icv21

I love that cinnamon bread too!!! and I even toast it and put Nutella on top it's soooo good.
But I agree with the post! I'm from Spain and we have bakeries in every corner, fresh bread every morning and afternoon, and I can't find anything similar here, and lots of people from Europe I know have coment it to me. I was looking for recipes lately and I will try to make my own. Maybe I will end buying and bread maker.
Also same issue with croissants I would eat them every morning back in my country here are not the same

Almost everyone on here reads visajourney like it's what they need to stay alive.
It's from going through the process ourselves, reading other people's stories and what they did and went through. That's how we know so much about the process because we have been there and witnessed others going through obstacles.
Just read lots of topics even if they don't apply to you or don't apply yet.
I read everything every day.

It would be a bad idea using a k1 visa, you would take up a place that someone else who really wants to marry and since the process already is long for people it's just really unfair using up a spot that someone else could have better use of...

Why would you jump through the hoops required for a K-1 visa when you can go for a tourist visa?
Besides, the B-2 is valid for 120 months for Filipino nationals and she might be able to make more than one visit during that period. As previously stated, the K-1 is good for a one-time entry only and she gets 90 days (3 months), and must marry you within those 90 days or depart the US.
If she uses a visa for another purpose other than the intended one, the worst case scenario is that she opens up a whole can of worms that could have a negative impact on her ability to make future visits to the States and/or emigrate here. I suggest not making things hard on yourselves. Apply for the right visa.

Good morning everyone,
I do not know about the rest of you but it gets depressing seeing all the posts where someone was "scammed" so the love of their life can get that prized green card, they got married and the love of their life magically changed into someone they do not know, the love of their life left them and is now talking about VAWA, they found out the love of their life really had a secret lover back in their home country and once they got the green card they were going to bring that lover to the US, blah, blah, blah. I guess I could go on but I think you get the picture. Marriage is something real that real people that really know each other and want to spend the rest of their life together till death do us part so help us God desire to make that commitment. Finding someone on a web site and talking on Skype will find you in the first stage of love...Romantic Love. Hey I fully understand she/he and you experience the emotions of joy and excitement. The novelty of a new love leads you to think about your partner day and night, imagining all the possibilities of how this person can fulfill your deepest desires. You want to spend every moment of every day with your new partner in the bliss of newly discovered love. At this point (and I am sure each and everyone of you have heard) if it is too good to be true it usually is...but what a great feeling. You have to think about realistic and mature love and how the love of your life coming to the US will be thrown not only into a marriage but a complete different world from their home country.
okay I guess I will get off my soap box but I pray that everyone will step back and let common sense drive their decisions and not let emotions take control.
Elizabeth (my beautiful and wonderful wife) came from Mexico to work in the US on a TN visa. She is an accountant and we met while my company provided accounting consulting services for her company. There was zero conflict of interest when I asked her out to eat after we had known of each other almost a year. That night we sat and talked for over two hours and yes I was hooked (romantic love!). We dated for almost 6 years before I popped the question. Mind you we did not live together and simply dated. September 14th of 2013 we said I Do. I will be the first to say the whole visa process was very hard. Since we applied for a K1 visa she had to give up her TN visa and go back to Mexico City. The great news is she also had a tourist visa so was able to travel from Mexico to the US a number of times while we waited on USCIS as I also traveled from Atlanta to Mexico City a number of times. We made it through those times which made our relationship stronger. Our faith in God has been the foundation of our marriage. We have not waited for times to get bad (too late sometimes) before we try marriage counseling as we are doing that when the times are great. Our church offers a number of marriage seminars and counseling services which we have used. Those services have helped with the day to day life of being married and life itself. We do not have the perfect marriage but we are making every effort to keep our commitment to God until death do us part. Have we had a major disagreement picking out a color of paint when I painted the kitchen??? oh yes! But folks that is everyday life and what a joy it is to share it with your wife. I wanted to share some good news for a change and we will keep each and everyone of you in our prayers.
May God richly bless and keep you.
Elizabeth and John

No offence to you, Annie123.
My spouse hated paper works while I am the meticulous person, bordering on OCD.
If I was to rely on him to remember this, that, ROC date.. blah blah.. I will be tearing my hairs out.
To be blunt, I am the immigrant here. I have everything to lose if my AOS, ROC did not go well.
So I read up a lots on the immigration process to educate myself so that I won't miss a step.
Different strokes for different couples, as long as you don't ended up quarreling and affect the marriage.

My spouse disliked paper works. So I'm the one preparing the I-129F, K1 Visa, AOS, and ROC.
He only needed to sign the papers on the correct places.
My immigration status my responsibility but he provided all the necessary documents.

My husband asked Commonwealth Insurance or whoever they are (a company that can give insurance based on low incomes) because we're both uninsured now. They rejected us because I haven't been here for more than 5 years, and they're also not taking any new customers because of the recession recovery. He can get insurance through his employer but they're asking for $500 a month - which is about 30% of his paycheck! So basically waiting for me to get a good job to cover us.
Makes you realise how much you took health coverage for granted in your home country.

I love that cinnamon bread too!!! and I even toast it and put Nutella on top it's soooo good.
But I agree with the post! I'm from Spain and we have bakeries in every corner, fresh bread every morning and afternoon, and I can't find anything similar here, and lots of people from Europe I know have coment it to me. I was looking for recipes lately and I will try to make my own. Maybe I will end buying and bread maker.
Also same issue with croissants I would eat them every morning back in my country here are not the same

I always found US bread to be far too sweet, give me a good loaf of Warburtons any day.

