Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 20 2007, 10:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> rouguewave CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bill y Bella is right!!!!! The Colombia Club got the hook up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks, and good luck on your trip. I think its the right thing to do. When honey ko was sick in Oct (not as serious as Leidy) I sat here frustrated for almost 2 weeks, until she went into the hospital and I'd had enough. Early on Friday morning I bought a ticket and boarded a flight later that day for Manila, Philippines. She didn't know I was coming. It was a wonderful surprise and helped incredibly with her recovery, both physically and emotionally.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-20 22:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	Yep. July 11th NOA1 ----- Nov 20 NOA2 No touches or nothing. Just an email in my mailbox that arrived at 5:30pm Eastern time. Maybe its the chocolates I sent, but I'm not sure they arrived there yet. I had to logon to the USCIS website to make sure that I wasn't imagining things and lo and behold it was noted there, too. It made for a VERY nice chat by phone and YIM with honey ko tonight. Thanks for the congratulations and the same to others who posted today. I haven't had time to read through the thread yet. My prayers are with those who are still waiting. I'm hoping you all get yours soon. I'll be back later.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-20 20:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	Whooooooo Whoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL *** The last processing action taken on your case Receipt Number: EACXXXXXXXXXX Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) Current Status: Approval notice sent. On November 20, 2007, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service. If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283. *Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates. *** Please do not respond to this e-mail message. Sincerely, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-20 19:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (English Muffin @ Nov 19 2007, 08:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> APPROVED! We got an email today to say that we were approved on 17th November. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! Here's hoping the rest of your journey is swift and problem-free.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-19 13:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (toshtishtash @ Nov 16 2007, 04:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!! Receipt Number: EACXXXXXXXX Application Type: I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) Current Status: Approval notice sent. On November 16, 2007, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service. I just looked!!!! No touches or anything!!!!!! I can't believe it! I'm shaking!!!!! I can't even tell Chris yet as he is still at work, I have left him a message on his machine saying call me AS SOON as you get in!!!! Well, well, well, looks like congratulations are in order again!!!!!!! Here's hoping the rest of your jouney is swift and painless.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 17:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (julezabelle @ Nov 16 2007, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh don't mind Bill, he just likes bonking people over the head with wooden mallets! I think we need a creative someone to make a few extra smiley's. How about one where there's someone bonking a cheerleader over the head? Or maybe one where there's someone bonking a VSC worker over the head?	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 14:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 16 2007, 12:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OK....I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH VSC...I SAID I WAS CALLING TO SAY THANK YOU BECASUE I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TASK IN APPROVING ALL THESE PETITIONS...I TOLD THEM I WAS A MEMBER OF A WEBSITE WHERE MANY [EOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AND THAT THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE RFE'S THAT HAVE BEEN WAITING A WHILE AND OTHERS WHO ARE JUST WAITING A LONG TOME...I TOLD HIM TO PLEASE TY TO UNDERSTAND THAT AS DIFFICULT AS IT IS FOR THEM IT IS TWICE AS DIFFICULT FOR US....HE SAID THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND HE SAID " BELIEVE ME WE WANT TO GET THE FILES OUT ASAP BUT IT IS A PROCESS WITH A LOT OF SCRUTINY" SO I HOPE THAT THE LITTLE PHONE CALL MAYBE GETS THE MAN I SPOKE TO , TO TELL ANOTHER OFFICER WHO MIGHT MENTION IT TO ANOTHER ETC...... I ALSO ASKED ABOUT WHEN MY CASE WOULD BE SENT ..HE SAID THAT THERE IS THE USUAL 30 TO 60 DAY BLAH BLAH BUT THAT THE THING IS THAT THEY SEND STUFF IN BULK AND THEY WAIT TO HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF PETITIONS BEFORE SENDING THEM, BUT THAT THEY SHOULD BE SENDING IT OVER SOMETIME NEXT WEEK...I WOULD GUESS WITH ALL THE APPROVALS LATELY THEY MIGHT HAVE ENOUGH BULK!!!!!!!!!! Gee Byron, If you were talking with them about all that, why didn't you ask if they've received the chocolates that were sent. It be nice to know if they're getting to the regular folks (workers) and not just scooped up by the mail handlers and management.