Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Asia: South	Pakistan - Karachi Embassy	I've been hearing they're going to open up the embassy in Karachi again, does anyone know more information on this?	filter	Male	Pakistan	9/30/2009 0:25
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	DS-230 IV Package	QUOTE (imaisha @ Jul 2 2009, 08:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why is your name in her passport? Sorry, just curious. Pakistani passports have husband name on there, same with police clearance. not sure why they do that. and they also cant get the spellings right by looking on the forms	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-07-03 03:24:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	DS-230 IV Package	Yup, it's a misspelling of my name. (the husband/petitioner) It sucks because I waited 2-3 months just for them to get the passport and police certificate (cause they have a strike or something with the passport agency) and it came out wrong! How lame.. I guess she'll have to redo it. Thanks	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-07-01 22:41:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	DS-230 IV Package	Hi, I just received all the documents after months of waiting from my wife, and I was wondering if it's a problem if theres a misspelling of my name in her passport and police certificate? Every where else it's correct, but just in these two places my name is spelled in another way. Real name: Samir spelled: Sameer Does anyone know if this will be a huge problem and would they give a RFE for it? Thank you	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-07-01 13:27:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	RFC - AOS	also another thing is, it asks to refill out the i864 form, does that mean I have to fill out I864, and I864A for my father as well? thanks	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-08-10 21:35:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	RFC - AOS	Hello, I just got an RFE for my AoS. "You as a household member have not provided proof of your relationship to the sponsor" I know this means that I have to show them my birth certificate to prove my relationship with my father who is sponsoring us. But, does it also mean I need to show them something to show they we both live in the same house hould (address) Thanks	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-08-10 21:27:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Police certificate	If I remember correctly, you should of gotten information from NVC regarding what they want, which includes the police certificate. So that's what you need to show the police ppl in HK.	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-10-15 23:05:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	INTERVIEW WAITING CLUB	QUOTE (Paris Heart @ Sep 1 2009, 09:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (filter @ Sep 1 2009, 08:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Got an e-mail today from NVC, October 16 is our Interview date in Islamabad. My brother got October 9th for his wife Wow NVc issueing interview frist week of Sept? that is great, I always heard it was only the 2 week of each month. Congrats on interview date!!!! Yeah, that's what I was hearing too, but then got this e-mail so that's a plus. Thanks!	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-09-02 00:21:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	INTERVIEW WAITING CLUB	Got an e-mail today from NVC, October 16 is our Interview date in Islamabad. My brother got October 9th for his wife	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-09-01 20:32:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	INTERVIEW WAITING CLUB	NVC completed my case on August 20th, now comes waiting for when they will assign interview. Hopefully it's not in October like what they told SSB. Good luck to all!	filter	Male	Pakistan	2009-08-22 00:49:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Confused by Embassy Packet Instructions...	Thanks!	Moriah	Female	Tanzania	2012-01-25 08:30:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Confused by Embassy Packet Instructions...	My fiance received his packet from the US Embassy the other day. I'm trying to help guide him with the different paperwork and I'm confused why so many of the forms say "non-immigrant" when isn't he applying to immigrate by nature of the fiance visa? I'm a little confused as to why so many of the forms are the same as those he/we filled out when he applied for a tourist visa and ask questions like, "How long do you intend to stay in the USA?" Any guidance for this stage in the process, especially those that have specific experience in Dar, would be greatly appreciated!	Moriah	Female	Tanzania	2012-01-23 20:08:00
