Chris&Ale
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Posts posted by Chris&Ale
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Congrats March filers who are receiving their NOA2s today!!
May all of you receive the same soon!!
- crono_clone and JL2017
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2
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On 9/1/2018 at 1:21 PM, Shiran said:
2898 2018-07-30 2018-08-01 2899 2018-07-26 2018-08-01 2900 2018-07-25 2018-08-01 2901 2018-07-26 2018-08-01 2902 
Nada and Baba
2018-07-30 2018-08-01 2903 2018-08-01 2904 2018-07-26 2018-08-02 2905 2018-07-27 2018-08-02 2906 2018-07-25 2018-08-02 2907 Jon and Agnes
2018-07-26 2018-08-02 2908 2018-08-01 2018-08-02 2909 Rana and Akeerr
2018-07-28 2018-08-02 2910 J and O
2018-07-28 2018-08-02 2911 2018-07-27 2018-08-03 2912 2018-07-27 2018-08-03 2913 2018-08-03 2018-08-03 2914 2018-07-31 2018-08-03 2915 2018-07-31 2018-08-03 2916 2018-07-16 2018-08-06 2917 2018-07-26 2018-08-06 2918 2018-07-31 2018-08-06 2919 2018-07-27 2018-08-06 2920 2018-08-01 2018-08-06 2921 2018-07-30 2018-08-06 2922 ANA LILIA LARIOS AGUILAR and LUIS MANUEL DIAZ VEGA
2018-08-07 2923 2018-07-31 2018-08-07 2924 2018-07-31 2018-08-07 2925 2018-08-02 2018-08-09 2926 2018-08-01 2018-08-09 2927 2018-08-03 2018-08-09 2928 2018-07-29 2018-08-10 2929 2018-08-06 2018-08-13 2930 2018-08-01 2018-08-13 2931 2018-08-06 2018-08-13 2932 2018-08-06 2018-08-13 2933 2018-08-08 2018-08-13 2934 2018-08-10 2018-08-14 2935 2018-08-07 2018-08-14 2936 2018-08-10 2018-08-15 2937 2018-08-08 2018-08-15 2938 2018-08-08 2018-08-15 2939 2018-08-06 2018-08-16 2940 W and A
2018-08-07 2018-08-16 2941 2018-08-10 2018-08-17 2942 2018-08-10 2018-08-17 2943 2018-08-13 2018-08-20 2944 2018-08-15 2018-08-20 2945 Bryan and Amy
2018-08-15 2018-08-20 2946 2018-08-13 2018-08-21 2947 2018-08-13 2018-08-21 2948 2018-08-14 2018-08-22 2949 2018-08-15 2018-08-22 2950 2018-08-17 2018-08-23 2951 2018-08-16 2018-08-23 2952 2018-08-11 2018-08-23 2953 2018-08-16 2018-08-23 2954 J and L
2018-08-18 2018-08-23 2955 2018-08-17 2018-08-23 2956 2018-08-21 2018-08-24 2957 2018-08-21 2018-08-24 2958 2018-08-22 2018-08-27 2959 2018-08-20 2018-08-27 2960 Robert and Jonel
2018-08-24 2018-08-27 2961 2018-08-21 2018-08-28 2962 2018-08-23 2018-08-30 2963 2018-08-22 2018-08-30 2964 2018-08-25 2018-08-30 2965 2018-08-28 2018-08-30 2966 2018-08-24 2018-08-30
Seems like there are 69 of us for August. I understand this number will fluctuate a bit. This is actually tiny comapred to February/March which seems to have nearly 400 filers. Good luck to all of us!
I wonder if the numberof applicants might vary significantly from month to month due to weather changing, kids in or out of school, etc?
If so, I wonder if the summer and fall might see fewer applicants? I would think fewer applicants for say may, june, and july might allow USCIS folks to process August filers a bit faster than the Feb, '19 estimated NOA2 dates?
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7 hours ago, bakphx1 said:
If meeting poverty guidelines are an issue, is there money to travel for a wedding in a third country?
