Argentina

Hi Everyone!

I had a question here and was wondering if anyone else had experience with it. I'm trying to find a flight for my husband (who finally got his IR1 visa in February - woot!!!) to come to the US. The best flight I've found is through British Airways, Rome-London-Arizona, that way his POE will be his first/last stop in the US (I'm worried about him having to do it at a different airport, recheck his bags, and make the connection, etc). Also, British Airways seems to be the cheapest in terms of extra baggage fees.

So, here is my question. My husband has a Jordanian passport and is a resident of Italy. I've looked around the UK Border Agency website to figure out once and for all if he needs a transit visa to fly through Heathrow. Jordan appears to fall under their "Visa National" category. It says that "Visa Nationals" need a "visitor in transit" visa unless: An Immigration Officer may decide to let you pass through the UK on your way to another country without holding a visa. This is known as 'transit without visa' (TWOV). It allows you to catch a connecting flight within 24 hours or, if you are on-board a ship, to stay at a UK port for up to 24 hours

So, on the same website, it says that, in order for a "Visa National" to qualify for "TWOV":

Do I qualify for transit without visa (TWOV)?

If you are a visa national or a DATV national who is exempt, you can transit without visa if you will:

• arrive at a UK port on a ship and leave on the same ship within 24 hours; or
• arrive and leave by air within 24 hours and have no intention of staying in the UK (you can travel by rail or road between two airports); and
• have a confirmed onward booking that will leave within 24 hours of your arrival in the UK.

You must also have the documents you need:

• to enter the country you are travelling to; and
• for any other country that you may pass through on your journey.

The way I am reading this, it means that my hubby, despite being a national of Jordan, can "TWOV" because he is (1) only making a connecting flight and his connection time is only a few hours, and (2) will have the travel documents he needs to the enter the country he is travelling to, ie, The USA, his visa in his passport, and his immigration packet.

Can someone confirm that I am reading this correctly? I think I'm getting majorly confused because the same website talks about "Visa Nationals" and "DATV nationals" at the time on the same page - and the exceptions appear to be slightly different (ie, the DATV nationals are exempt by virture of having an immigration packet for the US, but that exemption isn't listed for Visa Nationsl - confusing, right?). Has anyone here that has brought family over here had to deal with the UK transit visas? Do you guys have any experience with this? I'm utterly confused!

Here is the website I'm referencing and trying to figure out:

http://www.ukvisas.g...fs/inf20transit

Thanks for any help you guys can offer me! I can't wait to my hubby to get here!

You're making it seem as if the Haitians here are somehow being given preferential treatment. Even before the earthquake, Haiti was a horrible place to get deported to (mandatory prisons, anyone?). The Haitians who already have an order or deport are probably going to be sitting in deplorable US immigration detention centers - and somehow you are comparing this to your partner's Immigration petitioning process? You're talking about two VERY different things here. As someone said before, many countries have been granted TPS for much less than what Haiti has suffered now. Haiti probably should have qualified even before this! How you feel personally insulted by this is beyond me.

Also, coming into the US to seek asylum (from Haiti or wherever) is not ILLEGAL, and one should not judge all those whom you may call "Illegal." Especially when coming from a country with troubles such as Haiti. TPS is NOT immunity from deportation, not is it asylum - so maybe you should have researched TPS before posting such an inflammatory post.

Fresh off the AP wire is that in light of the tragedy in Haiti, President Obama is granting illegal status Haitians immunity to stay in the USA. Obama's view was that it wouldn't be fair to send them back to Haiti because of the devestation that occured there.

I for one feel the deepest of sympathy for people of Haiti but REALLY???? Immunity from deportation because Haiti suffered an earthquake????

I personally feel like people from Haiti (and all over the world) are welcome to immigrate LEGALLY to the USA, but since when does an earthquake qualify somone basically for asylum in the USA?

There are natural disasters all over the world on a regular basis (ie: the tsunami which all but destroyed Indonasia several years ago) that are tragic in their occurance, but victims of THOSE disaters weren't afforded any special immigration status.

I'm waiting for my fiancee's visa to be LEGALLY processed (as we all are on this forum) and I'm just a little insulted by President Obams's actions.

