Pennsylvania

When we called the Call Center for Ukraine today, part of the recorded message states that the DS-160 has replaced a number of other forms, including the DS-156, as of February.

The online packet, however, still has the DS-156 and DS-156k. How are these affected? Should she fill out the 160 and the 156k, or ????

See here under Fiancee Visa Information Packet: http://ukraine.usembassy.gov/visa-forms.html

I vote for:

Borshch, Varenyky, Holubtsi, Halushki, and of course, Okroshka, my favorite (but I can't yet cook it right!) !!!!!

My fiancee sometimes says that I am a bigger fan of some of these traditional Ukrainian foods than she is (my ancestors were Ukrainian). My great-grandparents came right from the village, and my grandmother often served mashed cabbage and turnips, with salt, like it was going out of style.

Hello everyone,

We are moving along so quickly in time and would like to get things in complete order as we anticipate scheduling the interview very soon.

From a previous post, I understand that, because of my unique situation with definite jobs lined up which would put me well over the poverty limit for our prospective household of two , and with a tax return sufficient for last year, but without having started continuous employment until next month, I should have a co-sponsor. My parents have agreed to do this, and I understand that I will need I-134 applications from them, as well as all proofs and birth certificates. Here is what I would like to know:

My parents filed their tax return jointly. Their joint income before taxes is approximately $50,000. We have ordered tax transcripts from the past three years showing this basic information. Is it the income before, or after, taxes that counts? Should we also include their bank statements? Is it helpful? Overkill? All of their bank accounts are joint accounts. They jointly own a house, but I understand that absent a professional valuation of the house, this will not help - right? - copies of insurance policy with valuation or property tax valuation would not alone be useful?

I'm sure that they should each (father and mother) file a signed I-134 form, but how should they list their income / assets on this form? Divide them? List as a whole with reference to each other's form? Or ??????

Also, as of 2008, I was listed as a dependent on my parents' income tax return. This is no longer the case. I have a sister who still lives at home and is a dependent. On their I-134 forms, they will list that they have one dependent - my sister. Should she be counted as a half a dependent on each, or one on each or ??? Should we file any explanation to explain the fact that I show up as a dependent on some earlier tax returns but not now? And, how will this be factored in, in terms of determining the number of dependents for the poverty line?

Thanks for any help!!!!! We are so close, we don't want to make a mistake now.

Good evening, everyone,

Now that our NOA-2 has been approved, my fiancee and I are working on everything necessary as soon as possible! From my side, I am working on the I-134 and have a few specific questions and would appreciate advice/guidance/insight. Our interview will be at the consulate in Kyiv, Ukraine.

1. Are photocopies of signed tax returns plus W-2 form preferable to IRS transcripts, or vice versa?

2. As I mentioned on this forum some time ago, my employment situation is somewhat unique. I will be frank about the situation so that I can receive the most accurate advice. I just graduated law school and am spending the summer studying for, and taking, the bar examination and consequently have no income at present. Prior to last summer, I lived at home and was largely supported by my parents, but earned a small amount of spending money every year, self-employed, doing genealogical work for hire. Last summer, between my second and third years of school, I worked for a major law firm and earned $30,000 for the summer's work. Beginning in September of this year, I will be employed by a federal judge as a one-year term law clerk at a salary of $57,000. Beginning in September 2011, I have guaranteed employment at a major law firm with a salary of $180,000. I also have about $3,000 in the bank and $1,000 or so in savings bonds.

My thought was that I would submit:

a. I-134 Affidavit of Support signed by me

b. Memorandum explaining this income situation

c. Signed letter on letterhead from U.S. Court concerning my employment from Sept 2010 - Sept 2011

d. Signed letter on letterhead from law firm concerning my employment beginning in Sept 2011

e. Income Tax Return + W-2 form (or IRS transcript? See Question 1) for 2009, 2008, and 2007 -- 2009 will show $30,000 income, above the guideline, but the two years before that will show the pittance I earned doing genealogical work.

f. Statement of Bank Assets

f. I-134 Affidavit as a co-sponsor from my mother, who has a consistent record of employment enough to support a family as well as real estate and bank assets (? Is this necessary?)

g. Birth certificate of my mother (? I read somewhere that this was necessary to prove that the co-sponsor is a U.S. citizen -- anything else for a co-sponsor)?

So, my question is: Are all of these necessary? Should I err on the side of caution and go for a co-sponsor? Are any of the items above definitely not needed? While I am excited about the possibility, I am worried, given the rapid pace of things, that our interview could occur during August, when I've planned a trip to Ukraine to visit with my fiancee, and that I will not yet have begun work for the U.S. Judge and that this might cause some problem with an interviewer.

