If you applied for AP along with your AOS package you should definitely be able to travel by Christmas. It's supposed to take 60-90 days to get AP.

To update your timeline follow the link under "My Assistant" near the top.

I don't even know what a Brownstone is...

I love Palm Springs too I love that everyone is so laid back, there is a huge craft "culture" here and everyone seems to be happy and always having a great time. I love the fact there are tons of little independent shops, bars, cafes and restaurants on the Main Street without a ton of huge chains, although there are the odd few here and there (which American city wouldn't be complete without at least one Starbucks and/or Subway?!). We have a large grocery store nearby and a Walmart so we can head to larger chain stores but then are away from the main hive of activity in the city. And I love the weekly street fairs every Thursday evening

The heat is pretty good when it isn't humid and not in the middle of the day. Evenings are gorgeous sitting outside of a bar with the misters going and watching people walk by on Main Street

Don´t ask me

And welcome back

Hey Marta - when are you going to find out if your baby is a boy or a girl? Or do you not want to know? You have any names picked out yet?!

Ehmmm...I already know it And we haven´t picked any name yet

Oh don't say you aren't going to tell!!!!!!!!

I´ve been waiting for USCIS to change their processing times on their website like they always do (15th day of each month) and it´s 17th today and they still haven´t changed it As soon as they do, we can shout at them


I don´t know Let me think about it

Maybe I should make you guess

A girl?

I mean it's a 50/50 chance so if you answer me then I'll know either way

Does that mean I shouldn´t answer you then?

NoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! You HAVE to tell us cause it is going to really bug me now!! Even more than those giant bugs we get in the house!!

I´ve been thinking green

It's an alien?! I thought a baby of a USC and non-USC would be a PR already

Wot is it PR?

She meant Permanent Resident. But your baby will be a full-fledged citizen. Lucky lucky.

I meant citizen - I was just having a brain fart

So Marta - is it a boy or a girl?!

But nobody else guessed

And our baby will be a double citizen Both Czech and American

Oh finally They changed the processing times on the website so now we will see what we can do

Yay!! Give them hell!!!!!

OMG I´m on hold with them now and of course all they said before is a bullshit now and they quite hasn´t reached my application yet cuz they are working on November 2007 now although their website says they r working on April 16, 2008

She is like a robot...asks their received date and then asks me if it´s been longer than 6 months since we sent it....I tell her I will have to count that if she can´t

Hahaha - what did she say to that?!

Alright...so the lady protested against everything I said. She said I was in processing times and all that crap. According to her they are working on November 2007 APs and the fact that half of the people that filed in March with me already have GCs and I can´t even get an AP didn´t seem to bother her cuz the answer to that from her manual is "We process applications as they come" Anyway, I didn´t give up and after her last sentence she read from the manual I said I didn´t agree cuz more than 30 days ago I was told I was already out of processing times and I was told to call in 30 days to place a service request so that´s why I am calling and that´s what I wanna do. So she finally transferred me somewhere else where the other lady placed the service request for AP without much hassle so now I have a number from her and I should receive a letter from them by mail. So we will see. I wanted to do the same for work permit (since the last time they told us the work permit should be adjudicated on July 28 or earlier - which is 10 days away) but she said the system wouldn´t take it yet, cuz we need 55 more days for to do that I explained her about the July 28 but all she says is system won´t take it yet. So I´ll deal with work permit later. Maybe I´ll call them on July 28 to let them know what they promised me

To that, she said "Alright" To me it´s really unbelievable the way they speak and react. After I told her it wasn´t more than 6 months she read like a 3 minute paragraph from her manual to explain why that could be or whatever...

Hey Marta, my guess is that you're gonna have a cute lil baby.

I don't like knowing ahead of time. There are too few surprises in this life, and not knowing the sex of the baby is a good surprise to look forward to, IMO. I only found out with my third baby, but didn't tell a soul (including my ex). And I only fiund out cos I already had two boys and wanted to menatlly prepare myself if it wasn't a girl. I really wanted a girl! Got her, of course, and she is the biggest drama queen diva on this earth!

Well we didn´t know it before and so it was a surprise when we found out too...I don´t think if the same surprise is 4 months earlier or 4 months later it makes it a smaller or bigger surprise We were playing with the idea of not letting the doc tell us, but to be honest, we saw it on the ultrasound pretty clearly before we gave her permission to tell us...so And everyone we tell is really excited about it and I think it´s fun

In that case, you must be having a boy! Congrats to you both! You should name him Julian, since he'll be born on my birthday!

For me, I liked the surprise, but everyone is different. It was not meant as a criticism.

