Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

Well I woke up this morning and checked my email and to my surprise I found an email letter from the Embassy with our interview date! Good news! Bad news- it's 9 days from today!!!! I am beyond shocked! So much to do and so little time! I will keep you all posted!

~Deb

Well, you interview date is sooner than mine. How can it be possible? Our interview date is 14th of August I don't understand. Maybe something was wrong about me They didn't like my picture who knows.

Good luck.

Hi isil, I believe that they do it by priority date, when you began filing your paperwork. I only had about 20 days till my interview.

Deb!! I am so dang gum excited for you!!! Woohoo Another renunion up and coming

edited: Looks like it might be by NOA2. That would explain the difference. Good luck to you both!!

[attachmentid=1789]

Congratulations Everyone

so happy to read all the great news




Merhaba isil,

nasılsın? it happens ...same thing happened to us when Betty & Seyhan passed us by.

Best wishes to everyone,
Peace to All,[attachmentid=1789]
deBra

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for all your good wishes! Leaving Tues. for Ankara. Preparing for the trip... Packing, packing, packing! And this time I will meet Resul's parents! Getting nervous! I will keep in touch...

Hi Isil,
I know, I am as shocked as you are ! I saw on your time line that your interview date was about 2 months from the day you got Packet 4. So I too was expecting ours to be 2 months from the day we got Packet 4, but to my surprise it was in 9 days! I cried after I read the email! I was happy, but on the other hand I was totally overwhelmed not knowing how I was going to get everything in order in 1 week! It's been rough but it'll be worth it in the end... Hopefully being rewarded with a VISA ! When I get back I will fill you in on everything so you will know for your interview in August . Good luck and take care.

~Deb

Hi Debra,

You must be exciting and nervous. I am sure that you will get your visa. And your visit his parent's will be nice. I will need every information about the interview because I am really nervous when I think about it.
I wish you good luck. Take care.





Merhaba,

İyiym. Sen nasılsın? I am thinking your advice about my family issue. It is killing me on the inside. I will try do my best and then if their decision don't change I will go my way. That is all I can do. )

Best Wishes.
Isil

Merhaba isil,

nasılsın? it happens ...same thing happened to us when Betty & Seyhan passed us by.

Best wishes to everyone,
Peace to All,
deBra



Merhaba,

İyiym. Sen nasılsın? I am thinking your advice about my family issue. It is killing me on the inside. I will try do my best and then if their decision don't change I will go my way. That is all I can do. )

Best Wishes.
Isil



Sevgili isil,

iyi tepekkur I feel for you...and feel your pain as I too have lived it with my family before I left to Turkey to met Candemir. My parents said very nasty things. But in time it becomes easier. As I said in my email, man to man respectful talk might be better for your father if it is possible.

My thoughts are with you and as I said....please email if you want to talk it can never be a problem. I also added you to my messenger...


Peace to All
Debra

Deb,

Enjoy your time in Turkey and wishing you all the best with your interview.

Take care.
Peace to All,
deBra

Deb,

Have a safe trip to Turkey!!
Hope all goes well with the interview.
Meeting Resul's parents should be fine,
Omer's parents (and sisters and brothers) really liked the chocolate I brought when I met his family.
Waiting to hear wonderful news in a few days.

Michele

That's funny Michele because I bought a few boxes of chocolates to bring as gifts! I'm sure they will like them. Who wouldn't like chocolate? LOL

Thanks Michele!
~Deb

PS- Michele have a great time in Aruba with your hubby! Enjoy! You both deserve it!

Oh I am so excited!! I am sitting here just staring at this post!! Cant wait to hear the good news!! Woohoo

Ali said from what he heard and the lady that he had his interview with, everyone is so very nice

Ok, I am on pins and needles to know how Deb's interview went... it was last night... come on come on give us the good news!!

[quote name='Debra&John' date='Jul 16 2006, 07:02 PM' post='312585']
Merhaba isil,

nasılsın? it happens ...same thing happened to us when Betty & Seyhan passed us by.

