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Mike_&_Rossy

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Posts posted by Mike_&_Rossy

    children 2-14 yrs must take medical in juarez mexico 4 days prior to interview

    in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

    Posted

    We have our interview scheduled the 13th. We also luckily found out about the 4 day before thing with children ahead of time. Who would have thought. I have not seen this info officially anywhere. We just happened to be asking about the cost for children (only $55 usd)

    At least mom can get her exam at the same time as the kids. They dont all have to wait in the line at the medical clinic twice.

    Mike

    Interview date in Ciudad Juarez

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    I called the 900 number at CDJ this morning. I asked if it was true about the 12 month wait for CR-1 visas. Dude on the phone says yes. If I send in my final docs today to NVC I'll get my interview in Sep 2008 :-/

    So I say that rumor says that K-3 visa interview wait is only a month. I should go that way right? He says no. K-3 appointments are currently running 9-12 months too.

    I dont like the CDJ embassy much right now. Not at all.

    Mike

    Interview date in Ciudad Juarez

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Yes I know this now :-P

    Can anyone update the FAQs and make this 11 month difference in processing times for Mexico more visible? I had no idea. The money was not a problem and everyone was saying they were running about the same time so why bother. This could save some heartache in the future. My life is already upsidedown for this, it could save some other couples from this mess.

    Mike

    Interview date in Ciudad Juarez

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted · Edited by Mike_&_Rossy

    Once the Consulate received our K3 it was only a month to have the interview. The whole process from filing our first documents with USCIS to interview was 6 months for the K3. I called the consulate when they first received our papers from the NVC and they told me that K visas were usually about 1 month for the interview when they receive from NVC but CR1 take much longer to get the interview, up to a year.

    Does anyone have an idea why that would be?

    I keep seeing recomendations here to just go with a 1-130 CR-1 Visa, so much better and all. Dont bother doubling down with the I-129 and extra money for it. Approval times are about the same. But this 1 year vs 1 month wait for an appointment is kind of a big deal, no?

    I am sending in my 864 and her 3032 this week to NVC and then it gets sent on to the embassy. I thought I was done. Silly me :-P

    Seems like I could get an I-129 approved in a couple months and an appointment in a month after that? Long before waiting my year for a CR-1 interview?

    Mike

    what if AOS fee bill got lost in the mail?

    in National Visa Center (Dept of State)

    Posted

    I am doing an I-130 for my wife and two sons. About a week and a half after the fee bills were mailed I got one son's fee bill. The next day I got the one for my wife. Next day nothing. After a week of not getting the third fee bill I called the NVC and waited for a live person.

    The guy was nice enough and told me to allow two to four weeks for it to arrive. I told him nicely that the post office really does not take that long any more (I do a lot of mail order) and something was wrong. He reads me the standard line again about 2-4 weeks before calling it lost.

    I politely kept him on the phone ligthly whining and being persistant about something being wrong still. He is just stringing me along while kind of numbly looking at my case on the computer. Suddenly he asks me why dont I ask the lawyer what's up instead of bugging him. I dont have a lawyer I say. He is yes you do and I am no I dont.

    Turns out that NVC somehow attached some random lawyers name to one of my son's paperwork. NVC dude was nice enough to give me enough info to be able to locate the law firm on google. He told me to send an e-mail to nvcinquiry@state.gv to remove the lawyer's name.

    I contacted the lawyer and sure enough they had a strange AOS fee bill they were not sure what to do with. They are mailing it to me now. In the meantime I made a copy of the brother's fee bill and the Choice Of Agent form incase this dont show up. I used the bar code generator from Jame's Shortcuts and a little Photoshop and it looks decent. I will give the real one till Tuesday to show up and if not I'll send in the home made one with mom's and his brother's.

    Bottom line, yes call NVC, and if you get the standard 2-4 weeks line ask them to check where it got mailed to :-)

    Mike W

    Mexico Interview Locations?

    in Mexico, Latin & South America

    Posted

    A few people and one lawyer whom I did not like at all are telling me that for Mexico, that Ciudad Juárez is the only place that is authorized to do visa interviews.

    My wife is in Tijuana and I am in Los Angeles about 2 hours north. We have a nice embassy in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez is a scary place, no? (yeah, Tijuana is such a beautiful and safe Garden of Eden too hahaha ) Others have told me that is BS and the Tijuana embassy will do the interview. Like they taught me on Sessame Street... Tijuana is "near", Ciudad Juárez is "far".

    Question: Are we going to need to get our butts all the way to Ciudad Juárez for the interview when the time comes? Or will it be in Tijuana?

    Mike

    Spouses Children Questions

    in K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    OK, we were married last month in Mexico, here is what I am getting ready to send in now:

    Cover Letter

    Form I-130

    USCIS Filing Fee of $190 made out to: USCIS, stapled to the front in the middle of the I-130 Form

    A Form G-325 for myself

    A Form G-325 for my Wife

    USCIS color photographs for myself, my full name written on the back. Placed in a plastic bag and the bag labeled "Photo of ". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind my G-325A.

    USCIS color photographs for my wife, her full name written on the back. Placed in a plastic bag and the bag labeled "Photo of ". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind her G-325A.

    A Copy of our Marriage Certificate front and back and an original notarized translation into English

    A copy of my Birth Certificate front and back

    Copy of my wife's Birth Certificate front and back and an original notarized translation into English

    Copy of my Complete Final Divorce Decree from my Previous Marriage (none for her, she was never married)

    I will make 2 copies of everything to keep myself.

