Thank you, cca and KimandRuss. I'm going to take a deep breath and leave things alone for a few days. Hopefully that NOA1 will show up soon.

Vito lives in Los Angeles and what took a day to send them (nrext day delivery) we got 4 days later. they prob sent it it out to your future hubba almost straight away. just keep in mind a reasonable amount of time for normal post to get from california to your guy where ever he is. you are prob due to recieve it very soon. or begin of next week. so dont worry. as for email. I dont think you get those till you sign up to the website, after noa1 (thats if its working) we didnt get an email, just the hard copy posted in his mail box.

I don't know why I'm so anxious. Some moments I don't think about it at all and others...I just want to be able to hold him again. Long-distance relationships suck.

I concurr. well the long distance bit sucks. This past week and half has really got to me, I'm missing him terribly. I spent the last month throwing myself into coming up with ideas for the wedding to show Vito to take my mind off it. Now its made me aware of f the lack of funds I'm worried that Viot will have to cough up most of it. darn those sneeky banks and their student enticing overdrafts. Been spending the week trying to work out how to raise some extra cash and then theres the wedding date dilema!

Anyone else being nagged for an exact date by familly and friends? I'm toying with the idea of us chosing a date. I know its risky but both my mum and sister can only attend during term holidays and the longest ones will either be this xmas or feb or april next year. would it be benificial to to give the embassy a time frame, in this case do you think?

ugg i miss my man

We've tentatively chosen a date, but everyone knows its subject to change. We based it on everything going seamlessly. Plus what we're planning here in the states is pretty casual and basic, so if it needs to be changed there's not a lot of cause for concern. We're doing a more formal wedding in England in 2010, so the one over here is mainly just to make everything legal.

We figure 5 months for approval from CSC - that's around End of October. A month to get to Embassy - November. Two month til interview - January. So she'll be flying out January or February at the latest. We picked March 28th as it coincides with our proposal (the whole one year and a day thing). So hopefully that pans out, if not well we can always change it to what will work.

I know what you mean hannah+vito, im having a hard few days aswell. Im throwing myslef into work so i dont think about it. hes comin over 1st august with his parents (who i also miss a lot) so its not toooo long i guess.
we had the same dilema about wedding date. We orginally had it for oct 25th but then started to research and found out that it could take months (we didnt realsie before) so we decided to change to jan 10th. I know it sounds silly and risky but im very certain (touch wood) that we will have visa by then as we sent our petition in on April.

As to the whole family thing....i started off thinkin of my family and friends. We went through idea after idea on what would work best, wedding in usa or Uk, where, when? 'but my rents can only come over then' 'she can only come over at this time'.....i finally realised that this could go on forever. To be honest we all at VJ have a lot more to contend and deal with then your average wedding and to try and plan around everyone else is another stress load that you dont need. i know it sounds horrible but we came to the conclusion (or rather i did, andrew told me all along) that in the end we have to do whats best for us. we just want to get married. If ppl are there than great, if not im sure theyd understand the hardship youve endured and be understanding and just happy for you that you can finally do it. We planned oct cuz my rents could come over for 2 weeks but now its jan they can only do 4 days. We risked not having them there (and i wouldve been soooo upset) but at the end of the day we tried to please everyone and what can you do?? They wanted to be there so have decided its worth it, but if not theydve understood,
this whole visa thing puts things into persepctive and its to get married and be with the 1 you love. Its bad but under the circumstances just focus on yoursleves and try not to please evryone! Thats my thoughts to you

ah Man I wish we could get married on the 26th of jan that would be a year exactlly from proposal but its during term time.

at the end of the day if i at least want my imediate familly there and lets face it even if i didnt it would cause major hurt. I have to at least plan a little around them. thats why I was concidering actually setting a date as I know that people have said the uk embassy try to be very conciderate of peoples plans if they already have some and I dont want to get to the point where we get the visa but have to wait longer than validertiy just cos we missed the holiday dates. hmmmm not sure
I mean there is a half term in feb maybe thats a good idea
but vito was so set on being together by dec. and while thats prob really tight if it turned up to be possible and we had to pospone because we set ur date to far that would suck. forgive the gobbledy ###### guy. its been a long and sucky week and my bran is about to give up on me.

I think that I too expected things to move at a certain pace and really believed I would be back in St. Louis by the end of the year. I don't think that's going to happen so we're having to think about *maybe* another visit from him, but we really want to save for our life together. As for a wedding, we know we'll have a proper wedding with friends and family down the road. As soon as I arrive in St. Louis we'll probably do a courthouse run, just him and me and a judge. (I like how the St. Louis County site says the ceremony with take three to five minutes. Ha.)

