Private Skylark

I don't have any...but absolutely adore them. More pics please!

I think I can arrange that

Helllloooooo VJ-ers!

I was just wondering if anyone here had any pigs? I've got two 10 month old boars called Badger and Fox. They're little rascals but I wouldn't change them for the world. When Andres came over from the US in December he met, and fell in love, with my pigs. He loved them so much he went and got two female pigs a month ago. We named them Athena and Boomer (We're HUGE Battlestar Galactica fans!) and they're most adorable I'm getting my two neutered soon as I'll be taking them with me when I move to the US!

And just so this post isn't pure-text, have a photo of my two:

Badger's on the left and Fox is on the chair.

I will not miss...

+ Chavs (Worst British-bred 'thing' EVER!)

+ London Buses/Underground (I love it as transportation, hate it because it's expensive and always packed)

+ Lack of air con (It does get hot here too...)

+ Attitude of the public (No one will stick up for another person if, say for example, a chav will start playing music out loud on their mobile phone on the bus and one person says something, only to then have a torrent of abuse hurled at them by the chav and have everyone around them completely ignore what's going on!)

+ PCSO (We need REAL Police Officers, not these civvies in uniform.)

+ Congestion Charge ('nuff said on that one!)

+ Eastenders (Just because.)

+ Being taxed to live (Too many taxes.. Just.. Too many...)

+ The Government (Because they're all... rhymeswithtankers)

+ Political Correctness (The level of PC over here is NUTS! I was genuinely not-shocked-whatsoever when told that a picture of a man/woman getting married had to be removed from a registry office as it 'may upset same-sex couples')

There are so many things I will not miss, but I think the list of things I *will* miss will be larger. As much as this Country bugs me at times, it will always have a place in my heart as 'home'.

My name is Susan, my guy's name is Andres. I'm 19 and from London, UK and he is 19 and from Orlando, Florida.

Now that's out of the way I may as well do Ye Olde HowDidYeMeet paragraph

We met online in July 2005 in a community on LiveJournal for gamers. I saw one of his posts and it left me in stitches. I checked out his journal and was instantly attracted to him. He did exactly the same when he saw one of my posts (which was actually made just hours after his on the same day!) I had never met a gamer before who was also into the "Alternative" scene with the same fetishes, hobbies and interests that matched my own and the same was for him We got talking and everything pretty much developed from there.

We talked, we gamed, we fell in love.

We've met, we've made love, we've decided to get married!

I've booked my flights and am heading back to Orlando on the 12th May until the 26th of May. This is when we're going to start the visa application for me to come and live in the US and become his wife. Once we've submitted the application I wont be going back to the US until I have that visa in my passport. He's due over to the UK in June (for my nephews 1st birthday), September and then, possibly, for Christmas. He came over for the Christmas/New Year just gone and we originally planned for me to spend this Christmas/New Year in Orlando with him and his Mum, but we also want to start the visa process and I know the risk of me getting sent back home is pretty high... So we're not going to risk it..

But anywho, I've rambled on! Hello everyone

I'm booking my plane ticket to enter the US on a K-1 visa and since there is a connection (Moncton to Toronto to Philadelphia) I need to know how much extra time I need as a layover to give myself lots of time to clear customs. Is there a lenthy process involved or is it quick and painless?

Thanks

I haven't done this personally, but I read today that you should leave 2-3hrs. I've tried looking for where I read that, but I can't find it. It's somewhere on the forums!

Congratulations and good luck with the wedding!

You sound as obsessed with the process of putting it all together perfectly just like I was, swear I drove my Fiance mad with my need for colour coding but I just didnnt want to take any chances!

At Staples in the US you can get clear A4 (or the US size equivalent) folders that seal at the top, this is what I used for our photos and I also brought labels so I could label every folder with location/date etc. An index at the start is definitely necessary and I used different colour tabs and numbered sections to make it easy to use - when you are putting it together check that if you received it it would be easy to navigate or would it raise any questions/be over complicated -that is the best measure!

