Sealy

Whooyaaaa,

We got approved yesterday. Passport should be returned within the week.

Goodluck Britt, see my pm with details.

Pieter.

Hey guys,

So we got an email saying it's sent to the NVC now we wait, again! I have a couple of questions though:

I'm trying to prepare for package 3 already because somethings take forever to be mailed where i'm from. Is it okay if I do that though? I want to go and get my birth-certificate and my police records (I also take it that that is here named the VOG?) I'm not divorced nor am I a widow so do I check that mark on the checklist that I will be getting from the consulate? Can I already make an appointment for my medical? Like, basically, what all can I do before I even received Packet 3? Also, do I need multiple birth-certificates and VOGs? One more: it says we need the original I-129f forms but we sent them to the USCIS and we didn't make copies. My computer crashed so I have none of my files anymore, or do they get them and am I simply worrying about nothing?

Thanks guys, I know it's not really topic related but since there is Dutch citizens like myself in this topic I figured maybe I could bent the rules a little, tiny bit

- Britt & Kristin

Hi,

I think we are on the same timeline with all of our work. Cool. Unfortunately we had to wait a long time for the I-134 otherwise we probably would have already scheduled the interview by now.

I've just send in the checklist confirmation so hopefully the consulate will send me the interview date soon. As far as I can tell (from reading the documents) you can only plan a medical exam when you have received your interview date but I guess other couples can confirm that.

Regarding the paperwork, we've made a copy of everything before we send it to the US.

Grtz,

Pieter

Ok in my case I received instructions before doing the DS-160. Have you guys received instructions yet ? I think all situations are different but I have an attorney that did all the work for me it was worth every penny I spent . I can only tell you what happened with my situation

I received my instructions from the Embassy before filing the DS-160, but like Britt&Kristin are saying the instructions on the website compared to the instructions specific from the Embassy are pretty different. Even the instructions from the checklist is different. The Embassy says to send the checklist without any other documents while the website says send 2 pictures, a bio page and the checklist.

Considering I am receiving instructions from the Embassy I am going with what the Embassy is telling me over what the general website is saying.

Good question. I've got the same question considering I filed my DS-160 too.

I've noticed some differences between the USCIS and Embassy as well. Confused :S.

Well fellow Dutchies,

I seriously just received my letter for the package 3 in my mailbox.

Funny how things go.

I was with the California Service Center.

On to the next part.

Cool to see other people get approved in the last couple of months.

We (Kirsten and myself (Pieter)) got approved halfway of October and have been waiting for packet no.3 for a month now.

Time for us to start calling I guess.

So far it's been 3 months in our journey. .

Thank you Sarah for the packet 3 link. Checking that out.

Hello all,

I have a question for American citizens living in europe (more specifically the Netherlands).

We currently live in the Netherlands but are planning a trip to Spain and I am not sure if my fiancee (American) is able to travel freely within Europe.

Does anyone know if you need like a visa or anything? She has a Dutch residence permit and an American passport.

Please let me know.

Thanks.

My husband is American and just like Sealy, we live in the Netherlands, but are going to move back to the US, for the exact same reason.

We have just filled in alle the papers and are sending it to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox.

Hopefully it won't take too long...

Is the lockbox filing location different between the CR1/IR1 and the K1?

When i read the 129k information it showed a Dallas lockbox. We are about to send everything out so it would be good to know to which address.

Each person has a different perfect place. A lot depends on what is important to you. Weather , do you like it hot or cold, wet or dry ? Are you a rural lover or a city lover ? Are there jobs that you can do there ? Do you have children so that school quality is important ? Is crime rate a driving factor ? There are several online tools to help you pick.

Would you mind telling me which online tools you are referring too?

Hello all,

My fiancee and me are American/Dutch as well.

I am the Dutchie and we are about to file our K1 visa forms. We currently live in the Netherlands but are planning om moving to the US if all goes well.

Hope the K1 process isn't going to take forever because we really want to be there. My fiancee has a hard time adjusting to the life in the Netherlands so it's time for us to do the right thing and that is moving. She has been ready for this for quite a while now and I have finally convinced myself that this is the right thing to do.

The main concern I have in the Netherlands is my pension and how to deal with it. So if anyone has experience with that please let me know.

The amount hours all depends on the job. My husband works in a warehouse and he works more then 40 hours a week. He does get 15 days vacation though but that is after working there for 9 years. He got 5 days when he started. Next year he gets 5 extra days.

Yeah warehousing was my previous job. Did IT work in a major DHL warehouse but in the Netherlands 40 hours is standard and if you work more you get more per hour. Most jobs don't accept overtime anymore because of the economy. Guess I just need to find the job for me with the vacation days .

In professional or "office" type jobs the hours tend to be more 9-5 but when you're higher up in those jobs you might end up working 60+ hours a week.

Personally I work 30 hours a week because I work "part time". My colleague works 40 hours a week and is considered "full time". One of the other people I work with works pretty much 7 days a week, regular 8.30 - 5 Monday to Friday, then several hours on the weekend. He likes to though and isn't made to do so, it's his choice.

