is it advisable to purchase a one way ticket or a return ticket?

Good Luck, Joanna! Enjoy that month off!! And were a crossing our fingers for window # man.

Welcome back Jill!!! Glad you got some sun and R&R.

Good Luck to Jamie & Andre!! You will "pass" with flying colors!!




I'd say one way, but that's just my opinion.

one way..... cheaqper and less stress with the immigration officers

Good Morning everyone

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend



Purchase whatever is cheaper. Andre came on a round trip ticket cause it was $200 cheaper. No one said anything about it all through his trip.




That is sooooo wonderful

Enjoy your trip to JA and all the time you have off work



What a good wife Hope Henry has a great day at work



I am nervous...I am trying not to be but I can't help it

I got everything gathered over the weekend...now I just have to organize it all into the different folders.

I think the thing I am most nervous about is the fact that Andre really has no clue about any of this immigration stuff. I tell him different things as we go along but its like in one ear and out the other. I am just afraid he is going to look suspicious to the interviewer because he doesn't know some of the stuff or he has to sit and ponder forever. I am also nervous about him remembering details and dates...he has the worst memory and if he didn't have a calendar to tell him what day it was and what he was suppose to be doing he would be so lost. So I am stressing over that a little bit




Sounds like you had a great time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!




Thanks

Wow this has turned into quite the novel of a post

Jamie -- Don't worry....this will be a 'piece of cake' -- I just know it!!! Roy is the same way as Andre.....kinda clueless.....that's because he knows I will take care of everything

Joanna -- A whole month off.....you're not gonna want to go back to work when it's over. Forgive me for "blanking out" but, do you have a honeymoon planned? Will you be taking even more time off?

Jill -- Happy Birthday!!!

Hey Joanna
I had window 12, He was pretty good to, attractive man in his late 20s with light brown hair. Didnt even split us up to ask Rohan any questions. So if you get him I think he will also be a blessing

Ok I had to put this out there...Avoid window 6! The lady is awful and doesn't really know what she is doing

NO WINDOW 6
NO WINDOW 6
NO WINDOW 6

By any chance is she a lady about 40 to 50ish? Brown hair? She's from California?

That's the one we had. Acting like she was all excited for us, acting all excited about our relationship and then she handed us the BIG one......the denial.

All in all, it wasn't her fault but she didn't need to go on and on about us, get us all excited and knew in the back of her head....a denial was coming. As I was crying at the window after she handed us the denial slip, she comes from the other side with some tissues and was like, if it makes you feel any better....the couple in the next window got denied too. I was like..WTF??? yeah, that makes me feel better!!!!!!

Michele - Have a great trip!

Joanna - That's wonderful you get to extend your trip! And you leave so soon






Ohh.. his first day Isn't it exciting?! I hope he has a great day, keep us posted on how it goes




Happy Birthday Tomorrow! I'm glad you had a fun trip




I don't know how all the rules work, but we bought Michael a one way and when we had to change his flight day/time we weren't charged any fees. And it was refundable. I had to change my date/time too and had to pay $100 fee to do it. So I say one-way




I'm sure he won't be the first one with this problem You guys will be just fine!

Mindy, we are trying to decide that now...I wanted to go to Las Vegas and see the Grand Canyon but I dont think we will have the money to do that...so I have always wanted to drive down the Keys...so we might just go stay a 4-5 nights in Key West they have a nice Double tree hotel that I am looking into..I think that is about a 6-7 hour drive from here....Yeah I can get the time off from work but if by chance Adrian gets some seasonal work on the Temp work permit and has to work then we wont be going anywhere unless he can get time off...I would at least like to go some where for a few days just to get away after the wedding and to say that yeah we did have a honeymoon...Adrian says it is good luck for a marriage if you go on a honeymoon.
When we fianlly get back to Orlando we have so much to do for the wedding, we already have an appointment with the photographer for pre wedding pictures on May 27th, we have to do a menu tasting for the reception, meet with the florist and the DJ....Man I didnt realize we were going to be that busy!!!

Hey Jamie whats on your AOS interview list??

