tortugarouge

You are living my dream. 
I so want to do agility training with my eventual dog but we live in an urban area so it costs $70 per lesson 
and we we won't have the space to create our own trail. 

Not sure, if I'm an exception... but I had absolutely no problem with being unemployed for months. Lol
 
When I arrived, I tried to make myself feel at home. I tidied up, cleaned, painted every room of the house, fixed broken things, started woodworking, built shelves, worked in the yard, and so on... I did everything that I never had the time or energy for when I was still living in Germany.
 
I live in a very rural area. So, I also explored the woods, went hiking, etc. Then after a few weeks, I also adopted a dog from the shelter and spend all my free time with him. I built him a fence, bed, an agility trail, etc...
 
Time actually flew by.
Wish I could have been unemployed even longer. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done 😁

I do want to say I think the "study at university/college" is not the greatest advice for people proficient in English/in their late 20s. 
I took a university class in my late 20s when I wasn't working and it was torture as it gave me something to do during the day but all my classmates were in their late teens and I made ZERO friends. And the course work was super easy. 
I spent the majority of my day at the gym/working out. 
Ran a half marathon after that course... so if you have the drive... train for a half or a full marathon #jokingnotjoking
 

My husband really, REALLY struggled during this time. And the wait was only 5 months when he got his EAD/AP.  I actually took a job that paid less money just so I could work from home to be in the house with him (pre-Covid, when this wasn't the norm). That way he wouldn't feel as alone. But he still really struggled. I say this so you should know you are NOT alone.
 
His second month living here, he started studying at the local community college where he eventually got his Associates Degree. But even that was a struggle because English isn't his first language so the assignments were much more time consuming for him. We are huge travelers and we've gone all over the world together, so to keep that as a part of our life, we took a trip to Alaska during that time because it has a feeling of being "different" and "traveling" because we couldn't leave without his AP card. He also found a local Jiu Jitsu gym because he loves that sport. At least there, he made some acquaintances. He has now been in the US for four years and he still hasn't really fully adjusted. Immigration is HARD and definitely not for the weak. 
Good luck!

At the end of the day, we are all here on this forum for help and guidance because we want to be with our loved ones and families. Some of us are fortunate that the EO that were released didn't "effect" them because of the immigration category they are in. We are somehow all effected, just some worst than others. It's sad that immigration is now a political agenda to leverage what each party wants to accomplish, shouldn't be that way.

How pathetic when the level of political discourse is reduced to schoolyard epithets and populist scare mongering rather than a reasoned debate of actual positions taken by people.  This is why we should be keeping politics out of these forums.
 
 

Please let’s not make political debates out of this discussion. Here it’s not about who’s better and who’s worse. It’s about the article and concrete impacts on future-to-be immigrants. 

Actually yes; all you need to see is compare before Trump and now - not just immigration but in everything else. Luckily, data is readily available online. And btw the phrase "that's your opinion...not everyone's opinion" Let me laugh coz, I have heard it all before. If you have time, look for a comment I had mentioned approximately 2 weeks before the April 23rd proclamation. I said here that I wouldn't put it past Trump to pull something to keep the legal immigration down, now that nobody was moving in and out of the country. And then boom we all saw what happened on April 23rd.

Given what the Constitution says about the “FAMILY”, he cannot just change the Laws, which successfully worked for centuries, just because he wants to. He cannot cancel all of the spousal immigration (for instance) and do it entirely “Merit-Based”. No one will approve this, beginning with the Congress, and finishing with the simple people. Even now lawyers are actively fighting against his immigration changes, which all seem to be quite destructive for the American economy. 

Well, from now on he doesn’t even care about the Laws, stated in the Great American Constitution???

i think people are either missing the point, lost, or deliberately disingenuous. Of course there are people on here who are anti most types of immigration so it is no surprise😆 🤣😆The point is that Trump is cutting immigration drastically regardless of whichever program he is touching, ultimately it affects ALL immigration processes and almost none in a positive way. He says he is for merit based immigration, well H1 programs are heavily affected. Processing times for virtually all types of petitions and visas are negatively impacted.
 
