LadyJane

Okay - so my interview was this morning at 9:00am (Federal Plaza, NY). My attorney and I went in and I was called in within 10 minutes. The officer was very nice. She only asked for my passport(s), original birth certificate, tax transcripts. She asked me the questions on the form and then walked us back to the waiting area. She had to check if all the background checks had been completed. Ten minutes later, we were back in her office. There was a problem - my ex-husband - he had written to them...anyway, she asked me if I had orders of protection - I handed her the originals and copies. She asked me if my ex had ever threatened to do anything if I filed a self-petition - I told her that I hadn't spoken to him since 2006 (not directly anyway - through various attorneys). I let her know that when my original interview was postponed, Garden City had mistakenly informed the immigration attorney that was on my file at the time - that attorney is a close family friend of my ex. Therefore, he was notified that I was filing my self-petition. Then she said she would be right back. She came back a couple minutes later with the lockbox with the stamp and she stamped my passport. I should have the card in about three weeks.

I AM A LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENT!!!

Many congratulations and welcome!

Hey, we live in Ann Arbor...and I can smell that banana bread! Yum!

Enjoy your visit!

There are some very nice guides here on VJ that will take you through the NVC process. Please become acquainted with them.

You don't need to change status!

You should have received a SSN card about 6 weeks after you've activated your IR1 visa at the POE, if you checked the appropriate box on the DS-230. And your green card *should* have been here by now. The stamped visa in the passport will serve as a temporary I-551 so your wife can work and travel outside of the US until the actual green card is received,

My husband received both his SSN card and CR1 green card about a month after arriving in the US.

Did you get a welcome letter from USCIS? The green card usually follows that letter.

I think that your next step is getting an InfoPass appointment and inquire at the local USCIS office.

I agree with Laura: it is not necessary for the USC to attend the interview. Although, it may be nice to have a short mini-vacation in Montreal-the Old Port area is very romantic and lovely.

I have read- in addition to experiencing it first hand they they will take an oral declaration as proof of having had chicken pox.

But, to be conservative, I'd suggest getting the titers test done. The doctor will just collect some blood from you and do the test.

Since I don't know all of the details that the CO does, I really can't speak to what you showed a bona fide relationship. It's sounds like your case has been sent back to the USCIS so that they can reevaluate the bona fides of your marital relationship.

I'd suggest that you do a bit more reading here in this forum to see what you'll need to do. There is another forum in www(dot)***removed***[dot]com. The following text was pasted from the 221g guide:

What can you do immediately when faced with this issue:

* First and foremost, contact a good immigration attorney.

* Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.

* Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.

* If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.

* Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.

* Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.

* If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.

* If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.

As to the fact that you misrepresented yourself on your B1/B2 visa, I'm inclined to think that this may have played a significant role in the CO's decision. From your perspective, it was a mistake. But the CO probably interpreted this behavior as a deliberate attempt to circumvent the legal channels of visa application. I think that you will need to honestly and carefully address this issue in any waiver or visa re-applications.

I also suggest asking for legal counsel, and perhaps a lawyer can help with a) proving the bona fides of your relationship and B) addressing the issue of your B1/B2 visa application.

Good luck!

Being smart alec here, but I found that the smoke signals from NH quite effective

Seriously though, the automated phone system at the NVC is reasonable. It's updated every Monday.

I answered this very same question that you've also posted in the CR1/IR1 forum. It may be a good idea to keep your questions in one forum-I found that it's easier to keep track of all the answers!

Basic answer to your question is: yes.

I got this from the Documents The Applicant Must Submit in the Department of State wedsite

Translations

All documents not in English, or in the official language of the country in which application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified translations.

The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the:

Translation is accurate, and

Translator is competent to translate.

So I guess that means, no translation needed?????

Please call NVC and confirm

I think that statement means if you are filing DCF, and the language of the document is the same language as the embassy, then no translation is necessary.

If you are sending your documents to the USA then yes you will need to translate your documents into English!

You'll need:

1.) Original or certified copies of the document (NB: a Xerox copy is not a certified copy)

2.) A translation of the original document into English by someone who is fluent (conversant) in both English and the language of the original document

3.) A statement certifying that the translator is fluent in both languages and the translation is accurate. You may notarize this certification, but it is not necessary.

If you or your spouse is fluent in both languages, you can do the translation yourselves.

To the OP:

Congrats on deciding to get married! We're here to help you and provide you with information. It's up to you as to the path you take.

