The White Fiance

Thanks for the help, but we definitely don't want go to go Africa after spending two years getting her out. Neither of us wants to visit Africa. She really wants nothing to do with South Africa. She is interested in Dubai. I'm not. It's a last-resort destination for me. It's like they took a big sandbox where there was nothing to do and added tourist attractions. She claims Zambians go to Dubai so they can see if KFC is better there! I don't even like KFC in America. The food has been no good since about 1970. They stopped frying chicken in beef fat and started using powdered potatoes. Unfortunate, because as I said above, "I used to live there, and there is no way I will go back even briefly unless the other option is death." I really hate that city. I won't go even for funerals. We have a consulate interview coming up. Hoping for the best. Surely they can tell the difference between a wife who hasn't left Zambia and a permanent US resident in Florida. Our solution to the problem of being forced to provide airline bookings, which is impossible in the US without paying for the tickets, is to buy refundable tickets, get our visa, and then return the tickets and buy cheaper ones. Buying fraudulent tickets is sort of unfair to the airlines, but we didn't make the rules. We also booked a bunch of refundable rooms. I can't even recall all the times we've canceled reservations because she could not get a visa. We went to Mexico recently to get her some dental treatment. They let her walk right in. Unfortunately, it's a pretty bad destination for tourists, except for American kids who like to get drunk in loud bars. The cops kidnapped three American girls while we were there and made them pay ransom. The dental clinics are great.

If Greece won't cooperate, we'll have an acceptable backup. Thanks again.

If other countries can learn to use technology, so can the Europeans.

Here's something funny. I emailed the Hungarians, and they said we could apply in New York, like it was across the street from Florida. I emailed back and conveyed my regrets, noting that it was 1000 miles away. They suggested DC, which is only 850 miles away. That's totally different. I'll get in the car right now! Instead of two days on the road, it's only 1-3/4 days. Game-changer there. Many Europeans have no idea how big America is. They're just like Americans who think Johannesburg is a short drive from Lagos.

Not helpful.

It looks like the UK uses VFS in Atlanta. Basically, if we want to see Europe, and they DID throw out all her biometrics without entering them, we will be starting with Greece because the consulate is close to us, or we will try Switzerland, because they're in Atlanta, not Miami or DC. A bunch of countries work through Atlanta. Switzerland is the only one I want to see again badly enough to make the drive. I wouldn't drive to Atlanta just to get a chance to visit England. If we can get into Greece, we can hit Paris on the way home. That's a pretty good trip. If we decide to give up on Europe, we'll see if Japan or Taiwan will work with us. I wish we could go to Israel, but this is obviously not the time. I put together this list of Schengen countries and the places where people who live in Florida have to apply. Austria - VFS Miami Belgium - Atlanta Czechia - DC Denmark - VFS DC England - VFS Atlanta Finland - DC France - VFS Atlanta Germany - VFS Miami Greece - Tampa Italy - VFS Miami Luxembourg - DC Netherlands - VFS Miami Norway - VFS DC Sweden - VFS DC Switzerland - Atlanta

The web claims Schengen countries keep biometrics from rejected applicants for 5 years, but they treated us so badly, I would be surprised if they even entered the information in their system. She applied 5 times, and they took biometrics every single time.

I just found out Greece issues visas in Tampa, Florida. Not that far from us.

Thanks for all that help. It's a little hard to tell which of your experiences were pre-green-cart and which came later. Sadly, some of the most attractive countries would require us to drive to Miami. I used to live there, and there is no way I will go back even briefly unless the other option is death. Some countries will let us apply in Atlanta. A monstrous inconvenience, but anything is better than a trip to Miami. I would rather never see Europe again than return. Japan sounds promising. I have been checking out Taiwan, and so far, it looks like she can get in. When she lived in Zambia, she had several Schengen applications rejected because the Europeans do everything they can to keep Africans out. I'm trying to find out if they still have her biometrics. They probably threw them out or deleted them immediately.

Turkey and Egypt let us fill out forms online.

France has a service that allows people with previous Schengen applications to apply from home, but they want $1000, so that will never happen.

Italy says we would have to drive to Miami, so forget Italy. It looks like Taiwan is more reasonable.

Thanks for your help.

My wife is Zambian, so nearly all countries work hard to keep her from visiting. She now has her green card. We are interested in traveling abroad next month for tourism purposes. We are not willing to visit the countries she can go to without a visa. We have been to the best ones already. Has anyone here had experience applying for tourist visas to the Schengen area or the Far East with a green card? I would like to know if any countries are easier than others. It would be very nice to be able to avoid traveling to a consulate or embassy, since it would involve two days on the road plus a hotel for us.

