Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
US Citizenship General Discussion	November 2008 Filers	...updating! Interview was very quick and friendly in Reno (in and out in 8 mins!) - got my oath letter today. Dang it, i'll be out of the country that week! So just sent a letter requesting a later oath date. Anyone know how often they schedule ceremonies? Name.............Date sent....NOA1.....Biodate...Interview....Oath.....Center..Local Office..Check Cashed rwj..............11/05/08...11/13/08...12/04/08...03/18/09...04/10/09...CSC....Reno, NV........11/13/08	rwj	Female	Australia	2009-03-23 23:18:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	November 2008 Filers	Update: rwj..............11/05/08...11/13/08...12/04/08...03/18/09...--/--/--...CSC....Reno, NV........11/13/08	rwj	Female	Australia	2009-02-09 20:32:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	November 2008 Filers	sorry, forgot to update! Biometrics done 12/04/08 - took an hour, even though there were only 3 other people in there.... I don't know if they were waiting for the machine to 'warm up', or if they just made my appointment in the middle of their tea break, as the staff stood around chatting to each other for a good 30 mins before calling any numbers... Anyway, that part's done, now just waiting for my appointment notice!	rwj	Female	Australia	2009-01-24 16:50:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	November 2008 Filers	Me too! rwj......11/05/08...11/13/08...--/--/--...--/--/--...--/--/--...CSC, but NOA said transferred to Nat'l Benefits Center....Reno, NV.... 11/13/08	rwj	Female	Australia	2008-11-19 21:27:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	I-864 question	The first box says something like "I filed the last three years but I`m submitting my 1040 ONLY for last year." The next box says more or less "I`m submitting from two years ago and from three years ago." Well, I`m giving them my 1040s from all three, which is what they really want, I think. In the end, I checked both boxes and I can`t see a problem with it, but it doesn`t seem right. It`s badly worded.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-18 06:11:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	I-864 question	Wish I knew, Angilla! They don`t leave much room for "other", do they? I had to respond here because, even though I don`t know the answer you need, I`m half stuck on the same question `cause I`m a different "other". Just thought it was kinda funny! Good luck!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-17 21:16:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Kitkat1- I haven`t been on any immigration forums for a long time and just now decided to stop by and see what was going on and see who was still around. While I was here, I saw that your 601 had been approved. Congratulations! For my part and the parts of the countless others who you`ve helped I want to thank you very much. May you and your fiance (husband?) have a wonderful life together now that you`ve finally negotiated so many hurdles. Felicidades y muchisimas gracias. Brian.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-11-29 07:19:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	A silly question............. I know that metal isn't allowed into the consulate. But, are paper clips allowed? What about butterfly clips to hold larger bundles of documents? Maybe I should use larger paperclips just in case. Butterfly clips are no problem.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-18 11:39:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I've been trying to stay off of Visajourney because the lack of NOA2 has been truly nervewracking, but I can finally say, yay Juarez here we come! got it via email today! I can't wait, and Marco will be here by July's end ajuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Well, allright! Congratulations TJH! Vismaster, I know it isn`t exactly easy to go through the K visa deal either. It`s just that we caused ourselves a lot of extra problems by doing it the way we did. My wife would have been granted a K-1 with no problems- instead, we wasted a year and a half chasing a dead-end, then had to deal with illegal presence and were separated for over a year while we sweat and worried about whether or not our waiver was going to be approved. Any rate, it`s all taken care of now. For those who are worried about the language issue for your AOS interviews, I can tell you how it went at our local office. My wife`s English was very limited at that time, but we decided to go without an interpreter anyway. In our case, the interviewing officer was very understanding and allowed me to help her from time to time (we were interviewed together). Even though I wasn`t supposed to help, he understood enough Spanish to know that I wasn`t coaching her answers, just explaining the questions. Actually, I did most of that in English by using vocabulary that I knew she was familiar with and speaking clearly. Hopefully you`ll get understanding officers too.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-14 00:16:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	On another note: I had no idea so many people married internationally! Seeing all of the petitions that are going through every month just on vj and knowing that we are probably just a fraction of how many actually going through amazes me! I had never heard of a fiance visa before until a few months ago and that was just from doing immigration searches on the internet. I just kinda accidently stumbled across it. No kidding! I was in the same boat, except I found out too late. Who woulda thought- Fiance visas??? I used to work with a German who had come here that way. He told me about it a short time before our wedding, but the ball was already rolling and I didn`t want to stop it. It would have saved us an awful lot of trouble if I had heard of it earlier. I`m glad you heard about it in time to do things the "easy way".	