VISA in Hand

It is Wednesday morning and the delivery guy just handed me JJ's visa.( after I gave him 8,000won) That was a fast turn around. I never expected it this soon! That's just one more thing that we don't have to worry about! **Edit I added some photos. I was actually at home alone when the deliverly guy called. The photos were taken when JJ got back home from her lesson.

Success

We made our way on Sunday to Namdaemun. I bought an ND8 filter and we grabbed a late lunch at one of the most disgusting, but delicious restaurants that I have ever eaten. It was very similar to the type of restaurant that I visited with Troy and Joanne a few weeks. There was tons of service! This was the kind of place that the health department would shut down in a second, but the food was brilliant.

We went and found a hotel in Jongro and then we walked around that area looking for somewhere to have a drink. We had a few drinks at a bar called Casino and then went to VIPS for some steak. We made it back to the motel about 10:30 or 11:00 and sat around making sure everything was good for the visa interview the next day.

I could hardly sleep. I was so damn nervous. I think that I fell asleep around 3 and woke up about 7.

We got to the embassy at 8:15 and went upstairs to the third floor where the immigrant visas are processed. We pulled lucky number 7 and prepared to wait for awhile. Our number was called less than 30 minutes after we arrived and we presented our package to the State Department official. She was very kind and only spoke Korean to JJ. Everything seemed to be in order and we were told to wait for JJ's name to be called. About 30 minutes later her name was called. We thought this was it, but it was only time for her to have her fingerprints done. We then waited for about another 35 minutes and they called her name again. This time they returned a bank letter that I accidentally included and gave us a bill for 520,000 won. We were directed to another window and paid our bill and were told to wait for our interview.

JJ was called for an interview about 30 minutes after paying the bill. The interview was relatively short. They did ask if she wanted a translator. She took them up on their offer. The translator did a great job.
They asked:

1. How long have you been married?
2. When did you first start dating?
3. How did you first meet?
4. Have you met each other's parents?
5. What will you do in America?
6. What does Jason's father do for a living?


The young lady that conducted the interview was obviously a new employee and was being assisted by her manager(?). That was a little nerve wracking, but JJ nailed the interview and they told her that we were approved and that we would receive the visa in a week or less.....The walk out of the embassy was so much smoother than the walk in. I felt like a 10ton weight had been lifted off my shoulders. This is just one less thing to think about. We do have a lot of planning left to do, but we are relaxed and getting ready to go to Gangwando this weekend. I am hoping to win some money at the casino or at least get some good photos.

Thank You

Thank you U.S. Department of State, Immigrant Visa section!

JJ was approved for her visa today.

Details later!

Monday's the Day

Our date for our interview is slowly approaching. We are filing DCF( Direct Consular Filing) in Korea for her visa at the Seoul Embassy. That probably doesn't make much sense to anyone else, but someone looking for the same kind of information that I was can use our list to see what we included. I have to pick up a letter of employment from Troy, and statements from our banks to prove how much cash on hand we have(probably not needed, but won't hurt) and then we can pick up the courier receipt at the embassy. I am also going to bring all my evidence of a bonafide marriage with me to the embassy just in case. That includes..bank account information, showing JJ on my insurance, photos of our life, and wire transfers from JJ to my account. I hope that everything goes smoothly on Monday. It will be nice to have all of this behind us. I am more than ready to begin buying tickets home and making hotel reservations for our vacation to Honolulu.

JJ Passport-X
Photo-X
Courier Receipt-O
Medical Report-X
DS230 Pt 1-X
DS230 Pt 2-X
Marriage Certificate-X
Basic Certificate-X
Family Certificate-X
Marriage Certificate-X
Old Family Register-X( maybe not needed)
Translations-X
Criminal Check-X
Translation-X
I864-X
2008 Tax Return-X
Copy of my Birth Certificate-X
Letter explaining why we need a cosponsor-X
Proof of Domicile
-School Contract showing ending date-X
-School Letter-X
-Change of Address for Credit Card-X
-Letter from Community Bank-X
-Dad's Letter allowing us to live at his residence-X
-Troy's Letter-O
-Contract with Dreamworks-X
-Dad's I864-X
-Dad's proof of Residence-X
-Dad's Tax Return-X
-400$ Fee-X

