Disfan01

Thanks for the reply.  It’s all cleared up! They wanted proof she filed for 2020.  She went to the local office and they printed off an account transcript which showed that even though it’s not yet processed, her return was filed and payment was received. It was accepted and he just landed today! 

The medical is to check for things that may be a threat to the US population, like TB and make sure your vaccinations are up to date.

My mom was a joint sponsor for us because arriving in the US last year, my husband only had half a years salary on our tax return so, we didn’t qualify financially on our own. 
 

My son just had his interview and was told we need my moms 2020 tax transcript or proof she filed for 2020. She does things old school and filed a paper return. We can’t get her transcript from irs.gov and when she called today was told they haven’t apparently uploaded her return yet. She was required to pay in and has the cancelled check they cashed, but does anyone know if that’s enough proof that she filed?  Or is there anything she can ask for during her appointment with the local IRS office that would constitute proof? 

16 hours ago, Southern_Belle07 said:

Congratulations! I am jealous. Lol.

My son is petitioned by my USC husband in October 2020. Nebraska Center

 No update yet. Wish me luck! 😀

Is your son under 21?  If so, I would call the help center to check on your case. Currently, you can make an inquiry on anything prior to Dec 25, 2020

On 7/22/2021 at 8:12 AM, Dipo said:

Wow, that was fast. When was your i130 approved?

We were approved April 23.  There was a glitch in the system at NVC which delayed us by 3 weeks. Once submitted, NVC took about 5 weeks, then 2 weeks from there to schedule the interview. 

Filed I-130 end of Dec for IR2. Went through Nebraska.  Interview in 2 weeks! 😄

Great, thanks so much for all your help.  You guys are truly amazing!

It sounds like the direct unaccompanied minor flight may be our best option then if we can all get on board with that.  Do you guys know what she will need as proof of being the parent of an LPR then?  Just a copy of his passport stamp, visa, and passport, and birth certificate?  Will an emailed copy of the stamp in his passport be sufficient?

10 hours ago, HRQX said:

I forgot to ask if your son also has a tourist visa for an above mentioned country (i.e. Mexico, US, Canada, etc.) in order to enter Mexico.

He does currently have a multiple entry US visitors visa, as does his mom. Would his new immigrant visa invalidate his US visitors visa that would allow him into Mexico?

3 hours ago, LexieJ said:

My niece flew here from the Philippines as unaccompanied minor and she was 12 then(flight was 13 hours non-stop from Manila to San Francisco) she did fine, there's unaccompanied minor services with the airlines that you can arrange, maybe look into this option if mom could not take him here. The airline staff accompanied her all the time until we met her at the arrival area in San Francisco. Something to look into as another option. She was petitioned by my ex sister in law/step mom as LPR.

Thanks so much.  When we discussed it before, his mom wasn’t on board with the idea of sending him unaccompanied minor.  He’s done it in SA plenty, but it’s a whole other ball game internationally, especially if there’s a layover in another country with everyone having their own Covid restrictions and requirements. It may be an option if we get him to Joburg first and then there is a direct flight to Newark we could meet him at. Still thinking going through CBP on his own would be pretty stressful. Do the attendants stay with them through that and out to meet the parents?

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

I have not read back in the thread - can one of you not go and fetch him, then his mom can follow on a flight soon after once she can obtain proof of a minor LPR child?

That would be ideal, but unfortunately my husband won’t have enough vacation days from work. We also have a 3 year old who is my shadow at the moment, so I couldn’t fly alone and I’m not sure my sanity could handle flying for 4 days with a toddler on my own.  If it comes down to it, dad may have to take a few unpaid days. 

On 7/13/2021 at 12:55 PM, gossamer said:

Finally go DQ today (7/13). Now awaiting the next steps for interview.

Congrats!  We got DQ on the 16th. Interview on the 5th of August! 🥳

1 hour ago, HRQX said:

Your son will not have I-551 type document when boarding the US-bound flight as he will not be a LPR at that moment. Thus his mom will not be exempt to the proclamation (I'm assuming she doesn't have another child that is a USC or LPR). The airlines use Timatic: https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php

Ugh, thanks for the clarification.  Was hoping it was when he was issued the visa rather than upon landing. 
 

so, to be technical, she could bring him as far as Mexico, then we meet her there and bring him back to the states.  Once he’s in the states with us, she would be able to come as the parent of an LPR?  Not that that’s really a likely scenario, but she was hoping to come for the week or two before and when he starts school, just to help him get settled and meet his teachers.  But she wouldn’t have enough vacation time to spend 2 weeks in Mexico and then 2 weeks here. 

Okay, we are hopefully getting close to flight time.  Our interview is scheduled for August 5th.
 

upon rereading the presidential proclamation, it seems as though our sons mom should still be able to accompany him on his flight. Am I reading section IV correctly? Or am I missing something? 
 

(b)  The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of noncitizens who were physically present within the Republic of South Africa during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States, is hereby suspended and limited subject to section 2 of this proclamation.
Sec. 2.  Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry. 

