Medical exam in Ethiopia

[willnmahi 2]

Happy Friday everyone!

Can't believe the 29th is only 3 short days away ? Getting sooooo excited!

Just wanted to update that I also received the information that the embassy emailed me (including the checklist and official letter saying they are ready to begin our approved petition) PLUS our approved I-129 form with stamp from USCIS, in the mail. I scanned these 6 pages of the I-129F with the stamps and markings by USCIS so that he could print them and have them on hand when he goes to his interview Monday. Not sure that this is necessary (as it wasn't included in the checklist they sent), but I just wanted to be extra vigilant that he has ALL if not more documentation.

Also, this is probably a totally silly question, but the interview appointment time reads 12:30 EAT - meaning 12:30 PM - I'm only wanting to double check on this because Ethiopia utilizes a different time system than us, which was ALWAYS confusing when I lived there. But because this is coming from the US Embassy I'm sure they're utilizing our time reference, yes?

Will, if I can ask, what time does your fiancé plan on arriving Monday?

Hey,

My fiancee's appointment is at 1300 EAT but she plans to arrive around 1100 just to be safe. I never heard of "EAT" before but when I looked it up, it stands for Eastern African Time. We should be good to go but she will arrive early just to be safe.

Also, are you saying that you received your full I-129F form back? I thought that was supposed to be forwarded directly to the embassy by the NVC?

[willnmahi 2]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to report back that she had her interview today and was successful! Just as I guessed, he asked a lot of questions about my past. It was things like my kid's names, birthdays, my ex's name, marriage date, divorce date.......He also asked details about how we met and the proposal. We spent the entire month of August preparing evidence like SKype and Western Union receipts but the only evidence he asked to see was the engagement pictures. Luckily, she printed those and had them in the book along with our other pictures. Overall, she said it was easy and I think a big part of it is that I front loaded our original application and I also visited 3 times before proposing. Good luck to everyone here and I let me if you have any questions.

[Habesha Love 7]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to report back that she had her interview today and was successful! Just as I guessed, he asked a lot of questions about my past. It was things like my kid's names, birthdays, my ex's name, marriage date, divorce date.......He also asked details about how we met and the proposal. We spent the entire month of August preparing evidence like SKype and Western Union receipts but the only evidence he asked to see was the engagement pictures. Luckily, she printed those and had them in the book along with our other pictures. Overall, she said it was easy and I think a big part of it is that I front loaded our original application and I also visited 3 times before proposing. Good luck to everyone here and I let me if you have any questions.

Yaaay! Congrats Will! I was actually thinking about your interview over the weekend and this morning. I'm happy for you that it went well. At work now but will ask questions in due course. That's great to hear and I can't wait to be like you soon ?.

[mlouiser 0]

Congrats, Will!

We also received the green light and are BEYOND thrilled

He said he only asked a few questions:

-How/where did you meet?

-Where does your fiancé work/what does she do? Also asked for the evidence to back this up > he presented the letter from my employer.

-Asked to see some pictures.

-Asked if he/I was ever married before (we weren't).

-Asked how we communicate/what languages do we speak in.

-Said congratulations you are approved, welcome to the US and presented him with a letter that gave instructions for his visa pickup from the designated DHL location!

We also had about 40-60 pages of documentation (including the affidavit of support info) that he didn't even ask for - we also included lots of proof of relationship info in our initial petition.

Similar to what Will reported, my fiancé said it was pretty simple and painless. Certainly want to be available as a resource as well if anyone has questions.

Safe travels and have fun celebrating Inkutatash (New Years) together, Will!

[willnmahi 2]

Congrats!

I'm glad to hear that all went well with you guys! Your interview sounds like it was even easier than ours! I'll be leaving next week for Addis and I'll definitely enjoy the New Year. Take care and good luck to all!

[mlouiser 0]

Hey Will - just curious if you've been checking the CEAC portal to track your fiancé's visa (https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx)?

Ours has said "no status" all week, and just changed to "administrative processing" this morning.

It reads:

"Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed/available within two business days."

The "if your visa application is approved" note is conflicting, as the consular officer already told him it was "approved" and gave him a document with instructions for pick up - his pick up date is listed as September 6th.

Just curious what your pick-up date was listed as, and if the CEAC portal shows anything different for you?

Sorry I'm sure you're super busy preparing for your trip!

[willnmahi 2]

Hey Will - just curious if you've been checking the CEAC portal to track your fiancé's visa (https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx)?

Ours has said "no status" all week, and just changed to "administrative processing" this morning.

It reads:

"Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed/available within two business days."

The "if your visa application is approved" note is conflicting, as the consular officer already told him it was "approved" and gave him a document with instructions for pick up - his pick up date is listed as September 6th.

Just curious what your pick-up date was listed as, and if the CEAC portal shows anything different for you?

Sorry I'm sure you're super busy preparing for your trip!

Hey, I didn't realize that we could check the status online. I just checked our case and it has the same exact message as yours. She also received a package that said she could pickup her visa on the 6th. I wouldn't read too much into the message on the website. It seems like things are so backwards with this process so I'm not surprised to see that message. I am expecting that the visas will be available on the 6th as promised.