Thanks for any and all help as we do everything we possibly can to make sure this goes well!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We feel very blessed that our NOA-2 came in only 25 days and we don't want to do anything to screw up our good path so far.

Congrats! Where did you file?

In Vermont.

Just a bit of exciting news to share

I filed the I-129f paperwork on May 11, the NOA-1 was on May 23, and we received notice that the petition was approved and the NOA-2 sent in the mail on June 17!

From what I've read this seems like record time, only 25 days between NOA-1 and NOA-2!!!!

Now we have to figure out what to do about tracking the next steps, preparing the packets, thinking about Interview, etc. etc. We are very pleasantly surprised and excited, as we had no idea that it would go through this quickly.

VSC = EAC followed by 10 numbers.

Its the USCIS website. However its hardly worth tracking unless you want to drive yourself crazy. Typically you'll see an update for the NOA1 and not another till NOA2. Sometimes you may see a touch in between which is pretty meaningless.

Your NOA2 will have the EAC number on it when you receive it.

We received our NOA2 in the mail 5 days after it was hard dated so "tracking" it on the website was of little value - especially since you never know when they will update. Heck, you might receive the NOA2 in the mail before you see the update on USCIS

I went to the website twice while my petition was in process then just decided it was better to expect a 5 month wait rather than go bonkers checking every day. When I got NOA2 in 90 days I was very pleasantly suprised!!!

Thanks for the advice. There is no number on the back of the check preceded by EAC, however, nor is any number exactly ten digits. I guess I will have to wait for the mailed NOA-1 to have this number.

I received my check back (electronically) today so presume that the NOA-1 is not far behind. I've noticed in the past through these forums that I can track the process of the K-1 visa application through inputting a number from the back of the check into a certain website.

Question: Which of the numbers on the check do I use? I saw some previous posts and they said the number is supposed to start with WAC, I don't see any such number on the back of my check. There is a really, really long number at the top (maybe 40 or 50 characters). Then the bank's address on the left with a site number (four digits) and then, under that two numbers on the same line, one 9 digits and one ten digits (starting with a T). Also on the check is an 11 digit number and underneath that a 15 digit number that starts with the letter R.

Question: Where is this site to track the number?

Thanks for any help!!!!!

Here I am with another question. :-)

My fiancee needs to send me signed copies of the G-325a as well as her letter certifying the intent to marry.

We all know (or at least I've experienced) that the Ukrainian mail service is late when it is not non-existent. So, what is the best way for her to send these documents to me?

I see that she could use FedEx and, by my calculations, it would cost us $116 to mail the letter. Or she could use MEEST and it would cost $8 and the thing would arrive in 1-3 weeks. I've heard about MEEST from other places but have never used it. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks!!!!!

Thanks much. This is great information. Just to clarify, are you suggesting that if I put my current address (Apr. 2010) for the place where she will live when she is here, that I can change this address when I have the correct address (definitely by late summer 2010) for where I will then be living? We know the city (I have a job there) but not the place yet. We don't want to delay filing for this reason if we don't have to.

A P.S. to this is that she is learning about the city where we will live after my move, not really about where I am living now, and of course we would want them to ask about that city in the interview (it would be just too confusing otherwise and seemingly nonsensical). Sorry if this is confusing but, of course, we want to do this right even if that involves waiting until I have a street address in the new location, but we'd prefer not to wait for that event if we didn't have to.

None of this should be a problem, although the address changes may require some extra time to disclose. There will be a place to attach an explanation with your documents that will answer any questions USCIS or consular may have. Use the address where you live when you apply I think. You can change it later if necessary, and this would look no different than some one who moves around because of say, military service. Current address still means where you live now. It looks like you may need to make several changes to your address along the way - but I think mail forwarding during your summer job migh handle things. There is a procedure for making address changes, and no limit to how many you can make.

Remember that the purpose of the initial process (up 'till the interview) is simply to prove that you have met during the past two years and intend to marry. Along the way there is an investigation into your criminal background and fitness to sponsor, and hers to live here. That's it. Later in the process you may need to give more detailed explanations, but probably not. So long as your income on paper meets the requirements, the sporadic nature etc. probably won't be questioned.

Thanks much. This is great information. Just to clarify, are you suggesting that if I put my current address (Apr. 2010) for the place where she will live when she is here, that I can change this address when I have the correct address (definitely by late summer 2010) for where I will then be living? We know the city (I have a job there) but not the place yet. We don't want to delay filing for this reason if we don't have to.

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this question but here goes. Please let me know if it would be more appropriate elsewhere!

