biggish data

Ahh how did I miss this thread. Thanks for sharing, great pics

trinket

Female

India

11/13/2009 19:41

I assume it was because of me that you asked this question. Every case is different, so every case is seen differently by the CO. Having a relative as a co-sponsor shouldn't be an issue but surely they might ask you who the co-sponsor is and why he/she decided to be a co-sponsor.

Don't compare your case with others or you sure will stress yourself out without any reason. Do read, do research, do see all the cases, be an observer but don't put every situation you read as your own.

As a young couple look at the questions which might be asked to you by the CO

--why did you marry so young
--why did you get yourself into an inter-racial marriage
--do your parents agree to that

I do see your case as a clear cut one except it doesn't stand with standard cultural norm, that is inter-racial marriage. But you will find a number of Indians in inter-racial marriages in these forums who have been through breezy interview; including myself.

To be honest I see a few similarities between your case and mine, I got married at 22 too, though we did the VISA thingie after 4 years. Anyways best wishes and don't be so stressed out

trinket

Female

India

11/10/2009 23:16

This is my third year in AAA, and it really gives me peace of mind. The first two years I used three out of the four free tows.

Good ole old cars.

On Saturday, Sunday and today I let hubby practice in my car (just parking, turning and backing up). The usual for new drivers: almost smashing into a fence because he accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the break, nearly turning into pillars, surging forward or suddenly breaking.

ELW

Female

India

10/12/2009 23:19

It is actually easier driving really slow in India and stopping all the time for the cows, pedestrians, donkeys, dogs etc. My hubby complains when I put on the breaks a long distance from the stop signs or stop lights - I tell him, you cannot just step down on the breaks a couple of feet away when we are going 40 mph! I think he will do OK though, once he gets into the habit. He only practiced in India a few driving classes and it is totally different in India as we all know - no rules, driving in the middle of the street and turning to one side when cars approach from the other side, stopping for buffalo and goat herds, manual transmission, driving on different side of the road etc., etc. He never drove more than 10mph in India I am sure.

ELW

Female

India

10/4/2009 23:01

I can't face teaching my hubby to drive here, especially in my one and only car!

Finally after two years of taking the bus and having me drive him around, he is ready to learn and is taking driving lessons for $65 an hour at a local driving school. He had his first lesson on Friday and the instructor said, "You really know NOTHING about driving!"

(He had previously taken some lessons in India but as we know, that is a completely different situation.) After a couple more lessons I might trust him enough to take him to vacant parking lots to practice in my car. Whether American teenagers or Indians who never drove before, it is a nerve-wracking experience for sure! I will give more reports as he progresses, if this thread doesn't get buried.

ELW

Female

India

10/4/2009 20:45

QUOTE (CTRL+ALT+DEL @ Oct 9 2009, 08:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

new drivers should be well coached for atleast 500 miles, including highway driving, night driving, rain/snow driving. and don't forgte to show how to change your tire, check for air, fuel, etc .

I totally agree with that.

Nina~

Female

10/9/2009 9:21

Thanks for sharing

I loved it!

Nina~

Female

11/13/2009 16:07

I dont think that should be a problem at all!

Nina~

Female

11/10/2009 15:05

It seems a little bit hard headed so if money is not the issue fly out to JFK take a room for the night and fly back the next day

The luggage issue has nothing to do with overweight, Domestic and international weight limit is now $50 lbs.

The airlines now charges for EACH BAG you check in. So don't intend on trying to bring some of his suitcase because you will only only unnecessary charges assuming you spend the night in NY

But If you make sure his flight goes all the way through Raleigh, all you can do is meet him up at the airport and fly back home. Either way it's up to you,
1)You can fly out the day before and spend the night in NY, then meet him at the airport for your flight back to NC
2)Come to meet him him the same day, meet him in NY at JFK and spend the night with him in NY then fly out to NC the next day.
3)Fly out to NY(avoid car rental and hotel but more stressfull) catch his flight and both of you fly back to NC, with that option you'll be too tired for any TLC

. so his choice

4) Meet him in NC itself, (Painless, and you'll be Fresh up for some TLC if he's not jet lag

Edited by Nikita2Charles, 19 November 2009 - 10:35 AM.

Nikita2Charles

Not Telling

India

11/19/2009 10:33

Come on

It's not that bad, you can ask him to come and read the advice here or foward it to him.

