NY_IZMIR

It's a Home Residency Requirement, and hence means you have to be "home" for 2 years. They have other rules if you're out at other countries as well. So unfortunately your 2 years isn't up till september.

About the DCF, make sure you can actually do a DCF in Belgium if your wife is not a Belgium Resident. Most DCF's require that the USC is also a resident (sometimes living there for 6 months is enough to show residency). You should check with the embassy. Embassy Info Section on VJ doesn't say whether residency is required for the Brussels embassy.

My wife also had a J-1 2 year restriction, and we filed for the I-130 about 4 months into her 2 years. USCIS where you file the 130 and (129f if pursuing K3) will not look or care about the 2 year rule. So together with the 130, we also filed for a no-objection waiver and that got approved in about 3 months. Now I can't say for sure but I don't think my 130 was even looked at during this time, but to be honest, I don't think it would've mattered either way.

The only "check" for the 2 year requirement seems to be when you're at your interview, and have ot fill in and sign the DS-230 part II, item # 30.j where you have to check yes/no to whether you're "An alien who is a former exchange visitor who has not fulfilled the 2-year foreign residency requirement"

My advice would be to go the K3 route and hope that your visa interview is not till September. Which is highly likely anyway.

Yeah that's what I meant by amended.

I don't see why there'd be any difference in doing that vs. getting a new one. It's not an uncommon thing to change the passport to reflect new last name, especially if you had a previous visa to some country that was still valid and didn't want to have to re-apply for it. It should be perfectly fine.

Good to hear that you can get that all mailed in, send it via UPS and you shouldn't have any problems and hopefully get your visa within a week or so.

I think the fact that they only look at your packet just when you arrive at the interview is a very bad practice. If they actually looked to make sure everything was good to go, and then call you for an interview just to ask the usual questions, it would be better and people wouldn't feel so terrible traveling all the way to Ankara just to return back with that green sheet of paper.

Hey MPGGPM,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. But tell your wife not to worry too much. My wife also got that green sheet. Tell her to goto "Nufus Dairesi" and ask for a "Nufus Kayit Ornegi" Make sure she has it notorized, and then translated by a sworn translator.

How did her interview go otherwise? Did they tell her she had to come back? If they told her she can just mail everything then you aren't that far away from getting the visa. If they asked her passport to be changed, she can do that in one day.

At my wife's interview we were missing W-2's and her previous passport that she used to enter the U.S. with a year ago (with her maiden name) You have two choices when changing her passport, either get a brand new one, and they punch a hole in the old one, OR get it amended with her new last name. We opted for the cleaner new passport, but again, that was something they wanted to see at the interview since it contained her original J1 visa.

So check to see if they can be all done through mail. Get the new passport or change her passport, get the Nufus Kayit Ornegi / notorized / translated by sworn translator and send those all in with a letter stating the situation.

let me know if you need any help (especially in dealing with Turkish Consulate in NYC, they can be a pain in the rear)

Best of luck.

We had requested my wife's visa be sent to her job (Ege University) and they wouldn't deliver it the first day because she wasn't there even though there were lots of people there that she had asked to sign for her if she wasn't around. Called UPS the next day and they gave a better approximate time and she left her cell # with them in case she was away from her office. When they arrived she was in class and the guy actually called her and she was able to leave class for a bit to go sign for it. So yeah, I think Omer will have to sign for it, but like MPGGPM states, you should be fine. Ours would've been delivered 8 days after the interview but we had sort of an RFE. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Completely unrelated and offtopic. Where are you going for vacation. I need some ideas for some friends who'll hopefully be coming from the states to Turkey for my wedding in July.

Best of luck

hello all,,

I was just looking at my citizenship certificate and saw that my status is stated as single. (obviously b/c I became citizen in 2005). When I sent in my I130 package I made a copy of that certificate. Do you think that will create a problem at USCIS..? has anybody tried to change their status on the citizenship certificate.?? ne tips will be appreciated..!!! thanks in advance! gluck to everyone...

