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Chris-n-Veronica

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Posts posted by Chris-n-Veronica

    28 hours 27 min until interview...

    in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks Everyone... :thumbs:

    18 hours 30min. until Interview.....

    I'm glad I'm sleeping part of that... Watching American Idol... and then the Movie Prestige ..THat should take me to 11ish tonight..I'll sleep probably only to 6am..today.. which is 3 pm her time which is to early to call her.. As they really just open the flood gates..at 1pm Thursday.. and the interview can be anytime after that... So I'm not calling until 8am or 5pm her time..but then she might call me......Oh the waiting.. LOL :help:

    28 hours 27 min until interview...

    in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

    Posted

    Well the medical is done...Now the wait.. But I have it easier then Veronica..She has to do the interview..I'll go to bed tonight..Awake in the morning..call her and get the news.. So I will sleep 7-8 hours of the 28...

    It's been along a stressful journey and trust me it only gets tougher as you get closer to the interview.. as you know she will be here soon..but you have that last major step..

    Each step is hard but with each beginning step you know you have awhile yet..So you keep that emotional wall up alittle..but after NVC things happen faster in paperwork..but not in totally time getting together.. as it takes a similar amount of time between the NOA1 and NOA2 and NVC and Interview... at least in my case.. but you are busier with the paperwork and that helps.. but it also reminds you daily of what your waiting for.. and then you are down to 30 days..till interview..3 weeks...2 weeks.. 1 week..and then days..hours.. but this is the time it's also very hard..Your SO is so very close..but you also know that one wrong thing in the paperwork can take everything away ..

    This has been a Journey... and it wears you out.. I've been on this board less in the resent weeks because of the emotional toll it takes on you..

    Was it worth it.. .Hell Yes... Would I do it again... Won't need too.. :) ..I'm a Happy....I have No Words for the happiness I feel.. Now Let me totally feel everything tomorrow after I book her flight...

    Thank God... For Visa Journey..!

    Holding my breath waiting for interview

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Hello to all,

    As I write you, Nadya is now in Kiev for her interview tomorrow. I pray that the i's are dotted and t's crossed. Not much rest going to happen until I hear from her. Of course, if I'm nervous it doesn't come close to how she feels. This has been a long journey. I can only waited and hope all goes well.

    Scott

    Veronica and I are in the same boat...plus she had to take a Mini-Bus for 405 miles to Bucharest for the interview tomorrow...

    Her cell service is iffy...and then it's $3.00 per min on roaming.. So we can't talk like normal.. But the good thing is we are close to the end of being apart... I will tell you this.. if we are denied.. I'll be moving to Moldova.. .

    Good Luck!!

    Does he has to??

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    hahhahaha Read the Guides here... Yes as others have said Just go to your Bank..

    There are really excellent guides..examples etc.., here in VJ that alot of people put hardwork into to give them to us.. I followed them totally and of course I had questions.. but trust me follow the guides :) and this isn't meant to be rude but as a means of pointing you in the right direction for the easy questions..

    Ukrainian craziness

    in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America

    Posted · Edited by Chris-n-Veronica

    I don't know the answer....but this BS seems to be the norm in these Former Russian countries..

    "Russian" is an ethnicity. There are NO "former Russian" countries - there are "former USSR countries", and it is NOT the same thing. USSR and Russia are not the same thing - Russia was one of the 15 republics in the USSR, and not all USSR citizens were Russian. Moreover, not all citizens of Russia are Russian - we have over a 100 nationalities in Russia alone.

    Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Kazakh and the rest are different ethnicities, and we get offended when people confuse them.

    I didn't no exit visas still existed in Ukraine, we don't have anything like that in Russia.

    Yes sorry about that..I was just using general terms to keep it simple... Like when people use "You Americans"... Well as you know American is made up with 100's of nationalities.. lots of States...lots of different cultures..etc..., So if we got offended everytime the world lumped us into one thing "Americans" with the idea that we are all the same.. Well wouldn't that be a mess.. So to keep it simple...We don't worry when they say Americans..Idahoian..NorthWestern..US Citizen..etc.,

    So again I was using a general term for a general problem .. Didn't mean to offend..:)

    But I think the point that I was trying to make..is this.. they seem to adjust/bend the rules to fit the person/Dept. that is enforcing it.. this seems to be a normal problem there..