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 12:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (julezabelle @ Nov 16 2007, 08:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (amrssnowangel @ Nov 16 2007, 08:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They are starting to work my NOA1 week..my SO and I are sooooooooooooo nervous. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE APPROVED. I hope its coming soon!!!! I'd love to see many more approvals for our June filers!!!! Cos then they can start working on July P.S. I'm so glad we sorted out your name cos I also thought you were A Mrs. not Amr's!!! Amen to that, brother. Amen to that. By my count, we've got 62 June petitioners on the boards. As of today (including all from yesterday) 26 have gotten their NOA2's. We need to get more of them out of the way.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 08:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (amrssnowangel @ Nov 16 2007, 08:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Mel and Syl @ Nov 16 2007, 08:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congrats to the recent approval! Vermont is waking up come on Vermont, give Mirla, Mel and Syl their noa2's. They've been patient enough.... Anybody know if Byron even slept last night??????????????????? I don't think so. I was out walking around last night and I saw him flying overhead, heading south. I think he's on the way to Columbia to pick up Leidy Probably should have taken a plane though.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 08:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (HakeemConstance @ Nov 16 2007, 07:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hello VJ, WE'VE BEEN "APPROVED". I can hardly breath. Our petition has been approved. No touches, no email. What a HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY. Congratulations!!!!! Here's hoping the rest of your journey is swift and effortless.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 08:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 15 2007, 11:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> HOLY SH!T... IM APPROVED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST CHECKED I HAD NOT CHECKED, JUST GOT HOME AND THERE IT WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank God!!!!!!! and Congratulations!!!! I hope the rest of your Journey is swift and effortless!!!!	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-16 08:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 13 2007, 01:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 13 2007, 01:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Byron is 31 years old....He was born in Bogota Colombia and came to the US when he was 5 years old.....he grew up in Queens New York.....He is a Residential Manager in Manhattan New York where he lives also....He is suffering during this awful, stressfull K1 fiance visa process..he met his wife to be in Feb 2007 when he returned to Colombia for the first time since he was 10 years old....He has returned 4 times to Colombia to be with her and flew her to Panama once also.....He is spending a lot of his savings and is rnning low!!!!! .....He pras for his approval along with everyone else's approvals also!!!!!!!!!!!!! He would give anything to have Leidy and Daniel here decorating a Christmas tree together!!!!!!!!! [b]Forgot one thing......He loves knowing how to play wih the new fonts, colors etc.......... And HE likes to refer to himself in the 3rd person, singular Ok, so now some of what I read now makes sense. A fiery latin male, living in New Your City (excuse me, Queens)?!?!?!! No wonder you are feeling such stress. I can't imagine what will happen when that Latina (Columbian females are latinas, aren't they?) joins you there. It will be some hot times in the old town tonight (or that night). I've owned apt buildings before, but I can't imagine what being a residential manager up there is like. I'm sure you must get lots of calls from your tenants day in and day out. Fix this, repair that, where is my hot water?, how come the sidewalk isn't shovelled?, when are you going to do something about all these roaches? I'll bet you've got thousands of stories. Any you care to share while we wait?	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-13 14:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 13 2007, 11:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (StillThePrettiest @ Nov 13 2007, 11:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> it's never-ending, BUT you now have a whole range of fonts and colours and sizes and styles to distract you, at least for a little while Thanks for the hugs amrssnowangel!!!!!!!!!!!!! StillThePrettiest....Im like a little kid with a new toy!!!! But all jokes aside ....Im dying here!!!! This process is taking its toll on me....i never thought it would be this straining!! Hey Byron, just to change the subject... Can you tell us a little about yourself? What's your background, where are you from, where'd you grow up, what kind of work you do? That kind of stuff? Not looking to break your anonymity. Just curious.