Boo! is right




To Alex: You wuss! Can't handle a couple of girls on a board now can ya?? Hahaha j/k

Ooh, challenge issued!

Maybe you're right - maybe the gaggle of January girls is intimidating him.

Well, it's another cold, dark miserable, rainy and windy evening, so I'm already in my pyjamas and am tucked up in bed with my DS and Phoenix Wright. Hurrah!

cold, dark, rainy, windy and miserable is totally right yah... bleh @ this weather, it's about time we get some spring, or even better: summer weater!

same here in MA... more freakin snow today!

LOL my man won't post either...his is more because he cannot handle the highs and lows....he gets irritated to the extreme if i even mention any of the VSC he gets real pissy....... hahaha

It is still crappy here in Michigan weather wise too!!! BLAH but I did see a robin today hooray!

It's interesting how this works. Olga would much rather me tell her what you say than post her own questions her. Of course working 8 hours a day and then going to class for 3 more thends to tire one out. Rachel, you would love Olga, same with you Yoko, Dbears, and Ciciel - however, she does not really understand how welcomed she would be, nor how important your advice and counsel that she would find here. I know she will show up sooner or later - and when she does I know she will find a welcoming community. I'm just waiting till she has questions about the paperwork she has to pull together - then I shut up and let her ask the questions.

Yes - I am sure we would love Olga (after all, we love you, Blake - and like attracts like) and would certainly welcome her! It is funny how few couples actually post together - it's usually just one half making all the posts. Oh well!

Ah, the day started so well. Was woken up by the sun pouring in through the window - my curtains are white and flimsy so let all the light through. My friend phoned to ask if I wouldn't mind going over to hers to help her lay bricks - she's building a garden wall. I said yes, thinking it would be a therapeutic way to spend an afternoon, only a half hour later the skies had turned a dark grey and the rain was pouring down.

It was miserable for the rest of the day, so instead I baked bread which I took to hers (we ate it while it was still warm - yum!) and then we curled up on the sofa and watched a movie. After that we went to the pub (her boyfriend wanted to watch the football match, and she has no TV license) and had a cup of tea while reclining on the leather sofas. I must admit I rather like smoke-free pubs (a smoking ban in all public houses was passed last year). It was a good, if lazy, day.

I second that. I am 101% positive we will all love Olga More than advice and counsel, this group is a haven of support and inspiration and friendship.

As for couples not posting together.. if Rachel will change her screen name to just Rachel, maybe I should also change mine to just "li'l bear"... it is Dbears because I call him big bear and he calls me li'l bear: big bear + li'l bear = the bears or 'D'bears

Awwww OMG on you calling him Bear etc...that is what I call Gareth! He just reminds me of a bear! And after him being turned away in Detroit I went and got this tattoo in honor of our journey together....

WHOA!!! that is a KWEL looking tattoo .

Rick reminds me of a bear also, he is soooo hairy like a bear and him being 6 ft while I am just 5'2 (ok 5'1 & 1/2 ), he is indeed so much bigger than me so I call him my Big Bear. he just followed suit and started calling me Little or Li'l bear.

hi, im a csc filer who got my noa1 on january 30...just wanted to say goodluck to all january filers like me! and of course, to all those who filed before us.

Tee hee thanks! Got a lot of smack for the tattoo over on another message board....ahem....haha....but yeah we are both into tattoos so thought it suitable to get one in honor of our journey! I mean Paddington is an immigrant you know haha!

Yeah Gareth is fuzzy like a bear too and just built thick haha. He is about 5'8 or 5'9 I am only 5'2 as well....well 5'2 and 3/4's so I got ya beat a little haha! He calls me all sorts of things one being Sunny Bear since I had that nickname as a child when kids said I looked like Sunni from the cartoon Gummi Bears LOL....and then he also calls me his Bunny as in SnuggleBunny hahaha...yeah we are sappy like that







Welcome Gabriela you will love it here! So supportive!! Good luck to you!

Welcome Gabriela!

That's a pretty awesome Paddington tattoo, sunnybear. Does he have marmalade sandwiches stowed away in that suitcase?

