Will I EVER get to USA?

[Urge To Race 2]

Really? You and your husband would find it acceptable that you not move to the US since you can't live with him because of the cat?!?!?! :bonk: :lol:

He should find a temporary home for it while you are visiting so that you can be comfortable and breathe easy while visiting him. That is something that a husband should do. Not cause his wife an unnecessary discomfort and harm her health knowingly.

Thanks LGG,

I was suspecting something of the like. Sadly, that might mean that I'm not going to move to USA after all, because I don't think I could live in the same home with my husband for the time being. I think I mentioned somewhere in my posts, but I've always had a lot of allergies and last year I was diagnosed with asthma. The doctor suspected that the reason why it suddenly erupted was the fact that my husband got a kitten during my last stay in the USA. I've always been the MOST allergic to cats, though not all cats have caused me problems. Then again, I've never lived with one yet, only visited households with cats. At the time, we agreed that if the cat would cause problems with my allergies, we'd find him a new home... But now he has lived here with my husband for 2 years and of course my husband is very fond of him. I've however had to increase the amount of asthma medicine I take since I got here and even had to use my airway opening medicine a lot - something I never had to do before. I am also taking antihistamin on a daily basis. The humid air is only adding to my problems, but my health has been poor since I got here. I do always feel better after a day spent outside or shopping or whatever, but then at night when it's bed time I find it very hard to breathe again. So basically, me and the cat... we don't mix. My husband loves the cat, he's used to the cat and so far he hasn't even considered about finding him a new home. And if I indeed can't just move to USA to my own place (somewhere near his), I will probably have to scrap the idea. I wouldn't want to ask him to give the cat away anyway, because I can see how much he means to him.

Well, one day at a time, but I do think my trip will turn out to be much shorter than the 90 days I could stay, since battling with my health might turn out to be a problem. I only had a certain amount of medicines with me, just enough for the trip. Since I've had to use so much extra, I'm not sure how long my medicine lasts. Or how long I last for that matter

Anyway, that's all for now. Still no news what so ever on the visa front anyway.

Oh also, I'm not sure what kind of a visa I would now be ending up with, since the USCIS was supposed to toss our I-129F away, but as far as we know, they haven't done this. So I don't know if it'll be a K3 or CR1. Last time we talked with them, we got the impression it'd be CR1, but with the I-129F still lingering about... who knows?

[vickydeutsch 0]

First of all congratulations!!! you are finally here and spending some time with your husband....However, I think your husband has to think deeply next time you come to visit him. I don't think you should live in another place because of a cat!!!!!! If you are going to live with him, he has to consider the idea of looking a place for the cat; you are THE WIFE!!!! come on!!!!

And when you get your visa (K3, CR1, whatever it is) you should write the address where you are going to stay so I recommend you to talk to your husband about the cat. So he can start checking for some places.

Enjoy your stay and don't complain too much; after all you are spending some time with the love all your life and that's a lot!!!; there are couples that can't see eachother for years and they would like be as lucky as you are now!!!

Edited September 4, 2009 by vickydeutsch

[mrsB 0]

Hello all,

so far my trip has been going pretty good, I've been taking some extra doses of my asthma medicine and antihistamine as well. Been training the cat to not be in the bedroom and my husband has ordered some sprays and stuff that should help with the allergy problems. One product is intended for the house, to get rid of allergens and one is for the cat, to make him... I guess anti-allergenic? is that even a word... Anyway, he's trying his best without having to give up the cat, and I know how much the cat means to him (being his only companion for years now), so I don't want to just ask him to give him up. He's trying to make it possible for us to live together, but has said that if this stuff won't help... then the cat will be the one to leave.

Other than that, I've had fun, I've been hanging out with him and his friends (though all male, hehe) and we've had a good time. I wish my husband wouldn't have to work SO MUCH, but he has some vacation coming so we can celebrate my b-day together. Whee.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Hello all,

so far my trip has been going pretty good, I've been taking some extra doses of my asthma medicine and antihistamine as well. Been training the cat to not be in the bedroom and my husband has ordered some sprays and stuff that should help with the allergy problems. One product is intended for the house, to get rid of allergens and one is for the cat, to make him... I guess anti-allergenic? is that even a word... Anyway, he's trying his best without having to give up the cat, and I know how much the cat means to him (being his only companion for years now), so I don't want to just ask him to give him up. He's trying to make it possible for us to live together, but has said that if this stuff won't help... then the cat will be the one to leave.

