Jen&James

I don't think that is common anywhere, but I wouldn't swear to it. I think official translations are paid deals made separately. There are offices that do this (not coincidentally) close to the embassies conducting interviews.

Thanks, but this is required for filing the I-129F and the interview is further down the road. I am suggesting, in an email I will send within an hour or two, other options for her to obtain the translation and certification, if the registry office doesn't do this.

1. She works at a University. She could contact someone in the language department to do the translation and certification if this can't be done at the registry office.

2. She should just email me the scanned documents and I have someone here who can translate and certify.

3. She should see if there is a marriage agency in town who could suggest how to have this done.

I thought I had read sometime ago a post in a thread that said the registry offices in Russia will do what I'm looking for. If I do find out from her the registry office will do this I will make a post back to this topic.

Hello Bobb! I think I can help you. You don't need to go to any kind of Registry Office to get a copies. You fiancee have to go to the Public Notary Office. But she has to choose one with translator. Not all Public Notary Offices has translator in Russia. I'm pretty sure she will be able to find one. Anyway, she have to bring with her original divorce certificate, birth certificate and her passport. At the Notary office they will make a copy and translation of the documents. It cost me around $25 per each document. But the price depends of the city and the Notary office. Believe me this is enough for sending with petition. We did the same and got the approval already without RFE. You see if she will go to the Registry Office they can give her the duplicate of the original document only if she got lost one. If your fiancee will need more help you can send me a message and I'll give you my russian cell phone number, so she can call. I'll help her if she need.

Jen

I think your authorized period of stay is the date on your I-94, not your EAD. And one thing I have learned in dealing with immigration issues is even if USCIS makes a mistake, it's still your problem. When you entered the US, you were admitted by Customs and Border Patrol. You were interviewed by USCIS, who said the CBP made a mistake telling you to apply for a green card. Bottom line is you suffer the consequences of their mistakes. I hope that all goes well at your interview, but I will be very surprised if a waiver is not required. A consult with one of the above lawyers should remove all doubt.

You're so right Spooky. Wouldn't it be nice if they could be held accountable?

This has made me very curious about the EAD and I'd love to know for sure... let us know how it goes Jen. When is your interview?

I will let you know about the result of the interview. I don't know the date yet, but I will soon.

Jen

I think your authorized period of stay is the date on your I-94, not your EAD. And one thing I have learned in dealing with immigration issues is even if USCIS makes a mistake, it's still your problem. When you entered the US, you were admitted by Customs and Border Patrol. You were interviewed by USCIS, who said the CBP made a mistake telling you to apply for a green card. Bottom line is you suffer the consequences of their mistakes. I hope that all goes well at your interview, but I will be very surprised if a waiver is not required. A consult with one of the above lawyers should remove all doubt.

Thank you spookyturtle!

Regarding your parole status, I am inclined to think that you were admitted on parole status without an expiration date, rather than it "automatically extending by itself" as you said the officers told you. Nothing in our gov't extends automatically by itself. Also my understanding is that your EAD is your authorization to work in the US, and therefore be here in the US legally. You left before it expired. Based on the information I have, I still believe you were not out of status.

A consultation with an attorney would be your absolute safest bet, but if you can't afford it then you can't afford it. Try to relax and go to the interview with a positive outlook. You're not trying to hide anything and that is in your best interest. Everything will unfold as it should. Best of luck!

Thank you very much! You are very kind. And you are very right I don't have anything to hide. I guess I really need to relax.

Jen

From what you've written it sounds like you entered the USA legally and then left before you were "out of status," so I believe you therefore you should not have any problems obtaining your K3. A waiver is for somebody who has applied for and been denied a visa. Based on what you've written here, as long as you can prove a bonefide marriage I think you'll be fine. Good luck.

WonTanNara, thank you for you good answer! I still have hope for good.

I hope so too. Based on what you wrote, I was assuming (correctly) that your ex-husband was NOT in fact a US citizen.

That's right. My ex WAS NOT a US Citizen. I'm pretty sure that he is not US Citizen even now. I'll tell you what happened. At the begining he applied to get a refugee status because of religion persecution. At the US Embassy in Moscow Russia the officer didn't give him status of refugee. My ex got status I wrote before. And because at that time I was his wife we came to US by the same status. I just want to know if my EAD will be a prove that I was in the country legaly? On the EAD card says that the person indentified is authorizes to work in the US for the validity of this card. I left the US two days before it was expired. How do you think will I have problems at the interview?

