JoeandArend

20 hours ago, marthaduran96 said:

 

 

 

Everything went fine for us. We did receive an RFE but it was a one-off -- the officer who cited me for my DUI accidentally checked the box that my marital status was divorced so they were wondering if I had every been married... completely random as I have never been married.

At the end of the day if you disclose absolutely all information you have available and statements from the courts you should be okay. 

I'm sure the answer is that this varies by the embassy but wanted to run this by anyone who may have experience with a similar circumstance.

Like many I was unemployed for most of 2020, my income prior to 2020 was well above the threshold and my current job which I started at the end of 2020 is salaried (and permanent) well above the threshold. My income on my 2020 tax return is technically above the threshold too, however it is above the threshold due to unemployment compensation. Will this be an issue? I plan on giving my fiance 3 year prior tax returns (even though South Africa embassy only asks for the most recent) -- and also I was salaried as well as owned a business for each of the prior years. Since the business stuff requires a lot of paperwork and that is side income in addition to my salaried position do I need to provide all the ins and outs of the business, or can I just provide them with my employer statement and that should suffice? 

Thanks in advance for any guidance! 

I just received a request for evidence because a citation I received 8 years ago had my marital status as divorced. So USCIS is saying that I need to be free and eligible for marriage and need to provide them my previous marriage papaers and divorce papers. I never even noticed this, and for the record I have never been married before so this was an officer error. 

My plan of action is to contact the courthouse to change their record and also get an official statement from them saying that it was an officer error. Does this sound like the best course of action, or is there something I am missing/any suggestions?

Would appreciate a second opinion. Thanks!! 

Hello everyone! I searched around Visa Journey and couldn't find this exact question, and I'm sure it's likely because I am overthinking things.

When you submit tax transcripts with your i-134 to give your fiance for their interview, do those need to be specifically mailed from the IRS or can you simply print the online transcripts? The IRS website has two options, request online and request by mail. They also have many different forms available online. Wondering if those will suffice or if you need the mail copies? (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) 

And these don't need to be certified right? Like if online is okay, I'm fine to just print them and go about my day? 

8 minutes ago, payxibka said:

1.  They don't send documents by post 

 

2.  Not a problem.   Any vaccinations can be done.   

 

You need to identify the country of the interview for most accurate information 

Sorry, my fiance is in South Africa.

Do they send documents by email to my fiance then? Thanks for the heads up about the vaccinations, that's a relief. So there isn't any prep needed for the medical interview it sounds like right? 

Have two questions that I am hoping all of you helpful people here can help with

1. I see the following on the flow chart... my beneficiary (foreign fiance) will be having a change of address by the time I receive the NOA2. How do I request a change of address with USCIS so that the documents they send my foreign fiance don't get lost in the mail?

2. My foreign fiance does not have a record of their vaccinations and is having trouble tracking that down. Is this going to be an issue, or can they receive all of these vaccinations during their medical interview? Or do they need to do prep work before the medical interview? A little confused about that step in the process...

Appreciate any and all help!! 

47 minutes ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

What they're actually looking for is something that at least Capital One calls "verification of deposits" on their web site.

I have my savings account with Ally Bank and I called in a moment ago and they mentioned the same thing - verification of deposits is what they would send me. The only thing is, it includes only the date of account opening and present balance. Not the amount deposited within the past year. So I think for safety purposes I will include the latest 12 months of statements which will verify the present balance and show all of my deposit activity.

Do you think this would suffice? 

17 minutes ago, LibbyG99 said:

Sorry to steal your thread, but add on question. Does this information "expire"? For example- I just received NOA2 and am thinking I could get everything together for I-134 while I'm waiting for the embassy to open but if our interview doesn't end up being for say, another 6 months, will my bank statements etc. seem too outdated? Thanks.

Please steal away, that is a great question which I'm sure I'll also run into. Hope someone knows the answer to this. 