Thanks for sending that link. It was the USCIS site that started asking me for input which now appears to have been unnecessary.

The government website is what drove me to look for other sources! I wonder how people who don't have good English skills manage to deal with it. I'm a lawyer, and it confused me. The main thing is that I want to be sure my wife will not be thrown out of the airport when she shows up on Friday with the passport visa. She has the visa, we paid the immigrant fee, and we want to be sure that will get her into the US. Looks like we are all set. We are a little traumatized because of repeated visa denials from other countries. We ate a huge loss when the Italian Embassy told us she could get a tourist visa only if we paid for tickets before applying. They would not accept "dummy" tickets, as every other embassy and consulate does. They assured us she would get the visa, and then they turned her down.

Thanks for the help. I finally found a site that lists the info I needed in a comprehensible way without tons of errors. In case anyone else has this problem, here is what I learned: once you pay the fee, you can travel. 1. Many sites conflate the passport visa with the IR-1 and the green card. Different things. It looks like the passport visa and the IR-1 are distinct, or maybe it's more correct to say the one they put in the passport is extended when the green card is issued. Not sure. The passport visa is just to get the applicant into the US, and ours lasts about 120 days. An IR-1 or CR-1 visa is what you get with your green card. The IR-1 visa lasts 10 years. A CR-1 lasts two years, because "CR" means "Conditional Resident." "IR" means "Immediate Relative." 2. A green card is proof you have the right to enter the US and live and work here. A spouse with a green card can get a bank account, SS number, and driver's license, and of course, it permits employment. A green card recipient with an IR-1 can apply for naturalization in 3 years. 3. The immigrant fee goes to pay for the green card, and it has to be paid before the applicant travels to the US, so the passport visa is not sufficient. You do not need to possess the physical green card in order to enter the US. After you pay, the green card automatically goes to your US address. The fee can be paid with a credit card at the USCIS site. If I find out I've been handed any more misinformation, I will update the thread accordingly.

After I paid the fee, the USCIS site presented a lot of stuff about giving them information needed to get a green card. We are both very excited at the time, so I figured I would get back to the process later in the day. Now the information is not popping up. We have an IR1 visa, and a site I checked says the green card will come to my house without further effort, since we have paid the $220.00 fee. If so, I don't understand why USCIS would ask me for additional input after paying, but the government is not known for well-constructed websites.

Sorry if I am bringing up an old topic, but I could use a little help. My wife will be arriving in the US this week. She has her spousal visa. I paid the $220 immigrant fee. The USCIS site had some confusing instructions about getting her a green card. I have been Googling, looking for a better explanation. Can anyone point me to some quick answers? I'm trying to figure out whether there is anything I should do online today. One sentence or a link should do it.

I have been digging more, and it looks like GDIT is part of General Dynamics, a big defense contractor. Their main site (obviously real) says they have a contract to assist embassies. They make submarines and tanks. They really need to put up a real website for visa applicants and make some effort to communicate and establish their credibility. The site they have looks like a high school kid put it up. Anyone who is used to spam and phishing attempts would be hesitant to trust that site. It looks exactly like a scam site. I was afraid they would take our information and steal my identity. Anyway, we're doing whatever the embassy tells us to do, so I don't think we'll be working with GDIT.

The embassy got back to us, and we do not have to duplicate everything. Big relief.

So far, the embassy has confirmed that I don't have to send them an "original" tax return, which makes sense, since those go to the IRS. I am going to make a list of documents we have already sent and find out which ones they need in hardcopy. I know they need the marriage certificate.

The embassy told me to ignore the email: "Thank you for your email. Please ignore the email that asks you to register." They didn't say whether the company was a scam. My emails come from "state.gov." I emailed the company, asking if they were running a scam. They sent me an autoreply that was not responsive.

Thanks for the confirmation. It looked crazy to me. I wonder how they got her email address and case number.

We are getting ready for my wife's interview, and I'm a little confused by the document requirements. There is a government webpage listing documents she has to bring to the interview. The thing is, we already submitted a bunch of these online. For example, they want the I-864 and a tax return, which they already have. Are we really supposed to print duplicate items out and take them to the embassy? I understand why they want things like passport photos, but it seems weird to ask for things they have already received and reviewed. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/LUS-Lusaka.html