February 2016 Interviews

[Stone23 25]

Very nice... Congratulations!!!

Thank you! And congrats to you too!

[dwheels76 5,468]

LooooooL, dwheels76 I almost actually did that!!! LoL!!!

LOL. Too funny. Someone said once at their interview in Lagos they said "Dwheels76 said I am approved". The CO laughed and said "We know dwheels76 and we agree". Like I have rep. haha

[zsalm 1]

APPROVED!

Thank you Lord.

This is based on the steps that i can recall.

Had my interview today. Went inside the USEM Manila at exactly 6:15 AM.First is giving the queuing number then the finger printing where u put left and right four fingers and both thumb. Second is the pre screening i think, staff asked me for my BC, MC, CENOMAR, and NBI (mine doesn't have AKA but was accepted). At this point she asked me of the countries i have been to other than PH, i told her USA only. Do u have any overstay? I told her none. She then asked me how long did u stayed there? A year and eighteen days. You have any waiver for your overstay? I told her its not required for the J1 visa bcos it has a 30 days grace period after your program ended. However she did not believe me and put a note on my file regarding this. I told her i have something from the us state website that i printed out. Also i still have ny DS 2019 available and she can look at it if she wish. After that she just asked me basic things like my birthday and date of marriage and where it took place. She then advised me to show the CO the printed copy of the FAQ (J1 exiting the program) from the us state website. Step three is were you take oath and right after that step four for the interview proper. Steps are pretty easy but what makes it somewhat complicated is the fact that theres a lot of people inside and sometimes the line staffs are also confused on which part of the seated applicants to call in first (queuing board isn't working) Its really crowded inside if i may add. Moving forward, here comes my time for the interview. It took me a while cos the CO was grilling me about my "alleged overstayed j1 visa".

CO: its written here that you have a j1 visa before can i have your old passport? Do u have a waiver for your overstay?

Me: i did not overstay the j1 visa because it comes with a 30 days grace period after the program ended. I have printed out a portion from your site which states this fact.

Co looked at my passport and previous visa and took my printed copy from their site.

Most of the questions the CO asked was from my internship before, what i did and what the program is all about. Only basic stuffs was asked regarding me and my husband, like how i met him, and have i known him before i had my J1. He finally said okay everything seems good i am approving your visa pls proceed to step 5 for releasing.

At this window they will tell you if you have to send them some lacking docs, or erroneous documents that you submitted which you have to resubmit luckily for me everything is all good. And was advised to wait for the visa.

That sums up my visa interview! Hope it can help some of you. Thank you everyone for the great help and here's to hoping ill have my visa soon!

to everyone still waiting for interview and will soon have their interview, good luck and just prepare all your documents and you're good to go!

Congratulations

[dwheels76 5,468]

my embassy is mumbai india. i update it. thank you.

Thank you I have updated you.

[morgan.croft 210]

Confirmed this morning that our interview was scheduled! February 25!

[Stone23 25]

Very nice... Congratulations!!!

Just realized that I live about 20 mins away from you! Howdy neighbor!

Confirmed this morning that our interview was scheduled! February 25!

That's awesome! Congrats!

[dwheels76 5,468]

Does anyone know if Us embassy in Belgrade Serbia started scheduling interviews for February ??

You have to call and ask. Not alot of Serbians here. I think just you. Sorry.

[K&K M 8]

Hello, everyone!

May I ask which option you're choosing when you call NVC regarding an interview date? I called today and pushed option 7 but the attendant kind of yelled at me for being calling instead of waiting for an appointment letter ???

I used option 7 and I called 3 times last week and then again yesterday.

Don't let the representative discourage you from calling. I had a couple of unhelpful ones, but for the most part they are nice. That's what they are there for, to answer your questions and help you.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Thank you my case complete last week January 8 how I check the information regarding the case sent to USEM and what the average time for schedule the case?? When my case will transfer to embassy ?? and how I check it ??

Congratulations I have added you to spreadsheet. Can you please update your timeline to the right embassy you have Armenia.

Once you get interview your Petition will go out to embassy probably 2 weeks before interview.

You only can follow by watching the ceac.state.gov your Visa status. But nothing to see if there's no interview scheduled. Most people call to fond out.

[zsalm 1]

Hello everyone! Interview date has been scheduled on dec 29th but ceac still shows at nvc, my wife and my 2 stepchleren interview coming next month in February 9th is it normal they still haven't transfer case to embassy?

[K&K M 8]

Confirmed this morning that our interview was scheduled! February 25!

Congrats! I knew you were right behind me!

[dwheels76 5,468]

Well, I had my interview scheduled for 9:30am today in Beirut; I got there at 8:30am, cause usually there's a long queue, to my luck though there wasn't one. I went all prepared with all the relationship proof and paperwork needed. Let's just say that my interview didn't happen until 11:15am and I was out of there at 11:22am.

I was very excited because everything was going well, the interviewer asked me how me and my wife met and a couple of questions about me, and just as she was about to finish off the interview, which seemed to be going on a very positive note, she tells me that everything looks like it's in order and I have all the paperwork I need, but that she needs proof of domicile from my wife. So I got a 221(g) and they put me on AP.

I get why they did it, since lots of people from round here tend to try to cheat the system by applying for the IV and never actually end up immigrating to the U.S., thanks to them I am now in AP. She explained to me that that she just wants proof that we are taking steps to actually immigrate to the U.S., which is very fair, I just wish I had known about this earlier. So maybe a note for all couples that intend to immigrate with their spouse to the U.S.: have your spouse go establish domicile in the U.S. first, prior to your interview. Had we known about this, we probably would have planned a trip mid-2015 and got all of that done back then.

