carpediem2006

Alright, well I finally got the photos printed out today... I have several different photos, a couple of which have my wife and I with her parents, others have my wife and I with her brothers or sisters, several of them are just of us two, and a couple of them are pictures with me and my father in law, or my brothers/sisters in law without my wife. These pictures span from Mid 2008 til now.

Is this going to be enough? or should i get the entire family together for one last photo before we head of to Juarez?

Thanks for any answers!

Hey folks,

Just getting ready for my wife's interview on August 12 in the consulate in Juarez, and I'm just asking your opinions on interview prep!

O.K. so thus far I have the following Items to prove bona-fide marriage.

- 2 Airplane tickets (one from feb 2010 and the other from dec 2010)

- 5 Western Union money transfers (from me to her)

- Original wedding announcement/invitations

- Civil Marriage Certificate/Religious Ceremony certificate (Proves I was here in May 2010)

- Documentation that shows I was hospitalized here in Mexico last November while staying with my wife.

- Documentation that shows that both my wife and I have a joint membership at a private hospital here in Mexico.

- Documentation from Mexican immigration (Instituto Nacional de Migracion) that I am in the process of obtaining work permission in Mexico on grounds of marriage to Mexican citizen.

- Since I've been living here for the last 6 months, I have my bank statements from December 'til mid June that show that I have processed 126 atm withdrawals or transactions HERE IN MEXICO.

- A CD with approx 40 pictures from March 2008 up until the present day. (We live together so we might not have as many pictures as other couples who take more pictures because they see each other less often.)

-A stack of 60+ lengthy emails from early 2008 til late 2009.

One question I have is, if they want to see pictures, is there a way they can see the pictures on the CD I bring in? Should I just get those photos printed out?

Another question... Any suggestions or comments on my proofs of a good faith marriage?

Thanks in advance!

I am not sure about Mexico but each time i visit canada by road they never stamp in my passport, they just scan it.

If they scanned your passport i am sure that data is saved somewhere in their records electronically.

Haha, I doubt it. It's Mexico...

Me too, Juarez is ugly... But seeing as how el DF is already one of the busiest Embassies on the planet, I don't think moving the IV operations into Mexico City is a smart idea... TJ would be alright, but there is already a lot of border traffic there...

who knows the reasons... but it's not likely to change.

Yeah, however I'm still waiting for the official e-mail...

Well, the thing is, due to turf wars between USCIS and the NVC, if you file for a K-3 (in other words, submit an I-129f along with your I-130) and the I-130 gets approved at the same time or before the I-129f, the NVC will 'administratively close' the I-129f or K visa petition, and NVC will stick you with a CR1/ IR1 visa petition.

Due to the NVC's new policy on this, and how I-130 processing is now pretty fast, a K-3 is pretty much a dead visa, and you'll end up getting your original K visa application changed for a CR1/ IR1 visa anyway.

Now, the PROS for getting a K-3 visa in the event that the I-129f gets approved first (extremely unlikely) are that you skip the whole NVC process. USCIS does processing, the NVC glances at the casefile for a day or so, and then it gets shipped off to the consulate. You would be looking at about a 5 month wait for the USCIS approval. Also, at the medical exam before the interview, no vaccinations are required.

K-3 cons: It is more expensive in the long run, because adjustment of status from non immigrant to immigrant visas is expensive, also your spouse would have restrictions when in the US. No work permission, period.

CR1/ IR1 PROS: Once the process is totally complete, upon Point of Entry, the spouse is given a 'green card' stamp in the Passport, which is the residency permission and is also work permission. The spouse upon entry into the USA is now a permanent resident (albeit if you have not been married for more than 2 years it will have certain conditions... basically that you'll just have to renew the green card after 2 years) Also, the spouse can now enter and leave the country whenever he/she wants. They can also receive social security card.

CR1/ IR1 CONS: You WILL have to go through the NVC and consulate scheduling process.