Other than that, I've had fun, I've been hanging out with him and his friends (though all male, hehe) and we've had a good time. I wish my husband wouldn't have to work SO MUCH, but he has some vacation coming so we can celebrate my b-day together. Whee.

There are several steps that can be taken for the allergies -- If it's a long haired cat, perhaps take him to the groomer to have some of that clipped off, or he can make sure that cat is brushed to eliminate constant shedding - keep things vacuumed, too. If the cat will put up with it without getting violent, you can try bathing it regularly as well. Oh and change the air filter for the air conditioning regularly (they make allergen filters, more expensive, but helpful). Keeping him out of the bedroom will help immensely.

There's good news for allergies, they can often be successfully treated - usually by controlled and frequent exposure. I used to be puffy-face-watery-eyes-itchy-skin allergic to cats, and when I got roommates who brought them with them, I also had to take quite a few antihistamines - after a few weeks I forgot one day, and didn't notice - Haven't needed them since! (though new cats make my neck a little itchy - but not as bad as before) I've got two of my very own - and one is even a long-haired one!

[vickydeutsch 0]

So happy you're having fun with your husband!!! hopefully you will receive news pretty soon!!!!

[vickydeutsch 0]

So what happened with your situation?? are you still in the USA? did you go back to your country? have you received any news from USCIS???

[mrsB 0]

Hello, I've been so tired of the whole visa procedure that I haven't been checking the forums in ages. I've been back in Finland for a bit over a month now, I came in early November. I've been looking for jobs, but haven't been lucky yet, though I've considered about starting my own business here instead. It's an idea I've had since I was a teen and since the employment situation in Finland is so poor, I might as well start now.

As far as our visa is concerned... well, we got an intent to deny finally in late September, with less than a month to reply. The USCIS wanted more evidence, but on what, was rather confusing. We contacted the USCIS who instructed us to make an appointment with the local office in the nearest town and we also called a lawyer who has helped us some for free, from the goodness of her heart. The appointment with USCIS didn't really provide us with much. They were confused as to why we had gotten the intent to deny in the first place and why we were given so little time. The lady we talked to suggested we might want to look for legal or political help. She suggested this several times, which we found odd, considering that we were later told they're not allowed to hint that we should get politicians involved. However, since we didn't exactly know how to provide the USCIS with more evidence regarding our marriage, we resorted to writing letters. Previously my family, relatives and friends from Finland had written letters regarding our relationship, so now my husband's family wrote some. I also wrote one since I was in USA at the time of this. So we sent off our letters and I got an automatic e-mail from the USCIS in late October saying they had received the "additional information". No news since this.

I told myself that I'm waiting until the end of the year and then going forward with the idea of my own business. At the same time the little voice inside my head is holding me back, because I somehow still keep expecting to receive some kind of a decision from USCIS the next week... We'll see. There's still a couple of weeks of this year left.

[CaMic 0]

Hello, I've been so tired of the whole visa procedure that I haven't been checking the forums in ages. I've been back in Finland for a bit over a month now, I came in early November. I've been looking for jobs, but haven't been lucky yet, though I've considered about starting my own business here instead. It's an idea I've had since I was a teen and since the employment situation in Finland is so poor, I might as well start now.

As far as our visa is concerned... well, we got an intent to deny finally in late September, with less than a month to reply. The USCIS wanted more evidence, but on what, was rather confusing. We contacted the USCIS who instructed us to make an appointment with the local office in the nearest town and we also called a lawyer who has helped us some for free, from the goodness of her heart. The appointment with USCIS didn't really provide us with much. They were confused as to why we had gotten the intent to deny in the first place and why we were given so little time. The lady we talked to suggested we might want to look for legal or political help. She suggested this several times, which we found odd, considering that we were later told they're not allowed to hint that we should get politicians involved. However, since we didn't exactly know how to provide the USCIS with more evidence regarding our marriage, we resorted to writing letters. Previously my family, relatives and friends from Finland had written letters regarding our relationship, so now my husband's family wrote some. I also wrote one since I was in USA at the time of this. So we sent off our letters and I got an automatic e-mail from the USCIS in late October saying they had received the "additional information". No news since this.

