Hey Tiff.

Thanks for the Yahoo. I was relieved to see it finally on there but for some reason I wasn't as excited about it as I thought I would be. Think it's starting to sink in what you were saying. How one person has so much control over your life and how you only have a few pages to beg and plead that they are really a good person who made some stupid mistake years ago when they were young and inexperienced. It's like airing your dirty laundry in front of the whole world. It also doesn't matter how long you work at it and how stressful and aggravating it was, you never feel like your few pages of begging will be enough. All the doubts start running through your mind and the nasty thought of WHAT IF it wasn't good enough. All I can say is you just have to shake it off, dust yourself off and dig down deep and get that POSITIVE attitude back.
We all have our good days and bad and I hope you can get a good night sleep and wake up tomorrow feeling a bit better about things. I know how hard it is and I think you are at the worse stage of this. I know it's cruel to have waited all this time. To know that you will hear something very soon and each and everyday expecting it to be THE DAY. I wish there was something me or anyone else could say to help you but I know the only thing that would do that is for you to finally get some news. Boy don't we all wish we had a magic wand to make all of this go away? Try your hardest not to speculate or second guess anything with this process. If I've learned anything at all in the past year is that there is no rhyme or reason for why or how they do things. We can all wonder and speculate until the cows come home but I don't think it will do much good.
Well I'm not very good at giving pep talks but I hope your feeling better tomorrow and not so blue. I know I sound like a broken record but keep those chins (ha ha, yeah i caught that plural) up lady. You have to get some good new soon.

again.......... Hang in there lady. Your in the home stretch now.

Best wishes,
Vicky

Tiff,

Me and Court send our sincere best wishes to you and Cas at the moment.

It can't be easy for you at the moment with this waiting game, we all know how much it's drives you crazy with the anticipation and the letdowns everyone experiences, especially when there seems that the progress on the pdf doc is so slow once again.

But like Vicky said please try and stay positive about everything! We all need to remember that London's pass rate for waivers is >%90, and although it seems like not much is happening over there, I'm sure it is.

You did put the wedding date back Tiff didn't you? so hopefully it shouldn't be too worrying about that!

I understand what you and Vicky have said about this whole process. Someone somewhere is adjudicating your case and they know nothing about how good the people our and how much they love each other... .but Tiff your case sounded so strong and Cas's crime (if you would call it that, as it sounded like a complete minor thing) was so long ago, 10 years even before mine! all these things are GOOD points for you to remember.

Our waiver was not as detailed as yours either, so I'm sure your waiver is 100% rock solid. Even Vicky, if I remember, had researched her waiver really well and had lots of time to prepare a good one, so please try not to find holes in them, I'm sure they are very good applications.

Of course is doesn't stop you worrying, and it doesn't stop the bad days eh? You guys just need to be strong and when you see Cas next, it will be so sweet... and you will never have to be apart again ..... which I am sure everyone agress..... is the hardest thing to bare through these diificult times.

You'll get there Tiff, and we are all here for you! The same goes for everyone else, this is why I beleive that these forums are invaluable. You can get so much support and strength from others that helps you through the darkest of days.

OK, enough of me rambling! Courtney and I send our sincere love and best wishes to everyone here, and especially Tiff.......

Tiff,

I hope you are feeling better today, we all understand how you feel I'm sure as Paul said that it's nothing with your waiver or what Cas did, it's probably something else... who knows, perhaps the guy that was supposed to adjudicate your waiver was almost done and then he got sick he'll be back this monday to finish up your case and by next week, it'll be completed Sounds good huh? uh huh

Luckily you and Cas take turns feeling blue, good thing that one of you is staying strong when the other is down. That's the same with us too..... actually, I'm feeling blue all the time and hubby has to do the cheering up

How is the wedding planning going? That should keep your spirits high, planning such a beautiful event, and before you know it, Cas will be there

Have a great weekend everyone

Thanks you guys! It's so comforting to know you guys know exactly how I feel and that I can come here and mope when I've tired Cas out from my moping! I'm better today. You know how things can go along for a while and then one day it all just seems too much to bear? It's not like anything has changed from the day before, it just seems all so overwhelming! That's where I was yesterday. I feel llike we'll hear something next week. Hoping anyway! You are right. . . I just need to stop rereading my letter and picking it apart. I swear, every time I do, I think, now why didn't I say it differently, why didn't I say more? Lame and useless, I know!

