majm

5 minutes ago, MedellinCOUS said:

Just got our email this morning! I was not expecting that.  So much to do now.

Congrats! We are about a month behind you (July 8, 2020) so hoping we are next. Good news to see some CR-1 activity, it seemed like only IR-1 for a while.

There are lots of updates in the Whatsapp group today about appointments being scheduled. Did anyone here get an update? It looks like mostly IR-1 and IR-2 but with DQ dates of June, July, Sept 2020. At least one CR-1 DQ from August 2020.

8 minutes ago, Becker said:

You say it takes a whole to acquire, but as i have asked others and some responded. I can include a copy of the submitted W7 form to show we are in the process of claiming an ITIN? If i waited for the ITIN it would probably go past the deadline we have to respond to the RFE. Do you also think this is okay? 

Just to clarify, I suggested that you send a complete copy of the joint return with all documentation, W-7, etc. instead of waiting for a tax transcript / receipt (that part will take months). The part that will take you time right now is gathering the documentation required to apply for the ITIN, if you choose to do this with the tax return. You don't just file form W-7, you also submit documentation with the W-7.

See page 3: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf

In our case, my wife had to take her passport to the US embassy in Colombia to get a certified copy of it. This took time to reserve an appointment (during Covid lockdown) but it was a simple process. She then FedEx'd it to me and I included the certification from the embassy with my return. It was all accepted.

Your spouse may be able to apply for an ITIN in the UK by going directly to an acceptance agent (I provided a link to this previously), but I do not know about that process. Either way, applying for an ITIN will take some time. Be sure that you read the instructions on form W-7.

2 hours ago, Becker said:

 

Okay so we have a life insurance policy dated today. We are going to include minimal chat logs from dates years ago to show we sent each other messages/pictures we sent to each other after trips and some others. We will also submit a US tax return MFJ as the USC has not yet submitted the tax return and we will include the full tax return as proof.

 

Do you also think we will need affidavits or do you think this will be enough to get past the RFE? 

 

Previously submitted stuff which was, 13 photos with and without family, trips abroad to Greece/Mexico/Ireland etc. A couple of boarding passes, passport stamps, one hotel receipt with both names in London.

I would focus on the joint tax return and any financial or insurance policy documentation that shows your spouse listed as a beneficiary. We did this with my IRA, 401k, life insurance policy, and even my homeowners insurance policy (none of it required an SSN). This is solid documentation. Keep in mind that to file MFJ and apply for an ITIN with the tax return, it will require additional documentation from the foreign spouse. This takes time to acquire, but IMHO it's still worth doing now even if you're understandably anxious to respond to the RFE. This is excellent evidence for your case not just at USCIS, but also when you get to NVC and your eventual interview. Joint financial anything is good.

Regarding affidavits, I think they appear relatively weak in comparison to documentation showing "co-mingling" of finances. Affidavits can be faked, forged, etc. Third party affidavits also have their own requirements, one glaring point being:

Quote

(d) Testimony or other evidence regarding courtship, wedding ceremony, shared residence and experience. You may submit your own statements or affidavits from others.

If you submit third party affidavits you must submit a sworn statement explaining why the usual supporting documents are unavailable

3 minutes ago, Becker said:

What are your thoughts on doing MFS and showing that in the RFE. Do you think it would help as it proves marriage or not?

I don't think MFJ or MFS really proves anything one way or another, but MFS just means you are married and filing separately. It's not a joint return. I would consider exactly what the RFE mentioned:

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(c) Shared financial obligations and assets such as jointly filed income taxes showing that each return was properly filed with the state or federal government, or jointly held bank accounts, credit card accounts or utility bills;

46 minutes ago, Becker said:

Okay well the more the better in this case i guess. Did you say we have to file by paper or can we file online also? 

