childress_london

Hello everyone! This weekend my husband finally comes home. :-) Since the tickets were kind of last minute, I had a hard time getting seats for us together. I'm hoping someone on the flight will trade with us. But my seat is right behind his, so if not, that's not too bad.

Wow that's just wrong! Did they give her the Welcome to the U.S. letter at the interview? That's what my hubby and I were afraid would happen to us. We refused to make any plans or get excited until he had the visa in his hand because we did not trust that lady who interviewed us. But he did get the Welcome letter at the interview and he did get the visa in his passport, thank goodness. Hopefully your AP will be short.

No you cannot do this. Once you are approved for permanent residency (via the I130 which your spouse will have to file on your behalf), you must move to and live in the U.S. or you will lose the residency status. Residency is all contingent on where you live. You are allowed to leave the U.S. for periods of time (I'm not sure what the max is - I think it's 6 months at a time?), but your primary residence must be in the U.S. once you have the permanent residency.

However, to answer your first question, you will stay in Germany while waiting for the approval of your CR1/IR1 (permanent residency). Look at the guides for this.

Does anyone have any advice for the picture portion of the DS-160?

I scanned in one of my US passport photos and it's 2 x 2 inches and wont accept it.

Do we HAVE to attach it or can we give it at the interview?

As far as I know, you have to attach it. Does it say why it's not accepting it? Maybe your file is too big?

I had my husband look for that white copy of the vaccinations. He found it, but he said his name is not on it? Maybe he is looking at it wrong? Where on the sheet is the name listed? Thanks!

Minnew - "K3/K4 visas must be limited for those nationals for whom security concerns indicate a shorter validity period is necessary." You can find it on the reciprocity tables on USCIS. http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3585.html. I was surprised to find that out too as I thought ALL K3's were given 24 months. I was hoping since he interviewed in Canada they might give him the 24 months anyway, but they didn't.

My husband will finally be arriving in the U.S. next weekend. So now I am looking forward to the AOS. He got a K3 visa. I am seeing some talk of a vaccination supplement and this has me worried. Where did you get this supplement? My husband asked for one at the medical (it was done in Montreal) and they told him not to worry, that everything would be in the packet. What do we do?

at the medical, when he went back to pick it up, there would have been a yellow envelope sealed, his Xray, and a photocopy chart like white sheet, paperclipped on the outside of the envelope, with all these little check marks for his vaccinations. That photocopy is the vacc supp. If he did not get it, or threw it out (as they never really tell you what it's for), you can try calling the clinic and asking them to fax you a copy of it. They will have it in his file. It is his medical records, so he has access and a right to that info. They may try charging for it.

Once you get it, you have a choice of sending just that with the AOS package, as many of us did...or finding a Surgeon General in your area (or Dr. Arnold in Texas) to transcribe it for you. If they do transcribe it, this is the I-693 that you will be submitting. USCIS has become sticklers lately and many have rec'd RFE's for not having the I-693. Dr. Arnold does it for as little as $30 I think, others may charge a lot more.

If you cannot get your hands on it at all....you may be forced to re-do the medical. If this is the case, you may want to look into approved Dr.s...this can run you $200-300....

Good luck

Thanks! They sent it to him in the mail and there was no white photocopy with vaccinations. Oh boy. Another headache to worry about. Now I'm mad that they didn't give it to him at the medical when he asked for it. And since he is from Iran, his K3 is only good for 6 months, so we have to get the AOS taken care of as soon as he gets here. :-(

My husband will finally be arriving in the U.S. next weekend. So now I am looking forward to the AOS. He got a K3 visa. I am seeing some talk of a vaccination supplement and this has me worried. Where did you get this supplement? My husband asked for one at the medical (it was done in Montreal) and they told him not to worry, that everything would be in the packet. What do we do?

Wow Congratulations Paris!!! :dance: :dance: :dance:

We supplied them with copies of every original and they gave us all originals back except for his certified translation of his birth certificate.

Ohhhh a PART2!

My husband received his passport with the visa in the mail today! We are so excited! Now I just wish ticket prices would come down as I want to fly to him in Canada on the 26th and come back with him to the U.S. the next day on the 27th. I am still in shock and can't believe he has it!

Hang in there everyone who is still waiting. Your day WILL come!

Congratulations!!! I love to see Iranians get approved. :dance:

Congratulations! :dance:

After much discussion, my husband and I think that the reason she was so confused is because she knows nothing about Canadian law. In the U.S. you have to renew a student visa every year, but that is not the case with my husband's Canadian student visa. She was grilling him with questions under the assumption that Canadian laws were the same as U.S. laws. That had to be it.

I plan on submitting a complaint as well. I think anyone who does not get treated with respect as a customer should complain. If we let people treat us badly without complaint, it will never stop.

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_2796.html

Customer Service Statement to Visa Applicants

The Department of State manages the visa process strictly but fairly in order to best protect the United States. We are committed to the essential openness for which the United States has always been known. Travel to the United States is welcomed and encouraged.

We promise to you, the visa applicant, that:

We will treat you with dignity and respect, even if we are unable to grant you a visa.

We will treat you as an individual and your case as unique.

We will remember that, to you, a visa interview may be a new or intimidating experience and that you may be nervous.

We will use the limited time available for the interview to get as full a picture as possible of your travel plans and intentions.

We will use our available resources to fairly assist all applicants to get appointments to allow travel in time for business, study, and other important obligations.

We will post detailed and accurate information on visa requirements and application procedures on every Embassy and Consulate website.