Anyway, thanks for your support you guys.

So, Paul, when are you flying out? Are you in a mad dash or have you been preparing for this day for a while? I keep telling Cas he better get his butt in gear and start chucking stuff in the trash or he's going to be crazy before he comes! He, of course, does not listen to me. I'll so be saying, "I told you so" and relishing it!! You guys must be soooo excited.

Have a good weekend, all

Tiff

Hi Tiff,

glad to hear you feel better. I'm sure that you'll be under review or even completed by next week!

At the moment I'm trying to decide on when to fly out. Of course I want to be there with Courtney now! but I'm not sure when the passport and sealed envelope will come back from the embassy?? I was gonna book a flight on the 15th of June, that should be ok, but I'm still nervous as to whether this will give me enough time. The courier service picked it up last wednesday, and Rob got his stuff back after about 10 days, so I'm still not sure whether I should just go ahead and book???

what would you guys do???

Tiff,

glad to hear that you are feeling better.............YOU ROCK GIRL
We all have our good days and bad days. In one month I can have a rollercoaster of emotions: happy, sad, depressed, happy, sappy, angry and so on. PMS got nothing on these kinda emotions we all go through
Good news will come next week

Paul,

I would go ahead and book it, and also buy the insurance thingy... you know, the one that makes it easy to change dates or flights with no cost You must be so excited. When was the last time you saw Courtney??? Have you packed yet and how much can you bring to the US, I mean how many kilos??? Just imagine, in a few weeks you'll be hugging the love of your life...OMG, I'm so jealous!!!!

Oh, when was the last time any of you guys saw your better half??? I saw my hubby in March, 3 months ago and I missed him the second he left It was so sad to see him get on the train. Train to get to the airport, LOL not train from Denmark to the US...

Enjoy your Saturday everyone

Hi guys and gals.

Sounds like everyone is having a good Saturday. I've been out mowing and it's a great day as far as temps go. We finally got rid of the 90's for a bit. I was so proud. I actually changed my lawn mower blades all by myself but then I hit something in the yard and bent something on the deck. lol I thought I would come in and think about what I was going to do to fix it. I'm pretty handy at fixing things. Depending on what it was but I usually loose my patience. It will be so good to have another pair of hands around here. Poor guy is going to have a honey do list before he even gets here.

Well Paul I'm going to go the opposite direction than beetee (no offence) I've seen so many people on here who have bought their tickets ahead of time and then they are chewing their nails and pulling their hair wondering where their visa's were. I don't think it was as much a problem with the embassy but I think there has been problems with the delivery service. Even as tempted as I would be, I think I would wait until you had the darn thing in your hands. Might save you some money and heartache if you could find it in you to wait just a few more days. But I"m sure not matter what you decide everything will work out. If you don't mind me asking? Where will your POE be?

Vicky

Good morning to you guys,

It's good to hear everyone seems in an up-beat mood!!!

well Vicky I think I'm gonna do what you have advised and not book anything until it's in my hand.

Originally I was gonna try and just fly straight to San Francisco from the UK, but now after speaking with Courtney I'm gonna try and go via JFK (NYC) to try and get the temp EAD (work permit) that you can only get at this airport.

I wonder, however, if you would go through the POE and all the immigration stuff, if you were just flying VIA JFK and not actually finishing your journey there??!!!!

hmmmmmmmmm that's a question, anyone have any ideas?

oh well hope everyone is having a good day, I won't be taking that much stuff over with me Beetee (I don't accumulate much crap!!! ) and so the journey over should be pretty painless, all mine and Courtneys stuff is in storage in the states at the moment!

speak soon guys

Paul

Hey Paul,

I think you will be glad you waited instead of stressing when it will get here. I'm sure it won't take long for you to book those tickets as soon as you have it in your hands.

As far as using JFK as your point of entry, I don't think it matters if you have a connecting flight as long as JFK is your first POE. I'm sure you have done your homework on the temp ead stamp, but I thought I would tell you from what I understand most people don't bother with it. From what I understand it is only good until the day you get married. As soon as you get married it is no longer valid and you have to file again for the temp ead. There is usually a few months between when the temp ead that jfk gives you and the next temp ead so it's not really worth it unless you just want to find a short term job for a few weeks. At least that how I understand it. I'm sure someone will correct me if i"m wrong.


