biggish data

I am excited because I am finalizing wedding plans. I've paid a deposit and so far this is what our wedding is going to look like:

Beach Wedding decorations

Double hearts before the altar (where we stand)

Sand Ceremony kit (if you look closely- you'll see maple leaves for Canada!) this is a picture from the website- not the one with our names and initials on it.

I also hired a steel drum band to play tropical style music (the school I work at- we have one of the best steel drum bands in the state, the kids play at Disney World and other big named places. Some of them have their own band that their mom manages so I hired them! lol)
This is a pic of steel drum players- but not the ones I am using:

That's what I have so far!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-14 14:55:00

Great news! Sean got his ring back! He thought he lost it at a washroom in a gas station. I told him to go back on the chance that an honest person found it. Well, it turns out a sweet little old lady found it (what was she doing in a man's washroom, eh?) and gave her name and number to the cashier. Sean called her and described the ring, and went and picked it up today.

So it's back on his hand where it belongs! Yay!!!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-12 13:17:00

Oh and Sean lost his wedding ring today, so I had to order him a replacement.

We bought these rings in July of 2008 and we wear them on our right hand. The story behind these is, we decided we wanted a "couple's ring" so I searched online, and he went to the mall. Little did we know we both picked the same ring. I had the print out in my purse and when we went to the stores I saw the ring at one of the stores, but didn't mention it to him because I wanted to see what he liked. At the end of the day I asked him if there was a ring he liked. He said, "Yeah there was a ring I liked but you didn't seem interested in it." I had him take me to the store to show me which one it was. When he pointed it out, I pulled out my print out and told him I wanted the same ring.

Anyway, so a while later we decided we loved the ring so much we want to switch it to our left hands when we get married.

Here's a pic of the ring (but it doesn't do it justice!). It is really beautiful. It looks like waves crashing on the beach, which is where we are going to get married!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-11 22:08:00

QUOTE (Rhiann @ Nov 5 2009, 02:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those are nice flip flops!
Where did you get them?

I need shoes myself. Something flat heeled and with a thick sole, I'm so short I need at least 2 inches to not trip on the dress.

June 9, 2009 - SapphireDreams (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 7, 2009 - PopRocks (Beach/Legal wedding)
July 17, 2009 - July09Bride (Church/Legal wedding)
July 17, 2009 - Kristin & TorontoGuy (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 24, 2009- Hapycloud (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 28, 2009- Chadlaure (Civil/Legal wedding)
August 6, 2009 - HuggleBuggles (Ceremonial/Legal wedding)
September 5, 2009 - Chadlaure (Ceremonial wedding)
September 19 2009 - TimandJoyce (Ceremonial/Religious/Legal wedding)
October 10, 2009 - Minnew (Church/Legal wedding)

November 14, 2009 - Hapycloud (Church/Ceremonial wedding)

January 20th, 2010 - ashenflowers (Beach/Legal wedding)
January 23rd, 2010 - Spoom/ScooterMac (Legal/Ceremonial Wedding)
January 27th, 2010 - Rhiann (Legal/Ceremonial Wedding)
May 1, 2010 - Peachy (Ceremonial Wedding)
June 6, 2010 - Kristin & TorontoGuy (Ceremonial wedding)
June 19, 2010 - Starburst (Ceremonial Wedding)
June 22, 2010- Jennarationnext (Ceremonial wedding)
August 21, 2010 - Krikit's daughter (Church/Legal wedding)
September 4, 2010 - JillA (Celebration wedding)
September 25, 2010 - SapphireDreams (Church wedding)

July 9, 2011 - ashenflowers (Canadian ceremonial wedding)
August 13, 2011 - darkchilde794+hunny (Ceremonial Wedding)

Ok, put us down for April 29th, 2010- Beach wedding.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-11 21:56:00

QUOTE (minnew @ Nov 7 2009, 05:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Rhiann @ Nov 7 2009, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ALRIGHT!
Cake smushing into the groom's face!

LoL!!! I wasn't expecting to! He got cake in my hair in an attempt to smush it into my face! So I did the lady like thing and got him back!! Haha!

Really beautiful pics Minnew. I love red as a wedding color.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-07 17:32:00

QUOTE (ScooterMac @ Nov 6 2009, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Rhiann @ Nov 6 2009, 07:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Danu @ Nov 5 2009, 11:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lol my mom freaked when I told her I want to wear flip flips. No one is going to see my feet so I dont know why it matters and I want to get ones that have a thick foamy bottom so I will be comfortable all night long.

