Scandinavians Part 2

[Scandi 4,166]

21 hours ago, Pinda said:

My husband and I got married a couple of days ago so now I'm wondering, how did you guys get the marriage registered in Sweden, and how do you handle the name change? If I manage to change my name from here, my passport will be invalid, so I'd need to get a new one, correct?

I sent a letter to Skatteverket asking to get my marriage registered and a copy of my marriage certificate. On the back of the certificate I wrote something like "Härmed intygar jag att denna kopia är en exakt kopia av originalet" and had two friends write their names on it, sign it, date it and add their contact information. I also sent copies of both me and my American husband's passport bio pages, they had the same text as above and signed by the same friends. 

 

Then I also added the form for name change, of course. In the same envelope to the same place. Sent the letter on December 22, 2016 and it took about a week for them to register my marriage and new name (it was done before the end of the month/year).

 

As soon as I noticed on Skatteverkets website that my name was registered I scheduled an appointment with the mobile passport station in San Diego. Got my new passport in my new name in February 2017.

[Pinda 36]

28 minutes ago, Scandi said:

I sent a letter to Skatteverket asking to get my marriage registered and a copy of my marriage certificate. On the back of the certificate I wrote something like "Härmed intygar jag att denna kopia är en exakt kopia av originalet" and had two friends write their names on it, sign it, date it and add their contact information. I also sent copies of both me and my American husband's passport bio pages, they had the same text as above and signed by the same friends. 

 

Then I also added the form for name change, of course. In the same envelope to the same place. Sent the letter on December 22, 2016 and it took about a week for them to register my marriage and new name (it was done before the end of the month/year).

 

As soon as I noticed on Skatteverkets website that my name was registered I scheduled an appointment with the mobile passport station in San Diego. Got my new passport in my new name in February 2017.

Thank you so much, that's very helpful!

[Reverie 10]

Hi guys, long time no see. Whoa, this journey has been such a rollercoaster. The K1 process was incredibly easy and painless, but ever since I came to the US, there have been so many downs. My husband insisted we use a lawyer for our AOS even though I was confident we were able to do it ourselves. The first lawyer, we had to fire and fight to get our money back, so because of that, we were set back at least a couple of months. We finally submitted our paperwork with our "old lawyer" (who is really expensive but did our K1 perfectly) and got a receipt in the beginning of July. Today we just got an RFE that makes absolutely no sense. First point is that my husband doesn't make enough to support me and the household size. My husband made 55.000 last year, so even including the people that we live with (his brother, his wife and son) it would still be enough. We included all tax returns and W-2s for the past three years. Next point is that my proof of birth is insufficient. I went to the priest who baptised me and got the document named "baptism and birth certificate". It has my full name, date and place of birth and parents' names. It has the English translation next to the Danish text and it's signed with a signature and stamp. It has little watermarks in the paper itself. I don't even know if any other forms of documents exist in Denmark and both this and the same affidavit of support was used in my K1 application with no problems or RFEs.  

The last point is that the affidavit of support was "not from the petitioning sponsor". What does that even mean? Everything was signed with my husband's name and information. 

I just don't understand what's going on, I'm actually scared. I'm just sitting here, not being able to work, not being able to drive anywhere, and now everything is put on hold. And ever since moving here, my aunt came down with a serious case of meningitis and my grandma has cancer, so needless to say I'm not in the best place. This just adds to the pile of stress I have on my shoulders. 

Sorry for venting. 

[RandB 156]

2 hours ago, Reverie said:

Hi guys, long time no see. Whoa, this journey has been such a rollercoaster. The K1 process was incredibly easy and painless, but ever since I came to the US, there have been so many downs. My husband insisted we use a lawyer for our AOS even though I was confident we were able to do it ourselves. The first lawyer, we had to fire and fight to get our money back, so because of that, we were set back at least a couple of months. We finally submitted our paperwork with our "old lawyer" (who is really expensive but did our K1 perfectly) and got a receipt in the beginning of July. Today we just got an RFE that makes absolutely no sense. First point is that my husband doesn't make enough to support me and the household size. My husband made 55.000 last year, so even including the people that we live with (his brother, his wife and son) it would still be enough. We included all tax returns and W-2s for the past three years. Next point is that my proof of birth is insufficient. I went to the priest who baptised me and got the document named "baptism and birth certificate". It has my full name, date and place of birth and parents' names. It has the English translation next to the Danish text and it's signed with a signature and stamp. It has little watermarks in the paper itself. I don't even know if any other forms of documents exist in Denmark and both this and the same affidavit of support was used in my K1 application with no problems or RFEs.  

