amaraimee

10 minutes ago, desireelb14 said:

I had my interview in June and I never had any problems. I had also asked this question and I was told the USCIS does their own background check anyway so it's not necessary. 

Hmm. Well that’s good then! 

1 hour ago, desireelb14 said:

You don't need a certificate for The USA. I lived there for 2 and a half years and I only submitted my South African police clearance. 

I’ve been told otherwise. It’s any place you’ve resided longer than 6 months. Legal residency

or not.

2 hours ago, Luckycuds said:

Is that considered your states medicaid? If it’s medicaid then it is a state/gov assisted benefit. 

It is not. Medicaid is completely free, there is a premium required for Minnesota Care. Medical assistance is Medicaid which he was not applying/approved for

This is a little off topic, but as someone who is waiting for their green card, will Minnesota Care effect your elegibility for one? My husband got approved for Minnesota Care (different than Medical Assistance). 

Hello.

my husband is currently waiting for his green card, we’re about 4 months in. We applied for health insurance through Mn Sure, they have public and private assistance programs. He was approved for MinnesotaCare. We have asked many people but haven’t gotten a straight answer. Is Minnesota care a state benefit that is going to affect his green card eligibility? I have money to pay for regular health insurance for him, but am curious as to if MinnesotaCare is ok for him to be enrolled in before we decline the coverage. 

Please only reply if you have helpful knowledge on this topic.

thank you

Hello Everyone!

My husbands AOS, EAD & AP we’re received on May 2, we received the harcopies of NOA1 today!

its nice to meet all of you

Hello everybody!
My husband and I are applying to adjust his status and while filling out his I-485 form we came across something that we didn't know how to answer.

It is in Part 8 and Question 17-18. 

Question 17 asks, "Have you EVER violated the terms or conditions of your nonimmigrant status?" and

Question 18 asks, "Are you presently, or have you EVER been in removal, exclusion, rescission or deportation proceedings?"

He has not been to the USA before entering on the K-1 Visa in April, and he has not violated the terms or conditions of his status here, but my question is does this include ONLY the USA or other countries, too?
He entered Ireland on a tourist visa and ended up staying longer than planned, he applied for a student visa but was denied. He was given orders that since his visa was denied, he was to leave Ireland. He left and wrote to them letting them know he was gone. They told him thank you for following orders and that if he needs to enter Ireland again, that he just needs to apply for the appropriate visa and there won't be a problem.

We're just curious as to if this question pertains to strictly the USA or any country in general.

Thank you in advance!

On 4/7/2018 at 12:52 AM, Wouter Erwee said:

Hi Guys,

 

Does it make a difference which airport you use to enter the states?  I was initially planning Johannesburg - Dubai - Seattle but the flights have become really expensive, so I can go Johannesburg - Dubai - Los Angeles - Seattle and it's much cheaper.

Or is there a rule that says I have to enter in the state that you are getting married in?

 

Thanks 

Wouter

No, it does not matter. We flew Johannesburg to Qatar to Chicago to Minneapolis. Our POE was Chicago and then we flew through to MSP where we’re living.

6 hours ago, Wouter Erwee said:

Hi There,

 

How many days from APPROVAL at the consulate to visa in hand?

 

Thanks 

Wouter

Hello! 9 days total. Approval 3/20, visa in hand 3/29

Depending on the country, you usually have to schedule the interview first and then pay the fee. I wouldn’t worry about it until you get the go ahead from the consulate to schedule your interview.

19 hours ago, LuFlolady said:

gotcha! ok thank you for sharing Congrats again and ENJOY!

Thank you!!!

2 hours ago, LuFlolady said:

wow! congrats whats in the DHL packet? CONGRATS on smooth POE

Thank you!! It was so smooth it didn’t feel real haha I’m not sure, when we went to pickup his passport, they only took the passport out and resealed everything else in an envelope- we aren’t allowed to open it.

My fiancé is now in the USA! Poe was Chicago yesterday. The point of entry was the easiest thing ever. He only had to hand over his passport with visa, packet from DHL and the brown packet from his medical (chest X-rays). Wow!!! 

