Hans Martin

On 3/27/2019 at 3:58 AM, hwbertel said:

hi seeing as your case is similar to mine (danish citizen applying at stockholm embassy) did you end up getting your documents certified? and translated?

I have a police record in danish and one in french from belgium, I should have these translated, right? But should I also have documents certified by apostille? 

 

Hi,

I don't remember 100%, but I don't think you need an apostille. But make sure that they are translated.

4 minutes ago, NikLR said:

For adults you need measles, mumps and rubella, common as a MMR vaccination and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, TDaP.  You also need varicella ir you've never had chicken pox.  The rest are not age appropriate.  

Oh, great. I've taken all of those. But not sure what TDaP stands for..? 

I don't have the varicella one, but I had chicken pox as a kid.

How important is it to bring the originals of documents such as police certificates?

I have an original birth certificate that is stamped and all. It is the same with my police certificate from Norway, only that I only have the "digital" version that I can print. I'm not sure if

I will have time to get a new "original" before the interview. I can however go to the court house locally and get a stamp/certificate that says my document is a "true copy" of the original. Will this be equivalent?

Sorry for all my "dumb" questions. I'm almost there now, and I don't want to screw it up...

Thanks guys! 

And these are the ones "REQUIRED"?

https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/exams/ti/panel/vaccination-panel-technical-instructions.html

I am going to the embassy interview in 1.5 weeks and I am trying to get all documents and requirements sorted out.

Regarding the vaccines; Do I need to make sure I have taken ALL the vaccines required for USA, or will the physician at the medical exam take care of the missing ones? I looked at my vaccination card from Norway, and realised I have taken most required vaccines, but I'm missing a few.

Thanks guys! You have been a great help so far. I'm ALMOST there now!

Also... if someone knows if I should get an apostille for any of the documents, e.g. the Norwegian police certificate, the US marriage certificate, my birth certificate etc, please let me know!  

I totally forgot that it is winter somewhere right now 

I agree that the instructions are my friend. I made the mistake of sending the original police certificate to the NVC. I might not be able to get a new original before my interview this month... would it be fine if I just brought the photocopy and hope they received the original from the NVC?

thanks

Hello fellow visa applicants!

Good news!! After over a year, I am finally going to the interview in Stockholm later this month. Do I need to bring originals of all the documents they are requesting? E.g. I have copies of our marriage certificate, but I sent the original to USCIS with the i-130 application. Will they have those documents available, or should I just assume they have NO documents and bring everything for them?

Have a lovely summer wherever you are!

On 5/13/2018 at 10:55 AM, pushbrk said:

You can simply hand write in the space available for 2015.  Income below filing threshold.  Indicate you are sending one tax return but send two anyway.  You cannot say you are attaching the second and third year because there is no third year.

Thanks @pushbrk! I'll do that

Hey guys!

Finishing up the NVC package and was wondering what they mean about the pay stubs having to be on "signed business letterhead". Does this simply mean it needs to be signed by someone at the workplace, and that the business name needs to be on top? 

Also, is it fine to just give them a summary? Our joint sponsor gave us a Payroll summary from January 1, through March 19, 2018. Does it need to be newer? "Is issued within the last three months" is also one of the requirements.

I don't know how strict they are with this. Some input would be great! Thanks

6 hours ago, ChrisJay11 said:

i can see your predicament.

 

I would say no to 23a.

 

I would check 23b and include the tax transcripts or returns and W2s for 2017 and 2016.

 

I would fill in the corresponding information for 24a and 24b.

 

I would put None for 24 c

 

I would check 25 c and attach a statement to the whole package explaining that she didn't work in 2015, which is why she didn't file a tax return.

 

I think with all of that there won't be any questions from the NVC side.

 

Good luck!

Thank you for your insight! I agree with you for 23.a.

Do you think it’s necessary to check 25? The way I read this question it relates to those who can not file tax returns for any of the years... Would you say that is the wrong assumption?

And do I need to add photocopies for the tax returns other than last year? I only got a hold of 2017 for the Sponsor and Joint sponsor, but if necessary I can of course get the other years as well 

35 minutes ago, JFH said:

You have already answered 23b incorrectly. You said she didn't file in 2016 (for 2015  taxes). So the abswer is "no". Always give the truthful abswer, not the one you think they want to hear or the one you think will give you the best chance of approval. 

 

If she wasn't earning enough to file that year, that's fine. She just needs to attach a statement to that effect. It won't be a problem. They take her current income into consideration. 

Thank you! I've changed 23.b now. 

Do you believe I need to write something for 24.b and 24.c even if I just wish to send them a copy of the latest tax return (2017)? Or should I leave them blank, or even write N/A?

