immigrant visa application - US embassy in Greece

[blueheart 0]

My husband is American and I am Greek. We are married for 3 yrs and we live in Greece. We recently decided to move to the US.

By the end of the week I will apply for an immigrant visa at the US embassy here in Greece. The papers that they asked us for is the I-130, G-325A (for both of us), my husband's passport, his birth certificate and our marriage certificate.

I am little bit confused with all the topics I read here. How long does it usually take to get the approval. Do we still have to go to interviews etc despite the fact that we are married for over 2 years? Will I be able to work to the US with the immigrant visa or I should have a green card (we are still confused if the immigrant visa is the same with the Green card...?

Edited November 10, 2009 by blueheart

[rsn 135]

It sounds like you are going the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) route - not the K3 route. Moving from K3 to DCF.

[rsn 135]

My husband is American and I am Greek. We are married for 3 yrs and we live in Greece. We recently decided to move to the US.

By the end of the week I will apply for an immigrant visa at the US embassy here in Greece. The papers that they asked us for is the I-130, G-325A (for both of us), my husband's passport, his birth certificate and our marriage certificate.

I am little bit confused with all the topics I read here. How long does it usually take to get the approval. Do we still have to go to interviews etc despite the fact that we are married for over 2 years? Will I be able to work to the US with the immigrant visa or I should have a green card (we are still confused if the immigrant visa is the same with the Green card...?

Please see the DCF guide.

[redglasses 1]

I am little bit confused with all the topics I read here. How long does it usually take to get the approval.

Each consulate has different processing time. It took a week for my I-130 approval in Japan.

Do we still have to go to interviews etc despite the fact that we are married for over 2 years?

Yes. The length of time you are married doesn't waive your interview.

Will I be able to work to the US with the immigrant visa or I should have a green card (we are still confused if the immigrant visa is the same with the Green card...?

The immigrant visa is a pass that lets you in the US and the greencard is a card that lets you stay in the US.

Until you have your GC in your hand, the stamped immigrant visa works as a temp GC. It is work authorized, so technically you are able to work with your visa but will need to get SSN first.

[blueheart 0]

The immigrant visa is a pass that lets you in the US and the greencard is a card that lets you stay in the US.

Until you have your GC in your hand, the stamped immigrant visa works as a temp GC. It is work authorized, so technically you are able to work with your visa but will need to get SSN first.

thank you! do you by any chance know if I can apply for SSN before traveling to US?

[redglasses 1]

The immigrant visa is a pass that lets you in the US and the greencard is a card that lets you stay in the US.

Until you have your GC in your hand, the stamped immigrant visa works as a temp GC. It is work authorized, so technically you are able to work with your visa but will need to get SSN first.

thank you! do you by any chance know if I can apply for SSN before traveling to US?

No, you need to apply one at a SSA office in the US.

[txladykat 1]

You can also request a SSN when filing your visa application. There is a check box to select stating you want one. You cannot get it until you have entered the country on your visa. The entry visa is what activates you in the US system.

[talonclaw 0]

@blueheart - We are in a similar situation and if you are still around can you post your experience with the DCF at the Athens Embassy

Thanks

t

[Christi85 86]

Hey, where have you all fellow Greeks been??

I'm from Greece (born and raised), married to a USC, but we've been living in London for the past couple of years, so we have to go through the DCF process in the London Embassy (which has slowed down a lot recently, so we're still awaiting our I-130 approval and it can take another month or two ).

Just to wish you both best of luck and I'm sure your application will go through much faster than ours. They don't get nearly as many applications in Athens as they do in London

Check current timelines with the Athens Embassy, but I'm sure you're looking at a very quick process, like approximately 3 months start to finish!