Awwww, thanks Jules.

I second that! I think you're incredibly brave and I am full of admiration for what you're doing. I am sure this move will bring you much happiness

Thank you.

I'm getting all teary.

Biometrics done and Hobnobs and lion bars in hand. I'm one happy Debz!

ooh! Chocolate hobnobs? I was trying to think of a good American dunking biccy but I've never seen anyone dunk here. Congrats on getting the biometrics under your belt.

no....just plain hobnobs. Dunk them in a cuppa (got some PG tips too) and nothing is better. mmmmmmm

My case status is now viewable online too. The wee woman that did my biometrics promised me it would be by the time I got home. Oh and anyone in NE...the Omaha office is quite quiet, the security guards are like a comedy trio, funny and welcoming. They don't mind if you have others in tow (I had nick and my brother in law). Apparently walk-in's are regularly available! I got there early due to giving extra time for husker harvest traffic (not needed). I arrived at 12pm, my appointment was 1pm, I was all done and out of there by 12.20pm.

Grrr! I don't get wound up very often but I am getting peeved at the suggestion that adjusting from the VWP is no hassle and advice that you don't even really have to prove intent. Someone tell me what the point of the K1/K3/DCF etc. is. I'm not mad at them for staying but good lord, to advise someone that intent doesn't really matter to USCIS makes my blood boil.

Ok rant over. Thanks

Well we have biometrics done also. for $80 bucks i feel it was a waste. They did nothing that wasnt done at customs when Gretch came to the states . Photo again and fingerprints again. I wonder what they think has changed since March 16 when they took her photo and fingerprinted her activating her K1.

not even to mention the fact that she had biometrics in Manila where they took her photo and fingerprints two weeks before having it done in customs . But i know from the process, there is no logic. Still we are happy to have it done. Now its waiting for interview and Green card. Woohoo!

and i got to finally feel the baby move inside Gretch two nights ago...
Chris

I am now wondering how StP's unpacking of her Australia shipment went? She never did report back to us!

What's going on peeps? Has the July 2007 KYC gang pretty much fallen apart?

sorry, sorry... have been very busy; it was Dave's birthday on the weekend, so we were out doing all sorts of things, and I work Mondays and Tuesdays now, and we have trivia night Tuesday nights
(last night we came third and won $10 )

I haven't unpacked NEARLY everything; it's too overwhelming to do it all at once! but I've done most of the furniture, and a couple of boxes - some kitchenware, and my Tintin and Asterix books

the glass-topped dining table was fine, and looks GORGEOUS in our dining area, and we've put the outdoor furniture outside on the patio, where it also looks fantastic... we had coffee out there both mornings on the weekend; so nice that getting outdoor furniture corresponded with the start of the gradual decrease in temperatures!
I'd also brought a stained glass window that my great uncle made for my Grandma... it's beautiful anyway; it's of waterlilies, and is a rectangular panel designed to be hung in a window by a little chain, but it also has sentimental value - obviously the fact that it was made by my great uncle, but also because it hung in the window of my Grandma's house for YEARS, and she just moved into a retirement home - the visit we made to her house when I was in Australia in May was the last time I will go there
the window came through fine as well - there are a couple of small cracks in a few of the glass pieces, that weren't there before, but they're not that visible, and I was scared it would be in pieces, so I was pretty happy with that

I really want to find more of the kitchenware, and my DVDs, and get out some books... but we only have a few bookshelves at the moment so I'll have to choose carefully, and leave the rest in boxes for now
will do a bit more unpacking today - I'm at home all day on Wednesdays

oh, and my ESL class is GORGEOUS and I love them all
I have Jenny from China, Darin from Korea, Anna from Russia, Khalida from Pakistan, and Luis from Mexico, who is the sole male but so sweet we don't mind
they're all very keen, and doing really well, and we're having a lot of fun; and I LOVE knowing I'm helping them with such an important skill
oh, and the centre is all set to offer me a job but of course I can't work
curse this procrastination in getting my paperwork in
(packet is ready to go to USCIS at last, and will be posted today or tomorrow )

there! there's my news! now I can hide away for another week

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear that, so far, everything is mostly in good condition.

