swe_jill

If I understand your suggestion correctly, yes, you can use the amount in savings as evidence of Assets to Supplemental Income. I have never seen the requirement that the asset be in USD, just that the amount be equivalent or greater to the requirement in USD. If the property is in her name, it's not even necessary that you sell the house, but you will probably need to have an appraisal done to verify the value of the asset: "You may include the net value of your home as an asset. The net value of the home is the appraised value of the home, minus the sum of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home. If you wish to include the net value of your home, then you must include documentation demonstrating that you own it, a recent appraisal by a licensed appraiser, and evidence of the amount of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home."

And as your wife is sponsoring you, her spouse, the asset requirement is three times the minimum federal poverty guideline, not five times: "Guidelines for your household size, however, if you are a U.S. citizen and you are sponsoring your spouse or minor child, the total value of your assets must only be equal to at least three times the difference"

All quotes from here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

Good luck

19 minutes ago, kris&me said:

you are living together in Sweden?

this is enough to prove the relationship

what about the resdency in US?

Good to know, thank you. Yes, we've been living together since 2009 (in Sweden and elsewhere). I submitted proof of domicile to the NVC, including tax, banking and voter info, plus proof of a secured residence once we return to the US. I'll send that info along with my husband to his interview, in case it's needed. Thanks again!

I was concerned about the domicile requirement as well, as I have lived outside of the US for 14 years. Your list of intended proof sounds similar to what I provided, which was sufficient in our case. 

I provided: 

1. Letter from my parents that we can live in one of their properties once we arrive in the US
2. Copies of my state income tax filings
3. Bank/credit card statements with US address
4. Copies of email queries on school registration
5. Copies of email queries on daycare registration
6. Moving company quotes
7. Voter registration confirmation
8. Copy of US drivers license

Hope this helps and good luck!

My husband has his IR-1 interview in Stockholm next month and I'm finalizing the paperwork that will be sent along with him. We have been married since 2011 and living together continuously since 2009. We have two kids together, own property, joint bank accounts. etc. Question: Will he need to provide further evidence of our relationship, for instance photos or correspondence? This is a line item on the generic "what to bring" checklist, listed separately from marriage certificate. At this stage of our lives our messages are mostly "what do you want for dinner" or "buy toilet paper" and 99.9% of our pictures are of the kids  Thanks in advance!

10 hours ago, JFH said:

The interview you saw in the film is known as a Stokes interview and is not routinely part of the immigrant visa process (remember in the film he was adjusting status in country and I do believe he had been out of status for some time - possibly going to be deported? - so the burden of proof was much harder for them, plus it was a film!). These are only performed when fraud is suspected or in more complex cases. Your case sounds very straightforward and your husband is from a low-fraud country. In all honesty, his "interview" is likely to be nothing more than a brief chat. See my timeline for a transcript of my interview in London last December. 

 

The visa expiration date will be 6 months from the date of his medical. Are you planning to travel to the USA in the next 6 months, even just for a visit? He can use them immigrant visa on that trip to "activate" it and then return to live permanently next year. Provided he does not stay out of the country more than six months he can maintain his permanent resident status. So he can visit in October, for example, visit again in March, and then move next summer. He only needs to visit for a day each time, theoretically.

That is helpful - thank you! Great as we won't have to arrange for childcare while we are both in Stockholm. 

Regarding entering the US/leaving shortly thereafter: is that a legitimately allowed action or just one that has been allowed through? I'm ultra cautious these days to do everything by the book. Even I as a born and raised US citizen just had a ridiculous experience entering the US for a holiday with my two American citizen kids. We will be back in the US for Christmas so could certainly activate the visa then and return in the spring, but I would be wary of doing something not technically allowed. And am I remembering correctly that an ID green card is sent to our US address a few weeks after initially using the visa? Would that be a problem if we were no longer in the US (we are using my parents' address, so they would be able to receive the card and forward it to us). 

Many thanks again for your quick and informative response. I will check out your timeline for more info

My husband (Irish) and I live in Sweden and have just received our appointment date for his IR-1 interview at the embassy in Stockholm. I was told that only he is to attend the interview. I guess I have been influenced by movies like Green Card where they check our answers against each other (haha), so was surprised that only he is to attend what we thought was the one and only interview. Should be expect a second interview for me alone or one where we are both to attend? Thanks for help with this very basic question

Also second question: we had planned to move back to the US this summer, but after the delay processing at the NVC (applied January, approved July 2017) we had to delay our plans as the visa wouldn't be approved in time. My husband committed to working another year and we've enrolled our kids in another year of school and now plan to move summer 2018. Given that the IR-1 visa has to be activated within six months, we need to delay the interview until January 2018. Does anyone have experience delaying an interview for that length of time? The embassy staff in Stockholm aren't always helpful, so I thought I was start here. Thanks in advance. 

