Thank you everybody again!

Sunny, I hope that touch is going to bring you an approval!!

Congratulations Pam

Yay! Congratulations, Pam!

Sunny - ooh, I really, really hope this is it!

Hi everybody!!

How is everybody? Our thread was so so far away....
I was wondering how was Sunny, and if you got touched again or not?
and how is everybody else?

For me I have 3 more days of work left!!! then I have several days free....that I will spend with my family, and after I will be flying so I can be with my sweetheart!
I don't realise yet that I will be with him so soon...
Well, I hope everybody is well, and enjoying the summer.

Hello!
I have 3 more days in France with my family and then I will be leaving for the USA. I am very excited!!! I will be there with him and all his friends for my birthday next week, we are going to have a birthday/homecoming/housewarming party at our apartment. I still have lots of things to do before I leave, I need to finish packing and plan one more family dinner for Wednesday evening. This is all happening very fast now
Sunny, I'm still crossing my fingers for you! (in the end they're going to hurt with all that crossing )

HA you know I would have posted if we had been touched again haha..... so yeah no I haven't been touched again sadly...keep hoping and praying something just pops up in my mailbox as a nice surprise....

I do however get my engagement ring back today as had it appraised to make sure we didn't get ripped off and then had to get it sized smaller too so I don't lose it! So I am thrilled to go pick that up!

Hope everyone else is having a good Monday!

Is this really true that they would question your relationship based on age? Im personally not concerned because my fiance is 27 and Im 29. Although I suppose it is a legitimate concern if the age gap is too much.

I wouldn't worry about your age difference, baxxy. Not every couple is going to be the same age, with less than a year's difference. I think the only reason why USCIS would be concerned about an age gap would be if you had a significant difference. For example: If you were 27 and your fiancee were 70, or something like that.

LOL, no im worried with only a 2 yr gap, but I can see why maybe if there were 10 or more yrs why it would raise a suspicion.

Yep! I agree with Lazulineiris. I would not be too concern about the age difference in a couple. It is not something they would look right away to decide if you can be approved or not......except if the case is suspicious, and that the couple in case would have a huge age difference.

Sunny, sorry for asking.It is true that you would have told us if it was the case...
At least I am really happy that you will be able to have your engagment ring!!! You must be so excited!! Finnally, you won't have to explain why you're engaged, but do not have a ring yet!

Cécile, to be able to finally see and live with your fiancé is so awesome, but to have your birthday with him as well is terrific!!!
You're leaving so soon!!!!! Enjoy your time left in France, and have a nice trip!

CONGRATS PAM and have a safe trip soon!!!

Cecile, enjoy those remaining few days with your friends and family to the fullest.. and have a happy reunion soonest. YAY! must be really exciting!!!

Sunny, I am with you in hoping and prayng that the hardcopy will just pop in your mail box anytime soon.

Baxxy, nothing to worry about age gap as long as you can prove that your relationship is genuine then there is nothing to be afraid of. Me and my fiance have a 15yr gap between us but I think the consul saw that my eyes were almost heart shaped while talking about my big bear and our pictures together just spoke volumes so the consul had no choice but to approve us. I am sure you will do great, just bring lots of ammo on your interview: all the proof of relationship that you can posibly bring. They may not ask to see everything but it is always good to be over prepared than under prepared. Good luck girl.

This forum is funny sometimes.. how people go about baxxy being concerned about the age difference while she clearly says she's not concerned at all hehe..



As far as I could read, she only wanted to know if it happened to others when they had an age difference of ten years or something lol


@Steph, Pam is right about the engagement ring.. it must be great to have one... I'm kinda jealous coz my fiancee doesn't have one haha


@Cecile, have a safe trip!!

Andddddd we got an RFE.....OY VEY hahahaha! I am just giddy our case is being fondled though let me tell you! Gareth assured me this is a GOOD thing and hopefully we will finally get our approval now once we get this sorted!!!! I am just beyond irritated they waited 193 days to give us one of these! LOL.....can I call right today then to find out what it was you think that is needed?
Thanks again for all your continued support!

Argh! How frustrating! But you're right - it is a much better sign than just another touch - and don't they have to respond to RFEs within 60 days?

Good Tuesday afternoon, everyone. I'm sooo sleep deprived!

There are some huge age gaps between couples on these forums that have been of no problem. I should think that a big age gap is really only a concern when tied in with several other factors.