I can relate to the overwhelmingness of unpacking! Especially about the books. I have no where to put them! We need to invest in some book cases. I've already relegated some boxes to the basement since there are some things that just don't have anywhere to go! The one thing I loved about my old house was the built in book cases and mantle, and without those I amhard pressed for displaying photos and knick-knacks. In time we'll buy some occasional tables or something.

I am glad you are loving your ESL classes! That is great! Now get that AOS stuff in the mail!!

Oh, and a belated Happy Birthday to Dave!

Oh the tetanus won't be an issue I am sure - as for the DS3025 I sent that as well - I figured it would be great if I didn't get an RFE and would save me a bit of hassle and money, and if they want the I693 or whatever it is then I'll figure that out when and if they ask for it


I post and yeah - there are some people there who filed at the beginning of the year for K-1 or something stupid and I want to smack them when they start ranting. Ok so I check the USCIS website to see if my cases are online yet and that is a bit frustrating but my faces are a bit tongue in cheek - I don't really mind all that much as the general consensus is that they show online after biometrics anyway - which I have next Tuesday

We also have veterans like babbles, myself, debz... I am sure I missed a bunch of july-ers... Oh! I think chris & gretchen are in there as well. Plus there are people like Bassi & Zainab and ZeeNusah who, as I recall, had pretty horrific journeys themselves - filing in June and May last year respectively. So there are a steady bunch of us in there to keep the n00bs under control


Oh Gillian - I am so glad you are getting on better now - it makes it harder to move but at least you know there is hope. As long as Scott actually takes some time to focus on himself and his problems and to work at moving forward through them then I have every faith that things will work out


Sounds like you need to be at a certain Hallowe'en party in Palm Springs


Mmm - Trader Joes do dunking biscuits - there are some lovely chocolate coated choc chip ones... I haven't put them to the test with a hot drink yet but Jeremy dunks them in milk (bless!)


Oh that is so exciting Chris!! I always thought it might feel a bit weird!!

And Biometrics costs HOW MUCH?!?!?!?! I thought it would be covered in the ginormous fee we paid to file everything We can't even afford the bills this month let alone that as well!!! *sigh*

I wish I could attend! There are, however two factors that will prevent that from happening:

1. My kids all need me with them for trick or treating. I've never missed a halloween with them!

2. Money. We're trying to keep a handle on finances in hopes of going to the UK in February.

3. My daughter's 9th birthday is Nov. 2. Absolutely cannot miss that!

OK, so I lied, there were 3 reasons. I didn't feel like going back up there and editing. Yes. I am that lazy.

Neither of us has ever been to Cali, so may some day we'll make it to one of these events!

Biometrics shouldn't cost anything. At least, it didn't cost us and I haven't read of anyone else saying they had to pay for it...

Also, my take on why you have to have your fingerprints taken multiple times (and this is just my take, I don't really know why), is that they are verifying you are who you say you are.

Defo!! Would be so awesome to have you here!! We have a New Year's Eve party in the making as well It has been great to give me something to plan and I have found out now why my best friend used to entertain so often!!

Thing is, what is going to come after New Year?? It'll have to be Easter or something... but that is a bit weird... I am sure we can arrange an Easter Egg hunt though

Now I have to look up a cool recipe for a plan I have brewing for Halloween


I am sooo glad - Jeremy had to clarify with me we would only need to pay for the gas to get to Riverside and I confidently said yes and which he let out a long breath so I am glad I don't have to break any bad news to him!!

PLUS there is a bath and bodyworks store there and I have a $25 gift voucher

Agnes - any news on the Gucci Girls?!

I went with Griff to his biometric and we didn't pay for anything, other than parking. The cost of biometrics is included in the AOS filing fee.

Sorry i was confusing people. The $80 paid for the biometrics was paid in the $1010 that we paid for the AOS. We didnt pay anything at the actual biometrics, however we did pay for that and i still feel it was a waste of $80 since Gretch has had in now 3 times in the last 6 months. The AOS fee should be $930. Or the fee should be $1010 and the fingerprints and photo they take at customs is what that pays for. Why do we need it a third time? Maybe they should require it if you are filing over a year from your K1 being activated. I just feel it was a waste of $80 since they had just done it twice within the last 6 months.


