Waiting is definitely the hardest part...

[chiggins82 87]

Waiting is tough for anyone. It's all perspective. I think, how luck someone is that they can see their SO once a day or week or month... I generally visit every two months for 3-4 days at a time.... Then I think, Oh man, look at all the people here that wait 6-12+ months to see their SO...

Honestly, I don't think it matters how often you can visit, the wait sucks. For me I think because you don't know how long the wait will be. I am so much better when I know how long so I can mentally prepare.

What do I do while waiting? I have a blog, I try to make sure I don't isolate myself too much alone, so I spend time with family and friends when I can. I try to keep a hobby so my mind is not so focused on immigration.... and I research immigration. I am on here all the time, I make lists of things that need to be done each step of the way. I personally am not planning a big wedding, but I think for many on a K-1 that could be a good time distraction?

I also volunteer. For me, anything that gets me away from feeling sorry for myself and sitting around being lonely helps (I live alone).

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from K1 Process to General Immigration-Related Discussion Forum~

~Applicable to numerous immigration processes~

[LionessDeon 2,060]

First...you are VERY blessed.. I live 1,500 miles away from my fiance and would take 4 hours any day of the week. I agree with you that the waiting sucks! But I think the hardest part for us was having someone else dictate when we could be together, how, when, and where we could marry, and sharing all our personal business. We both tend to be private people and sharing our private conversations, pictures, etc to justify our relationship was very difficult. What other relationships have to do that?? We finally resigned to the fact that it is what it is.

Try to focus on the positive and try not to keep the visa in the front of your mind all the time. Spend time building your relationship, doing new things, and visiting friends and family. Luckily, I have a busy home and work life, so it keeps me occupied. Matter of fact the night I got the NOA2 text message I was so tired I almost didn't get our of bed to see the text!

Best of Luck!

Edited October 16, 2014 by LionessDeon

[Al and Cherry 2]

...and it's only been 2 months. Sorry if this is a silly post (or if it is in the wrong place - is there a "Waiting Forever" forum?), but what have others done to pass the time between K1 NOA1 and NOA2?

Vin and I live about 30 minutes from each other (Niagara Falls ON/Buffalo NY) so we can see each other every day, but man it would be nice to just live together.

We all are in the same boat and miss our loved ones very much. I am happy for you that you can see and spend time with them. I would guess that 99% of us cannot, so to hear that you can makes me happy ... at least one of us can enjoy some normalcy. Most of live in a world of Skype and email... I write my fiancé an email everyday as part of a journal. I think the hard part is not being able to share the little things in life on a daily basis..

Personally, I find this wait to be very tragic. I encourage everybody to write their congressman/woman a letter in a very polite way. Our country should be supporting marriage and family isn't that 1/2 of their pitch to us. It's obvious that they need more people in these centers to keep up with the demand. Our nation always has cash on hand to bomb or build the newest space vehicle. The world has gone global and I doubt that your representative would like to be away from their spouse for 9 months to a year. The NOA1 to NOA2 is the most frustrating and it looks to me as an educated person that the work that ultimately done is checking to make sure your documents are correct... This could be done at the post office. Postal employees already do passport work, why cannot they be cross trained for initial work here? This is my message to our congress.

So encourage you to write a polite letter.

In closing, wishing you the very best... I hope you are truly and forever reunited with your loved one very soon.

God bless..

[annem 15]

You're lucky you can actually pass the time with your loved one!

I can't, so I try to keep busy when I'm not at work. I try to see friends, I go shopping, watch movies or shows I like, see my family while I still can.
Some days are harder, but tomorrow is another day...

[Operator 1,925]

...and it's only been 2 months. Sorry if this is a silly post (or if it is in the wrong place - is there a "Waiting Forever" forum?), but what have others done to pass the time between K1 NOA1 and NOA2?

Vin and I live about 30 minutes from each other (Niagara Falls ON/Buffalo NY) so we can see each other every day, but man it would be nice to just live together.

Every day huh?

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

I got my NOA1 in January, I am still waiting for appoitment at the embassy..2 months isn't thay long, so hang on in there, your time will come. I hope mine is too

[Marco&Bettina 502]

Sorry, I didn't want sympathy. I just figured talking about how others are passing the time could be a nice thing to do, but once again VJ (while very informative) seems to be a "whose life is harder" contest.

Edit: Sounded waaay meaner than I meant it to sound.

