DS-230 Question 35: List dates of all previous visits to U.S.

[M -and- A 3]

I've filed I-130 and am in waiting mode.. in the meantime, I figured I'd take a look at DS-230 and try to get prepared for that.

DS-230 Question 35: List dates of all previous visits to or residence in the United States. (If never, write "never") Give type of visa status, if known.

Well it turns out my wife has travelled to the U.S. close to 30 times over the last 30 years, many times to just visit, some times on F1 student visa. She has discarded all of her previous passports and her current passport is nearly empty. Is there any way to get the history of her entry/exit to the U.S. from Customs or some other agency?

Any suggestions from the VJ community? I did a google search and found a similar question posted on the British expat forum, where they stated that a "best guess + explanatory paragraph" would be OK.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Canadians do not need a visa to travel to the US. In the early years many times the CBP simply waived us through and we were never even stopped. I listed what I could remember to the best of my ability (I had a student visa as well and traveled numerous times on that). I attached a separate sheet of paper and simply said that I had traveled many times to the US and although not all visits are listed, I listed the ones to the best of my ability.

No RFE or questions or anything.

Good luck

[vareska 3]

Canadians do not need a visa to travel to the US. In the early years many times the CBP simply waived us through and we were never even stopped. I listed what I could remember to the best of my ability (I had a student visa as well and traveled numerous times on that). I attached a separate sheet of paper and simply said that I had traveled many times to the US and although not all visits are listed, I listed the ones to the best of my ability.

No RFE or questions or anything.

Good luck

I know sometimes NVC and USCIS people seem to us like blood sucking leaches, here to suck the life out of us for no reason, but they are actually pretty flexible. I had some holes in our documentation, and for everything where I was unsure about something (dates, places) I would make a statement and list what I knew for sure, and I would write: this information is true to the best of my knowledge bla bla bla

I would explain why I do not have exact dates (no one would have record for the last 30 yrs of travel, I think they are only concerned about maybe last 2-5 because who would work on fraud case longer than that, you know )

And then sign the bottom of the sheet and write: I declare under the penalty of perjury that the information submitted is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Copy the pages of passport where she does have dates, or find her travel info and that's it ...

In my humble opinion that should be enough, but you can always call NVC and speak to someone to ask for their advice what to do.

Best of luck to you!