Alan

They should issue you an IR1 since, at the time of the interview, you will have been married over 2 years.... Be sure to mention it (just in case) but they should do it automatically.... Auguri!!!

Grazie!

Looking at your timeline, I'm excited about the short time between NVC and the interview date! I'll remind my husband to mention it at his interview and hopefully they'll automatically give him the IR1!

Hi Guys!

I'm so close to being done with the NVC & I'm so excited!

I have one question right now. So I sent in our I-864 and then the NVC generated a checklist for me to send in the DS-230 & Civil Documents (which I was still working on and my husband is mailing it out tomorrow).

On the checklist (generated on 09/15/2009), it listed my husband as applying for a CR1 Visa. When I started the process, we had been married under 2 years. However, now we have passed the two-year deadline (we were married 07/21/2007).

My question is this - will Naples (the consulate he is going to go through when the NVC forwards his application) automatically know to award him the IR1 Visa after his interview? Or, is this an issue that needs to be brought up at the POE when they're stamping his passport? When does it become evident that he is a IR1 and no longer a CR1? Should I contact NVC or Naples to confirm this either way?

I hope this post makes sense, and I also have my timeline listed in my signature for reference. Thanks for your help! VJ has been a saving grace for me during this process.

Much Love,

A

Hi VJ-ers!

So, I'm finally ready to submit my I-864 and I had some last minute questions I wanted to get some feedback on.

I'm submitting my I-864. I've had a job since June, and my annual salary is 27,000 (Above the poverty-limit for two people).

I only made 1,500 for last year (2008) and I did not file taxes. In 2007, I did not work and did not file taxes. In 2006, I made under $60 and was still being claimed as a dependent on my mom's taxes (I was a student during all these years).

My question is: What tax stuff do I need to submit. I have W2s for 2008 and 2006, and I have a copy of my mom's 1040 for 2006, but do I need to submit any of it? Should I submit letters for each of these years stating why I did not file taxes? Maybe only for 2008?

Also, what would I check on question 25 on page 4 of the application?

Since I've only been working for the past two months, the only things I have to include would be all my pay stubs, as well as a letter from my employer stating my salary and start date.

What do you guys think about my chances of not getting a RFE/getting my I-864 approved? What sort of tax stuff do you guys think I should submit and for how many years back?

Thanks again for your help guys! I wish everyone the best of luck and thanks to anyone who responds to this topic!

-Argentina

This link was on the front page of Digg.com today. Its an InfoGraphic with stats on which countries represented the most people in terms of family immigration and asylum.

Here is the link to digg.com with the article linked at the top of the page, and digg's user comments at the bottom:

http://digg.com/world_news/Who_is_Coming_t...ica_INFOGRAPHIC

Here is the direct link to the image:

http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparen...gtoamerica.html

I am not sure how long ago you guys used the M-bags, but I was told here in San Francisco, that they dont do that anymore.

Hi ExSaffer!

From what I've been able to gather, most countries still offer boat and airmail M-bags. The US only discontinued the really cheap M-bags, and now only offer the Airmail version.

Here is a link to the USPS website

http://www.usps.com/international/mbags.htm

try skype

I agree - I think Skype is definitely the way to go

I read that tracfone (pre-paid US cell phone) has a weird thing where all int'l calls are charged as a domestic call - what you do is call one of their 1800 numbers and they'll connect you that way - or another way was assigning a specific int'l number with its own 1800 number and calling it that way - apparently the company says they offer both free. i haven't used this but if somebody wants to do more research into it - its another possible option. i just usually use skype.

Domestically, I'm pretty sure I've had problems with ALL airlines. I fly very frequently and for some reason always run into either lost luggage, delays, inclement weather etc. America Airlines has given me more problems than most though. In November I took Southwest and was pleasantly surprised by the service and NO FEES on checked luggage. Otherwise, I'll usually book whichever flight is cheapest, I have no real loyalties.

Internationally, my worst experience has been without a doubt Alitalia. UGH!

I like to fly BA because I can usually do Arizona to Italy with only a stopover in Heathrow {Heathrow being the only negative, its too big, takes forever to connect to your next gate, and only 1 piece of handluggage (no personal item)}. But yet again, I have no airline loyalty. I also like Turkish airlines for fligts to the Middle East.

