Syena

As I posted earlier my Mum had her interview on the 14th and was approved.

I have a couple of questions to those who have already travelled over after being approved.

1 - At POE, can my Mum go through the USC/LPR line at the Immigration check point or does she still have to go through the Non US line?

2 - Will my Mum still have to fill in form I-94?

Thanks in advance

Syena.

Hey guys.

My Mum had her interview yesterday and was approved

I would like to say Thank you to Tay and others on this board for information and help. You guys are great

I do have one question though. When she arrives at the airport can she go through the USC/LPR line or will she have to go through the Foriegn Nationals line at Immigration?

Here is her interview experience. I hope it helps others.

Her interview time was 9.30am but she got there a lot earlier due to train strikes and joined the outside queue.

At the first check point she had to show her appointment letter and passport. From there she went through security. They were letting three people through at a time.

While standing in line they were told no cell phones at all were allowed inside. Watches, coins, wallets and things like that were to be put in handbags or a little plastic bag. Belts were to be removed as well.

After she went through security she was directed to a desk to get her number then took a seat.

About 2 hours later her number was called so off she went.

The guy asked for her passport and letter and went off to get her file. He looked through it and said “It looks as if someone has done their homework” then asked her the following questions:

1 - Had she ever lived outside of England?

2 - Had she ever been to America?

3 - When would she be planning to travel to the US if she was approved?

He then started talking about how soon she would need her passport.

After that he checked that her address and details were correct and took her fingerprints electronically. He gave her a piece of paper and told her to go back out and wait to be called again.

Another hour and a half later she was called so off she went again.

This time she had a young lady. The lady clarified that I was sponsoring her then asked her the following questions:

1 – How long had I lived in the US?

2 – How did I get to the US?

3 – How did I meet my husband?

4 – Did I like living is the US?

The lady took more fingerprints, but this time it was just the four fingers. Apparently they take them a second time to see if they match the first set and to confirm who you are.

Once that was done the lady said “Congratulations you are approved and welcome to America”

Mum thanked the lady and told her she had made Mum’s day then headed over to the Courier’s desk to pay for the delivery of her passport and documents that she will need to hand over at POE.

Hmm, can't see where to edit my own post.

"Copy of biometrics page of Mum's passport"

Should read

Copy of biographics page of Mum's passport.

TayRivers and others, who have already gone through the NVC... Can you say what exactly documents did you include in you DS-230 package? Do I need to provide my mother's photos, copy of passport, police certificate, etc...

Hey Vveell

This is what I sent with our DS-230 package:

Cover sheet.

Completed and signed application (with original signature)

2 photos

Copy of biometrics page of Mum's passport

Police certificate - original and a 1 copy.

Mum's birth certificate - original and 1 copy.

Mum's marriage certificate - original and 1 copy

Dad's death certificate - original and 1 copy

My birth certificate - orginal and 1 copy

My marriage certificate - orginal and 1 copy

You can find a list of what to include here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html

Some of those things did not apply to us but they might to you.

Hope this helps.

Syena.

Congrats to those finally getting the long awaited NOA2's. Things appear to moving along again now.

Congrats on the approval

I'm a little confused by your post TayRivers. You said your parents are sitting in the waiting lounge at Dublin Airport, (in Ireland?), but then you go on to say that they have been through immigration. I thought the envelope is handed over at port of entry in the USA?

I was curious about if they would go into the Citizen / Resident line and I am glad you posted about it so thank you for that.

I bet both you and your parents are very excited and I hope their journey was a good one. I'm glad everything worked out for you all

My Mum had her medical today and was told that other than if anything shows up on her X-Ray or in her blood tests she has passed so that's another step over with. One more to go.

Congrats TayRivers, that is awesome news.

I hope your parents arrive safely and settle in ok.

Congrats Tay, that is great news, and thank you for posting the interview experience too.