Hello all,

Just a quick check in. I'm off this week as my last day at my job was Friday and I don't start the new gig until Monday, Squito and I are trying to work on addressing our wedding invitations and spend some QT. We finally received the NOA for his EAD and we got him enrolled in a GED course here in BK that starts on May 1st.

We bought Squito a roundtrip ticket because it was cheaper. Joanna, congrats on the month off!! Jill, Happy Birthday!!! Michelle, safe travels. Henry, good luck today on the new gig!! Jme, I know you and Andre will be just fine .

Yeah Jamie -- what are you bringing? I would be really interested in your checklist I already have a "folder" that I keep in the kitchen.....I drop things into it when they come (or when I think of something that might be useful). Like with the interview, I will be the one dragging the steamer trunk of evidence behind me


Congratulations on FINALLY getting that NOA You two have yourselves a wonderful week!!! You deserve it!!!



I got Roy a round trip ticket -- it was much cheaper than the one way.


I LOVE the Keys......I drove down there from Miami -- it was a long but nice drive. That would make for a nice (few) days away

When you get the interview letter they give you this HUGE list of things to bring. I will bring it to work tomorrow and scan it in so you guys can see it. I have basically everything on that list. After I organize all of it I will post what I have.

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone The night shift is checking in!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL! Glad you had a nice trip to Miami. Sounds like fun.

I'm gonna go finish catching up and make all my little comments now



No, unfortunately that's not really an option. I work about 30 min. each way from home! And I only get 1/2 hour for lunch so Tony would have to spend an hour driving just to see me for 30 minutes And he works all over the place doing construction. They eat lunch on the go most days - fast food in the truck or whatever. Thanks for the idea though

Also, have a safe trip



That's awesome I am so jealous You'll be in Jamaica for more than 2 weeks!!!




Did he talk in English or Patois? Hope he had a good 1st day at the new job

We bought Tony a round trip ticket because it was cheaper. It really doesn't matter one way or the other. No one questioned us at all.



I don't even remember what window we had It seems like Tony has been here forever It's been 1 1/2 years already since he moved here.

Sounds like you are a good wife. I hope Henry enjoys his job and I know you will enjoy him bringing home the bacon. By the way, I have a question. Does your man mind doing housework? I happen to believe it's o.k. for the man to pitch in.

Key West sounds good. I've heard it's beautiful there. You may want to beware of the Chi-Chi men though if Adrian is like most other Jamaican men when it comes to that I hear there's a lot of them in that area. We had a "belated" honeymoon about 4 months after we got married. I didn't have any vacation time left by the time Tony got here

By the way, what are "pre-wedding" photo's??? I've never heard of that

Yea Adrian is typical Jamaican...he does not like them "Batty Boys".

Well I call them pre-wedding but I guess we could call them engagment photos, although we had engagment photos done at Sears in Dec....but the photographer is going to take pics of us at this lake downtown ( oh yeah Adrian doesnt know it yet but I am taking my dog with us so we can get a "family photo" )...and the one we like he will frame and put a mat around it for our guests to sign at the wedding instead of a guest book.
So pre wedding photos or engagment photos ???? whatever you want to call them

I brought so much stuff to the interview and the lady didn't even need/want most of it She had all of our original paperwork right in front of her. Even the stuff the letter tells you to bring (ie: birth certificate, copies of all Immigration documents, etc.) she didn't even collect that from us. Basically the most important things are the current things:

Most recent W-2 showing we filed jointly/married(she already had the previous 3 years worth from former paperwork)
Marriage license/certificate
Bank statements with both our names on the acccount
My health care coverage letter showing Tony as my dependant
Our ticket stubs from our trip to Florida (honeymoon) together

I brought our whole wedding album w/ pics but she never even looked at it. I'll have to look back at my stuff to see if I'm forgetting anything.



Tony does the housework better than me He did ALL of it when he first got here since I was working full time and he was home all day. He did the dusting, vacuuming, cooking, laundry, everything! He never once complained or said it was "women's work" or anything like that. I loved it. Now we share it about half & half.

Rhonda, Hope you have a good night..I am going to bed now, my mom and I are going to Jacksonville tomorrow to have lunch with my cousin and go look for bridesmaids dresses.