It has to be paper filed if you do it with a tax return, unfortunately, which means it won't be processed for a while... nor will you receive any potential refund until it is done. There is also some work required on the foreign spouse's part to get their passport or other documentation certified at the embassy. That part is simple, but may add a week or more before you can respond to the RFE. However, considering it is one of the exact pieces of evidence they reference in the RFE, it's spot on. You can also apply for the ITIN in-person, but I know nothing about that:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/acceptance-agents-united-kingdom

As noted before, depending on your finances, the US citizen may see a big difference in their tax bracket / liability when going MFJ vs MFS. I ran the numbers for my spouse and I, and had I filed MFS my refund would have been about $2000. MFJ it was about $8000 (I make about $130k and my wife's income is minimal abroad). I'd discuss with a CPA and/or an acceptance agent listed in the enclosed link - doing this was well worth the effort for us.

7 minutes ago, Becker said:

How would this benefit us getting past the RFE? Is there any proof we can show for the RFE as we are submitting it online

Include a full copy of the return with said W-7 and all paperwork. It's not as simple as a tax transcript which would show the return has been received and processed, but it shows that you filed MFJ and are waiting for the ITIN.

40 minutes ago, Becker said:

Would that require us to file a joint taxes on the US Citizens tax for this year? We don't have an SSN or ITIN for the UK citizen as we were planning to do married filing separately. 

 

We both have jobs but I believe i do not have life insurance with my job. Or at least i have never been told of such 

If the US citizen spouse hasn't already filed their tax return, I'd say apply to get an ITIN - it's done at the same time when filing the tax return. Depending on your financial situation, MFJ can potentially benefit the US citizen's tax liability and any potential refund. When I did this last year, it required us to paper file (rather than electronic) which took MONTHS to process... but you could do this now and include a full copy of the MFJ return showing that you filed W-7 for the ITIN. By the time you get to NVC or the interview, the IRS may have already processed the return and the tax transcript will be additional help for you.

13 hours ago, Angell Beal said:

Hello Majm,

I was just wondering if your partner's letter from her employer was translated or notarized? (How do we prove to CBP that those documents are authentic?) What kinds of documentation did she bring when she entered the US? What documents do you recommend my partner bring when he visits me in the US?

 

Thank you.

Hey! The letter from my wife's employer was not translated or notarized, it was just a basic statement about her employment contract (she works for a bank) and a copy of her work ID card and some insurance info. She also brought paperwork from her university (she is finishing her masters degree, all online now due to Covid) which I think showed something about tuition paid, current class schedule and degree progress. She also had copies of our "NOA" letters from USCIS and an email from NVC saying our case is DQ. All of that plus the itinerary of her return flight back to Colombia... which was originally scheduled for right after Christmas, but extended to March.

As mentioned before, she may have just been lucky that morning... she ended up not needing any of this, but certainly better to be extra prepared if you need to show some suspicious passport control officer that you are NOT a risk of overstaying (I'm sure we all know it would be crazy to do this with a pending immigrant visa nearly complete!) My wife has also been to the US at least 10 times in the past, so her history may have helped. I can only recommend that you be prepared with whatever you have, be honest, and be as calm and polite as possible 🙂 Best of luck to you!

19 minutes ago, Angell Beal said:

Thank you!!!!! Did you know Bogota started the immigrant interviews on March 1st?!?!?!? Huzzah! I know it will be some more time until we get scheduled since they will start with cases who got their interviews cancelled due to covid and we are planning that my spouse visit me for just 3 weeks im the coming month. I will keep your reaponse in mind to get documentation fpr my spouse! Good luck to you. 

Yes, finally some progress! 🙂 Good luck to you as well!

Just a heads up: there are several posts today on a Facebook group for CR-1/IR-1 in Bogota from people who are receiving interview appointments in March and April 2021!

1 minute ago, James & Helga said:

Thanks!   Im pretty sure that the NVC had sent the case to the consulate already.  We’re just going to have to be patient.  

Just a heads up - you can check your petition's location here: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

Good luck to you!

1 minute ago, WEDO said:

I just wrote the NVC to see if I can get confirmation on how long it will take to get an interview at the Bogota embassy.

If it really is going to be another year before she gets a visa interview....I will rent my house out in the states and just stay in Colombia for another year. 

I thought about coming back to the USA and getting a job....but I can't be away from my daughter that long. 

