biggish data

We are planning a full floofy dress and church ceremony and reception, but we didn't plan anything (ok, i bought my wedding gown the day before) until he had his visa in hand. We're finding that other than some difficulties with the church (which are sorting themselves out), it's been easy to find a reception hall or a ballroom (we're having a smallish wedding, so that helps) for July.

I wouldn't put down a dime or make solid plans; there's a lot that will be up in the air and things can get delayed through no fault of your own. But if you're flexible on the date, remember that once you get the K-1, you have six months to use it, and that's enough time to plan parties.

Yeah, that's what we're doing too- Catholic wedding with mass, etc. I mentioned the idea of going through the courthouse at first (just to get the legalities out of the way) to my fiance and then planning the ceremony later. Unfortunately, he feels like this is a "cheat" at getting married and would rather wait until the church bit. I agree with him, but from where we currently stand I see no light at the end of the tunnel and will take what I can get. I know I'm not very far in the process (only being 6 weeks into it), but it's really doing my head in to wait around for someone else to tell me when I can get married. I'm sure this is a fairly common feeling around here.

I'm scheduled to put a deposit on a reception site next weekend- they've said they can move date around AS LONG as the original date can still be rebooked. I guess this is a chance to take... I'm sure I'll be stressing all week about whether or not it's worth it.

This website is really helpful- it's like a support club. It's nice to know there are other people going through the same frustrations.

Oh yeah- Are there any documents needed at the next step that can prepare in the meantime??

Edited by DollThrift, 24 February 2007 - 01:54 PM.

DollThrift

Female

United Kingdom

2007-02-24 13:51:00

First, relax a bit. You've got a long way to go in the process, and I'm really sorry if you're at your wits' end now because one month is not very long in the big picture. Check out this site and look at some other people's timelines. It depends on which service center is processing your case. I see yours is being processed by the CSC. Mine was done there, too, and it got approved in about two months, before getting sent on to the National Visa Center (after an annoyingly long and unexplained delay), and then extremely quickly onto the US Embassy in my fiancee's country. We're expecting probably another two months or so before she gets her visa and is able to come into the country. So about six months total.

After my petition was approved, I got an email notification, and the NOA2 arrived in the mail a few days later. Now if you had been lucky enough to get yours transferred to Vermont, well, then maybe you'd be expecting your NOA2 any time now, but as it is, you've got some time left to wait for the NOA2. Be patient and read up on this site. There's a wealth of information, and you can look at other people's progress who applied for K-1 visas from the UK, too. You should be able to get better estimates from their timelines.

Now here's what is a bit confusing about your message. How did you get an email notification without getting your NOA1 in the mail first? How did you know your CIS receipt number to get the email alert system working? You only get that CIS receipt number from you NOA1, which comes in the mail (unless you have good eyes and can read it on the back of your check that was deposited by the CIS). It seems like maybe you've misunderstood the NOA terms?! I can't tell.

Hm... I guess that is a bit confusing. I am using the aid of attorney and everything goes through him. He was the one who received the notice, which he then forwarded to me as an email attatchment.

DollThrift

Female

United Kingdom

2007-02-24 02:09:00

DollThrift, Welcome to VJ,

To answer your question, yes it's normal not to hear anything. You can get an account on the USCIS web page and watch your case number to see if there are any "touches". If you did not get an NOA1 in the mail, you should keep trying the service center at (800) 375 – 5283. At some point, you'll be able to hit 0 and get to a person. You will need your case number. They can probably reissue your NOA1.

As far as processing time, the whole process will vary from country to country. However the first step (NOA2) is pretty much the same for everyone depending on the service center you went through. Cases are served on a first-come first-served basis. Typically people take 80-90 days to get their NOA2. We all watch the dates carefully. You can go to the Immigration Timelines section and do your own queries. Here's that stats that I look at every day.

