curiousn

Hmmm... thanks guys. So not much hope for a second one, you think? But am I correct in thinking that overall, I would have to be there six months out of the year?

I thought about it but there is the 'at least six months' requirement which I couldn't fulfil. Otherwise, it's entirely possible to visit.

I won't go into details but it's a family situation and IF this problem comes up (which we're not sure of yet) then that means that we have to stay in England for another 12-18 months. This may all be water under the bridge but I thought I'd do the research while we're waiting to find out exactly what's going on.

Sigh... No, I don't really want to do this.

Anyway - situation is we just got our IR-1 and have until March to enter the US. Something has just come up which may mean that we can't make that deadline.

I've searched the forum but haven't found much. Does anyone have experience with how difficult it might be to get another visa later? In a way, I already know the process so that would make it easier; on the other hand, I don't know if they look at something like this badly.

Alternatively - is it possible to get an extention, perhaps?

Any thoughts welcome.

Thank you guys for sharing your experiences. It helps just to know I'm not completely alone with this. Sometimes I look at or hear about families who work out just fine with distances and wonder if I'm the only one.

Sha - Thanks! I'm excited. Well, mostly. Some amount freaked out, too.

Also, I can completely relate. Dad was diagnosed with cancer not long ago and 7 weeks later, we lost him. I am thankful beyond words that I was relatively close and could afford to hop back and forth almost on a weekly basis. Considering how little we had left with him, I wouldn't have missed one second of it. I can't imagine the dilemma that being so far away causes when something like this is going on.

Omoba - I hear you on the grandkids - great grandkids front. We don't have any little ones yet but I already feel bad about their grandma not being able to see them more than twice a year.

As far as talks with the hubby - I can usually talk to him about most things but somehow, he can't seem to relate to this guilt-issue. It was mentioned earlier on this thread that this may be somewhat of a foreign issue to Americans as they are so mobile. To make matters worse, a good portion of my friends (at home) also, well, not disapprove of me but they don't understand how I can be so far away from family and home or why I would even want to.

And Nini, I know what you mean about the 'are you sure about this?' discussions. My brother has a particular dislike for America and Americans in general (neither of which, I might mention, he knows to any degree) and quite clearly is of the opinion that I very possibly lost my mind. I think just overall, he and Mom can't associate with this wanderlust of mine. They don't understand why I can't just go home and sit still. I'm a bit of a black sheep. Dad, I think, had no problems with it.

Anyway, guys, once again, thanks for sharing. There is comfort in knowing the problem's not mine alone.

Thanks for that, Mrs. Johnson.

I see where he's coming from and, like I said above, I know myself that this is really pretty bad timing - although Mom wouldn't have been happy about me leaving regardless of whether she's alone or not. She does not need taking care of in the physical sense, so that's a good thing. And quite frankly, I think I talk with her more than my brother does, but the 'duties' that come with physically being near her do fall on him for the moment.

Anyway, I think I'm just trying to make myself feel better. Thanks again!

Thanks, guys, for all the replies.

I agree, Americans view this quite differently. My in-laws couldn't have been any more pleased when all the sudden I came along and before they could say Jack Robinson, we were married and off to the UK. Mom-in-law thought it was great that his son got to see the world and found the woman he wanted. It's not that they don't want us to move back closer but they were so supportive.

Mother's got a history of not being very thrilled with me jetsetting. I spent some time in the States in the middle of my teens on an exchange program and since then, she's hated having me away. To make matters worse, my Dad just passed away a few months ago and so I admit, the timing of this trip is really not the best. I think the reason my brother's angry with me leaving has to do with him feeling that this leaves the 'burden of keeping Mom entertained' all on him. Well that and he's always liked to make my life miserable but that's a whole different story there.

Anyway... Thanks for listening and for all the advice. I'll definitely also do the chatting/webcam thing and the (hopefully) frequent visits. Maybe I'll even be able to talk Mom into visiting. That would be a big step.

We are not yet in the States but I have been living abroad for a few years now and our move to the States is coming up shortly. This will triple (or more) the distance between my family and myself.

Personally, I believe this is what I want to do - stone me for it but at this moment, I cannot imagine moving back home (for one thing, hubby doesn't speak anything besides English) and don't much like where I am now. I'm looking forward to living in the States (mostly ).

However, my mom and brother at home aren't so enthusiastic. Mom will just stay rather quiet with a really sad look on her face but my brother will outright blame me and put a guilt trip on me. So here I am, I feel incredibly guilty for leaving them behind but at the same time, have no doubts that this is what I want. Makes me wonder if there's something wrong with me.

I wonder if there are others in this type of situation out there. How do you guys cope?

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I ended up going for about 4.5 hours, as the next alternatives were 3 and 6. I thought 4.5 was a nice middle road.

Thanks!

Congrats!!!

Thanks - same to you!

Oh, my, we've started quite the heated discussion here, it seems.

Well, whichever times are listed on the tickets, planes can always be late as well - and either way, I'll try to leave 3-4 hours. That should do the trick.

Thanks to all of you guys for the help!

Oh, and FutureMrs, congrats on being united again. I see you're in Arizona, too - that's where I'm headed.

That's interesting, elmcitymaven, I was under the impression that we could go through the USC/GC line. Last time we were in the States (in the midst of the IR-1 process but on a tourist visa) they actually told us to switch to that line from the non-USC line we had been in. Just based on the fact that I was with my USC spouse.