Best wishes to everyone,
Peace to All,
deBra



Merhaba,

İyiym. Sen nasılsın? I am thinking your advice about my family issue. It is killing me on the inside. I will try do my best and then if their decision don't change I will go my way. That is all I can do. )

Best Wishes.
Isil



Sevgili isil,

iyi tepekkur I feel for you...and feel your pain as I too have lived it with my family before I left to Turkey to met Candemir. My parents said very nasty things. But in time it becomes easier. As I said in my email, man to man respectful talk might be better for your father if it is possible.

My thoughts are with you and as I said....please email if you want to talk it can never be a problem. I also added you to my messenger...


Peace to All
Debra
[/quote

Teşekkür ederim.

DEB!!! Where oh where are you???

QUOTE(joyeann @ Jul 26 2006, 04:10 PM)

DEB!!! Where oh where are you???

Tell me about it Joy!

I do hope that she and Resul have been approved for their K-1 and that all is well with them, but I guess they are happy just seeing each other again and had no time to inform us yet.

As you I'am also anxious to hear their good news!

Wishing everyone here to be united soon with their loved ones

Mina

Can someone tell me what the typical amount of time it takes from when you send your I-130 in the USA , to the time you have your actual interview in Ankara is?

For example, I sent my I-130 on behalf of my wife, approximately 2 months ago. (end of May). When can I expect the interview date in Ankara to be? Also, how much time was given to your spouse to make arrangements, meaning......did they notify you days....weeks....a month......in advance?

Lastly, is it possible to arrange your own interview date (once everything clears obviously:)........or are they inflexible in Ankara as far as that goes?

Thanks

Hi MPGGPM, I wish I could tell you how long it will take. But as you can see from some of the timelines, it really does vary. My I-130 took 188 days to be approved. It took us a total of 11 months to get the interview from start to finish.

The NVC schedules the interview from my understanding. You can reschedule the interview by going to the Ankara website. They only gave us 20 days from the time it was approved at the NVC until the interview. You could request a quicker interview once you have your dates, but I doubt they would give it to you. Right now the embassy is going to be backed up since they cancelled an entire week of interviews due to the Americans going to Turkey from Lebanon.

Thanks.

And here I had been telling my wife it`d probably been around January etc......yeesh
Obviously, she was thrilled to hear it might be until April (according to what you wrote).

I know as you wrote it varies, and I think your case is a bit different in that he`s from Iran (or has some relation to it?)......but better to prepare for the worst, than get our hopes up and have them smashed. So, it just pushes our timeline back a bit.

Thanks again.

MPGGPM, keep in mind .... you will prolly be a bit quicker since it is your wife that you are applying for. Usually the hold up is security checks. Women seem to breeze through while men, well they take forever. Good luck!! I hope it goes quickly!!!

Hi Everyone!

I'm so sorry to keep you on pins and needles Joye!

I just got in a few hours ago from Ankara. And YES there is good news!!! We got the Visa!!! I still can't believe it! But I will give you all the details this weekend when I recuperate!

Thank you all for your good wishes, prayers, and advice throughout this whole process.

Sincerely,
Debbie & Resul

Wonderful to hear the visa is approved!!!!

When does Resul get here??

How did the visit with his family go?

Michele and Omer

HAPPY DANCE!!

Congrats Deb!!! WWWoooooHHOoooo!!!!

Our interview was on July 20, 2006. Our interview time was 8:30am. Our lawyer told us to get there 3 hours early because it could take hours to get through security to get into the embassy. We got there at 6am. What a waste of time because there was no line and the security guard told us to come back at 8:15am! So we went and had breakfast!