From what you've written it sounds like you entered the USA legally and then left before you were "out of status," so I believe you therefore you should not have any problems obtaining your K3. A waiver is for somebody who has applied for and been denied a visa. Based on what you've written here, as long as you can prove a bonefide marriage I think you'll be fine. Good luck.

WonTanNara, thank you for you good answer! I still have hope for good.

You never adjusted you status while here, correct? I am asuming your husband was a US citizen? On a K-3 visa, you married outside of the US and entered the US with your US citizen husband. You needed to adjust status while you were here which it appears you did not. You stayed just under a year after the expiration of your I-94. which would bar you for 3 years from entering the US. The time to file abuse charges was while you were still in the US. You probably would have been able to adjust your status and stay. Since you returned to your home county, the overstay ban was triggered. It would certainley seem that you will need a waiver to be issued a new visa to return to the US. Best advice, consult with a good immigration lawyer such as Heather Poole at humanrightsattorney.com or Laurel Scott at visacentral.net.

Thank you for your answers!

My ex is a Russian citizen. When we entered USA we did it together. So he had same stutus and rights like I did. You see it wasn't my fault that misstake were made by Homeland Security. I did everything like I was instructed. The question is:

Can I prove that I didn't overstay in the country if I'll show them my EAD card. This card was issued to me 3 months after I-94 has been expired. And according to EAD I left country 2 days before it's been expired. I didn't mean to break any law.

Jen

Good morning. I really need a good advice.

Here is the story.

In April 2004 year I entered USA by AUTHORIZATION FOR PAROLE OF ALIEN IN TO THE UNITED STATES. I came to US with my daughter and husband (now ex). At the port of entry the officer issued to us I-94. We also were instructed to apply for green card in 8 months. I-94 had expiration date April 24 2005 year. So we did like the officer said. In 8 months we prepared all necessary documents and applied for a Green card. In a few months which were much later than expiration date on I-94 we were invited to do fingerprints. We did so. At that time I already had ID card, SSN and EAD with expiration date 07/20/2006. A little bit later we were invited for some kind of interview with the officer at Homeland Security Department. At the interview two officers told us that some kind of mistake happened and they didn’t notice before that we actually cannot apply for the green card with status we came to US. I was trying to explain them that we got instructions from the officer at the port of entry to apply for green card. Well they said that the officer made a mistake too. Like they said it was two ways to resolve the problem.

First: We can stay in USA until EAD will expire and leave the country.

Second: Sister of my husband (now ex) which was almost ready to apply for her citizenship in US will file a petition for us and we can stay in USA until visa for us will be available.

I asked the officers if we need to extend our PAROLE STATUS. Both officers told me that the status will be extended by itself and we don’t need to get any kind of paper from them.

I must say that my husband and his family abused me very bad. It was some kind of religious cult. So I couldn’t handle this anymore and I have decided to leave them. I wanted to get divorce and 50% custody for my daughter. But the ex and his family decided differently. I will not tell you all story about how they treat me. I can only tell you it was a HELL! (I mean that word) Finally my ex and his mother told me that the sister of my ex will not include my name in to the petition and I will be without any status in USA. Of course they were frightening me with different things and with deportation. Please don’t judge me very bad. I was isolated from the society by this cult and didn’t know my rights. I didn’t know that someone can actually help me in this country.

So because I was afraid that I will be deported I left the country 2 DAYS BEFORE MY EAD has been expired. My daughter stayed with my ex in US. They didn’t let me to see her since I left their house. I came to my native country and got divorced. In awhile I met my present husband the best man in the world. I’ve never expected that I will be so loved and happy. He came to my native country and we had wedding here. After one month he came back to USA and filed petition for me. Not so long time ago we got our approval letter. We also passed NVC pretty quickly. Now our case for K3 visa was forwarded to the Embassy.

My question is: Do we need a waiver? Is there any possibility that the Embassy will issue a visa for me without a waiver? My parents can write a letters and state that my ex and his relatives really abused me. My parents even didn’t see my daughter because of rules in the cult of my ex and his relatives.

I’m really sorry for such a long story but I had to explain the situation. Please help me with advises. I cannot afford legal help.

I’m very appreciating for your help.

Jen

Please post all VSC approvals for this week here so we can keep our fellow VSC inmates hopeful oh God...let this be the week!

*********************

I woke up my husband at 2:30am today, and the first thing he said ...it must be a good news...and i said to him that were approved....he can't believed the first time i said it...lol! but anyway just want to update you guyz with our timelime...good luck to everyone here whose also waiting for their approvals...

its me...wifey

CONGRATULATION!!!!! I'm very glad for you guys!!!