Visa Info

JJ Passport-X
Photo-X
Courier Receipt-O
Medical Report-X
DS230 Pt 1-X
DS230 Pt 2-X
Marriage Certificate-X
Basic Certificate-X
Family Certificate-X
Marriage Certificate-X
Old Family Register-O ( maybe not needed)
Translations-X
Criminal Check-X
Translation-X
I864-X
2008 Tax Return-X
Copy of my Birth Certificate-X
Proof of Domicile
-School Contract-X
-School Letter-X
-Change of Address for Credit Card-X
-Letter from Community Bank-0
-Dad's Letter-O
-Troy's Letter-O
-Contract with Dreamworks-O
-Dad's I864-O
-Dad's proof of Residence-O
-Dad's Tax Return-O
-400$ Fee-X

I think my dad will send his package tomorrow. I hopefully can go on and book a time for her interview on Monday when I know the package is on the way.

I-130 Part 4 Quick Turn Around

JJ checked her email and she had received her Epacket notifying us that IV had recieved an approved I-130. It only took two days from when I dropped off her contact information for her to receive this. I was quite impressed and actually had thought that we would not see anything from the embassy for at least a week or two. I am impressed with their speediness. Now we have a ton more forms to fill out and more government certificates to track down. We are not even going to look at all of this until at least Sunday.

I-130 Part 3

I took off again this morning to Seoul. I literally stayed inside the embassy 10 minutes. I was there as soon as they opened and handed off the one form that they needed. We are now waiting on an email from the embassy giving us the instructions for the next half. Getting up early wiped me out and I had to cancel a couple of appointments tonight. I needed the extra money, but it just wasn't worth it.

I-130 Petition American Embassy Seoul Part 2

I made my way to the third floor and sat down and tried to figure out what I needed to do. I had an appointment at 10, but there was also a machine that allowed you to take a number. There were a few windows that were open, but most of them were closed. It seemed that there were not that many people working on a Thursday morning. I waited for a few minutes trying to read the announcement on the LED screen that was scrolling through super fast. I read a notice that said that VISA interviews were usually completed in 2 hours. I finally realized that I was in the wrong area. The room was basically divided in two and I should have been in the section on the left hand side of the room. There was nobody waiting in that section and in fact there were no windows even open. I sat down for about 1 minute and the shade pulled up and they were open for business. I went to the window and explained that I had an appointment for 10, but I had arrived super early. The embassy official didn't mind that I was early and let me give him all of my paper work. I really wish that I would have gotten this gentleman's name. He was very courteous and as helpful as he could have been. I had way more documentation than they needed, but will still have to go back on Tuesday for one more visit. Here is what they took from me.

I-130
both photos
both G325A forms
Copy of my work contract
Copy of my birth certificate
Copy of our marriage certificate
Copy of my passport
Copy of my ARC
All of JJ's certified documents Family, Marriage, and Basic

He instructed me that JJ may need the rest of the information for when she has her interview, but that they will call me if they need any evidence of a true marriage. He also asked me where she was?????? I didn't know that she had to attend and they had a form that she needed to fill out. The form allows the embassy to email her the packet of instructions for her VISA interview instead of mailing it....DOH!!!!! If I would have known that I would need her, I would have not let her sleep in. It probably would have been nice to have someone to talk to on the way to Seoul as well. The embassy official told me to have her sign it and then bring it back as soon as possible. I think I spent about 10 minutes or so asking him different questions about the visa process. He took the time to explain everything and was very helpful.


In Summary:
1. The embassy website needs to be updated.

2. There are required forms that you do not know are needed until you book your appointment time.

3. Both petitioner and beneficiary must attend, so that the beneficiary may fill out the notification form.

4. The customer service I received was excellent and I hope that everyone is as friendly throughout the process.




This week will not be as stressful as last and I will wake up early again and run to Seoul on Tuesday and drop off the form very quickly. Hopefully, JJ will be approved and we can start working on her interview materials and documentation.

