Gonzalaz

To clarify for all, there is currently an injunction, so the Public Charge Rule is NOT enforceable by the Department of State (which covers all of us doing the process outside of the country). 

This means that-- at least as long as there is an injunction-- they should not ask you for the DS 5540 at the visa interview. My husband just had his interview, and they did not ask him for this form. Another person on here also just had their interview and similarly was not asked for the form. 

It is confusing because there were 2 injunctions issued against the Public Charge Rule (back in July, I think). One of them was successfully successfully appealed (so the Public Charge Rule went back into effect for those doing their processes WITHIN the US). But the injunction against the Dept of State is still active, per the Dept of State's website (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/update-on-public-charge.html) 

3 hours ago, Fer Schvarztman said:

No, the proofs for AOS will be the same, but for example if your English is not good, it'll be better start practicing, if you get married don't get in debt, you must have good credit score, try to have a private health insurance or if your spouse can add you into his/her health insurance will be fine, as soon as you get your work permit, try your best to find a job that pays over the poverty line (I'm in NYC and it's pretty hard to find a job, I got one In mid July and lost it after 4 weeks because the coffee store couldn't make it through the pandemic, and it took 6 months to find). Now I'm still looking for one, trying to eliminate the possibility to have a GC Denied because they may think I could become a public charge in the near future. 

 

If your future spouse already earns over the poverty line, and has a stable job, that will also help you a lot if you can't find a job in the US. 

 

This is the latest update about this public charge rule. I recommend you to read all the red flags, check if any may apply or could apply to you when you get to the US, so you can prepare a solid Adjustment of Status case.

 

https://www-axios-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.axios.com/public-charge-immigrants-trump-administration-f47c1a15-4583-4d93-8220-6e5b3bdc2840.html?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.axios.com%2Fpublic-charge-immigrants-trump-administration-f47c1a15-4583-4d93-8220-6e5b3bdc2840.html

3 hours ago, Lucre said:

Does this mean that they're going to ask for more evidence about our spouses income once we ask for the green card?

I think there is currently an injunction on this: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/update-on-public-charge.html

13 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

Your application is approved by USCIS. NVC (DOS) assigns a case number and moves your file on to the embassy. You will get a letter from USCIS which is referred to as a NOA2 letter advising you of the outcome of your application. Most times it's an approval. Once NVC assigns a case number to your application and it (case file) is sent to the embassy then they will send a letter to the petitioner with your case number and receipt/invoice number. Those letters are not mailed until your case file is physically sent from NVC to the embassy. So yes, everyone gets a letter, whether it arrives or not is another topic.

13 hours ago, Tooba Nasir said:

Everyone get letter from department of state after approval of case??

Yes, that was my experience. The NOA2 was a letter that got mailed to my house. And then about 1.5 months later the NVC emailed the case number and login instructions to access CAEC to both the petitioner and the sponsor! 

16 hours ago, Zeitzen said:

Thanks for the info, that's really useful!

 

I'll print the I-864 we sent to NVC and keep the latest tax returns and W-2 at hand just in case

 

Last time I requested my criminal records through https://www.argentina.gob.ar/justicia/reincidencia/antecedentespenales, that URL takes you to the RNR (Registro nacional de Reinicidencia). You can fill out a form and they just send you a PDF with the records, there's no "con excepción al artículo 51 del Código Penal" option, last I checked this was the only way to get them. It might be because of the pandemic, but I'll call the registry on monday to check!

 

 

Edit: I read about the criminal records being required on arrival in this thread and in some other website (cant recall which one), so that information could be completely wrong

Yea you go to the office...at least in Buenos Aires. My husband went in and got a new antecedentes penales two weeks ago. 