I totally understand 😞 Unfortunately, I would prepare for a generic response. NVC's "support" is outsourced to contractors at a company called Senture and they are relatively useless. I have emailed both NVC and the embassy several times over the last 6 months and no one can confirm anything. As someone noted earlier in this thread, some embassies actually evacuated American staff and their families when COVID blew up, so it's possible the correct people necessary for visa interviews aren't even in the country. My wife knows someone who had an emergency expedite interview in December (IR-1) and she said there was only ONE person in the IV unit.

 1 minute ago, James & Helga said:

Oh wow.  So being married for over two years will save us $700?  I’m good with that!  Yes, it’s been a long wait.  My wife’s interview appointment was scheduled for April 6, 2020.  She had scheduled her physical, etc.  A week before her interview we received the e-mail that her appointment was canceled because of covid.  And we’re still waiting like everyone else.  

Sorry to hear about your interview timing 😞 I have read similar stories on here from people that were just about to interview and be done with this process, only to have the brakes slammed on in March. Hopefully you guys will have the first shot at rescheduling when the embassy re-opens. Is your case still at NVC, or did NVC actually send it to the consulate already?

 17 minutes ago, WEDO said:

I DQ'd a week ago and thought I would be notified of my wife's visa interview date some time next month for her interview in Bogota. And if I understand your post.....you were DQ'd in October 2020 and haven't even been given an appointment date..... Or did you actually get assigned an appointment date 14 months into the future?

You can assume there is at least 1 year of backlogged interviews for Bogota considering they stopped routine scheduling in early 2020 and haven't scheduled since. We have been DQ since July 2020 and our file is still sitting at NVC with everyone else waiting for interview scheduling 😞 I would prepare for a long wait, especially considering they will likely re-schedule based on your "priority date" and/or DQ date at NVC.

https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

7 minutes ago, James & Helga said:

Yup, that is definitely our case.  We were married in January 2019.  My wife should receive a green card that’s good for ten years.  That is a small silver lining, but it is one positive thing out of all of this.

Yep, it's something. The fee to "remove conditions" from CR-1 is about $700.

We have been DQ at NVC since July 2020 (3 months ahead of you). The situation is terrible, but there is nothing we can do about it. The embassy in Bogota is not unique in cancelling interview appointments, but they have been particularly affected by the city repeatedly locking down. There's not much the embassy can do when the city is in mandatory quarantine, they are under their rules (and to be fair, it would likely be more frustrating to start scheduling interviews only to cancel them again whenever the city decides to shut down).

Unless one has a genuine emergency that is approved by the embassy, we will all be dealing with the scheduling backlog once the embassy resumes normal processing. It sucks, but take some comfort in knowing you have done everything you can do. Perhaps the only "good thing" in this situation is that if you have been married for more than 2 years by the time your spouse enters the US (which is likely going to happen for many people stuck in this delay) your spouse will be IR-1, and won't need to remove conditions related to CR-1.

My wife did this last October. She is currently still here in the US on her tourist visa and she will leave by April.

Like everyone, we are waiting for the embassy in Bogota to re-open and begin scheduling appointments... but it will be a long time. Visiting on a tourist visa while waiting for an immigrant visa is definitely possible (and a nice option if you can arrange it) but as noted above: be ready to show CBP strong proof that you will return, if asked. My wife was NOT asked any questions about where she was staying, why she was visiting, etc (just what city she was going to) but she was 100% prepared with lots of documentation from our pending visa process and a letter from her employer in Colombia (she works remotely). She has been GRILLED by immigration in the past in ATL and MIA, so we were surprised how simple it was this time (and we realize she may have just been lucky that morning). This was at DFW at 5:00am. Good luck!

1 hour ago, Katie & Camilo said:

Same here!! We requested an expedite as we were DQ'd at NVC on May 22. Our request was denied and we were told the same thing - wait for routine processing.

So frustrating! My wife knows several people who had student visa interviews at the Embassy in the last few weeks. That seems to have been made "priority" because universities in the US were starting... and international tuition is a cash cow for them. I hope we hear something positive soon 🙁

19 hours ago, Katie & Camilo said:

Thank you!! I am in the same boat. I was able to visit him last in February, and haven't been able to go back since. Let's pray we hear something soon...