The guards didn't start letting us in until 8:45am. They were very nice. Before we went through security, outside the doors a man was checking everyone's letters. Then he asked us for Resul's medical report and his 2 passport pictures, then he put it in a file, gave us a number/ticket and let us in the doors. It took us 2 mins. to get through security. We had a bottle of water and they had us drink it in front of them to make sure it was water and nothing harmful. Then they let us into the room. It reminded me of a big bank! There were 4 or 5 big windows on the left side of the room with a counter under the windows. The blinds were all shut closed. The rest of the room was set up with chairs in rows of 2. In the back of the room there was a UPS table and 2 workers. While sitting there, we heard a sound like a door bell! That signals you to look up at the digital board to see what number they are calling and what window you are to go to. We waited about 30 minuets before we were called. Prior to going into the embassy the man asked Resul if he wanted his interview in Turkish or English. Resul didn't want to risk anything so he told them Turkish. But when we started the interview the woman was American and was asking him questions in English. I could tell he didn't quite understand her totally, plus he was so nervous. So I tried to intervine and explain it to him. She stopped me because she said she wanted to see how much he could understand and how much help he would need. So I backed off from there. At times she would talk Turkish to him when she saw he clearly wasn't understanding her, but majority of the interview was in English. The woman was behind the glass window and had a microphone built into the window. And there was a microphone on the counter on our side of the window. There was an opening under the window where you slide papers in to her, just like a bank.

These are some of the questions she asked Resul:
-How did you both meet?
-What was the date you met?
-Were you looking to marry someone?
-Where and when did you meet in person?
-Where did you stay when you met?
-What does your fiancee do for a living?
-Then she named my place of employment and asked him what this name was.
-She asked him what his occupation was?
-What kind of work does he plan to do in the USA?

She said she had enough information, and I asked if she wanted to see any evidence that I had brought, i.e. more phone bills, emails to each other, cards/letters, pictures... She said no that's ok I have all of that here (but it was old evidence from Feb. when we first applied for the K-1. She didn't want to see any of our on going evidence). She started writing something and then she said we could take this over to the desk in the back and I asked her does this mean we got the visa? And she said YES!!! We were so shocked!!! Then we went to the UPS table and Resul gave them his address of where to send the visa. The whole interview took about 20 mins. In my opinion this has been the easiest part of this whole K-1 process so far! The woman interviewing us was nice, not overly friendly, but fair. It took about 7 days for Resul to get the UPS package with the visa in it.

Sorry to go on and on, but I tried to remember every detail so that I can possible help any other couple going for their interview through Ankara. Good luck to all of you!

~Debbie

Hi Michele and Omer,
Thanks for the good wishes! I still can't believe we got through this! Still seems like a dream! Resul won't be coming here for another 6-8 weeks because he has to save up for the expensive plane ticket! Plus he has to say good bye to all his family and friends . He's getting sad about this and so is his family, but they know he will be happy once he settles in. The visit went well with his family . They were very sweet! Couldn't speak a word of English, but Resul translated everything! We gave each other gifts and then his dad wanted to buy me a gold ring so we went shopping around until he found one for me. Then we went to dinner, had ice cream, and sat in the square and talked and enjoyed the cool evening breeze! :They only stayed one day because his dad had to go back to work. But it was very nice of them to come for the day. So now I have to be patient and count the days for Resul to get here!

Take care!
~Debbie

CONGRATULATIONS



I am so happy for you guys!! So soon now


Best wishes,
Peace to All,
Debra

Congratulations,

I am happy both of you. You are in the next step now. Be happy forever.

Thanks for the details. It will helps us very much. I am worried about mt passport. Our interview is on 14th and our flight is on 21th of August. If I get my passport 7 days later, we will have some problems then.

My fiance will be there with me for the interview. I think it is good thing. Because I will be nervous normally and I will forget some of the informations about us. Will he be able to help me during the interview or will s/he ask questions to him directly? What is your suggestion?

Isil.

Hey Debbie!! 6-8 weeks is going to fly!!

Ali is back in Turkey He went and dropped off our papers and his passport... lets just hope he gets the visa!! He said that they will review his papers again and he should get his visa in 2-3 days.. He has already reserved a flight for the 1st of September I have a feeling my nerves are going to be on edge for the next couple days lol.

I am so glad it went well for you Debbie!! Your honey will be with you soon!! Best of all, you can finish the rest of the journey without being apart!!

