dasaleph

Congratulations!

I am so sorry that happened to you. What a nightmare.

But as Bob said, you are now back with the people who really love you.

Better to be at home now than in alien lands.

I wish you all the best!

"Don't Panic"

Exactly! And take a towel with you!

All jesting aside, I was really nervous too. Also went multiple times through all the possible questions that

I could find on VJ.

I was asked three questions and the actual interview was over in 5 minutes.

Everything will be fine. They just want to weed out the fraudulent couples. You don't have to worry!

Yes, ours were notorized too. Can't be that expensive since I read that in most States becoming a notary public is

about as difficult as applying for a library card.

Does anyone know how it is in Atlanta as the POE? ( I don't mean the experience, I know about the POE reviews )

Coming out of the plane there are two ways to go: The visitor immigration area and the

immigration area for citizens, LPR's and immigrant visa holders.

Is that correct?

So I choose the second way I guess. In there they have lines again for citizens, LPR's and

immigrant visa holders?

Is that also correct?

The closer the date of the flight comes, the more nervous I get.

Thanks!

Doesn't matter that he didn't meet the income requirements three years ago. Since he meets them already since two years, you are fine.

That means, you don't need a co-sponsor. Of course it never hurts, to have one. But my wife also meets the income requirements

and we didn't have a co-sponsor and that was not a problem.

They don't need your tax returns, only your husband's.

Tips on the Affidavit of Support

Congratulations that she finally got it!!

To be honest, I don't understand their system either. It seems schizophrenic. One would think, the Department of Homeland Security, the USCIS and the corresponding consulate should decide on the grounds of the same information.

I don't understand, why they can't do what they are doing at the POE already at the consulate. Anyone?

One would think, gathering all the information if someone is eligible for a visa (which should also mean, that he or she is eligible to come to the U.S., which is not the case) would be exactly what they should be prepared for at the consulate. (And that idiot from Nigeria of course shouldn't have been eligible for a visa in the first place. I guess somebody didn't do their jobs.)

So maybe the Department of Homeland Security doesn't trust the consulates and thinks the people working there are sissy because of working and living with the "enemy".

Well, I wish you guys all the best and I hope the grilling at the POE will be bearable. Keep a stiff upper lip! B)

Its on the G325a where i am having the problems with the dates and fitting in osnabruck, germany. When i download it, it opens it with Adobe reader and i cant change anything on there like the size of the spaces as its a secure document.

Quick question on the side...whats the DS-230?

Yeah, tried it out. I can see where you have the problem.

I would abbreviate Germany with GER (Wikipedia on Ger) I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. I really don't think, that that should pose a problem.

For the dates, I would use the format they specify on the form, namely mm/dd/yyyy. As far as I could see, it fits in everywhere they ask for it.

As for the DS-230, it's simply another boring form to fill out later in the process of applying for a CR-1 (Might be also for the IR-1 and others, but I don't know about that)

It is usually the last step before the interview.

More about the DS-230

We filled out all the forms with the pc, too. Didn't have any problems.

I looked over all our completed pdf's (I-130, G-325a, DS-230) and there was plenty of space for city and country of birth.

We used Foxit Reader for all of them. I am pretty sure, though, that the Acrobat Reader can do all of that, too.

Maybe I am missing something. Which form are you referring to?

ps, the USC is allowed to have a cellphone on his person inside the embassy. Membership has itz privileges.

At least for the Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany that is definitely wrong. Nobody is allowed to take electronic devices inside,

doesn't matter if you are a US-Citizen or not.

Here an update on the driver's license issue. I wrote an email to the Driver License Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Basically asked the same question as I did here, namely if I simply could get a Texan driver's license with my German driver's license.

Here is their reply (Removed the names):

Mr. dasaleph,

It is not possible to present your driver license from Germany to waive the testing for a Texas driver license. If you wish to obtain a Texas driver license, you will need to do and present the following:

1. Provide proof of Identity and Lawful Status.

2. Provide proof of Social Security Number. ( You may be eligible to sign an affidavit.)

3. Provide proof of Texas vehicle registration and proof of liability insurance on all vehicles owned.

4. Complete required forms available at any Texas Driver License office.

5. Pay the required fee.

6. Pass a vision, written, and driving skills* examinations. (You must provide the vehicle for the driving skills exam.)

Also, when you arrive in Texas, you may use our Driver License Office Locator tool to locate the nearest office to you. This is available through our website here: Driver License Office Locator Tool. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a License Issuance representative at (512)424-5089.

Sincerely,

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

Texas Department of Public Safety

License Issuance Bureau | Technical Support

So, as far as the State of Texas is concerned, I guess I need to do it all again.