I liked the surprise too We´d prefer if the baby was born in December though...but baby will do it´s own thing

Ooops...she said work permit service request is 55 days away. I just counted it and it´s exactly 09-11

Hey do you think there is a little chance that by then I´ll at least have a GC interview date or will that be also postponed (as much as the other stuff is). If it´s gonna take as long then I´m facing maybe a January 2009 interview in the best case scenario. I can apply for naturalization 3 years from wedding date right? Or is that wrong? Maybe I will be able to become a citizen even before I get a GC. Now I wanna laugh but I don´t know if it´s funny

Eww - that sucks... at least it sounds like they are getting the ball rolling a bit on one thing though... guess that is better than nothing..


Hehehe!! I dunno if I would prefer the surprise or not - I think I would find it easier to mentally prepare myself earlier than later - we both really want a girl so as horrible as it sounds, waiting nine months to find out we had a boy would be hell!! I'd prefer to know earlier to get my head around it if that makes sense

We want a boy and a girl eventually though so

And congrats Marta!! Now I want to check those scans again!! Heheh

You can´t see it on the scans You have to get here and see the dvd

And maybe I should file for another AP right now cuz if it goes on like this with me and I wanna travel the next year maybe the AP will go through by next year. Ooor it will go through sooner than the first one did

Maybe you should apply for emergency AP so you can make the wedding?

But don´t they consider it emergency when you need it in like a week? And is that a brand new application or is it connected to the one I already have there?

I dunno - maybe there is something in what Julez is saying - if you apply for it and they question it, you can always say that it is taking much longer than the processing times and therefore had to apply!!! Ok - so it's not life or death but still... what are they going to do!?

Maybe they are going to do nothing I´ll wait what the letter from them says

Julez Have fun in UK and you don´t have to kiss the ground but maybe you can blow it a kiss from us

Thanks Marta! We're pretty much packed. Just need to complete a bit of a tidy up and we're good to go! I am so psyched to get away for a bit!

I will offer your kind regards to the UK for sure! Take care lil mama!

uh, i wish i could get out of here for a while, as well! just the thought of going to work tomorrow annoys the hell out of me.

It does sound lovely there. I definitely like the idea of independent shops, etc. One of the main appeals of NY is the escape of the 'Walmart culture'. In most American cities, it is as if going to one is exactly the same as going to another. There are generally very few exceptions to this rule in my opinion. NY is definitely a HUGE exception to this rule, which is why, despite all its flaws, my heart still lies there.

FYI - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownstone

The top picture is generally what we are talking about, although those particular ones are not the most beautiful brownstones I have ever seen. The ones I like are generally rounded on the front, as opposed to the flat front that is shown in the picture. Some have a seperate apartment on every floor, some are one family houses or virtually anything inbetween. The ones in the picture are probably apartments since they are so tall.

Btw Adriano got a job painting houses. I am very happy, even if he isn't pleased with the amount of money he will be making there. At least it will give him some autonomy and allow him to get out of the house a bit. Yay. And he agreed that if he got a job then he will go to the ESL class that starts next month. Yay again.

Susie, that is great that Adriano got a job! I'll be happy when Scott starts working too.

So we went to the biometrics office today. His appointment isn't until Friday, but we'll be gone then, so we thought we'd try Marta's suggestion of showing up & seeing if they could take him today. OF COURSE we walked there and they are closed on Mondays. So we'll have to wait for the new appointment letter to come after all.

I really hope this doesn't delay his AP any.

uh, how annoying!

off topic: it is so hard for me to not be nosy when people ask me really dumb questions about K1 filings. man.... READ THE GUIDES....... and fire your lawyer.


but hey, i should offer k1-and-aos-filing services and do the paperwork for people and charge them an arm and a leg!

Thanks very much.

That really sucks. I am sure it will work out in the end though. Where is the biometrics office in the area? Not that we are there anymore, but I am just sorta curious since you said you walked there, it must be pretty close.

Good luck rescheduling.

It's on Livingston between Hoyt and Bond, so a little over a mile walk. Not horrible, but enough to be annoying, especially since it's been crazy hot lately.

We did have this funny moment. Scott has always referred to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station as "Hoyt-Shmegeggy" because he thinks Schermerhorn is a funny word. We actually walked past the intersection of Hoyt and Schermerhorn on our way to the office and he was like, "We're at the nexus of the universe!!"

oh, congratulations to adriano's job!
the first one is always the hardest, but it helps SOOO much to get out of the house!

Have a great week everyone! Scott and I are off to Las Vegas and Seattle for my friend's wedding and reception, and I won't have internet access. If I survive the drought, I'll see you all next Monday.

That's really close to where I used to live. Yes, Schermerhorn is a very odd name. Take him to 1rst and 1rst in the city, and see what he says about that nexus!!! It truly is a spiritual place.

Hey you guys are funny

Are you Aunties planning to plan a trip to CA sometimes later this year for the baby shower?

I think that allll the time!! Maybe we could all set up a business together

Agnes - you still ok for the 9th? Anywhere in particular you want to meet? Time?


Ooooh! When's the baby shower? I've never been to one!!!