I had the same exact thing, but it did not cause me any problems. I don't even know howto update that document.

Hi Admins,

Could you please add embassy info for Turkey? There are two embassies, one in Istanbul and one in Ankara. The one in Ankara is the only one doing immigrant, and K1/K3 based visas. I can provide you with more information as needed.

Thanks

My wife and I have an interview date for a K-3 visa really soon. Her country has been giving her the run around about what she needs to do about changing her passport from her maiden name to her married name. I was wondering if we could go to the interview with her passport still in her maiden name even though the I-129F has her married name?

Be careful that if you do get a new passport, try to keep the old one (when my wife did this, they punched holes in the old one so it can't be used again) I say this because at the time of my wife's interview they asked to see the old passport which had a visa issued to her last year by U.S. I don't know if that is the only reason they asked to see it or not, but now we've been delayed a bit because of this.

So if you do get a new passport, bring the old one along with the new one to the interview.

Just curious.

My wife will have her interview soon, pretty early in the morning. (Turkey is 6 hours ahead.....7 when they finally change to "daylight savings time"...which they haven't yet). So, just a few hours after I "TRY" to go to bed and get some sleep that night, she'll be starting her interview at the embassy in Ankara.

Are the the embassies/consulates generally pretty good about being on time? In other words, if my wife is scheduled for a certain time, will she actually get her interview at that time?

Or are they more like a "doctor's office".........where if your appt. is scheduled for 10, that basically means you may not see the doctor until noon?

My wife's interview was at 8:30 am, and she got out and called me right away at about 9:50am. So no, you don't wait there that long.

hi where can i find the online for for ds-156? pls help thanks.....

https://evisaforms.state.gov/ds156.asp

Reading your post this morning was a kind of "wake up call" . I had read about read so many successful interviews that have gone through Ankara, lately, that I was feeling pretty good about things and maybe getting a bit complacent , until I saw what happened with your wife this morning. It even made me reconsider (which I still am thinking about )....whether I should make arrangements to attend my wife's interview, after all.

Although, reading about what happened to your wife, were the husband there.....I am still not sure it would have made a difference. If they need to see an older passport, or w-2's.......a husband being there in attendance, wouldn't have changed that fact.

Your post is a reminder that a delay....or heaven forbid, a denial.(thanfully your was not that)...........can happen to anyone.

I'm sorry about the trouble she had there, and do hope you can get it straightened out.

Thanks MPGGPM.

Looks like you're set for the interview now, glad to hear that. Good luck with everything. Yeah sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Hopefully we'll get it taken care of quickly. We have other things to plan and spend time on

Wife just got out of the interview and gave me a call. Unfortunately she's neither denied or approved :(

She had gotten a new passport a month ago with her new lastname, and they requested to see the old one which she didn't have with her. (The old passport had her U.S. visa on it which she came here a year ago with)

And they also wanted to see all the W-2's for 2006 even though I sent over a full copy of the 1040's etc. They said they couldn't use that to verify my salary even though IT'S F*KING RIGHT ON THERE, along with a letter from my employer with my salary which is WAY above poverty limits.

She said the person interviewing her had a really bad attitude while everyone else seem to have someone that was polite and cheerful.

Our stupid luck.

They said we can UPS the missing info and her new passport so she doesn't have to make the travel to the embassy which is pretty far from where she lives. But one thing that is bugging me is they didn't have her sign DS-230 Part 2. How do they expect her to sign that when they told her she doesn't have to come by again.

THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Wife is having her K3 interview on wednesday. I will let you know how it went and what kinda things they asked for.

The medical was the easy part, she went to the American Hospital in Istanbul. Problem is she lives in Izmir and she only had time todo a day trip. So we asked a friend of ours in Istanbul to pick up the results of the exam the day after (with the receipt they'd given my wife) and mailed it to my wife. They took a chest x-ray and that was part of the results but Ankara's website says not to bring an x-ray to the embassy. One minor problem with the medical was that they require immunization records which is sorta hard to come by. My wife works at a medical university and was able to have one of the doctors there write up such a note explaining all the vaccines that were administrered (all true) on his precription notes.

