Scandinavians

[MissK 5]

So to all of you who have interviewed in Stockholm, how many of you have seen the APPROVED stamp on your file before the CO told you that you were approved?

I've heard rumors on VJ (in the reviews section) that Stockholm is known to approve many obvious cases before the interview and that the interview is mostly just a formality?

Just asking.. Walking up to the window and seeing APPROVED on my file before the interviewer even greets me would calm my nerves tremendously lol

I did not see approved on it at the first window. But the lady asked my son if he was looking forward to moving. I mean, why would you ask a 10 year old that if he might not be? Just saying... I actually calmed me a little bit.

The lady who interviewd me would know that my fiance was a naturalized citizen not long ago if she had read the papers throughly and she also asked if my son was with my fiance. Did she not read all the papers before she talked to me??

I got a feeling the whole thing was just a formality.

It was three other people interviewed before me and it took them the same short time.

My two cents is that if you have all papers in order and have ha true realtionship, there is nothing to worry about.

Btw, she did not ask me for any evidence of the relationship.

[MissK 5]

Did she have short hair or long hair? If she had short hair it may have been the same person who interviewed me.

She had short hair! Around 40 years of age I would guess...

I know, that's what I was told too. Probably typical bureaucratic talk to cover their own behinds. Hopefully you will get it much sooner than two weeks. Should only be an extra day or two for it to get to you in Denmark.

They are good at covering their own beheinds! And I do hope they mail it to me in Norway

Edited October 5, 2012 by MissK

[Mr. Borkström 63]

So to all of you who have interviewed in Stockholm, how many of you have seen the APPROVED stamp on your file before the CO told you that you were approved?

I've heard rumors on VJ (in the reviews section) that Stockholm is known to approve many obvious cases before the interview and that the interview is mostly just a formality?

Just asking.. Walking up to the window and seeing APPROVED on my file before the interviewer even greets me would calm my nerves tremendously lol

I did not see approved on it at the first window. But the lady asked my son if he was looking forward to moving. I mean, why would you ask a 10 year old that if he might not be? Just saying... I actually calmed me a little bit.

The lady who interviewd me would know that my fiance was a naturalized citizen not long ago if she had read the papers throughly and she also asked if my son was with my fiance. Did she not read all the papers before she talked to me??

I got a feeling the whole thing was just a formality.

It was three other people interviewed before me and it took them the same short time.

My two cents is that if you have all papers in order and have ha true realtionship, there is nothing to worry about.

Btw, she did not ask me for any evidence of the relationship.

Interesting. I have no idea whether that is true or not; I didn't look much at the file/papers, I was more intent on maintaining eye contact with the interviewing officer and answering her questions truthfully. Or in other words: I don't know if I'd been approved ahead of the interview, I don't know if there were any stamps on my file, but I wasn't looking for/expecting that so I may have missed it since I wasn't looking for it. Who knows? My advice is for you to don't go there thinking you will see that stamp on your file.

I think it's like MissK says, that if you have all your papers in order and you have a bona fide relationship, the interview is to great extent a formality. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is not important, I still believe that the interviewing officer is the one who makes the ultimate decision to approve or deny your visa application. But, and no offense to other parts of the world, Norway/Denmark/Sweden are not Afghanistan or Libya or the Philippines. My wife and I always thought from the start that, with me being Swedish and all, there should not have been any logical reasons why they would deny our case. I imagine there cannot be a lot of other regions in the world where it will be as easy for you to get an immigrant visa. I always thought the fact that Sweden is on the Visa Waiver Program was a good sign. But I also never took anything for granted. Better to be safe than sorry. I would never have walked in to the interview thinking I owned the place, so to speak. Maybe it is a formality, but if it is, regard it as a formality that you have to get past, don't blow it off as irrelevant. Just my two cents.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Mr. Borkström

[Mr. Borkström 63]

She had short hair! Around 40 years of age I would guess...

My bet is it was the same woman.

They are good at covering their own beheinds! And I do hope they mail it to me in Norway

Oops! Sorry, my bad.

[Sunni 0]

Heeey! New at VJ - Norwegian living in Sweden here Will be filing the I-130 as soon as I get the cash to do it!

[Sunni 0]

And may I ask if anyone here is/was living with their spouse in Scandinavia when you applied??