Vicky

Paul, it's a good thing to take Vicky's advice, it sounds like it'll save you a lot of stressing about when the Visa wil arrive. It's probably just me, I would book the ticket because I'm not a very patient person he he

How long has it been since you sent off your passport??? Well, I guess you'll be booking your ticket and be on you way very soon Yea, usually guys dont have much stuff, mostly girls have all kinds of junk stored everywhere You should bring stuff from England that they don't have in the US, you know, just in case you miss it or start craving it.

The sun has finally started to shine in Denmark, I thought just for a moment that the flowers would all die because of the harsh weather and rain - luckily some have survived and now the sun is shining, hopefully more flowers will pop up I looked at the weather forecast and the highest temp. is 70, LOL... did you hear that Vicky, it's max 70 here, you should enjoy your 90+ something that most people here never experience a whole lifetime I'm just exaggerating, don't take it seriously

It's another holiday tomorrow, meaning everyone is off and everything is closed. Meaning I'll have plenty of time to stare at the London list Yea, my life is on hold at the moment, can't seem to get the wheels turning.....

Have a great day everyone

edited for spelling, sorry for the smiley overload

Hey, all, just thought I'd add an update to our little list that Nigel started ages ago! We've had some approvals since then.



waiver dates..London (DHS) waivers list
NAME.........CASE......WAIVER......REASON.......SUBMITTED......................L
ATEST INFO...
Nigel..........I-130....I-601..........O/stay..........Oct 12th 05......................APPROVED Dec 30th 05
Cmltgd.......K1.......I-601.............CIMT ..........3/6/06............................Pending case
MistyB........130......I-601.............CIMT............Sep/12/05.........................APPROVED 30th Jan 06
jpkeswim....k1.......I-601.............O/Stay...........Dec/2nd/05....................DENIED March 16, 06
Liam/lisa....K1........I-601...........CIMT..............Nov/8th/05...................APPROVED Dec 20th05
Bostongirl..k1.........I-601............O/Stay...........N/Y/F...............................N/Y/F
Baileyj96....K1.........I-601...........CIMT...............5/6/06.............................pending
Paul C........K1.........I-601............CIMT..............2/FEB/06.........................APPROVED May 23, 06
Wendibob...K3.......I-601.............CIMT..............5th/Jan/06.......................APPROVED
Mary&Tom.K1......I-601...............CIMT.............1st Dec/05.......................DENIED
Beetee...K3.....I-601...............O/Stay................3/23/06.........................Pending

Did I miss anyone?


Good luck to Paul in this, your last day living in the UK!!! How very exciting for you! I'm jealous, jealous, jealous!!!!!


Tiff

Good luck to you Paul and have a wonderful trip Let us know how the wedding went

Yep, count me in Tiff, I'm jealous jealous too

Hey great job reviving our list cmltdg. I was looking through the thread the other day thinking about it but never got to it. Think you got everyone but I think we have lost a few people. Just us die hards left I think.

Got a million things to do this week but I'll be peeking in. As usual I'm waiting until the last minute to get my dad his fathers day present. At least I do have something figured out. Nothing exciting but something he needs. He likes to do wood crafts and he needs a new shop vac. Like I said,,,,, at least he needs it. lol

Have a good week guys and gals. Well mostly gals now.

Vicky

Hi Vicky,

so glad to see you in here It's been so quiet for so long...... The most action in here was back when Paul got his approval, I don't know where everybody has gone

Sounds like you are keeping busy, how is the weather there?? It's really hot in Denmark now, well it's been like it for almost 4 days or so, and today it's gloomy I love sunny days - makes life seem so wonderful he he.

We need to get some updates or approvals soon from London, to shake things up a little in here

Have a wonderful day everyone

Hey, everyone. I guess it has been pretty quiet in here. Well, I emailed the DHS on Monday night, giving them sort of a "bollocking" if you will, telling them it's been 15 weeks and have I fallen through the cracks. I also wrote a longer email and asked that it be put with my file to be read. It was sort of a begging pleading letter. I received an email back the very next morning telling me, Dear Tiffany, this petition is under review at this time and we should be able to render a decision in the next 1-2 weeks. So, not sure what is taking them so long, but at least someone is looking at it, at least I hope so! That's all I've got. Now we'er wondering if we're going to have to set the wedding back again from 22nd July. I so don't want to, but it's looking that way!!!
Well, I see Paul is on posting. I guess that means you made it safely to your love? Yahoooo for you. I can't imagine how completely awesome that must be!!

