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Avalar

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    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    My fiance just submitted his review, so here it is for anyone who's curious :)

    My K1 visa journey at Rio:

    - I stayed at Hotel Formule 1 (R$ 99 daily, about U$ 50), the room is really small and there is no room service, but it works if you just want a place to sleep, it is like 10 minutes from the consulate in a cab and it costs about R$ 7 (U$ 3.50) to get there. Don't expect too much from this part of the city, it is on the center of the downtown, and it is *dirty*. And at night it is really scary, lots of bums getting food from trash on the streets.

    - When you get at the consulate, there will be a huge line, don't go there! Ask the consulate people about immigration visa, there will be a person there helping people, and she will tell you to go upstairs, to the immigration department. If she is not there (she is the one helping upstairs too), you will have to wait in line.

    - To get there, you will need to leave all the electronic stuff on the reception, go on the xray, then ask for the immigration room, or just follow the signs.

    - Upstairs, she will be helping people with the papers, she will give two sheets to everybody, one is a form to fill your name and contact info and the other one is the document order (the same one on the document list of the website, be aware that the website has a link called "IMPORTANT: Order of the documents" that is outdated, look at the "Documents required for visa", i've made all the forms on both of the links tho, just to be sure)

    - ATTENTION!!! Main problems I saw with other applicants:

    - Photo not showing ears!

    - Missing forms

    - Just one copy of DS-156 (you need two)

    - Form DS-156 printed from somewhere else. The DS-156 *MUST* be filled online and the result printed, and doing a mistake on this one is a big no, because you can't file it by hand, and your appointment will be rescheduled.

    * Besides that, the attendant is very nice and allow people to go out to take new photos, copies or get help from relatives (in case they are not there with you already)

    - Then she will call each person to check if everything is filled and in order and helping (actually she will put it in order for you in case you didn't do it correctly).

    - After that, each applicant is called in a cabin, but it is not the interview yet, you will get your documents reviewed again by another person, that will take them to prepare for the interview with the consul later.

    - And the waiting for the interview starts ! If you are nervous, it is a nice time to talk to the other applicants, or to help people that don't know vj and are having trouble preparing the forms

    - Then after one hour or two, I was called to the consul's cabin. My interview was really fast, it took less than 10 minutes:

    - First I had to swear I was saying the truth and that everything on the documents were true, then sign the sworn statements on the forms (I think there are two, read the forms so you don't sign the ones you have to sign with the consul).

    - After the sworn statement, he started with the questions, that in my case, were just a few: he asked how and when I've met my fiancee in person, the dates we've met, when we decided to marry, how much time we've spent together already and when our son was born.

    - A hint is to stay calm and answer the questions without thinking too much, i was a bit nervous and answered some dates wrong, but I corrected it later and it was OK. Remember it is normal to make confusion with dates, specially if you are a man (LOL ), the most important is to stay calm, tell the truth and act naturally.

    - Even though he didn't ask for any proof or evidence of my relationship, it is highly recommended to bring proof for the interview, cause the consul usually looks at them.

    - Then out of the blue, he said "ok, your visa will be approved" , gave me a green paper and told me to talk to the girl outside to finish the process.

    - With the paper, I just needed to talk to the girl again, go downstairs and pay to get it shipped to my house (it was R$ 39, about U$ 20), I think it depends on where you live, so be sure you have more money with you, because there is no pick up option, you have to pay to get it delivered.

    - They said it takes between 3-5 business days to have the visa done, and up to 7 business days to get it after it is shipped, this part was kind of scary, I didn't feel too confident in the person saying that, so I don't know, I am waiting to see when it gets here. So be sure you don't go crazy and buy a ticket for the next day, because you will still need to get the visa in hands!

    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted · Edited by Xaenyth

    My fiance is still writing his review of the consulate, but what was really cool was that just before he went I exchanged a messege or two with someone from VJ who also had an interview at that consulate the same day. Turned out they ran into each other there and actually passed the time together so it was a lot less crazy and stressful for him. He was really glad to have had VJ through this all & in the end even up to the last minute to have had that support, & so am I. (L)

    VJ made this all possible for us & we are so greatful.

    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted · Edited by Xaenyth

    To all of you still waiting on your Noa2's, I really hope you get them soon. I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating that must be for you and you all seem so sane about the whole thing. I would be ripping out my hair :/ Hang in there guys. You can do this. You are almost there.

    For everyone gearing up for your interviews, are you freaking out yet? I know my fiance's interview is on the 16th but up until last night I thought the 16th was Weds lol. When I realized we had one less day left, I went into panic mode. Up until then I was mostly trying to ignore it because it's too damn freaky to know that our entire futures are riding on that single day (or at least the start of it). It's overwhelming. Why does this feel so much like getting ready to finally give birth? :bonk: Who's water will break first?!? Lucky, lucky person.

    Now it's almost here and I am so ready for it to be done with. How far are you guys in preparing? Is there anything left to do? Is anyone having their interview before us? I can't wait to hear some stories here!

    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    We found out our interview date today :wow:

    As of Monday April 27, the consulate still didn't have our petition. We decided to give them a week before checking again, lest we find our petition at the bottom of the barrel lol. Today my fiance got a response to his email by 11 am. They said they'd received the petition, sent him a letter telling him what forms to print and take along (which we already had from their website) and they'd already set the interview for us! June 16 is the BIG day! WOO HOO! :wub: Rio :wub:

    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Hey Joshua, I just saw your response to a post on the K1 forum. After looking at your Noa2, I pulled mine out, and its exactly what mine said. When I got it I just assumed it meant via NVC and never thought twice about it. Ours did in fact go to NVC and was there within a few days. It was there for 2 days and was sent to the consulate in Rio. So I would just keep calling NVC until they tell you they've gotten your petition.

    December '08 Vermont K-1 Filers

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted · Edited by Xaenyth

    My job uses that a work line thing for verification. I didn't give them a chance to say no. I wrote a letter to the HR people and told them exactly what I needed, word for word. I told them a phone number wasn't going to be good enough as it was for immigration purposes and I sent it off fully expecting to be told no haha. To my surprise, I got a letter with exactly what I asked for - even the extra copy. Prior to sending it I had whined to my direct supervisor about that problem and she was willing to write something up for me if the HR department fell through. Worst case, I was going to write and sign my own letter and have it notarized and hope for the best. Good luck. :thumbs:

    I don't have any insight on your issue with the petition, but I swear I saw a post earlier in the K1 forum that someone was having the same issue. You might want to search there. It was just today or yesterday.

    WOW this is different, so I got the hard copy of the NOA2 yesterday, and the case has been forwarded directly to the Manila Embassy. Skipping the National visa center, has this happened to anyone else?? I called the embassy and they do not have record of the petition, I called the national visa center and they said because it states that it is going to the embassy they will not get a record of the petition. How will I track it? It doesn’t appear to be following the time line for the K-1 visa…

    Also has anyone ever had to deal with an employer who does not fill out letters of employment and instead uses the theworknumber.com for verification of employment? I ask this because my current employer is in this boat. This adds another non linear expectation to this process. I spoke with the embassy (yay 18$ phone call) and the lady mentioned that I may write a letter and submit it with my I-134 and explain the situation. All my current employer will state is that I am an employee with them; I can give pay stubs which they can deduce my income from that potentially.

    I am sweating bullets now, am I in a world of hurt, should I be panicking? Anyone have any insight?

    Its appreciated

    Thank you

    Joshua

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