DCF Moscow: double check my package please

[galephys 12]

Hello,

I am applying for my husband in the consulate in Moscow in 2 weeks. I think I got everything imaginable for an I-130 and in preparation for DS-260, but I'm freaking out.. please double check for me.

Note: I am a US and RU citizen, mostly live in the US, but I maintain status, paperwork and an apartment in Russia. There is no minimum time I must be present in Russia prior to filing, as long as I have documents from the consulate checklist. I checked 3 times with USCIS.

Please, double check my package and help me calm down.

For Info-Pass and sending the petition:

1. I-130 with my physical and mailing addresses in Russia, last address where we lived together is my physical address in Russia, I'm writing April 2016 to present.

2. G-325A bio for me and passport photo

3. G-325A bio for my husband and passport photo - both forms have the last address same as where we live together now (as of from the day I fly to Moscow the week before appointment)

4. Marriage certificate

5. Divorce certificates from our first marriages

6. A copy of my passport and a copy of my naturalization certificate

7. Domicile in the US: bank statements for the last 3 months, W-2s, car title, house deed, copy of a valid DL, SSN, taxes for 3 years.

8. Residency in Russia: local passport with permanent registration stamp, a letter from "the housing department" (ЖЭУ) stating I indeed live where I am registered, local DL - current and expired (to show I maintained it), local SSN (SNILS) card, local joint bank account and joint car insurance (also doubles for bona fide)

9. Bona fide marriage evidence:

we lived apart since we started dating, so we don't have much joint property, but here is what we got:

- plane tickets and hotel reservations for all trips we took together and to see each other (18 trips, if I'm counting right)

- tickets to major attractions if they have our names and some translations with translator's affidavits.

- photos from these trips showing us doing activities: elephant riding, zip-lining, sightseeing and striking our "go-to pose", whole bunch of selfies next to landmarks, hugs and kisses and all that. We tried to pick photos which would be hard to stage.

- photos with friends and families, somehow mostly eating and drinking, also some music playing and such. I am concerned I don't have a lot of photos with his family(some from the wedding and one more with both families), but they don't really like taking pictures and we didn't hang out as much as with my family.

- photos of him doing housework on my house: mowing the lawn, fixing and installing stuff. Photos with my dog.

- photos from our wedding: the courthouse, with friends and family and our long-distance themed decor. We had airports to which we traveled as table numbers.

- receipts for presents and packages mailed to each other, including cards from flowers and amazon orders delivered to me, but with attached phot of him and the present, stuff for his family and friends paid from his card, mailed to me and then transferred to them (with photos). Some presents clearly show they were custom made for us and about us.

- some Skype screenshots of us talking and him unwrapping one of the presents

- letters and cards we wrote to each other. We covered most of the text for privacy, but the handwriting, greetings, signatures and dates are clear. There are some where I drew us by hand on the cover, or with hearts over our hometowns and other handmade stuff about us.

- paperwork from my bank where I added him as an authorized user

- paperwork from his bank adding me as a user

- a letter from my bank addressed to both of us, increasing our credit line limit

- joint Russian car insurance

- a power of attorney I gave to him last year to collect some local documents

- affidavits from our parents, 2 of our friends in Russia and one friend in the US

- the bomb: a log of our Skype calls from the very first one. One line per call - caller IDs, date, time, duration. 61 (SIXTY ONE, Carl!) pages.

- the bomb #2: total count of our messages on vk.com (our main method of communication) and a screenshot of the number of messages per page vs number of pages. 300000 messages, 15000 pages.

-----------

For his interview we prepared:

1. I-864ez with my present address in Russia.

- supporting documents: taxes for the last 3 years, letter from the employer with the current year pay raise and all items from #7 above to establish domicile in the US

2. His police certificate, translated and notarized

3. his birth certificate

4. a copy of his employment history (трудовая книжка)

5. his passports: local and international

6. his vaccination record

7. his divorce decree

Just in case:

1. birth certificate for his son. The son is not immigrating, but just in case.

2. records showing he paid alimony on time.

3. Our marriage licenses for prior marriages and some divorce related paperwork like property distribution.

4. since he was denied a US tourist visa before, we have some documents explaining the situation

5. I got my first green card through marriage more than 5 years ago, so I have all my immigration documents and full copies of the packages sent to USCIS from "the beginning of times", including a student visa paperwork.

6. Print outs of rules regarding our case:

- requirements for DCF

- emails between me and USCIS division at the consulate, clarifying the eligibility for DCF

- a quote from USCIS manual explaining that even if I got a greencard through marriage, if 5 years have passed, they should not ask me to prove my first marriage again

7. my birth certificate, my old international passports, SSN card

8. originals of documents, cards and personal letters mentioned above

9. emails, drawings and receipts for our wedding and my engagement ring - they all were custom made.