Anyway, you guys have a good day.

Tiff

Hey guys! you can't get rid of me that easily!!

greetings from beautiful California!!

It is sooo great to be here. It is just completely surreal at the moment! Courtney looks more beautiful than ever and It is just such a great thing to know that we won't be apart again!!

the journey over was painless and hassle free (albeit a little long). Getting the temp EAD stamp at POE in JFK was a BREEZE! and even though I only had 2 and a half hours between flights, I had plenty of time.

another bit of advice for people who are gonna go through all of that, when you go through the initial POE, you then get escorted to a room where there are 4-5 officers dealing with immigrant visas. The thing is, if you can, try and get someone from the airline to look after your bags, because they will be coming off the reclaim shute pretty quick, and you won't be there to keep an eye on them!

normally some guy takes them off and just puts them to one side, but ANYONE could then just walk off with them. I nearly lost a third bag when I eventually got out of that room, and by the time I got to the reclaim shute ANOTHER flights bags where coming down on it. Thank god I saw it behind some lady!! phewww!!!

seriously though it's something to keep in mind everyone! they should let you get your bags and leave them outside this room.

anyway guys, just to let you know I'm still here, and will keep checking and praying for more approvals from London soon.

have a great day everyone

Hi Paul, you lucky guy - So glad to hear from you

Sounds like your flight overthere was nice and easy, around 2 hours between flights and you still had lots of time?? That's great I did ask others on this site about POE and different destinations in the US, and they all said that you should give it 3-4 hours between flights to make sure you have time.
Regarding the bags, I'm glad to hear that you did not lose any of it, it did sound weird to me that they might keep you in the "immigration room" for hours and hours and your bags is just left out there with noone to keep an eye on it - for real, it's just that those bags contains all that we have that we brought with us, right??!! and anyone ( like you said ) can just walk out with them

It certainly is wonderful to hear a great ending for your visa-journey and that you made it to the US okay, it always warms my heart to read about happy reunions

There's not much new in here, it's been fairly quiet and London has not updated yet. I hope that tomorrow there'll be good news and more updating

I'm glad to hear that you'll still be hanging around Paul and sharing good news with us

Have a great day everyone

Hey cmltdg,
Glad you emailed them and they answered you. At least you know something is going on with it. I hope you know how much we are all pulling for you guys. I can't imagine the torture of know you are that close and each day wanting so much to see something. I think I'm going to cry for you guys when you finally get the word. I hope I'm not at work when that happens. They might think I've lost my mind completely.


Hey Paul.
Shame on you for flying over my house and never waiving on your way by. I'm sure your so very excited. I can just imagine that big grin on your face when you finally arrived. So nice to hear that everything went smooth. Lets hope that the rest of this immigration stuff (AOS) is a little more easy than the beginning of this. (oh I get a feeling I'm going to pay for that) Anyway you enjoy every minute. Have fun getting things ready for the wedding.

Hey I got a little good news........ I think we found the wedding bands we want. I might even order then by the end of this month. Oh unless I change my mind. lol

Take care guys,
Vicky

Gosh, reading Vicky's post I realize that I did not see your post Tiff .... what a dummy I am.

It's great to hear that you got a response from London. Wow, so they are actually looking at it, even though it doesn't say so on the tracking list....that's cool 1-2 weeks more, hang on girl - this week is almost over, that means that either you get your approval this week or next week
I've been meaning to ask you, did they correct your case number on the tracking list??? Maybe the one that updates the list does not know that one number was wrong, that's why your case did not get updated??

You should just focus on planning a beautiful wedding, I bet that you'll make a beautiful bride and the groom is going to be so proud of you Like they said at London, 1-2 more weeks... that's it, and you guys get to spend a lifetime together

Paul, yahoooo for you guys! That must have been some reunion! I'm glad it went so easy for you. That's what we all deserve after all of this crap! Don't be a stranger here, although I wouldn't blame you if you were. It would be nice to be done with all of this and never have to think of it again.