Chris

It's so good to hear from you! I'm glad all your stuff arrived safely, I know you were worried about it.

I have all the tintin dvd's and the comic books as pdf's on a cdrom. Not quite the same as having the books but I got rid of 99%of my books in the months before the visa came through. I had collected a lot of modern first editions over the years and I got more money back for them than I paid, but it was hard letting them go. I was very disciplined about it, apart from two books; EM Forster's 'Maurice' and Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship'. Both first editions and very hard to replace in the condition they were in.

Great news about the ESL class. I know you used to be an English teacher, but did you get an ESL qualification along the way too?

thank you

yes, I was very relieved that things came through ok... all the glassware I've seen so far has been fine; the only damage so far is to a little wooden wall cabinet with glass doors - ironically the glass was fine, but an ornamental carved thingamy at the top is snapped, and the wood is half an inch thick! but it's a sort of distressed look anyway, so I'll mend it, and it won't look too bad

and yes, I hear you on the book cases... I have boxes and BOXES full of books; it would be embarrassing if it wasn't so cool
we want to get some built-ins too - the lounge room here is a sort of ell-shape; you're supposed to make the short part a dining room, but we have the table in the breakfast room next to the kitchen, which is handier and nicer anyway, so why on earth would we want ANOTHER space for eating that we'd hardly ever use?! so we want to have that whole section lined with books; three walls full... there's a window in the centre of the middle wall, and we'll put in a window seat and so on... it will be lovely, but we have to have some money first
in the meantime - well, we have no basement, and the attic would be a bit hot and humid and I'd be worried they might get wrecked, so I think they're staying in the lounge room for now!

yes, I just love my ESL classes
if anyone has ever thought about teaching, do look into it in your town... many organisations will give you some training, and you generally don't need any prior experience, and the students are really great... my org has a waiting list of over 300 so the need is there

Well I have billions of books as well and more than half are still at my mum's

We are going to pick up a cheap shelving unit from a thrift store and use that when we need to - there isn't much point in us spending loads of money when as soon as we move to a larger place, we will want to get newer things anyway!! But I hear you on the books - I love my books - while there aren't many rare or valuable ones, they are all novels I love and I am building a veritable collection of classics combined with fantasy... My Enid Blyton ones are in the UK still though along with my 100 year old encyclopedias

just as an aside, it took me a little while to work out that you were our dear old babbles
I saw the avatar, and kept THINKING it was you, but then would see the name and think it was some imposter using your old avatar... good to have worked it out; it was freaking me out a little

I love Tintin and Asterix... I have about half the Asterix titles, but I have the full set of Tintins, collected over many years... as well as some companion guides and things of that nature
they all went into storage almost four years ago, when I went to London - it was SO satisfying to rip that box open and settle down on the floor with Asterix in Britain

I didn't ever get an ESL qualification, no... I looked into it a few times, but all the course I could find were fiendishly expensive, plus they either used up all my evenings when I was working full time (not possible; would die from tiredness ) or ran throughout the entire summer holidays (ditto )
but my two majors are English lit and German; between the two it's pretty close!

Tis me. I'm baking in the heat in bako! 'Babbles' was always a bit too fluffy for me, but was apt at the time.

The reason I was asking about the ESL was because I have looked into an ESL qualification many times and decided against them for the same reasons you describe but had been wondering whether I can do a bit of ESL. My degree is not even close to ESL though and I can't even speak a second language myself so I'm prolly clutching at straws!

oh, I don't think so for a moment

the place I volunteer at will accept anyone... you've just got to be committed to a twelve week stint, and attend one training session (about three hours) and observe a class... the class I observed wasn't even all that inspired, to be honest; I mean it was adequate, but the teacher was just working through a text book, and didn't seem to have supplemented it with anything... but the student was learning, and it was fine
so anything on top of that is gravy

have a look around near to where you live! lots of churches and social/community centres run classes, and there may even be a dedicated organisation like the one I'm volunteering with... and it's easier than you think

Will do! I feel very inspired now. I missed your reply to Julez about ESL prolly whilst I was writing about clutching at straws. And strangely I noticed an ad in the paper today for ESL teachers!!

do it, do it!!!