1 hour ago, Zeitzen said:

Hi Guys! I have an interview for my CR-1 visa Sep 3rd and I'm getting a bit paranoid because sites have different information so I feel a bit lost 😅

 

These are all the required documents I've found:

 

• Copy of your NVC interview letter
• Copy of the Yatri appointment registration confirmation
• Confirmation page from the Form DS-260 Application 
• Original DNI and photocopies
• Your original birth entry and a photocopy.
• Unexpired passport valid for six (6) months + photocopy of the biographic page (where your name and photo are located).
• All Previous  and / or expired passports
• Two (2) color photographs (5 cm x 5 cm)
• Medical examination results (They're online now, Dr Grillo told me she sent them to the embassy already)
• Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return, and any relevant W-2s.
• Proof of your U.S. petitioner’s status and domicile in the United States (photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card).
• Evidence of the relationship between the petitioner and visa applicant (such as photographs, letters, or emails). You should gather more photos, message record or videocall record. They should be different than the ones you sent on the I-129F packet.
• Original marriage entry and a photocopy.
• Police certificate
• Fill out DS-5540 https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds5540.PDF

I just have 3 small doubts:

1. Am I forgetting something?
2. We already filled Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) when submitting documents for NVC, does that mean that they require an updated one with the last tax returns?
3. I also sent my police certificate to NVC in May (“con excepción al artículo 51 del Código Penal” is no longer an option, NVC bounced my certificate back and I had to re-submit it explaining that there was no option in the form), but I've read that I need a valid one (they expire in 90 days?) upon entry to the US. Do I need to request another one?

Thanks!

 

Hello! My husband just had his CR-1 interview on August 13. Your list looks complete....though I would advise you to bring the tax returns/tax transcripts that you submitted to the NVC from previous years. I seem to recall that they asked my husband for those (I will double check with him tomorrow, and post an update if that was NOT the case). 

You do not need to fill out a new I-864 with 2019 tax info. 

They did not ask my husband for the DS 5540, but he took it just in case. He also took health insurance rate quotes for unsubsidized health insurance plans to show the officer incase they asked if he would be able to be insured within 30 days of arrival. (but, to my knowledge, the health insurance mandate part of the Public Charge rule is currently not enforceable because of a court injunction). I would be curious to know if they ask you for this or the DS 5540....you should post back afterwards and update us!

What do you mean "con excepción al artículo 51 del Código Penal” is no longer an option? We were not 100% sure when the police report expired, so my husband just went and got another one (with the excepcion al 51)  por las dudas. You can make an appointment online and it only took him like 10 minutes in the officer to get the new one! Where did you read that you will need to present a valid one upon entry? Do you mean at the airport? I don't think that is the case. All the info for your immigration process will be electronically available to the officer at the port of entry. Instead of giving them the sealed envelop, you give them your case # I believe and they access your file online.

Also, if you happened to study in the United States in the past, bring your I-20s!!!

Hope that helps! Suerte! You are almost there!

1 hour ago, peony said:

Hi as well! We were DQ'd last thursday, and are CR1/IR1 from Argentina too!

 

So if anyone has info about when they'll begin interviewing, I want to be in the loop too haha ☺️

Hey! I heard that someone had an interview scheduled for July 31, so it seems that they are planning to start back up in July. Fingers crossed!!!

35 minutes ago, Ibrahim Suliman said:

Okay so, for whoever actually cares.. I just got DQed (Thank god..) after 106 days, f3-1 visa , submitted on 7th of march.

We all care! That is fantastic!!!! I know you have been waiting for foreveeeer! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 hours ago, Ibrahim Suliman said:

Update, I have called the NVC today and they have told me that they have reached 20th of February (this is my 90th day waiting for a case review) so yeah for anyone stuck in a similar case.. they are saying that there is no problem they just haven't reached the date we submitted.

They have only reached Feb 20th? Are they just working really really slowly? It was advancing about 5 days every week. But it has said February for a long time now....

9 hours ago, Tamiru@t said:

I got DQ today,I submitted document on 25 of may and I was  requested to upload additional on 30th of may and I did the same date,while all previous document accepted on 30th may.today (june 1)I received DQ after total of 1week which is too fast though embassy are still closed.

