ok here is my story in detail

[zoosaloo]

in the introduction part i have mentioned a little but i will post here and hope that you guys can help me.
in sept 2001 i entered the us with an i94...me and my hubby got married end of october (halloween 01)
after that...couple of months ...we were able to gather the money to get my application for citizinship together...we had a whole packet going out with everything...it was the I130 the biographical...auth for work and all that...what exactly im sorry i cant remember but the main papers were attempted to file.
it was sent back because my birthcertificate was not translated properly and for some reason we were told that we would have to send in seperate moneyorders for each paper.
well my hubby got into a car accident and our car totalled...guess where the money went...we figured it would be better for him to be able to keep his job which he needed a car for...long story short with all that...every time we were able to get all the money together fate had it that something happened we needed to spend money on.
since we were told by an organization at the time that it would be ok to file at a later time we figured that at some point all this would just be fine.
yeah well it so happened that in february 08 a couple of personal things happened...my parents going through a separation and my grandmother being very sick and i wished to go home.
i didnt know about the 3/10 year ban and left on my own free will.
i bought a ticket..went to the airport and at the check in i was looked at funny asked for a greencard or any other documentation...didnt have any and nothing was mentioned about the ban.
now being here and dealing with family issues which i am already somewhat sick of i read up on the k3 visa i would have to obtain to come back and found out about the bar.
so far i know that my husband has to file the I130...wait for NOA then file the I129f, right??
if or when that gets approved i will get an interview at the consular her in germany...well my question is ...im in ingolstadt if any of you know that city..its right between munich and frankfurt and i was wondering which consular i would have to tell them to send the approval.
furthermore i am wondering how long all this might take...i read its about 3 to 5 months for the usci and another 2 to 3 months for the consular here for me to even get an interview.
does anyone have any experience with that in germany?
well i didnt enter without inspection but i definitely overstayed my tourist visa and i dont know if the marriage would change anything in my status.
so i think i have or my husband will have to file an I601 and hardship letter.
thinking about that makes me wanna cry because as much as i think of all this and read all the approved letters it seems that we dont really have a strong case....he doesnt really have medical issues nor do we have kids.
the only thing i can think of is that he doesnt speak the language and well u kind of need a good eduction here in germany to get somewhat of a decent job.
i see it right now looking for work while i have to stay here...i left germany pretty much right after school and well dont have experience in anything.
its been 2 months of looking and nothing.
there would be no way he could find something not even speaking german fluently...and yes i know its doable and he can learn it but it still doesnt change the fact that he doesnt have the education he would need to find a good job here.
me alone would not be able to support him here.
i wish i wouldnt have been so stupid and just left like that cause its hell without him here and all i want is to go back....im puzzling every day about this hardship letter and how to build a case they would have no problem to approve.
i mean just the grounds that i stayed with him ...didnt work over there to not screw up anything and building a life together doesnt seem enough of a hardship.
well im also wondering about if it would be ok for him to come over for a couple of months to live with me while all this is going on. i somehow think it would affect the hardship negatively but i miss my husband terribly.
also he was in the army and does anyone know if that is look at at all?
im confused by all this and would like to know so many things but it seems even the lawyer he spoke to just said file the I130 and I129f and be on ur marry little way....i have read that you cant file those together...you have to have the NOA first before filing the I129f right?
ok my post is starting to get confusing so i will stop for now....please ask me on whatever you would like to know to help my case....i am so greatfull to have found this website..without you guys id be lost

[mymexicanman]

hallole... ich weiss nicht genau wie ich dir helfen kann, aber bestimmt kommt laurafern11 oder marie oder ein paar andere alte hasen die mehr wissen. leider hast du den fehler gemacht und bist wieder zurueck und die konsulate in deutschland sind nicht die einfachsten sowie man hoert aber nicht aufgeben, est wird schon.
liebe gruesse aus orlando und stuttgart.

