~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[StillThePrettiest 4]

It's so good to hear from you! I'm glad all your stuff arrived safely, I know you were worried about it.

I have all the tintin dvd's and the comic books as pdf's on a cdrom. Not quite the same as having the books but I got rid of 99%of my books in the months before the visa came through. I had collected a lot of modern first editions over the years and I got more money back for them than I paid, but it was hard letting them go. I was very disciplined about it, apart from two books; EM Forster's 'Maurice' and Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship'. Both first editions and very hard to replace in the condition they were in.

Great news about the ESL class. I know you used to be an English teacher, but did you get an ESL qualification along the way too?

just as an aside, it took me a little while to work out that you were our dear old babbles

I saw the avatar, and kept THINKING it was you, but then would see the name and think it was some imposter using your old avatar... good to have worked it out; it was freaking me out a little

I love Tintin and Asterix... I have about half the Asterix titles, but I have the full set of Tintins, collected over many years... as well as some companion guides and things of that nature

they all went into storage almost four years ago, when I went to London - it was SO satisfying to rip that box open and settle down on the floor with Asterix in Britain

I didn't ever get an ESL qualification, no... I looked into it a few times, but all the course I could find were fiendishly expensive, plus they either used up all my evenings when I was working full time (not possible; would die from tiredness ) or ran throughout the entire summer holidays (ditto )

but my two majors are English lit and German; between the two it's pretty close!

[bakofoil 27]

just as an aside, it took me a little while to work out that you were our dear old babbles

I saw the avatar, and kept THINKING it was you, but then would see the name and think it was some imposter using your old avatar... good to have worked it out; it was freaking me out a little

I love Tintin and Asterix... I have about half the Asterix titles, but I have the full set of Tintins, collected over many years... as well as some companion guides and things of that nature

they all went into storage almost four years ago, when I went to London - it was SO satisfying to rip that box open and settle down on the floor with Asterix in Britain

I didn't ever get an ESL qualification, no... I looked into it a few times, but all the course I could find were fiendishly expensive, plus they either used up all my evenings when I was working full time (not possible; would die from tiredness ) or ran throughout the entire summer holidays (ditto )

but my two majors are English lit and German; between the two it's pretty close!

Tis me. I'm baking in the heat in bako! 'Babbles' was always a bit too fluffy for me, but was apt at the time.

The reason I was asking about the ESL was because I have looked into an ESL qualification many times and decided against them for the same reasons you describe but had been wondering whether I can do a bit of ESL. My degree is not even close to ESL though and I can't even speak a second language myself so I'm prolly clutching at straws!

[StillThePrettiest 4]

oh, I don't think so for a moment

the place I volunteer at will accept anyone... you've just got to be committed to a twelve week stint, and attend one training session (about three hours) and observe a class... the class I observed wasn't even all that inspired, to be honest; I mean it was adequate, but the teacher was just working through a text book, and didn't seem to have supplemented it with anything... but the student was learning, and it was fine

so anything on top of that is gravy

have a look around near to where you live! lots of churches and social/community centres run classes, and there may even be a dedicated organisation like the one I'm volunteering with... and it's easier than you think

[bakofoil 27]

oh, I don't think so for a moment

the place I volunteer at will accept anyone... you've just got to be committed to a twelve week stint, and attend one training session (about three hours) and observe a class... the class I observed wasn't even all that inspired, to be honest; I mean it was adequate, but the teacher was just working through a text book, and didn't seem to have supplemented it with anything... but the student was learning, and it was fine

so anything on top of that is gravy

have a look around near to where you live! lots of churches and social/community centres run classes, and there may even be a dedicated organisation like the one I'm volunteering with... and it's easier than you think

Will do! I feel very inspired now. I missed your reply to Julez about ESL prolly whilst I was writing about clutching at straws. And strangely I noticed an ad in the paper today for ESL teachers!!

[StillThePrettiest 4]

do it, do it!!!

[Jeraly 4]

There's been an immigration raid in Palm Springs

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...er-breakingnews

At least they are doing something about illegal immigration... Makes me feel a little smug about doing things the expensive and long-winded "proper" way

[StillThePrettiest 4]

well, I maybe feel glad that the legal way was open to me, but I don't know that smugness is exactly in there... some people have far fewer options than we do

[Jeraly 4]

Oh I know what you mean - but at the same time you get soooo many illegal people here - I don't know if they are unaware of how to go about things the "proper" way or if they have the means - getting into the US is a nightmare as we all know, but at the same time, does it mean you should just move to a new country illegally if you don't like your own?