    Clip everything together with a binder clip.

    I am in Californai so I send it tracable to:

    California Service Center

    24000 Avila Road, 2nd Floor, Room 2302

    Attn: P.O. Box 10130

    Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

    All the guides are a bit lacking on exactly what and how to deal with importing kids aquired by marriage. My question is... She has two kids (8 year old twins)

    Do I send in I-130s for each one with this package?

    Do they get treated as their own package with separate checks and photos and all? Or just fill out what and clip it together with the above?

    Do I send in G-325s for each one with this package?

    Thanks guys!

    Mike

    Mexico Cell Phone # change

    in Mexico, Latin & South America

    Posted

    I have the Verizon North America Choice plan. I have one phone here in LA and my wife has the other family plan phone in Tijuana. The phone went screwey on Saturday while they "reset the towers" and was back to normal on Sunday. I drove to the border to pick up the American signal to call 611 to get the story. Verizon says they will honor the contract for it's duration and I wont be charged the 14 cents per minute when I call into Mexico. I am concerned that people calling me while I am in Mexico on the weekends will get charged more. I'll have to see how it goes.

    With the North America Choice plan I can use my phone here in the US to call anywhere into Mexico with my included minutes. While in Mexico in certain cities (most all border areas, big central cities, not Sinaloa when visiting my inlaws) I can use my phone like normal, no extra charge.

    The down side is that night and weekend minutes are limited to 1,000 minutes and the "In" minutes are limited to 1,000 minutes. With my 4,000 minute plan I am limited to 6,000 minutes total. Sounds like a lot but they go fast with a long distance relationship and work calls too. When calling from my cell phone to her's it basically eats the minutes double. But for roughly $250 a month I beats calling cards :-)

    Mike

    Question About Immigrant Children

    in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    OK, I am in the same boat here. My wife (as of Oct 21 this Saturday :-) has 8 year old twin boys. We'll be moving the whole family here at the same time. Until then at least I can see everyone every weekend with a 2-3 hour drive. I'd complain but I see all you guys waiting it out thousands of miles away. I cant imagine how much that sucks. So I'll just sit here and be thankful with my LA-Tijuana commute mmkay.

    Aussiewench told me this a while ago:

    Mike

    You may also want to consider that there is approx a 1 year wait for CR-1 interviews in Mexico, so having the I-130 approved and processed through NVC for the CR-1 may not be what you both want.

    How does this all tie in? Sinice I am K3/K4 I wont be worrying about a CR-1?

    File I-130s for everyone at the same time?

    Does anyone have any insight to parental permissions required? The father is not in the picture and should be cooperative.

    Do people tend to have more problems with the US immigration vs the country the kids are leaving as far as permissions and paperwork?

    Mike

    (still reading and learning and memorizing acronyms)

    Lawyer Up Or No?

    in K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Mike

    You may also want to consider that there is approx a 1 year wait for CR-1 interviews in Mexico, so having the I-130 approved and processed through NVC for the CR-1 may not be what you both want.

    EEeekk. But the CR-1 is an automatic thing included with a I-130 or something?

    I gotta do a lot more reading still. I need to leard more on what is good and what is bad and how to steer things in the correct direction if possible then. Or is it all just dumb luck or fate and we have no control?

    Mike W

    I used a lawyer but it's too early to say if it's made a difference or not. However, she already saved me from using the old I-129F form, and I can ask her email questions whenever i want. She only charges $465 for K-1 and $495 for K-3, so if she saves even one small delay it's well worth it.

    If anyone is interested:

    http://www.4thelegalgroup.com/

    And no, I don't get a referal fee. :(

    Yeah, that kind of pricing and service sounds perfectly reasonable. $500ish isnt a bank breaker for a little peace of mind and help when you really need it. Thanks!

    Mike

    Lawyer Up Or No?

    in K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Thanks guys, thanks for the tips. This site has demistified things quite a bit for me.

    I am leaning towards doing it my self but looking for a lawyer to check the packet that I assemble for mistakes and such. Paying someone hundreds of dollars an hour to fill out info on a form I can download my self seems a little silly. And then if I run into problems or need some quick advice I'll have someone to go to that is familiar with things. I have time to interview a few and find one with the right experience and attitude for working with me.

    Mike

    Lawyer Up Or No?

    in K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Hi All! New guy here. I love all the info and stories.

    Rossy and I are getting married in October in Rosarito just south of the border and Tijuana. I live in Los Angeles about 2 hours north and have been doing the commute weekly and more for over a year. I almost cried when I found out how long it takes to get permission to bring her home. In my Happy World it was going to take one or two months.

    So, I am looking at a K-3 (and K-4 for 8 yr old twins,not mine) application and now I see that the CR1 thingy is neck and neck with it and there is some overlap regardless. What does a guy do with that?

    Also, you seem like a DIY group. Do I really need to spend money on an immigration attorney? Or is it a matter of just being able to fill out complicated forms? Is an attorney going to do much for me? How are you guys doing it? If I read here till my eyeballs bleed can I find enough info to do it my self? Or is it that to be sure just pay one to keep after things and double check everything that gets turned in?

    This newbie thing is strange for me. I am a car guy and usually I am the expert on the message board answering all the questions. Here I am just another FNG missing all the FAQs and not using the search button :-P Speaking of FAQs... is there a page somewhere with all the abbreviations and shorthand?

    Mike

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