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Everything posted by Jason and May
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CR1 is DQ, current wait time for interview in Manila?
Jason and May replied to EdwardSnowden's topic in Philippines
I have no paid leave left at work, but I haven’t seen my wife in many months, and we have no idea how ridiculously long the wait for her interview could be, so I’m taking unpaid leave and going to see her next month. I’ll plan again for May, when I have 3 weeks of paid leave accrued again if she’s still not interviewed by then. I suspect since we weren’t DQ’d until 08/24, we may not be included if any auto-expedite does happen in November. I hope you all are included and you can finally be with your spouses. The state of uncertainty in so many areas from geopolitics to just general PI governmental dysfunction makes the waiting game even more frustrating. 🤙🏾 -
My wife's process is through USEM in the Philippines; however, she is required to bring an original document of every item submitted through CEAC. "Original" can mean a copy issued by a certifying body, for example, with a wet signature and watermark, or it can mean the original copy of the tax return transcript I downloaded from the U.S. IRS website and uploaded to CEAC. The point is, I think, every single document she or I uploaded to CEAC must go with her to the interview for the I.O. to inspect. I believe on the DoS website there's a snippet that mentions something along the lines of, "If the interviewing officer cannot physically inspect the document, then they cannot verify it's authenticity." They are required to physically inspect every document submitted in CEAC before they can approve the issuance of a visa. Best practice, to my knowledge, is to send your beneficiary an original of every document you submitted in the I-130 packet and/or uploaded to CEAC. This is in addition to any regional items required by your beneficiary's embassy or consulate.
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I will not be filing AOS
Jason and May replied to SolRebel's topic in Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits
Right on. You’re late to the show, though. Powerpuff straightened me out. I appreciate your effort, though. 🤙🏾 -
I will not be filing AOS
Jason and May replied to SolRebel's topic in Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits
Oh, gosh! I guess that's the title of the post isn't it? I misunderstood; I'm such a dork sometimes. I thought OP was talking about adjustment of status. 😵 -
I will not be filing AOS
Jason and May replied to SolRebel's topic in Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits
You don't have to get him an apartment, but I do believe even if you file for divorce and that judgment is eventually issued, you do still have the issue of the Affidavit of Support you signed. Depending on your state, the judge presiding over the divorce proceedings may enforce that contract for the beneficiary through a finding of spousal support. If it is not addressed in divorce court, it may be addressed in federal court through breach of contract. You're in a potentially delicate situation if he's trying to take advantage of you and willing to make claims, such as that of violence. There are a number of very experienced folks here on VJ, but your best potential move is to find an experienced attorney, preferably an attorney experienced in divorce proceedings who has in their professional network an experienced immigration attorney. (Vett your attorneys' claims of experience.) Best of luck with this. -
So confused on what to do now...
Jason and May replied to HamWelder's topic in What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration
Exactly. I foresee them being separated at either the port of departure or port of entry and being interviewed separately, followed by the sad reality of his wife being detained and put on a flight back to her home country. That's a really bad choice to make, but the choice is indeed theirs. I wouldn't want to be separated from my wife either, especially if conditions are as he indicates. Tough situation. -
Using US electronic equipment in the Philippines
Jason and May replied to DinaBill's topic in Philippines
I have usually just closed my eyes and plugged things in. I've been lucky, I guess. (I'm not suggesting you do this. Some other pretty intelligent folks have chimed in; you're much safer following their advice.) -
Can a CR-1 file for a K1 Visa?
