miamiwife

Hi Nita--I am still in AP, but khengool finished last week!

No I am serious! He told me he had every single shot they required--chest x-ray, blood tests, the whole nine yards. Even with his military service where I am sure he received most of these shots already. He had no records at all--such a pain. I told him--you better get a copy of that report so you have records from now on. Tanya from the Turkish group also told me her husband's exam cost $700.

What the hell? How can you have a pilot program for limiting validity of medical clearance from 12 months to 6 months? To see if that increases the amount of money created by the two doctors allowed to perform medical examinations for all the applicants in that country? Give me a break--I agree with khengool--corrupt. I mean the population of Turkey is 70 million, then they also have a huge amount of applicants from Iran and Iraq who have to come through their embassy--and they have a total of 2 places where you can get a medical examination? I mean, they are telling Julia it is normal now for AP to last beyond 6 months, so that is a given that you will have to redo the medical. I know we had to pay $700 for the medical alone, plus the cost to travel to Ankara. To make us wait months for AP and then to make people redo a medical exam is a strange pilot program.

Julia--this was my last reply from Ankara via my senator:

Dear Senator ****:

Thank you for bringing to our attentions the concerns of your constituent, Ms. Sibel ***** in your inquiry of September 25, 2008, regarding the non-immigrant visa application of her husband, Mr. ****.

As indicated in our previous message of July 15, 2008, after his interview at our office, Mr. **** case was submitted to Washington for administrative review. We are sorry to inform you that the review of his file has not yet been completed. Our office has been following up his case with the Department of State and the latest response we received on September 9, 2008 advised us that the review will take more time. Due to the fact that multiple agencies are involved in this process, our office does not have any control or authority to expedite it.

As soon as the review is completed, Mr. **** case number will be announed on our web site. Once he sees his case number on this web page, he may send his passport and birth certificate to our office by UPS courier service.

I regret that my response could not be more positive. Nonetheless, I hope that this information will be helpful to you and your constituent.

***I have had both my senators and my congressman contact them twice so far and all 6 replies have been similar. I am sure they must have a pre-prepared response, no?

Yeah--got that letter from Sandra Shipshock a few times Julia--but you got to admit--isn't that a fitting name among Turkish surnames? Too bad it isn't Shipshape--then I would feel like I was in better hands!

Hi Merk--welcome back! I was wondering what happened to you and your husband. Sounds like you two have been busy!

Yeah--first grading period is done!

Same situation here--sometimes I get so depressed just visiting this website! It is hard to hear about other people's good news when you are faced with nothing but waiting for what seems like an eternity. As far as DOS--I really think it is so useless to call them--they only get you upset and tell you NOTHING you don't know already. Plus--it is not toll free so you have to pay for the call too after being put on hold for 20+ minutes.

I am in the same boat--every month I cry at a chance lost. I am definately not getting any younger and I waited to find this guy. Man, it sucks when the clock is constantly tickin'.

Vee--do us a favor and fill out your timeline to help others from the same area to get more accurate information.

WonTanNara--I think it would be something you could look forward to, and be something to celebrate instead of agonizing "When?" every day. I've been dealing with the reverse--I got officially married in my husband's country without my family or friends and have been waiting for 15 months for my turn. Now I wonder if it will ever happen. I wish I did what you want to do--have the unofficial ceremony there, and the official one here. I regret this so much.

Sara--great spreadsheet. Thanks for doing that!

Chaingang,

You know the embassy is probably closed today for Columbus Day. I know the one in Ankara, Turkey is. They do enjoy all their holidays off. Turkish and American holidays.

WonTonNara and Julia--I am feeling inspired by both of you! I am going to start to exercise 30 minutes a day and hope my mood improves and my confidence comes back too. I lost all this weight for the wedding ceremony #1, then gained back weight depressed over never having wedding ceremony #2 in the U.S. for the past 15 months! Time to get healthy again.

Off Topic?

Thanks for the help. Feel so much better now. I am off topic. Isn't that the story of my life?

I am going crazy. Every week ends the same way with the dreaded Friday where I become depressed and feel hopeless the whole weekend. I don't think I can take this much longer.