Whoever has the best fare.

Does anybody take that actual airplane into consideration? We just flew on a 777 and the economy seating was the damn most uncomfortable configuration. The angle of the seats was weird and so was the shape of them. You could not stand up 'straight' from a sitting position - you kind of had to uncoil yourself upwards. Sooooooooo awful.

Hi rebeccajo -

In response to taking airplanes into consideration, I'm a big fan of seatguru.com to help me figure out seats once I've booked a ticket. You choose the airline,then the type of plane, and it gives you reviews and pros/cons for different seats - you might want to check it out!

We've toyed with that idea as well for a couple of reasons. I have a rare last name, my husbands is common. He also really likes my mother's maiden name - go figure! However, we're probably not going to do it solely because of the sheer hassle of the paperwork, documents, etc. After all the paperwork involved with our VJ - I think we're going to avoid anything unnecessary for the sake of our sanity!

I (Female USC) only wear it when I leave the house - I tend to find rings uncomfortable. My husband wears his all the time though.

I got my passport photo taken today to send to Roger so he can finally get all these documents sent off for the I-129F. I noticed the other day on some website I found that it said the photo needs to have your chest in the photo as well! I got my photo done at a post office and it only has my neck and a slight part of my shoulder.. would this be enough? also after speaking to another Australian it seems that perhaps the Visa requires a different size photo to a normal passport photo?

Any other Australians around that have sent off this already? where did you get the photo taken and what size was it? was just a normal passport sized photo ok? and how much of your body was in the photo? I just don't want to send a photo off that is wrong! I would much rather get it correct the first time!

Hi MissBecs

Once you read TruLuv's guide on the photos - you can always take them yourself (as I always do). As long as you have a good picture with the right background, etc - you can use the website to http://www.epassportphoto.com/ to help you crop them with the appropriate ratios (head & chest). You select the country you need a photo for, upload you own pic, it helps you crop it to 2in by 2in (51 mm by 51mm) with the appropriate proportions for head & upper body. They give you the option to save on your computer or print them out with some company - just make sure to save it to your comp and voila! Now you can go somewhere and print out a sheet or it for like 20 cents instead of paying a couple of dollars for someone else to take it who might do it wrong. Hope this helps and good luck!

sorry! i havent heard about that but why dont your husband go to the postal office in italy and find out for sure how it works! thank god my husband dont have a lot of stuff hahha and oh yah we never even received the AOS package in the mail til this day i had just printed the document cover sheet after the fee was showing PAID.. and sent in all the documents with it..i think u should do the same dont wait around for them mostlikly they are not gonna send it to u

Thanks GheTToJaTTi! Have you sent in your DS-230 yet? I read somewhere that for Naples we should fax it directly to them. I'm a little confused about that. Are you going to fax the form to Naples (but then what about all the other information like birth certificate, police records, etc) or does NVC send us a packet of information and we sent it to them and they'll send it to Naples?

Good luck with everything and thanks for the info about probably not getting an AOS packet!

ur welcome.. and yah we sent our ds-230 on April 23rd.. we never received anything in the mail for that either after the IV bill showed as PAID i printed out the document cover sheet for that but had to wait for my husband to send me the police certificate... after i received the stuff from my husband i went and sent out the ds-230 packet which included my own cover sheet explaining whats in the packet, the document cover sheet, 2 passport style photos, copy of biographic page from his passport, our original marriage certificate in italian, english, and the paper from our temple where we got married, his police records from italy and india, and his original birth certificate with english translation...

the nvc should be forwarding all of this after they have completed the case.. i think you would have to fax it only if you were in italy and applying from there.. where does your husband live in italy?

Thanks GheTToJaTTi! I'm glad to hear that you never received anything in the mail either, I'll go ahead and tell my husband to start collecting his documents! Anyway, he lives in Siena. I'm here with him now too. I met him here in 2006 during a summer I studied here - and from then on I've been making trips back & fourth from Siena & the US. I'm headed back to the US in about 2 weeks to start a new job - so that'll definitely be a toughie (it seems like it gets harder everytime I leave!) but I'm excited for my new position. How about you? Where does you hubby live?

