David

I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non citizen, living in
Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an Immigrant Visa.

From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression that all that
only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the consulate
accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence, and piectures of
each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need to fill out the
DS-230 and G-325.

Can anyone set me straight on all this?

Folinskyinla

Originally posted by David

    > I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non citizen,
    > living in

    > Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an
    > Immigrant Visa.


    > From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression that
    > all that

    > only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the consulate

    > accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence, and
    > piectures of

    > each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need to
    > fill out the

    > DS-230 and G-325.


    > Can anyone set me straight on all this?



Hi:



Do YOU live in Israel? If so, you might want to consult with the law
firm of Kantor & Schwartz in Ramat Gan. They have US attorneys who know
US immigration.

David

Do I really need an attorney for this? Lawyers here cost a lot of money, and
I was hoping that I would be able to file w/o using the services of an
attorney.


"Folinskyinla" <member4043@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Originally posted by David
    > > I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non citizen,
    > > living in
    > > Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an
    > > Immigrant Visa.
    > >
    > > From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression that
    > > all that
    > > only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the consulate
    > > accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence, and
    > > piectures of
    > > each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need to
    > > fill out the
    > > DS-230 and G-325.
    > >
    > > Can anyone set me straight on all this?
    > Hi:
    > Do YOU live in Israel? If so, you might want to consult with the law
    > firm of Kantor & Schwartz in Ramat Gan. They have US attorneys who know
    > US immigration.
    > --
    > Certified Specialist
    > Immigration &amp; Nat. Law
    > Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Jeffreyhy

David,



Maybe you can file without the services of an attorney. But maybe in a
1 hour consultation you might learn some things that would be worth the
cost and save you a lot of time and grief?



I don't think Mr F would recommend this without good reason....



Regards, JEff



Originally posted by David

    > Do I really need an attorney for this? Lawyers here cost a lot of
    > money, and

    > I was hoping that I would be able to file w/o using the services of an

    > attorney.



    > "Folinskyinla" <member4043@british_expats.com> wrote in message

    > news:"]news:1117225.1071438-
    > [/url]...

    > > Originally posted by David

    > > > I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non
    > citizen,

    > > > living in

    > > > Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an

    > > > Immigrant Visa.

    > > >

    > > > From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression
    > that

    > > > all that

    > > > only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the
    > consulate

    > > > accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence,
    > and

    > > > piectures of

    > > > each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need
    > to

    > > > fill out the

    > > > DS-230 and G-325.

    > > >

    > > > Can anyone set me straight on all this?

    > > Hi:

    > > Do YOU live in Israel? If so, you might want to consult with
    > the law

    > > firm of Kantor & Schwartz in Ramat Gan. They have US attorneys
    > who know

    > > US immigration.

    > > --

    > > Certified Specialist

    > > Immigration & Nat. Law

    > > Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization

    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com/"]http://britishexpats.-
com[/url]

Folinskyinla

Originally posted by David

    > Do I really need an attorney for this? Lawyers here cost a lot of
    > money, and

    > I was hoping that I would be able to file w/o using the services of an

    > attorney.



    > "Folinskyinla" <member4043@british_expats.com> wrote in message

    > news:"]news:1117225.1071438-
    > [/url]...

    > > Originally posted by David

    > > > I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non
    > citizen,

    > > > living in

    > > > Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an

    > > > Immigrant Visa.

    > > >

    > > > From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression
    > that

    > > > all that

    > > > only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the
    > consulate

    > > > accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence,
    > and

    > > > piectures of

    > > > each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need
    > to

    > > > fill out the

    > > > DS-230 and G-325.

    > > >

    > > > Can anyone set me straight on all this?

    > > Hi:

    > > Do YOU live in Israel? If so, you might want to consult with
    > the law

    > > firm of Kantor & Schwartz in Ramat Gan. They have US attorneys
    > who know

    > > US immigration.

    > > --

    > > Certified Specialist

    > > Immigration & Nat. Law

    > > Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization

    > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com/"]http://britishexpat-
    > s.com[/url]



Hi:



I said "consult".

Marcin

Hi David,
It pretty much comes down to the issue : how much time you have
available and what of those two assets is worth more to you i.e. your
time or money. If the latter : I suggest the following thing :

(…)
"and brought to the consulate accompanied by my US Passport"
(…)

You mentioned direct consular filing – please research the NG using
DCF as a key word, and spend a few days reading about this issue. I am
sure you will find not only the documents you need to provide but also
specific requirements of Embassy in Israel. Please focus on : does a
USC need to be a resident or non-resident in Israel and what are the
requirements concerning the wedding ceremony. After a few days of
reading you will catch what's going on. It will not hurt if after
those few days you will write an email to the US embassy in Israel to
double check the information you gathered.

Of course having a lawyer gives you theoretically a piece of mind
provided that the lawyer is knowledgeable - look for AILA associate
and (s)he treats your matter seriously.
Below there is a list of documents that US embassy in Poland require :
please note …in Poland.

1. Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. The I-130 A is returned to
the petitioner after filing, as evidence that the petition has been
approved.

2. Two Forms G-325A -- one for the petitioner, the other for the
beneficiary -- with a picture at the bottom of the form (required only
for applicants whose status is based on present marriage to a U.S.
citizen).

3. Evidence of the petitioner's U.S. citizenship, such as a U.S.
passport

4. Beneficiary's complete birth certificate

5. Current complete marriage certificate

6. Divorce decrees or death certificates showing termination of all
prior marriages of petitioner, beneficiary, and any derivative
relatives, if marriage is the basis of the qualifying relationship,
i.e. spouse or stepchild relationship.

7. If applicant's name is different from that on his/her birth
certificate, all past marriage certificates or other name change court
decrees.

Marcin

P.S.
In Poland it is a piece of cake. USC files all that stuff above then
spouse comes to the interview which is held 2 3 months later – yes !!!
not 343532 days after NOA1 and then fly away – the only way to
circumvent the Nebraska, RFA, postal receipt, check not cashed, 1-800
misinformation line, and 5.25$ an hour "immigration officers" crap.
If you read carefully through all this ppl stories you will notice
that DCF makes a hugggggeeeee difference
I really am sorry for all these nice folks that are being treaten
ultra harsh by the IM bureaucracy.

David

I called the law firm you mentioned.
(They are certainly not service oriented, I called them 3 times, each time
they said that they would call me back - never did. Finaly I got them a week
later!)

The lawyer I spoke with sounded very knowledgeable. But they are very very
expensive. They want you to first come down for a consultation which costs
$250 a hour! And they estimate that the process will cost between $3,000 and
$4,000, and take up to one year!! (Everyone that I spoke to who filed
themselves had it done in less than half this time!)


"Folinskyinla" <member4043@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Originally posted by David
    > > I am an American citizen, married (4 months) to a non citizen,
    > > living in
    > > Israel. I am going to file a petition for my wife for an
    > > Immigrant Visa.
    > >
    > > From the US Consulate's web site I am under the impression that
    > > all that
    > > only form 130 needs to be filled out, and brought to the consulate
    > > accompanied by my US Passport, orriginal marriage lisence, and
    > > piectures of
    > > each of us. But someone now tells me that we would also need to
    > > fill out the
    > > DS-230 and G-325.
    > >
    > > Can anyone set me straight on all this?
    > Hi:
    > Do YOU live in Israel? If so, you might want to consult with the law
    > firm of Kantor & Schwartz in Ramat Gan. They have US attorneys who know
    > US immigration.
    > --
    > Certified Specialist
    > Immigration &amp; Nat. Law
    > Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com