Well I will say this. I haven't been on this site for that long, but in the time I have been, and all the research i've seen, it appears to me that the CSC is finally moving along...I would say the estimated dates they give out may be more accurate than in the past. So have a little hope!

And Hannah, if you could do that - you'd be getting married on my birthday!!!!! I would so love for Sarah to be here before then, so we could spend it together...

My advice on wedding planning is research it all now, and have a game plan, but leave wiggle room for when you're more sure of the date. For example once you have your NOA2, you'll have a better idea as to when you'll get your interview etc (not exact, but a better ball park), and once you get your interview date you should be able to start making more solid plans...That's how we're looking at it.

Another piece of advice, is you could always go to the courthouse and get legally married, and then that gives you plenty of time to plan your real ceremony and things for family and friends...no rushing, etc.

haha I so wish we could but its uk term time blast. well I've looked at the official times and that puts it around six month wait for noa2 at the very least however, on here although there are those unlucky souls that are novemebr filers still waiting and finally getting approved, ( theres also older) most seem to be january filers and a few feb already too. so that make me think that the official time frame is excessive just to cover their backs if something takes longer than others. and that really for the majority its prob around 4 to 5 month mark but more closer to 4 to 4.5. and if thats true may filers will start seeing progress in september. I hope if not late august. but then theres what an attourny said to us about the center and their financial year. he said it was if i remember right sept to aug or it might be oct till sept. but basically that means ands the end they have no money and take staff to other areas and so it will slow abit but begining of the year theyhave loads and bring loads of staff in. that was his answer to how long can we expect to wait.

My god, look at all the other California filers.

I went through a rather difficult process, and I hope everything turns out ok. The lawyer I had, who is a part of an activist immigration service, is used to doing things the way I wanted it to happen -- B2 Visa, marriage, AOS. It is highly surprising how I got a funny look when I told him I am doing a K1. I feel kind of sheepish in a sense, but I also know whoever looks over my fiancee's records knows she owns a business and would have to sell it to move over here. It simply isn't worth the risk, and she's worth the wait, so, with a bittersweet feeling, I had to file a K1.

I just hope everything plays out okay. I was in school off and on during the last few years, so obviously didn't make too much on my tax returns, and have many job changes, but the same address since 1994. However, been doing full time and putting off school just to get her here.

The worst part of it all was, talking to some people at customs in four airports, I found out there is a high likelihood she would be denied if she came to visit again in October because of a pending K1 visa (even though she still has her B2). So I'll end up visiting Greece in December for Christmas and New Years. The consulate in Athens seems pretty fast, but I'm also in California, which obviously has the slowest system since there's so many people filing. At least there's no quota.

Wishing for a speedy process for all of us May filers.

Do they have a history of lagging around the holiday season?

Wellcome CYE, hope you have a speedy journey.
as for the holiday question, they did slow down to a minimum on memorial holiday and there were those who predicted this and said it happened last year. I guess other than national holidays it will depend on their finances and how many staff they have.

p.s. I got a funny look too from an attorney when I was last visisting when we said we were gunna do the k1 cos i needed to fly home again.

morning fellow may fillers!

A new week, a new day, and more waiting.

I hope this message finds you all in good health!

Vito and I are planning his next trip to see me in sept for my birthday and I cant wait

we are planning on visiting the London Eye, as nither of us have done it before! Must say the London hotels are a bit pricey though!

What is everyone else upto?

Still waiting for our NOA1, seven days after CSC received our petition. Work is keeping me busy, which is good, but Chris is sick at home today. It's hardest to be apart when one person isn't feeling their best. We've been chatting a little more about him visiting if the process continues to move slowly; it gives me something to look forward to. I hope everyone has an anxiety-free week.

Hannah + Vito, if you visit priceline.com and name your own price for say a 4 star hotel in London, you will not be disappointed. I've used it all over the world and saved a bundle on air and hotels. The package we bought to London included airfare from the States and put us in a 4 star hotel right by Kensington Palace. I rarely pay more than 125 a night for 4 star hotels in major cities all over the world. We didn't do the eye but we've got lots of pictures of it! My legs go numb in high places.

a similar site, is www.hotwire.com. The catch with them is they won't tell you the hotel until after you booked, but essentially you plug in where you want to stay, the type of hotel and it returns the results. It will have the star rating for the hotel and the say something like "3 star hotel - holiday inn, Comfort Suites or similar etc"...I've had good experiences with it.

