Colombia Club Part IV

[Mononoke28 135]

Is her birth certificate supposed to say that she is single and never married before? From what she told me, it doesn't have this information. When she asked for a copy of it, she told them it was for a visa, specifically for the K-1 visa. She said there was another one that you can ask for if you are going to get married, and that one actually states her status from what she tells me. I don't want her to have the wrong document at the interview, so does she need to go back and ask for the other one that has her status information? I'm so confused by it.

Some notaries put marginal notes saying that the person has never been married, I believe they say "without marginal notes", while others don't put anything at all making it obvious that the person hasn't been married.

If the person has been married, it will have all the info of the marriage and divorce in the marginal notes.

The embassy pays close attention to this to make sure the beneficiary is free to marry once he/she arrives in the US.

Diana

[aws&ndd 103]

I also read that she will need both sides of her birth certificate...is this true? She only has a copy of the one side because the other is blank. Also, does she need to go to a notary to get it certified, or is the copy she receives good enough?

Thanks for your help, just want to make sure we are doing everything right.

[ucaggie 0]

I will be unable to get a letter of employment before the K1 interview. I started full time work on August 1 because I just finished grad school. Will this pose a problem? My lawyer told me to write a letter explaining my situation--that I was a student and as an engineer with a graduate degree, my income will not be a problem in the future. I did make over 125% poverty level working just part time at school and internship. Also listed my assets: bank and stocks.

[Mononoke28 135]

I also read that she will need both sides of her birth certificate...is this true? She only has a copy of the one side because the other is blank. Also, does she need to go to a notary to get it certified, or is the copy she receives good enough?

Thanks for your help, just want to make sure we are doing everything right.

The reason why the other side of her birth certificate is blank is because there are no marginal notes, if she had any that's where they would be.

The copy given to her by the notary is already notarized.

Diana

[Mononoke28 135]

I will be unable to get a letter of employment before the K1 interview. I started full time work on August 1 because I just finished grad school. Will this pose a problem? My lawyer told me to write a letter explaining my situation--that I was a student and as an engineer with a graduate degree, my income will not be a problem in the future. I did make over 125% poverty level working just part time at school and internship. Also listed my assets: bank and stocks.

Is there a reason why you will not be able to get an employment letter? Does your HR department have an 800 that people may call to verify your employment? If not, then there is nothing you can do and just try to prove your employment in some other way, the letter your lawyer recommended may help, as well as bringing copies of your most recent pay stubs.

Diana

[ucaggie 0]

Is there a reason why you will not be able to get an employment letter? Does your HR department have an 800 that people may call to verify your employment? If not, then there is nothing you can do and just try to prove your employment in some other way, the letter your lawyer recommended may help, as well as bringing copies of your most recent pay stubs.

Diana

Actually my boss said he can write a letter on letterhead for me, just not an employment letter. He can write my title, projects I am working on, etc. What would you recommend he write?

[diana w 1]

Hey all,

So happy! We just got notification NOA2 in less than 4 months. My fiancee will be applying at the embassy in Bogota shortly, but I want to be prepared today for what I have to send. I've seen scattered information like sending on more evidence of our relationship such as phone records, and that sort of thing but I need to know more about the financial requirements necessary.

I've been saving all my pay stubs, but the problem is my taxes.

For a couple of reasons (including actually living with mi novia in Colombia) I haven't filed taxes since 2009. Nothing shady, was still labeled as a dependent, and also worked outside of the U.S. the majority of the time.

So I'm wondering, what financial documents are necessary to send on for her interview?

Also any other requirements would be super helpful!

Cheers

-E

[Ryan76 46]

Well i'm about 85% done with all the AOS paperwork and i'm entering the final phase before sending. One lingering question i had was about sending photographic evidence of wedding, etc. I remember a while back someone told me to send in photos from the wedding as evidence, but as i've gone through all the instructions and guides i haven't seen anything about this. I have seen where people take photos to their post AOS interview, but not sending any in with the AOS packet.

Is this something i should do or not?

[Mononoke28 135]

Actually my boss said he can write a letter on letterhead for me, just not an employment letter. He can write my title, projects I am working on, etc. What would you recommend he write?

If he can write down your salary that would be very helpful since you need the letter to support the I-134. If not, then saying that you are a permanent employee of the company should be helpful and then use the copies of your pay stubs as your salary back up.

Diana

[Mononoke28 135]

Hey all,

So happy! We just got notification NOA2 in less than 4 months. My fiancee will be applying at the embassy in Bogota shortly, but I want to be prepared today for what I have to send. I've seen scattered information like sending on more evidence of our relationship such as phone records, and that sort of thing but I need to know more about the financial requirements necessary.

I've been saving all my pay stubs, but the problem is my taxes.

For a couple of reasons (including actually living with mi novia in Colombia) I haven't filed taxes since 2009. Nothing shady, was still labeled as a dependent, and also worked outside of the U.S. the majority of the time.