None of our suggestions would work for you because there is no distance & no real reason you 2 can't see each other whenever you want. The distance between my Fiancee & I is 5,300 mi or 8,500 km. However, even we are fortunate in that the longest we've gone without seeing each other is 5 months. See the difference, I can use the word "fortune" when describing a time gap of 5 months in between seeing my soon-to-be wife, & yet you're on here asking for suggestions on how to pass time. I'm sorry, but just . Nothing I can suggest that I've done to help my time pass would work on anyone who has the option to see each other everyday, & I can guarantee you that hardly anyone else on this site has that option. So, sorry if we seem callous, but the true waiting game is very stressful.

Edit to add good luck though.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Marco&Bettina

[Balbuena2013 1]

YOU CAN SEE EACH OTHER EVERDAY??? …girl, bye lol wow …i have to agree with Marco&Bettina….i haven't seen my husband since we got married in september of last year and you have the option of seeing your spouse everyday ?!?!?!?!?!? and you've only been waiting for 2months???…we're still at nvc waiting on our 7month …not to mention the 7months we had to wait at uscis prior…...think of others who haven't seen them in years and live 3000+ miles away should help to comfort you ….wow you are very lucky…i WISH my husband lived that close …seeing him everyday would be heaven compared to once a year ….chin up, you're fine, others are in way way way worse situations….wow

Edited October 16, 2014 by Balbuena2013

[XXoverwhelmedXX 1]

wow I would pay to be in your position. 30 minutes away? and u have been waiting for only a month?

wow......your luckier than most of us here trust me

[kew612 1]

It's cool seeing some of the ideas here - I really like the journal. I feel like it will be great for you to look back on when you are together. Until Vin moved from Montreal, we were doing a lot of Skype and facebook chats. I thought about starting a blog about the journey until we could live together, but he found a great opportunity to move closer and that was that. I do feel really lucky that he got a job offer.

To everyone who has decided that they want to have a "my life is worse" contest, you win! Sorry for posting, from now on I'll just stick to the FAQs.

[funsize 0]

We started our GC process maybe the start of August, I was so nervous since my R-1 visa had expired for a couple of years and the 2 other attorneys I went to see in previous years gave me nothing but bad news. Thankfully my new attorney (Anita Patel) put our mind at ease very quickly, I actually got a little insulted because she was laughing at me being so nervous but afterwards I realized it helped, I was so scared and her laughing just made me realize I was over thinking things. Anyway, we applied for adjustment to status, Employment, Travel and some Alien thing from my husband. After doing labs it took about 2 weeks to get our biometric appointment, we were sent to Nashville and was in and out within 5 minutes. Now im waiting on our Interview date and my gosh it feels like its taking forever!!! I have my employment card in hand and anxiously waiting the letter to let us know when to go for our interview. Fingers crossed we get it soon,

I feel for everyone waiting on their interview date. Its never easy. I have been working on scrapbooks to take to the interview, I'm a crafty/artsy person anyway so it helps me pass the time while we wait, plus I get to keep the many memories we have shared together.

Good luck to everyone in their interviews!!!!

[funsize 0]

It's cool seeing some of the ideas here - I really like the journal. I feel like it will be great for you to look back on when you are together. Until Vin moved from Montreal, we were doing a lot of Skype and facebook chats. I thought about starting a blog about the journey until we could live together, but he found a great opportunity to move closer and that was that. I do feel really lucky that he got a job offer.

To everyone who has decided that they want to have a "my life is worse" contest, you win! Sorry for posting, from now on I'll just stick to the FAQs.

My husband and I just got back from Buffalo, NY. We went to the Niagara falls which was absolutely gorgeous, but our main reason for being there was the Baylor vs Buffalo game. My husbands son is the Punter for Baylor. One thing i figured out from being there is people love to eat, we were out after the game and left the restaurant about 2am and people were still coming in, i dont blame them the food was absolutely amazing everywhere we went.

Good luck on ur visa process!!

[Torete 121]

It's cool seeing some of the ideas here - I really like the journal. I feel like it will be great for you to look back on when you are together. Until Vin moved from Montreal, we were doing a lot of Skype and facebook chats. I thought about starting a blog about the journey until we could live together, but he found a great opportunity to move closer and that was that. I do feel really lucky that he got a job offer.

To everyone who has decided that they want to have a "my life is worse" contest, you win! Sorry for posting, from now on I'll just stick to the FAQs.

OP,

Don't feel sorry for posting, just ferret through the responses and acknowledge the positive, helpful ones and ignore the others. I didn't gather you were looking for sympathy or acting privileged.

I agree that the journal is a good idea and it's fantastic you're in a position to see your SO often.

Regards.

[Novembro 1,763]

sorry, no sympathy here. you live 30 minutes away. others cannot see their SO for months, sometimes up to a year.

Sweet bedside manner, bro.