David-and-Mae

Of course, remember the comparison some Americans have: make the decision, go to Las Vegas, Elvis does his thing (thankyouverymuch), and you're married. Total elapsed time anywhere from 30 minutes to maybe a week.

When I tell my friends that, even though we've got our hearts set on marrying we can't schedule anything for six to nine months, they can't believe it... (And then when I tell them that once we finally know, we'll have less than 90 days to get everything arranged, they really are astonished!)

I explained this matter to my family and they couldn't seem to understand why we have to wait too long before we could get married and then once I made it there in US, we only have 90 days to get everything done. I just told them that that's how things go and we should abide the rules and regulations and follow procedures.

Congratulations! And good lucks to the rest of us who's still waiting!

My fiancee is a retiree but the pension he's getting is more than enough to support a household of 6. He's living alone and I'm the only person he supports. He got some properties, life insurance and bonds but he's not comfortable declaring it in Affidavit of Support for our later use. Is it really ok if we don't include those things and stick on his retirement pay? We have supporting documents for everything but we're thinking if we can just declare how much he's receiving monthly without including his properties.

Mae

Also once you get the NOA2 it will take a week or two to have your petition sent to the NVC then another week or so to get to the Consulate and I believe your Consulate schedules about 2 months into the future but you can check timelines for that!

I see... Thanks Sarah and Hicham!

Don't worry Mae, you can get a lot of help here and we like your posts.

Thanks Gary... and thanks everybody!

Mae

Is it really supposed to take this long before you could receive the NOA2? We got our NOA1 last December 14, 2006 and it's been like 3 weeks since then. Normally, how long before we'll get our much awaited NOA2? I'm getting impatient

If your petition went to TSC and then to CSC, it will probably be about 60-90 days.

Our case was originally mailed to NSC and then transferred to CSC. Can I choose the 60 days? I really can't wait to be with my baby!

Not to put gas on the fire...but isn't Manila SLOW ???? compared to other consulates ? I mean I see people waiting several months for the interview...Where Like Romania it's weeks..

The good thing is once the approval is done things seem to go faster..because your doing things and she has things to do..and it just passes the time faster...

I'm not sure but hopefully once our case is approved at NVC, it won't sit very long at USE here in Manila (fingers crossed).

Mae

You both use the same account on here? (Is that a common thing?)

I signed up for this account for both of us and then every once in a while, he visits using this to read some of the posts and participate in forums as well.

Feel very fortunate, becoz we were waiting over 2 months before you even visited your fiancee for the first time and still have another 2 months to go at least.

Some of us from March got bent over for almost 8 months!!

I would have given damn near anything for it to take 60-90 days like it does about now.

Please be aware of others timelines when complaining! lol Some of us are a tad bit touchy. Hope you don't have to wait as long as us, no one should....

good luck!

Shame on me for being self-centered I'm really, really sorry. Like I said, I was just looking for some sympathy here . Thanks again for the advices! I'm feeling so much better now.

Mae

Is it really supposed to take this long before you could receive the NOA2? We got our NOA1 last December 14, 2006 and it's been like 3 weeks since then. Normally, how long before we'll get our much awaited NOA2? I'm getting impatient

If your petition went to TSC and then to CSC, it will probably be about 60-90 days.

Our case was originally mailed to NSC and then transferred to CSC. Can I choose the 60 days? I really can't wait to be with my baby!

This is the long and frustrating part of the process. Use this time to get your home prepared for her arrival. I'm sure that it could use some painting and general deep cleaning. Consider what she will be missing from home and try to find things and places, like stores that carry goods from her home country.

The previous opinions have been pretty easy on you. This is a long and slow process. Generally it is three or more months for the application process. After that you have the National Visa Center (NVC) which can be 1 to 5 weeks (or more) and then the U.S. embassy in her country. That can vary from country to country, so look into the timelines for her country and get more familiar.

You are now involved with a lot of people that have or are going through this process. Ask questions, read guides and other sections and make a few friends. It will help to make the time pass.

Be patient.

I forgot to tell you that I'm the fiancee of the USC, sorry . He's already readying the house for me because he's being optimistic that it won't take that long (6 months or so) and we'll be reunited. My heart was breaking last New Year's Eve because he's all alone at home while I was having a wonderful time with my whole family here. How I wished I could make myself disappear here and be transported right beside him. That's why when I got back here at work and was able to get on the computer, I looked for solace and sympathy because more than anyone else, people here at VJ will fully understand how I was feeling. Sorry for the rants...

