Chief Mrs. Edeh

At least we are all in good company.

New center, not much information available. From my reading, no one has posted about an I-130 approval (or other notification) from there as of yet. Best of luck!

Thank you!

6 months from the initial notice is the amount of time USCIS asks you to wait before enquiring about a spousal petition. If they don't require more information from you, you should hear something within 6 months of the date on your initial NOA. It's not a guarantee of anything, but that is a general approximation for you.

The problem is, we can't mark our timelines as transferred because when you do that you are required to specify which center you have been transferred to, and the Potomac center isn't even and option on the dropdown menu.

I would recommend you take everyone's advice on here with a grain of salt. You don't know who you are speaking to, nor do you know how much thought/time they have put into answering your specific question. I think the vast majority on here have good intentions, but I would still read and go over the instructions from the USCIS site for each form you are filing with a fine tooth comb yourself. *my 2 cents*

I don't feel comfortable speaking to how it works with a married couple (as opposed to just my mother who is single). I'm sorry. I hope my little bit of incite was helpful though.

I am in your same situation (I currently live with my mother and am sponsoring my husband), and I plan to have my mother fill out an I-864a. I will be including her in my household size (since I have been living with her for at least 6 months and I just barely meet the income requirements myself) and from my understanding in reading the instructions, this will allow me to include her income with mine to show we can support my husband.

In the instrustions for filling out the affidavit of support I-864 found here: http://www.uscis.gov/i-864 in part 5 (where a sponsor is directed how to figure out their household size), referencing item 7, it gives you the option to include a parent residing with you in your household:

Here is the reciprocity schedule for Pakistan http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country/PK.htmlPolice clearance is not needed.

I used a glue stick to attach a small envelope to a regular sheet of paper. I labeled both the paper and the passport photos, and then I put the passport photos in the envelope. I did not seal the envelope.

I'm of the same mindset of Stephanie.sue29; while I have found virtually no information about the Potomac Center, I am still hopeful for a December NOA2, as was projected originally at the Nebraska Center.

I just went and downloaded the I-130 from http://www.uscis.gov/i-130and it doesn't have a barcode on it, unless I'm missing something.

I typed my I-130 petition and it did not have a barcode on it. The way I handled the situation of words being too long for the form was to type in what I could and then to fill in the rest of the word with black ink.

I'd like to update my timeline, since my I-130 petition was transferred to the Potomac Service Center, but that service center is not an option in the dropdown menu. Does anyone know how to put in a request to VisaJourney for them to update their templates? Thanks!

I would give them a call on Monday if you are able, just to see if they've already sent it. I wouldn't worry though, as they have your flight itinerary and would not likely delay your trip.

I'm curious as to the household size question too, as I'm living with a nondependent relative and may be using them as an additional sponsor.

For charging phones, just get a USB charger that fits with your phone and a car adapter (if you will be traveling in your own transportation while there). With all the power outages, the car charger really saved me. And trust me, traffic is crazy so you may end up in vehicles for longer than you expect.

I ate and drank whatever was given to me and didn't get sick. No tap water though, but I bathed and brushed my teeth with water from the ground.

The battery fan is a brilliant idea!

Pack light clothing and hair ties.

You may end up having a different experience, but thinking back on my time there, if I had gone into it with the mindset that I was going to be camping, I think I would have been a bit more mentally prepared.

I got a yellow fever shot and local malaria pills while there. Neither were very expensive, but the shot was a little scary just because the hospitals are not up to American hospital standards.

And try not to let all the hype make you scared. Yes, Nigeria can be very dangerous, but there are many people there who would love for you to have a wonderful experience. :-)

Yours would either be a CR1 or an IR1, depending on how long you have been married. CR1 is for people married less than 2 year. IR1 is for people married over 2 years.

Thank you guys so much; I knew that most people here were probably going through something similar, but it really does help to hear your stories. Knowing that I'm not alone is good.

I'm not sure if this is the proper place to post something like this, but I'm having a hard time and don't know anyone in real life who can relate to what I'm going through so I thought I would see if I could get some friendly responses here.

I met and dated my husband while I was working in South Africa last year. This past June he relocated to Nigeria (his home country) and I went with him so that we could be married. Since then I have relocated back to the US to get a different job and process all of the immigration paperwork.

I'm generally a very strong and brave woman, and he is and has been a very sweet and supportive man, but this process is heart wrenching sometimes. The distance, the time difference, the limited availability of technology (and electricity) in Nigeria, the general difficulty of getting anything done in Nigeria... the loads of complicated paperwork that requires complex conversations over the phone. It's all just hard. Not to mention the fact that very few people around me really understand what I'm going through. They are as supportive as possible, but since my husband hasn't been to the US yet, they worry for me (about bad things they've read on the internet - not my particular relationship). I just want to cry...

I'm sure at least someone on here can relate, right?

I was advised by an immigration officer to list addresses of actual residence as opposed to addresses used for banking, car registration, etc. I can't speak with 100% confidence and would suggest you speak to an immigration officer too, but my husband lives with his parents and has a similar situation as your fiancé and that's what we were told when filing our G-325a.

I probably won't be able to visit during this whole process (because of work), but I will attempt to go for the interview. We dated and lived near each other in South Africa for 8 months prior to being married though.

I'm currently awaiting the approval of my I-130 petition for my husband and I'm curious what others have done to prepare for the next step in the process. I'd like to get everything that I can together before being approved so that I can submit any requested documents with little delay. Any incite would be helpful.

I have already obtained tax transcripts for the last 4 years and still have a copy of my actual return from 2014. Also, I'm being intentional with correspondence to my husband so we can include additional information of an ongoing relationship.

My husband and I chose to get married instead of applying for the K1 visa because of timing and money mostly.

Most people on here are saying the K1 takes less time, and I guess that's true, but my husband and I were looking at the amount of time and paperwork we would have to do after he arrives in the US as opposed to all together and also looking at our finances and family planning for the future. Neither him or I make a ton of money and traveling back and forth often isn't really an option for us (which is generally what is needed to prove a K1 relationship). We also wanted him to be able to work as soon as he arrives in the US in order for us to be able to start a family (i.e., I will need to stop working to have a child and he will need to be able to provide for us).

All in all, it's a personal preference thing with many factors. Although my husband and I are technically married, I kind of consider this time to be like an engagement period. We only got to spend about a month together after being married before I came back to the US to file. Although, I view an engagement to be just as serious as marriage and see it only as a time to "get the necessary things together" to marry.

Hey everyone,

I would just like to vent my disappointment at finding suitable employment in the US. I am a highly qualified business professional and I am having a hard time dealing with all the red tape in the US. I recently interviewed with a company for a role I would enjoy but it seems as though the HR department just wants to drag their heels. I have been on both sides of the table when it comes to interviews and I know that there is always 1 or 2 candidates who stand out. That is when you STOP the process and make an offer. What I have experienced thus far (I have only been in the US for a few weeks) has been the most unprofessional hiring process in my entire life.

People are telling me I need to "network" but that is impossible since I only know my spouse and a few friends. I feel like this supposedly great country is anything but great. Interviewers are ill equipped to interview and HR departments are very disconnected from Hiring Managers. I was expecting better.I will not stop my job search but it's getting to the point where I am very disappointed.

If you've only been in the US for a few weeks and have already landed an interview you're doing great. Especially after going through the immigration process, just draw on the patience you've had to develop before getting here. America has A LOT of opportunity, just give it a little time.