By Victoria
Today in the mail I received a I-797E Notice of Action form (dated September 19) with a Request for Evidence from USCIS.
It seems that the proof of citizenship documents I provided in our original application packet didn't fit the bill. I included a copy of my birth certificate as issued by my hospital in South Carolina, as well as a birth certificate card from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The note I received back from USCIS explains, "If the petitioner was born in the U.S. and will be submitting a birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship, such must be a civilly registered long-form certificate. Abstracts of Birth and birth documents issued by hospitals are not sufficient."
In hindsight, I suppose I should've realized that I needed a full DHEC document (not the card) or looked into it more...but at the same time, it would've been nice if the I-129F Petition form instructions would've clearly stated that they needed the long-form birth certificate issued by a civil authority (i.e., my birth state government). The only thing the original instructions say is: "If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate."
So I feel kind of dumb, and also ticked that I may have delayed our process a little bit longer. Since I imagine I would have to wait a while to receive my long-form DHEC birth certificate if I put in a request, I've decided I'll go the route of submitting a copy of my U.S. passport for proof of citizenship instead. I've already made the copies and will be putting the new evidence in the mail tomorrow (Friday). Hopefully approval won't be long after that.
UPDATE: Our online case status shows that the USCIS California Service Center received our response to the Request for Evidence on September 29, 2014.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
He can Visit the U.S. Again!
By Victoria
Great news! Before I left Northern Ireland from my August visit, Colin kept thinking about it and saying there had to be a way for him to visit me in the U.S. again even with our K-1 application pending...so he did some more digging online and found a forum with a community of people going through U.S. immigration. One of the discussion threads is very helpfully called "Yes, you can visit!"
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/page-65
It's focused pretty specifically on people going through K-2/K-2 and IR-1/CR-1 visas. The last few pages of the thread have a lot of recent anecdotes (as recent as this August) regarding foreign fiances entering the U.S. to visit their citizen fiances. People seem to have been able to successfully enter the States at all stages of their K-1 application process -- from pre-Service Center approval, post-Service Center approval, National Visa Center stage, and even up to the U.S. Embassy interview stage. According to others' experiences, the key is to make sure the foreign fiance has the evidence to assure the border official that they intend to return to their home nation and NOT get married or attempt to stay in the U.S. without the official visa. Such evidence can include a booked return flight, a lease agreement to show there's a home and financial obligation to return to, and a message or note from work regarding when the person is expected back at work.
There are still a few horror stories scattered throughout the pages of people being pulled into interview rooms and grilled (although often eventually allowed to enter) or even being turned away with some kind of probation term attached (eek!), which certainly sets off my anxiety mode. However, so many more of the personal anecdotes in the thread indicate that it will be okay. In fact, there are quite a lot of people who had/have foreign fiances from the UK coming for a visit during K-1, and I don't think I saw a single anecdote about a UK fiance being turned away.
Colin already went through the tourist/visitor visa waiver process a few days ago, since his previous 2-year one had already expired, and was approved by the online system. And now...he has also officially booked his flights! He arrives on October 18, so we won't have long to wait between visits this time.
There is still a little concern (mostly on my end, since I'm the major worrier), but we're both optimistic and excited about it! The countdown has started!
Great news! Before I left Northern Ireland from my August visit, Colin kept thinking about it and saying there had to be a way for him to visit me in the U.S. again even with our K-1 application pending...so he did some more digging online and found a forum with a community of people going through U.S. immigration. One of the discussion threads is very helpfully called "Yes, you can visit!"
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/page-65
It's focused pretty specifically on people going through K-2/K-2 and IR-1/CR-1 visas. The last few pages of the thread have a lot of recent anecdotes (as recent as this August) regarding foreign fiances entering the U.S. to visit their citizen fiances. People seem to have been able to successfully enter the States at all stages of their K-1 application process -- from pre-Service Center approval, post-Service Center approval, National Visa Center stage, and even up to the U.S. Embassy interview stage. According to others' experiences, the key is to make sure the foreign fiance has the evidence to assure the border official that they intend to return to their home nation and NOT get married or attempt to stay in the U.S. without the official visa. Such evidence can include a booked return flight, a lease agreement to show there's a home and financial obligation to return to, and a message or note from work regarding when the person is expected back at work.
There are still a few horror stories scattered throughout the pages of people being pulled into interview rooms and grilled (although often eventually allowed to enter) or even being turned away with some kind of probation term attached (eek!), which certainly sets off my anxiety mode. However, so many more of the personal anecdotes in the thread indicate that it will be okay. In fact, there are quite a lot of people who had/have foreign fiances from the UK coming for a visit during K-1, and I don't think I saw a single anecdote about a UK fiance being turned away.
Colin already went through the tourist/visitor visa waiver process a few days ago, since his previous 2-year one had already expired, and was approved by the online system. And now...he has also officially booked his flights! He arrives on October 18, so we won't have long to wait between visits this time.
There is still a little concern (mostly on my end, since I'm the major worrier), but we're both optimistic and excited about it! The countdown has started!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Back from Visiting
By Victoria
I just returned on Monday from a visit with Colin in Northern Ireland. I was only able to go for 10 days (arrived on August 23 and left on September 1), but we packed in a lot of adventuring! That included a 3-day road trip through County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, staying at Bed & Breakfast places for the 2 nights. We did a lot of things and visited a lot of places all throughout the week that were new experiences for both of us.
We had a really amazing time. And we might have an update soon about Colin making an additional visit to the U.S., so stay tuned...
I just returned on Monday from a visit with Colin in Northern Ireland. I was only able to go for 10 days (arrived on August 23 and left on September 1), but we packed in a lot of adventuring! That included a 3-day road trip through County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, staying at Bed & Breakfast places for the 2 nights. We did a lot of things and visited a lot of places all throughout the week that were new experiences for both of us.
We had a really amazing time. And we might have an update soon about Colin making an additional visit to the U.S., so stay tuned...
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