As far as travel, to be honest, I don't think Turkish Airlines (or other operators within Turkey) have the same exponential price increase as the travel time nears as we do in the states. This has been only true for me if I go through a travel agent however. I would not worry about it and would wait till you wife has the interview. If it's a couple of hundred bucks difference between buying then and buying now, you might have to pay the same difference in rescheduling fees anyway. Definitely have her goto a local travel agent and ask for the price of one way trips on a few days when you think everything will be settled.

My wife also had a J1 2year HR requirement, but thankfully, we got a no-objection waiver. Otherwise we would've had to wait another year.

Good luck to both of you.

fwaguy is right, there will be 50 answers to this question.

I just filed my federal return as married filing jointly and requested an ITIN number. And yes you do send your return to a special address (Austin TX) with the W7 and required proof.

For my New York State taxes, from what I can tell, I just write NRA (Non-Resident Alien) for my wifes SS number. If you leave it blank, they'll return it right back to you as it is incomplete.

I found the info for NY at

http://tax.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/tax.cfg/ph...amp;p_topview=1

My accountant told me to wait a little while before sending the State taxes just in case something funny happens with the federal. So I'll probably wait till beginning of April.

I am sooo happy right now.

With the dreadfully slow 130 process, I was beginning to worry about having my wife here by the summer. Then both the 130 and 129 got approved feb 13th, and following some advice from fellow VJ'er Dayna, we emailed all the required paperwork to Ankara before they even sent out their packets. Wife already had the medical exam, so we're set for the interview March 21st. I thought the email I got from the embassy was a hoax to be honest. Definitely didn't expect the interview to be in two weeks, let alone 2 months.

Now I'm tempted to press my luck and pursue the I-824 / CR-1 route.

Thank you all for your help. Will let you know results of the interview.

Hi all,

We just got our K3 visa paperwork forwarded to the embassy and the only paperwork remaining that I need to send my wife to include in her packet is the 2006 tax return.

A few accountants and IRS reps have all said different things.

My wife was in the U.S. for 3 months as an exchange visitor (j-1) during 2006 and did not have any income. We got married overseas after she returned. She does work overseas and does have income (she works for a state university so all her taxes are withheld automatically)

I would like to file married jointly. I have the signed w-7 and her certified passport copy.

If I were to go this route and write a statement saying that we'd like her to be treated as a resident. Then does the 2555 form "residency" tests automatically hold?

She made about $9,000 USD net income overseas. If I were to include this in the 1040, then can I use 2555 to exlude it?

Is a safer bet just to file married separately? I am not worried about saving a few hundred bucks on taxes. I just want to do the right thing so that the embassy doesn't say anything about me not showing her on my taxes or something.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

I answered Yes... and put my name in there (since I filed the I-130 petition for my wife as the beneficiary)

I-156 is a standard non-immigrant visa application form and hence not tied directly to a K3 application so thats the reason I answered yes. We have yet to mail in ours (waiting for the documents to be sent to the consulate) so if anybody thinks thats an incorrect answer, I'd like to know.

Hey NY IZMER

Did you ever find out what happened with your retained I 130? You had the same letter I did saying the spouse was IN the US already. Did it ever get forwarded to NVC or are you just trying to go with the K3 after all? We had an appointment with an officer in Chicago and they didn't know what was happening. They thought either it was too soon for it to arrive at NVC (approved Feb. 7) or it they were retaining it in California in error, awaiting me filing an AOS as if I was already in the US. I might have to contact California Service Center or have "the consulate in Montreal try to intervene." (Like I believe they would do THAT for us..... ). Did your serice center give you any advice?

Monica

I wrote VSC a letter last week asking them to correct THEIR error but I have not gotten a confirmation or a reply just yet. As there's no phone number for VSC, I can't really check up. Unless a miracle happens, I am going to be just pursuing the K3 route and AOS after. Which sucks, because of all the extra time we'll waste, but we shall see.