40 minutes ago, GazLoestie1994 said:

At the interview - were you required to present the email that the Joburg Consulate sent you (the packet 3 email instructing you to schedule the appointment etc)? Or did they not ask for that?

No, we weren’t! I think we did at the medical, but the interview itself no

22 minutes ago, LuFlolady said:

WOW! this gave me chills Congrats and safe Journey home... How long did it take from approval interview to visa being sent to DHL Sandton? Did you have to pay DHL for the pick up of the visa?  

Thank you!! We were approved on March 20, so 9 days total from interview to visa in hand (minus one day for DHL to receive it)! That's including a weekend and a public holiday, so 6 business days total but they sent it yesterday. Not too bad, we were very worried since we already had our tickets booked and both Friday and Monday are public holidays. We got lucky! We did not have to pay! I think you only have to pay if DHL is shipping it somewhere. We chose the pickup option when we filled out his DS-160 online

2 hours ago, Vintage girl said:

Oh well, that is fantastic news! New beginning starting now... good luck home. Have a safe flight.

Thank you very much!! Good luck to everybody 😁

Quick update: my fiancé’s visa was sent to DHL Sandton yesterday afternoon and today we went to DHL to inquire and it was there!!! We’re going home together Saturday

On 3/22/2018 at 7:55 AM, Vintage girl said:

Hi Everyone

 

Thank you so much for all this information and tips etc.

I have a few questions though:

 

1. When it comes to proof of relationship - Did they look at photos, messages send, Skype calls, emails etc? My Fiance and I communicate quite a bit so the print out of communication will be a hell lot of paper. How to you balance it? We do not want to overwhelm the person who will be in charge of the interview. Can I print out proof of vacation together with the photos we took? And I suppose photos of our engagement (the ring) etc will help too.

 

2. They state all documents should be original's but you have to make copies too , is this true? So I guess wet signatures will be efficient to the interview. 

 

3. When do I have to apply for the Police Clearance. My INS Lawyer told me to wait. I am just worried that the police clearance will take up more time but I guess that there will be time between the USCIS and NVC to apply.

 

4. Then I have a serious question that really bothers and stress me out. We applied for a Visa B1/B2 last year October and November (My fiance wanted me to come visit him and his daughter in Florida).  but Both interviews were unsuccessful. Reason "not enough proof of country ties". Will this rejections influence my interview for the K1? I am so scared after that two disappointments. I really had two bad experiences last year and that feeling still stuck in my stomach. We are serious about each other and fell madly in love. I just not want anything to ruin our chance to be happy.

 

5. Did you guys wait for the NOA2 before you make any plans like packing your stuff and sorting it out. Making a to do list for when leaving SA? I am not sure how to go about. We decide to wait for the Notice before we get excited and all about me moving.

 

Saturday we will be on day 100 since the NOA1. Counting the days. I wish that the USCIS will soon get to work on October and November so that it can be our turn in December. Still a lot of things to arrange and plan before I can get my butt on the plane. I really need positive thoughts and vibes for this interview still to come.

 

I would appreciate any help or positive vibes to inspire me or motivate me to stay strong.

 

Kind Regards

 

Zel

 

1. I'm not sure if they thoroughly looked through the photos, but for proof of relationship we had; 15 physical printed photos (with names of people, location and date written on the back), skype logs (I used a screen copy tool to just copy the lines of our call log that were a significant amount of time, to show how much we communicated each day), facebook/instagram posts from both of us, text messages sent back and forth (that discussed our future plans for homes, traveling, wedding, kids, etc.), the pinterest account we both use to plan our wedding, e-mails of him helping with my homwork, and roughly 15 pages of skype screenshots we've both taken. They didn't ask us any questions specifically about the proofs, but it seemed to be sufficient. The way I've seen the entire process was I'd rather have too much than too little.

2. Yes, all documents need to be original as well as a copy. Birth certificates, police certificates, etc. Those are the official documents they ask for followed by a copy. I made multiple copies of everything just to be safe. DO NOT FORGET YOUR AFFADAVIT OF SUPPORT AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS. The woman who interviewed my fiance told us we were the first ones today who had brought it. It is a crucial part of your visa.

