Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	feels like the end before the beginning...	While I appreciate the sentiment and the intentions in your statement, I couldn't possibly disagree more about ignorance. People who are blissfully unaware of the requirements usually fail. What's worse, their failure hits them like a brick wall at 90 MPH - totally unexpected and emotionally devastating. I've seen it too many times here. People are crushed when they are denied because they didn't know they needed X, Y, or Z, and they never bothered to find out beforehand, and their blind belief that they would never be denied left them vulnerable to the emotional train wreck they experienced. A better state of mind is to be logical, rational, and calm. Know exactly what the requirements are at each step of the way, know what your options are if you fail, and be prepared with a course of action for any possible outcome. You shouldn't view the immigration process as an integral part of your relationship, but as a peripheral process that you have to deal with, sort of like filing your taxes every year. You probably wouldn't be emotionally ruined if the IRS denied a deduction you tried to take. You'd probably chalk it up to not being adequately prepared or educated about what you needed to qualify. You should approach the immigration process with the same attitude. The US government doesn't take this stuff personally, and neither should you. The first part of my comment was of more importance in that sense: that VJ is a huge help to people. I would never advocate ignorance as the better course of action. I was merely saying that there are always disadvantages to knowledge, even when the advantages greatly outweigh them and it is obvious that knowing is better. Some people find it easier to be "logical, rational, and calm" than others. For some people, once they have educated themselves and done all they need to do, they then need to focus on something else. Sometimes people need to be alerted to the possible negative outcomes, and other times they need unequivocal encouragement. My comment was aimed only at the OP, who was educated and had also been alerted to possible issues/solutions by previous posters. Having said that, too much knowledge is still a disadvantage of open internet forums. In an ideal future, we would have a system where you could access all the information and discussion you needed, but were not needlessly exposed to horror stories until after you had completed the immigration journey. So, you could say "I have never even touched anything remotely criminal" and you would then never have to read about denials and waivers relating to criminal stuff. Personally, I could deal with everything immigration related in a rational and calm manner but visiting the US whilst waiting for my visa caused me many sleepness nights. I would've liked to have known what evidence to carry with me when flying, and also seen the statistics of other people's experience visiting for various periods of time, but not had to read about anything else.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2010-12-27 14:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	feels like the end before the beginning...	Forums such as VJ are such a huge help to people. Unfortunately they also have the side effect of making you aware of all that can go wrong, and leave you over-thinking and over-worrying. Ignorance is a much joyous place to be, and 99.99% of the time it is also the correct state of mind to be in. (That is, most of the time everything works out just fine so thinking optimistically has more relevance to reality.) Just keep your eye on the goal, and your mind busy	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2010-12-27 12:57:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F question 18 - Meeting in person	Note, "International Marriage Broker" does not simply mean a web site where you met. It doesn't include websites such as match.com or eharmony.com. It is rather a fee-based service that specifically matches US residents with foreigners.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2011-01-04 19:03:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Additional Administrative Processing Help	4 weeks should be fine.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2011-01-22 20:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Visiting USA while K1 Being Processed	Hang on, you told the CBP that you were visiting your 'fiance' while you were processing a CR-1? If that's the case, you lied to CBP, and I wouldn't recc doing that to anyone. You were very lucky you didn't get caught doing so. No...I flew to visit my fiance. I did a CR1 after marrying so had no visa application in process whilst visiting my fiance. So I was not in the same position as the OP in the sense that when visiting my fiance I had no application in process. However, they do not know from their computer whether you have an application in process. So, I was in the same position as the OP in that I was visiting America to visit my fiance. I was telling the OP that I had successfully visited America and no-one was concerned about it, nor even asked what my future plans were. Had they asked about future plans, the OP might be in a better position than I was because proof