Blueberry Pancake

Our 5 year journey has ended successfully !
We met in 2009 and I filed the first petition in 2010 which was approved after 51/2 month at CSC, however the K1 was refused after
16 looooong months in AP.
Petition was returned, I fought for reaffirmation like a trooper but USCIS let it expire in storage as usual.
Time was wasted with that battle.

Re filed in 2014 and CSC approved the petition in 58 days.
NVC transferred our case to the wrong embassy and it took about 2 months to get it to the correct consulate.

Interview was Oct 22.
Very courteous CO, polite and professional, unlike the rude CO we had the first time around.

My fiance was asked about 35 question for an hour with several repeat questions.
A fresh police report was then requested even though the current one had not expired.
He also requested a certified divorce certificate which I had definitely already send (frontloaded in petition and again for interview).
He said we will be in AP and awaiting the additional items but not to worry it would not be as long as the last time.

I was in contact almost non stop the entire night with my fiance on skype right before entering the embassy
and after the interview we talked again.

I finally drifted off to sleep and a couple hours later the phone rang.
I usually feel like a bed-head-grouch-in the morning before my first cup of java and let it go to the voice mail, especially
after being zombiefied and sleep deprived and fretting all night.
I felt an urge to answer and was so glad I did.
"Hello this is XXXX.....from the embassy and would it be ok to ask you a few questions...."
I shot straight up in bed and was wide awake and (how I don't know) switched to my professional voice. STOKES interview was all I was thinking.

He also said he could see the love between us from our photos but had questions.
I kept on babbling more than needed and he had to interrupt me a few times.
Hey...here was my chance and I wasn't going to let go convincing this guy that we are the real deal.

The next day I received an email that the K1 was approved, no new documents needed and for my fiance to drop the passport off for the visa.
Today I received an email for him to pick up the visa and the ceac online status said ISSUED.
Yayyyy ! I thank God first of all without whom I could not have prevailed for so long and who held me up when I was down,
my friends and support system and VJ was a huge help every step along the way.

I had told my fiance even if we aren't approved this guy is really very nice and professional and it goes to show you that
CO's don't have to act obnoxiously rude to dig and ask hard questions.
It can be done with tact and respect as it should.

This journey was the most difficult thing we had ever done and he got high BP out of it and I got digestive issues from all the stress.
AP was the hardest, the black hole of an abyss, unknown and frightening, topped off with the disappointment of the refusal and return.

He asked us why we hung in there so long and why didn't we just look elsewhere for an easier relationship after all these years.
My answer was because I am not a quitter. You just don't give up because it gets hard and you don't turn your back on your love
because things aren't going as smooth as you expected.
You stick it out ! My fiance was asked the same and said :" I could never leave her, I am fully committed because I love her so much."

My encouragement for you who are still on your journey and having a rough time, hang in there and keep on keeping on
one day at a time.

First filed K1 refusal and another CO's statement after I confronted her on one of my visits while in AP :
I asked what was the problem and she replied : " I just have a gut feeling and I don't think this would be a lasting marriage."
No factual evidence at all but she based her refusal on her gut feeling which may just have been a bowl of beans she ate that day who knows !
She wanted more evidence and we supplied 12 pounds of it to which she replied "I am not reading all of this I have no time for this".
I asked what evidence would she like to have and she replied : " I can't tell you that...convince me."
Seriously ?! It was all a nightmare. My fiance tried to tell her how much he loved me and she sternly told him to be quiet.
So how do you convince someone who doesn't allow you to talk and refuses to look at your evidence ?!

Current K1 : CO said you sure do have a lot of evidence but I understand why because of your previous experience.

I front loaded 600 pages of quality evidence spanning the relationship from the beginning to current,
various methods of communication to email exchanges with the previous CO, senators and congressman.
My gripes with the process and email to the CSC director and a 3 page relationship timeline
plus the previous filed petitions.
I then send a copy of it to my fiance to drag it all to the embassy.
At first they said it is too much we can't take it but he insisted that they take it and they did.
The assistant had to hand carry all of it from across town, my fiance can't
cross the border into the main embassy of the city.

It took me days to process that we were approved per email the next day, it all felt surreal. I couldn't even post it here yet.
I wanted to wait until the READY online status changed to READY OPEN, then from the still scary AP (issuing ap) to ISSUED.
I was still waiting to exhale.....still waiting for the next bomb shell to drop
on us.....well I exhaled now and we are so happy to begin our lives together under one roof.

Sweet success.

I thank God, who is my rock and strength, for victory in this very long battle.
Thank you VJ for all your help and encouragement.
Thank you my close VJ friends who were there for me year after year, on the phone and online,
even after some are now looking to ROC already and we started the journey at the same time, we will catch up !
Love you all and again thank you

So happy to report VISA APPROVED!!!!
Hubby was in and out in under and hour. He said the lady working at window 7 was a little intimidating as he overheard the people in front of him getting grilled. He was hoping to get another window, but when they called him up "Window 7" ha ha. He said he was sh*tting himself. But, then he tamed the tiger and got approved. It was all very anticlimactic and he wasn't told specifically that he was approved, but she told him all about what would happen with putting the visa in the passport and receiving it in about a week. So, he called me after and said "I think we got approved" and I a was like "What do you mean THINK" I said as long as they didn't ask you to send anything further and told you they are posting the passport with the visa in it we are approved. I think he was expecting to walk out of there with a piece of paper stamped APPROVED or something.
Funny, in the end we never got asked for a joint sponsor even though my job is not continuing in the States. I had my sister fill everything out in case, but it wasn't needed. However, I did send hubby with a house valuation, bank account info etc. to prove we can provide for ourselves.

