annasherwood

Kathryn--i cannot thank you enough for clarifying that!!! i'm no idiot, but sometimes these immigration issues are difficult to understand

thank you again!!!

anna

my husband entered the US on 8 March 2008 with a CR-1 visa; we haven't received his green card yet, but got his SS card after having to go down to the SS office...our wedding anniversary is 14 October (this year will be our second anniversary)

now, if i'm understanding things correctly, we have until 90 days before 8 March 2010 to file for his removal of conditions; is that right? i've read several different things, and i don't understand the whole process...VJ guide says: "the I-751 form must be filed within the 90 days just preceding the expiration date on your permanent residence card. This is the date that your conditional residence expires." We don't have a permanent residence card---is this his green card? or something else we're missing?

i feel like we're missing a few pieces of the puzzle and i don't know where to go for info...

thanks for your help

anna

my husband entered the country on 8 March 2008 with a CR-1 visa...we didn't receive his SSCard, so we had to go to the SS office and get one; now we've waited 17 weeks from date of entry and still no green card---he has several job interviews coming up: who can we contact to track down his green card???

thanks!

when i moved to England from the US, i took my 14 year old cat with me; she adapted very well and lived another 6 years quite happily----my alternative would have been taking her to a shelter that pretty much told me that they would euthanise her automatically because of her age, so i think taking her was the right choice...

moving back to the US from England, i've taken my 2 dogs, ages 6 and 13, and they're happy as clams in our new place

i would check with your vet regarding vaccines and health checks, but take them along if it's at all possible

anna

my husband's CR-1 visa was granted in Feb 08 but had a very short validity, so we traveled to America the first week of March, just to get the stamp in the passport and activate his visa...we went through POE, and got a stamp in his passport, and that's all we got

6 weeks down the line, we still don't have any other paperwork for him (such as a SS number or Green Card), so we need to go to the SS office to apply for one...but they want to see his I-94...what is this? why don't we have one? and how do we get one pronto?

we are in the UK right now, tying up loose ends and travel permanently on 11 May

any help is greatly appreciated

anna

well, we went through DCF, and through filing for a waiver, and we finally got our visa in early Feb, albeit with a 29 March expiration date (eek!), so now we're thinking about the details of moving...

my husband has a BTec in Electronics, but has 12 years work experience as a buyer (purchasing); most of the jobs we've seen advertised in the US want a Bachelor's degree---do employers investigate qualifications? does a BTec translate into anything worthwhile in the US? should we lie about it and say it's a Bachelor's of Technology? any thoughts?

we don't want to lie but are hoping that it might be viewed as a 'specialist certificate' or something...

thanks for any help!

anna

if that refers to me, i just want to say that i must not be too much of a moron, since i've managed to get us a waiver and a visa...what i have a question about now is the expiration date of the visa, so i'm not sure what all the abuse is about---clearly you've not bothered to read the original post or i didn't explain it well enough...don't worry, i won't bother you again with my idiotic questions

we just heard back from the Consulate, and the expiration date is related to the one year anniversary of Paul's medical exam...apparently, the medical exam results are only good for one year, so we have to travel before that date...i've sent off another email asking if he could have another medical, or if we have to travel to the US in March...fingers crossed they'll just let him repeat the medical so that we can travel just once in May, but we'll see!

ohhhh...now i understand you and what you're about...you just like to come onto internet forums and act superior and abuse people...ok...have your fun, just don't expect me to jump into a slanging match with you...i have better things to do, like pack to leave for america in 6 weeks!

mermaid---you are rude and sarcastic, and i frankly would rather you didn't reply; i can do without your assistance, thank you.

we aren't domiciled in the US: we direct consular filed because we both live in the UK...our sponsor (or joint sponsor) lives in the US...anyway, that's all semantics----it doesn't change the fact that they expect us to pack up and move our whole lives in 6 weeks, which i think is unreasonable

can they possibly expect us to be ready to travel in 6 weeks??

