The Kyiv Beat......

[RobandTania 1]

I am engaged to a woman from ukraine and i have been living with her since Jan 5th 2007. We have been waiting for the visa interview which is sept 24th in Kiev. Now i am self employed and have assets, however i am still using my father as a co-signer just in case the interviewing officer asks about employment while i have been living abroad for 9 months. I make 100k+ and am using the 1-134, 2006 and 2007 bank statements and my 2006 1040. Aong with my fathers I-134 and his 2006 1040s. On top of the financial issue is that we are pregnant, she is 24 weeks at this moment and yes its my child, remember i have been living with her since jan 2007. So if you ask me i dont think you can ask for a more "real relationship"!!! Of course she is very nervous about the interview and the POE, as most are. I am a little unsure about the interview myself only because of the fact i have been living here for 9 months and not really working 100%, although you would be surprised on how much work you can get done overseas by internet, fax and cell phones. My fiance is a translator and can speak perfect english also. I have some worries myself about the embassy possible asking about my domicile and about financial situation.

When i came here(ukraine) we had been writing emails and had spend thousands of dollars on international cell phone calls already. So i knew ALLOT about her. When i arrived in the Ukraine we fell deeply in love and i could not leave her, there would have been no way i could have a long distance relationship, no way. Of course she was the same way and didnt want me to leave either. So i stayed as i thought the petition and interview process would be done in may and now its going on October. So that goes to show you if you choose to go through with a k-1 it can take 9-10 months easy! I own my own business so i can take time off if i choose, but at the same time i am not 100% working as i would be in the US, so they may ask for more documents or ask more questions about our specific situation. I wish someone would give me some advise or opinions on our situation, i have gone through the whole process with the little help of my hired lawyer(which was useful to a point).

Now for my opinion on lawyers, i have one and he is an #######. However his assistant is useful and friendly. At first i could never have done it without a lawyer. But after doing TONS or reading about this K-1 visa, i have learned a great many things my lawyers never told me. First those lawyers say they have a 100% success rate, and that is only because they tell you do do documents and provide OVERKILL documents. I was told my lawyer that the i-134 is 100% needed and needs to be an original and that it needs to be notarized. Then i was informed by the Embassy in Kiev that it is optional and does not need to be notarized and it does not need to be an original. And a great many other things like that. The lawyers tell you what works for 100% but there are other ways that work also. I wish i would have found this website many many months ago instead here i am posting 1 week before her interview. I would greatly appreciate if someone who has Kiev interview experiences can give me their thoughts about our situation and if we should bring any additional documents.

The K-1 procedure seems overwhelming at first, but the apprehension comes mostly from unfamiliarity with the system. Once you have done it, you see the guidlines posted in VJ are clear inspite of being long. If you have special circumstances, you need a lawyer. Otherwise, self-filing(from the U.S.) is the way to go.

Rob and Tania

[etripke 0]

Rob & Tania,

Congrats on your Marriage! May you both have many years of happiness together.

Eric

[TONY and TANYA 0]

Sorry i should clarify, i have not been earning income since jan 5th 2007. Since that date i have been living in sevastopol. I WAS pulling in 100k+ in the states before hand. I am using 2006 and 2007 bank statements, 2006 1040s and i-134. I am also using my father as a co-signer in case they are wondering about employment, but i own my own company so technically im always employed, but not earning at the moment. I have assets and a home. I hope i dont get domicile questions or questions about employment or anything like that regarding my situation. Any thoughts on that stuff????? We have more than enough proofs of relationships, just overkill in our interview binder.

[Mariya 0]

ROB and Tania!!!!!

Mariya

[etripke 0]

Sorry i should clarify, i have not been earning income since jan 5th 2007. Since that date i have been living in sevastopol. I WAS pulling in 100k+ in the states before hand. I am using 2006 and 2007 bank statements, 2006 1040s and i-134. I am also using my father as a co-signer in case they are wondering about employment, but i own my own company so technically im always employed, but not earning at the moment. I have assets and a home. I hope i dont get domicile questions or questions about employment or anything like that regarding my situation. Any thoughts on that stuff????? We have more than enough proofs of relationships, just overkill in our interview binder.

You're going to be fine. Any problems with your financials will be negated by the fact your Father is a co-sponsor. The domicile question I can't speak of, but there are certainly many petitioners who are getting through even while living with their families and just getting out of College. You have a residence in the US, you filed at the correct service center, and there are many in the UK (for example) who have done the same thing you're doing. (I guess I did speak of it after all).

[John and Luda 0]

Hi to all in the Kyiv Beat! I've been reading your posts for a few months and have found many of the discussions to be very helpful. I recently returned from Kyiv and while there I finally met in person my beautiful Ukranian princess Lyudmila (Luda for short). We are officially engaged and are just now beginning the K-1 process. I hope you guys don't mind if I have a few questions along the way. I've done a lot of reading and have seen the guides, etc., but I still anticipate having a question or two. Thanks and I wish you all the best.