What do people think? Name change or no?

If I had a nickname for Alex the last thing it'd be would be bear. He's an inch shorter than me and weighs considerably less (I'm not that overweight, he's just really slender!) I do get called bunny, though. Last summer I sent him a Steiff stuffed rabbit from Hamley's in London (awesomely huge toystore) - if he can't always have me, at least he has one snugglebunny.

Tee hee sooo cute~! I loooveeee Hamleys! Went there during Christmas 2006 I think it was.

Welcome to the club!

Welcome gabriela!




Nice tattoo Bryan is into tattoos too. Right now he's waiting for money to add more on his body. Big pieces are expensive. I'm also planning on getting a big one but I have other priorities right now in my life (something to do with immigration... )

And don't start comparing sizes, people! I'm sure I'm the smallest anyway...


@Blake: From the pictures on your profile, Olga seems very sweet. I'm sure we will all love her

Nothing wrong with being small! There are lots of very petite ladies in California making me feel like a towering heffalump whenever I visit the malls.

I discussed changing my screenname with Alex and at my suggestion of dropping his name he went all pouty.

I love Blake's photos, too.

Looks like I may be battling with the future in-laws over wedding plans. They reckon a pot-luck wedding would be okay (I don't) and would also like us to make a registry. Eek!

You should check out Hawaii when you're there.. I'm 6 ft and I feel like a giant lol

Then you'd better keep that screenname

Actually I think a pot-luck wedding could be fun, but I'd be too scared of what people would bring!



you mean my size would actually be "normal" in Hawaii? yeah we definitely have to go there!
Nothing wrong with being small except when you can't grab things on the upper shelves in stores.

Haha yeah.. The majority of the people has either some form of Asian background or a Micronesian background over there which means the average is smaller, same as with my SO, she is 5'3.

Pretty cool tho, over here I am considered as average, now I will be among the taller ones haha.

I wish I was 5'3...

Yes, no changing it now!

I wouldn't be scared of what people would bring, it's just that I think I'd find it too informal even for an informal wedding. Also, Alex's side of the family would probably be the only guests to bring dishes, as my side of the family obviously wouldn't have access to a kitchen, not to mention they'll have already spent a lot of money on flying.

Plus, I think it's bad etiquette for people to feel that they have to bring a dish and a present. I mean, it's wrong to expect a present in the first place, asking people to bring a dish as well seems even worse!


True - that must be frustrating. Although it's always an excuse to find a tall hunk of a man to help you! Oh, and I'd love to go to Hawaii someday, too.

I'm getting scared to ask you're size...

Welcome Gabriela



Cecile, David did kill Goliath. I can sense that you are a very smart woman and that makes you so much bigger than your physical size.



Speaking of tattoos, Ricky have one tiger tattoo. He is planning to get another one but he said he will NEVER tattoo my name on his body... well, my name is not really Gaye but just plain GAY and then the surname(Thanks to my mother )... but he did say that he will want to tattoo my face on his body someday.

Well, if we were having a pot-luck wedding (which I don't think we will), then I would not expect any presents.




I'm not too far from 5'3 don't worry (I won't give you more information than that )

Oh - I'm not expecting presents anyway, which makes it doubly-worse that my future-MIL wants us to make a registry too!

Thank you for the good luck wishes, dbears - and aren't our men silly. Sometimes having a webcam isn't necessarily a good thing, because no one does the whole pouty-face puppy-dog-eyes better than Alex

Ahh ic... I was getting scared it was somewhere in the 4'3 range haha j/k

Talking about registry, gifts, and all these things, what do people usually do in the USA? Do they usually give gifts (and then does the married-to-be couple always make a registry) or do they usually offer money? I'm just curious.

sunny, that is a cool tattoo! My guy was turned away at the border as well but we have other ways of marking that day!

Rachel... I think you keep the name too.

Hi Olga.

Gay(e)... I'm with Ricky!