My opinion: Just do the CR1/ IR1. If you are smart about it, and are pro active it will not take near as much time as everybody says. Especially in Juarez where your interview will be. I got my NOA 1 on Jan 22 or something like that, and my wife's interview date is on Aug. 12... Just a little under 7 months from start to finish. If you are careful about making sure all documents are filled in correctly and are proactive in the NVC stage with all of the required documents and payments, it will be smooth sailing and it will go by fast.

After having received CC 3 weeks ago, I called into the NVC tonight, and we got an interview date assigned today for August 12, 2011 @ 08:15 in the consulate in Ciudad Juarez!

Woooo hooo!!! We're almost there!

got case complete almost 3 weeks ago. i feel like a doofus lol

Hey folks,

When I payed the IV bill, It slipped my mind to print off the payment confirmation....

However, you can't even get to, let alone complete a DS-260 until the payment has been made...

I have heard a lot of things on here about how one must show the IV bill payment confirmation page so as to not be billed for the IV fee at the consulate itself.

Am I going to need this? Logic would follow that if I have submitted a DS-260, then the IV bill has already been paid, but... sometimes things aren't very logical.

Thanks for any answers!

Me too, and my case was completed 6/24/2011

lets see if the 2nd week of the month bee ess is true!

Ok, so I called in again today, (finally) and the representative on the line told me everything I needed to know, that the final review had been completed, name checks were done, and that the case file was being reviewed by CDJ as we spoke.

And then she also spouted off the 2nd week of the month stuff again, and said that It should be taken care of by this week... meh... whatever.

Hopefully it just gets taken care of this week.

Ok, first things first, your petition for a k3 visa has automatically been turned into a CR1/IR1 petition because the NVC received the I-130 before the I-129f which administratively closed the k3 petition and automatically converted it into an IMMIGRANT visa petition...

Now, what you will need to do, is call the NVC once a day or every other day for the next couple of weeks until they tell you that they have received the case file. The NVC says 10 to 15 business days to receive the case file from USCIS, but as in all things immigration, there are just no guarantees. Call often and be proactive with the NVC. When they do get the case file, ask for your NVC case number and your Invoice Identification Number, and then give them both you and your spouses contact information. (emails, phone no. etc...)

You may or may not be assigned to do Electronic Processing for your NVC journey, however I am not sure because I don't know about Canada. If this is the case, all of the documents that you would bring with you to the interview would be scanned into the computer and sent via e-mail to the NVC. If this is not the case then everything (original documents) would be sent in via mail to the NVC in New Hampshire (who would then forward the documents to the consulate where the interview takes place)

There will be some forms to fill out for the NVC, one is called the I-864 Affidavit of Support (AOS) which will have to be filled out by your spouse (and any other co-sponsors if his income does not meet the federal poverty guidelines for the number of family members in his household.) They also request official IRS transcripts for AOS processing and a processing fee of $88.00 USD for the I-864 form.

Then after that goes through, there will be a Immigrant Visa application fee of $404.00 USD. The way that this application will be submitted depends on if you do Electronic Processing or not.

After the NVC receives all of the necessary documentation, they will then forward the case to the appropriate consulate who will then schedule an interview date with you.

Hopefully someone with a little bit more knowledge about how things are done in Canada will come along and help out.

Good Luck!

Alright, so I got ants in my pants and called the NVC again...

This time I got a rep who sounded like he was a little more competent, not much... but a little bit.

1) He said that the final review was started and finished on 6/24 (same date as CC email)

2) He said that he couldn't give me any information on the casefile... that CDJ couldn't see it until they scheduled an interview date (which i know isn't accurate because it's EP)

3) Said he had no information on the name checks.

So, which queues could I be stuck in at this point??

carpediem2006

alright, so I called NVC today and the teleoperator had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about the final review, case file, name check etc... so she told me that she would have a supervisor contact me... should I just call back?

are the NVC teleoperators usually this clueless??

Ok then... hmmm who at NVC WOULD know about the EP scheduling??? Also i got CC on 6/24... any reason why it may be taking so long for me to get a date???

