ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
Just got notice that our K-1 petition has been APPROVED !!!!!! DA, I also have had the same talk about guns, with Natasha. Going to get a safe once we ALL get there. Can't wait to teach Matvei how to shot, fish, and ride a dirt bike.......etc........ Luckiest man alive!!!!!!

Edited by jake8587, 25 February 2010 - 09:47 AM.

jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-25 09:45:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
We have talked about how if we have another child, I would like for them to also learn Russian. Now if the Vermont Service Center would just get in gear and approve their petition. Wish there was something I could do to speed it up!! Waiting Sucks and I am so over Afghanistan!!! Thanks again for all the suggestions.
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-19 01:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
WOW, thanks for all the GREAT advice!
I have sent him work books to help him with his english, he is actualy teaching Russian. He can count to 12 in english and higher if coached, just the other night he helped me remember how to count to 12. OH my Russian is so bad!!!!! Me and his mother agree that she will speak Russian with him at home and I will speak english with him. My sister's daughter is the same age so I greatful the he will have someone to play with right away. The funny thing is Morgan (sister;s daughter) is very excited to be learing Russian. Thanks again for all the advise I was begining to worry. Now if the VSC would just get going and approve our petition! I can hardly wait to together with them both again! Waiting SUCKS!!!!!! Poka!
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-18 01:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
Yes, I have only been letting my sister and her two children stay in my home while I am working in Afghanistan. Once Natasha and Matvei get their visa's we will move back to the states. I will only then be taking care of the three of us. So I think I should add a addenment explaining that I was just caring for them while I was out of the country and will only be taking care of the three of us from then on. Right?
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-17 12:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
Thanks everyone!

OK, I have one more question for you. I have been supporting my sister and her two children while I have been in Afghanistan and claiming them on my taxes. The question is should I include them on the I-134 paper work?

Edited by jake8587, 17 February 2010 - 10:12 AM.

jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-17 10:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust a little worried.
Hello all,

I hoping that someone will be able to suggest something to help both my fiancee and soon to be step son adjust to there new life in the states. I have filed ( NOV 2009) for a K-1 visa for the both of them and we all are waiting on the Vermont Service Center to do something/anything. My step son will be 6 when we move back to VA, his mother speaks english well ( of course she does not think so ) however my step son is just learning. I know she is very worried about how both he and herself will adjust to their new life in the states. My step son is VERY close with his grand mother and aunt and Natasha and I are worried about how he will cope with the move. So any suggestion on moving to the states with a young child? Anyone from VA?

Thanks for any help
Jake, Natasha, and Matvei
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-02-17 00:09:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusI-134 Questions
Hello everyone,
I have a question concerning my I-134 form, my sister and her two children are living in my house while I am over seas working. I currently pay for everything to support them, being the childrens father is a dead beat dad. I have been claiming them on my taxes for the last two years being I have been supporting them. The real questions is should I include them on the I-134 form ? Once we return I will no longer support them and they will move into their own home.Any suggestions?Thanks in advance for the help.
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-03-02 23:56:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusNational Geographic channel
QUOTE (slim @ Sep 17 2009, 10:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (baron555 @ Sep 16 2009, 06:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (BluesTraveler @ Sep 16 2009, 04:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (AKguy @ Sep 15 2009, 06:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
....I'm keeping the home movies though!

If you ever think about putting the movies on the net, send us the link. biggrin.gif



Those will be very entertaining, for sure!

We'll see her hitting a better MOA at 100 yards than Slimbo.

We'll see him, naked in his BBQ apron, being chased around the yard by her wielding a rolling pin to bash his Stoopid head.


Speaking of MOA.... my wife is getting pretty good. She hasn't shot for a while but last time she did, she was posting groups in the 4 MOA range. Not competition level by any means, but able to hit steel at 300 with an AK is pretty good! (Offhand at that!)