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-13 12:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (babybluesusie @ Nov 12 2007, 11:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> THE LIST No. Name Country NOA1 Date 1 Edith & Donald Germany 2007-04-25 [ snipped the bulk for brevity ] 244 Yao & Liwen China 2007-11-17 Ummmmm, houston, we've got a problem here...... There seem to be a few people missing from the list that BBSuzie posted. COUPLES NAME COUNTRY NOA1 vikia & james Ukraine 4/7/2007 Leil Mahjelle & Marlon Canada 4/11/2007 John & Sheila United Kingdom 5/7/2007 Abby & Todd Canada 5/21/2007 Massimo & Lindsay Italy 6/15/2007 Griff & Julie United Kingdom 7/23/2007 Alf & Christy Canada 8/8/2007 Jasmin & David Germany 8/14/2007 Cali & Douglas Peru 9/12/2007 I understand that vikia & james were denied, but the others don't seem clear why they were omitted. Its not a big deal, but since I've got a seperate list going to watch, it seemed odd to me that those were skipped. I'm 61 on your list and 66 on my own. So, I'm hoping for an explanation that lets me take them off the list I'm keeping.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-12 22:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (Gypsyangel @ Nov 11 2007, 04:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We just got approved as well!!! (I tried to post to this thread, but I think I mistakenly started a new topic instead. Oops.) The USCIS website showed that our approval was November 9. Yay! Karen Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's hoping the remainder of your journey is fast and effortless.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-11 18:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (julezabelle @ Nov 10 2007, 12:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> LAtest VSC stats for November = 23 approvals!!! Wooooohoooooooooooo!!!!!! Ummmmmm, I don't want to rain on our collective parade, but I don't understand..... When I run a report looking for Nov NOA2 receipts, I only come up with 20. Am I doing something wrong?	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-10 17:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Nov 10 2007, 03:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> IM APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK....no im not ...just practicing for the big day when it happens.... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope the rest of your journey is short and painless. Just practicing for when it happens to Byron.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-10 17:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	Congratulations to Elena & Dave who just posted receipt of their NOA2 Another one down and out of the way for VSC Elena & Dave K1 Russia Vermont Service Center Moscow, Russia 2007-05-11 2007-05-29 N/A N/A 2007-11-09	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-10 12:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (mike67 @ Nov 9 2007, 02:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi everyone..i was approved! nov. 2.. I am a september filer!! I updated my timeline!! Congratulations and I hope the rest of your journey is swift and painless.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-09 14:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	Happy Friday Everyone Here's hoping this week ends on a very positive note for us all.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-09 08:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (julezabelle @ Nov 8 2007, 01:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This is what I received from the ombudsman's office, which is pretty similar to what Steve got: "You are not alone in expressing this concern. CISOMB has notified USCIS leadership of the situation and been pleased by the apparent responsiveness. Reproduced in relevant part below is what USCIS has told us. Right now the [Vermont Service] center is actively working fiancée petitions received on June 4th, which is slightly ahead of our 6 month goal. Of course some older cases are still being worked that have issues with respect to missing documentation, where we have had to ask for additional material, or where there are substantive background or other issues. We recognize the circumstances of fiancée petitions, and each petitioner’s intense interest in getting their case processed so their fiancée may apply for a visa to come here to marry. To be fair to everyone we do work to process these cases in strict order. There are limited exceptions where a case may be processed more quickly, for example where we use a case for training purposes. Similarly we do give a somewhat higher priority to the K-3 variation of these petitions filed along with an I-130 relative petition since in essence we consider the duplicative K-3 petition an expedite request. Further, since the Vermont Service Center processes a large volume of cases, they may be working cases of any given type that were received over a few days or weeks time. For example, in August and September the Vermont Service Center received over 4,300 fiancée petitions and over 22,000 relative petitions. That’s over 100 fiancée petitions and 500 relative petitions per business day. To handle that volume means we distribute it among a significant number of our employees. I recommend you check our