Anyone else? Which line should it be? I suppose this is a small detail but it's one that could make a lot of time difference, I think.

Thanks guys. The reason I haven't specified POE is because I don't know what it is. The two most likely candidates are Chicago and Dallas, TX.

I'm thinking three hours should be sufficient - not less, maybe a bit more - but if anyone feels the urge to give me any more advice, don't hold back.

Thanks!

Hi guys,

Now that I've got my visa, I'm starting to actually organize our trip. Those who have experience, could you please give me an idea how much time I should allow between flights for immigration and customs? I've been through it before, of course, but never as an immigrant and I have no idea how much longer that might take.

I don't want to miss my next flight or have to run through things but I also don't want to spend 10 hours at the airport.

Any ideas would be welcome.

Many thanks!

Oh and sorry if this is not the right forum.

No, it didn't turn out to be. I hope you will not have any trouble with it, either.

Thank you so much, guys! It's a nice feeling to have it over with.

Now I can start worrying about the moving process. Control freak, anyone?

Thanks guys!

Hi All,

Just to let you know, I had my interview on Tuesday of this week and, after some going back and forth, my application was accepted.

Things I have worried about - domicile, most of all, and then other things such as evidence for a bona fide relationship - were not mentioned at all. Not for one second.

What was discussed, at great length, was financials. Some of you have read my previous questions and might have some idea of what's been going on but the essentials are that as we both live in the UK, my husband's income is technically zero. I realized this late but still before the interview so I had my mother-in-law fill out another I-864 and provide me with tax returns, etc. The problem was, due to something we overlooked in her return, she didn't qualify either, as the consul pointed out.

Having said that, she was so nice and she was clearly looking for any excuse to give me the visa. She said I and my husband are obviously young and healthy so she's not worried about us not being able to work but she still has to see the numbers. So we started discussing what documentation I might need to send in later. Then I asked her if the savings that I and my husband have, which are slightly above the required number, would do instead of having to get more info from the in-laws. She said absolutely and asked me if I had proof of that here. Well, I had proof only of about half of it but said I could certainly get the rest to her later. Eventually, she said that's fine, she's seen enough to be happy that we'll be fine.

So, by the time I completely convinced myself that this is going to take another month or so, all the sudden I was taking the oath. A day later, I went back for the passport and I now have my shiny new visa in it. Oh, and of course the Holy Brown Envelope. Yay!

Thanks to all of you guys for all the help I got here, both by asking and, quite frankly, just by reading as much as I could. I really couldn't have done it without this site.

Yay! Again.

I don't see why one would panic.

I'M NOT PANICKING!!!!! (she shouts while she runs around home tearing hair out)

Of course. It makes sense. After all, this is 2007.

Thank you all, ladies and/or gentlemen, I appreciate your answers. I'll go and grump now.

A silly question, really, just trying - very successfully - to over-worry about my upcoming interview.

We've been living together for three years so I don't know how much of an issue it will be to prove that I'm not just a visa-bounty-hunter but I was wondering about pictures. We have a website I've kept up for the last two years with all sorts of pictures of family and of our travels with commentaries, etc, and you can't really look at that and still wonder if we're a bona fide couple. Question is - is a website acceptable? Can I just tell them to go online? We've got so many pictures I really don't want to go and print them out.

What do you all think?

Hi essjay! Many thanks for that. Someone here told me about a month ago (in response to my whining about how slowly the four weeks until the interview will pass) to just wait, it will fly by and I'll be at the embassy before I know it!

Well, respectfully, they were wrong. Never have I had such slow weeks as these. I'm more than a bit nervous.

Either way, to answer your question, we've got several bank accounts in the US and in fact, we just opened up a CD there and shoved a good chunk of our money in it - I'll have statements for all of those. Most of them go to the address we've kept up there - some come here to the UK. Then, we've got a letter from the family business stating they'll hire my husband as soon as we're there (which is completely true; he wants to join them). Hm, what else? Letters from family saying they all think we're smitten and are looking forward to our upcoming move to the States. Don't have anything regarding accommodation as we'll spend the first time with relatives. And a copy of the temporary visa my husband has for here (even though that's good for another 4 years or so).

That's about it - any other suggestions, perhaps? Anything is welcome.

Many thanks and I'll keep you posted!

How interesting, Trailmix! It might, actually. I suppose the only thing to do is to find out in the next few days. Many thanks for posting that!

Personally I would think not but that's not an expert opinion, of course.

Yes, it's from 24B. If you were using your income, you would list yourself there and then write your name in 24E. As you are NOT using your income, you should leave everything under 24A blank (unless you're using someone else in the household). I hope that's clearer.

Good for you guys! (I assume you're traveling together.)

Oh, I didn't realize they'll review everything right there. I just assumed they'd take it and send me away while they chew on it. I also thought about doing just assets but we sort of just barely have it and so I thought it would be safer to do a joint sponsor, especially that my hubby's parents are more than willing to do that. I'll definitely have them Fedex their stuff here so I'm not worried about them, the only bit I'm uncertain about is the police report. It'll be 40 days right around the time when I have my interview. Based on my previous experience with UK bureaucracy, I don't have a lot of faith but they do promise 40 days and I'll definitely try to chase them up when the time comes nearer.

I really appreciate you being so lovely today. I hope everything will work out for you guys, too, wherever you're going in the States.