I have found so much information here that has helped me tremendously and put my fiance's mind at ease...we are just starting the process, and sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming...

Any suggestions would be more than welcome...

Great to be here!!!

Dawn

Hey Dawn,

Just wanted to welcome you to the forum....I'm another UK/Orlando

Have plenty of patience and if there is anything you need to know just ask

Lisa,

How long have you been going through this process? Every day seems like an eternity...

Welcome Dawn!!
Yes I agree be patient... its tough (and i cannot even file yet!!!) but the wait to be with the one you love is worth it...
If you ever need to vent its a good place to do it
Good luck
~cher

Welcome to VJ and the UK forum! As long as you follow the guides here when assembling your petition, you should do well on your visa journey! If in doubt, just ask here. We're largely a friendly bunch!! I wish you all the best!!

Heh, we've been separated 1.5 years at this point for other reasons, BUT we only filed our K1 in the summer.

Got packet 3 on Sat, so that wasn't too bad.

My only bit of advice is to keep yourself busy and try not to dwell on the 'seems like eternity' part. That way it won't seem longer than it is! IMO, the process isn't really THAT long when ya look at it objectively....a transcontinental move requires time and lots of coordination, so if ya focus on that bit, he'll be here (or you'll be here, I dunno which) before you know it!

Good luck.

Don't think too much of the time its going to take. if you equate the complete visa processing time to prison sentences its quite a short one - aggrevated robbery, maybe, or minor white collar fraud.

We started the process back in april last year. feels like a long time, but then malia has been over here since august, so we've been together at least.

Just waiting for my passport to come back from the embassy, then heading over to the US on sunday

then it all starts again with the AOS... hopefully it won't take too long before EAD so I can work

If you go into this journey with a realistic journey time in mind, it makes it a lot easier to bare.

When I first joined this forum, I thought the journey could be over and done with in 6 months (which for those who filed a month or so before me, it was) so when things started dragging, I was feeling very down. It was a helpful member that gave me a better idea of how long the journey would actually take and once I set my sights on a February approval (I applied in April for my I130 and May for the I129F) then the journey became much much easier.

At least for me, this journey has had a lot of unexpected delays and looking at the big picture (February), instead of each and every delay, really helped get me through it.

And as long as I get my approval on the 1st Feb, then that person was wonderfully correct

Welcome!!! Now I need to find more people moving to my area!!! Everything seems to be more spread out back west

Good morning and welcome to this forum.
This website has been fantastic for us during this process.

I must confess that for us the whole thing was a lot easier then I expected. Yes it seemed to take a long time but in the long run it was really cut and dry. I'd say be prepared, do the research, and use the infomation given here to help you through. But when getting advice from the members here remember that all cases are different.

When you are actually together and the whole thing is some what behind you, you will look back (hopefully) and feel it was all worth it. Both my husband and I agree that the time spent away has really brought us closer. Also it gives you time to wrap your mind around leaving your country. After all, you aren't moving to another village or town.
Have your SO spend as much time with loved ones as well and as most of us will agree...eat your fav foods as much as you can! *giggle*

Good luck and continued success!

Welcome to the forum! Good luck on your journey!

Thanks so much for the warm welcomes...it certainly is reassuring to know I'm not alone!!!

Dawn

It is a great site and very useful. Also gives us contacts when we are having wobbly days where the world feels like it is closing in around you. I can not wait to start my journey with my SO and am pleased for you being able to start yours.

Defo - I mean I am on this site all the time as it is anyway and it has really helped me through som low points - or more accurately the people on here have

I know that in the coming months this place is going to become almost vital to me in getting reassurance that the inevitable crazy emotions I experience are normal when I move - I am going to totally freak and I know while I am trying to get it all straight in my head, you can only prepare for things mentally so much before you have to deal with it for real.

While I love my OH I know that he will find it hard to totally understand how I am feeling as he will have never gone through it - and that is where this forum comes in - part of me can't wait!!

I guess the hardest part is the realistic timeline...I want him here yesterday....

Don't know any immigration service in the world that does yesterday.

Getting a realist time frame might be a bit difficult. A few months ago the US raised all the fees to do with immigration and citizenship and got flooded with applications from people beating the fee deadline.

Best is to look at posts from others who have applied in the last few months and try and gauge it from them. They are unfortunately suffering more delay than most and I would guess your time frame will be about the same as theirs.

It does seem if the I-130 was filed in the US around 10 months is what it is taking. Hopefully others who have recently done this will give an more accurate forecast.

Not sure if you file an I-130 for a fiance visa but the time frame is about the same now if you are married already or coming to the US to get married.

The people that are going to their interview now are those who missed majority of the fee rush (we only had delays while they stopped approving our petitions so that they could enter all the new ones into their system).

I am not even sure how to gauge those currently waiting, I know there are still people from August/September who have not even received their NOA1 or had their cheques cashed, and only time will tell how long it will take them to receive their NOA2. Once those in August/September start to see their approvals I think it will give a better guide to those who are following on from them.

The positive thing is that they are hiring and training more staff, so things should continue to speed up

I hope there's not another rush for the beginning of the year...

No worries in remains pretty steady except just before a fee increase. Unfortunately for you there is still a backlog from the fee increase a few months back which hasn't been cleared yet.