of a K1 application indicates that one is intending to do everything the legal way. I also visited a couple of times after marrying. Once before filing for the CR1 and once after. Neither time did they know from their computers anything about me. The time I visited after filing the officer was very nice, can't remember if I told him I had filed CR1 or he just assumed but he just said, "Bet you can't wait till this is all over!" The time I visited before filing the CR1 I visited for 3 months and was asked what my plans were, given that I was visiting an American husband. I said we would be filing for the visa. She said fine, just stay longer in the UK if it takes a while to be approved. And I just reread my post, I started by saying "I visited America twice whilst engaged" so I'm assuming no-one else misunderstood my post. Edited by JoannaV, 28 January 2011 - 07:00 AM.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2011-01-28 06:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Visiting USA while K1 Being Processed	I visited America twice whilst engaged, and both times I had lovely border agents. "Why are you coming to America?" "Visiting my fiance." They just looked at my return ticket, and one time jokingly asked if they could come to the wedding. Neither time was I asked what my intentions were (as in, they never even asked if I was doing K1 or whatnot). I did a CR1 not a K1, but I was in precisely the same position as you. Except for that proof that you've applied for K1 should be proof that you're not planning on staying in America before you get the visa.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2011-01-22 20:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Travel on Visa Waiver while waiting for K-1?	he left to go back home while we waited for the New Year to hit and for his visitor visa to subsequently renew. I don't understand this? Then again, as far as visiting the USA whilst engaged goes, it is easiest to not return too quickly anyway. He has spend longer in the UK than he did in the US, so he should be fine visiting again in the near future. If he has a job or rental agreement or college then he should bring proof of that. I don't believe they know about the K1 application when they scan the passport, although I am sure one day they will implement such a thing. However, when they ask "Why are you visiting America?" his answer will probably have to be "Visiting my fiancee." So that is how they will find out about you. He should also bring the NOA1 for the K1 application. (Or a copy of it.) Hopefully this should help prove that he plans to immigrate lawfully in the future and is just visiting right now. Of course, it is possible that they will only ask to see his return ticket and not ask about K1 or anything at all. I hope so! The two times I visited my fiance I was not asked for anything else, I met nice border officials who were just happy for me that I was engaged haha, and didn't assume anything bad about my motives.	JoannaV	Female	United Kingdom	2011-01-11 15:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	SAMPLE I-134 FOR K-2 VISA	box 3 you would put the childs name but the bottom part i don't think you need to fill that in because no child or spouse is accompanying or to follow. as long as you placed the childs info on the first affidavit when you filed for you fiance. box 8 it would be you because until your husband becomes a US Citizen you are still financially responsible for both your husband and step-child. box 9 & 10 it would be your husband box 11 you could put until his father becomes a naturalized US citizen have you got some schools lined up for the child because i am finding that there are some long and short waitlist for the 3 year program here. just something to think about while you are doing the paperwork. Thanks for the info. My daughter will be 5 on the 25 of August. So she should be able to go straight into Kindergarten. I still have to contact the school board to see what all she will need to bring from JA. I didn't know you were going through the K-2 process as well.	Eric_Jew Nug	Female	Jamaica	2010-08-18 09:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	SAMPLE I-134 FOR K-2 VISA	Does anyone have a sample form I-134 for a K-2 visa application for a following child. Trying to fill this form out correctly. Block 3: Do I put child's name Block 8: I put my husband Block 9: Husband Block 10: Husband again Block 11: how do I fill out that block	Eric_Jew Nug	Female	Jamaica	2010-08-17 11:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Advice on assembling K-1 Visa packet	sounds like you got everything. but double check it with the example and info under the Guides tab at top of page. That is what hubby and I followed and no problems. Be sure and make copies (front and back) of your birth certificate.	Eric_Jew Nug	Female	Jamaica	2010-09-02 09:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Aproved Finally! - but need guidance please	Ok. here are some of the forms you need to get to work on. There are some examples of these forms under the example forms tab. DS-156, DS-156k, DS-157, DS-158, DS-230. Your fiance will also need to get 6 passport size photos.	