Michelleaye

CONGRATULATIONS!! I can only imagine what a wonderful feeling this is for you both. My fiance will also be applying from Abu Dhabi and I hope all goes as smooth as it did for you. CONGRATS again!!

Hi all, well obviously my fiancée was very excited when I talked to her last night. And I will let her do a more complete description of the interview, but from what she said, it went very well, and she was treated quite nicely.

She went to the embassy about an hour, hour and a half early and was processed in and waited about an hour for the interview to begin. Everyone, including the guards was very friendly to her. It sounded like a good laugh was had over the fact she was carrying a huge bag full of relationship evidence in addition to our necessary papers.

When the time came, she was surprised the interview took place at a window, instead of privately in a room. The woman was very nice, and asked her lots of questions concerning me, and also my two kids.

After the questions, which J said went well, and she was so proud to show the lady photos of my two kids, she was asked for the needed filing documents, all of which she had at hand and turned in.

Not sure which documents for relationship evidence they took, but it sounded like they were most interested in snail mail photocopies showing post marks. She had cards going back to 2004, so obviously this was not a recent relationship!

After that, she was told she could pick up her visa Wednesday February 14th, Valentines Day and also my birthday! What a fantastic present.

All in all, it sounded like a much more pleasant experience than we feared, and obviously the ending was very much what we had hoped for. The last person going through Abu Dhabi for a K-1 said it was a horrible experience, although she too was granted a visa. Judith thought it was great!

Best of luck to all of those who follow. Thank you to all of the great folks here on VJ.

Now on to the next stage, getting her here which will hopefully be early March.

<--- still doing a happy dance here! What a relief! Although I won't be totally comfortable until I am holding her in my arms again!

I have received our first RFE and it has to do with my fiances divorce paperwork. It basically states that the divorce is not finalized due to that fact that decree uses the term "revocable", which at first I was concerned about but basically this has been since April 2003 and by law in UAE there is a 3 month period where he can take her back. Obviously that time period has passed but now they need proof of it being an irrevocable divorce and have stated it cannot be a divorce nisi. Does anyone have any expericene in this matter and if so, I would really appreciate any kind of guidance you could assist me with.

Thank you.

First, you should make sure that his country does not have any special circumstances regarding taking children to other countries. If the other parent is alive you might need court approval or other documents. A child under age 21 can follow a parent as long as the child's visa is issued within one year of the parent's visa and the child is under 21 at the time of their visa issuance.

The child files for their own adjustment of status (AOS) and they usually do not have an alien registration number assigned at the time of AOS. That will be assigned by USCIS at time of AOS application.

You should include any children on the I-129F application, even if they do not have plans to follow the parent. As we have all seen, plans change. The USCIS regulations strive to keep families together as long as everything is done legally.

My only question is why would you leave a 3 year old back home? Your fiance has to know that the child is part of his life. For the childs benefit, you should bring them both.

Thanks for your input on this-REALLY GREATLY APPRECIATED!! I know its not the best thing to leave his 3 yr old at home but her and her grandmother have extremely strong ties and that needs to be worked out plus in a way it will be better for us to be settled a bit more before we bring a child over. I beleive this will all work out for the best. Thanks again for your input and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

No, they do not have to apply or come together. You have 12 months to apply for a K-2 visa (a derivative of the mothers K-1 visa) for the child, provided the child is listed on the I-129F.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT ON THIS!! WHAT A PROCESS HUH??

My fiance has a 3-yr old daughter and her grandmother does not want her to come to the US right now. Will she be able to come over after my fiance has come in on the K-1 or will they need to come together. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

It will make all the difference in the world. Whic petition are you planning on sending?

If it's K-1 - avoid getting married at all until he gets here. Is the islamic courts marriage legally binding in the UAE? If so, your K-1 petition is null and void. Even if it's not legally binding, I'd highly recommend against it, since there have been instances of people married religiously without registering it getting turned down for the K-1 at the interview or being turned away at the Point of Entry (POE) to get into the US.

K-3/IR-1 - yes, you need to get legally married prior to sending in this petition, as the marriage certificate is a requirement.

Rahma, thanks a bunch for this info. I guess the best thing to do as of now is just send in the packet in as an I-129F without getting married in any way and just take it from there.

Thanks again.