Thanks Vicky and Beetee! I just want to tell you that I truly appreciate your kind words. This process is unimaginable to anyone not going through it. The pressure seems unreal sometimes and I just have no words for it. I don't know now if they're actually reviewing our petition or not. We don't seem to be on the list at all. Cas has spent every spare moment cleaning out his house! I was beginning to wonder if he was going to get to it. He really hates moving and packing, he says, which I can understand . . . . if you're a PACK RAT!!! Poor man can't help himself, I'm afraid. Probably better I'm not there. My default reaction is, Throw it out!

BTW, Beetee, on the case number, apparently it's wrong on all the correnspondence they sent to him and the right number is on the list. Kind of stupid, huh?

Anyways, I better go to bed. This girl is tired!

Tiff

YO HO my fellow men and women in waiting. I just noticed this thread was slipping down the tubes so I thought I would give it a boost back up.

Did everyone survive the weekend? Not much exciting on this end. We did go to the drive inn again last night and see Cars. It was pretty cute but I'm almost getting tired of seeing kiddie movies. Think I might need to go see a "adult" movie. (and not that kind either ) Today has been the big bum day. I've not accomplished much of anything. Just doing the non exciting laundry and cleaned out some cabnets. whoo hoo.

Well I'm all buckled in ready for another week of waiting. (yeah, yeah ....I know ....I have no right) but for some reason I'm having a few whiney days.

Oh and cmltdg...........i've gave up on the cheerleading thing. I think it's time we get some BIG sticks and go whoop someone. This had better be the week or I'm whipping out the big mean Flyswatter.


See you guys soon,
Vicky

Hey Vicky,

glad to see you've "breathed" some life back in to this thread!! I thought we had seen the last of it!

Well things here for me and Court are going well. I had a hectic shift at the restaurant last night, and one particularly bad table, the guy hated me right from the start, and after giving him the bill of $128 he tipped me ZERO! what a nice man eh? Oh well I guess everyone can't be nice eh?

anyhow this week I'm going down to the Social Security place to apply for my card! Hopefully I'll have everything I need and I can get that soon, then I should be able to open a bank account etc.

It seems weird saying all these things when everyone else is "waiting" on their approvals, I hope no one thinks that I'm being smug or anything, I just want all of you to get over to the AOS forum and we can all talk about these things.

Anyway ladies, I'll be watching that pdf doc aswell and hoping that Tiff gets the news we all have been waiting for this week

have a great day everyone

NO no no Paul your not at all being smug. We will all eventually have to do the AOS so I've been having a look in there myself. Nothing wrong with planning ahead and getting an idea of how things work on that part of the process.
Wow working with the public is a hard job. I never knew that until years ago when I worked at a grocery store. Some people are just born to be nasty I guess. I think I would have a hard time doing that now. The older I get the more mouthy I seem to be. Hope you don't get too many of those Paul. Keep peeking in on us and tell us how things are going for you Oh wow I just realized...........you will be here for the 4th. Are you planning on going anywhere o watch the fireworks?


Vicky

Hey Vicky,

I'm not sure what exactly I'll be doing at the moment, but whatever happens, it'll be a special night..... as it will be our two year anniversary!!

yeah we met in Santa Cruz, CA on that night in 2004 so it will be a lovely night to celebrate!

Paul

Hey, guys, glad to hear things are going well for you! Me, I just babsat for my brother and his wife their one-month-old little girl. What fun!! Can't wait to have my own. We've been calling her "Bean" for the last nine months, and I'm afraid for her sake that she's not going to be able to shake that nickname.
Man, I want one of those!


Good for you, Paul, for getting on with your life. You guys deserve to do so, and I for one don't begrudge you that at all. On the contrary, it gives us all hope that there is life after the waiver, even if it does entail nasty people in restaurants. I have no customer service skills along that line.


I for one hope this is our week! I think I've maybe stretched the limits of my patience level, but just when I think I can't take anymore, I have to. I guess sometimes we don't know what we can do until we have to do it, huh? I'm just frankly proud of Cas and I for holding on and maintaining a strong relationship through all of this.

So, Vicky, are we kicking ### and taking names this week? I'm up for that. (Caspian always laughs when I say that particular phrase. Don't know why, but now I can't say it without laughing either. )


See you guys tomorrow.