Joye

UPDATE:

VISA IN HAND!!! WOOOHOOO WOOT WOOT

Wonderful news!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

Excellent news Joye!!! WOOOHOOO !!! I'm so happy for you and Ali!!! Finally you'll be together in the US!!! I wish you both the best!!!

~Debbie

Hi Isil,
Only 3 more days till your interview!!! I wish you and your sweetie the best of luck! I know at the interview the woman really had no questions for me. I wouldn't answer questions for Resul, I would only try to explain her question to him if I saw he wasn't understanding her. If he still didn't understand (because he was so nervous!) then the woman would ask him in Turkish. The whole point is for them to see if you know what they are asking, they don't want to know if the USC knows. Don't worry you'll be fine! If you're honest you'll have nothing to worry about. Plus your sweetie will be with you and I think that really makes a difference in the embassy's eyes. I really think that if I weren't with Resul for his interview he probably wouldn't have received the visa. So good luck Isil !!! I can't wait to hear the good news

~Debbie

Good luck tomorrow Isil ... Can't wait to hear that you got the visa!!!

~Debbie

congrats

hello my friends,

as you know we had an interview today. it was excellent. because we got our visa easily.
im really happy right now. i was vbery nervous before the interview. but my fiance was there with me and he talked to the counselor lady. i think she likes him she asked 3 questions and that was it. it was amazing and it is still unbelievable for me.

thanks for everyone.

Congrats Isil I'm so happy for you and your honey!!! I knew you'd do fine!!! Enjoy your time with your honey!!!

~Debbie

Congratulations Isil

I am so happy it was easy for you both ...Please give me a call when you get here and maybe I can come up to see you would love that Also so sorry I have not responded to your email...I will so soon.

Hoşçakal!
Peace,
debbie

It depends on your service center..how quick it processes your petition and also how quick you send the documents/forms/money they require to NVC once your case was approved and sent to NVC. And then provided you do not get any RFEs your case will be forwarded to the consulate.

You do not have to wait for the consulate to notify you/your spouse. You can e-mail them after confirming from the NVC (by calling NVC) that they forwarded it to the consulate.

Is it possible to arrange your own interview date? To a degree, yes you can. If you have compelling reasons -medical reasons for example (and of course proof) for a quicker appointment date and e-mail them you might get it. Also if you want to postpone your appointment date for a later date you can do that too. But in this case you should make sure that your spouse's security checks will not expire by that time.

Hope this helps...

GREAT NEWS!!!!

Just received our approval for our K3 visa in the mail. It was approved on August 14th. Will call the NVC on Monday to see if we have a visa number generated yet.

Our Cr1 visa is in the works also, our DS-230 forms have been generated but not received yet, so most likely now the K3 will beat this one to the embassy. But will have to see which one gets the interview first.

I have made tenative time off arrangements at work for the middle of Sept. to the first week in Oct. I have not made any plane reservations hoping that we hear about an interview date first. My husband and I have worked on the papers 156 and 157 forms when I was in Turkey in Feburary, so he should be ready to copy that information on the forms he gets from the embassy and send them back the next day. He has his police certificate, certified birth record and our certifed marriage document, and he is working on them translating them to english, he also has an expemtion from being in the military and I told him to have that translated too, just incase they need to see why he did not serve.

I was wondering if anyone used Dr. Mehmet Ungan in Ankara or the American Hospital in Istanbul for their physical?? Either of them are covered by our health insurance so we might get some money back on his exam, lab work, vaccainations, and x-ray is he uses their services. He has no documents on any vaccinations and really does not remember getting any besides the small pox vaccination which is visible on his arm. Do they do the TB test that is read 48-72 hours later, or do they use some other method to test for that? My husband has family in Istanbul so he could stay with them if he has to stay a couple of days to get the results of his physical, while in Ankara he would have to find a hotel to stay at.

