RFE received

[Turboguy]

Hi Ron,  The website listing of interview dates still only goes up to July 6th.   I think you will find out from packet 3 long before it is on the website.

If it helps know what to expect.   Packet 3 arrived almost exactly a month after my approval at NVC.  If it hits the same for you, 12 more days and you should have packet 3.  

My gal was coming to Moscow to meet me on the 20th of July so she had scheduled her physical for that morning so she did not have to make a special trip.   We are catching a train to her city that afternoon.

[wxman]

[user=130]Son of Clyde[/user] wrote:

My interpretor keeps saying it is too early for her medical exam. The acceptable doctors are all listed in the Packet3 which has not been received yet (12 days from approval at NVC). Isn't the madical and police report required for the interview not necessarily before the interview date is set?

Turbo are you settled down yet?

Congratulations, now most of your worries are over.

I don't drink vodka but I propose a toast to your good luck and I do drink wine or champaign for a special occasion such as this.

SOC,

Do not believe interpretor. Medical exam at approved facility in Kiev is good for 1 year. The police report is good for 6 months. Do not expect your fiancee to receive packet 3. Mail service is poor at best in Ukraine. Your fiancee or you should fill out the KEV-1 form you downloaded from embassy site that is in packet 3. Check off appropriate boxes that pertain to her on form, put proper name and case number, address, phone number, etc; along with a date you prefer for interview.  Scan filled out form and send as attachment to embassy at ikiev@state.gov

You will get typical auto reply message from embassy. I did this last week. Now we are waiting for interview date which will be sent out as packet 4. It will be sent to her and your attorney, but not to you. They will send it regular mail in Ukraine, so she will likely not receive it because of the mail service. After a few weeks, if you have not heard anything, talk to your lawyer, or have your fiancee send an email to embassy with case number and ask if they had sent out information.

 

[wxman]

SOC,

I forgot to mention the list of 2 approved medical facilities in Kiev, Ukraine are listed in packet 3. She can call to set up appointment. Also in packet 3 is form DS-156 which she should fill out and bring to interview. She can take medical exam prior to interview date being set. Also she should get her police report now as sometimes there are delays. Make sure all her names are listed on police report since age 16. This is new requirement as of Nov 1 2004. If she has been married it mus t list both her maiden and married name.

1.                    American Medical Center (AMC)

1 Berdychivska St.

Kyiv, Ukraine

Telephone: 044-490-7600


or


1.                              Clinic for Oil-Refining Industry of Ukraine 

8, Mykoly Amosova St.

Kyiv, Ukraine  Telephone: 044-270-2709, 044-275-4181

 

 

 

 

 

[Son of Clyde]

How can a country stay in business when the mail does not go through?

[wxman]

No one sends bills in the mail there. They go stand in line and pay bills for utilities, loans etc. Very few people write letters as many have mobile phones. Anything important is sent via private courier such as Fed Ex, DHL, etc. Once they discover junk mail, the postal system will prosper just like in the US.  It's amazing how junk mail always makes it to my house!

[Son of Clyde]

wxman,

So what is not on her checklist is sitting at the Consulate Office? All the documents I obtained such as proof of relationship, plane tickets, passport entry and departure dates and affidavit of support?

I can safely check these items on the list as being secured?

I did a lot of work and I hope I don't have to obtain the same documents a second time. I will need to let Irina know exactly what types of evidence I submitted and which items were already obtained. My attorney says I have submitted everything that is needed from me.

Thanks for the help, I will email KEV-1 to Irina and give her our case number. I will let her set the interview date allowing at least 6 weeks for police report and she can schedule her medical exam whenever it is convenient prior to interview. 

I hope I never in life have to do this again. I hope we have a long, long marriage.

I don't mind doing complicated tasks but the government goes in for overkill. I guess they need to be assured from her that we are in a legitimate relationship and they make her obtain the same documents I had already submitted with my petition.

And my agency (SSA) is trying to go paperless. What a joke. We have more paper now than ever before it just gets scanned onto a computer now and trashed.

[wxman]

[user=130]Son of Clyde[/user] wrote:

wxman,

So what is not on her checklist is sitting at the Consulate Office? All the documents I obtained such as proof of relationship, plane tickets, passport entry and departure dates and affidavit of support?

I can safely check these items on the list as being secured?

 

SOC,

If you used a lawyer like me, then he should have sent her copies of all of that. The consulate will not have any of that. When you sent that all into INS, they approve or disapprove and then off to NVC. Just a security check there, and the approved request with a case number is sent to embassy. All the embassy does is then send packet 3 and 4 out with interview date. She will need to bring the documents with her to embassy. Your lawyer should have copies of this if you sent them to him. I hope you made copies too.  My lawyer sent all that info to her in January. I will also send my fiancee a copy again here soon of my latest 1040 and W2 along with the latest bank statements since January. I have copies of everything else and will include all again just to be safe.

