Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
IMBRA Special Topics	Why is a DUI associated with Violence to Women?	[/quote] I bet ya that more abusers are that way because they saw their fathers treat women that way. They were "trained" to be that way by a bad example and role-model. I think that is more relevant than alcohol. I doubt that many men who come from warm, loving parents end up being abusers. If they are really looking to weed out the abusers, than maybe a more pertinent addendum to the I-129F would be, "Has your father ever verbally or physically abused your mother?" [/quote] There's so many factors that can lead or influence wether someone abuses his/her partner, not to mention each individual circumstances, that it'd be impossible to touch on all of them in one form. It'd probably need a psychiatric assesment of each couple, so cases would take years. I think we're missing the point that one of the main reasons for IMBRA is so that the foreign fiance(e) is INFORMED of certain aspects of the future husband/wife that may have an effect on their future. And the information has to be irefutable, you could easily answer no to the hypothetical question of "were you abused as a child", but with the criminal past, there's a record, so the petitioner can't lie. We also have to keep in mind this law wasn't made with us (loving couples who are marrying out of love and we have shared all our life stories with our SOs) in mind. We have to accept the fact that there's men/women out there who might have less than honest intentions when getting a foreign wife/husband and men/women in poor countries who will marry out of economic reasons or in search of a better life and might get caught out in a life threatening situation. The law is made for those cases, so if you want to vent your frustration on someone, why not on the people who prey on the economically disadvantaged for dishonest reasons? (even though i know we're stuck in this limbo and delays hell due to USCIS plain ineptitude, and believe me, it frustrates me too)	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-06-24 05:04:00
IMBRA Special Topics	Got the IMBRA RFE receipt notification	Juts when i was starting to get nervous, I got the email, 3 times. It took 9 days to get to California and 1 day to get email from USCIS. So don't despair if you don't hear from them straight away! yay! On July 20, 2006, we received your response to our request for evidence or information. However because preliminary processing was complete, the remaining processing time will be less than the maximum stated in this message. You will receive a written decision on this case. You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done. Follow the the link below for current processing dates.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-21 13:11:00
IMBRA Special Topics	IMBRA RFE	yeah, as i posted earlier, my fiance mailed back the RFE to CSC on July 11th and we didn't get the email about the receipt til today.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-21 19:03:00
IMBRA Special Topics	Nebraska Chart	you can add my RFE receipt date of July 20th, unless you're actually noting date of email stating the receipt, in which case it's a day later, the 21st of July... Anna Sif..............................Netherlands....5/16.... 7/20	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-24 12:44:00
USCIS Service Centers	New Processing Dates for CSC	Just a question.... I just checked the Nebraska processing info and it's saying May 29th....could this be even remotely possible?????? #######? that's right! so they send our Nebraska cases to "stuck-in-February-forever-California" and then leap forward to May? I thought someone said Nebraska was not processing K1s any more!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-06-21 15:18:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)	Any member from Spain?	Even though my country shows up as Netherlands, cos that's where I was living when I went through my K1, I'm from Espana!! Hola!! I've been here for over 6 months and I miss mi familia. Anyone going home por Navidades? I'm not sure if I can make it, and I'm very bummed.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-10-24 13:49:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)	Medical Examination in Netherland	I got my vaccines at my local GGD (Gemeentelijke gezondheidsdiensten). When you get packet 3, it includes a list of which vaccines you need, bring them to the GGD and they'll give you a book and register all your shots. If you don't get all in NL (Hepatitis one needs 3 shots over 5-6 month period), you can get the rest here in the US. The US embassy will send you a letter with the doctor info for your medical. You can call and make an appointment once you get the info. You can only get the medical exam done there. You'll have to go to a place to get your X ray and then to a doctor for the exam.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-11-01 14:43:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	vaccinations	My parents can't find my vaccination card, but my mum mentioned this bloodtest method to determine which vaccines i've had, so i'm relieved to read it's possible and valid for the medical, but one question, do you need to ask your regular doctor for it, or at the medical exam for the visa? thanx!!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-08-11 14:44:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Immunization records..help	My GP here in the Netherlands had no clue what test i was talking about, so she called the National vaccination center and spoke to 4 different people who had no idea either... in what hands is our health when I'm better informed than the National center for vaccines? She suggested since i grew up in Spain, that i try to get a duplicate of my records in Spain, but I KNOW back then there was no computer register and i doubt they kept files from 30 years ago, so i think i'm going to need all the shots again... great, that's going to be at least 300 Euros worth of vaccines. fantastic. sorry, i'm ranting.