happyimmigrant

Hey Scott!!!

Our RFE was for the affidavit of support. When I looked at it again, I had made a mistake on my figures so I sent them a corrected I-864 along with a letter stating what the correction is.

I sure hope we get our case transferred...man, that would take a load off.

How's life here in the good ol' USA?

Ouch, I bet you were kicking yourself then!!!

I love it here, I only wish they would get off their collective behinds and get things finished, so I can work...money is tight!!

Here's hoping you get sent over to CSC as well...us low-risk Canadians should all be sent right over there.

Mine was also touched on Sunday lol

Not me. I need a touch, too!!

Wow I am starting to feel left out lol.

Congrats!

Yeah, no kidding. It's our turn now, I think!!!!

Receipt Number: MSCXXXXXXXXXXXX

Application Type: I485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status

Current Status:

On September 13, 2006, we received your response to our request for evidence or information. However because preliminary processing was complete, the remaining processing time will be less than the maximum stated in this message. You will receive a written decision on this case. You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done. Follow the the link below for current processing dates.

Does this mean we're going to be transferred to CSC too?

*waiting with high hopes*

Hi Karen!!!!!!!!!

You never know...it doesn't mean you've been transferred, but it seems like a lot of us ex-Canucks are being sent that way. I guess they consider us to be less of a risk than other countries? Who knows?

What was your RFE for?

Jum had her biometrics done on Thursday, Sep. 14th. Oddly enough, she received her transfer notice to CSC before she even had the biometrics done. I hope this means good things for the approval process! We applied for EAD, AP, and the greencard at the same time. Just have to wait until all of the approvals come through.

C.J.

I don't know if it's that odd....ours was transferred to CSC the same day I had the biometrics done.

I already said this in the other CSC thread but congrats to everyone!

I got touched today again

The day is still young....

Someone please touch me, too!!!!

congrats!!!

looking at your timeline, i saw you didnt need your ead to get your driver's license...what docs did you submit? i was told i needed an ead or greencard when i inquired at the BMV...

oh and no touch for me today...

whew, im on an emotional rollercoaster!

I was told the same thing at the BMV (also in OH).

Hm, looking at yours and my timelines, it looks like we are almost exactly the same - you filed the day after we did, we had biometrics on the same day, and we've both been transferred to CSC.

Hmmm getting a little concerned now after having a look at everyone's timelines (I am such a nosey parker). Anyways my case, not my daughters (which is a whole other story) was transferred to the CSC on the 6th September.

But I just realised that even though I received an email and snail mail telling me this was happening, I have received no confirmation from CSC that they have got the case as yet. Should I contact them about this or just take the wait and see for a bit line?

I am worried that the same person who is supposed to send my file over to the CSC is the same one that is working, barely, on my daughter's case and messing up big time.

My case was transferred to the CSC on August 31, I got the notice of it on Sept. 5. It was received by the CSC on Sept 8, but I didn't receive notice of it being there until until Sept 12. So I wouldn't worry too much.

Are you Stina like "steena" or Stina like "styna"? Just wondering, every time I see a message from you.

Steena

I didnt get touched today

California has only been open for a short time today yet...don't lose hope yet!

I can almost hear the car engines starting on the case workers cars....going home for the night and leaving our papers stacked all alone,... on the desk starting to collect a bit of dust in the dark room.. How sad........

Diana

No no no.... they decided to take the overtime that was offered to them

Are you Stina like "steena" or Stina like "styna"? Just wondering, every time I see a message from you.

I was outside cutting the lawn, when the mailman pulled up, and handed over a USCIS envelope. I was confused, opened it up, and discovered that my case has been transferred to CSC! Yeah!

Now if they can only keep up this schedule and approve me in two weeks like some people here, I'll be a very happy camper!!!!! :)

Good to see you posting again Scott! Congratulations on the marriage!

Thanks Karen! I know I've been away for a while - but I HAVE been reading, just not as much as I had been before. You wouldn't believe how busy I've been. Plus, it's gorgeous weather out, and Holly and I have our wonderful Goldwing sitting in the garage just itching to be ridden, so let's see...sit and read on the Internet, or go out riding with Holly on a sunny day? Not a hard choice.