I did use a folder as we had so much to include that I found it far simpler to ensure nothing was lost this way and we had no issues getting approved.

Good luck!

Lauren

Whee! Thank you

Thank you to everyone who replied to this post! I've pretty much worked out the order everything is going to go in and how it's going to be set out.... And there's still 1 month and 2 weeks to go until I'm in May. Haha!

Good luck with getting your package off and getting the process started. Best wishes for a speedy approval.

You need to sign up for the USCIS Case Status Service and then you will get informed of "touches" whenever they work on your case.

I hope it'll be speedy too but we're not filing at the Vermont centre unfortunately

Wonderful, thank you

Fantastic guys! Thanks for all of the advice and information

I <3 this forum!

I've been frequenting this forum for a while now (only joined a month ago though) and I'm 95% sure of this whole process (I wont say 100% as few questions pop into my head every now and again!) but the one thing that really stumps me is this constant "Touched" thingymabobby in people's timelines. As someone who hasn't yet started the process (May, here we come!) I really just want to bloody know I'm guessing it has something to do with checking the process online or something?

I know, I know, pointless question, but I hate not knowing the answers to things

Congratulations!

And wow - You're from London and you're going to Orlando, Florida? Exactly the same as meeee! :D I'm from London and Orlando is where my baby is at!

My fiance has expressed interest in taking my last name. In my state, he can legally change his name by declaring it on our marriage certificate. We can then use a certified copy of the marriage certificate to satisfy both social security and USCIS that he was previously so-and-so, and now has legally changed his name to such-and-such.

Whether you can do it on the marriage license depends on what state you'll be married in.

Thanks! Do you have any idea where I could find the "rules" about this for each state? We'll be getting married and living in Florida.

Congratulations :D

I really apologise if this is the wrong forum, but none of the others seem to fit and seeing as this forum is about getting engaged/wed I'm pretty sure someone here could answer my question.

My partner and I were talking the other day and he mentioned that he doesn't want me to have his family name (he hates it) and would much rather have my family name. I'm personally not bothered either way. I'd just go from Miss Susan Bates to Mrs Susan Bates. It'd be him having to deal with changing bank account details etc

Q: How do we go about it after/before/during the wedding process? I have no idea what needs to be done and what this will mean for us and then the AOS process.

I've got a separate, but similar question.

Q: My guy and I will be filing for the K-1 visa for myself when I go over there this May. Now would we put down the time we were together earlier this year or would be write down that I'm currently in the US and include all the documents/details to prove it?

Right or wrong, according to interpretation, there have been RFE's asking for the first meeting documentation. Personally, I would submit both.

I'm tempted to just squeeze all of the dates and info onto the document...

1st meeting = June 2006 - July 2006 for 6 days

2nd meeting = Dec -2006 to Feb 2007 for 9 weeks

and then it'd just leave...

3rd meeting = May 2007 for 2 weeks (the time we plan to start the visa process!)

So there's not A LOT and, to be honest, I'd prefer to include the 9 weeks we spent together (6 weeks with him in the UK with me and then 3 weeks of me in the US with him) over Christmas/New Year.

Thank you VERY much for this detailed post about your medical/interview. I've just spent 30 mins searching the forums for a detailed medical exam and found this one - And it was done in London, which is where I'm from! I'm petrified about having the blood test ;_; I didn't think there would be one, but hey - At least we don't have to have vaccinations just yet, right?

Did you have the medical and interview on the same day or the day after? I thought there had to be something like 7 days between the two (medical being before the interview)..

Again, thanks for such a detailed post and CONGRATULATIONS! xx

I've got a separate, but similar question.

Q: My guy and I will be filing for the K-1 visa for myself when I go over there this May. Now would we put down the time we were together earlier this year or would be write down that I'm currently in the US and include all the documents/details to prove it?

Josiah

Your step-dad is sponsoring your fiancee so the relationship is between them.