I was also wondering if any one had hotel suggestions for me, as I am planning to go to his interview and stay the day before and maybe that night after in Ankara. Is there any reasonly priced hotels near the embassy so that we could walk there and back from his interview?? If not, any other hotel suggestions??
I know I am asking this information without even knowing when the interview will be, but I am so excited about getting the K3 approval all I can think of is going there and bringing my husband home.

We will spending about a week after his interview (provided he gets visa approved) in Turkey to see his family before he leaves then we will leave for the USA. I was hoping to get a flight to JFK so he can maybe get a temporary EAD, and then fly to Milwaukee so he can meet my three daughters (one son-in-law), our granddaughter, my sister and my step-parents for a few days and then fly home to Georgia and still have a couple of days to get situated before I have to go back to work. If his visa is approved but still have to wait for a security check to finish, I have to decide whether to go and visit with his family or come back home and wait for the news and go back when he has his visa in hand and visit with them. I really want to fly back with him even if it means a 10-12 flight there and turn around and fly back home with my husband the next day......so much to think about....

I also wanted to let everyone know we had a fabulous time in Aruba for our Honeymoon....the resort was great, the weather was wonderful but the 10 days there was too short. We had a kitchen in our room and he made every meal except the night we went out for his birthday and the one meal he let me cook. He also grilled out a couple times, he made some very good meals for us. He also shocked me when he pulled out the iron and ironing board after we washed our clothes....he is a man of many talents and i appreciate them all.

Flying High with our approval.....good luck everyone on completing their journeys!

Michele

Hello Michele&Omer,

I had my medicals done by Ungan. He will most probably try to get your spouse have as many vaccinations as possible...to make money. He is a nice person to talk to. But you say your insurance covers this...How?

Your spouse will not need to book a room at a hotel because he can get the results the same day (in the evening).

If you do a google search I am sure you will find hotels near the embassy. Some days ago I came accross with prices like 70-80 dollars at a 5 star (luxury) hotel room. (for August). There are of course cheaper ones but not as close ..However in Ankara you can take the taxicab and it does not cost much.

Congratulations on your approval!

Thanks!!!!


I will google the hotels and have ideas of where to go when we are notified of his interview.

I added my husband to my insurance when we married and the insurance covers overseas as well as in the USA. It should only end up costing us $15 for the visit and maybe some extra for the vaccines most of the lab work and x-ray should be covered too. He may have to prepay and get a refund from the insurance but he has an insurance card as well as the forms needed by the insurance carrier for the doctor. I noticed some of the doctors took credit cards which would be nice cause I hate to have carry too much cash around. The last time he went to Istanbul someone tried to steal his wallet so he is worried about being in a big city with cash.

Can he wait and get the vaccinations done here or do they need to done before the visa is approved?

Michele

As she mentioned, there are some insurers (mine for example...which is Blue Cross/Blue Shield), that offer some coverage overseas. It depends on the hospital. I actually became a bit ill over the summer in Istanbul, and when I called Blue Cross.....there were several hospitals they mentioned in Istanbul which would use that insurance (The American Hospital was one).

I don't think for an exam that wasn't an emergency, it would be "full" coverage, but I am pretty sure they'd at least give partial coverage.


p.s. thanks for the previous reply and info regarding the embassy question.

The Embassy wants the result of the medical exam on the day of interview. Mr Ungan's clinic does not accept credit cards. I wanted to pay using my CC but the receptionist lady did not accept payment through CC. However Sistem Labs which is in the same building with Mr Ungan's clinic accepts CCs for payment for lab tests.

I am sure all hotels would accept credit cards. By the way if I see a good deal on hotels I will let you know.

CONGRATULATIONS Michele and Omer!!! I'm so happy for the both of you!!! Good luck on the interview and keep us posted!!!

~Debbie

Hello,

I am in Turkey now to get my CR1 at long last.
How long do you think it will take for the embassy to mail the visa on the passport once you take the interview? I would like to hear your personal experiences.