That's what I keep saying!
No one's going to see my feet, so why bother get new shoes?

I'm wearing white ballet flats for the ceremony and white crocs for the reception

I was just going to wear crocs, but my mom went slightly off the hinges...so we compromised.

The white ballet flats sound lovely. I like the sparkley flips flops too.

I am going to be barefoot since we are getting married at the beach. Sean is going to be barefoot too. Aww!

Edited by Arabella, 06 November 2009 - 09:09 AM.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-06 09:09:00

QUOTE (darkchilde794 @ Nov 3 2009, 12:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Krikit @ Nov 3 2009, 12:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We pretty much did the same thing to my sister. She had the civil ceremony at the courthouse, and then we all went to the ceremony in Ireland. (She lives in England.) She was just going to have her and the groom and their two friends to stand up for them until I got involved. We filled the courthouse and then came back to a major reception at her house. No way was I standing for that quiet-marriage #######!

Hahahaha! That is so sweet!!!!

I must say I really appreciate what they are doing. I think with all the visa hassle, our attitude is just "lets get this effing thing done and over with"... without realizing that damn, we're getting married!!!!!!!! And I still have sleepless nights worrying about EVERYTHING can that can go wrong between now and POE (ie. interview going bad, snow storm in Montreal, snow storm in Toronto, snow storm on my POE, evil POE people, H1N1

) that I havent had time to get excited that I'm tying the knot!

June 9, 2009 - SapphireDreams (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 7, 2009 - PopRocks (Beach/Legal wedding)
July 17, 2009 - July09Bride (Church/Legal wedding)
July 17, 2009 - Kristin & TorontoGuy (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 24, 2009- Hapycloud (Civil/Legal wedding)
July 28, 2009- Chadlaure (Civil/Legal wedding)
August 6, 2009 - HuggleBuggles (Ceremonial/Legal wedding)
September 5, 2009 - Chadlaure (Ceremonial wedding)
September 19 2009 - TimandJoyce (Ceremonial/Religious/Legal wedding)
October 10, 2009 - Minnew (Church/Legal wedding)

November 14, 2009 - Hapycloud (Church/Ceremonial wedding)

January 23rd, 2010 - Spoom/ScooterMac (Legal/Ceremonial Wedding)
January 27th, 2010 - Rhiann (Legal/Ceremonial Wedding)
May 1, 2010 - Peachy (Ceremonial Wedding)
June 6, 2010 - Kristin & TorontoGuy (Ceremonial wedding)
June 22, 2010- Jennarationnext (Ceremonial wedding)
August 21, 2010 - Krikit's daughter (Church/Legal wedding)
September 4, 2010 - JillA (Celebration wedding)
September 25, 2010 - SapphireDreams (Church wedding)

August 13, 2011 - darkchilde794+hunny (Ceremonial Wedding)

----

Added, its like super far way but still!

Oooh I want to get on this list too! Unfortunately, we've changed dates twice and Sean pitched a fit about it so I told him he could pick. That of course means we have NO date now!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-11-03 15:04:00

QUOTE (Marilyn. @ Sep 18 2009, 09:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought these wedding pics were cute..

http://www.ourblogof....cfm?postID=326

OMG those pics are awesome!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-09-18 21:03:00

I already did the big wedding thing, so I am actually glad that because of this whole VISA proces we won't be able to plan something big.

I live right across the street from the ocean, so we are going to get married on the beach. We are going to write our own vows, have a sand pouring ceremony, and it is just going to be just us.

I hope it will look something like this . . .

And now for the dorky truth . . . Our characters were married in-game two years ago, and they got married on the beach as well so this has been our dream wedding . . .

Arabella

Female

Canada

2009-05-01 11:47:00

In this thread we post pictures of Llamas.

I LOVE ALPACA'S.

I once had a teddy bear made from alpaca fur. My uncle bought it for me in Arizona, it cost $80. Unfortunately I lost it during a move.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-05-27 09:45:00

Got my Green Card in October, tomorrow marks my first trip back to Toronto since getting my Green Card. What do I need to have with me to get into Canada and back into the United States with no problems?

Green Card
Passport

Anything else?