Tiff

Beetee .............

ha ha..... j/k We need to be doing something new... such as getting all our cases approved and move on to the next forum !!!!! Feels like eternity dealing with this I-601 issue

Sounds like everyone is doing well even though Vicky has started to lose patience and wants to use a stick to hurt someone It's okay that you share with us Paul, I like hearing updates and see how and what your next steps are, no problem here What a bummer about the nasty guest at the restaurant huh, but that's just one moron and the rest of the guests are surely nice right?! You should not let it get to you

I just checked the list and it doesn't look like there's going to be any update today, oh well...there's always tomorrow. We are all hoping that this week will be your week Tiff, you guys deserve it after such a long wait

Have a great day everyone

Just an update from me. 90 minutes ago I received an email from the British Embassy saying that my fiancee visa has been approved and is on its way! I sent the application to them Fedex overnight last Thursday. If only the USA system was that efficient.

mary

Oh Mary that is go great. Finally some good news for you and something actually came easy!!! Talk about breaking the sound barrier. Yeah If only the US was that efficient. Could you imagine? All of us wouldn't have anything to whine about. lol

I was just going to reply to your other post. Good to hear that your looking forward to going back to the UK. I can't imagine how difficult it is trying to figure out what to take and what not too. I think I would let everyone know who has things in your house, that they have a certain amount of time to get it out. How about one big huge moving sale? Just for the things you really don't want to keep. That might actually help pay for shipping the things over that you want to keep. Maybe you have a relative who might keep a few things for you? Then you could have them sent over later maybe.

I'm sure once you get through all this moving stuff you will have lots to smile about. Hey you will have a wedding to plan for next...............


Really happy for you Mary,

Best wishes,
Vicky

Hi Mary&Tom,

I just wanted to say Congratulations with the Visa It's good to hear some happy news after all the crap you've been dealing with.

Mary, what a bit of good news! Congratulations! Now you can plan for your wedding, something to look forward to at the end of all the packing! I agree with Vicky. You should just tell everyone, your storage facility is closing, get your stuff out! I always look at moving as a chance to get rid of stuff I don't need. Good luck to you and Tom.

Tiff

that is the most wonderful news that I am sure we have all heard in a long time.. So very very pleased for both yourself and Tom and I am sure that you will be just fine this side of the pond

It's not easy when you have grandkids and are so far away from them Mary, I can testify to that , but you do adapt and at the end of the day you are only a flight away.

I wish you both so much happiness, if anyone deserves it, you two do for all that you have had to endure

(meant to say that I agree with your last statement too !!!!

Good luck to you both

You know, it probably sounds weird but I never think about a wedding.... we just want to be together and live our lives. We will just go down to the registry office and get it done. I suppose that doesnt sound very romantic but after all we have been through we just want to relax. I think if I manage to survive the sorting of all this stuff (I have lived in this house for 30 years! we moved here when I was pregnant with my third child) I just want to get there and collapse in his arms. Drink tea all day and go for long walks! and do lots of laundry

Getting rid of stuff.. you have no idea.. lol! Everyone who comes in here says its an impossible task. I am getting that reaction from some friends and from my daughter who are normally real go-getters. Of course they know I have always operated in slow motion. My older son is the only one who thinks its doable and he recommends doing it as fast as I can.. like ripping off a bandaid.

mary

You know, looking at the photo you have of your rotties... I can't help thinking that my Caesar might have had some rottie in him... what do you think? lost him December 2004... tom never got to meet him

he did meet Sadie... she adored him... I will show you a picture of him with her during the his april 2005 visit here. lot her october 2005... three weeks before I left for London. its sad but her passing allowed me to go. its almost like she knew her job was done here and she didnt want to stand in the way of tom and me. As a dog lover i think you might know that it very well might have been impossible for me to move to the Uk and leave her behind. pitbulls are banned there she was a big reason we went for a usa visa for him in the first place.

You can see the picture of her with tom on this page... about two thirds of the way down:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=221&st=45


and I hope the picture of Caesar will be in this post here.


[attachmentid=1587]

Mary and Tom,

Myself and Courtney would also like to extend our congratulations to you both, that is fantastic news , and like everyone else has said you two deserve it so much!

I can't believe how one sided these two systems are: the US and the UK fiance visa system, it (like so many other things in this red tape jungle) just doesn't make sense.

anyhow I'm very happy for both of you.

How is everyone else doing, Tiff, Beetee and Vicky? London is seriously slow at the moment!!

GET A MOVE ON LONDON!!!!

all's well here, 2 weeks this Sunday!!! wow it's getting close!!!

