iLoveAPolishGirl

I doubt this was a call from NVC. It DEFINITELY DOES NOT sound like something the gov't would do!

Generally, if you EVER get a call from ANY *claimed to be official* source, ask them for thier name, department, etc and tell them you must verify the contact information, ask for thier direct extension and you'll call back. Then look up the dept phone number (do not call any number they may give you!) from an *official* web site, 411 or the telephone book, and call, going thru whatever channels to get back to whomever.

Don't EVER give personal info of ANY kind to ANYONE that cold-calls you!!

This goes for gov't, banks, etc, etc.

If you call the official dept number and can find no verification that the person or department or whatever actually exists, IMMEDIATELY call your state police and report the call!!

There are WAY too many scams going on out there these days!!

dvc

Yes, if you can be there, it's a very good idea.

BTW, your fiancee might want to consider bringing US $ cash for interview. From my fiancee's experience (she told me):

1) the exchange rate charged by the US embassy (in Poland) was FAR higher than exchange rates she could get locally, AND,

2) if the exchange rates change from the quoted amount in local currency quoted by the embassy, the embassy WILL change the required amount if paid using local currency.

#2 happened to my fiancee (and everyone else waiting in line for B2 visa that day) in Cracow Poland last year ... most had brought only the amount quoted (in local currency... e.g. Zlotys) by the embassy, but they were told they needed to pay a larger amount due to currency market fluctuations... fortunately my fiancee had some extra cash on hand, but apparently many others did not! They were turned away.

You'll want to check to insure that the embassy accepts US $ ... we didn't even consider this until later ... but, I would expect they will have no problem with that

Good luck!!!

dvc

If you need more time beyond the expiration date stamped on the NOA2 (when you recieve it, which will be some time yet), you should send in the request for extension mentioned above to the embassy. It gives you 4 additional months from the expiration date, however, I believe additional extensions can be requested, each for 4 months up to 1 year, but that could be wrong.

Your fiancee does not need to hold off on returning the packet docs to the embassy. Instead, send the requested documents (which do not include the I-134), then have her call the embassy and request to have the interview delayed AND you send the extension request letter.

That's what I did for the Polish embassy.

dvc

My fiancee got hers in her local town (Tarnobrzeg) at ... hmm, either it was City Hall or the Police station, I believe. She got it before the petition was even approved, quite some months ago

send me a PM if u need more details and I'll ask her

dvc

*I'm no lawyer, but.... my understanding is... *

If one VOLUNTARILY gives money to others, that does not make them legal dependants. Paying rent or contributing to the cost of running a household does not a legal dependant make.

Court-orders ... or other legal compulsions ... to pay support and/or those you declare on your income tax as dependants would have to be declared, but I don't believe anything else.

dvc

Well, tried editing my response but it didn't work, so....

Perhaps I should also add that my wage income for first half of the year was a significant multiple of the minimum poverty income ... and ... even my unemployment benefits alone, if recievied for an entire year, would be greater than poverty limit.

dvc

I have no idea what thinking the CO might have had... all I know is there were no questions to my fiancee regarding finances Unfortunately I did not make it to the interview

The I-864 form and, AOS package its submitted with, may be more strict or problematic

Yes, I expect it will be... hopefully I'll have a job soon

From the way you worded it I was coming up with around 25K

... ahh, perhaps I should have said ~1/2 of required ?

dvc

Exactly! Whatever dependants you declare on your federal income tax form is the dependents you must declare on your I-134.

dvc

You're here on holiday. That's all you need to say. There's no need to provide answers to unasked questions.

dvc

The employment letter I had gotten from my previous employer prior to getting laid off.

The total bank amount was $30K

dvc

What you need to provide is really the choice of the interviewing consulate officer and different embassys have differing standards, but, generally no, the standard instruction for the I-134 do not state any requirement for tax returns except for those self-employed.

