NVC Filers - September 2014

[Aahil 90]

I just called nvc and spoke with a nice lady,she told me nvc processed our ds261 y.day.does it means they reviewed our ds261? And i can expect iv bill to invoice in 3-5days.

[BunsandCroissants 2]

I am working on the (outdated) DS-230 in paper format in preparation for filling out the DS-260 in electronic format (for which I have FINALLY been billed!) and there is one question on which I don't want to make a mistake. The question is #31a on the DS-230:

Persons named in #14 and #29 who will accompany you to the United States now.

BACKGROUND: I am living in the US with our infant son, and my husband is living in France with our 3-year-old daughter. Both of our children have both French and American nationalities.

Also for reference, the questions #14 and #29 are as follows:

#14 -- Spouse's name

#29 -- List names and places of birth of ALL children

Our question pertaining to the field #31a is the following: do we or do we not note that our daughter who is living in France with my husband now will be accompanying him to the US? It seems to me that in the AOS application we did NOT indicate this because our daughter is an American citizen and we did not want to confuse things.

Thanks so much in advance!

[hmscott 0]

HI sorry, I posted this last night...not one reply yet. Maybe I am doing something wrong? Please let me know...thank you in advance.

Hi, I am new to this forum...since my Swedish hubby & I FINALLY got received at NVC on Sept 22. I have already filed the DS-261 and I am waiting for my fees to be unlocked (2 days and counting)...So I am reading a lot about this "new" procedure where once you pay the AOS fee you can print the barcode sheet and send BOTH packages at once (before the IV fee is available to pay after the supposed 30 day wait time). I have MANY questions, but the most pertinant are:

1-Everytime I call NVC it is busybusybusy...so I heard it is best to call at beginning or end of their day. 6am or 12 midnight. Two nights in a row I have called at 11 or 11:30 pm and it says "we are no longer accepting calls at this time"...what is the deal? Calling at 6 am Eastern time is 4am for me...ugh. Is there a "sweet spot" to call that I should know about?

2-Do I (natural born US citizen) need court and prison records also? and Police certificates?

3- Most important- once I am able to pay the AOS fee, should I send BOTH AOS & IV packets at one time? And then wait until IV fee is generated later and pay at that time?

4- I have an S-corp for last 16 years. I have always made a healthy profit until 2012 & 2013 (of course the years they most want to see tax returns) Between my spouse and I we have enough assets to not need an additional sponsor, but I am wondering if any of you have experience with filing additional docs to supplement income amounts? Anything in particular I should be careful about? Yes, I have read the wiki's...and my head is spinning.

Thank you all for this outlet and community. This whole process is mindboggling and so overwhelming. My man and I have been separated for over 4 months now and it is so awful.

I am praying that with your expert guidance and experience I can properly fill out all these forms and not generate checklists! ugh...

thank you in advance, Harmony

Edited September 25, 2014 by hmscott

[mjardine 12]

Hi All,

I know I saw a link to the thread somehwere in this forum but can't seem to find it now - can someone kindly reply with the thread for DS 260 help/tips? Thanks so much in advance, Happy Thursday everyone

[jcruzazucar 131]

Hi, I am new to this forum...since my Swedish hubby & I FINALLY got received at NVC on Sept 22. I have already filed the DS-261 and I am waiting for my fees to be unlocked (2 days and counting)...So I am reading a lot about this "new" procedure where once you pay the AOS fee you can print the barcode sheet and send BOTH packages at once (before the IV fee is available to pay after the supposed 30 day wait time). I have MANY questions, but the most pertinant are:

1-Everytime I call NVC it is busybusybusy...so I heard it is best to call at beginning or end of their day. 6am or 12 midnight. Two nights in a row I have called at 11 or 11:30 pm and it says "we are no longer accepting calls at this time"...what is the deal? Calling at 6 am Eastern time is 4am for me...ugh. Is there a "sweet spot" to call that I should know about?

2-Do I (natural born US citizen) need court and prison records also? and Police certificates?

3- Most important- once I am able to pay the AOS fee, should I send BOTH AOS & IV packets at one time? And then wait until IV fee is generated later and pay at that time?