[natashenika 0]

Hi everyone, i'm having my med exam on Friday Sept 21st can anyone tell me what is the size of envelope they give? (Need to know size to take the right bag )

thanks

[bcartr 0]

Hi everyone, i'm having my med exam on Friday Sept 21st can anyone tell me what is the size of envelope they give? (Need to know size to take the right bag )

thanks

Anya stated it was a big envelope, I eventually saw it however I am telling you from memory as I am not at home.

To us Americans it is an average 9 x12 clasp envelope.

Similar to this.

http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?mod...25&ref=1557

[natashenika 0]

Hi everyone, i'm having my med exam on Friday Sept 21st can anyone tell me what is the size of envelope they give? (Need to know size to take the right bag )

thanks

Anya stated it was a big envelope, I eventually saw it however I am telling you from memory as I am not at home.

To us Americans it is an average 9 x12 clasp envelope.

Similar to this.

http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?mod...25&ref=1557

thanks, I know the size now i have couple of those home i brought it from the US

THanks for info

I'm going to take Huge bag then

[Mariya 0]

How do i find out that IV fee bill has been generated or not? If I call NVC - do I find it out listening to automatic voice recorder (like it informs on your NVC case #) or only the operator can tell me about details like that?

[LvivLovers 39]

Agent means the person who will be receiving my correspondence (forms and stuff) from NVC?

Guys, is it a normal situation that our petition was approved August, 7th and we haven't received a hard copy of it (NOA2)from USCIS yet. Hubby called USCIS they said "file i-824 for a duplicate if you want ".. but i-824 is $ 340

maybe we should just wait longer?

Mariya, our I-129F and I-130 were both approved on August 8, 2007 and we still haven't received either of our hard copy NOA2 forms either. USCIS tells me their computer says they mailed them (we know the computer can't be wrong, right? haha). Also as proof that they mailed them, the operator pointed out that they never came back as undeliverable...I tried to explain that to me this seemed like further proof they were probably never sent. In any case, they also told me I can file an I-824 form. Either they are just wanting extra money or are just really really bad.

Anyway, I'm curious...did you ever received your NOA2?

[LvivLovers 39]

I forget who was looking for information on getting married in Ukraine to a Ukrainian citizen, but hopefully this will help:

First of all, here is a link to the page on "The Civil Marriage Process in Ukraine" from the US Embassy in Kyiv website: http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_marriage_civil_eng.html It's a good starting point to understand the overall steps.

If you are looking to get married to a Ukrainian citizen, you must first get permission from the Ukrainian government to do this. You need to get a "Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage" (LONITM) from the US Embassy. This is to "prove" that you are free to marry (i.e. divorced or never married) since there is no central database in the USA that keeps track of marriages or lack thereof! (In Ukraine, apparently there IS some central database that keeps this information on their citizens) It's a little strange because, in all truth, because the LONITN doesn't really PROVE anything...it is just a document stating you are not currently married (or have never been married) that you will swear to before an officer from the embassy. The officer will then act as notary and put his stamp on the letter. The Ukrainian government takes this as proof that you are free to marry, but first they must authenticate the document. (Apparently notarized documents in Ukraine carry a different weight than in the USA. They are usually very official and picky about what documents they will notarize, unlike in the USA where you can attest to pretty much any statement and have a notary sign it.) It is also important to note that the LONITM must be translated to Ukrainian, but if you fill it out in English and then have your fiancee fill it out in Ukrainian, that is all that is required. I highly reccommend doing this to save a step.

The Ukrainian government authenticates the document (or legalizes it for use in Ukraine) by comparing the stamp on the LONITM to their own records which contain the stamps for all the officers from the US Embassy in Kyiv. This is done at the Legalization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

(Note: if you have other documents like divorce decree, death certificates, etc. you probably need to have these translated and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also...we didn't need to do this so I can't elaborate on that process).

Here are some pictures to help you identify the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine" building (I snapped these when we were going through the process hoping to help the VJ folks that followed!):

The "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine" building.

Closer view of the entrance to the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine" building.

The building across the street from the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine" building (to help in recognizing the right area).

Once inside you will find the Legalization Department. It's a room with 4 teller windows sort of like you would find in a bank. Unfortunately, I can't tell you a whole lot of details here as I didn't have a clue what we were doing. This is where my wife really took over and figured out what to do. I think the first window we went to was where we told them what we were trying to do (authenticating the LONITM). They gave us some forms. We then took these to another window where we needed to pay for the services we requested. Once we had paid they gave us a receipt. At some point we needed to sit down at some tables in this room and fill out some more forms needed by this process. On each table they had several different example forms and instructions taped to the table. Your spouse (or you if you understand Ukrainian) needs to look at these and/or ask other people to determine which ones apply to the LONITM. Eventually you'll take these completed forms, your LONITM, receipts, etc. to another window and drop them off for authentication. Depending on how busy they are, they will probably tell you to come back in an hour or more. (We went and visited the big blue church across the street while waiting.) Once you come back and pick this up, you will finally have your authenticated Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage!

