MyDestinyAwaits

You can plan one for u guys in a couple of years as a vow renewal thing u know..don't go crazy though....save as much as u can..cause we a deal wid progress..lol..hhahahaaa..

what i really wanted to do was have a nice (unofficial) wedding in jamaica and then just eloping here in the states. my fiance didn't want to do that because it'd all be "just for show." he suggested having the wedding in the states and an engagement party in jamaica in order to accomodate both sides of our family.

Destiny - are u planning on having a big ceremony up here?

i don't know how big of a ceremony i can have since most of the major planning will be done only a month- maybe 2 in advance. (this is driving the davids bridal consultants crazy, cause i won't have the bridal party buy their dresses until the visa is approved.) and the money tree isn't bearing any fruit right now lol! there's going to be around 100 people in attendance. i've been collecting a lot of wedding things over the past months. the church is taken care of, it's the reception what i worry about.

alienuk, getting married is another hoop to jump through. especially since it has to be done so soon after you come to the states. but it's also the day you're united with the love of your life so make sure you enjoy every moment of it.

jengles and kimmy, i really wanted to have my wedding in jamaica too. my fiance and i went with the k-1 because it was supposed to be the fastest. i'm a bit bummed out about it now.

Well I haven't been in here in awhile, but since I will be starting my paperwork next month I am freshening up on all the new information. This BC thing has always been confusing. There are so many people in JA witout their fathers name on the BC, my fiance being one of them. I would think that this would be an EXTREMELY hard thing to just add a fathers name. How do you find the father, if he's been gone all their life, what if the father is dead, what if the father isn't even Jamaican? All these are my situation....so what do I do?

Is there anyone who has REAL knowledge on this situation and not just speculation, cause this can cause some serious upsets in my timeline.

Thanks in advance!

i feel you girl. surely this is a very common issue. i just can't believe it's so doggone common to have errors on the BC to begin with. my fiance's father isn't listed on his BC (he was overseas during his birth) and his birthdate is wrong. i remember seeing somewhere on the RGD website how much it cost to fix the mistakes and girl it ain't cheap! no wonder people don't bother with it.

it's quite possible that my fiance and i would be leaving the embassy as sarah and marlon come in. our interviews are 6 hours apart. i'd definitely love to link up with ya girl.

WHOOOOA wait a minute! the NVC is scheduling interview appointments for the embassy now? how on earth did i miss that? so if someone who needed to reschedule an appointment that was originally made directly with the embassy, they would now be dealing with NVC instead of the embassy?

They gave him a date that day. That's what I'm saying, Tia, it was easier.

As a sort of a side note, the first time he went, he went after the 10 o'clock (traffic was bad) cut off for just walking in and had to come back the next day. He did travel 2 days in a row then.

and as for the interview letter, did they print one out for him right on the spot or is the interview letter requirement a new thing? i'm just pissed that an interview letter is required in the first place. why can an ID be sufficient? i'm stressing so much about this that i cried today.

It was so good to talk to ya on the phone today! Hang in there my friend, we are all in this together! *hugs*

They gave him a date that day. That's what I'm saying, Tia, it was easier.

As a sort of a side note, the first time he went, he went after the 10 o'clock (traffic was bad) cut off for just walking in and had to come back the next day. He did travel 2 days in a row then.

and as for the interview letter, did they print one out for him right on the spot or is the interview letter requirement a new thing? i'm just pissed that an interview letter is required in the first place. why can an ID be sufficient? i'm stressing so much about this that i cried today.

Oh, Tia. I'm so sorry.

They wrote the date on a sheet of paper and he went to the medical with that. The official letter came in the mail right before the interview, with his second copy of packet 4 that we just threw away.

