January Filers at the CSC - How are you doing?

[Cecile and Bryan 0]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am so happy for you You are lucky

[Levi_Heather 0]

Congratulations Jeroen! How exciting! Congrats to you also Hawkeye! Lots of good news here. I hope Blake is doing well. Well Levi has his biometrics appointment soon and hopefully won't be long until he has an interview date. He's so ready to get to work as its been almost 6 months since he has!

[Alex & Rachel 78]

Thank you for the PM, Cecile.

Jeroen, my heartiest congratulations to you and Michelle! How exciting! I kind of wish I was at your stage, but it looks like I'll just have to be patient and wait a few years. I hope you'll keep us updated!

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

Thanks peeps

We went to the doctor yesterday where she had a bloodtest, today we called back and found out that she is indeed pregnant.. according to the readout she's about 6 weeks pregnant (amazing they can see that in one's blood).

One downside tho, we called her insurance today and apparently it does not get covered yet... her coverage started november 1st, 2008 (we thought october 1st but we were wrong apparently) and the first year has a wait time so if the baby gets born before november 1st, we have to pay for everything ourselves, if the baby gets born after november 1st, then the delivery will get covered.. so now we hope it will be a few days late as the baby is due on october 27.

Stupid US healthcare... oh well.. she recently got a job next to her normal business stuffs and they do offer healthcare so she's gonna check out tomorrow if they cover it, we hope they do but oh well, if they don't, then it will most likely become a delivery at home as we do not feel much for paying over 20.000 dollar in hospital fees.

Oh well, whatever happens, it will be ok.. I'm happy enough that I will get (another) kid

[Cecile and Bryan 0]

I hate those insurances! It is so unfair. It's like they can choose if they want to screw up people's life or not. I hope that the insurance at her job can cover it. Otherwise maybe you should both fly back to the Netherlands a month before her due date and stay there until she gets the baby.

I'm like Rachel... I wish I could have a baby but it isn't going to happen anytime soon, sadly. Well, one part of myself says "sadly" because I can't wait to have a child, but the other part of myself knows it's probably better if we wait until I'm kind of used to being in the USA and we have enough money to at least afford the conception (we'll have to do IVF). OK I'm kidding myself. I think right now aside from the money we're just waiting for the future dad to be ready.

Congratulations again, Jeroen

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

I just got word from Michelle, she is at her job at the moment and just talked to Human Resources, and apparently she can get 3/5 part covered at the moment since she works 3 days for them.

That is very good news in my opinion and I am glad she took that job. It is not like she really needs the job as there are luckily no money problems but, especially now with the pregnancy, I am really glad she has it. 20.000 dollar just for hospital fees is just a lot of money :/

We could indeed go back to the Netherlands a month before her due date but we would have the same problem there, she wouldn't be insured there either when she gives labor (only when she is living there for more than 185 days a year, then she the Dutch insurance is mandatory but in that case I won't be eligible for the greencard lol), so then we would have had to pay for everything also lol.. nah, I am glad a part will be covered for now

And Cécile, no worries, he will be ready for it one day and then I am sure your wish will be granted also!

[sunnybear 0]

Jeroen and Michelle CONGRATS!!!!!! That is awesome news for sure!!!! I am another one waiting a tiny bit longer to conceive. We are planning a trip to England September 2010 so I am hoping to conceive sometime after that trip

[CourtAndGrey 0]

On a different note, here's some other news from the marriage life: Michelle is pregnant!! :dance: We only know it since this weekend, going to the doctor later today to make sure it is really really true but I kind of do not doubt on it, her period has been too long ago and the home test says she is preggers, so she better well be also!

Jeroen and Michelle, WAHOOOOOOOO! Congratulations!

Glad to hear things are working out a little with the insurance. I HATE U.S. health care! Such wonderful news though, I hope everything continues to go great! Keep us posted!

[CourtAndGrey 0]

Just a quick note to add that tomorrow is our interview! :unsure: We're nervous but confident and as you can tell, I am here on VJ double and triple checking everything before the big day. We'll report back tomorrow (Thursday) on any news!

Hope you guys are all well!

[sunnybear 0]

Ooh good luck Court and Grey! Please let us know how it went and what was asked etc....!

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

Just a quick note to add that tomorrow is our interview! We're nervous but confident and as you can tell, I am here on VJ double and triple checking everything before the big day. We'll report back tomorrow (Thursday) on any news!

Hope you guys are all well!

Good luck tomorrow!! Hope you'll do fine

I can imagine you're nervous.. so am I as we have to go this Friday (Michelle doesn't seem so nervous lol, I wish I was like that).

Like you, I spent most of today making sure that we got all for the interview.. gonna do some more checking tomorrow (and some more printing and copying).. got quite a package ready lol.

Good luck tomorrow, I'll be awaiting your review

[Cecile and Bryan 0]

Good luck Court and Grey, and also good luck Jeroen and Michelle!

[CourtAndGrey 0]

Hi friends,

Well I'm glad to say we are APPROVED but it didn't come without a struggle. We honestly weren't that nervous when it came down to it, but perhaps we should have been.

