August 2008 Filers

[HappyDancer 7]

HI Fred. What number wo you call and what time do you call? Please use pacific time. Thanks!

Called the embassy and they moved the case from Administrative Processing to Administrative Review, still awaiting that letter. I wont be able to call since I will be traveling all nextweek. I pray by the time I get back there will be some update.

[maliciant 7]

Embassy hours in the philippines are 8 - 4 I believe, which is 4pm to 12 midnight PST (I think). Note the lack of confidence about the times...

[HappyDancer 7]

Ok... Does anybody know what other purposes the blood tests are for other than Drug use and HIV? I have been told, they're going to take a lot of blood!

Edited February 27, 2009 by HappyDancer

[Yader&Sarah 0]

I'd love to hear what she thinks of our country? they always ask that over there. I eat those stories up (I dunno, maybe I'm weird)...tell us...her first reaction, first comments about the US....all the good stuff (if she's not too shy to speak her mind)...

I'm throwing my two cents in as well because, I too, eat these stories up. We are at 1 week since arrival tomorrow.

My fiance (who is offended now when I introduce him as fiance, because he hears spanish 'fianza' and thinks he's some sort of financial document) has had a bit of a rough time letting the US grow on him. We have eaten nothing but Nicaraguan inspired food since we got back except for the one day we escaped to Steak and Shake.

I live near Maliciant and I agree, the weather hasn't helped. I have high hopes for march. My love's face is bright red and chapped. poor guy! He wears an excessive amount of clothes, including slippers and a robe everyonce in a while (over his clothes god bless him).

it's been really hard for him because I have to work everyday. and he is really bored. like maliciant said, he is used to lots of people and noise and although we live in a very urban area, it's pretty quiet. day and night. he commented yesterday when we were driving home from english class, that he was trying to imagine if all his neighbors in his hometown had cars (because mabybe 10% have cars) it would look something like this (our street) but he could never imagine everyone parked on the street! (as opposed to pulling the car into their locked houses/gates.

that's another thing, we've taken advantage of free english classes, which is a good and useful way to kill time. The english has been rough for him. so next week he's starting full time. I teach english at night, and so he went with me, and I was SURE he would test into level 1, but low and behold, he tested into my level, level 2. which is amusing.... we've never spoken in english. ever.

he's amazed at hot water all the time, and uses it as a mini heater...maybe that's why his face is chapped...he was excited to hear he could flush toilet paper, and also traced all pipes to god-knows-where throughout my building.

I let him drive to the grocery store. 2 blocks. we're going to wait awhile before we do that again. but he did parallel park for me last night he was amazed at the grocery store and the self check out, and somehow we managed to leave with rice, beans, and chicken. so much for expanding our pallets!

Our biggest enemy right now is this combined feeling of boredom, overwhelm, and helplessness. Like I said, we are going to try to conquer it with daily English classes. He also signed up to help with a Habitat for Humanity work crew that meets from 1-3 days a week, your choice, to practice english, learn more about north american construction, and help out. And several afternoons a week he's going to help with repairs at the health clinic where I used to work which is for hispanic immigrants. It feels a bit like scheduling summer camp at this point, but I can see him getting more and more comfy on a daily basis, but it could be the flannel pajama pants he refused to take off...

[Badgerella 5]

Ok... Does anybody know what other purposes the blood tests are for other than Drug use and HIV? I have been told, they're going to take a lot of blood!

I assume the medical differs from country to country - I've heard that pregnancy tests are part of it in, I think, the Philippines (or some other country, I might have forgotten). In Croatia, it'd be illegal to have things done to you without your knowledge and consent, so I assume we do not have the drug test. At least my medical instructions, which are pretty detailed, mention only HIV and syphilis blood test and a chest X-ray, to check for TB. Everything else is described as consultation, as well as reading my vaccination charts.

[Fred N Emilia 0]

Ok... Does anybody know what other purposes the blood tests are for other than Drug use and HIV? I have been told, they're going to take a lot of blood!

Used for the following

Pregnancy test

HIV test

To determine what vaccines are needed

So when you go have a full breakfast or lunch, NEVER BE HUNGRY!

Have a lot of patience as well.

[HYENA 4]

NBI??? What is this? How many damn BI's do we need? Crazy!

ETA: Definitely anyone who is waiting at USCIS (and therefore hating weekends when they aren't working) should be trying to contact them as much as possible, getting ahold of senators/congress people to check on the status of your case etc... it seemed to help several people even before the 6 month period was up (suddenly NOA2's right after) so no doubt it'll help many now too when it's officially OK (not sure if VSC is out of processing dates yet, hopefully it's not still pointing at march).

I called my Senator's office (one of them) they said they don't bother contacting USCIS since the information is right there and they look it up and respond...her assistant told me she's been to numerous, numerous (she complained how many) meetings with USCIS through many years and no matter what the inquiry is, if they do end up contacting USCIS they have an auto response system telling you to look at their website and if you're not earlier than APRIL, absolutely nothing is done but the automated responses they send out...they type in your case number and it puts that information into their automated response, sends it to the senator and you have your "response" (if they bother emailing the "system". She said files are never pulled and the fact that they have millions...tens of thousands a month, there's no way anyone is doing anything different with such high volume.

