HawaiiJ

We are in the process of gathering Packet 3 and scheduled an appointment for the medical exam. During the exam, my wife's history of TB was discussed.

She has active TB in 2002, received the 6 months of drugs regimen and was cleared of TB in 2002. We have x-rays during and after the 2002 TB episode. During the I-129 Visa process in 2004, she underwent the medical exam and the TB was discussed and annotated. Additional x-rays were taken and compared to the 2002 x-rays and it was clear no additional changes in terms of lung damage. On the I-129 interview day, we were told of a problem with the terms used on the medical report related to her TB history. So we scrambled back to the hospital, more x-rays, consult and the appropriate comments were made by the doctor and she was granted the I-129 visa in early 2005.

Upon entry to the US, she was directed to report to the Hawaii State TB Clinic for evaluation and x-rays. After a period of time she was cleared with no issues. Shortly thereafter, she was evaluated again, this time by the USAF doctors and cleared in terms of TB for a relocation to Italy.

During the medical exam this week, we were informed she had to undergo a new Sputum Test and evaluation prior to getting a medical exam report. So, 3 days of collection and an expected 10-weeks to let the Sputum grow and mature so the doctors can complete the medical report and stay within the rules given.

Keep in mind, we have treatment records and x-rays from all stages of the events (2002, 2004, 2005, 2014). The pulmonary specialist we had to see said clearly there was change in x-rays over the 12-year period and he was prepared to say she's all clear but he's not the "approved" doctor by the US Government and obviously not on board with the correct rules and regulations as the approved doctors might be.

I understand the approved doctors follow direction given by the US Government, but sometime things just don't pass a common sense test. In my opinion, there's zero room to vary off the checklist and the official information provided from the IV Section when asked is the TB guidance comes from the CDC and not USCIS or DoS.

So we are in a minimum 10-week hold for the completion of the Sputum test and results. Nothing we can do except standby, not gonna do any good to complain and there's nothing anyone can do at this point in the process but wait and be patient and respectful of the system.

You can google CDC, TB 2007 guidelines and read the details.

The delay gives me time to get the police reports from Italy which is proving difficult.

We are in the middle of requesting the Italian Police Reports and found the information scattered and sometime misleading. In the process of working through the information and verifying with the sources I decided to post the following information in the hope it will server as a one stop for Italian Police reports/certificates.

When we verified the need for my wife to acquire the police certificate, the Embassy in Bangkok provided the following.

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Police Records
Available. The Certificato Generale del Casellario Giudiziale is a certified national record of final court convictions and decisions regarding mental incompetency and bankruptcy or a statement that no such record exists (Nulla).The Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti is a certified record of pending criminal charges, or a statement that no such charges exist, from the office of the Procura della Repubblica in the applicant's place of residence. Both certificates are required from immigrant visa applicants residing in Italy.

Persons within Italy can obtain the Casellario Giudiziale by applying in person or by mail at any office of the Procura della Repubblica. The Carichi Pendenti must be obtained at the Procura della Repubblica in the area that the applicant resides. Such offices are located in all major cities and in many small cities and large towns. Those who apply in person must submit a written request, a photocopy of a photo ID and all fees; the certificates are usually provided the day of the request.

Persons outside of Italy can obtain the Casellario Giudiziale by writing to:

Ufficio del Casellario Giudiziale della Procura della Repubblica
Piazzale Clodio
00195 Rome (RM) Italia

Persons outside of Italy can obtain the Carichi Pendenti by writing to:

Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di ROMA
Piazzale Clodio
00195 ROMA (RM) Italia

Those requesting the certificate by mail, whether from within or outside Italy, must submit a written request, a photocopy of a photo i.d., and all fees, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Mail requests are normally processed within three working days. Information concerning fees and application procedures is available from any office of the Procura della Repubblica or online at http://www.giustizia.it.

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This information was helpful but, it was not concise and the term fees were not clear. So, I emailed the Call Center Glustizia to inquire about the fee cost and received the following:

