Original Copy of I134 - nightmare

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

Hello all,

I've been checking out this site some as my fiance Lily and I went through the K1-visa process, and I thought I had everything down. Sadly I missed the part where the Consulate MAY require the original documents. I live in Texas and I've done the majority of the paper work for Lily, and although I had a lawyer help us with the initial USCIS package, they left me hanging on the rest of it. I have a friend going through the K1 process about 6 weeks behind me, and together we have really helped each other out. This one item slipped by me, and I'm wondering how much time its going to cost me.

Here's what happened:

Lily went to the Embassy in Manila yesterday for her interview. I had filled out the DS156 for her, signed it as the submitter, scanned it and emailed it to her. She then printed it out and signed it.

She filled out the DS-156k and DS157 herself.

The lady at the first window told her these documents ALL needed to be originals. Note this is NOWHERE in the documentation for these documents. USCIS and NVC email the documents on to each other and to the appropriate Embassy - why can't we? A scanned in signature is still binding....

Bottom line they made her fill out ALL 3 forms and then let her move on. Is that because they need to be signed in front of a Consulate officer?? ( by the way, this site is the only place I saw that mentioned....)

She proceeded to the second window - answered questions fine, showed her pictures of us ( 2 trips over, June and Dec) and that was fine. She then asked her for the I-134 form and supporting documents. I had worked up a "war and peace" sized collection of documents, but the lady again requested the original document. This original was of course, sitting in my living room.

They let her go on to the 3rd stage and talk to the Consular officer, who asked her more questions, talked to her about me - all good. He then gave her her passport back, a courier envelope and a letter stating they could not complete our application because they did not have the ORIGINAL I-134 form. This is of course despite the fact that page 2 of the I-134 instructions clearly states that unless SPECIFICALLY requested, copies are fine. There is a tiny sentence on page 3 that suggests they MAY request additional information, and they MAY request original documents......

I apologize for my all caps, this is all very fresh, and I am disappointed to the say the least. They put Lily through hell - she was in there over five hours, and we still don't know when she will have the visa, all due to shockingly stupid bureaucratic misinformation. Again, this site is the only place I saw clearly stated that they very well may ask for original documents, so send them all just in case.

-----

That said, they told her to have me send the original as fast as possible ( already done - will arrive there Thursday April 7 4 pm Manila time), and then have her put the original I-134 and her passport in that courier envelope and get it to the Embassy. At this point they can finish the application.

I do realize that we are good to go - we will be approved, and I'm very happy for that.

My fear is that this is going to cause a big delay, big enough to ruin my travel plans. I am set to land in Manila on April 22, and leave with her on April 24th.

She still needs to get her CFO and go home for a few days to pack and say goodbye.

Can anyone give me more information about this courier packet and this situation that we find ourselves in?

Does an actual human courier come and get this packet and deliver it to the appropriate people at the Embassy? Or is it mailed?

How long should this process take?

How will they contact her?

Can she deliver this herself in person and ask someone to get her a time frame?

and the obvious question is, how can I expedite this as much as possible?

Thank you in advance for your help... this has not been a happy 36 hours....

-Tim and Lily

[YuAndDan 153]

Moving to Embassy/Consulate forum...

[Kish.2328 9]

Oh, I am sorry to hear that and I don't have an answer to your Q. I am just curios as to whats the caused of the problem. So you mean to say, you just scanned your I-134? (of course you signed and dated it but still you scanned it and send it to your fiancée, and she then printed it out??)

I think the reason why they need an original copy of it because a scanned copy especially the signature can easily be forge. You can easily cut someone else's signature you found in any piece of sheet and scan it then paste it to the I-134. USEM and the CO just want to be sure everything is certified true.

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

Yes that's exactly it. Nowhere does it say original documents are required, but that is essentially the truth. They wanted all of our documents as originals: DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157, and the I-134.

I hate learning things the hard way, but definitely send her the original copies.

I've decided I'm going to have her go and deliver the original I-134F and her passport back to the Embassy to finish up our application.

I don't trust some random courier to do it right, nor do I trust them with her passport. If he walks with that we are truly F-ed. I'm going to get her to bring it back in person - that way she can ask if we are approved now, and are we all set, that sort of thing.

[Kish.2328 9]

Since you already sent in all original copies to your fiancée, then all you guys have to do is to wait (wait again?? I know it sometimes kills your patience LOL). I have a feeling she'll get her visa after you hand/send them all the original documents they need. You mentioned you already booked your flight on the 22nd, So I just hope everything will be on time for you. Good luck!