10. Photo of our wedding decor with framed maps of places we visited with pictures from there and a copy of a guest book photo mat signed by our friends and family with a map of both our cities in the center.

Everything is in English or Russian, per USCIS instructions. I think we're ok... but still freaking out. Did I forget something? Am I overdoing it? I filed at least 2.5" of paperwork from a student visa to citizenship, I know how to do it... but this one scares me for some reason.

Thank you!

[7Ken 15]

That's a lot of data, maybe to much?

For your I-130 I would prepare 4 folders and a cover page.

1. All the docs that are actually requested on their website, the one you hand them.

2. All your original docs.

3. All copies of your original docs.

4. All of your extras..

I'd be worried if you hand them to much they may just hand it back to you. If you give them the requested docs and a cover page that lists all the extras you have with you. Then they can just ask you for what they want. I believe that would ease the process..

That's what I did for my wife's interview and it worked very well. I'm not sure if your interview process is the same but if it is do the same again for it.

[texcal 9]

Wow that's a lot, we didn't even send in half of that. But since you ve been living apart ever since its good to show enough proof I guess. Maybe go with the quality over quantity?

A couple of selected pictures and letters etc rather than allllll the pictures and allllll the letters and alllll the messages? Remember they have to look through the paperwork. So if you give them unnecessarily much they ll be spending forever on going through it all

I have no idea if Moscow is a place you have to front load in though....maybe someone here knows?

[galephys 12]

Wow that's a lot, we didn't even send in half of that. But since you ve been living apart ever since its good to show enough proof I guess. Maybe go with the quality over quantity?

A couple of selected pictures and letters etc rather than allllll the pictures and allllll the letters and alllll the messages? Remember they have to look through the paperwork. So if you give them unnecessarily much they ll be spending forever on going through it all

I have no idea if Moscow is a place you have to front load in though....maybe someone here knows?

it sounds like a lot, but really we only have 1-2 pictures, 2 tickets and one or two hotel reservations per trip. We just took a lot of trips:))) The only exception is our wedding and his trips to the US - where we have like 3-5 photos.

Also, I am not sending all messages - just one page with a screenshot of total number of pages and messages. I don't have the same ability for

Skype, so yeah, that one is big. But no personal messages - just a log of dates and times.

Other docs are financial stuff which they like.Since we don't live together, the only thing I have are trips...

What would you call "quality" in my case?

P.S. yes, in Moscow you apply with all your stuff upfront, prove your relationship and then the beneficiary has an easy interview.

Edited March 31, 2016 by galephys

[galephys 12]

That's a lot of data, maybe to much?

For your I-130 I would prepare 4 folders and a cover page.

1. All the docs that are actually requested on their website, the one you hand them.

2. All your original docs.

3. All copies of your original docs.

4. All of your extras..

I'd be worried if you hand them to much they may just hand it back to you. If you give them the requested docs and a cover page that lists all the extras you have with you. Then they can just ask you for what they want. I believe that would ease the process..

That's what I did for my wife's interview and it worked very well. I'm not sure if your interview process is the same but if it is do the same again for it.

That's the idea. The problem is, all my docs fit into these 4 folders:

I130 and G325A are required, as well as my passport, our marriage and divorce certificates and papers to establish domicile in the US and residency in Russia. On the website it says I have to have an application, docs to prove eligibility to file and evidence of bona fide marriage. That's what I have.

If it's too much, what would you exclude? We don't have joint property or leases and other things married and living together people do... the only realy proof we have are our trips and communication with each other.

[7Ken 15]

Did you mean "That's the idea. The problem is, all my docs won't fit into these 4 folders: ?

If that's the case then get a large folder (or box) with many smaller folders for your extras.

It sounds like your process is different than ours and possibly you do everything at one appointment but still the question remains, will they look through what you have and give you the opportunity to offer more?

[texcal 9]

it sounds like a lot, but really we only have 1-2 pictures, 2 tickets and one or two hotel reservations per trip. We just took a lot of trips:))) The only exception is our wedding and his trips to the US - where we have like 3-5 photos.

Also, I am not sending all messages - just one page with a screenshot of total number of pages and messages. I don't have the same ability for

Skype, so yeah, that one is big. But no personal messages - just a log of dates and times.

Other docs are financial stuff which they like.Since we don't live together, the only thing I have are trips...

Well, 1-2 pictures of every trip (18) you've been on all the tickets, all the reservations etc.. That just sounds like a looooot. I think they get the gist if you bring a few pictures not every single trip illustrated with pictures, do you know what I mean?

What would you call "quality" in my case?

I think for example pictures with family is quality. Just select them thinking as the CO. Do they show family, do they show "a life together". I would for example sent a picture with my whole family celebrating a birthday/Christmas/wedding. Just generally pictures that stand for something rather than a flood of selfies. But I guess that's just my opinion. I m not very familiar with immigration either.