​So now, the next step for us is to fly to the U.S. find an apartment to rent, begin transferring our money to her account in the U.S., maybe even buy one-way plain tickets as proof that we are planning to go there in the coming months, and issue all this as proof of domicile. The only thing that scares me is that this is all pretty risky since we don't really have any guarantee that I am actually going to get the IV after all this.

​If anyone has any suggestions, info, or experience with this, it would be much appreciated to get that information from you ASAP, because we really want things to get moving.

Gosh wish I had known I would have told you. I am so sorry. But chin up.

All you mentioned to show domicile you don;t have to fly anywhere she can do ir all from there. And you can get it done quickly and be done in a few days.

Here is the re-establish domicile from the NVC Process wiki.

Look at it and decide what s quickest and get t done.

You can easily get a written agreement with a friend or family member that you will live with them. So many things.

Does she have a bank account, Voters registration card, just show these things. A plane ticket doesn't mean anything that's not establishing a domicile.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Domicile

Please note, if the petitioner lives with the beneficiary abroad, you'll need to provide proof of US domicile with the AOS package, as well as bring it with you to the interview. Please read the I-864 instructions (pages 3 and 4) for information about it. This is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US. Here is a sample cover letter to include in the package (it lists MANY possible documents, some may not be applicable, of course, to prove that you have, or will re-establish, domicile in the US):

NAME

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Form I-864

Part 4, Question 5: Country of Domicile

I, XXXX, am currently residing in FOREIGN COUNTRY with my spouse, SPOUSE'S NAME. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principal residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:

• Maintained my XXXX voter registration

• Maintained my XXXX credit card registered in the US with a US PO box

• Maintained my bank account at the XXXX Credit Union

• Maintained my bank account at XXXX Bank

• Maintained my XXXX drivers license

• Maintained my US retirement fund through XXXX

• Maintained my US investment account with XXXX

• Maintained my US PO box

• Maintained licensure by the XXXX

• Maintained membership in the XXXX

• Maintained my automobile in care of my parents

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Voter registration card showing permanent US address

• XXXX credit card statement showing US billing address

• XXXX Credit Union statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX Bank statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX drivers license showing permanent US address

• Retirement fund statement showing permanent US address

• Mutual fund statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX license currently up to date

• Renewal of XXXX membership

• County tax bill showing I still own a vehicle

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have a house to live in

• Contacted schools for requirements of things to bring to register my children in school

• Contacted my auto insurance company to find out about re-instating my insurance on my car

• Contacted shipping company for estimate of costs to ship belongings

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Lease agreement for our house

• Email from schools regarding registration requirements

• Email from my former auto insurance company regarding my inquiry

• Email from XXXX with estimate and correspondence regarding shipping our belongings

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

[dwheels76 5,468]

So sorry to hear that, LJSant. This has been worrying me for my husband's upcoming interview (Thursday).

To everybody, does this sound sufficient to avoid AP for domicile (I know it's impossible to know for sure, but if this sounds ok, it would help to calm my nerves)? I've been living in Egypt with my husband throughout our entire visa journey (haven't left the country at all) and will be attending the interview.

* I work from home, but my employer (a US company) gave me a raise specifically because I am relocating to the US (higher cost of living). I have a letter of employment from my manager stating this. They would not have given me the raise (more than double what I previously was paid) if I was not intending to return to the US in the near future.

* I used a single US address (my mother's) for all written correspondence from USCIS and NVC and I included a letter indicating that we will be living with her when we arrive with my original domicile documents that i sent to NVC.

* My paychecks have always been mailed to this address.

* I have an active US bank account using the same address.

* My student loan payment account uses this address.

* I bought a one-way plane ticket to return to the US next month.

* The plane ticket receipt indicates that I will have a pet traveling in cargo.

* My dog has been re-vaccinated against rabies and I've had her health certificate from the vet created (though it must be validated within 30 days of departure to satisfy the US/Egypt's requirements for importing/exporting her).

* She is microchipped and registered for the US address.

(We are doing the same for our cat, although we plan for my husband to bring her with him.)

I will bring all the appropriate documentation for the above. I also have a US driver's license and voter registration, but these use my father's address (where I lived most of my life), so I'm not sure they would be useful for the interview. I also applied for a graduate school program in my home state (to start in Fall 2016), but I was rejected from it--is it worth submitting the application confirmation email (and rejection letter?) to show that I intend to reestablish my domicile? I do not have a car or my own house/apartment (we plan to buy a car/rent a flat after my husband arrives and starts his job search). I'm not sure of anything else I could include short of physically being in the US.

Bank accounts and a place to live are the #1 thing you have that so no worries.

[zsalm 1]

Congratulations I have added you to spreadsheet. Can you please update your timeline to the right embassy you have Armenia.

Once you get interview your Petition will go out to embassy probably 2 weeks before interview.

You only can follow by watching the ceac.state.gov your Visa status. But nothing to see if there's no interview scheduled. Most people call to fond out.

Congratulations I have added you to spreadsheet. Can you please update your timeline to the right embassy you have Armenia.

Once you get interview your Petition will go out to embassy probably 2 weeks before interview.

You only can follow by watching the ceac.state.gov your Visa status. But nothing to see if there's no interview scheduled. Most people call to fond out.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Hi! Just wanted to alert you that country listed on the spreadsheet for us is incorrect. Although, I'd love to visit Togo some day, we're actually from Trinidad and Tobago. Wouldn't want to mess up your data.

Thanks.

My bad I think it self filled and I didn't see it. All fixed. Congratulations on the interview date