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Practical information - Certificates from the Judicial Records Register and of outstanding criminal proceedings requested from abroad
Anyone who lives outside Italy, whether Italian citizen or not, can apply for a certificato del casellario giudiziale [certificate from the Judicial Records Register] or a certificato dei carichi pendenti [certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings] concerning them, submitting an application to the Ufficio del casellario giudiziale [Judicial Records Office] attached to any Procura della Repubblica [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic], irrespective of their place of birth or residence.
The application, in writing, must specify the following:
the personal details of the person concerned (i.e. the person to whom the certificate relates), stating clearly – in block capital letters - their family name/surname and forename(s)/given name(s), as well as their place (town and country) and date of birth;
the address where the certificate is to be sent; and
if the certificate is requested with exemption from payment of any duty and fee (for adoption, labour disputes, legal aid applications, judicial redress) or with exemption from payment of marca da bollo [stamp duty] (emigration for work, scholarship), the purpose for which it is requested proving entitlement to the exemption.
The application must be signed by the person concerned and specify if is for a certificato del casellario giudiziale [certificate from the judicial records] or a certificato dei carichi pendenti [certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings].
Certificates are issued in the Italian language and in the German language if issued by the Office in Bolzano/Bozen.
The cost of each certificate issued is of € 19.68 (of which € 16 for marca da bollo [stamp duty] and € 3.68 for diritti di certificato [certificate fee]).
If the certificate is exempt from the payment of the marca da bollo [stamp duty], only € 3.68 diritti di certificato [certificate fee]) are to be paid.
In addition, also the postage costs by ordinary mail are to be paid. These are: € 0.90 for mailing to European countries, € 2 to non-European countries and € 2.50 to Oceania.
Please note that the acceptable payment methods (eg. international bankers draft, postal cheque, eurogiro etc) of the amount due for issuing a certificate (stamp duty and/or certificate fee and postage costs) differ according to the country from which the certificate is requested and relevant applicable Conventions. It is therefore necessary to ask the Ufficio del casellario [Judicial Records Office] to which the application is going to be sent what is the appropriate payment method to use.
Do not send cash
Applicants must enclose the following in their request:
a copy of a valid identity document of the person concerned (eg. ID card, passport, international driving licence)
proof of payment of the total amount due for issuing the certificate (i.e. stamp duties and/or certificate fee and postage costs)
an envelope already bearing the address where the certificate is to be mailed to, without stamps.

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I feel like this cleared things up for me. Hope it helps others.

I was ready to stuff 30 Euro into the envelope and trying to get a prepaid/addressed envelope ready. I think it is simpler with the information provided.

We are in the same situation. 10 Year GC issued in 2008, lived in USA till 2011 and been in Thailand since then. We decided to move back to the USA only to learn due to the time out of the USA my wife's PR Status was considered "Abandoned" and either the SB-1 or new I-130 would be needed to start the venture to a Visa.

The SB-1 criteria was explained, criteria seemed very tough to qualify. The impression I came away with from a 1.5 discussion with USCIS was my spouse needed to have been unable to return to the USA in order to qualify for the SB-1. The exact example used to explain it to me was the last approval for SB-1 involved someone who had been in a comma and only had been away for a short time over 1 year, not the 3 years we have been out of the USA.

We decided to go via the I-130 route. Submitted via DCF and it was approved in less than 24 hours and we had the approval letter in hand from USCIS. We now are pausing for a week for the I-130 paperwork to make it to the IV section in the Embassy.

Your situation seems very similar to ours. If there's no compelling situation to qualify for the SB-1, it looks like the I-130 is definitely the route you will be heading via a DCF if you meet the filing requirements.

In order to file a new I-130 petition, my wife was required to submit her current and any old GreenCards she had possession of along with completing the declaration form to abandon her resident status along with any potential claims for the PR status based on the GreenCards..

Good Luck..

BTW, Hypnos, I really appreaciate your helpful comments and feedback. It's what makes the VJ a great place.

aaron2020,

Yes it could have been avoided, but we lived outside of the US for 3 years previously with no problems. So, I was lulled into a false understanding of the situation. In reality, anyone who thinks they can just revisit the US before a 12 month ticker (hoping to meet the requiremets to not be gone for more that 1 year) has passed is taking somewhat of a risk. There are no promises made from the relevant parties that a quick return is a guarantee to stay out of trouble.

If you think about my situation; gone from the US for 3 years, with wife with a green card (good till 2018) and 2 kids (US citizens) and I'm going to school and the cost of going to school is being paid for by the US Government, all my income is from the US Government, we pay US Taxes (Jointly), comply with the new FBAR requirements, majority of banking is US based along with credit cards being US based, I vote in Florida every election and we have Florida resident status. I think we have maintained ties to the US in my opinion and it's not like the US Government does not know where we are.

With the current Southern US Border situation, I think it is a joke that I have to redo and apply for a new visa for my wife. Just my opinion.

As for you comments, they don't contribute anything to this discussion thread at all. I admitted up front I made a mistake and certainly don't need or want you to chime in and poke me for your jollies. I looked at many of your posts, they have a recurring theme, you tend to be confrontational. I really don't need your opinion at this point.

Aaron2020, sometimes it's just better to move on, and not chime in on a discussion if you are not contributing to the discussion....get it?

