My fiancee' and I met on an online role-playing game in spring of 2004. I had just logged on to the game for the first time in a while, because of lots of stress and having been out cold for a few days after having my wisdom teeth removed. So, doped up on pain-killers, I start talking to this new player. We started debating who had the worse problems, and discovered we both have a social condition called Asperger's Syndrome. For those who don't know, it is a form of high functioning autism that involves verbal communication and some weird traits that would take too long to go into. In any case, we played together on the game for a while and became pretty good friends.

At the time we first met, he had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend, and even though we both felt something towards each other, we didn't persue it romantically. We remained friends, but drifted appart a bit because his schooling and his girlfriend made it hard for him to play on the game, and my boyfriend was making things hard on me as well. In the fall of 2005, he started to play again from school, and began telling me horror stories of his girlfriend. He was afraid that no one would ever care about him again if he left her. At the time, I had just recently gone through breaking out of my own bad relationship with my boyfriend, so I tried to be his support.

Around November of last year, after he had spent two weeks or so with me during a vacation, talking to me over the internet... I admitted that I felt more than friendship towards him. I was in tears because I was afraid of him going home and never seeing him again. Luckily, I was mistaken. My love and support allowed him to get out of his abusive relationship, and we started our relationship officially on New Years. A new year, a new start, right?

Well, we first met each other in Amsterdam, Netherlands in February. I took him out for his first, ever, valentines day dinner. Within a few days, we felt as if we'd known each other, loved each other for a lifetime. But in the end, I had to go back to Chicago. It was heartbreaking for both of us. We made plans for me to see him again in the summer, and he came here in early July to spend almost a month and a half with me. Those really were the best days of our lives. It also reaffirmed that it wasn't a fluke. We really did fit, and we really did belong together.

So, after another heartwrenching goodbye at the airport, we said that we'd had enough. I sent him this drawing I did in an e-mail:

And of course he said yes. So, now he's finishing off his first year of school, then working until we can finish through the K-1 visa process. Then he'll come here and start attending school in the US after we get married.

So, that's our story...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story and welcome to VJ

Welcome and good luck on your journey

Have you heard about Direct Consular Filing? It's my duty to inform you.
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=dcf

Post to the DCF Forum if you have a question!

I've heard about DCF as an option, although for our case, it probably is better to go through the K-1 process for a couple of reasons. First, he needs time to finish his current school semetser, and I can't get out to his country this year. He's coming here in December for a visit, though. Essentially, by the time the K-1 goes through, he'll be done with his first year of schooling and will be able to come here. So it's more of a timing thing than anything else. That, and we'd like to have the wedding here with our friends and family and have everything be legal for him to stay afterwards.

I'll admit in this commentary I don't understand everything about DCF filing, but I think we're going to stick with doing the K-1 for right now.

Just always like to make sure certain people know about it.

In a nutshell, DCF allows the couple to get married and then file the petition at the Consulate. As you can imagine, that is a shorter line than one of the 4 Service centers (example, my I-130 was approved in four days instead of 2+years). The foreign spouse then immediately applies for an immigrant visa locally and does not have to go thru the NVC steps.
Not only is the resulting visa the 'complete packet' compared to a K visa, usually the whole thing is done tout suite---our case took 33 days.

But, each couple has their own needs, and you set out a good set of reasons why 'fastest' isn't always 'bestest'

Welcome to VJ!

And remember...the K1 means he'll have to wait awhile to work, and a lot longer to become a permanent resident... things to keep in mind

Thank you. Mainly, he's planning on going to school here rather than working right away, so having to wait for a work permit won't be as much of an issue. I do understand that it will take a while, but we plan to file for the AOS and his work permit as soon as we get married (ie. have the papers ready beforehand and send them as soon as we have the certificate)

Great story! Welcome to VJ and good luck with your journey!

And good luck with YOUR VisaJourney!

Regards Mark.

Welcome to VJ!