Sunny, great to hear that you've finally got some action, but sorry it's not the NOA2! Just wanted to let you know what Valerie and I put in our file when we submitted it. A lot of the things that people say can wait until the interview, we put in from the beginning. These include: flight itineraries, hotel receipts, photos from all of our trips and letter of intent. I must admit, I've thought at times it was kind of a pain and a little anal, but everything seemed to fly for us. Typically, from what I've read, that's what the RFE's are...more proof of the relationship. i.e. that you've seen each other within the past 2 years. Also, old emails or cell phone bills will help too. Send them in and make copies for the interview as well. Good luck!

Still better than nothing I guess As Rachel says, your approval shouldn't take too long after the RFE.
I think I read somewhere that some people tried to call but never got any information about the RFE because the people on the phone don't have access to this kind of information. But it would probably not hurt to try.

Yup called and no go hahaha...Oh well I tried
Justin I did send in both of our letters of intent, pictures, my passport stating I was in the UK along with application.....but yeah if it is more proof of relationship they need we have plenty of stuff we can send haha!
I am just hoping it is not some special copy of something they need since those are usually something that take a bit to get at times! I made sure I sent expensive notarized copy of divorce decree and birth certificates though so honestly no idea what it could be unless I forgot to sign something!!!

Justin did you guys get packet 3 yet?

I am also happy to see that you got finally some "action" going on for your case!
It is not an approval, but yes, after you submitted the papers needed, it should not take too long before you get approved.
Best of luck to you Sunny,and I am hoping it won't be one of those papers who will take too long to get...

Thanks Don!

Ok yeah can we do an update here who all has their packet 3's currently? Who has interviews coming up? Who has wedding dates set? Etc....We really need to think about branching out somewhere that we can keep up with all this easier haha!

Steph I really think this RFE is a good thing! You see alot of people get their NOA2 soon after providing the requested info Talking about who has interviews coming up...... Levi's is August 27th @ 1pm so I'll be completely crazy that day! I already have by flight booked to Winnipeg for the 12th of September then we'll drive home to Missouri together!

Ooh how dang exciting Heather! Do you guys have a wedding date set yet then and will u do a wedding or just a civil ceremony etc????

whoooooooohoooo sunny!!! Just came back home and saw that you got an RFE! That's great!!!
Ok, not perfect but. They finally really work on your file.

You got news today, i got my noa2... July 29 2008 is a great day!!!

We got our Packet 3 on Jul 2nd while Mary was here visiting me. We had someone send it here but Canada Post only just delivered it to me on Saturday a full 15 days after they promised that they were going to deliver it. Of course by then she had gone back. As soon as she got back she emailed the consulate and told them it was lost and they sent her a new one. The new one arrived on 7/23 and we turned it around next day, 7/24 got sent via Priority Courier to Montreal and they got it on 7/25 and it was signed. Now the wait begins for Packet 4. On average its around 30-40 days to packet 4 and another 30-40 days till the interview after that.

So our own stupidity pushed it out 2-4 weeks. If we had sent it back when it showed up then we might have an interview end of Aug - now it will probably be end of September - of course since we had no idea when it was coming - how do you decide on travel and stuff when everything is so up in the air.

We are shooting to marry mid November in Vegas - 3 years to the day we met over the net. I can feel it getting closer - pretty exciting! Depending on what a jerk my ex will be my kids may not be able to come to Vegas for the ceremony so we may have to get married here first. I don't care. I'll marry her a hundred times over. We are planning ceremonies here, in Vegas, Canada, Greece and Japan. Since i used up all my vacation time this year traveling back to see her during the "restriction" period, we probably won't be heading to Hawaii on honeymoon till next year..

Everything just seems to take forever. People see you and they say - aren't you guys married yet - or why don't you just go get married and move. No one understands all the suffering we have to go through.....

All the waiting really is tough! Its hard for people who don't understand this process to really get that you can't just get married and move here or there..... We'll have the civil ceremony as soon as we're back in Missouri then the wedding down the road a bit. That's when his family and friends will come down

OH! Congrats on the NOA2 also Chantal

This is really good news, like you said, you might get your approval once it is sorted out.. and at least you know they're really handling your petition now I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

Where's Blake when you need him? We should get him to make a few more lists hehe


Anyways, already had my medical with good result and I got my interview scheduled on August 12, so 13.5 days left for me until judgement day.. can't wait till that part is over...

