ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 APPROVED! [NOA-2]
Belize, this is great news and we all needed to hear some. A few others may be following your lead, pursuing CR-1 instead of K3 as originally planned. The stress is killing us. Now you see a clear path and hopefully, a better one. Godspeed!

Edited by Jersey Girl, 19 July 2006 - 11:52 AM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-19 11:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresContact Senator in DC?
If it makes you feel better, contact whomever is in your Roladex. They may be able to put you in touch with a Senator who handles DC.

At this point, we're all kind of "homeless," since about 75% of Vermont K3s have been transferred to California. Personally, I'm waiting for this to happen. That's the day I slide into the Big Black Hole on the west coast, and even the Governator won't be able to speed things up.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 06:12:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresYEAH - APPROVAL FINALLY
CairoBound, there are others who plan to allow I-129f to progress even with approval to I-130. There's no hard evidence yet to confirm that K3 is dead, defunct, extinct, and not worth pursuing for those who want to be reunited quicker. We'll be watching.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 06:30:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 package - US passport requirement
They asked for all pages so that's what I did, even though mine were empty. Think of it from their point-of-view. If you omitted pages, it would raise questions and that means an RFE and more waiting. Spend 5 minutes and photocopy the whole thing and avoid quesions.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 06:24:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedureschicago received our I-129f
Yes, limah we can click on your timeline. You can also do a "signature" that appears on all your posts. Go to the top of the page: My Controls. Then, on the left, go to Personal Profile > Edit Signature. Good luck with your journey.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-22 08:23:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedureschicago received our I-129f
limah, I've found that if you think of this time as waiting, then that's what it'll be: an interminably long period where nothing seems to happen. "A watched kettle never boils." But if you think of it as a year or less in which you can accomplish many things that will make your married life richer, then that's what it will be: not enough time to do all the things you want!

ursy, you need to forget the fancy formatting and do your timeline. Where exactly are you? Where did you send your forms? People here can't help if you keep them in the dark.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 06:01:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresK3 and K4 Approved
Dear God:

Now that you've answered Frank's prayers, you might have some time freed up for the rest of us. Please know that we are good people with the best intentions. But the devil is playing with us, making us doubt your good intentions for us. So please, no naps today, just a few more miracles. (Yeah, it's me again, still looking for leverage or to make a deal.)

P.S. Congratulations, Frank. Any chance of you doing some freelance praying? We'll pay.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 11:56:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresNOA2 after IMBRA RFE!!!!
hafiz, you bad boy. We all aspire to be as successful as miker32us. He got his second RFE on Monday and sent it back on Tuesday. Yes, he was approved before they got it but that's not the point. Follow his lead, which was to follow the instructions. Why tamper with his method, since it works? Got stamps?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-22 08:15:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresNOA2 after IMBRA RFE!!!!
miker32us, when you come down from Cloud 9, please update your timeline, since there's no mention of K3. It will give hope (and new stats) for people who were transferred from Vermont to California.

chris&o, I remember every post and all your shenanigans. So be a good fellow and get into another case of Heinekin. Then offer yourself to the immigration gods as a K3 virgin.

hafiz, send your second RFE like the rest of us. Why? Because it doesn't make sense. That's how the government operates, so get with the programme, dude!

Edited by Jersey Girl, 21 July 2006 - 07:12 PM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 19:10:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresNOA2 after IMBRA RFE!!!!
Let me be the first to pop a cork and congratulate you. There's gonna be a virutual party around here today!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-21 05:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresK3 is progressing but yet no touches !
khattak, for mild depression, try St. John's Wort. Then distract yourself so you don't sink into a big black hole where Zoloft is the answer. Keep yourself sane for the sake of your spouse. You want to be healthy when you're reunited.

Imagine that the wait will be a year. If it's shorter, it'll be a bonus. Limit the time you spend checking your case status online or hanging out at this site. Call in your resources, that is, people you can rely on to be with you and keep your mind off this.

We're all in the same boat and didn't except choppy waters. How we handle it is a test of our characters and our love for our husbands and wives. Personally, I have a new strategy. I'm eating sour cream and onion potato chips for breakfast. I figure it's easier to sit and wait if you have a big padded butt.

Edited by Jersey Girl, 19 July 2006 - 12:17 PM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-19 12:17:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresK3 is progressing but yet no touches !
chris&o, you're killing me. Loved your had-too-many-beers description of Diversion Day. How about a web cam and some stand up comedy?

khattak, don't put too much store in emails. I received one, telling me they were sending me a request for more information. It arrived AFTER I'd already sent it back to them. I also received a second RFE and mailed it back to Missouri. Which means I may (or may not) get an email soon, telling me they mailed it to me.

There's no rhyme of reason. We're doomed if we look for any. Sometimes you have to throw your hands in the air, put on a silly hat, and distract yourself until the chaos turns itself back into order. Tell your wife what my husband tells me: it'll happen when it happens.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-18 06:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresNOA1 for the I-129f came in 6 days!!!!
Hold onto your joy, limah, so it lasts until this whole thing is over. Congratulations!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-25 13:19:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-129F Approved at NBC
In the immortal words of AC/DC : THUNDERSTRUCK! A K3 approval in 41 days? Petitioned after March 6? Somebody's got horseshoes you know where!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-25 13:14:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresS T O K E D
chris&o, you've kept us all laughing through uncertain days, and we'll need more of your humor (and premonitions) in days to come. Enjoy the high, my friend, and know we're all sending you virtual pats on the back!