You'll then need to go to RAGS (they will want to see both of you in person), which is the agency that handles the civil marriage ceremony appointments. You need the LONITM, etc. because you are a foreigner wanting to get married to a Ukrainian citizens. You will also need your passport, a translation of the bio page of your passport, divorce decrees, death certificates, etc. It's a good idea to have your fiancee check with RAGS ahead of time to see exactly what documents they want you to bring. In our case, they also wanted us to bring proof from the USA that I was never married, but as I mentioned previously, there is no good way to prove this since the USA does not have a central database on this. Even if you could "prove" you were never married in one state in the USA, you could still have been married in some other state. This is why the embassy gives us the LONITM instead as "proof".

Another important thing to note, usually once you request your marriage date, it must be 30 days in the future (or some period of time that is customary at RAGS). If you are like me and coming from the USA, you may not be have the luxury of taking so much time. There are a couple ways to shorten this amount of time. You can bring a letter from your wife's doctor stating she is pregnant. Or you can do like I did and bring a letter from your employer stating that you only have x number of days of vacation. With some verbal (and financial) persuasion, you should be able to shorten this wait. In our case, we made our appointment for about a week later. Just another note on this, we ended up having to make a few unoffical payments to various people in RAGS...t seems that every time we went back for one reason or another, they wanted a little something. Only on the last visit, they finally informed my wife they were ready for the "official" payment! haha It's a little annoying, but as anyone can tell you, it's a way of life in much of Ukraine.

Anyway, that's the basics as best as I can remember them. Please do your own research though...I'm just providing this to hopefully give someone a little bit better idea of what to expect.

[Mariya 0]

Agent means the person who will be receiving my correspondence (forms and stuff) from NVC?

Guys, is it a normal situation that our petition was approved August, 7th and we haven't received a hard copy of it (NOA2)from USCIS yet. Hubby called USCIS they said "file i-824 for a duplicate if you want ".. but i-824 is $ 340

maybe we should just wait longer?

Mariya, our I-129F and I-130 were both approved on August 8, 2007 and we still haven't received either of our hard copy NOA2 forms either. USCIS tells me their computer says they mailed them (we know the computer can't be wrong, right? haha). Also as proof that they mailed them, the operator pointed out that they never came back as undeliverable...I tried to explain that to me this seemed like further proof they were probably never sent. In any case, they also told me I can file an I-824 form. Either they are just wanting extra money or are just really really bad.

Anyway, I'm curious...did you ever received your NOA2?

I guess we received it. I told you the details in PM.

Guys who plan to go to med exam to Kiev make sure you have a RECENT Rubella vaccination otherwise you will get that shot in Kiev for 79 hr.

[Zadan 1]

Agent means the person who will be receiving my correspondence (forms and stuff) from NVC?

Guys, is it a normal situation that our petition was approved August, 7th and we haven't received a hard copy of it (NOA2)from USCIS yet. Hubby called USCIS they said "file i-824 for a duplicate if you want ".. but i-824 is $ 340

maybe we should just wait longer?

Mariya, our I-129F and I-130 were both approved on August 8, 2007 and we still haven't received either of our hard copy NOA2 forms either. USCIS tells me their computer says they mailed them (we know the computer can't be wrong, right? haha). Also as proof that they mailed them, the operator pointed out that they never came back as undeliverable...I tried to explain that to me this seemed like further proof they were probably never sent. In any case, they also told me I can file an I-824 form. Either they are just wanting extra money or are just really really bad.

Anyway, I'm curious...did you ever received your NOA2?

When I got my NOA2, it was about 1-month after the date the NOA2 said it was actually approved. The same goes for my NOA1 too. Go figure. Also, I never received notice from the NVC and the USCIS website says our case is "pending". This despite the fact they did approve it, sent it to the embassy in Kiev, and her interview was scheduled just fine (it's next week, Sep 27th). I've talked to a few folks who had this happen and sailed through just fine and are married now, so I just chalked it up to government incompetence.

I wouldn't bother paying $340 for that I-840 and just be sure to get the info from USCIS and move on. If they say you were approved, you can call the NVC too and get info from them as well (KEV#).

[Mariya 0]

ZADAN, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Another question. Those who received DS-230 from the NVC - did your DS-230 form have a bar code like DS-3032? or can DS-230 be downloaded from a website and be ok?

And where from can I download DS-230 to fill it out and send it to my hubby just for him to have it and send back to NVC?