[Mr. Borkström 63]

And may I ask if anyone here is/was living with their spouse in Scandinavia when you applied??

No you may not!

Just kidding. Welcome to VisaJourney, and godspeed with your application.

[Sunni 0]

No you may not!

Just kidding. Welcome to VisaJourney, and godspeed with your application.

lol

Thank you - I'm hoping it will be a smooth process! Was super-easy getting my husband a residence card here in Sweden, chances are it wont be THAT easy the other way around He didn't even have to be interviewed!

[Mr. Borkström 63]

If I may offer some advice: fill in your timeline and what type of visa you are applying for. If you have questions, it may be easier for people to help you if they know what visa you're applying for. Oh and study the guides relevant for your case. That's been a big help for me, knowing the steps and the process.

Personally I have found this website very helpful. There are people here who know the procedures better than USCIS/NVC employees. If you have a straight forward case and a bona fide relationship with your significant other, with VJ at your disposal, I dare say you don't need lawyers.

This thread here is also very useful.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Mr. Borkström

[jaycali 415]

Interesting. I have no idea whether that is true or not; I didn't look much at the file/papers, I was more intent on maintaining eye contact with the interviewing officer and answering her questions truthfully. Or in other words: I don't know if I'd been approved ahead of the interview, I don't know if there were any stamps on my file, but I wasn't looking for/expecting that so I may have missed it since I wasn't looking for it. Who knows? My advice is for you to don't go there thinking you will see that stamp on your file.I think it's like MissK says, that if you have all your papers in order and you have a bona fide relationship, the interview is to great extent a formality. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is not important, I still believe that the interviewing officer is the one who makes the ultimate decision to approve or deny your visa application. But, and no offense to other parts of the world, Norway/Denmark/Sweden are not Afghanistan or Libya or the Philippines. My wife and I always thought from the start that, with me being Swedish and all, there should not have been any logical reasons why they would deny our case. I imagine there cannot be a lot of other regions in the world where it will be as easy for you to get an immigrant visa. I always thought the fact that Sweden is on the Visa Waiver Program was a good sign. But I also never took anything for granted. Better to be safe than sorry. I would never have walked in to the interview thinking I owned the place, so to speak. Maybe it is a formality, but if it is, regard it as a formality that you have to get past, don't blow it off as irrelevant. Just my two cents.

Thanks Borkstrom and MissK. Very good analysis! I'm definitely not going to walk in there like I own the place haha. I'll be nervous as ever - I think mostly everyone is whether you interview in Sweden or Nigeria. While I know I have a real marriage and no criminal record or anything to that nature, the very thought of one CO just having the ability to so drastically alter your life, marriage and future is a scary one. Or maybe it's the thought of all you've sacrificed, all the waiting, missing, Skype chats and telephone conversations.. All the planning.. Finally boiling down to one, short interview.

As far as "pre-approved" goes, I definitely know of one interviewee personally who saw an "APPROVED" stamp on their file before the interview started. If you read through many of the consulate reviews for Stockholm here on VJ too, I've seen it mentioned.

One immigration attorney once told me that most post-NVC processing done on your case in 1st world countries is administrative - entering it into the system. She also told me that most COs literally have a time frame of 15 minutes to go through your case, ask you questions, approve/deny and call "next." From MissK's post it definitely sounds like they hadn't severely scrutinized it

So whether it is just a formality or not, I guess we won't know. Either way, that interview is probably the most important interview of our lives.

And may I ask if anyone here is/was living with their spouse in Scandinavia when you applied??

My wife "lived" with me in Norway for 3 months. She didn't have a resident card or anything though - Norway's minimum 3 years of 250 000 kroner income requirement to sponsor made sure of that.

lolThank you - I'm hoping it will be a smooth process! Was super-easy getting my husband a residence card here in Sweden, chances are it wont be THAT easy the other way around He didn't even have to be interviewed!

I hear Sweden has pretty relaxed rules, Norway has very strict income requirements and Denmark is supposed to be very strict altogether.

You'll be fine though. The fact that he's living with you in Sweden should shorten the process by 3 - 4 months! The USCIS has had a trend the last year of approving I-130 petitions much faster when the petitioner is living in the beneficiary's country.