So I'm wondering, what financial documents are necessary to send on for her interview?

Also any other requirements would be super helpful!

Cheers

-E

You can find all the documents that are needed for the interview in the Interview Packet found in the US Embassy web site.

If you don't have any recent tax returns you still need to send form I-134 with a written explanation of why you didn't have a legal duty to file a tax return since 2009. Your co-sponsor will also need to file form I-134 and send copies of their most recent tax return with corresponding W2 or tax transcript, copies of their most recent pay stubs will also help, as well as letter of employment if available.

Diana

[Mononoke28 135]

Well i'm about 85% done with all the AOS paperwork and i'm entering the final phase before sending. One lingering question i had was about sending photographic evidence of wedding, etc. I remember a while back someone told me to send in photos from the wedding as evidence, but as i've gone through all the instructions and guides i haven't seen anything about this. I have seen where people take photos to their post AOS interview, but not sending any in with the AOS packet.

Is this something i should do or not?

You need to send all kinds of evidence even if you can't find that specifically in the instructions. Pictures are a great way to prove you have a legitimate marriage and that your family was part of it, so definitely send them. I never sent any original pictures to the USCIS, I only scanned them and put them in a word document with the description at the bottom of each one.

Diana

[Ryan76 46]

You need to send all kinds of evidence even if you can't find that specifically in the instructions. Pictures are a great way to prove you have a legitimate marriage and that your family was part of it, so definitely send them. I never sent any original pictures to the USCIS, I only scanned them and put them in a word document with the description at the bottom of each one.

Diana

I followed your advice and just printed out a single page document with about 10 photos on it of the wedding, at the courthouse, and at the ceremony after the courthouse at my fiancee's church which has a location in Cape Coral, Florida. I sent pictures of us exchanging rings, pictures with 8-10 of my family members, and pictures with the various members of the church who attended the wedding. Hopefully it will be good enough.

Anyway, I sent the AOS packet in today, so now the waiting game begins! Hopefully within the week I will see that my check has been cashed. We did put our new address on all the forms.

My next question involves the online AR-11. We just moved into our apartment so we're going to fill this form out tomorrow night. This form is still necessary, even though we put our new address on all the AOS paperwork, right? Is this one of those forms you have to go through from start to finish and submit it online (without being able to save and come back to it later)? Are there any tricky or confusing questions I need to be aware of before starting it? I read through another forum and saw people complaining that it was confusing and they weren't sure how to fill out certain parts, etc. I figured it would be a fairly straight forward and simple change of address form. Someone suggested that calling the hotline number to do it over the phone is easier. Any advice?

[Mononoke28 135]

I followed your advice and just printed out a single page document with about 10 photos on it of the wedding, at the courthouse, and at the ceremony after the courthouse at my fiancee's church which has a location in Cape Coral, Florida. I sent pictures of us exchanging rings, pictures with 8-10 of my family members, and pictures with the various members of the church who attended the wedding. Hopefully it will be good enough.

Anyway, I sent the AOS packet in today, so now the waiting game begins! Hopefully within the week I will see that my check has been cashed. We did put our new address on all the forms.

My next question involves the online AR-11. We just moved into our apartment so we're going to fill this form out tomorrow night. This form is still necessary, even though we put our new address on all the AOS paperwork, right? Is this one of those forms you have to go through from start to finish and submit it online (without being able to save and come back to it later)? Are there any tricky or confusing questions I need to be aware of before starting it? I read through another forum and saw people complaining that it was confusing and they weren't sure how to fill out certain parts, etc. I figured it would be a fairly straight forward and simple change of address form. Someone suggested that calling the hotline number to do it over the phone is easier. Any advice?

My husband had to fill out an AR-11 twice and both times he said it was the easiest form he's had to fill out for immigration purposes. I never saw it but he said it was easy and simple. Also, I'm not sure if there is anything for you to print out but it's always best to fill out just in case.

One more thing, don't forget to send your I-865 since you're sponsoring her to be here in the US.

Good luck!

Diana

[ucaggie 0]

My fiancee had her appointment with Dr Dennis today and all went well. She got her vaccines 13 days prior to the medical and only needed the flu shot which cost 40.000. So, Dr Dennis did accept her vaccines.

Her appointment is in 2 days. I already paid the $240 MRV fee and have an MRV fee receipt number. Does she just print this confirmation out? She doesn't need to pay at the embassy correct?

[Mononoke28 135]

My fiancee had her appointment with Dr Dennis today and all went well. She got her vaccines 13 days prior to the medical and only needed the flu shot which cost 40.000. So, Dr Dennis did accept her vaccines.

Her appointment is in 2 days. I already paid the $240 MRV fee and have an MRV fee receipt number. Does she just print this confirmation out? She doesn't need to pay at the embassy correct?

Right. There is nothing to pay at the embassy.

Good luck!

Diana