Also so as someone who got married in a third country, realize that just recognizing same sex marriage isn’t enough. Many countries require at least one of the parties be a citizen. The paperwork can be burdenedsome and lengthy, and many countries have the requirement you both apply in person 2 or more weeks before the wedding date and wait in the country till the wedding and bring witnesses to sign.
I found Iceland the only viable option.
Denmark is really easy for 2 foreigners to marry. Finances and for a Filipino to get a tourist visa might be the biggest issues.
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Does anyone know by chance if taking classes or enrolling in a local college or university is allowed while waiting for work authorization?
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1 hour ago, mushroomspore said:
Most AoS cases are taking a full year to adjudicate. AoS generally also involves an interview with USCIS. They used to waive the USCIS interviews for a good portion on K1's because you guys do an interview abroad at the US embassy in your home country. However lately USCIS have been conducting more and more interviews with K1's. Another advantage of doing CR1.
K1 is more expensive. If you do CR1, you could instead use the original K1 fee money to travel and see each other while CR1 is pending. CR1 avoids AoS altogether. CR1 takes 12+ months to get the visa and you're a permanent resident upon arrival. K1 takes 8+ months just to get the visa and then it's another year of waiting for AoS on top of THAT. K1 also restricts you to getting married only within the US. I strongly suggest considering CR1 since you haven't filed yet.
Edit: just wanted to add that my EAD took 8 months.
Here in South Florida, I have several friends who have been waiting for over 15 months (married USCs while here legally). Local USCIS offices have said it could take up to 22 months in our area for AOS interview. Seems that is happening in other urban areas with large immigrant populations. Ugh...
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2 hours ago, Pennycat said:
Do you have an example of this actually happening to people who are actually volunteering? Right up to deportation? "I hope this helps" when you're telling someone they might be deported (with no evidence for the claim) for taking sound advice is a bit disingenuous
Actual volunteer work at non-profits is fine. What is NOT fine is to "volunteer" in a position that is normally paid (like a church secretary or something) and then just by some magic happen to be hired for that job when it again becomes a paid position (when you get your EAD). But actual volunteer work, not some "haha I'm smarter than USCIS I'll 'volunteer' at my job until I can really work" volunteer work, is fine and in our case encouraged by the consular officer who interviewed us (he gave us names of places he'd volunteered at when he lived in our city).
I don't really think it's appropriate of you to question my sincerity with no proof of your own. I was simply offering some advice to be cautious in this current heightened immigration environment. There are indeed regulations around volunteering for profit and non-profit organizations, especially if the volunteer would perform work that might otherwise take work away from a citizen or someone else with authorization to work in this country. The original poster also mentioned the beneficiary helping a friend with some work projects as well. I would rather err on the side of caution than perhaps create a situation that might open myself or my beneficiary to complications when we go for the AOS interview.
What would happen if the interviewer asked the beneficiary if he had performed work and the response was that he had volunteered somewhere. The next few questions might be around what exact volunteer work did the person perform? Did the volunteer work take away from an American/LPR working at the organization? Did you receive any benefit from this volunteer work? Do you expect to receive any future benefit? Can you provide a letter stating XXX from the organization?
If you get the wrong interviewer or someone who is having a bad day, it could cause potential issues. I know i wouldn't want to risk the possible scrutiny.
A few of the USCIS regs surrounding volunteer work and EAD:
89-05 Immigration Briefings 1
95-05 Immigration Briefings 1
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18 hours ago, Moon&Stars said:
I've been lining up volunteer opportunities for my fiance to do when he arrives and while he waits on the EAD. He will go crazy without something productive to do. So I've made connections with people for hobbies that he has. So far he will be helping coach a soccer team and helping a friend with some work projects around their house. This friend has been really helpful to us in this visa process, so it will also be a way for him to contribute in saying thank you for all they have done for us. It also means that when it comes time to apply for work, he can have some references that are in the US that will have seen him in action on volunteer projects.
Be careful about him volunteering as even unpaid volunteering can be considered same as working without authorization, even for non-profit and religious work. If immigration were to ever find out, it could lead to deportation. It's sad but it's happened before. I hope this helps.