anna

DCF... sponsor domiciled in US. Why can't they?

i thought the visas were good for 6 months; we are living in the UK and our sponsor lives in the US, but that doesn't change the fact that we have things to tie up here---we have to give notice for jobs, sell cars, arrange travel for us and 2 dogs, get medical records----none of which we could accomplish before we knew if our waiver was going to be granted

oh flipping hell...that was our only contingency plan...there's simply no way we can be ready in 5-6 weeks...

well, hopefully we'll hear something favourable from the embassy when they respond...

any more word on your visa? we are waiting to book our flight because we are waiting what the visa says!

nothing yet; the automated confirmation email i got from the embassy said that they're taking 3-4 days to respond to emails so i'm not expecting an answer until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest...*sigh*

we looked at flights to NYC last night, and we can get Paul on a Virgin flight to NYC, 5 hour layover then back on a plane to London for £445...we're actually thinking it might not be all bad because then when we arrive in the US rogether in May, his social security card should be waiting for us and he can start looking for work immediately---we're trying to find a silver lining here!

one good thing happened yesterday: i won £675 on a radio phone-in competition!!! <LOL> so at least we have a little extra cash to pay for all this to-ing and fro-ing

edit: i just remembered something i thought of last night---Paul's medical exam was on 29 March last year...i wonder if that's the reason...maybe they'll just let us have another medical...just a thought

What kind of visa is it? If it's a CR1 or a K3, it is a multi-entry visa. If you have to rush to get the visa activated, how about just going to the border to activate the visa and then return to your home country and finish making your travel arrangements.

I realize this advice would mean lots of extra time and money, but if you are in a rush this would work. If your visa is a K-1, remember it's a one-time-only entry.

Good luck, and congrats on getting your waiver sucessfully!

it's a CR-1 visa, so we have Plan B to send him to NY on a cheap flight and turn right around and come back---MAJOR pain in the behind, tho, but we'll have to do that if nothing else can be sorted...

the only thing i can think of is that the waiver process took up the 6 month grace period and they won't change it...but i pray they can give us more time...

lord, it's neverending...

anna

we've just received my husband's paperwork and visa from the consulate today---we were granted our waiver earlier this month (yay!); the stamp is in his passport and we got the mysterious brown packet that we're not allowed to open, but the expiration date of the visa states 29 March 2008!!!!!!!

it says: Visa issued 13 Feb 2008, Visa expires 29 March 2008----can this possibly be right??? do they determine the expiration date based on when the visa was granted or from your initial visa interview (which was in Oct 2007)??? can they possibly expect us to be ready to travel in 6 weeks??

i phoned the £1.20/minute line but they couldn't deal with it and gave me a reference number and told me to email the consulate; this i have done, but they sent me a reply saying that they're taking 3-4 days to address stuff...so i thought i would check and see if anyone else had had a similar experience

help!

anna

WE ARE APPROVED AFTER 3 LONG YEARS! WOO HOO! ANY IDEA WHEN HUBBY CAN START WORKING ONCE WE ENTER US?

HOORAY!!!! oh congratulations!!! you must be so happy!!!

if you've applied for the same visa as us (CR-1), then when he enters the country he'll get a temporary green card stamp in his passport; as soon as he gets his social security number, he can start working...but i've heard that can be a bit of a nightmare...oh lord, it's never over, is it?? LOL

now that we've got it, i don't know what to do with myself!!! we're not leaving until first week of May because my brother-in-law is getting married and my hubby is best man (grrrr---i want to go NOW)...i'm trying to resist the impulse to pack and sit waiting on the bed---LOL so on Saturday, i went through the DVD collection and listed a bunch on e-bay...

we'll be moving to Rochester, NY, my hometown...i just can't wait to get there...our POE will be Cincinnati, i think...

positive thoughts going for everyone still waiting!!!

anna

The last time we were actually notified by letter. We got a long three page denial letter.... it was sent to the lawyer and he emailed it to us. I am thinking that they would notify the same way if it was positive too.

