Load the forum, donāt try and open them in your email
@Mazter09 - No doubt luck of the draw as @garrett noted, as well as choosing an early biometrics appointment. Hopefully, your pre-approval and all the others patiently waiting will hit soon! 
I will add that because of the generous sharing of all here who came before me, I was able to prepare for my appointment by immediately requesting FBI Criminal Record and a new copy of the marriage certificate. Once I had the copies, they were apostilled in time for my trip (already planned for Easter ) to provide to my attorney a few days earlier in Lisbon.
I donāt know if others are doing this and it may be overkill, but also had a color copy of my Social Security card (Tax ID card in the US) apostilled which was submitted to SEF.
The one document they needed which wasnāt submitted at time of appointment was my tax liability document (unsure of the correct term for this) for Portugal.
Apparently, my attorney didnāt have enough time to request and receive before my appointment, but was told it was an easy item to submit and would not delay processing time.
Hopefully, that is the case and this information is of assistance to those in the same situation.
when did you order your fbi criminal record and new copy of marriage certificate? on 28 feb 2023? and you had them apostilled by 28 march 2023? was the date of your biometrics appointment 28 march or 13 april?
sounds like i should also have my tax liability document ready. i will ask my lawyer to order this now - is that ok?
why did you need to submit a color copy of your social security card to SEF?
The document āCertidĆ£o das dĆvidas/nĆ£o dĆvidasā ie proof that you have no debts in relation to the Tax authorities (Autoridade TributĆ”ria e Aduaneira (AT)) can be easily downloaded from the AT site: How to Request a Declaration of No Debt to Finance Ā» Online..
You (or your lawyer) have access to the AT site as you will be liable to the annual Council tax on your apartment.
@xlyntmr -
I ordered the FBI record (via online and completion of fingerprinting at the US Post Office) as soon as I received my pre -approval.
This gave me a month to receive the document and have it apostilled before receiving the invitation to request (March 28) an appointment for biometrics. It was tight even with a holiday one Friday, but in California, it was doable. The notary returned both documents to me the afternoon before I left the following day.
My biometrics in PortimĆ£o was Thursday, April 13th mid-morning. I already had a trip planned to Lisbon for Easter, so the timing was pure luck.
As for the Portuguese tax liability document, no doubt it would be to your advantage if your attorney will request it in advance. Unfortunately, I am unaware of what is involved to request, but I donāt think it is a long or involved turnaround.
With regard to the SS card. I didnāt need to submit a color version, but thought it might be best to have in color to avoid possible request of a ātrueā facsimile.
Bottom line, I had no guidance on this, but as the passport submission was in color, I thought it couldnāt hurt.
;<)
The tax document is pretty easy to get. My attorney got a copy the day before my biometrics appointment. As long as they (or you) have access to your NIF account, I think they just download it from the site.
Verification of the main applicantās (me) SSN was required to submit the application and I submitted a signed, notarized, apostilled, translated W9 form since that has my info, SSN and signature (which can be notarized in CA). As a notary in CA, CA notaries are not permitted to verify or vouch for the authenticity of a document (except a Power of Attorney). Therefore the W9 seemed to have all the bells and whistles SEF wanted and it was accepted without issue.
SEF accepted a notarized background check ? I thought it had to be apostilled by the state dept?
Checking if anyone pre-approved in Nov 21 still waiting for biometric invites?
Thanks for clarifying.
You shouldāve been invited in one of the last two tranches. Talk with your lawyer and consider a lawsuit
Hi all,
I gotthis from one ofthe investment companies that I haddiscussed in the past for possi le investment. They stillsend me emails regarding therir products.
Thistime around he sends me his interpretation of the law, can anyone corroborate this by checking with your lawyers?
" This weekend, we had major news from the government. This news, will accelerate the legislative process, allowing us all to see and clearer end to the program. As of now, these are the key aspects the government has revealed:
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It has been confirmed that there will be no retroactive effects, meaning that present and new applications can be submitted until the new legislation is in force. This ends the so-called rumor āGolden Visa applications after the 16th of February will no longer be valid or consideredā.
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Pending applications or future applications will be converted into an Entrepreneurs Residency Permit, with minimum stay requirements of 7 days in the first year and 14 days in subsequent two-year renewal periods. This means that, once the new law comes into force, your golden visa application will be considered as Entrepreneurs Residency Permit, retaining all its original requirement stays.
This important news, further bring two important insights we would like to share with you:
On one hand, one of the most important concerns for our clients has been cleared out: If you apply to the GV before the law changes, your GV will pass on as Entrepreneurs Residency Permit, retaining both its end (A Portuguese passport) and its advantages throughout the process (7 days the first year and 14 days on the subsequent two-year renewal periods). On the other hand, this new development accelerates the conclusion of this process: The legislative process has now lost one of its major obstacles: the possibility of the president vetting it for being unconstitutional. Because of this, we expect to hear definitive news when it comes to deadlines on the next update."
Seen a few of these. Personally I think itās misleading to imply everything is as clear cut as this makes out.
Althought there are other issues, the main unknown relates to those applying now or who havenāt yet received their first card: itās whether the investments they have made will be considered valid for the āentrepreneurā visa they will be issued. And no-one has the answer to that. (Nor is a presidential veto on constitutional grounds necessarily out of the question.)
My lawyer told me there were one 12/21 and one 12/22 got pre approved last week, I hope there are more this week
Thanks for sharing. 12/22 this is very surprising for me !
Itās progress, but not enough 
Surely, 12/22 is a misunderstanding/typo? As a 12/22 applicant myself, I want to believe, but this seems hard to believe!
Edit: I meant December 2022, while Mikele meant 22nd December [2021], of course!