So perhaps the email from the embassy will suffice as far as reporting the interview date? Can the people doing the medical not verify the info themselves by calling the embassy?

ok, curiosity was starting to get the best of me so i went ahead and called Mobay Hope and asked that question. the lady i spoke with said that they absolutely cannot perform a medical exam without the actual interview letter. she said that they simply cannot go over the embassy's head on this rule since it's the embassy's rule, not theirs. so i told her about our situation and this is what she suggested:

if you can't get the interview letter in time to have the medical exam, go to the interview-as planned- even if the medical hasn't been performed yet. she said that the embassy would reschedule another appointment that would be MUCH sooner than rescheduling an interview that you skipped it all together. i'm assuming she's talking about a blue slip.

i'm still going to and call the embassy tomorrow too.

sarah it was great talking to you today too. hopefully we can get this whole interview letter fiasco sorted out.

They gave him a date that day. That's what I'm saying, Tia, it was easier.

As a sort of a side note, the first time he went, he went after the 10 o'clock (traffic was bad) cut off for just walking in and had to come back the next day. He did travel 2 days in a row then.

and as for the interview letter, did they print one out for him right on the spot or is the interview letter requirement a new thing? i'm just pissed that an interview letter is required in the first place. why can an ID be sufficient? i'm stressing so much about this that i cried today.

Oh, Tia. I'm so sorry.

They wrote the date on a sheet of paper and he went to the medical with that. The official letter came in the mail right before the interview, with his second copy of packet 4 that we just threw away.

no need to apologize jomo. this is the first time i've ever cried over this so i feel like i've done a good job at keeping my nerves in check. it's just that we're so close to the end.

i've got a wine cooler and i'm starting to settle down.

They gave him a date that day. That's what I'm saying, Tia, it was easier.

As a sort of a side note, the first time he went, he went after the 10 o'clock (traffic was bad) cut off for just walking in and had to come back the next day. He did travel 2 days in a row then.

and as for the interview letter, did they print one out for him right on the spot or is the interview letter requirement a new thing? i'm just pissed that an interview letter is required in the first place. why can an ID be sufficient? i'm stressing so much about this that i cried today.

Yes it was far for my fiance. He wasn't too happy about it. But in the end he got everything he needed. And now he can relax for a second.

Thank God it seemed to be so much easier last year. Andre went there, dropped off DS-230, picked up packet all at one trip and didn't have to go back until the interview. It's like a game now to see how difficult they can make things.

how did he get the interview letter? my fiance did the same thing- brought in the ds-230 and picked up the next set of papers, but the interview date wasn't set yet. now we have to fret about getting the interview letter in time for the medical.

the embassy sent packet 3 out on may 31st and it just now arrived. it took 6 weeks.

kk did your fiance spend the night in kingston or did he make the trip 2 days in a row?

Have him go next week before the medical appt.

i sure hope that's gonna work. it's really not that feasible for him to go to the embassy unannounced and request the interview letter if they tell him to come back tomorrow. i understand that we have to do what we have to do to get the job done, but for the love of God, that's a freakin' long trip to take!

i wish there was such a thing as a "reverse courier service" with the embassy, where the beneficiary would pay the fees instead of the the embassy.

Yes he's in kingston, he lives in kingston didn't have to travel too far

ok then. my guy would be better off paying more for the exam in mobay. he hated his experience in kingston and dreads having to go back to pick up the interview letter.

jengles that lady shoulda backed off once you told her it was fake. and really, it's none of her business what you do. judgemental people suck.

My fiance just made his appointment for mobay. They told him to bring $95 dollars US plus up to $9000 J for extra shots that may be needed. I have to talk to him about this again...as this seem a bit much. Last night he called me and I was at the gym (as this process is stressful and it's my way of releasing the stress). He wanted to vent to me about his trip to kingston yesterday. The bright side is that he got the Packet 3 and Packet 4.

He probably won't have to pay that much...

I emailed Kingston and asked if there is any way that Marlon can come and pick up packet 4 as he will need it for his medical on the 17. They said there is no possible way as the next date he could do that was July 31st!!! What the heck are we supposed to do now? I emailed Marlon a copy of the email from them stating the date and time of his interview, will that suffice for his medical?!?!??!?!!?

