NuZayetsPogodi

Tonight I got our NVC case # and invoice #. I went to the CEAC case tracking site, put in our MOS number, and expected to magically appear a page that clearly explained everything I was supposed to do. :-P I see that the packet is still at the NVC (the #'s were assigned only today, so that's not surprising). I clicked on the link that said to follow the 6 steps before the interview, and one of those steps is to choose an agent and fill out a DS-261. I don't remember reading anything about this on VJ and when I looked through the site, it looks like CR-1 folks do DS-261.
Do K-1 filers need to fill out this form?
I also looked into the NVC invoice. It says my AOS fees are exempt and his payment status is not invoiced. Do we just keep checking back until there's a fee?
As I understand, the fees must be paid before the beneficiary can schedule the interview. I felt really confident on the I-129f process and I also feel like an expert on the forms to fill out and documents to bring to the interview, but I'm feeling a little lost on how to sign up for the interview and medical.

My fiance was in AP for 6 weeks. Men from middle eastern countries can expect to be in AP for a while -- there's a good chance it will take several months. There are many background checks the Department of State will run on your husband, and if he works in certain sectors (military, defense, anything related to science and technology), there will be more checks. The only thing you can do right now is be very, very patient and try not to let this drive you insane because it can. The odds of your husband making it to the US before the New Year are very low, but you never know. There is no guarantee for anything.

On September 23 (or maybe 24?), I posted my fiance's interview experience in Moscow. We thought he would be approved without issue, so we weren't expecting the emotional journey we just went on.
At his interview, the CO asked about my fiance's DS-160 forms from when he applied for a B-2 visa in the spring. He had marked that he was in a common law marriage because he had a live-in girlfriend at the time. My fiance explained why he marked common law marriage, and the CO really grilled him on the dates of our meeting. We had all the proof in the world that our relationship is genuine- I even lived in Russia with my fiance all summer! But it didn't seem to matter because the CO suspected my fiance of lying on his previous DS-160 forms.
So, coupled with the fact that my fiance is an engineer, he was put in AP. The CO said he needed to think about our story and case because "something just doesn't make sense," and he said he would make his decision in a week. My fiance and I waited nearly 6 weeks - 40 days to be exact - when his status changed to Ready and from immigrant visa to non-immigrant visa. We were excited but I was still cautious. This morning, the status changed to Issued. We are thrilled, but I am still having trouble getting excited. Every step in this process has been agonizing. We both lost a lot of sleep and our nerves are completely frayed. We drove ourselves crazy with, "What if? What if? What if?" But now he will be home for Christmas and we can move forward!
To anyone starting out on any visa journey, you have GOT to be careful on every form. Don't omit information, don't blatantly lie, don't tell a tiny lie, don't fudge numbers. Post your situation on these boards and ask people to analyze your situation from a CO's perspective. These CO's truly are trained to find the tiniest inconsistency, which can delay your case or even result in you being refused completely. If you made a mistake on your form, even unintentionally like my fiance did, you need to be upfront about that with the CO. It doesn't matter one iota how genuine your relationship is- if you are caught lying, your journey is over. You will not get a visa and you will probably be banned from ever getting a visa.
Also, if you are interviewing from Russia, China, or any Middle Eastern country, and if your job is even slightly related to science and technology, prepare a resume in English. If possible, email it to the embassy ahead of your interview because you will be asked for it. You will go through AP and it may take weeks or months. This is to run several background checks on you to make sure you don't have plans to come to the US and send sensitive information back to your home country.
Finally, make no plans. We thought our case was solid. We assumed my fiance would be approved right away and he would get his visa a week or two after his interview. Luckily, we didn't buy any tickets. Nobody is safe from a long AP wait. Nobody is guaranteed an approval. I see so many posts on here from people who have made hard and fast plans for after their K-1 approval, and after our experience and others that I've read, I have to warn everyone to be more cautious and tentative in their planning.
Good luck to everyone in their visa journey! Thank you so much for everyone's support, especially those who reassured me in those dark moments right after my fiance's interview. Looking back, I value the honest (sometimes harsh) responses I received. These ended up being the most helpful.

