Nosotros

Congratulations. We are in the same boat. Had interview on Friday, and today my so picked up the visa.

I would like to thank the VJ community for all the support it provided to us throughout this process. I would also like to apologize for the length of this post, as it is a couple of things in one.

I am happy to announce that after a successful interview on Friday, we just picked up our visa today from DHL. My fiancee already has a flight scheduled for June 1st, so she will be with me in less than a week I am so excited, but I have also begun to calm down tremendously. One could never predict the emotional roller coaster that accompanies this process. It is so, unpredictable, and actaully hazardous to one's mental and physical being, I think. I am much calmer than I have been in a long long time, and just looking forward to the start of our new life together.

Now as for the interview, it was hilarious and humbling.

Our interview was at 8:15AM on Friday, May 23rd. We got into line at 7:30, and were inside by 7:50am. In the line, a woman was walking around, marking a number on the appointment letters. We were given number 8, although, it seems we were couple/family number 5 going into the interview room. We Have no idea where or what the 8 was for.

We were called up to the first window within 20 minutes, where the clerk asked for photos!! We were like, which photos? Then my fiancee explained that she had form DS-156 with 5cm by 5cm photos pasted on them; to which the clerk said, yes, give me that, and the other copy and passport as well. I have no idea what she would have wanted to do with 5cm by 5cm photos by themselves; we had planned to be asked for the forms first, then the photos, so it seemed a bit strange and confusing to be asked for photos as the very first thing.

We go sit and wait for probably an hour. Then we are called up to the same window again. This time, she wants the DS-156K, and the affidavit of support. Then she asked my fiancee her name. She asked her how is it possible that we know each other, then asked, given that she doesn't speak english, how do we communicate, to which I answered in castellano. She asked me where I learned castellano (in Peru). Then she told us to wait to be called to room 15.

We sat back down. We chit chatted, we held hands, we were nervous, palms sweating, at some point I thought my fiancee was holding my hand too much, or being too lovey dovey, and that made me even more nervous, but then I realized she was probably more nervous than me, e.t.c, e.t.c, e.t.c. It was so nerv-wracking, not knowing how to be, what to do or what not to do. In the end, you realize you just be, and let things take their course. So then I relaxed, and then I felt my fiancee relax as well.

It seemed as if the moment we started relaxing more is when we got called to room15. This was about an hour and a half after the last call. We went into room 15, greeted the cconsular officer (a lady in her late 30's or mid 40's) and sat down.

- Are you the petitioner? 'Yes I am'

- May I see your passport? (handed over passport)

- It looks like you traveled to Chile and Ecuador alot? (in Spanish; I have more Peruvian stamps though) 'I needed to, in order to renew my visa in Peru' (I responded in Spanish)

- You know that we can speak in English, right? 'Yes, but you asked me a question in Spanish'.

- Have you ever been married? Do you have any children? 'No' (in English)

- How do you know each other? (To fiancee, in spanish)

- Have you ever been married? Do you have any children? (To fiancee, in spanish. Types something into the computer)

- (Turns to me, still typing) So this IS your first marriage then? 'Yes. ' I realized what was happening, and a couple of seconds later, I added 'It WILL be'

The last two answers I gave might have made the difference between denial and approval, I don't know, and will never know. It was a trick question. It made me sick to my stomach to realize that. She stopped typing, and said; I ask married couples that question, and sometimes I forget that I am interviewing a K-1 visa couple. She then said, "YOU ARE APPROVED, good luck and have a nice life in America"

They didn't ask for emails, phone records, photos of us together, letters, nothing. It seemed in our case, what they had on file was enough. My fiancee was asked the 3 questions, and that was it. I was asked more questions, than her.

We were in that room maybe 7 minutes. The entire time we were asked questions, the consular officer was leafing through our I129F package, which had a big red stamp at the upper right corner saying "APPROVED" on it from USCIS.

So, when you go as the USC, make sure you don't fall for the trick questions and jeopardize the interview for your SO!

I keep running into threads that say that "I notarized all 3 copies", and so started wondering why 3 copies, when I can't find info any where that says you need 3 copies?

I might be seeing things, but I swear I did see some where talking about 3 copies of the I-134.

Slightly off-topic, but related to the I-134: I keep seeing that "all 3 copies" of the I-134 have to be notarized, but my I-134 does not have three copies. It is two pages.

Is this saying that I should make 3 copies of the I-134 and notarize them? What are the other two copies for? ( I can see keeping a copy for myself, but that still doesn't explain why 3 copies)

Also, do all the two pages need to be stamped with the notary stamp, or just the 2nd page that shows the signature and the notary public?