Personally I work to live as well but sometimes that requires many hours at work. My husband had to get this job that was supposed to be 40 hours a week but turned into 60+ because he had to keep staying late to fix things for other people. He left that job and went to one that was 12 hour days, 5 days a week, rotating shifts (so 4 days 6a-6p, 3 days off, 4 nights 6p-6a, 4 days off, rinse and repeat). It was horrible but he did what he had to do when he was made redundant to "live" and support our family. He always does what is needed, and sometimes that sucks but he did it for us. Now he's in a much better job. Been there a year and is on his second promotion. Good benefits.

Really depends on your area. There isn't really a "standard" per se, it depends on your job/experience what your "standard" would be. Given you're IT etc it'll probably be 40-50 hours a week.

Yeah I definately qualify for the professional type of work. I've always worked around the 9-5 kind of jobs, sometimes more hours but that's working in IT. It's great to hear other peoples experiences with this though. I shall keep the vacation days in my mind when checking jobs . But indeed you do what you need to do to survive I guess. Working to live has always been my motto.

Thanks you guys. Gives me a better feeling of the situation. If anything comes up just pm me so I don't disturb this topic.

I shall leave this topic to the original story, don't want to hijack a thread.

Sealy, I think you are confused somewhat. You don't work 10-12 hours a day in the US. People work 40 hours a week standard.

It's true we get less vacation than other countries. 10 days of vacation is standard, plus the 10 days of federal holidays. But, in higher skilled jobs, getting more vacation than that is common.

A part of your negotiations for your job can be getting more vacation time. What is your field?

Hmm ok then I have just based the hours of work on experiences from people i know in the US, including father in law and friends. Father in law works like 10-12 hours a day and i believe some of the friends work more then 40 hours as well, but if 40 hours is standard then that's good news to me because I like my free time.

Yes vacation days will be a pain. I don't know exactly the way it goes but i've heard that you have to build up your vacation days rather then getting them all at the same time. Like the first year you get 1 week and after 1 year you get 2 etc.

My field is logistics/IT/consulting.

I've got a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering with major in Telecommunication. It's pretty far from my line of work but has some crossovers. Currently I am an Oracle consultant for Xerox in the Netherlands.

Hi all,

It's good to read other peoples experiences in this area.

Mine is of the same kind but from a different country. My fiancee, American citizen came over to live with me. She is from South Carolina and was used to living in the country where no one bothers you. Great life in my eyes because I come from the city life. Anyway, before she came over we talked about relocating and she thought it would be smarter to come and life in the Netherlands with me considering I have a place of my own and had a steady job at the time. This was about 1,5 years ago and we are now residing in the Netherlands. Well from the moment she was in the Netherlands small issues started to appear. Just simple things like different food, no well water etc. Then issues like language barrier and the lack of country side life started to appear. Everything she had was so different here. She loves the Netherlands in her beauty but can't stand the up close living conditions here. I second that although I never lived in the country. At first it felt to me she was not appreciating all the things I did for her, buying her tickets, arranging exam locations (she is a student but doing online classes), arranging the immigration part in the Netherlands, buying everything she needed. Everything she had something to nag about which made it really hard for me to look at the real issue. It felt like she didn't want to be here essentially. I know now that this is a wrong assumption because I can see what she means as I've been to the US a couple of times now. Now we are filling in all the K1 forms to send off to the US because we believe we would be happier in the US with the open space etc. From what i've seen I love it, the friendly people, the open space, the big bottles of drinks for a few dollars . But I am scared as well, considering the economy, considering the work climate, the working 10-12 hours a day, not having vacation days.

I will have no problem adjusting to the living conditions but I probably have a lot of issues with working there. In the Netherlands you work 40 hours a week and get 25 days free time a year. Well I want that for the US because I work to live not live to work. I will need those free days to visit my family back in the Netherlands because that is definitely something I will miss. I don't mind giving up all the things I have for a new exiting adventure but being able to visit my family is definitely something I hold dear.

So yeah, great advises and it's not only viable for living in the US. .

We will start our K1 adventure soon, but I still have to talk to my parents about it which is going to be a hard time.

This good advise from Harpa, if you have any question feel free to ask or e-mail me.

Hello Daniel,

I see in your signature that your K1 started in feb-2011 and finnished in aug-2011, only 5 months?

Realy, did you do anything particular or was this just a matter of luck?

Anything to speed up the process .

Is getting married in the US important to you? Because a spousal visa is more elegant and cheaper and the immigrant can work right away, whereas with the K-1 visa the immigrant can't work for at least 3 months. You could get married now (anywhere in the world) and then chase a spousal visa. Something to consider.

It's fine that the USC lives abroad, but she will need a co-sponsor based in the US and might have to show her concrete plans to move back to the US.

Hello Harpa,

To me it is not realy important where we marry. But I believe that my fiancee wants to get married in the US. Another reason for it would also be the preparation of it. I also do not have the need to work straight away when entering the US. Living area is already settled and it would not cost a thing till we find our own place. In the mean time that I wouldn't be working I could work on my skills in designing.

Ok regarding the sponsor, we already have her parents sponsering her so that won't be a problem.