I do have one question. From your post I assume your parents took with them a copy of everything that was sent to the NVC? If so, did they need it or did the people at the embassy have the original paperwork that was sent to the NVC?

I'm just wondering if I should send a copy of everything to my Mum to take with her to the interview just incase, even though it's not listed on her things to bring.

Good luck for your parents interview tomorrow, TayRivers. Hope all goes well for them.

Hey Guys

My Mum never received the Agent of Choice form in the mail even though it was supposedly sent to her.

It was just after I sent the I-864 package that I was told about this website so after reading it I had my Mum email the form using the template.

I also emailed her my form and had her fill it in and mail it back to me just incase. I got an email from the NVC saying about the missing form so I called them up and told them that my Mum had sent an email and was told that it probably just hadn't been processed yet and to give it a another week.

A couple of days later I got the accepted as agent email and the DS-230 pakage which I got sent off. After that both my Mum and I got the email again about the agent of choice form so this time I sent the one I had my Mum fill in and send to me. I wasn't sure if I needed to send it in or not as the email was dated the same date as the first one they sent but I figured it was better safe than sorry.

Congrats on your Mum's approval Griffin, that is great news.

Thanks to those that posted about their interview experiences, it helps a lot. My Mum has been asking if I knew what sort of questions she would be asked so now I can give her some ideas.

I have a couple of updates too. TayRivers, if you could please update the big list I would appreciate it.

NVC Completed - 07/24/2009

Interview Date - 09/14/2009

Thanks for the reply Tay.

Just to clarify though, I wasn't looking for a way around paying taxes on interest that her money generates once it is in her US account, my concern was the initial transfer of her money but you have answered my concern. Thank you.

Tay, can you add my info to the roster please?

Name........SC.........Sent.........NOA1.........NOA2........NVC......Case Complete...Relative...Interview

Syena.......CSC........03/12/09...03/20/09...05/11/09...05/27/09...--/--/--......Mother...

I know there are many ways to get the money transferred.

I mainly want to know if there is a limit before it is reported to the IRS, so if my Mum had for example 500k to transfer which would be a wire transfer, if she did it in one lump sum would it be considered as income that she would have to claim on her taxes the following April even though it would be her savings? Or would she be better off doing multiple transactions of under 15K?

My Mum will be selling her home once she gets her visa so I was wandering, for those that have already sold their homes and moved, what is the best way to transfer savings (and house sale money) to a US account without it being considered as income or reported to the IRS?

I know you can only carry 15k into the US and I think the limit on a wire transfer is a million or something but I'm not sure if transfers over 15k get reported or not.

I would hate to see my Mum get taxed on her savings but I don't really know how the US system works for that sort of thing. I have talked to my bank but they didn't seem to know either.

So if anyone has any advice they could give me, it sure would be appreciated.

Thanks for the reply Tay.

I did research the whole medicare process which is why it will cost her around $1000 a month as she will have to buy part A and B but she can't do that until she has lived here for 5 years.

I also called around all the main insurance companies and for some reason Texas insurance companies don't seem to insure people over 65 and noone seems to know of anyone that does. For some reason Texas seems to have a lot of stipulations.

Hi

I have been reading this board and the information here has helped a lot. I'm glad a friend told me about this site.

With regards to insurance, that is the one area I am having issues for my Mum who I am in the process of sponsoring over (I will fill in the other info shortly). Because she is older than 65 I can't get any regular insurance for her as most companies don't seem to insure people over 65 because they generally go on to medicare. My husband and I can not add her to our insurance either.

I did find some immigrant insurance that will cover her for the 5 years she needs before going on to Medicare and the cost doesn't seem too bad, but once she is eligible for Medicare the cost is almost $1000 a month which is just crazy but that is the way it works.

If anyone has any info that may help out in this area it would be greatly appreciated. Here is the link to the insurance I found just incase anyone needs it:

http://www.buyamericaninsurance.com/piu/th...an/brochure.jsp