The best scenario is for him to Fly to JFK, that will be his POE and also he has a good chance of getting the Temporary EAD.

Since it may be a little bit too fussy for him, that will make it a little bit difficult.

1st) Make his reservation from India to Raleigh North Carolina as his final destination with a Connection to JFK

So you can have Mumbai or Delhi to JFK then JFK to RDU

One option
Get his flight from India to RDU through JFK and get the flight number so you can schedule to take the same flight from JFK for both of you to go back to North Carolina.

This option will save you on the Luggage issue, For international flight he's still allowed to carry 2 suitcases (50lbs) TO THIS FINAL DESTINATION ON ONE TICKET.

But if he breaks the trip in between then he will fall under US airline regulations where he has to pay $20 1st bag, $25 2nd Bag depending on the airline.

If funds is not a factor

You can fly out to JFK the morning of his flight, pick him up, rent a car, get a hotel, then spend the night in the city and both of you fly back to Raleigh the next day.

$180 Flight
$80-100 Car rental
$120 Hotel for 1 night stay
$45 Domestic luggage fees

So looking around spending an additional $400-500 going that route, you can show him the options, and let him decide,
Baby, look at the options, if you go through it to JFK by yourself, It will be best for both of us, I'll be waiting for you to drive you home when you lend in Raleigh. We can use that money and that extra time for a little getaway instead.

My fiancee went through JFK and it was a breeze, you give the officer the envelope and he/she will ask you to follow him to another room that look like a parking ticket courtroom except there's no judge but officers sitting behind the podium, the officer that walk you to the room will give them your brown envelope and they will ask you to take a seat.

Later on they will call you to give you back your passport, with the I94 inside along with the Temporary EAD stamp, then the officer will remind you , you have to get married within 90days and have a nice day.

That part is the easiest of all.

Once he's done with Immigration, there are lot of people there from custom/Airline to help him getting his luggage to his final destination it's less than 2 hours flight, about 1hr 35 to 1hr 50min.

Nikita2Charles

Not Telling

India

11/18/2009 19:58

You guys look so cute

. Awsome pics!

Starlight95

Not Telling

India

11/8/2009 15:37

QUOTE (ms_jinga_lala @ Oct 10 2009, 08:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (CTRL+ALT+DEL @ Oct 9 2009, 09:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and don't forgte to show how to change your tire, check for air, fuel, etc .

Omg....I don't know how to do that lol...wait...I do....I drive it to the Chevy dealership or call roadside assistance lol. Thank God for OnStar! I can teach him how to push a button, yay me!

Thank you Arun and Champi and CTRL+ALT+DEL for your stories and ideas.

I got AAA gold membership, free tire change, free towing for 100miles, and lots of other good perks at no extra charge except the membership fee...well worth the money..

champi

Female

India

10/12/2009 8:38

We're right now work-in-progress... My hubby had taken about 15-20 driving lessons in India just to get hang of controlling steering and stuff. He said, the traffic was so bad, that in 30mins session, he could barely pass couple of stoplights before the sessions were over. On the bright side, he got hang of crazy traffic during those sessions, which is pretty common here... He was still nervous about learning how to drive here.. just like you'll said, driving in opposite direction...

@ms_jinga_lala - my hubby was also glad to know that there is no clutch thing here...

Anyway, we started off with a big empty parking lot just like most of you here (these days, with stores and stuff going out of business, finding one was really easy). Then my dad helped him get on the interstate... He has gotten pretty good with local roads and turns and also reverse. He still needs lots of practice on parking and left turns..... luckily, he's not driving my one and only car... my dad let us borrow his old car..

We've been bit lazy about him getting license yet though since he started working. We get no time in weekdays and very little in weekend with all the festivals going on and get together in weekends and stuff. We just got an insurance policy (required before we go for license test). Hopefully, we'll be able to practice some more in coming weeks and have a license in had maybe end of this month or early next month....

It's really nice to hear all the driving learning stories.... My hubby works in downtown and I will be so scared to let my hubby drive alone all by himself to work, downtown is not the ideal place for new driver.... Luckily, right now, our workplaces are only few miles apart so we're able to ride together..

champi

Female

India

10/7/2009 11:28

I enrolled in a driving school with 8 hrs behind the wheels after i crashed my husband's car in a church. I've been driving since Nov 10 last year and so far so good.