Hi guys!

My wife (the petitioner) did not file taxes for 2015, only 2016 and 2017. The reason for this is that she did not work in 2015. What can we do about that, and will it be a problem? I have heard that she MUST have filed taxes for the last three years. 

It may also be worth mentioning that we are using a joint sponsor.

Edit:

Do I need to fill out 24.b and c for the I 864 form? See the attached image for how we currently have done it.

On 4/28/2018 at 2:46 PM, NikLR said:

Yes you can bring or send the complete tax returns including all schedules.  I'm not sure what the equivilant of a US w2 is in Australia (in Canada it's a t4) but be sure to include that since she was probably claiming a foreign exclusion.  That's not an unofficial tax transcript, that is the tax return. 

 

On the ds-260 you needed to put a place you were going to live.  You can change that at interview or POE but since that is the plan I suggest doing it at interview.  Get a letter from her parents stating the plan she can live with them.  Get a letter from your brother stating your plan.  Be prepared for questions about why you don't plan on living together and prepare evidence on why this is a good route for you two.  It's beyond the norm obviously but if you have a plan in place that's the main thing.  

 

While domicile isn't as big of an issue for her as it would be for someone from Canada, dont take it too lightly.  Read your regional forum for greater depth on the subject. 

Thank you for bringing some clarity to this! We will explain our plan and stick to that.

I'm actually not from Australia, but from Norway. That is where she has worked for the last few years. Do I need to include any tax papers from here though? We are not relying on her income for the sponsorship. We have a joint sponsor for that.

On 4/28/2018 at 2:46 PM, NikLR said:

Yes you can bring or send the complete tax returns including all schedules.  I'm not sure what the equivilant of a US w2 is in Australia (in Canada it's a t4) but be sure to include that since she was probably claiming a foreign exclusion.  That's not an unofficial tax transcript, that is the tax return. 

 

On the ds-260 you needed to put a place you were going to live.  You can change that at interview or POE but since that is the plan I suggest doing it at interview.  Get a letter from her parents stating the plan she can live with them.  Get a letter from your brother stating your plan.  Be prepared for questions about why you don't plan on living together and prepare evidence on why this is a good route for you two.  It's beyond the norm obviously but if you have a plan in place that's the main thing.  

 

While domicile isn't as big of an issue for her as it would be for someone from Canada, dont take it too lightly.  Read your regional forum for greater depth on the subject. 

Thank you for bringing some clarity to this! 

7 hours ago, NikLR said:

As long as your wife has filed her tax returns with the IRS properly while living abroad she should be able to obtain her tax return transcripts online. 

 

So when you land in California what then?  Off to a hotel?  I'm trying to get a feel for your plans which is what a CO will do.  They want to know the USC has plans for when they return to the USA.  How they will support their spouse. 

I was not aware that you could attain this online. I will take a look at that. Problem is that the tax office she's been using just filed her taxes for 2016 and 2017. So it is not yet processed by the IRS. Understand? So we will either have to wait, which can take weeks/months, or just send in the 1040/W2's and write a note explaining that we will bring the actual transcript to the interview or mail it as a seperate package. Could that be a way of doing it? NVC doesn't state that it HAS to be a transcript. So I'm hoping this will be sufficient. We don't want to wait 1-2 months extra for the IRS. 

Our plan is that my wife will go to Florida for a few weeks to stay with her parents while I go crash with my brother (he currently lives in LA), and attend job interviews/apply for jobs in the LA area. But on second thought, I might not be able to tell the NVC about this plan? I don't know what the rules are for after we land in the US when it comes to "living" at a address that is registered with the NVC. But we just got to do what we got to do to get going I guess.

To clarify; What we have is not a "Unofficial Tax transcript", but the tax return papers for 2016 and 2017. She has not had an American employer since 2014, so I believe W2's are not possible to get a hold of. Can we use this instead of the official tax transcript, and if so, does it need to be accompanied by something else?

I also read somewhere that the petitioner need to have filed taxes for the last 3 years, if we are missing 2015, will that be problematic.

Sorry for all the questions, just really don't want to get this wrong...

49 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Do you have a place to live in the USA? 

Has your wife applied for any jobs?

These are the main domicile issues.  

Only the investment account shows any kind of domicile re-establishment. 

 

You will need more than one pay stub for evidence of ongoing income.   3-6 months worth. 

 

What is an unofficial transcript?

Wy wife's parents and family live in Florida. We are planning to move to California, so I don't see how we can show we have a place to live there? We don't have money to just rent a place without living there right now. Are there other ways? She could totally start applying for a few jobs. Would she just send copies of the applications then, or how can we use that as proof?