What I can say about the process is it's wrong in my opinion there needs to be an avenue to undo an honest mistake when one can be validated. It makes no sense to have me redo the visa for her travel to the US. Why? There's nothing that my wife has done that would prevent her from gaining another visa like the one she obtained previously. The only purpose this serves is to delay our return, cost us money in a wasteful manner, put another case into the system and delay someone else who had no greencard. The point being, she'll get the visa, the greencard and we'll go back to the USA like we wanted only delayed a bit. It's just wasteful and what's wrong with the system. Again this is my opinion.

I do think I'm off to a good start with the I-130, less than 24 hours to get the Approval Letter in hand. I'll give the Embassy 5 working days like requested and start working the next stages of the process and be prepared when called.

I neglected to mention, I had the pleasure of giving up $420 USD to get the ball rolling on this process. What joy.

After a lengthy discussion with USCIS personnel in Bangkok, we have made a decision to proceed with the I-130 submission via the DCF option here in Bangkok. We submitted yesterday about 1130am and had the I-130 Approval Letter in hand todat at 0930. The staff at the Bangkok USCIS office was helpful, accomodating (as much as possible based on existing laws) and the I-130 approval process in a timely manner.

In order to proceed with the I-130, the current and old Greencards were relinquished and the appropriate formal declaration giving up my wife's permanent resident status was completed.

The I-130 approved I-130 package will be at the US Embassy in Bangkok within 5 working days even though one can throw a rock from one building to the other-this is true they are that close.

So, hopefully within a week the I-130 package will be at the Embassy and hopefully received and a case number assigned and available. At that time, an expedite request will be submitted and I expect it to be approved.

With that given and the going in situation of my wife being a previous GC holder, having lived in the US previously and nothing negative record wise to create a processing problem.

Anyone care to guestimate the timeline we should expect under normal conditions (no expedite) and also under an expedite situation?

Would be interested to know what folks think.

Thanks,

From what I can tell, the 2 options are the SB-1 & I-130. I think the SB-1 (heard 3 monts to get an answer) is not wirth the time risk vs the chance of success. Feel we'll be going the I130 and we are headed to Bangkok tomorrow for visit to the USCIS Field Office in Bangkok for a DCF kickoff to the process. Tons of paper in tow and ready to go get in line to bring my wife to the US who has had/or has a GreenCard already. Very frustrating sequence of events I'm headed for.

I have a bad feeling we are back at the starting place with this process. I thought Thailand Immigration was difficult but now I wonder. Is the 10 year GC dead/revoked/suspended? Does that process reset as well? A complete "Do Not Pass Go, Do not collect $200" type situation ,new visa, Change of Status, 2 year GC, then 10 year CG?

If so, that seems rather ludicrious considering the flow of folks across the Southern US Border. After, we're married, live together, have kids and her GC expires 2018. Where's the common sense approach to this issue I have created on my own?

Thanks for the comments..

Hi, Looking for some advice and clarification. I'm writing this on my wife's bahalf and our situation.

We went through the Fiance Visa process in 2004-2005 with success. Within 8 months of entry she had her GC due to the process being expidited because I was in the military at the time and were were headed overseas. She was later granted the 10 year GC in 2008 and it will expire in 2018.

We are currently in Thailand and have just hit the 3 year mark of being out of the US with no return visit. We came here just live for a while and enjoy Thailand. Now the 3 years have passed and were not satisfied with the school options for the kids and want to return. That's when I discovered the issued of being out of the US for 1 year and the problems it causes with her overall status.

We need to undo/redo/rework whatever we have to to get her back now. Here are a few questions we have.

What's the best option? DS-117/SB-1 request? What's the time line for this? A complete REDO?

Do all consulates and Embassy's take the DS-117/SB-1 submittals?

Here are some of the other particulars about the situation.

From 2005-2008 we were out of the US with no return and upon our return we had no issues.

We were on Military orders, but at the POE (Atlanta) we were never asked anything and we never produced any documentation besides her GC and Passport to gain entry.

2008-2011 we spent in the US with no outside trips for her.

2011, we departed for Thailand and have been here as a family since then.

I have been in School (International University using my GI-Bill benefits) for 2 of the 3 years or we would have gone back before now.

She holds a Military Dependent ID Card/I'm retired USAF

We have maintained joint (both names) banking accounts, all credit cards during our 3 year absence.

She has a government issued State of Florida issued ID Card.

All the banking and credit cards are tied to the same/still valid address in in Florida (same as her FL ID Card)

She has not worked while in Thailand.

We have continued to file Joint Tax returns since we got married in 2005 with no breaks.

This mess is my doing, my initiative to moive to Thailand & my school keeping us here this long. I was totally unaware of the potential for the problems I have now because of our time spent in Italy and her absence of 3 years and her ease of return to the US.

What's my best course of action from the experts on visajourney?

Trying to determine if I need to bolt for the Embassy in Bangkok or will the consulate in Chiang Mai suffice to get the ball rolling?

