SolitaryThrush

I registered just to respond to this thread. Im in the same boat as you solitarythrush, My RFE was delivered on the 6th of june. I called twice and was told to wait the 60 days. My deadline has already passed for submitting my RFE but they cant tell me if they received it or not. When I try to file an E-request it says my receipt number doesn't match. So I have to wait 2 more week before I can file a service request. This waiting is driving me crazy.

Thank you for the reply. I called last week and they said to call again after 60 days. When I tried to file an e-request I got that same error. There are two days between the 60 day mark and the deadline for submitting the evidence, so I guess if they can't confirm they received it or will not give an update we can refile.

We did submit a lot of evidence for the RFE (lease, old bank statements, house deed, and something else I can't remember right now), so I wonder if that is a cause for delay. When I see people getting updates in a couple days or a couple weeks, their posts seem to show them only submitting a paper or two.

Google says Vermont is always behind, not only for this but for other visa stuff. I just hope we get some good news soon.

Are you sure they got your rfe packet. It shouldnt really be taking this long. I would try to call and see as its been over six weeks since you replied to the rfe. And try to figure out if your packet even got delivered

Thank you for your reply.

I suppose I cannot be sure the correct person received it. I know it was sent to the address, and I have confirmation that it was signed for. Without an employee directory online I guess I can't tell if it's the receptionist, or somebody else, or what. I just called and they said to wait until after 60 days has passed. They also said the online case status update does not automatically update when something is received. The 60 day point will be two days before the original deadline, so I suppose if we express mail it we can send the documents again if necessary. I'm just getting worried since most of the other December filers eithe received their green cards already or received quick responses to their RFEs.

Thanks.

I'm glad to find this thread. Not glad to see other people sweating, but glad to see I'm not the only one.

We submitted our first packet in December 2012. In May we were issued an RFE, and on June 6 we submitted all the new evidence requested to the Vermont Service Center. The tracking number shows the package signed for on June 7, but today is day 48 without any response or action. Even checking our status online it says "Initial Review" with no mention of the RFE. Reading other threads it seems people get a response fairly quickly (under 4 weeks), with some even getting a reply in a couple days.

We're getting near the deadline for submitting the RFE, so now I'm getting quite nervous. If it's been 48 days without any response or update should we assume it was lost? Those of you who were waiting for a long time, did it at least update your status to RFE online, or were you waiting 7, 8, 9 or more weeks with "Initial Review"?

Hello,

We filed in December 2012 and received a notice of action. In April we received an RFE and in May we submitted the evidence required (and more). We are still waiting, and we received no confirmation of receipt of RFE and our checking our case status online still refers back to the documents sent in December 2012 (says we sent you a Notice of Action with information on how to proceed). Calling the hotline also receives the automated response refering to December 2012. Should we have received something after sending the RFE?

The deadline for submitting the RFE is coming in August, and I don't want to be in a position where that lapses without them properly processing the evidence. Any suggestions? Shouldn't they have sent confirmation, or made an update now? How can I follow up? Is there a way to speak to an actual person over the phone relating to this?

Thank you for your help, I"m getting quite nervous.

Her interview is scheduled for next week. If all goes well, then she can come to the US in April and we can actually start thinking about the wedding, and not think of it as fulfilling some procedural requirement.

Here's a question, and it's probably been asked a million times but I had no luck searching for it . . . she has to use the visa---in other words, get married---within three months of entering the US. But, is it possible to somehow delay that, and enter the US somehow without "using" the visa? Japanese are, after all, part of the VWP, so would there be a way to enter, then during those VWP days take a trip to Canada or another country and reenter the US on the fiancee visa? I know the answer is probably no, but I hadn't seen it officially written anywhere.

I ask simply because the timing of this forces us to have a wedding basically right on top of another one in the family, so if it'd be possible to space it out by a couple of months, that'd be ideal.

Absolutely ridiculous, and demonstrates a cluelessness by people who likely have no clue what the rest of the world is like.

Another poster was right, how about addressing the reasons for the decline. Like, stop invading foreign countries, and stop making travel into and around the US more of a hassle than it's worth.

Hi,

My fiance has lived in South Korea for three years and will be getting a police check here before her embassy interview in Japan. I know it will need to be translated from Korean to English, and I've found a place locally that advertises it does translations from various languages into English.

Is there a certain certification they need to be considered qualified translators? Is there a guideline about which translator(s) to use? I ask because:

(1) my fiance told me I could do the translation, even though I'm not a certified translator

(2) I don't want to go through the expense of getting it translated by the wrong sort of translator or one that doesn't know what to do for this document, and

(3) having seen what passes for "English" and "translations" in South Korea, in textbooks, promotional materials, official documents, books, government websites, etc., I worry about paying for something that's just not good.

I'm sure somebody here has had experience getting a police check here and getting it translated. What did you do?

Thanks.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep an eye on the check next time. I got an email from my parents last night, and turns out they sent my paperwork to their address because even though I've lived in Korea for 4 years, I had to list their address as my "home." So, I got the NOA1, just wishing they wouldn't send everything to PA since we're here in Korea. Just adds more time waiting for my folks to send stuff to me.

Thanks everyone.

Well, I got an email from my parents that they sent the first NOA to their Pittsburgh address, so that's good, I guess.

In the package I included a note about addresses, saying that we'll be living in Korea through February, but I assume they didn't read that. Just so long as this doesn't lead to any unnecessary delays I guess, but for now it's a weight off my mind.

Ugh, this is killing me. I sent everything out on September 19th---from South Korea to Vermont, as my "home" is considered PA---and it arrived on the 22nd, and I still haven't heard anything back. I see people getting their NOAs in a few days or a week, and I'm hoping nothing got lost in the mail or sent to the wrong place. Then again, if these kind of delays from overseas are routine, it looks like our hopes for a summer, 2010 wedding will have to be delayed.