Jason and May replied to PatrickMcC's topic in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures
In terms of filing the I-129F for the K3 process, it hurts nothing. It's just time and a little bit of money (to send an original packet to the beneficiary). In our experience, as many others experience, USCIS approved our I-130 petition before the I-129F, which then nullified the K3 petition. It took USICS 323 days to approve our I-130 petition. Many folks speculate USCIS purposefully lets K3 petitions sit until the CR-1 is adjudicated. Speculation. I don't know. Some USCIS service centers are faster than others, though, and some people get lucky. It certainly doesn't hurt to try. With regard to your AoS information as a co-sponsor: When the I-130 or K3 petition is adjudicated and it moves to the NVC stage, your daughter will need to upload all the Affidavit of Support information into NVC's consular electronic application center (CEAC). Your son-in-law will also have the login information, as he is the beneficiary. Inasmuch, he will be required to upload documents to CEAC, as well. Anyone who has access to that CEAC portal can view any of the documents uploaded to the system. Additionally, if he is granted an interview, he will be required to provide original documents that were uploaded into CEAC to the IO interviewing him. I suppose you could do the sealed envelope thing another member mentioned, which is a good idea if you're concerned, but, again, if he has access to CEAC--and he should--then he will be able to view any of those documents at will. I don't know whether there is truly any way to guarantee he won't have access to that information. -
Ahhh! Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you are the beneficiary and unfamiliar with United States taxes. A federal income tax return is a multipage document filed with the IRS that is used to determine an individual’s tax liability; this means how much a person might owe the federal government in taxes from their income or whether they are entitled to a refund from the government on taxes paid throughout the year. The forms might include a 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ. In addition, there are documents called schedules, which are tax forms some people need to prepare for certain income situations, like self-employment income or tax deductions; these would be things like income from interest on retirement accounts, sales of property, or maybe charitable contributions. The tax return transcript is a document tax filers can request from the IRS that includes the information submitted on the tax return. So, a federal tax return might be 5 to 15 pages in length, comprised of a Form 1040 and various schedules; this is prepared by the taxpayer and sent to the federal IRS. The tax return transcript is a generally 2-page document the tax filer can get from the IRS, which details all of the information in their federal tax return. The tax return transcript essentially condenses all of the information in the federal tax return from, say, 5 to 15 pages, down to 2 pages. It's less paper and easier to read. I hope this explains it a little bit better. Sometimes I don't explain things very well...I get very wordy.
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No, I don't think I stated one should send their W2s, 1099s, and tax return transcript but not their full federal return. Our delay was caused by the absence of a full federal tax return. I will restate it here, one more time, and try to be concise: If you are married, filed MFJ, and you are relying only on your income for AoS qualification, NVC requires the following: 1) Full federal tax return 2) All your W2s 3) All your 1099s I do not know whether or how this affects the petitioner's required documents in the event of joint sponsorship.
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I originally submitted only the tax return transcript. The I-864 rules state to submit one or the other: either a tax return transcript, or full federal return, all W2s, and all 1099s. Unless you are married, filing MFJ, and relying solely on your income to qualify for AoS...which we are. If you are married, filed MFJ, and are relying solely on your income to qualify for AoS, you should submit your entire federal return, all W2s, and all 1099s. The tax return transcript in this case is insufficient as a standalone document, and, overall, superfluous. Caveat: I know nothing about joint sponsorship or how that affects required AoS documentation for the petitioner, if at all.
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They didn't meet the person who robbed her; they met two men who had sent her photographs of some items that were taken from her, notably some of her documents. Some of the items taken from her included her barangay ID, passport, and some other documents with personally identifiable information. The documents were what they said they had. They did bring them, and she did get them back. Her jewelry, phone, money, IDs, and bank and credit cards, etc., were not among the items returned. We didn't request the expedite based on the fact she was robbed, per se, but that she was robbed, these men started messaging her after the fact, and the police suspect they are part of a gang responsible for kidnapping and human trafficking in the area...though, that as of now remains speculation. She lives alone. And she is very scared. While that might not be grounds for an expedite in some people's or official's perspectives, neither, then, would some of the expedites I've read about that have been approved. It's very much just complaining to vent, e.g. if an expedite is approved because a petitioner is on active duty and worried about missing pieces of mail relevant to the visa process when out in the field for weeks at a time training, then it seems like my wife's situation might have merited an expedite. Maybe her situation doesn't merit an expedite, and that's okay. But it felt like a bit of a jab or a letdown, comparatively. That was more my point; though, probably poorly explained.
