Alexander De Ridder

Given that you got transfered to CSC I would definiely make an infopass appointment at your local office to find out what's going on. If needed get your congressmen or senators involved.

In our case we waited and didn't make one because we knew we had to wait to be transfered to the local office and our local office processing times were dragging behind.

What do you mean by "given that you got transfered to CSC". Does that imply that things should go faster/slower? What else?

It has been 126 days since my NOA for AOS. I haven't had a touch since they last received my RFE. Is there anyone who has a similar NOA date as me????? I am totally starting to freak out and if there is someone else waiting.. it will give me some peace of mind that I am not alone...........

Also, Is there something I can do to inquiry about my case??? do they have a telephone line? or should I send out a letter? Please advise. I am starting to feel desperate. thanks.

my wait time is almost a year since mail-in aos so far

Im kind of out of touch with my immigration thing, life has been so busy with work etc.

Its 10 months since I applied for AoS, 7 months since my biometrics, a half year since a letter from immigration that my case got transferred to California to speed things up.

That's all I got so far. Is this time span normal? Where do I call or check up on my status?

Also help me out here, EAD are only valid for one year right? I should be renewing soon then I guess.

frustrated here.

They ask for things I already sent, like my birth certificate.

Are they losing my papers?

Why do i have to lose time over that? Cant i call them and ask to look again?

Hey,

i found a job in the usa after 1 week of searching, and I've worked for them for two months already.

I came in on a K-1, got married and applied for AoS, EAD and Advance Parole.

Now my company wants to get a team of offshore programmers in India,( Asia ) or Europe, and

I would have to project manage them.

I would have to be able to travel over there for work purpose, maybe for 3 months and then come back.

They want to start this project in a relatively short term period.

How can I do this?

I fly to usa may 8 with my k-1.

We'll get married on saturday june 30.

So halfway june i'll request my marriage licence ... during the ceremony we sign the licence,

and at this point it becomes a marriage certificate?

Is it certified because of the witnesses?

Is a copy of that paper sufficient?

We would like to file our AOS the same day or the day after, and have all our papers ready by the time we get married,

because we want to go on a honeymoon the next day.

Is this possible? Because the step by step guide says: copy of a certified marriage certificate, and this requires

another week to get, no? Or what ??

In short: is it possible for us to leave on honeymoon after our marriage? We'll already lose almost two months of our three before

the marriage in preparations, so I'm concerned we'd lose too much time.

Oh and what about her name change? Does she need to change her name on her social security card first, and then all the AoS papers

need to be filled out with her married name?

i'll have 3 hours in between my flights, will that be enough?

I hold a K-1 visa.

I have a full copy of my medical exam, which included a vaccination report by the doctor, and two new shots.

The original one is in my brown enveloppe, i assume, and thus I wont have that anymore.

So what do I do while still in belgium to prepare for the vaccination document requirement in the AoS procedure?

I plan to fly with delta on may 8th.

From Brussels to JFK, then two more flights in the USA to get to Houston.

I can get a much easier flight directly to houston, less expensive, but then i wont get a temporarey work permit.

Now the question on my mind ... how much time you need at the port of Entry holding your K-1 visa?

I wonder about this because I'll have a connection flight to catch, obviously. Should I be delayed more than other travellers?

Things to take with you, things to do before you leave .. so nothing is forgotten!

Also, what documents to take with you for sure ..

I got a phone call thursday morning that my visa was ready and I could come pick it up in the afternoon.

It was a very emotional moment, I was about to plan a visit to Clara, but knowing that once again I'd have to return made us both sad,

and then this phone call lifted all the sadness in one bright stroke.

When I arrived thursday afternoon the embassy was closed ... a new ambassador had been appointed and he wanted to hold a meeting,

so they were exceptionally closed earlier.

When I came back to the car, someone had hit the door. Also the parking meter stole my money by an error in the machinery and took 5 €

for one hour parking. Luckily the car has full insurance, but I went home without visa after driving for hours in heavy traffic and with a big

bulb in the door of a new car. I felt like crying again

Then friday morning, I went by train, I entered, and they just handed it over to me without any more questions.

The brown enveloppe has ink stamps in the back with transparent tape over it. Is that the way they seal it? I havent touched it, but I'm concerned

if that will be accepted at PoE ... it looks amateuristic with the tape beiing a little loose at the end of the enveloppe. This is the first time i see it,

so I'm not sure if this is how its supposed to be or not.

I'm leaving in 18 days, on may 8. I'm finally getting also a little scared for the big unknown ... but im also very excited.

i'm just hoping that when the bills come i wont have a heart attack :S

i totally agree she should NOT drive around uninsured, im dissapointed she did .. after what happened to her father she should have known better .. but what can I say? I'm glad that she is ok physically ..