Cecile and Bryan... people here do everything from big and expensive to simple. Many couples will register places because even if you say 'no gifts' people will still want to bring them. Well, I do anyway. I like to give money. My first wedding was HUGE and expensive with hundreds of people. Was nice but it was real easy to lose the meaning and, looking back, the money could have been better spent. It really depends on what the two of YOU want... and nobody else. Well..that's how it should be anyway.

From what I have read/heard it's largely dependent on where you live - some states/cities have a tradition of giving money whereas people living elsewhere will consider it a serious breach of etiquette.

Registries seem fairly standard these days; I even did a survey on Facebook to see what my friends and family thought and the only person who said they found registries vulgar was my Japanese friend.

Alex wrote in an e-mail last night:



This makes me feel old. I'm definitely at the stage where the 'stuff I'd want' IS practical kitchen/dinner ware.

First battle against the in-laws lost!
It seems that you are going to have to surrender and use that opportunity to get all kinds of neat stuff for your next house.

Actually, we could really, really use any gifts we're given. We'll be starting off with nothing. First marriage for both of us and Alex hasn't even left home yet! So at least I won't feel too guilty, as I probably would if we already had a household full of stuff and were receiving duplicates/extras.

Ooh, it's going to be exciting I'm a little tired of the cheap, second-hand goods that I've been used to for the past seven years since leaving my hometown to attend university. Chipped plates, blunt knives and a cupboard full of glasses pilfered from local pubs and novelty mugs are de rigeur amongst students and recent graduates.

I totally agree with you. I have not bought any new nice house ware since I met Bryan because I knew I would not be staying in France very long. And before that, I never had much stuff since I was a student too. And I'm tired of moving from one apartment to another (6 different places since I left my hometown 6 years ago)
I never had local pubs glasses though
This time we're going to settle down

Can fully sympathise there - I've had 7 moves in 7 years myself! 'Settle down' - sounds like a dream to me!

I've never -ahem- 'acquired' pub glasses myself, but my friends are terrible - my housemate has actually worn wide-leg jeans with huge pockets to the pub before for the express purpose of taking a couple of pint glasses. I have a couple of Stella Artois glasses that a former co-worker gave me; one day, when I was planning to buy some glasses, she said, 'don't be ridiculous! You don't have to buy them! My husband works in a pub, I'll get him to give you a couple' - and she did! Brand new pint glasses wrapped in individual boxes.

Woo - it's been 80 days since our petition was mailed! We really could start to see some approvals next month. I've created a little count-up page; having a ticker in a signature isn't enough.

Huggleslut.com??

Do I even want to know? haha

It's a gimmick site I created back in the day. Look at the images on the front page. Aren't they cute?

I think the cash vs. present is more cultural than regional. I've been to weddings in virtually every section of the country and the only cash focused gifts were in Greek and Jewish services. The larger the number of attendees also points to using a registry so you get what you need rather than 20 plate warmers. I will be having a small wedding, and I already have a full kitchen and dinnerware set, so there will really not be a need to register.

aahhh ic ic, makes sense.. the name was sure worth a laff and yah, theyre cute hehe^^

well, i was reviewing the timelines of couples here in VJ and i found out that majority of the applicant's span of time from wen they got their NOA1 til theyve received their NOA2 is up to 3-4 mos..so january filers, we'll expect approvals coming this month til mid may! wwoohoo!

then to add up...still, based on what i observed frm VJers timelines..the span of time frm when they receive their NOA2 til they get an approval from their embassy interview is just for month. so us, january filers are expecting to be interviewed at the embassy on JulyAugust-ish..

and hopefully fly to the U.S. right after our approval!!!!!!!! star_smile.gif

Yes, who knows.... it might be our turn soon!! And even if it's not soon, we're getting closer to the end.

Tomorrow it will be exactly 3 months since Bryan sent our petition to CSC.
It seems that it went fast. but at the same time, thinking of the many months remaining until I get the visa almost makes me depressed sometimes (that's why I'm hoping for a fast approval, because even if it might not be true, at least it makes me feel better that we might be approved in a month). Yesterday I was thinking that maybe I should go to visit him while waiting. But that's kind of stupid to spend the money to go there now (that would be for 2 weeks and I would only see him evenings and weekends since he would work) and and then again in 4 months and be able to stay together forever. We've been used to staying apart long times. But it would be nice to see each other for a while.