Accidentely Paul filled out part 2 on the first page, but you only need to if you check "f" but we checked "d" because that is the correct answer. Phew! I just signed and didnt have so much time - unfortunately Paul filled it out incorrectly, but it's ok, it's the AP only. Everything else is fine and being processed.

Lg Anna

Whew! I am right now assembling my whole AOS packet to send off tomorrow, and I did the EXACT same thing as you guys. Glad I decided to come check here before sealing everything up!

Okay we found the mistake! Now: can Paul just reprint the first pages and resend the old last page where I signed it two weeks ago or do we have to sign it with a new date??????

What was the mistake you made?

Scott!!! i am so happy that you are finally where you belong!

i'm starting to get very nervous about next week. i do hope i don't get the crabby lady you got. LOL

have fun planning the wedding. it sure sounds like you have a lot to keep you busy for a while.

btw...with respect to mellie, did you just have the vaccination informtion from your vet for her? someone recently told me that dogs need to be licensed as well. i've not ever licenced my hounds as they have return to sender chips.

take care

k

I've only ever been asked about Melly once during crossing, and that was a long time ago. I had her vaccination information, and that's all they need - no requirement for licensing. I know where I lived in Ontario you had to have your dogs licensed every year, or face a fine if found without one. You also had the option of paying extra for a "lifetime" license. Melly (and Nero, when he was alive) is chipped as well.

This time they never even asked about dogs, and I didn't bother telling them that I had her in the truck. They didn't seem interested in anything else I had in the truck. I could have been hauling half a ton of cocaine and they couldn't have cared less.

What really made me aware that the border guard didn't have a clue was that at the end, he asked ME: "so, what do I do with this now? Do I send it to Cleveland, I guess?"

Not confidence-inspiring.

well at least they didn't hassle you the contents of the truck or the dog as well. i think most border agents stationed in buffalo are cranks. but wouldn't you be if you had to live in buffalo? which bridge did you cross at, peace, rainbow or lewiston? by the sounds of things, i'd rather cross at another. mind you, i think detroit is the more direct route for me.

k

Rainbow Bridge is the worst. The peple there know absolutely nothing. Lewiston seems to have the nicest people, but they are also relatively clueless. Peace Bridge is nasty, filthy and awful, but the people there are the least clueless, so that's what I used.

Detroit is by FAR the worst I have used - both bridge and tunnel. The guards there are paranoid and nasty. I have had many many problems crossing at Detroit that I never had at Buffalo.

Totally off topic....but any of you canucks or canuck-by-marriage dont have any plans on Saturday, come on up to the Maple Grove Tavern, in Maple Heights (cleveland) (www.maplegrovebar.com). Come upstairs, I will be bartending...I wanted to have a Canada day party but my idea was ummm well it wasn't acceptable I guess....who knows, but here is the deal.....since it is Canada day....anyone with Canadian ID....I will buy them a drink! Hows that?

Wow! That's only about 20 minutes from our house! Unfortunately I have to go to a wedding this Saturday (Holly's brother).

Scott!!! i am so happy that you are finally where you belong!

i'm starting to get very nervous about next week. i do hope i don't get the crabby lady you got. LOL

have fun planning the wedding. it sure sounds like you have a lot to keep you busy for a while.

btw...with respect to mellie, did you just have the vaccination informtion from your vet for her? someone recently told me that dogs need to be licensed as well. i've not ever licenced my hounds as they have return to sender chips.

take care

k

I've only ever been asked about Melly once during crossing, and that was a long time ago. I had her vaccination information, and that's all they need - no requirement for licensing. I know where I lived in Ontario you had to have your dogs licensed every year, or face a fine if found without one. You also had the option of paying extra for a "lifetime" license. Melly (and Nero, when he was alive) is chipped as well.

This time they never even asked about dogs, and I didn't bother telling them that I had her in the truck. They didn't seem interested in anything else I had in the truck. I could have been hauling half a ton of cocaine and they couldn't have cared less.

What really made me aware that the border guard didn't have a clue was that at the end, he asked ME: "so, what do I do with this now? Do I send it to Cleveland, I guess?"

Not confidence-inspiring.

I know it's been a long time coming, and I apologize for the long absence – but it's rather hard to update these things without a computer or Internet access, and I have been quite busy.

