Takeo

Congratulations!! August to April, nice! That is the timeframe I was predicting, but still waiting. Happy Anniversary to you two!

Congrats! I have the same problem, forgot the next steps been waiting so long! First on the list if my memory serves me right is "celebrate"!

Congrats!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congrats and aloha!

Congrats! Good to see July filers getting approved, that was a long wait!

What I was told by an aide of hers this morning (4/19) is that CSC has gotten local field offices to pitch in with DACA applications which has freed them up to work on other apps including I-129Fs. They have been flooded by calls (both the USCIS and the Senator's office) regarding this matter so based on the inquiries she has made she was told that all July and Aug applications should be processed by the end of April. Sep (where mine is) and Oct will all be taken care of by May. Obviously they have approved some Sep apps as well in this flurry. I am just passing info I was given, have no clue how accurate or inaccurate it is.

That's great news! Recently, a few VJ members, myself included, had their local Congressmen/Senators inquire about the delay, especially in processing July-October petitions. I really hope that these inquiries helped speed things up. Whatever the reason, I'm sure many of us are cautiously optimistic!

So awesome to see that! Maybe USCIS is monitoring this forum, haha! Or maybe they were getting tired of receiving inquiries from Senators and Congressmen. Whatever the case, lets all pray that CSC continues at this rate! What the heck, lets hope the rate increases!

Hello Takeo,

Really thought I replied to this thread, but it didn't show up...so here it goes again...

I'm thinking of contacting Senator Hirono's office soon, about the hold up at CSC. Was wondering if you've heard anything else from her office recently? What type of things did you put into your letter? When did you receive NOA1?

I know your pain with bringing the dog over as well. I'm currently living in Sweden with my SO, and will be moving back to Hawaii next week, and waiting out the rest of the visa process, with our large dog. We spent the money and months waiting, so that we can clear Hawaii's quarantine. Due to the quarantine laws, NO animals (except guide dogs) are allowed to fly in the cabin, on any airline into any place in Hawaii.

Good luck to you and your fiancé, and the animals! As glad as I am that Hawaii is protected, it sure can be a pain in the "okole"...

I wish I had contacted the Senator's office earlier, never expected to be waiting over 8 months for NOA2. NOA1 date 8/7/12. I emailed from Senator Hirono's website, and after not hearing from them, I called. Staff is Marvin who handles immigration maters. He quickly sent me the consent form which I filled out, scanned, and emailed back with a one page summary. I told him about how I met my fiance, how many times we have met, the history of CSC delays, common responses from CSC when inquiries are made, etc. I just don't want the Senator's office to be given a "generic" answer. I am hoping that Marvin is experienced enough and persistent, to get a valid response from CSC. Good thing is, I see more August filers being processed, so I am hopeful! The quarantine is so strict, but we too have done all the testing and will then need to do the eval 14 days before, tick treatment, and mail the documents no less than 10 day before arrival. So strict on timelines it can drive one nuts....in addition to all the visa requirements, pain in the okole for sure! Whew! PM me if you want any more details. Mahalo! Aloha!

Congratulations!

CONGRATS!!!

Congrats!!

OK think enough other threads have been hi-jacked so if we need a great big rant or a consolation hug then this is the thread we should be in. It's not fair on the lucky ones that have got their NOA2 for us to gripe all over their happy threads.

Yea I am sick to the back teeth of waiting, it hurts everytime I see someone else getting approved even though I am happy for them. Just praying it will soon be my turn. Hopefuly fiance is calling his Senator later today

August 7 CSC filer here. Back in August when I filed, I was hopeful because timelines were pretty quick for CSC. I kept thinking how lucky I was to be sending my petition to CSC. I tentatively began planning my fiance's travel, location for wedding, quarantine paperwork for her dog, etc, etc, etc. At 5 months, I thought about contacting my State Senator but was still hopeful things would speed up. As I wrote in another thread, I contacted my State Senator 3 weeks ago by email, called them yesterday, and signed the consent form. Hopeful that this will at least get my petition on the desk of someone for adjudication.

Hi, I was looking up for airlines that could carry a dog from Narita to the US in cargo in the summertime.

As for me, Singapore Airlines operates direct flights to Los Angeles and seems admitting dogs in summer as they recommend owners to choose flights in early mornings or evenings when it's hot.

Your fiancee might be able to　check up direct flights to Honolulu once you get NOA2.

Skygate is handy to search one-way tickets:

http://www.skygate.co.jp/

Thank you very much! We were checking other airlines, but of course most important is the safety of the dog. My fiance's dog is a Pomeranian and not restricted from the summer flights as I first thought, and we will still plan morning or evening flights, which needs to coordinate with Honolulu Quarantine because dog needs to be inspected and meet strict testing and paperwork requirements. She also has a rabbit, which has to go through an examination also and cannot fly on Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to Hilo where I live. So we have to book another flight and I have to go get the rabbit for transport on another airline.

