Steph yours has got to be right around the corner!!! Thanks for the congrats!

WOOHOOHH Congratulations Blake!!!

WOOOHOOO!!! BIGGEST CONGRATS TO LEVI_HEATHER & to BLAKE&OLHA

I'm sooo happy for you guys... May the rest of your visa journey be faster now.

To those who are still waiting, touches are good as it may come before any approval... but for those who has not been touched don't despair, like blake and many others could attest, approval may come even without getting any touch....

Good luck to everyone and hope there will be many more approvals to come before this week ends.

Big Big Congrats to Heather and Blake!!
I am really happy for both of you, and I hope it is giving good energy to the other ones waiting for their NOA2!!
Hoping that Estedia and Sunnybear will get theirs soon.... At least, I am hoping for you guys!!! so then , they can start Febuary filers!!
Great to see good news!!
Keep going CSC!!

Congratulations Blake!



I am so, so happy for you!

Thank you to everyone, I feel its a lot like telling my own family.

Congrats to you Heather, this was quite a day. I just got back from a long day at the office, and I was reasonably productive since I no longer have to check the USCIS website all the time Sunnybear you are certainly in my thoughts and hopes right now, as they are to everyone that has been seperated from their loves by this process for such a long time.

Actually, Olga doesn't know yet and probably will not know for another week. That's the beautiful thing about the Ukraine - crappy cell coverage and a lack of computer access. She is with her Dad and son visiting her aunt in the country - might as well be on the moon for all it's worth. So I'm celebrating with all of you - who have been so instramental in my making it through this part of the process with a little bit of sanity left.

I'm off to get some dinner and then I'll post the new list for today. I hope all of the January remaining can experience this feeling very very soon.

What a lovely story to go with your wonderful news! Thanks for sharing it with us and CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you so much! You guys have a lovely story in the making yourselves, I'll be very happy to see the ending.

Here's the current list, it continues to move in the right direction

Remaining 46.6%......... Approved 53.4%

Name……………. Filing Date
Remaining
1 Ayako & Nathan 01-01
2 Belen & Tim 01-02
3 Thanh & Cao 01-04
4 Ajay & Komal 01-07
5 Matt & Robin 01-08
6 Judee Anne & Reynaldo 01-09
7 Irina & Zubzare 01-10
8 Hazel & Ben 01-10
9 Sarah & Rudi 01-12
10 jj & sh 01-15
11 Liberty & Phillip 01-15
14 Steph & Gareth 01-17
15 Myriam & Gary 01-17
16 Marina & Eugene 01-17
17 Agatha & Robert 01-17
18 VRP & SK 01-18
19 Alet & Cesar 01-21
20 Busch & Eric 01-22
21 nr123 & nm123 01-23
22 Joanna & Dale 01-23
23 Lean & Emil 01-23
24 Nick & Sarah 01-23
25 yan & isa 01-24
26 R & M 01-24
27 a & o 01-24
28 Jeroen & Michelle 01-24
29 Lucie & Damon 01-24
30 jennie & matthew 01-25
31 Paul & Joanna 01-25
32 Rymma & Vadim 01-25
33 WE & CE 01-25
34 Supida & Supida 01-25
35 Thomas & Michelle 01-29
36 Lena & Val 01-29
37 Susan & Chris 01-30
38 Ersila & Ilir 01-30
39 Mary & Carl 01-30
40 Ge & Haibo 01-31
41 Richel & Michael 01-31
*Mailed in Dec.
Approved
1 Gerald & Vinera___________01-04----04-22
2 Bing & John______________01-12----05-02
3 Shirley & Steven___________01-07----05-02
4 J & Paulie________________01-04----05-02
5 Rosi & Chuck_____________01-04----05-02
6 Hesham & Tanya__________01-14----05-02
7 Pamela & Joshua___________01-11----05-05
8 Eliciana & Benjamin________01-11----05-05
9 Robe & Victoria___________01-09----05-06
10 Wayne & Nueng*_________01-01----05-06
11 Yuliya & Brian___________01-03----05-10
12 Rachel & Alex____________01-11----05-07
13 Relyn & Patrick*__________01-01----05-06
14 Plami & Krasi____________01-01----05-07
15 WW & MM______________01-12----05-07
16 Paola & Chris____________01-04----05-06
17 Zrinka & Eric____________01-05----05-07
18 Badr & Aimee*___________01-01----05-08
19 Stacy & Jonathan*________01-01----05-09
20 Erica & Scott_____________01-12----05-12
21 Cecile & Bryan___________01-02----05-13
22 Portia & Tony*___________01-01----05-14
23 Bryant & Aliona*_________01-01----05-14
24 Stephan & Alissa_________01-04----05-13
25 Raghu & Swathi*_________01-01----05-12
26 Shaun & Angie___________01-15----05-19
27 Ali & Natalie_____________01-09----05-15
28 Ten & DJ________________01-03----05-07
29 Russell & Dakotah________01-14----05-22
30 Laura & Scott____________01-23----05-27
31 Lili & Matt_______________01-05----05-27
32 Bruno & Carol____________01-12----05-27
33 Elena & Sergey___________01-15----05-28
34 Greivin & Courtney________01-24----05-28
35 M&J____________________01-16----05-27
36 Maria Ameliza & Eric_______01-09----05-29
37 Hilda & Chris_____________01-16----05-27
38 Oscar & Joselyn___________01-17----05-29
39 Benny & Cassi____________01-31----05-29
40 Chris & Therese___________01-23----05-29
41 PT & J___________________01-07----05-30
42 jen & jay_________________01-16----05-30
43 Lea & Ron________________01-25----05-30
44 gabbie & erv______________01-22----05-31
45 Mitchell & Joy______________01-16----06-03
46 Levi & Heather_____________01-19----06-03
47 Olga & Blake______________01-25----06-03

