vegaslizard

Hi all

Back again after another loooooong break. Popped by to see how you are all doing! Ryan and I got an RFE on our AOS for my W-2's about a month ago, still havent mailed the thing back. He is working and all so there isnt the biggest rush to get it done. Im having my Dad be the sponsor now. I work in a nightclub and my tips werent declared properly last year so that put me below the poverty line. I caught the mistake too late and the backed taxes were alot!! Oh well

Other news.... we are having a baby. The bubs is due April 5th, we find out the sex in about 6 weeks!

Hope everyone is well and happy.

My husband got the stamp when he flew to Las Vegas and it is a small international airport for POE.

Im sure lots of other airports give the stamp too, but the stamp is pretty much useless you have a social security card. My fella already had one from his college years and is working currently. K-1 has expired and all. We are waiting for his AOS

Sorry I cant answer your specific question. Most of the immigration stuff is complicated and pointless but seems to serve the purpose if only to weed out those who are not sincere with marriage.

Good luck with everything

haha! I just saw that you dont live here. Okay - you will have to request a copy of your marriage certificate. With that in hand take it to your local social security office and show id.

It's an easy process.

Its not hard at all. I was married in Las Vegas and live here as well. Go to the Social Security office on Buffalo and Charleston. The office opens at 9 am. Take your marriage certificate, passport / or drivers id, and just fill out the form. I was in and out of there in 20 min. (I did line up before they opened)

Also ... if you line up before they open, go to the line on the left side of the door. The right side is for id fraud claims etc.

I took my receipt from the social security office and my marriage certificate and then went over to the DMV. Had my name changed at both places by 11:00 am!!!!

Hope that helps

Awww I know how you feel. Had to do the same thing while waiting for my K-1 last year. I got through it by talking to him on Skype so I could see him everyday, and we would email and phone (A LOT) as well so there would be something to look forward to when we woke up. I talked to him him so often through the computer and on the phone that it didnt seem like he was really that far away. Once in awhile we would send an unexpected card or package, and he would have flowers sent to me too. Planning and counting down days for the next trip would make it easier, and then there is always the VJ forums!

I know it seems like forever, but it will pass. Ryan and I talk about how we cant believe all that we went through last year - and now we are married! Its still not all perfect as he misses his family in the UK and is stuck for awhile, but now at least we have each other. Find comfort in knowing that no matter how hard it is, you know that you have someone in your life that will go the distance for you. If you can get through this you can get through anything. My husband and I tell each other that all the time.

In the meanwhile maybe you could help him with the K-1 application fees? Sitting on his desk doesnt get it processes any faster! At least with yours USCIS should be processing alot faster then when I put mine through

It will get better, I promise! x

Gosh I havent been on here in forever! October at least.

Married on May 1st and just enjoying life. Popped back on here to see the status of some of you. My Hubbs - Ryan, thinks that we will be able to go back to England for Christmas this year. I told him not to get his hopes up as he just had his biometrics on July 2nd. What do you all think?

...also I dont know how to update my timeline thingy. dont really know how to use this site at all!! hahah

Gosh I havent been on here in forever! October at least.

Married on May 1st and just enjoying life. Popped back on here to see the status of some of you. My Hubbs - Ryan, thinks that we will be able to go back to England for Christmas this year. I told him not to get his hopes up as he just had his biometrics on July 2nd. What do you all think?

...also I dont know how to update my timeline thingy. dont really know how to use this site at all!! hahah

hahah! Im so happy I cant spell 'approved' !!

APPOVED !!!!!

just found out this morning, it came in over night!

my guy is here, I woke him up with the good news.

good luck everyone still waiting

I have never been touched.

touch me dammit !! touchy touch touch!

Im crossing my eyes!!

what are people doing for Halloween?

I have to dress as a devil with the other Drai's girls and Redbull is paying for us to have our hair and makeup done as well as body painting. We are all meeting up at our sister club Tryst to be made up, staying there for a bit when they open at 10pm and then heading to work. Our nightclub opens at 1 am and I anticipate it being a very busy and long night!!

It will be funny to see all us devils marching around the Wynn.

I cant wait to get through this weekend of work as my love is coming next friday. It's nice to have a distraction from the wait!!!

I've still not seen anywhere exciting in the US. Just Grand Island (nicks hometown), Lincoln airport and Omaha airport in NE. Newark airport, Denver airport, both chicago airports and chicago from the train that connects them.