Paul

Thanks, the visa arrived via Fedex a little while ago.. pasted into my passport.

It certainly is a different system... no interview, no medical, no police report. I did however include all the same kinds of things we needed for the I-129 and tom's interview in London. It was alot of work and I procrastinated for a few weeks... a little (ok alot) gunshy after what happened to us trying the USA route.

My package included a cover letter, the completed online registration form (which asked for a load of information including detailed information about my kids, parents and siblings!), both of our passports, letter of support and intent from tom, engagement ring receipt, my statement of intent including our marriage plans, our divorce papers, our tenancy agreement showing my name is on it proving I am allowed to live there, financial stuff... tom's employers letter, both our bank statements, my deed to the house here and an estimate of its value, evidence of our relationship - trip itineraries and boarding passes, photos of us together, ticket stubs from events we attended in london, emails, phone records. Oh... and another $500 spent I think we deserve our money back from the USA!

So you can see it was the same amount of stuff really.. minus the medical and police report although i did have to say if i had ever been arrested. Luckily the answer is no. No idea what happens if it is yes. I did include more relationship proof than we brought to tom's London interview. In London I was with him. In this case it was all done by mail so I didn't want there to be any question. I could have requested an appointment to appear in Chicago but I think the only advantage would have been that we wouldnt have had to mail our passports. That was a little scary.

I have to admit, back in February 2005 when we first began researching our options I honestly thought that bringing him here would be just a matter of filing in a few forms. I thought the wait would just be for him to wrap things up there. When we found out what was involved we were shocked.... and that was when it was taking 4 months from start to finish for most people going through London. We ended up waiting 3 months for our NOA2 and and another 4 for the interview and then over 3 more months to have our waiver denied. 10 months to be denied by the USA. Less than a week to be approved by the UK.

I wonder why London has slowed down so much. I certainly hope that those who are waiting get their approvals soon! Its horrible to have ones life on hold.

mary


p.s. Paul when I am in the UK I will think of you sweltering in the heat!!! I love the UK weather I am a cool weather girl. I will not miss the humidity that we have here in michigan some days in the summer.
Oh wait.. I had better amend that statement about loving UK weather. I was VERY disappointed with winter.. I waited all winter for winter to start and it never did. NO snow! Sure it got down to around zero C a few times and a few people moaned that they were cold... lol!!! It was minus 17 C here when tom stepped off the plane in January 2005

Oh Mary! I hadn't seen this! WHAT WONDERFUL WONDERFUL NEWS!! *hugs*

Now see - I told you it would be ok!!!! I'm so very happy for you. No with this past you, maybe it will be a bit easier to sort through your house!

Mary, Caeser certainly looks as if there is "some" rottie in him, but he looks more like our Tia (females for some reason are always more "chunky" than the males, and his colour is lighter, but yes I would agree with you there. And that is a lovely picture of Tom with Sadie Lovely way to remember her

I just wanted to wish all of you happy 4th for tomorrow!

I know these are difficult times for some of the people who are waiting for their waiver applications in London, and I guess that's why there hasn't been any posts from anyone... I mean what can you say that hasn't been said already....?

anyway enjoy tomorrow and I hope you all hear something very soon

Hi everyone, and Happy 4th of July to you too Paul Thanks for stopping by and see how we are doing....yea you are right, it's been very quiet in here - I don't know what to say either

I'm just trying to stay positive, thinking that A LOT of cases will be completed once they do update the list again....I'm hoping that mine will be completed too he he. I wonder why they haven'd added more cases though??? seems weird, don't you guys think so?

Well, they will be closed tomorrow - so we know for a fact that there wont be any updates...just so we wont be dissapointed

Have a great day tomorrow you guys, and enjoy the fireworks.

hey, guys, happy 4th to you too! Pretty low-key here, just hanging out with the fam, doing the barbeque thing, wishing Cas was here to enjoy it all with us! Hopefully we'll hear something good this week. I'm sooooo fed up with waiting!!! I was so looking forward to having a summer wedding, but here I sit, whiling away the summer without him even here. Totally sucks! Anyway, Beetee, I hope you hear something soon too. You've caught up to me in your waiting. Does that mean we can relax and not check the list tomorrow? That's a relief!