I guess it's a mixed bag - part of me does feel sorry for them but at the same time, where do you drawn the line.

I wish life were just fair for everyone... Man - if I were prettier I could enter a beauty pageant and give my speech on world peace

[bakofoil 27]

I think people just do what they have to do sometimes. I suppose the US government giving amnesties from time to time has encouraged some abuse of the immigration laws. I'm not against amnesties but it has to have an impact on the choices of future generations.

Also, if you read the waiver threads there are often people from Mexico who have been denied based on illegal presence in the US when they were children and had no choice in the matter. There are other, what I deem, minor law violations which totally mess them up too. I can understand why people get frustrated and just bypass the visa application in those situations.

The VWP thread I was griping about is another example. I have no objection to people adjusting status from VWP 'IF' they had no intent to immigrate when they entered the US - and it's not difficult to be totally clear about that in your own mind. People were making AOS from VWP sound so simple, almost advocating it as an alternative to the K1 route - so much so that it made me question the whole visa application process. But the fact remains that the VWP is a privilege and there are people from other countries who do not have that ease of passage into the US. We all complain about Mexico but it seems equally unfair to me that there are people using the VWP to suit their own needs and circumvent the visa application procedure.

[Jeraly 4]

Totally agree with you on the VWP thing - I know the principles behind it, but there is no way I could have happily gone down that road, knowing that I was in a relationship, visiting my boyfriend or whatever...

Now, if you were over for three months to go sight seeing or something and happened to meet the man (or woman) of your dreams in such time then fine, by all means... But yeah... It's ropey at best when people see it as a viable alternative to the K-1 etc...

[Jeraly 4]

*sigh*

I dutifully run out to the mail in J's shirt to see what exciting joyful things we have in there and it is a gas bill. Ok - so fine - last month it was only about $20 or so with the setup fee that pushed it to just over $100. I was expecting a nice bill of about $20 without the setup fee.

Instead I see the "unpaid" watermark across it as Jeremy, despite saying I could file all the bills away, and despite us going through all the credit cards and bills we have, figuring out a budget, putting it all on a spreadsheet, including the dates due...

I call him at work. He "forgot" to pay the bill. I'm like, how can you "forget" to pay the bills!? Why tell me to file bills if they haven't been paid!? It drives me nuts and makes me wish I had a job so I could take control of the finances as he still seems to be in his trailer park mentality (ok this is prolly a gross generalisation and prolly just concerns his ENTIRE family who all live on trailer parks - no intent to offend trailer-park-livers) of thinking it is ok to not pay bills, go overdrawn, let bills slide and not contact companies when they are demanding money.

We still have a $160 verizon bill for the service we never received. He will never call them. He said there is no point - they don't have his money and we never received the service so they can't do anything about it. The $300 that was taken from us by B of A has not been sorted or even addressed in anyway aside from the letter I helped him write the day it happened. The $120 or so that a credit card company took straight from his B of A account without authorisation is still not sorted out - he is now that much overdrawn with B of A who are sending him nice letters about it. He can't close his account because of the overdraft that he will refuse to pay.

I don't know what to do - his perceptions of finance are beyond me - I don't understand how someone can be so disorganised with money. It is driving me up the wall

[bakofoil 27]

Maybe he doesn't want to deal with the bills? Some people (including myself in the past) find it difficult even facing them and would love to have the responsibility taken away from them.

Maybe, instead of getting worked up about it, you could offer to deal with the finances. You don't need to have a job to pay them - they need to be paid whichever one of you is earning. Do you have a joint account? Is his income paid into the account? Can you write checks on it? Can you write letters on his behalf to B of A and Verizon?

[StillThePrettiest 4]

I think that's all very good advice

it must be immensely frustrating... but see if you can turn it into a positive; he may just have a block about them (some people do about things) and may actually be really glad if you take the responsibility off his hands and get everything organised

I don't know if they are unaware of how to go about things the "proper" way or if they have the means...

