Adnan&Liane

Congrats! :star:

Congrats!

Hi Gaby,

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you have a long road ahead of you. I don't mean to be negative, but I just want you to be aware of what lies ahead (I was very naive in the beginning and thought we would be done in 6 months ). You are much stronger than you think, and this journey will show you that. It will test your patience, but you will get through it. If being overly optimistic helps you get through it, go for it...just don't be naive like I was...

Although they quote 5 months, that is for the USCIS process alone...and from what I've been reading it seems to be taking longer for some (more like 8 months as of lately). After that you should expect at least another couple of months w/NVC (make sure you are prepared to have forms sent the minute they request them - research and do everything you can ahead of time and it will save you a lot of time). Then, it may take you another month or two after NVC to finally get your interview. Considering your fiance's name is Muhammed, I would prepare yourself for AP. My husband's name is Adnan Ahmed Mohamedy (common name) and he is a UK citizen (born in UK and lives in UK now) but he is moroccan and grew up there. We have been in AP for the last 6 months. I didn't even know AP existed until we got placed in it after the interview. I'm sharing my story and happy to answer any questions so that you are not blindsided like I was and can have realistic expectations about this process.

I know right now it seems like an eternity away, but you CAN do this...as far as a support system - use this site...everyone here is very supportive and have really helped me get through some bad days. I am also in NYC if you need anything I'm happy to help! Find something to throw yourself into...for me it was work. Also, try to visit him as often as you can as he cannot visit you here. That is my biggest regret, I was too wrapped up w/work and worried about $$ and now it has been almost a year and a half since we have seen each other. I am going to visit next month, finally! I would have never thought I could get through this, but somehow we are still going strong. I wish you strength and patience and that you get through this quickly! Good Luck!

I would never say to the old congressman that your services are not needed. You pay his salary and he should do the job you want. And if he happens to decide to do it on day 3 and you pulled your request on day 2....

It will not hurt your file to have 2 congressman and senator on it.

When a case is under CO review at the embassy level it does help to push the CO to work faster to issue the visa.

When you are in Mandatory AP it can push the FBI agent to finish the file quicker and not sit on it.

I know cause they sat on mine for 29 days and did nothing cause they had a backlog of cases. So within a week I contacted mine and within 12 days ap was over.

It is now your job to make those calls every few days and see if their are any updates

call DOS everyday now and ask status update

email the embassy twice a week for case status updates

send email to you congressman people and ask for the latest update and when can you expect the next congressional inquiry to be made

Update: As per your advice (thank you!) I decided to keep Senator Gillibrand's office on my case as well as contacted Senator Charles Schumer and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. So far I have not heard back from anyone...the last time I talked to Gillibrand's office was on 04/16 when the person I spoke to said his supervisor would make the inquiry asap... I contacted Schumer and Maloney on 04/17 and am still awaiting a response or acknowledgement of receipt of my materials....

I was hesitant to have more than one office make an inquiry only because I thought that they have to 'pull our file' for each inquiry and it may slow them from working on our case...is this true or was I misinformed? I also thought you weren't supposed to contact the embassy too often for this same reason... (but now that I think of it - it doesn't really make sense...I would think that the FBI would be working on our case continuously (hopefully) and would contact the embassy when we are cleared?)

Also does the DOS keep track of how often you call? Is it better to call often?

Thank you to everyone on here for sharing your experiences and advice! It has really helped me get through this week - it's been a tough one!

Congrats! :dance:

Congrats! :star:

I'd contact them back (the Gillibrand ones) to let them now that their services are not longer required. Is not spite, it is so time and resources are not wasted and instead used effectively in another case. As well, is one less duplicate check at USCIS/DOC, which will help others. DOn't descend to their level and teach them how it is done.

This senator has already received bad publicity here and will seen by anyone, member or not.

And yes, next election, remember who actually helped and cared; and tell your friends

Now that I've calmed down a bit, I'm going to give it another day or two and if they still haven't made the inquiry then I will tell them not to bother - I will contact another member of congress/senate to ask for help...

I am in the same boat like you. I send all my paper work to Jackie. I have not received anything yet

Jackie? Is that someone from Gillibrand's office? How long have you been waiting? I never even got a staff member...I only spoke to an intern during my first two conversations - I'm not sure who I spoke to today - I was too upset to ask for a name....