We are in a similar situation... my wife and I haven't seen each other since January 😢 I had a flight scheduled in March that was canceled, then rescheduled and canceled again in June, then again in September. I heard the airport there "might reopen" in October for international flights, but who knows. My wife has a US tourist visa and I have Colombian residency, but with the airport closed for all but humanitarian evacuation flights, it's a nightmare being stuck in this dreadful process.

We sent an expedite request to the embassy last month, who in turn advised we had to request it to NVC first. We sent it to NVC last week just to see if it would help somehow (our case has been completely done at NVC since June). They said they then asked the embassy and they said no, we have to wait for routine processing. We were prepared that might happen, but the most ridiculous part of the denial is that NVC's response said something about "when you pay all fees and we have reviewed the documents, we will schedule the interview" (canned response, clearly didn't even look at our case). We have been 100% paid and complete at NVC since June! The contractors they use for "customer service" are useless.

We surprisingly received our DQ today, 7/8! Submitted everything on 6/28.

Both AOS and IV now show as "accepted" on CEAC. Good luck, everyone!

18 hours ago, India0310 said:

I guess it’s outside normal processing time

 

im spooked

never read about such emails from uscis

It may help to call USCIS and confirm exactly which service center has your petition. According to processing times on their website, you are at the upper end of the 5-7 month estimate in TSC. For VSC, their estimated times have changed dramatically. We were approved in just over 8 months at TSC and we were also told we were not yet outside of normal processing times... although according to their posted stats, we were. I found the estimated times unhelpful considering their page says the estimates are based on data 2 months prior to them even updating the page. I always took that to mean the info is already out-of-date, or just plain incorrect.

Quote

We generally process cases in the order we receive them, and we will update this page each month. The estimated time range displayed is based on data captured approximately two months prior to updating the page. Please note that times may change without prior notice.

3 minutes ago, Vcgy said:

Hey congrats ! What’s the exact reply u got from out of processing time ? If u don’t mind ! I got a reply on the 29th may upto now nothing yet ! 

Thanks! 

This is what I received about a week after submitting the request:

Quote

We have received your service request and researched the status of your case. Your case is currently in line for processing and adjudication. Cases are processed in the order in which they were received. USCIS will notify you if any further information is needed from you or when a decision has been made.

Approved

NOA1: October 10, 2019

NOA2: June 16, 2020 (8 months)

Texas Service Center, no transfer, no RFE. I filed a "case outside of normal processing time" request in May, received a generic "cases are processed in the order they are received" response (not accurate!)

Text message and email notification this morning about a "case update". USCIS website still says "in process" but "case closed" above it; formal I-130 Approval letter is in our documents section. Good luck everyone!

2 hours ago, FAW said:

If you read my initial post - we are currently living in separate countries.   

The post you replied to says they were also in separate countries. My spouse and I are in separate countries and we filed a joint tax return. We also have joint bank account documentation because of the ITIN acquired from filing a joint tax return. Call your bank and ask about their requirements. For our I-130, we submitted documentation showing life insurance policies and retirement accounts with each other listed as beneficiaries, plus joint homeowners insurance. None of that required a SSN or ITIN.

3 hours ago, moneeb Iqbal said:

 u wasn't I130 filer ... 

Some people file I-129F after I-130.

1 hour ago, Katie & Camilo said:

WE GOT APPROVED TODAY!!!!

 

US Citizen petitioning for Spouse

NOA1 from Texas

PD - October 10, 2019

Transferred to California - Feb. 23, 2020

Account update - March 26, 2020

APPROVED - April 16, 2020 from California SC!

 

I literally cannot believe it! So happy, so thankful!!! It's coming soon everyone!!

 

**My account still says "in process", but "case closed" and was updated again today. I found the Approval Notice under documents!!!

Congrats! We also have our I-130 PD 10/10/19 from Texas (and my spouse is also from Colombia). Did you ever get any formal notice about the transfer to California? We haven't seen anything change for our case on USCIS website since it was received. I haven't called to check considering we are just now at ~6 months, but I'm curious how many people are being transferred without notice.

We received an IOE (text and email)

NOA1 date is October 10, sent to Texas Service Center