Laura_and_IanM, hang in there. There's no way to predict what the government will do. I was among the last to receive the 2 RFEs and then to be transferred from Vemont to California. But look, I was among the first to have the I-129f approved. Go figure.

When we look back a year from now, we'll understand how things worked out for the best. Perhaps your I-130 is your lucky charm and you may not realize it yet. You're being touched! Your job now is to stay positive and do what you have to do to keep from becoming "touched in the head"!

Edited by Jersey Girl, 28 July 2006 - 08:06 AM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-28 08:05:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresA few (not-so) quick questions re: I-130 & I-129F
Emily, any idea on the wait time for your surgery? It could have an impact on your timelines. You wouldn't want to be hobbling around recouperating while trying to sell your house and preparing for the K3 interview! You might consider putting your house on the market after the surgery but in advance of the visa. You could take a short-term rental until you move to the States.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-28 16:44:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-129f approved in 4 months
Pinch me, I'm in shock. The I-129f made it to the finish line before the I-130. Petition approved yesterday (notice by email), so it took 4 months, even with IMBRA.

We were married in New Jersey on my husband's birthday in March. His present was to be sent packing on a plane back to Toronto, to become celibate for his first year as a newlywed while waiting for his visa. Since then, he has been sweating his balls off at WalMart, unloading trucks in the heat with no AC. Lucky him, because he HAS a job. I've been searching, unsuccessfully, since April, and getting anxious. No, getting psychotic. So if you want to know the root cause of my comedy, it's good old fashioned fear.

Life has a way of giving you good things just when you think can't take any more bad. I thank God for hearing me, and will continue to pound on the gates of heaven, including all of you in my prayers, you who are still waiting and wondering.

Meanwhile, here's some more good news. Now that I don't have to knock myself out (as if I were a rogue elephant), there'll be lots more Chilean red wine for the rest of you.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-28 06:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresGoing to live with my with in October
A U.S. income tax return lists worldwide income. So if there's any chance of working while you're visiting, it might actually strengthen your financial case. Living together, however, is not one of the things they look for.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-31 07:12:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAnother K3 approval post IMBRA
Great news! Hope this means the floodgates are opening for everyone!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-31 12:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresOpen the flood gates!
Good news, even though you'll follow the I-130. Wishing you all the best.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-01 05:47:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresUSCIS response to Congressman Price's Office inquiry...
Oh Mrs.Whizz, stop frustrating yourself and start distracting yourself. Come away from the phone and emails for a few days and your K3 approval will come as a pleasant surprise. After all, how can we put any faith in letters with glaring grammatical mistakes? ("new requirements are effecting their processing") It's affecting, not effecting.

The mistake, I believe, is thinking that there's actually somebody who's in charge, driving the bus, has a knowable system, who's accountable, and who cares about the emotional imapct this process has on people. It's just a bunch of drones in cubes, pushing paper until they head home at 5:00. We're at the mercy of something we can't control. Like the weather, or the price of gasoline.

So sit back and give yourself a different focus for awhile. Because it's easy to become consummed by useless anxiety. Or to burn out from raging and flailing against the machine. Instead, have faith that you'll have a happy ending in spite of the delays. Our collective will for your speedy approval is more powerful than a politician.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-01 06:11:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresReturned RFE
Did you mail the RFEs from the UK? Or did you send them to your friend in the States first so she could resend them and have them postmarked from there? I'm not sure if this would make a difference, but ...

Don't fret about a lack of touching or updates. Sometimes these don't show up on your case status until after you've received an email or snail mail that they received something. Hang in there.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-31 07:04:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 Approved in 93 days
Congratulations, Rob! I can't believe you only met in April and already have an approval for I-130. I'm with Libersolis. Since you already paid for I-129f, you have nothing to lose by leaving it in play. Whichever gets an interview quicker ...
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-01 14:13:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresK3 Approved!!
Fantastic news, metinspain! Congratulations on your good fortune. Now tell us, will you pursue K3 or CR-1?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-01 09:58:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresOur appoval finally came!
Congratulations, Sherry, enjoy the rest of the day on Cloud Nine!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-02 09:59:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures129f approval
Yipppeeeee!!! What a day for approvals! You have everybody's best wishes for the rest of your journey!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-08-02 10:02:00
IMBRA Special TopicsIMBRA affecting K-3's
Why are K3s affected?

Because, I venture to guess, there has never been a separate I-129 form for spousal visas. Instead of I-129F it would have been I-129S. But they never got around to making one, so spouse petitions are lumped together with fiancee petitions. This is such an absurd, clerical, bureaucratic bumbling reason for K3s being held up that I'm inclined to believe it.

