DCF in South Korea

[jolsen87 0]

Hi. I haven't begun the process yet but you have a very similar question. As far as I know the federal poverty rate for 2 people is $18,912 for non US military people...ie teachers like me and students like you. If you are filing the affidavit of support without a cosponsor (you are the support for your spouse) AND you have no current income then you must have 3 times 125% of poverty level. $18,912 x 1.25 = $23,640 x 3 = $70,920. This is the amount you need to have in cash, accounts, stocks, property and/or retirement pensions etc. Here is the pdf link for the poverty levels http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

I was encouraged by another post here by a gent from S.Africa. His wife was currently working as an English teacher here in Korea at the time of his interview. The embassy official said they didn't require the affidavit of support because at the time of the interview his wife had a current income (in Korea) equivalent to $23,640. This poster said that his wife's parent was cosponsoring but it was not needed.

If your in law puts cash into your account I think that would suffice as proof of ability to support. This is just a guess.

I'm about a year away from starting this whole process. Hope my math is correct because my number is 10K larger than yours.

Can I ask you a question? Did you have to make an appointment to FILE the I130 and physically go to the embassy or did you just email it in? I've seen both of these possibilities posted here and wondering what you experienced recently.

Could you also briefly walk me through the steps you have gone through from beginning to scheduling your interview?

Thanks!

As far as I know, you must physically go to Seoul to hand in the I-130- it was a pain for us because we live near Busan and the KTX gets pricey! And you both need to be there- the immigration website says only the petitioning spouse [the american half] needs to be there, but the non-american half of your relationship does need to sign a form and it must be in person.

Also, I've been blogging our process so that hopefully it would aid someone else going through similar circumstances: http://onceuponadong.blogspot.kr/ hopefully this will help give you an idea of the step-by-step process!

[SDinKorea 1]

As far as I know, you must physically go to Seoul to hand in the I-130- it was a pain for us because we live near Busan and the KTX gets pricey! And you both need to be there- the immigration website says only the petitioning spouse [the american half] needs to be there, but the non-american half of your relationship does need to sign a form and it must be in person.

Also, I've been blogging our process so that hopefully it would aid someone else going through similar circumstances: http://onceuponadong.blogspot.kr/ hopefully this will help give you an idea of the step-by-step process!

Hi Jolsen and thanks a million. I had asked you questions a month ago and you were very helpful. I will definitely check out your blog. Thanks!

[SDinKorea 1]

As far as I know, you must physically go to Seoul to hand in the I-130- it was a pain for us because we live near Busan and the KTX gets pricey! And you both need to be there- the immigration website says only the petitioning spouse [the american half] needs to be there, but the non-american half of your relationship does need to sign a form and it must be in person.

Also, I've been blogging our process so that hopefully it would aid someone else going through similar circumstances: http://onceuponadong.blogspot.kr/ hopefully this will help give you an idea of the step-by-step process!

PS Jolsen. Your blog is wonderfully rich with information and processes. Excellent stuff!! ;-)

[jepa 0]

Hi. I haven't begun the process yet but you have a very similar question. As far as I know the federal poverty rate for 2 people is $18,912 for non US military people...ie teachers like me and students like you. If you are filing the affidavit of support without a cosponsor (you are the support for your spouse) AND you have no current income then you must have 3 times 125% of poverty level. $18,912 x 1.25 = $23,640 x 3 = $70,920. This is the amount you need to have in cash, accounts, stocks, property and/or retirement pensions etc. Here is the pdf link for the poverty levels

I was encouraged by another post here by a gent from S.Africa. His wife was currently working as an English teacher here in Korea at the time of his interview. The embassy official said they didn't require the affidavit of support because at the time of the interview his wife had a current income (in Korea) equivalent to $23,640. This poster said that his wife's parent was cosponsoring but it was not needed.

If your in law puts cash into your account I think that would suffice as proof of ability to support. This is just a guess.

I'm about a year away from starting this whole process. Hope my math is correct because my number is 10K larger than yours.

Can I ask you a question? Did you have to make an appointment to FILE the I130 and physically go to the embassy or did you just email it in? I've seen both of these possibilities posted here and wondering what you experienced recently.

Could you also briefly walk me through the steps you have gone through from beginning to scheduling your interview?

Thanks!

I physically went to the embassy with my husband.

There's a thread called DCF in Seoul Review (I seem to be unable to post link), which basically outlines all the steps that my husband and I went through so far.