Visa Part 1

I-130 Petition American Embassy Seoul Part 1

So after a couple of months of gathering documents and getting organized(organized means putting things off till I am 100% sure I had everything) I booked an appointment to submit JJ's I-130 petition. I emailed the embassy on Sunday the 15th and was notified on Tuesday March the 17th that I had be given an appointment for Thursday March 19th. Along with this appointment notice, I was also notified that I would need my birth certificate and JJ would need a copy of her basic certificate. Since we didn't know about the last two items we would have to delay our appointment. I emailed the embassy and moved the appointment back a week to Thursday March 26th. I went into fast action mode and had my mom Fed-Ex my birth certificate, which they had on hand.(Thanks to my Dad for being so organized) We also had to send JJ's basic certificate(기본중명서) and family certificate to a translator for a certified translation with notary stamp. Luckily, we received everything in time for my appointment on the 27th. Here is a list of everything I brought with me and then another list of what they actually took from me.

My documentation
A copy of my birth certificate
A copy of my US passport
A copy of my Korean Foreigner Identification Card

A copy of my work contract

Form G325A for myself
A passport photograph of myself

JJ's documentation

Form G325A
A passport photograph

A copy her Korean passport

A copy of her Korean National Identification

Certified Translation of her Basic Certificate(기본중명서)

Certified Translation of her Certificate of Family Relationship(가족관계중명서)

Documentation of our marriage

A copy of our marriage certificate

Certified translation of our Marriage Relationship Certificate(혼인관계중명서)

Evidence of bonafide marriage

Copies of wire transfers from her Korean account to my American account

Copy of our Joint Savings Account

Copies of our Joint Credit Cards

Copy of her name listed on my insurance

Photos taken during our relationship

Emails from various family members

Copies of airline tickets from our trip to America

Since I read on the Embassy website that I could attend this part of the process without my wife, I got on the bus alone about 6:45 a.m. on Thursday. My appointment was for 10:00, but I wanted to be there as early as possible. The bus Gods were shining down on me. I arrived at the bus stops at the same time as both of my buses and it ended up taking me about one hour and 15 minutes to get to the Embassy. I had about an hour to kill, so I went to Starbucks and sat around for awhile. At 9:00, I went to the wrong embassy entrance(the front one) and was directed to the side entrance. I quickly cleared security and then made my way to the third floor. The whole place seemed to be pretty deserted. I guess with the new visa waiver program there are not that many people having to visit the embassy. The third floor was a little more crowded with about fifty or so people waiting for visa interviews.

To be continued....

Scattered

Our Visitor


Adam and his new guitar

I woke up early on Saturday due to the our small furry visitor that we were watching. According to her parents, she is an early riser and they were telling the truth.

Later, I took Adam to Songtan, so that he could buy a guitar. I wanted to make the trip because I needed to pick up a bottle of whiskey and also had an urge for some Thai food. It was interesting to go back to my black market that I usually go to. They have completely torn down most of the roof that covered the back allies and it does make it look a bit better, if not less seedy. The area is still run down, but at least you are not walking in the dark. Adam got a good deal on a Fender and I actually got my whiskey for the same price as normal even though the exchange rate has changed drastically.

JJ and I didn't do much for Valentine's. We ended up going to our favorite restaurant and then coming back home and watching Bolt. The movie was actually pretty funny.

My Afternoon
As the above picture shows, I spent the afternoon with paperwork. I am trying to organize all of JJ's visa work. I have to go get some pictures made, finish writing a cover letter for the I-130, get a few addresses that I have forgotten, verify my parent's date of births, and get a little bit more info on JJ's old addresses. I am almost ready to book my appointment to drop off all of the paperwork and then the waiting game begins.


Canon 70-200 f/4 Photo from Roadcarvin


I almost ordered this jewel tonight from an online Korean company, but the company will only take a cash payment via bank transfer and I am just not that comfortable doing that. It is grey-market, but I don't feel too worried , as I will be back in the States in less than 9 months. I found the address of the company that was selling the lens and will make a visit on Saturday. I am curious to see if they give me the same price that they published on the internet. They had a bunch of deals and if they treat me right, I will be back to pick up a Tamron 17-50 or a Canon 24-70 in a few months.