And so it began. I began packing up all of my computers and things on Friday June 16th. I had been packing clothes and other things all through the week. Holly arrived on Sunday the 18th. We spent the day packing up and getting last-minute things done. She cut my hair as it was getting long! I checked and re-checked my immigration paperwork. On the morning of Monday the 19th, we loaded up my car and headed off for Montreal.

The drive went quickly, as it always does when Holly is in the car, because we can talk, have fun and just spend time together. With only one mis-turn near the outskirts of Montreal (which we remedied quickly), we found our hotel (La Tour Centre Ville) without much problem. There were two desk clerks who appeared to be identical twins, neither of whom spoke much English. We managed to get checked in, parked my car in the (tiny, creepy, horror-film reminiscent) garage below the hotel and went to find our room.

We were not expecting much of the hotel (based on others' reports) and we got just what we were expecting. It appears that the hotel was at one time an apartment building. Our room was the smallest room available - a "studio" I believe they called it, and it had a living room, sleeping area, small kitchen and bathroom - basically a bachelor apartment. It was (mostly) clean, but certainly not what I would expect for $120 a night. I'd class it as a 2 1/2 to 3 star hotel. Well, whatever. We weren't there for the hotel.

We got settled, then headed out to find some dinner. We walked west and found a place nearby where there were three restaurants all with outdoor patios on the sidewalk. We picked the middle one, which was a pizza place. We started with a pitcher of sangria, and followed with what turned out to be a fantastic pizza.

After dinner we took a walk down through a retail area, near the Montreal Eaton Center, and stopped in a clothing store just before closing. We found a bunch of great things (mostly for me) and bought a few of them.

We returned to our room with some snacks, put a movie on, set TWO alarm clocks for the morning, and fell asleep.

Tuesday morning arrived and we got up at 6 am. A quick shower, I put on some of the new clothes we had bought, and we headed downstairs. We got a coffee and a quick bite to eat in a cafe outside the hotel (the cashier there was one of the few people we encountered that did not speak English), and headed over to the US Consulate at 7:30. There were a few people milling about outside the doors, and a couple security guards were there. The consulate itself is completely nondescript - there are no signs, and the entrance is off the side of a building - if you didn't know just where to look for it, you'd have no hope of ever finding it.

At 7:45 they opened the doors and let us in. We were amongst the first allowed inside. They checked my interview letter first, and Holly's US passport. We were sent through a metal detector, and our belongings X-rayed, just like at an airport. Some people who got in before us had things they were not allowed to have (cell phone, etc) and had to sign them in to retrieve later. As a result, we were the first ones sent through to the elevator waiting room. We sat down and waited for the elevator to open (it had a temporary barrier against it).

At 8:00, a guard came in, removed the barrier, and opened the elevator. We were the first ones in - knowing that we would be exiting out the back of the elevator, we went straight to the back - but then turned around to face the front, as one would normally do in an elevator. Everyone else that entered saw us facing the front, and did the same. The doors shut and we rode up to the 19th floor. It arrived, we turned around, and the door opened, letting us out first. Holly headed right, but I knew to turn left out of the elevator, saw Window 14, and lined up in front of it immediately. We were first in line. The woman checked my letter and gave us a ticket - C1, first one of the day. Even though our interview was not scheduled until 9:40 am, we knew that it was actually done on a first-come first-served basis. Holly heard the couple behind us muttering and complaining that they didn't get to be first in line. They got ticket C2.

Every window in the place is thick bulletproof glass, you talk to the employees through a speaker, and there is a small slot at the bottom to pass documents through.

We sat and waited for about 15 minutes until our ticket was called. We got called to window 8, where a woman asked for my documents in rapid fire - faster than I could produce them. She seemed to be satisfied with what I gave her, however. I did not give her any financial support information, any photographs - nothing except the official USCIS forms that they wanted, my passport, my passport pictures (2), medical packet, and the other things on the checklist they had sent in Packet 3. When she asked one question, and I answered "no" rather softly, she looked up, not having heard. Holly said to her, "he said no." She butted in, "I didn't ask YOU, I asked HIM." She was really not very nice.

She then told us to return to Window 14, pay our $100 fee, and return with the receipt to her window. She said, even if she wasn't there, just to slip the receipt through the slot. She told us not to wait for her there, because we would miss being called for our interview. We headed off to Window 14, paid our $100 (US, cash), got our receipt, and returned to Window 14. By then, there was another employee there, talking to two more clients. We stood there for about five minutes waiting for her to finish with them. I told Holly to go back to the waiting room in case our number was called for the interview. A minute later, it became obvious that the people at that window were confused and disorganized and were going to be there a long time. I butted in and asked the woman behind the window if I could put my receipt through the slot. She said, "oh, just put it through the slot in the window next to me, that will be fine." So I did, and returned to the waiting room.

