Milan&Pam

I also had the same question, and someone gave me idea what to do. You can read his reply here http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/352890-any-february-2012-filers/page__view__findpost__p__5722207

Oh thank you! That was very helpful. I am unable to call them but I did find this on their website http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3177.html. I sent an email. Hopefully will the reply will be faster than anything from the VSC!

I have some questions about NVC if anyone knows...

Are all petitions sent there are do some by-pass and go directly to the Embassy? How do you know?

If it does go through NVC, do you get notified when they receive it and/or when they send it to the Embassy?

...I see there is a place on our timelines for this information, but I have not received anything after the NOA2 notice. I saw a few posts about "tracking" your package once it leaves USCIS but I am not finding out how.

Help anyone?

Wishing everyone good luck this week! I have a great feeling!! Hang in there....you are so close!!!

I was just on the US Embassy website reading about the timelines for K-1 VISA's at our embassy in Skopje. Can I tell you that any excitement I had from receiving our NOA2 just exploded. Please someone tell me this is just some made up numbers:

*NVC performs a namecheck that requires a reply from the FBI. This namecheck is usually completed within ten days, but some cases take substantially longer.

*It takes four to six weeks for the actual approved petition and its supporting documentation to reach the Embassy.

*On average, the first available appointment (for interview) is about six to eight weeks from the time when the Embassy receives the petition.

ANOTHER 10-15 WEEKS!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!! I know there isn't that many people in Macedonia trying to get to the US. What could possibly take so long?! This just can't be true....

I feel like I am back in March starting all over again.

Not sure how far you are from the Canadian border, but once you've got your AP in hand, you can always drive up to Canada and pick up some back bacon!! (I hate the stuff though LOL)

KTandTommy...is your Timeline correct? Your interview isn't until DECEMBER!!??? Holy crow!!!! Why so long?

When you receive your packet from the Embassy, they will inform you of all the documentation you need. You will probably have to prove that you are free to marry. This will involve divorce papers if needed or another form of documentation from Serbia. I am not sure about Serbia but in Macedonia, it is on your birth certificate. This is why my fiancee had to get a recent birth certificate. It was stated that he was not married.

For today's topic: What do you plan to do when your fiance gets here to the U.S.?

I am fortunate enough to be in Macedonia right now and will be waiting outside the Embassy while he interviews! So we will be leaving together and flying into JFK. He has never been to the U.S. and we will spend a couple of days in NYC just so he can see the Big Apple before coming to his new home in my small town in Florida. He must experience Wal-Mart, Starbucks and some really good real American food. He also has no idea what a Taco Bell is so we will have to hit the drive through for the experience! The next two months will be spent with family during the holidays, teaching him about pilgrims and American college football, more immigration i am sure, drivers licenses, I.D. cards, Sunday drives and a lot of loving! <3

Well, hi there .. I haven't participated on this thread very much at all, but I read it at least once a day and know how you are all feeling because I am going through the same emotions. Our story is long and involved and at present just waiting and waiting. There is no reason why we should be denied at all, but our petition was lost, we didn't ever get an NOA1, the cheque was finally banked in May. We contacted them several times over that period. Eventually got someone who actually did something and found our file, it was in different places, somehow split up. She put it together and said that they seemed to have everything they needed.

Weeks, months have gone by and nothing further in spite of all that. We are just in a waiting game now. We have been apart for 21 months - we text and talk for at least 2 hours a day. I am not working - never expected to be so long apart and not a lot of opportunity for short term contracts in my case.

Anyway, it has given me opportunity to do some things I haven't had time for in the past and with the help of you all I try to stay positive. I am sure there will be a lot of approvals here very soon, when everyone can move on to the lives already planned. Thank you for the support I receive from reading your posts...

OMG! They should have moved you to the front of the line just for their mistake!! Did they offer to push you through faster or tell you "5 months"?

Disney is Not crazy at all!!! I have been three times and only once with kids. It was on my list but we picked Vegas...Fast, fun, easy and cheap. Getting married IN A LIMO on the strip. Stopping for cool photos at all the hot spots and then on with our lives...finally!! Oh, and we picked 12/12/12 as our date. Going all out cheesy but we don't care.

So to break the waiting ice, how did everyone meet their fiancé/fiancée?

We met while both working in Afghanistan. He was sitting alone at a table in the dining facility at lunch. My co-workers and I sat down at his table and I sat across from him and TALKED HIS HEAD OFF! I couldn't stop thinking of him afterwards and finally, two weeks later, gave him my email address. It is history from there.

ConGraTuLaTions

Thank you so much! Not forgetting about my fellow March filers though. I'm still hanging in to cheer you on. )

WE ARE APPROVED!!! No RFE!!! Haven't checked in a week and sure enough we were approved yesterday. Maybe that is the trick...don't look every 2 hours like I was doing. Still keeping all the Marchies in my prayers though.

By the way, we did not get an email notice either. I checked the site directly

Ok, so now....how long can we estimate a VISA in hand? 4-6 weeks? Is that too long or not long enough?

ONE MORE DAY DOWN GUYS!! Everyone hang in there....

"Here's the nifty part. While seeing the same "Initial Review" appear on your screen (or hopefully Not!), you'll notice your case number is displayed in the upper right corner. It's not sound programming, as it is displayed in a text field, not just text. But because of the way it is displayed, you can click in the box and change the last digit (or two or three) to see other petitions status. It doesn't reveal anything personal about the other petitioner, but you can see the date and their status to compare against yours."