[wxman]

SOC

All the items on the KEV-1 checklist that applies to her is what she must bring to embassy. If you sent this to your lawyer, then he should send it to her. Your lawyer filled out forms and sent those to INS. As far as copies of plane tickets, bank letters, employment letters, pictures, etc that are listed on KEV-1 form, you or your lawyer must provide that to your fiancee. The government will not. I would call your lawyer as soon as possible and get him to do that or at least send them to you. 

 

[Son of Clyde]

My lawyer sent nothing to her. He filed the petition and that was it. Where did these documents go? He really f--ked me over if that was all he did for $1,560.00.

If he screwed me I will be lucky if she will ever speak to me again when she finds this out.

I will have to tell her to get all these documents again if I can't piece together everything. I gave the lawyer all the evidence except for duplicates I made of the doc's she sent to me. He has all the photographs and evidence establishing our relationship, copies of airline tickets etc.

I have never been so depressed in all my life.

I just hope DHL is fast I at least have until her interview date to get these things to her.

I put my trust in a possible a-hole but maybe I am the bigger fool to have trusted him. He did what I asked of him, he filed my petition.


****Update******

I still think the lawyer got off easy but I was told by someone who has filed twice that the NVC will send the documents to my lawyer or to me. Then I will use DHL to send them to her.

[jb]

I have about 95 lawyer jokes that apply here.  Rule of thumb; lawyers can't be trusted, they went to school 3 extra years to learn to lie convincingly.

[wxman]

SOC,

You're fine. They had to send all that info to Immigration for processing. Since you have a lawyer, it will be sent back to him, and then he should send it to you or your fiancee.  I do not know how long it takes for the documents to go from NVC to our lawyers though.  I will talk to mine on monday. Luckily mine has all the records in his office and can quickly send them to me.

 

 

[Turboguy]

Clyde, I don't mean to disappoint you or worry you but I don't think the NVC returns any documents.    You are not supposed to send any origional documents with your initial application because they are not returned.    The origional packet will be sent to Kiev for your interview so they may have some there but they expect your gal to have origional documents for some things.   She will need an orginal copy of your birth certificate, divorce decrees etc.    All that can be obtained at your courthouse for a reasonable fee.   Hopefully you can get more prints of your photos and airline info. 

If I am wrong about the NVC returning documents hopefully someone will correct me but I am pretty sure I am right.

[Son of Clyde]

Thanks wxman,

It would be nice for the lawyer to tell me these things and not to insinuate that I've completed everything and my part is finished. He could easily have mailed copies of her documents to her at the time the petition was filed.

All this time I was assuming the supporting evidence would be mailed to Kiev and the Consulate would mail them to her. The lawyer was never specific about what would happen after the fetition was approved.

She needs to know what documents are forthcoming in order to accurately file the KEV-1.

[Son of Clyde]

I sent an email to the Embassy for clarification since I now have a case number.

I will post the reply here so everyone will know for sure.

The US Embassy website clearly says no original documents are to be sent to them. I have read this many times but assumed the supporting evidence would be mailed to her. I read further and found out the Embassy receives a hard copy of the approved petition not much is mentioned of the supporting evidence.

If someone hires an attorney they should be told how to progress at each step of the process. It is fortunate I kept copies of the supporting evidence but I never put it together I only did the legwork for the lawyer who filed the petition.

Being a packrat helps in these situations, I keep everything.

[wxman]

Here is the checklist on the KEV-1 form. What pertains to her is what she must check off and provide at interview. She does not need your birth certificate. These all pertain to her and children, except 3 and 6 which pertain to you and her. She must bring these to embassy along with form DS-156 which is also in packet 3. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything not in english, must be translated and notarized. If child is travelling on her passport, then number 9 does not apply.

 

Â� 1.  passport

Â� 2.  birth certificate

Â� 3. evidence of support from your American fiancé(e) - tax returns, pay stubs, letters from employers, bank statements, Affidavit of Support I-134.

� 4. police certificate

� 5. photographs

Â� 6. evidence of relationship with your fiancé(e) - letters, e-mails, photographs, phone bills, plane tickets, copies of Ukrainian visas.

� 7. marriage certificate or change of name certificate

� 8. divorce certificate

� 9. child's travel document

� 10. notarized statement from an absent parent along with the photocopy of the photo and signature pages of his/her passport

� 11. court decree of sole legal custody of the child

� 12. court decree pronouncing the other parent missing

� 13. adoption decree

� 14. military records

� 15. death certificate


 

[wxman]

Also do not forget sealed medical exam results.

[wxman]

SOC,

It's good that you keep records of everything. I did the same and have duplicates at home. You still will be ok since you kept a record of everything. If you did not have required info at NVC, application would not have been sent to Embassy. So since it is there, all that is required is what is on checklist. She has all the originals of her stuff, (birth certificate, police record, passport, etc.) So it would not take much time to translate those documents. All you really need to send her is numbers 3 and 6. Number 5 is 2 passport size photos of her.