However, I would suggest you provide copies of at least the past year and your most recent pay stub (or 3).

dvc

Basically what the Polish consulate asked of us was to bring this letter to the interview. We had already mailed it before they made that request, but, I would suggest you make up one of these and bring it with you... if you don't need it, great, but if you do, you will be prepared

dvc

Oh! yes, one more thing....

On my I-134 Affidavit of Support, I included a total of my bank accounts ... which came to less then 1/2 of the minimum 3x poverty income ... but I could not get a letter from the bank as described in the form instructions (particularly the total deposits for the year... they could not run that report.) So I just included a copy of my most recent bank statement and a statement from the beginning of the year. Apparently that was acceptable, as no questions or concerns were raised.

dvc

My fiancee was APPROVED for K-1 today!!!! Yea!!

Since we went through many things that are common questions here, I hope some here may find our story interesting and informative

MULTIPLE VISITS WHILE WAITING FOR I-129F APPROVAL

First, my fiancee visited the US *4x* this year on a B-2 visa (Poland is NOT a visa-wavier (VWP) country, so different rules apply than for other parts of europe.)

Each visit, without exception, she was granted 6 months max stay (see our timeline below) although she neither requested it and never stayed that long (almost in the last visit tho )

The last two visits were AFTER I submitted the I-124F petition, so YES, you CAN have your fiance(e) visit while your petition is in processing ... the border officer had NO information on his computer to indicate that a petition was in the works. NO related questions were asked. When asked the purpose of the visit, my fiancee simply stated "holiday", nothing more. On the last visit she was warned about visiting too frequently and told not to come again for a while, but he let her in anyway

USING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR I-134

I was laid off in June (just before my fiancee's 4th trip) ... which was great! we had a wonderful time all summer and fall However, I was worried about submitting the affidavit of support and did not have a co-sponsor

However, I simply did this: I took my final wage statement to get my gross pay for the year and caculated my total unemployment benefit payments thru Dec 31 and put the total as my "annual income", along with a note explaining this calculation at the bottom of the form. I attached the wage statement, an employment letter, my unemployment benefits letter and my last year's 1040 tax form.

My fiancee was approved with out question or comment on this

DELAYING THE INTERVIEW

Our original interview was scheduled for Sept, however, we decided to extend my fiancee's vacation here for a while more This was not a problem. I made up a "request to extend approval" letter (http://www.visajourney.com/examples/extend-approval.doc) and sent it to the embassy. We rescheduled the interview for Dec 1 with no problem. We could have extended it longer if we wanted... we didn't tho

Hmm, not sure what else... we made a photo album with LOTS of pics of us, along with 20 randomly selected pages from about 10,000 pages of SKYPE transcripts for proof of relationship, included letters (one from each of us) confirming intent to marry ASAP.

She will be flying back here on Dec 30 (she wanted to spend one last christmas with mum ) Then we shall be married

If anyone has any specific questions relative to our experience, I'd love to help

Best of luck with your visa jouney!!!

dvc

I just used a copy of my last year's 1040 and the most recent withholding's stub from my paycheck and an employment letter. We were approved with no comment

dvc

Since you don't give the reason for the denial, it's anybody's guess.

I suggest you provide more information if you wish a useful response: Was it denied due to financial reasons or something else? What? If it was financial ... e.g. they didn't accept your parents as co-sponsor, then I would expect the same might happen to you unless your parents financial situation has changed.

dvc

You need to send one of these:

http://www.visajourney.com/examples/extend-approval.doc

I guess London wants it notorized (?) ... the Polish embassy didn't require that from us

We sent it before the NOA time-period expired, although the embassy probably would have accepted it later.

dvc

Not quite. You need to submit a request to extend approval to the embassy. You can find an example letter in the example forms:

http://www.visajourney.com/examples/extend-approval.doc

We submitted one last month to our embassy without any problems.

Good luck

dvc

ditto above!

We basically the same evidence and were missing a boarding pass also.