After waiting 24 days since my email to Senator Hirono's office, I decided to give them a call, and I'm glad I did. Spoke to the staff assigned to my request and he quickly emailed me a consent form. I filled out, scalled, and faxed the form and attached a one page summary of my situation along with some info on CSC delays, DACA, generic responses from USCIS, stagnant timelines, and the "black hole" petitions. The staff said and inquiry will be sent, we'll see what CSC does or says.

Yay!! An August CSC filer, congrats!

Congrats!!! Thanks for being sensitive to those of us who have been waiting longer.

I've written my two Senators. I heard my email is sitting at the first Senator's office that I wrote to, but no email or call back yet, over 3 weeks. I'm sorry for your frustration, hurt, and anger. Many of us are experiencing similar frustrations and there is no logical explanation, which adds to the frustration. Add these stressors to our individual challenges in life and it can be a bit overwhelming. Everyday, when I talk with my fiance, I am grateful that we can communicate, Skype and Line are wonderful internet tools to stay in touch.

In June 2011, I was in a shoreline fishing tournament and got swept off the cliffs here in Hawaii by a big wave. There was no where to climb back up. I was exhausted and drowning. Four of my friends, tied a rope that I had brought, to a lifeguard float, also which I had brought, threw it out to me, and after about another 10 minutes or so of bobbing up and down in the rough surf and becoming totally exhausted, they pulled me up a 20 foot cliff! Life changed that day! My perpective on life changed. As I face challenges, it's still stressful, but I am grateful to be alive to experience them. A month after my accident, I met my fiance and although this visa process has been challenging, having her in my life has been such a blessing. She is thousands of miles away, but each morning when I get up, I am grateful to have that relationship and know that this separation is only temporary.

As my fiance and I face these challenges together, we try our best to stay positive and to allow ourselves to grow as individuals as well as a couple. It's not easy, but it's much healthier than wallowing in grief and sadness. The whole purpose of the K1 is to pursue my life's happiness. The Japanese have a word "Gambatte" which means, "do your best" and "never give up". Gambatte my K1 friends, Gambatte! Aloha!

Thats silly!! Fly with another company like US airlines or Delta?

wait I read just now that in the cabin under your fiance's chair (the front chair) can fit the animal and they can fly but not in the luggage cabin because that's where the big animals are carried.

ANA does not allow pets to fly in the cabin, at least not for International flights. I just read that certain short nosed dogs are restricted July to September, or when the runway is hot in Japan. My fiance's dog is a Pomeranian, so not a short nosed dog. We also face strict quarantine rules in Honolulu for the prevention of rabies. We have done all the testing and paperwork already. My fiance also has a rabbit, that's a whole other challenge.

If its a small dog she can take it in the cabin like me with my cat!

ANA says all International flights animals need to be in cargo

Even if you received your NOA2 today, it is very unlikely you will have your visa in hand before the end of June. Sorry, you're going to have to accept this... If you are anything like me, you will only accept it after you have exausted all options up until June 30... You'll be on the phone with somebody trying to get it done. This can-do attitude won't get you anywhere in the visa process.

If you do get approved on July 1, then you need to travel within 90 days to the US, so hope for July 15 so you can travel with her dog on October 1.

Are you sure it's 90 days from visa issuance? From what I've read, it's up to 6 months. Some say it's 6 months from the medical evaluation date. So, if my fiance gets her eval 2 months before the interview, then we would have another 4 months to travel and then 90 days to marry after arriving.

Well first question, why can't she travel from June to September?

Secondly, when did you file the I129F petition?

good luck

My Fiance cannot travel with her dog July thru September because it is their summer months and the airlines prohibits it. We spent months going thru the pre-quarantine process, which took months but in comparison to the visa process, it's a cake walk! My NOA2 date is 8/7/12.

Three weeks ago, I sent an email to one of my State Senators. After not hearing from her for over 2 weeks, I sent an email to the second State Senator. Today, a friend of mine who use to work for the first Senator, called the office and found out that they had received my email, but it had been sitting to be addressed. Turns out there is a staff person who handles Immigration Issues, but he had not gotten to my request for assistance yet. With the phone call from my friend, lets see if there is any progress. My Fiance is flying in from Japan with her dog, if the K1 is not approved by June, she will have to postpone her flight to the end of the year because pets cannot fly from Japan in July-September.

Congrats! I'm an August filer also and contacted my Senator last week but no response yet.