The idea for us is to fly to Hawaii on October 2nd but I dare not to buy a ticket just yet, mostly because there is still that small chance that they wont approve us If I didn't had those stupid things from my past, I wouldn't have thought twice and bought it right away since I like to be able to get a nice seat up front, it looks like I am going to wait and hope for a good seating now (and prob is, seats are filling pretty quickly atm).

Darn, just did some reading on 'moral turpitude' on wikipedia and if its true what they say there, then the thing I did was also moral turpitude.. that would mean I would have had to say 'yes' on the question on the i94 when i entered the states before, and I said no coz I didn't think it would be moral turpitude...

So basically, besides having a big chance of being denied on my visa, I might actually be able to get a ban on my *ss even though I did not know this would fall under moral turpitude

I'm so scared right now

Try not to worry too much Jeroen... Just wait to see if you have any problems at the interview and take it from there.

Jeroen do you mind telling me what it is you did? You can private message it to me if you like....I am just hoping and praying Gareth being turned away in Detroit doesn't hurt us down the road as well they told him it wouldn't! But who knows ya know???

Morning all!!!

I got a question for you.

What type of birth certificate you got? Normal one or international one?

You know, I can't think of anything more soul destroying than spending God knows what on a plane ticket, enduring the 8-hour flight, and then being turned straight around, and put on the first plane back from whence you came. Utter, utter nightmare. This is why I only spend a week or two maximum during my stateside visits, and make absolutely sure that each visit is seperated by at the very least, 3 months.

No way is that #### ever happening to me!

Yes to Packet 3. Interview - 14th August. Wedding - 27th December. Probably not entering the States until November/early December now.


Normal one! Mind you it's in English anyway, of course.


I completely agree. I am so sorry for everyone this has happened to.

Lol, its just so easy to get the international one. I will have it in 3 days.!

WELL all I can say is I will be praying extra hard for you both during this interview! It is obvious from what I read about you both ..you love each other deeply. Past is past and I do pray the government does say HERE YOU GO...VISA TIME!
I do not know what you did nor do I care..I just want all of us to get our sweeties home so we can end this part of the journey and start a whole new one together PHYSICALLY!

God bless you and all of you here on visajourney...may we get our prayers answered..swiftly

HUGS
Meri

YES!! Finally! And it was just like you said it was going to be. I sent an email to the consulate in Vancouver inquiring about the status of our file since it was going on 3 weeks. And then this afternoon, when we thought it was lost , Valerie was thrilled when she went to get her mail...PACKET 3! She called and got her name on the list for her medical in Vancouver for next Wednesday. They emailed her the forms and stuff, and now she's ransacking her boxes trying to dig up her vaccination list. She knows that she's had all of the vaccinations they need, but hasn't found her card yet. If she can't find it, can she just get the shots again? I hope so. It says that if she can't provide proof, she has to bring a blood test with her....from elsewhere. And that takes around 10 days to get done. Hopefully, she can find it or they can give them to her again. We really don't want to have to reschedule.

But, we have all the forms already filled out and ready to fax back to them, so we'll get those back out either tomorrow or Thursday, and then the wait for the interview date begins! I can't beleive we are finally here....not much longer! I am just praying we can get our interview by mid September!

Just a little sidenote....where in Missouri do you live? I was born and raised in Iowa (Des Moines) and we used to go down to Kansas City every year. Have family down there. And then in college, we always made a trip down to the Ozarks every summer for a weekend out at Party Cove! Fun times,

A little annoying but at least they are working on it... and girl, I am hats off to you for still being so sunny in spite of all these. you really are SUNNY



I believe that when it is meant to be it will happen no matter what obstacles there may be along the way... and no matter what the outcome of your visa application is, there will always be other options for you and michelle to be together.. but of course it is still out of the question now coz you have not been denied yet... and I will be praying that you will not get denied and that you will get that visa and be on your way to Michele in HAWAII before you know it. Cheer up, a long face will make the consul question you more.




Jeroen had actually shared it a few pages back.

For you sunny and Jeroen (a BIG HUG):

I am sorry to hear that.
Maybe, you're paying attention to that, while they won't even care...
I would feel the same way, I am always looking at every details, and worry about it a lot after!
I think that if it would have been such a problem, they would have not approved you, or wanted to have more info before approving your case.
Anyways, you don't have some much time before your interview, I hope you can try to change your mind until then.
I hope the best for you both.