Eric_Jew Nug	Female	Jamaica	2010-09-02 09:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Aproved Finally! - but need guidance please	I recv notice this morning (rather early) by text/email that my petition is approved and noa2 is on the way... So what is the next step in process for me in gathering docs and getting ready for the interview? any help from members would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! now you need to start gathering financal papers. You will need tax return transcripts for past 3yrs, I-134, pay stubs, letter from employeer. Check out the Guides link at the top of page also the Example Forms. That will help you greatly. Your Finance will need to gather stuff as well. Police certificate, schedule medical, etc. I will have to look for the check list that my husband and I used.	Eric_Jew Nug	Female	Jamaica	2010-09-02 09:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	USA is now Arizona	After reading Bleauwolf's response maybe it is wise to send copies of entire I-130 filing along with EOR and supporting document's to NVC with DS-230 just to make sure Guangzhou receives everything. As I said before this is the second time for my wife and I. Want this time to be the last time with her getting her Visa and flying home with me. I sure agree with you there. I was assuming my ALL of my I-130 would get forwarded from USCIS to NVC to GUZ. I will make more copies to send in with the Ds 230. Good time to update the EOR also....	Bob g	Male	China	2010-07-31 12:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	USA is now Arizona	Many of us got denied on our K1, mine 29 Dec, 09. First going into this Visa process, April 08, I did not understand what is "really" required to get a Visa. The government instructions and information only tells you the basics of what you need, and need to do. One must do alot of homework, preparation, timing, and you still may not be sucessful if not lucky to get a fair Visa Officer. It is 100 degrees in Chongqing today, and the rest of the week, so I will wait for awhile before my next trip, #3..........Good Luck,,,,Bob,,,	Bob g	Male	China	2010-07-30 19:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Advice on assembling K-1 Visa packet	Make plenty of copies of everything. At our K1 Interview, my girl was asked, twice, about how many times I had sent money. She said 5, and the Visa Officer thought she was not correct. I had sent 1 money wire transfer and 4 Western Union. I believe the Visa Officer did not see the money wire transfer. So on our next Interview, I have prepared a cover letter of this with downsized copies of all moneys sent. Everything you send, the Visa Officer should be able to see and read easy, and also your beneficiary needs to have copies and fully understand everything sent in.	Bob g	Male	China	2010-09-02 03:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	black ink or blue ink does it really matter??	On the I-864, Affidavit of Support Instruction, it states, " Use black or blue ink".......	Bob g	Male	China	2010-10-15 19:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Poverty Guidlines 2010	If you don't have the correct version, you can try to right click on the form link and save it to your computer. Then open your Adobe program and open the file from wherever you saved it on your PC. That usually works. Otherwise.. this is what I see for active military. Income should be 100% of the following: Family Size = 2 Income Requirement = $14, 570 Family Size = 3 Income Requirement = $18, 310 Hope this helps... For a K1, the 100% Income Requirement is what is stated, but the "real" requirements can be 125% or more. In some cases, even at 125%, a cosponsor may be needed.	Bob g	Male	China	2010-10-19 04:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Change of address	My K-1 petition is being return to USCIS. I have moved since filing and need to update my address so I can receive the return petition. I also have an I-130 pending at USCIS with my current address. Would they automatically know my current address for the K-1 or do I still need to update? Anyone knows how to go about doing this? Thanks It would be alot better if you updated USCIS and NVC. They do not seem to comunicate with each other often. My K1 was returned. It was 8 months before I heard from the USCIS.......	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-04 21:57:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	time of relationship?	i have known liu since end of july 2010. i feel as if i have known her forever:-)we chat daily for 2 hours in yahoo cam. i speak with her 13 yo daughter the same way.i am going back for 12 days in early january 2011. we plan to file [K1] in early february.we have all of the chats and emails.is it an automatic denial becsause only 6 plus months?i am 57 and chose to not marry, as i never met the "one". now i have:-)it is very hard to be apart from her. waht are the average time frames for successful 129f and 325a filings? is it an advantage for us that i am 57 and she 45? is it a plus for us i want to have her 13 yo daughter[yuxian] here with us? thank you for all of your help in this and other psots:-):-).....todd For sure Guangzhou is not an easy Visa Embassy to deal with. A couple of small so-so answers was enough for my girl to get a denial. We talked for 11 months before my visit, engagement dinner, and applied K1 following month. Recently K1s go from 5 to 8 months. Your fiancee needs to know and understand, every piece of evidence you send in better than the interview officer, and how to RESPOND to each question asked. Having the correct answer is not always just enough. Good Luck...	