Even more, the instructions say to submit evidence "in duplicate". what does that mean?

Thanks

Yeah, this is what I was worried about. We didn't really plan on rings, untill we were to get married back here in the states. But we bought wedding type bands that we decided were our engagement rings, and then would use them later on for when we get married.

We weren't thinking, it was all in excitement, at the prospect of being in union with someone you love, and that being the symbol; and poof, the pictures got taken with the wedding bands on.

Thanks for the advice. We will weed the pictures that show us with wedding bands out. Grrrrrrrrrr

Fellow trekkers,

I was just pouring over our pictures, getting ready for the interview, and I noticed that in several of them, they show us wearing our engagement rings. The thing is, there's no label on it that says "I am an engagement ring". It looks just like a ring married people wear. So, what's to prevent the co from saying, I see that you are married, because you have a ring on your finger in these photos; and therefore ineligible for the K1 visa.

Also, did you guys wear your engagement rings to the interview?

Thanks

How many vaccines did she need? My fiancee paid 560 soles for 3 vaccines, including the dreaded HPV one, and this was with Dr Oscar; I was expecting way worse, given the experience of a few other people with him. Some had paid as much as 1200 soles for vaccines.

wOW, MY WIFE HAD TO PAY 690 SOLES + $95

What about the NVC number, e.g: LMA2008xxxxxx

Obviously the first 3 characters are the consulate abbreviation (usually abbr. of city, not country; LMA for Lima) How or what does the rest of it break down into?

Thanks guys for the responses. Pushbrk, since you ask, I asked the embassy not to schedule the interview on a specific date, and lo and behold, that's the date they scheduled the interview on. I was planning to attend the interview if it wasn't on May 23rd, but now I have to decide between attending it and risking not getting back in time for a family member's memorial. I was thinking that if we are approved, the only opportunity my fiancee has of meeting every member of the family is at the memorial, so, started wondering about the possibility of getting the visa the same day.

Sorry for the vagueness; I was trying to get some info without giving too much detail about the concern.

Thanks.

Hello fellow trekkers,

My fiancee and I are in the process of preparing for the interview in Lima, Peru. Peru issues the visa 48 hours after interview. I was wondering if any body was ever successful in obtaining a visa the same day at this consulate, and what circumstances the consular officers take into consideration in order to issue a visa on the same day?

Thanks

Congratulations on your approval . CSC is pickin' up pace again, after a lull. Your timeline says 141 days is how long it took; your math might have been hampered by the adrenaline/excitement of receiving approval

Thanks for all the helpfull info ladies. I think I have this certificados thing down. To be on the safe side, I have had her take out a cert. policiales from both La merced and Lima. Shannon, I don't think you guys did it the wrong way, because if that cert could only be obtained from Lima, you would have already found out the hard way; as you said, he obtained it from his home town, so clearly acceptable for each place/town/whatever you lived in.

What combination of numbers do you press to get a person who will actually tell you if CSC has shipped the petition to the NVC?

We were approved March 24 and NVC has no record of our case as of April 18.

Queen Jenn, have you called NVC today? Where is your petition, I can't believe it is still at CSC?

I am reviving this thread because I need confirmation from you all if what I have will be sufficient.

My I-134 checklist:

- I-134 (will notarize this week)

- 2007, 2006, 2005 Simple Tax transcripts

- Company letter of employment with all the relevant details

- A single savings bank statement showing Balance

- W2 from 2007

That's all I have. My income is above the 125% poverty line, so I am hoping that what I have listed is enough. Any suggestions and comments about this?

Thanks

Have an extra sip of wine for all of us. Heck, have a bottle. Congratulations on his arriving tonight.

Hi Nosotros!

Your topic has already been moved by the powers that be.

Thanks powers that be

The information is so fragmented. I love the guides on this site, because most of the information is on here; I also like the forums because you get the rest of the information that way.

I went to the embassy website, and sure enough it says right there that you need a certificado policial (in Spanish, ofcourse). It clearly says it is to be obtained from each COUNTRY lived in for 12 months or more, so implying that it is not from each city or region lived within the same country. So, that info is on the website, fine and dandy. But, on the same website, there's no info that says you need a certificado judicial or de penales. And ofcourse these are clearly required per the experiences of users on here.

Any way, just venting about the "ilogicalness" of the whole process.

If it is any consolation, ours left the CSC facility on April 17th and didn't get to NVC untill the 22nd. I called NVC that morning, and they didn't have it in the system yet, but then I called again around 11:30pm, and it had been entered into the system already. Two different times seems to make a difference, but also not.

