Embassy Questions

[chris-pung 0]

Dear Forum:

NVC completed our case Tuesday, 9/26. Up to now, we went through immigration process without benefit of VisaJourney knowledge (didn't find website until 9/21). Now we know there was a lot we didn't know.

So here are some questions, so we are working smarter at this step :

How do we find out date NVC sends to embassy?

Does NVC send to Embassy by snail mail or diplomatic pouch or some other fancy government method?

Are there any cute shortcuts for Packet 3, Packet 4, or anything else we should know about?

Should we be getting police report, or other Packet 3 forms filled out in advance?

Should we contact embassy to set up way for them to contact us by email of notifications?

Thank you,

Chris

[Yodrak 7]

chris-pung,

Addressing your questions in order:

- If you really want to know, call them. By the time you receive the notice from the NVC that they have received the approved petition from USCIS they will already have sent it on to Bangkok.

- I believe the NVC uses DHL. My experience was that the package will take far longer to get through the embassy's internal mail system to arrive at the IV unit in the consulate than it will take to get from the USA to Thailand.

- If you can find out when the IV unit has received the petition, by phone, e-mail, or personal visit, the DS-230-I and checklist signoff can be submitted without waiting for the visa application package to arrive.

- Sure. See the visa section of the embassy's web site to find out what will be in the application package so you can get started on things now.

- The IV unit will mail the visa application package to the visa applicant's address given on the petition. It does not normally contact people by phone or e-mail, but it does respond to e-mail inquiries.

Yodrak

Dear Forum:

NVC completed our case Tuesday, 9/26. Up to now, we went through immigration process without benefit of VisaJourney knowledge (didn't find website until 9/21). Now we know there was a lot we didn't know.

So here are some questions, so we are working smarter at this step :

How do we find out date NVC sends to embassy?

Does NVC send to Embassy by snail mail or diplomatic pouch or some other fancy government method?

Are there any cute shortcuts for Packet 3, Packet 4, or anything else we should know about?

Should we be getting police report, or other Packet 3 forms filled out in advance?

Should we contact embassy to set up way for them to contact us by email of notifications?

Thank you,

Chris

Edited September 29, 2006 by Yodrak

[hahuhobrad 0]

I'll assume you are in Bangkok.

You can go to the Royal Thai Police station and get the police report. It takes 7-10 days for them to prepare it for you. I can't remember the cost.

Don't bother trying to do the medical. The forms on the site, VJ and the Embassy, are not the ones they are using now. My wife downloaded them and when she went to the hospital they told her she had the wrong forms. Once packet 3 came and she went the the hospital with the correct forms, it only took one day for the exam. I think it was a couple of weeks for the HIV test results to come back. If you know your case number assigned from NVC, starts with BNK, then you can check the embassy web site for your interview date. And...if you e-mail them, put your case number in the subject line and they will reply the next day. When you get packet 3, fill out the DS230 (and I think another form) and mail it to the embassy. Don't waste your time going to the embassy. They wont even let you in. There is a checklist in Packet 3 that tells you everything you need for the interview. And you do not have to send in 2 pictures and a copy of your passport. In packet 3, it gives you instructions to do that, but when we went to the embassy, and we were turned away by 2 Thai "greeters", the one thing they did know was that you don't have to send in the 2 pics and passport info. Packet 4 pretty much just tells you your interview date.

We have our interview on Oct. 11th. If any of this information proves to be wrong, I'll come back and tell you what requirements we missed. Good luck!

[chris-pung 0]

Saturday, September 30, 2006

2:30pm Novato (GMT-8)

Dear Yodrak & Hahuhobrad:

I was busy busy yesterday, so didn't have time to acknowledge your kind responses. You answered in detail; since you are both Bangkok, the advice was especially useful.

I am aware of the checklist that Pung needs to send back after Embassy gets her package. I located and downloaded it from the Bangkok Embassy website a couple of days ago. That is certainly useful, and looks to me like a potential one week shortcut if timed correctly. As you both know, Thai mail within Bangkok usually is one day (we live in Phromphong/Thonglor area; I've actually bicycled from our townhouse to embassy before). But, one sure hates to trust Thai mail service for important documents! So, I'll start making email interrogatories with Embassy late next week to find out when Embassy gets package. Then maybe shortcut across the checklist signoff.

I say maybe, because interesting date falls within our case timeline. Since we were legally married on November 23, 2004, it would be in our best interest to schedule interview after that date. Then we get IR-1 for certain, instead of CR-1.

Best regards,

Chris

[Yodrak 7]

Chris,

What's important is not when the visa is issued, what's important is when your wife enters the USA - that's when her immigration status will be fixed. If she enters the USA on 24 November she be granted LPR status w/o conditions (IR-1) even though her visa may be CR-1.

Yodrak

Since we were legally married on November 23, 2004, it would be in our best interest to schedule interview after that date. Then we get IR-1 for certain, instead of CR-1.

Best regards,

Chris