On September 23 (or maybe 24?), I posted my fiance's interview experience in Moscow. We thought he would be approved without issue, so we weren't expecting the emotional journey we just went on.
At his interview, the CO asked about my fiance's DS-160 forms from when he applied for a B-2 visa in the spring. He had marked that he was in a common law marriage because he had a live-in girlfriend at the time. My fiance explained why he marked common law marriage, and the CO really grilled him on the dates of our meeting. We had all the proof in the world that our relationship is genuine- I even lived in Russia with my fiance all summer! But it didn't seem to matter because the CO suspected my fiance of lying on his previous DS-160 forms.
So, coupled with the fact that my fiance is an engineer, he was put in AP. The CO said he needed to think about our story and case because "something just doesn't make sense," and he said he would make his decision in a week. My fiance and I waited nearly 6 weeks - 40 days to be exact - when his status changed to Ready and from immigrant visa to non-immigrant visa. We were excited but I was still cautious. This morning, the status changed to Issued. We are thrilled, but I am still having trouble getting excited. Every step in this process has been agonizing. We both lost a lot of sleep and our nerves are completely frayed. We drove ourselves crazy with, "What if? What if? What if?" But now he will be home for Christmas and we can move forward!
To anyone starting out on any visa journey, you have GOT to be careful on every form. Don't omit information, don't blatantly lie, don't tell a tiny lie, don't fudge numbers. Post your situation on these boards and ask people to analyze your situation from a CO's perspective. These CO's truly are trained to find the tiniest inconsistency, which can delay your case or even result in you being refused completely. If you made a mistake on your form, even unintentionally like my fiance did, you need to be upfront about that with the CO. It doesn't matter one iota how genuine your relationship is- if you are caught lying, your journey is over. You will not get a visa and you will probably be banned from ever getting a visa.
Also, if you are interviewing from Russia, China, or any Middle Eastern country, and if your job is even slightly related to science and technology, prepare a resume in English. If possible, email it to the embassy ahead of your interview because you will be asked for it. You will go through AP and it may take weeks or months. This is to run several background checks on you to make sure you don't have plans to come to the US and send sensitive information back to your home country.
Finally, make no plans. We thought our case was solid. We assumed my fiance would be approved right away and he would get his visa a week or two after his interview. Luckily, we didn't buy any tickets. Nobody is safe from a long AP wait. Nobody is guaranteed an approval. I see so many posts on here from people who have made hard and fast plans for after their K-1 approval, and after our experience and others that I've read, I have to warn everyone to be more cautious and tentative in their planning.
Good luck to everyone in their visa journey! Thank you so much for everyone's support, especially those who reassured me in those dark moments right after my fiance's interview. Looking back, I value the honest (sometimes harsh) responses I received. These ended up being the most helpful.

Don't worry, I understand you! What I hate about this process is that these little bits and pieces are only found if you find forums like this. Many of these details are not outlined in the I-129f instructions. If the USCIS could just be explicit about what they're looking for, they'd save everyone a lot of time and headache.