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On 1/24/2018 at 3:00 PM, CubaAndChill said:
Thank you! I had a feeling it was just normal AP but he's kind of freaking out because of all the Cuban political climate questions they asked him and they didn't give him a final decision right there and then. I just told him things are really touchy between the US & Cuba and not to worry but just wanted some reassurance from the VJ experts lol.
Hi,
May I ask if you have heard anything back yet? If so, how'd it go? My fiance is in Cuba as well and is also worried about current political climate.
Thanks!
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Seems US is easing advisory on travelling to Cuba. Perhaps first step to restoring US embassy operations in Havana?
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article217215960.html
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On 8/17/2018 at 9:20 AM, emekus94 said:
Don,
So baby steps first.
Once you get NOA2, this website breaks things down on how to proceed: https://sites.google.com/view/post-noa2/home
Now, what EVERYBODY ought to realize is that after NOA2, you are on ur own. No 2 cases are the same. There is NO timeline for when you can hit US soil because so many things can impact your timeline.
An ESTIMATE for a lot of people is that after NOA2, you can expect visa/POE between 2-3 months. That's assuming you have an embassy that runs smoothly, and you have no issues after the interview with administrative processing (AP).
Potential Timelines:
2-6 weeks at NVC for Case number (Basically, after you get NOA2, you can call NVC starting at 2 weeks to get case number. Link above breaks that down)
1-2 weeks for medical (many embassies require that your medical results are in before you can schedule interview. I've seen medical results to be anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks)2-4 weeks to get interview (this is the FASTEST timeline. If you have an busy embassy, like some folks in Mexico, you might want to look at 6+ weeks for interviews)
3-15 days after interview to receive Visa
That's again assuming everything goes well.Every embassy is different. Some, like Canada, you MUST wait for them to do everything for you (which makes their timelines much longer)
Others like mine, you do everything yourself once your case is Ready at NVC.
Also, please update your timeline. It helps everybody else know what is happening and makes it easier down the road for people here in VJ like myself to help better answer your questions. Knowing your embassy and the dates you file for things can help us give you better advice.
Goodluck and let me know if you have any other questionsEmekus94 - Excellent break down on the process and guidance for us all.
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26 minutes ago, BJ & Christine said:
Words of advice as I have been waiting nearly 7 months as of now.
stay busy first and foremost
read other months threads. Can learn so much and answer a lot of the questions u may have along the journey.
stay relaxed. Stressing will get u no where. It’s going to happen for u one day. Other it will be quickly. Some may have to wait a bit longer. But, in the end we r all here for the same goal.
good luck August 2018 filers. The wait $&#*ing sucks. But the end result it be AWSOME!
Agreed. I am following the K1 May, June, and July filing posts. I figure as I see folks in those months start posting they received NOA2, it might help with the waiting. Plus, it will spur me to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row for the next step.
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11 hours ago, AliTan said:
Relocating is definitely not an option. My daughter has just started college. I'm not willing to be that far from her for that long, but I also have a good job and need to pay tuition the next 4-5 years. I hope with more time together and more family involvement we can do this. Thanks everyone for easing my mind a little!
Is there possibly an option of him coming to visit you for a few months here in USA?
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10 minutes ago, JennandJames said:
When I send in pictures that we have taken of us during our relationship can they be printed off the computer or should I order actual prints?
Either way is fine but please make sure you include info such as date and location for each photo. You may also want to include the names of folks in your photos (especially that of petitioner and beneficiary).
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So, barring any RFEs, for us August filers, we should expect the NOA2 to come through around February?
- Kowatti and Lucy&Jason
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2
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11 hours ago, redfeather said:
I have never done any visa before, and I am going to start the process of a K1 visa on my girlfriend from the Philippines in October. I found a site that charges a fee of around $150 for a help package that helps you with filling out the I-129f for your K1 visa. I am wondering has anyone used any of these help packages before? If you have used them were they helpful? Any help is much appreciated.