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-07 11:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Do my own background check?	I have been advised by an attorney to do my own background check and include it with the I129f petition. I have no criminal history or charges of any kind. I have one (more 10 years prior) divorce, and a bankruptcy (chap 7, discharged) about ten years back. I don't see in any of the guides that this is to be included with the I129f. What do you think? Also His staff recommends that my fiancee include the death certificate of her former husband even though they were divorced at the time of his death. Huh?? And they want me to send in a copy of her notarial single certificate with the initial package. I see on the OF169 that this is required, with 1 year validity, at the consulate interview. I don't get it. Anybody? It seems to me that if we get the single cert now we will have to do it again closer to the interview date. You have no criminal history, no need for any check. Death certificate, does not matter one way or another, but with Guz anything is possible. Single Cert will be needed at Interview, but sending a copy with your " I intend to Marry", would not hurt. Priority #1 is "bone fide relationship". Take your time getting your 129F together. Everything you send in,"front loading", with it, the Visa Officer will have an opportunity to view well before the Interview. Everything you send in, your Fiancee needs to understand better than the Visa Officer. Your Fiancee needs to practice how to respond to any question, not just answer, "yes, no, black, white, 5, 7,". Getting a Visa comes down to the "descretion" of the Officer, which means "personal opinion". Best of Luck,,,,,,,,Bob,,,,	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-08 08:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Just receive pkg 4 and interview date	Hi everyone, I (the beneficiary), just received pkg 4, and my interview in Guangzhou is Dec 1st, 2010. I have 3 more weeks to prepare the wait. Both my fiancé and I are very excited and little nerves, who doesn't?! anyway, we don't have specific questions to ask, but would love to know if anyone has any suggestions or advice that we should be more careful or anything. we'd appreciate if we hear any one had interview recently in Guangzhou. Thank you, XH My girl's Interview was in dec 09. My advice is for you and your girl to study all the stuff you have sent in. Read as many posts on Visa Journey as you can on the China Portal, lots of good tips there. On this second round for us, I have worked our EOR, Evolution of Relationship, into the photos, putting photos of 2008, 2009, 2010 in that order with comments and information for each one, and same way with the Yahoo Messenger chat logs and samples of our communications. Good Luck............	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-09 04:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	please be concern about the papers!!	Guys, I was printing all the phone calls history, skype chat history, msg history, I could literally make 3 books out of it. and the situation made me concern about how much paper we are actually wasting through this process. And sadly, how many trees we're killing here?? After this process, all those paper goes to the garbage can.Have anyone thought of this? So I'm suggesting here that please use the both side of the paper for all your phone calls history, chat history, and msg history. I'm sure that visa officers would understand that, and would actually like it because they know people like you would saving american's resource when you start living in the States. Its not the money issue, you know, it's not like trying to save couple dollars, is just nobody likes to pay to cut those trees down to waste. XH I condensed two and a half years of chat/calls, etc. to 30 pages. 1 sheet has a log of 30 calls/chats for each month. I put 2 Yahoo Messenger chat session samples on the back side for each month. I hope this is enought info to show we can, and we do talk almost everyday. Where I waste most of my paper, is after I proof read something, I usually find a mis type or wrong number. I found a problem with the Adobe Reader program, that sometimes it does not put in the date I type in, but would put in the current date. A found out to proof read several time before hitting the "print" button.	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-19 10:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	quick review on the document to bring to the interview!	Your choice of photos may be very important. The Visa Officer did not like the photos my girl took to the Interview. Later on when I saw them, I understood why. Be sure to write on the back of the photos, names, dates, locations, or any other imformation you may think helpful. Best of Luck...	