We will provide information on nonimmigrant appointment waiting times at every Embassy and Consulate posted on http://travel.state.gov.

We will explain the reason for any visa denial to you.

Furthermore, if you are a:

Student, we will make every effort to ensure that you get an appointment and, if qualified, a visa in time to start classes.

Medical and humanitarian emergency traveler, we will expedite processing for those dealing with life threatening emergencies.

Business traveler, we will establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate business travel and expedite cases of particular concern to American business.

At the same time, we expect you, the visa applicant, to:

Plan your travel and visa application as far in advance as possible.

Complete your application fully and accurately.

Be forthcoming about your purpose and plans.

Prepare for your interview by being able to clearly and concisely describe your intentions.

I've read this one before. Such a joke. They don't treat anyone with dignity and respect and they don't care that you are nervous and have been waiting for over a year for this day that could change your life.

Ugh. Sorry you got the angry lady, Childress. Glad to hear you were approved, though. When's moving day?

As soon as he has the visa in hand we will be buying plane tickets. :-) So hopefully in another two or three weeks.

Thank you everyone for the congrats and good wishes! Feeling better now and getting excited! Can`t wait until he has the visa in hand.

CONGRATS!!!!! Super happy! Let us know when he has visa in hand!!! When is he coming to the US? I'm sorry that you had such a horrible experience at the consulate. In situations like these, I try to imagine what I would be like if I had a really stressful and horrible day and just forgive the person for their attitude with the assumption that they must just really be having a bad day. (Although that doesn't excuse the fact that she was super rude, there is some level of business etiquette that needs to exist).

Keep us updated!

~M

As soon as he has his passport back, he will be coming to the U.S. So hopefully in about 3 weeks. :-)

Ah! Sounds like you got the crazy Montreal CO. That's sad but be reassured, you aren't the only spouse she's been mean to and often she does not discriminate...she's just a meany to everyone!

Glad you got approved. Good luck.

lol, oh OK. Well that makes me feel a little better. Misery loves company, though I don`t wish that on anyone.

Do Canadians get AP?

Hello everyone. I just wanted to mention to everyone the hotel we stayed in for our interview in Montreal in case anyone is looking for one. We stayed at The Daupin Hotel on Rue de Bleury. This hotel is a small, quiet one and is a 5 minute walk to the consulate. They have computers IN THE ROOM with free Internet! Also, there is a refrigerator in the room too, which is great if you want to save some money instead of eating out all of the time. No microwave in the room, but they have one on the ground floor for use. They also have a flat screen TV with DVD player in the room and a small work out room on the 6th floor. They also have a free continental breakfast in the morning from 6 to 10AM. The bed is very, very firm, lol, but it was actually more comfortable to sleep on than I thought. Overall, I do recommend this hotel.

My husband is from Iran and we interviewed in Montreal. He is a student in Canada. We were finally approved after an abusive interview and the lady was mean and rude. We were very stressed afterwards. She wasn`t really interested in our relationship (she didn`t look at ANY of the many documents I brought as proof - pictures, email, phone records, etc), she was only interested in some time my husband spent away from school. She made me leave the room and she grilled him over and over about it. I guess since she couldn`t get him to change his story (that he was doing nothing, he was basically going through some culture shock and needed some time to regroup) she approved him. She had no evidence to deny him, but I think she was trying to dig for something. She was also suspicious that at some time during his stay in Canada that he was in an illegal status, but he never was. She found that hard to believe for some reason, but she had no proof otherwise. I can understand SOME of her questions since America is so paranoid about Middle Eastern men and terrorism, but she didn`t have to be so bitchy to us. There was no excuse for that! Up to the interview, everyone at the Consulate was very nice to us. Now we are waiting for his passport to come in the mail. She would not let us come pick it up the next day as they do allow that sometimes. I tried to explain that it was his only source of picture ID (plus his proof of being in the country legally!), but she got really bitchy with me and told me no, she had to keep it and for me to leave. I was sooooo angry by the time we left that I couldn`t feel happy, only stress, and I still won`t believe he has the visa until he has it in his hand. Thanks U.S. Consulate for the worst experience of my life. Thanks to my wonderful country for their narrow minded, prejudiced attitudes!

That`s the conclusion I have come to. They have something you want and they know you will do anything to get it, including put up with abuse, so they use that against people.

Congratulations! Your approval will go to NVC and from there they will send it to your consulate. The consulate will send info to the beneficiary (packet 3) about what to do next.

I agree, what did she think would happen if I left the room? That he would say something different than if I were there? I don`t get it. And there`s no reason to be rude on top of it all!

Maybe the angry lady is interviewing too! Everyone was very nice to us until the interview and this lady was rude and mean. She finally approved my husband, but we were so stressed out and exhausted from the experience, we were not able to do anything for the rest of the day. She was easily confused and several times admitted she couldn`t remember if she asked a question or not. Then she asked me to leave the room and grilled my husband for a few more minutes before she approved him. She was not really interested in our relationship and only asked a few questions about that and didn`t want to see any of the evidence I brought (pix, email, etc) ...she was only interested in the time he spent in Canada as a student, which we were totally unprepared for. I`m sure if he had not been Iranian she would not have been so suspicious, but regardless, she was not nice to either one of us.

We had our interview today and we were approved. They would not let us come back and pick up the visa, so we have to wait until it comes in the mail. The lady that took the documents was nice but the one who interviewed us was not. As far as I know he did not get AP...he got the welcome to the united states of america letter, but the lady was so rude to us that I don't trust her. I won't believe it until I see it. :-P