Later,
Tiff

Mary and Tom, congrats! The last few months must have been dreadful for you but I'm so glad it's all worked out

Beetee, I predict you will hear something soon! I wish you all the best! How's the heat in DK??

Hi MistyB - great to see you around again,

thank you for those kind words , I really needed to hear that.......this waiting has started to get to me, and I'm trying to stay positive - well, you know how it was

The highest temp. was around 83F a few days ago...I just loved it hehe. Now it's down to around 71F and a few rain showers here and there to keep people from drying up

I hope everything is working out wonderfully for you and your family in the US How are things with your new job??

Hey Misty!

ditto Beetee's comments, great to hear from you! Have you heard from Nigel since his move to the US?

always great to hear from some of the old I-601'ers

I'm getting married 1 week from today!!!

wooohoooooooooo

Thanks. There were hard times but we are very grateful for the six months we spent together there in the UK. If I hadn't been able to do that, it would be much more difficult now for me to be planning to live there. The denial was devastating of course but I was amazed by how quickly tom was able to get things moving in a new direction. One week after the denial we took the train to Gravesend and went to all the estate agents. Came back on Sunday to look at a few. On the Monday he called and made all the arrangements to take one of them. Two and a half weeks later we moved. I think he wanted to quickly create a nest for me, a familiar place I can return to.

The hardest thing was leaving the Uk two months ago. I have been having a very difficult time handling all that needs to be done here before I can return. At least I have the visa and I have an offer on my house. Meanwhile I keep thowing things away, giving things away, sellling things. The house is still awfully full though. I have lived in it for 30 years and its huge with huges closets and built in storage areas just filled with things. The sorting has been daunting to say the least. I just want this to be over.. I just want to be there. I think it will take a few more weeks.

I hope everyone who is still waiting here to have their waivers approved will get those approvals soon. Its the opened ended times of waiting that are the hardest. I think when we know the date we will be together then it is much easier to fill the time and wait. Not knowing is brutal. Our relationships are subjected to stresses that a "normal" couple never experiences.

mary

Mary&Tom,

Even though you are feeling down you still cheer for us, thank you for those kind words to all of us that are still waiting for our approvals *knock on wood*.

I hope that you get things sorted out asap so you and Tom can be reunited real soon and start a new exciting journey together

With immigration and dealing with it, I can only think that whatever doesn't kill us will only make us stronger

Paul,

he he are you excited - next week then you'll be a newlywed...ahh, how cute Are you guys planning a honeymoon, or was the visa journey enough travel haha

No, I havent heard from Nigel! I hope he is fairing well!

Beetee, surely it cant be much longer now! My total wait was 4.5 months with having a 3 week delay due to getting a passport, holidays, and a prolonged A-File check! Surely you will hear something soon! Have you tried to contact London yet?

Ahhh the temps sound lovely. We're getting ready to hit 40 here! ACK!

Paul, congrats on getting married!!!! I hope you are doing well!

Beetee the job keeps me away from the boards and then when I get home my husband is usually using the computer to work.

Hi MistyB,

it's great to hear that you are doing well, and enjoying your new job

Yea, I'm hoping to hear some good news soon from London - it's any day now, since it's been so long.
I did recieve a postcard from them, like they send out to everyone since the tracking site came up, and my date on it was May 2nd *bummer* but from May 2nd till today is only around 11 weeks, so I guess either way it'll be soon since their procesing time is estimated 12-15 weeks.

Your case MistyB, took around 4.5 months, but most of the time was mostly spent on sending the waiver to one office after another, while the adjudication only took 3 weeks, if they had shipped it directly to London you would have been in the US around 4 months earlier.... oh well, that's all in the past, the good thing is that it's all over for you It's great that it only took your husband 4 days to recieve his Visa, and that's including the time you spent sending in the passport, that's great!! I hope mine will be just as fast
Paul had to wait around 10-14 days to get his Visa sent to him from the London embassy.... it's all just waiting waiting waiting....... sux!!

Have a great day all enjoy the sunshine

Yeah the swedes are nothing if not efficient!

I believe you will hear something soon!

I miss Nigel! Yoohoo Nigel, where are ya babe???

misty....

Did you hear we just got married! Last week! Well anyway we are going to start the process once i get my residency permit here in the UK. I am here on a fiance visa. Do you think I should apply through the American Embassy in London or straight to a Servicing Center in the states? Can you help!