Part of me really wants to see vegas other than on CSI but as a scot.....well those temperatures will KILL me!!!!! Nebraska going to be bad enough. As a scot I can't cope once the temp goes over 80F, so for the majority of June/july/august in NE with temps 100F you'll find me sitting in the ice box ! Vegas would be death of me.

I know this off subject....what have peoples experiences been with various airlines? I hate continental, aer lingus lost nicks guitar when he came over and refuse to pay compensation....american scewed up my return flights first time I went and I ended up spending 10hrs in ORD. They did sort it though, gave me free access and food in business lounge, upgraded me to first class and gave me $500 towards a future trip so they are forgiven.

Vegas isnt so bad in the winter time, if fact is amzing right now!! very comfortable and warm enough to go swimming. I am a scot too; my last name is Scott

Funny as my mom's maiden name is England. Go figure!! haha!

we are getting married here

http://www.littlechurchlv.com/

my mom and step dad were married here 15 years ago, since then other families have chosen it as well for the history of it and lack of 'vegas cheese'

lots of U.K. people in this forum!!

Hear hear!!

Love Excalibur too - went to a show there with my OH - 'twas awesome

I think its hilarious that my guy was staying in the Excalibur castle and we spent the majority of the day in an English pub and later at Revolution lounge ( Beatles themed). haha!!

I love the Excalibur because it is so cheesy! It was my absolute favorite when I was a kid, we used to go there all the time. I used to read lots of fairy tales and loved princess, magic and castle stuff. I grew up in Las Vegas so exploring the casinos was tons of fun as a kid, always wanted to pull the slot machine handles because they looked like toys.

teachmehistory,

I met my guy in Vegas too!! I was doing cocktail at a stripclub - nightclub employment was harder to obtain than I had orginally thought!!! He was in Vegas for a couple of days with a friend and after a rental car distaster (putting green handled diesel instead of regular gas in!), they made it to town and slept too late in their room. They went out a side door of the Excalibur and found a taxi with its lights off. The taxi driver was told to take them to a club and he asked my guy and his friend if they wanted girls to be there. They misunderstood what he meant, they thought he was assuming they were gay, - of course they wanted girls there! The cab driver drove them to where I was working at the time (doesnt look like a strip club on the outside), and they figured since they were already there and the driver was giving them drink tickets and comped admission they might as well stay a bit. I was walking around bored because it was very slow and decided that I would sit and talk to him and his friend for awhile. They wanted to find somewhere showing the England soccer game and I told them I knew of a place and would join them as I heard it was alot of fun. Long story short, I called out of work that night and spent the next 24 hours with them until they had to leave back to California. He asked me many times over that night to come see him in England and had joked that we should go get married since we were in Vegas. Funny enough we lived 15 minutes away from each other when we were both in college in California, he used to go to my campus all the time to pick up travel stuff back to the UK. We probably walked past each other many times and never knew it!!

Like you when we said goodbye in February I knew I had met someone incredible and since then I have been to visit him 3 times, he has been here once (because of his job) but is coming next friday and staying for 2 months. We hope to marry February 7, 2008 in Las Vegas a year to the day we met. If it cant be that day then that is okay because we still have each other forever.

Here's to random meetings, taking chances and believing in long distance love...

(L)

hello July board! I read this thread everyday and feel like I know most of you (regulars) really well, even though I am a mostly silent member. but I feel/relate to everything you guys say, miss my baby, am planning my wedding for feb (hoping and praying - probably foolishly - but in the same boat as Jeraly - planned for 7 months after filing and my in-laws already bought airline tix from London to Seattle) and love the support and updates and information I get here! not to mention the sanity So a little about me, I live in Seattle, my fiance is from London, I commute there once a month for about a week (lived there over the summer) and am so ready to have this whole thing done and have a 'normal' life like other married/engaged people! I often question our decision to live here as it would have been so much faster to move there - but the good reasons still stand despite this incredibly difficult and painful process!