So until later, Joanna

Thanks. Have fun tomorrow. I love dress shopping. Unfortunatley I didn't get to pick out bridesmaid dresses We planned everything such last minute. My sister was my Maid of Honor and she just wore a dress she already had. And my friend Jackies husband (also Jamaican) was Tony's best man. We only had about 30 people at our wedding.

Hi everyone....i am new here..in the process of getting all the forms together for my fiance to take to the embassy in kingston...and then waiting for the interview...these past couple of months have been a waiting game and not very fun...
anyway just thought i would say hi and maybe pick your brains if i have questions...

Shauna

Hi Shauna, Welcome to the Yardie thread
Are you doing a K-1 Visa? I'm assuming you already sent in your I-129f and got approved. Correct me if I'm wrong. Let us know if you have any questions - that's why we're here

Michele Have a wonderful trip

Good morning family.

Happy Birthday Jill

Have a safe trip Michele

Welcome Shauna

Elizabeth - how was Henry's first day?

Jamie - your interview will be a breeze.

Going back to catch up......

Good morning, all.

Welcome to the yardies thread, all you new folks!

Congrats to all on the good things happening in your life. And good luck to upcoming interviews and such.

Oh, and Rhonda, about bitter melon, I didnt mean it was awful, I just meant the first time I tried it, I thought it was awful, but it grows on you. Its rather hard to explain. But now I love it, I could eat it 4 or 5 times a week and be happy. Not to mention its good for you. I dont know if its a Caribbean dish, or no. It is very much a Guyana dish tho, the Indians there eat a lot of it, and its a common Asian dish as well.

Lake had his orientation yesterday, he wouldnt mind his temp job so much, but its very hard work, and no one in HIS lil group socializes, talks, jokes, laughs, they dont even take breaks. They ask at orientation how he liked it so far, and I guess he "let em have it!" Said the reason no one stays in that particular group is for that reason. The dont understand why they have such high turnover in that particular area...
cuz other areas are not a problem. He also met another dude that starts tomorrow, he likes the guy but is worried bout him, cuz he is a big guy (was over 300 lbs, now down to like 280) and is very young, so is not sure he can handle it long. He is hoping this guy and him can at least joke and laugh and perhaps break together, etc. Maybe make the day not so gruesome.

He will probably just get to liking it when he hears bout another job. Boy, I was reading bout the benefits tho, they suck. Only 1/2 day vacation per month and you dont earn that til you been there a YEAR from the way I understood the booklet. I think you earn it, but cant TAKE it til a year is up. And you finally earn 4 weeks at 20 years. If you have over 3 sick days in 3 months, u get probation....lots of stuff that makes me glad its temp. I am not sure why people stay there. I know benefits have been cut a lot from jobs, but geeeeeez! Gues I been out of the workplace too long!

hi..yes my i-129f was approved and mike got the packet 3 so we are getting all of those forms filled out and hopefully by next week he can take it to the embassy and then he will get his interview....i am not sure if i should plan to go with him to the interview or not....any thoughts?



Shauna

Hi Shauna, congrats and welcome. I would definitely attend the interview if possible, it's the best proof of an ongoing relationship that you can provide. Good luck with the rest of your journey.

Good morning all!!

Michelle, have a safe trip love

Hi Shauna -- welcome!! I agree with Squitto. It's best if you can attend the interview. Some of us have, some of us haven't. It's really a personal choice. Me -- there is no way I would have/could have let him do it alone.

Michelle -- Have a WONDERFUL trip!!

Jill -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Good Morning

Happy Birthday Jill

Michele I hope you have a fantastic trip

Welcome Shauna! I agree with everyone else...If you can go I would go If you can't make it...just make sure everything is well organized and your fiance understands the whole process and all the different papers.



Hey Joanna...I hope you have a good time shopping. Do you know what colors you are having at your wedding? Do you know how many people you will have? (sorry if you already answered that earlier)




Andre is pretty much the same. When he wasn't working he did it all. Now that he is working we share it...although I must say our house has seen better days




Andre just applied for a job at a door making company. They have some pretty sad benefits as well. You can get basic insurance coverage after 90 days but its not through a great company and the co-pays and deductibles are outrageously high. You get one week vacation (5 days) after working a year. Once you have worked there for 5 years its bumped up to 10 days. No sick days or holiday pay. I am soooo not impressed...but it is better than nothing for now.