Priceline is good as well, I've used them for hotels before (never for airfare, but then again - i prefer to book through the actual airline!)

and Airfare jumped to almost $900 to fly from Columbus to London for Christmas There's a $750 flight out of Cleveland, it's just a matter of getting to Cleveland.

Andrew came over to the UK 3 weeks ago and we went to london for 3 nights. stayed right on oxford street by marbel arch and did the whole madam tussaurd, london dungeon and went to see billy elliot at west end aswell as sightseeing. Was so good- very recomended!
Andrews comin august 1st and i cant wait but does still seem so far away.
Hope eveyones ok.......

Vitos coming the last week of september we think the 25th as my birthday is the 28th, and it will cost him around $1000 return airfare by the looks. he's been desperate to go on the london eye for ages so we were gunna stay one nite before going back to kent. but we were hoping not to have to pay over £100 for the hotel seen as we would prob wanna go out and eat a nice meal and blah blah then travel bk to kent on the train. it all adds up when you are on a cash diet lol. thanks guys i'll check those sites.

oh and stardusted I know what you mean about wanting to be closer when your other half is sick. Vito wasnt feeling that hot last nite either. I wanted to give him a big hug to feel better.

Hooray London Dungeon! It was so much fun, though we had done the Tower of London prior and by the end our feet were killing us

The London Dungeon was a lot of fun though...

Hannah - if you two like italian food go to Da Paolo.

It's address is
3 Charlotte Place
London W1T 1SD

website is www.dapaolo.co.uk

It's about 60-70 quid for two...at least that's what it was for Sarah and I...it is out of this world...

Another good place is Sarastro Restaurant

It's over by Drury Theatre, around Covent Garden. Again about 60-70 quid for two. They're nice, intimate and very romantic!

126 Drury Lane
Theatreland, London WC2B 5QG

website is www.sarastro-restaurant.com

Just some helpful tips I know that's a bit pricey for dinner - but really you won't regret it...That was a 3 course for both of us at both places...I can talk to Sarah and see if she knows any good places by where you'll be staying for the night - she was in the pub and food busness for almost 10 years...

off to the doctors in the morning for 9 ugg. will be asking about what vaccinations i have had and what i can get from him I hate injections.

how is everyone else? good i hope?

Our NOA1 came on Monday, which is nice. I will probably go and get my hep vaccines started (since it takes six months). This has been a busy week, which keeps us distracted. My mother keeps quoting The Secret to me. (I may have to burn the book.)

what is the secret? guess i should do more reading.

ok saw the family GP today, hes gunna see if he can get it in a little cheaper for me but the quote at the moment is £80 a shot on private as I can't have it on NHS as i'm out of target group but he understands i need it and its USA wanting it for sake of and not for my health benifit, he was so funny lol I wont tell you what he refered to the USA as . As for the tdap hes kept my print out of the list and hes going to ask the nurse if shes heard of it as hes not familliar with that variation. so i have no idea what that will cost and if I need it unforunatly if I did have chicken pox as a kid its not in my files, does anyone know if they automatically check with your blood test for HIV all that? Or do I have to ask them and they take more?

My fiancee had the chicken pox antibody checked when all the rest of her blood tests were run.

whats tdap?? Have i missed out on yet another peice of info...ahhh cant keep up
My nurse called me the other day and said that my HPV vaccination may be available on nhs as im under 27 but shes just waiting on confirmation so fingers crossed!!!!!! Waiting for my medical noted to get to docs as ive just changed docs and then im gunna start gettin boosters ect and what i need....

hmm well as far I have gaytherd from nhs guidelines on net and the doctor earlyer, its for those under 17 that are in the target group and worth vaccinating because its a preventative and not a cure and as far as they are concerned if you have ever been sexually active, its too late to be affective. although he seemed a lttle unsure as the guidelines were about to change on it so maybe thats what she means. but at 25 almost 26 I'm gunna have to get on the Private perscription. but he did say he would talk to the nurse about buying it in slightly cheaper if they could so it was not so expensive. all and all though £80. tdap i think is the tetnus, dipthiria, and not sure what ap is i think the p is petussis or something like that. my gp had not a clue and had to take my print out to the nurse to get her to research it and will get to me by end of next week. but i think its a new combination so hmm not sure but then that might be on the nhs?

I am also a May 08 filer at CSC. Melannie and I discuss this alot, what is the earliest hope for a NOA2? Just wonder what others opinions on this are....