Thank you.
:-)

This is from the embassy website, as we are not that far along yet:

Issuance of an immigrant visa is NOT guaranteed. Making specific travel plans to the U.S. is strongly discouraged. Eligible applicants are not issued a visa the same day of the interview; it is sent to the applicant’s address in Turkey via UPS within two to three working days. Please also note that some Turkish and most Iranian applicants require security clearances. Every effort is made to obtain the proper security clearance prior to a visa interview, but if the proper clearance has not been received, the visa cannot be issued.


But hopefully some of the recently interveiwed people can give a better answer.

Wish you well on the Interview!!!!!

Michele

Thank you for your reply 'Michele&Omer' .

I found the answer to my question in one of your previous posts. You say your husband received his visa via UPS in 7 days. All I wanted to find out was the time it takes from the day the package is mailed via UPS to the day you receive it.

Anyway thanks also for that old message of yours.

My I-130 on behalf of my wife was just approved. I received notice by mail yesterday that it will now go to the NVC.

Can someone tell me what happens next? What will be the next steps? What is the typical amount of time that it takes from this point (letter signifying I-130 approval and sent to NVC), to the time my wife will have an actual interview in Ankara ?

I assume she will eventually recieve some packet directing her to get a physical , etc?........

Thanks



P.s......Trying to get hold of ANYONE by phone at the embassy (I have questions in regards to another issue).......is a lesson in frustration! I have to keep getting up at 4:40 (eastern time)each morning lately, only to keep calling....and calling...and calling....AND calling.......

No one answers the phone there.....and to make matters worse, they only have a 90 minute window when you can call.

Our government at work..........

Hello MPGGPM,

It might take for your case a month even to 'reach' NVC..or for the NVC to 'admit' they received it.
And then choice of address and agent form is sent to your spouse...she makes her choice either making you her agent or herself or a lawyer and sends it back. In that form she also states the address sh wants correspondence to be sent from then on.

Then the iv fee letter and then affidavit of support fee letter are sent to the agent. You send the fees in money order as fast as you can..and to the right place.


When the forms arrive you should correctly fill it out...preapre the i864 form correctly..prepare it with the addition of W2s and everything. Not forget adding anything that might be asked for later. And then send it back as fast as you can.

Different from most other nations Turkish applicants are asked to send all their paperwork (criminal record paper, nüfus kayit örnegi, papers like that) to the NVC. They process these documents instead of embassies doing it.

Once you sent everything they asked for your case will be 'complete' (usually one week or 10 days after they received everything). If it is in the first 10 days or so of the month then they send it to the embassy on 15th to 20th of that month. If it is later then they send it the following month.

Once NVC receives your case and if you send everything they ask for as fast as you can without making any mistakes then it takes +/- 2 months or so for your case to be complete.

And the agent receives the appointment letter. It is usually 45 days after you receive the appointment letter sent by the NVC.

I called NVC to find out what happened to my application. So you can call too..and/or send e-mails about the appointment date. Some of them are flexible thinking people so they might help you/your spouse by quickening the appointment date for you.

These are all too general answers. I hope it helps.

Why do not you try sending e-mails to the embassy instead of calling them?
If it is a very important matter you can contact your congresspeople to have them contact the embassy on your behalf.

BY THE WAY Congratulations on your petition's approval! I hope he waiting period for your spouse is going to be short and without problems/worries.

Thank you for your reply. It had a lot of information in it and I thank you for your time.

I didn't realize all of that paperwork would still be done from here, and had thought that they would just send my I-130 packet to Ankara, and everything would be done from there. As I see ............that obviously is not the case. I apparently still have a bit to do from here in the USA.

I was finally able to get hold of someone at the embassy.......on the 3rd day of trying, and they were able to answer that other question I had.

So....it is just a matter of time now.

Thanks again.

DEB & RES.....I see in your timeline that you are here together!!!
Joyeann I see your fiancee got here earlier this month too!!!


Wish you all the best!!!!


Omer was told last week his packet 3 for our K3 is on the way to him from the embassy, we filled out most of the forms earlier just waiting for the packet to arrive so he can send it back and hopefully get an interview date!!!

Michele