- 81% (66 of 81) October CSC NOA1s have received their NOA2.
- 85% (53 of 62) November CSC NOA1s have received their NOA2.
- 10% (5 of 48) December CSC NOA1s have received their NOA2.
- 0% (0 of 27) January CSC NOA1s have received their NOA2.
- 50% of CSC filers should receive their NOA2 within 81 days of their NOA1.
- 84% of CSC filers should receive their NOA2 within 91 days of their NOA1.
- 98% of CSC filers should receive their NOA2 within 100 days of their NOA1.
- It takes about 30 days for approved petitions to reach the appropriate consulate.

For UK beneficiaries, it takes 74 days on average from receipt to interview. So, all in all your looking at between 185-205 days for your fiancee to get their visa. August 30 is 230 days after your NOA1 so you might be taking a fair amount of risk with your plans. A lot of the advice you'll see here is to not make wedding plans until you have your visa in hand because you can always be denied or RFE'd at the interview. It's a real bummer to have that kind of surprise when you've made a lot of plans.

Bottom line is, welcome to the long wait . But, it's a short time compared to the rest of your lives together.

Good luck,
PPFKL

Hi PPFKL,

Wow, that was a pretty informative response. I have been following along with my case number- no touches yet. I guess I will just try the service center again and see if I have any luck speaking to an actual representative.

That is a BIG bummer to see that most people advise not to make wedding plans. Especially considering there's so much time and effort that goes into a wedding and it's not like it can be organized overnight. -Which means not only do we have to wait 6 months for the visa process, it will probably still be another 4 months after that to plan a wedding. gah.....

It's the whole "hurry up and wait" it bit that really gets to me. Remembering that I have to sit back and just wait for someone to stamp my paperwork makes my blood boil!

Thanks for all your help,
DollThrift

DollThrift

Female

United Kingdom

2007-02-24 02:03:00

This is my first time posting on here, and I'm kind of at my wits end...

I received an email receipt on Jan 23 (the actual NOA "received" date is Jan 12) for my I-129F. It's now February 23 and I have yet to hear anything else. I know everyone goes through this paranoia, thinking "What if they lost mine? What if I'm supposed to be doing something??" and this is basically where I'm at right now.

I am working with an immigration attorney who only answers me in 1-word responses via email, which makes me feel like I'm bothering him. I have tried to contact someone- ANYONE- at the USCIS customer service number and it seems like I get caught up in an automated-hell. Does anyone know how to get a hold of an actual person??

Is this normal to not hear anything besides my NOA1?? I saw that some people received an NOA in the mail- I never got one of these.

Also, my fiance and I are planning our wedding at the end of August. With a received date of Jan 12, does this seem like enough time for the full process to be completed?

This experience isn't nearly as funny or kitschy as the movie Green Card... <_<

DollThrift

Female

United Kingdom

2007-02-24 01:35:00

Evidence of a bona fide marriage, please help!

The most important part of your bona fides is your marriage certificate. Your marriage must have been legal in the jurisdiction in which it took place. You do not mention where you got married.

Your domestic partnership info is fine - I myself registered as a de facto partner in Australia before we legally married in the US. My Australian registration would not have been sufficient for a visa - but it does show that we were a "couple" - at least in the eyes of another government.

Adding evidence of financial intermingling makes your case stronger.

Sukie

Awesome, thank you so much!

We got a got a Domestic Partnership in Santa Barbara, CA in August 2012 because our original plan was, that she moves here to Germany this October.

But now, since she can sponsor me for an US visa, we thought we rather do this.

Her German is pretty much non existant and this fact wouldn't really have made things like job search and the daily life easier for her.

We got married in October 2013 in Norwalk, CA and we are only waiting for the marriage certificate, that hopefully arrives soon.

The thing with the financial intermingling is probably difficult, since we are living in different countries and have financially completely independent lifes.

I know, that I can't put her as a co owner of my bank account, because she is not a German resident and I doubt that I can be one of her's, since that would require an SSN(as far as I know), which I don't have.

The only option that came to our mind was, that I could get a Credit Card in my name for her account, with her still being the only owner and therefore the only legally responsible person for the account.

I'm not really sure though, if that doesn't look too "purposely done for the Visa", if she applies now for a card for me and two weeks later we send in the I-130?!

Thank you again!