United Kingdom	buying clothes in the USA	Frustration is the perfect word for what I am suffering! I have spent the entire day searching for a pair of jeans, for my daughter. She is 5'10" tall, so she is looking for something longer than 30" and she HATES stretch jeans! We have been in every shop in Dulles and can't find a single pair of jeans that are NOT stretch and have the right length leg for her. What is it with stretch jeans - it is soooooo difficult to find 100% denim. They all have lycra in them and to myself and my daughter it just feels like you are wearing a pair of leggings, rather than a pair of jeans. Anyone have any ideas where we can buy jeans that are NOT stretch and are longer in the leg? Gap? I'm tall and their jeans fit me best out of any I have found....and I agree with the others.high wasted jeans look and feel nasty!! Low for me.	Ashleigh-Au	Female	0	2006-11-19 22:46:00
United Kingdom	Police Certificate question	I am not sure how it works in th UK but when I did mine I had to include all names known by. I got one Police certificate but it covered all my names... ( maiden and previous married name)	Ashleigh-Au	Female	0	2007-01-30 15:46:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Visa Budget Tips OVERWHELMING EXPENSES	I know this process is expensive.......multiply all charges by 3 in my case.....but what I don't understand is why the USC is supporting the foreign fiancee. I tried to spend as little as I could before I moved to the US but I was supporting myself and paying for all costs in Australia....he paid the fees in US and we both paid for the tickets for the several visits. AND....after the move to USA...there are still more costs...it never ends.	Ashleigh-Au	Female	0	2006-12-22 19:51:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Visa Budget Tips OVERWHELMING EXPENSES	What did your fiancee do to support herself/himself before you?	Ashleigh-Au	Female	0	2006-12-22 13:15:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	Geist, at this point it's a proposed bill. I'm sure it's gonna be different before it's finalized. Yes, I know...which means that in the final situation, it could be a lot worse (most likely) or a bit better (somewhat likely). Boy, do I get points for cynicism or anything ? There's a rather large section in there regarding security checks, which is very relevant to family based petitions and is a hurdle for many families stateside. See, I've got to keep looking for the actual text of the bill so I can see exactly what it says regarding security checks for family petitions. The summary I found just listed various bullet points on different aspects of the bill and didn't go into much detail. Most of what I saw seemed it would make things stricter. Unfortunately there will be new procedures to implement whenever the law comes down. That's a downside yes. But again, if you look to the security check provisions in that bill, it calls for MORE accountability of USCIS to the Attorney General. At present they have very little. I don't think our representatives are completely unmindful of the fact that DHS needs to complete a task they have been paid by citizens to do. Unfortunately, this talk of accountability and making the USCIS responsive is the result of only one thing: government failure, and it always results when the customers have no choice but to use a certain service. The USCIS does not have to fear that we will go to a different provider if they take to long or do a bad job The only thing we can do is call our senators and that won't necessarily work. We used to be able to file DCF, but now they have effectively taken that away from most of us and we have no other choice... I think a great solution would be them letting us file I-130s for immediate relatives (spouses and kids) at local USCIS offices, since they won't let us use consulates any more. In today's political climate, it's unlikely the government will take 'less power' over immigrants. That is a harsh reality. What we as citizens need to demand (in that case) is that the power be as transparent as possible. I think I'm just going to be unreasonable and demand a change in the political climate	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-04-01 10:52:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	Fiddlesticks.... No I don't. I do at home. The bill was first read two weeks ago. I believe you can search by date order...... For the record, there are many groups lobbying for changes. One of AFU's issues are FBI security clearance. Okay, I just googled it and read a summary of the Act. Doesn't seem like it would really improve things much. I found very little in it that actually applied to marriage based visas and it basically stated what we already know: that marriage based visas would be exempt from the visa limits placed on family based immigration. Nothing new. But I did find that a lot of the other stuff in created has a possibility to make things much worse, such as increasing the amount of biometric data that needs to be collected and used. Putthing this stuff stuff on EVERY document? Are they out of their minds?? We need to give DHS and USCIS LESS power over us, and immigrants. Not more.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-31 09:28:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	Geist - The bill is called the STRIVE act. Go to www.senate.gov and follow the links to Thomas. I understand the bill is online now for perusal. The group I belong to can be found at americanfamiliesunited.org. Wow, I had no idea there already was an organization dealing with this stuff, which was dumb of me. Should have figured someone somewhere would have set one up already . Do you have the actual bill number? When I search for STRIVE in the Thomas section it goes to nothing useful for me.