We waited. And waited. Ticket C2 was called, the couple got up and went to their interview. I heard my name called, asking me to go to Window 8 again. We got up, and the original woman was there. She asked where my receipt was. I told her that I had put it through the next window, as the other woman had told me to. She very angrily said, "well that is NOT what *I* told you to do! I don't care what SHE told you to do, *I* said to put it through THIS window!" She found my receipt, and we returned to the waiting area. As we left her area, I was muttering obscenities under my breath about how this was so typical of this entire process, how you are continually told contradictory things by different people, and Holly quickly hushed me up, sensing that a year's worth of frustration with this idiotic system was about to emerge just before our interview. She was probably right.

The C2 couple emerged from their interview. They had been in there for a good 20 minutes. They did not look happy. They had looked nervous to begin with, and as they were leaving, Holly thought that the girl was blinking as if holding back tears. Not good. We were called into our interview shortly after.

The interview itself was the easiest part of this entire process. The interviewer was a kind and polite man who didn't bother with any formalities - no swearing of oaths, nothing. He immediately put us at ease. He asked us how we met, where we planned to live, and when we were going to get married. That was it! We answered together, and I think it was rather apparent that we were together and happy. He told us to come back at 2:30 the next day to get the visa, and gave us a little card that would gain us entry back into the consulate. It was 9:30 am. We walked out, and went back to the hotel!

We spent the rest of the day walking around Montreal. We started by going east, finding a bunch of coffee shops and the ever-present sex shops/strip joints offering "contact" dances, with explicit images (some in moving neon) of what was going on inside. They weren't confined to any one area, they were everywhere - we even saw one huge strip joint directly over top of a Thyme Maternity store. Juxtaposition at its best. We found a small coffee/lunch shop and had some lunch.

We then went back to the hotel and crashed for a couple of hours. We got up, headed out west, and stopped at the same pizza place we had tried the day before. More pizza, more sangria. Then off to Crescent Road, where we found lots of bars. We passed a fashion festival on the way, and were cornered by an obnoxious interviewer from the web site askmen.com, who interviewed us on camera no doubt because of our fashionable outfits. Holly hated every second, and I gave ridiculous answers (being the fashion maven that I am - NOT!), but they seemed to love it. They had us cut a "You're watching ASK MEN DOT COM" bumper for whatever TV show or webcast or whatever it is they were doing, and took our picture. Yay. I never did go see if we made it online.

We found a GREAT chocolatier near the top of Crescent Street, and bought some great chocolate treats which we consumed before we had even reached the end of the block. The shop owner was an interesting woman who was very talkative and interesting. After some more sangria, we decided that we needed some more chocolate, so back to the chocolatier, where she offered us both a job (no kidding)!

We had dinner at another nice restaurant that we found - more sangria (Montreal will be remembered for sangria!) and - yes, we had pizza again! I don't know what was up with the pizza, but it was so good! We sat on a second floor corner table with the window taken out, probably the best vantage point in Montreal for people watching - we spent almost two hours sitting there watching people as the sun went down. We headed in around 10:30 and called it a night.

Wednesday morning we got up, I got some breakfast & coffee from the cafe downstairs, and I cut Holly's hair (believe it or not!) I can't believe she trusted me with it, even though it was a simple clipper job. It looked pretty decent, not bad for my first haircut ever.

Noon arrived, we checked out of the hotel, loaded the bags into my car (which we left in the hotel garage) and we headed back out towards Crescent Street again. We stopped at a few stores and shops on the way. We had lunch at a different restaurant (oh my god, pizza again), and walked the long way back towards the Consulate. We got there almost exactly at 2:30, which was good - we were both tired of walking. I went inside (Holly was not allowed) and within 15 minutes had my passport with its newly minted K-1 visa in hand. A woman who was sitting next to me said that her appointment was at 9:30 the previous day, and that she arrived there at 9:15 - and didn't get out until almost 3:00 pm. We got there at 7:30, were let in at 8:00, and were out by 9:30.