[zoosaloo]

hallo mymexicanman
erstmal find ichs toll dass ich hier auch muttlersprachler hab mit denen ich was diskutieren kann...irgendwie wirds nach ner weile auch recht schwer wenn man immer nur deutsch redet einen guten englischen satz rauszukriegen....aber ich bin noch gut am schaffen hehe....hoffnung und willen werd ich sicher nicht aufgeben nur haste mir schon angst gemacht mit deinem satz...am liebsten würd man ja doch hören wollen dass alles kein problem ist und superfein von statten geht aber so ist das ja meistens oder eigentlich immer nicht.
ja ich hab nen großen fehler gemacht das weiss ich jetzt auch aber irgendwie muss dass auch wieder zu beheben sein...schliesslich können sie einen doch nicht alles so dermassen nachhalten oder.
naja und nachdem ich jetzt nochmal ne frage habe schreib ich die schnell auf englisch

hey well had to say hey to mymex but i have an additional question along with that novel i wrote above....do i have to file the DS-157 at the consulate here in germany...if so when should i do that
i know i have a million and 2 questions...sorry i guess im not as smart as i thought i might be :shy:

[emt103c]

You can find a lot of information in the stickies on the HSL.

His visiting will not have an adverse affect on the HSL, you can actually use proof of how much it costs to travel as one of your hardships.

The hardships you will need to prove in your case will be financial, job related, language, etc. You will definitely want to brainstorm some more.

Does your husband have family members for whom he is responsible or helps to support?

Is your husband still in the military?

Does your husband have a job that he would have difficulty performing or finding work in in Germany?

Keep an eye out, but I'm wondering why you are asking about the DS-157, you are doing a spousal visa, right?

[ginobili20]

Hi zoosaloo, I'm sorry all this is happening to you. We never think we could be in a situation like this until we are. My case has some similarity. Yes, first you will have to apply for the visa (your husband in US has to do it). Then once you are denied the visa (they will deny it cuz of the overstay), you start the waiver process, the I601. You can't apply for the waiver until they deny de visa. In my case the visa process took 10 months (in most of the cases I've read here it didn't take that long, about 5-7 months is normal I believe) and the waiver will take from 6 to 9 months we've been told at the embassy (we applied one month ago in Argentina). About the harships, well, at first it's normal to think that you don't have any but then thinking and thinking hard i'm sure you'll find some. Unfortunately, if you are starting all this, you have plenty of time to work on the waiver, so I'm sure little by little you'll come out with new ideas and also this webside will help you a lot with that. You are in the right place. Stay positive.

[zoosaloo]

thanks to all for the quick replies
emt...no my husband is not in the military anymore but considering the fact to rejoin eventually.

as for family members...well his mother is about to move in with him since she cant afford a place of her own..i dont know how much that would matter.
i know he suffers from depression also but that would be documented by a doctor im sure.
he has a back injury that is acting up every now and then and considering surgery ( injury is from when he was back in the army and he has paperwork about it )
maybe there we could find out about the surgery and such for evidence of recovery time and maybe how he would not be able to travel.
traveling back and forth is first of really expensive and well getting the time off would mean for him to lose out on money that he needs to pay mortgage student loan and carloan with.
at the moment he is a mechanic at a golfcourse which i know you need a "lehre" here in germany...that is somewhat of an apprenticeship in the states i believe.
also all the equipment differs from what he has experience with ....sitll dont know how strong of a case that would make.


also i asked about the DS-157 cause i was looking around on the consular website and read that all non-immigrant visas need that filed. once again sorry...i thought the k3 visa is non immigrant up untill i get there

6 to 9 months to get the decition on the I 601 is really a long time...so i guess i would be looking at over a year to even know if im approved or denied

[emt103c]

The process will go like this:

file I-130 through Service Center (husband does this) have option of filing I-129 to "speed it up" doesn't always actually make things faster. . .

Case Approved/Denied (almost always approved)

Case transferred to NVC (you have to file DS-230/I-864 and gather supporting documents including police certs and medical)

Case transferred to consulate and appt given.

Appt. Visa denied, have to file I-601.

It does take quite a bit of time, so the faster you get started the better. You have PLENTY of time to organize those hardships you mentioned. Not a bad case actually. You will just need to prove that he has the need to help his mother, and the others you mentioned.