CONGRATULATIONS

hi, here is another january approval from CSC : ( cassi9879 ) from CSC.i dont think he is listed on igor's list.
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...8734&st=600

They are Cassi and Benny, number 17 on the approvals of Igor's List. Congratulations to them!

Uuuugh so the quiet, informal backyard wedding has been upped to a sit-down occasion at a local community hall, and now Alex's parents are suggesting we should have dancing.

K I am kinda pouty this morning.....sorry but this whole CSC doing #### in order thing is ticking me OFF! Estadia I dunno how you are doing it hun cause this is soooo hard! I think I may try RFE trick on Monday since i have off from work that day so can call.
hmmpppffff
COME ON CSC bring me our approval PLEASEEEEEE

I know exactly how you feel, I have the exact same thing going on lately... I still read the forums but I hardly post anymore.. mostly coz of that. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for everyone else who gets their approval but I agree with you, it is about time we get ours as well... and to only see CSC approving only a few a day (well at least a few a day from Igor's list), that is kinda making it extra hard.. I only see that list grow bigger in overall instead of shrinking smaller lately.. where's the 40-50 approvals a week from that list? :'(

So glad I am not alone was feeling a bit selfish haha! I mean yes I am super happy to see anyone get their approvals but it is also sooo hard to see when u want your own so bad you can taste it! I just want to know they have not lost mine or anything in it at this point!

Has anyone called to do an RFE trick and then said you straight up know people who filed after you got approval already? Just wondering what they would say to that....Also I mean what do I say when I get through to a real person anyway???? THANKS!!!!

I think they'd probably tell you that every case is different and that you are still within processing times. Judging by the timelines and those recently approved it looks like you guys will be any day. I know it's got to be frustrating watching others get approved as you wait but your time is coming!

btw.. igor's list is based on the vj database which updates it's own timeline in real time instead of just once a day. I know ..something else to obsess about. I find it gives me something to do when i'm feeling anxious.

Keep your spirits up folks... we'll be waiting to hear your good news any day now!

I'm sorry that I can't go over there personally and prod them into working faster. What I can do is point out that very, very, very few petitions ever get lost (and the only cases I've seen of them being lost have been in the very beginning, in the post or when it is accidentally sent to another service centre) and that CSC in particular tends not to touch a file until the day it is going to be approved. So please don't worry in that regard; I am positive that your petitions have not been lost!

I know it's tough but they are officially working on November still and we are certainly still seeing November filers being approved. For example. Unfortunately we have to view January approvals as still being a 'bonus' at this stage.

*hugs* I can't imagine how hard it is for you, and I really hope that your approvals come any day now.