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-09 11:31:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I have officially finished reading every page of the CDJ forum! It took me the greater part of the day. I feel like I know each and every one you personally and for a very long time. Good grief! In one day!?! Your eyes probably won`t get back into focus for a week!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-08 03:36:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I-601 waiver is granted to waive a ban on entry due to hardship that it would impose on a USC. A lot of people get three or ten year bans for illegal presence or "crimes involving moral turpitude" (what ever that means) and his/her spouse files a waiver along with a letter and supporting evidence explaining that it would cause extreme hardship to the USC to A) leave the country for X years, or B) live without his/her spouse for the length of the ban. If the waiver is approved, the one with the ban gets to come to the US. What do the first and second NOAs mean? When they send the second, does it mean your visa approved? Approved pending interview results? Judging from your timelines, it looks like it comes just about at the end of the road. Congratulations, Mfarmer. EDIT: I don`t know why therer`s a happy face in the part about living without your spouse- I didn`t put it there, I swear! Anyway, now I`m in edit and I don`t see it, so I guess it just has to stay. Sorry, Lupita. Edited by bdesj, 04 April 2007 - 11:34 PM.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-04 23:31:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	ah and be careful who you call a pocha, as some of us could forseeably get offended. (I won't this time, as I don't think there was any harm intended, but my mom would certainly have a FIT!) No, I didn`t intend to be offensive and thank you for the warning. I didn`t know it had a bad side or I wouldn`t have put it that way. I`m sorry, but good thing I know about it now.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-02 21:06:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	So it remains imposible to "look forward to" something in Spanish? Oh yeah, bowl too! Fortunately, there hasn`t been any confusion over that one for me because most of the Spanish-speaking households I`ve spent any time in don`t really have any "platos" that I wouldn`t call a bowl, so one plato is as good as the next! TJH, are you a "pocha"?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-04-02 08:47:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I like chimuelo and chimuelito too! I don`t miss them in Eng though. I don`t know how correct it is, but I usually use "A ver si + subjunctive" for "I wonder....". What`s a grey mullet?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-31 17:36:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	hi everyone, I am so sorry for not checking in with you guys for a while, but I've been very very busy. Tomorrow I head out to Guadalajara to bring my Juan back with me. I'm spending my spring break down in Mexico and then bringing back my Juan with me. Finally, it's hard to believe that after almost 6 years of being in a long-distance relationship, we get to be together. It just hasn't settled in that he's almost here with me, it is just so hard to believe!! Okay I'm off to finish my packing. Wow, I thought he was already here! Have a wonderful trip and I wish you plenty of luck. Hope his adjustment to the US works out well, too. E&K, is "tuerto" only for people who originally had two good eyes? Anyone know a good way to express "looking forward to" in Spanish? That`s one that I wish for sometimes. I also wish that "esperar" weren`t so broad. Edited by bdesj, 30 March 2007 - 10:54 PM.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-30 22:53:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I could have it wrong, but I use "tramites" for any steps that need to be taken- much broader than "paperwork". "For this/that reason" just doesn`t seem to work as smoothly in a sentence and really doesn`t work at all when it`s a sentence by itself.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-30 07:47:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Congrats Allie, another bunch of tramites completed! I'm trying to get started on AOS before my wedding and it's a SLOW start... Is it just me, or does it seem to anyone else that English could really use a good translation for "tramites"? That`s the one Spanish word I most wish for when speaking English! As is, it`s kind of invaded my family`s English because I found it easier to explain "tramites" to my family than to correct my wife when she says "tramit" in English. Now my mother says it too, half joking, but it`s taking a pretty good hold. My next wish is for a smooth equivalent to "Por eso".	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-30 00:33:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Allright, Angie! Congratulations! It sounds like you have a very multilingual household- I can see how it would get confusing, but I bet it`s also a lot of fun to try holding up conversations between three languages that are so diferent from each other. My wife`s GC arrived today. The envelope looked like junk mail- I`m glad I didn`t throw it in the garbage! She passed the written test (in English) for her drivers license last week and refused to pay the extra $21 for a learners permit. Yesterday she flunked the driving portion and finaly conceded to shell out for the permit. She`ll pass it next time (Wed, I think).	