Amen to that! I don't really believe that things happen for a reason, but I do believe that when things happen we are forced to adapt and alter, so we can live. We have to find a way to survive, to continue, and I think that is probably what we find in this forum--other people who remind us that we are not alone and that we are still living despite all the heartache. I was asked the other day at a dinner party why I couldn't have married someone from the U.S., since we have so many people here already. Why did I marry a foreigner to cause me so many problems? And you know, I guess he made me feel alive in a way I have never felt before and despite my dreams and plans ended or put on hold, I know that he is worth all of this time waiting.

Nita--I am curious why it took so long for your NOA2--did you receive an RFE?

Are you serious? What a pain that it is actually costing the county money after all that effort! I thought they had considered everything already! That is one major problem with paperwork and policies--they implement without really thinking about things carefully and it falls apart! Any time there is a new paperwork procedure to implement in teaching and it seems too complicated, just wait a year and it is bound to fall apart! We are piloting a program for the 3rd year this year (think they need to re-think pilot?). There is no way this program will ever work and think how much money they are wasting designing this, training us, evaluating us, etc. to have everything filed in the Bermuda Triangle! Teaching is very simple, really. There are students, there are teachers who teach the students. All you need is willing students and willing teachers and you can achieve so much! I think that we make things way too complicated.

Oh trust me--I have e-mailed the embassy every week, called DOS every week, contacted both of my senators and congressman 4 times each, I even tried Secretary of State and Vice President, all I have gotten was sorry for the inconvenience but it is multiple agencies involved. Please check our website and send passport when your case number appears. Lots of since 9/11 blah blah blah and we need to make sure the U.S. borders are safe and citizens are protected.

Yes--Julia and I have been trying to figure out for months the reason for AP and we can not figure it out. Muhammet's interview went very smootly according to him and the lady even told him how much evidence he had of our relationship and commented that I had visited him a lot in Turkey and that he should go and visit me. #######?? If it is name checks--why? Why Onur and Muhammet and not others? I mean we have rationalized where both of them are from, military versus non-military, college versus no college, married versus engaged, Muslim name vesus Turkish name, travel, you name it. I wish somebody could tell us what triggers AP. And neither one of them is from Iranian heritage, so that is not it either. Julia and I are baffled. We are also wondering why it has taken so long. Both of our significant others were told at the embassy it would take 2 weeks.

Chaingang,

I have completely given up any communication with DOS--every time I call I get frustrated and start to cry. The last time I called them the lady told me, "look, you might think you should call us about your husband's visa, but we simply have no information here. It is the embassy that handles everything at this stage and if it is security related there is no information posted for us to give you." Are you the U.S. citizen? If you are, contact your senator and congressman so they can make an inquiry and the U.S. citizen should call the embassy and ask to speak to a U.S. citizen in Islamabad. I know exactly how you feel--I am sick of this, it is wrecking my marriage, my life, my relationships with my family, everything. I could not have lasted as long as you. I am started to give up all hope myself after 14 months waiting.

Same problem in South Florida! Hey greeneyedgirl--is your district the one who flipped the school hours for Middle and High school to save money? If yes, how is that going? Good luck with the National Boards--you chose the right year to do it since the program went through budget cuts too! I received mine a couple of years ago and it is worth all the writing! I think a lot of states are having problems with educational funding lately. I took a pay cut this year and all my bills went up to. You better like what you do to put up with that!

Okay--I'm in. Talk about teacher-nerd, just wait until all your friends are teachers and that is all you ever talk about outside of work too! You know you are a teacher when you have rubber bands around your wrists, ink all over your fingertips, think of great lesson plans while in the shower, and are in bed by 9 on Fridays! This year is my 7th year teaching and I got to admit that despite all the problems with my husband's visa--this bunch of kids is fabulous! I am teaching all 11th grade and the majority are actually doing their homework!

Congratulations Doris! I am happy for you, but of course sad too because it makes me miss Muhammet more. Julia--I am right there with you. It is so hard, I don't know how to even explain it.

Sibel