There's been an immigration raid in Palm Springs

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...er-breakingnews

At least they are doing something about illegal immigration... Makes me feel a little smug about doing things the expensive and long-winded "proper" way

well, I maybe feel glad that the legal way was open to me, but I don't know that smugness is exactly in there... some people have far fewer options than we do

Oh I know what you mean - but at the same time you get soooo many illegal people here - I don't know if they are unaware of how to go about things the "proper" way or if they have the means - getting into the US is a nightmare as we all know, but at the same time, does it mean you should just move to a new country illegally if you don't like your own?

I guess it's a mixed bag - part of me does feel sorry for them but at the same time, where do you drawn the line.

I wish life were just fair for everyone... Man - if I were prettier I could enter a beauty pageant and give my speech on world peace

I think people just do what they have to do sometimes. I suppose the US government giving amnesties from time to time has encouraged some abuse of the immigration laws. I'm not against amnesties but it has to have an impact on the choices of future generations.

Also, if you read the waiver threads there are often people from Mexico who have been denied based on illegal presence in the US when they were children and had no choice in the matter. There are other, what I deem, minor law violations which totally mess them up too. I can understand why people get frustrated and just bypass the visa application in those situations.

The VWP thread I was griping about is another example. I have no objection to people adjusting status from VWP 'IF' they had no intent to immigrate when they entered the US - and it's not difficult to be totally clear about that in your own mind. People were making AOS from VWP sound so simple, almost advocating it as an alternative to the K1 route - so much so that it made me question the whole visa application process. But the fact remains that the VWP is a privilege and there are people from other countries who do not have that ease of passage into the US. We all complain about Mexico but it seems equally unfair to me that there are people using the VWP to suit their own needs and circumvent the visa application procedure.

Totally agree with you on the VWP thing - I know the principles behind it, but there is no way I could have happily gone down that road, knowing that I was in a relationship, visiting my boyfriend or whatever...

Now, if you were over for three months to go sight seeing or something and happened to meet the man (or woman) of your dreams in such time then fine, by all means... But yeah... It's ropey at best when people see it as a viable alternative to the K-1 etc...

*sigh*

I dutifully run out to the mail in J's shirt to see what exciting joyful things we have in there and it is a gas bill. Ok - so fine - last month it was only about $20 or so with the setup fee that pushed it to just over $100. I was expecting a nice bill of about $20 without the setup fee.

Instead I see the "unpaid" watermark across it as Jeremy, despite saying I could file all the bills away, and despite us going through all the credit cards and bills we have, figuring out a budget, putting it all on a spreadsheet, including the dates due...

I call him at work. He "forgot" to pay the bill. I'm like, how can you "forget" to pay the bills!? Why tell me to file bills if they haven't been paid!? It drives me nuts and makes me wish I had a job so I could take control of the finances as he still seems to be in his trailer park mentality (ok this is prolly a gross generalisation and prolly just concerns his ENTIRE family who all live on trailer parks - no intent to offend trailer-park-livers) of thinking it is ok to not pay bills, go overdrawn, let bills slide and not contact companies when they are demanding money.

We still have a $160 verizon bill for the service we never received. He will never call them. He said there is no point - they don't have his money and we never received the service so they can't do anything about it. The $300 that was taken from us by B of A has not been sorted or even addressed in anyway aside from the letter I helped him write the day it happened. The $120 or so that a credit card company took straight from his B of A account without authorisation is still not sorted out - he is now that much overdrawn with B of A who are sending him nice letters about it. He can't close his account because of the overdraft that he will refuse to pay.

I don't know what to do - his perceptions of finance are beyond me - I don't understand how someone can be so disorganised with money. It is driving me up the wall

Maybe he doesn't want to deal with the bills? Some people (including myself in the past) find it difficult even facing them and would love to have the responsibility taken away from them.