website occasionally for updates on our processing times. If you don’t receive an answer within the processing time, I suggest you contact our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 for assistance." Basically a form letter they have devised. But it helps to have a better understanding of the volumes they are dealing with. Definitely puts it into a better perspective for me. Here's a little more perspective that you can drop into the FWIW bucket. I did a quick query of the VJ NOA1 receipts records for Aug&Sept and came up with a total of 96 (that's 64 Aug + 32 Sep). That works out to appx 2.2325581395348837209% (+ or - a few digits) of their total. I'm interested to hear from those who are more statistically knowledgeable than me if that represents a statistically significant sampling, for analysis purposes. I'm actually quite surprised. For some reason, I guess I suspected the proportional amount of VJers would be less. Something like <0.1%. I actually think this is a lot.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-08 13:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Waiting for a NOA2 from VSC for your I-129F?	QUOTE (Missy1 @ Nov 5 2007, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I AM APPROVED!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT TODAY OUT OF ALL DAYS, I GOT APPROVED. I CRIED SO HARD TODAY....GOD IS GOOD! I AM SO HAPPY! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT TODAY OUT OF ALL DAYS, I GOT APPROVED. I CRIED SO HARD TODAY....GOD IS GOOD! I AM SO HAPPY! Congratulations Missy1 Here's hoping the rest of our journey is short and sweet.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-05 23:40:00
USCIS Service Centers	USCIS Website	QUOTE (bowlerbabe770 @ Oct 17 2008, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So, I see people talking about how they view that their case has been "touched." I have been checking my case status online often. The original status was updated as of 10/8/08 however when I looked today the most recent update is as of 10/17/08. However, the Current Status message hasn't changed. Is that considered a "touch" or what was that? Thanks! The change of the date is the indication of "touch". You can now claim to have been "touched" on 10/17/08. It will not change the current status message.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2008-10-17 11:08:00
United Kingdom	TAXES!	QUOTE (Gwen666 @ Sep 22 2007, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> GAH! ERRRRGH! GRRRRR! YEAAAARGH!! This moment of insanity brought to you by the numbers 1040, 2555, 1116, and the misleading letters of "EZ" yep. been there, done that, and that, and that, and that, and that, and that, and that (repeat yearly) Best wishes :-D	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-09-22 13:22:00
United Kingdom	Nothing	QUOTE (wilson and shai @ Oct 28 2007, 03:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ... Thanks.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-10-28 03:47:00
United Kingdom	Silly question	QUOTE (Jeraly @ Mar 21 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Try this as well courtesy of rouguewave LMAO!!! rouguewave - you beat me to it with your own thread!! Hope you don't mind me saving them to a txt file - I can never find old threads No problem, Its pretty easy to find ones you start. They stay attached to your ID. I tend to print out the ones I want as pdf files. Much easier to read than scrolling sideways forever in those text files. :-D	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2008-03-21 16:35:00
United Kingdom	Silly question	QUOTE (julezabelle @ Mar 21 2008, 03:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> VJ kind of turns us all into track-a-holics! The good news is that the DOS folks are pretty nice! Oh, well if you are a REAL track-a-holic then you can try this.... http://www.visajourn...showtopic=98172	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2008-03-21 16:16:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Loans...	QUOTE (Fettman @ Sep 12 2007, 12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My girlfriend has some loans that she took out to pay for her school. They are through Citibank Russia. Of course her monthly payments are quite high and so I am looking into refinancing it when we get married. Does anyone have any tips or advice? How about if you refinance it when you get married, like through a debt consolidation loan and just pay them off? Seriously though, consider various options such as using a home mortgage line of credit, versus other unsecured types of loans. Oftentimes LOCs can be converted to a fixed rate 2nd mortgage (at least my credit union does). They allow this for up to 2 loans during the life of the LOC. Another option (if you have them) is to secure the consolidation loan with securities (stocks, mutual funds) that you are holding for long term investment. Loans secured this way generally have lower interest rates also. In fact, I was able to use a portion of my retirement account to secure a loan that I used to purchase a 1st home purcase. I know this wasn't common at the time, but things may have changed (its been 8 years) and exceptions for education are almost as common as exceptions for 1st homes these days. PS: Don't forget to track all loan interest and