I am the USC filling out the I-134 for my foreign fiance. I currently am unemployed (thanks COVID) and was self-employed before. While I am interviewing and hoping to find a job before the NOA2 is received, I can meet the income requirement with assets in my savings account. I have around $200k liquid cash in a savings account which I believe is more than enough. For proof I understand that you need a statement from an officer of the bank showing date of account opened, total amount deposited for the past year, and present balance.

1. Does this statement need to be signed with a wet signature?

2. Could I use the past 12 monthly statements online from the bank's website, or does this need to be a specific request from the bank?

3. I am considering using a joint sponsor just in case they don't like that I'm not currently employed (assuming I don't find a job), if I use a joint sponsor how do we both answer Part 3 Question 17 "This person is: A. Wholly dependent on me for support B. Partially dependent on me for support"? If using a joint sponsor do we both check the box for partially dependent on me for support? 

Appreciate any help!! 

7 minutes ago, Solaris81 said:

The court record disposition is handwritten? Does it have a stamp/seal? Usually they are printed out on the court’s letterhead. 

 

I think it's ok to include the declaration page. The additional information page doesn't have a ton of room to explain things. I might add the initial charges, convictions and punishments/outcomes if you have not already. 

It's on the court's letterhead but it lists the two charges and then the outcome is handwritten. 

1 minute ago, Solaris81 said:

I used the additional information page to give a brief description. I included certified court records and police reports where possible. 

 

I did end up getting an RFE because they apparently didn't accept one of the court records. Which does not make sense to me. Two crimes for the same arrest which were both listed on the I129F. The asked for court records in the RFE which I had already submitted. 

Do you think my summary page is okay? Quite frankly, I can't read the handwriting of my court disposition which states the punishment I served for the DUI. I know it was a fine and I took alcohol classes along with license suspended, but I literally cannot read it.

That's why I wanted to provide a brief summary page, along with an explanation that the shoplifting is not coming up in either police or court records so when I include my juvenile history it is certified that there isn't anything on my record (the court would not provide a statement that shoplifting explicitly was not on my record... annoying!) 

Hey All,

I wrote a declaration page which includes a little bit of information regarding my criminal history (none of the specified crimes, so all I needed to provide were certified court records NOT both court and police records). I am the US citizen petitioning, by the way. I wanted to run a gut check to see if this supplement page is okay in your eyes or if I am doing anything wrong/not providing enough information. Personal information is starred out in the text below.

Dear Sir or Madam:

I have three criminal history items that I wanted to disclose per Page 9, Part 3, Item 4.b. All of these offenses are from when I was younger and I have learned my lesson from these incidents.

1.     Offense 1: Sometime in 2010 (cannot remember exact date) I got arrested at the mall in ******** for minor theft (shoplifting). I was 17 at the time. The police department and the courts have no records of this, and according to my lawyer I may have never been formally charged and I only went to “informal” court and the case was thrown out by the judge. I wanted to disclose this to you just in case anything does come up. Juvenile court records are included which show no shoplifting incident exists in any record, only a speeding ticket.

2.     Offense 2: On ****** I got cited and charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol (OVI also known as “DUI”) as well as Possession of Open Alcoholic Beverages in Vehicle (also known as “open container”). The open container was dismissed in court, however the I pled guilty to the OVI. All of the court records are disclosed and all fines/treatment programs were completed.

3.     Offense 3: On ******* I got a “Disorderly Conduct” citation. I had to pay a $130 fine, all details of this citation are included with the court records attached.

Along with this supplement summary page you will find the following pieces of evidence:

1.     Certified ****** County Juvenile Court Record: shows only a speeding ticket and proves no shoplifting case is on record anywhere with the court.