    As for us right in the annex for the new Visa Law's that came into effect jan 2007 it says that Moldovians don't need a invitation letter to get the transit visa.. But they insisted she needed a letter from the consulate..even after I pointed out what is said in the annex..

    It's all about the $$$..

    guessing your age by eating out

    in Off Topic

    Posted

    YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT

    Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know!

    YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH

    This is pretty neat.

    DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!

    It takes less than a minute .

    Work this out as you read ..

    Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!

    This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

    1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat.

    (more than once but less than 10)

    2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

    3. Add 5

    4. Multiply it by 50

    5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1756 ....

    If you haven't, add 1755.

    6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

    You should have a three digit number

    The first digit of this was your original number

    (I.e., how! Many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)

    The next two numbers are

    YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

    1.2

    2.4

    3.9

    4.450

    5.2206

    6.249

    7. Yes your Right....

    Nice...

    Our 8 month update...

    in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America

    Posted

    Wow, I can't believe it has been 8 months since we recieved my husband's visa and arrived in the US. I was living in the UK as a student (I am the USC) and we got married in June 05 and started the <sarcasm>wonderful</sarcasm> journey...

    Things were very difficult when we first arrived. We had no apartment or home ready for us, so had to live in my childhood bedroom in my dad's house. My dad was very helpful and accomodating, but to go from having your own space to having none whatsoever, put a real strain on us. Neither one of us had a car, so first priority was getting some kind of transportation - we live in the middle of nowhere (or what seems like that when compared to areas in the UK all linked by train and bus!) so a car was a necessity as far as finding jobs and getting to them every day. We managed to get a deal on a Honda which has been the most reliable car, I would reccomend the Civic to anyone. Because we weren't paying rent, we did have the luxury of being able to visit a lot of places in the area so that Paul could get better aquainted with his new surroundings. I think that helped a lot. We were also forced (but grew to enjoy, lol) to spend a lot of time with my family members. Being surrounded by supportive people is so important in this kind of situation. Get out and make some friends and contacts is all I can say, I can't emphasise that enough...and it's the last thing you feel like doing, but you have to push each other. Get out and explore.

    Eventually in July I got a job at a retail store I used to work at. My friend was the manager there and she gave me a decent wage (for retail). That got us a little bit of income coming in. Paul went on many job interviews. He had some interest from a few people, a few even told him he was too qualified for the job. A temp agency here that I also ended up using myself were very professional and helpful, and best of all, very local. Many of the temp agencies we recieved letters from after they saw our resumes on Monster or CareerBuilder were at least an hour away in the more built up areas that we weren't interested in commuting to in the first place. Eventually through one of our friends, he got an interview with a small but growing HVAC company to be an office assistant/receptionist. He got the job in August and it's now February - he's recieved two raises and a promotion already, he is now the office manager. This is all down to his hard work, and he hasn't been afraid to stand up to his bosses and suggest new ideas for the company. If you have the opportunity to work for a small company, I would not pass it up. Don't think that the only good jobs are in the cities! As for me, I worked in retail until the end of October to keep the money coming in while we moved into our own apartment. I then signed up with the local temp agency, who found me a job in less than two days working in the customer service department of a hospitality glassware company. It pays well and isn't too far of a commute, and the company is European owned and growing.

    So far so good. Paul took his driving test and passed, he now has a NJ driver's license. We were happy with our apartment, which was gigantic compared to the one we had back in England, for nearly the same rent. After being there a few months, we decided we wanted to buy a house. We had some savings together so started the search. Then we spotted this adorable colonial in my hometown. It had been on the market over the summer, then sold. We had actually been keeping an eye on it but weren't ready to actually start looking. Then, due to an issue at closing, it was back for a couple of weeks. We figured we couldn't lose anything by just going to look at it - we called up the wife of one of Paul's colleagues who was a realtor (contacts, people! network!) and she took us to see it right away - it was perfect. The only problem was that the furnace was too old and needed to be replaced. Well, Paul works for an HVAC company - they installed a new one for us for cost. Of course there was a little bit of pain involved there, we ran out of heat over one weekend and froze our asses off for a few days (In North Jersey, in February...COLD!), so they came in and did an emergency installation for us. So, we bought a house. It has had its problems. Having your first home is certainly no picnic. Our major problem though has not been with the house, but the apartment.