I posted this in another topic, but I feel it is relevant.

"The USCIS sees cases where a person enters on a visitor visa, spontaneously decides to marry (although spontaneous is rather...subjective...in some cases, and it really is up to the petitioner to prove spontaneity in the decision to marry.), and adjusts status within the USA. When we talked to a USCIS officer, she said "alot of people get away with that" meaning that the process I described above is not exactly legal, but the USCIS has some discretion for these particular cases."

You will need to get married before you file paperwork. And, be aware of both the cost to file and the time it takes before you can work and leave the US. You may want to check current timelines for Employment Authorization (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP) before you decide to stay. Last time I checked, it was about 60-90 days before you got EAD and/or AP. I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but if you are filing for AOS and need to leave the country before you get AP, then that has serious consequences ranging from not being allowed back in to the US to the USCIS considering the AOS application 'abandoned' because you left the US.

On a side note: I live in a liberal town, where the use of "partner" incorporates heterosexual and homosexual relationships. I noticed you said "partner" in your original post. Please note that the USCIS only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, even if homosexual civil unions and/or marriages are legal in your country.

I do agree with Jula-it doesn't make sense to apply for a fiance visa. It sounds to me that you are indeed married, although both the Hindu and civil marriage was not recognized by the CO during your first application. Hence the rejection.

I'm not sure what the process is to cancel a denied application. I guess I always thought that if a petition was denied then the parties could either a) file an appeal or B) the denied application just kind of goes *poof*. I'm sure that (B) doesn't happen. Does anyone know how to cancel a denied application?

To the OP, did the consulate officer give you any information as to how you'd cancel your original application? Perhaps an email to the consulate would be useful.

I think we meant the poster emt

The K-1 route may not always be faster. For example, in Canada-the wait time for a CR1 visa interview was roughly equivalent to the wait time for a K-3 visa interview. The K1's were waiting about the same length of time. Yes, the K1 visa route does involve less time at the NVC and that may affect the total wait time by about a month.

Another consideration is visa cost. The cost for adjusting status has tripled in the past year.

If you were to marry legally and have it recognized by the Indian government, then your spouse would be eligible for a CR1 visa-which is an immigrant visa. So, no adjustment of status would be necessary. Your spouse would have their green card so they can work and travel immediately. And if the wait time is equivalent-why not?

Have you looked at the India subforum here at VJ to see what the approximate wait time for interview at your embassy is? That may help guide your decision.

Good luck!

Depending on the speed of the consulate in granting interviews and other factors, it may be advantageous to go down the CR1 route. But, you'll need to get married first.

You'll need to include evidence of divorce in the I-130: so you'll need to submit a divorce decree with the paperwork. It may be a good idea to include a copy of the divorce decree regardless of what path you decide, and I'd suggest writing a brief letter to include with your petition that states your previous denial of visa (without prejudice) and now you are including evidence that you are both free to marry. And, I agree with everything emt said-be prepared to include evidence that you both thought the divorce was final.

Good luck!

The same goes for us: no SSN was required from my husband in order for him to be added to my bank account.

trailmix, just wait until you try and get a driver's licence!

Then the full extent of our evil bureaucracy will reveal itself and fulfill its destiny to rule the galaxy in evildom forever and ever.

muhahahhaa

I remember this question was addressed in a forum a few months ago. And, we all gave the same advice then:

It is not possible for an 'alien fiance' to come to the US on a K1, not marry the petitioner and be allowed to stay in the US (legally) after the visa expires. The K1 visa can't be transferred from one US petitioner to another.

And, it is my opinion that if: the 'alien fiance' stays the US, marries a person that was not the K1 visa petitioner and adjusts status in the US, then that is not within the scope of legal immigration, even though the person is legally here in the US for the duration of the K1 visa.

On a side note, for a similar situation. The USCIS sees cases where a person enters on a visitor visa, spontaneously decides to marry (although spontaneous is rather...subjective...in some cases, and it really is up to the petitioner to prove spontaneity in the decision to marry.), and adjusts status within the USA. When we talked to a USCIS officer, she said "alot of people get away with that" meaning that the process I described above is not exactly legal, but the USCIS has some discretion for these particular cases.

I'm so sorry to hear about your AP, I hope it gets resolved soon. There are lots of reasons why a case undergoes AP. From my reading of this forum, there have been a lot of cases out of Casablanca that do undergo AP. I don't want to speculate why your case is taking as long as it is. It is my experience that the consulate officers are very optimistic about how long an AP will take.