We went to the hotel, got in my car, and left Montreal. Holly fell asleep for the first hour and a half, until I blew through one of the multitude of speed traps on the 401 that day, and had to do some rather tricky maneuvering into a rest area to avoid being ticketed. She was not impressed when I told her why she had been woken up. Getting into Toronto, we were faced with a huge traffic jam because of a major accident, so we stopped at the large movie theater complex at 400 & 7, and watched X Men 3. We got home at around 11:30, and headed to bed.

Thursday morning we got up reasonably early, went to pick up some furniture from a friend, got in her car, and drove up to Orangeville, where we picked up my massive (33 foot) U-Haul truck. Friends and family arrived, and we spent the rest of the day loading all of my belongings from the storage facility they had been in for the past year, into the truck. Thankfully the weather was clear and (a bit) hot. Holly's car went onto a dolly towed behind the U-Haul, then we took friends and family to a local Boston Pizza for pizza (what else?) and beer. Home and to bed, we were exhausted.

Friday we loaded up Melly (my dog) into the truck, hopped in, and set off for Ohio. Of course, first there was the border crossing in Buffalo, which was the part that I was most nervous about, being that they had been very nasty to me and had denied me from entering almost a year ago. We got to the border, and were sent over to the awful immigration room. We waited about an hour before being seen, and the typically incompetent border guard spent a good 30-45 minutes asking me the same questions over and over. It was quite obvious that he had no idea how to process a K-1 visa. Irrelevant questions such as "where do you work?" "How long will you be staying?" "Where are you going to be working?" "So, what company do you work for now?" over and over again. He couldn't have cared less about me entering on the visa, couldn't have cared less about the contents of our truck (he took one cursory glance at the itemized list of contents I gave him before handing it back), all he wanted to know about was where I was working, and where I was going to work. Once he finally gave me the I-94 and took my $6 fee, he told me to make sure I didn't lose it, because I would need it if I left the US and wanted to re-enter. Never mind the fact that K-1 visas are only good for a single entry!! Typical idiocy and incompetency. The USCIS quite obviously puts the bottom-feeders on border duty.

We were across!! After a quick rest stop and a bite to eat, Holly tried driving the truck for an hour (at the rest stop, a truck driver in the semi next to us pointed to her and motioned the words, "you driving THAT?" When Holly nodded yes, he gave her the thumbs up and said, "cool!!" - which then gave her the idea that she DID want to try driving it!). We got home around 8:00 pm, undid her car, and parked the truck for the night. We had dinner at her parents, went home, and fell into bed.

Saturday was clear and warm, and her family came over to help unload the truck. We finished unloading the hundreds of boxes, furniture and everything else by mid afternoon, absolutely filling our house.

Every day since then has been spent unpacking, sorting, arranging and re-arranging. I've also fixed a lot of the broken things that have gone unrepaired for the past year - toilet, refrigerator, air conditioning, dishwasher. My muscles have been sore for days, my body is covered in bruises and cuts, but I am HAPPY, and we're finally here at home!! Almost exactly a YEAR has gone by since I was here last, and I'm finally back.

Next: Our wedding. 3 1/2 weeks from now! Panic mode has not yet set in, but I'm sure it will soon!

We got it! Montreal was great! We just got home, and we're wiped out. More news and details in a few days when we get back home to Ohio! Thanks for all the kind thoughts everyone!

Holly and I are heading off to Montreal in just a few minutes. We're SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

More news when we get back on Wednesday night.....

It's an automatic. Please describe 'shifting hard' as it won't be something I'll be able to sense if I were going through the gears myself.

Even an automatic shifts gears - it just does so...well, automatically.

You can feel it shift gears, as well as hear it, when accelerating. At a stop, press the gas, and listen to the engine. It will accelerate, the engine will speed up, then the engine speed will drop suddenly, and you should feel a gentle "bump" as the shift happens. If it is shifting hard, the gentle "bump" won't be so gentle - and you might hear or feel a clunk along with it - particularly if it is loose engine mounts that is causing it.

good car choice. that is a very dependible motor. while in college I had a corsica with the same motor that I *beat* on very much and when I traded it in w/ 147,900 miles on it the only two good things about the car were the stereo and the motor

as for the soobies, only a couple of model years had any issues. with routine maintenance the bodies will rust off before the drive trains give out. my impreza wagon ('93) has 158,000 miles on it and still going strong. it is my back and forth to work beater. best 1250$ I ever spent.