    When we moved in, we signed a one year lease. Part of the terms of the lease were that if we moved out before the lease was up, we had to pay rent until the apartment was rented to a new tenant. Well, we didn't read that part. We thought it would be like our contract in England, where all we had to do was give thirty days notice that we were planning to move out, no strings attached. When we looked at the house and decided it was what we wanted, we were told someone else had already put in an offer that the owners were considering. We had to put in our own offer (and a better one) as fast as possible, so we didn't stop to consider the apartment lease. All the waiting drove us nuts. It felt like the visa process all over again. There were fights and tears and a hell of a lot of stress. We moved out of the apartment in mid December, and waited impatiently for it to be rented to someone else. The poor manager probably wanted to kill me, I called him a few times every week to see how it was going. Then at the end of January, we recieved a bill from the apartment management - for $10,000. Freaking out ensued. Where the hell were we going to get that kind of money? Who has that just sitting around, especially after we just signed on for a $250,000 mortgage??? As with most things, especially the visa, it came down to the wire, to the end of this month. In fact, today would have been the day we were going to go to the bank and apply for a personal loan. I got a call on Friday from the apartment manager saying they had rented the apartment and the new tenants were moving in that day. PHEW.

    Things are certainly still not perfect and I don't think anything will ever live up to the ideals we had in our heads before we came here - but in 8 months we've managed to do all this through had work and perseverance. We have a lot to be grateful for.

    So, it has been scary at times. Other times it's been great. You just have to keep pushing and pushing and don't lose sight of your goals. The best way to get by, at least here in our rural area, is to make friends and be a part of the community. Rely on family if you can. Paul just joined the local volunteer fire company and I think this is going to really help him with getting out there and doing things on his own too. Join the first aid squad, the fire company, if you're religious, find a church and make some friends there. It sounds really cheesy, but it does help. Even just go to a local bar and talk to some strangers about the area, you never know who they might know who could help you with something, or they might be able to help you, or they might just turn out to be a very good friend. In our experience, in our area, people have been very generous and I don't know what we would have done without them.

    If anyone needs any help at all with anything, please let us know!!!

    - Carrie

    Ah, the American Dream...two guns for everybody

    NovDec06029.jpg

    I enjoy these real life times...I wish we had more of these stories of real life after the SO gets here..... it does seem he is making the adjustment just fine,.."Two Guns For Everyone"

    Thankyou..for alittle insite on your life...

    Calling Cards

    in K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Greetings!

    I am preparing the documents for my husband interview. I have called him you using a online calling card service. The calling card service has all the dates and times of the purchase of calling cards. I only have a few phone bills because it is so expensive to call directly. What have been your experiences?

    :dance::dance::dance::dance: April 23, 2007 THE BIG DAY!

    I mainly use the service in my sig as they have the best prices and bill me once a month.. And number one reason is they send me a print out each month with my bill on all my calls to Veronica...

    The reason you stated is one reason I don't use calling cards alot..as you hardly every get one that gives you a print out of your calls...

    Also Yahoo Messenger voice..is ok... good rates usually.. and you can print out the call records..

    What are you Thankful for today????

    in Off Topic

    Posted

    8 years ago today I had brain and spinal surgery from my accident. Docs gave me 50/50 chance of survival 'at best' and 75-80% chance that I'd be paralyzed from the neck down.

    And here I am perfectly fine.

    It's kinda surreal actually, was sittin with my mom havin a coffee this AM and she was all 'at this time I was brushing your hair and praying' (when they shaved it, I asked them to give it to her)...damn my hair never looked so shiny, lol.

    But it gave me chills, cos I think I did the easy bit...went to sleep, woke up. She had to sit and wait for like 9+ hours. And this morning with a tear in her eye, she said 'it was at around 3:30 when the doc came out and said you were mostly out of the woods and would lead a normal life again'

    Life gets in the way...we all have our annoyances...bills, stress, bs...and I think part of me kinda lost sight of the thankfulness I felt when I left the hospital. I never thought I'd see the outside world ever again. I had prepared all my affairs - updated my will, wrote letters to everyone, made a video-goodbye to my parents. I had all my important papers arranged neatly for my mom to go through, and I had even given my spouse at the time an advance d directive that if I was a cabbage, I wanted to be placed in a home so that I was not a burden to my family.