Thanks, look forward to the support. Sorry for being long winded, just want as much info out as possible.

Yhanie,

I'll try to give you a reply to your questions.

1) How can I expedite my AOS? what form should I use? Fees? The immigration officer told us that there's no way of doing that.

Once I had filed the AOS and received a NOA with the case number, I wrote a letter addressed to the USCIS office in Honolulu and hand delivered it to the office with a letter validating my situation from my Commander. I also provided a copy of my PCS orders with my wife's name listed. The orders are a must have in order to request an expedite based on military PCS (or at least that was what I was told). I was told to wait for 30 days before inquiring on the status, so at 31 days, I had an infopass appointment to check the status.

2) And once in Italy, where should we apply for Sojourners Permit for the length of my stay?

The Sojourners Permit process is up in the air right now. I got mine through the Pass and ID office at NATO in Naples. Right now, there's a huge backlog and the process is now being handled through the Italian Post Office (not sure of the process yet, this is new and still un-refined). Either way, you will need one and help will be offered on getting it once you arrive in Sicily.

3) How do you request a delay for the I-751 interview? Is it still valid if you delayed it for 1year? I would be returning in the US not until after the 3-year contract in Italy.

I just got the NOA on the I751, it said the GC was extended for 1 year. The rest is speculation and I will have to see how the interview works out. The NOA said USCIS would be getting in touch with me for the interview/Biometrics. Our situation is the same, we can return to the US after a 3 year tour but I hope to extend or move to another non-US location. The experience is better overseas in my opinion.

v/r

HJ

Magnolia31,

My wife is from Thailand and was required to travel on her Thai passport.

The Italian Visa was required based on info from the passport agent at Hickam AFB in Hawaii. Also, we looked the Italian Consulate website it led me to believe we needed the visa for Italy.

I've never heard of a SOPHA or SOFA (Status of forces Agreement) stamp for the passports, we don't have one. Each country has a different SOFA, one does not fit all.

Most of Europe is open and once you are legally in a country (in our situation, the Sojourner's Permit gives my wife open travel within the Schengen countries) you can travel to where you want for the most part. Exception for my wife was the UK, she needed a Visa.

I work at NATO and it really did nothing to make anything easier in getting the required documents to travel to Italy.

Yhanie,

My wife and I went through the same situation you are faced with. We were in Hawaii and had orders to Naples Italy. I'll try to answer your specific questions the best I can.

1. If you have a Permanent Resident Card (Conditional) you can travel to Italy once you get an Italian Visa (the cost was about $65). Once you arrive in Italy you'll need to apply for the Sojourner's Permit for the length of your stay in Italy.

2. If you don't have the GC yet, I would recommend as soon as your husband has the Military Orders with your name on them you submit a request to expedite the AOS request. It worked for us with no problems. We filed the AOS Expedite request in May 05 and the GC was approved in Sept 05.

3. Yes, no problem filling for the Removal of Conditions if you are outside of the US, just make sure you file a Change of Address and then file the I-751 at the right time. I'm up late tonight putting together my wife's I-751. We are headed to the US Consulate in Naples for finger prints tomorrow so we don't have to have a Biometrics appointment.

When I asked about how the interview works since we live outside the US, I was told we could request a delay until we return to the US on a Permanent basis with no problems.

4. Not sure about the "No fee Passport" for non-us citizens, we did not get one and in my opinion you don't need it. It will not entitle you to travel within Europe unless you are on official military orders. I would suggest just getting the Italian Visa stamp in your passport and the Sojourner's permit after you arrive.

Hope this helps a little, if you have anymore questions, please ask. Where in Italy are you headed?

Take care,

HJ

Thanks for all the advice.

Some people here have told me that I will need to have a DoD passport in order to travel with my husband, and have the military pay for my flight there. Is this true? I didnt think I could get a passport as I am not a US citizen. Help!!

The DOD Passport (Also commonly referred to as an Official passport but is not a Diplomat Passport and Red in Color) should not be required and I'm not sure it is an option for non-us citizens. Your normal passport issued by your homeland will work as long as you are on the military travel orders.

You may need to acquire an entry visa on your own, make sure you allow time for this. Don't plan on getting much help from the local MPF or Personnel Company. We received no assistance at all when we departed Hawaii/Hickam AFB.

Currently, we are based in Italy and we had to acquire a entry visa from the Italian Consulate in California prior to traveling to Italy, it was easy and painless.

As long as you are on your Husband's military orders and have any required entry visa, you should be ok. The travel is government funded for anyone on the travel orders.

One more comment on the DOD/Official passport, I believe it is only valid for travel if you are on Travel/TDY orders or on leave orders back to the US. I don't think it is valid for tourist travel purposes.