Well gentlemen I also have a soon to be wife that is a great shot! I shot sub MOA very consistently, but we visited a shooting gallery in Kiev where he schooled me with an air rifle!!Not sure how she will handle 7.62 recoil, but if she shoots anything like she did with the air rifle, I feel very sorry for a home invader. I will take the time to teach her to shot a pistol just as accurately, as she does a rifle. She also informed me that she was taught to field strip an AK in school and knows field medicine. There is nothing submissive about Natasha, she is very smart and cares about our family for most.
jake8587MaleUkraine2009-09-30 12:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work
Well just a update about our case, I have been calling the DOS and NVC for the last few weeks to see if our package had made it back from the embassy yet. Well no such luck so far. But while talking with Sara at the DOS, she informed me that the embassy has asked to expedite our case.I am not sure if this will do any good but it sounded like good news to me. She also told me that is was the USCIS that messed up and did not do one of the checks of our package before sending it forward to the NVC and then the Kiev embassy. So she thought that being the messed up they would want to correct their mistake ASAP, boy do I hope so !!! It has been 7 months sense I last saw Natasha and Matvei and I am dieing to just hold her in arms and kiss her. Well I hope to hear that they have our package next week!
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-16 15:13:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work
Just wanted to tell everyone that has offered us help and suggestion as what to do about our case, THANK YOU very much. I am going crazy sitting here in Afghanistan waiting to hear something back about the status of our case. My time is winding down here and I can hardy wait to get home and then fly to Kiev to be with my soon to be family. I was going to stay in the states until I heard something from the USCIS then leave but from what I have been reading on here about others that have had or are in the same boat this could be just like the first time we sent our paper work in. I personnaly would have thought they would have given a little more attention to cases sent back for some reason. Been trying to find the phone number to the OIG that overseas the USCIS with no luck at all. Got family members writing our local Representatives and asking for their help also. I am still hopeful that or local Representative will be able to come up with the phone number to the OIG and can maybe explain the situation that we are in. Once again THANK YOU very much for all the help. Just praying that this will not go into the next school year as this could really through a wrench in the works for us.
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-08 02:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work

I know this wasn't directed to me - but I think calling USCIS at this point wouldn't help. The problem seems to be somewhere between USCIS and consular at the embassy. Didn't know you were out of the country. The aide to the Congressman in your home district would probably make an inquiry based on contact with a family member - but they would still need the missing page, or information. I understand that that option may not appeal to you though, given your situation. The aide I spoke to was able to get an answer in 48 hours after she had all the information she needed.


That is OK !!! Thanks for the help !!! I have reprinted the the complete I-129F petition form and signed it and I was going to mail it to my mother, just in case they ( not sure who will get the package ) get the package and letter out before I get home. I wrote my senator when it was takening the USCIS so long to get anything done with the Nov 2009 petition and his office replied by mail and a phone call. I was shocked !!!! Maybe I can have my mother mail them the missing paper work to get them started? I made three copies and signed all three copies just in case!
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-04 11:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work

Since you do not send paperwork to Kiev, like you do to other consulates, the only reason they would cancel is, as you were told, there is some part of the petition missing or incomplete. Of course this should have been cayght before. While this particular instance is unusual, it is common for fiancees to go to the interviews and for visas to be deniewd and sent back to USCIS because of some perceived error in the paperwork. many times the eptitions are re-affirmed as correct and sent back to the consulates without the petitioner ever seeing them again. USCIS is anything but infaliable, they often make mistakes. Unfortunately they have alos insulated themselves really well from phone calls, etc.

You have two options here. One is to contact your Senator, if they have a good liason for this, it can be invaluable. If they do not it is a waste of time. The other is to contact the Office of Inspector General for the Service Center you used. For VSC, that is in Boston. either of these can get your case expedited with proper phone calls. It is highly unlikely that you could.

USCIS does NOT answer to Congress or the OIG, they are NOT USCIS' "Boss", but they DO control funding and oversee government negligence. They do not like it when citizerns are jerked around by stupid errors. Calling them and whining that you have waited 6 months (or 9 months or a year) will be of little use, they do not care. Calling them and telling them the USCIS is majorly messing up people's cases does get their attention.

Thanks for the reply but what is OIG and how do I go about getting in touch with them. My NVC was in New Hampshire.I have a local USCIS in my toen would that do any good to contact them? I am still in Afghanistan and do not leave here until April 19 - 20 and will not be at home until April 23rd. Do you think they would speak with a family member in my place?