fee payments closely. I believe you'll find its all tax deductable as education loan expenses (maybe only if you itemize deductions)	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-09-12 18:20:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	People who try to speak Russian to me	QUOTE (Sid and Nancy @ Sep 18 2007, 08:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "Although I appreciate the chance to converse in Russian, I'd really prefer to talk in English because I'm trying to build my skills in this new language for me. If you can give me any pointers or tips, that would be great." Wow, do I write that bad that it makes you think I speak awful English too and need a lot of practice? Nope, I'm just trying to give you a friendly way to deal with the problem, rather than the agressive alternative of "telling them where to go". QUOTE It's just funny, cause I've never seen anyone try to speak Spanish to Mexicans or Mandarin to Chinese people. If a person looks Hispanic or Asian, no one seems to give a damn where they're from and what language they speak. But with me it's different. Around my office, people are often speaking Spanish to Mexicans or other languages to people from other countries. And clearly some of them are not native speakers. Its not that we're an International Company, because we're not. But in the metro-DC area, where I am now, it is a largely International community with people coming and going from many nations. I suspect that if you were here and gave visual or audible clues you were from Russia, you would would be frequently greeted in Russian by fellow Russians, other CIS people, and those who had reason to learn Russian as part of their background. And to re-iterate, it most likely meant as a friendly and welcoming gesture, or a (perhaps ill-timed) opportunity for them to practice. Most people here LIKE the multi-cultural environment and do things to be supportive of that.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-09-19 06:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	People who try to speak Russian to me	QUOTE (Sid and Nancy @ Sep 17 2007, 11:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Whenever people learn where I'm from, they try to speak as much Russian to me as they are capable of. They start saying things like "Privet" "Spasiba" etc. every time they see me. I'm not an ambassador on a mission to promote my culture and language here - I live in America, I try my hardest to learn to feel at home here, and I do not wish people to speak Russian to me. I would be living in Russsia if I did. Is there a polite way to let people know I don't care for their linguistic talents? Maybe some subtle hint that will let them know how annoying I find it? Thanks I assume that you realize they are just trying to make you feel welcome, rather than constraining you to speaking Russian. I only ask this because you seem to take it as offensive that they speak to you in your native language. Maybe they are trying to work on THEIR russian speaking skills and you represent one of the few native speakers they have access to. But this (of course) is not to your point. If it goes beyond an initial greeting, try saying: "Although I appreciate the chance to converse in Russian, I'd really prefer to talk in English because I'm trying to build my skills in this new language for me. If you can give me any pointers or tips, that would be great."	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-09-18 07:36:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	How to save money on food?	When I was married, we used to shoppe at Costco and bought lots of things. Meats, poultry (chicken) we'd buy in large quantities and then immediately repackage into smaller portions when we got home. These would go directly into the freezer. I'd typically put them into packages that would make 2 servings, so that it would be convenient when she and I were alone. If her daughter was with us, we'd cook twice the amount (for 4) and repackage the leftovers for lunches. Sometimes, we'd intentionally make extra large dinner with the intent to have leftovers for lunch. When dinner would be cleaned, it would go straight into plastic containers for each of us to take for lunch. We had storage space, so we'd buy other things that could be stored and be fine. Paper goods (tissues, toilet paper), dry goods, pastas, canned goods used in normal sized cans (e.g. tomato paste, tomato sauce) Some of the frozen goods at Costco are good if you have a large freezer. Not the snacks or treats, but things like chicken wings, frozen shrimp, etc. It was helpful if they had resealable packages that we could take for a single meal and leave the rest for later. We tried the fresh produce but it didn't work, because its such a large quantity that we didn't eat it all before it spoiled. We thought the Costco pizza was actually quite good and worth a meal and lunch later. As you can tell, we didn't object to leftovers and bringing lunches. I know that some people don't/can't/won't do that. We found it cheaper to take lunch than to buy. Leftovers were usually planned for. Its been a while, so I can't really say how much we'd spend. But I hope this helps.