Hello,

The Vermont center received my package on September 22nd, sent from South Korea. Because my "home" address is in Pennsylvania---though I've lived in Korea 4+ years---I had to send it to Vermont. Anyway, I'm looking at timelines and I see people got their NOAs within a week. Did anybody else have such a long wait over here? Is there somebody I should try and call?

Thanks. This is driving me crazy, I thought at least getting the first NOA would be an easy step.

Quick question, will my Japanese fiancee also need to send a copy of her birth certificate in the I-129F petition packet I've assembled? I know she'll need the real thing in her interview at the embassy, but I've seen contradictory answerrs about including it in the petition.

Thanks for your help, as always!

Great, thanks for that, and for the note about fianceE. (It should be fiance and fiancee, not finance and financee, hehe.)

The return address on the package I'll mail to Vermont will be our Korean address. Will they direct future correspondence to that address? Even though the "home" address is Pennsylvania, I'm only here at my parents' house when I visit from Korea, and won't be here semi-permanently until next spring.

Should I simply make a note to tell them to direct future correspondence to the Korean address?

As I said in the first post I'll be living with her for a few months, and she'll be headed back to Japan in February, 2010. After we receive the second notice---hopefully everything goes all right---will she explain that we no longer live in Korea?

I'm getting ready to mail this package hopefully by the end of the week, and with one week from Korea to Vermont, and one week from Vermont to Korea, hopefully we'll have made some progress by mid- to late-October.

Thanks a lot for your responses and help.

Ugh, one more: on the letters of intent, should I use my "home" address in Pennsylvania?

On the FIANCE's copy, it's still my address, right? Or hers?

Thanks again, whomever's out there!

Another question, if y'all don't mind . . . I currently live in Korea, but my "home" address as stated above is in Pennsylvania. Does that mean I mail the documents to the Vermont Service Center? Would I qualify in that jurisdiction even though I currently, and temporarily reside overseas?

Thanks. This is all so overwhelming, so I apologize for the seemingly dumb questions.

Thank you, I'll try that.

Hello,

I may post this elsewhere if this is the wrong spot, but I'd appreciate some advice.

Several forms require current address, of course. Currently my Japanese fiance and I reside in South Korea. I lived in a different address in Korea for two years, but will be staying with her while studying. Her contract finishes in February, and she'll be headed back to Japan until it's time to move to the US with me.

The forms ask for her home address written in Japanese. Should she write her parents' address in Japanese---her home between teaching contracts---or should she write her address in Korea in Japanese?

For my address, would I include where I currently live with her? What about my parents' home in the US where I stay between contracts, and will be returning for a short time next year? Probably by the time for her to interview with the embassy---provided the petition goes well---I may be at another address, so that's why I ask.

Because we're moving around so much---Korea, to Japan, eventually to the US---will it cause any problems after we submit the petition and she interviews at the embassy?

Or, is this simply something we explain in the letters included in the paperwork? I'm just afraid of making a mistake and somehow misrepresenting us.

Thanks, and I hope that makes sense. Teaching EFL overseas certainly isn't conducive to stability.

Thanks for all your responses.

Our situation is a little . . . weird, which is forcing me to do a lot of homework here. We both met in Korea while teaching, and I've been there for four years. It would have been possible to get married on paper in Korea, BUT, my teaching visa expired in August, and when I return to Korea it will be as a student. No problem, but since the classes I'm taking are rather short, and since the university took its time getting the paperwork to me, I couldn't get a student visa, but will instead be there visa-free for 90 days. Thus, unless by some miracle, it doesn't look like I could get married in Korea.

We do live together, but there's an obstacle to proving bona fide marriage . . . teachers in Korea usually pay rent, it's provided by schools. If we had been married before she started her teaching contract, perhaps the school could have put our names on the lease---if her name is even on the lease to begin with---but since her school only employs her, it's unlikely.

I'm glad you brought that up, Nik+Heather. The timing issue I was most concerned with was her coming here for my brother's wedding, then having to go back to Japan to get/wait for the visa, then coming back here. Not only lengthy but costly as well. However, if we end up having a small ceremony in Japan as well, the back-and-forth won't be an issue.

We'll be applying in late September (I'm shooting for the 18th for sending the petition). I'm glad I know about all this paperwork now, but I'm kicking myself for not thinking to look into it sooner.

Thank you very much for your responses, everyone. I'll be checking back here for any developments, and my homework this vacation---back in the US for a couple weeks---will be to study this and put together most of the petition.

Good luck to you! Sorry I have no advice to your questions. I'll just be watching this thread with interest because I'll be filing a petition on behalf of my Japanese fiance next month, and am nervous/overwhelmed. Considerably less so since finding this site, but still.

Wow, thanks a lot for those links. I had no idea this question is asked all the time.

Hello,

I was recently passed along the link to this forum and am impressed by all the information here. I'm also overwhelmed, and am getting knots in my stomach. I plan to marry my Japanese fiance next summer . . . well, at least I hope I CAN, looking at all this paperwork, I'm getting really worried.

Anyway, we plan to acquire a fiance visa. We have debated getting married first in Japan and then coming to the US as a husband-wife, but because we both currently live in South Korea, it's tough to both establish income and to establish a bona fide marriage is taking place.

The plan was to have her come to the US in April because my brother is getting married in May. However, if we file the paperwork in September, it MIGHT get finished processing by then, but it likely won't. Would she be able to come to the country visa-free for the wedding? Ordinarily Japanese can enter the US without a visa and stay for 90 days. Will the application interfere with that?

Thank you for your responses, and for collecting so much useful information in one spot!