Rachel, we went from that intimate beachside wedding to the big 'to-do' with hundreds of people because Russell's family decided they would fly up from NZ to see us married. It actually weighed pretty heavily on us because it's not what either of us wanted but we were willing to adjust our plans to accomodate them. BUT, after a long talk with his family this weekend, we've decided on the intimate ceremony now and promised a big blow out next spring when airfare is cheaper for them (it's extremely expensive to fly to/from nz) and after we have more time to plan/save..etc. We are quite happy about this as you can imagine!

Even though it was a tad frustrating to me, the way I saw it at the time was how much they must love him to want to be there! I'm sure Alex's family feels the same. They want to share in his/your joy and celebrate your new lives together. Still, I couldn't help but worry about when, where and how we'd pay for it so soon after his arrival. I hope it all sorts itself out for you and that you find the day magical regardless of how it's done.

Even though I agree with the bolded sentence, I don't think you should let them decide everything for you. This is your wedding, not Alex's parents' wedding. Of course, don't tell them: "No, it's not what we want, we want the informal backyard wedding and you can't change that". But you should tell them that you don't feel comfortable with this big formal wedding. If you talk together, you can try to compromise. ok for inviting that many people but not ok to have the big dancing thing.
You just can't let them plan everything. You are going to feel like a doll that can't say anything, placed in the middle of a ceremony orchestrated by somebody else.
Talk with them.

Congratulations to Heather and Blake! Woohoo! More approvals touching us here, in this thread. That is sooo cool and I'm so happy for you guys!

Agreed. We are shooting for a real Vegas wedding, Elvis and all. We are thinking maybe the Blue Hawaii package, as we are thinking about honeymooning in Hawaii. Big question is, do we go for the pink Cadillac?

http://www.vegaselvis.com/chapels/chapels.cfm

Good morning everyone! How's every little thing today? It's rainy and cold here...apparently there was even some snow in parts of Salt Lake this morning!

BLAKE AND OLGA!!!!! I know I'm a day behind, but OHHHHHHHH CONGRATS!!!!! For all the kind words and encouragement you have provided for us, you deserve all the happiness in the world! YAY!!

Good morning Cloudy here and warm.... Thanks for the info it was very helpful!

No problem I'm glad it was useful. I'm such a plan-aheader...I made a completely organized spreadsheet of everything we need for each of the remaining steps. I sent it to Dennis so that we would stay on the same page since I'm a bit of a control freak.

Thats a really good idea... I really need to do something like that would help to reduce the stress level some Lol... I was looking at timelines to get an idea of how much longer it would but still not really clear to me.

It also gets hard at this point because a lot of people don't schedule ASAP. From what I understand Vancouver schedules about a month from when you get Packet 3 back to them. Since they accept P3 returned by fax, you're probably looking at 2-3 months. I even heard of someone whose interview was scheduled 9 days after they faxed P3 back.

Yeah because looking at the timeline for Canadian consulates receiving to actual interview was at 113 days! But they would all be lumped together plus as you said some don't return the packet as quickly....

I wonder about how long it takes at the NVC and getting to the consulate too? Didn't look too long from the timelines...

Do you want me to send you a copy of mine? Most of it is just a basic list of requirements, you could just change the names on it.

Oh that would be great! Thanks Andrea

It's on it's way.

Andrea, can I be so bold as to ask you if I could get a copy of your list too? I've been wanting to do one but I just have too many things to take care of and, to be honest, I'm still confused about a few things and it makes it hard to put something together.

No problem...just PM me with your email addy. Put the USC's name anywhere it says "Andrea" and the fiance/e's name anywhere it says "Dennis". Anyone else who wants it is also welcome, though it is geared towards what the Vancouver embassy requires.

Thanks a lot, Andrea. I really appreciate this I'll send you a PM right after I post this.

Pandora and Heather-I just noticed a typo in my list. On line 30 where it lists DS-145...it should be DS-156.

Got it, just made the correction. Thanks!

About the online one (DS-156K), is there a printed version somewhere? I'd prefer preparing all the info I'll need for it beforehand rather than running around to find it while entering the info online Or is it the same as the DS-156, just an online version?

One thing is sure, once I'll have gone through the whole process, I'll be happy to forget all these form names. There are so many, it makes my head spin!

So I know that work permits get discussed to death, but I'm gonna bring it up again anyway...everything I've ever read on a government website indicates that K-1 immigrants "are authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The person’s I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD." That's directly from the SSA Website. So is this just another case of two government agencies contradicting each other? Couldn't we cite SSA policy to a potential employer? Is this really as dumb as it sounds or is there something I'm just not getting?