In my case, I asked for the normal one.("copie intégrale du certificat de naissance")




Congratualtions!
You're right, not much longer now!!

Congrats Levi didn't have his immunization records either. His doctor told him to call the health agency there and they had them ready for him to pick up the next day! He's in Manitoba so it was Manitoba Health but maybe it works the same in BC? I hope you can get your interview quickly! Oh and I live in a suburb of Kansas City

Sunny and RFE is a good thing, be happy! Clear it up quickly and the world will be your oyster.

Hooooraaay Miss Yoko, Congratulations!!!!

I am so happy for you and Richard. I'm looking forward to my new neighbor arriving!

Just go with normal - it'll need translation, etc. but it'll work fine.

Rachel, you really should look at a earlier wedding, that way you'll be able to get both anniversary and christmas presents. On the other hand, that week leading up to new year's is going to be quite specatular. I'm so happy for you two.

I understand your fear, just relax and approach the interview with a open heart and confident mind. I really think you'll be OK if you just answer the questions directly, certainly don't volunteer details unless asked or go beyond the question asked. You've made it this far, so I don't think anything is going to keep you from realizing your dream! Keep the faith

I am so happy for you Cecile, tomorrow starts a new life for both of you. Write us when you hit Stalouie

Hi Blake Hope all is going well for you.

Hi Guys,

I know I haven't shown up in a while ~

I want to update you that I got a business visa on mid June, and was able to fly to California and was there for almost the whole month of July! Mostly working, but what a great perk to be able to visit my fiance and be with him!!!

I'm back in Indonesia again Many times it crossed our mine to just go to Vegas and get married hehehe. But that wouldn't have been a good idea

Anyways, I want to congratulate everyone who have received their NOA2 and packet 3. Big HUGS to you guys.

We're still waiting for our packet 3 (late 3.5 weeks already). Let's keep our fingers crossed and have a super great day!

Thank you for your thoughts. Actually things are going great, though busy. I just don't seem to be able to do things the simple way. I had developed a rather intricate plan of making to the interview on Sept 10 then flying to board meetings in London for a few days, then flying back to Kiev to get Olga and her son, when....... they suddenly decided to move the board meeting to Prauge a few days later. Now I will be going out for the interview...flying back to the US then flying back to Kiev (via Prague) to get her some 2 weeks later.

But... The good thing is I will be able to be with her for both the interview and for the trip together. As I said to her, these are two of the most important days in my life, I wouldn't miss them for anything. The funny thing is that now the wedding will only be three or so weeks from when she touches down (and I had thought we would have had about 6 weeks) - which certainly guarantees quite a whirlwind of activity. Yikes! The reality of dresses, invitations, chapel reservation, music, dinner for close friends is starting to sink in. Which as you can imagine causes no small amount of stress.

I'm having fun, and feel much better about Olga's safety. Although she will certainly miss her family, she cannot wait to get the "heck outta Dodge" and get here. Only 40 Days left till the interview

Glad to hear you are well, Blake!

I don't envy you all those flights in September; you're going to be exhausted! But it's really lovely that you'll be there for Olga's interview and entry into the US.


I hope it arrives soon!

I'm glad you were able to enjoy a month with your fiancé!

I...sort of have a wedding dress.

I went shopping with my mother and cousin in Nottingham and found a dress in Monsoon that had been reduced from £200 to £45. Strapless, floor length, fairly simple lines. The material was really lovely, a light patterned silk. I didn't want a strapless dress but my mother said it looked good on me and that we could buy a jacket to match.

The only problem is the zip wouldn't do up all the way. My mother didn't want to tug on the zip too hard in case it broke. There was about an inch of unzipped zip. The trouble is because it's strapless, going up a size would've meant it would be too big. My only option is to try and lose an inch off my bust by December (or maybe find someone to let it out slightly). Anyway I've taken a chance and asked my mother to buy it today as it was a terribly good price (and very nicely made).

I'm actually a little scared/upset right now...I just handed in my notice at work! My boss was really lovely and said he didn't want me to go.

I've also cancelled my phone contract, have written to my gym to cancel my gym membership and am about to write to cancel my cinema subscription, too.