I'm betting late august early sept but thats a hope and a bet based on seeing the jan filers noa2s and now feb noa2s.


on further note to my hpv debacle. IT GOT WORSE.

my gp quoted possibly £80 per shot and didnt know what tdap is. said he will find out and get back to me. well he phoned today.

missed his first call tried to return but he was busey and when he rang bk i missed him again. well mum took message the second time.

they can't do the hpv for me at the surgery, i will have to find somewhere else he suggested finding the travel clinic in ashford.
and it will cost me £115 per shot. and still not a word about tdap. i did search for that on nhs choices but it didn't get a result does that mean they dont do it here? oh well its only about £25 from the civil surgeon. the hpv is £120 from them..

Vito phoned the doctor to check the price over there and it works out at about £70 something i think he said about $150 per shot. but i dont understand how much i can delay these and when by which i have to have them done by so now what do i do?


this has made me so angry and totally confussed

bythe way dairy farmer welcome to vj and our humble thread

Thanks for the welcome! It helps to wait knowing others in the same shoes!

I don't remember where I read this, but I *THINK* (emphasis on think and don't take this as gospel), you can get by with having at least the 1st shot of the HPV treatment, and then need to have it completed by AOS? I dunno. Did you check int UK region area - there was some info there.

FYI - tdap is Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) Vaccine - Its the one that hurts sorry But I know. Melannie

THEY ALL HURT!!!!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1938114 i posted this question about the hpv and when i should get it. only one responce but very informative. looks like as long as i have gotten the first one by filling they will process my aplication for aos. so i think that leaves it possible to differ till i am in the usa for all three. i hope. guess i will have to find out from official sources.

Too True but this had a bigger needle than the others and I nearly passed out from Hyperventilating at the sight of it. I'm petrified of needles. Keep telling John he had better be worth it

0

I'm guessing you never had the TB jab then? B@#+#@ I still have the scar it gave me.

I'm hoping by some fate Vito will be there with me to hold my hand and catch me. god knows how I'm gunna react to the blood test

Hi everyone! I filed the I-129 for the K-1 on 5/29/08 and just waiting like all of you and stressing about details too......lol I am being patient as I am afraid of the big day. Anyone know of a good website or a site on visajourney about what the next step entails (after the NOA-2)? I want to be prepared! Good luck everyone and nice to meet you all!!

Erika

VJ's K-1 AOS guide covers most of what you need to know.

Off topic, I had a complete breakdown Friday morning as I started to think about how long it will be before Chris and I are together again. I kept bursting into tears and feeling incredibly sorry for myself. It really is hard to think that so much of your future depends on the government, people that don't know you and really don't care about you. Ugh. Today was a little better and I feel somewhat saner. But I'm sure there will be many more bawling days ahead.

hey all,
My nurse called me the other day and told me she had managed to get the HPV on the NHS which saves me some huge $$$! I dont know how she did it as i dont fall into the catgory. She said she had to wrangle a bit but eventually it paid off! Good news for me!
Im in USA at the moment with Andrew I didnt take any documentation with me as proof i was coming back as the trip was totally last min. I did have to sit in border control and be questioned but they told me the reason why the let me in was coz i was totally honest with them, phew! No gunna spend 1 amazing week here. Feels like im home haha

I know what you mean. I've been bawling for no reason randomly for the past two weeks. I'm getting really sensitive and slightly jellous too when he hangs out with his female friends cos I feel like they have my spot and get to hang out with my man its irrational as he doesn't do anything to invoke it, its just me missing him, and in a way feeling a little home sick how freeky is that? just shows its the who not the what that makes it home. its not helping that this is gunna be the longest period we've spent apart between trips. oh well two and a half more months to go before he visits me. guess he will have to put up with an emotional loon for a fiance till then .


cca your nurse has to be the best. how the hell did she wangle that? mind you I'm starting to wonder what the point of seeing the docs is. recently I dont seem to get the answers I'm looking for.

Congrats!

I've been in contact with border control/customs and really all I've found out, regarding my fiancee visiting again is that her being allowed entry with a pending K1 visa is depending on the mood of the agent.

I mean, I won't see her til Christmas in Athens (she was here in April), and us getting even more pictures and documentation supporting our togetherness would only help our cause. However, I would like her to visit here again in a few months.