So those who are saying the media is exaggerating are the ones who don't know what they are talking about. There is virtually no immigration process which has not been adversely affected under Trump, none. The media loves to cry wolf, but guess what there really is a wolf in the immigration world!

While this article is not entirely true, let's keep in mind that this guy can and will do exactly what most of us fear, at the first LEGAL opportunity he can get. Let's put it this way; 5 months ago no one would have predicted he would suspend visa processing for F2A( spouses of Green Card Holders). And it's more than likely that if he comes back in November, he will suspend it indefinitely.  So, it is in everyone's best interest that if you are eligible to vote this November, vote Trump out. Otherwise people will be crying with one eye open come 2021.

Thank you! We interviewed for the AOS but not for ROC. They sent us an RFE after we sent out our ROC packet, which someone here mentioned they might send in lieu of an interview which turned out to be true for us. 
 
That said, it’s upsetting that this system is so backlogged other folks have no way of knowing what’s happening. 

You were right! We got approved today. Green card is being made. Thank you for the heads up. All the best to you!

Ah, that would be wonderful luck! Thank you for cheering us up. Fingers crossed.

On the bright side, it could be a sign they'll approve without an interview. Happened to my friend. We filed at the same time, same office, but she got a RFE and was approved after responding to it sometime in March. So hopefully it's the last hurdle! 

If they increase the fees then USCIS Seattle office seriously needs to do something about the current wait time of 15 months. That’s too much of a joke already. But with an increase in the fee also? Ridiculous. 

I would not mind as long as they provide a commensurate increase in their service level.

What service center?

OMG I'm in shock friends!!! The letter that came in the mail today from USCIS is my wife's extension letter!! Indeed it's an 18 month extension.
 
I'm sooo happy right now!
 
The only little bad news is that only one letter came for my wife and nothing for my two stepsons. So Monday morning I'll probably be calling in to see about theirs.

I was visiting my husband at the time of his interview. Although we never discussed me going to the interview with him because we assumed I would not be able to attend. The officer did ask when he last saw me, his answer of this morning seemed to impress the officer when he explained I was in Sydney with him.
 
That being said, I read a while back that if you give the consult advanced notice in Sydney, that you may be able to attend the interview with your fiancee (not sure how true this is but you can ask). 
 
Our experience (we double and triple checked our paperwork prior to the interview which what is truly important)...I walked my, now husband, to the consultant and went for a run through Sydney assuming it would be at least an hour before he returned to our hotel. To my surprise my husband beat me back to the hotel in less than an hour and his experience was positive  .  
 

Tasha,
After we got married, I took my copy to the office downtown. They gave us the certified copy right then. It took maybe 15 minutes and cost $10 per certified copy. If you have already given the original copy to someone, then you will just have to wait. Usually, they finish the processing within 10 days. You can then go to the marriage license office and ask for a certified copy. Sometimes, you can even do it online.
 
We got married on January 8th. I can't believe we've been married for a week already! I will be taking our AOS packet to the mail today (his status expires January 25th), and I feel so relieved to have put together yet another packet of information for the government.

Congrats CRamak!! It's been a long wait but at least the worst is behind you now. My fiancé has his interview January 31st and I'll be flying to Australia on February 7th with our daughter. I wish I could go for the interview but it's just not possible right now. Approved or denied we'll be together again soon. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays  

It's midnight here. My fiance just picked up his passport at his hometown location in India. The CEAC status STILL says "administrative processing", but the passport had the visa in it. AHHHHHHHHHH THANK GOD!!!! I am in tears.. in a good way this time. Thank you all for your good wishes. I am shaking!! Now just to get him here asap! I am BEYOND relieved and happy. 

Visa arrived at my fiancées house today!!!!! Whew - that was quite a wait with the holidays in the way! I thought it would never arrive!
 
Now he just has to clear up his odds and ends at home. Heres hoping we'll be together for good this month!!!!!!!!!