[Laura]

thanks to all for the quick replies
emt...no my husband is not in the military anymore but considering the fact to rejoin eventually.

as for family members...well his mother is about to move in with him since she cant afford a place of her own..i dont know how much that would matter.
i know he suffers from depression also but that would be documented by a doctor im sure.
he has a back injury that is acting up every now and then and considering surgery ( injury is from when he was back in the army and he has paperwork about it )
maybe there we could find out about the surgery and such for evidence of recovery time and maybe how he would not be able to travel.
traveling back and forth is first of really expensive and well getting the time off would mean for him to lose out on money that he needs to pay mortgage student loan and carloan with.
at the moment he is a mechanic at a golfcourse which i know you need a "lehre" here in germany...that is somewhat of an apprenticeship in the states i believe.
also all the equipment differs from what he has experience with ....sitll dont know how strong of a case that would make.


also i asked about the DS-157 cause i was looking around on the consular website and read that all non-immigrant visas need that filed. once again sorry...i thought the k3 visa is non immigrant up untill i get there

6 to 9 months to get the decition on the I 601 is really a long time...so i guess i would be looking at over a year to even know if im approved or denied

The outline emt posted above is really good. Research the K-3 before you go that route. There have been a lot of issues with that lately, like it's not always much faster.

Anyway, as far as hardships, his mom living with him is very significant. If you can argue that she is dependent on him (financially, physically, etc) that is a strong reason why he cannot move to Germany because he would have to leave his mom in a bad state, etc.

The career-related stuff can be good if you can show evidence of whatever permit he would need in Germany, and also if he's not fluent in German perhaps he would have a lot of trouble finding a job, and if the vehicles are different, etc. You can make a lot out of that, but you have to prove stuff to them, not just state it.

Also, your waiver will be adjudicated in Frankfurt, where all German waivers (as well as waiver from several other european countries) are sent. I'm not sure if your visa interview will be there as well, but I think that is the case. They don't do immigrant visa interviews at multiple consulates usually.

Welcome again and best of luck!

[JustMe]

Sorry about your situation. You have to go through Frankfurt Consulate.

Ich bin auch aus Deutschland (Bayern) habe im April nach langem warten endlich meine GC erhalten. Gott sei Dank, ich brauchte nicht zurueck nach Deutschland.

Viel Glueck

[zoosaloo]

ok sorry for all this shooting questions out there ....how does it work now with the I130 and I129f....can you file them together or does hubby have to file I130 wait till he gets a reciept and then file the I129f...im really confused about that right now.
btw what do you mean with the k3 visa...i figured that would get me over there faster while having to wait for the I130 getting approved.
what issues have there been if u dont mind me asking...just point me to a website if you can:D
thank you guys so much for your help ....just in that one day so many questions have been answered and well others come up but you know how it is.

[Wes&Steffi]

Zoosaloo....my name is Stephanie and I am here in Germany as well and staying near Stuttgart. My story is somewhat simular to yours and I have been here since March of 07. I can also write in German.
Wir sind durch die gleichen sachen durch gegangen wie du jetzt musst und ich würde mich gerne mit dir unterhalten und dir tips geben. Wir haben die 130 in Mai 07 beantragt und sind jetzt erst endlich so weit, dass wir im Feb 08 unseren Termin in Frankfurt hatten und unseren 601 waiver für den Overstay bantragt haben. Es dauert mindestens 1-11/2 Jahre für alles. Vielleicht sogar länger.
Du musst auf alle Fälle nach Frankfurt, denn das Konsulat in München macht keine Immigrant Visas...nur 2 Konsulate in Deutschland machen das, Frankfurt und Berlin. Die anderen sind nur für US citizens und visitors visas. ich würde mich gerne mit dir unterhalten...ich schreib dir ne privat message

[Wes&Steffi]

hallole... ich weiss nicht genau wie ich dir helfen kann, aber bestimmt kommt laurafern11 oder marie oder ein paar andere alte hasen die mehr wissen. leider hast du den fehler gemacht und bist wieder zurueck und die konsulate in deutschland sind nicht die einfachsten sowie man hoert aber nicht aufgeben, est wird schon.
liebe gruesse aus orlando und stuttgart.

my mexicanman Ich bin aus Atlanta und jetzt im Moment auch bei Stuttgart...sag mal hallo....würde gerne mal chatten:thumbup:

[zoosaloo]

hallo Stephanie...ich bin auch ne Steffi hehe...ich hab dir von meiner normalen email geschrieben...was ist denn momentan los mit den K§ visas? ich hätt mir gedacht dass sie das schneller bearbeiten damit man eben in die staaten kann...wir können es uns wirklich nicht leisten dass mein hubby immer wieder nach deutschland kommt...und ja uhmm sollte mein mann dabei sein beim visa interview?? naja das können wir ja eigentlich alles besprechen :)

[BeeVee]

Lots of great info..Same situation here..Let us know how it goes and bless you all for being so supportive.