Hey! Wow, I am pretty jealous. Do you mind if I ask what document they rejected and asked for you to re-upload?

On 5/27/2020 at 10:49 PM, Ibrahim Suliman said:

Hello, can you guys post your DQs dates and the date of your submissions (the recent ones only) as the NVC said they are still reviewing documents that were sent on 14th of feb (and this is their third week) It's really frustrating as I have been reading here on the forums many people are getting DQs while submitting in dates like mid march / beginning of April / Some even in May.

 

Thanks for your attention.

Oh that is frustrating that they are not updating that! We got DQed on May 4th and we submitted on Feb 20. I remember the week we got the DQ, the site said they were working on documents from Feb 11th or something like that, so that means they really have not updated the site in almost a month! How do I complete my timeline? I have been trying to figure that out....

On 5/13/2020 at 10:21 PM, HKS said:

The ppl reviewing the documents made a mistake. They refused to believe that we got married in a country other than my husband's or my birth countries. 

I had to call and tell them that the document was from a different country and was correct. 

What did they tell you to do when you called? Something you could consider doing is either including a formal, signed letter of explanation along with an explanation in the portal text  box when you upload the document again. I know that carries some risk because it is technically "combining documents" (the letter and the marriage certificate), and they are super weird about that I have heard. However, we did that with one of our documents that we wanted to explain, and it worked.

On 2/4/2020 at 11:58 PM, santidzi said:

Hi everyone! Is there a thread for IR1/CR1 filers from Argentina? It seems like it is very uncommon... I am trying to figure out how long it is taking people to be scheduled for interviews at the BA Embassy these days. It has been almost a month since we were cleared for an interview at the embassy and we haven't heard anything yet. 

Hey! We are also doing the CR1 visa process for my husband here in Buenos Aires and waiting for the interview. Of course since the embassy isn't doing routine visa services due to the pandemic, we expect to wait a while. Were you able to get yours scheduled before the lockdown? Or are you still waiting? We have friends that work in the embassy and they said that it would be a couple weeks before they resumed visa services still. 

I have not come across a thread for those of us CR1 filers, but would love to be in touch with you about the process!

On 3/10/2020 at 8:12 AM, Jonnat said:

Hey everyone! I wanted to thank everyone for all the help! We had our interview yesterday and we were approved! However I'd like to share some tips for those who are waiting for the interview.

Please be super patient when waiting for the interview. I was supossed to have mine at 10.30.But they called my name at 1!!! ( I was the only person left in the waiting room haha!) There were 3 people before me and each interview lasted around 45'. Mine took between 5' -10'.

Please bring extra copies of your paperwork just in case, because in my experience, they said I hadn't sent my police certificate in packet 3,  (I was sure I had ), So I gave them another copy .But, It turns out that when they gave me back a bunch my paperwork that was on the p3, I found my police certificate! So they missed to see it. I have no idea who checks packet 3. But be sure to have extra copies. 

 So... for those who have already been here, what should I expect now??? How long does it take for them to issue the visa? 😁

Congratulations! Thanks for those tips!

So, you didn't end up re-printing all of your evidence of relationship in the end to bring in?

Also, what is Packet 3? I have never heard of that? (Is it specific for the K1 visa? We are applying for my husband's CR1 visa, so maybe that's why I have never heard of it?)

On 3/9/2020 at 2:11 PM, literallyrachel said:

Hello.

 

I am trying to prepare my husband's paperwork for his eventual I-130 interview. I will most likely be in the country with him when he has his interview but if I am not, I want to have the packet all prepared and in order just in case so it's one less thing he has to worry/be nervous about. I know all the required documents for our embassy and everything that NVC has said BUT how do they want us to hand them this big stack of paper work? Should documents with more than one page be stapled or paper clipped? Should I whole punch things or put them in plastic protectors and put them in a binder or just put everything in order and hand over a stack of paper without any dividers? Should I make a Table of Contents page? I basically want to make it as easy as possible for them to look through our paperwork because we're already 19 months into this process and I don't want to give them a single reason to not approve us or put us under Additional Review. We are still waiting for NVC to approve our paperwork after an RFE so we don't have our interview but I'm just trying to be prepared. If there are similar threads or information about this, link them or let me know about them. I appreciate any help! Thanks! 