BTW...if you read that page, it says that K-1's do NOT require specific authorization, but that K-3s DO. If you go to the website, scroll about halfway down to section C-1, where it lists the people who do not need additional permission. Section C-2 lists people who do.

(I know...that bordered on a rant...but we all get them sometimes. )

From what I remember reading somewhere else in the forum, the fact that K-1s don't need an authorization is a recent change. Probably why you see some contradictions. Also, I've read that K-1s are authorized to work but only for the duration of their visa. Once the visa expires, they have to stop working and wait 'til they receive their GC.

Hope my memory serves me well here. If I made a mistake, everyone is welcome to put me back on track!

I'll do a search and see if I can find those posts again.

Courtesy of Yu and Dan....

K-1 is not a work visa, it is a fiancee visa for entry to the USA and marriage, K-1 is "Work Auth" primarily to be able to get the SSN, some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have SSN, this can cause a problem with marriage license if only one person has SSN and the other (the K-1 holder) does not.

A K-1 can apply for EAD card before marriage and filing AOS, however, this costs $340, and results is a 90 day EAD card that expires 90 days after entry, and since it can take nearly 90 days to get the card, the card will either have expired before it can be issued, or expires shortly after getting it.

So basically it says to the DHS that this person is able to work per your authorization. I'm sure you can find employers who will accept just a social security # but many will want to see EAD from the DHS authorizing you to work legally.

Thanks for all the info Andrea its very helpful So they can work once they get here but only until the visa expires?


So really that would be a waste of time and money!

That makes sense except for the quotes from the SSA saying that a K-1 visa holder can work without further authorization from DHS. Direct quote from the SSA website "The following sections list nonimmigrants, by alien class of admission codes, who are authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The person’s I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD." The list immediately following INCLUDES K-1 visas. (There is a link in my last post.)

I've never had an employer request proof that I was legally able to work beyond my SSC. I'm not sure why they would ask for it without the K-1 holder volunteering additional information.

Yes, I've read that several times over the last year trying to better iterpret the law. It's also been posted here quite a bit. I'll try to find the post but I think it was rebeccajo who cleared it up best basically stating that ultimately it is the responsiblity of the Department of Homeland security that gets to say who can and can not work. So, while the K1 authorizes you it basically just authorizes you to be authorized! ... I know!

I think I'd rather be able to claim plausible deniability.

Sorry, forgot to mention that although i'm self-employed and have no personal knowledge, one of my tenants is a manager for an employment agency and she MUST request an EAD and run it through certain databases from every person who applies.




I guess that depends on what you do for a living.

lol...I work at a TV station...with a news department. And don't think I haven't considered it...I just won't, unless I go past processing times...and then you can be sure that I'll be calling up my friends back in news.

This is the best thread I can find on the subject... Although, I don't know that it does anything but reaffirm the fact that it's a very gray area that can be interpreted in many ways!

Russell will work for me until he has his EAD then he'll put his master's back to work I suppose. Not too concerned with it here but I can imagine it's a pretty big issue for most and should be made clear.

On that note, and now that many of you have been approved over here , have any of you been asked by the consulate to supply a CV/Resume for the beneficiary?? I've never heard of such a request but it was on a short list of documents sent to me via email from the Consulate in response to what financial docs they would need from me.

YAY YAY YAY YAY!!! Congratulations!!

Go CSC, Go!

BIG CONGRATS to YOU guys!!!!

To jump back a couple pages, I just wanted to share what my experience has been so far with timelines after the NOA2 is issued. Mine was issued on the 28th (Wed), and as you can see in my sig below, it was sent out the 29th (Thur) and landed at the NVC on the 2nd (Monday)!! I just happened to have called the NVC on Monday night and the nice lady gave me our NVC processing number and told me that had gotten our file that morning and it should be sent out by the end of the week. On Wednesday (the 4th) I called back, just cause I was curious, and that nice lady said it had already been processed and was sent out to Costa Rica that day.

So the moral of the story is, things DO move faster after the CSC!! Just one week after getting the NOA2, our papers are on their way to the embassy. Based on my tracking, they average 2-4 days to arrive at most embassy's.

For those of you who are holding out for that NOA2, I hope you find some peace in knowing that once it happens, you WILL see activity quickly, and every day it gets a little easier knowing the countdown until you're together is finally getting SMALLER!