ED*Riza

Female

Philippines

10/13/2009 8:35

I did enroll in a driving school but did not learned from it. I actually learned how to drive through my hubby's xbox driving assimilation game. Funny but hubby bought me a driving wheels with pedal and gas just to have my feet get used to mashing the gas and the pedal.
I was amazed how the driving assimilation game helped me a lot in the real world of driving.

happywifeymom

Female

Philippines

10/12/2009 23:34

but they are three great pics!

LilyLight

Female

11/8/2009 10:22

QUOTE (sachinky @ Nov 10 2009, 02:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guys, I need your expert opinion on this.

I will be interviewing at Mumbai.

My husband and I both graduated college in May so he's currently not making enough income to sponsor me. So we asked my cousin who is a naturalized USC to joint sponsor and he agreed. My question is: is that going to be a problem? That he is my relative instead of my husband's. I didn't even think it'd be an issue till someone mentioned something in the CR1 boards. We'd have gone with his parents but my father-in-law is between jobs at the moment, and I understand that the joint sponsor must be employed. So we went with my cousin.

What do you think? Is this going to cause issues?

No need to worry about relative being beneficiary's relative

Jamaican JNR

Male

Jamaica

11/11/2009 0:47

New Delhi finally updated their interview dates

I posted in this link for you question..

http://www.visajourn...howtopic=231437

Good Luck Thanks Raj

QUOTE (ShwetaGopal @ Dec 4 2009, 11:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Twisted K @ Dec 4 2009, 11:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

since they have posted their december dates, chances are your interview will be in january. good luck to you

what exactly do you mean when you said Log in Failed ? and what is AVR ?

Raj456

Male

India

12/4/2009 13:42

Expected January Interview

ShwetaGopal,

I can answer your Q1 and what it means is...It is the payment website for NVC. This is the site where we go and pay the AOS fee of $70 for both parents and then also paying $400 IV Fee for each parent. This is where once the payment is made the status changes from "IN PROCESS" to "PAID" and then we will be able to print the DOCUMENT COVER SHEET (which has Bar Code and NVC Case Number) that goes along with I-864 and DS-230 documents. Once the case is in the "FINAL REVIEW" status the Login Fails to this site and this means that the CASE at NVC will get complete in a day or two after the login fails. I know this is for parents cases and other similar cases and not sure about your case.

Hope this helps...Good LUck with your process. Thanks, Raj

QUOTE (ShwetaGopal @ Dec 4 2009, 10:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have been reading Visa Journey for quiet some time now. My finace's DS 230 was received by the New Delhi embassy on December 4th 2009

.

Couple of questions on my mind -

1) What exactly is this AVR Login ?? People seem to get excited when it fails , can anyone let me know how that works ?

2) How do I check the status of my case from now on till i receive the 4th packet / interview letter ?

3) When should i expect my finace's interview.. how long does it take after they recieve checklist and DS230 ?

Thanks fellows...

Raj456

Male

India

12/4/2009 13:41

hey guys for me it was fun to driving here, when i got here i told my wife that i want to driving and she was really scared about that. finally we went to USF university parking and practice over there and it was fun. I started driving my own after a week. and than a month later i had my driving license. The most scare part for me was every thing is on other side of the road and a rules are totally different. But it was fun.

Advise: Practice turns as many time as you can. that's the key to drive here. In india left turn is free and here is right turn. but we all drive in straight line, hahaha

Arun

Edited by Arun+Catie, 07 October 2009 - 09:45 AM.

Arun+Catie

Male

India

10/7/2009 9:41

QUOTE (ms_jinga_lala @ Oct 4 2009, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When my fiancee gets here, I have to teach him how to drive like an American. He's never driven over 40km an hour, here we can drive 120 easily. He's only driven a manual car and he's used to driving on the opposite side of the car. He doesn't drive a car often as that is actually the slow way to travel in India lol.

My car is an automatic, about three times the size of his car at home and I live in the jungle as he calls it. I have to get on the interstate or take some back roads I fear would be much scarier for him hahaha....maybe this really is the jungle. I've thought about taking him to a parking lot after closing, down some of the lesser traveled roads and such just till he gets used to the car and the different driving regulations. However I would really like to hear some tips from people who have moved to the states and had to learn all these strict driving rules. (I can't wait to hear him fussing about the questions about farm vehicles on our driving test lol, that is going to be interesting because here he has to know that stuff.) Were there any tips that someone told you that you found particularly helpful? How long did you study the driving manual before you went for the test? Any useful study tips?

