line to see an officer.

Yeah, just submit everything. The NVC doesn’t care. It is only the consular officer that will care, and he won’t be seeing them for at least a couple more months.

Also, please fill out your timeline.  It helps us to know where you are in the process and to have an idea of what country/consulate is involved. In some cases it may impact the answers that you receive (tho not in this case).

No, they will already know what dates he entered and left the us, so they already know. On the ds-260 my husband just put a short statement that the period is up in Xxx YYYY (approximate date) and that he was aware that he must complete the time before he can enter the US.

Also, since this is for an IR-1/CR-1, your husband won’t schedule the interview. It will be set by the consulate and the NVC will let you know the date. If you don’t already have the date then there is almost no chance he will interview before the end of January. It sounds like you may not have even submitted all of your documents yet, so you still have to wait for the NVC to review all of those once they are submitted before you are even in the queue for an interview date.

You are fine. As long as you are close then the consular officer will decide if they will go ahead or if they will just hold the passport for a little bit in AP until the period is over. We were in a similar situation. We actually thought the period was already over at the interview but the officer said there was actually another week or two. But they went ahead and approved and issued the visa because there was no way my husband would have been able to enter the US before the time was up anyway (due to time required to issue the visa and return the passport).

You are putting the cart before the horse. You don’t need to complete the I-864 until the petition is approved and is sent to the NVC. That will take about 6 months (maybe longer) from when you submit the initial petition.

On 2/24/2018 at 9:07 AM, Nazir1125 said:

Thank you so much! I have been going crazy on what to do. With lawyer telling me just my income matters. It makes sense now MY lawyer filed the wrong form.

 

thank you again you have relieved a week long constant headache I've had over this whole situation. If I file the I-864 with my current income proofs will everything be Suffieient enough? They will not use my previous taxes to determine if I meet the 125% poverty line just my current income correct?

So any documents (w-2's) that you have, including the w-2 for 2017, do not show you making >125% of the poverty level? If not then you will need to use the i-864.

But that being said, how are you going to make up the difference? I'm not sure that they (particularly the CO at the visa interview) will accept that you have one or two paystubs for this year now showing that your income is higher and should be above the 125% level this year. If you are using the i-864 then you will also be able to include assets (savings, etc.) to help make up the difference. But be aware, when using assets to make up the difference you need something like 3x to 5x that value in assets. For example, if the 125% poverty level were $30,000 and your annual income were only $25,000, then you would need another $5,000 to reach the minimum cut-off. However, if using assets to make up that difference, you would really need to have ~$15,000 to $25,000 (3x to 5x of $5,000) in assets to cover that difference.

Alternately, have you considered using a co-sponsor?

11 minutes ago, Nazir1125 said:

I was told it's just an easier form than the I-864. My lawyer filed all the paperwork. That is the form he said we are eligible for. I am trying to sponsor my spouse. 

You don’t file the 864ez just because it is easier, you have to satisfy the criteria that they specify. It seems that they are saying that you don’t meet the criteria.

According to the instructions you must meet these criteria to use 864ez:

You may use Form I-864EZ if ALL the following conditions apply:
1. You are the person who  led or is  ling Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for a relative being sponsored;
2. The relative you are sponsoring is the only person listed on Form I-130; and
3. The income you are using to qualify is based entirely on your salary or pension and is shown on one or more Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-2s provided by your employers or former employ

The problem is you don’t meet #3, your w-2 that you sent does not meet the criteria. So you either need to send one that does (assuming your 2017 w-2 is enough) or file the 864 (not the ez version).

Why would you have a sealed envelope for a visitor visa?

The card will not ship until after you arrive. As you are entering through customs, just let them know what your new address will be.

Yes, if your consulate uses/allows electronic processing then you directly upload the supporting documents into the CEAC site.

If your consulate uses/allows email processing, then you send the supporting documents attached to an email to a specific email address.

If your consulate doesn’t allow one of those, then yes you have to snail mail them to the NVC.

Another option to consider is to buy a car with a loan and then receive periodic payments that you immediately use to pay the loan. That could help you from having too much money in your accounts to cause an issue. Just make sure there are no penalties for repaying the loan early.

13 minutes ago, nairobyreyes said:

You're the best! Thank you for ever and ever ❤️

No worries. Just include a letter from your employer with your current salary and paystubs to help show your current income. Those should be sufficient.

1 minute ago, ahas44 said:

Hi, 

During the AOS interview, the officer said my wife's income isn't enough and the assets she used isn't valid. I am currently working full-time using my EAD, and I was wondering if we can re-submit the form with both our incomes? We got married in March and just recently got our own place.

 

Also, during the interview I asked the officer the same question, and she said I can't because I am the beneficiary; however, I read the form instruction's like 100 times and it mentions that we can add our income, so I am not sure if I wasn't clear enough with my question or if the officer is wrong.

 

We haven't filled tax together yet, but we do live together (share rent), and have a insurance (life and health together) and my wife is my dependent. 

No, the benefitiary’s income doesn’t count. I believe that you are thinking of cases where the petitioner or cosponsor is married and their spouse is not the benefitiary. In those cases the souuse’s income can be counted.

2 minutes ago, nairobyreyes said:

Ok, so last years tax transcripts don't affect anything if I am in fact presently meeting the required amount as stated in the federal poverty guidelines?

Correct

23 minutes ago, Ab333 said:

So I ended up scheduling an appt with an immigration lawyer, who was super awesome in answering my questions and she told me the same thing about the k3. So I am not gonna do the K3. I am gonna wait patiently for the cr-1/ir-1 to go through. I really wish there was a way to expedite this or push it along some way but there isnt. (Unless you know a trick hehehe) 

I am not able to leave to visit him because im in a program at school until december of next year 2018. 

Everyone wants that. If there was then everyone would be doing it. The good thing is that the program may keep you busy and help distract you from the waiting.

23 minutes ago, Ab333 said:

Hi everyone! I wanted to thank you all so much for your help in all the info you gave me and also, i wanted to let you know I sent out the paperwork for the I-130. Im anxious and crossong my fingers. 

Thanks again!!! 

Good luck. Now prepare yourself mentally for the wait. So you ended up just submitting the I-130 for the cr1/ir1, or did you decide to try for the k-3?

7 hours ago, nairobyreyes said:

Hi everyone, I have a question about the Affidavit of Support.

 

NVC is asking for a tax transcript from last year or the three previous years. I only have the one from last year 2016. I wasn't required to file before that. The problem is that in last years transcript I didn't meet the federal poverty guidelines (I only worked 6 months). I so happened to have a gotten a promotion at the end of last year Nov 2016. So now I make more than what they ask for. Which means that I don't need a joint sponsor because my income alone is sufficient enough. That's this years income however and they ask for last year. Do I still need a joint sponsor or what can I do? If anyone knows how to help, please do so. Thank you so much!

Tax transcripts are used to demonstrate that you have filed taxes as required. You will include pay stubs to demonstrate your current income. You should be fine with just you paystubs from the last few paychecks to demonstrate that you are above the threshold. If you are worried, just include more paystubs to help show that the income is steady.

Use paper clips, or better yet use binder clips (especially for larger documents). They will have to remove staples and stuff, so using staples just makes things harder for them and they might rip something.

I would just organize things by trip, but it really doesn’t matter. Just to be sure to make it clear which is the evidence that supports having met in the last 2 years. So perhaps organize it in reverse chronological order.