Maybe, instead of getting worked up about it, you could offer to deal with the finances. You don't need to have a job to pay them - they need to be paid whichever one of you is earning. Do you have a joint account? Is his income paid into the account? Can you write checks on it? Can you write letters on his behalf to B of A and Verizon?

I think that's all very good advice
it must be immensely frustrating... but see if you can turn it into a positive; he may just have a block about them (some people do about things) and may actually be really glad if you take the responsibility off his hands and get everything organised




I think this could well be an issue - as I've said to a number of people throughout this process, perhaps even to people in here: I am a post-graduate; I am bi-lingual; I consider myself well-read, intelligent and educated... and yet fumbling my way through all this immigration nightmare has befuddled me on more than one occasion; if you're not literate in English (or possibly not functionally literate in any language) and don't own a computer to go online and check things here and elsewhere, and maybe have a bit of a phobia about the authorities for whatever reason - I can totally see that being a reason why people don't go through the right channels
hell, sometimes people don't even know what the right channels are - if I wasn't an internet person, I may well have assumed I could just come over here when I was ready, and marry Dave; I would never have DREAMED it would all be so difficult... now I'm not saying for a second that many people are in ignorance of the fact that simply upping stakes and moving here isn't legal, but I'm just saying that we shouldn't underestimate how baffling it may well be for people



ah, the six million dollar question... I don't have an answer, but a few things to ponder:

- what would YOU do if you were born into abject poverty in some third world country? denied an education, possibly no healthcare, very few job prospects... and say you had children - what would you want for them? if there was no legal way you could move elsewhere easily, would you just fold your hands and righteously say 'well, I'd better not disobey the law', or would you try to find some way around it? people here have talked about ways to earn a bit under the table while they're legally not allowed to work in this country - of course that differs in scale, but does it differ in intent?

- having worked in the field of social justice and global human rights for some time, something I heard over and over again was a variant on 'well, we aren't causing their problems; why should we have a hand in solving them?'
I would venture to say that both parts of that statement/question are incorrect... time and time again, the western world DID and DOES have a hand in creating the third world's problems; by stealing their people to be our slaves; or colonising them and taking all their resources, natural and otherwise; or by lending them money on exorbitant terms and demanding that money back even when natural disasters or wars or other catastrophes mean that to do so ensures that country has to deny its own people basic healthcare, education, services, infrastructure;, or even by simply trading with them on such completely unequal terms that millions of people struggle along on a pittance, so that we can have cheap clothing or plasticware or whatever
and for those reasons alone, we should be doing more to help the third world out, if humanitarian reasons alone aren't enough (and they bloody well should be )

I've ranted enough, I'll leave it there... not trying to have a go at anyone, but needless to say, these are issues close to my heart, and I like a good discussion

PS I've used the term 'third world' in this post, and I realise this can be a loaded term... I considered using 'developing world' which is sometimes seen as a better alternative, but in the end chose the one I thought would be best understood
again, no offence meant; quite the opposite

Hi July filer. I applied my K1 visa in July 2007 and got a visa in May 2008. I married my husband on the 28th of June and applied for AOS on the 19th of July.

How is everyone? I am sooooo bored everyday. I have no EAD and I cannot even work. I hate it so much. It sucks to live with only my husband's income. I need to move out when I get a job.

I am planning to move to very close to my work, so I do not have to buy a car. It is really expensive to live here.

This is something I've pondered myself. Knowledge sometimes can dissuade you from taking risks which can be beneficial or make life easier. On the other hand, not having the relevant knowledge can put you in dangerous and irreversible situations. There is no doubt that this is one of the most complicated processes I have ever undertaken and it confuses the heck out of me at times - one thing I am glad about, having taken the visa route, is that my position here is pretty secure.



You know, i'm looking into this work situation and even volunteering is frowned upon. That was just an aside from this general story but I agree that the priniciple is the same, you are intending to defraud the govt somehow. But the fact remains, that the US govt perpetuates the market for illegal workers. If it wasn't for the illegal population none of us would have the things we enjoy paying a bargain price for. Plus the laws change over the years - and parents have brought children here in the past when it wasn't so difficult to do so and they needed to work, returned to their home countries at some point later and then their children face having to file a waiver for being here illegally. It's nuts!