What would they put then? "Future Step-Father-In-Law"? =/

I'm wondering what my future mother-in-law will have to put down when she fills out the form... I doubt "My son's girl" is sufficient

The organization doesn't matter all that much. USCIS will arrange it the way they want it in their folders. Search for Huskerkiev's posts - he's a former NSC adjudicator and he explains things pretty well.

I used the Acco fasteners, too. Order wise, I followed the guide exactly. I used photo sleeves to put our photos in (clear holders with slots for 4 photos on them - you can get them at an office supply store) and ziploc bags for the passport photos. We didn't get an RFE so I'm guessing what I did was just fine.

Wonderful, thank you very much

They definately prefer the acco clips with the two holes at the top of the pages. That makes it easy for them to add pages for any processes they go through.

For photos I used a zip lock bag and scotch taped it on three sides to a piece of copy paper punched at the top. That way they could easily remove any photos they wanted to see.

I did not do a letter of introduction but did do an index page with all the contents listed and in the order they were in the packet.

I had to Google for what acco clips are. I know the type now so I'll be sure we have them when we do this. So do the holes go on the left side of the documents on right at the top of them? =/

I remember the zip lock bags from the airport so I'll be sure to get them and tape it to a piece of paper. (See, I wouldn't have thought of ANY of this if I hadn't asked!)

Thank you

I put the photos in in a zip lock bag, attached the bag to a sheet of paper with 2 holes punched in on top so it could go in like the other documents. The bag was position so you can open and close it to access the pictures.

BUT I seem to remember someone who did have their peititon returned (maybe for a check or something) and it was already organized by USCIS. I think they have envelopes they put the photos in. Maybe you can do a search to find this posters thread. Seems I remember they posted a photo on VJ of how it looked after USCIS organized it. I wish I could remember the posters name.

I'm going to go do that search now

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how they laid our their I-129F petition.

What order did you put everything in?

In pretty much the order in the Guides,

Did you include an index at the front?

Yes - both for them(USCIS), and for my own sanity - see sample, Sample Cover Letter

Did you use folders to organise everything?

No - multi-page document/forms were stapled, all else paper-clipped together, the entire package clipped together with one of those black 'bear' clips. The entire thing will be taken apart and put into a file anyway so I just made it easy for them to do that - kept it organized, but easy to separate.

How many copies did you make of the folder?

Two - one for Karin, one for me.

Where did each copy go and did it contain exactly the same stuff as each other?

The main 'original' copy went to USCIS in Ca. (in my case), one went in my important papers box, one went back with Karin.

I'm a perfectionist and I'm very very ####### over organisation and presentation. I'm going the US in May and that's when my guy and I are going to fill in all the paper work and start the petition(that's what we did). So everything has to be perfect. I apologise if this seems odd or annoys anyone, I can't help it and really want to know about other people's organisation of their I-129F petition package. If you have any photos or whatever, that'd make me a very happy girl If you write down an index as well of the order in which you had your I-129F in, I'd be so happy.

Also, with the I-129F petition package you send off.. Do you ever get it back? No - that becomes a perminent part of 'his' immegration petition..I'm going to make sure my guy has a copy of the petition package, I have a copy and that all the original he also has in another folder incase anything needs to be sent off. So that'll be 3 folders of the I-129F petition and 1 folder full of all original documentation that may be required (Good idea, he will need originals for the interview - they may/may-not ask for them, but they probably will is the concensus here..like birth certificats (both parties-just in case)..divorce decree - if applicable, etc..).

Am I going about this all the right way? ^^;

Just for clarification - I'm the British person and he's the American. I'm just the hellish organised one who is going to make sure everything is perfect. After all, it's technically MY petition so I want to make sure it's all perfect

Thank you for your advice, this is all so helpful

You will get many varied replys im sure. I bound mine at the top with the acco fastener, dividers with tabs at the bottem. THere was a cover sheet, I made at least 3 copies (one to send to the other before interview>) the order is probably your choice: I had the fee, letter of introduction, 129, 325, birth certificate, letters of intents, divorce papers, then the extra (passports stamps,the recepts, etc whatever you have as your proof, then the pictures. I have no problems and mine went straight thru.