(a)  Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:

(i)     any lawful permanent resident of the United States;

(ii)    any noncitizen national of the United States;

(iii)   any noncitizen who is the spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident;

(iv)    any noncitizen who is the parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, provided that the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is unmarried and under the age of 21;

I was wondering if that wouldn’t be possible.  When my husband went for his visa interview we didn’t have the police clearance certificate yet.  He went for his interview and they kept his passport.  When we got the certificate, we sent it to the embassy and shortly thereafter we got Officially approved and they mailed his passport to us with his ir1 visa inside and his packet. 

41 minutes ago, MavisAndBoclay said:

We received our DQ on June 14th and got an interview letter/email June 29th for an interview on July 7th. It made it impossible for us to get the medical done as the doctors were booked until the 8th and 12th. Now we need to reschedule the interview and there are no future dates available. We're beyond frustrated!!!! 

Oh my goodness, that’s such short notice! I mean you can’t book the medical appointment until you get the interview date and there are only two offices in the entire country you can use.  How frustrating. Do you mind if I ask which office you were trying to book with that’s so far booked in advance?  I really hope we don’t end up in the same boat.  My husband is planning to fly back to SA for the interview for our son and a week is such short notice to get anything done.  

Anyone who has recently interviewed in SA who can tell me approximately how long it took from the time they received their DQ letter to an actual interview?

4 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Just as a FYI, we had to get a computer generated marriage certificate for our US immigrant visas, back in 2013 already. 

Good info to know. We already had our computer generated certificate when we applied for his US visa, so of course we used that. I was hoping it might be an option to save someone else from at least that part of the long wait.  

Processing times have gotten much better, depending on the luck of which processing Center your application gets sent to. We are in the process of bringing our son to live with us as well and I sent our I-130 in at the end of December and it was approved by the end of April. We went through the Nebraska processing center.  There have been a few apparent glitches with NVC but that’s where we are now. 
 

I think waiting for your marriage certificate will be the longest part unfortunately. I don’t know if the handwritten copy from Home Affairs will be sufficient.  It would be something to look into. I found it ironic that the handwritten document was enough for me to get my drivers license and social security card changed on this side, but the SA government wouldn’t accept their own document to get my spousal visa. 🤷🏻‍♀️

She can stay with you the entire time, except for having to fly back to the US every three months to renew her visitors visa.  As long as SA doesn’t have Covid restrictions on us any longer.  As long as her parents income is 125% over the poverty line it’s fine. I wasn’t allowed to work while living in SA even on a spousal visa, but my mom acted as joint sponsor and we included a letter to the CO explaining this was the reason why I had no tax returns and our plans for me to go back to work upon our arrival in the US.  They never questioned it further as it didn’t seem to be an issue. 
 

as for domicile, as long as she’s living in SA and is intending to fly at the same time, she needs only to prove intent to reestablish domicile. I think all I gave them was my drivers license and a few bank statements. But again all that was included in my letter. 

I don’t know that DCF will be an option for you. To do so you need to be legitimately living in SA. My husband and I married in SA 04/2017 and it took 10 months to get our official marriage certificate from home affairs for us to apply for me to get a spousal visa. In that time I had to continue flying back to the US every three months. We got the spousal visa approved and continued living in SA until we decided in 2019 to move to the states. DCF was quite efficient once we filed. From initial filing to final interview was 5 months.  Unfortunately no matter which path you choose, it takes what feels like forever to get documents from Home Affairs. Plan on lots of traveling to stay together. To my knowledge, You can still file to a US lockbox while living in SA, but you will need that printed marriage certificate. 

I had the opposite experience.  I was not even allowed to wait outside the embassy while my husband went for his interview.  I had to wait for him at the mall.  This was in Sept 2019  

On 3/15/2021 at 5:36 PM, Loveforyou43 said:

Has Anyone went to the home Affairs in South Africa with your partner and apply for a marriage certificate. What was the interview like in regards to the questions they each of you

My husband and I got married in SA.  Our home affairs appointment was pretty straightforward. A few questions about our relationship and knowledge about each other. Nothing that a couple in a genuine relationship would have difficulty with though. But the wait for our marriage certificate after was hectic.  It took almost a year from our marriage date to finally get our certificate.  And that was in the before times. I had to still continue flying back to the US every three months. Then when I went to the SA embassy to apply for my spousal visa the guy was not helpful at all. Until my following trip into the states when my husband came with. Then it was, “Yes sir, how can I help Sir?”  🙄

Thank you both so much! You guys are awesome! 😁

53 minutes ago, HRQX said:

That is true for your stepson since he'll be traveling with an Immigrant Visa. But your stepson's mother cannot enter the US (*unless she is somehow exempt) if she has been physically present in South Africa during the 14-day period preceding her attempted entry into the US: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/covid-19-travel-restrictions-and-exceptions.html

Oh wow.  Thanks for that info.  I hadn’t heard this.  I’ll pass it on and we will have to possibly look at another solution if the proclamation is still in place.