She said VJ was a self input website and regardless of what we write that they are NOT on April cases, USCIS's response IS that they're working on April and she said, "What you want me to tell USCIS they're lying?" My response? YES! I told her I'd email the link but she said she can do nothing with that knowledge and how can they prove it other than a couple hundred cases... She said there was no way to determine they're not lying and no one has the time to dig through a hundred thousands pending files to see if they're on April or not.

I called USCIS, the lady sounded asleep. I was polite but she wasn't doing anything for anything; that's for sure! Pissy also...she kept calling me madam and maam. I told her 4 times I was a male and she kept doing it to piss me off. My call was trying to get her to do something, asking if there was anything I could do...anything under the sun...but they're an off site call center only to shut us up and basically no one does anything unless you're earlier than April, absolutely nothing is done other than their scripted automated responses they're trained to do....and she ended that with "OK, Miss"? I said GDMF I'm not a MF miss you pissant! No that that helped but she was "politely" trying to piss me off over and over...she said "thank you ma'am is there anything else I can do for you?

I told her USCIS is publishing misinformation saying they're working on April when I'm seeing Oct, Nov cases with their spouses here...She did tell me they basically politely do nothing...so I have to wait until the website says it's on September for me to have a right to inquire. This is what I learned when I called back and talked to a more reasonable person when I asked what they REALLY do when someone calls...they have a procedure and if you're not earlier than the posted "working on" dates...they politely respond using their "active listening" training techniques and do nothing (basically).

I said I had a service order in on my case-an inquiry but when I told him my dates, he said "no way" they're even contacting Vermont unless I'm outside the window of time and although I may have been told so, procedure prohibits contact unless you're outside their posted timeline window....so....I got an education from my senator and USCIS. It's pure faggotry.

I asked if he were me, what would he do? He said nothing I can do unless emergency/hardship with docs and applying or RFE's, etc adds 2 months...frustrating frustrating frustrating.

I told them I contacted USCIS and they said 6 months I should have the visa...so I bought plane tickets...they don't care.....I think if people contact senators (since they're contacted so much) and USCIS, they spend big money shutting us up and doing their thing with their hundred thousand cases per month.

I can do nothing, say nothing....only sit and wait....grrrrrrrrr!

I do like hearing the fiancee stories, though...how they handle it, what they do, etc.

[Chris & Mara 0]

Note to self, for future reference when dealing with USCIS do not hope for anything.

In fact dont even think that things will go right/like everyone else/to their system.

They have lost our case, they dont know where our file is, they dont know where the hard copy is.

They are once again going to "investigate it" and do some "research" but the guy that the counter suggested to Chris that perhaps we should just re-file.........Because you know we want to wait another six months to be at this point....

I am so over this ######.

[Chris & Mara 0]

So Chris and I had a frustrated and long chat.

He has booked me a plane ticket for the 31st of March to come back to the states and stay for a while, means that it will be at least another 4months and a half months from this date till I even get to look at what my visa. But hey at least we will be together at home.

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for me and thinking bout us sadly i think this is going to end up with us beating our heads against a wall for a while.

[Raj and Monica 0]

good luck to all of you and hope you have a speedy journey

Shaz

[boof3001 0]

Well, it took hella longer than we would have liked ... and there is still a lot to do before we are together ... but I am really in the mood for :dance: because:

Application Type: I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On February 27, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

[I'mstillwaiting 0]

I wanted to finally say hello to all of the August 2008 filing folks.

I registered for VJ a long time ago and have since forgotten my usernname, password, etc. I didn't feel like going through the hassle of retrieving it, because all of my attempts to do so have failed. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm here now under a different name, but on Igor's List I am Ram�n & Jennifer or Jennifer and Ramón depending on which one you look at.

So, here are all of my questions I've been wishing I could ask the whole time while I was reading all your posts and following your journeys. I was never able to post due to the usernname issue, but I'm ready to go now, so . . .

1. What's the deal with the TWO Igor's Lists? http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/igor/vjdata/vsc.aspx and http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthl...=2&sortby=2

2. All those folks who are still awaiting their NOA2, how do you handle it? We received our NOA1 on August 21, 2008, and I am consumed by thoughts of the ever elusive NOA2.

3. Even though I'm a late comer to the club, will you all accept me? I'm also going to hang out with the sad crowd in the 6+ month area.

[mhaze 0]

Well, it took hella longer than we would have liked ... and there is still a lot to do before we are together ... but I am really in the mood for :dance: because:

Application Type: I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On February 27, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

wow congratulations...

i hope we can get ours too..

[HYENA 4]

Congratulations!!!

I have to say equivocally USCIS smells like month old kitty litter.

NO NOA2 AND IT'S BEEN 50 YEARS!

[Gitas 0]

Well, it took hella longer than we would have liked ... and there is still a lot to do before we are together ... but I am really in the mood for :dance: because:

Application Type: I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On February 27, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

congratulations...n good luck for ur rest of the journey.