2.     Certified City of ******* Police Statement: No shoplifting case was found so they wrote a statement to further prove the only thing I have on file is my Disorderly Conduct

3.     Certified ******* County Court Records: All information regarding Offense 2

4.     Certified ******* County Court Records: All information regarding Offense 3

Yours truly,

JoeandArend on Visajourney

----- I would appreciate any direction or if anyone can give the green light on what I have written and the evidence provided, this is the last step that I need to complete before sending in the package

4 minutes ago, James120383 said:

your issues are not hers. so shouldnt be an issue 

I guess i should have been even more clearer, my apologies! I am the petitioner and this is for the I-129F original submission. I am asking to ensure that I don't get a RFE/don't accidentally forget to include something

5 minutes ago, Devint said:

I'll try to.keep this short. I have a canadian young offender record also. I went to my first interview with my police report stating they were all young offender. I was found inadmissible based on this document alone. I appealed to legalnet and had the inadmissible decision overturned. My point is: you need to get every piece of paper you can from the actual courts saying they are young offender. Also, check to see if they fall under the umbrella of 'crimes of moral turpitude'. If they do, they will likely deny you. If this is the case, my suggestion would be to file a waiver of inadmissibility concurrently , to save many months of time. The consulate takes these matters seriously (unfortunately I didn't and it cost me over a year of my life fighting it). It may be wise to consult an attorney also. Good luck, its a hell of a path and the onus is on you to prove your case.

Sorry I should have been more clear, I am the petitioner and US Citizen, not the beneficiary/foreign fiance. My foreign fiance's record is thankfully clean. 

Three questions in regards to criminal records:

1. When I was a minor I received a shoplifting charge that was thrown out by the court. The court was not willing to write a statement that no such charge exists, but they did certify my juvenile record which only has a speeding ticket and they said that would "speak for itself", do you foresee this being an issue or should I just explain that in a summary document supplementing the court records explaining no charge existed so they certified all of the records that they DO have? 

2. Is it required to submit BOTH police reports and certified court records? Do the police reports need to be certified as well? As of right now I only have certified court records, not police reports. 

3. I got a Disorderly Conduct charge which resulted in a ticket back in 2013. The circumstances explain that I was doing an act that served no public reason, etc. and at the end the records explicitly state "public urination". Now the officer only charged me with a disorderly conduct and not a public indecency so that I would not have to register as a sexual offender, etc.... Do you foresee this being a huge issue with my application since it does say public urination? 

Thanks for all the help - hoping to send out my packet by the end of the week and want to make sure everything is in order. 

Had a question regarding address that I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction with.

I was living in Chicago, IL before I came to South Africa on a 6 month tourist visa. Since I was going to be gone for an extended period of time, I moved all of my things to my parent's home in Ohio. I started using that Ohio address for pay stubs (I am self employed) Jan 1, 2020 (even though I arrived in South Africa October of 2019), but my drivers license is still tied to Illinois as I did not change that before I left for South Africa. I am still here in South Africa on lockdown and am starting the K-1 process, will I get scrutinized for using the Ohio address as my mailing address and checking the box in 8-j stating that my mailing address is the same as my physical address (even though my drivers license is still in IL)?

Also in terms of address history, I had a lease here in South Africa however I am just on a tourist visa. Do I need to specify that this is my address or will that be unnecessary since I don't have a real visa here and I'm simply here on tourism? 

Thanks for the help in advance! 

Just now, Greenbaum said:

Family member or a friend. They may need a "power of attorney" but call the court and police station to find out what the proper procedure is.

Okay so essentially I will have to put together as much of the application as I can, and then mail it to a family member/friend, and then have them complete the packet with the criminal records and then have them mail the completed packet to USCIS? 

1 minute ago, Greenbaum said:

There is a discussion about this topic here https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/741424-received-rfe-criminal-conviction-documents-or-court-dispositions/

where we answer your questions and where you will see what happens if you don't answer it now but are delayed because you have to all the paperwork once you get a RFE. Good luck and stay engaged. 

Thanks for your reply. I am struggling to find out how I can obtain certified records while abroad though. Any idea with that? 

I am a US citizen filling out the 129-F for my significant other now in hopes of obtaining a K-1 visa. 7 years ago I received a misdemeanor DUI (technically OVI), do I need to provide certified copies from the court of my arrest/disposition? If so, how would I be able to obtain these records if I am currently stuck in South Africa due to lockdown/COVID-19? Really want to get this petitioning process started sooner rather than later and hope this won't halt the process.