He should just show up at the embassy. That's what my fiance did on monday. He made sure he had the NVC case number (KNG#####). He explained to them the situation and they told him to come back the next day. He has not received packet 3 as of yet. Thanks to VJ and your help, I knew to send the DS 230 by courier.

They made an appointment for him to come back on Tuesday. He was able to pick up everything then.

Thanks, I will let Marlon know to do that. I did send an email to them stating that he NEEDS that interview letter for the medical & the interview. We'll see what they have to say to that!

Mi agree with Sarah, mi woulda do di same ting too..dem no easy...just show up..all he needs to do is pick up a doggone piece of paper come

what the feezy?! that's not good at all. if my fiance just shows up at the embassy and they tell him to come back tomorrow it still nah go work. the interview letter is so redundant!

Yes he's in kingston, he lives in kingston didn't have to travel too far

ok then. my guy would be better off paying more for the exam in mobay. he hated his experience in kingston and dreads having to go back to pick up the interview letter.

jengles that lady shoulda backed off once you told her it was fake. and really, it's none of her business what you do. judgemental people suck.

ooh jengles, i can't blame you girl. grandma and mr. jengles are stressing you out. go get yourself a fake beer and chill on the verandah. i wouldn't mind a drink right about now either! i feel like i'm pulling money outta the crack of my a$$ and i'm trying not to stress about it. i need to go sell a kidney or something! lol

kimmy, wow i'm glad that the medical didn't cost an arm and a leg. dr. banbury is in kingston right? does he live near there or did he travel?

yes sarah, if you can swing it at all i highly suggest you go. my fiance discouraged me from coming to, because of our financial situation. but now he's glad that i'm coming.

When I book my clients (I too am a travel agent), to certain destinations charter flights are 80% of the time less expensive (if available) because they do not have the same airfare structure as all *major* airline carriers. They only operate in and out of certain airports to certain destinations and only a couple of destinations within the US.

Airfare changes daily and each and every market is completely different. When using a *major* airline, like Air Jamaica, American, Delta, etc etc....there are up to 150 differernt types of airfare in each market (meaning from one destination to another).

I would hope your travel agent would advise you as to whether a one way was more (or less) expensive than a roundtrip ticket. Just depends on the market and availability. I've done airfare for several VJ members and most were roundtrip airfares because they were less expensive at the time.

"Cheapest" airfare is on a 1st come 1st serve basis and when the least expensive airfare sells out it goes up to the next airfare, etc etc.

Hope that helps...

thanks for breaking it down. i've also noticed how round trip tends to be cheaper than one way tickets. my travel agent seems pretty good at looking out for me. she's gone so far as to tell me where to book a flight (on my own) to save money if the charter thing didn't work out for me. she even knows my voice whenever i call her.

I'm sorry to hear that you are going though a rough time with parents. I am going through the same thing with my family. They don't even know about the k-1 yet and I don't know what is going to happen when they find out. But at this point I am just like whatever. It is something that I feel really strong about and I am going to go ahead through with it. Like I said in a previous thread, its ashame that people prejudge but it is really nothing we can do about it. I say, don't feel sensitive about it. I know they are your parents and they want the best for you but they aren't sure that this isn't the best for you. Maybe she made a mistake but you don't necessarly have to make the same mistake. My grandmother went through the k-1 situation as a proposition in her previous years and of course the marriage didn't work out. I keep trying to explain to her that just because yours didn't work out doesn't mean that mines won't and besides, yours was a proposition mines isn't. So i say all of that to just say hang in there and there are many others going through the same thing that you are going through on here but some don't feel the need to express it. You'll be fine.

thanks so much for the encouragement!

Being at that interview was the only thing that ever mattered to me. Because I knew I wanted to be there we went 11 months without seeing each other prior to the interview.....it was that important to the both of us. What happened at that interview was going to determine the path our lives were going to take.