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-30 09:29:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	I find your opening paragraph very contradictory. Human error? Who else makes laws and runs bureaucracies but humans? Who else runs nations but men? The only thing I can guess is that you are saying - in a perfect world we should be able to freely bring our loved ones across borders without any question. Unfortunately, that ain't gonna happen - it has never been that way and it is NEVER gonna be that way. Actually it has been that way before. Did you know people didn't even need passports to travel until world war one (unless they lived in say, Tsarist Russia)? Did you know that up until the 1930s, coming to the US permanently was as easy as getting on a boat? If you had enough money, you didn't even have to go through Ellis Island. You became a citizen. Unless of course you were Chinese, in which case, the US didn't want you. Even up to 10 years ago, it was much easier to bring in a spouse. The idea that it should be made harder just because it's "this day and age" and because of "the terrorists" is ridiculous. None of the terrorists were here on spousal visas. Heck, it's a good thing the native Americans didn't have a version of the USCIS, or else the pilgrams would have been sent home. But I am convinced that I would rather be a citizen of a nation where I have a VOICE. And that was the original point of this thread. The complaint - I believe - is that because citizens testified before Congress regarding marriage fraud, our nation wrote laws. How can it be a bad thing that our government allowed that testimony? Oh trust me, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I've testified in front of state legislature committees. It's a very GOOD thing. The bad thing comes in when laws are passed that our legislators don't even read, or even stop to consider what effect these laws might have. Read the second quote in my signature from Robert Heinlein: The only sin lies in hurting others unnecessarily. All other sins are invented nonsense. I believe this is extremely true and that our government is hurting us unnecessarily. This year immigration law will change - drastically. The bills are in the House and Senate as we speak. There will be Congressional testimony. I am part of a group lobbying for legislation and I am willing to go to the Hill and tell our story if necessary. What bills are these? Could you send me links to the text of them? I would be very interested in reading them. And what group are you apart of? What are you doing about immigration? Sitting here on this forum and complaining - telling me I am doing nothing? I'm writing my senators and representatives, for one thing. Letting them know how bad the situation has gotten. I'm also raising awareness among general Americans since immigration is an issue most tend to ignore because it doesn't affect them. I was the same way until this whole thing cropped up. Not any longer. If more people knew how bad it was, the less likely they would tend to hate illegal immigrants for "breaking our laws." Sorry, but if it were easier to get a visa, we wouldn't have so many people "breaking our laws." And I wasn't telling you specifically you were doing nothing---I was addressing the larger VJ community as a whole. So many people on these boards seem to take the attitude that they have rights simply because the government gives them to them. Sorry, that's not the case. Even if we didn't have a first ammendment guaranteeing freedom of speech, religion, etc. we would STILL have those freedoms because we are human beings. It is our right, simply because we exist. Nothing pisses me off more than people who just shrug their shoulders and say "what can I do? The government passes the laws and I just follow them." Sorry, that's a sign along the roadway in North Korea, not an attitude for people living in a democracy.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-28 10:48:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	"If you have nothing to hide, the wheels of justice will have no adverse effect on you." I hate this quote. I really really hate it. Because it implies that if you are innocent of something, then you shouldn't mind being suspected of being guilty of it because since you're innocent, you won't end up in prison or in suffering. The wheels of justice are not perfect, and nor are the bureaucracies we're dealing with. This is because they are run by humans. They are prone to error. To just sit there and say that as long as your relationship is real, you have nothing to fear, means nothing. If the bureaucrat is unconvenced that it is real, or your name gets stopped up in the background check process just because it's similar to someone else's name who is a criminal, a child molester, a spouse abuser or a terrorist, is really going to screw you over. So what are you going to do, just sit there because you're innocent and everything should turn out right in the end?	