Bob g	Male	China	2010-11-21 21:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	How to reapply a denied K1 Visa? - China	ok here is a copy of what I sent. You think it will be ok? Ying and I have been together for nearly 2 years. I first met my fiancee''Ying Chao Yang''on October 16th 2008.We met on a web site called Chnlove.com.We only used the agency''Changsha Love Bridge company''for about 6 months. Then we met in person for the first time on march 31st 2009 in Changsha Hunan China.She met me at the airport as planed. I stayed there for 8 days.We had a great time together. We went out for lunch and dinner everyday.Went to a famous mountain''Yulu mountain''.and we went to a park.I met her parents.We all had a good time.We Love each other very much. Allthough she is very she. I find thats cute. After I returned to the US. We talked in the phone,emailed eachother,and later we used qq often. I have attached some of these things with this petition.We no longer use the agency. We met again about a year later.On april 29th 2010. This time I stayed for 2 weeks. It was even better than before. We had many romantic times together.She let me stay in her appartment so we can see each other more offten . Because she worked almost everyday. In the evening we have dinner. Then went shoping,And went out for a walk everyday. On the days she had off. I met her cousin,and her best friends.We went to the KTV together had a lot of fun. We Love each other very much.I try to call her everyday. And we try to chat as often as possible. This is a summery of our relationship hope it helps. Signed. Sincerely:My name. Dated: Thanks. Craig!! Looks like a good letter. Your time line looks good also, similar to mine. My girl and I met online April 08, in person April 09, and march 2010. We use the Yahoo Messenger to talk everyday, and can copy logs with time/date, and lengh of chat. I use a program, "Captura", that will save a screen shot of us talking on yahoo with webcam, and typing. I hope a couple of screen shots for each month along with the logs, will show Guz that we can and do talk very much.......good luck,,,Bob.......	Bob g	Male	China	2010-06-23 18:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Frustrated with the wait and mad as He11!!!!	I really feel sorry for people that do not find "Visa Journey" or a similar website. The thing about hiring a lawyer, is to find a good one, that fully understands this process, and understands the process in which country that is to be dealt with. It is difficult to keep up with what the "real requirements" are to get a Visa. Good Luck, everyone.....	Bob g	Male	China	2011-01-03 10:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Fiance Visa	Thanks One more question, when would I be able to move into my fiancee's home, after what stage am I allowed to move to USA and marry. Again, . The K-1 flow chart would give the answer.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-07-30 15:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Fiance Visa	Hi everyone, I would like to know if anyone could breakdown the time it would take to apply for the fiance visa and also breakdown the forms into who sends what where and the time between them if possible PLEASE Thanks in anticipation Dave Look up at the top. Click "Guides".	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-07-30 14:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	bad news- fiance visa	I received my I797 on MAY 26TH. We have been waitng and i did send the packet in later than the original application . I asked Uscis about his before i did it this way and they said its ok to send the packet later bacuase the processing times are so long. Thank you Let this be a lesson to you that the USCIS customer service line is mostly useless. Many people have gotten bad and incorrect information from them. As everyone else said, wait for the denial letter to see what it says, then you'll most likely have to just refile, this time sending all of the necessary documentation WITH the I-129F. Honestly I can't even understand how they accepted the petition in the first place without the required supporting evidence.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-03 16:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	how long could it possibly take?	Thanks for clearing this up - i too was wandering the ins and outs of the stats. We have to remember these stats are only based on VJ timelines. Really we have no idea when each of ours will come through. Horrible waiting game but I am trying really hard to be more positive about things and just think that the more you wait, the closer to completion you are The OP (and therefore, I, as well) was referring to data published by USCIS, not VJ timelines. They are two different ballgames. VJ timeline data is more specific about how many cases from any given month have been adjudicated, but then the sample size is limited to just the people who post on here and fill in their timelines. There are many many other filers out there who have no idea VJ exists.