Calling everyone going thru Islamabad Embassy, version 2.0

[dhobee 1]

Salam everyone!

We found out yesterday that Alhamdulillah, our case (I-129F) has been sent to the Islamabad embassy (was sent on September 25). Since our case had been in a limbo for over two years, we had almost given up hope and didn't do any "homework" of keeping updated about the processes that take place at the embassy. Here are some of our questions.

• What is the next step? Should we call the US embassy and inquire if they've received the case?
• Is email a better method of communicating with the embassy?
• When will they send us "Packet 3"? What are the contents of that packet? What's packet 3.5 and 4? If you could give us a list of documents we need, we'd really appreciate it.
• My husband (the USC) has been in Pakistan for almost a year now. His current employers are in the US, his bank account is in the US, he pays taxes to the US govt... all that. His employer allowed him to work from Pakistan until his wife's (my!) visa issue got sorted out. Do you think he needs to go back now (now that we are at the embassy/interview stage)? I am just concerned about my AP now. I am scared if he goes back and I get stuck in the AP/AR (I've read it goes from 3 months to a year!!!), it'll make things extremely difficult for me. On the other hand, if he plans to wait till I actually get a passport stamped with the visa, I am concerned whoever interviews me would think we're not really planning to go to the US and may deny the visa. I don't know... what do you all think?

[Waheed and Kris 0]

Waheed had his inteview on 7/28/2008 and we were asked to submit further documentation, which we did. So, I have written the embassy many times since then asking if they have reviewed our documentation and inquired if our case was in AP. To date, I have gotten 5 responses from the embassy telling me to write again at a later date and how overworked they are. Then after the bombing at the Marriott, we got them telling us.... as you know the situation in Islamabad.... Never once did they answer my questions. So I called DOS this week to see if they had our case since the embassy could not answer that question for some reason. Well, DOS does have our case. Got an extremely nervous person on the other end of the phone. She was rambling.... these things take time.... oh the last time something was done with this case was on 7/28..... your case is pending.... your in administrative processing.... it is pending ..... these things take time.......

OMG... Will this ever end???

[zidane 0]

Congratulations for getting your case sent to Isb finally. Our case was also recently sent to Isb so I'm sort of in the same boat as you.

You should definitely contact the embassy this monday and ask about your case. In my experience calling isn't very helpful, just email them including your full name and the case number (the one starting with ISL), you should email at the following address: pakivquery@state.gov

As I have still not gotten the Packet 3 (hope to get it after Eid) I can't really tell you exactly what's in it. If anyone knows here it would be great if you could tell us. As far as I know there will be some forms in it such as DS 230, DS 156, DS 156K, DS 157 (maybe), and a set of instructions I suppose.

As far as doing any homework, I've tried to get the following ready:

Police certificates

Birth certificate (also got two copies certified from the Foreign ministry, with a letter from Health ministry saying foreign ministry certifies birth certificates)

Photocopies of all relevant documents such as passport

Recent 2*2 pictures of self

Vaccinations

Organizing everything for the interview into respective folders such as our filing history, relevant documents for myself and spouse, and proof of relationship

For the matter of your husband living in Pakistan for the past year, since he's still employed by a US firm I dont see they should have a problem. They might ask you where you plan to live exactly when you move to US, so be ready to give them an address. Maybe booking a flight and showing them evidence of that might help also at the interview.

Good luck! If anybody's out there with advice for us waiting on the Isb embassy, please post!

Salam everyone!

We found out yesterday that Alhamdulillah, our case (I-129F) has been sent to the Islamabad embassy (was sent on September 25). Since our case had been in a limbo for over two years, we had almost given up hope and didn't do any "homework" of keeping updated about the processes that take place at the embassy. Here are some of our questions.

• What is the next step? Should we call the US embassy and inquire if they've received the case?
• Is email a better method of communicating with the embassy?
• When will they send us "Packet 3"? What are the contents of that packet? What's packet 3.5 and 4? If you could give us a list of documents we need, we'd really appreciate it.
• My husband (the USC) has been in Pakistan for almost a year now. His current employers are in the US, his bank account is in the US, he pays taxes to the US govt... all that. His employer allowed him to work from Pakistan until his wife's (my!) visa issue got sorted out. Do you think he needs to go back now (now that we are at the embassy/interview stage)? I am just concerned about my AP now. I am scared if he goes back and I get stuck in the AP/AR (I've read it goes from 3 months to a year!!!), it'll make things extremely difficult for me. On the other hand, if he plans to wait till I actually get a passport stamped with the visa, I am concerned whoever interviews me would think we're not really planning to go to the US and may deny the visa. I don't know... what do you all think?