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-25 07:14:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	Your original post implies shock at discovery of this law. My reply is it's been around for better than 20 years. So you didn't uncover something new here. Unfortunately, most people don't sit down and read through the myriad number of immigration laws and regulations "just for fun" or "because they have a lot of time on their hands." Most Americans are completely unaware that it IS difficult to get your spouse into the country. Most of them think that since you're married, you just fill out a form, send it to the government, they say CONGRATULATIONS! Let's get you a visa RIGHT NOW! Everyone I have explained the process to has been extremely shocked at how long and drawn out it is. But up until that moment, they hadn't known about it. Why? Because immigration doesn't affect them. I had no idea it was so difficult until I started considering marrying my now-husband. I didn't know how difficult it really was until I started reading this forum, and until the Adam Walsh Act passed. Bet none of you had heard of the Adam Walsh Act until it started affecting US in January, huh? That's how the government works right now. You'll never know what laws are on the book until it turns out one of them affects you.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-17 09:16:00
USCIS Service Centers	Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986	Welcome to the world of How the Legislative Process Works. In this world, the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease. This is why you should write, visit, and bother your representatives in Washington CONSTANTLY about the current visa process for spouses. Additionally, you should keep yourself informed about any new immigration law and try to figure out how it might affect you--positively or negatively! The reason, for example, that the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act was passed is because John Walsh and his organization were up their testifying. I can't expect that all of us would go to Washington, DC and testify, but if we want things to get better when it comes to the visa process, insteaad of worse, WE HAVE TO MAKE NOISE. We have to testify. We have to exercise our rights.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-03-15 21:18:00
USCIS Service Centers	uscis update the site and they put old dates	You know, it'd be nice if the USCIS would actually do something useful and customer-service-y like having a long list of all the peititions that have been filed, such as I-130s, the NOA1 dates and the approval dates on them...then, like a wave, we could see where they're at and where they're going next. It'd be a lot more informative and reassuring, not to mention the fact us "customers" would be able to plan out our lives better. I-130s from ____ month not going to be approved for a while? Maybe I will go live in my husband's country, or go ahead and file for a K-3, etc, etc.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-04-27 19:35:00
USCIS Service Centers	Why aren't the service centers changing their processing times??	This is probably why they don't have discussion forums at the USCIS--it would be us going "hey! You didn't update the dates! Hey, you updated them, but they didn't change! Hey, why are you so slow!?" It'd drive them nuts I'm not sure that's a bad thing, either	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-05-04 10:18:00
USCIS Service Centers	why vsc faster than csc	I seriously think that California is understaffed...Vermont must have some very smart guy working there that is able to deal with the hassle of the Petitions they get daily. No, see, the problem is that CSC is in California and so they have really nice weather whereas VSC is in Vermont, right close to the Canadian border. They have really BAD weather. So, they get a lot of snow and have to stay at work because they can't get home...nothing else to do besides, you guessed it: go through petitions! Okay, wishful thinking. But still...	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-04-25 17:46:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)	German recipes	Hmmm I miss Rotkohl a lot...but right now I think I'd kill for some Brötchen and Rubarberkuchen. Yum QUOTE auch in der pharmacy Brooks kann mann die haribo gummibaeren kaufen , Man kann Haribo fast überall finden. Vor einigen Jahren war's nicht ganz so einfach, aber die Welt wird immer kleiner:) Bei Target konnte man früher Rittersport kaufen, aber ich weiss nicht ob es immer noch zu finden ist.	Geist	Female	Finland	2007-08-30 14:26:00
USCIS Service Centers	Mamba Trick	Wish You The Best	mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-03 10:51:00
USCIS Service Centers	Picture of the CSC Office!!!		mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-08 21:35:00
USCIS Service Centers	Case approved 2NOA from CSC	Congratulations	mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-08 21:32:00
