DoodBoy

DS-260 i can fill that on behalf of my wife correct? that's accepted? 

About medical checkup & what's needed..they have some kind of list ahead? and what accredited hospitals accepted?

About Ds-260. I can start filling n leave it half now & half later, leave some in middle? correct

about the 1year timeframe to get visa by, when does that clock of 1 year begin? like there is a 1 year time by which one has to get everything done or one has to restart process from 0. Because some delay will be at NVC/Consulate end, i imagine, don't wanna be caught up in that mess.

speaking of saving time, what more can my wife do meanwhile?

like medical checkup? covid vaccine etc?  i want things to be done n not waste more time. 

hi folks, CR1 for pakistan (applying for wife)  petition approved.. looking to file in I-864 which requires financial documents (my case is vanilla, i dont need any sponser blessed career) on  website  it says 

great response carmel, nice comprehensive material gathering.  Some good pointers i noted  thanks

43 minutes ago, arken said:

For pakistan, people who have completed NVC steps 1 year ago are getting interviews now, so expect that way for now.

 

Civil n financial documents are required for NVC completion but you need to gather evidences of continuous marital relationship for the interview. In other words, COs may ask for other evidences of bonafide relationship as well apart from what was submitted with i130. So i suggest you keep gathering bonafide marriage evidences from the time i130 was filed. You can even upload those documents to NVC portal so COs can see them beforehand and have your spouse bring them to the interview.

thanks, Wow so it is true, 1 more year more that's going to disappoint in-laws. I'll just get housing in order meanwhile.  Well it's was wedding pics & money transfer receipts and sample/random whatsapp communication used as evidence during I130. I can't think of any other bonafide evidence, if you can suggest any... it'd be good to volunteer some info.. I mean we can bring our phones to interview show out chat logs from day 1 to now.. its on-going 

Ahh the interview, can't i be in same room during interview? is that a thing..? she's never been put under pressure and is very naiive. Any particular set of Q's to look out for or its just random based on case by base basis.. How long is interview usually? I guess i'll search forum for more depth of interviews... n assist her in preperation. 

SO now, just pay the fees and file DS-260 for her? i can pay and fill the form on her behalf right?

8 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Could be a few month, could be a few years.   Depends on the consulate and her nationality.  Pakistan has been know to take years.

ahh so you are saying NVC independently can take this long? i was thinking petition approval was the hardest hurdle to overcome n waiting period of approval (i see ppl submit binders of evidence n what not for bonafide marriage evidence n get RFE after RFE) Am i wrong to think that?  now that i have a NVC case, i feel the hardest annoying part is done. Its now just matter of bringing civil/financial documents n clearing the INTERVIEW N What is the form where you submit your social media stuff?

Correct me if my assumptions are wrong.  

oops, country is Pakistan.  

to pay the fees, i can pay on behalf of my spouse right? she doesnt have bank account N NVC only takes bank payments (cc not allowed) 

i can fill out Ds-260 on behalf of wife?  

i received email + wife is cc'd in email. It addresses wife. I'm thinking she is suppose to lead? but is it ok if i spouse do it on her behalf? 

SO my next step is pay the fees ASAP n wait for next steps

hi guys, 

im happy to report that some progress has been made on my case CR1 visa. i applied 10 month ago for my wife (i-130 online).

I have received email from NVC with their case # so now i have to read through instructions and do the necessary. Is the hard part finished? i mean the part where they have to take your evidence for bonafide marriage etc.. they approved that right?  because it was so much work putting evidence together man, 1 yrs of interaction n pictures n narrations etc.. all that jazz .. is that part CLEARED? because that would be a relief. 

About interviewing, how soon is it after i do the sbumission of financial /civil documents. Am i allowed to be next to her during interview? my wife doesnt spk english & is super naiive. I need to hold her hand for things.. she is so innocent, even scared of cats haha.. 

Any idea of timeline moving forward once NVC has allotted case #? 

i am so excited to finally see some progress in my case that i wanna jump with joy, but with precaution i guess.. there is still like 10 more steps! but plz validate my thinking that hard part is over, its just admin work now...  thank you all for all the support 

SOrry late to the party but when do you get AP? I applied for my Wife CR1 visa ONLINE in dec 2020. They have only 1 thing in status reading.