My fiancee is in the third year of her undergraduate degree in Ukraine, studying humanities. She has decent marks and if she stayed in Ukraine would graduate in May 2011 with the Bachelor's degree equivalent there. If all goes as planned, however, she would be approved and come to me in the USA before that time. My fiancee wants to pursue higher education in the USA, and I support this. We will have the resources, long-term, to do this without problems.

What we would like to know, however, is whether her Ukrainian academic credit would have value here in the USA. Of course, we are very much aware of the pedagogical and practical differences between the US and Ukrainian educational systems. I'm certain that this is probably a very specific question which should be addressed to both the prospective US university and the current Ukrainian university.

If anyone on this forum, however, has experience with anything like this, and can share general tips, likelihoods, ideas, etc., that would be great!

Thanks so much!!!!!!

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this question but here goes. Please let me know if it would be more appropriate elsewhere!

My fiancee is in the third year of her undergraduate degree in Ukraine, studying humanities. She has decent marks and if she stayed in Ukraine would graduate in May 2011 with the Bachelor's degree equivalent there. If all goes as planned, however, she would be approved and come to me in the USA before that time. My fiancee wants to pursue higher education in the USA, and I support this. We will have the resources, long-term, to do this without problems.

What we would like to know, however, is whether her Ukrainian academic credit would have value here in the USA. Of course, we are very much aware of the pedagogical and practical differences between the US and Ukrainian educational systems. I'm certain that this is probably a very specific question which should be addressed to both the prospective US university and the current Ukrainian university.

If anyone on this forum, however, has experience with anything like this, and can share general tips, likelihoods, ideas, etc., that would be great!

Thanks so much!!!!!!

Thanks for your help with my previous questions.

We have two new questions that result from my particular situation:

1. Income Requirement: I am at a point in my career life where I am just graduating from law school. I was fortunate to have a position as a summer associate last summer at a major law firm, with a summer salary of $30,000. After graduation and bar passage, I will work from approx. late Aug/early Sept this year for one year as a judicial law clerk for a federal judge, with a salary of approx. $50,000 as well as federal benefits. After the conclusion of my year of clerkship (in Aug/Sept 2011), I will return to the firm where I worked as a summer associate for permanent, full-time employment, with a salary in excess of $145,000/year, again with benefits. I have letters from both the judge and the law firm confirming my employment for the respective time frames. I also have a tax return that shows my income from last year, again, around $30,000. At any given time my bank account shows around $8000-10,000, as well as perhaps $1000 in a savings account and $1200 more in savings bonds. Thus, my income, when viewed across this time frame, will be well above the requirements of the poverty line, but does anyone think that the combination of employment records (limited periods of time following each other) and schooling will present any kind of a problem? It is a normal phenomenon in the legal field to have this type of situation, and in fact is an indication of an extremely successful career to come (alleviating concerns of needing public benefits), but would anyone dealing with our K-1 paperwork need clarification about this?

2. Address: The same situation is causing many shifts in my address. Where I live now (near school) is not where I will live when studying for the bar this summer (different state), then working for the judge from 2010-2011 (different city, same state as school) and it is not where I will live when I finish working for the judge and work for the law firm beginning in fall 2011 (different state from school/judge, same state as where I will study for the bar this summer). We have no idea what to do about listing addresses on the forms -- should I put my current address (near school), the address where I will be living when working for the judge, or what? And what should I put for the address where my fiancee will be living? If all is approved and she comes while I'm working for the judge, I will have that address, but I don't have any address yet for where we would be living when I am working for the firm. I don't want to put the wrong addresses down but don't want this to hold up the process if there is an easy answer.

Thanks!!!!!!!!

Hello everybody,

We have a few questions about the process for an I-129F and g-325a form.

1. My fiancee lives in Odessa, Ukraine. On both forms, it asks for the city, province/state, and country. Should we list the oblast in this space (in this case, Odeska oblast), leave it blank, write "NONE" or ???

2. For the middle name, should we list her Ukrainian patronym (father's name), leave it blank, write NONE, or ???

3. Her father left her family at an early age. We know his name and the place where he lives now, although there is no contact. We don't know his date or place of birth. Should we write "UNKNOWN," leave it blank, or ???

4. When I send the materials in my I-129f packet, such as the letter of Intent to Marry and her g-325a, I assume that these should be physical, actual copies sent to me via US mail, and that a scan of the documents sent to me by her would not be sufficient. Am I right?

5. Since she is a Ukrainian citizen, she should not put anything in the US Social Security Number field, right? Should she leave it blank, write "NONE," or ??? She has the Ukrainian equivalent (a 10 digit number but I assume that we do not include that on any of these documents).

Thanks for your time and consideration.