Packet 3 Question. Help!

[katcastillo95 8]

You already submitted the DS-160? I'd have waited until they contacted me to do that, personally. My fiance did the application but waited until we got the embassy email to pay and submit so it doesn't seem like it comes in from out of the blue. I don't think it would cause a problem, just a little odd.

Are you going by an old checklist that folks email around or something? If so, check the date of it and make sure it's not too old. It is definately helpful that folks share these and can help you get ahead of the game, but they can complicate the issue if you're not careful-- the one that was sent to me was 3+ years out of date and came along with tips and tricks from people years back and with different visas (with different requirements) so I definitely wanted to be sure to wait for the checklist from the embassy itself.

Example: translations are not necessary for this step of the K1 process through San Jose (but the instructions passed to me said that it was-- so that was either an old requirement or one for IR1/CR1 visas). No harm no foul in this situation (if they're easy enough to get and you're waiting anyway, no big deal. For us it would have meant several extra days in San Jose while there were a million other things going on at home and we just couldn't do it, but luckily I knew we didn't need to because I was going from the updated checklist). Either way-- you do need them translated for AOS so it's good that you got them done now. Just make sure you get extra copies of the translations, or make sure you hang onto them after the interview or you'll have to do it again in the US.

Yupp the instructions i got are fairly new like a few weeks new. Hmm these new instructions say they have to be translated? i'm going to do it anyways just to be sure. finance is dropping them off tomorrow and picking up thursday. Yup i am going to get extra copies of everything for AOS.

I was told it was okay to do ds-160 when i found out my case was on its way to embassy. i even called embassy to ask and they said to start ds-160.

[Pennycat 880]

Yupp the instructions i got are fairly new like a few weeks new. Hmm these new instructions say they have to be translated? i'm going to do it anyways just to be sure. finance is dropping them off tomorrow and picking up thursday. Yup i am going to get extra copies of everything for AOS.

I was told it was okay to do ds-160 when i found out my case was on its way to embassy. i even called embassy to ask and they said to start ds-160.

Ak ok on DS-160. We didn't ask about that, didn't really care. I knew that you can do it early but I didn't want to submit until they'd contacted us, just in case it could cause confusion. It probably couldn't but that's just my thought process. It was all set and ready to go, just had to press send and submit payment. No big deal.

Do your embassy instructions say *to* translate? Ours definitely did not, and that claim came from other VJ users. There is absolutely no harm in doing them now, in fact it's a good idea so you don't have to bother for AOS. But the thing you need them for is AOS not embassy stage-- so hold on to them. We didn't do them (even though we'd planned to) as a matter of sheer logistics. The translator we'd been referred to takes 3 days and of *course* all of this was happening during the month that his landlord/roommate was on vacation in Europe so he was house and pet sitting for the guy (3 cats 2 dogs) and then the backup plan (the guy's cousin or something) flaked out and so he really could *not* spend that much time in San Jose (he's from Perez Zeledon) and then there was an actual emergency in which the puppy was stolen by the neighbor and then sold to some realllly shady characters. That whole week was a mess and a nightmare.

We could have had them done in his city, but at that point we *knew* they weren't needed (called to confirm) and so just did them here for AOS. One of my good friends is fluent in both languages and so "counts" as a translator for USCIS.

Same thing with apostilles and whatever they do at Casa Amarilla (I think that's apostille). Not needed for any part of this (unless his documents are from a country that is not Costa Rica or the US). Again, no harm in doing it if it puts your mind at ease or something, but that is extra time (and money) added to the process.

[katcastillo95 8]

Ak ok on DS-160. We didn't ask about that, didn't really care. I knew that you can do it early but I didn't want to submit until they'd contacted us, just in case it could cause confusion. It probably couldn't but that's just my thought process. It was all set and ready to go, just had to press send and submit payment. No big deal.

Do your embassy instructions say *to* translate? Ours definitely did not, and that claim came from other VJ users. There is absolutely no harm in doing them now, in fact it's a good idea so you don't have to bother for AOS. But the thing you need them for is AOS not embassy stage-- so hold on to them. We didn't do them (even though we'd planned to) as a matter of sheer logistics. The translator we'd been referred to takes 3 days and of *course* all of this was happening during the month that his landlord/roommate was on vacation in Europe so he was house and pet sitting for the guy (3 cats 2 dogs) and then the backup plan (the guy's cousin or something) flaked out and so he really could *not* spend that much time in San Jose (he's from Perez Zeledon) and then there was an actual emergency in which the puppy was stolen by the neighbor and then sold to some realllly shady characters. That whole week was a mess and a nightmare.

We could have had them done in his city, but at that point we *knew* they weren't needed (called to confirm) and so just did them here for AOS. One of my good friends is fluent in both languages and so "counts" as a translator for USCIS.

Same thing with apostilles and whatever they do at Casa Amarilla (I think that's apostille). Not needed for any part of this (unless his documents are from a country that is not Costa Rica or the US). Again, no harm in doing it if it puts your mind at ease or something, but that is extra time (and money) added to the process.

Question! Do you still have the number to directly contact someone at the embassy?? We still haven't received our packet and im deff getting stressed!!