Here is to hoping that you all get your cases at NVC soon.

One last note: Next time you may want to post to correct forum, this topic belongs in: "The Foreign Embassy and Consulate General Discussion" NOT "Adjustment of Status (Green Card) General Discussion"

AOS forum has to do with people that already have the visa, and are adjusting status in the USA, such as K-1 enters USA and has married, and is now filing for Green-Card.

Ok, now I see how this thread ended up in AOS forum. I went to my portal and clicked on the thread "Within 90 days ....", and then proceeded to create a new topic from there. It turns out that thread is in "AOS" forum.

Can some one with powers move this to the appropriate forum then, please?

And how to I start a topic in the appropriate area?

Hi!

Yes, for Peru you need the 3 certificates.

David got the penales and judiciales in Lima. He got the policiales in the city where he lives.

In the directions for the packet 3, it says that she should get the policiales for every place that she has lived for 12 months or more since the age of 16.

He has only lived in one city, but the way that the directions read, it seems to me that only the policiales should be from every place.

We tried to call the Embassy a couple of times with questions; completely not worth it! On hold for an hour and then they said, "We're sorry, we're only answering questions for ____ now." It was infuriating. Oh, and they treat the K-1 as an immigrant visa there when it comes to answering questions on the phone, which technically it is NOT.

Have her send you a copy of the directions (scan and send via email) and I think that you'll agree with me on this...

Hope this helps!

Thanks Shannon for the response. This is what I am gathering also, that she will need a cert policial from La merced and Lima since she has lived in both places. But the other two are strictly from Lima, because those do cover the entire country.

Our case was sent to Lima yesterday (and it is a paltry 3 lbs of material, according to DHL) so I am guessing it will be there on Monday. It is getting pretty exciting already.

One last note: Next time you may want to post to correct forum, this topic belongs in: "The Foreign Embassy and Consulate General Discussion" NOT "Adjustment of Status (Green Card) General Discussion"

AOS forum has to do with people that already have the visa, and are adjusting status in the USA, such as K-1 enters USA and has married, and is now filing for Green-Card.

Well, YuAndDan, this is probably a case where "logical" isn't always right.

I spent a minute trying to figure out where to put this. So, I decided that I would go into my vj portal (Lima, Peru), click on one of the topics, and instead of clicking "Add Reply", I clicked on "Add New Topic". That's how I started this topic, ofcourse, with the assumption that it would end up in the same forum that I was in. I was never any where near AOS

So, I don't know how it ended up under AOS.

Thanks for the responses Yu and Diana. I see this question alot, and it is confusing to me in the case of the Peru consulate, which requires 3 types of certs. So basically you guys are saying that all the 3 certs should cover the whole nation, and not just the region you happen to find yourself in at the moment?

Thanks

I know that my fiancee will need to obtain three types of police certificates, namely:- Certificado de antecedentes policiales, Certificado judicial de antecedentes penales and Certificado de antecedentes judiciales a nivel nacional. I need a clarification on what this means for someone who has lived in multiple places in Peru. Does this mean that she will need three different types of certificados for each place she has lived, or only one of the three has to be taken from each place she has lived, and the rest only come from Lima?

If so, which ones?

Thanks for any info.

The good news is that my petition was received by NVC yesterday, and was told the usual 2-4 weeks to send it on. I am so saddened that alot of you who were approved before me (shawndoc and queen_jenn come to mind) are still sitting on palettes at csc. Why the sporadic movement of cases? I thought they all got loaded into the same palette until it filled up, then another palette was fed cases.

I guess the additional processing they do must get things really out of wack, but then some body had a good point also about the same process being less laborious and time consuming at VSC. Why?

Any way, wishing all of you speedy receipt of your cases at NVC.

I followed Tbone's thread on "how to shake noa2 out of csc". I almost choked when the lady answered, because I wasn't expecting any body to answer. She was nice, and I was super nice to her; she put me on hold for a a minute, then told me the case was sent on the 17th. I was shocked to find that out, because, like most of you, I had a touch a day after approval (approved March 26) and I assumed that was when they shipped it to NVC. But, nope, it was still languishing at CSC untill the 17th

I just called the NVC and still have no record of the case. It is a month this week since approval. Next, I will call the CSC when they open up; they are still sleeping, although, that's an oxmoron as they are ALWAYS sleeping!!!!

Ok, I called CSC and was told that my case was sent to NVC on April 17th. So, with better luck, alot of us should be receiving NVC case numbers this week, ofcourse, assuming that transport between source and destination is by automobile. If it is by pony, well, stay tuned a bit longer.