G&T

Congratulations!!!

(P.S. I've always enjoyed your Reddit avatars)

hahahahaha thanks, those helped me cope with the "downs" of the process.

Best wishes to all.

I AM SOOOOOOOO HAPPY!!

Thanks for all the support and good advice.

I will ask the soon to be Mr. to fill out his interview details.

My advise to the ones staring or in the middle of this process , follow the tools and guidelines that are provided here ,after that you only need to Keep the hope & have some patience.

Best of lucks for all

Child support is just some "extra money" that you are getting for the expenses of your child. Money that you don't have to take out from your pocket, but that comes IN.

What ever moneys that you are getting as "extra" on temporary/permanent bases, even if those are for an specific purpose,count as income as this are bringing more liquidity to you.

Keep in mind that child support is something that you have to report in your taxes as well as some of those monies that could be "extra". ( of course , I bet that some exceptions may apply, but not on this matter)

OP, there are plenty of replies here about the visa but I can answer your other question about Embassy admittance. I worked in a US Embassy as a section Deputy Chief for almost two years. The movies show that scared Americans can always run to the Embassy waving their passport and be admitted like they were visiting grandma's house. They even bring the local citizen who helped them escape and are whisked off in a helicopter to the nearest airfield and given a first class ticket out of the country. Only in the movies!

Embassies are not cities, they are office buildings. They do not have hotels, motels, or quarters for lots of people to live or stay. In face on my assignment I actually lived in the city on the economy and only went to the Embassy for work. The rest of the time I was to fend for myself. The Marine Guards are the only ones that I know of who live on the grounds 24/7. I worked late one night and forgot to inform the Marines, next thing I know I have a shotgun in my face. Security is VERY tight, even if you work there.

There are only enough office locations for us to do out job, maybe cubicles or maybe a big desk depending on who you are. There is no space for visitors other than a small library, reference room or a briefing room on the backside. This is where the scheduled visitors may be escorted. And yes, you are always escorted where ever you go regardless of your citizenship. The majority of the Embassy is locked off from those without security clearances and a need to be there.

An American overseas who needs help from the Embassy, like a missing passport, medical emergency, or other personal issue will likely never get past the same waiting room that all K1 applicants visit. For similar security reasons it is hard to get on many US military bases even in the US.

Lastly, even s an employee if I had a need to bring you on the compound, I would have to request proper clearance and you would have a very intense background check first, which may take a few weeks to get back, American or not.

The movies are fun, I get a kick out of how the good guy can scuba dive and get to a shore and have a tuxedo under his scuba gear then go on about the embassy (XXX), or how a person can run to the gates shouting "I'm an American!" and the gates simply open up and they get VIP treatment (The Saint) when in reality you need to deal with many layers of security, and government security at that, so you know the process is going to be very slow.

Some embassies have an "American Corner" where you can watch American movies or read American newspapers, it is a goodwill gesture to the public. You can ask if there is an American Corner at the Embassy in your country. Heck you may even want to see if they are hiring locals for unclassified work from security to administrative work.

heheeh ,Sorry OP but one has to love this answer.

For the record, the German embassy in NY and other countries is just alike, no privacy at all so I guess that is an common thing in Embassies.

Good Luck on your K1

Gracias , Thank You, Danke

I think that is a non brainer, but it depends on the situation , why??, in our case my fiance chose to present his resignation this week.

Reasons:

1- He is really not happy in his job so he was considering to get a new one anyways.

2- His work contract states that he has to give the company 2 months of labor after presenting a resignation.

3- Did I mentioned that he "loves' his company?

Yeah, once again I recognize that is not the wise thing to do; we are just crossing finger for things to come as we hope or the Mr. will have to dust off his resume.

thanks for the answer

Sheep , sorry don't know how does it works for Peru,the best bet is to go into their embassy website and in the portal section here.

Good luck

After receiving my NOA2 on OCT.3 I mailed my fiance,on Oct. 11, all the documents that he will need for his future Interview .

Our case was sent to his Embassy on the Oct. 24th but now I am wondering if there will be and issue with the Affidavit , my letter of intend and my employer's letter as all are signed on OCT. 11 and not a closer date to his interview which I estimate might take place withing a month.

Will I need to send new ones or this should be fine??

NEVER

Sometimes it can slow the process tremendously but I doubt it for a city police officer. If you had some sort of TS classification or were in sensitive information employment, military intelligence for example, it could greatly increase the amount of time needed, not for YOU, but for your fiancee right up front.

The regular background check takes less than 30 seconds, it is only if you "fail" or your name generates "hits" that a manual check is used. How much faster do you want?

There is a misconception that there is a huge amount of time spent on petitions. Typically it is 20 minutes or less start to finish, open to close, if all is complete and the background check passes (most do) The rest of the time your file sits in a box waiting its turn. The "updates" or "touches" are usually when the box gets moved around and scanned, it does not mean anyone actually touched your file.

Jay, after this clarification from Gary, I believe that what you need is a friend in the Vermont center.... heheheh

Just seat and relax and let the process flow. You will get there.

Just keep calling; unfortunately on this one it totally differs from case to case.

I got my NOA2 on Oct. 3 and the NVC got my case on OCT. 17 but had no available number at that time.