It sounds like you need to be more aggressive now. No more Mr Nice guy or patient or sweet or calm.

Get out the big guns and call them every other day and stay on them till they do what your tax dollars pay them to do--SERVE YOU

Good Luck.

Thank you for your support! It has been nearly 6 months....now I'm ready to take some serious action! Does anyone have Oprah's phone number? I'm sure she could help me get something done!

Btw I hope you are enjoying your new life w/your husband!

her attitude toward immigration is protectionism. she wants to protect the american jobs from immigrants.

maybe you can write a letter promising a donation in exchange for getting a response from uscis.

she is the devil and im sure she need to fund-raise for the upcoming election.

you can try your local congressman or chuck schumer.

Did you have a bad experience with her? I've already emailed Carolyn Maloney and I plan on reaching out to Chuck Schumar tomorrow... thank you!

She doesn't like immigrants in general.

http://24ahead.com/s...-tough-or-just-

try this website to find some info about your representatives.

http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/

I knew she was against illegal immigration, but I thought she supported the legal route....afterall - her husband is a british national (just like mine is)....

Thank you for the info!

Thank you i wish the same for you too...all of us. its hard...we just got new apartment theres nothing here am waiting for my husband to get here so we can decorate it together pick out furniture etc. im so ready ..i had a breakdown this morning..this is just really frustrating. but i keep telling myself its almost over.

It is so hard...I'm having a really tough day today too...thank goodness for Visa Journey...it's the only place I can really vent and find answers... I'm still waiting to get "our" apartment...I live in NYC so I'm living w/roommates until he gets here and we can afford a place of our own..I can't wait to be a real adult w/a place of our own that I can decorate! Just remember...we are all near the end of our journey...we may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, but it's just around the corner (I have to keep telling myself that over and over)....

Same here, six months and counting. Same response from DOS. Case worker from my Congressman's house isnt helpful at all for our case. Actually I called today to get reassigned a different person, someone who will follow up on our case and have better communication with me.

I just found out my senator's office hasn't even inquired into our case yet, and it's been a month since I first contacted them....so frustrating... Did you contact a different congressman or did you just get someone else from your congressman's office working on your case! Have you heard anything from them about your case?

Ok guys, so I just called Senator Gillibrand's office and I found out that they have not even made the inquiry yet! I am SO frusterated! I tried very hard not to freak out on the poor guy that was speaking to me, but I was so upset that they haven't even checked into our case yet that I got a little emotional (I tried not to but I couldn't control it). He said it was because they have many cases to check into - it is a senator's office and not a congress person - but still...A MONTH?! and you haven't even checked into it yet?! I contacted them because I am SICK of waiting - not because I have ANOTHER month to spare! So anyways, he said he let his supervisor know and they would inquire asap. Either way I'm not waiting anymore...I just emailed my congresswoman (Carolyn B. Maloney) instead...hopefully that does some good. Although I can honestly say I have absolutely NO faith in any area of our government anymore. There is no wonder that illegal immigration is so prevalent if this is what happens when you do things the proper way.

Thank you to everyone for your help!

I think most of us are referring to just that. My congressman always got a prompt reply from USCiS and the consulate. Never waited longer than a week.

Wow...it sounds like I need to find another office to inquire into my case! Thank you for sharing!

I sent at fax @ 630 am and at 930 am she called my cell to tell me she called dos and then told me what all she would continue to do for me. I emailed her later to ask her to email the embassy to make sure they printed the visa and she emailed back within a couple hours with their response. What are you sating to yours and how are you contacting them. Try not to be emotional. Just give them facts

I contacted them through Gillibrand's website on 03/19...it has a form for immigration cases...I briefly stated the facts of our case. I also faxed the consent form and supporting documents - they called that day and requested a copy of our NOA2. I faxed it the next day...I called again on 03/26 to make sure they had gotten it as I had not heard back. They said they did get the NOA2 but they hadn't made the inquiry yet (but would within the next couple of days) as they are a NY office that gets a lot of immigration inquiries...they said my case was assigned to someone who would inquire within a couple of days and get back to me when they hear back from the embassy...

Haven't heard anything since...