On September 23 (or maybe 24?), I posted my fiance's interview experience in Moscow. We thought he would be approved without issue, so we weren't expecting the emotional journey we just went on.
At his interview, the CO asked about my fiance's DS-160 forms from when he applied for a B-2 visa in the spring. He had marked that he was in a common law marriage because he had a live-in girlfriend at the time. My fiance explained why he marked common law marriage, and the CO really grilled him on the dates of our meeting. We had all the proof in the world that our relationship is genuine- I even lived in Russia with my fiance all summer! But it didn't seem to matter because the CO suspected my fiance of lying on his previous DS-160 forms.
So, coupled with the fact that my fiance is an engineer, he was put in AP. The CO said he needed to think about our story and case because "something just doesn't make sense," and he said he would make his decision in a week. My fiance and I waited nearly 6 weeks - 40 days to be exact - when his status changed to Ready and from immigrant visa to non-immigrant visa. We were excited but I was still cautious. This morning, the status changed to Issued. We are thrilled, but I am still having trouble getting excited. Every step in this process has been agonizing. We both lost a lot of sleep and our nerves are completely frayed. We drove ourselves crazy with, "What if? What if? What if?" But now he will be home for Christmas and we can move forward!
To anyone starting out on any visa journey, you have GOT to be careful on every form. Don't omit information, don't blatantly lie, don't tell a tiny lie, don't fudge numbers. Post your situation on these boards and ask people to analyze your situation from a CO's perspective. These CO's truly are trained to find the tiniest inconsistency, which can delay your case or even result in you being refused completely. If you made a mistake on your form, even unintentionally like my fiance did, you need to be upfront about that with the CO. It doesn't matter one iota how genuine your relationship is- if you are caught lying, your journey is over. You will not get a visa and you will probably be banned from ever getting a visa.
Also, if you are interviewing from Russia, China, or any Middle Eastern country, and if your job is even slightly related to science and technology, prepare a resume in English. If possible, email it to the embassy ahead of your interview because you will be asked for it. You will go through AP and it may take weeks or months. This is to run several background checks on you to make sure you don't have plans to come to the US and send sensitive information back to your home country.
Finally, make no plans. We thought our case was solid. We assumed my fiance would be approved right away and he would get his visa a week or two after his interview. Luckily, we didn't buy any tickets. Nobody is safe from a long AP wait. Nobody is guaranteed an approval. I see so many posts on here from people who have made hard and fast plans for after their K-1 approval, and after our experience and others that I've read, I have to warn everyone to be more cautious and tentative in their planning.
Good luck to everyone in their visa journey! Thank you so much for everyone's support, especially those who reassured me in those dark moments right after my fiance's interview. Looking back, I value the honest (sometimes harsh) responses I received. These ended up being the most helpful.

No, you didn't. You receive the NOA-1 by mail, and you receive notification of NOA-1 by email. Two different things.

If you know nothing about the rest of the process, you may want to start looking around in the Mexico forums to find out what to do next.

But yes, your NOA2 is simply that the PETITION was approved. You have until Feburary to have the interview at least scheduled, if not, you can ask for an extension on it. EVERYONE gets four months from the time of approval for the NOA2 expiration time. Ours was June 2nd to Oct 2nd.

Research the next step for your country. For example, for Canada, once we confirm that our consulate has the case, we e-mail the consulate everything they ask for in Packet 3. From there, the consulate emails us packet 4, and we're free to schedule our interview and medical. Every country is different, find out how it works for Mexico.

My fiance was put in AP and it will be 5 weeks as of tomorrow. He has a mechanical engineering degree and has worked as both a mechanical engineer and process engineer. No matter that he's switching careers and wants to be an interpreter - the fact that he's a Russian scientist routes him through several background checks. The fact that you're from Pakistan and you have a background in science puts you down that same path, and what's more, you are working for the department of defense. You are going to be screened very, very carefully, and it's going to take a long time. Sorry. :-/

Me and my husband's age difference is 8 years, we made it. It'll be fine as long as the relationship is proven genuine. Just do your best to show all proof and evidence.

I had 4 children when my husband met me. He came here and has taken on the part of being a stepfather to my 4 kids. Id focus more on the age gap, than the children. As far as the CR1 or k1, Morocco has been approving k1 more it seems now, than the CR1. It's crazy because in the past it was the opposite. Not sure why, but I've noticed it a lot.

Every consulate is different - however, there shouldn't be any problem asking for the interview to be no earlier than January and there certainly shouldn't be any problem telling them you're here in the US. You're here legally and as long as you leave on time, you'll have no problems. Italy isn't high-fraud by any stretch. And just because NOA-2 came fast doesn't mean your interview will be scheduled very soon -- some embassies do K-1 interviews only on certain days of the week, so there's a longer wait period.
tl;dr Contact the consulate, tell them you need a later interview, you're going to be OK.

Thanks all. Just confirming what I thought but figured I'd ask anyway... never know when there's some clever idea about how to do things. Oh and it doesn't matter but just to clarify - I'm female. My husband is the US citizen.