I disagree. I've had three Subarus, two of them the transmissions failed, and all three of them leaked oil (which just happens with horizontally opposed engines). Two had hydraulic valve lash adjusters that constantly plugged up causing massive "tapping" noises. I just had problem after problem, and they are EXPENSIVE to fix.

No more Subarus for me.

Hi All,

I just joined this site today and already reading through the posts I'm thankful I found it - you all seem sensible and helpful. Thank goodness!

Let me give you the basics on my own story and hopefully someone can help:

I'm Canadian and my boyfriend/fiance is a USC (look - I'm learning the lingo already!) We have been dating for two years now and are planning to be married and live in the US at lease for the next few years while he finishes his masters.

In chatting with a lawyer about the quickest way to be with David in the US legally, we were advised to come in as I always do - driving across the border for a visit and then file for K-1 status. However, in reading posts on a few forums, this seems like a HUGE no-no. Even in a recent post by Beth on this forum a number of you indicated that this was highly illegal and could cause problems later on. I don't know if this makes any difference, but I don't intend to work under the table or anything while the filing etc is in process. Also, I work in the educational system, so bear in mind I have the summer off anyway - even if I were to remain in Canada and go back to work, it would not be until September.

So here are my questions:

1. Why the heck would the lawyer tell me to do something that is illegal?!!?!?!? (Ok - I know you may not be able to answer for his actions - just wanted to get it off mychest)

Because he's a lawyer? I have had two immigration lawyers during the past 2.5 years, both were sharks, but the second one was definitely better than the first. The first one gave me advice, that had I decided to follow, would very likely resulted in my being charged with fraud and banned for ten years. The second lawyer was horrified when he heard what the first lawyer had told me to do. Caveat Empor.

2. Is applying for the K-1 really the quickest route or should we be married?

Probably. Every case is different, so there is no absolute recommendation, but generally and statistically speaking, the K-1 is (currently) the quickest method.

3. Is is true that I cannot travel to the US once the K-1 application has been filed, if it is filed while I am in Canada?

No. The USCIS border guards work on the assumption that everyone crossing into the US has (illegal) immigrant intent. It is up to you to prove to them otherwise. You need to show sufficient ties to Canada - utility bills, paychecks, a letter from your employer stating that you work there, and when you are expected back. Some people make it across with no problems. Others are turned back. It depends a lot on the particular officer you end up talking to that day. Don't count on it, but it's possible.

4. If this is true, then what is the time line on that? Is it the 30 - 90 days that I keep hearing about? Or is it the 6 month timeline?

30-90 days is for the rest of the people in the world. For us Canadians, when we cross into the US as tourists, we automatically get 6 months to stay legally. So if you are in the process of your K-1, and you want to go visit, you go to the border and they let you across, then yes, you can legally stay for 6 months. IF you stay beyond 6 months, VERY BAD things will happen, and you will very likely not get your K-1 approved as a result. If you go across saying "I'm going to go stay with my fiancee for 6 months" they will likely turn you back. If you go across saying "I'm going to vising my fiancee for the weekend" you have a much better chance of being let in. There is nothing stopping you from deciding, once you have been let across, to stay for 6 months, even if you originally planned (and told them) you were going for a weekend. Not advocating you lie to the USCIS, just telling you what is legally allowable.

5. Is it legal to file for K-1 status with me in the US, spend the summer together and then return to Canada for the rest of the process? Is this still illegal and therefore can possibly cause problems?

This is perfectly legal. The only part of the K-1 you need to be physically in Canada for is the interview. You could go visit him, file the K-1, and stay until it's time for the interview - as long as it doesn't take longer than 6 months. If it gets to 6 months, you have to leave.

6. Have any of you actually stayed in the US through the process and it not been a problem?

I was turned back a year ago. I've not been able to go back since. My interview is next week. It's been a long wait. Others have stayed in the US throughout the process.

As you can guess, I so desperately want to be with David, however, not if it will come at the cost of our long-term lives together. I'm not trying to move to the US for fraudlent reasons, however, the thought of not being able to see him for up to 6 months is killing me.

Can somebody tell me the best possible course of action here (and maybe reccommend a good therapist and an even better maseusse to ease the stress of this process!).

