Electronic Processing

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I've been reading through the instructions and the Wiki for electronic processing, and it looks intriguing. I'm right at the stage where I can do it, as I haven't been issued the DS-3032 via email yet.

Anyone have any experiences with doing it this way? Timelines and tips etc.?

[Malrothien 6]

Electronic processing is very, very new. There are only a couple of Canadians on the forums that have done it. SDW is one of them.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Electronic processing is very, very new. There are only a couple of Canadians on the forums that have done it. SDW is one of them.

Well, I think I'll be one of them too! I'll keep folks updated as to how it goes.

How's that old saying go..."Fortune favours the bold"?

Here's hoping...

[trailmix 77]

It's actually "Fortune favours the bold, except where U.S. immigration is concerned"

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted. It would be great if there was some content to put in the Wiki from a Canadian perspective!

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

It's actually "Fortune favours the bold, except where U.S. immigration is concerned"

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted. It would be great if there was some content to put in the Wiki from a Canadian perspective!

Yeah, I'm just downloading a trial version of Acrobat right now (I know there are workarounds to get things PDF'ed, but it's more convenient this way) and will send out my opt-in email shortly.

When / if everything goes through and I'm out of the NVC stage, I'd be happy to do an update on the Wiki.

[redmen99 1]

I am in the process of electronic filing right now.

I got the emails from NVC and sent the optin email and DS-3032 on October 6 and then emailed over the AOS package on October 9th. I still haven't heard anything from the NVC. The AVR says they received my AOS fee bill on October 6 and they will send further instructions shortly....

So at this point, electronic filing doesn't seem any faster at all then paper filing....

I'll keep everyone updated.

[Darnell 8,478]

Ya - there are speedbumps for opting in.... It's painful for waiting.... and the NVC Tele-Operators seem to be braindead.

As far as 'Using Adobe' - i've listed 3 other software products in the Wiki that get the job done.

Let me know if you need assistance on the technical side.

[Darnell 8,478]

Remember - forms with signature have to be signed DS-3032, DS-230, I-864.

The thing that seems problematic is concept of 'saving data'.

I take a different approach - with fillable pdf files (since saving of data is not guaranteed ) - and that's to

PRINT TO YET ANOTHER PDF FILE, instead of printing to paper. Ya need a pdf print driver for this - obviously I'm a fan of CutePDF.

So fill it out on the 'puter (I use Foxit, not Adobe ), print to yet another pdf file with CutePDF. The new PDF file created in CutePDF is NOT fillable anymore.

Then email the new pdf file (the one containing the data) off to yer spouse - have her PRINT IT, SIGN IT, and then rescan it at high res, email back to you. YOU then convert it to pdf (if needed ) and then prep it for email bundling to NVC.

NVC Electronic Processing iis available for China, that's my main reason for getting involved.. There was a China Member that READ my stuff, (posted on a China Portal elsewhere ) but decided not to use it - and got into a Fillout / Print to Paper / RESCAN / Email to Spouse cycle - which caused a nasty resolution loss - which was then further degraded by her printing it out, signing, then re-scanning. By the time he had something totally ready, it was almost unreadable because of the multiple paper-scans . Not Pretty.

Another China Member had all the right scanning software from HP, which included a pdf scan output - he had no resolution loss, files were pristine.

I guess my point is that 'getting it into PDF format' is a PITA, but with the 3 software packages I list on my wiki page, it's all do-able.

Good Luck !

Edited October 20, 2009 by Darnell

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I'll just add to that that you can download the full version of Adobe Acrobat 9 for free, direct from Adobe's website. It's a 30-day trial version, but provided you have all of your documents handy beforehand, you should be through with needing to scan anything long before the trial runs out.

On my DS-3032 and DS-230 I printed out the pages that required a signature, signed them, then scanned them back in to Adobe as a separate file, then (for the DS-230) extracted the original page two, and inserted the signed one. There's a slight difference in quality, but everything is perfectly legible etc.

So I'm now on day two of waiting for a response to my DS-3032.

