SarahxRuby

Just now, payxibka said:

Registration number is on the I129F approval notice , begins Axxxxxxxxxx

 

I would not consider him hispanic

To clarify it says "Hispanic or Latino" He is a Spanish speaker. I am more worried about the other questions though! 

We have married and now applying for AOS! Today I am on the I-485 (newest version) and I have some questions I am not sure about. Anyone know the correct way to fill in 22a. 23c. & 24 in Part 1? Do we as K1 have an Alien Registration Number or USCIS online account number? Finally my husband is from Spain so I have put "Hispanic" for ethnicity but not sure if we should mark something for "race." Any help would be great, thanks guys!

7 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

You'll also print that out for the AOS application. 

 

And after you got home from the SSA office you can check here https://www.uscis.gov/save/save-casecheck how that application is going. That's the database where SSA checks the information of your fiance and it will show you if it's still processing or already handed back to SSA.

Amazing! So just to be clear, when he enters they will not hand him a I94 form right? We will only have access via online? I want to be sure he knows what he needs to keep an eye out for. 

4 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

Back in the days CBP handed out paper slips as I94. They kept a copy and at the end of the shift a unlucky person in the backoffice had to enter all that information manually into the system. That took some time. That's not the case anymore ( except for Canadians? I think there's something different). Google I94 and CBP that will lead you to the web page where y'all can check it.

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home#section

Incredibly easy to access!!! Posting here in case someone else needs it. Amazing! Thank you! I double checked and found my fiance's I94 from a trip a couple years ago and bam. 

3 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

Oh that was before. Now you probably have to make an appointment for your husband but that doesn't change the fact that you don't have to wait. He can check his I94 online and as long as his entry shows he's good to go.

Yes, I have contacted our SS office and we do have to make an appointment. I didn't realized we can see the I94 online, I assume this is what the 2 week wait period was for before. So if it is registered he is "in the system" and we will go to SS office. Lets hope its immediate! Thanks!

17 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

I went to the SSA office the day after I arrived. The 2 weeks waiting time was long ago when everything had to be put in the system manually by CBP but now the I94 will show his entry immediately after he went through CBP. 

Ok great! Was the pre-covid or post when you did this by chance?

Hey guys, I am looking for some guidance on our timeline here. 

My fiancé is currently on quarantine in Mexico after receiving his K1 visa in Madrid, Spain. We are part of the Milligan lawsuit. 

I am now arranging his AOS paperwork and want to clarify the timeline given changes due to COVID and best options.

He will enter the US on March 26th and we will get married on April 3rd. 

1. Should we go apply for his Social security number before we get married on the 3rd? If not, when? I think I read somewhere we have to wait 2 weeks until he shows up in the system, is this true? My thought process is we are more likely to receive his SS card sooner if we apply for it separately from the I-765?
2. If we have to wait 2 weeks can we still apply for is separately even after we are married? With hopes we get it sooner than with -I-765.
3. Should we file the I-765 for his EAD and add on getting a social security number? I haven't seen where to do this on the I-765 form but I have also read about it. If true, where

I am hoping to send of everything immediately after the wedding, he is a teacher and our hopes are his EAD will come before this fall. 

Thanks for your help! 

2 minutes ago, ARs said:

Hey, you guys,

 

Shipping dates in January are the 7th and the 21st. NVC assigned our case December 30th but we called NVC Jan 9th and they said it was not shipped yet.

 

When I took a look at other timelines I figured out that from the moment it is sent, the embassy receives it 2-3 days later, and more or less in a week, you get the letter from the embassy with the instructions. 

 

NVC should be able to tell you if your case has already been shipped or not. 

 

I hope it helps. 

 

Ángela & Sam

Hey guys! 

Thanks for the response. If I find a moment tomorrow I am going to call the NVC and see if they can tell me anything. I have a feeling it must be shipping out tomorrow. I have seen that on other timelines as well now. I don't want to panic until I need to, hahaha. We are prepping all our paperwork now for the interview and the medical visit. I am not clear yet on what we need to send (copies or originals) and if they need to be in English or Spanish... but hopefully this is clear when the Madrid embassy contacts us. I am hoping that his interview isn't too far out... I miss him dearly. 

Thanks again! -Sarah 

Hey there! 

I am wondering if you can help me and my fiance figure out the next step we are supposed to do, I have been asking around with no real clear answers. So I figured best to ask people who have just done it, glad I found this thread! So...we received the I 1797 Dec. 9th approving our K1 visa, and I was able to call the NVC on Jan 3rd and get our case number. I think I was able to track our case and it seems as it has arrived in Madrid on Jan 9th (not 100% sure about this.) Can you share with me what steps are to happen next? I am reading a million things and nothing seems concrete. Any information would be incredibly helpful.