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-20 07:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	how long could it possibly take?	it would be much easier to wait if we at least knew that the package was accepted,wouldnt it? If you have your NOA1 then you know your package was accepted. that is what im asking tho,how can they update volume charts or give information about the receipts or cases pending for the month of july when a lot of June filers are still waiting I think you are misreading the data. "Receipts" for the month of July means how many petitions, etc they received that month. Whether those petitions have been approved or not does that factor into that number. It's just the number received. "Cases pending", as reported, does not mean JUST the cases submitted in July. It means the sum total of cases they currently have open, no matter when they were submitted. That includes cases they're still working on that were submitted months ago. So the as-yet-unapproved June, May, April, etc cases are included in that number. Same with cases "approved". That includes applications submitted in previous months that were finally approved IN THE MONTH OF JULY.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-20 06:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Living in Ireland	Where is your about me section? I'm very new to this... DCF sounds good so. The only thing that I'm worried about is proof of bonafide marriage because we don't own any houses together or joint bank acc's etc, and we won't have any of these either because we'll hopefully be moving to the US as soon as possible. It does sound like a great option though, I just hope we qualify for it. Congratulations on your fiance arriving! thats brilliant!! Click on my username to go to my profile, then find "About Me" on that page.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-21 16:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Living in Ireland	Thanks ginerpants and slangofoil! where are ye? we are in Cork! I've been looking up DCF alright, I don't know much about it really. He has been living here for 23 years. He's a dual citizen. I've heard DCF is easier and it's certainly quicker, so not sure what to do at all. any advice would be great. what stage are ye at with visa's? My fiance in from Clare, but has been in Cork for the last several years. I spent a couple years there myself for study abroad and a masters (more details in the "About Me" section of my profile). He's arriving tomorrow! I would strongly encourage DCF. It is quicker, cheaper, and gets you a green card right after entering the states (no AOS process after entry). And by "quicker" I mean MUCH quicker. Like maybe 2 months versus 9-12 (factoring in AOS). With the K-1, you'd have to file the initial petition, wait several months for approval, wait for it to get through NVC to the embassy, go back and forth with the embassy, then come over, get married, get all your paperwork together for AOS, file it, and then wait several months for work authorization and green card. It is not worth it for a couple in your situation, where you're already together, living in the same country. The K-1 is really for people who do not live in the same country together. Take advantage of the DCF option. Don't torture yourself with the K-1 process, lol. There is a user here on VJ called Penguin_ie who did DCF two years ago in Ireland. Try looking her up.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-21 13:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Living in Ireland	How long has your fiance been living in Ireland? If it's more than 6 months that he's been legally resident you should just get married now and do DCF for a CR-1.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-21 09:04:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	your opinions.	seen as ill be the only one working as she will be looking after the baby so id like to know how much we need before we start. You have to be prepared for the fact that you will not have work authorization for several months after entry. Even if you get married the day you arrive, and submit the AOS/EAD paperwork the next day it will be a few months. And with the economy the way it is, who knows how long after you receive work authorization before you actually find a job.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-22 05:57:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Dealing with the waiting game	lol, well it was on TBS so I thought I might as well watch. Don't worry, I changed the channel as soon as the second half started. It's like you said, I don't need any MORE tears in my life! Very wise decision to skip the second half!	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-05 15:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Dealing with the waiting game	Dear slangofoil, I found myself in your words when you said that this whole engagement and marriage thing has been a compromise.I think all of us dream about that big day to be in a certain way,we want to pick that special wedding date,do all those arrangements together with the one we love,we want to pick that special place,we want our family and all of our friends to be there but somehow we need to settle for less.All this may not be important for all of us but for me it certainly is! I wont be able to have my best friends on my future wedding,I wont probably get married at a day that was important for my fiancee and I and even though i have only been in this process for a month (but not being able to be with the loved one for 5 months) i found myself into a breakdown two weeks ago and there was literraly nothing that would calm me down for a while.I envy to those who get to do things the way they want and at a time they want.dont get me