Baby is doing great! Wouldn't know he has already had heart surgery! He is 10 weeks old. It would be better if I was around family though. It gets kind of lonely here.

Also Anna just out of curiosity...why were you guys originally denied the visa?

WE GOT IT!!!!

we got our approval letter in the post today!!! a very short letter that said our waiver was approved and contact the courier company to have Paul's passport collected; no other information...but who cares----we're through!!!

originally, we were denied our visa because Paul had a conviction from 10 years ago for cannabis possession...

i'm so glad to hear Baby is doing well, and i hope you get home quickly so you can have the support of family that you need

anna

No news yet either! We sent the RFE in last Wednesday! Hope to hear something good soon though! I can't believe they actually called one of your witnesses. I would be over the moon if they called one of ours! Everyone wants in the the states because we just had the baby and all, especially with all his health issues.....

the wooman the embassy spoke with said he "sounded positive" <LOL> hope she's right!

how is Baby doing? is he thriving?

out of curiosity, when they do finally make a decision, how do they notify you and then what happens? i think Wanda had to go back to the Embassy; is that typical?

Any luck Anna? I saw they updated the list and quite a few 'Under Reviews' are now 'Completed'. We sent in our RFE finally! Yeah so maybe we will have a approval soon!

we got hit for an RFE last week, AND they actually called one of our witnesses to talk about her letter...the RFE has been sent in, but the list hasn't been updated since then, so i don't know anything---i'm on tenterhooks!!!!

any news for you, jpkeswim?

Any luck for anyone? I saw they updated the list.....

Woohoo!!!! we're 'under review'!!! fingers crossed...what's happening with other folks? ours seemed to move up quite quickly...(not that i'm complaining, if you're reading this, USCIS)

anna

Thanks for the well wishes! He has recovered excellent.....

Any word on anyone else in the forum!

they've updated the waivers page, and we're still 16 places away from 'Under Review'...i hope they work quickly!!!

RFE IS A REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE....

THEY REQUESTED A BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND FOR BABY'S CURRENT MEDICAL SITUATION. SO WE ARE CURRRENTLY WORKING ON THESE THINGS...GETTING RECORDS FROM THE HOSPITAL AND HAVE THE DOCTORS WRITE LETTERS! HOPEFULLY ALL THIS HELPS.

WE KNEW THAT BABY WAS GOING TO HAVE MEDICAL PROBS BUT NOT THE SURGERY HE ENDED UP HAVING AFTER BIRTH. HE HAD TO HAVE A SHUNT PUT IN HIS HEART. HE WON'T GET HIS BIG OPERATION UNTIL HE IS 12-18 MONTHS NOW. HE HAS A LARGE HOLE IN HIS HEART AND HE NEEDS TO HAVE A VALVE REPLACED. ALONG WITH HAVING DOWN SYNDROME. HE IS DOING EXCELLENT THOUGH AND EVERYTHING WE COULD OF ASKED FOR AND MORE.

YES HE IS HOME AND CAME HOME 10 DAYS AFTER HE WAS BORN. MY PARENTS ARE OVER JOYED TO SEE THEIR NEW LITTLE ANGEL. PARENTS ARE VISITING OVER THE HOLIDAYS.

glad to hear Baby is doing so well...i am a nurse, and used to work in the Paediatric ICU at the Brompton Chest Hospital in London; we used to see loads of kids come in for similar surgeries, and they did fantastically well---they seem to get over things so much more quickly than adults...try not to worry---i'm sure Baby will do well

so an RFE is not a good nor a bad thing, really...you learn something every day---in the case of applying for a visa, every 5 minutes!!! LOL

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!! Next year in America with Hershey's kisses and carols on the radio

We are finally on the under review list! But of course last week we got a RFE.....

ignorant question here: what's an RFE? is it a good thing? fingers crossed for you!!

forgot to ask: how is Baby? is he home yet?