57 minutes ago, JBMG said:

 

Sorry to hear about your checklist.   Can you share your experience by competing this Checklist Survey . 

 

To see all the results, click on the following:

 

Checklist Responses

 

Thank you for your time in filling out the survey, with your help, this will hopefully help others who are about to submit their file to the NVC. And possibly help the NVC improve their instructions to reduce the amount of cases receiving a checklist. 

 

Thank you, 

 

JBMG

 

Done and done

 

First Scan Date: January 30, 2017

Second Scan Date: May 15, 2017

Embassy: Stockholm (no consular processing though)

Expected CC: end July 2017

In April received a notice requesting proof of my Irish husband's right to reside in Sweden. So basically they want proof that the EU exists  

Does anyone know/have experience with where to send Dutch VOG (police certificates)? 

In January we sent our packet of civil and financial documents to the NVC (post submitting the DS-260 online/with our affidavit of support). I included police certificates for all of the countries where my husband has lived for over one year (three certs total). Last weekend we received a letter from the NVC directing us to this website which outlines how to order a Dutch VOG. There was no explanation as to what was wrong with the VOG we submitted or even if it was properly received. I've since phoned the NVC four times and have received three different answers: that the VOG wasn't received; that no action is required/the task was marked as resolved; and (twice) that I have to order a new VOG and have it sent directly to the embassy where we will interview. I contacted the embassy directly to confirm they need the VOG directly and they won't answer my question.

This has already delayed our process by an additional 11 weeks and I'm frustrated at the lack of a confident, knowledgeable response from the NVC/State dept.  Does anyone have experience with this? Haaaallllppp!!

On 13 April 2017 at 9:13 AM, Thesmiths2016 said:

If you call when they first open (7am new hampshire time) wait time is minimal, perhaps 5 minutes.  If you call in the evening its more like 30 minutes.  I call from overseas too and I use Skype, 2cents a minute in my currency

I phoned today and was told we will receive a request for more information. Because my husband is Irish and we live in Sweden, they need to see proof that he is living in Sweden legally. I'm a bit bewildered and as gently as possible pushed on the telephone, because as an EU citizen he has the right to residence anywhere in the EU. Regardless, we are up against a wall and will supply whatever information they need (apart from the one she requested: his visa to be in Sweden WHICH DOESN'T EXIST). The worst part is we are back at the bottom of the 11 week queue. I'm frustrated that we missed this...I don't remember ever seeing this requirement laid out. 

1 hour ago, R and KJ said:

 

Hi.. please try to call later when they open,  when i heard of that news, 2-3 days my case was completed  i wish you best of luck  i still call, even if they said to call back after this dya, i still ask for an update

 

 

You may try to call later, if it's under review normally it gets finish in less than a week . I hope it's now case completed  good luck 

We are traveling for Easter this week, so calling internationally and waiting on hold would be quite expensive. I'm trying to push it out of my mind (obviously unsuccessfully). I will have to wait until next week to phone if we haven't heard a response by then. Best of luck to all

If it's any consolation, I'm still waiting as well TheSmiths2016. Scan date 1/30. I last phoned maybe ten days ago and was told it was under review. We are a straightforward case so I'm not terribly worried, but this waiting game is maddening. Hoping for the best for us all! 

You are welcome! Feel free to message with any questions. Best of luck to you

11 minutes ago, Cat Lee said:

Wow so so sweet of you explaining for me with detailed information! 

 

So... it has English sentences at the bottom, means you didn't need additional English translation for the Dutch part?

So if I get you correctly, you sent an email (digitally) with all the attachment. Then, they sent the certificate by post (not digitally)?

 

 

That's right, I didn't provide a Dutch - English translation because the summary at the bottom was provided in English. 

No, the only thing I did online was pay the fee. I sent in the application and other material in the mail, and yes, received the certificate back by mail.

2 hours ago, Cat Lee said:

Thanks for your help! Such useful information:))

I have questions if you don't mind answering:

1. Did you print it out, filled in, and made PDF?

2. Did you receive the certificate it by email? Was it in Dutch?

(Btw, Japanese police certificate is confidential and must not be opened, I don't know about Dutch version)

I assume it will take few months for me to receive..