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Just FYI for anyone else considering requesting an expedite: My wife was robbed July 3rd in Manila. They took everything she had. The next day, a man started messaging her (because they have all her contact information), stating his father had found several of her belongings and to come out and meet him to get them back. The police told her they suspected this was the budol budol gang, and a police officer went with her to meet this man. The short version: No one was arrested. There is no way to prove they were part of this gang. Maybe they really were good samaritans. But... My wife is still getting messages to come out and meet this person. Alone. And she's terrified they will come to her apartment. After NVC DQ'd her, we sent a request for an expedited interview, and we sent the police blotters, police reports, and messages, all translated into English. USEM still denied her expedite. Actually, they didn't deny it. They said they couldn't accommodate it at the present time. So, I'm not saying don't request an expedite, because the worst they can do, I suppose, is say no, but based on other expedite requests I've read about that were granted, it's sure disappointing...maddening, actually...that my wife has to wait however long it takes for her interview, stressed out and scared. Good luck to all the others out there waiting on USEM. I hope your cases flow smoothly. Jason
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What they mean by "original" is what for us amounts to a certified true copy. For example, I have the "original" copy of my divorce decree from 2012, signed by my attorney, my ex-wife's attorney, and the judge. But what the consular officer requires--or the Department of State, anyway--is a copy from the clerk's office, with a seal or watermark, and a wet signature (original signature) from the county clerk, certifying the divorce decree is a true original from the clerk of court's office. This is because anyone can type up a convincing fake and sign all over the place and claim it's an original. Only the seal or watermark and wet signature from the clerk certifies it as a true original. It's a little leg work and can be a bit costly.... One of the VJ members had to fly over to another state to get his.... But that's what they are looking for when they say original copy. I hope this little bit helps you out. Good luck with this! It can be frustrating and feel like a kick in the teeth when you are hoping for the best outcome from the interview.
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For us, the documents I submitted for AoS were: 1) The signed form I-864 2) My federal tax return transcript 3) All my 1099s (I labeled each upload as #1 of 2 and #2 of 2) 4) All my W2s (I only had one and labeled it as #1 of 1) 5) My entire federal income tax return 6) A letter from my employer as proof of current employment with salary noted and with a wet signature from my HR director 7) 6 months of my most recent bank statements 8. 6 months of my most recent paystubs 9) Affidavit of self-employment 10) My EIN letter from my state Department of Revenue (probably unnecessary but in case there are questions about my solo private practice) 11) My LLC registration and my annual renewal from my state's Department of Financial Institutions (again, probably unnecessary but in case there are any questions about whether my private practice income is legitimate even though it's noted in my tax return transcript and my income tax schedules) I submitted my entire federal return, not just my self-employment schedules, hoping to avoid accidentally missing anything they would ask for later on. I sent every original document to my wife to take with her to her interview. I have a subscription to Adobe, and I used that to compress the larger PDF files (like the 6 months of bank statements, etc), because they were over the 4 MB limit. There are some good free online compression tools out there, but I wouldn't want my financial information compressed on a free website.... I hope this helps! Jason
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This is probably common knowledge to so many folks who have petitioned, but.... In the event you are about to make the mistake I did, here you go: I filed MFJ for 2022. When we hit the NVC stage, we were prepared, man. Ready to rock CEAC. I uploaded my tax return transcript and other required documents. We uploaded my wife's civil docs. 10 days later, we get a message that says to please upload my W2(s) and any 1099s. Okay. We uploaded that. 10 days later we get another message to please upload my tax schedules. I started getting irritated. If you provide your tax return transcript, you are not required to provide your tax returns or schedules. Right? Sort of. (I can see CCat, Mike E, etc., laughing about right now.) Because I'm so busy during the week, I generally don't have time to make personal phone calls during the day. So, today, I was going to pop an inquiry off to NVC to ask some questions about why they keep asking for more documents, which is delaying the process for us. As I was looking up the exact USCIS language to quote, I realized.... Oops. My mistake. AoS instructions state: "If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income." ....Which is our exact situation. Read. Everything. Carefully. And then maybe read it again. I read those I864 instructions a dozen times, but I glazed right over that last part. So far, due to my error, we will have wasted at least a month's time in this process. At least it's not COVID timeframes each time we get bumped back to the beginning of the queue, but it's frustrating nonetheless. I hope this helps someone else avoid this mistake. :)
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Hi all, Today, NVC updated the case status. When I logged into CEAC, I see they accepted the AoS documents and civil documents, but there was a message to upload all W-2, 1099s, and tax schedules for the petitioner (me). Previously, on 08/03, when they updated case status, they asked for W-2s and 1099s, which we uploaded. They already have my tax transcript from the AoS documentation. So, on one hand, I'm growing a little irritated. They have my 2022 tax return transcript. They now have all W-2s (there is only one). And all 1099s (there are only 2). We will upload my entire tax return tomorrow so they stop asking for tax documents, delaying my wife's case by 2 weeks at at time, and so I don't miss any schedules. If the CEAC Home Screen shows AoS and civil docs have been accepted, does this mean they are passing along to the consulate and just want us to upload the tax schedules before her interview? Or does this mean we need to upload the tax schedules and then wait another 2 or 3 weeks for NVC to review?