Thank you!
Sarah & Juan Antonio 

17 minutes ago, SarahxRuby said:

SO I am a bit worried at the moment. I was re-reading the NOA2 first month form and in section 8  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfin98c33IEpB0T0FlURERriblYmlm5O/view it gave another website to track the case... I have no idea how I have missed this until now. I plugged in our case number and this has come up. It says "Please follow the instructions you received from the National Visa Center (NVC) that list the six steps you must take before NVC can schedule your visa interview appointment. This includes submitting to NVC various fees, forms and documents. Once NVC has received all the required items, they will let you know if anything is missing or incomplete. You can also find these instructions online at http://nvc.state.gov (English) and http://nvc.state.gov/espanol (Spanish). You will find contact information for NVC at http://nvc.state.gov/ask."

 

I click and get this. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/after-petition-approved/begin-nat-visa-center.html . It says specifically to go there once we receive a letter and we haven't yet. I got my case number on Jan 3rd. Our case is going to Madrid, Spain. Have I been sitting on my butt wasting my time since the 3rd!? Should I go through these 6 steps now? 

Ok I think I answered my own questions: 

"After creating your case, we will send you instructions for processing, as well as a Welcome Letter that includes your Case Number and Invoice ID" 

So I can't do anything without the Invoice ID number... back to square one of waiting right?

SO I am a bit worried at the moment. I was re-reading the NOA2 first month form and in section 8  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfin98c33IEpB0T0FlURERriblYmlm5O/view it gave another website to track the case... I have no idea how I have missed this until now. I plugged in our case number and this has come up. It says "Please follow the instructions you received from the National Visa Center (NVC) that list the six steps you must take before NVC can schedule your visa interview appointment. This includes submitting to NVC various fees, forms and documents. Once NVC has received all the required items, they will let you know if anything is missing or incomplete. You can also find these instructions online at http://nvc.state.gov (English) and http://nvc.state.gov/espanol (Spanish). You will find contact information for NVC at http://nvc.state.gov/ask."

I click and get this. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/after-petition-approved/begin-nat-visa-center.html . It says specifically to go there once we receive a letter and we haven't yet. I got my case number on Jan 3rd. Our case is going to Madrid, Spain. Have I been sitting on my butt wasting my time since the 3rd!? Should I go through these 6 steps now? 

1 hour ago, Greenbaum said:

Your welcome. Are you in the December NOA2 to Embassy thread. If so there are lots of tools in a PDF file that I posted a link to in the first post on page 1. Download and use.

 

For DS160 to scan and email where? I have the printed to bring... but where am I sending the scanned copy?

Good thing I asked about the paperwork to turn I will be sure to have an exact copy of what we are bringing to the interview & submitting before hand depending on what our embassy asks for. 

On 1/5/2020 at 8:16 AM, Greenbaum said:

The only information you need is the P3 letter which I shared with you. In the first instuctions it states to complete the DS-160, upload a copy and schedule your interview. See below. This is straight from your P3.

 

1. DS-160: You need to complete the online application form, DS-160 for each applicant included in the case. The Consular Electronic Application Center can be accessed directly through: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/. We cannot initiate processing of your application until the electronic form has been uploaded. Please send a copy of the confirmation page with the barcode.

 

Q1 - Follow the directions in the P3 letter. See "Second" below.

Q2 - See Third below - This information comes directly from the P3. Please follow as all your questions are answered there.

Q3 - See my first paraghraph.

 

SECOND
Pay the application fee/Schedule appointment. Once we provide you authorization to schedule your appointment for the visa interview you must register in the web page https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ES/iv to pay the fee and select the post office for correspondence. There you will be able to select an appointment date and time. For assistance with registering, payment or scheduling, you may call: from Spain: 91-123-8866; or, from the United States: 1.703.543.9306.

 

THIRD
Arrange for your medical examination. Visa applicants are responsible for scheduling their own appointment for a medical examination before the scheduled interview date with the approved panel physicians. You should note that the medical examination is only valid for six (6) months and the visa validity will be limited to the validity of your medical exam. Our approved panel physician is listed on our website at https://es.usembassv.gov/wp- content/uploads/sites/260/2017/04/Instructions Medical Exam 0916.pdf. You must print the letter on the website and take it to your medical appointment. DO NOT SEND THE MEDICAL EXAM; BRING IT ON THE APPOINTMENT DATE.