My best advice to you - file the I-130 as early as possible, and read the LingChe guide 5 times to familiarize yourself with the NVC process. Actually, study the LingChe guide like you're taking an exam on it! This forum has helped me tremendously.. And saved me $4000 in lawyer fees!

Velkommen til VJ!

Edited October 5, 2012 by jaejayC

[jaycali 415]

There are people here who know the procedures better than USCIS/NVC employees.

The sad thing about this statement is that all sarcasm aside, it's 100% correct.

Edited October 5, 2012 by jaejayC

[Sunni 0]

Thanks Borkstrom and MissK. Very good analysis! I'm definitely not going to walk in there like I own the place haha. I'll be nervous as ever - I think mostly everyone is whether you interview in Sweden or Nigeria. While I know I have a real marriage and no criminal record or anything to that nature, the very thought of one CO just having the ability to so drastically alter your life, marriage and future is a scary one. Or maybe it's the thought of all you've sacrificed, all the waiting, missing, Skype chats and telephone conversations.. All the planning.. Finally boiling down to one, short interview.

As far as "pre-approved" goes, I definitely know of one interviewee personally who saw an "APPROVED" stamp on their file before the interview started. If you read through many of the consulate reviews for Stockholm here on VJ too, I've seen it mentioned.

One immigration attorney once told me that most post-NVC processing done on your case in 1st world countries is administrative - entering it into the system. She also told me that most COs literally have a time frame of 15 minutes to go through your case, ask you questions, approve/deny and call "next." From MissK's post it definitely sounds like they hadn't severely scrutinized it

So whether it is just a formality or not, I guess we won't know. Either way, that interview is probably the most important interview of our lives.

My wife "lived" with me in Norway for 3 months. She didn't have a resident card or anything though - Norway's minimum 3 years of 250 000 kroner income requirement to sponsor made sure of that.

I hear Sweden has pretty relaxed rules, Norway has very strict income requirements and Denmark is supposed to be very strict altogether.

You'll be fine though. The fact that he's living with you in Sweden should shorten the process by 3 - 4 months! The USCIS has had a trend the last year of approving I-130 petitions much faster when the petitioner is living in the beneficiary's country.

My best advice to you - file the I-130 as early as possible, and read the LingChe guide 5 times to familiarize yourself with the NVC process. Actually, study the LingChe guide like you're taking an exam on it! This forum has helped me tremendously.. And saved me $4000 in lawyer fees!

Velkommen til VJ!

Sweden does have pretty relaxed rules, thank god... Otherwise it would not have been possible for us to do it this way. Thank you so much for the link! So much information to go through... Great place to start!! Have you guys all moved already?

[Alaska2012 462]

Here is a little tip for you guys not over here yet! Here you have to build your credit, and it doesn't work at all like over in Scandinavia. The easiest way is to be put on your partners account but if you are like me, independent and stubborn there are other ways ;-) There is something called a secured credit card, you " charge" it with $300-2000, you decide the amount. Then that will be your credit, you use it every month and pay it off. After a year your bank will transform this to a "normal" credit card and you will get the money that you put in in the first place back.

Even if you don't really want a credit card this is the easiest way to build your credit!

[Eve&Josh 5]

^yeap, it's a pain in the butt to start building credit... Again, we are faced with "guilty until you prove yourself innocent" mentality which sometimes is pretty baffling.

From what I understand, having your husband/wife cosign a credit card doesn't build your own credit anymore. That used to be the case before, but I guess the bad economy changed it a little while ago.

In addition to the kind of credit card Alaska2012 mentioned, Capital One offers a credit card for newcomers with a $500 credit line and no deposit, but I think you have to have been here for a few months and/or have to have your green card to get that... I'm not quite sure how it works, as I applied for one about 3 months after arrival (no EAD or GC yet) and was denied, but got one when I reapplied about a month ago.

You can also get a department store credit card for Macy's or Sears or whatever, they don't require deposits. But yeah, the whole no credit history thing can cause annoyances with a bunch of stuff. Not to mention the feeling of being unworthy and untrustworthy . Such a stupid vicious cycle.

[jaycali 415]

Another tip on credit - Cell phone plans. Even without good credit, most will allow you to pay a deposit which you get back at the end of your contract.