And they wonder why they have a high turnover rate

Thanks for the Birthday wishes ladies!!!!

And welcome Shauna!! I don't know how you found us....but you'll be glad you did!

Hey Shauna, welcome to the board



I'm with the others Shauna, I would DEFINITELY go to the interview.

I'm hoping that when Roy gets a job he will get good insurance so I can be added to his <HEY a girl can hope, can't she? > mine is sooooo expensive just for me since I am "basically" self-employed.....no group to latch onto it's only me. I haven't checked to see how much it will be to add him to mine....I kinda think I won't be able to afford it

Thanks for everyons input...i think i will try to go!!! I want to make sure everything is right....not that i am anal about it...it is just i have put a lot of time into this and it has to go right!
Shauna

Even group rates aren't all that

To add Andre to my insurance would have cost $283 per month Plus co-pays and deductibles for visits. If we would have added him I would have spent $1,981 and he hasn't had to go to the doctors once. I just pray that nothing major happens. But for us there is no way we could have afforded to add him to my insurance.




Don't worry about being anal...I think we all fit that description to some extent

Shauna, I would recommend it too!

Good morning everyone!

Welcome Shauna - and to answer your question, I didn't go to interview. I mailed hubby a 5 pound binder w/ dividers, a table of contents, and required docs for immigration AND lots of proof (photos, plane itineraries, letters, cards, text messages, etc.). So if you can't make it, just be sure he's overprepared.

Glad to hear the hubbies are working!

We are F I N A L L Y sending off AOS packet this Friday and I'm going to DMV/SS office to change my name

Go ahead and be anal - I think all of us were/are




Congrats Jonesie

Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating today. My birthday is today too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday Kimone!!!

Welcome to the thread and VJ, Shauna!

Woohoo Jonesie! Great to get that AOS in the mail!!

What is the deal with all the "suckie" benefits. Man, I should show that to my boss. She is constantly harping about how good we've got it. We only contribute $12 per pay check. That would be great if Roy could you down the road, Mindy. It made Henry feel so great to add me to his dental and vision (I kept my medical from my job). He felt like he was contributing to my upkeep. LOL But I may switch medical since his benefits give you 50K for fertility treatments!

[quote name='Sbys' date='Apr 25 2006, 12:26 PM' post='150486']
Go ahead and be anal - I think all of us were/are

[quote name='nannygirl82' post='150438' date='Apr 25 2006, 11:12 AM']
Thanks for everyons input...i think i will try to go!!! I want to make sure everything is right....not that i am anal about it...it is just i have put a lot of time into this and it has to go right!
Shauna
[/quote]


Yeah, we put the A in anal - doesn't sound right, but it's true!

Hey Elizabeth - How was Henry's first day at his job?

You can say that again -- I am surprised we haven't (yet) collectively self-imploded!!

Lee

Happy Birthday

Damien is trying so hard to get another job. He isn't making much money at his current job but his benefits are excellent. He's in a union, has sick and vacation leave, insurance, etc. Of course none of that matters because he wants to make more money.

I was able to add him to my health insurance for free because I already had family coverage.

Happy Birthday Kimone!!

Welcome Shauna!!
I just had my interview about 10 days ago, if u have any questions for me, feel free to ask

Hey ladies....a few comments here:

Round trip or one-way...whichever is cheaper --immigration does not care.

Interview:

I agree with Jonesie if you can go go. I did not go because I knew Oneil could handle it. We had a delay due to immigration just being blasted picky. They requested more evidence such as cards etc. All I did was fax Oneil our text messages and e-mails and that was it. They then approved him 2 days later. What a PAIN. So if you cant go and you think your man can handle it then stay home.

Oneils brother's interview is May 5th!!! I hope he gets to come here!!! I cant wait to here. He is engaged to my good friend here in MN.

I am glad everybody is getting a job that is here now. I just mailed off the AOS package yesterday! YEAH. It should have arrived this morning in Chicago.

Now the waiting begins for the EAD.