I just need to figure out how we are going to do the check thing since we are both living in the Netherlands right now.

I think the K1 visa would be the fastest way right now right?

Hello all,

I am Pieter and I am a Dutch citizen. I met my fiancee online and she is from the US. We met in 2011 and I quickly went to visit her. Then I came back to the Netherlands and skype calls etc. happened. She moved to the Netherlands and has been here ever since. The original plan was to apply for a K1 visa in 2011 but consideirng I had a job and my own place we decided it would be better at that moment to start in the Netherlands. The idea was to spend at least 2 years here since she would be studying via online classes.

Now however we have decided we want to be in the US with her family. I love it there, the open space, the open people, it's amazing. I cannot find that in the Netherlands since it is so cramped up here.

Anyway,

To the point. We both live now in the Netherlands, but want to move to the US. We are engaged so I figured the K1 visa is our best bet? Am I right in that thought or not? Does it matter where the US citizen lives at the moment? Does she have to move back to the US and file the the I-129 or can we do that from overseas?

You guys are awesome btw, I've learned so much from this website and without it I would have been lost. It's great to see all the stories and read about whats good or not.

Do you guys have any tips? Any help would be appreciated.

Going to check http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide for now but let me know if you have any tips/tricks.

Best regards,

Pieter & Kirsten

While filling out the papers for the I-129F package i noticed on the example forms in the cover letter and a few other documents it tells me to put the address of my service center. i live in Utah and so i believe my service center is in Nebraska. Should i put the address to Nebraska service center on the papers that ask for that or the address to the lockbox in Texas where i believe i need to send the package. Also when i finish the package the instructions say to send the package to the Texas lockbox address is that where i send the package even if my service center is in Nebraska.

From what I understood you have to send the package to the Dallas lockerbox and they will send it to the corresponding service center.

Hello there,

I recently joined as well.

Story:

Me (Pieter) being the Dutch guy met a lovely American lady (Kirsten) and are engaged since the 6th of August 2011. I just got back from my 3 weeks of being with her and I already see it's going to be a hard time. We wanted to apply for the K1 visa before I went home so we already had all the paperwork filled in but when I got home we decided on her coming to the Netherlands for the time being (if she can manage to set things up for her study her). She tought it would be better for her to come here for the time being since 1: we would be together and we would have plenty of time together, 2: she is about to start a study and isn't really commited to the US right now and I have a steady job, so if she can sort out all of her study stuff then she will be staying with me for about 1,5 years if all goes to our plan. The idea then is to apply for the K1 visa during her stay here so we would be together instead of waiting apart and well I thought that was a great idea off course .

Now it's waiting time for me because we haven't set a date yet for her to fly over here. She's waiting till her passport arrives and till she gets her study sorted. Hopefully she is able to sort all within the month. Hopefully.

Question for my fellow Dutchies: How can you get your head to think something different then the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Grtz

Pieter

We filed our K-1 while abroad together (FedEx), and only came to the States when my wife was approved.

You definitely can do it, but the Petitioner will just have to provide at least a family address to use for proof of domicile. I used a friend's, so it doesn't really make much of a difference.

Uhm will you then also receive the NOA1 and NOA2 on that address or will they send you that info abroad as well?

Hey guys,

Thanks so far for the responses. Good to read.

Regarding the assets of me, that is purely for when we are in the US so that we can build up what we want, I don't want to get into the us without any savings.

I've read indeed about the Affadavit of Support and her parents would probably be our sponsers when we apply for the K1 visa. So if I understand correctly the petitionar needs to have a US address in order to file the petition. Since she is now still living at her parents place we would then just use her parents address.

The idea is for us to stay in the Netherlands for about 1,5-2 years depending on how fast she is able to perform her study. After that we would like to move to her home country so we will probably file for the petition like half way down the road.

I will also read into the CR1, no idea what that is.

Congratulations to both of you. You are lucky to encounter such good officer

Gefeliciteerd!!!

I am happy for you two and happy to see fellow Dutchies as well.

Hello all,

My name is Pieter and I am from the Netherlands.

Like many others I met my current fiance via online gaming and since then we started chatting every day, after a while facebook and after that skype and then I made the step to visit her in the US. Well since my visit, a month ago everything has really gone in a fast pace. During my visit we knew that we were soulmates for life and we wanted to be together, so I proposed her and we made plans to apply for the K1 visa. Before I went home we got all the paperwork sorted and were ready to send the package to the USCIS, but once I got home we started discussing other options as well and we've decided that she is coming to the Netherlands for the time being to study so that I can remain working to build up our savings. The 2nd reason for her coming to me is also that she doesn't want to wait for the K1 process and she wants to be with me, well it's likewise so it benifits us both. Once she has done her study here and I've build up a sustantial startup money then we plan on applying for the K1 visa and moving to the US.

My question for you guys is as follows.

If both she and I are living outside of the US, can we still apply for the K1 visa from the Netherlands and then wait here for the descission or does she need to do that from the US?

ps. I want to thank VJ for all the information so far, it was of great help.

Regards,

Pieter