As for what you can do? There are a couple of routes.

0) Read the posts in this forum, it may help you understand a bit more about the process and why it is taking as long as it is.

1) Have you emailed the consulate yet? If not, this may be a good first step. They will not be able to provide you with specific information, but they can tell you that your case is pending.

2) Has the USC spouse contacted the Department of State to inquire after the case? If not, you can call (202) 663-1225. Press 1, then 0 when prompted to reach a visa specialist. Again, don't expect too much detailed information.

3) Get your congress(wo)man involved. Most congress(wo)men have an immigration specialist who have other channels of inquiry, which may provide you a more detailed picture what is going on with your case.

These actions are merely meant to provide more information to you. Sometimes just knowing where a case is may ease your mind (as much as it be eased). It is my understanding that you cannot expedite the AP process, and unfortunately there have been folks who are waiting longer than a year for their AP to finish.

I found that, during AP, a visit from the US spouse to the foreign spouse is a welcomed reprieve.

Good luck!

The border guard telling you that you needed to import your car "now" seems like baloney to me. We "imported" FEW's motorcycle the week after he arrived. But, the bike was stored here in Michigan and he didn't bring it with him when he crossed, so that may have made a difference.

As for the running lights? I dunno. To my great surprise the rules for vehicle importing appear to be arbitrarily enforced (note the sarcasm). It seems like our border guard was most concerned about emissions from the motorcycle. But, it didn't prevent us from importing the bike duty free.

There's a whole forum for that here.

Badspellor, Thanks for the links ! Really useful

One dumb question - Do we need to wait for DS-3032 generation to email/mail the form ? Or can we do it after NVC case# assign ???

Heh. I jumped the gun on this step and sent out the DS-3032 and the AOS fee bill as soon as I heard we got an NVC case #. (I was really excited and didn't properly read JSC) I do not recommend doing that!

You can have everything all ready so that when the DS-3032 is generated, then you can mail it out that day.

BTW, it's awesome that NVC is now accepting online payments.

The DS-3032 is also known as the "choice of agent" form. It tells the NVC whom you choose to receive your mail. They do this because it takes a long time for the foreign spouse to receive mail. So, typically the foreign spouse chooses their USC spouse (or their attorney) to receive mail on their behalf from the NVC.

Please fill in your timeline and also check out the National Visa Center forum here on VJ. There are several very nice guides which will help you through this stage.

Good luck!

call DOS at 202-663-1225-1-0

You will need either your case # or ss # and benificiaries name, they should be able to track it down

Good luck

Thanks so much for that number!

I contacted them, and they were able to tell me that I had been assigned a new case number...and they had sent me a DS 3032 on Feb 11 to our old address in Korea. I am not sure why this is, as I had a letter sent to me in Canada already, and we requested the case be transferred from Seoul to Canada...so we wouldn't be there to get any mail. The new case number also starts with SEO. It was MTL before, and now it's been changed back to SEO. I hope this doesn't mean that they've sent my file back to Korea.

I've contacted the NVC to give them my new address, and I don't know if the DS 3032 means I am any closer to an interview. I had an interview in Korea, but was missing a document that I couldn't get in time before we left. So I now have all the docs needed, just waiting for an interview date.

The DS 3032 is also known as the "choice of agent" form. It's the first step of your NVC portion of the CR1/IR1 application process. There is a very nice National Visa Center forum here on VJ and the guide should help you with these next steps. Although I'm not sure why you need to go through the NVC stage again, considering you've already had your interview.

Also, some intervention from your state rep may help you. And, call the DOS and the NVC.

Also, say hello in the Canada forum-we're very friendly!

ran down the road under the fence and back to her home and daughter in California

she snuck across but only made it a few feet before she was picked up then she received a 20 year ban

Poor choices

Let's keep this discussion on track and leave armchair judgments for daytime television shows OK?

I remember that the CO told my husband that his additional security checks would take less than 2 weeks' (10 business days), and it took almost two months. It seems that the CO is often more optimistic with their time lines. I really hope that your processing takes only a week-that would be lovely! But, be mentally prepared for a bit longer. It sounds like they want to do some document verification, and if the CO told you that he thinks the visa will be issued then it usually is the case. If your wife is in a 'technology' field (i.e. natural sciences or engineering etc), then IM me and we can talk about additional papers you can offer to the CO.

BTW: Did the CO keep your wife's passport? If so, that is a good indication that your AP will be short!