BettyAndMe

Just received the appointment notice for my wife's swearing in ceremony for US Citizenship -- Sept. 13 (Friday the 13th, hmmmm....), 10 AM.

This is the end of the road that we started down in Oct. of 2006 as we began to prepare our K-1 application in Lima Peru. It continued through the embassy interview 6 months later, entry to the US for the first time, civil marriage, the provisional green card, permanent green card, and now citizenship.

We could have applied for her citizenship 2 years ago but she didn't feel like she was ready with her English (she wasn't).

VisaJourney.com has been our main reference source throughout the entire process. What a site this is!

A surprisingly gratifying and emotional moment right now.

Hi, I want to do the DCF but I was looking into marrying in Peru and it says I need some documents and they need to be translated. How do I go about doing all this and how much will it all cost? It says I need a birth certificate, I think its an original but a new copy of it, and a single certificate. I have no clue how to get a single certificate. Please help.

Hi,

We had a civil wedding in the US shortly after Betty came to the US so as to move the premanent residency along. We then went to Peru for a religious wedding in a Catholic church. For that, I needed my Birth Certificate, Baptismal Certificate, Date of first Communion and Confirmation. Not being Catholic, I didn't have the latter two so I had to convert to Catholicism in Peru. It was a pretty straightforward process requiring a 2-night class then the baptism/communion ceremony. I also needed a member of the church to accompany me through the process and for that, I used one of my wife's relatives.

The priest that married us provided the official marriage certificate. After the wedding, that certificate (signed by us, our witnesses, and the priest, and notarized) was the official legal proof of a valid marriage in Peru.

Hope that this helps but please advise if I can provide more info.

Cheers,

You only need to have enough income to exceed 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. You can find these guidelines here: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/06poverty.shtml

Your $50K should be fine unless there are a lot of people in your household (don't forget to factor in your new wife and any kids that she might bring with her).

If there are other obligations, such as child support, that could play a role also.

Welcome to your newest hobby!!!!

Seriously, we expect to see you ask plenty of questions now so that you can be answering those same questions in a few months/years.

Welcome aboard! B)

I didn't know if I had a short form or a long form -- it looked pretty short to me. So I copied it anyway and also sent a copy of my passport just in case. Our NOA-2 came through faster than most CSC filers and with no RFE's.

YMMV

Read this embassy review from Brazil. It is relevant to your situation and may give you some ideas/insight.

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.p...nty=&page=1

This does not have to be a major problem but you are wise to anticipate it.

Good luck.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

It'll probably cost you $150 to change the return date -- not too bad -- I imagine the biggest problem is that you must commit to a return date before the interview.

Good luck!!!!

Congrats!!! Enjoy your life together!!!

I signed and dated mine.

Congrats! On to the next step!!!

BTW, If I were you, I would be sure to have those letters with me at the interview!

Hey Guys! I'm leaving for Peru in 3 days!!

I heard a rumor that the I-134 has to be printed as one page - front and back. Is this true? Did you guys bring just the 2 pages printed out or 1 page front and back?

Any last minute advice?

Is it cold inside the embassy? Should I bring a sweater?

Say a prayer for us! Interview is in exactly 1 week!

Good luck Naty. Betty and I will be thinking about you guys. Don't forget to let us know how it goes. The only advice that I can offer is to not pack any important documentation in your checked luggage. I often have trouble with my luggage in Lima.

OK, I do have one other piece of advice: Remember to take a deep breath and relax. It seems like everyone who has a genuine relationship and a prepared case gets through this OK. You guys will be fine.

Once again, best of luck.

Betty used a black pen for her G325a and we had no problems.

We just received our interview Date for Feb. 7.

I have 3 questions.

1. I will not be able to make the interview, since I am a Teacher, and can not get down to Colombia until March, during Spring Break. Is it going to hurt her in the interview? should I try to make emergency arrangemanets to be there?