Thanks!!!

ok so im wondering i recieved my interview letter from nvc 6-27 my appt date is aug 14.should i be recieving something in the mail? everything was done electronicaly and my laywer said she will give my husband a packet for me to take to my interview.and she will be calling the counsalte to schedule my fingerprint appt.but should i be getting something in the mail form the counsalte? and also im guessing nvc foward everything to the counsalte when will the counsalte recieve my petition how long does it usually take?

I have just one question, is your interview on Aug 14 or Aug 04? Your post and timeline differ.

Also, do you know if you did Electronic Processing? or Snail Mail?

Alright,

Well I called NVC and they told me that the interview scheduling for CDJ is the 2nd week in July... but I see people on here that got their interview dates just a couple of days after CC and SIF so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long it will ACTUALLY take.

Also, does EP use the same interview scheduling model or is EP totally different??

thanks!

carpediem2006

transfer time for ep casefile? what? that's instantaneous, within 24 hours

is no paper used, yer casefile is stored in SAFEFILE system, CDJ can see all.

prease update yer timerine at http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=97498

If they haven't contacted me yet, what are the chances that they would have information on my interview date if I called them?

Do NOT count anybody who is not currently a resident in the U.S. So when it asks you if you are married in 21c, even though you are, your spouse is not currently a resident so you would not enter a 1.

A=non resident spouse. B=yourself. C=does not apply to your spouse until she becomes a resident.

Your total is now 2.

buddy - that's the 'case complete' email.

sometime soonish, a final review will be done, then the interview appointment will be scheduled.

Hang in there !! I'm betting you'll have 'appointment date set' next Wednesday or Thursday.

is this pretty much average transfer time for electronic processing in Juarez???

thanks

Alright, so I hope somebody on here has some experience, or has helped someone else out in here with EP in Mexico.

My question is, how long does it USUALLY take for the case complete til interview date received?? I've seen as little as 2 business days on here, but NVC says it could be 8 weeks. what is average?

thanks guys

carpediem2006

Alright Ladies and Gentleman of VJ!!!

I have a couple of questions here because I have been researching all of the stuff about CJ on here and I just seem to get information for the K visas, not CR1/IR1

So I'm shooting these questions:

First- I am aware of the cost of the medical interview in itself. after taxes it's about 180 dollars, plus any vaccinations should you need them.

The Immigrant Visa fee @ NVC is $404 dollars. Does this include the interview at the consulate? Or will there be a separate interview fee?

Any other fees I should know about?

Second- My wife is pregnant! So, this obviously means that she will have SOME of the vaccines waived because it could cause damage to the child. However, I know that she will be required to have some OTHER vaccines. Does anybody know what the vaccine requirements are for pregnant women so we can get a head start on them here in Mexico City and perhaps not have to pay an arm and a leg for vaccines at the Civil Surgeon's offices in Juarez??

Any help is greatly appreciated!

carpediem2006

Excellent sir, Just what I wanted to hear.

I hadn't gotten sign in fail yet, so I was dubious.

I love you guys!

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

I haven't had time to get on the forum until now today, but I called the NVC this morning and they said it was a false RFE because the DS-260 got processed immediately, and even though I literally sent in the supporting documentation 15 minutes after I completed and submitted the DS-260, I guess it took a couple of days to get uploaded into the system and a false RFE was automatically generated.

However, I just got an Email from NVC stating the following:

All documentation necessary to complete the National Visa Center's processing of your case has been received. As soon as an interview date has been scheduled, the applicant, petitioner and attorney (if applicable) will be notified.

The applicant should NOT make any travel arrangements, sell property, or give up employment until the US Embassy or Consulate General has issued a visa.

The US Embassy or Consulate General may require additional documentation at the time of the interview.

Regards,

NVC Document Review Team

National Visa Center

Serco Inc., Support Contractor

So they have everything now... does this mean that they have approved the contents of the package??? or does it mean they just have everything and will be reviewing shortly???

Thanks!

carpediem2006