StP - I am a notorious fence-sitter and completely agree with everything you say - I get very frustrated when arguments can be argued feasibly in more than one way so tend to just agree with both sides for completely different reasons because I can (unfortunately ) not solve the problems of the world, no matter how much I would like to! As much as I jested about the beauty queen speech, I really do wish there was something that could be done more easily to rectify the problems of the world - I hate seeing people struggle and get more upset when I can do little to help. So things like the environment and volunteering and all the little things - I just try and stick to that and hope that more of the world will open its eyes eventually

As for the Jeremy issue - I think it is something we will work through - I am surprisingly not too mad about it - marginally annoyed, of course because the bill we were going to pay (and struggle to do so) has now increased by $100... We have a joint savings account but separate checking accounts - I might suggest that he puts money into my account to pay the bills or something each week - that way we know we have it there... of course, then he will go overdrawn but

Ok - well he's home now Everything is groovy but we need to sort out this finance stuff - stupid thing is he is talking to me about the budget they are having to deal with at his work

Oh - as for volunteering, I think the nono is if it leads to paid employment when you get your EAD but don't quote me on that

my understanding is that volunteering is fine if it isn't in a role or covering any duties that would normally attract a salary... guess I could be wrong though

Haha - do we get a prize if we guess correctly?! Or would that be considered paid employment?!

yes, our prize is to not be deported

*bites fingernails*

Well said StP!

Wish I could have joined the discussion more but I was too busy at work to type anything... and now I'm too dang tired.

G'night all.

Aww g'night Rae

And babbles (sorry - it's just kinda stuck ) - I have volunteered since I have been here and have no problem with it - no social security details were submitted or anything so it's not like they are going to hound me and deport me for giving up some of my time to sell film festival merchandise to furriners

I'm a stickler for the rules though, so short of babysitting or doing something with Jeremy in his name, I wouldn't want to tie my SS into anything paid... but that is just me

Yeah I agree with that

I don't mind babbles either

Hey y'all!!

FINALLY got the AOS papers mailed off on Wednesday...they arrived today in Chicago. =]

We had to wait so long because silly me didn't have a thousand bucks lying around the house.

Thank god that's over with...sorta.

To check case status, is it the same place we checked for I-129F? (ie: USCIS website under 'case status')

Hope everyone is doing just swell.

Adriano's ESL class is helping, although he is frustrated because every single person in his class is Mexican and they all speak Spanish together when they are doing their work. I can definitely see how that could be annoying, but I told him to just ignore them and focus on him. I can tell it's helping him though because we practice what he learns everyday, and he has picked up a good deal just this week. =]

hehe that´s funny we have been feeling it for weeks now and it´s one of our most fav things

And at the biometrics they fingerprint you much more thoroughly....which they havent done anywhere else before..

And it´s nice to be out and not be flooded with fastfood places on each corner and not having to smell fries and burgers everywhere

are you in the Czech Republic right now?

*bright green with envy*

Hi Susie! Yes, you go to the same place as before to check case status. You'll see the old 129f in there and you add your new cases to the portfolio and it is all fun and good.

I am a bit jealous of those of you who filed in August since it sounds like you have a more fun group. I don't know anyone in June and just one person in July so they're not really fun threads; strictly business. And I mean, hey, I'm on here to have fun dagnabit, not check our progress or anything!

Course, the good thing about not being an August filer is that we are ahead of you. nyah nyah.

Hey Aly, just getting back to your banking issue and being iverdrawn. I know it stinks when a bank charges ridiculous fees! It hurts on so many levels to pay the bank that money. As someone who works for a large bank and understands the industry here in the US very well, I would recommend that you try quickly to come to some sort of resolution to the problem. If you leave the account overdrawn for too long a period of time the bank will charge off your account and report Jeremy's name (and yours if you are on the account) to Chex Systems. That information is shared amongst all US financial institutions and will make it all but impossible to open an account at another bank.

I know this is all new to you and I'm just trying to make sure you know the implications of Jeremy turning a blind eye to the bank problem. You can pay off the money and still battle with them to give it back. Do your best to make sure the account isn't charged off!