[monty001 0]

Congratulations for getting your case sent to Isb finally. Our case was also recently sent to Isb so I'm sort of in the same boat as you.

You should definitely contact the embassy this monday and ask about your case. In my experience calling isn't very helpful, just email them including your full name and the case number (the one starting with ISL), you should email at the following address: pakivquery@state.gov

As I have still not gotten the Packet 3 (hope to get it after Eid) I can't really tell you exactly what's in it. If anyone knows here it would be great if you could tell us. As far as I know there will be some forms in it such as DS 230, DS 156, DS 156K, DS 157 (maybe), and a set of instructions I suppose.

As far as doing any homework, I've tried to get the following ready:

Police certificates

Birth certificate (also got two copies certified from the Foreign ministry, with a letter from Health ministry saying foreign ministry certifies birth certificates)

Photocopies of all relevant documents such as passport

Recent 2*2 pictures of self

Vaccinations

Organizing everything for the interview into respective folders such as our filing history, relevant documents for myself and spouse, and proof of relationship

For the matter of your husband living in Pakistan for the past year, since he's still employed by a US firm I dont see they should have a problem. They might ask you where you plan to live exactly when you move to US, so be ready to give them an address. Maybe booking a flight and showing them evidence of that might help also at the interview.

Good luck! If anybody's out there with advice for us waiting on the Isb embassy, please post!

Salam everyone!

We found out yesterday that Alhamdulillah, our case (I-129F) has been sent to the Islamabad embassy (was sent on September 25). Since our case had been in a limbo for over two years, we had almost given up hope and didn't do any "homework" of keeping updated about the processes that take place at the embassy. Here are some of our questions.

• What is the next step? Should we call the US embassy and inquire if they've received the case?
• Is email a better method of communicating with the embassy?
• When will they send us "Packet 3"? What are the contents of that packet? What's packet 3.5 and 4? If you could give us a list of documents we need, we'd really appreciate it.
• My husband (the USC) has been in Pakistan for almost a year now. His current employers are in the US, his bank account is in the US, he pays taxes to the US govt... all that. His employer allowed him to work from Pakistan until his wife's (my!) visa issue got sorted out. Do you think he needs to go back now (now that we are at the embassy/interview stage)? I am just concerned about my AP now. I am scared if he goes back and I get stuck in the AP/AR (I've read it goes from 3 months to a year!!!), it'll make things extremely difficult for me. On the other hand, if he plans to wait till I actually get a passport stamped with the visa, I am concerned whoever interviews me would think we're not really planning to go to the US and may deny the visa. I don't know... what do you all think?

-Make sure you have atleast 2 extra copies of your whole packet just in case. Packet 3 includes forms DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157, and DS-230. Get started on getting your police report, because this is probably the most difficult to obtain.

-Also, when you respond to Packet 3, your fiance will need to include a copy of his/her ID card. Most likely it will be in Urdu so it needs to be translated.

-Have a few passport photos handy. I think you need to send 2 with Packet 3, and then 2 more for the Medical.

-When you respond to Packet 3, you need to send your affidavit of support (Form I-134) and all supporting documents in as well. Again, make sure you have multiple copies of the form and the supporting docs, because they may ask to see them again during the interview.

That's all I can remember for now. The most important thing to remember is that you must keep everything organized. It's always easier when you're organized. Also, triple check all forms you fill out and send back to the embassy.

As far as contacting them, I found it that emailing them was not very helpful for me. I must have sent them 8-10 emails and they responded once. However, each time I called I was able to get through. It's really just hit and miss when you try to contact them. One last thing...you need to have a lot of patience. You'll get tired of hearing the same "You're documents are still being reviewed..." sentence over and over again. Just keep a cool mind and everything will be OK.

I wish all of you good luck and Insha'Allah may everything go smoothly for you guys.

[zidane 0]

Thanks for the reply Monty, it was very helpful.

One more question, are you sure the fiancee will need to attach the translated NIC copy? Wouldn't just the passport copy suffice? And by fiancee i mean the applicant who is in Pakistan not the USC. Thanks!

