megaladon

I went to the Frankfurt embassy website and tried the citizen navigator tool (despite previously being misdirected by the Embassy to use a "visa tool" at a URL that no longer exists.) The tool provided the email to contact but the necessary subject line code was blank, so they have a glitch in their tool that makes it impossible to contact them on any non-standard question. Calling them is no use as they no longer provide phone service, so they are basically making themselves unreachable. But at any rate what I had to do is contact a completely different department using an unrelated code and had to beg them to provide the code to put in the subject line for "other question" so I could get my question through.

Ok, thanks! so I'll wait until I-130 is approved. Some follow up questions: 1. Should I update her address online where my I-130 is to Germany now, or also wait until the approval to do that change? 2. once it's approved, will she get an immediate notice to go to her home country embassy, and would that cause an issue in terms of not having enough time to transfer things? Or on the other hand delaying the process? Not sure I have a clear picture of what follows the approval.

Thanks. When I submitted the I-130 online I received a receipt notice that already has a case number. So I'm not clear on why they would issue a new case number or why this process is needed, since it's just an address change (and change of country). I already selected Frankfurt consular processing route on the I-130 online form.

I applied for direct consular filing in Frankfurt Germany, because I work in Germany, but this was not approved. So next I applied for an I-130. At the time of application her address was in her home country. On the I-130 I selected the Frankfurt Embassy and opted for consular processing. While we have been waiting for I-130 approval, she has relocated to Germany and obtained a SOFA card and lives with me in Germany now. We'd like to do her interviews in Frankfurt, Germany since we both live there now. What would be the best moves for us as next steps? Should I update someone on her address change to Germany? Should I do this by directly emailing the Frankfurt Consulate and asking them to transfer the case to themselves or something like that?

So far I've determined that FrankfurtIV@state.gov does not work. I sent a request there over a month ago and got no reply. I agree that frankfurtvisainquiries@state.gov is probably the correct email address, as of December 2023, and so I plan to try it. Just emailing this address rejects the email and provides an incorrect link to a visa navigator, and probably they mean US citizen services navigator and just haven't updated the email automatic response. I tried the navigator as well and it generated this email but didn't generate a code as the poster above found, but I emailed another department and they agreed to provide code 199 (or is it I999) for general questions. I am preparing an email. One thing that remains unclear is if I should attach my documents to the email requesting exception under emergency circumstances, so that they have all the info needed to make the decision, or to not submit the documents and only submit the request with an explanatory paragraph?

Hi, I emailed the US Embassy in Frankfurt a request for direct consular filing, as I believe I meet the requirements. The email address I used was frankfurtvisainquiries@state.gov, and they responded that this is the email address for questions about immigrant visas with an automatic reply, so it appears I have found the correct email address, but it's unclear as they don't say if they mean US immigrant visas or German Immigrant visas. But it also says they won't read my email unless I first go to Visa Navigator. However, the link they provided to get to the Visa Navigator did not work. I googled for Visa Navigator and found a German website, but I don't know why they would be referring me there, as I'm a US citizen looking for help. Is there also a US website Visa Navigator, and maybe they forgot to update the link? All this is after using an other email address to contact them which I thought was valid, and I know people have used in the past, but I never received any response from that inquiry a month ago. I've literally been trying to reach the US consulate for over a month with no success, simply to file my request. How the heck do I move my request forward as I can't figure out how to reach the US consulate?

Would someone who has successfully submitted a request for direct/local processing of an I-130 to the consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, please provide the following: What's the correct email address to use? How long to wait for them to respond? Should I follow up with another email or what should I do as I received no response for a month?

Yes, my questions as it pertains to the I-130 only. I just need to pass that to get her to me. Then I already have a bank account where I can set her up as a joint tenant, and she will be cohabitating with me on the lease we already have with her name on it. But for the I-130 all I have is the marriage certificate and 1 notarized affidavit.

Well, they know we're married as they have known both of us for years, and kept in touch regularly as the relationship developed and as we went through the process of getting married. We still live in separate countries so don't have any join assets in common. We don't have a joint bank account, and it's a bad idea to set up a bank account with a foreign national I realized after researching it and discussing it with my bank in great detail. She is on my lease, but doesn't live with me yet, as she needs to get the I-130 approved to be able to live with me. I have no other evidence except our marriage certificate, years of photos of us, etc., the fact we are on the same health insurance plan with my employer, and I ordered a second credit card with her name on it (amazingly they didn't ask for her SSN which she doesn't have).

I don't know for sure, but the certificate itself says that it is punishable by US law to copy, print or photograph the certificate without lawful authority".

Thank you for pointing out the or and its significance. We were told during the citizenship oath that was a very serious violation to ever photocopy a naturalization certificate, so I feel extremely unsure about including that. Perhaps the US passport will be sufficient evidence.

The following is listed within the I-130 instructions as one of the ways to show proof of a bona fide marriage. My questions are: 1. It uses affidavits in the plural so how many do they need, if one is not sufficient? 2. Do they have to be notarized? It doesn't say that in this paragraph, but I was told by someone it must be notarized. Can one be notarized and a second one not be notarized (that's what I have obtained so far). 3. Does the person making the affidavit have to have met the spouse in person, or simply know them through online communication. For example my family knows I'm married but have only talked to my wife online? Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage; or

I'm reading the instructions for form I-130, and it lists documents A-E which show that the petitioner is a U.S. citizen. My questions about this section: 1. The instructions do not clearly state whether ALL must be provided or only ONE must be provided. What do they want? 2. It makes no sense to provide item A if you were not born in the US originally. So do you still provide it? 3. Providing a copy of a naturalization certificate is tricky because we were told during the naturalization to never under any circumstances make a photocopy of it. What should I do? Break their own rules to follow their rules? For reference here are the documents they list: A. A copy of your birth certificate, issued by a civil registrar, vital statistics office, or other civil authority showing that you were born in the United States; B. A copy of your naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship issued by USCIS or the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); C. A copy of Form FS-240, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), issued by a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate; D. A copy of your unexpired U.S. passport; or E. An original statement from a U.S. consular officer verifying that you are a U.S. citizen with a valid passport.

I have been advised that a sponsor is not eligible to apply for a spousal green card, if they have not maintained a continuous address for a full year prior to applying. Has anyone got some info on this rule?

I am sponsoring my wife and want to correctly complete my physical address history. I have been in Germany for about a year, but am a US resident for tax purposes. I have a permanent address currently in Germany that I will use as my physical address when I apply. However, for most of the year living in Germany I was physically living in AirBnBs for a month at at time, or in hotels. I'm not clear if I should put all those hotel addresses down, or what to do. Also I spent a year and a half in Afghanistan with no particular physical address, just living in cargo boxes. The directions are to provide physical address, not where you legally reside, right? So what should I do. My legal residence (domicile) I guess during all this time could be my parent's physical address, where I keep some stuff. But I'm not physically living there so it doesn't seem I can do that as they want physical address. I also do want to show I've been living in Germany a year so I can get local consular processing, for which I may be eligible under some of the rare special exceptions that apply to service members abroad (I'm a contractor under military command but may still qualify for exception). So from that perspective it seems to list the half dozen AirBnBs as my address this year. Any thoughts on this?