3. I would apply for the police certificate ASAP. My fiance applied right when we decided to do the process. They can take up to 1 month (depending where you're getting it from). He got his Ireland certificate when he left and then his mauritian one about 2 months before leaving to go to South Africa for his interview.

4. If you have enough proof that your relationship is legit, you shouldn't have a hard time getting the K-1 visa. It is a "non immigrant" visa, but most peoples intention is to marry and adjust their status to stay, USCIS understands this.

5. I started preparing for him to come right when we sent in the I-129F, and he did too. I brought a whole suitcase full of his stuff home with me when I visited him last. I would start preparing ASAP because once you get the NOA2, everything else goes very fast. I was quite surprised by how little time we had to gather all of the documents from NOA2 to Interview. Especially print out (multiple) lists of things you need to include in your paperwork.

You got this! It is not a FUN process, but it is well WORTH it. We are now waiting for his visa, which should be here any day to pick up, but looking back, every day spent waiting and stressing was so worthwhile! You will be with your love soon! Hang tight and stay positive. We're all in this together

Hello everybody! I have a quick question for those who have been approved and are waiting for their passport or have already gotten it;

Yesterday, our CEAC case status was "Administrative Processing", I was told for some this is quick and some it is not so much. Well, today I checked and it now says "Issued" With the message "Your visa is in final processing. If you have not received it in more than 10 working days, please see the webpage for contact information of the embassy or consulate where you submitted your application. 

On 3/24/2018 at 2:45 AM, Ebunoluwa said:

The panel physician should have given you a copy but way too many don't. (It is not the civil surgeon by the way, the CS are doctors here
in the US, overseas they are panel physicians.)

When you don't have a copy you do nothing because the original was taken at POE and will met up with your AOS file.
If it got lost or if it was marked incomplete then they will RFE you. 
Some rookie IO's will also wrongly RFE not catching the fact that K1's don't do another medical.

So sit tight and do nothing and read the pinned post in the AOS forum (near the top).

Thank you! That's my plan. We'll just send in everything else with our packet and hope that all is well on the medical/vaccine side. If not, we get an RFE, do the vaccines and all is well, right?

Hello Everybody!
My fiance and I will be entering the US soon (him on his k-1), and then marrying and applying to adjust his status. We have a friend who is from the same country as him who is currently applying to adjust her status, but she is running into trouble because she was not given a DS-3025 form at her medical. We believe that we will have this same problem.

The civil surgeon told my fiance he did not need any vaccines, so he just did the medical exam and x-ray. We were not given anything from the medical aside from the sealed envelope that is handed over at the POE. When did everybody get their DS-3025 and/or DS-2053 forms? I'm so confused, any help would be great!

Hello Everybody!
My fiance and I will be entering the US soon (him on his k-1), and then marrying and applying to adjust his status. We have a friend who is from the same country as him who is currently applying to adjust her status, but she is running into trouble because she was not given a DS-3025 form at her medical. We believe that we will have this same problem.

The civil surgeon told my fiance he did not need any vaccines, so he just did the medical exam and x-ray. We were not given anything from the medical aside from the sealed envelope that is handed over at the POE. When did everybody get their DS-3025 and/or DS-2053 forms? I'm so confused, any help would be great!

3 minutes ago, LuFlolady said:

Can you tell me if on your I-134 was it a wet signature or a copy because my fiance keeps saying i should scan the document to him..but I keep saying no it has to be a wet signature....

My copy of the I-134 was a wet signature, but that was because I personally filled it out myself and brought it with me to my fiances interview. Depending on when your actual interview is, maybe you could send the documents to him through the mail.

5 minutes ago, Vintage girl said:

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell me how long did you guys wait for the NOA2 and what was the waiting period between NVC and Embassy? Was the interview dates available easy? 

You can look at my timeline to find out how long we waited from submitting our petition to scheduling our interview! When scheduling the interview, we were only given the earliest date available. I believe you can change it later on, I'm not quite sure.

@Amar & Aimee