    All the stuff you never want to deal with.

    And here I am...years later....and all that stuff has passed for me.. Praise God!!!! My hair has grown back, the scar has been covered with my hair...you'd never know what happened unless I told ya. ButI think I forgot, though, to not let the lil ####### get me down...and today is a perfect reminder that not only is 'no one shootin at me', but I am a very blessed person, because I was given another chance to make life all it can be.

    So instead getting bogged down with bullsh!t, take a minute and think about everything in your life that you have been blessed with....a soulmate, a family, health, etc....whatever. Revel in the joys that you have and kick the ####### to the curb. Work, bills, stress, USCIS PROCESSING!!!, silly fights, etc...don't mean a damn thing. At all!

    Have a beautiful day everyone! I know I will! (L)

    Yes I agree ..Thank God!! I had Cancer surgery also about 10 years ago.. Thyroid.. a 1.5 hour surgery ended up being 5 hours.. ended removing it all.. Same year fell and twist broke my leg and ankle.. Mezenu(sp?) fracture...

    Leg and ankle are fine...and Cancer is gone...

    And today..I also can be Thankful that I met Veronica...and we will be together very soon.....

    photos without date printed on them

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Photos are secondary (visual ) evidence. Dates are no big deal. It is just to prove you met. All other evidence you turn in will have dates for verification (plane ticket, receipts, letters, phone records, etc.). Just make sure you make the packet look neat with dividers, index tabs, and all on a ACCO fastener. You'll do fine.

    Dates are no big deal? Wanna read here?

    From the VJ guides:

    2.Color Photos of you and your fiance(e) together. Make sure you write your names, date, and location on the back of every photo. Provide two to five photo's. If you only have a single copy of the photo, then make a color copy and send that. If it is a digital photo, have it printed at a company such as ofoto.com. You can also make duplicates of photo's at your local photo store (Walgreeens, CVS, etc). Place photo's in a plastic bag or photo sheet and label the sheet. Note that you may not receive originals of photo's back.

    Yea has something to do with having met within 2 years of filing :thumbs: the other things mentioned is more about on going relationship...

    Remember you have to prove you have met within the last two years and that the relationship is still on going

    Ukrainian craziness

    in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America

    Posted

    Hi,

    My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Ukraine. She's got a green card. When going through passport control in Ukraine, my wife was told she needed a stamp in her passport. This is required since she has a green card. I can't find any info for this process on the Ukrainian US embassy websites. Does anyone know how to get this stamp? She was told they could technically hold her in the country and not let her return to the US without it. So right now, she can't go back and visit without it. It's like some kind of BS exit visa, which I thought was stopped a few years ago. Any advise would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    I don't know the answer....but this BS seems to be the norm in these Former Russian countries..You wouldn't beleive the process the get this new Visa to enter Romania for the interview.. Luckily Veronica has a relative high up in the Moldova Government..and even he needed to go with her to the Moldova embassy and plead her case.. I think even then the only thing that saved us was the expiration of the NOA2 approval.. But then a Bribe might of got it done in minutes...LOL

    I-134 1040

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Eveyone here is so helpful.. after i get through this, i'll have to stay on and repay the favor to all those where i am now. anyways... the I-134 says self employed people need the 1040 taxes from the last couple years, but not employees. the instructions my fiance got seem to indicate that any sponsor on the i134 needs to show tax returns.... any insights??

    Self employment... I think is 3 years of 1040's

    Employee's it depends on the Consulate but ours was only the last year..which for us could've been 2005 or 2006.. I used 2006

    Some consulates..want one year..some more years.. You need to check for your consulate.. Maybe under Embassy reviews or info on the link above...

    Money transfers as evidence?

    in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

    Posted

    I included... Western Union Receipts and then I got her a Ikobo Debit Card..that gives you a deposit history..and I included that even up to the large deposit I made on the card for her Interview in Romania....

    Also not that you asked... but I included receipts for flowers I sent.. which corresponds with the pictures they took of her with the Roses.."Dates" ..

    I think when it come to poof of relationship...I think the more the better and think outside of the box for things you didn't think of..

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