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-30 00:25:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	It shouldn`t be too long for the EAD, Allie. We filed for AOS and EAD in 2003 and I think it came in about three months- the AOS interview came year later. Come on, PAYDAY!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-26 16:10:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	What is "antidopin"? Urinalysis?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-24 21:52:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Huh. Looks like I ought to be MORE careful when I`m down there. Nice to see you around, Scroll.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-22 17:01:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	E&K- Good point about the situation making a big difference for how people view a place. Kristen- no idea, sorry. Louisa- I think that`s what Kitkat was talking about. If you want to prove it`ll be hard, you`ve got to paint it ugly even if you don`t believe it. Have you spent quite a bit of time in DF? How do you see it in comparison to Juarez? Oh yeah, TJ Hilton- You really lock your car to pump gas in LA? I`m much more careful there than at home, but not to that extent. Of course, it could be that I`m just "askin' for it".	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-21 22:38:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I have to say that I share your attitudes towards Mexico more than I disagree, but to give a little defense to the "other side": Mexico isn`t for everyone. Nor is the US. Personally, I love travelling in Mexico and I was mentally and psychologically prepared to move there had our waiver been denied, but I still have issues (aside from financial) that I don`t know how well I would deal with if I were faced with actually living there. I find the terrible smell of poluted rivers and the sight of garbage strewn all over pretty depressing. I like being able to sit down with my checkbook and a roll of stamps and take care of five bills in as many minutes. I don`t take well to jail-style housing (padlocks, chains, bars, lack of windows, LACK OF SPACE) and no where to go to escape. Yes, they have wonderful parks but I`m accustomed to being able to drive a few hours and see no one else for as long as I want- days, sometimes. When I`m driving in an unfamiliar area, I like to see street signs and know where to expect the traffic controls and signs to tell me which direction I`m expected to go on any given road. I like getting out of my car, especially in the summer, without having to roll up all the windows, lock the door and hasle with a steering wheel club. At home and many places I go to, I don`t even take the keys out of the ignition and I like it that way. I know there are places in the US that have many of these problems, but I don`t want to live in those places either. There are also problems that don`t particularly bother me, but I know that other folks have a very hard time with ie, public bathrooms, the more exciting bus rides, Spanish language ( I speak Spanish reasonably well and I think most or all of you do too, but imagine if you didn`t). And for all that, my father in law has had a GC for years and recently got US citizenship, but refuses to stay in this country any longer than necessary to see his kids and make an appearance at the social security office. He hates it because the busses suck- city busses (where the drivers only speak English) and Greyhound (which ALWAYS stops at McDonalds and NEVER stops at anywhere he can get a torta and a beer or a bag of dried shrimp). He doesn`t like that you have to go three blocks to get to a convenience store or two miles to get to any kind of more substantial shopping. When he comes to our house, it drives him up the wall to know that the door is unlocked all night long. Well, it`s a flimsy house anyway- pura tablaroca y nada de cemento. He doesn`t drive here and the local busses usually take a good hour to get you anywhere because there is invariably a transfer involved and they only run once an hour on the outer routes, half hour on the more central routes. It`s God-awful cold here. Sometimes even freezes. At home, he likes to sit in front of his house drinking beer with his buddies and BSing with everyone who passes by. At my house, he`d be lucky to see five cars and one pedestrian go by in an hour. Pretty boring place, Gringolandia!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-19 00:29:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Gabacha, you were SORTA mean. It would have been better if you had told him that Juan Gabriel would be doing the checking.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-16 01:34:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Congratulations Ququis and Gabacha! Dang! Looks like you just missed it, Louisa! Unless there`s another Inlimbo, she`s already on I2US. My wife and I had to file I-601 last year and just went back for pick-up, but it looks like there aren`t nearly as many waivers here as on I2US. Does anyone know if the pilot is for I-212s also?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-03-10 22:24:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Looks like so far so good for everyone. We did the mrdical yesterday and my wife is in the consulate right now. I`m in a ciber in the shopping mall across the street from K and E trying to cope with a mexican keyboard that Im not accustomed to. Suerte, Kristen y Efrain. How bout that wind, huh?