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It was updated for July. If you're asking when in August it will be released, though, I don't know. I'm not sure what day of the month it's published on the DoS site.
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Hey all, Just an update on our NVC process so far. We submitted all documents by July 23. Today, August 3, NVC responded. AOS was accepted. Civil docs: We were pretty concerned about the PCCs with my wife’s Jordanian issue, but as Mike E. suggested, we uploaded the Jordanian Certificate of No Criminal Conviction since the Dept. of State noted PCCs are unavailable from Jordan. And NVC did accept that. Thanks, Mike! ☺️🤙🏾 They also accepted our explanation of my wife’s Qatari PCC—scanned evidence that we submitted the application to Qatar and we are waiting to receive it. They just cautioned to upload it when we receive it and bring original to interview. Ironically, the PCC they rejected was my wife’s Philippines PCC, because she uploaded her NBI clearance, not the official PCC. So, totally on us. Additionally, they want us to upload into her civil docs section my 2022 W2, 1099s, and divorce decree. I kind of wish they would have a tab for those, but in case someone sees this and it helps them…just something to be aware of I suppose. You can upload them under “additional docs.” So, overall, it has thus far been kind of painless and they moved quick. Also, they read what is submitted. When they put the note to please upload a valid marriage termination document, they used my ex-wife’s first name, e.g., “Please upload a valid marriage termination document indicating marriage termination between Jason and [my ex-wife’s name].” Not that I didn’t expect them to read documentation, but it was a little surprising to see them call her by name. Pretty thorough. 🤙🏾
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I-864 Scanning questions.
Jason and May replied to Anthony2872's topic in National Visa Center (Dept of State)
This is exactly what I did. I happen to have the paid version, and compressed it through Adobe. It's not unreadable. It's not necessarily crisp and pretty, but not blurry or unreadable. NVC hasn't gotten to our file yet, so I don't know what the outcome will be. 🤷🏾♂️🤞🏾 -
$400 to review i130 form and evidence docs- fair?
Jason and May replied to heynow's topic in Philippines
I suppose anyone can charge whatever they want for reviewing documents. $50, $1,500. At least they're calling themselves a visa coach and not misrepresenting as an attorney. ☺️ You see organizations warn of excessive delays, denials, and so on for errors in paperwork. While it's true if you don't fill out a form correctly or submit enough credible and reliable (or required) evidence, then it certainly could result in a delay or refusal. This is partially why USCIS has pretty detailed and lengthy instructions for every document. I like Dashinka's answer: Peace of mind for some folks is a big deal. As for fairness of fee, short of looking at market trends, it's really anyone's guess or opinion. And even if there were market trends to look at it, it still comes down to: they can charge whatever they want. At the end of the day, as many others, we have so far done this ourselves. As another person mentioned, the forms are kind of the easier part. And if you have any questions and you ask, you will get answers from knowledgeable and experienced VJ members. No one here has ever let me down when I've had a question. Good luck with whatever you choose. 🤙🏾