In regards to the asset, from the pdf from your post, 125% of HHS Poverty for 2 is $18,912. Notice it is already conveniently calculated to 125% so no need to multiply by 1.25

[richardkorea2010 15]

I think in order to be a cosponsor, you have to be a US citizen or green card holder(permanent resident).

Like I said. If you are still employed, did your taxes, and have your latest tax return, you should be good. I had my mom in law as cosponsor just to have a backup. Everything was good.

[SDinKorea 1]

I physically went to the embassy with my husband.

There's a thread called DCF in Seoul Review (I seem to be unable to post link), which basically outlines all the steps that my husband and I went through so far.

In regards to the asset, from the pdf from your post, 125% of HHS Poverty for 2 is $18,912. Notice it is already conveniently calculated to 125% so no need to multiply by 1.25

Jepa, DUH! I don't know how on Earth I missed that. Geeze, I need glasses. Thanks!

[SDinKorea 1]

Hi,

We just had our visa interview [and were approved!!!] at the Seoul US Consulate and hopefully can help out! My husband [a Brit] and I are teachers too. We didn't get anything certified haha. I had an official marriage certificate copy [from the town we got married in] and a photocopy of that certified copy, and they looked at the certified one and only kept the photocopy. They took the photocopies of everything, instead of the certified copies [birth certificates, marriage certificate] although they took the original police certificates. We had a korean-to-english translation of the korean criminal check, but that wasn't even certified. We called the embassy and they confirmed that we could translate it ourselves if we had the bilingual abilities. We had a Korean-American friend do it, and had him sign it and that was fine. My dad wrote a similar letter, stating that we would be living with him in the US during our transition back [to help prove domicile] and that wasn't certified, just signed [a copy, not original signature] and it was also fine. Any more questions about specific documents, I'll try to help!

Hi Jolsen. I copied this from your blog.

Section Four: Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

l Copy of Marriage Certificate from the U.S.

l Copy of Joint Credit Cards

l Copy of an E-mail requesting to set up wire transfer into a Joint U.S. Bank Account

l Copy of a wire transfer into a Joint U.S. Bank Account

l Copies of a scrapbook chronicling our relationship history, includes photos, letters, plane tickets, and travel stubs.

l Photos showing relationship history

Are all of these required or just some of them?

Cheers.

[klmorgan 0]

Hi,

We just had our visa interview [and were approved!!!] at the Seoul US Consulate and hopefully can help out! My husband [a Brit] and I are teachers too. We didn't get anything certified haha. I had an official marriage certificate copy [from the town we got married in] and a photocopy of that certified copy, and they looked at the certified one and only kept the photocopy. They took the photocopies of everything, instead of the certified copies [birth certificates, marriage certificate] although they took the original police certificates. We had a korean-to-english translation of the korean criminal check, but that wasn't even certified. We called the embassy and they confirmed that we could translate it ourselves if we had the bilingual abilities. We had a Korean-American friend do it, and had him sign it and that was fine. My dad wrote a similar letter, stating that we would be living with him in the US during our transition back [to help prove domicile] and that wasn't certified, just signed [a copy, not original signature] and it was also fine. Any more questions about specific documents, I'll try to help!

Thanks!! That is helpful. We've almost got everything we need by mail (we're just waiting on his parents to send him some papers and stuff). I can't wait to get this first round all squared away so we can get this show on the road!!

[klmorgan 0]

Hi everyone! Here again with a new question... this forum has been incredibly helpful so far, thought someone might have some advice on this topic.

I'm all ready to file my I-130 initial first round of paperwork with the USCIS in Seoul, but I've been trying to schedule an appointment for the past several days to no avail. The information on Visa Journey says I need to go through the InfoPass website in order to schedule, but when I try, it says there are no appointments available in my area.

I called the USCIS Monday and told them about the problems I've been having, and the guy who answered the phone was (I think) a bit confused, and didn't know what to do or to tell me when I explained my problem. He said "Well, that's very strange..." I asked if maybe the website needed maintenance, and if that was the case, if there was any alternative way to schedule my appointment. He was insistent that the website was fine and there was no other way to schedule, and I (perplexed) said "Okay, I guess I'll just have to keep trying."

I called again today (Wednesday) after having tried to schedule with different computers at different locations, and I got the same guy who then said that the schedule is only available for the two weeks immediately following the present day, and that they must be COMPLETELY BOOKED for the next two weeks if that's the message I was getting.

For anyone going through the process in Seoul right now, does that sound typical? Is there something I'm doing wrong? Do I need to "sign in" somehow to the InfoPass website? I guess it's plausible that they are booked solid for the next two weeks but... yikes, I was really hoping to get this started.