I would also love to hear your stories about learning to drive here.

Thanks in advance!!

I think this is great post! I'm going to be watching this one.

k.loveh

Female

India

10/4/2009 20:34

QUOTE (Ak+Tk @ Nov 13 2009, 11:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (trinket @ Nov 13 2009, 07:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahh how did I miss this thread. Thanks for sharing, great pics

THanks K. LoveH for adding the correct link!! heheh

Thanks for the other comments and i will keep the pics coming and adding videos

Tahsa and MAnin

Can I say something? Tasha is just so adorable...cute as a button and a sweetheart to boot!

Edited by k.loveh, 14 November 2009 - 12:51 AM.

k.loveh

Female

India

11/14/2009 0:50

QUOTE (Ak+Tk @ Nov 12 2009, 12:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

http://www.facebook....ada00b6ca12418b

Even bettter today Karen, Mani got the video on you tube and now i copied the link and added it to here for you to watch. Mani is wearing orange he is in the front row and in the beginning he is on the right hand side and after they change formation he is on the left hand side the whole time, theres only 2 wearing orange.
He always is smiling with a big smile and great excitement. i will add some more pics also!

love you!

Here's the link you meant to post Tasha!

k.loveh

Female

India

11/13/2009 15:14

?...I'm just a bit disapointed.... no new pic today!

It's like watching a movie and all the sudden the electric goes out!

Edited by k.loveh, 11 November 2009 - 12:02 PM.

k.loveh

Female

India

11/11/2009 12:01

QUOTE (Ak+Tk @ Nov 9 2009, 09:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE SWEET COMMENTS GUYS!!! i added more and will keep adding

Keep them coming.

You two are such a cute couple, I really enjoy looking at them.

The one where you're at the river...very nice.

Edited by k.loveh, 09 November 2009 - 07:19 PM.

k.loveh

Female

India

11/9/2009 19:19

QUOTE (Shal @ Nov 8 2009, 11:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

but they are three great pics!

Agree...They sure are!

What a Good looking couple they are too!

k.loveh

Female

India

11/8/2009 13:55

QUOTE (sachinky @ Nov 10 2009, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your reply, Kloveh! =)

Anything to ease the mind at this point.

Yeap, and I know what you're feeling, believe me...But all will be well.

k.loveh

Female

India

11/10/2009 17:24

QUOTE (sachinky @ Nov 10 2009, 02:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though I made enough income, my fiance's Uncle provided a 2nd I-134 just for us to use as sort of an addtional security blanket. I figured 2 would be better than one.

At the interview, they did 'casually'ask him about it, but didn't seem to be a red flag or anything. If they ask you, just tell them the truth as to why it is your relative is providing it and everything will be fine.

Edited by k.loveh, 10 November 2009 - 03:55 PM.

k.loveh

Female

India

11/10/2009 15:55

he lives off greensboro and Atlanta is around 4-5 hrs ish... and Greensboro is off I-85 and the same interstate goes thru Atlanta too... but the traffic sucks in Atlanta..

karenros

Not Telling

India

11/21/2009 12:57

How bout flying in to Atlanta...they are some flights that do it...

http://www.orbitz.co...ge=interstitial

karenros

Not Telling

India

11/20/2009 22:07

ms_jinga_lala
Which part of North carolina do you live in?
I live in the charlotte area.. When i came to the US I came thru DEtroit andmy husband met me andmy brother met me there but since we had family we could stay in Michigan..

We visited india in Apr and I live close to bangalore so we took a direct flight from bangalore to Newark and then we flew to charlotte...

karenros

Not Telling

India

11/19/2009 22:11

Lol, I own Grand Theft Auto...at least my son does, he's already talking about how he intends to beat my fiancee at all those games, so maybe I can enlist my 13 year old to unknowingly help teach my fiancee to drive. It does sound like a good idea. It can't hurt, and I get the added enjoyment of listening to them playing. The bumper cars sounds good too, I'm certain he's never seen those and that could be a lot of fun as well. No point in stressing myself out, I don't want driving to turn into a bad experience.