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-10-10 00:17:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	QUOTE (Jason-Sasha @ Dec 10 2007, 02:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sweet. Using your little DHL trick I have learned that my package is being delivered to the embassy as I write this... Congratulations!!! Don't tell Byron you called it "my little DHL trick" or he'll come back here and start screaming again.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-12-10 02:57:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	QUOTE (Jason-Sasha @ Dec 9 2007, 01:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Holy cow! The package sent to The Philippines is 51 lbs! Yep, That's because we who want to bring in filipina's have to do a lot of convincing to get them to part with their Philippine Treasures (filipinas).	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-12-09 14:05:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	QUOTE (ddkm @ Dec 5 2007, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So if i wanted to see the packages that were shipped on the 3rd december, i would search using this reference: EXP 03 DEC 2007A??? It comes back saying that no shipments are found Im confused! Nope. Dec 3 would be your starting point. You can move forward or backward from there. First thing you need to know is the date your application was shipped from NVC. If you call them, they will usually tell you. All you need is a confident date when it shipped from their facility. Then if you access the DHL website, select Track by Reference, and enter that date in the form 'EXP 03 DEC 2007A'. Just like you, when I entered Dec 3, it said No shipments found. But when I changed the date to 'EXP 04 DEC 2007A' then I saw that this reference was used on a whole BUNCH of packages that left on Dec 5. I'm guessing they use the Reference number for internal tracking purposes. If NVC did tell you Dec 3, then I don't know what to say. This is not a solid method for exactly tracking YOUR visa on its journey I'm suggesting here. It depends on the truth (from NVC), beauracracy, and procedures (deduced from NVC) as well as IT (thanks to DHL). So, you need to call NVC and ask them when it shipped. If they say "Dec 5" or "Dec 4" then you're probably in the batch that just left and its on its way to your favorite embassy. If they don't tell you it shipped, or they don't tell you when it shipped then you won't be able to track it. Even if they DO tell you when it shipped, there is no guarentee here. Like I said in the beginning, this isn't an exact science. Edited by rouguewave, 05 December 2007 - 05:11 PM.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-12-05 17:09:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Dec 2 2007, 03:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A NEW YORKER THAT'S NOT LOUD????????? Nope, including my aunt and cousins from the West side. That's why I live in Virginia, so I can hear New Yorkers at a normal volume.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-12-05 16:51:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	QUOTE (BYRON-LEIDY @ Dec 2 2007, 04:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> [font="Comic Sans MS"]Hey rouquewave....can i get a little credit here... I spent hours on DHL trying to crack this! [/font] Yep, Byron spent hours trying to figure out how to find his honey's (Leidy) package so he could watch it when it left NVC. Based on his information, it took me less than 1 hour to find my honey's package when it left NVC. From that, I got the pattern locked down, wrote it up and posted it for others to use. Not trying to get or steal any credit from my loud NY brother Just trying to help others along.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-12-02 08:51:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)	Want to try to track your paperwork from NVC to the Embassy?	Please read with the understanding that there are No guarentees here, but just to give you all some information. It appears that NVC uses DHL as their shipper for embassy packages bound for beneficiary's country embassy's. I know this is nothing new, but on the DHL website (www.dhl.com), you can search for packages based on reference and package number. The first thing you have to do is determine the package number that MIGHT contain your beneficiary's paperwork. As of this posting, this might help or this might drive you crazy. If NVC or DHL changes how they do things, this could all fall apart, but here goes.... Being good beaurcrats, NVC seems to usually code the reference with some form of the following: 'EXP 26 NOV 2007A' where the date is somewhere near (on or before by a day or two) the actual date of shipment. If you KNOW the date they shipped to the embassy (NVC told me and others) then you can adjust the date accordingly and search on reference. You'll see a list of shipments to each of the embassys they shipped to with that reference. For example, if you access the website and enter 'EXP 26 NOV 2007A' into the search by reference area, you'll see 3 pages of shipments. Make sure that the date range includes Nov 26 & 27, but it can be much wider. You can then look down the list and click on the specific package going to the right embassy. It will contain all the current tracking information, as well as allow you to sign up for updates. Of course, there is no guarentee that you've