Hello from Florida!
My POE was supereasy and fast. Waited in the visitors line for 10mins and then a couple of minutes with the first officer and 2 minutes in the backroom Ill post a full POE review later.
Thank you for all your help and support! Best of luck everyone!

Hi guuuuyyyys

Husband just called NVC, interview scheduled for November 7, 7:30 a.m.

November 10th (9:30am)

Warsaw please call.
Third call today, finally interview scheduled!!!
Nov 4th 9:15am
PS. It was Joy today, she definitely was not joyful.
Me:"when can I expect an email? "
Joy:"in few days"
Me:"so two or three days? "
Joy:"sir, I said a few days"

Interview scheduled! November 21st.
The Friday before Thanksgiving week isn't exactly the stuff dreams are made of, but I suppose I should be thankful we finally have an interview date.

Spoke with Lisa and she gave me the good news.
INTERVIEW SCHEDULED.
NOVEMBER 6. 7am

...and visa in hand! It took us a year and five months to get it, crazy!
Thank you everyone for your advice and support, it has been much appreciated! I'm so so grateful for all the information and the emotional support you vjers have given me
Now just hoping for a smooth sailing through POE

Ceac shows visa issued, yay! I can pick it up today from the consulate. So extremely relieved

Is the username Seagull because she likes to ####### on people?

Well, I officially do believe in miracles and there IS fairness in life:)
For those who remembers my story, I went through CSC center, got approved without any RFEs. Details here:http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/498853-azerbaijan-k1/page-7
Then interview went fine but we were denied for some reason. Details here:http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/511000-no-reason-denial-urgent-help/page-9
We were advised that docs will be sent back to US and USCIS will review the denial reason in 120 days. I made a decision not to wait and go ahead and fly to Azerbaijan to marry my fiancee and apply for a Spouse Visa. I got all documents ready, the only thing we were waiting for was marriage certificate. The problem I had was that In order for me to get married here, in Baku, i need a paper from US that i have never been married before and eligible to get married right now. I had gotten that paper and had it notarized and everything but i forgot it at home when I was flying from US to Azerbaijan. My step-dad mailed it to me here, but it got lost on the way here. As a result we missed our registration date, which was Sep. 27th, as they needed that paper. Since we missed that registered date, we had to wait another Month to get a new date. Well I found a way how to do it without waiting a month. My step-dad overnighted new needed document and i got it this morning. We took the document and rushed to the translation center where they would translate and certify needed doc. and then we would be on our way to get married.Right before we walk in to the translation center, Kristina gets a phone call as we walk and suddenly stops and becomes WHITE. It scared everything out of me as I thought somebody passed away or something. and then she states: "Visa got approved!" then I become White too. They said they reviewed our case and decided to approve her fiancee visa. If they called 2 hrs later we would be married and Fiancee visa would be expired.
We already sent a passport to Us Embassy in Georgia and they said it will take them 10 days to provide a k-1 visa. I will be returning to US with my baby. We cannot believe this! Everything happens for a reason. If I didn't forget that document when I was traveling to Azerbaijan, it would have been too late and we would have to wait forever before we meet again.
We think one of the reason they reviewed our case again is that I went to US Embassy in Baku and asked their help to get a new document that I am not married. So US Consular in Baku talked to me personally. Maybe they have centralized system where they saw that I am planning to get married. I have no idea. that is the only explanation.
Well, there is my short but super happy story.
I wish luck to everyone and thanks to VJ again for all the help and advises!!!
I wish patience and love to everyone!!!!

Oh my god, the day has finally come for us, APPROVED!!! I cant believe it!! Now the NVC wait
Good luck everyone!!
And many congrats california_luv! I actually had a feeling we would get approved around the same time!!
Post Decision ActivityOn September 24, 2014, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

Friends, we were approved 10 minutes ago.
I'm still in shock but please please please I pray that there will be many of us today.

APPROVED!!!!!
Had my interview this morning in Montreal! Everything went smoothly and my CO was really nice and friendly and wasn't too hard to convince of our domicile requirement (I was worried about it since we're both self employed so I couldn't provide a job offer or anything for hubby).
Thank goodness there's a coffee machine in the waiting area, since I flew from Vancouver yesterday so the 8:30 am interview felt like 5:30am!

with new rules I do have to.
"After you collect your Affidavit of Support form(s) and financial evidence in Step 4, and supporting documents in Step 5, you must submit all of the documents in ONE package to the NVC. Your case may be significantly delayed if you fail to submit all of your documents in one package." http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Submit_documents.html

Our AOS fee has turned to N/A! Last scan date was July 22nd for an AOS checklist (the lawyer either forgot to include my 2013 tax documents or NVC lost them).
I'm in the middle of the boonies in Scotland right now, with poor to zero internet and phone coverage, so I probably won't be able to call NVC until tomorrow night at the earliest. I'm relieved though I'm not sure we're in time for an October interview.
Best of luck to everyone still waiting on their case complete. It looks like NVC is back to working 1 scan day every business day! Everyone on this thread has been super helpful. Thank you all and a special shoutout to Saylin for her work on the NVC Wiki! If you're new on the thread, please take the time to read the whole thing. I only wish I had found this amazing site and thread before I hired an attorney!

APPROVED!!!!!

Interview in less than 12 hours!
Have been with my hubby in Warsaw since last Friday Having a few drinks now, then off to bed!
I've been a nervous wreck the past few days ... but my hubby has been a true angel!

APPROVED!!!!!

APPROVED!!!!!

APPROVED!!!!!

APPROVED!!!!!

APPROVED!!!!!