Scorpie

hello all,
It's been awhile since I last posted messages... But I just
want to update some of you who have been helping answering my questions
and sharing your experiences with me.

Last time I posted, my fiancee
and I were not married yet (it was back in November). We finally got
married in January 2004! :)

Here are the steps we did:
- Nov 2003 - We
emailed the US embassy in Paris asking if they do DCF for non-residents,
they said "yes" and they asked for our address so they could send us the
packet to apply for a spouse visa. The packet contains: Forms I-130,
I-864, G-325, forms 230 part 1&2 and DS2001.
- Beginning of January 2004
- Sent form DS2001 and 230-I part 1 (yes, before marriage). These forms
are for spouse's clearance.
- Called embassy visa section (011-331-43-12-45-
35) to make sure they receive these forms. By the way, this is not the
rip-off visa hotline they listed on their website (thanks to Marian who
gave me this number). Sometimes nobody answers the phone but most of
the time they do answer and very nice lady too ! So if you have any
questions regarding visa, this person will answer anything.
- Jan 17,
2004 - wedding day at the beautiful "Mairie" (city hall) in Paris.
- Feb
3, 2004 - we received interview appointment letter scheduled for Feb 12
! This was too fast! (not that I was complaining but I just returned to
the US for only a week when we got this letter). So I told my husband to
call the Embassy to reschedule it for a later date and they moved it to
March 4. So here I am back in Paris waiting for 2 more days for the
interview day !

Basically it's a very short wait for us and we feel
very lucky. Hope the interview will go well. According to them my
husband could get his visa the same afternoon if everything meets the
requirements.

DCF is really a way to go if it's available. Though it
costs a lot more... but it's really worth it compare to the headaches
you have to deal with with BCIS.

I hope my story will help some of you
who are dealing with this and get some ideas as to what to expect, etc.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions pertaining our
experiences.
I will update you after the interview date.


Good luck to
all of you!
scorpie.

--------------------------------------------
My
timeline:

Early Jan 2004 - Sent DS2001 & form 230-I part 1
Jan 17, 2004
- wedding day!
Feb 3, 2004 - received interview letter
Feb 12, 2004 -
original interview date
March 4, 2004 - rescheduled interview date

MissGigl

Thanks for your post Scorpie. I'm in the middle of DCF with Paris
myself (see previous post) and so far I've been pretty happy except
for the monkey wrench they threw us about him needing to be
fingerprinted which might add "a couple of months" according to the
officer in Paris that I spoke with. I so wish I had known we could
have started the process before we were married (we got married in
Nice Jan 30.) Good luck with your interview!

Scorpie

Hi Missgigl,
what do you mean when you said he needed a fingerprint? for
what is this finger print? did you guys already have an interview? and
they requested fingerprint during the interview? As far as I know, I
thought all notirization, etc, has to be done in front of the consular,
therefore fingerprint would be done with them as well.
Please, Let me
know more about this.

thanks much!
scorpie


Originally
posted by Missgigl
    > Thanks for your post Scorpie. I'm in the
middle of DCF with Paris
    > myself (see previous post) and so far I've
been pretty happy except
    > for the monkey wrench they threw us about him
needing to be
    > fingerprinted which might add "a couple of months"
according to the
    > officer in Paris that I spoke with. I so wish I had
known we could
    > have started the process before we were married (we got
married in
Nice Jan 30.) Good luck with your interview!

Vinnic

Good luck for your interview! We had a good experience in Paris for our
K1, and our interview date came up on us fast too! My husband got his
letter on a Saturday stating our interview was only five days later.
Needless to say we were really happy! Keep us posted.

MissGigl

Hi Scorpie,

The interview I was referring to was the acceptance of the petition
interview, not THE interview. What happened was we went together and
submitted the petition (I-130) and because we had all the other papers
collected they let us sign off of the checklist that normally comes by
mail (our attorney had actually given us a copy of the checklist so we
had it handy.) We had the petition interview which was approved and
they sent us home telling us to await a letter with the interview
date. A packet came but in one place it said the interview letter was
enclosed and then in another place it said it was coming separtely -
so I called them to find out what was going on. They said that our
case was "flagged" and that he needed to come back to have
fingerprints done and submitted to the FBI. I don't think think the
fingerprinting is standard. Our attorney thought that his case was
flagged for extra hassles because he was refused entry into the US the
last time he came due to repeated use (but NOT overstays) on the VWPP.
(He had come in 4x previously on the VWPP in case you're wondering.)

In your case you have your interview date so I wouldn't stress, but it
wouldn't hurt to call and ask if you are going to need fingerprints
because it would be better to get that started now if you do. If I
hadn't called and asked them there is no telling how long it would
have taken for them to get around to telling us he had to come back to
Paris (from Nice!) on a Friday to get them done. Major pain in the
a$$. If we had had any clue this might have been a possibility we
would have asked them to do it when we were there submitting the
petition.

Hope this helps!