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-22 15:43:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Immunization records..help	yep, that's what i heard too, you get a blood test to determine what you have antibodies of. I actually have an appointment with my GP to order the test, cause my parents can't find my vaccination records... I'll post when i know more details about how it works	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-20 14:49:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Got UK Police certificate	I lived in the UK over 10 years ago, so I had to request a police certificate through the Met Police for my K1. I just wanted to share the information for anyone who ever lived in the UK and needs to get one, that it took me a month and a week to get it, so order it ahead. What I did is ask a friend in the UK to buy a postal order for the 10 pounds fee needed, since they don't take international orders or cheques or cash, and sent it with the form along with a letter explaining what i needed and what it's for, a utility bill for current address, and my healthcare insurance card as ID... Now, they say they require an original form of ID with the petition and that they return it upon completion, but I got the certificate today and the card wasn't included, so be careful not to send any form of ID that will be difficult to replace such as a passport, because you might not get it back! All the info is here http://www.met.polic...ction/forms.htm One more paper solved, pfiu!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-23 13:50:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	stupid doubt	just put the address of the embassy and att. of department that sent you the letter, no need to put details or case number, just your address as sender on the back	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-10-27 14:41:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Vaccinations	Tell me about it!! There's no titre test available in the Netherlands other than for Hepatitis, and i can't find or get a duplicate of my records from Spain, so i had to get DTp and MMR shots yesterday and man, I can hardly move my arms!!! Things we do for love!!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-10-27 14:30:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Photo Format for Fiance/e Visa Interview	Thanks for the replies. Yes I should have pointed out that I am in the UK so want to know whether I can use a standard UK passport photo machine to produce the required photo size for my interview at the US embassy in London. [/quote] I'd go to one of the photoplaces they suggest. They probably give you the addresses for a reason. I don't know for the UK, but here in Holland the passport photo size is different than what's needed for the US visa, and not only that, but you need to make sure your ears show, no hair is in your face. I was even told not to smile, because some people had had their photos denied at the visa interview for smiling too much (they might think it disfigures your face or something). Why risk having the photos turned down and delay getting your visa, when you can just go someplace and get it right? That's my 2 cents.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-11-14 16:43:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	My medical experience in Amsterdam	Hi, I had my medical exam last week here in Amsterdam. I called both the doctor and the X ray clinic and got appointments for 2 days later (their info is in letter in packet 4) I first had the Xray at the clinic. It took about 10 mins. They are sending the xray to the doctor, but the lady told me it looked fine. I paid 50 euros cash at the end. Then walked to the doctor's office, which is about 10 mins walk away. There I had to fill in a form, had some blood taken, and then i waited about 40 mins for the doctor to see me. He's a really nice man, he made small conversation about this and that and asked me questions about my medical history (the usual: have you ever been in hospital, seriously ill, take medicines or drugs, etc). Then he measured my heght and weight, took my blood pressure, checked my heart rate and breathing and my eye sight with one of those optician charts. He then checked my vaccination card and told me i didn't need the Hepatitis B vaccination i took, that people older than 17 don't need to get it, even though it says so in the letter i got from the Embassy!! So my advice is to wait til your medical before getting any vaccinations, i took them in advance to be well prepared and ended up getting some i didn't need! I paid 155 euros at the end of the exam and that was it! They send the results directly to the Embassy. So that's done and my interview is next tuesday. I'm a bit nervous, cos this week i gave official notice at work and to my landlord... So wish me luck! I'll post how it went after my interview. Anna	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-12-09 08:20:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Visa Aproved!!	Hi, all. I had my interview at the Consulate in Amsterdam today. A very smooth positive experience. The guy who interviewed me saw i was born and raised in Spain, so we ended up having most of the interview in Spanish! I submitted a review in the Netherlands Embassy feedback, for anyone interested. The visa should be in my passport and in my hands in less than a week. Now a couple more months while my replacement at work can start and we'll be flying home to Portland together!! So happy!!! Thank you all at Visajourney, without all the information and support here, I don't think we would have made it.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-12-12 14:07:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Interview Success!!!	