Get your degree first, then see if you can pay your debts, then think about bringing her to the USA,

if you can't do that, then go to her country and live there for a while.

Many of who have been around here for a while know that Clara's dad in the US was shot down,

the guy ran off, they didn't bother to find him, and now her dad is in a bed for the rest of his life.

He can't walk, can't even eat by himself. He was independant and had no insurance for this.

This happened in September last year, around the same time we got officially engaged.

Then her parents asked for support from the government, because their business doesnt work like

it used to, her dad can't work, and her mom needs to attend her husband all the time, and the expenses

line up.

They turned them down after a half year of deciding, because Clara lives with her parents still and she

has a good job, they say she has to pay for them.

Now our interview date was January 16th, its been 3 months passed by, and we are still waiting for the visa

because of a false name hit and consequently administrative review.

Our wedding was sheduled april 14, now canceled, reception, catering, limo, flower, my family who was going to

fly over, everything CANCELED.

Now I've been using all my time here in Belgium working and saving hard. I haven't spend a penny on anything

and I am glad to have a nice amount saved because Clara's savings are non existant due all her home situations.

Well it just got better. 4 days too late paying her car insurance, she drove through a red light thursday and got hit

by a car, a 2005 or 2006 NEW ford. Thats right, she doesn't even have liability ... turning my savings into ... u get the picture.

Aside from our feelings of depression around the whole AP issue, I had to deal with that too this weekend.

And still no idea when we can marry ...

Its been almost 2,5 months since our interview and we are still pending security clearance.

Now our wedding was planned 14th of april but this date became impossible due the major delay.

However, its been also several months we didnt get to see eachother and if I don't get my visum

first half of april I want to visit Clara.

Belgium is one of the countries that can have a visa waiver. Do you think I would be allowed to travel

to her end april and like stay a month or so? I know they take fingerprints at the interview and at the

border point of entry. Would they send me on a plane back home if I visited her?

hello i have a small question when sending the packet 3 back to the embassy with all forms and etc etc did you send to the

immigrant visa branch

united states embassy

5 upper grosvenor street

london W1A 2JB

this is where packet 3 was sent from i believe

OR

24 grosvenor square

london W1A 1EA

this is the address of the embassy as stated on the website

which is the correct address ty

send it back to the embassy that sent you instructions in the first place

and as an answer to the other question about clara's dad .. no he's not doing well

Clara has a hard time at home with this ... she hardly can sleep because he is in pain every night,

and because of his depression he's putting a lot of emotional pressure on her ..

Facing this whole unexpected "administrative processing" I really wonder what the point is of cheering over a NOA1 or NOA2 or Interview date.

I used to be so happy when I got them, felt like I got closer to beiing united with Clara ... but this cookbook can tell you at the last step of the recepy:

Now something may happen, for unknown reasons, so you must wait for indefinite (unknown) time, and are given no information whatsoever, other than

that you have to wait because you have to wait.

The idea of noa1, noa2, medical, interview ... give you the feeling of getting somewhere. It got me to the point of nowhere.

I find it hard when the one I love is suffering from this, and I can't be there for her. It feels like failure every day.

My interview was the 16th of January.

I was hoping to fly to Clara 6th of March, the consulate told us at that time that would be no problem given the good interview...

and I let her down ...

(So guys, if you freak out about a NOA1 taking a month longer than you would expect ... Imagine hearing that AP can take up to a year even after you had a good interview. If you get your NOA's ... don't go think you won the lottery. Its just a step ... if you get your hopes up too high you might end up having them beiing crushed.)

Hindsight is always 20 20, but sorry to hear about your problem. It is generally a huge mistake to pre-plan a large wedding before the alien fiance is physically with you. The best idea is to get out of your head the need for a huge wedding, and if and when you paperwork clears and your fiance arrives, get a marriage license and take care of marrying in a small civil or private ceremony. You can always plan a big fancy wedding ceremony after that.

How did you wind up deciding to make huge plans between January 16th and January 31st when you did not know how long the delay might be? (Not giving you a hard time, but wondering how this happened.)

Hopefully the delay won't prove to be an entire year. And really sorry to hear the plans are getting messed up, it isn't fair, or right, but this is a rough process so you two will be having your commitment tested mightily by all of this.

Good luck!

Clara's friends were/are planning their weddings like a year upfront, and she likes to have a princess wedding. What we did is since last year october start looking for everything, and once we had all required documents for our interview, and an appointment, we started to make more arrangements. It was already a close call to find a reception place to her liking that was still available in the timeframe where my family could make it to Houston.