Jen

Well I don't know what to say! We didn't get approved on 9th of October like I posted before. My husband was told 3 times by the person on the phone from VSC that we got approved our I-129F. Well guess what! They approved only our expetite request on 9th. But today I checked case status online just in case and found that our both petitions were aproved on 16 th of October. Nice joke LOL!

Jen

CONGRATS ! This is sweet music for the rest of us waiting. Enjoy the weekend. So happy to hear this, congrats again. BTW you didn't get any email and the website still shows pending? wow

I want to say thank you to everyone here. Because together always better. A lot of good people here! Hope everyone will get NOA2 very soon. We didn't get email. Even case status is still showing pending. The officer said that the letter with NOA2 was sent yesterday. We didn't recieve anything yet. I guess it's so early for letter. Hope we will get it on Monday!!!

Jen

OMG!!!!! WE GOT APPROVED!!! Our I-129F was aprooved on 9th of October! They said that they sent NOA2 yesterday. We didn't see any touches or activity on our case. It is still showing "pending". My husband just called them and got this news! He couldn't believe it so he asked 3 times! LOL

[

No touches, It was touched once long time ago on May, 7th. I was waiting more than 7 months since NOA1.

Good luck in your journey

bleecker Thank you for you reply. Our case was touched last time on 7th and 8th of May. Maybe our case somewhere near yours I hope so. Your approval really gives some hope!

CONGRATULATION ONE MORE TIME!!!

Jen

I could not believe It, after checking my case online for the millionth time, finally the date under the last updated column has changed. I clicked on the receipt number and found out that my petition has been approved, ALHAMDOLILLAH.

To those who are still waiting approval, hang in there and be patient. My best wishes for you to get some good news soon

Congratulations!!!! Did you file expedite? And when did you have last touches on your case?

Thanks for this...Every time I try to get through to someone they are not helpful at all. Looks like our timelines are very similar...good luck in hopefully getting an approval soon!

Thank you for nice words!!! We really need good news already! I feel like I'm loosing all hope.

Jen

What does it mean that the case "WAS ASSIGNED"??

Does it mean it is with an adjudicator and will be approved shortly? Or it means it is in the system?? ;-) I don't trust USCIS call center.. If you talked to an officer/adjudicator, maybe I trust that a little bit more (not much more!)

I hope to get a b'day gift since it's coming in mid-October

My Birthday is today! Maybe they will be really nice and make a present for me!

By the way, does anybody know how long usually it takes to get approval if the case is given to an adjudicator???

We didn't see any activity on our case since 8th of May. Yesterday my husband called VSC and they said that our case was assigned.

Jen

My husband talked with an officer. It wasn't call center.

Jen - can you please post here how to contact an officer at VSC nowadays, since all the menu options have changed. I am a bit desperate and want to call VSC.

These options work if you have some problems with your case. We had some issues so an officer was trying to resolve the problem. Maybe this info will help you.

phone number: 1-800-375-5283

Option 1,

Option 2,

Option 1,

ENTER receipt number,

Option 1,

Option 3, Wait for "If our system"

Option 4.

Jen

I hope to get a b'day gift since it's coming in mid-October

My Birthday is today! Maybe they will be really nice and make a present for me!

By the way, does anybody know how long usually it takes to get approval if the case is given to an adjudicator???

We didn't see any activity on our case since 8th of May. Yesterday my husband called VSC and they said that our case was assigned.

Jen

You should have your approval this week!

CJ Vasani Thank you for your good words! Hope it is going to happen like you said.

What does it mean that the case "WAS ASSIGNED"??

Does it mean it is with an adjudicator and will be approved shortly? Or it means it is in the system?? ;-) I don't trust USCIS call center.. If you talked to an officer/adjudicator, maybe I trust that a little bit more (not much more!)

I hope to get a b'day gift since it's coming in mid-October

My Birthday is today! Maybe they will be really nice and make a present for me!

By the way, does anybody know how long usually it takes to get approval if the case is given to an adjudicator???

We didn't see any activity on our case since 8th of May. Yesterday my husband called VSC and they said that our case was assigned.

Jen

My husband talked with an officer. It wasn't call center.

I hope to get a b'day gift since it's coming in mid-October

My Birthday is today! Maybe they will be really nice and make a present for me!

By the way, does anybody know how long usually it takes to get approval if the case is given to an adjudicator???