Does anyone else have any success stories (with customs) about their foreign fiancee visiting while there's a pending K1? If all they want is a return ticket, that's no problem. She has a valid tourist B2 visa (required with a passport to visit here anyways since Greece doesn't yet have a special agreement that many other countries do have) and it's an insult to our intelligence that we'd try to get her here with an already pending K1 visa and expect her to be able to stay.

hi
I haven't got personnal experience with being admitted with the k1 pending but I know plent of people have posted on here that have and its question that arises frequently. but from what i have read on here you are right about the discression of the border guard. if you look in the quides this question is here with some advice but no final answer. basically if you want to try, take proof of her intended return. there are more than a return ticket that one could take, and be honest if they ask questions. its also been suggested on here don't give more information than is asked. but dont lie. try searching the forums for this topic there should be plenty of results. I was there in april too. hes coming in sept as we take it in turns to visit each other. I'm hoping buy then we will have heard something on our petition and then it wont be longer than two months to visa approval. fingers crossed. I'm not trying while the k1 is pending because a) I can't afford the worst case senario which is being sent back and needing to buy a new return ticket. the only evidence of returning i have currently is the noa1 , a letter from employer (but im bar staff so ) and a return ticket.
basically its not illegal to visit during the visa pending. but the onus is on your fiance to prove to the border guard that she intends to return and not stay.

I totally know what you mean. The tears come from nowhere and really are quite irrational. Cannot say much but offer my support. I know exactly how you feel.

In addition, I know this will sound completely crazy but force yourself to laugh (I suggest when no one else is around) Find within you a loud raucous laugh. Eventually it becomes real!!! Made me feel like I was mental but I felt SOOOO good for it too.

cheers

Melannie

The officer did not seem concerened about me goin into the usa with a k1 pending... he seemed more interested in what i was doin here in jan (whe i stayed for 3 months on VWP)
He told me that if i had lied about the k1 and he had typed stuff into the computer and found out then they wouldve sent me straight back but cuz i was totally honest and he could see that i was coppertaive and just wanted to sort it out he let me in. He asked for no proof that i was going back. the most he asked for was what jobs do i have ( i do bar work)
SO i would say be honest, coppertaive and they will most likley let u in as there is no rule to say youre not allowed to visit on a pending k1 visa.
I got questioned too when i came over in jan. Wanted to know why i was stayin for 3 months. I mean if theyre gunna get suspicios everytime someone uses the full time for the Visa waiver programme then cut the time allowed! Anyways, i cant wait wait for this visa to be sorted as eveytime i go ver there no it seems to be routine that i sit in border control for an hr or so
So good to be here with andrew though!!! I dont wanna go back Hes comin over to UK July 31st for ten days so havent got too long to see him but geez would this process be a lot easier if we were together all the way through it
Cheers xx

bump!!

how is everyone doing?

am i halucinating or is there a may filer (Liviu & Lydia) who ahs got their noa2 already?
surly thats too quick even for a sucessful expidite. if its true I'm truly happy for them and and can only hope that this is a sign that csc's efficiency is improving. but wow double wow.

I noticed that as well. That's...incredible. Congratulations to them, and here's hoping more of these surprisingly quick approvals happen. (To us!)

Today is our fourth anniversary. Definitely not a good day to be apart.

another saterday another pay day and a step closer to my goals!

its the little victories that you feel the most huh? not the easiest even to deal with but realising how much i've knocked off that stinking student overdraft cheared me up, then i got to come home and speak to my loverly man, and realised that the estimated dates on the timeline were closer than i though woohoo. plus i got my usual days off that i haven't had for a while. time to party!

so how is everyone else?

bump

It's been a very hard go, as both of us are feeling the distance something strong. We're managing though. Sarah got a laptop last week, so it's been nice to have some more privacy. It has a webcam, so I went out and purchased one as well, and it has been amazing to have while we're on the phone...to actually *see* her when she's talking...but it's bitter/sweet as it does make it harder to say good night...but 62 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes and 5 seconds until she's here to visit! The she'll be here for a month, and then only 2.5 months til Christmas with her!

I bought my plane tickets to England for christmas as well! $747 round trip for 2 week stay. So things are progressing, however slowly. No news is good news, I suppose. This weekend will be a huge hurdle to get over...Sarah is going away to Nice, France from Saturday til Monday night...I'll be going to Boston from Friday until Monday morning. So we'll be out of touch for basically 3 whole days...I'm not looking forward to this one

I hear you James hang on in there.
Webcams are great, if it wasn't for skype i would never have been able to afford this relationship but we found a way. have you tried getting a microphone each and free calling using yahoo or skype yet? they are great but printing off the call logs are a mission and a half

wow $747 for a round trip? double poor Vito ended up forking over a hell of a lot more for his trip in september and it should be in the off peek period. mind you i think lax to heathrow is always slightly more than popular holiday destinations to heathrow, at least thats how it always seems when i book my flights.