That being said, I knew I couldn't fly back with him because I was just there for the interview. I too got all the Immigration & Customs forms from the flight attendants and filled them out for him and told him to copy EXACTLY what I wrote. He had a direct flight to Chicago so there were no other flights that I had to worry about him catching. Of course the DORK forgot the forms that I gave him so the people sitting with him helped him fill everything out

i agree with every word you're saying. the interview is a major life-changing event for the both of us and i wanna be there.

anyone looking into plane tickets should consider using a charter company. i always use apple vacations or worry-free vacations and i've never paid more than $400. the ticket i just bought was only $241. i asked my travel agent if it was possible to buy a one-way charter flight and she said yes. i've even over-heard other people on the flights i've taken say that they bought their ticket a week prior to departure and only paid $150! charters aren't available at every airport though. i use st. louis and it's a 3 hour drive, but i save about $300 doing it.

wow lots of great information given today!

jax, you've had some wonderful contributions and you'll be missed. congrats on the arrival of hubby's green card.

sarah times sound really hard for you right now. hang in there sweetie!

my mom went through the fiancee visa process over 30 years ago (philippines) and she's been absolutely brutal towards me lately. it's gotten to the point now where i try not to mention it or the conversation will turn sour. i know she means well, but it's stressing me out. i've never backtalked to my mother, and i wouldn't dare do it now even though i'm grown, but i've come really close to it a few times, lol. it really hurts to not have any support from my parents. i can't even bring the subject up with my dad and my mom has nothing positive to say either. i'm thankful that friends and other family members are happy for me.

how did you guys print off your text messages? i have verizon and i've tried to print them off but had no luck. then my phone broke and i had to get it replaced and lost all the text messages that i got from him. it really made me sad.

creating an email addy and "sending" emails to eachother is a great idea! i don't have any written evidence of support from him. he hates writing. if all our phone records are sufficient (i have a year's worth of them) to show that we maintain contact on a regular basis then i'd much rather just go with that.

i'm happy for you jlvr. things really moved fast for you! we filed at the same time and you're about 2 months ahead of me. did you see the I-693 info posted on here today? you might wanna make sure your fiance got that taken care of. let us know when his arrival date is.

luv, thanks so much for the info! i will make sure my fiance is aware of the i-693 when he has his medical.

kk- it didn't take my fiance 4 weeks to get the no impediment. i think he had to wait about a week, and then he was informed that it would be delivered to his house. several days after he was promised delivery, he went back to the place where it was issued and they just shrugged their shoulders. after a few days of waiting in long lines someone finally suggested that he go to their mailroom to see if it's there and sure enough, it was. they were really unorganized. he has to go back to get his certified birth certificates and he's kinda dreading it. lol

thank you for the clarification nanny. i do not need a cosponsor so maybe i need to relax.

i will be going to the interview. i booked my flight within 10 minutes of finding out the interview date. i'm one eager beaver.

12/11- i'd be upset about not getting an interview date too. especially since it was turned in before those who got interview dates. by the time we all get through this 'patience' should be our middle names!

oooh sarah i'm so glad you got your interview date! mine is several hours before yours. it would've been awesome if we were both there at the same time though. we talked about starting our visa journey at the same time and here we are having interviews on the same day. imagine that!

i can't believe the embassy is giving different answers to the same question! i was very specific in what i asked regarding the i-134 vs i-865 and was told to stick with what the packet asked for. hmph!

i just got an email response from the embassy (and i'm quite shocked, lol)

i asked them about the i-864 since i had filled out the i-134 instead and their response is that i should follow the instructions on the checklist.

so now i'm going through the redundancy of filling out both forms just in case. what an inconvenience!

Did you fiance ever receive Packet 3?

he picked it up at the embassy on the 19th. it said that he needs the i-864, some 3/4 view passport photos, and $335 for the visa fee. this has been discussed here, and it's said that these items are not necessary for the k-1. but the embassy has advised us to follow the checklist.

i just got an email response from the embassy (and i'm quite shocked, lol)

i asked them about the i-864 since i had filled out the i-134 instead and their response is that i should follow the instructions on the checklist.

so now i'm going through the redundancy of filling out both forms just in case. what an inconvenience!