Its been so hard for me to meet everyone's wishes and reach a compromise about nearly everything ... and then this happens ... I talked to her over Skype yesterday and started to prepare her for the possibility we'll have to cancel everything. I know in the long run the only thing that matters is us beiing together .. but we've been waiting so long for that ... in 7 months time i had her less than a week with me.

I liked the word drama-queenery :-)

Sorry guys but this is how i deal with situations .... i need to get everything out of my system.

This is devastating news and all you wonder is WHY ? I noticed some of the people who replied had their visa the same day as the interview.

Well, good for you! According to my legal book that I read 700 pages from I was not aware this even was an option!

It all has to do with a new law passed in congress late december or early January, the immigration specalist of Clara's Congressmen said.

I'm not ONLY dramaqueening ... I have made like 50 phone calls to people who may be able to help .. and have some plans ...... will it help? IDK

Alexander,

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. The delay in Washington might be that not you but someone with a similar name has gotten in some sort of trouble before. It's so hard to make plans only to have them shattered, but what can you do but wait. I wish for you that it's speedy so you can make that wedding date after all.

Michaela

you know what my dad said today?

No problem, if you dont get it soon enough, you can get married in NOVEMBER, when all of the family will be able to come.

That means if I get approved lets say March 17, my wedding plans will be long-canceled, and all of my family won't be able to make it to the wedding until november.

Hooray .. and they hold my international passport in hostage ... means I wouldn't see clara for almost a year unless she came here again but thats hard considering her families situation (remember her dad got shot in september?). Talk about cruelty

The thing is I may now get a marriage without all of my family :\ And If I get married between april and june my brother won't make it due university & exams.

then he may also have to retake exams in August or September if he doesnt pass them all ...

We have planned almost 6 months AFTER we got our NOA2, and moved onward for the consulate requests with highest possible speed.

We have NOTHING special about our case! My family is for generationSSSS Western-European, I am a model citizen, none of us were ever married before, in fact Clara is the first girl i kissed, and im 25.

I see no reason why they should hold us hostage in Administrative Processing. On what basis do they decide other than randomness? The consul has a friend that spoke to him for me today and told him there was nothing wrong in his opinion with my case and interview. Isn't equal treatment a basic human right?

Apparently I have no right to know why I am delayed and others are not. I have no right to know how long it will take. And more ...

You should never book a wedding til visa is n hand...

But anyhow, you can always have a non-legal wedding in April if you don't have your visa yet. Then you can return to Belgium til you get the visa, then have a courthouse wedding when you move to the States.

thats not possible for religious reasons, I personally see a wedding as binding .. you are either married or you are not. And a yes means yes. When your yes means yes in the future, its called engagement, not a wedding.

Regardless of that, "til visa is in hand" is a statement that is easily bent when you pass an interview and are told that you will get your visa soon.

It takes heaven and earth to plan a ceremony + reception wedding with families from two continents present.

My USCIS approval went smooth, they asked for an additional evidence, my finacées birth certificate, and once they got that, they approved us.

My interview went perfect, I would come back the next day to get my visa.

Then I get a phone call ... no need to come, there's a delay in washington, we can only issue the visa once they clear you.

Now that was 16 january. My reception is planned for the 14th of april. We booked the reception, catering, limosine, photographer and dj.

My very busy family booked themself out from work for that period so they can come to my wedding.

Today I called department of state, with my case number. The lady said this:

they started working on your case 31 january. On average it takes 2 or 3 months, but can take up a year.

BAM, in my face ..... why me? I have lived the most simple of life ..... Clara is the first girl I kissed .... I am a model citizen born and raised

in ONE city and lived in ONE house all my life .... we have done all required paperwork .... taken a 2 month time between interview and marriage ....

and now our wedding is at stake !!

Why is this happening? Why us? Why so long? My heart breaks if I have to tell Clara that the wedding must be cancelled :-(

In fact, I am crying myself now ...

Alexander,

I think you need to call or email the embassy for the status of your visa, follow up with them. My fiancé had his interview at the Netherlands embassy and got his visa + passport two days after the interview, by mail. Check with them, maybe that will speed the process.

Good luck!

I have, they tell me I must wait until they have their answer

You can also contact the Department of State in Washington Dc. They will not tell you details about any secrity checks, but they can tell you the status of the checks (pending or not) and perhaps a little more than the consulate has said about what they are looking at.

good info

i called them and they said im in AP

i dont know when it will be ready

Alexander,

I think you need to call or email the embassy for the status of your visa, follow up with them. My fiancé had his interview at the Netherlands embassy and got his visa + passport two days after the interview, by mail. Check with them, maybe that will speed the process.

Good luck!

I have, they tell me I must wait until they have their answer