I have OnStar and I also pay for roadside assistance through my insurance. My towing is only for 75 miles but that is more than I need, and I've used it before, it is actually a good plan. They pay for other things but I'm not sure what that is. I'm hoping I never have to use any of that lol. Just as any crazy person would, I also pay for a 3rd service through my cell phone carrier. So somehow, some way I think I'm covered for just about anything I can't already handle. My dad's best friend is a tow truck driver and my dad is a mechanic. Thank God for family lol.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/13/2009 9:34

QUOTE (CTRL+ALT+DEL @ Oct 9 2009, 09:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and don't forgte to show how to change your tire, check for air, fuel, etc .

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/10/2009 19:33

QUOTE (ELW @ Oct 5 2009, 12:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lol, that actually scared me while I was there. People just stepping in front of the cars like they weren't there. Not sure why it scared me, we were moving so slow they probably wouldn't even have gotten bruised if we hit them lol. I guess it was just the thought of it. I did have a scooter hit my leg while riding on the back of his motorcycle. It didn't even hurt but was nerve wracking. I guess he's going to feel similar but for different reasons. I know he thinks my car is huge (I drive an HHR lol). I definitely will be teaching him the art of reverse driving in an empty parking lot in the middle of the night lol.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/5/2009 21:07

QUOTE (Moksha @ Oct 4 2009, 11:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello ,

I guess the question is , does he know how to drive ? B, How comfortable is he driving on high speed .
What i did was , I got a international Licence before i came here . And then I Just look very carefully while my wife drove me for a week or so . The first step would be getting comfortable driving on the other side . Its hard to get an idea of the clear distance and the lanes Ur driving from the other side . So make him comfortable to drive on the other side . I started driving with in the second week . What we did was in the second week I drove my wife to do grocery shopping and she would tell me advance what i need to do next , Like who have the right away and how yield . In fact she keep telling me the little thing like round way thing , meaning how to enter the round ways while she was driving me . Stop for school bus and pedestrian . all these little things did made a lots of difference for me understanding the driving difference .
Driving on the freeway is different ball game . Speed is very important . I almost got a ticket in the second month of me being here for speed he he . so advice o that part is stay under the speed limit .
The biggest difference was driving a bike here . Their is a lots of respect for bikers which is totally different here .

I'm going to err on the side of caution and say no, he doesn't know how to drive. He's probably only done it once, not very far and since he gets nervous I know he had someone else take over. He recently went for driving lessons - for 2 days....in India. He was very happy to hear that that my car does not have a clutch pedal. I learned how to drive a manual and I actually don't think he did bad at all from the things he was telling me. He's very critical of himself.

Thank you for telling me your story. I find it quite helpful. I've already been looking around at where I can get him some short distance experience to help boost his comfort level. And I think I'm going to teach him about cruise control first lol.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/5/2009 20:42

I'll try not to let it get buried then lol. I did start teaching my 15 year old to drive before he went to stay with his dad. I actually took that pretty well, I didn't freak out but once when he was turning the car around and was way too close to the mailboxes and when I said....well screamed...STOP, he kept going lol. OMG..... After I thought about it, it would have just been some paint scraped off but still...my car is so pretty with all it's paint lol.

I'm really concerned about teaching him things like how to judge if your car is between the lines, how to check your side and rear mirrors, and in the state of NC he needs to know how fast he can drive a tractor down the road (I almost failed for missing that one myself lol).

I'm really kind of excited about teaching him to drive. I think he's gonna love it once he gets used to it. And I really feel like driving here, even with all the rules is going to be easier than India. He doesn't have to stop and go while people just walk out in front of your car and traffic is nowhere near as bad. Traffic only goes one direction in any given place on the road, not all directions at once. I'll make sure I come back and post our experiences too.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/4/2009 21:32

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

10/4/2009 19:50

QUOTE (Saddle Bronc @ Nov 24 2009, 11:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(the route I've given you is "only" as bad as going to Hartsfield)

lol "only" as bad. I have been to Dulles as well. It's nowhere near as crazy as getting to JFK. I really hope I can work all this out and find somewhere closer.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

11/24/2009 13:31

I don't mind Atlanta, I'm open to any options. JFK is a 2 day drive, Atlanta is only one. I have been through Atlanta many times and the traffic doesn't bother me there. Now Greensboro...has some crazy road patterns that are complicated to follow. After that Atlanta is a breeze lol. Thank you for the suggestion, I'm going to check that as well. I just need something more direct to convince him with. See what happens when you fall in love with a spoiled Punjabi lol. You have to start 2 months ahead of time to find an acceptable flight path. He's just lucky he's worth all this trouble.

ms_jinga_lala

Female

India

11/21/2009 19:20