One last question - general consensus is that using a lawyer is throwing your money away - does anyone recommend using one of those do-it-yourself kits? Or is that jsut as bad as hiring a lawyer?

For the K-1, I would suggest lawyers are going to do very little for you other than take your money. They will give you forms to fill out, you will have to collect the evidence and materials, all they will do is the actual filing - if you feel that paying a couple thousand dollars to a lawyer to have them put some forms in an envelope and mail it is good value, then go for it. There have been some absolute HORROR stories on here about how lawyers have screwed up people's applications. Remember, you have a vested interest in the application going through smoothly and correctly. The lawyer has a vested interest in getting his fee paid. If the lawyer screws up, it causes an RFE, and makes things take longer. Doesn't bother him, he already goes home to his wife at night. Do you trust your lawyer to get it done right?

Do-it-yourself-kits are little more than the forms that you can download and print yourself for free from the USCIS web site.

Honestly, by spending a few days on this web site, learning everything you can about the process, you'll be far more knowledgeable and capable of most of the immigration lawyers who hold out K-1 services.

Ok, I think I am developing a callus on my right wrist from using the mouse all day but the amount of information here .. and useful, comprehensive information at that is staggering!!!!

I feel so much better after reading many of your posts - I think I may actually sleep tonight and I will very much try to take the advice of one member and now drown in the process.

Now ... I have two questions that I cannot seem to find answers for (forgive me if I am just blind):

1. Because we have always driven across the border to see eachother I do not have any stamps at all in my passport, nor plane tickets or anything like that. We stayed in two hotels during the first year (out of town weddings) and I will contact both the venues to see if I can still get duplicate receipts. However, if this is not the case will credit card and bank statments showing that I have spent money in the US suffice as proof that we have seen eachother in the past 2 years when filing the I-129F? We have MASS quantities of emails saved to prove the 'ongoing relationship' part.

That, and pictures together.

1a. (so it's still technically only two questions, lol) Do the customs agents at the border keep records of me crossing that I can request for petition purposes (also when filing the I-129F)?

Yes, they keep records, no, you cannot request them.

2. How long (approx.) between initially filing the I-129 and then filing for permission to travel? Is this the 30-90 day period? or is this more like the 4 - 6 month period?

I ask this question assuming at this point that I will indeed stay with David for a few months after he files and then come back up here for the medical etc (which is the 30 - 90 days, right?). So question 2 actually points to when the US stops frowning upon my re-entering, customs officers are happy about it and we can be re-united.

There's really no way of knowing. Some people have gone through in a few months, others have taken a couple years or more. There is no "filing for permission to travel" - when your K-1 is approved, you can then use it to enter the US.

When does the US frown on your re-entering? Unfortunately, a lot of this depends on the personality and mood of the customs officer you happen to get when crossing. Some people continue visiting their fiancees throughout the whole procedure. I was turned back a year ago and haven't been able to go visit since.

Most times that happens, it's the PC's power supply that is cooked, and not the actual components inside the PC. An easy (and relatively cheap) fix.

really? hmm... i think that's what my fiance also told me. I might have it checked later.. thanks for the advice though.

Your fiance is a smart guy, you should listen to him. :)

my pc got hit by lightning once - it cooked the modem (back in the dial-up days, lol) and the motherboard. The video card was unaffected.

Now I have surge protectors EVERYWHERE. They are WELL worth it and no-one ever buys one til they get electrical goods zapped.

Congrats on pkt 4 tho

That's the most common way for PC's to get zapped - through the phone line, not through the power line. Surge protectors will protect against powerline surges (as their name infers) but sorry to say, there is absolutely nothing that will protect your PC against a lightning strike other than unplugging it from the wall (power and phone line).

Years ago I worked for a testing company that tested modems and telephones - we had to simulate a 50,000 power line falling across a telephone line by sending 50,000 volts into telephones and modems - they were allowed to blow up, but if they emitted flame outside of the case, they failed - otherwise, it could ignite what it was sitting on. If you have cheap phones not UL or CSA listed, and a power line falls across your phone line, or your phone line gets hit by lightning, it's possible that your phone could light your house on fire. Not a pleasant thought!