I think this could well be an issue - as I've said to a number of people throughout this process, perhaps even to people in here: I am a post-graduate; I am bi-lingual; I consider myself well-read, intelligent and educated... and yet fumbling my way through all this immigration nightmare has befuddled me on more than one occasion; if you're not literate in English (or possibly not functionally literate in any language) and don't own a computer to go online and check things here and elsewhere, and maybe have a bit of a phobia about the authorities for whatever reason - I can totally see that being a reason why people don't go through the right channels

hell, sometimes people don't even know what the right channels are - if I wasn't an internet person, I may well have assumed I could just come over here when I was ready, and marry Dave; I would never have DREAMED it would all be so difficult... now I'm not saying for a second that many people are in ignorance of the fact that simply upping stakes and moving here isn't legal, but I'm just saying that we shouldn't underestimate how baffling it may well be for people

...does it mean you should just move to a new country illegally if you don't like your own?

ah, the six million dollar question... I don't have an answer, but a few things to ponder:

- what would YOU do if you were born into abject poverty in some third world country? denied an education, possibly no healthcare, very few job prospects... and say you had children - what would you want for them? if there was no legal way you could move elsewhere easily, would you just fold your hands and righteously say 'well, I'd better not disobey the law', or would you try to find some way around it? people here have talked about ways to earn a bit under the table while they're legally not allowed to work in this country - of course that differs in scale, but does it differ in intent?

- having worked in the field of social justice and global human rights for some time, something I heard over and over again was a variant on 'well, we aren't causing their problems; why should we have a hand in solving them?'

I would venture to say that both parts of that statement/question are incorrect... time and time again, the western world DID and DOES have a hand in creating the third world's problems; by stealing their people to be our slaves; or colonising them and taking all their resources, natural and otherwise; or by lending them money on exorbitant terms and demanding that money back even when natural disasters or wars or other catastrophes mean that to do so ensures that country has to deny its own people basic healthcare, education, services, infrastructure;, or even by simply trading with them on such completely unequal terms that millions of people struggle along on a pittance, so that we can have cheap clothing or plasticware or whatever

and for those reasons alone, we should be doing more to help the third world out, if humanitarian reasons alone aren't enough (and they bloody well should be )

I've ranted enough, I'll leave it there... not trying to have a go at anyone, but needless to say, these are issues close to my heart, and I like a good discussion

PS I've used the term 'third world' in this post, and I realise this can be a loaded term... I considered using 'developing world' which is sometimes seen as a better alternative, but in the end chose the one I thought would be best understood

again, no offence meant; quite the opposite

[kazuki 0]

Hi July filer. I applied my K1 visa in July 2007 and got a visa in May 2008. I married my husband on the 28th of June and applied for AOS on the 19th of July.

How is everyone? I am sooooo bored everyday. I have no EAD and I cannot even work. I hate it so much. It sucks to live with only my husband's income. I need to move out when I get a job.

I am planning to move to very close to my work, so I do not have to buy a car. It is really expensive to live here.

[bakofoil 27]

hell, sometimes people don't even know what the right channels are - if I wasn't an internet person, I may well have assumed I could just come over here when I was ready, and marry Dave; I would never have DREAMED it would all be so difficult... now I'm not saying for a second that many people are in ignorance of the fact that simply upping stakes and moving here isn't legal, but I'm just saying that we shouldn't underestimate how baffling it may well be for people

This is something I've pondered myself. Knowledge sometimes can dissuade you from taking risks which can be beneficial or make life easier. On the other hand, not having the relevant knowledge can put you in dangerous and irreversible situations. There is no doubt that this is one of the most complicated processes I have ever undertaken and it confuses the heck out of me at times - one thing I am glad about, having taken the visa route, is that my position here is pretty secure.

- what would YOU do if you were born into abject poverty in some third world country? denied an education, possibly no healthcare, very few job prospects... and say you had children - what would you want for them? if there was no legal way you could move elsewhere easily, would you just fold your hands and righteously say 'well, I'd better not disobey the law', or would you try to find some way around it? people here have talked about ways to earn a bit under the table while they're legally not allowed to work in this country - of course that differs in scale, but does it differ in intent?

You know, i'm looking into this work situation and even volunteering is frowned upon. That was just an aside from this general story but I agree that the priniciple is the same, you are intending to defraud the govt somehow. But the fact remains, that the US govt perpetuates the market for illegal workers. If it wasn't for the illegal population none of us would have the things we enjoy paying a bargain price for. Plus the laws change over the years - and parents have brought children here in the past when it wasn't so difficult to do so and they needed to work, returned to their home countries at some point later and then their children face having to file a waiver for being here illegally. It's nuts!