A question for you Darnell: should ALL the files be sent by me (the beneficiary), or should my wife (the petitioner) send her I-864, tax forms etc. from her own email address? It makes more sense to me to have ALL of the documents in one batch, but that might be frowned upon by the NVC, since they'd all be originating from the same email address.

[Rustbelt 0]

Just as an FYI (although this could have changed): when we emailed our scanned I864 (with scanned signature) we got an RFE asking for the original signature. So we mailed everything in as original paper copies as requested, even though the instructions specifically say somewhere or other that this will delay your application. Go figure. But that was back in May so maybe we just got someone who didn't understand the whole electronic processing thing . . .

On PDF stuff - I've used CutePDF to "print" to PDF from Word and other applications, but the free version won't shuffle pages around for you (or delete/add pages for scanned signatures and such). You can do that with the professional version which costs somewhere around $70 as I recall.

Edited October 20, 2009 by Steve Treible

[Darnell 8,478]

A question for you Darnell: should ALL the files be sent by me (the beneficiary), or should my wife (the petitioner) send her I-864, tax forms etc. from her own email address? It makes more sense to me to have ALL of the documents in one batch, but that might be frowned upon by the NVC, since they'd all be originating from the same email address.

in the OPTIN Email - it includes both of your email addresses in the body...

Supposedly (cross fingers and shame the devil ) - NVC will accept stuff from either - but send out 'what to do next' to the 'Designated Agent' listed in the DS-3032 .

So, ya, she can send in the I-864 stuff via her email address...

Be Good !

Steve - the Pro Version of Foxit does some amazing stuff too (30 bucks ) .

[redmen99 1]

I just checked my email. I FINALLY got a response back from "opting in":

Dear Sir/Madam:

Thank you for your interest in processing your case electronically with the National Visa Center (NVC).

Your case has been updated with the email address you have provided to us.

All further communication with NVC will now be done through this email address NVCMontreal@state.gov.

All documents and forms that we request and require from you should be scanned copies of the originals. The applicant must present all original forms and documents to the Consular officer at the visa interview. Failure to present the required originals at the visa interview will result in a denial or delay in obtaining a visa for the sponsored applicant.

Any questions regarding your petition should now be directed to NVCMontreal@state.gov.

The Affidavit of Support instructions were downloaded on 8 October 2009. Once you have gathered all of the information and completed the necessary form, please scan the documents and email them to us.

Regards,

NVC Document Review Team

National Visa Center

Serco Inc., Support Contractor

NVCMontreal@state.gov

I just said to my husband last night I'm expecting to hear something from them soon, and there is was today! The same thing happened with the AOS Fee Bill emails....

I also just checked the online payment page and my IV Fee bill is now available to be paid! I'm so happy! C'mon payday!!!

So it took them 13 days or 9 working days to get to my "optin" email and accept the DS-3032.

As far as scanning goes, I printed out the filled in forms, and had the hubby sign those and I scanned them in as pdf files. Just note, I believe that there is a limit of 20m when emailing documents to them. I had a hard time with the AOS package and had to send less info then I intended so that I could fit under that limit. (basically I sent 6 months of paystubs instead of the year and left out my work's offer letter)

Someone also asked if it mattered who e-mailed in the forms. I sent in the DS-3032 and I'm the petitioner, not the beneficiary. I sent that form in along with my optin email. They apparently accepted it, or the IV feel bill would not be have been issued. YAY!!!

Good luck to all who are e-filing! just remember, hurry up and wait, its the immigration way!

[redmen99 1]

Apparently the NVC is not all that careful with their information. I just got another email from the NVC, same one I got, but the names listed on the very bottom were not mine and my husbands. Fortunately, the person who sent the email only has their names, dates of birth and email addresses. And fortunately for them, I'm not a thief so I'll just be deleting this email after forwarding it back to the NVC to let them know they messed up....

[Darnell 8,478]

OK - I've totally reworked the wiki page - have a look ?

[redmen99 1]

Just wanted to send an update.

I still have not received an email to pay the IV Fee Bill. So I called the NVC yesterday to make sure it was ok to pay it since it has been there since Tuesday. The operator said I was clear to pay so I paid it last night. Checked my bank this morning, and they took the money out already. Ahhh, back to waiting.....