French/American Couples - Part III - 2014

[mattelo 45]

Well I'm not saying it's impossible to do everything in just a day, but I strongly advise you against handling it like me, meaning to show up there like everything's going to be perfectly fine I think I just got lucky this time, so make some phone calls just to make sure all the arrangements are possible first, and maybe make some appointments just to be 100% sure.

Oh, and btw... WE GOT APPROVED FOR THE VISA today!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our relationship is pretty specific so I got really anxious because of that but everything went super smoothly! I'll write my review soon

Edited September 28, 2016 by matt88

[angie33 10]

Well I'm not saying it's impossible to do everything in just a day, but I strongly advise you against handling it like me, meaning to show up there like everything's going to be perfectly fine I think I just got lucky this time, so make some phone calls just to make sure all the arrangements are possible first, and maybe make some appointments just to be 100% sure.

Oh, and btw... WE GOT APPROVED FOR THE VISA today!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our relationship is pretty specific so I got really anxious because of that but everything went super smoothly! I'll write my review soon

CONGRATS =D I'm so happy and excited for all of us!!!

[mattelo 45]

Thank you Angie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RKandGC 1]

Congrats Matt88!!

[frfrog 5]

awesome new matt88 congrats!!!!

[mattelo 45]

Thank you guys, you're adorable!

[quentin955 4]

Well I'm not saying it's impossible to do everything in just a day, but I strongly advise you against handling it like me, meaning to show up there like everything's going to be perfectly fine I think I just got lucky this time, so make some phone calls just to make sure all the arrangements are possible first, and maybe make some appointments just to be 100% sure.

Oh, and btw... WE GOT APPROVED FOR THE VISA today!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our relationship is pretty specific so I got really anxious because of that but everything went super smoothly! I'll write my review soon

Well, congrats!!! Finally everyone is seeing the end of the road!

Hopefully y'all will keep us updated on how everything is going after you arrive in the US!

I decided to go get the blood test, gonorrhea test and the chest radiography done today, one week before the medical appointment. They all told me there that I did the right thing because it would have been stressful and I'm sure i'll get all the results in time then.

The nurse who took my blood said "if it's a fiance visa, they won't disapprove it!" Well, I hope she knows what she's talking about and I hope she's right! lol

I didn't make any appointment or call, because I had time today.

But I did everything in the morning and there was no problem with it. Everything went smoothly!

I was in Levallois around 10:10 and left before 12!

Oh, btw, plane tickets seem quite cheap on American Airlines right now. I booked my flight to Dallas for November 12th (my interview is on October 12th so it will be okay!), I paid 500 euros when it's usually from 850 to 1100. Or even more. (of course, for a round trip ticket. I'm supposed to leave Dallas on the 13th, which I wont do. lol. A one way ticket was 1,500...)

I just hope I'll get approved now! lol

Edited October 3, 2016 by quentin955

[MovingBack 3]

Hello,

Congrats to everyone on the recent approvals!

We are just starting the research and it is great hearing your success, while also spinning by trying to figure out the best process. We would greatly appreciate any assistance you could provide.

Trying to figure out where we should marry to reduce the amount of time without work authorization in the US, reduce the amount of time apart and expensive trips back and forth from the US to Paris.

Where would you suggest we get married? Would you recommend Fiance, K3, Immigrant Visa, Direct Consular Filing or something else?

-Not married yet, but PACSed

-Met 5 years ago in the US, while she (French national) was studying for a year at a university. I'm a US citizen.

-We have been living the last 4 years in France, but I just moved back to Massachusetts, to find a new job in DC, since my French company was not doing well. She is working in Paris as a civil servant and will move to the US as soon as she is able to.

-We will settle in Washington DC

[i heard it could take 6-8 months for her to get work authorization from the Fiance Visa.]

Thank you very much for your time and any assistance you can provide

All the Best!

Edited October 10, 2016 by MovingBack

[plb 0]

Trying to figure out where we should marry to reduce the amount of time without work authorization in the US, reduce the amount of time apart and expensive trips back and forth from the US to Paris.

Where would you suggest we get married? Would you recommend Fiance, K3, Immigrant Visa, Direct Consular Filing or something else?

Between Fiance and Spousal visa, the Fiance visa should get her the right to work in the US at least 3 months earlier than the Spousal visa, because you can apply for the Employment Authorization Document simultaneously with the Green Card.

Spousal visa would mean you marry now (doesn't matter where), and then she waits in France until her green card is ready in Paris. I used the data on this site to calculate a timeline for this back in June, and found that the expected time between marriage and green card was around a year.

Fiance visa means you can apply right now, even though you're apart, and then she gets a Fiance visa and comes to the US to marry and apply for a Green Card. The timeline I calculated for this is 7 months to enter the US, and then you have the right to work 3 months after marriage (Employment Authorization Document).

However, the Fiance visa process for me has been exceptionally rapid. The Embassy in Paris received my petition 3 weeks ago, only 2 months after submitting the petition to the USCIS. Other recent recipients in this thread can confirm or refute if this is the new norm.

The Embassy has had my application for 3 weeks now and I've no news on when I can schedule the interview. This is actually making me terribly nervous, but I don't see any options other than just waiting. I hope there wasn't some important correspondence that fell through the cracks.

[quentin955 4]

Between Fiance and Spousal visa, the Fiance visa should get her the right to work in the US at least 3 months earlier than the Spousal visa, because you can apply for the Employment Authorization Document simultaneously with the Green Card.

Spousal visa would mean you marry now (doesn't matter where), and then she waits in France until her green card is ready in Paris. I used the data on this site to calculate a timeline for this back in June, and found that the expected time between marriage and green card was around a year.