Yes, we paid the fee online, filled in the form (pdf) online, then mailed the printed form, confirmation page from our online payment and the excerpt of the US requirement to have the certificate. We posted all of that to the Netherlands and received the form back in the post. 

I've attached the certificate we received here, plus a zoom in of the English text at the bottom. It's only one page, single sided. I opened all of the police certs we received as we had to send in photocopies. I never considered that maybe I shouldn't have done that

I don't remember seeing a guideline on this, but I submitted one year of bank statements to show we had the financial assets (we needed to rely on assets as I've been on maternity leave).

I just checked the VOG we submitted. We completed the following sections: 

1.1 (husband's info)

he signed 1.2

2.2 we checked "other purpose" and wrote "Green Card (immigrant visa IR-1) application to the USA"

2.3 checked "no"

2.5 checked "no"

I also enclosed a letter and a print out of the US Dept of State requirement of a police certificate (as reason for the request). The letter stated the following:

**********

24 October 2016

Ministerie van Veiligheid en Justitie Dienst Justis
Postbus 20300
2500 EH Den Haag
The Netherlands

To Whom it May Concern:

Please see the enclosed Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag (VOG) application. I resided in the Netherlands from 1999 – 2003, 2005 and again from 2009 – 2011. My BSN at that time was: XXXXXXXXX.

I have initiated the visa application process for relocating to the USA (immigrant visa IR-1), and a police certificate is required from each country where I resided for over one year. I have enclosed here an excerpt from the US State Department website indicating this requirement.

I have made payment to COVOG as directed via your website. A copy of the transfer is included here. I have also enclosed a photocopy of my Irish passport for identification.

If any additional information is required, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
XXXXXXXX

We had to apply for a VOG for my husband (lived in NL for 3+ years). I remember the VOG application being a bit overwhelming given it's length, but most of it can be skipped (not relevant for immigration purposes). There is an English application available here: https://www.justis.nl/binaries/Aanvraagformulier VOG NP (English) - 2.2_tcm34-84796.pdf

As mentioned above, the one page document (in Dutch) has a box at the bottom which states in English something to the effect of "person has no criminal record blah blah blah showed good conduct in the Netherlands". From application to receipt of the form I think it took around five weeks (we are in Sweden though, so a shorter post time). 

This requirement frustrated me given the uncertainty on visa processing times. Why would I pursue a job offer, enroll my kids in school or secure housing when I don't know if my husband/father of our kids can join us? Anyway, that's my personal gripe.

We submitted records that I had maintained my American footing to a degree, which included continued voter registration, filing of state taxes, and maintenance of US bank and credit card accounts. I also submitted emails that I sent last year inquiring about school and daycare enrollment processes, plus email correspondence with shipping companies for quotes. I also enclosed a letter from my father stating that we could reside in a family property upon our arrival. We are still awaiting a response from our DS-260, but I haven't heard that this information wasn't sufficient. 

We started the process for my husband's IR-1 March 2016. Received approval for our i-130 in August 2016 (so approximately 5 months). We delayed submitting the AOS and DS-260 until January 2017 and are still waiting for our CC now (so another say 3 months). After this we wait for our appointment letter from the embassy in Stockholm, have to complete the medical and interview, then tack on a few weeks for my husband's passport to be returned by the embassy. All in I would estimate 10 - 12 months if you went through the process without breaks. Ours is a pretty straightforward case though (famous last words)...

There is a thread for people with January 2017 scan dates and the resulting (or still pending) case closes:

IRS Tax Transcripts can be ordered online or via post direct from the IRS: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript It is an overview of your reported income and taxes paid, and I think they are available for the three previous years. 

Social Security Earnings Statements are available from the Social Security Administration: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html. 

It's easiest to do these requests online, but you will need to create accounts with your SSN, possible US cell phone, other info...

57 minutes ago, R and KJ said:

Welcome to this thread  yes it states at the letter to wait 2-4 weeks evenin their website, from 2-4 weeks it moved to 6 weeks,then 6-8, then now 11 weeks. 

Please hang on, we will have our cases completed, hopefully very very soon. I wish you all the best  

Thank you! We were hoping to move back to the US this summer, but I'm not sure that the timing will work out now. We will be completing our interview at the embassy in Stockholm and I don't know how quickly we can expect an interview. 

All the best to you too

Hi all, brand new here! We submitted our info to NVC for my Irish husband's IR-1 visa, scan date January 30. Our original letter stated a review time of 2-4 weeks, so this wait has been a surprise. I've phoned a few times and was told last week to wait until tomorrow (March 31) and to call then if we haven't received a response.