E and J

I'll go ahead and share my experience here.

We put together an extensive set of various proofs with cover letter, similar to what many here have done, but it was not at all necessary when I filed at the U.S. Embassy in Panama.

The only things that the DHS person wanted were:

Form 130

Forms 825

passport photos of each of us

Copy of my passport info page

Copy of my wife's birth certificate (and certified translation)

Copy of our marriage license (and certified translation)

Copy of my Panama work visa (they didn't care about the translation)

Copy of my employment contract in Panama (again, didn't care about the translation)

Even though I had amassed some 30 documents, they only wanted those few items, and did not want the cover letter either. Funnily enough, we had to go back a second time because of defects in a couple of the things they did want:

- The translations of my wife's documents did not have an exact translation of the various seals that government officials had stamped it with. We had to get a those translations redone.

- My wife had neglected to buy the special government stamps for the official marriage and birth certificates. I am not sure why the U.S. officials would care whether or not we put some stamps (available at any bank) on them or not, but we could not file until we bought some.

It is worth noting that the DHS person actually checked to see if we had provided copies of the backs of the marriage and birth certificates to make sure we had copies of the stamps as well(!) I do not know if it is official policy, but I do wonder if we might have had to come back for a third trek if we had not had the foresight to copy the backs of the certificates.

So, no cover letter or extra docs needed, but DHS seems to want to make sure that all local governmental regs are observed...

Hey, all.

I just filed a I-130 in person with the embassy in Panama, and am not sure of my status now. The DHS person didn't tell me much, except that they would send me some sort of verification within the week while background checks were ongoing.

From reading the forum and the guides, it looks like the next step after we get approval is to file a Form 230, Form 864, and associated documents. The part I'm not following is whether the Form 230 is filed at the same time as the interview, or if there is a time gap between those two events. Clarification would be much appreciated.

My work assignment is up in two weeks, and I am wondering if it would be advisable for my spouse to come along with me (she has a U.S. B2 travel visa) for 3 or 4 weeks, or if that might result in a possible timing issue.

Yeah ur right! Me and my husband's joint bank acount was just recently opened last october 2009 after he got his ACR card and yes they asked for it! Dont know if that would be a good idea to include it on our 1-130 as joint ownership bcoz it was jst opened 3 months ago. What do you think guys?

I'll make sure to let you folks know how my experience turns out - I think we'll be pushing the envelope of what is acceptable for a DCF. I've been in Panama 6 months and will be leaving next month; we have been married one month; bank account open for only one month; and no utility bills because either my employer or landlord covers everything. I've got a dated work contract and "visa especial" in my favor, but not a whole lot else...

I had to do the exact same thing to get married in Panama. It was not easy, but I was able to work it out by calling the state agencies in the state where I was born and where I had been living. Luckily, both states were "apostille states" and they were able to produce the certificado de naciemento and certificado de solitaria with appropriate international notarization. Although Virginia does not have an official certificate of "singleness", I was able to talk to a person in the Virginia Department of State who deals with these things regularly - basically they end up certifying that the State's records show that I have never been married in that state and their records currently show that I am single.

I saw another website, specifically about Panama marriages for U.S. citizens, suggesting that a notarized statement from two unrelated people who have known the husband and/or wife for at least 5 years would suffice as a substitute, but your appropriate Department of State should be able to handle a notarized/apostilled document. It's not that unique of a situation, after all.

Hi VJ,

I am a resident of Colombia (have lived/worked there for 3 1/ years) and my fiance and I plan to marry in a civil ceremony this spring.

I am at home in the US for Christmas and want to go back with documents I may need for the notary.

I know according to the Embassy's info (http://bogota.usembassy.gov/marriage.html) that I need an apostilled birth certificate and I also need the equivalent of a Colombian registro civil saying I am unmarried/have never been married.

Quoting from the embassy's site here:

No such document exists in many jurisdictions in the United States, however, and most U.S. citizens will therefore have to discuss with the notary what substitutes will be acceptable. Some notaries may allow you to present signed, notarized letters from friends or family, swearing that you are unmarried.

Has anyone done this? Can anyone give me any ideas on even what exactly the letter should say? I am planning on just having a letter from my father/parents---or 2 letters, one from my dad and one from my mom.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Happy holidays!!

For some additional perspective, here is a response I received.

I sent a question about DCF to the US Embassy in Panama, who sent it to the State Department, who then sent it to Dept. of Homeland Security (!)

They said:

"In order for you (The Petitioner) to file an I-130 immigrant visa petition for your spouse, parents, or children (The beneficiaries) at our office, you must be a United States Citizen and a Legal Resident of Panama and must present proof of this with but not limited (receipts minimum 6 months light, water, telephone, bank accounts, job letter under your name) together with supporting documents."

I'm debating whether or not to give it a try. I've been here just over 6 months, I've got a visa especial good for 5 years residence, and have a work contract and lease, but none of the bills are in my name, and my bank account is only a month old. (Yes, it can take 5 months to get a bank account in Panama. It took 6 weeks to get a marriage license.)