[Son of Clyde]

I emailed her a copy of the KEV-1 and told her I would be mailing her additional documents.

I need to go to a 1 hour photo shop to have pictures printed and I can submit some emails, phone bill receipts and copies of Ukrainian visa from my passport. I have all my itinerary from both visits.

The affidavit of support is no problem except it was submitted once already. 

[Turboguy]

The affidavit of support is usually not submitted till the interview.   I would have an updated one for her just to be safe.    I was sure somewhere I saw that she needed to take an original copy of your birth certificate and an original copy with seal of your divorce decree to the interview.   Perhaps that varies by embassy.

[wxman]

I agree. You can never be too safe. It won't hurt the visa chance if she has more documentation than she needs, but it always cause problems if she doesn't have the proper paperwork. If you used a lawyer, then get your moneys worth and write every week. That is what I do, and I always get a response. It lets them know that you are keeping up with everything and not just standing by. Drives them nuts, but keeps them on their toes. Better to drive them nuts, than your fiancee! 

[Son of Clyde]

I need to thank you guys for preventing a catastrophy. Imagine her being at her interview without the supporting evidence.

She would have brought to to my attention eventually and we would have lost even more time.

Turboguy, I have never been married before so the divorce decree is one less I will need to send her.

I plan to name both attorney's who screwed up but not until my fiance is safely in the US.

 

[Turboguy]

I think no matter what you do or don't get back from the NVC or your attorney you will be able to come up with the supporting documents you need.  

I have seen some guys go for overkill on the initial filing and have heard of filings that were 100-150 pages.   To me that is a mistake.  The more they have to wade through the more likely it will get set aside till they have time or the more chance they won't find something they really need among all the pages and pages.

When my gal goes for her interview, I want to do the best to make sure that anything they possibly might need is there.   I don't want to take any chances of a delay for more info.   If I am in Moscow with her which is the plan and they need something that is in the USA that I could find but possibly someone else could not that could be a disaster.   I plan to have plane tickets for her to come back with me.   Son of clyde, I agree with you.  Make sure she has anything you could need.   I am sure anyone here who can help will and there are other places for help that I know you know about.   I would not count on your lawyer for anything. 

I remember months ago.  (It seems like years) that I posted the topic of using a lawyer or not for a K-1.   At the time I posted I had my mind pretty well made up to use one.    By the time I was done listening to everyone's advice, I had changed my mind.    I had thought that if it speeded things up even a few days it would be worth it.  If there was a few less things to worry about it would be worth it.   I think in reality the opposite is true in both cases.   I think mine was speeded by not having a lawyer and I think Clyde has had far more worries by having a lawyer then he would have without.

I particuarly remember what Son of Clyde told me but not word for word.   He recommended not using a lawyer but said he was going to use one.   Well, you know what they say about 20-20 hindsight.   I am sure glad I did not use one.  

[Son of Clyde]

I only used the attorney because he had my money and had done most of the paperwork. If it was after he filed he had $1,560.00 if it was before he filed he had $780.00. After having fired one attorney previously I was not about to fire a second attorney and have to file a grievance against him. I just wanted to have the petition filed.

I suggested NOT using an attorney hoping those who were considering one would still be able to change their mind.

[jb]

I think you guys are far too worried about the K-1 interview. Everything needed for the interview on your part should have been included in the original I-129F application.  Proof of citizenship, birth certificates, court certified divorce decrees, photos of the two of you together prove you've met, evidence of relationship, etc., It's true she will have to provide the police report and have the medical exam. You will need to provide her with last years tax return, but the other stuff should pretty much already be in the package.

About the only thing that is a potential problem is the language barrier.  I don't know about the Ukraine embassy, but the Moscow embassy does not like to conduct the interview in Russian.  If your g/f speaks even halting English she should have no problem.  If she has no English, make sure she tells the interviewer when they ask; "how will you talk to your future husband?", she should tell them that you speak pretty good Russian.  Yes, I know that may be an fib for some of the guys, but the only denied visas I've ever heard about were because of the red flag raised in the interviewers mind because of language problems, not because of some paperwork snafu.

P.S.... Well, I did hear of one case that was denied because a lawyer failed to put some critical paperwork in the application and the man had to file an appeal over the denied visa, but that only took an extra year and a half to sort out.

[Turboguy]

It is not just the interview step.  I think most of us worry to death over anything.  I am not sure how many times I re-typed the forms becasue of someting no one but me would have worried about. 

Now Son of Clyde can feel good.  The papers his lawyer forgot to send only cost him two weeks or so.   Now he can be happy knowing it could have been a year and a half.

Son of Clyde, I am wondering about something.  I probably understand it.  Why did you say prior to filing he had $ 1560 of your money and after he had $ 780.   The filing fee is $ 160.00    I am assuming that the difference included his fee for the work but was just wondering.