Fiance visa means you can apply right now, even though you're apart, and then she gets a Fiance visa and comes to the US to marry and apply for a Green Card. The timeline I calculated for this is 7 months to enter the US, and then you have the right to work 3 months after marriage (Employment Authorization Document).

However, the Fiance visa process for me has been exceptionally rapid. The Embassy in Paris received my petition 3 weeks ago, only 2 months after submitting the petition to the USCIS. Other recent recipients in this thread can confirm or refute if this is the new norm.

The Embassy has had my application for 3 weeks now and I've no news on when I can schedule the interview. This is actually making me terribly nervous, but I don't see any options other than just waiting. I hope there wasn't some important correspondence that fell through the cracks.

I agree with everything. If you and your fiancé are wiling to spend three months together with your fiance not working, go for it. Because you can apply from everywhere and you get to be together sooner!

plb, I hope you heard from the embassy! in my case, they got everything from the NVC on August 19th, and we got news from them on September 6th. It was an E-MAIL sent to the PETITIONER. It might not be the case for everyone but apparently it is for most of people.

It's apparently going very fast at the USCIS right now (40 or 45 days depending on the center - our case took two months), so maybe the embassy is getting a lot of cases at the same time.

I got some problems, my interview was scheduled last week... And they called me the day before saying I can't have the interview because everything was in the US, and i didnt wait for an email to schedule everything. It was actually not true. The problem was because of something I was kinda scared of but thought it would be okay: The NVC messed up one letter in my name. Although they had my case number, they could not find me with one different letter. They called me the day after to tell me they found it and when to come.

Apparently it is not the first time. So, everyone must check their names and every information on the letter from the NVC and, if there is a problem, contact the embassy ASAP. It was a stressful situation.

By the way, my interview was scheduled this morning... And we got APPROVED!!! I hope everyone here will get everything approved too!

If I have time I'll leave a review. They all were very nice. I was surprised because they asked for almost nothing at all (except the things on the list they sent me. And not even everything!) and didn't ask me many questions. Maybe 5 or 6. I guess I gave the man enough information in my answers!

I'm going to the US on November 12th, and we are getting married on December 3rd!

[RKandGC 1]

Congratulations !!!!!

So glad everything worked out in the end for you.

we got a RFE on the 15th and they have received our evidence yesterday. Hoping for a quick approval now.

They wanted more proof that my fiancée was a US citizen...

[quentin955 4]

we got a RFE on the 15th and they have received our evidence yesterday. Hoping for a quick approval now.

They wanted more proof that my fiancée was a US citizen...

I'm sorry to hear that. Apparently it is going fast right now so there is no reason for them to take too long to approve your case. At least I hope so.

But it sounds like the most ridiculous reason for an RFE ever. They might have their reasons, but it's really not what makes more sense!

[RKandGC 1]

We thought the same thing. Until we got the letter, we were wondering what they could ask for. But we never guessed a copy of her birth certificate or a copy of her passport.

[mattelo 45]

Congratulations Quentin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Must have been really stressful because of the NVC’s mistake, but I’m happy everything went fine for you at the Embassy.

RKandGC, I don’t understand, you’re already supposed to send a copy of the US citizen's birth certificate with your original submission, but they asked for another one??

Oh, and as for me, I got myself in a very stressful situation too, that I absolutely need to share here to make sure that it won’t cause anyone a problem! A little bit more than 2 weeks after my interview, my visa got delivered at my place… but with wrong information on it!!!!!!! My personal information was correct, but on the visa you’re also supposed to find the name of your fiancé(e) and your case number. Well, in my case, it was… the name of a girl, and a wrong case number!!! I totally freaked out when I found out they messed up. Worst thing is that it was impossible to contact the Embassy by phone!!! I found an information about possible mistakes on the visa on their website though, so I sent them a letter along with my passport and the sealed envelope. I paid for a Chronopost to follow the delivery (26€ ), and they got everything back the very next day after I realized their mistake. In my letter, I was asking them to give me a call as soon as they had my letter and thank God, they did!!!!!!!!!! So I had the chance to talk with someone who apologized for the mistake and explained me that they were going to print a new visa for me. The lady wouldn’t give me a phone number to call her back just in case because they don’t want to be called AT ALL… So I just had to trust her and cross my fingers! Fortunately, a week later I got delivered my new (and correct) visa!!!! It wasn’t long at all, but it can be a real problem for someone who is in a hurry to leave the country (wasn’t my case).

Oh and they explained me what happened and the thing is that they need to complete an online form for each visa, but instead of filling out a blank form, they copy the information entered for the previous visa and changed them one by one!!! That’s why I ended up with the information of someone else. The lady explained me that it happens sometimes, but that not everybody spots the mistakes!!!!! So they end up with HUGE problems at the point of entry because their information is incorrect on the visa! So don’t forget to verify the information on your visa when you get it, mistakes are possible and it could definitely ruin your entry in the US, so be careful!

Oh and now, I have two K1 visas in my passport. The good one, and the wrong one with a big stamp on it saying “CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”. It was, of course, a brand new passport, so it looks wonderful as you can imagine LOL

Voilà pour les nouvelles ! Just wanted to keep you posted about what happened, thought it could be helpful maybe for someone else in the future! Take care guys and good luck!

[RKandGC 1]

Wow What a wild ride it must have been for you. so much stress!

I'm really happy for you that everything is sorted out now.

Have you got your plane tickets yet?

I didn't see the final original submission as my fiancée made the final copies herself. I think what happened was that maybe she forgot to include the first page of passport or it wasnt very readable.

But we got our NOA2 approval today !!!