I used M-bag to ship mu books from US to Bosnia after I was done with college. Not sure if you can use it for other items as it is for media (books, magazines, other printed materials). You may want to check with your post to see how much it will cost you and how long it takes.

Thanks Milimelo! Yeah, they work like Media Mail in the US. Did everything you send with an M-bag arrive okay in Bosnia? The rates are incredibly cheap compared to what it would cost to ships book normally so I'm pretty excited about that.

sorry! i havent heard about that but why dont your husband go to the postal office in italy and find out for sure how it works! thank god my husband dont have a lot of stuff hahha and oh yah we never even received the AOS package in the mail til this day i had just printed the document cover sheet after the fee was showing PAID.. and sent in all the documents with it..i think u should do the same dont wait around for them mostlikly they are not gonna send it to u

Thanks GheTToJaTTi! Have you sent in your DS-230 yet? I read somewhere that for Naples we should fax it directly to them. I'm a little confused about that. Are you going to fax the form to Naples (but then what about all the other information like birth certificate, police records, etc) or does NVC send us a packet of information and we sent it to them and they'll send it to Naples?

Good luck with everything and thanks for the info about probably not getting an AOS packet!

Hi Guys!

I'm starting to think ahead about how I'm going to get my and my husband's stuff to the US from Italy.

Every time I fly back between now and his eventual arrival I'm going to check an extra bag or two, and I'm looking into shipping companies for the big stuff (if you guys have an recommendations that would awesome too).

My big problem is what to do with all of our books (we have a lot). Within the US I always used Media mail. As I was snooping on the Poste.it (Italian Postal Service) website I found something called M-Bags. Apparently they give you a canvas sack, you put a box of books in it, and depending on whether you get the economy or premium M-bag service, gets there within a few weeks to a few months. M-bags are used in a lot of countries, not just for Italy (although I read that the US got rid of the cheapest version, but they still have them).

Now, here are my reservations. After a lot of google-ing and forum searching on other websites, I've found a lot of people whose bags were lost/stolen/never arrived/arrived terribly delayed. Now I'm not sure if its because people have a tendency to post things on the internet when things go bad that maybe all the horrible things I've read about them are skewed; that is, that there are probably hundreds of examples of nothing happening but I'm not reading those. So thats why I'm asking you guys to see if anybody has ever used an M-Bag and what your experiences were with them.

If anybody is interested, here are the links for the Poste Italiane pages with info on them (in English)

http://www.poste.it/en/postali/mbagseconomy/a_index.shtml

Also, would anyone know what 150 DTS is? It says that is what you're refunded if you register the bag and its lost. Is that declared value? When I declare the value on an M-bag would it be $0 since they're all used books (and would I pay customs on them).

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, hopefully someone has used this system before and could inform me or give me their 2 cents.

Hello all

I'm not at that stage yet but I would like to prepare as best I could, and keep busy also

Here are my two questions :

- Police Certificate : on the VJ info page about the Belgian Embassy it states that a letter can be addressed to the Ministry of Justice,

but on the embassy site I see I need the following : "Police Certificates from all places lived since age 16"

Are those the same thing, do they deliver just one paper that's valid for every places or do I need to get one from every places?

It seems Belgium is undergoing yet another change about police certificates and such so I'm a bit lost.

- Medical - vaccinations records : I don't have any records I know I've had some of the required vaccines but I don't have any proof of it.

Should I just redo them all ? The thought of that makes me shiver lol

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi Shanh,

Have you lived in Belgium since you were 16? If so, then I believe you would only need to ask from a police certificate from Belgium. However, if you have lived in any other place since you were 16, or been arrested in any other place, you would need to get police certificates from those countries as well.

In terms of vaccines, are you sure you wouldn't be able to get them from previous hospitals, schools, etc? If not, then I've read that there is a blood test you can take that would show which vaccines you've already taken, but I'm unsure how this works or how it works in relation to a medical exam - so hopefully someone else on this forum who knows more about that would be able to respond!

Sorry I wasn't able to help further! Good luck with everything!

Hi all,

Can anyone please tell me when does the Naples consulate return passport with visa stamp back after having CR1/IR1 interview? Im from Malta but my consulate is Naples and I will need my passport to fly back to my country.

