lenasophia

Hi everyone! Just wanted to say hi, we are submitting our AOS etc. next week. This thread has already helped us a bunch with being sure to include everything. Good luck and talk soon!

2 hours ago, Javier Mera said:

First congrats on the interview going well! Glad that our peeps are being approved in Buenos Aires :D. 

 

So I just checked through the ceac tracker again and it says Ready, although the DHL tracker never worked for me. Does this mean that the embassy now has our case and we should get a notification from them? I'm still going to email them asking about this because it sounds like we are good to start getting the paperwork for the P3 packet.

Yup, they emailed us within a week or so!

On 2/20/2019 at 1:12 PM, Javier Mera said:

Our case is in transit to the embassy in Buenos Aires and I've received the email from NVC with the official letter. Can my fiancée now start gathering all the p3 requirements or do we need to wait for our case to say Ready instead of In Transit? Also at what point do we start filling out the DS-160?

 

thanks

These docs are online on the US Argentina embassy website if you want to get ahead of it

Hi everyone! We had our interview yesterday and it was a slightly stressful process and a whirlwind 36 hours, but now I can officially say we are approved. 

As far as getting in and going through, it was extremely smooth, simple, and efficient. Waiting times weren't too bad -- we were the first couple and waited about 30 minutes for our official interview.

The interview was a bit tough, but standard. I was not allowed to stay in the room. The guy was very stoic, but professional. He asked my fiance how we met, when and where, how he proposed, where he bought my engagement ring at, who of my family lives in Kentucky, what I do, what my fiance does, what work he wants to do in the USA. 

There was a slight issue with paperwork -- even though we have a co-sponsor for the affidavit, they wanted me to fill out the i-134f form and supporting documents, as well. It's a formality, but they couldn't complete the process without it, and we left the embassy neither rejected nor approved. 

We felt... disappointed? scared? confused? angry? worried? But all-in-all, they told us that we would be approved as soon as we turned in that document. 

They were extremely communicative with us and very clear that we can simply submit the forms ASAP via email. So we went home and did just that about 3 hours later, and finally today at about 2:30pm they told us they left his passport with the visa in it at the pick-up location we agreed on. He can pick it up tomorrow.

I will say that the embassy staff was incredibly responsive and helpful to us. They replied to all emails, phone calls, everything, and helped make it significantly less stressful than it might've been otherwise. 

We checked and double checked and triple checked all of our documents to prevent this! But I never knew that even with a co-sponsor, the petitioner needs to submit their financial documents, as well. I hope this post can help prevent others from going through the unnecessary anxiety that we did.

We are extremely happy and excited and making plans to get there. Good luck to everyone else!!!

On 2/20/2019 at 1:08 PM, M and Ed said:

Hey everybody! Just letting you guys know that we had our interview this morning and it went great.

The process was smooth and simple. Waiting times weren't half bad, pretty straight forward.

My fiancee was there with me but he wasn't allowed in the actual interview. The consul invited him in just to say hi and then asked him to leave.

I started the interview by swearing I was telling the truth and having my finger prints taken.

The consul was serious but proper and professional, not at all rude.

He asked me how we met, when and where. How the relationship developed, how we decided to get married, what we do for work and what our plans are for this year.

I chose to speak English, answered thoroughly and directly and that was it.

It took me at most 5 minutes. He congratulated me, said that my visa would be ready in a week and that was it.

I'm flying on the 7th, entering through Huston with my boy. Wish me luck!

Congratulations, beautiful!!! 

19 minutes ago, M and Ed said:

That must have been scary! No one has contacted us, so hopefully everything goes well. We're having our interview tomorrow too, at 10.30

Us, too! See you there! 😜

22 minutes ago, lenasophia said:

Hi everyone! 

We have our interview scheduled for tomorrow, and the embassy called us today to tell us they cannot find our paperwork 😔 We turned in all the copies of everything last Thursday and they can't seem to locate it. I guess worst case is that we will be delayed and won't be able to have our interview tomorrow...

Just wanted to let everyone know, keep an eye out!

UPDATE: They've JUST emailed us to let us know they found our documentation. Ha! They just wanted to test how tough we are. Good luck everyone!

Hi everyone! 

We have our interview scheduled for tomorrow, and the embassy called us today to tell us they cannot find our paperwork 😔 We turned in all the copies of everything last Thursday and they can't seem to locate it. I guess worst case is that we will be delayed and won't be able to have our interview tomorrow...