USCIS Service Centers	AFTER A REALLY AWFUL DAY!! I COME HOME TO CSC NOA2 A-FREAKIN-PROVED!!!!	Congratulations	mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-17 21:37:00
USCIS Service Centers	Approved! NOA2 from CSC	Congratulations	mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-17 21:35:00
USCIS Service Centers	NOA2 CSC	Congratulations	mike&jie	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-02-17 21:36:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	What's your favorite Russian Food?	I absolutely love the borscht! I prefer it without the Sour Creme though...	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-03-14 21:59:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian computer for USA?	QUOTE (slim @ Apr 7 2008, 06:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Is it just me, or are the banner ads at the top more "IN YOUR FACE, RUSSIA!"? I had no idea what you guys were talking about. I had to bring up IE and login to VJ to see them. I never even new VJ HAD any ads! I have been running Firefox with the Adblock plugin for so long, I'm just accustomed to never seeing advertisement...	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-04-07 22:39:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Kharkov	QUOTE (XMen1 @ Apr 13 2008, 12:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm on my way to Kharkov in a week. I had an apartment lined up which recently fell through. Wondering if anyone has suggestions for tracking a clean, safe, comfortable place down. Yes, I know a guy who owns and rents apartments in Kharkov. I have rented with him multiple times, and he is trustworthy. His name is Dmitri Prokopenko, and his web site is KharkovApartmentsForRent.com. He's part of an overall agency called "Ukraine Tour". You can email him at ukrainetour@ukrainetour.com. You can see a bunch of his apartments on the web site. Tell him that "Scott Smith" referred you, and that I told you that he would give you a good price. He has a ton of apartments, so you will balance price with location. The closer to the center of the city, the more $$. I will be renting an apartment from him on May 8-12. My girl and I will be there to celebrate the big Victory Day holiday. Should be a blast! QUOTE (XMen1 @ Apr 13 2008, 12:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Also, has anyone used the Mordinson agency? Incredibly expensive, but full service. I'm so frustrated with the problems I have thus far that I'm ready to try a full service agency. I have never heard of this agency. But if you are looking for a full service "Girl Friday" (Interpreter/city guide/assistant/etc.), then I strongly, strongly recommend a gal by the name of Irina Vasilenko. Her web site is KharkovInterpreter.com. She will make your life so much simpler, it is WELL worth the investment. If you have specific questions, send me a PM and I'll be happy to help. Good luck on your adventure.	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-04-13 12:06:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Any Doctor Will Tell You...	QUOTE (slim @ Aug 17 2008, 03:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "They not lady..... they man." He was lying. He just said that to get your white a$$ out... What was this thread about again? I forget...	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-08-17 21:49:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Any Doctor Will Tell You...	Now, now, kids... let's not pollute yet another thread with this stuff...	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-08-15 21:12:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Any Doctor Will Tell You...	QUOTE (NYGirl @ Aug 14 2008, 11:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> About b/c.....how come men hate condoms so much? Why do women have to be on pills, why not men do something about it? It's a double standard. Double standard?? Please! If a (reasonably safe) birth control pill were available for men, I would gladly take it. Everyone knows, guys don't give a ####### what we put in our bodies, especially if it would help get us laid. And using a condom is like having sex with a warm blowup doll (and no, I am not talking from experience)...	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-08-14 17:12:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Any Doctor Will Tell You...	QUOTE (eekee @ Aug 13 2008, 10:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> All of the above could be solved by hormonal birth control, which Russians also are scared of. Don't even get me started about the the whole "pill" thing... It baffled me, the stringent resistance to taking the pill. The pill remains unpopular in Russia and Ukraine. Abortion is free and readily available. Researching the topic, I read that the "average" 40 year-old Russian / Ukrainian woman has had at least 2 abortions. I started asking around... "what do you or your family use for birth control?" Some replied "condoms", but most replied "luck and a prayer"... Yet none admitted to ever having an abortion. When I asked why there was so much resistance to the pill, to my surprise the most common response was "because it causes weight gain!"	Scott and Iryna	Not Telling	Ukraine	2008-08-13 10:10:00