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

Since you already sent in all original copies to your fiancée, then all you guys have to do is to wait (wait again?? I know it sometimes kills your patience LOL). I have a feeling she'll get her visa after you hand/send them all the original documents they need. You mentioned you already booked your flight on the 22nd, So I just hope everything will be on time for you. Good luck!

Thanks man I appreciate the good thoughts. To your question, right the good news is we are all but approved. I expect once they get the original I-134F we will be approved in short order. My issue is that I don't want to give her passport and the original I-134F to some courier, and I want to know the time frame as soon as possible. If she goes to the embassy herself and hands in the original I-134F, she can then ask

" Are we approved?"

"When can I expect my visa?"

" Please confirm you have my correct address".

These are the questions should would have been able to ask if they had just approved us Monday. I would already have my time frame and know if I'm all set.

All I can do right now is wait for the document to reach her....

-Tim

[thelastpetitioner 218]

ok ok ok,so let me get this straight,she didnt have the original I-134,or all the documents that require your signature or the original evidence required for that matter ( like tax returns and such)?im asking cause i sent all the original evidence needed for I-134 in with packet 3 and plan to take in copies

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

ok ok ok,so let me get this straight,she didnt have the original I-134,or all the documents that require your signature or the original evidence required for that matter ( like tax returns and such)?im asking cause i sent all the original evidence needed for I-134 in with packet 3 and plan to take in copies

I had filled out the DS156 for her, signed it, scanned it, sent it to her in email. She printed it out and brought it with her to the Embassy interview. I did the same for the I-134F form. I filled it out, signed it , scanned it in, and sent it to her in email.

The DS-157 and DS-156K she filled out and signed ahead of time.

They made her fill out new forms on the DS-156, DS156K, and DS-157. I'm not certain why they made her fill out the DS-156K and DS-157 again....I read somewhere on this site that they MAY want to witness the signature.

At any rate - we ran into the problem when they wanted the ORIGINAL I-134F ( which was of course, identical to the form right in front of them). The original was sitting in my living room.

All other forms I scanned in or sent her the PDF to print out( 2010 tax return, W-2's, bank statements, employment letter). There was no issue there.

All forms had my signature on them properly, they were just copies, which the instructions on filling out the I-134F clearly state that copies are okay.( page 2, right column in BOLD)

Well, they aren't.

Make sure your girl has original copies of the DS-156, DS-156k, DS-157, and I134F, and on all forms she signs, she should wait until she gets there to sign in front of the person.

I had to get to Fedex first thing Monday morning and pay 63 bucks to mail the original I-134F to Lily as fast as possible. She should have it by Thursday, at which point I'll have her bring it to the Embassy and finish our approval.

The annoying part is that an original vs a legitimate copy is causing this delay. She kicked #### on the questions and interviews. I know we will be approved, or already are, but this is extending the period of " I don't know when we're actually going to get the visa", which sucks hard.

It especially sucks, since I have naturally made travel plans already for the 22nd.

I am confident it can still all work out, but it is shockingly stupid to have our application approval delayed by a technicality. All they had to do was call me to verify, or have me bring the original in a few weeks.

F'ing Bureaucrats.

[thelastpetitioner 218]

I had filled out the DS156 for her, signed it, scanned it, sent it to her in email. She printed it out and brought it with her to the Embassy interview. I did the same for the I-134F form. I filled it out, signed it , scanned it in, and sent it to her in email.

The DS-157 and DS-156K she filled out and signed ahead of time.

They made her fill out new forms on the DS-156, DS156K, and DS-157. I'm not certain why they made her fill out the DS-156K and DS-157 again....I read somewhere on this site that they MAY want to witness the signature.

At any rate - we ran into the problem when they wanted the ORIGINAL I-134F ( which was of course, identical to the form right in front of them). The original was sitting in my living room.

All other forms I scanned in or sent her the PDF to print out( 2010 tax return, W-2's, bank statements, employment letter). There was no issue there.

All forms had my signature on them properly, they were just copies, which the instructions on filling out the I-134F clearly state that copies are okay.( page 2, right column in BOLD)

Well, they aren't.

Make sure your girl has original copies of the DS-156, DS-156k, DS-157, and I134F, and on all forms she signs, she should wait until she gets there to sign in front of the person.

I had to get to Fedex first thing Monday morning and pay 63 bucks to mail the original I-134F to Lily as fast as possible. She should have it by Thursday, at which point I'll have her bring it to the Embassy and finish our approval.

The annoying part is that an original vs a legitimate copy is causing this delay. She kicked #### on the questions and interviews. I know we will be approved, or already are, but this is extending the period of " I don't know when we're actually going to get the visa", which sucks hard.