Case Is Being Actively Reviewed By USCIS

As of December XX, 2020, we are actively reviewing your Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Receipt Number XXXXXXX. Our records show nothing is outstanding at this time. We will let you know if we need anything from you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

am i also in AP? or AP comes next.. is this normal? am i behind? should i contact someone? please help. Wife's family is getting aggrevated & have insecurities despite my assurances in trusting the process :x

please advise, thanks.

ahh everyones family & friends here. Advice is advice. We have to use our judgement after receiving advice. I'm grateful to all volunteeringly assisting us in uniting our loved ones. Some advice sounds harsh? but its useful, we have blindspots. We only see things from our angle, its wise to seek honest feedback from those who've seen hundreds/thousands of cases. 

Yes quality of evidence matters. But circumstances (should) also matter. I mean like in my case i had to return to work (US) within days of marriage. I had no choice, then best thing i had is communication. The whatsapp msgs matter, because that is my only way of communication with her. What else could i have done to prove bona-fide @ managing a distance relationship, while world is locked in pandemic.. 

I also did some creative way to  connect dots for officers.

ie: i sent several money transfers to wife for her maintenance over the months via personal bank account. I provided payment history from money transfer site showing payments. I took screenshot of my bank statement of 2 random months and circled the amount/bank account/ and matching it to receipt of money transfer.  Note some of my whatsapp msgs contained money transfer #'s & amount which i picked, they can cross check those too. Further more i wrote, each every money receipt/bank statement can be supplied upon request.  Also took screenshots of my board  pass/ and entry/exit on one page. Letter of approval from HR for my limited vacation time approval. Any evidence that can explain WHY you had such n such circumstance will help remove any doubts or suspicion. Lets be devils advocate & think from their angle as well.  Imagine if you were Officer reviewing your case. What red-flags would come to your mind? then look see how you can mitigate those risks w/ evidence.

for me & my wife i had over 8 months of whatsapp msgs. I copy/pasted  msgs in Microsoft Word file with small caption under each screenshot explaining context (since chat was in foreign language). random 3-4 msg per month. I tried to select ones with picture sharing, like if i was outside shoping n found something cool or we shared photo of food we made, or something showing, natural human conversation) .

NOTE on i130 (ONLINE APPLYING) they don't accept microsoft word for uploading documents & file has to be 6mb. More details on how to get around dilemma see my post

congrats VJ! i submitted i130 petition yesterday myself. After so much time preparing material documents. Hoping, i get the similar speedy approval of petition.

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON FORMATS ACCEPTED. on i130 online applying. (see screenshot below)

I had all my background + marriage photos + whatsapp msgs compiled in microsoft word. file was big and format not supported. So much effort was put into compiling it to realize format not supported? 

Luckily there are online sites which convert formats painlessly. 

I tried to convert doc to pdf and it worked! 41 mb file turned to 8 mb file using https://go4convert.com/   bumer! had to compress further  & used https://docupub.com/pdfcompress/ turned to 5mb file.

phew.. what a relief!   thought i share these good tools anyone may need

I just re-read the instructions for i130 filing(PDF) about photos. It comes with the caveat IF she is in US. quoted below  But online, they simply asked for photo.

-quote-

You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself and your spouse (if he or she is in the United States) taken within 30 days of filing this petition.

-unquote-

any advice on i30A  part 6 & 8?   

for picture  taking i advised wife to download this app design to take passport photo on googleplay its called ''passport photo''   i took the photo, it allows you to add border/frame like you have on a typical passport photo. 

About 2x2 size hmm when i send it to myself and open it. It looks bigger than 2x2 inches (is that normal?) like for us it appears big on computer, i double check is 51mm x 51mm as i resized online.

25 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Also a scan of the back of picture with her name handwritten.

hmm , do you know if is this what they are asking everyone to do for online applying? becuz i magined the glossy paper and name written in back was probably intended paper-filing for purpose incase they misplace photo, name would give em idea whose pic is it. 

Hi guys,

it seems i-130A (for spouse) has to be filed in PDF format and uploaded if one is applying online. 

in form i130A...

PART 6,  i am filling on behalf of spouse. based on below, it seems to be referring to ADDITIONAL preparer has to be put if its other than i130 filer (me) .   since i filed i130 myself n there is no additional preparer. I keep the part 6 totally BLANK, no signature nothing.    is this correct? keep part 6 blank. 

 PART 8 issue..

than comes PART 8A,B, still words it preparer... BUT  this time, because i am preparing on behalf of wife so this likely needs to be certified cuz the way its worded. SO i do have to fill in Part 8 correct? or leave it blank.   

if im completing part 8, then how do i sign it in INK? since this is pdf and i submitting this ONLINE do i explicitly print this page out, hand sign it with ink, re-scan it and upload this last page of i130a seperate?

thanks

ok i am in applying online phase and here they asking to submit wife photo hmm do i ask her to take 2x2 photo and send me digital version?  or this is NOT needed since my spouse is overseas? 