Can I just say from VJ experience, I have known dozens and dozens of UK people reporting on VJ who have had teen crime or adult cautions that were no longer part of their public record. They got "no live trace" on their police certificate and had to get a Subject Access Report to show their record. They had all been to the US on visa waiver. Admittedly that was the incorrect way to fill out the ESTA form...saying no crimes. But none of them were questioned at their K1 interview about their use or improper use of VWP. They were evaluated on their qualifications to enter the US on a fiance visa and not how they filled out the ESTA form. There have been crimes or cautions for marijuana, switching tax disks on cars, shoplifting, throwing eggs, letting air out of tires, wearing a traffic cone on their head, drunk, fighting, urinating on a wall,...but they all got approved for their visa without a waiver or a lawyer. I can't say if the OP's many infractions will be excused, but he might as well carry on in my opinion.

You say your a concerned friend but what have you done to protect her? You know her husband almost killed her but yet you haven't reported it to the authorities?? If I knew my friend was being abused the police would have those photos and the husband would be in jail I wouldn't care if she was angry at me I knoe I saved her life and would be much better than reading about her being killed in the newspaper

She's married .. but has a BF?? There are 3 sides to every story.. his, hers, and the truth. I don't think we've heard the truth yet.
I would recommend her returning to the Philippines and starting over with a new K1 (if she doesn't want to start a VAWA case).

SO basically you are asking for your girlfriend?
Her options are to leave if he pulls the affidavit and if the children are theirs in common she may not be able to take out of the country.
Lastly I would find out if this story is true since she is telling (YOU) a potential suitor

As bad as her situation sound.. Someone does not start a K-1 and you continue with the rest. it doesn't work like that.
You started the story so innocently like a mere friend but you are not just a "friend".
I wonder if there's more to the story.
And you as a USC have witnessed her scars from a domestic violence and you sat there and not let her call the police? i find it hard to believe that you would care about what happens to the man abusing someone you are want to marry.
This whole story smells fishy..
But if the woman is in danger, immigration should be the least of her worries. You want to be alive to go through the immigration process.

She needs to report it. That will give her the power to be able to divorce and continue AOS without issue.
Your thought on marrying her after a divorce and trying to finish her adjustment I don't think would work, or be wise as it would make her look bad I think. She has to complete the AOS with original petitioner of the K-1 unless circumstances(such as the abuse) with the VAWA.
IMO, if she won't report the abuse, if you are so caring about her, you should definately continue to try and convince her or as you said even report it yourself.

If the husband nearly beat her to death he shouldn't be around his kids and should be in jail for a long long time

My fiance was put in AP and it will be 5 weeks as of tomorrow. He has a mechanical engineering degree and has worked as both a mechanical engineer and process engineer. No matter that he's switching careers and wants to be an interpreter - the fact that he's a Russian scientist routes him through several background checks. The fact that you're from Pakistan and you have a background in science puts you down that same path, and what's more, you are working for the department of defense. You are going to be screened very, very carefully, and it's going to take a long time. Sorry. :-/

My fiance was put in AP and it will be 5 weeks as of tomorrow. He has a mechanical engineering degree and has worked as both a mechanical engineer and process engineer. No matter that he's switching careers and wants to be an interpreter - the fact that he's a Russian scientist routes him through several background checks. The fact that you're from Pakistan and you have a background in science puts you down that same path, and what's more, you are working for the department of defense. You are going to be screened very, very carefully, and it's going to take a long time. Sorry. :-/

You got an appointment to speak with them at the American embassy? Or are you just planning on showing up? I hope it is the former because their security is tight.
Have you tried emailing the American embassy?

Firstly, my condolences to her and her family.
However, there are several things that are off about your story.
1. ESTA is definitely more convenient and cheaper than a B-2 visa.
2. B-2 visas are usually issued to those who are ineligible for the VWP.
3. A working individual being able to travel and stay in the US for more than ~3 months at a time can be a red flag.
4. The K-1 visa is NOT EVER to be used to give your relationship a "test run". The K-1 is specifically for those who have a loved one they are ready and eager to marry who happens to reside in another country. During the interview I am sure that you claimed you were ready to get married and would do so in the generous 90-day window. If you had let them know your true feelings of apprehension and intentions to "wait it out", you never would have been issued a visa.
There are many things not right here.