Hi everyone! I have good news and bad news... for the good news, i received packet 4 already! 2 more steps to go, the medical and interview! woohooo! then i can be with my DJ already....

bad news is, my pc was struck by lightning last night... it wont switch on anymore... i think the videocard, processor or motherboard is affected *sulk* I'm using my sis' pc now...

Most times that happens, it's the PC's power supply that is cooked, and not the actual components inside the PC. An easy (and relatively cheap) fix.

HI ALL, BILL(US FIANCE) JUST RECIEVED A CALL FROM THE REPORTER FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS. SHE REALLY WANTS TO DO A STORY ON THIS, AND IT WILL BE NATION WIDE. HOWEVER........SHE WANTS THIS TO BE ON THE FRONT PAGE WITH BILL AND MY PICTURES ON THERE.....NOW WE WANT THERE TO BE A STORY, BUT WE ARE FRANTIC ABOUT THE PICTURES. RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE BILLS FULL NAME, BUT HE ONLY GAVE MY FIRST NAME. WE ARE JUST AFRAID WITH HOW THE GOVERNMENT WORKS, THAT IF WE DO THIS, AND SOMEONE (IN PATICULAR SEES THIS), WE WILL BE DOOMED. PLEASE, ANYONE WITH ANY INPUT OR SUGGESTIONS...................BILL SAID THERE WOULD STILL BE THE STORY, BUT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE PICS IN AS WELL. SHOULD WE TELL HER NO PICS?.......THANKS ALL

Having been featured in both AP and Reuters pieces, both of which were picked up nationally (read one of them here, if you like), I can tell you that 99% of the papers that run the story will not use the pictures.

As for using your name - if you do not have anything to fear with your application - if your application will be approved on its own merits, you really have nothing to fear of having your names published. If anything, it should give you some measure of protection against being treated unfairly - you're in the public eye, and the USCIS does not want to look bad.

Immigration has been in the news a great deal, and it has been focussing on the illegal abusers of the system. We really need some public press on how the restrictions being put in place to restrict abuse are unfairly punishing the legal immigrants who are slowly crawling through the USCIS bureaucratic nightmare.

Go for it, IMO.

Edit: Here's one that DID use (an admittedly horrible) picture of me.

Think immigration is a hot topic? Try automating all those paper files that the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services unit has to track. In total the USCIS has to rely on about 55 million paper-based files to adjudicate applications for immigration status.

Automating all those files is no small matter, says the Government Accountability Office. In a report released May 1, the GAO outlined the challenges the USCIS is going to face automating its alien files, also known as A-Files. In a project called the Integrated Digitization Document Management Program, the USCIS plans to spend $190 million over eight years to electronically scan files and store and share them.

Although it's too early to truly gauge the USCIS' planning efforts, the GAO said the USCIS hasn't yet determined the "scope, content and approach for moving from paper-based to paperless A-Files."

Bottom line: The effort to go digital with all those immigration papers may fall short because effective planning isn't happening. The GAO said the USCIS doesn't know which A-Files forms it will scan and hasn't figured out a plan to manage or evaluate its digitization rpoject, even though it has already awarded $20 million for a pilot project.

E-fillable does mean it can be filed online as opposed to having to send them through snail mail.

Up until now, E-fillable for the USCIS means PDF files that can be filled out on your computer and printed out, instead of filling out by hand.

I somewhat doubt that USCIS will have created an online form to fill out, with the associated back end web systems and infrastructure that would be required in the short amount of time they've had to deal with this. Web based projects for the US government take YEARS - and have to go to bidding, and so on. Thinking they could just whip something up in a matter of weeks is pretty unrealistic.

You are correct that E-fillable to the government means you can down load form and use Adobe to fill it out. However you are wrong about the infrastructure. That already exists as an approved program within USCIS. There are many forms that you can efile. So essentially they already have the infrastructure. All it involves is new form within the current system. So if they do decide to go that way it is a matter a few hours work for their web people to add form to the data base.

It will be more than just a few hours work for their web people - it's more than just adding a form to a database. The process on the other end has to be engineered, approved, tested...what happens to the form once it is filled in? How does it integrate into the existing process? Even if an infrastructure exists to accept form postings on the web, you'd still be looking at months for procurement, process analysis, implementation, testing, training...especially with the US government.

For a small company, sure, their guys might be able to whip something into place in a few hours and have it going in no time flat. Things work differently when dealing with the government.

Trust me. This is what I do for a living.