I called again on the 24th, early in the morning ,this time they said that my case got there on the 21th of OCT ( after saying before 17th) they finally gave me a case number and the operator told me that I had to wait 5 days or so until the case was fully process in their system.

I called like 2 times more to rectify , and those 2 times the operators gave me different time frames and even told me that I was under more processing and had to wait 3 weeks or so.

To make the my story short, I called AGAIN the 24th of Oct. around 9pm and this time they told me that my case was on its way to the beneficiary's embassy.

SO in resume, is a good thing that your case is there, just give it time and keep calling.

Good luck

Would petitioner's employement facilitate criminal background check and speed the process? For example... NYPD police officer...?

Sorry if this is off topic... I didnt see the point on making a new thread for that question.

Thank you!

UMMMM....I really don't know much but your case is just the as everyone when it comes to background check criteria; Unless that the policde officer in questions has a friend in the FBI that

can perform those background checks quicker when your file is sent there

Me and my fiance applied for his visa in March this year (2011) and still haven't heard anything, we are still waiting. He lives in Bulgaria and I'm in the States. I'm getting impatient why is it taking so long? The 60 days is up they said would take

Keep Calling and get your Senator involved for an extra push. you never know.

The transition from NOA1 to NOA2 can be of around 5 months or less (if everything runs smooth) to 6-7 months (if you get RFEs) and unfortunately, a bit more or less if any Extra Background checks have to be performed on your case, but this is kind of random.

From NOA2 to Embassy , an average of 2 weeks to 2 months(in a worse case scenario) and from Embassy to Interview ,this stage will fully depend on the Country of the Beneficiary.

So in total, if you have a smooth application with no issues ,an estimate of 7 to 8 months is the safest. Some make it in less others more.

Review the timeline of your fiance's country and you will have a clear idea of what to expect in the best and worse case scenarios.

Thanks Gary.

Good luck to Alla on the citizen process; I went through it last

year and is way smother and less nerve racking than the k1 visa.

Thanks for the answers =)

I called the NVC today and they said that they received my case but is not in their system yet, that it may take 3 to 4 weeks to be processed.

Is 4 weeks their realistic time frame in to process or is just their script answer?

( this one is an obvious one but just in case) So I get the visa # when they finally process everything and is sent right?

Thanks

Don't worry about that; is not a big mistake. When you are at the Interview stage you can always tell them that you found a mistake in the application which you will like to correct.

If the evidence that you sent corresponds to the month of April then do as they told you, send a letter explaining what has to be change.

Good luck

I guess that maybe as me you have been seeing that many people get their case throw the NVC in less that 10 days. Lucky lucky ones..

I got my NO2 on Oct. 3 and I am still waiting.

Our cases will eventually get to the embassy and hopefully within less than 2 or 3 weeks( please GOD less).

Just cross your fingers and focus on the documents that you have to send to your fiance, I already did so.

In the case that you have been working with them in the past year; a W2 might work as well, but indeed, the pay-stubs are your best evidence on this one.

13 days here.. I though that I was the only one wondering why is taking so "long".

One thing is for sure, I call them religiously everyday. heheheheheheh

To make the story short you asked which were your options and everyone gave you their opinion on helped you oversee many possible scenarios of your situation.

As none of us know which will be the "state of mind" of your adjudicator and later the Embassy interviewer, is best for you to consult your case

with a immigration lawyer who could advise you on when and how to make this a successful application by reducing your potential WHAT IFS.

Good Luck.

Ummm the English speaking part doesn't sound like a Red flag to me, what if the petitioner speaks the same language as the beneficiary??...

I guess that IT is a red flag when there is not a language in common for both parts.

If the beneficiary doesn't speak at least basic English and the petitioner doesn't speak any of the languages understood by the beneficiary then some eye brows should be raised.

Sib,

the purpose of a Certificate of Citizenship is to get the first U.S. passport. That's it.

If your children have U.S. passports already, what are you planing on doing with the Certificates? Show them around when they go clubbin' or put them in a frame on the wall in their room?

bad bad... heheheh

I think that is not a bad idea for her to have those certificates.

Even if the passports are proof enough of citizenship ,I believe that she is just trying to be covered for any What Ifs; I would personally do the same.

Love it! I couldn't agree more. Also, to me it's a very personal, intimate thing not to be shared with hordes of people.

While I understand what you're saying, I'm still going to be dressed up in a huge fancy dress looking gorgeoussss while legally binding myself to the man of my dreams. I'm sure MANY others here are going to/have done this and it's not like it's a bad thing

But I don't really think planning a wedding "distracts from the marriage" ... unless like you said, you're paying for it yourself. then i guess i get your point

Well Like you, I am having a fancy dress for which I only paid 600 when the price tag is 8 times more.( connections )

Hands up if you can pay/use/ get marry in the dress of you want, no matter how fancy or simply it is.

Hands down if you are putting yourself under the bridge for that one special day /dress and are also leaving your

bank account empty for the possible rainy days.

AND yes ,to many of us the whole immigration process does put a wedding in perspective with the fact that another process has to be paid

later on and that your future wife/husband has to be supported until he/she is able to work and get in tune with their new place.

If I didn't have those things to worry about then maybe, just maybe I wouldn't mind about the wedding planning and cost THAT MUCH ( as long as is not more than 7K ),

after all a wedding ,small , big , fancy or simple is a matter of your likes and how deep your pockets are.