We didn't see any activity on our case since 8th of May. Yesterday my husband called VSC and they said that our case was assigned.

Jen

i.e. updates, touches etc.

If anyone has any experience and would like to share?

Thanks

We requested expedite second time on 25th of September. No touches, no updates, no anything. I was hoping to hear something good on my Birthday (October 7) None

Jen

It is good to see VSC doing something (Even if it is moving the files around )

Haaaa I'm rolling that is so true!

I called USCIS on 9/12/08 to apply for an expedite because of financial hardship. Of course the person who answered the phone advised it wasn't possible, but after pleading as to how others have applied as well and were approved because of financial hardship. She entered my case and provided an Expedite # and confirmed I would recv a decision by 9/17/08. NOTHING!!! No touches on line, no evidence of any movement on my case. I am pondering whether I should call them again, but I don't want to rock the boat even if you know what I mean. Any advice from the group how I should handle the expedite request is definately welcome. I am just hoping someone picks up my folder and works on this case as its great to see others getting touches and approvals with similar time-lines. It's very stressful but I have faith!

Lets hope we see more touches this week!

Same here!

My husband (petitioner) called USCIS on 9/10/08 to apply for an expedite. After one hour of talking with the officer he got case number for expedite. Officer said that they make a decision by 9/25/08. Of course we didn't get any decision on 25th of September. Well, he called them back. He got information that our expedite request was deny. My husband was surprised because person he talked before said that we have enough reasons to expedite our case. Anyway he asked what was the reason of the deny. Well, they said the reason was only one. Like they said that beneficiary called for expedite instead of petitionary. Can you imagine my husbans face?! LOL Well, we applyed again and this time added one more reason tfor expedite-USCIS error. Still wating! No touches no anything! When my husband called them last time they promised to make a decision in 5-10 days. Honestly, I already don't believe that they will expedite our case. I lost any hope.

Jen

Jen & James & Garu

I really wish the best of luck to you. Everyone knows that this entire process is remarkably inefficient and utterly ridiculous. The only thing I can say is to make sure you vote for the presidential candidate who promises immigration reform. The system is flat out broken, and everyone knows it. I really do hope that your case gets resolved soon. No one should be forced to be kept away from their loved ones because of politicians and bureaucracy. This is a country of immigrants, and for the life of me, I really want to know where in history that part of America changed. I've spent five years of my adult life defending this country, I really would like to be reassured that it wasn't all in vain.

bigangrytexan, thank you for your good wishes! I guess we all need them now! It is very depressing to be apart with your loved one and kid for such a long time.

Jen

So I just got my NOA-1 today. I've been assigned to the Vermont Service Center. I checked the processing times, and they're currently at November 26th, 2007.

That's ten months of waiting, before they even LOOK at our petitions? I mean, honestly, how do they live with themselves? They realize that these are people's LIVES. These are people who have already been separated for years, and you're forcing them to stay apart for longer? I know the whole "be patient" thing, but how can we be patient with a government that does so little for us?

I've been reading these forums for a while now, and I've read so many horror stories about the VSC that it really worries me that I was sent there.

I've just spent the past five years of my life honorably defending our country in the Marine Corps. I've spent over a year of my adult life deployed to Iraq. I've been shot at for America and for our government. And now I have to wait (at least) 10 months for the woman I love, one of the few things in this world that brings me happiness, to be united with me? Especially after I've endured so much misery (trust me, Iraq is not fun).

I'm already at my wit's end with this whole process, and the nightmare has only begun.

I guess you should prepare yourself for long waiting. Look at our case. We sent our petition at the end of January. We also sent petition for K3 to make all this process go more quickly. (like everyone knows K3 were created to bring your foreigh spouse more quickly) We were trying to expedite our case with senators help. Got denied. Later we found frough USCIS officer that no one even filed expedite request for us! 7 days ago we filed expedite directly frough USCIS. Well, we are still waiting for our NOA2 already 7,5 months. I really wish you good luck! Hope you guys won't have to wait so long time.

Jen

I got am update on 9/12 which said case is pending. I received approval email at 9:45am today. I checked website right now and it got updated today that says APPROVED!!!

CONGRATULATION!!! I'm very glad for you!!! Hope we'll be next!

Jen

I129F and I-130 approved Sept. 5th

congratulations did you call VSC regarding your petition?

No I never called them. Kinda sounded like it would be a waste of time from what I read here on VJ.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Did you get a letter or email with your approval?

Jen