 

Thank you for the breakdown! We continue steadily moving along and I have some follow up questions. 

1- We have completed the DS 160. I have printed the confirmation page for him to take to his interview. Now, you have mentioned submitting it somewhere... did you just mean completing it on the website itself or where do I need to upload and send this form? 

2- I have since tried scheduling his interview but it says the case is not ready yet. I want to confirm that this is probably because it hasn't arrived to the Madrid embassy yet from the NVC? I thought they sent on Tues/Wed and so per that it should be there by now... OR is it because I haven't submitted the DS 160 somewhere?

3- Now I am second guessing myself all over again... do we need to submit all the paperwork I am collecting for the interview first via mail? Because it is Spain? Do you think I should just wait to get the letter confirmation from them and go from there? I know I'm trying to expedite a complicated process. My fiance leaves back to Spain from visiting me tomorrow and I am trying to make sure he goes with originals and as much original  paperwork as possible. 

Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!

On 12/14/2019 at 3:07 PM, Greenbaum said:

I am the author of that PDF file and if you follow along it will give you the ability to follow your case from NOA2 to the Embassy. Everything has been proven to work with the slight curve ball from some of the governmental agency where upon they sometimes don't follow their onwn process. You should be in the Decemember NOA2 to Embassy thread but it's not a requirement as you can choose where ever it is that you want to be.

 

Here is some additional information that I have for you that pertains to spain. Good luck.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UsM5rUke5AZ3kH8HQf7SNRSxhtHiqzAS/view?usp=sharing

https://es.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/fiancee/how-to-apply/

 

Spain requires the embassy send the packet 3 which allows the beneficiary to schedule and attend the medical and needs to be brought to the medical appointment, and in order to book the interview Spain requires packet 4. I have not verified this but this information came from someone who processed recently.

 

A wet signature is not required for the I-134 that will be presented at the interview.

 

Procedure for Obtaining: For information about how to request the” Certificado de Antecedentes Penales” you can visit the following web page mjusticia.gob.es.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Spain.html (scroll down to section on police records).

Thank you for this response! Since your response our case has made it to the NVC and we got out case number yesterday, Jan 3rd. Today I filled out the DS 160 and gathered the documentation. I just have to complete the I-134, I am trying to get my taxes done from last year before he goes to his interview so I am waiting on this. I hope it was ok that I did the DS 160 before our case getting to the embassy (also I thought there was a fee for the DS160 but nothing ever came up?)

1-Should I wait to schedule the interview then once it gets to the embassy? It should be sent off this coming Tuesday per the schedule.

2-I also want to schedule the med exam as well. I am confused on if the exam needs to 6 weeks or 6 months before the interview? 

3-I guess I am also confused on the packet 3/4 situation... what are these exactly? I feel lost with Spain, there is not that much information out there. 

He is going to be in Madrid for other reasons coming up and we are trying to save some by scheduling these things while he is already there. I am going to look into the interview registration page as well. Any direction would be great, your info from before was great! 

Hey guys! I have read back some and it looks like y'all got a nice little community going on. I am looking to join in as we have just received the online approval of our I-129 for our K1 case (12/10). I am from South Carolina and he is from Spain! SO... I am reading around on what to do next and I feel helpless again like when I started the I-129 packet. 

Can someone confirm for me I have together these steps? I have simplified them down to be sure I really get what is going on, hahaha.  I am also following this doc I found in another thread https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfin98c33IEpB0T0FlURERriblYmlm5O/view

1- We wait until the letter comes in the mail with the NOA2 receipt number, and update our emails with the NVC. We wait to hear that it has arrived. (approx.30days). They send us a message. Then in another 5-10 days we call to get our case number.

2- Check shipping days (every other tues/wed) on when our case will get sent out to Madrid based on when we received our case number. Should be marked as "In transit"

2.5-We are working with the Madrid embassy, where I am almost sure we schedule his interview. So can we go ahead and do the DS-160 once we have our case number to get this date down? Or do we have to wait for he ready? Can we do the DS 160 as soon as we have the NOA2 receipt number? Basically want to schedule the interview ASAP (knowing he also needs the med exam before as well) Typing this out now though seems impossible to guess the timing on everything if we schedule in advance. thoughts?

3- I assume now I have to get together all the documents he needs to take to the interview. I am sure there is a list of that around here somewhere. Lets hope I don't have a mini anxiety attack while figuring this all out. HELP. Thank you

16 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Another thing to consider is that with a pending K-1, he may get some scrutiny by CBP about the plan to stay for three months on the ESTA, especially as a teacher.