Michelle

Hi All, Just wanted to get your opinion on this......I will be moving back to the US (Washington DC) within the next couple of months and my fiance&I were wanting to do the Islamic court marriage ceremony in the UAE before I left to the US and sent off his petition. Is it better to wait on this or does it really not make much of a difference as far as the petition goes?

Thanks and Congrats to all of you hows process is finally coming to an end and hang in there for those of you who are just at the beginning of this.

If you get a cosponsor, and she can meet the guidelines (see the foreign embassy forum pinned topic) there is no problem. Good luck on the job search!

PS, what did you mean it's "maybe a sign for me"? I mean, do you want to do this?

Hey there, thanks a bunch for the advise. Oh I definatly want to do this and was saying maybe this is a sign that I needed to do a bit of a better job with my paperwork&evidence, etc....especially after I found this website I have realized there are a few more things that I could send in with my petition that would probably help the process.

Thanks again&good luck to you.

I have recently begun the I-129 process&unfortunatly got all my paperwork returned to me becuaue I had filed the expired form,so just some advice to anyone double check all the exp dates on your paperwork.

So now have to start all over again but its maybe a sign for me. I just have a couple of questions for anyone else that might have gone through what I have.

I have been between Ethiopia and the UAE for the past 1 1/2 yrs taking care of some family business while at the same time searching for a job. Now that things have finally been taken care of with my family I am on a true job search and may be going to DC for a job. I was just wondering if it would really affect my petition if I havent worked till now and should I wait until I get a job or would it be ok if until then I can just file with a co-sponsor that would be my mother?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. And with all of you going through this whole K-1 process I hope all is going well.

VISA IN HAND GUYS IAM SO HAPPY

CONGRATS on the VISA!

Hi Michelle, welcome to VJ and patience is definitely going to be needed and research, over and over again, read all the faqs at the top of here and ask questions but do your research too.

Good luck to you both

Thanks for the warm welcome. VJ has definatly been a great site to gather info but am sure there is plenty of reserach out there that I need to do and will keep that up. Thanks.

Hi Michelle, welcome to VJ and patience is definitely going to be needed and research, over and over again, read all the faqs at the top of here and ask questions but do your research too.

Good luck to you both

BEAUTIFUL ROTTIES by the way. How precious!!

Hey, welcome to the board. I don't think we have any american/sudanese couplese at the moment.

I hope we can help. You'll probably experience a lot of the same things we have. Men from this region face increased scrutiny, especially in security processing.

There's something tickling in the back of my mind that some/maybe all Sudanese go through Cairo. If you guys do end up going through the consulate in Cairo, there are plenty of people who can help with that

Good luck and I hope your VJ is a smooth one.

Thanks for the nice welcome. Am glad to be the first American/Sudanese couple. And so far everyones advice has just been AMAZING!! It definatly helps to have ppl that are going through the same thing being there for each other.

My fiance is a resident of the UAE and so am hoping that he will just have to deal with the Embassy in UAE, but who knows.

Thanks again.

Welcome Michelle,

I was shocked when I found out it was going to take a long time but after the initial shock I started things going. I am doing a K3. So I just got back for marring the love of my life and sent my I130 overnight on Friday. I am not sure how you are communicating if it is by email, chatting, and by telephone. I want to pass on some useful information that I received when I joined. Make sure that you save emails, archive your chatting if you chat, and save call records. I was buying calling cards to talk to my love by phone....that is a big no no as you can not track the calls. I was introduced to www.mychitchat.com, this is a calling service much like a clling card but it allows you to keep call records and recharge your account online and speed dial your numbers. I know I was paying 45 cents a minute with the calling cards and mychitchat is on 22.9 cents a minute. You may have a better system I am just trying to help you as I was helped. Make sure if you send anything by postal mail that you save all corsepondences as proof of the relationship. Keep all things that will be helpful in proving your relationship. If you haven't met in person you know that is something that needs to happen. I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions I will do my best to help you as I have many friends here that will give me the correct answers. May your journey be a speedy one.

Ya its a very unexpected surprise when you realize how long this process is 4 real.And the thing is the my father is Ethiopian but my parents have never even thought about this process so.....AHHH!! CONGRATS on your marriage, thats so special.

Will check out mychitchat cuz as u know the phone bills arou outrageous!! And also for proof.

