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Hi all! I'm leaving for the States next Saturday, and I was looking for some excellent health insurance.. Any recommendations? I found this travel insurance from Patriot America to cover the first month or so while I settle: http://www.patriotamerica.net/ - does anyone know if this is any good?

I'm going to Alabama, if that helps? Is Blue Cross Blue Shield generally the standard solid health insurance company for when I begin to settle?

Thanks y'all!

Thanks! Really good info. I'll see what we can do... How exactly did you contact your congressman? Email? Telephone? Did it take long for them to chase it up?

oh, and you are in alabama? That's where my wife is! How receptive were the Alabama congresspeople to this request?

Actually my nov.1st appointment was my 2nd infopass appointment.

My 1st one was October 10th in which the 1st officer just flat out lied

to me and told me my file was lost which wasn't true he just never left

his post to go look for it because he told me to have a seat while he found my file

and he would make a decision on it. I watched him and he never left his window

and he kept calling people up and helping them. Then after about 20 minutes he

called me back up to his window to say to me that my file could not be found.

The thing is he never looked for it but he told me to mail certain things in to him

and as soon as he got it he would make a decision on my case and I believed

him so I did what he said and waited exactly 3 weeks and nothing happened.

That was on October 10th.

I made my 2nd infopass appointment Nov.1st and I made a copy of my entire I-130 petition

and took it with me because that's what my lawyer told me to do. It turns out I didn't need the

copy because the officer took the time to really find my file in which he did. Now to your question

I didn't ask him anything I just told him what I know from researching the USCIS website and by

reading here at VJ. I told him I had 2 letters from my congressman's office that said my file was

there at the Atlanta office and that I had been told by the previous officer on my 1st info pass

appointment that my file had been lost. I also told him that by researching the USCIS website

that if my file had been lost that I had the right to ask for an expidite and he said that's right.

He took my receipt number and looked on the computer and went back to the file room and

looked for my file he was gone for a while and came back and looked at the computer again

went back again to the file room and came back with my file in his hand. At that point I started

asking questions. I told him that I was on this site and I was keeping up with what's going on

I told him that from this site most December, January,and Feburary filers were already finished

and he asked me did it come from this office meaning Atlanta and I said no most were from the

Vermont office. Then he said I tell you what I have a file here at my desk from July 2012 I have

to come in in the morning to make a decision on and I'll put your file on top of it and make a decision

on both which was a Saturday morning that he came into work. He told me for my peace of mind that

he would give me a call once he had reached a decision and he did what he said he would do because

I received the call saying my case was good to go. That's how my case got approved at the Atlanta office

and im so thankful for that officer but I won't give any names.

This is awesome. Really Congrats

Well, as you can see from my signature, USCIS received my file on December 3rd 2012... I've heard absolutely nothing since. I have a case number that I can type into the little USCIS website and see the same old 'Initial Review' bubble mockingly glow in my face, but other than that...? Close to tears, I tell you.

How many December filers or earlier are in the situation I'm in? Something is surely wrong, right?

Congressional liaison?

Thank you for the kind words. I know nobody should be in this situation, but it is comforting to know that we're not the only ones. Hopefully there will be a happy ending to our nightmares...

Some info for starters:

I filed for I-130 at the very beginning of December 2012 as a British husband of a U.S. citizen. As of October 27th 2013, I'm still in Initial Review on the USCIS website... My wife called USCIS at the 5 month mark and the 7 month mark and they basically said that they had received the package, there are no updates and we just have to wait. My receipt number begins with MSC, if that has any relevance?

It will be 11 months since filing soon... Now, is this normal? Or just the norm at the moment? If it is neither, is there anything we can do? Anything at all?

We're at the point now of just throwing our hands up in the air and saying 'it comes through when/if it comes through' and we try to steer clear of the subject when we Skype because it upsets us too much...

Thank you for your help in advance.

Thanks for the valuable information everyone!

Well, I'm visiting my fiancee sometime in the next couple of months (we have her friend's wedding to go to). Upon entering I could tell them that (the truth) and then if we fancy getting married then so be it, right?

I just want to do this as legal as possible and the information that everyone has provided has been incredibly valuable. Thanks again!

Jenniferjones101 - Your situation sounds pretty much exactly what we're looking to do It's comforting to know that someone has followed a very similar path to what we wish to tread. Your timeline looks exactly what I was hoping to see too - only 6 months from marriage to visa?! 6 months is a long time, but I was expecting more like 8-10 months of waiting. Again, very comforting to see that slightly shorter wait times have been achieved. Another question... Could your British husband visit you in the US while the visa was being processed or did you have to visit him in the UK each time?

Congratulations on your visa success!

Thanks for the informative and speedy replies (this website truly is excellent)!

I thought the first scenario would be tricky, to say the least... So the suggestion is this:

Scenario 1. Go to the USA with the intention of marrying. Return back to the UK after marriage (still within the VWP expiry date) and file for a CR-1 visa. No adjustment taking place, just filing for Green Card.

Scenario 2. Arrange K-1 visa to marry in US and then adjust status.

Now both scenarios are legal, right? I'm sure there is more chance of the latter being accepted by immigration, but I don't think, from what people have suggested and my own research, that there is anything wrong with the former.

Thanks again!

Hello (I'm new here)

I am British, my fiancee is American. This is the timeline and sequence of events we are currently looking at and I was wondering if anything was incorrect, illegal or 'in fantasy land'. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give us!

Between October 2012 and January 2013 - I, the Brit, travel to the USA under VWP and get married to my fiancee. I then return home within the 90 days the VWP allows. I tell immigration at the Point Of Entry in the US that I am entering with the intention to get married, but I am not staying in the country on this trip (I will show the official my return plane ticket). - The reason I would leave the country after getting married is that I believe that if you enter under the VWP with the intention to get married and with the intention of STAYING, you could be denied entry. Is it possible to apply for AOS while marrying under the VWP when it wasn't a 'spontaneous marriage'?

January 2013 - March 2013 - After arriving back in the UK, we apply for a Green Card for myself. At the same time apply for a non-immigrant visa so I can stay with her while the Green Card is processed. - Not sure exactly how long the non-immigrant visas take to process

March 2013 - November 2013 - I'm in the USA, looking for jobs, waiting for the Green Card. The Green Card could take between 5-8 months to process.

So to summarise: Marry in US under VWP => Return to UK => Apply for Green Card & non-immigrant visa => Enter US under non-immigrant => Slip the Green Card into my wallet and smile

*An alternative to this process would be this:

October 2012 Apply for Fiancee Visa

March 2013 - June 2013 Receive Fiancee Visa, get married. Apply for Adjustment Of Status & apply for EAD immediately after marriage.

Between June 2013 - December 2013 - Receive AOS and EAD.

So to summarise: Fiancee Visa => Marry under Fiancee Visa => Apply for AOS & EAD => Receive Green Card

How does that sound? I think Scenario 1 is higher risk, but Scenario 2 will take longer. What do you think?

Thanks again!!