got the exact package, because it doesn't list the contents. But you can be lulled into a hopeful state that it does, and at least know when THAT package gets to the embassy. The only anomoly I found was there were packages shipped with 'EXPEDITE IV SECTION' as a reference. You can see an example by looking up shipment #8177298920. I found this one by doing a search by number and feeding in blocks of 25 shipment numbers, starting with the highest from the most recent day of shipment, based on the reference sequence. It appears that the shipment numbers are in order, but NOT sequential. This is probably due to the fact that they use pre-printed forms for shipping, with the numbers printed on them. However, there are gaps in the sequence so don't expect to get 25 returns for 25 numbers requested. There was a place where the number sequence made a HUGE change, but I attribute that to them running out of forms on one pre-printed pack of labels and some shipping guy just started with another set.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-11-29 01:19:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	The judge said...	QUOTE (mikee1 @ Sep 25 2007, 11:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I need help! My husband is a USC. I am not; I was here on a work visa. We got married and we filed our paperwork for me to obtain a relative visa. I was approved for a relative visa, but the judge said I must go out of the country and apply at a consulate for the I-94 before they give me my visa. I don't know how to do this or what to do. Any suggestions? I am a USC and my ex-wife was from another country who was here on a J-1 visa when we met and got married. As I recall, she had to comply with the same type of requirement. What she did was fly to Buffalo, NY and take bus across into Canada where there was a Consulate for her contry nearby (Toronto, I think). It took her a day of waiting while they processed the visa, so she did some shopping, sightseeing, and visiting with fellow countrymen she met at the Consulate. She then returned and everything was fine. It was years ago, so its hard for me to be more specific. But as I recall, she did a lot of set-up before hand. For example, calling the Canadian consulate to find out when they were open, what processing times were, what the document requirements were, etc. There WAS some nervousness on our part (even after assurances) about what would happen if she got stuck in Canada and could not come back. But that didn't happen. It was a pain in the a**, but in this instance, at least, it worked ok.	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-09-26 07:20:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I hate DHL	QUOTE (liberal @ Jan 10 2008, 04:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> how do u guys track ur packages does NVC gives u package number or what to type in DHL website to track my package... please let me know this so can track mine... They may be using the method outlined in this thread, which was posted at the end of Nov. http://www.visajourn...showtopic=98172	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2008-01-10 18:28:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Wife raped	QUOTE (rebeccajo @ Oct 2 2007, 01:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (rouguewave @ Oct 2 2007, 01:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (rebeccajo @ Oct 2 2007, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Are you all trying to tell me that a woman from the Philippines would be too ashamed after a rape to disclose it to her American husband after it happened? The answer to your question is "Maybe". But perhaps it'd be best to discuss via a seperate thread if you wanted to explore the cultural nuances to this, rather than subjecting the OP to this. Neither you nor the OP need worry about what I am 'subjecting' him to. It's nothing compared to what the CO may do. My questions are designed to make you THINK about what's likely in store at the interview. It's not doing anybody any good to sit here and pat him on the head and wish him good luck. After all, he asked us what is likely to happen. We'd be doing him a disservice to be less than honest. Consular Officers at high fraud posts are trained to look for signs of immigration fraud. That training includes questioning the visa applicant in a manner which will yield pertinent answers. If shame over a rape is a cultural norm (to the extent a woman might not tell her husband) then the CO will know this. But you can bet your bottom dollar the CO will still question the woman to see if the shame is real or not. It's their job. If you think I'm turning up too much heat on the OP, then there's little hope for him when he really gets into the kitchen. Whether it is a "cultural" norm or not, the CO will be concerned. "Cultural norm" is not the same as "Acceptable behavior". I'd suggest that the CO bases decisions on "Acceptable behavior" (based on US Standards) rather than "Cultural Norm". IMHO there is substantial difference. My point was if you wanted to devolve to a philisophical or cultural discussion, it might be better elsewhere. As has been pointed out repeatedly, the CO is likely to be concerned in this case. Shall we repeat that over and over?	rouguewave	Male	Philippines	2007-10-02 12:55:00