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2013-10-20 08:45:00

Evidence of a bona fide marriage, please help!

I might be wrong, but I don't think domestic partnership provides the same immigration benefits as marriage?

Maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in

We got a real marriage on October 3rd, I was just planning to send the Domestic Partnership documents as a proof of a bona fide relationship, since I did not gain any advantages for immigration purposes and still entered the Domestic Partnership.

I thought (or hoped) that this shows that I'm not with her because of the Visa.

Maybe I'm thinking incorrectly though and it'll just confuse the USCIS!?

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2013-10-20 04:10:00

Evidence of a bona fide marriage, please help!

Hello, we are planning to file for a CR-1 visa in the coming weeks and I am a bit worried about the evidence of a bona fide marriage.

While I think(..or hope ) it should be enough what we plan to send, it would be greatly appreciated if I would get some feedback.

Facts that might be important:

The beneficiary is German (me).

The petitioner is an immigrant herself, she came over from Vietnam when she was 11 years old.

We are together for two years

We have seen each other twice, six weeks in Summer 2012 and 11 days in October 2013

Age difference is two years, and we are 25 and 23 years old

It's a same sex marriage

Evidence that we are planning to send:

Documents of our domestic partnership from 2012 (I thought that should be a strong proof, because I partnershipped her even though I did not gain any visa options by doing so)

Amazon invoices from presents I bought for her over the course of two years (15 presents )

Calls from my computer to her mobile phone from the last six months(12 pages)

E-Mails, cards, and letters that she send me (10 pages)

Pictures of us both and of us with her friend (6 pictures)

My passport stamps and boarding passes

Bank withdrawals that I made near where she was/is living

Tickets for Six Flags and the LA Zoo that I bought for us both

It would be more than appreciated if some experienced people could tell me what they think of our evidence and if they see any "red flag" we might not have thought about yet.

Thank you in advance

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2013-10-20 03:34:00

Name change of Mother in Law

Thank you so much, Darnell.

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2013-12-30 03:52:00

Name change of Mother in Law

It might be an odd question, but I'm not quite sure how to treat my mother in law's first name change.

She immigrated to the US from Vietnam in 2001 and when she became a citizen, she changed her name from let's say Tuyen-Ha Nguyen to let's say Stephanie Nguyen.

She works in a profession where she has to deal with many non Asian customers and they had trouble pronouncing her name correctly, hence the change.

Now is on our marriage certificate her birth name (Tuyen-Ha) because it explicitly asked for that and not the current name.

My question is, what should I write into the G-325A field that asks for the mother's given name?

I would have written "Stephanie" since "Tuyen-Ha" doesn't exist anymore.

I'm somewhat worried though that this will lead to a denial or RFE if they notice, because Stephanie =/= Tuyen-Ha.

If anybody has been in a similar situation, any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2013-12-29 08:55:00

Error on marriage certificate - Too risky to send petition?

Our marriage certificate contains an error.

My wife's birth date is not correct, it says she is born on September 12th instead of September 16th.

Because of this, in my opinion rather big, error we decided to amend the marriage certificate before filing for the visa, just to avoid possible trouble with the USCIS.

I don't know how this procedure is in other states, but we (California) had to have this amendmend form notarized by a notary public and then sent it to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles sent it then to San Francisco, where apparently all the amendmends take place.

We were waiting for about 3 months now (filed in January) and received a reply from them yesterday, saying we have to refile it, because the notary public wrote "for signature, see next page" on a page that is for office use only.

We are a bit on the edge now, because that means we have to wait another 3 months if we want to file for the visa with the corrected certificate.

Does anyone know if it is possible for us, to file for the visa with the incorrect marriage certificate and attach a note, saying that the corrected one is applied for?

Or are we risking a possible denial?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2014-04-08 21:38:00

Request for Evidence

I would send them emails you sent each other, cards, Facebook messages, Skype logs, Phone records...
Not necessarily all of this of course, but a selection of what you have.
They want to see that you have an ongoing relationship with her over a period of time.

PlingPlong

Not Telling

Germany

2014-04-14 10:53:00