It especially sucks, since I have naturally made travel plans already for the 22nd.

I am confident it can still all work out, but it is shockingly stupid to have our application approval delayed by a technicality. All they had to do was call me to verify, or have me bring the original in a few weeks.

F'ing Bureaucrats.

im the girl

there is the consulate difference,you see ankara has packet 3,meaning we have to send something in ahead of time,DS156,DS157 and DS156K are all in that packet,i was thinking i might not need to take in another copy,but after all this,i just might

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

Haha good for you! I ended up doing most ( read 98 percent) of the legwork and paperwork myself. Its all good, but lots of pressure.

By all means bring original copies whenever possible because from what I can see there is plain old misinformation in their documentation.

It says copies are fine, when it fact it should read

Bring originals or we will torture you for them and delay your Visa for no good reason, ripping at your sanity like a buzz saw to paper.

/sigh - trying to see the bright side of all this....

At least I know we are totally approved - they just need the original copy and then we are home free.

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

In talking to a few other couples that did the K1-visa, its unusual for them to ask for original documents, but sometimes they just do. I guess we got unlucky. I still feel their documentation is

flat out misleading, but for some people I guess it wasn't.

I also found out that the US Embassy is highly unlikely to let Lily in if she doesn't have an appointment letter for that day, so I'm just going to have her send the original I-134 and her passport via courier.

I did some research on the Courier 2G0, and they are legit. They are a huge company, and are the authorized courier for the US Embassy.

The packet should be there tomorrow - hopefully we get a quick answer from the embassy and my travel plans can go through unchanged.

-Tim

[ana_2011 0]

hey, i have the same problem as yours..im also in panic because i only have a copy of I-134 which by fiancee sent me through email..and worst is we dont have enough time my interview is on the 13th of this month and im very upset that things always gets wrong...what happened? after you sent the original copy did you got your visa approved? did you got the visa right on time before your flight?

[Tim_and_Lily 0]

Yes I had to send in the original I-134 to Lily. She then had to take the I-134 to a 2GO courier office ( the official courier service used by the US Embassy) and send it in. It took several days to reach the Embassy despite it being only 1 hour by car from the Embassy (/sigh) and another day to register with our case. About a week later our status changed to " authorized for issuance". Hooray!!!!!

That was Monday April 18th, and they made their first delivery attempt on Thursday April 21. I had already sent Lily home to gather her things and say goodbye to her family, so she was not at the temporary apartment in Manila. I arrived in Manila on friday April 22nd and went to the US Embassy Monday morning. I spoke to several people there and finally got the number of the 2GO courier office and had them reroute the visa packet to my hotel.

At 11:35 am Manila time on April 26th I received Lily's visa and documentation from the 2GO courier, at which point it was all I could do to contain a primal scream of joy.

So everything did work out. I would say have your fiance send the original I134 documents through FEDEX. I got them to Lily from Texas to Manila in 3 days. You still have time to get the original for your appointment. That said. its VERY rare that they ask for the original documents. Of all the people I talked to, we were the ONLY ones to be asked for the original documents.

My advise is

1) have your fiance send the original I134 document as fast as possible through FEDEX. It will get to you before your interview.

2) try to relax. Its very unlikely they will ask you for original documents. If they do, it will only be a short delay if you don't have them. We had our appointment April 4th. I sent the I134 original the 5th. She got it the 8th. We got it to the Embassy by the 12th. It was recorded in our case by the 14th. We were authorized for issuance on the 18th, and they tried to deliver the visa packet on the 21st.

In most cases it takes a week to 2 weeks to deliver the visa anyway, so we only lost maybe a week.

Good luck!

note: Your fiance can come to the whole interview process with you, which makes the process much much easier and relaxing for you both. I wish I had known that ahead of time. Two of our friends did the interview together and it was a breeze. Have your fiance come over and do the interview with you. He can even bring the documents instead of mailing them.

I did have to change our flights out however, which was a big expensive unholy nightmare. Leaving that aside, everything did work out and we have been home together in Texas for almost a week now.

Again - good luck!!

-Tim and Lily

[Tahoma 2,292]

hey, i have the same problem as yours..im also in panic because i only have a copy of I-134 which by fiancee sent me through email..and worst is we dont have enough time my interview is on the 13th of this month and im very upset that things always gets wrong...what happened? after you sent the original copy did you got your visa approved? did you got the visa right on time before your flight?

Not a problem...your fiancé has plenty of time to send you the original I-134 via Fed Ex three-day express.

When it comes to government forms, it's usually better to submit originals.

Best wishes for a smooth and speedy visa journey.