wrong,all this sacrifice is so worth it cause my fiance is the best thing that has ever happened to me but the little things come to my mind often. I am sorry you feel you didnt handle anything because i think is not true.From what i read you did amazing and i will cross fingers on your interview date.everytime i am sad and need to cry,i just do so and as desperate i may sound or look,it does help me to relieve it all and get thru this.I would better cry and break down few times knowing i am human being and not a robot.Neither are you! i actually thing it would be a little scary if you went thru this whole thing without showing single emotion. Dealing with goverment,arrogant and stupid people is not helpful and i have experience this too and it does bring me down but i keep my head up and cant wait for the moment when i am sipping a coctails by the ocean with my husband to be on our honeymoon and laugh at it all! You have been great! keep it up as you are ALMOST THERE!!!! set yourself on the positive mode as you are going to be going to the airport soon Wish you all the best and good luck! Hope all this didnt sound like a nonsense Thanks for understanding! I know it's good to let it out when I need to. It was just a such a major explosion of emotion, that I didn't even know was coming! Lol. I'm trying to just calm down and stop stressing, but you know...only so much you can change who you are. And I'm a high-stress worrier at heart. Eeek that does sound awful! Which Garda station was he going through? Where they just taking their sweet time or did they just have him jumping through hoops to get his certs? Which doctor was this? My fiance went through the one in Blackrock a few years ago without any troubles and he'll be going there again for this visa so I'm hoping this isn't the one that caused you troubles. Yes it's always that littlest things that finally cause you to break down. Sometimes though a well deserved break down can be a good thing in stressful times like these, it can help you to get it all out of your system. Hopefully it'll all be sorted soon and you'll both be happily enjoying your new life together. Best Wishes to you and I hope you feel better! He was getting the police cert in Cork, but the issue was that they had to send his application to the local station for every place he's lived, which meant four stations in the city plus his home village station in Clare. After 6 weeks there was still one that was holding things up. It took getting his TDs involved to get the thing wrapped up. Of course after one of them got in touch with the appropriate station the cert was mailed to John the next day. Fecking useless lazy jerks. Just typical. The doctor was Dr. Donovan in Cork. Aside from being extremely difficult to get in touch with and very rude, he went on vacation after John's medical and the office was completely unreachable for three weeks. Thanks for the support! I completely know what this is like. That said, it doesn't have to be a compromise! You can still plan a really great party after your courthouse wedding, that's what we're doing. We have a date far enough in the future where (we hope) the visa situation will be resolved, and haven't planned anything we can't move around. We're telling all overseas friends and family to wait until we know more specifics before booking any flights to see us get married and instead of a big wedding we're just planning a dinner and drinks with our closest friends and family then we're taking a week long honeymoon together. It can still be fantastic even if you can't have a traditional ceremony. Hang in there, it's the hardest thing ever I know, but as you know the end result will be amazing. It's just not feasible to do the big wedding or even a party right now. There are a lot of people he'd want to come from Ireland that wouldn't be able to do so on short notice. Plus I want to save more money. And I am not particularly excited about the prospect of wedding planning to begin with, let alone doing it without him here. Just not at all appealing. I'm totally reconciled to having a courthouse ceremony with just us and having the big shindig next year. But I'm still the one making all the decisions of when it's going be and what little honeymoon we're going to have. Anyway I hope your plans work out! Sounds like you've got it figured pretty well so best of luck! Slangofoil, As much as I know it doesn't actually help, I just want you to know that there are a bunch of us out there going through the same or similar things and you're definitely not alone! This is probably the most stressful thing any of us have ever done but at the same time its going to be the most rewarding as well. And while I know that everything in this engagement seems like it has been a compromise or a concession so far, just know that with your fiance, it's not. You obviously love each other very much or you wouldn't be going through this together. You're obviously not one to settle for less, none of us are, otherwise we wouldn't be stuck going through this process. We don't settle, we fight for what we want and in the end, when we're finally able to be with the ones that we love, we'll all look back on this and think of how worth it it all was. If you ever need anyone to talk to about it, if your mom isn't around or what have you, I know there are plenty of us here on VJ that would be more than willing. Misery love company, right? I'm not 100% sure that any of that made any sense. I'm feeling especially sentimental right now because I'm sitting in my lonely apartment drinking a bottle of wine (my way of dealing) and watching Titanic by myself on a Saturday night. Be well. Thanks a lot. I know I'm not alone and this thread was helpful to read today. It will of course be worth it when he gets here. It will be such a relief! And my mom actually suggested watching Titanic tonight! I was like, oh yeah, just what I need, a tear-jerker! I went with Footloose instead.