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-28 12:27:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Allright, Angie and Roberto! Another couple together again! Good luck, K and E. We`ll be there the same time, but I`m leaving tomorrow after work. Another batch comming through, huh?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-23 11:49:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Bdesj: No way! I quickly glanced through a website about getting married in Nevada, and I thought it said SS# was required. Well, well, then maybe my thoughts of renting a car in El Paso and driving to Nevada can still work! I figure that once we cross into El Paso, we might as well go somewhere cool. I was thinking Lake Tahoe because it seems more picturesque. Nevada is the only state in that area of the country I haven't visited. The vieja didn`t have one when we got married (Jul `03), but you got me wondering if there had been a change, so I called this morning. If you have a SSN, they want to know what it is. No SSN, no problem. Just a cavity check. You`re ruthless!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-21 11:29:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Oh my, you had the Elvis conversation? We just had the Vegas conversation...except I don't think that'll be possible as it seems Nevada requires a SS# to marry. Not true! Come on down and bring your Elvae! (Or youe Jose Alfredos)	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-20 20:48:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	No, no news yet. Let`s wait til about April and see how many "We`re pregnant!" posts we get after all these February reunions!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-20 14:07:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	They looked at W2s and tax returns from 2003, 2004, and 2005 for my co-sponsor and me and only kept the 2005 information. I think if your interview is before April, not including 2006 taxes shouldn't be a problem. Great! I know that it SHOULDN`T be a problem, but I wasn`t too sure how it would work in practice. Thanks for letting us know- I feel better now.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-16 10:55:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Yay! Congratulations! Eleven days till I see my wife in Juarez and thirteen days til our next (hopefully last) IR interview. I sure hope we get through like you guys did- no surprises!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-15 15:41:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Bdesj, my fiance took the I-134 and all supporting documents to his interview in Juarez. We are filing for a k1 visa, and Juan took the I-134 and they took that from him. To my understanding the I-864 is used for AOS. Ah-ha. Thank you, UCLA. What I was getting at was ?did you, or the others who`ve gone in the last couple weeks, provide 1040s from 2006? According to USCIS, W2 and paystubs are sufficient since tax season is still going. But I`m not so sure the consulate will see things the same way. Any rate, I`d really appreciate knowing whether anyone has gone in this month without last years taxes.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-14 14:17:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	After 11 long hours inside the consulate.... He got the visa!!!!! Yay! Congratulations! But eleven hours?!?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-14 14:07:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	thank you so much for the step by step of the medical exam. I've been sort of concerned because my fiance is tattooed up all over (me too!) and I've been wondering if it's going to be a problem. Tattoos only seem to be a problem if they appear to be gang related.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-13 17:32:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	I`m glad all is going smoothly at the consulate. You guys that are filing for K visas, do you submit an affidavit of support at the interview? I have I-864 again and there`s another for some reason (I-134?).	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-13 16:22:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Good morning- good luck with your fiance`s interview, Agro, and with your wedding, NY. I`m wondering about something- for those who`ve had recent appointments, did you present 2006 1040s? I can`t see a problem since tax day is still a ways off, but my wife is very nervous about it and personally I`d prefer they didn`t see that she has a W2 for last year (got paid in Jan for her last week in `05). My W2 from last year, along with coppies of `03-`05 returns and a current letter from my employer and the last few pay stubs ought to be plenty, shouldn`t it?	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-12 09:27:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	When were you trying to get onto I2US? It was down from Sat morning until I think Tues afternoon. Since then it`s been working for the most part, but I couldn`t get on for a little while this evening. Congratulations on your fiance`s interview. Happy reunions for everyone else. It looks like it`s busy season for the border!	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-10 04:12:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Juarez Consulate	Good luck with your husband`s appointment, Danielle. I`m glad to hear about the Hotel Monaco- I saw their web page and another for a Hotel Impala and they both sounded reasonable. But it said $350 and $400 per night and I wasn`t positive that those prices were in Pesos. I know a lot of business is done in Dollars there even when it doesn`t involve gringos. We have an appointment on the 28th and I`m driving, so I need a place with secure parking too.	bdesj	Male	Mexico	2007-02-05 17:07:00