Is the OP for real????

YUP, I am for real, it's just once I'm off from work, I cannot access to computer anymore Christmas and New Year were the hardest times for us because we celebrated them far away from each other. I guess that's the reason for all these rants and I needed to vent a little because I get so frustrated whenever I couldn't be with my guy in times that I get so lonely and cold and I tend to look for sympathy , which I could easily find here. Anyway, thank you guys for the replies... I feel better now knowing that everyone here goes/went through the same situation. I'll try to be more patient next time (good luck to me-LOL)

Is it really supposed to take this long before you could receive the NOA2? We got our NOA1 last December 14, 2006 and it's been like 3 weeks since then. Normally, how long before we'll get our much awaited NOA2? I'm getting impatient

We did include copies of our email to each other for the last 9 months prior to filing of our 129F. It's not necessary but we were told that overdoing our paperwork won't hurt. We even included the letters provided by the dating site where we met just so we could support our statement that we met thru IMB. We didn't talk about nonsense in our letters, mostly about our day to day activities and such. Those letters - if ever they will read them - will show them that even though we've been together for quite some time, we still get to know and learn about each other more. But we made it sure that we included letters with no suspicious topics, no "too personal" discussion and the likes, just I love yous and miss yous so that we don't have to black them out. Aside from these copies of email, we also included receipts of our money transfers, 10 or so photographs together, telephone bills, snail mails, travel reciepts, itineraries, boarding passes, stamped passport pages, and hotel accomodations and hotel receipts. I know that even though we included a lot it doesn't mean we're not going to receive RFE, but like they said, overdoing it won't hurt. I HOPE THEY'RE RIGHT THOUGH, LOL

Do you and your fiance(e) have a large age difference?

Did you get any bad reactions from family or friends, or anyone else?

If so, what did you do, make a joke of it, insult them back, get mad, or what?

I almost forgot that this was the original TOPIC... Like what I've said in my previous post, age doesn't matter for us because we fell in love, we found the happiness that we've been looking for all our lives and for the first time, we experienced the true meaning of love when we met each other. We don't care what the rest of the world will say as long as we got each other.

David and Mae

So, has anyone said anything about your age difference? If so, what was your response?

Here in the PI, some people still cannot accept the big age gap thing. One of my friends made a joke that my fiancee is old enough to be my father and I just laughed at it to show her that I didn't get affected. Someone made a comment that what I have for him isn't true love, that I'm only after his money. It was rude but told I her that I don't have to prove anything to her because my guy knew me well enough to trust me with his heart. He's been through failed marriages and when he met me, took another chance in love because he saw something in me that he didn't see to anyone. We knew that our age gap will be a big deal to others and we've prepared ourselves for what's to come. So far, so good and we never had any problems in our relationship, as long as we got each other and we believe in what we think is right. Our love is right so we'll fight for it come hell or high water. Go ahead... call me a hopeless romantic.

Do you and your fiance(e) have a large age difference?

Did you get any bad reactions from family or friends, or anyone else?

If so, what did you do, make a joke of it, insult them back, get mad, or what?

I almost forgot that this was the original TOPIC... Like what I've said in my previous post, age doesn't matter for us because we fell in love, we found the happiness that we've been looking for all our lives and for the first time, we experienced the true meaning of love when we met each other. We don't care what the rest of the world will say as long as we got each other.

David and Mae

My fiancee is turning 62 this Dec., I just turned 28 last Nov. It's a big age gap but for us it didn't matter at all. He looks younger than his age, I can easily adapt to him and we get along really well. My family's not against it and never made fun of it because they knew how deeply we're in love with each other. I guess we're big fans of this "age doesn't matter" thing because we really didn't care about it, not at all. That's what true love is... right?

Mae

Congratulations! Now you know how we've felt when we submitted our own paperwork... Wait till you get the NOA1, it's going to be a mixed emotions... Good luck on your journey and to all of us!

Congrats on getting started

Register here to check your status online: https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/sele...id=dOZu1gfpiw-6

Notice date is the actual NOA1 date.