4- I have an S-corp for last 16 years. I have always made a healthy profit until 2012 & 2013 (of course the years they most want to see tax returns) Between my spouse and I we have enough assets to not need an additional sponsor, but I am wondering if any of you have experience with filing additional docs to supplement income amounts? Anything in particular I should be careful about? Yes, I have read the wiki's...and my head is spinning.

Thank you all for this outlet and community. This whole process is mindboggling and so overwhelming. My man and I have been separated for over 4 months now and it is so awful.

I am praying that with your expert guidance and experience I can properly fill out all these forms and not generate checklists! ugh...

thank you in advance, Harmony

(1) That has happened to me as well when they are no longer accepting calls. They are open from 7am (Eastern) to 12pm (Eastern). I usually call as soon as they open (which is 4am for me) or during my lunch hour at work (usually 1:30PM Pacific - which is 4:30PM Eastern) and around this time I have always been able to get through. It sounds busy at first but by the third time I call (one time after another) it goes through.

(2) No, you do not need any of that. The applicant (beneficiary) needs those docs if they are available in his or her country. Check the NVC website to see what is required of him/her.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved/contact.html

Also, please read and re-read Saylin's WiKi (the first post on this thread). Her WiKi is extremely helpful but you must read it many times to make sure you grasp everything she mentions in there.

(3) That is up to your discretion. Based on NVC's rules, you are supposed to pay AOS Fee/IV Fee first and then fill out IV application. THEN you can send the AOS & IV Package as one (this is the new process to send everything as one package). However, some people have been told by NVC reps to send in their AOS & IV package as soon as the AOS fee appears as PAID and the AOS Barcoded sheet is generated. I would call NVC if I were you just to make sure.

(4) Sorry, I don't know anything about this subject.

Best of luck!

Edited September 25, 2014 by jcruzazucar

[california_luv 56]

I am working on the (outdated) DS-230 in paper format in preparation for filling out the DS-260 in electronic format (for which I have FINALLY been billed!) and there is one question on which I don't want to make a mistake. The question is #31a on the DS-230:

Persons named in #14 and #29 who will accompany you to the United States now.

BACKGROUND: I am living in the US with our infant son, and my husband is living in France with our 3-year-old daughter. Both of our children have both French and American nationalities.

Also for reference, the questions #14 and #29 are as follows:

#14 -- Spouse's name

#29 -- List names and places of birth of ALL children

Our question pertaining to the field #31a is the following: do we or do we not note that our daughter who is living in France with my husband now will be accompanying him to the US? It seems to me that in the AOS application we did NOT indicate this because our daughter is an American citizen and we did not want to confuse things.

Thanks so much in advance!

We're in the same boat. Our dual citizens kids are living in France with us. From how I understand #31a you should list the child that will be travelling with husband. Curious to know what you find

[jcruzazucar 131]

Hi All,

I know I saw a link to the thread somehwere in this forum but can't seem to find it now - can someone kindly reply with the thread for DS 260 help/tips? Thanks so much in advance, Happy Thursday everyone

I'm not sure I know what link you are referring to but I know there is one in Saylin's WiKi (it's in the first post of this thread - go to her WiKi and go the DS-260 section). You should be able to see an example there. Also, there is an example of the DS-260 in the NVC's website.

[dilmera 124]

Woo, guess who's coming home to Canada for her birthday and Thanksgiving? ME!!! So, I'll be on another mini-vacation October 8th-14th

I so want your job, not what you do on VJ, but what you do at the customs office . I could seriously use some vacation myself. There's still time before your vacation and I expect a decision on my case before you go. I already am having nightmares of a checklist, god forbid I get one in reality. A checklist may mean my immigration journey taking two years, so all of the checklists reported in this thread are scaring me, seems like just about everyone is getting them.

[mjardine 12]

I'm not sure I know what link you are referring to but I know there is one in Saylin's WiKi (it's in the first post of this thread - go to her WiKi and go the DS-260 section). You should be able to see an example there. Also, there is an example of the DS-260 in the NVC's website.

Thanks so much for the response! I actually have those examples printed out and have checked/followed Saylin's wiki - but I was looking more for a forum where folks have asked questions and such. I thought I saw someone post something like that on one of these NVC threads...but maybe I was dreaming!

[dilmera 124]

China, and I don't know what the last scan date was. I just know they made us wait 60 days in order to make sure I put "N/A" for the I-864 resident address.