Our interview was scheduled for 2:30 and we arrived at 1:45, went through security, got checked in, then started waiting. We noticed about an hour later that a lot of the people who had come in after us were going through, getting their interviews, and leaving as we waited and waited. Finally around 3:30 we inquired with one of the people who came out to call a name, and the very rude IO told me to sit back down and that our name would be called when it was our turn. He ignored the part about me saying we had been there nearly two hours. We kept waiting and around 4:15 Greivin inquired with a different IO that came out to call a name and she commented that we had in fact been there a long time (she had seen us several times when she came out to call other names). She checked on our case and told us we would be next and that there had been a mix up. We looked around to find only one other person left waiting. The door opened, an IO came out, and called not us, but the ONLY other lady sitting and waiting. GRRRR. Finally another IO came out and called the name of a woman who was obviously not there. We laughed (annoyingly) and he asked our names and came back in about 5 minutes and said he would take us back. FINALLY.

He was friendly enough, but didn't seem to care we had been waiting FOREVER. He started us with an oath then began asking Greivin some questions. Greivin is not a native English speaker, and the IO started firing crazy questions at him, most he didn't understand without any context, so he immediately got nervous. "Are you a spy?", "Are you a communist?", "Do you have ties to terrorists?", and "How many crimes have you gotten away with?" Greivin was so confused and was trying to answer honestly, but the guy just kept firing questions at him. Finally, the IO let me explain each thing to greivin, in english slowly, and he was able to understand and answer each one.

He then wanted to see wedding pictures. He held up our album and asked ME about the people in the pictures. (I thought that was strange too, cause chances are, if the people are white, they are related to me and I would know them. It would seem to be more useful to ask the foreign guy who the white people are if he was really hoping to see if we were legit... but whatever).

He then asked how we met and when we got engaged. He didn't like that we didn't have an "engagement date" and he thought that we got married "awfully fast." (We dated for a year and a half before we got married, and we've known each other for like 4 years. GRRR.)

Then we got into previous visa issues. He asked about previous visa applications that had been denied and Greivin told him Yes, he had applied for a tourist visa before. He was denied on lack of evidence, so he applied again several months later with all the evidence they wanted, and was denied again. After that, it was only the K1 Visa application, and that one was approved. The IO then started asking him about why he wanted to come here so bad, and asked Greivin if he had come on a Tourist Visa, would he have married me in the US and failed to return to Costa Rica. Greivin was like "... uhh... no, probably not, but I don't know, it didn't happen. I came on a K1 Visa and I was allowed to get married." He then asked me why we were so desperate for a visa. I nervously explained that Greivin's village sees a lot of visitors from the Seattle area (educational study abroad programs go there) and that he has a lot of friends here in Seattle. I said that Greivin not only wanted to visit me, but to see his friends, and also get to see this country in the event him and I continued with our serious relationship and someday planned to live together here. The IO grumbled and said alright.

I asked if he wanted to see more evidence, more pictures, or any of the papers I had brought. He said he had everything in his file, and that although he wasn't happy about the "visa issues" he would approve us. Then he started making stupid small talk which I felt was like another trick or something, but he stamped our forms and said congratulations, so we packed our things and got the heck out of there!

So I guess we are happy about the Approval, but man, it was exhausting! The main tip I would have is to be prepared for the crazy "spy" questions at the beginning, especially to those who are still learning their English. Also, be prepared to talk about any Tourist Visa denials. Apparently that made us look a little suspicious when we obviously have nothing to hide. Craziness. Anyway, it's done, and we are USCIS free for 2 years, WAHOO!

Thanks for all your encouragement guys, and good luck to those who are up next!

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

Congrats on your approval!!! I'm sorry to hear that you guys had a bit of a hard time.. those questions are indeed a bit tricky... like "How many crimes have you gotten away with?" is a mean one.. I mean, how to explain that.. if you say a lot or some, then you got a problem.. if you said none, then it would mean that you indeed did a crime (or more) but that you never got away with it.. I guess the best answer is to answer something like "I never commit any crimes" or something like that, but yah, I can imagine it is hard if they really fire it at you.

Now I'm kind of even more nervous for tomorrow, especially because of that court thingie

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

Btw, what do you guys think?

For supporting evidence, we have the following:

- Our wedding album

- Guestlist (the one the guests signed when they arrived at the party)

- 8 extra photo's

- Joint car insurance

- Joint car registration (ownership)

- Statements from 3 joint bank accounts

- Results of blood test for Michelle's pregnancy

- A rental contract that I made for one of our tenants at the other house (I'm basically handling those things since I have my EAD)

And that's basically all.. Should be enough I think?

For the rest we have a complete copy of the original submitted package for AOS. Original birth certificates, all notice of actions, the EAD card and the two AP documents. And the I-693 with TB skin test results and vaccination history transcribed on it.

One thing I'm really worried about, though, is the court thingie, as I mentioned before. Not only because of that history, but also a bit since the original application help forms actually stated that I needed to submit the originals with my document and the invitation letter basically says it again that I should submit originals :S I do have another original of the court record (I asked a new one, they send them for free luckily) but I do not have a new translation by a certified translator, just the copies that I made when I submitted the original package.

What do you guys think? Should this all be ok?

I know it is probably silly that I am worried about it that I do not have everything, but yah, there is this downside of the court record and I do not want to have a chance that I blow it because of forgetting something :S