I think that's it. We are leaving on Sunday for Canada and that's what we are bringing.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-17 13:24:00

My AOS was FINALLY approved today...wooot!!!

kimbear...I hope yours is right behind....fingers crossed!

Grats Colleens!!!!!!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-16 19:21:00

Green Card in hand! No worries for Sean at the border for our trip to Canada!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-09 18:53:00

JFC what the hell are they doing over there???

I heard they are busy losing people's medicals, tax statements and other important documents and then issuing RFEs.

Edited by Arabella, 09 December 2010 - 01:12 PM.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-09 13:12:00

Well I log into the USCIS website like every 30 minutes to check on the status. When I made that post, it hadn't been updated. I still hate USCIS, but guess what!

Card/ Document Production

On December 2, 2010, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

This step applies to applications that result in an applicant receiving a card (such as a "green card") or other document (such as a naturalization certificate, employment authorization document, travel document, or advance parole). Applications will be in this step from the time the order to produce the card/document is given until the card/document is produced and mailed to the applicant. You can expect to receive your card/document within 30 days of the approval of your application.

If you do not receive your document, please contact our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Yipee! I hope it arrives before we leave for Canada. If not, we have to go to our local office for a stamp in his passport.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-02 11:35:00

Mine was transfered back to "a USCIS office" (it didn't specify local office) at the beginning of Nov, and I still haven't heard anything. I think our cases are sitting under the leg of someones desk to keep it from wobbling!!!!

So my last touch was on 11/29. It took them 4 days to look at a medical and then do nothing? Seriously? They did NOTHING on 11/30, NOTHING on 12/1, and no touches today.

I just want to say a big #######?!?!?!?! to CSC.

I re-did the lost medical and we paid for a new medical plus additional shots that the doctor made Sean get. I sent it back ASAP, and now the ball is in their court.

I am so sick of seeing people get approved in a month! My packet was perfect! It was totally NOT my fault that they lost the medical and yet they make us wait forever.

The worst part is we are going to Canada in 2 1/2 weeks and will have to use Sean's AP. Without the Green Card, they really hassle you when you use your AP (according to another Canadian it took 1 1/2 hours at the POE).

THIS SUCKS!

OMFG i hate uscis.

so i had a touch today on my aos...guess what? CSC just transfered it back to the local office..omg almost 7 months of no effing activity nothing and they send it back!! now how long do i have to bloody wait??? And it still says initial review../cry

i think they should just hire monkies..seriously ...monkies would be faster and are probably a hell of alot smarter than the slackjawed dumba$$es they apprently have working there...

Does that mean that you have to go for an interview now?

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-12-02 11:28:00

After all this time once they're done with your RFE it should be almost instant. You've been waiting long enough, and they need to give you that approval 'cause you want it! So they gotta give it!

Another "touch" in the now 4-day review session of my RFE. I wish I could spend 4 days to complete one task at work!

It's like this CSC:

Step 1: Open the envelope
Step 2: Look at the medical
Step 3: Issue the Green Card

How hard is that?

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-29 12:14:00

After we had our RFE, it was touched multiple times before the status ever changed. It was very disappointing to know that they were looking at it every day, but never approving/denying or whatever else they do to our file.

Well if they take the same amount of time with mine as they did with yours, I should be hearing something soon. /crosses fingers

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-27 22:23:00

Well they "touched my file on 11/24, 11/25, & 11/26, and they are still "reviewing" my response to the RFE. How long does it take to look at the medical? Sheesh!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-27 14:18:00

Woot they are reviewing our new medical! I hope they make a decision soon!

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: MSC***********

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Your Case Status: Request for Evidence Response Review

On November 24, 2010, we received your response to our request for evidence. This case is being processed at our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. You should expect to receive a written decision or written update within 60 days of the date we received your response unless fingerprint processing or an interview are standard parts of case processing and have not yet been completed, in which case you can use the processing time information on our website to estimate when this case will be done. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

Once a timely response to the request for evidence is received by USCIS, we review the evidence or information you submitted. If you submitted the requested evidence, we continue with the adjudication of your application or petition in light of the new evidence.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Check Processing Times.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-24 13:04:00

I think we will be doing Christmas dinner at our place too. With the new baby, we won't be up for much travelling. Si's family all live pretty close to us, but none of them can really afford or have the space to put on a christmas dinner. My parents are going to be here to meet/help with the baby, so I am sure my Mom will be more than happy to make dinner!! Hubby mentioned something about wanting to rent a cabin up in the Smokies for a couple of days again, but I am not sure I will be up to that with a ~1 week old baby!!