The last point is that the affidavit of support was "not from the petitioning sponsor". What does that even mean? Everything was signed with my husband's name and information. 

I just don't understand what's going on, I'm actually scared. I'm just sitting here, not being able to work, not being able to drive anywhere, and now everything is put on hold. And ever since moving here, my aunt came down with a serious case of meningitis and my grandma has cancer, so needless to say I'm not in the best place. This just adds to the pile of stress I have on my shoulders. 

Sorry for venting. 

I'm sorry you're running into so many problems with your green card application. From what I've seen on this forum, it seems it's better to do all the paperwork yourself than to hire a lawyer (unless you have a very complicated case). Lawyers often seem to not do a thorough enough job, and therefore delaying the process. I hope you're able to figure out what documents USCIS wants for the RFE.

 

Regarding not being able to do anything: I highly recommend volunteering. You meet new people and you gain experience. I put in many hours at a local library. Since I could not drive, I walked and took the bus. Eventually, when you start looking for employment, you can put your volunteer experience on your resume. You won't have a big gap in time, and volunteering looks good on your resume. You can use websites such as idealist.com to find volunteering opportunities.

 

I wish you the best of luck.

[eborge 28]

Hi everybody.

 

I had my interview yesterday and it was all fine except that my medical hadnt arrived. I did the examination the 20th of august, and got an SMS last wednesday saying the packet was shipped to the embassy. Post Nord must have a really interesting route between Oslo and Stockholm I guess..🙄

 

So now I was told that I had to wait 3-4 weeks for administrative processing, and I wonder if any of you that did the interview before the medical had arrived, does it really take this long? Or could I get lucky and get my visa a bit earlier? 

 

thanks, E

[AlexDRavn92 37]

8 minutes ago, eborge said:

Hi everybody.

 

I had my interview yesterday and it was all fine except that my medical hadnt arrived. I did the examination the 20th of august, and got an SMS last wednesday saying the packet was shipped to the embassy. Post Nord must have a really interesting route between Oslo and Stockholm I guess..🙄

 

So now I was told that I had to wait 3-4 weeks for administrative processing, and I wonder if any of you that did the interview before the medical had arrived, does it really take this long? Or could I get lucky and get my visa a bit earlier? 

 

thanks, E

I called the Medical office in Copenhagen last week, and they told me that it takes 11 days for them to send the results to the embassy.

 

But it seems crazy that you have to wait 3-4 weeks for administrative processing.

Unfortunately I have no information about this part.

 

[Mazsive 4]

Hey, I got my k1 approved on September 4. It says so in the Visa tracker anyway "issued"

I'm curious how long it takes to ship from sweden embassy to Oslo norway? 

 

Also I tried to track it by passport but I cant find anything. Tried postnord and dhl. Nothing. Also it's quite confusing since its traveling country to country.

 Not quite sure who's delivering it.

Anyone from norway that's been waiting for the passport?:)

Edited September 11, 2019 by Mazsive

[Mazsive 4]

17 minutes ago, eborge said:

Hi everybody.

 

I had my interview yesterday and it was all fine except that my medical hadnt arrived. I did the examination the 20th of august, and got an SMS last wednesday saying the packet was shipped to the embassy. Post Nord must have a really interesting route between Oslo and Stockholm I guess..🙄

 

So now I was told that I had to wait 3-4 weeks for administrative processing, and I wonder if any of you that did the interview before the medical had arrived, does it really take this long? Or could I get lucky and get my visa a bit earlier? 

 

thanks, E

I did my interview 29 August. Medical was sent August 21. It was there when I had my Interview, I'm also in Oslo by the way:)

Edited September 11, 2019 by Mazsive

[eborge 28]

5 minutes ago, Mazsive said:

Hey, I got my k1 approved on August 4. It says so in the Visa tracker anyway "issued"

I'm curious how long it takes to ship from seeden embassy to Oslo norway? 

 

Also I tried to track it by passport but I cant find anything. Tried postnord and dhl. Nothing. Also it's quite confusing since its traveling country to country.

 Not quite sure who's delivering it.