CR1 visa case. Guys about MEDICAL. If you spouse is missing some vaccination or something. Do they give you those vaccination shots upon finding ur missing some ON SPOT? or you have to get ur  ''medical house'' in order on your OWN before the exam ?

i have similar issue being from PK.. I spent less than a week together with wife & had to return to usa to join my work.  Went to visit for cousin marriage and found me girl in wedding spoke to alders n within week we got married. It's semi-arrange marriage culture in PK it is quire prevelant in traditional-middle class families but our hope rests on americans how well they are aware of these norms. Because American citizens usually go on vacation n within 10-15 days; find girl n with help of elders get the marriage going. It's so fastpace n about respect n commitment with elders being behind providing support. 

I hope they USCIS n NVC team are aware of these cultural norms of diff countries before judging based on american view of life where people date for yrs and then decide to commit.

9 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

In addition to what HRQX said, here are a few tips to save you time.  I am just doing the I-130 online starting today, and went through it.

 

1.  Sign up right away.  There is no pressure to submit anything.

2.  After choosing I-130, you can walk through it without filling it out, to see what is there.  It is a bit different than the paper form.  If you like, you can fill out the easy stuff and leave others blank until you get the info.  Everything is saved as you go.

3. When you are completing the form in detail, you will find some areas that are a bit vague, or don't seem to fit your situation.  Do the best you can and at each area you have doubts about, make a note of the section, page and question.  Why?  At the end, there is a section where you can add more info for any section / question.

 

For instance, there is a question that asks the from / to dates of your current residence.  On the paper PDF form, it defaults to Present for the To date.  On the online form, you have to put in a date or leave it blank.  In the additional info, I will put in that it is the Present date.

 

O interesting. So i can join online. Navigate as much i like add/delete/edit bonafide marriage evidence documents & everything before the FINAL submission?  this is good info because its easier, like if i have everything do it all once, i feel like i may miss something and procastinate. Doing it in small bits makes it more easier. 

i wonder if we can add more documents AFTER final submission to avoid any RFE's & anyone experience how fast is their response after RFE document submission.

Thx guys.

I am looking to apply for CR1 ONLINE for my wife overseas.  Some basic Q's

1) do i file the i130 & i130A form (pdf version)  and upload the PDF when i join uscis site.  Or once i join online they will have a web-page fill-in option?  

2) Do i have to submit all documentation at time of step1(submit petitition) along with i130 (all documenting meaning, bona fide marriage proofs, affidavits) or this comes to more document evidence NVC processing stage?  when are the RFEs usually issued? during stage 1? or NVC processing?   

3) If i want to have a my story and pictures/screenshots of whatsapp msgs.. posted do i need to include them all in 1 word doc or multi- msword .doc files are ok too?  I am thinking of scanning all items giving them each an item # (includes receipts, boarding pass, some invoices all in one page ) right after my story page.

4) do i file  Affidavit of Support (Form I-864 or I-864EZ)  now (at step 1 along with i130) or i will be later asked to do so later? 

5) Wife's I130A (address portion) does have to be accurate like exact as if Amazon package will be delivered. like my guess interview call package will be mailed? because sometimes address in my native country are written differently so there may be chance of mis-handling of mail by courier i fear. Is the street address a big issue? do they have to be super accurate?

thanks. 

2 hours ago, DoodBoy said:

hm me petititioner is in USA, so do i have to supply the 2 passport size photos?

BUT NOT for wife? is this correct?  

 

note i will be applying ONLINE

in i130 form instructions page 6 

(3) You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself and your spouse (if he or she is in the United States) taken within 30 days of filing this petition. The photos must have a white to off-white background, be printed on thin paper with a glossy finish, and be unmounted and unretouched.

If i am applying ONLINE, i'll be uploading photographs. How do i submit 2 identitcal photos with glossy finish ?  i guess that instruction was aiming for paper based submission.

What do they mean by unmounted? 

ok thanks. so i have to attach her i130a as attachment from the online pdf's. on i130a Part 5 says interpreter Do i put myself as interpreter too or Part 6 preparer (me) ALONE is sufficent? 

btw, no documents for i130A right? on form it just wants name/address/workhistory/parents data but no specific document request.

hm me petititioner is in USA, so do i have to supply the 2 passport size photos?

BUT NOT for wife? is this correct?  

note i will be applying ONLINE

When filling i130A do i need wife's documents?  if so what are the document requirment for i130A 

I will be filing i130 for myself ONLINE this week & gathering documentation first.

Will i130A pop-up at end of me filing my i130?

thx