Great! We will get 3-6 months worth of pay stubs from our joint sponsor.

The problem with the Tax transcript is that she has not lived  and worked in America since 2014. I don't know much about the tax system in the USA, so her mom has sent 2016 and 2017 tax papers in to the IRS in order to get tax transcripts from these years. She said that we couldn't get tax transcripts from 2015 since my wife didn't have enough income/foreign income (she has lived in Norway since 2014). So the company they use to help them file taxes has sent us the signed tax transcripts that were sent to the IRS, but have not yet been processed by the IRS. Does that make sense?

9 hours ago, ms_bobdog said:

1) What you are intending to send in for 2017 is the tax return, and that has to be accompanied by W2(s).

2) I would go with more than one pay stub to show the stability of the income. I sent in 6 months.

3) I would wait for the police certificate from Australia than risk a checklist.

4) You need to check on this one, but you probably need to send in a copy of the original birth certificate on top of the translated one.

 

I can't comment on the domicile documents because I have no experience with that.

I called the NVC and they said the W2’s were not necessary if we send the tax transcripts. Is that wrong?

2. I’ll do more than one 

3. You are probably right!

4. My original birth certificate comes with all the fields in both Norwegian and English, so it’s translated originally 

thanks for the help!

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you could help me go through the documents to send in to NVC. I really appreciate the help from people in here so far! We owe you one!!

We are also planning to not wait for the most recent Tax Transcript (It's in processing), so I was thinking to just send the tax transcript papers she sent to the IRS, and bring the proper ones to the

interview. We are also waiting for a police certificate from Australia (I lived there for 12 months). Should I wait for that, or just write a note of what's missing and say that we are bringing it to the interview? Is that ok?  

Hers the documents we currently have:

From the applicant:

- Passport (BIO page)

- Translated birth certificate

- Marriage certificate

- Police certificate (from Norway, waiting for the one from Australia to come in the mail)

Affidavit's etc:

- Proof of US Status - Passport bio page from Petitioner and One joint sponsor

- One recent Pay stub from Joint sponsor (Do we need more than one?)

- Tax transcript 2017 (joint sponsor)

-  Unofficial Tax transcript 2017 (Petitioner)

Domicile:

We have to prove that my wife is planning to re-establish domicile in the US, I am planning to add the following papers:

- Statement of investment account with almost 30 000 $ in the USA

- American Credit card statements

- Bachelor Degree (graduation papers from America), planning to use this to get a job.

Antything else we need? Many thanks in advance!

Thank you everyone for helping!

Should I have them submit "True" copies with stamps from the IRS, or is it ok with a scanner copy from at home?

All the best

1 hour ago, NikLR said:

There is no I-184.  Recheck your forms.

I will assume you really mean the I-864.

There's plenty of threads on reestablishing domicile and intent to reestablish domicile.  Also a large section of the NVC process wiki is dedicated to it with reference to the I-864.  Have you looked at that wiki and the I-864 instructions? 

You are correct! I totally meant the I-864. 

I have read across the web, but couldn't find the wiki you were referencing to. Would you be able to link to it?

Also, my main question is, "will it be hard to prove that my wife has domicile in the US when she's been living abroad for the last 3.5 years"? 

• She has had plenty of trips/vacations to visit family in the US over the last 3 years.
• She has taken an American Bachelor degree online, which she just finished a month ago.
• She still has an American bank account, active credit cards and money saved up/invested.
• Her residence permit in Norway is temporary and needs to be renewed every 2 years. The current one is only valid til September this year. 

If I can prove what I just wrote above, plus getting joint sponsors that currently live, work and reside in the US. Should it normally be problematic to go through and get the visa accepted? Anything else we can use as proof?

Hi guys!

I was going to have my wife (the petitioner) fill out I-184 and her parents I-184 and I-184a. Now it has come to my attention that a sponsor must live in the USA. Is this correct? If so, how can my wife show proof of domicile when living and working abroad with me, here in Norway?

Thank you everyone for helping! My understanding is that my wife will fill out I-864. Her dad (which earns more), will fill out I-864 as well, and his wife will fill out I-864A.

The sponsors will then need to attach proof of marriage, tax transcripts and proof of domicile?

Is this correct? 

20 minutes ago, JFH said:

Do you mean the parents no longer live together? Are they legally married but living apart through choice (I.e separated)? Or do you mean they don't live with your wife because she lives with you in Norway?

 

The I-864A would only be appropriate for the mother if she is still living with the father. If they maintain separate households (for example separated or divorced) then they are not household members. 

They are married and are living together, but my wife no longer lives with them. That's what I mean