2. Does her Daughter have to attend the interview? she is 3 years -old. Does she attend the Medical exams as well?

3. What Das papers does she need?

The answer to no. 1 and, to some extent, no. 2 is embassy specific. For example, in Peru it is "highly recommended" that the USC be present and, if so, the USC actively participates in the interview. In other embassies, the USC is not even allowed in the waiting room.

My suggestion is to use the timeline search to find other people who have had interviews in Bogota recently and pm them individually. Ask what they saw in terms of applicants with vs. without the USC present.

thanks

the only thing is, the chat log doesn't have dates and you can't install them

also, if i used to purchase calling cards online, can i print my credit card statements where it'll show the proof of purchase?

I save our conversation each time. Windows records the creation date in the file's properties. For the file name, I also use the date. For example, the file name from last night's conversation is "Jan 23, 2006". They're all in a separate folder and it is easy to manage that way.

I also set Messenger to timestamp every line (Tools > Options > Messages). I use this information to periodically update an Excel spreadsheet showing the date and time of each conversation, along with monthly total conversations, hours:minutes, and total transcript pages (in RTF). I hoping to use that summary as the initial item to show the CO before the transcripts themselves. We have >2,000 pages of transcripts now and I only plan to print out a few but have the rest on CD.

I'll be glad when this stuff is over so that I can get back to having a life again!

Congratulations TimsDaisy!

If you have the cancelled check, on the back is the case or receipt number. You can go ahead and create an account at uscis.gov where you can monitor your case's progress online. Don't do this unless you are ready to check that website many many times/day.

It is very difficult for a Peruvian to get a tourist visa to the US unless she/he has very significant hard assets in Peru (I think I once saw a statistic of about 90% rejection in Peru). Peruvians must show compelling (financial) reasons that will force them to return to Peru. If she has the assets to get the tourist visa, she could probably sponsor herself. If not, then the question is moot because she will not get the tourist visa.

The tourist visa is the obvious alternative to the time delay in the K-1 process. The USCIS and embassies all know this and can spot the fake tourism applicant a mile away. Going this route will only lead to a failed effort, more expense, more time, and will jeapordize your K-1 when it is eventually filed.

My suggestion is to drop the tourism visa idea.

Chris-n-Veronica remind me of another point. American Airlines includes the Lima departure tax in their airfares -- none of the others flying from Lima to the US do that (Continental, Delta, LAN, COPA). That's a $30.25 difference to remember if your decision is that close.

Hey Andrea,

Check the prices for both and buy whichever is cheaper. I am looking at Miami for Betty's POE and, if I buy it 1 week in advance, a round-trip on LAN is the cheapest. Just throw the return ticket away.

In case you're wondering, it doesn't matter to US Immigration if you don't have a return ticket.

Only Continental Airlines flies direct between Houston and Lima, right? You might check their website. Sometimes you can save a few bucks by buying direct through them. BTW, the Houston POE is my favorite of the 3 I use from Lima (MIA, HOU, ATL). Fastest and least confusing of the three.

Another point, Atlanta is only about 200 km further from NO as Houston, roughly an extra 3-hr drive. You might want to check prices to Atlanta as well. Delta has a direct flight between Lima and Atlanta every day.

If you're traveling by yourself and can risk a day or two in arriving, another option is to fly stand-by. I know that my last two flights from Lima to Houston/Atlanta have not been completely full and all stand-bys got seats. You save money but I don't know how much.

Betty, my Peruvian fiance, worked in Brazil & Argentina for about a year each. This is long enough that she will need police reports from each country prior to her interview. Anybody know how to go about getting those?

What I could really use is:

Address & phone number of the correct department/office to contact

Info on fees, if any.

Can this be done via mail?

Any special info that we should know (ex: do we need an International or External Relations signature/stamp like we need in Peru?)

Any help/insight is appreciated.

Thanks!

Me? I'm just testing my flags.

Congrats from Betty & me and best of luck on the rest of your journey!

You might have to call Manilla.

Yesterday, there was a great post from Sheriff Uling for you folks going through Manilla.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=672665

Hope this helps.

Congratulations to both of you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!