[mlouiser 0]

I agree with all of those statements, hah!

Especially the part about the process being super backwards!!!

Fun fact - I actually got to go through a video call with someone from the White House working on a project with the State Department to "improve" the visa process. I shared LOTS of feedback; not leaving out my immense frustration with the process ??

Anyways, just wanted to consult since I know we're on the same timeframe here. I am sure they'll be there by the 6th as promised as well

Again, safe travels and have so much fun! I'll be there the week of the 17th-25th ✈️

[krschweit 0]

Hi all. So fiance has his police certificate in hand, we've submitted the DS-160 (and he scared me half to death when he said he didn't sign the form - I had to explain that his passport # was the way of signing the form. Still not sure he totally understands this point. Learning more every day this is a very "literal" culture....I digress). He also was able to start his medical exam. However, he went to the bank today to pay the visa fee, but they told him he needed certain paperwork from the embassy first (I might have to press him for what exactly they said on this point), but they also told him the visa fee was about half of what I've been reading on the embassy's website, and he told them it was for a K1 visa...... so who's wrong? I wouldn't think the embassy's website would publish erroneous info.

So in a nutshell, what did your respective fiance(e)s bring with them as proof of their impending K1 visa to pay their visa fee at Bank of Abyssinia? (I saw the embasssy website also mentions bringing instructions for paying the fee.... but haven't found these on the site. Assuming they come in this emailed packet from the embassy?)

I'm sending an email to the embassy very soon.

[willnmahi 2]

Hey,

I don't remember exactly which form my fiancee too to the bank. It was either the DS-160 confirmation page and/or the page you get after you register for the DHL on the usvisa website. I'm positive it was one of those documents. Also, the fee for the visa was $265.

[Habesha Love 7]

Hello,

Will is right. On the website, it did mention that "you are required to download instructions and print the payment instructions." We are not at that stage of the process yet as we am still awaiting our NVC no, but I am assuming that's what may be needed. Also I think they may be mistaking the cost of the visa fee by thinking he is paying for another visa category such as tourist visa, student visa etc which is cheaper. Let us know what finally happens and good luck too.

[krschweit 0]

Okay trusty fellow Ethiopia petitioners --- in regards to the I-134, we only need to include tax returns if we were self-employed this past year? I was not, and just want to triple check this. (If we are required for the I-134 to be above that poverty threshold for the past two years I'm screwed and will need to find a sponsor ASAP... but per their instructions I don't think this is the case?)

[krschweit 0]

Hi all. So fiance has his police certificate in hand, we've submitted the DS-160 (and he scared me half to death when he said he didn't sign the form - I had to explain that his passport # was the way of signing the form. Still not sure he totally understands this point. Learning more every day this is a very "literal" culture....I digress). He also was able to start his medical exam. However, he went to the bank today to pay the visa fee, but they told him he needed certain paperwork from the embassy first (I might have to press him for what exactly they said on this point), but they also told him the visa fee was about half of what I've been reading on the embassy's website, and he told them it was for a K1 visa...... so who's wrong? I wouldn't think the embassy's website would publish erroneous info.

So in a nutshell, what did your respective fiance(e)s bring with them as proof of their impending K1 visa to pay their visa fee at Bank of Abyssinia? (I saw the embasssy website also mentions bringing instructions for paying the fee.... but haven't found these on the site. Assuming they come in this emailed packet from the embassy?)

I'm sending an email to the embassy very soon.

I figured this out! I simply hadn't gone quite far enough in the steps on the usvisa-info.com site where we schedule the interview date. Figured out you can download the instructions in a PDF if I just clicked 'Continue' once more -- I'd originally been hesitant to do so since I thought it implied we'd paid the fee by that point, which we hadn't.

[willnmahi 2]

Okay trusty fellow Ethiopia petitioners --- in regards to the I-134, we only need to include tax returns if we were self-employed this past year? I was not, and just want to triple check this. (If we are required for the I-134 to be above that poverty threshold for the past two years I'm screwed and will need to find a sponsor ASAP... but per their instructions I don't think this is the case?)

From what I understand, you only need to be over the poverty amount for the current year. Also, I think the past Tax return is required whether or not you are self employed. If self employed, you need to send a tax transcript too. The other documents (bank statements, letter from employer etc....) are optional I think but the more you can provide, the better. If you are not over the guideline then you will have to find a sponsor. At our interview, she took my tax transcript, letters from the bank, I-134, and full tax return (1040). I don't know how hard they checked it since they didn't ask her anything about it.

[Habesha Love 7]

Hey guys, we received our case no. from the NVC and are starting to fill out the DS-160. I have a question and need help. When your finances filled out the DS-160 and it ask for the "receipt no/ application no", did yall put in the NVC no. OR was it the USCIS receipt no.? If it was the later, then when do you use and apply the NVC no. in this whole K1 process. Thanks for your anticipated help.