Just wanted to let everyone know, keep an eye out!

Hi everyone! Question about the affidavit of support. We have all of the documents but are wondering if we need the original copy of a birth certificate for the co-sponsor, to bring to the interview?

Thanks!

On 2/7/2019 at 8:13 PM, ReyOfJakku said:

Very helpful, thank you so much! I'm curious: when you were finally able to go get an interview date, was there a lot of availability? What was the soonest interview date available to you at that time? (Or is that what you meant by a couple of days?)

Hi! We actually just emailed the embassy a couple of days ago to ask about interview scheduling and they gave us a date for 2 weeks from now. 

On 2/7/2019 at 3:35 PM, M and Ed said:

Yeah... still waiting for a spot to open. All my documents are ready, but no dates available yet

We emailed the embassy a couple of days ago and they gave us a date for 2 weeks from now!

On 1/15/2019 at 1:45 PM, ReyOfJakku said:

Hi all. I was reviewing this document that is, apparently, what the Argentinian embassy emails out as its Packet 3 instructions: https://ar.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/K1-K3-Instructions-packet.pdf

 

It contains a list of all items that must be mailed to the embassy. If I'm taking this instruction document 100% literally, it says that the medical appointment should be completed BEFORE we go online to schedule the embassy interview. I'm basing this off of two things in the document. First, one of the items that is supposed to mailed (along with everything else in Packet 3) is a photocopy of the Medical Exam envelope:

 

 

Then, further down in the document, it says that only after all these documents have been mailed to the embassy may we schedule the visa interview.

 

 

But this doesn't seem like it follows the order laid out here on VJ in the guides or in people's timelines. It seems like the typical thing is that, around the same time that people mail back Packet 3 to the embassy, they start booking the appointments for BOTH their medical exam and their embassy interview. And I feel like I've read that the medical exam is supposed to happen pretty close in time to the interview, ideally just a week or two before.

 

It seems like if this embassy's instructions are correct, there will be a huge gap between the date of the medical exam and the date of the interview. It would take time to get the medical results back, mail in a photocopy along with everything else in Packet 3, and *then* go online to book the first possible embassy interview date -- which might not be available until a month or two later.

 

Anyway, this is all way far off for me (I'm the USC and I just filed the petition last month). But I'm trying to determine my fiance's likely timeline at whatever point we get into the post-NVC phase.

 

Might it be acceptable to mail back everything else in Packet 3 except for the copy of the medical envelope? Then move forward with scheduling the medical exam and interview?

 

Hi there -- filing from Argentina, as well. We have received our NOA2 and embassy packet and are gathering everything to schedule interview. We have it figured out that you can only schedule interview after you have turned in all of your documents to the embassy (including medical envelope post-exam). Basically... do everything, turn it all into the embassy, then they'll let you get your interview date (usually just a couple of days after). Good lucky!!

On 1/29/2019 at 3:31 PM, mary&felipe said:

We heard back today, interview in 2 days 😍 wish us luck, he’s already got his plane ticket miles ready to buy the flight next week. So happy I could cry. Good luck to everyone still waiting I hope its as quick for all of you as well, this process is tough

Hi Mary -- congratulations!! I hope the IV went well.

Just to confirm, in order to schedule the interview you must have handed in all the docs beforehand? Thanks!

On 1/21/2019 at 8:43 PM, M and Ed said:

Did you guys book the interview already or are you waiting to get all the papers together first?

Hi! Sorry for the delay here...

We already have everything together, just waiting on medical exam. Booking appointment has been confusing as there are no "slots" on the Argentina US Embassy website, and we cannot pay the fee until we book... but are trying to be patient.

On 1/21/2019 at 8:42 PM, M and Ed said:

Hey! Argentinian girl here, same issue.

I talked to the doctors and they told me that we only need:

 

Triple bacteriana acelular - If lost records, we need to get the shots again

Triple viral - if lost records, we can get a "serologia" that shows the antibodies in blood

Varicela - if lost records, we can get a "serologia" that shows the antibodies in blood

Influenza - Irrelevant. We have to get the shot in the States, since Argentinian 2018 viruses are not the same as in the US, it's endemic.

 

Hope it helps!

Hi, thanks so much for your help!! Great to get an Argentine's perspective here.

