help, i'm a newbie

[americangrl 0]

Hi everyone! This site is a lifesaver!

My fiance is an Albanian citizen who is currently living in Italy (where we met). My Italian visa expired, so I am now back in the US and want to bring him here. I have just begun the whole visa process and am completely overwhelmed... I'm starting to understand some of the basics, but I have a few questions... thanks so much in advance to anyone who reads through them all!

I'm not too worried about the first step, we qualify, we've been together in person on several occasions for a total of six months over the past year and we have all the documents needed to file. I am, however, confused as to what consulate he will be dealing with? He has a residency permit for Italy and has lived there for 7 years, but he is an Albanian citizen and has an Albanian passport... will all of his paperwork be going through Albania?

Assuming he does have to go through Albania, will he need to travel there for the medical exam? Or can he have one done in Italy... I'm trying to reduce the number of times he needs to fly to Tirana for paperwork, interviews, etc.

I'm also very concerned about the interview because that seems to be the only thing I can't control by "filling in the blanks". Is it an issue if I can't make it there for the interview? And will the interview be entirely in english? He speaks it, but is far more comfortable speaking Albanian, Italian or Greek... I'd rather him speak a language he is more comfortable with since he will already be nervous.

I am capable of supporting him once he gets here, but we both would prefer that he starts working as soon as possible. Does anyone have any helpful advice/horror stories about finding a job? His english will be less than par for the first few months which is my main concern about finding him work. Any thoughts?

Sorry these are kind of all over the place... but any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[gag54611 1]

On the I-129F, you can state which consulate he will go through. According to this web page, he will have to go to Naples for his interview. He does not need to go back to Tirana since he is a legal resident in Italy.

The medical can be done in Italy.

I'm not familiar with the languages that will be supported at the interview. English certainly, Italian possibly. You are not required to be there.

Regarding work, he will need an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) from USCIS before he can work. You request this on form I-765 at the asme time as you file to adjust his status (AOS) to permanent resident on form I-485. You file for AOS and EAD as soon after you are married as possible. While AOS will take several months or more, EAD is typically granted in about 3 months. So, after he arrives, you have to go on the assumption that he cannot work for the time between arrival and marriage plus 3 months to get the EAD plus the time it takes to find a job.

Best of luck,

G

Edited April 4, 2006 by gag54611

[Mand 1]

Here's the VJ link to the Italian Embassy and to the Albanian Embassy.

I'd ring/e-mail the Italian Embassy to get a correct answer on this one. It is possible that because he is a recognised Italian resident, that he could go through the Italian Embassy, but I would call them to see if that is possible.

[aussiewench 9]

Your fiance can go through the country of residence. If he has residency in Italy then he can go through there. You would list Italy on the I-129F as the consulate your fiance would be going through. Have you also had a look at the DCF process. You can find information on it in the Guides section at the top of the page. There are various circumstances on who can file this way, depending on the country.

As for the language spoken at interview. To my knowledge this can be conducted in either English or the language of the country that one is going through. Some consulates require the partner to be present, some do not....many wont even allow it.

All the best to you and welcome aboard the visa journey.

Lorelle

[americangrl 0]

thank you all for those responses! I'm reading other threads at the same time and trying to absorb it all...

what is the best way to contact the higher-ups for an answer to the albanian v. italian question? do emails or phone calls get answered? the consulates abroad or an office here?

[TracyTN 237]

If you'll click on 'embassy info' at the top of this page, you can find each consulate by country name. Their email addresses are on the info page.

[Fuzzness 2]

I agree, probably Naples. good luck!

[aussiewench 9]

thank you all for those responses! I'm reading other threads at the same time and trying to absorb it all...

what is the best way to contact the higher-ups for an answer to the albanian v. italian question? do emails or phone calls get answered? the consulates abroad or an office here?

If you look on the I-129F it say's 'country of residence' .......not country of birth or citizenship.

[Jenn! 918]

Welcome to VJ. Your post caught my eye because I too met my husband while living in Italy. He is Moroccan.

We were not able to go through the consulate in Italy though because my husband's permesso di soggiorno was expiring, and so we had to go through the Moroccan consulate.

In bocca al lupo!

[americangrl 0]

grazie!

One more question for you all regarding TRANSLATIONS...

I noticed people asking where to have documents translated but I don't understand what you're having translated... which documents need to be translated to english? do birth certificates, passports, residency permits, etc really need a translation?

[meauxna 15]

thank you all for those responses! I'm reading other threads at the same time and trying to absorb it all...

what is the best way to contact the higher-ups for an answer to the albanian v. italian question? do emails or phone calls get answered? the consulates abroad or an office here?

There is no question about the residency; if he has lived in Italy for 7 years he must have some kind of longterm residency permit. If he has not been living legally in Italy, or does not have legal status now, post back. Otherwise, 3rd country cases are no more difficult than any other. We filed in Greece, where we were living, and we're US + UK.

EDIT to clarify: if he is legally resident in Italy, he may use Naples for his US Consulate/visa application.

Shame you didn't marry and file while you were resident in Italy--DCF is a great option.

I noticed people asking where to have documents translated but I don't understand what you're having translated... which documents need to be translated to english? do birth certificates, passports, residency permits, etc really need a translation?

You will be dealing with 2 diferent US agencies: USCIS handles the I-129f petition and Dept of State handles the visa application/Consulate.

Anything that goes to USCIS must be in English or have an English translation.

Anything that goes to DoS/Consulate must be in English, the local language or have an English language translation. I suspect that any Albanian docs you have must be translated to English. They will certainly be of more use to you in English, once he gets to the US. It's generally easier to get translations done overseas vs in the US.

Edited April 4, 2006 by meauxna

[nikh 0]

hey! my fiance is an albanian citizen too but he resides in greece so we are going through the us embassy in athens. even tho hes a citizen of albania, he needs to go through the country where he resides. i had that question too when we started our process and thats what they had told us. if you have any questions about what he needs to gather and stuff, let me know! he will need to get police certificates from albania as well if he still lived there when he was 16. and there are 3 of them that he needs to get. but that is not needed till the interview . anyways, let me know if you have any questions.

[Kajikit 65]

Don't panic about the application... if your fiance is a legal resident in Italy they won't make him go back to Albania for the interview etc... he can do it right there in Italy.

As for working in the US I'm afraid that your husband will have at least a few months to improve his english before he's legally allowed to work - after you're married he'll have to apply for an EAD work permit and it takes about 90 days to get it approved. Best advice is apply for the permit asap and then enroll your husband in ESL classes to give him something to do for those three months!

And good luck with your visa...