I'm sure you'll have no problems with this evidence

Congrats and best of luck!

dvc

I can't tell what weight such used property might hold, but I would suggest creating an itemized list of the items you want to declare and look up current resale values of those items in similar condition on reputable websites.

Used book prices can be found on amazon.com. For used musical instruments, etc, you could try an online dealer of such equipment and/or see what similar items might be selling for on ebay.com, craigslist.org, etc.

I would save / print pages used for pricing purposes so you can justify the listed prices.

I would attach a list of the items with a description of the condition and the 'fair market value' you're declaring for each and submit it with your I-134. Either the CO will accept it or tell your fiancee you need to get a co-sponsor (if the embassy accepts co-sponsors.) Then enter the total in the "other personal property" line of the I-134.

Good Luck!

dvc

My fiancee got the email, but I never did, although both of us were signed up. However, the paper notice came in the mail to my address a short time later.

dvc

I don't think she is the exception to the rule... the 6 months granted at the POE are most of the times, for what I know, the standard.

I was given 6 months every time I traveled to the U.S. on my B-2 (I never stayed for more than 2 weeks, I always had to go back to work). And for what I remember, my friends and family members have always been granted the same ammount of time, when entering on their B-2. The only time it was different, was a couple of months ago that my dad made a trip to C.A. for business, and when he said the main reason for his trip was business, they only granted 3 weeks, he was only planning to stay 4 days anyway.

I don't know if someone knows the reason of why they have that "6 month" standard when you say you come for tourism? It just seems unreal to me that someone who is really just visiting, could stay for 6 months? IMO, that is the reason why there are so many B-2 holders working in the U.S., I have also known a few cases of people coming on their B-2 and working for 6 months and going back to their country.

I certainly don't know the 'why' behind that law, but it is the law. I'm sure it is because of this law that (at least in Poland) one can purchase a ticket with a flexible return date ... which is exactly what my fiancee purchased specifically because we intend to extend her trip if our K-1 interview is not scheduled until say Sept or Oct or even later (which is most likely.)

I presume LOT airlines offers such a flexible ticket option BECAUSE of this law. Regardless, though, the law is clear... a border officer MUST stamp a B2 visitor's I94 with no less then 6 months or he is in violation of the US code of regulation 8 CFR PART 214 -- NONIMMIGRANT CLASSES \ § Sec. 214.2 ( b ) ...

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/template.htm?v...ash=0-0-0-12481

(2) Minimum six month admissions. Any B - 2 visitor who is found otherwise admissible and is issued a Form I - 94, will be admitted for a minimum period of six months, regardless of whether less time is requested, provided, that any required passport is valid as specified in section 212(a)(26) of the Act. Exceptions to the minimum six month admission may be made only in individual cases upon the specific approval of the district director for good cause.

Note that this applies only to B2s, not B1s, so that might be the reason for your father above?

At any rate, we would have taken this up via legal channels had a different time been alloted.

dvc

Hey all!

Been switching computers (to vista... it sucks!) so sorry for the delay in reporting....

Got our NOA2 on 6/30 ... woo hoo!!

Congrats to all who have also recieved thiers and hoping you get yours very soon for everyone else!!

Now on to stage 2...

dvc

Every time my fiancee has come on a B2, she's been given six months. Even though her longest stay up 'till now has been 1 1/2 weeks. This time she came in with a planned stay of 5 weeks. Again she was given 6 months, as is written in law.

dvc

The Code of Regulations is official US policy as written into law. So, if a (Customs Officer) CO does not follow that code, what are they following? This is supposedly a country of laws, or so our leaders like to repeat over and over and over. Either we follow our own regulations or not.

CBP had told her on entry once - you cannot stay for 6 months.

The CBP officer needs to learn how to do his job properly, obviously. It seems that we have quite a problem that needs to be addressed in this country with officers who are in charge of carrying out policy and not understanding what that policy is. There IS NO 6 month max... there IS a 6 month MIN. The CBP does not understand his/her own job obviously.

dvc