Thanks for all the answers! Happy New Year to all of you!

I found this search engine for flights pretty cool, since one can perform a month-long search.

matrix.itasoftware.com

(Mr. Big Dog told me about it.)

Meaning, you can see the prices for an entire month and choose the cheapest one. Apart from that I like the user

interface. It has some nice graphical gimmicks. But that just on the side.

The best thing for you to do is to buy the return portion for a really long time in the future. The maximum is 330 days in the future. For instance you can buy the inbound portion from MUC to ELP and arrive on Jan 1st. Then have the return portion for ELP to MUC and leave on Nov 1st.

This way just in case you need to return to Germany before Nov 1st you can just pay the change fee and move it to an earlier date. Cheaper than having to buy a whole new ticket.

Additionally you can pay to move the date even more in the future for a change fee, i.e. you want to go home for the holidays.

Pay the change fee Change the ELP to MUC to Dec 20th, then buy another round trip ticket from MUC to ELP that has a departure date of Jan 5th, and returns to Oct 15th.

Play the game and rack up the miles.

Sorry that it took me so long to answer. That is really a good advice. The allows me to go back to Germany on short notice if I have to.

Thank you!

That's a good omen, isn't it? Congratulations!

Wow! Congratulations! For AP that was pretty fast then!

Thanks!! I had those list, the documents with "O" mark says, The original document has been received and accepted as meeting post requirements.

Exactly. That's what mine said too. So you don't have to bring that anymore.

You will be fine. Don't worry.

Happy New Year to you too!

I had also sent my original birth certificate and PCC to the NVC, obviously together with the certified translations.

In the invitation to the interview you should find a list of things they still need and what you have to bring. Since

I had sent everything beforehand I didn't have to bring anything anymore. (Of course I had proof of relationship with me

and any document that had remotely something to do with the visa process)

But look at the list of documents with their status in your invitation to the interview (should be on page 3). It should tell you exactly what

you have or don't have to bring along with you.

Good luck and congratulations!

I am sorry that you are under administrative processing.

But as far as I know, there is nothing you can do. You sent them all the documents they need, and now you will just have to wait.

Good luck!

Congratulations! Now it gets interesting!

Sounds quite reasonable to me what she said. She didn't let the host force her to pass a quick verdict on what happened.

For the heck of it, I just queried one-way and round trip tickets from FRA to ORD (I'd expect similar results for other departure / destination airports between Germany and the US) - doing a month long search starting Jan 19, 2010.

Here's what I found:

Best rate r/t = $ 586.00

Best rate o/w = $ 481.00

Check it out:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch

Yeah, I think it depends on where you have to go. Tried it for MUC to ELP on different dates and the result is always the same:

Round trip is cheaper than a one-way ticket.

Month-long search starting at March 1, 2010 with

Cheapest ticket round-trip: $836

Cheapest ticket one-way: $1930

But thanks for the link to that flight search engine. The month-long search is really great!

We got so lucky in Washington! All my husband had to do was show his German license, his passport with his K1 and smile for the camera

Yeah, that's what I had hoped for since I have a very charming smile.

You should really really call them once you arrive in the US and see if you can reschedule your return home for another date. Usually you can reschedule it for up to one year later.

I came here to Brazil on a round trip back in Jan 2009 and had it rescheduled for 50 dollars for Dec 2009 (2 weeks ago). Obviously, I didn't use the flight as I'm still here in Brazil. But I really liked knowing that I had that ticket. They told me I could reschedule it AGAIN if I wanted for another 50 bucks. So, if something happened (God-forbid) and I had to go home, it would have only cost me that 50 dollars rescheduling fee, instead of a whole other flight home.

Right. $50 is not bad. Unfortunately Delta charged us (we rescheduled two of my flights back home to Germany) more. Were between $200 and $350.

But it's something to think about. On the other hand, if I simply don't take the flight back, the problem will be solved because all following trips should be round trips.

Why don't they like that? Sounds like a win-win.

I have no answer for why it is like that.

But from the Delta website:

While not an exclusive list, the following ticketing practices are prohibited:

* Back-to-back ticketing—combining multiple overlapping round-trip tickets to circumvent Saturday or other overnight stay requirements.

* Throw-away ticketing—use of discounted round-trip excursion fares for one-way travel.

* Point-beyond ticketing—use of a fare published for travel to a point beyond your actual intended destination or from a point before your actual intended origin.

Throw-away ticketing is obviously what I intend to do.

Thanks! I appreciate.

I will call them when in the States and tell them that I won't use the return ticket.