enhorabuena! It feels good to be aproved after all this time, uh?	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-12-13 14:18:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	K1 Interview checklist	medical results are usually sent to the embassy directly, i believe. I also had a more recently dated letter from my fiance stating his intention to marry me, even though they didn't ask to see it. Bring photocopies of everything. You need to show them the originals for them to certify the copies, but the embassy will NOT make photocopies for you, and they need to keep the paperwork, so unless you bring photocopies they will have to keep your originals. Not sure about the UK, but in the Netherlands you need to pay the fee via bank transfer, so you also need to bring proof of that. Good luck!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-01-09 16:43:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Visa approved!	Congratulations!!!! Glad it all went well. I wish you both a happy life together!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-01-09 16:35:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Sending DS -2001 before police certificate received?	bear in mind it takes 40 days to get the UK police certificate. And also that the time they take to schedule an interview varies from case to case. I'd personally wait a couple more weeks just in case.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-01-11 14:48:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Medical Exam/Vaccination Question	As far as i understood from my vaccination requirements i needed the Hepatitis B shots, so i went and got 2 of the shots (thinking to get the 3rd one in the US) and then the panel phisician who did my medical for the Consulate told me i didn't need it. Go figure! I think i'll get the 3rd shot anyways, might as well since i got the first 2 already.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2007-01-11 14:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Introduction	Thank you all. I've "dissected" the site already and it's soooo informative. We'll be going through Nebraska and the Amsterdam Embassy, so not too bad. Will keep posting and certainly will visit back to check how everyone else is doing. Anna	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-03-12 05:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Introduction	Hi, all. I'm new here. My fiance and I are starting to gather documentation, etc for the K1 visa. I just found this site and it's like heaven opened up, it's so helpful and there's so much information. What seemed like a daunting process now looks clear and even, dare I say, easy? (I'm a natural born optimist) Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself, and oh, yeah, ask a question. What does it mean that you're "touched"? Keep reading it in entries and I wonder what it means. Best. Anna	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-03-11 04:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	police report from london	And to Anna, yes if you have lived in another country for 6 months or more then you need a police cert. Thanx, Munchkins. Is that the Form 3019 they have the at Met police site? Can I ask you, what type of ID did you send with your request? It says in the form that you can only send originals as identification, and even though they say they send it back, I really don't want to send my passport or drivers license in case it gets lost? Did you attach a note asking what you needed it for? The form seems a bit vague, so I want to make sure it's the right thing... And do you (or anyone else) know if you can request one in person at any police station in the UK? I travel to London very often, so i could do it on one of my visits... thanx!!!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-04-21 08:52:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	police report from london	hey, Stacey. May I ask: Did he need this because he lived in London at one point? I lived in London for a year when i was 19 so i think i'll have to ask for a police report there once we send and (hopefully) get our K1 visa aproved. Can I ask you where did he aply for this? I currently live in Holland, so I'd apreciate a site or phone where these certificates have to be requested. thanx! Anna	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-04-21 07:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Proposing tommorow! - Help needed	I went to California through Houston (not Dallas, but close ) over Xmas to meet my fiance's family, after having visited him in Portland in October, so i was a bit nervous as well, but I was very straight forward, when they asked, I told them i was meeting my boyfriend's family and showed them my return ticket itinerary, and that was all. But to play it safe, bring your house rent contract or something that shows you live in the UK. as for the proposal, congrats and you go, man!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-06-12 12:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	NEED PEOPLES OPINION	oh, please! do you really think anyone at USCIS is going to look through their backlog of cases to see who's the naughty ones who've been talking to the press and childishly "punish" them for their "indiscretion"? Give me a break! Let's get out of our little VJ world for a second and remember that 99.9% of the population don't have a clue what a K1 visa is, have never heard of IMBRA, and have no idea about what regular law abiding people like you and I have to wait and go through just to be able to be with our loved one. Media exposure will only make people aware of the situation and simpathetic to it, who knows, there might be lawyers, congressmen/women, lawmakers reading this article and can help do something about it. Since when is it wrong to denounce a situation that is clearly affecting people negatively? Are we so scared and paranoid and selfish that we'd rather hide and pretend nothing is wrong than denounce it? We're talking about the Associated Press, by the way, not People magazine or a tabloid. I say go for it full on, Bill's girl! And thank you very much for having the guts to do this, and for putting a voice and a face to all of us in this situation.