P.S. yes, in Moscow you apply with all your stuff upfront, prove your relationship and then the beneficiary has an easy interview.

Your process does seem different than how it is for example in Germany. And looking at your signature you've been through it before and probably know more about it than me.

But with front loading I meant that there is "high fraud countries" that have high denial rates etc (I think Nigeria for example is one). From what I've read filing in a country like that you are supposed to front load your case - put in ALL the evidence you have. I don't know if Moscow is one of those embassies but I don't really think so.

Good luck with your interview! I am sure you are veeery well prepared Also, if you do everything in one day I guess I d just take everything with you in a folder and hand in a selection and if they want or need to see more you can give them all the things you have with you.

[galephys 12]

Did you mean "That's the idea. The problem is, all my docs won't fit into these 4 folders: ?

If that's the case then get a large folder (or box) with many smaller folders for your extras.

It sounds like your process is different than ours and possibly you do everything at one appointment but still the question remains, will they look through what you have and give you the opportunity to offer more?

No, I meant that all my evidence fits into 4 general categories you listed. I didn't think you are talking about a physical folder:))) But yes, I sorted everything, labeled, put tabs on each piece of evidence and made a full copy of each package.

in Moscow a petitioner shows up for an infopass appointment with I-130 and all supporting documents. Beneficiary accompanies the petitioner. The officer looks at the documents and if they are acceptable (i.e the petitioner is eligible to apply and has all necessary paperwork like passport, application and g-325A), the petitioner pays the fee and this first package is sent for review inside the consulate. Then they schedule an interview for the spouse and so on. If some documents are missing, they will send an RFE, but in general a petitioner is supposed to bring proofs of eligibility and bona fide marriage to this first appointment. The officer may ask for some documents during the interview, like a note from the housing department or a copy of something or I don't even know what, and give an opportunity to mail it in without a formal RFE.

I am not sure if they want all supporting documents handed to them or what, but I will have all of it ready, but some labeled as extra.

[galephys 12]

Good luck with your interview! I am sure you are veeery well prepared Also, if you do everything in one day I guess I d just take everything with you in a folder and hand in a selection and if they want or need to see more you can give them all the things you have with you.

haha, hell yeah I am prepared! Even over-prepared. Thank you!

When I think about it, our life together is made of trips and messages... that's why we printed it all.

I labeled everything and I will have it all with me, some as primary (tickets and hotels) some as secondary. I will offer the officer a photo album I put together, and they can keep it if they want to. If they don't want to keep it, I will offer them a few photos for the future, and we'll go from there.

I have never applied at the consulate - all my immigration interviews were held at the field office in the US, and it was the same thing: mail as much stuff as you can, then gather more while waiting and bring it all in. I mentioned everything I had, but they didn't want to see all of it.

However, I saw that whatever I mailed is in my case folder, and it's huge))

We travel alone, and there is usually no one to help us with photos... so we have a tripod and a selfie stick and a camera with a display we can flip to see ourselves. Our selfies are hella sophisticated :-D

[7Ken 15]

It sounds like our processes are similar.

On our first appointment only myself the petitioner was required to be there but I was glad I brought my wife. The woman was more comfortable speaking Tagalog ( her native language) than English which surprised me considering where we were so she spoke mainly with my wife once we got past the issue of who actually filled out the I-130 form which I insisted I did. She didn't seem to believe me but since I insisted she eventually let it go. She wanted some more proof of our bonafide marriage and since my wife was in charge of our folders again she questioned who did what. She finally gave in on that and sent me to the cashier while she got further proof (docs) from my wife.

The next step was getting our approval. It came in the form of an email (6 business days later) but it was our understanding they would be sending us a physical packet. That night I proceeded to the on-line DS-260 link in that email but I was discouraged I couldn't complete it. My wife and I disagreed over this "packet" but I insisted from the wording in the email that there would be no physical packet. I completed what I could on the DS-260 and saved it. Later that night I got to messing around with it and sure enough the case # and my wife's passport # allowed me to complete it. I printed out the receipt and the entire form just to be sure but when I tried to pay for it I was told the #'s I was using were incorrect. I thought great.. (problem).. but later learned since we were filing DCF all fees were to be paid at the consulate.

The approval email was titled Appointments.. So after considerable research I learned that indeed the next step was to make our appointment BUT we had to have our I-864 and All supporting docs for this my wife's interview ready also. She also had to get her medical done which she needed conformation of an interview appointment to get.

In the end I was a little discouraged and relieved to learn I didn't need to be at her "interview" since to me the papers were the most important part. I could have gone had I wanted to but no-one in their right mind would go to Manila unless they have to. I organized all the papers as mentioned before and let her go on her own. Thankfully everything went smoothly and she was approved that day!

Wish you the best and look forward to hearing your good news!