Did anyone start gathering information for the next part of the process? Did the US citizens start filing the I-134 and gathering financial proofs? Did some foreign fiances ask their police certificate and birth certificate to their government?

I ordered three copies of my birth certificate months and months ago!

I also applied for a provisional driving license because I mean to book some lessons before I leave, but also because I need proof of where I live for the police certificate (I also ordered a bank statement from my bank with my address on for this purpose).

I won't get the police certificate until I receive my NoA2, because it is only valid for six months.

I'd love to visit, too - but like you said, it just isn't worth it money-wise.

well im kinda thinking to get police certificate on mid may,well as soon as my fiance gets the NOA2. due to some documents expires in mos so we better get it at its freshest!!!

YES!!! It will be your turn very very very very soon! April won't pass by without any January CSC filer getting approved. I can smell it in the air.

We just got our interview date this morning (last night US time) and well, we are still starting the 'gathering part'. We do have proof of relationship ready for printing on my end. And I have requested NBI clearance this afternoon. I'll be requesting for additional birth certificates for me and my kids and also the 'certificate of no marriage' within the week and I'll finish all other documents needed within the week or next week... As for the form that I will be needing from Rick, we will fill it up online when we chat next time so we could both check the answers before printing. And he still needs to file income tax soon.

We were expecting NOA2 by June but it came so soon that we are not yet prepared for it. But we are indeed grateful and ALL is WELL.

I have Olga working on the entire list at this point - she'll get the cert going in a couple of weeks. The cert itself will take a couple of months to get in the Ukraine and then it's good for a while after that so there should be no problem there. The timeline is that once approval is received we should be ready to interview. One member was able to slip in a week after she called the embassy to set a interview time - I want to at least be available to do the same thing. The period between the application being received by the embassy and the setting of the interview date is really the only area when I can influence the speed of the process by being 100% ready to go at the moment the embassy receives the package.

It is best to be prepared always. Our papers left NVC last week and we called today. We were offered to have interview April 9 which is next week... but of course we had to decline coz we haven't even started with the 2nd part of paper works yet .. plus it is expensive to book flights to the capital city when your flight is the next day already. Had we taken the April 9 offer we should have flown to manila this very day or early tomorrow for medical which should at least one week before interview here.

Is the medical schedule a requirement? Most people going through the process in the Ukraine get thier medicals the day before the interview. I know you're not looking until later in the year for the wedding so time isn't that much of an issue, which is good, but have you gotten a rescheduled date?

Aww thanks Kim! I love it and man that sucks the whole being turned away thing huh? My poor man got all the way to Detroit from London poor thing!

Did anyone start gathering information for the next part of the process? Did the US citizens start filing the I-134 and gathering financial proofs? Did some foreign fiances ask their police certificate and birth certificate to their government?


Yup Gareth got his police record already but is prepared to get the other as well as he doesn't want that to slow us down! He popped to his local doc yesterday and is having him do up his immunisation record too

What can I do on my end? what is the I-134? I suppose I can get that off the USCIS site yeah? Is that something I can print out and fill out or do I need to wait for them to send it to me to fill it out! I would love to get anything I can done for the next bit!!!

Ooh ok I found the I-134 and printing it off and saved it as well Gosh I love these message boards that keep me a few steps (or months haha) ahead

April 9 was the first option given to us and then the whole month of May so I told him to pick out May 23. Medical here is to be taken at least 1week prior to interview but some take it so much earlier, even a month in advance so that if there would be any problem, it could be corrected or treated right away before interview.

We were chatting on yahoo while he made the call so it was as if I was still the one making the call ... I chose may 23 becoz there is also one girl near my hometown who i've met here on vj (sj_soulmates, a january filer also) who have the same sched and it would be nice to really meet up with people that I have only been talking online. Plus it also allows me to schedule my medical a week before interview (May 14) which is actually best time for me to take medical since that would be a few days after my monthly period. (there are some test during medical here that can't be done when a woman has her period)