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-04 22:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Dealing with the waiting game	Ok, I've never participated in one of these kinds of threads because I never felt bad enough. But holy hell I had a complete breakdown last night. I've been strong through these last 6 months of the waiting. Waiting for NOA2 - no biggie. I was prepared for that to take 5 months. Thankfully it came quicker so that was just a bonus. But for most people the embassy stage is quicker (with the exception of Montreal I know and I'm sure other places as well). But the process on his side of the ocean in Ireland has been tortuous. The embassy taking longer than normal to process our package after getting it from NVC. Incompetent useless pricks at the police stations taking forever about his police cert. The medical doctor treating John like ####### and never answering phone calls/emails/in-person visits. Then the embassy rescheduling his interview date twice. So frustrating. But still, even with those things I was plugging along and doing well. But everything else just came crashing in on me last night. All of a sudden the fact that I've been doing almost EVERYTHING for this process on my own just overwhelmed me. Finding an apartment and buying everything we need for it; moving in alone; planning the move to a different state; deciding what day we're going to get married; booking a B&B for a little mini honeymoon; finding a dress for our little courthouse wedding; buying my wedding ring. And the kicker that set me over last night was that I had to get my wedding ring resized because I have freakishly small fingers, and now the ring just isn't the same. I'm losing it over this ring and I don't know if I can get over it. There's not a lot the vendor can do and I just don't know what to do. It's like EVERY SINGLE PART of this whole engagement and marriage has been a compromise or concession. I couldn't handle ONE MORE THING, especially my WEDDING RING being another damn thing that I have to "settle" on. I was sitting next to my mother, tapping away on the computer, when all of a sudden I broke into tears and literally sobbed for ages about all of it. My eyes are still swollen today from all of the crying. And I still don't really feel better. I am not a dramatic person at all. But I've reached my limit.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-09-04 13:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	how to close my petition	I'm so sorry to hear about this Amyyduck! I know how hard this process is, and to have him back out on you like that, that's awful. Still it's far better to have it happen now than after getting married. I know it probably doesn't make you feel any better though. If I've read your story correctly, you are both still pretty young, maybe fresh out of college? He could just be having a freak-out and will come around. I would wait a week or two to see if anything changes. Maybe in time you'll come back to each other. Good luck no matter what happens.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2010-11-01 07:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F question 18 - Meeting in person	I just used the box provided and entered one sentence: "The last time we saw each other in person was from December 27th 2009 to January 3rd 2010 when I visited Ireland to spend time with him". I then included as many pieces of evidence as I could of our being in the same country during that meeting and other times, so there was no doubt we had been together physically. I included boarding passes, luggage tags, passport stamps, my Irish immigration card, a shared lease in our names, and pieces of mail we had both received at our shared apartment. I also submitted 6 photos as secondary evidence. Seriously I think what you say in that box is far less important than the EVIDENCE that you've met physically. A huge package with your whole relationship saga laid out is wholly unnecessary for London.	slangofoil	Female	Ireland	2011-01-04 20:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 visa Pakcet 3 e-mail.	hi, This e-mail is not for me it is for my sister's case. The case is in US embassy located in Pakistan. The embassy sent us an e-mail with packet 3.5 in it on September 24th. We did not recieve it. We have three main question * Are we going to recieve a paper copy of that in mail? * What is the contant of that e-mail if it is for packet 3.5 * Does a police department require any decuments from the packet 3.5 inorder for them to creat a police report? I will highly appliciate any feed back. Thanks.	I and S	Not Telling	Pakistan	2010-10-05 08:07:00