Anyone from norway that's been waiting for the passport?:)

I hope you mean September 4th?😎 Well, I guess if this is Post Nord 8-10 days of shipping is normal...

Edited September 11, 2019 by eborge

[Mazsive 4]

5 minutes ago, eborge said:

I hope you mean September 4th?😎 Well, I guess if this is Post Nord 8-10 days of shipping is normal...

Yes I did. I'm anxious since I cant track where it's at. Specially since my passport number isnt giving any results. How long can it take to deliver a box 🤣 wish I could track it but I can't seem to be able to. It's quite irritating me lol

[Reverie 10]

Does anyone know if there is such thing as a "long form birth certificate" in Denmark? 

[Jo&Bob 83]

21 hours ago, Reverie said:

Hi guys, long time no see. Whoa, this journey has been such a rollercoaster. The K1 process was incredibly easy and painless, but ever since I came to the US, there have been so many downs. My husband insisted we use a lawyer for our AOS even though I was confident we were able to do it ourselves. The first lawyer, we had to fire and fight to get our money back, so because of that, we were set back at least a couple of months. We finally submitted our paperwork with our "old lawyer" (who is really expensive but did our K1 perfectly) and got a receipt in the beginning of July. Today we just got an RFE that makes absolutely no sense. First point is that my husband doesn't make enough to support me and the household size. My husband made 55.000 last year, so even including the people that we live with (his brother, his wife and son) it would still be enough. We included all tax returns and W-2s for the past three years. Next point is that my proof of birth is insufficient. I went to the priest who baptised me and got the document named "baptism and birth certificate". It has my full name, date and place of birth and parents' names. It has the English translation next to the Danish text and it's signed with a signature and stamp. It has little watermarks in the paper itself. I don't even know if any other forms of documents exist in Denmark and both this and the same affidavit of support was used in my K1 application with no problems or RFEs.  

The last point is that the affidavit of support was "not from the petitioning sponsor". What does that even mean? Everything was signed with my husband's name and information. 

I just don't understand what's going on, I'm actually scared. I'm just sitting here, not being able to work, not being able to drive anywhere, and now everything is put on hold. And ever since moving here, my aunt came down with a serious case of meningitis and my grandma has cancer, so needless to say I'm not in the best place. This just adds to the pile of stress I have on my shoulders. 

Sorry for venting. 

Hi Reverie,

I´m sorry I wont be able to help ypu much, I just want to confirm you thoughts about wether there is such thing as a more "sufficient" birthcertificate and I dont think so?? I´m not too wondering the same, we just filled AOS a week ago (came here on K1 as well) and I also "just" have the baptism and birthcertificate with english danish, and I have never seen another type and I went a got a "new" one or the K1 so I don´t imagine they would have different ones og "longer" ones...but we´ll see in a few months.. also please keep us updated what you find out.  Also my husband is being my sponser and I´m wondering, giving his income only just being a bit over the required if that will be sufficient, since I have heard a few people now getting an RFE requesting joint sponser even if the sponser meets or even is above the requirements..
Again I don´t have any idea either why they say its "not from the petitioning sponsor".. Annoying they dont specify it more..

I´m sorry I am no help and I hope you figure it out, but know you are not the only one and the RFE you got wonders me too.
And I´m sorry to hear about your family, I know how hard it is not being able to go back and visit, and then especially when illness hits...

[LilyJ 1,258]

6 hours ago, Reverie said:

Does anyone know if there is such thing as a "long form birth certificate" in Denmark? 

I don't think so but I'm not sure. My husband ordered his birth certificate on borger.dk and I don't think it gave a short form/long form option, just language options (so he ordered it with Danish & English text on one document)

[Jo&Bob 83]

3 minutes ago, LilyJ said:

I don't think so but I'm not sure. My husband ordered his birth certificate on borger.dk and I don't think it gave a short form/long form option, just language options (so he ordered it with Danish & English text on one document)

It´s the exactly the same thing I did, no options except the language, just sent one - baptism/birthcertificate

[LilyJ 1,258]

Just now, JosephineAndBobby said:

It´s the exactly the same thing I did, no options except the language, just sent one - baptism/birthcertificate

It should be fine then I'm sure, I don't know if short form birth certificates exist in DK but I think they automatically send you the "long form" when you order the official document since that's the one with all of the specific information  I didn't even know short form birth certificates even were a thing at all until I joined this site, I've never seen one in the US even though they exist 🤣