Well this school year he is not teaching and he is studying English. Do you think it would help if we register him for an English course while he is visiting? Not so much at a college where he would need a student visa, maybe a private tutor? His current job is also seasonal, and will have documentation on events he needs to attend upon his return. So I'm hoping with that information on hand in case they begin to ask questions will clear them up. I was also thinking of writing a letter on my behalf explaining that we are fully aware of the process and have no intentions on breaking any rules. Thoughts?

18 hours ago, TenderHearted said:

That sounds good! I live in Tennessee (Knoxville), and yes, there's a lot of both for her. She's like my equal in every way,  just she was born and raised in Spain. We are a little of a different couple (She learned English for me, and I'm not worthy of that, but I'm trying to learn Castillian Spanish for her, and I need her with me to help me with that. I speak German fluently, but I find Spanish pretty hard to learn, and I struggle with it) . It's been a bit longer than that for me and her (Close to a year ), but like I said, the issue we've had to endure is close to over, and then there will be happiness to be had. Immigration is hard, but once it's done, it will be good indeed. Life over the past few years has been heartbreaking and hard, and I'm just trying to rebuild and go forward. I need her to do that.

In all of the heartbreak, time and anxiety I know that couples like us are going to be stronger for it in the end! And hey! We aren't that far! I'm around Charlotte, NC. I grew up speaking a broken Spanish but being with him and in Spain corrected it really quickly, hes studying English pretty hardcore at the moment, and good thing he already has a steady level. I will be following your page and I hope so see things clear soon. - To share the ¨answer¨ to my original question here we are decided for him to come during the holidays, even though there is a good chance we are approved by the end of Nov. the turn around time to the actual medical and interview seems to average about 4 months. Also turns our we have a friend who is a travel agent who is helping up find a good deal for a flexible fair in case he does need to change the date of his ticket. I hope this information may help anyone out there! ❤️

1 minute ago, TenderHearted said:

Yes, the trip to Madrid (At least this first one, if we can marry in Spain although I do not live there) will be for items needed by the Civil Registry to legally marry in Spain, not the petitioning process for the CR-1 visa. And we sound a lot alike, as I'm trying to look ahead to potential pitfalls and snafus that could happen, to be prepared to overcome them, plus I'm a little anxious over things as well. The crazy things a person will do for love, right? But she's totally worth it. I would just suffer without her, as I have been in this waiting process for this issue to be resolved, but it is what we must do to go forward. We'll get it figured out. One way or another, things will fall into line.

I was totally thinking the same thing. If I can catch an issue before it becomes one, it saves me heart attacks and probably money, hahaha. You have some incredible patience and love for your girl, I'm learning this for my man! We have only been apart 7 weeks and I'm not doing so well. As to why I am here trying to figure this timeline all out... We should keep in touch and depending where you are in the US maybe we can all 4 grab a drink when the nightmare is over! 🤣

3 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

The reason we withdrew the K-1 was on religious grounds that had to be rectified first. That time is almost up, and we can continue shortly. It wasn't paperwork, so no worries on your part. I know I must be there with her to file for the permission, it's just whether or not I must be there during the wait that's in question. I'm hoping not. From what I've read, it shouldn't be a problem, but she will be asking at her town hall as well. Each jurisdiction has some autonomy as to how what they allow, at least what I understand from what I've read. She's going to have to do the clarification work at her town hall though, but even at that, I'll still have to make a trip to Madrid for paperwork though the US Embassy there, that requires apostilles.

That sounds about right. In Spain it seems rules either never apply, or sometimes... impossible to know. The trip you need to make to Madrid with the Apostilles, that has to do with your wedding there correct? Not the visa processes? I had to get some paperwork with apostille stamps last year and it took sometime for it to process, in case you haven't looked into it yet. 

41 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

In my case, I'm hoping I can just marry her in Spain, and then I'll file the CR-1 (Since we did have a K-1 filed, but due to circumstances, we had to withdrawl it, which means starting over :(). I was under the impression you could wait outside of Spain until you got clearance to marry. I certainly hope that is the case. Otherwise, I might have to seriously consider Gibraltar, which I would rather not do, but will if there is no other choice in the matter.

I would suggest triple checking on the marriage wait time and Gibraltar. We talked to the people in our towns city hall and they said I had to be present. But like I said, we didn't ask about during the wait period. Can I ask the circumstances on withdrawing your K1? Mostly just to know if it was a paperwork issue since we are both working with Spain, and I keep an eye on it in our process. 

