livindadream

I think you have the dates wrong. you said you married in March 2014, but then you said the I-130 was approved in December 2013. Was that a typo?

Don't worry. Airport "officials" are pretty clueless. I was checking in at the check-in machine, and one of the airline ladies came up and she was like, "Let me do that for you, ma'am." When it came to scan my GC, she put it in the credit card slot??? Even I, who'd never done it before, knew that was wrong. Of course it didn't "scan" and so she said, "You'll have to check in manually." I replied, "Well, the scanner is actually right there where you scanned my passpo___" "No, you'll have to check in at the desk."

Anyway, I'm glad I got that off my chest after four months of holding it in.

Also, my travel agent [in Australia] informed me that they no longer do one way tickets, only returns. It could vary per nation?

LOL !!!

As a CPA and tax attorney for the last 26 years, I can tell you that filing single when you should have filed Married (joint or separately) or Head of Household will NOT get you into trouble with the IRS. Technically yes, Single is incorrect. And I suggest you amend the return. But I would not do so out of fear of serious repercussion from the IRS. In 26 years of practice I have never seen anyone penalized via audit or review for overpaying taxes. Any errors or omissions that result in the overpayment of taxes, including Taxpayer Status, are not pursued. I can also tell you as a fact that the IRS has not been allocated budget for the identification and rectification of tax overpayment in the last 25 years.

From a tax point of view, I would wait until your spouse is here in the USA with a SSN then file and amended 1040 and get yourself a nice refund. If you are concerned about immigration you can certainly file a 1040X now as married filing separately and write NRA in the SSN field. Although I have also never heard of any visa denials based on Single status on the ax returns, there may be a question asked, so its up to you if you want to amend now.

In any event, if you choose to wait to amend to Married Jointly when your spouse is here,I can tell you the IRS will not blink an eye. You have over paid your taxes as Single and they will not waste one penny on contacting you over this matter.

Edited for clarification.

Thank you for your reply. I figured as much about the IRS coming after me for actually paying too much! Im certainly not doing myself any financial favors by filing single. I just worry about immigration and the interview since we'll be going through such a difficult embassy. They will most likely scrutinize anything and everything so all and all I better mail off the 1040X. Thanks again for your insight!

Ok, I figured this would be the case. Honestly I was so confused when it was time to file...I searched the forum here and read mixed answers on whether or not to file single or married and I then called HR Block and the guy there told me if my husband hasn't lived in my home (in the US where my primary residence is) then I could file as single. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt I made the wrong decision. I'm definitely doing the amended return right now!! Thanks for the advice!

A month ago I filed my tax return and filed 'single'. I'm self employed and the only income listed was that of the self employment. I didn't want to mail in the return writing NRA on the line where my husbands social is supposed to be (because I didn't think it would be processed in time for the interview) and I read that it takes a long time to get an ITIN. He will be interviewing in a couple months and I'm wondering if the embassy (going through Nigeria) is going to hold the "single" filing against us. My AGI is 21,000-ish after expenses which meets the 125% above poverty for a household of 2 (my husband and I) and I'm going to have a co-sponsor whose income is 34,000-ish (just him, no dependents) just incase they get picky with my own. Could we be denied because I filed single? I could file an amended return I suppose, but I don't know if he'd have the transcript to take to the interview...maybe only the copy of the printed out amended one? Any suggestions or insight will be appreciated. ...especially those who have gone through Nigerian Embassy with the same situation. Thankssss

I am not making excuses for him at all...but I live on and off with my husband in Ghana and most times I came here I noticed a total difference in my behavior and health. I'm always happy to be here with him, but I started resenting everything about where we were living. I looked up culture shock online and it listed all the symptoms of it and I could answer YES to 95 percent of them. Some people can adjust to new cultures and others will completely reject it and become hostile in their new environment. It seems like he is doing the latter of the two. On another note, I feel like he is being extremely selfish and inconsiderate and I feel bad for you and your children. I know the feeling of trying desperately to please someone who already seems to have their mind made up to be miserable. I would give it a little more time, see if is willing to adjust and embrace his new home. Wishing you the best!