Edited by jake8587, 04 April 2010 - 09:13 AM.

jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-04 09:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work
Thanks for the heads up Darnell, alot of info there not sure even where to begin.
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-04 01:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMissing or lost paper work
Well, I have gotten over the shock I got Thursday morning. I got an email from Natasha saying that the embassy in Kiev called and canceled her interview for the following Thursday.Being April 1st and all I prayed and hoped it was a joke!!! I can only wish now that is was a April fools prank, but it was not. Natasha said that she received a call for the embassy and that they had to cancel her interview because there was part of a form missing that required a signature from me. WE can only guess that it has to be Part C of the I-129F petition form. What I am at a total lose for word over this; how would it had made it all the way to the embassy with something requiring a signature in the first place? Guess the CO was busy and must have miss placed it. Well they sent the entire package back to the state for review. The person that Natasha spoke with explained that it would take three weeks to get there ( using the secret squirrel embassy mail. DHL OR UPS ????) and then time for them to review it and send me a letter explaining what it is that they will need from me AGAIN!!! This all is driving m crazy I work in a field that if I lose or misplace something, then someone could die!! How the heck do you call someone, setup a interview date and the only call again to explain that it is canceled just a week out. Well I called everyone I could think of NCC,USCIS, and the State Department trying to get someone to explain to me how this would work. The DOS was the only one that really tried to do anything for me. USCIS was a joke I got transfered twice and the lady that I spoke with sounded as if she was eating her lunch and could give a ####### about anything I told her and was asking her. The guy at NVC said he had never heard of anything like this happening in the 15 years that he had worked there, great just what I wanted to hear. Wonder how you get this kind of job, seems stress free and I betting it pays very well also. Sorry for the rant, just wondering if anyone had ever heard of anything like this before and what I should do now? :protest:
jake8587MaleUkraine2010-04-03 23:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUS Contractor and K-1
Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions , this all can be a little overwhelming at times. Good idea to have her sign all the needed paper work while on holiday!!

jake8587MaleUkraine2009-05-19 22:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUS Contractor and K-1
Hello,
Just wanted to say this site has helped me more then I ever would have dreamed. I am American contractor working in Afghanistan and plan to ask my girl friend ( Ukrainian ) to marry me while we are on holiday in the states, she just got her tourist Visa. My only concern is that I will not be in the states to file the paper work for the K-1 Visa, and most of hers will be printed from my laptop. Will this make a difference, do I need her orginals? As you can guess getting anything over here is not easy, the mail is not the best.
jake8587MaleUkraine2009-05-16 11:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresG-325A
QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Sep 21 2009, 03:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (jake8587 @ Sep 20 2009, 12:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Sep 20 2009, 02:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (jake8587 @ Sep 20 2009, 01:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hello everyone! I have a question about the G-325A form. It is asking about a residence outside the USA, well I work as a federal contractor in Afghanistan. Do I need to include this address? it not really a address as I am living on a fire bases with the Special Forces.I have not changed my address/resident from my address in the states. It seems straight forward but I concerned as I want this process to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks for any input.


Though it is not 123 main street, I would list it. Do you use an APO? Nothing will be harmed by listing this address.

Yes, I do use a APO address to get mail and paackages.


Anyone have any advise on filling out the forms, it seems you can't change the font size and run out of room.


You can attach a sheet OR

Print ONE page. Fill it in by hand, print legibly. THEN make 3 copies. THEN sign all four pages. This is what I did with ours.


List the APO as your address for the biographical data. List you job and be sure to list US Government Contractor, (nearest city), Afghanistan. Just be as clear and concise as you can.

OK Thanks for the help!
jake8587MaleUkraine2009-09-20 21:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresG-325A
QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Sep 20 2009, 02:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (jake8587 @ Sep 20 2009, 01:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hello everyone! I have a question about the G-325A form. It is asking about a residence outside the USA, well I work as a federal contractor in Afghanistan. Do I need to include this address? it not really a address as I am living on a fire bases with the Special Forces.I have not changed my address/resident from my address in the states. It seems straight forward but I concerned as I want this process to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks for any input.


Though it is not 123 main street, I would list it. Do you use an APO? Nothing will be harmed by listing this address.

Yes, I do use a APO address to get mail and paackages.


Anyone have any advise on filling out the forms, it seems you can't change the font size and run out of room.
jake8587MaleUkraine2009-09-20 11:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresG-325A
Hello everyone! I have a question about the G-325A form. It is asking about a residence outside the USA, well I work as a federal contractor in Afghanistan. Do I need to include this address? it not really a address as I am living on a fire bases with the Special Forces.I have not changed my address/resident from my address in the states. It seems straight forward but I concerned as I want this process to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks for any input.
jake8587MaleUkraine2009-09-20 00:45:00