1 minute ago, TenderHearted said:

Now if you've started down the road for the K-1, I'd leave well enough alone. If you do for whatever reason need to refile though, a CR-1 would be best for a number of reasons. I am in that boat of having to refile the paperwork, which is the reason I am going that route. You did nothing wrong at all, it's just a different means to an end.

 

Ahh, I see. OK well good to know there is backup plan for it all. Our case is really straight forward though so I am not anticipating and RFE or problems. Thank you for telling me I haven't done wrong, I about went into a spiral of doubt and deep internet searching hahaha. Best of luck to you!!!!

22 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

You could have married in Spain, you would just have to had waited the 45 days or so for the approval by the civil registry, then you could have went back to marry after getting the approval. This is what I am up against now. No doubt we will go the CR-1 route, and since I don't live in Spain (But of course she is a Spaniard by birth and residence), I'll end up making a trip just to get the paperwork applied for, then another a few months later to actually marry her. There are a few things that have to be done in order to marry in Spain, but at least her family would be there, which for me would be a plus.

 

I have considered Gibraltar, but keep in mind, you still need to look on the Gibraltar Ministry's website for all the details. It's not as easy as you might think, but it's not nearly as hard as the paperwork to marry in Spain.

Well we asked about the conditions of me being there and such for the timeline in Spain and they said I had to be there. I guess we didn't realize I could have left in the wait time. Oh well. I also have no idea how you guys can afford, money and time wise, doing all these flights. We're having a big formal wedding in a couple years, this visa process is enough to worry about and were fine with a small civil ceremony here in the US when all is said and done. I really appreciate all the info you guys are giving me but I just don't see us ¨starting over¨ with a CR-1 at all. Honestly its just making me anxious thinking we did all of this wrong, I did all the insane research I could at the time and this is the path we chose. I'm very detailed oriented and none of this came up and now I just don't even know what to do. I just want to know what to do about him visiting on the ESTA and go with our original K1 plan unless someone thinks I'm missing something huge and can make an argument for us starting over again... 

Ps. I'm a little emotional right now so please bare with me if that came through. I really do appreciate you all taking the time to comment. ❤️

1 hour ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

I'm just going by what other VJ users have posted in their timelines, so here https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?cfl= has per-country NVC to interview averages as reported by other posters here (note that this can run into small sample size issues and reporting bias), and here has the average processing times at each step as reported by VJ users: https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical/

 

This is not official information, and these are averages; some cases will have been faster, some slower, and some much slower.

Thanks for the links, ill be investigating.  All in all I guess we just have to guess... buy the tickets with flexible dates and pay a change fee need be. Not having official information makes me nauseous, but I know what I've signed up for. 

50 minutes ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

I'd check with other posters with a Spanish fiancé and figure out if there's anything he needs to do in-person in Spain other than showing up for the interview and medical exam. In a lot of countries you can schedule both of those, and get police certificates and the like online.

 

The VJ average from NVC Ready to interview in Madrid is about 2.5 months, and VJ average for NOA2 to NVC ready is about 1.5 months, so you're probably figuring 4 months from NOA2 to interview in any case.

I am going to see if I can find some other posters with Spanish fiancè, just having trouble locating them exactly, hahaha. Where he is in Spain everything goes really slow... so yes, online would be ideal but they also seem to be living in an ¨in-person¨ past sometimes.

As for the interview process times in Madrid... where are you finding this information?! So if we go get our NOA2 around the end of November, him getting back around January 11th would be in the clear? If I can just figured out if the Madrid embassy schedules the interviews or us! Ugh, maybe I'm just not punching in the right key words! 

49 minutes ago, HRQX said:

The $535 for the I-129F would be lost; correct. Even so, the total costs in both scenarios would be relatively close for your case.

K-1:

I-129F fee you already paid so no longer relevant

Embassy fee $265

Medical exam fee; same as CR-1 (except if the K-1 exam isn't marked complete and a US civil surgeon is needed during Adjustment of Status, then K-1 becomes more expensive)

Adjustment of Status $1225

 

CR-1:

Airfare, hotel, etc. costs to marriage location; varies

I-130 fee $535

NVC fee $445

Medical exam fee

USCIS Immigrant Fee $220

Taking into account the international flights, domestic, the hotel and the original $535... it would far exceed the cost for the K1 and we just can't do that now. Even if we penny pinched you never know what could come up and couldn't risk the time or the money... I think. Considering this complicates everything, I'm high anxiety and the risk of it all just seems too much.