Hi Rachel (?)! I am also in Argentina petitioning for my husband! Did you get approved by the NVC yet? We just got approved a few weeks ago. I would love to link up with you and we can help each other out on this process!

I have been wondering the same thing as you about how to organize the paperwork. I did come across this link on the Buenos Aires Consulate website that states the order: https://ar.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/Instructions-packet-for-IV-appointment-1.pdf

Some friends we have that did consular processing here a couple years ago said they nicely arranged everything in a binder. I would definitely NOT staple or hole punch. I would paper clip to keep like documents together!

On 5/8/2020 at 9:55 PM, Alita2pretty said:

MY HUSBAND LIVES IN JAMAICA AND NVC WANTS A BIRTH CERTIFICATE.  BUT HE WAS ADOPTED WHEN HE WAS 11 AND NOW ONLY HAS AN ADOPTION CERTIFICATE HE SAYS HE CANT GET A BIRTH CERTIFICATE... IS THIS CORRECT? AND WHAT DO I TELL NVC?

There is the option to include a letter explaining why a certain document can not be provided. I would look into that if I were you. Possibly consult a lawyer to see how you should format and word the letter?

4 hours ago, Alexsea said:

 

So when you re-submitted the police certificate, what exactly did you do differently the second time around? You still kept everything bundled, but you added a letter explaining why it was bundled with the translation document? 

Hey! so the first time around i just uploaded the police certificate with the translation. they rejected it because they said that it was expired. since it was not actually expired, i attached a letter of explanation saying that it wasn't expired.  bundled that in a PDF with the certificate and the translation. Does that help? I don't think that they care about bundling translations in with the document that are being translated. but we were told on the phone when we called (weeks after we had re-submitted...so it was too late to make changes) that we would probably be rejected for having that letter of explanation bundled in there with the certificate and the translation. But then, thankfully, it wasn't. so either we got lucky or the guy on the phone didn't know what he was talking about. 

On 4/14/2020 at 1:38 PM, OrihimeandIchigo said:

RFE means (request for evidence). Meaning they want more documents or more evidence. So then you go back to the line in them reviewing your documents. 

 

Congrats on your stuff being accepted I guess it really does depend on who reviews the cases. I've seen on here so many people get RFE for the silliest reasons and also for things they didn't do wrong and followed directions. It's so nerve-wracking because they want everything perfect. 

 

Best of luck to you I hope you'll keep us updated 😊

Hey! I just wanted to update you on this topic. Today we received the message that our documents were approved (the police certificate and the passport) even though I had bundled each of them with a letter of explanation. I guess it depends on who reviews your case. Because we did call in to the NVC a couple weeks ago and the guy on the phone said that they were likely to be rejected because I had the letter of explanation in there with each document. (Shrug)

On 4/19/2020 at 6:07 AM, H_530 said:

I am uploading documents to the CEAC portal. My spouse( living abroad)  and I (living in the US) have all the necessary documents, except his police certificate from his country. He is unable to get it due to their country being on lockdown for the COVID-19 and we don't know when the office will open for him to get the certificate. Can we upload and submit the documents we have for now and then go back in later and upload and submit the police certificate when we get it? If so, will this delay our process and review time? Should we wait for the certificate before finally submitting all the documents?

Hello! It is my understanding (from reading different posts on here and also calling the NVC directly) that you should wait until you have all of your documents and then submit them all together. If you submit without the police certificate, when you go to submit the police certificate, it will send you to the back of the line anyways. It is not as though you can hold your spot in line, is what I have been told. Also, from looking at my CEAC system, you can not upload another document in the the spot where you are supposed to upload the police certificate AFTER you click submit. All of those links are greyed out. So, you would have to attach the police certificate in a different area-- such as under "additional documents". Who knows with the NVC, they might reject based on being uploaded win the wrong area. I wouldn't risk it personally. 