You wont get it back, the application your making now goes on to the interviewer, dont put this application in a folder as such, just be sure its bound together good so nothing will be lost. I also attached the small individual pictures to each 325. Names, dates and locations on the back of each picture. For the other pictures i bought some sheets that the (film) plastic cover allows you to place/remove the pictures you can place on front and back, they cant get lost.

Good luck,

Ohh, thank you

So really it's not sending over a folder as much as making a little pack. Good idea. A folder would be all big a bulky! I'll make a small pack for him and I'll be flying back home with my copy of the pack anyway

Would you happen to know the name of the stuff you used for the pictures? I definitely don't want them falling around and don't want them so the person can't remove them if they'd like to.

And thank you for listing the order you put the stuff in as well! I'll probably end up asking a similar question about order for when it's my time to go for the interview over here in the UK!

I made a cover sheet like the sample here on VJ and put everything in the order listed there. I punched 2 holes at the top (to save time for the person putting it together. Then clipped everything together with one of those big black clips. I also used the little posted notes at the bottom of each section and labeled what was what.

I wouldnt put too many things like folders etc because they will just take it all apart and put it into their own folder. May it as simple for them as you can. I imagine I would get frustrated with a lot of extras that i have to spend time discarding. But also make it clearly organized so that they can see each document you are submitting.

Good Luck!

There's a sample of a cover sheet? Hm, I can't believe I overlooked that! Thanks for letting me know I saw the order on the guides, but was just curious if anyone set it out differently.

And yeah, a folder is definitely looking to be a bad idea. I'll probably just keep it small and simple. And good idea about hole-punching it beforehand! I like how you think I'll probably use dividers to make a clear separation from each section. But I'm getting the idea that "simple" is the way to go forward with the I-129F petition!

Thank you very much

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how they laid our their I-129F petition.

What order did you put everything in?

Did you include an index at the front?

Did you use folders to organise everything?

How many copies did you make of the folder?

Where did each copy go and did it contain exactly the same stuff as each other?

I'm a perfectionist and I'm very very ####### over organisation and presentation. I'm going the US in May and that's when my guy and I are going to fill in all the paper work and start the petition. So everything has to be perfect. I apologise if this seems odd or annoys anyone, I can't help it and really want to know about other people's organisation of their I-129F petition package. If you have any photos or whatever, that'd make me a very happy girl If you write down an index as well of the order in which you had your I-129F in, I'd be so happy.

Also, with the I-129F petition package you send off.. Do you ever get it back? I'm going to make sure my guy has a copy of the petition package, I have a copy and that all the original he also has in another folder incase anything needs to be sent off. So that'll be 3 folders of the I-129F petition and 1 folder full of all original documentation that may be required.

Am I going about this all the right way? ^^;

I apologise if this is in the wrong place. I'm not too sure where else it'd go =/

---

This is just a general question out of pure curiosity. I don't need an urgent reply, but any reply would be cool.

I understand that for a UK citizen to marry a US citizen in America and wishes to remain in America a long visa process is required.

I also understand that for a US citizen to marry a UK citizen in the UK and wishes to remain in the UK that another long visa process is required.

I also also understand that a "quick way around this" would be for the UK partner to fly to America, get wed and both partners return to the UK almost immediately with the US partner now carrying a spouse visa.. Marrying in the US with the intent to return to the UK is a lot quicker, a lot simpler and a lot less expensive as far as I am aware.

Soooo... What about a US citizen flying to the UK, marrying their UK partner without intending to stay in the UK? Is the process the same with both partners flying back to the US? Is it just as quick, cheap and simple? I've never heard of anyone doing it this way around which is why I am curious...