Live webinar
Responding to EB-2 NIW RFEs: Real-Time RFE Data & Strategies
Live webinar with Immigration Attorney, Judy Chang
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
12:00 PM EST
Save your spot here!

Community

Nuha AK
Apr 22, 2023
Petitioning for my Yemeni mother (Part 3): Interview Prep
Sharing my experience to petition for my mother to immigrate in the US. This is post 2 of 4 describing the steps we took. Warning: it’s long lol but I hope this helps you in your journey  Part 1: Filing I-130 with the USCIS Part 2: Submitting DS-260 via the CEAC website Part 3: Interview Preparation (this post) Part 4: Interview Day + Visa Issuance Timeline: • Oct 19, 2022: Documentary Qualified 🎊 • Dec 5, 2022: Email to transfer interview location from Cairo to Djibouti • Dec 9, 2022: Response confirming interview location change and new Case ID • Feb 24, 2023: Email from NVC with Interview Appointment Date (April 4) • Mar 25, 2023: Travel from CAI to DJI • Mar 29, 2023: Medical Exam Completed • Mar 30, 2023: COVID Vaccine • Apr 4, 2023: ⭐️Interview Day ⭐️ The process: Throughout the entire process, we have been following several sources for updates and guidance, and the most helpful resource for me has been Mr. Mosheer’s page on FB from Marhaba Service (link below). I learned through him about the delays in the US Embassy in Egypt in scheduling interviews (takes up to 2 years) and that we can transfer to Djibouti where it’s much faster (3-6 months). I contacted him on Whatsapp and he kindly provided a template and the email to send the transfer request which we did after two weeks of getting DQ. (lmk if you need this info). The transfer and interview date notifications were fairly fast alhamdulilah. It took a week to confirm the transfer and less than 3 months to get an interview date for my mother. We had 40 days from the interview date notification to prepare everything and get my mother to Djibouti for her interview. As soon as we got the interview date, here is what I did: 1. Booked Medical Exam: I called the Dr office in Djibouti (Dr. Nicolas) to schedule an appointment. The lady on the phone said it typically takes four days to issue the results so we scheduled the exam 7 days (including weekend) before the interview date. The woman only took my mother’s name over the phone and told us what to bring. My mother did not have any records for vaccinations and that was not an issue 2. Apply for an E-VISA to enter Djibouti – They say it takes 72 hours to be issued, but we didn’t get ours until after 5 business days, so apply early. It costs $30 USD. 3. Booked hotels + airfare (book your airfare as early as you can because there aren’t direct flights to DJI from CAI and it get expensive as the date gets closer). 4. Issued new Police Certificate: If it’s been more than a year since you uploaded your police certificate, you must issue a new one. This was the case for us and we got a new one issued from Egypt, my mother’s current country of residence. 5. Gather Documents Required for the Interview We created two folders, one containing all the required documents listed on the US Consulate in Djibouti website (link below) including as many pictures as we could find of me and my mother (we had less than 20 pics total because all of our pictures were in Yemen), and the other folder contained additional information that we submitted online at NVC or other supporting documents. We had three main concerns during this process: 1) Covid #Vaccination: My mother was not vaccinated for Covid. When we called Dr. Nicolas’s office and asked about the Covid vaccination, she said that’s fine we can do it here. A: For airports, Egypt asked for my mother’s vaccination and she told them she will get it done in Djibouti so they let her go, and Djibouti did not ask her about her vaccination status. B: At the medical exam on Mar 29, they told us that NO they do not do covid vaccinations in the office and asked us to do it somewhere else and come back the next day with the vaccination card. C: We did the vaccination at a Djibouti community center location and on Mar 30th provided the Dr. office with the vaccination document. D: My advice: get it done as soon as you can to avoid getting symptoms before the interview and you don’t have to worry about last minute like we did. 2) The Djibouti interview pre-checklist said you must bring: “Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all children of the principal applicant (even if he or she is not accompanying).” A) Our issue: my three siblings are in different parts around the world and one of them (my brother) does not have a birth certificate and cannot obtain it within 30 days. Also, all of us are adults at this point (40+ years), so we were not sure if this requirement is needed. B) What we did: I got the birth certificate of 3 out of 4 of us, and my bother’s copy of his passport. We put all of this in the optional folder. C) When we arrived Djibouti, we went to a Yemeni immigration service center (Mr. Ahmad) who reviewed our documents before the interview (link below). He said that only my certificate is important (the petitioner). We placed the remaining certificates and brother’s passport in the optional folder in case. D) Result: Thankfully, just like Mr. Ahmad Alsabahi shared, they only asked for my birth certificate. They did not need or take any of the other certificates. 3) Financial Evidence and AOS: The most complicated part for us what this. I lost my job during COVID and so the information that I submitted before the interview was outdated and no longer true. I submitted 1040EZ and W-9 and tax returns for 2017-2019 in the beginning of the process. Now in 2023, I needed to provide updated information. I am now not making enough on my own to sponsor my mother so I had to add my husband and basically resubmit the entire section again. A) If you are updating anything, you need to also upload it to the CEAC website. B)What I submitted to update my financial status: • Form I-864A Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member • My 2021 Federal Income Tax Return or Transcript • Proof of Relationship Between Sponsor and Household Member • Letter explaining the update and that I’m now adding my husband. • Husband Proof of U.S. Citizenship • My husband’s 2021 and 2022 W-2 • My husband’s 2019-2022 Tax Transcript • Proof of Current or Self Employment • New Form I-864 Affidavit of Support • Printed all the documents above and submitted them online. The Yemeni office in Djibouti that reviewed our papers was helpful because they caught a few things that needed fixing in our file (Picture was not 5x5 so we got new ones, our Egypt police certificate needed translation which he did for us, and he provided some answers on the concerns above). He did note that we might also need a Yemeni police certificate, which we obtained from the Yemeni Embassy in Djibouti following that advice, but turned out it wasn’t required. Links: • Marhaba Services: https://www.facebook.com/MarhabaService • Djibouti eVisa - https://www.evisa.gouv.dj • Pre-Checklist from the US Consulate in Djibouti: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/DJI-Djibouti.html#interview_guidelines • Support in Djibouti: Alsabahi Service Office https://www.facebook.com/alsabahioffice #Yemen #Egypt #Djibouti #DS260 #IR5 #MotherGreenCard

IR-5

U.S. citizen filing for a parent

Total Days: 220 days
Case
2020-03-03
2020-10-09
I-130
220 Days
Vermont Service Center: I-130
5
Prev
32593260326132623263
Next
© 2026 Lawfully Inc.
Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|Privacy Policy (Lawfully Pro)|Terms of Service (Lawfully Pro)|Limited Scope Representation Agreement