WOW..had no idea you could do that! I only checked the 10 around my number but found out that there was movement on all applications just 3 numbers ahead of mine! Of course, there is no rhyme or reason to how they do this but it makes it more exciting than nothing happening at all! lol Thank goodness there isn't a limit to how many times a day you can check that site. I swear I check at least every 2 hours.

Anyone else feel like a kid before Christmas...like it will NEVER get here? But think back to those days; Christmas morning always came and your gifts made you happy! For as long as we have waited, another couple of weeks isn't really long at all. One thing we know, IT WILL COME! )

Ok, so now that I have given my motivational speech...is anyone else in a panic that maybe your forgot something or that you don't have all the correct documents!!! That just hit me a few days ago. It's worse than the waiting! hahaha!

Saying a prayer for everyone today.

We are still about a month away from our NOA2 and we want to get as many documents as we can so not to hold up our interview. Are there any documents we can get now? What specifically does he need from the police? How current do they need to be?

Congratulations to the new approvals!! I am truly happy for all of you! And keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of us. I have a birthday coming up in 5 days...would be wonderful to have a present from VERMONT!!!!

I agree with everyone that you should get the "legal" portion over with and, if you can both agree on a budget and lavish wedding, do it soon after. Remember....girls start planning their weddings at age 5 so this is a big deal for her. Maybe once she is actually living with you and has adjusted to her new life, all that seemed so important before won't be so important after all.

So happy for all of you that are getting approvals already!!! It just reminds the rest of us that we are ACTUALLY getting closer. As for me...I am leaving in a few hours and on my way to Macedonia to see my fiancee after a four month separation! Going to stay there until he can come back with me. I know not all of you are so fortunate so I will keep my fingers crossed for you that your approvals come quickly!

I imagine doing it without VJ means they don't sit here and think about it all day long!

HAHA! You are probably right. I envy those with so much patience! All these estimates, timelines and processing times are just what they are....ESTIMATES. The only thing that is for certain is that we will be waiting another 2-4 months. Some of us less....some of us more. (Keeping my fingers crossed is it less for all of us). We are at the mercy of USCIS and this painful waiting process.

Hope for best, prepare for the worst but know THERE WILL BE A HAPPY ENDING!!!!

Below is a very good thread with experiences of people visiting on tourist VISAs while awaiting K-1's :

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/

I hired an attorney to handle our VISA procedures as I a was afraid I would miss something. I have been very pleased with him so far. It actually isn't a that hard a process but there is a lot involved. Missing one thing could delay you by weeks if not months. I didn't want to take that chance. After I got all the information he requested, he sent it ALL within a couple of days. It costs a little more, but the peace of mind was worth it for us.

I will tell the reason I chose him over other attorneys. First, I am in Afghanistan right now working with the military. My attorney allows me and/or my fiancee (who is in Macedonia) to Skype with him for any meetings or questions that may come up. That is SO convenient for all of us. Second, and most importantly, he did not make me pay the entire fee up front. He allows me to pay by the month. He said "I feel it is less stress on my clients financially. Not to mention that if you stop paying, I stop working. And if I stop working...YOU stop paying. It is only fair".

I hired him right away!

How can it be????????? I have asked for a turist visa to visit my fiancée and the issue why they didnt approved my visa was because I had one K-1 in process and they said that you can not go through a POE with a turist visa if you have a K-1 in process, I try to find out if using my italian passport would be ok to go visit him but they said that was highly possible they send me back because of the K1...

I'm sorry, answersing to the topic... I feel your pain too, and I think that if a processing time takes 5 months there is something wrong with the process itself. They don´t have enough people working in visa cases if they have to take 5 months or more to check someone's background, and personally I feel that making two people wait so longs in some cases much more is inhuman, no one should wait this much to live their life like they want specially if it is in a good way like getting marry.

Sorry I was out off topic but I'm tired of waiting and I can not see my fiancee unless my visa is approved because he has no more vacation and Im not allow to go

To stay on topic, I sent you a private message regarding K-1's and tourist VISAs.

The distance and waiting is horrible. Yes, knowing it is worth it in the end still doesn't fill the space in between. It's even harder with me being in Afghanistan (working for the military) and he is back in his country. At least he has some sort of normal life and can stay busy. Not so normal with me and our internet here is terrible!! However, we do talk as much as possible on Skype. We spend a lot time discussing day to day activities, family, hot topics, etc. The thing that keeps ME busy is planning for our future (visits to each other, possible new jobs, relocating, traveling, wedding, retiring etc) . If nothing else, it gives me something to look forward to and something to google when I am alone.

My fiancee and I have been apart for two months now and, honestly, it does get easier when you get into a routine. Before we knew it, two months had passed and I will see him again in 10 weeks. By the way…we count weeks and not days. And I agree, try not to check timelines and such too much. It makes it worse.

The good thing, with all the conversation and total concentration for just each other with our Skype calls, we have learned SO much about each other. We are "talkers" anyway but it has been really great to build and strengthen our friendship along the way.

Hang in there!! We never really want to rush our lives, but sometimes I'd like to fast forward just a little.

Ok, sometimes I think I am on this website too much! LOL BUT I JUST FOUND THIS...

At the top of the page is Immigration Timelines. Igor's list shows all petitions, when they were filed, when the NOA1 was received and when the NOA2 was received. It filters by service center. It appears that Vermont is now processing January and some of February's petitions! It's not much but at least it shows things are moving and getting closer to all of us March filers! Right now I will take any little bit of good news.

I am sure everyone but me knew about this (ha ha)...but just in case I thought I would share.

Have a great Memorial Weekend all!