We are doing the craziest thing for Christmas. We are leaving our nice, warm, sunny, beach side home in Florida to travel to Canada. My kids are going to be in for the shock of their lives! They think 60 degrees is freezing cold weather!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-23 12:25:00

Congrats on the GC!

So today i called uscis, and they confirmed i am definately outside processing dates. they did a service request and sent it to CSC and CSC has 30 days to update my case. if i dont here anything im to call uscis back. same old same old.

so just out of curiosity, how does it work if you want to travel within the usa? like i'm in chicago and we wanna visit davids family in Florida and i have my newfound family in Conecticut...do i just use my normal canadian passport if we go by plane ? what other stuff would i use? or bring ?

I'm an American and I agree with Hugglebuggles. I always use my DL when I travel. I just got my passport 2 years ago and only use that when going out of the country.

Have fun with the new cavity searches at the airport. My sister joked to the man who felt her up and down that it was the most action that she'd had in a long time!

Edited by Arabella, 22 November 2010 - 03:06 PM.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-22 15:04:00

Hang in there Arabella, I hope you get your GC soon!
Also, as far as I know, the record for GC through CSC (after transfer) is 37 days!!!
KnR aka slider100

We got the medical back today. The civil surgeon ONLY did the I-693. He didn't do any of the other DS forms that I gave him. I compared the forms, and the I-693 is very similar in content to the DS forms from the fiance Visa. If people who adjust status without fiances Visas only need the I-693, then I think we'll be ok because why would we need the I-693 and the DS forms? Also, after re-reading the RFE, while they mention that they could not find they DS forms from the fiance Visa, they only ask for the I-693.

I'm going to send everything off tomorrow. I made a copy of the I-693 before they sealed it up.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-17 19:30:00

Thatnks for all the DL feedback, everyone. I'll just have to wait and see what the DMV says when I go in with my husband when he renews his.

Anyways, got the email this morning! GC production ordered!

Grats on GC. 2 months, that must be a record for CSC.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-12 20:35:00

Congratulations!

Hey Arabella, did you hear anything about your case after submitting the medical?

We haven't submitted the medical yet.

I posted this somewhere else, but we got ahold of Dr. Seidon's office and they said they could MAIL (not fax), us a copy of the medical, but not until 11/08 because the person who mails them was on vacation.

Sean had an INFO PASS appointment last week on 11/04, and was told by the immigration office that CS must RECEIVE the original medical by 11/09, since that is the expiration date. That doesn't seem fair since our AOS was submitted on 5/23, but whatever. So obviously there is no way the medical can go from Canada in the mail, to us in Florida, to CSC in one day.

Sean had a second medical on 11/09/10. He had to get 3 shots, do bloodwork, and have a TB skin test. He went for the bloodwork on 11/10, and went for the follow up for the TB skin test on 11/11. We are now waiting for the blood tests results. Once those come back, we'll get our sealed medical and send it off to CSC. They gave us until 11/27 to get the medical to them (how thoughtful to give us a whole 3 weeks minus the Thanksgiving break /sarcasm).

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-12 20:33:00

In Chicago all i had to do was show my old drivers licence, and a piece of mail with my name on it. I had to do the written test which was a grand total of maybe 15 questions multiple chioice. 15 mins later i was out of there with my new licence.

Sean had to surrender his Canadian license. He didn't have to take any tests.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-09 23:02:00

Sean went for his *second* medical today ($120 for the medical). They made him get a tetanus shot- $35, another MMR shot- $85, and one other shot that he didn't remember the name of and he didn't get charged for. They also are making him go to a lab for blood work (tomorrow- he has to fast for 8 hours prior), and he was told to get "proof" from his doctor in Canada that he had chicken pox. Sean had to go to the health department and wait for hours for the MMR shot. The civil surgeon didn't have it, and I called my doctor's office but they didn't have it either.

Sean is upset because he feels like he already did this in Canada, and he thinks they are making him get shots that he doesn't need/already had/etc. He spoke to his doctor in Canada, and was told that in Canada they only require 1 MMR shot, but in the US they require 2. The doctor faxed him a history that noted when Sean had the chicken pox.