I answered Yes... and put my name in there (since I filed the I-130 petition for my wife as the beneficiary)

I-156 is a standard non-immigrant visa application form and hence not tied directly to a K3 application so thats the reason I answered yes. We have yet to mail in ours (waiting for the documents to be sent to the consulate) so if anybody thinks thats an incorrect answer, I'd like to know.

Congratulations!!!!

I just received an approval for both the I130 and I129f as well and the notice said the same thing about residing in the US. Our thought was to apply for both options and see what works out. Using the K3 would depend on if I can enter the US with the K3 and start the papers for the work permit yet keep my airline job in Canada and fly back and forth for work in Canada while waiting for approval. Has anyone else tried moving to the US and continuing to work in Canada? I don't even know if this is allowed. I hear they hold up the I130 awaiting further instructions from us when they know you have filed for the I129. What is the next step to get that I130 moving too?

Good luck!

Canadian girl

I called the USCIS today and talked to a 2nd level rep, and they said, yes the USCIS district office made a mistake, in saying the beneficiary was in the U.S. Told me that I had to file I-824. Then I said, well it's your fault, why should I have to file any more paperwork and money. Then he said, well I can't route anything from here. You have to contact the district office (VSC in my case) and today I sent them a letter stating my case. We'll see what happens.

Hi Everybody,

I definitely think that we were all caught in an end of august filing VSC blackhole. As I stated earlier, it took me 5.5 months to get the NOA2. There were no RFE's or anything. One thing that I thought might've helped me is my filing for 129f because I think they might've relooked at my 130 once they received that and it speeded up a bit after that.

Hang in there everyone, and don't be like me and try to check your status online every 5 minutes. It can really lower your morale. I hope all of you get approved very soon and be with your loved ones ASAP.

NY_IZMIR,

Why did you petition for a K3 visa if the immigrant visa is the one that you'd rather have?

Yodrak

I filed for the K3 after seing dismal processing times by VSC. I really really really need visa in my wife's hand by July because we're having a wedding reception overseas at the beginning of July and hope to come back to the states together afterwards. If the 130 was forwarded to NVC, then I thought I had a shot at getting the CR1 using James' shortcuts, hence my original question. But now that there's the additional 824 processing time added, I don't think we can make it anymore. I'm gonna call them tomorrow to see if there's a way they can fix their mistake. (Since there's absolutely no indication in any of my forms that my wife is in the U.S. which is the reasong they're citing for retaining the 130)

Hi everyone,

I got the approval notices for my i-130 and i-129f applications today. From the notices, only the i-129f is being forwarded. The 130 notice says.

"The petition indicates that the personn for whom you are petitioning is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status.....If the person for whom you are petitioning decides to apply for a visa outside the United States based on this petition, the petitioner should file form I-824 ..."

Question is, has anyone had any luck with the I-824 (option D) I just want to know whether it's really worth it at this point? Can I also call USCIS and tell them that they've made a mistake in thinking my wife is already in the U.S. and to simply forward it along to the NVC without having to take this extra time.

I know this process has been changed around october to perhaps speed things up, but shouldn't they let me choose without having to file something that NVC and VSC indicates them being 7 months behind in processing.

Has anyone had any luck wthi this? I really would prefer to have my wife come in with a CR-1 rather than a K3 and have to go through the AOS process.

Thanks

This is probably a moot question as I'm hoping to have my wife email the Choice of Agent but anyway.

The DS3032 doc linked in james' shortcuts

http://foia.state.gov/FORMS/visa/ds3032.pdf and anything else I can find online says.

Expiration Date: 12/31/2006

on the top right hand side.

What does this mean? Can I no longer use this doc? Should I wait for a new 2007 version to be sure??

Hey everyone...

I just got Approved today after 5.5 months of waiting.

I hope all of you waiting will hear back soon as well.

Can you add me.

NOA1 = 8/29/06

NOA2 = 2/13/07

VSC