I once read that this happened to someone else...and it turned out to be nothing. They referred to the process of issuing the visa as "AP"...He checked his status and it said he was in AP, then then some hours later it said ISSUED....I'll try to find the link and post it. Hopefully that's all it is

I know you love him, but he does not sound like anyone who is in the position to be a husband, not to talk of a step-father. And as for the 'woman doctor" that the father brought around, what on Earth does a Dr want with a jobless, school drop-out? The whole thing seems weird, and my advice would be to find someone who is not tucked under his parents wings to build your life with. Wishing you all the best!

Is it me or is every representative that answers the phone at NVC extremely rude! Every time I call, I seem to get someone who is having a really bad day!! geez. They start giving me an answer before I even finish my question and I feel like I'm totally rushed off the phone. Of course I cant say anything rude back to them in fear that they will flag my case to take even longer. lol. ohh the joy of this whole process!!! just had to vent!!! Happy Monday

I filed in May 2013. I was transferred (to Nebraska) mid December. I was at the point of thinking it would never get approved, and finally towards the end of March I got the NOA2 for approved petition. Going by my own timeline, I'm thinking you will be getting your NOA2 any day now! Good Luck!

The biggest thing you will have to show is your re-establish US Domicile. Thats very important on top of income. Self-employed is hard at these embassies.

Yes have a co-sponsor lined up that meets the guidelines of their household is a good idea.

For PCC DO Not get police report until you are invoiced for the IV. Since you haven't got either or submitted DS-261 you should wait since shelf life is slim. And since he goes back and forth to both countries he needs to have them both fresh. So just wait a few more weeks.

Read the examples of Domicile you will need to show to the embassy at interview time in the NVC Process Wiki in my signature.

Thanks Dwheels76, I'll definitely read up on that. And YES I have a feeling the self employment might be an issue even with my tax transcripts reporting it...that's why I want to have a co-sponsor for sure. Don't want to give them any single reason to get sketchy with our case. lol

I got the case # by calling and i was told it was assigned the same day I called, I did got an error message saying my case is not eligible for further processing from the 2nd until on the 7th before DS261 and AOS fee became available. You are on the right track I think.

K. thanks! I hope so

It's only valid for 3 months so if you get it now it will expire before August and you will be required to bring a new one to the interview. Checkout my signature, I got my police report the same day mailed my IV package just to be on the safe side and cut unnecessary cost.

Ok that's what I thought. Thanks. I was looking at your timeline and I noticed that you were given your case number and IIN number on the 2nd and then 5 days later you were able to complete the DS-261 and pay the AOS fee. I was literally assigned the number the same day I called on Tuesday (the 22nd) and now 4 days later I still can't sign in. It tells me the numbers don't match their records. I called them the first day that I tried it and they told me it's because nothing is inputted into the system yet (they haven't invoiced me yet, even though I had a case number and IIN). Did yours only take the 5 days to show up as available? How did you find out your case number, did you call as well or did you wait til you received something via email/mail? Sorry so many questions! lol

For the Nigerian police certificate you can get it the same day if you go to police headquarters as early as possible as I was able to get mine same day, dont know how it works in Ghana, hopefully someone in Ghana can chime in. Goodluck.

Thanks for your reply. If he got it now, would it still be valid in August or September? Or do they need more current ones?

thank you!

Hello,

While waiting for NVC to invoice me I'm trying to get together all necessary documents. I have been self employed for the last two years so would I just be sending my tax returns as proof of that? Also, I wanted a back up co-sponsor just in case...but after he sent me his tax transcripts Im not sure if he qualifies. He has one child he supports (listed on his tax return) and he makes approx. $18,000 per year. Would he have to qualify (be above the 125%) on his own or can it be combined with my own income? Also, my husband is traveling to Nigeria (we are in Ghana) to get his passport next week. His interview will eventually be in Nigeria as well and he'll need to collect police clearances from both countries. Estimating his interview might be in August, would it be too early for him to get the police clearance next week when he's there? Or would he have to do it closer to the time of the interview? Thanks for any responses!