Have you scheduled IV yet? We are confused as the Arg-US Embassy website does not show any time slots to book an interview, and we can't pay the fee until we schedule...

Hi All!

My fiancé and I have already received NOA2 (filing from Argentina!) and are booking his medical appointment before the embassy interview. My question is, he does not have any vaccination records from childhood, etc. His parents died/are mentally ill and did not keep any. 

Is this a big deal? I feel like he isn't the first Argentine to not have their vaccination records on hand... Any tips? Should we even worry, will the doctor at the appointment figure out which ones he needs regardless?

Thanks in advance!!!

Hi everyone!

We are filing from Argentina and already have NOA2 and our NVC case number. Now what? I see on the NVC website there are 6 steps before getting the interview, including sending in lots of documents. Is this the case for Argentina?

I appreciate any local advice/tips! Thanks!

Hi, all! I am a US petitioner filing for my Argentine fiancé. I posted earlier about being confused about which addresses to put on the petition, as I am currently getting a Master's degree and living in Argentina, although my permanent address is in the US. I was told to put my US address for mailing, just to be safe, and otherwise put my Argentine address as current address.

My question is about the other paperwork of "proof" of our relationship etc: Intent to Marry, How We Met, etc.

Should I put my Argentine address or my US mailing address on that? Or the US address we will live at once we arrive to the US (which is different than mailing address)?

I obviously don't want to confuse the person who deals with my paperwork at USCIS, and also don't want to seem like I am lying about where I live. Anyone have any advice or insight on this??

Thank you so much!!

13 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

We always used FedEx personally and no issues.

Thank you again!!

3 minutes ago, bakphx1 said:

Generally there is not much of a difference either in price or quality of service. I think I would compare prices just in case, and then go buy whichever is more convenient for you.

Thank you!

Hi, all!

Does anyone know if there is a better choice between UPS or FedEx to send in the petition from abroad? We are sending from Argentina.

Thanks so much in advance!!

2 minutes ago, debbiedoo said:

I used both. What the computer/form wouldnt save or print, I filled out in black ink in super neat handwriting

Thank you!!

7 minutes ago, Abdeslam said:

Yes.

Thats very helpful, thank you so much!

17 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

Should be okay; we used actual screen shots of our texts through Imessage. Generally they don't need too much. We sent literally like 10 screen shots of messages showing a timeline of our conversations, didn't care or worry much about the content (minus not putting anything super personal in it). 

 

Photos are secondary evidence. The fact your relationship has been in person the whole time you really don't need to stress too much as that is the best evidence of bonafide relationship there is.

Thank you so much youre the best!

5 minutes ago, Abdeslam said:

they dont ask for chat logs , stick to the official doc , sending stuff that they didnt ask for can be suspiciouse and may result in a delay

The official doc as in the petition and declaration of intent to marry?

Hi, all!

My fiancé and I are planning on including our Whatsapp convos in our petition and I have a few questions. I got the archived chat sent to my email via Whatsapp which means it is in the form of a Notepad doc. I edited it so that it only includes 1) conversations in English and 2) conversations about planning vacations together, declarations of love, hanging out, etc.

My questions are:

1) Is it okay that it is an edited Notepad doc? Will it be suspicious, and would it just be better to include a few manual screenshots directly from my phone/the app?

2) Is this even necessary? Our entire 9-month relationship has been in-person, we have so many pictures together from so many months, so wondering if this step is even needed for proof.

Thank you so much to all!!

3 minutes ago, AnaidAaron said:

It is fine to use both, personally, we filed both the I-129 and I-134 on a computer, and wherever it didn't let us edit, we just wrote with black pen, mostly where we had to write N/A. No problems at all. 

Perfect! Thank you so much!

Just now, geowrian said:

For the I-129F and I-134 (sent to the beneficiary before the interview...not with the I-129F packet), typing and writing is fine.

 

Once you get to AOS, some forms (specifically the I-131 and I-864) should NOT be mixed typed + written. Those forms have 2D barcoded information, which may only be scanned in and not have the handwritten parts entered into the system.

Very helpful!!! Thank you!

Hi, all! Does anyone know if it is relevant if you use a pen or type your petition form, or both?

Asking because we have been typing, but some blanks will not let us edit, so we are planning on printing it and then filling in the blanks with a black pen. Does it matter that it will be both, or is it better off to then just write the whole thing?

Thank you so much in advance!!!