There are also a lot of YouTube videos on the subject but be careful as many of them are made by folks who dont really know what they are doing. I'd recommend reading the guides here and following them step-by-step.
Note: you can hire an immigration consultant to assist you if you would rather pay someone to walk you through it. They usually charge $400-700 to assist for the fiance visa. It may give you better peace of mind to have a pro walk you through everything.
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2 minutes ago, missileman said:
Terms of service change frequently.......and at this stage of the immigration process, the burden is upon the petitioner and fiance/spouse.
Perhaps but if it is such a common occurrence, then the govt (in my humble opinion) should request TOS or other evidence upfront if folks met online. I'm of the mindset that the govt works for us, ya know?
Once I get through this process, I'm going to develop a letter or petition on how USCIS can improve its processes and send it out to my congressperson, senators, head of USCIS, etc.
- CharleneB and Deletedacct
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2
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18 hours ago, Ben&Zian said:
Well first it is your responsibility to update them on your address if you move so they can properly mail you things.
Secondly, the RFE is fairly common. While yes, you may have answered it on the petition, if USCIS is unsure they can ask for proof. Most commonly it is if people meet on an unfamiliar dating site/app. USCIS will generally ask you to clarify that it indeed is not a broker and you do that by simply sending in a copy of the site's/app's terms of services.
Since this is such a common occurence, one would think someone at USCIS would compile and maintain an exhaustive list of dating and social media websites so that the agents could simply check the list rather than have to send out so many RFEs for that one simple issue. Can you imagine the millions in dollars it would save the govt (not to mention the wasted time for applicants).
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1 hour ago, Tonie12 said:
Hi everyone. I am relatively new to all this, so I know that as the months pass, I will have a lot of questions to ask. I filed towards the end of July, but got the NOA1 8/3. I guess I am kind of between July & August filers. The notice I received says that I should get a receipt I-797 by 8/29. Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the next one? Does it just tell you that USCIS has your package or something else. I am learning as I go. Thanks guys.
If you meant you received an email and/or text on 8/3, the I-797 is just official, written notification for NOA1. I received it about 4 days after getting the email and text for NOA1. It will contain a case number. You can use that number to lookup your case status online. Hope this helps.
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On 8/6/2018 at 10:24 PM, iahudi said:
Hi,what do I need to bring my adult brother to the US and how long that it takes ? Thanks
Honestly, it might be easier to get your brother into US via a student or H1B visa. Then, once he is here, perhaps he might find that special person who he wants to marry and spend the rest of his life with.
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16 hours ago, Catherine36 said:
Hello, we filed on Monday 8/13. Packet expected/scheduled for delivery tomorrow the 15th 🙏🏾.
Best of luck to us all 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Catherine.
Good luck! Buena suerte!
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2 minutes ago, Jaquelly said:You can quote me directly instead of being inflammatory.
I have made it clear that I do not support Donald Trump or his administration.
Immigrating to America is not a right, it is a privilege, as it would be for any country. It should work better for us, but blaming that entirely on JUST this president is foolish and a poor way to look at the situation.
Ma'am, I am not calling you out personally. I would counter your point about immigrating being a right. Under the laws of this country, I, as a US citizen, have a right to sponsor my fiance/spouse or other qualifying persons. Therefore, it is my right just like any other right I enjoy as an American.
As far as blaming the current president, it most certainly is justified. Since he became president, processing times have increased dramatically. It's his administration. Remember the saying, the buck stops here?
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9 minutes ago, Jaquelly said:
Don't you love when you post something twice just to try to start an argument? No one thinks that anyone are open border advocates. I think this is actually one of the least heated and most thought provoking discussions I've seen that are politically based on the website in a while.
In the article, the USCIS Representative used that term. I was quoting him but I've also heard the term used in conservative media to refer to people who fall to the left on immigration issues.
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Any March filers approved yet?
in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports
Posted
Hi, I'm also here in South Florida. I have a number of friends going through AOS and they've been waiting over a year for their interview (and temp green card).
One of my friends called USCIS other day and they said for South Florida, wait for AOS interview can be up to 22 months. Ugh...