Fortunatly we have been able to meet in person quite a few times and infact will be going to my cousins wedding in Tanzania so will be sure to get plenty of proof from that trip.

Thanks so much for your advice and support. Means alot. Wishin u luck with your I130!!

Congratulations on sending your petition and on the engagement :

My advice? be patient

Thanks for the advice. Patience is definatly what we are goin to need the most of right now. I wish u luck with your process as well.

Michelle,

Trust me when I say none of us had even a glimmer of a clue what a ride we were facing when we started this journey. I'm not saying that to scare you, just agreeing with you. It's an amazing ride. There will be ups and downs, and know people here understand and are very willing to offer any type of support they are able.

Prepare yourself for a wait. As you can see from many of our personal stories, some go quickly and some go on and on and on. There is no guessing really. But you find you can always muster another ounce or so of strength and do what you have to do.

JenT offered what is probably the most valuable advice anyone can give you. Stay together, stay strong, and communicate. Remember who you were together before a visa was ever discussed. That is who you are and no visa journey can change it.

Another good advice might possibly be to read, read and read some more. Knowledge conquers fear. The more you bone up on this process, the less anxiety you are likely to face.

And if you face anxiety anyway and just want a shoulder to cry on or rage at we're here for you. I think I am currently the thread drama queen with my recent meltdown, so take it from a pro. Haha.

Nice to have you aboard. Welcome.

Thanks alot for the wonderful welcome and great words of truth and advice. Its so true about being knowledgeable about this whole situation and thats whats goign to get us through it all. Its going to take alot of patience, strenght, faith, but what doesnt kill us only makes us stronger.

Oh and I might be joining you on the drama queen list so dont be surprised. It has just amazed me that how something seems like our right can be so complicated. OH WELL, what to do?

Thanks again for the support.

Hey, welcome to the board. I don't think we have any american/sudanese couplese at the moment.

I hope we can help. You'll probably experience a lot of the same things we have. Men from this region face increased scrutiny, especially in security processing.

There's something tickling in the back of my mind that some/maybe all Sudanese go through Cairo. If you guys do end up going through the consulate in Cairo, there are plenty of people who can help with that

Good luck and I hope your VJ is a smooth one.

Rahma,

I think you're right. I think they do go through Cairo.

It's been taking a month or more for people to get their NOA1s... much different than before the IMBRA legislation.

You can also expect that your case will be transferred to California. Nebraska is no longer processing K-visas but the paperwork still says that they should be sent there....

You might check with your bank to see if your check was cashed... that might give you an indication of when to expect your NOA1.

Jen

Thanks alot for this info, this is definatly goin to be a learn as u go process. Greatly appreciate all ur advice.

I was just wondering how the process is carrying on for those of you that have sent in your I-129s to the Nebraska Service Center. Mine was sent in on the 21st of July and still havent heard anything. I guess cuz Im also in Ethiopia I feel kind of distant from the offices there.

Thanks for your help.

When you send any documents to USCIS, NVC, it is better to send them with a delivery confirmation or any tracking method. That way, you can aleast know that they have received it.

NEVER EVER SEND ANYTHING WITHOUT PAYING FOR SIGNATURE REQUIRED!!!!!!

It is only proof that you have that it arrived.

Thanks alot for this advise, this will be engrained into my head. Will be sure to do that from now on.

Thanks again to all of you!!

I was just wondering how the process is carrying on for those of you that have sent in your I-129s to the Nebraska Service Center. Mine was sent in on the 21st of July and still havent heard anything. I guess cuz Im also in Ethiopia I feel kind of distant from the offices there.

Thanks for your help.

Make sure you stay connected with your fiance by talking about things 'other than' this process. When things get overwhelming, you will have that to fall back on.

Patience, patience, patience.

Jen

Jen, Thanks a bunch for your advice. GREATLY APPRECIATE IT! I guess I have just been so naive about how long and what a hassle this was all gonna be. ITS CRAZY. Thanks again and food luck to you.

Michelle

Greetings all! I have recently joined VJ and first of all would like to wish you all luck with your processes. I am American and my fiance is Sudanese and I have just filed the I-129F and from what I have read we are definatly in for a real bumpy ride, which makes me nervous and advice for a Newbie? Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks bundles.

Michelle