Civil documents and financial requirements for NVC

[Kal22 0]

Hi everyone! After getting the I-130 approved, my wife and I are now in the process of uploading documents to CEAC for her CR1 visa. We read all the instructions and browsed the internet to make sure we were doing everything right but there are a couple of points we’re confused about, and I found some contradicting answers online. If anyone that has been successful with the NVC could help with some insight it would be greatly appreciated!

 

• I started filing my I-864 online (I’m the petitioner) but apparently it’s better to print it, manually fill it, and then scan it, especially because people have gotten an RFE because of a digital signature?

 

• My wife (the applicant) needs to upload “photographs” to CEAC with her civil documents. Are we talking about a pdf with two passport style pictures side by side or is it okay to upload just a jpeg of her passport style picture (which would make more sense)? I've seen contradicting things about this online!

 

• I have my latest tax return transcript which states that I make well over 125% of the 2023 poverty guidelines (I made around 35K last year). Is this transcript enough or do I need to upload my 2021 and 2020 as well, or other documents (I have a letter from my employer that I got just in case, bank statements, pay stubs..)? I know only the latest tax return transcript is mandatory, but I was wondering if anyone ever got an RFE just because they didn't submit enough transcripts even if they make enough money on the latest transcript.

 

• My wife is from France and she works as a professional translator. Her birth certificate and her police certificate are both in French. The instructions given by NVC state that civil documents do not require to be translated if they are in English or in the language of the country where the interview would take place (it would be France). My wife still decided to translate both documents herself just in case because we heard of people getting an RFE because they didn’t translate their documents, and she attached a certificate of translation accuracy with both. Is this enough or do the translations need to be done by someone else than her?

 

Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read this! Any help/insight much appreciated!

[gstrength 20]

• fil the form online (pdf fillable) print it, sign it, scan it and upload it
• Photos:  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/photos.html#immigrant Check out this link, photos are very easy to do. What I did, I took a picture with my Iphone(following all the requirements) and then use the tool to crop it and uploaded it, I would suggest to take passport style photos and keep them with you (I don't know if she have to take them to the Medical)in our case, everything was digital,, no printed photos.
• I was only asked about the transcript from the year that was indicated on the I-864, but I had the other transcripts ready, also, before the beneficiary was approved, I was asked to upload w-2's from the most recent year and check stubbs from the current year
• It is correct, do not need a translation if they are in english or the language of the country

This is my (recent) experience with NVC.

I wish you well

 

[Chancy 6,241]

13 hours ago, Kal22 said:

I started filing my I-864 online (I’m the petitioner) but apparently it’s better to print it, manually fill it, and then scan it, especially because people have gotten an RFE because of a digital signature?

 

You may type in your answers on the I-864 PDF document, except for the sponsor's signature and sign date.  Print the filled-out I-864, then hand-sign and date.  Scan into a PDF file under 2MB in size, then upload.

 

Re: tax return transcripts -- as you know, only the one from the latest tax year is mandatory for upload.  Those from earlier years are optional, so you will not get an RFE from NVC for not uploading them.  Note that though the earlier transcripts may be optional for upload, it is still mandatory that you list the total income figures from your tax returns on the I-864 form itself.

 

Also, if you are a W2 employee, tax returns are evidence of past income, not current income.  So you should upload evidence of your current income, like a recent pay stub or an employment letter listing your annual salary.

 

Re: passport-style photo -- upload the JPEG file (single photo only), not a PDF document with 2 photos.

 

[pushbrk 12,877]

You mention conflicting information online.  Imagine that.  Just use the official instructions and you will not find conflicts.

[Kal22 0]

Thank you everyone who took the time to write about their experience with NVC! It helps a ton!

[Kal22 0]

On 12/5/2023 at 5:40 PM, pushbrk said:

You mention conflicting information online.  Imagine that.  Just use the official instructions and you will not find conflicts.

 I read pretty much all the official instructions I could find and based what I was doing on them, unfortunately they can be very unclear at times, and even incomplete (no instructions at all on what pictures are required on CEAC for example). This forum helped me a lot in making everything more clear!