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-06-09 16:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question about online case status accounts	Hi, this might be a silly question, but can I register for a USCIS online case status account to check things and get updates by email, even if i'm not the USC? Thanx.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-06-20 15:17:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Nebraska service center?	We also sent to Nebraska as required and a week later got the NOA1 stating our case had been transfered to California. Since then we've received the IMBRA RFE and have been touched once... Looks like they're working on March cases now, so... be patient!!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-15 18:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Special Moment	Congratulations!!! Very happy for you. Wishing you a smooth rest of process.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-17 13:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Approval from CSC!!!	Finally an aproval from CSC!! Congrats!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-22 06:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	proof of ongoing relationship?	I also threw in some emails and copies of birthday cards, letters, and notes we sent each other. (you can cover the very personal bits with a marker if you like) If you still have some airline boarding passes or itineraries from airlines, as well as any train/bus tickets from any trip you've taken together, it won't hurt to include them.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-25 13:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Parport issue - noa2 comming soon	I'd get a new passport now and do the whole process with that one new passport. If you explain the situation, it should not be a problem to get a new one before the other expires. (me thinks)	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-08-02 12:52:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	WHIRLWIND APPROVALS	Everyone, in case you haven't noticed, this Asante character is in every Topic posting flaming messages, without ever contributing any constructive information or feedback. He/she (though by some misoginist coments posted in the past, I asume it's a he) must have a very boring life. Ignore him, or else you're just feeding his whatever enjoyment he gets out of upsetting the people who are here for a legitimate reason.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-08-01 15:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Long time for NOA 1	We were trasnfered to California from Nebraska and got the NOA1 (informing us about the transfer) before it arrived there so in our case it was sent from the original center. After that we got an email informing us when our case arrived in Cali.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-07-30 15:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Keeping Track of NOA2's	NOA 1 May 16th RFE received at USCIS July 20th No touches since	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-08-08 15:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Police certificate expiration dates	Does anyone know how strict they are with expiration dates of police certificates? I'm still waiting for my NOA 2 but decided to start gathering some police certificates to be ready when the day comes (yeah, this process still hasn't stripped me of all optimism). So i sent a Police cert request to the UK which i know generally takes around 40 days and to Spain, a country who's bureaucracy is notoriously slow (specially since i had to request it through the danish embassy), but who would have thought! A week later, the spanish police certificate is in my mailbox, so i was all happy thinking how at last something seems to go fast in this process, when i read: this certificate expires in 3 months!!! So, it's going to be tight, even if i get my NOA 2 soon, for it to still be valid by the time i get my interview, but if i'm lucky it'd be just a matter of days... Has anybody been through something similar and how strict/understanding are they at the US embassy about this? It won't be any fun if i end paying another 100 bucks for another certificate. So much for looking ahead and trying to be prepared. So anyone from Spain or who's lived in Spain reading this, beware of this 3 month expiration period for the police cert. I didn't see it stated in any of the information I had, otherwise i would have waited a bit, so you know.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-08-25 13:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	APROVED!!!	My fiance told me the great news last night!!!! He got the NOA2 (dated Sept 5th) this saturday on the mail. I didn't receive the customary email(s) and even though i got what i thought was a touch on Sept. 6th on the online case status, it didn't say anything about the aproval. So sit tight, it'll come when you least expect it. Wishing everyone waiting speedy NOA 2s!!!!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-11 13:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!	Congratulations!!! I'm really happy for you guys. Hope the rest of the process goes ultra fast and smooth!	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-08 16:17:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	For those just received their NOA2 from CSC (in September, at least)	in our case, we still have not received any emails, and even though the date was updated on our online case status, it doesn't say it is aproved either. We just got the NOA2 via snail mail and that's how we found out.	Anna Sif	Not Telling	Netherlands	2006-09-19 13:53:00