I contacted also this senator (Kirsten Gillibrand) one week ago, I left a message with all the info, but she didn't get back to me. Now I am contacting my congresswoman, I just spoke to her and she had already make the inquiry on my behalf.

Hi manou_and_med - thanks for the feedback! Who else did you contact after you tried Gillibrand?

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I did contact my senator's office and they did respond right away...but I am referring to how long it took for them to actually make the inquiry w/the embassy and get back to you with what they found out about your case...

we have been in AP today makes 37 days..but 1 things someone told me was this:

Mel,

I recently went through the process and received my visa and passport in under 3 months. Abu Dhabi is fairly good with this stuff and most AP's here, from my research online, don't seem to go past 6 months. As long as your case is legit, you should not have any issues and your husband will get his visa inshAllah.

My case had complications and even then all went well by the grace of Allah.

Stay Strong,

that made me feel so much better...i know it will take time ..i figured since it took 5 months for uscis and then 2 months for interview date..then we have to wait for embassy..the only problem im having is not knowing what they are doing and a time limit. this isnt fair to people they are on hold for the lives, future, family..i miss my husband more than anything thing and i know everyone is missing theirs ..it is nice to know we are not all alone in this.

I do the same thing...I try to tell myself that it can't go past a certain amount of time and that we are almost at the end...it works to get me through each month...but now we are nearly at 6 months and I am trying to prepare myself if we are one of the really long cases... I hope that your AP goes very quickly!

Honestly, it's gotten to the point that I am scared to turn on the radio. I find that I can keep my emotions in check but when I see a couple walking hand in hand or hear a song that makes me think of him I realize how fragile I really am. I tried to remove myself from this site because I would see people getting their Visa's so quickly and I would get angry and ask unanswerable questions. BUT I have come back for the mere reason that anyone else I talked to would get a blank look on their face and have no idea what I was talking about or why I was so upset by it, atleast here people can relate to my feelings. I supper duper appreciate that beyond measure!

I know exactly how you feel...I can't listen to certain types of music because I will lose it...I've gotta stick w/the upbeat songs or else I'm all tears lately.... I just keep holding onto the future...and how amazing it will be once he is here... we all will know much greater love than many people because of what we go through to get them here with us... I will never take him for granted because I already know what it is like not to have him in my life...

I know how you feel. My husband is in AP for 2 months now. I don't even call DOS. Hang in there.

Thank you Evelyn - I only call the DOS about every month to check...it's too hard to hear every week... hope you get some good news soon!

Hey VJ'ers...

For those of you who contacted your senator or congress-person...how long did they take to get back to you? I contacted my senator (Kirsten Gillibrand - New York) about a month ago (03/19) and I am still waiting to hear back...I'm sure they are busy because it's a New York office and I'm sure the embassy also takes a while to respond to the inquiry...but I'm getting anxious...I talked to them over the phone a while ago and they had all of the info they needed...but how long should I expect to wait for a response? This whole process really tests your patience...

Hope some of us hear good news this week! Good luck all!

I have no idea what this means, but bring every single piece of evidence you can! Do you have any mutual friends or family that wrote affidavits of support to help verify your relationship? I had my mom and also a friend who attended our wedding ceremony write one and I also wrote one myself detailing how our relationship began up until our marriage (I submitted these w/our initial 1-130 submission)...I hope it goes well and that you can be together very soon! Good Luck!

Congrats!

I think all Pakistan people in AP for over 1 year should get together and file a writ of mandus together. They cannot deny all of them and this would cause media attention to show how they are not efficient and I believe it would be a huge embarrassment to the embassy to show like 10-20 writs all filed at once

That is a really good idea! Our case is not in Pakistan...but I follow this thread because my husband grew up in Morocco (MENA country) so we are in a similar situation w/our AP...although we have not been waiting a year yet, I am very dissapointed in how flawed this system is...especially when it comes to AP! I was really fired up about it the other day and my coworkers and I were throwing ideas around about trying to contact the media to put out a story about some of the cases that take so long and all of the hardships we are all put through...it may not do much good - but then again, it may shed some light on the issue - and who knows...maybe the right person might see it...you never know...I don't know...just putting that out there as an idea for some of you who have been waiting so long...I'm sure we've got some pretty epic tragic love stories among us...the media loves that stuff