Thanks a lot and any advice will be appreciated

Hi,

You can read on here for general info on the Naples consulate

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/inde...&cty=Naples

and then you can read people's reviews of it here

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Italy

It looks like they give it to you the same day or sometimes the day after. Maybe to be sure you should stay a few extra days just in case you encounter a holiday or something else that may cause them a delay.

Hope this helps and good luck! My husband will have to do a CR1/IR1 interview in Naples in a few months, so I would love to hear how your interview goes!

What are you filing for? K visa? CR1? DCF?

I'm not doing a DCF nor a K visa, so I guess whatever the normal visa is. I applied for the I-130 for my husband and it was approved, I got a AOS and IV bill and I've paid both of those, so from my understanding I need to fill out the I-184 and my husband needs to fill out the DS-230 before we can get an interview at the consulate.

So I guess my question right now is about the I-184 for an immigrant visa for the US. Hope this helps and sorry I'm not quite sure what the name is that I'm filing for

Bump

Your plan sounds good. You're on the CR1/IR1 path. It will be an IR1 visa if your second wedding anniversary precedes the visa issue date and CR1 otherwise. A joint-sponsor would be a bonus.

Thanks Pushbrk! I think my plan at this point is to start work in June, wait a month or two before sending in my I-864/AOS as the sole sponsor/co-sponsor, send in letters for the past three years stating I was a full-time student and was not required to file taxes, and then cross my fingeres and hope for the best! I been having the hardest time finding a co-sponsor, so I'll file it alone and hope I don't get a RFE or a letter saying I need a co-sponsor!

What are you filing for? K visa? CR1? DCF?

I'm not doing a DCF nor a K visa, so I guess whatever the normal visa is. I applied for the I-130 for my husband and it was approved, I got a AOS and IV bill and I've paid both of those, so from my understanding I need to fill out the I-184 and my husband needs to fill out the DS-230 before we can get an interview at the consulate.

So I guess my question right now is about the I-184 for an immigrant visa for the US. Hope this helps and sorry I'm not quite sure what the name is that I'm filing for

Bump

What are you filing for? K visa? CR1? DCF?

I'm not doing a DCF nor a K visa, so I guess whatever the normal visa is. I applied for the I-130 for my husband and it was approved, I got a AOS and IV bill and I've paid both of those, so from my understanding I need to fill out the I-184 and my husband needs to fill out the DS-230 before we can get an interview at the consulate.

So I guess my question right now is about the I-184 for an immigrant visa for the US. Hope this helps and sorry I'm not quite sure what the name is that I'm filing for

Sorry, I forgot to mention that we're going through the Naples consulate. My husband is a Jordanian citizen, but he's a resident of Italy.

Hi Guys!

I have a few questions on whether or not I would be able to file the I-864 without a co-sponsor, but I'm not sure.

In terms of the past 3 tax years (2008, 2007, 2006) - I haven't filed any taxes. I was a full-time student and did not work. Although I did work this past summer of 2008, I did not make enough to have to file any tax returns, and so I didn't.

I graduated in May 2008, but haven't had a job as I've been staying in Arizona with my parents during the fall, and since the winter/spring I've been here in Italy with my husband. I'm returning back to Arizona as I've found a job! (yay!!! after MONTHS of looking!).

The job's salary is 27,000, which is above the federal poverty for a household of two ($18,212). I won't be living with my parents, I'll be living in a household of strangers/housemates - so I'm not sure how or it all affects the household status.

Anyway, my question becomes this. I'm starting the position on June 8th. The earliest my husband could come to the US would be in the winter/Jan 2010 - so I'm not in a hurry to get the I-864 filed. My question is, lets say I wait a few months, say until August to file the AOS/I-864, have a letter of employment attesting to my salary above the poverty lines, and I'll include attatchments stating I was a student for the last three tax years (possibly with photocopies of my W2s from the summer) - would I be able to quality as the sole sponsor? Or does all this matter on the last tax year for income purposes?

I've been having a hard time lineing up a co-sponsor and would love to be able to sponsor my husband on my own. If I can't sponsor on my own, then I guess I'll keep on looking!

Thanks again guys! Without this site & the forums I would have been completely lost at all times!

Ciao!

-Argentina

congrats!!!