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 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

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….

Wednesday 3 hours sleep- Bus trip to the embassy to apply for JJ’s Visa
Thursday 3 1/2 hours sleep – Kindergarden
Friday-5 hours sleep- Picking books and lunch with the boss
Saturday +10 hours hopefully

I will update later with a full report of my trip for JJ’s visa. I applied for the I-130 at the American embassy in Seoul, but still have to make one more trip on Tuesday to drop off one more needed paper.

I took a power nap today after picking out books for the new classes and then went out to celebrate Troy and Joanne’s birthdays. We had dukgalbi and then moved on to Addonnis. We also ended up at Junco for some whiskey and singing. Loads of pictures to come tomorrow!

I enjoyed the zoo and look forward to returning. I was sitting around tonight trying to figure out where I am going to go next Saturday. I was thinking about trying to make it to Dongjak, Insadong or somewhere else in Seoul. I will probably check out some of the other photo galleries on the Flickr in Seoul group and make a decision later this week.

I really thought the weather was going to ruin my day, but I stayed dry all day and the rain didn’t really start until after 10. I took the subway all the way to Seoul Grand Park. It really only took about an hour. The zoo is not the greatest I have ever visited, but for 3,000 won, it is a heck of a deal. I took a bunch of photos and wondered around for a few hours. The park was crowded today. I think with the nice weather, everyone decided to head to the zoo. I run into a couple of photography clubs and even saw someone toting around a 200 1.8. I tried to catch up with him and see what he was shooting, but lost him in the crowd. I covered most of the zoo today, but didn’t see the primates. I was losing light and wanted to hang out around the hippos, but could never get a good shot.

It looks like the weather is going to be crap for the rest of the weekend. I foresee a very lazy day tomorrow. I have an appointment at the American embassy on Thursday and will update later on our process for JJ’s visa and what all was required.