I got the approval notice NOA2 on March 6th. NVC said they received my info on March 21st. And just the other day (April 22) I was given a case number and invoice number by phone. As of today (two days later) I still cant login online to see anything and I've received no notices from them yet about what to do next. They said that could take another week or two.

It does not matter where you send your documents from, as long as they are receive by the NVC. Just make sure to send it via a reliable mailing service. There is no time limit, well, if its over a yr, they may terminate your case. Turn things in ASAP to delay any wait time, but also send at the appropriate time, not before anything is invoiced! Haha

If you are a USC, priority date does not matter, only if you are a LPR.

How long it takes to get interview, depends on consulate and their scheduling, check out timelines of other members from the same consulate to get an estimate. NVC will give you the interview date and send you an appointment letter.

Hope this helps!

Thank you very much! I appreciate the answers!

Just curious what number you are calling.

We have the NVC contact number of (603) 334-0700 and we get a disconnected signal from that line. We have tried from multiple phones and finally today after a week tried to have the operator connect the call and they said it was indeed a disconnected tone from the line. Has anyone else had this issue?

The operator doesn't know what she's talking about. Im in Ghana and I call the number on Skype. It's the same number you're calling. It disconnects me at least 5 times before I get through. I have to call back to back to back to back and it will eventually go through. With Skype it's easy because once the call disconnects, I just hit the button to call again and it redials immediately. Keep trying...it WILL go through!! I've been calling and going through this for over a month and it happens every time. Just be prepared to wait on hold for a little while!

I know this has probably been asked and answered a million times....so if you could point me in the right direction for answers or just give me some advice I'd appreciate it. I finally got the NVC case number and Invoice number from them (via phone) today. I'm going to start gathering all the docs to send them and pay the invoices. 1. Will it be ok that I'll be sending the packets from Ghana? I'm here with my husband and probably will be until Interview time. 2. Once they give me the instructions on what to send and the invoice, is there a time limit to get things to them? I keep reading things about "priority date" and I don't know if that applies to anything here. Of course Im going to send everything ASAP but I just wonder about delays in sending things from Ghana And LASTLY.....once I get a "case complete", about how long does it take for my husband to get an interview? And how do we get that info? Will he schedule the interview online or does he have to go there to do it or what? Thanks in advance for any help!!

same boat may 7,transferred December 6 to tsc i bilive we will get approval before march 15 that the time will up date the processing time

I PRAY!! Thanks for your response.

same boat may 7,transferred December 6 to tsc i bilive we will get approval before march 15 that the time will up date the processing time

I really hope so..I thought once it showed transferred back in December that things would progress faster than this...lol...guess I was wrong.

It's taking about 10 Months

Mine was transfered to Nebraska as well

NOA1 25 April 2013

NOA2 19 February 2014

You should get your NOA2 sometime (Next Month) in March

Good Luck

Thanks for that info!

NOA2 will come soon.

Fingers crossed!

Filed May 2013,transferred to Nebraska in Dec 2013, received an RFE on 24th Feb 2014. Am sure you will have a change in status any moment soon.

Hopefully Im right behind you then...well, without the RFE. thanks for your response.

Oh god !! This is 9 months without receiving a NOA2 . That's complete ***

You should call them and bother them to tell u what's wrong and why it's taking so long . i know people will say that it takes to 14 months but they should at least give you any information about it !!

Call and see

Thanks for the sincere response. If you're not here to help, why are you here? FFT

Is this normal?? I filed and received NOA1 May 2013....got a notice Dec 16, 2013 saying case transferred to Nebraska Service Center and noooooo movement/notice since then...nothing!! Should I be concerned at all??