On 5/2/2020 at 2:05 PM, GregandNatty said:

Wow, the NVC is moving really fast right now reviewing docs.   I was DQ'd this morning after submitting everything about a week ago.

 

Sadly, who knows when we'll get an interview

Hey! Wow! Congratulations! Question: (because I remember I saw you post about this a couple weeks ago), did you "bundle" documents together in any of you scans and uploads.

Also, are you sure they stopped processing those other visas because of the immigration suspension? what I read is that they are still processing those visas that are suspended it is just that the person can not enter on that visa until the suspension is lifted. If that is the case, it wouldn't speed things up. But either way, that is amazing for you! I have been waiting since February 20. 

35 minutes ago, Harjot kaur said:

Then I should wait ..al least for 60 days to bring my husband to the US.!😭😭 I have bud luck ..! 

We don't know yet if this will affect spouses. It is likely that it won't. So you might not need to wait. 

2 hours ago, OrihimeandIchigo said:

RFE means (request for evidence). Meaning they want more documents or more evidence. So then you go back to the line in them reviewing your documents. 

 

Congrats on your stuff being accepted I guess it really does depend on who reviews the cases. I've seen on here so many people get RFE for the silliest reasons and also for things they didn't do wrong and followed directions. It's so nerve-wracking because they want everything perfect. 

 

Best of luck to you I hope you'll keep us updated 😊

One can not overstate how stressful and nerve-wracking this is....and more so now amidst the pandemic. I should be hearing soon sine I submitted on Feb 20 and the NVC is apparently now getting into Feb cases. So, I will let you know if I get a RFE or approved on those docs!

Good luck to you too!!

27 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

which makes a lot of sense, because if they would not do it, folks would start submitting incomplete cases like vacationers put towels on sun chairs in resorts only to reserve a spot lol. That's not how it should work

Oh I did not think about that!! I wouldn't be sly enough to do that ha ha 

However, I do know that when you resubmitted rejected documents in the past, you didn't used to get sent to the back of the line. We have a friend who had a document rejected, he resubmitted, and heard back 2 weeks later. This was in 2017 though. Also, I read a post from someone on here that the first time they had a document rejected they heard back 3 days later. Then the next time they heard back 1 week later. Now, it is a full two month or more wait.....sigh 

17 hours ago, Sunshinestatefl said:

I have been asking the same question, but some persons on here believes that you will start the line all over again.I have been reading other persons submission timeline and persons have done it and it seems NVC goes by your first submission date. Do whatever you feel is best for you. I'll do the same as well. 

Hey! Just fyi...we called yesterday, and so did another person from visajourney, and the NVC said that each time you submit you get sent to the back of the line. 

6 hours ago, OrihimeandIchigo said:

Also if I may ask why do you have a separate page of a "translation" of Police certificate. We're you not able to access a police certificate in English? Did you go by the State Department website per country guidelines on what documents like Police Certificate they accept per country? 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

Hello! Yea, we have the correct police certificate per those guidelines. However, it was issued in Spanish, so we had it translated to English.

6 hours ago, OrihimeandIchigo said:

I'm actually surprised your domicile and Tax Transcripts were accepted while bundled together because everywhere I've read in this forum its been advised not to because multiple people get RFE for putting Tax Transcripts together and when they call NVC they're advised to NOT bundle things like that together. But I guess it all depends on who is reviewing your case for each specific time. So congrats to you. 

What does RFE mean?

Yea, I had my past 3 years of tax transcripts in one PDF together for upload. Then in a separate PDF I had my proof of domicile documents bundled together. Both of those were approved.  I already submitted the police certificate bundled with the letter of explanation and the translation. So, fingers crossed it is approved. How frustrating to be denied and sent to the back of the line for a clerical issue like that!