On Thursday he goes back to the civil surgeon with the blood tests results (what he is being tested for I have no idea) and to finalize the forms.

I hope to mail it out soon.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-11-09 14:57:00

Or maybe they're just not fans of the highlighter and tabs, lol. Maybe as a kid they were tortured by school children wielding highlighters!

I'm sure that's it.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-30 09:04:00

I am reading some posts over in the AOS forum to try and figure out what my RFE could possibly be for.

Was I supposed to submit proof of a bonafide relationship with the AOS packet (joint accounts, property, insurance, etc)? I thought that came later in the process. I didn't see it anywhere in the guides when I submitted the original packet.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-29 14:50:00

This post from Ewok in the AOS forums is helpful. http://www.visajourn...93-and-ds-3025/

Q: I received an RFE for Form I-693 and my medical is less than one year old.

To have your vaccination information transcribed to Form I-693, the following Civil Surgeon will do it by phone and fax for a nominal fee ($10 at time of writing):

Dr. L. E. Arnold
4534 Westgate Boulevard, Suite 106
Austin, TX 78745
Tel: (512) 444-3131
Fax: (512) 447-4699

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-29 14:20:00

I did pretty much the same thing, except I was never given a copy of the DS3025, so I had to contact the Dr's office to find out if it was included in the package they prepared, and I was told it was. I just sent in the same quote about not needing vaccinations transcribed. I hope I don't get an RFE for it since none of the CS's around here will just transcribe the vaccinations....they all want to do another full medical. *fingers crossed*

I also would have hoped that in 5 months they could have at least gone through the packages to ensure everything that was required was included. I am not so worried about needing my greencard, Ihave my EAD and my mat leave has started, so that has taken a HUGE stress off financially, but the clock for naturalization starts ticking from the time the CG was issued, so it makes a difference for that

Well maybe the RFE was for something else. I'll let you guys know since we all treated the I-693 in the same manner. I called a Civil Surgeon in my area prior to sending in my packet, and was told that we would have to repeat the entire medical and pay the fee, so that is why I took a chance at mailing it off without it. If it is the medical, I am going to complain to someone that their own policies are not being followed and it is costing us extra time, money and frustration.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-29 12:52:00

aww **...that sucks...i cannot believe how much wasted time this takes just to get a freaking RFE..what the hell is wrong with these ppl? RFE should be done within the first month of them getting our packet. Jerkoffs...

i hope it's not for the medical. although i did the same as you , just send a copy of the vaccination record and quoted their own dumb website stating i did not need a new medical..GRRRR can't even train their own employees better. ya know any other company in the world would not get buy with this shoddy setup. /sigh

If it's for the medical that would suck. I sent in a copy of the DS3025, along with a highlighted photocopy of their own instructions for the I-693 stating the procedures for K-1 Visa holders, and a cover letter explaining everything.

May it's for somethign else . . . I can't imagine what.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-29 08:21:00

OMG a touch!

Boo an RFE. =( I bet it's for the medical, which is lame because that means they don't even follow their own policies for people who already got the medical through the K-1 Visa.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-28 18:57:00

OMG a touch!

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-28 09:58:00

Still nothing. I'm beginning to think they lost my packet. I don't see how they could have lost it. I went to great lengths to make our packet personalized and stand out.

Posted Image

Edited by Arabella, 26 October 2010 - 06:14 PM.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-26 18:13:00

I'll be happy to start sending one of my hubbys fingers for each day y'all dont have your GC's. Eventually they'll get so grossed out they'll HAVE to send them!

But it's weird, we just got 2 emails and texts in a row saying that they've sent a notice approving his AOS, and when I checked online it's now moved to Post Decision Activity. Maybe they sent the emails in the wrong order?

I wouldn't worry about the emails. I got several emails about the EAD, and then got another email about the EAD after I got the EAD.

I just want Sean's green card! We filed in May and everything was perfect! I must just have gotten in a slow processor's stack. :crying:

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-14 11:19:00

Just got the email that Green Card production was ordered! yayyy!

Grats! No fair! I want mine too!

I feel like I always get in the slow line on these applications.

Edited by Arabella, 14 October 2010 - 11:13 AM.

Arabella

Female

Canada

2010-10-14 11:10:00