    :)

Hypertweeky

Originally posted by scorpie
    > hello all,
    > It's been
awhile since I last posted messages... But I just want to update some of
you who have been helping answering my questions and sharing your
experiences with me.
    >
    > Last time I posted, my fiancee and I were not
married yet (it was back in November). We finally got married in
January 2004! :)
    >
    > Here are the steps we did:
    > - Nov 2003 - We
emailed the US embassy in Paris asking if they do DCF for non-residents,
they said "yes" and they asked for our address so they could send us the
packet to apply for a spouse visa. The packet contains: Forms I-130,
I-864, G-325, forms 230 part 1&2 and DS2001.
    > - Beginning of January
2004 - Sent form DS2001 and 230-I part 1 (yes, before marriage). These
forms are for spouse's clearance.
    > - Called embassy visa section (011-331-43-12-45-
35) to make sure they receive these forms. By the way, this is not the
rip-off visa hotline they listed on their website (thanks to Marian who
gave me this number). Sometimes nobody answers the phone but most of
the time they do answer and very nice lady too ! So if you have any
questions regarding visa, this person will answer anything.
    > - Jan 17,
2004 - wedding day at the beautiful "Mairie" (city hall) in Paris.
    > -
Feb 3, 2004 - we received interview appointment letter scheduled for Feb
12 ! This was too fast! (not that I was complaining but I just returned
to the US for only a week when we got this letter). So I told my husband
to call the Embassy to reschedule it for a later date and they moved it
to March 4. So here I am back in Paris waiting for 2 more days for the
interview day !
    >
    > Basically it's a very short wait for us and we feel
very lucky. Hope the interview will go well. According to them my
husband could get his visa the same afternoon if everything meets the
requirements.
    >
    > DCF is really a way to go if it's available. Though
it costs a lot more... but it's really worth it compare to the headaches
you have to deal with with BCIS.
    >
    > I hope my story will help some of
you who are dealing with this and get some ideas as to what to expect,
etc. Feel free to contact me if you have questions pertaining our
experiences.
    > I will update you after the interview date.
    >
    >
    > Good
luck to all of you!
    > scorpie.
    >
    > --------------------------------------------

    > My timeline:
    >
    > Early Jan 2004 - Sent DS2001 & form 230-I part 1
Jan 17, 2004 - wedding day!
    > Feb 3, 2004 - received interview letter
Feb 12, 2004 - original interview date
    > March 4, 2004 - rescheduled
interview date

Hey!!

I remember you!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MARRIAGE!!
It is so nice to see
things moving huh?:)
I wish you nothing but the best in the rest of your
journey!
Keep us updated!!
    :):)

Scorpie

Thank you Hypertweeky!!
Yes it's been great and things are moving along.
Tomorrow is the big day. Wish us luck !
will let you know how it goes!




Originally posted by Hypertweeky
    > Hey!!
    >
    > I
remember you!!
    > CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MARRIAGE!!
    > It
is so nice to see things moving huh?:)
    > I wish you nothing but the best
in the rest of your journey!
    > Keep us updated!!
    :):)

Scorpie

Hey vinnic,
I just wonder what kind of questions they ask you during
interview? Is it similar like the BCIS process? I heard they ask
personal questions like, whats's your spouse favorite food, how you met,
etc.
How long does the interview take? at least for you?
thanks in
advance !


Missgigl,
I wish you the best with your journey as well.
Hope your husband will get his visa soon. So far, people at the embassy
are pretty nice to us (compare to INS). You guys will be alright.
Keep
us updated!



Originally posted by vinnic
Good luck for
your interview! We had a good experience in Paris for our K1, and our
interview date came up on us fast too! My husband got his letter on a
Saturday stating our interview was only five days later. Needless to
say we were really happy! Keep us posted.

Vinnic

Originally posted by scorpie
    > Hey vinnic,
    > I just
wonder what kind of questions they ask you during interview? Is it
similar like the BCIS process? I heard they ask personal questions like,
whats's your spouse favorite food, how you met, etc.
    > How long does
the interview take? at least for you?
    > thanks in advance !
    >
    >
Posted March 9, 2001: ..... Consulate at 9:00 a.m. sharp, so we got
there at about 8:30 - 8:40 a.m.
    > We waited in a short line, and then
they started letting us in. First, you
    > have to show your passport
and interview letter, have your bags searched and
    > go through a metal
detector, just like an airport (except they hand-search
    > your bags).
Next, they let us in the Consulate and we ended up going in the
    > wrong
entrance, but a man was kind enough to direct us to the right entrance