[monty001 0]

Thanks for the reply Monty, it was very helpful.

One more question, are you sure the fiancee will need to attach the translated NIC copy? Wouldn't just the passport copy suffice? And by fiancee i mean the applicant who is in Pakistan not the USC. Thanks!

Yup my fiancee, and I mean my fiancee in Pakistan, had to attach a copy of her Identification card AND a translated version of it with Packet 3. It was on the instructions she received for Packet 3.

[dhobee 1]

Thank you for your responses Zidane and Monty.

A question about the police certificate...

- is there a form/format the embassy gives to obtain that certificate? I mean, how does it go?

- I, the beneficiary, have lived in other countries from the time of birth to the age of 16. Do I have to obtain certificates from ALL of those countries? That's quite impossible!

[monty001 0]

Thank you for your responses Zidane and Monty.

A question about the police certificate...

- is there a form/format the embassy gives to obtain that certificate? I mean, how does it go?

- I, the beneficiary, have lived in other countries from the time of birth to the age of 16. Do I have to obtain certificates from ALL of those countries? That's quite impossible!

1. The embassy does not give you a specific form for the police certificate. You have to go to your local police station (or is it called the DIG Office, I'm not sure?) and ask them to give you a record of your history. You will need a couple of passport style photos for this as well. They will make you a certificate and sign it.

2. If I'm correct, they ask for your criminal history for all the places you have lived SINCE the age of 16. So if you've been in Pakistan since the age of 16, then you do not need to get records from other countries.

[zidane 0]

One more question about the translation of the NIC. I went to the NADRA office to ask if they do these, and they said it takes up to 15-30 days!

Is it OK if I translate the NIC myself and just get this translation certified by the ministry of foreign affairs? How did your fiancee get the translation?

Thanks for the reply Monty, it was very helpful.

One more question, are you sure the fiancee will need to attach the translated NIC copy? Wouldn't just the passport copy suffice? And by fiancee i mean the applicant who is in Pakistan not the USC. Thanks!

Yup my fiancee, and I mean my fiancee in Pakistan, had to attach a copy of her Identification card AND a translated version of it with Packet 3. It was on the instructions she received for Packet 3.

[monty001 0]

One more question about the translation of the NIC. I went to the NADRA office to ask if they do these, and they said it takes up to 15-30 days!

Is it OK if I translate the NIC myself and just get this translation certified by the ministry of foreign affairs? How did your fiancee get the translation?

Thanks for the reply Monty, it was very helpful.

One more question, are you sure the fiancee will need to attach the translated NIC copy? Wouldn't just the passport copy suffice? And by fiancee i mean the applicant who is in Pakistan not the USC. Thanks!

Yup my fiancee, and I mean my fiancee in Pakistan, had to attach a copy of her Identification card AND a translated version of it with Packet 3. It was on the instructions she received for Packet 3.

I'll have to ask her and find out. I'll let you know in a little while.

[zidane 0]

Thanks! That would be great.

One more question about the translation of the NIC. I went to the NADRA office to ask if they do these, and they said it takes up to 15-30 days!

Is it OK if I translate the NIC myself and just get this translation certified by the ministry of foreign affairs? How did your fiancee get the translation?

Thanks for the reply Monty, it was very helpful.

One more question, are you sure the fiancee will need to attach the translated NIC copy? Wouldn't just the passport copy suffice? And by fiancee i mean the applicant who is in Pakistan not the USC. Thanks!

Yup my fiancee, and I mean my fiancee in Pakistan, had to attach a copy of her Identification card AND a translated version of it with Packet 3. It was on the instructions she received for Packet 3.

I'll have to ask her and find out. I'll let you know in a little while.

[dhobee 1]

Thank you Monty...

[monty001 0]

You are very welcome. I had all of the same questions. Just trying to help.

[monty001 0]

Ok so I talked to my fiancee...and here is what I found out:

I was a little confused on the ID card. It turns out you do not have to have it translated but she did it just incase it was needed. However, the beneficiary does need to have his/her birth certificate translated and notarized.

[mikeH 0]

Ok so I talked to my fiancee...and here is what I found out:

I was a little confused on the ID card. It turns out you do not have to have it translated but she did it just incase it was needed. However, the beneficiary does need to have his/her birth certificate translated and notarized.

only time you will be abel to get police certificate ,when you get the letter from embassy. you have to go to your local police station, with two pics.