The new question #19 asks if you met your finacee or spouse through a marriage broker. If so, give their name. Now I'm on the floor laughing. Because everyone who has met through a broker will simply answer No.

aussiwench: why didn't you tell me applying for K3 was like being in a Monty Python skit?

Edited by Jersey Girl, 16 June 2006 - 08:29 AM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-16 08:28:00
IMBRA Special TopicsK-1 RFE for IMBRA SENT!
Question: when you send the new RFE, do you re-send the complete original package or just the new form?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-17 09:54:00
IMBRA Special TopicsBad News for March 1 and Later
newhampshire, time for a beer, or a bubble bath, or both. It's an imperfect world and government bureaucracy is the most ridiculous and imperfect of all. Please take a deep breath, rent a mindless movie, and give yourself instant gratification some other way. A year from now, we'll see threads on how the waiting was really a blessing. It gave people time to save money, lose weight, get a job, find out their honey was a philanderer. This too shall pass. Like gas after a big plate of beans.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-17 10:10:00
IMBRA Special TopicsLET'S DO SOMETHING
I'm calling Honda to see how long it will take my Civic to get to the supermarket. After all, they built the car and should know all the practical consequences.

Edited by Jersey Girl, 18 June 2006 - 06:09 PM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-18 18:08:00
IMBRA Special TopicsWill IMBRA actually make the whole process fast?
That's some logic. But the government doesn't do things logically, or even predictably. The process has changed because of IMBRA, and that slows everything down, at least for now. People with evil intent will always find ways to bring people to the States, either as CR-1 spouses, or on work visas, or who knows? Bad apples always make it hell for the good folks, and that's about the only thing you can count on.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-18 18:03:00
IMBRA Special TopicsWHO WANTS TO JOIN ME????????????
hafiz30, where is your price list? I could use a few profesional protestors in my life. If I could hire someone to be mad on my behalf, I'd pay. Here's a preliminary list of things I want your people to raise their blood pressure about: the hair on my upper lip, the leaky faucet in the kitchen, the neighbour who complains I snore. Any discount for VJers?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-18 19:15:00
IMBRA Special TopicsWHO WANTS TO JOIN ME????????????
Suppose the government agrees? Then what? It would take years to re-tool and revamp the current system. Is that what you want? It would mean hiring three times the people they have now. Is that what you're suggesting?

Getting a visa is like being pregnant. It takes time. Go eat a pickle.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-18 12:02:00
IMBRA Special Topicsdid any k3 got imbra RFE?
If you believe the government owes you something because you filed, or because you're married, or because you pay taxes, you're setting yourself up for disappointed. Better to wait in line patiently, have no expectations, and bring a good book to read.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-22 12:19:00
IMBRA Special Topicsdid any k3 got imbra RFE?
Eva, like you, many are waiting to see if the other shoe falls, and K3s get an RFE. A few philosophers around here have pointed out the logical inconsistencies of sending or not sending it to K3s and CR-1s. It's still a crapshoot.

Since we're in this wacky world of waiting, and government doesn't always act logically, I'll bet USCIS is literal about their mandate to "capture" those who pay brokers for mail order brides. Which is to say, I believe we won't be getting anything. After all, we're well beyond being brides. The wait has turned us into hags!

But it's early days and they could have a surprise for us, so hang in there and distract yourself until we know for sure. How about reading an 800-page summer novel?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-22 09:20:00
IMBRA Special Topicsdid any k3 got imbra RFE?
There's always the bizarre possibility that K3s get nothing, since as you pointed out, it's too late to warn anyone anyway. In another thread, someone said they were told by an official on the phone that K3s would not be affected. Misinformation? Wishful thinking? Or simply that future K3s will have to answer a question about brokers?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-20 19:33:00
IMBRA Special Topicsdid any k3 got imbra RFE?
That makes sense, hafiz30. Only engaged couples would fall under IMBRA's intent to warn a woman about a potentially abusive future husband. But since we K3s use the same form as engaged couples, we affected. How? I'm not certain. Hopefully, we'll get a simple RFE, answer a few questions and be on our way. But I don't see any K3s getting RFEs yet...
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-20 18:32:00
IMBRA Special Topicsk3 and imbra
Thanks for doing the digging, drummer45. A few other folks have also been told by equally reliable sources that K3s are not affected. But the act clearly encompasses spousal as well as fiancee visas. And there hasn't been a bit of progress on K3s, which means there may be some confusion, or we really are in the same boat and can expect RFEs after they're done sending them to K1s. Without facts, it's hard to know what to believe. We're in Limbo: speculating, hoping, cursing, drinking, and taking it in stride because it's out of our control. Wake me when there's proof. Meanwhile, order me another beer.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-06-28 17:25:00
IMBRA Special TopicsVSC IMBRA RFE for a previously approved NOA 2
Congratulations, Tim, the Depends are on us.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-09 16:20:00
IMBRA Special TopicsIMBRA RFE recieved twice!
Ugh. Just received the second IMRBA RFE. Like others, I'll fill it and mail it with a copy of the first one. Could it be that different branches of the government need this information? Or would that be a totally logical (and inappropriate) explanation?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-07-15 11:34:00