    > (the one facing the main entrance at the gate). :) We went in,
showed our
    > passports and interview letter again, and this man
directed us to the lobby
    > where some other people were waiting. At
9:00 a.m., we were directed where
    > to
    > go, and we had to show our
passports and interview letter again to U.S.
    > Marines who let us
through. Once inside the area were we were to have the
    > interview, I
felt very much like I was in a Secretary of State office with
    > those
lovely plastic chairs lined up and what looked like ticket windows
with
    > glass in front of us. We checked in with another lady by
showing her our
    > letter, and she checked off my fiance's name and told
us to take a seat.
    > There were two or three people who were called
ahead of us to submit their
    > documents for whatever visa's they were
applying for, and finally we were
    > called. We went up together, and
this lady spoke in French and asked my
    > fiance to submit the OF-156,
OF-156K, I-134 Affidavit of Support, photos,
    > etc.
    > Please note that
we did not receive or have to complete a OF-230 Part II.
    > She looked
over all the papers to make sure they were complete and had my
    > fiance
sign them. Then she gave us back our colored photocopies of photos
of
    > us I included in the I-129F petition (when we had brought the
original
    > photos
    > thinking they would ask for these!), as well as
the translated birth
    > certificate from the I-129F petition. Then she
asked us to take a seat and
    > we
    > waited some more.
    >
    > Finally,
after some more time waiting my fiance was called up to the
    > interview

    > window, and I went with him. There was absolutely no privacy - the

    > interviewer asks you questions right in front of everyone sitting
behind
    > you,
    > so we could hear all the other interviews going on
throughout the morning.
    > When it came to our turn, we had another
lady interview my fiance. She was
    > looking at all the original I-129F
petition papers I had prepared, minus the
    > photos and birth
certificate (as the othe lady gave them back to us). She
    > asked in
English if I was the petitioner,and she smiled, and I said yes.
    > She

    > said good, but asked me kindly if I would take a seat while she asked
my
    > fiance a few questions by himself. I said sure. She seemed
pleasant. Well
    > I
    > took a seat right in the front row of chairs,
and I could hear just about
    > everything, although it was hard to
understand her because she had a slight
    > accent herself. The entire
interview lasted not more than about ten
    > minutes,
    > and she spoke in
English too - all the interviews were in English by the
    > way.
    > She
asked my fiance a series of questions about how we met, how many times

    > we
    > had seen each other, when had he come to the States, for how
long, when, did
    > he meet my family, what do my mother and father do,
if I had any brothers or
    > sisters, what do they do, what do I do, etc.
I guess she was smiling so it
    > was ok, but then she asked a question -
"Tell me about your fiance..." My
    > fiance stopped for a minute not
knowing how to start - did she mean what do
    > I
    > do for a living?
What do I like to do? What do we have in common? Etc...
    > So
needless to say he was a little surprised at such an open-ended
question.
    > After asking her about it, she said what do we have in
common, so he
    > answered
    > all the things we like together. And that
was fine, so she said that
    > everything was fine, and that we needed to
come back at 4:00 p.m. to pick up
    > his passport with the visa in it
and the envelope. And that was that. We
    > went out for awhile and
smiled a lot, and then went back to the consulate at
    > 4:00 p.m., went
through the same showing our passports/searching our bags
    > procedure,
etc., and waited for our names to be called for the visa. My
    > fiance
was called first along with another K1er, and the lady who spoke in
French whom we gave the docs to in the morning gave them their
passports,
    > explained the visa, and what to do with the brown envelope
upon entering the
    > States to them in French. And that was that! We
checked the visa and
    > everything was ok so we left and celebrated! ;)

Vinnic

Originally posted by vinnic
Originally posted
by scorpie
    > Hey vinnic,
    > I just wonder what kind of questions
they ask you during interview? Is it similar like the BCIS process? I
heard they ask personal questions like, whats's your spouse favorite
food, how you met, etc.
    > How long does the interview take? at least
for you?
    > thanks in advance !
    >
    > Posted July 30, 2001......Detroit
INS Office for Instant AOS:
    >
    > We waited until about 9:15 or so,
watching more Disney movies to pass
    > the time. Finally, a man came out
and called our name - he actually
    > called me by my maiden name, as I
was the petitioner. But we went
    > together, obviously, into the back of
the building and were seated at
    > a small desk surrounded by cubicles.
Before we took our seats though,
    > he swore us in, asked my husband for
his passport, and took his
    > fingerprint right there. Then he went to
make some photocopies of the
    > passport, etc., and asked us to have a
seat. He made us feel
    > extremely comfortable - to be honest with you,
he appeared to be one
    > of the most laid back people I have ever met.
When he came back, he
    > looked at the I-485, asked us a few basic
questions such as how did we
    > meet, when did we meet, when did we
decide to get married, etc. He
    > also asked my husband a few questions
from the I-485 itself, about
    > crimes, etc., and obviously the answers
were no. Then he looked at
    > the marriage cert, the birth cert, the
passport photocopies, and
    > finally he came to the I-864. All he did
was see that it was
    > notarized, and asked me what my profession was.
After that, he showed
    > us the I-551 stamp in the passport and was
explaining to us how we had
    > to file for permanent residency within 90
days of two years from
    > today, etc. Then he said that the I-551 stamp
was good for
    > conditional residency, work authorization, and travel -
no need for
    > advanced parole at all. Also, he said that the
conditional green card
    > would arrive in the mail within 10 to 12
months, as they mail the
    > whole packet back to Nebraska for processing.
He did ask us to get
    > two new photos made across the street and to just
drop them back at
    > the front of the office as well. And then he
congratulated us and
    > wished us a great day! A total of about fifteen
minutes max! Wow!