Glad all that is behind you now. Not putting N/A on the second address on I-864EZ warrants a checklist. Sadly, that's one of the common reasons for a checklist and NVC instructions don't help either (to not repeat if same). Best of luck for the interview.

[Saylin 1,605]

I so want your job, not what you do on VJ, but what you do at the customs office . I could seriously use some vacation myself. There's still time before your vacation and I expect a decision on my case before you go. I already am having nightmares of a checklist, god forbid I get one in reality. A checklist may mean my immigration journey taking two years, so all of the checklists reported in this thread are scaring me, seems like just about everyone is getting them.

Well, I didn't have any vacation days for my Florida trip, so that was completely unpaid for. I actually just hit 1000 hours at work on Tuesday, which meant benefits, one of which is vacation days. But it's based on how much time is left in the year. So, typically, it's 10 days a year, but I just got 2.5 days. Which I'm completely using for this trip to Canada, and I'll still be missing 8 hours unpaid (thankfully the 13th is a holiday here, otherwise it would have been 16 hours unpaid). So, please don't think I have lots of vacation time, cause it's the complete opposite!

[dilmera 124]

Well, I didn't have any vacation days for my Florida trip, so that was completely unpaid for. I actually just hit 1000 hours at work on Tuesday, which meant benefits, one of which is vacation days. But it's based on how much time is left in the year. So, typically, it's 10 days a year, but I just got 2.5 days. Which I'm completely using for this trip to Canada, and I'll still be missing 8 hours unpaid (thankfully the 13th is a holiday here, otherwise it would have been 16 hours unpaid). So, please don't think I have lots of vacation time, cause it's the complete opposite!

Oops, I didn't know your Florida trip was unpaid leave, I assumed you might have accumulated the paid leaves or something like that...

[Saylin 1,605]

Oops, I didn't know your Florida trip was unpaid leave, I assumed you might have accumulated the paid leaves or something like that...

Nope! I wish though, as it lost me about $500, which I could definitely use to pay off my trip, haha.

At my job, we only get vacation time once we hit 1000 hours, and apparently the amount is based on how much time is left in the year once you do hit 1000 hours (which does make sense once you think about it). But, I'll be getting a full 10 days on January 1st which is valid for a year. Don't think I'll have a problem using my vacation time

[hmscott 0]

Thank you so much for the response! I really appreciate it jcruzazucar...I guess it is a game of "keep checking with NVC" dot my i's cross my t's, use black ink for God's sake, and don't make a mistake! lol...

(1) That has happened to me as well when they are no longer accepting calls. They are open from 7am (Eastern) to 12pm (Eastern). I usually call as soon as they open (which is 4am for me) or during my lunch hour at work (usually 1:30PM Pacific - which is 4:30PM Eastern) and around this time I have always been able to get through. It sounds busy at first but by the third time I call (one time after another) it goes through.

(2) No, you do not need any of that. The applicant (beneficiary) needs those docs if they are available in his or her country. Check the NVC website to see what is required of him/her.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved/contact.html

Also, please read and re-read Saylin's WiKi (the first post on this thread). Her WiKi is extremely helpful but you must read it many times to make sure you grasp everything she mentions in there.

(3) That is up to your discretion. Based on NVC's rules, you are supposed to pay AOS Fee/IV Fee first and then fill out IV application. THEN you can send the AOS & IV Package as one (this is the new process to send everything as one package). However, some people have been told by NVC reps to send in their AOS & IV package as soon as the AOS fee appears as PAID and the AOS Barcoded sheet is generated. I would call NVC if I were you just to make sure.

(4) Sorry, I don't know anything about this subject.

Best of luck!

[jcruzazucar 131]

Thank you so much for the response! I really appreciate it jcruzazucar...I guess it is a game of "keep checking with NVC" dot my i's cross my t's, use black ink for God's sake, and don't make a mistake! lol...

Pretty much, yes!! I suggest you make a first draft of every form first...check it for mistakes, ask questions here if needed, and then put it in final. That's what I am doing with my AOS form that way I can avoid the dreaded checklist. This is a fabulous forum and this thread in particular is super helpful. Don't be afraid to post a question, people here are very nice and willing to help/advise as necessary.