Good luck with your journey

We finally got our NOA1 in the mail today. It has a receipt number of WAC-07-051-XXXXX so I pressume this is our case number that we will need to use in checking the status of our case at USCIS website? It has a recieved date of Dec. 8, 2006 and a notice date of Dec. 14, 2006. I assume that the date of our NOA1 is the latter one, am I right? Anyway, it's indeed a wonderful feeling when we got our NOA1 and my fiancee's so thrilled when I told her the news. She's been praying for this and hoping that we'll have it before Christmas and it's the best present that we could both have. We're sooooooooooooooooo happy right now! It's time to join the club!

P.S.

Can anyone tell me how I can check my status at USCIS website ? Thanks!

David and Mae

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I already created an online account at USCIS. I just found out that they updated our case last Dec. 16, 2006. Does this mean we've been "TOUCHED" on this date? Boy, I guess I will need to check my main every once in a great while for further touches, LOL.

We finally got our NOA1 in the mail today. It has a receipt number of WAC-07-051-XXXXX so I pressume this is our case number that we will need to use in checking the status of our case at USCIS website? It has a recieved date of Dec. 8, 2006 and a notice date of Dec. 14, 2006. I assume that the date of our NOA1 is the latter one, am I right? Anyway, it's indeed a wonderful feeling when we got our NOA1 and my fiancee's so thrilled when I told her the news. She's been praying for this and hoping that we'll have it before Christmas and it's the best present that we could both have. We're sooooooooooooooooo happy right now! It's time to join the club!

P.S.

Can anyone tell me how I can check my status at USCIS website ? Thanks!

David and Mae

The first set of worries are over! Finally saw that the check cleared the bank, so I went and got a copy of the check so that I would have a receipt number. Low and behold when I got home, there it was in black and white. Now we get to sit and wait for the RFE's. What a pleasant process to endure.

Congratulations !!

Good luck for your next journey.

Our paperwork was mailed to NSC last Dec. 7 and until now we still haven't heard from them. Is it supposed to be this long before we could receive our NOA1? We're getting impatient to think that it's only been 13 days prior to mailing our case. I must agree now that waiting part is the hardest thing to deal with.

Instead of writing NE for US state, we wrote "Ne" and my fiancee wanted it to be changed to NE, so we just handwritten it. Instead of Springfield, I typed Springfiled so we corrected it again by handwriting. We never mispelled names though... just these small typos. We mailed our paperwork last Dec. 7 and until now, we haven't heard from them, not even the return receipt from the UPS store. Is it normal? Based from other timelines, most of the time, it takes less than or at least a week to hear from them. As for ours, it's been more than a week and still nothing. Help, I'm having a heart attack from being a worrywart!

We have the same problem. When we were printing all the filled-up forms, we were so sure that we got everything right. When we double checked it, some were mispelled so we use correction fluid to cover it and then handwritten the correct details. We didn't sign the correction we made as a proof that we're the one who corrected it and not somebody else, though we signed and each and every page of the forms where our signature's needed. Do you think there will be problems? Now I'm starting to get worried again...

It's indeed a wonderful feeling. Actually, we felt mixed emotions. The excitement, getting worried that we missed something and anxious to receive our NOA1 and make it up to the finish line of this journey. Mae's starting to get so worried - she's having sleepless nights, mind you. She kept asking me if I got everything right. I'm positive that we're in good shape because she did a helluva job in keeping our packet organized. I remember, there were nights that I would be awakened with a small light coming from our night lamp and there she was, at 2:00 in the morning, reading and checking everything. We hope and pray that all our hardworks, efforts and frustrations in getting everything ready will pay off. The sooner, the better! Thank you guys for sharing the joy with us!

David and Mae

We just got our I-129F mailed and Mae's already a worrywart. We filled up our G325A and I-129F forms together during my second visit. We thought we got everything in order only to find out that some were mispelled. I used a correction fluid to cover the errors and then handwritten the correct information. Do you think we're going to receive RFE in the coming days because of those small corrections? Alhtough we signed the forms where our signatures were needed, we didn't sign the corrections to prove that we're the one who corrected it and not someone else. Kindly advice me so that I could tell my Mae to stop getting herself worried sick. Thank you guys!

David

After 5 months of working and gathering everything, our I-129F was mailed today... Thank God! I've read from other posts that if your service center is NSC, your case will be forwarded to CSC. I'm just wondering, how soon I will receive the NOA1 and what's written on it? Sorry, I guess I'm just too excited.