Most US shop bought bread is awful; stuffed with sugar, corn syrup or honey. My USC wife bought a bread maker when I moved and its sooo good

Most of the baked goods in the stores taste like #######.
We eat bread perhaps 3-4 times per week. Bake our own bread and rolls; usually make extra to freeze for later use. Better control over the ingredients and we like the heartier, nuttier breads anyway.

Might be worth having a look/asking in the "life in the US" forum and see what other people have done
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/15-moving-to-the-us-and-your-new-life-in-america/

Oh God, tell me about it!!!!!
In Brazil everywhere you go there is a bakery on the corner!! And they sell fresh french bread!!
They make early in the morning, after lunch and again in early evening! So goooooood!!!
I found french bread at Giant one time but it was old and I guess they only make it once a day. So when you go buy it it's old and rubbery
Then we found a frozen bag of french bread at the frozen section but it's so heavy that my stomach hurts!!!
I love everything else, but really.... the bread sucks!!!

Why America, why? Your bread tastes like cake and lasts a ridiculously long time in my cupboard without going green. Lots of my food time is spent dreaming of white bread cheese sandwiches or white bread bacon butties with butter and HP sauce. Warburtons blue packet usually. I spend wasteful dollars on all these different kinds hoping one will taste normal. I don't fall for your 12/8/6 grain, wholewheat, bran nonsense anymore because I know they all taste of sugar and ruin my toast and sandwich experience. The list of ingredients are enough to send the health board into a spin.
It's not normal and it hurts.
JoJo - a bread lover from the UK.

You should feel grateful you are still waiting for over 5 months. Imagine another couples who had to struggle like this: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/521117-approved-refiled-k1-stokes-5-year-journey-over/
I am not trying to make you feel bad. But at least in five years of relationship I believe you have already met your fiance(e) many times. Imagine those who can't have the privilege to visit the US. Just like my husband and I only have met once because I got refused for a tourist visa and was very difficult for my husband to get permission to travel for security reason since he's serving in the military. We had been in five-year-relationship as well before my husband filed I-129F for me.

Thank you all so much in sharing our happiness and for the warm wishes !

Wow!!!!!! Love always wins. Congratulations what a love story yours

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

If you get married I would recommend not leaving the country, because if you are married then your husband has to ask for a spouse visa and that takes upon a year of waiting.......
If you stay you CANT leave the country, once you send AOS you have to stay here. You will be without working for a few months not able to drive etc.....
If you still aren't married you can go back and keep with your K-1 visa and in a few months you will be back here.

I94 expires in 90 days, so you can't ask for SSN number right now, while it's valid you were able to drive etc... But all those things stop after the 90 days.
You were supposed to ask for SSN once you entered the country:
http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn
But hey don't worry! EAD will do it for you.

Yes, it's always better to file both forms. So one parent can file the I-864 and the other the I-864A. It doesn't matter who files which one, but to keep it simple, whoever is listed first on the tax return should file the I-864, and whoever is listed as the spouse should file the I-864A.

The OP has not mentioned any basis for immigrating to the US and has ruled out many of the normal options. Seems odd to come to the US for medical care. I have come across many people from the US who go elsewhere because of the cost.

when I met my husband I knew basically 0 english and he didnt know spanish. he gave me his email to keep in touch and we would chat using google translator.
I learned to write and read in english surprisingly fast! But I would come visit and I didnt know how to pronounce the words I knew how to write..... we figured out ways to communicate with each other and we really understand each other! but people would think it was weird... so after a while my english got better because we started spending more time together, web cam etc... but there was an issue and this is what happens to your fiancee she is used to talk to you she understands what you say, but if a different person is talking the pronunciation, variety of accents is hard to get. it would happen to me we would be with friends and people would talk to me and I had to ask to my boyfriend what are they saying?? and he would say the exact same in english too and I would get it first attemp!!! it was very frustating for me. but the only way of overcoming this is when she comes to america and spend time around people.
I really hope you can fix it explaining its not a barrier for you two. Best wishes for you two!
I had to comment because I see everybody in this forum has very good english and it took.. oh god tears to learn it, and it reminded me of myself when you mention the CO talking to her and her not catching the words!!!!

when I met my husband I knew basically 0 english and he didnt know spanish. he gave me his email to keep in touch and we would chat using google translator.
I learned to write and read in english surprisingly fast! But I would come visit and I didnt know how to pronounce the words I knew how to write..... we figured out ways to communicate with each other and we really understand each other! but people would think it was weird... so after a while my english got better because we started spending more time together, web cam etc... but there was an issue and this is what happens to your fiancee she is used to talk to you she understands what you say, but if a different person is talking the pronunciation, variety of accents is hard to get. it would happen to me we would be with friends and people would talk to me and I had to ask to my boyfriend what are they saying?? and he would say the exact same in english too and I would get it first attemp!!! it was very frustating for me. but the only way of overcoming this is when she comes to america and spend time around people.
I really hope you can fix it explaining its not a barrier for you two. Best wishes for you two!
I had to comment because I see everybody in this forum has very good english and it took.. oh god tears to learn it, and it reminded me of myself when you mention the CO talking to her and her not catching the words!!!!