I told myself that I'm waiting until the end of the year and then going forward with the idea of my own business. At the same time the little voice inside my head is holding me back, because I somehow still keep expecting to receive some kind of a decision from USCIS the next week... We'll see. There's still a couple of weeks of this year left.

I don't have any words of advice for you but can totally sympathise with you not being able to get a job since going home. I do hope that the additional information you sent will be what it takes to get your visa approved.

[mrsB 0]

Oh by the way, odds are that the cat wasn't my main cause of allergies, but the mold that was found in the apartment that certainly did no good to my asthma. Husband also bought all sorts of anti-allergy treatments for the cat to make him less allergenic, which I think helped.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

I'm just curious if you and your husband have decided after how many years apart you would consider retaining a competent immigration attorney to find out what the obstacle in your case is?

[mrsB 0]

I'm just curious if you and your husband have decided after how many years apart you would consider retaining a competent immigration attorney to find out what the obstacle in your case is?

First of all, I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I have an income of about 300 euros a month. I cannot afford any kind of a lawyer. My parents are retired and have very small pension, they can't really help with this. My husband has usually only a couple of hundred left from all his payments on a monthly basis, he can't really afford it. His mom is a lunch lady at school, not exactly rolling in big bucks and he hasn't seen his dad since he was about 7 years old. So, we can't just whip up a few thousand for a competent lawyer as much as we'd like to. We've consulted a lawyer who was willing to help us out a bit for free, as mentioned, but we can't afford to hire her. She looked into our case and said there should be no obstacle for my visa, but the USCIS just wants more evidence. We also heard tht now it'd be kind of pointless to hire a lawyer because all the USCIS has to do is to make a decision, on way or another.

I've discussed the visa with my husband a lot and we've decided that if I can get a decent job here and a proper apartment to go with it, he'll move to Finland with me as it is pretty simple. A couple of hundred euros for the paperwork, about 4 months until you get the papers that give you permission to stay a year. For 4 years you have to resend the paperwork, but after that you can (as far as I've understood) stay as long as you like. Of course, I need quite the income here, since I would have to support both me and my husband while he goes to school here. He only has high school diploma (which I've probably mentioned) which means pretty much nothing here. Here you need degrees. He also doesn't speak the language, so he would also need to learn that before he can really start working here. But it's the plan B, which be a tough one, but we do want to be together and not spend our 3rd anniversary apart too.

It'd be awesome if we could just hire a lawyer (even though it supposedly is too late now) and get this sorted out once and for all, but sadly we're not rolling in money. Personally, I'd be willing to just give up already. If everything in USA "works" this slowly, I'm not too sure I want to be there.

[mrsB 0]

Hey btw, can I somehow put on my timeline the request for additional evidence etc..? They seemed to have changed the thing around a bit too.

[mrsB 0]

I've decided to write a letter to the USCIS California Service center. Any tips on how I could make sure someone actually reads it and notes it? I could do with a glimmer of hope right now, as I just learned my sister is getting divorced (which wasn't the surprise), and her husband did the shitty thing and decided to drop the papers to her right before christmas, even though it was all supposed to wait until next year. He also had demanded to keep the kids to avoid paying alamony and he's basically kicking her out of their home. And as if that wasn't enough yet, my dad just ended up hospitalized a couple of days before his birthday and we so far have no idea what's wrong with him. They suspect it might be partially due to this stress. ARGH. Merry freaking Christmas.

[Inky 1,110]

maybe if when you are addressing the letter under "USCIS California Service Center" put ATTN: Head of operations uscis csc not sure if someone has the exact mail box number for the head that might be more usefull lol

[thongd4me 69]

There have been TOO many posts in this thread so I will ask only one question.

The FBI check raised an eyebrow (not for the insinuation that your husband MAY be a criminal, but on another note).

Does he have a name that is very common or a name that might likely be associated with crime even if you both know

he is totally innocent? Can he demand some kind of accountability on the part of the FBI, because after all they are

investigating HIM and if they can talk to HIM maybe he can give them some of the answers they have been looking for.

To me it seems like the Spanish Inquisition where they held all of their investigations without the participation of the

victim and relied heavily on hearsay and witnesses that never knew the object of the investigation.

Hope you get this cleared up soon.