anyway, what I was really coming on here to rant about is FEDEX!!!!!! is it possible to go postal over Fedex?? anyway, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am about 110 days from NOA1, and while I was still inside the original 90, I was pretty much okay, but since passing 100, I find my stress level rising even though I try to hard to keep it in check and stay positive, and knew there were delays so its expected it just still sucks. so anyway, to relieve some stress I decided to bake my baby some chocolate chip cookies and fedex them to him. it seemed so domestic!!! so last night I drop them off, happy that international shipping only takes 2 days and they would be fresh when they got to him. this morning I check the tracking # and they are delayed due to 'improper paperwork'. So I call fedex and I have to fill out a form that they neglected to give me at the Fedex shipping center (idiots!) so they fax it to my work, I call back to have someone walk me through it (making sure to get it right - don't want any more delays), and I fax it back. An hour later I call to make sure they got it and my package is on its way. This is the 4th fedex person I have discussed this shipment with in the last 12 hours and have clearly stated that I am shipping chocolate chip cookies to my fiance to each one. The last 'customer service representative' I get on the phone tells me, "I'm sorry ma'am, you can't ship chocolate chip cookies internationally, they are a prohibited item". apparently chocolate is on the list of prohibited perishables.

I start to scream, are you kidding me??? Why are you the first person to tell me this??? he doesn't know why any of the other 4 Fedex employees didn't catch it. so I ask, If I had written just cookies on the waybill instead of chocolate chip cookies, they would have shipped??? he says, yes. okay somebody shoot me.

so naturally I break into hysterical sobbing. all I wanted is to send my man something sweet, cheap and thoughtful. I can't be with him right now so I just wanted to reach out and surprise him - is it to much to ask?? and as I continued to cry to my best friend at work, she pointed out that my frustration is no doubt coming from all these things that are completely out of my control standing between me and the love of my life. its the long delays with the visa, its the distance, its the time difference, AND NOW is the freaks at Fedex - I proper lost it this morning and am still feeling helpless and frustrated and I just knew everyone on this board would understand. So, I am sorry for the long rant, needed to vent. I truly value this board - somehow it helps to know there are others in your shoes

Sara

I am right there with you!

We are a few days apart on filing, and like you I hope to be married in February. The 7th actually.

good luck to you, Im sure we will be approved soon... trend seems to indicate within the next few weeks.

xx

Agreed!! The whining is getting old.

This wait sucks for everyone and regardless what month we filed in - it is still seems like forever for approval. We will all be approved eventually!!!

Stay positive people!

You are right. People should enjoy their time alone now. They will not have it when they are united with their loved ones!!!! This waiting period can be a good positive thing.....

"Enjoy their time alone" ? sorry but we dont see it that way, we would rather treasure are time together not apart, there is nothing really positive about being apart from the person you love.

Exactly!!

Then would it okay to whine just a little bit? Maybe, once a week. Because even though eventually we will all be approved....the wait is still long.

Tanjay has been waiting since May for God's sake. He has every right to be upset with their lousy service. Give him a break! He can complain just as much as those people who cheer on USCIS despite their crappy service to US citizens while they kiss big business' @ss giving their work visas in so much less time than our loved ones and then on top of that kicking sand in our faces while not offering 15-day premium processing to us. I know I don't like crawling into bed each night without my loved one...it sucks actually...as does these weekends with little or no NOA2 approvals. Just remember just because you cheer them on doesn't mean they will be processing yours any faster.

Hmmm.... the original post wasnt for Tanjay. Just saying that in general; griping, bitching, moaning, and groaning does nothing but spread anxiety, frusteration and dispair. I read this forum for advice, optimism, and for better idea as to when my approval will be. Which on the current timelines doesnt seem to be for another 6 weeks at least. I have no choice but to wait and while it is annoying there isnt really anything that can be done about it. The system is horrible!! We all hate the wait!! We can all agree!!

Here's to a speedy approval for everyone!

And, just remember - just because you complain to an online group of strangers doesnt mean they will process yours any faster.

Okay. I can deal with reading one day of whiney posts a week.

What day shall it be? I'd like to nominate Mondays... then we can be happy the rest of the week as approvals come in!

I love what you said Babblesgirl!!! My guy and I say the same things to each other. With the divorce rate as high as it is, we know that we are not taking this whole wedding thing lightly. I think everyone can say that they are willing to wait as long as they have to and do whatever it takes to be with the one they love. Couples that see each other everyday tend to take that for granted. They also tend not to ' talk' as much as the rest of us probably do with our fiance's. I am grateful for every phone call, email, and actual time spent together.

Not many people could stand what all of us are doing. This process is long and painful, but the end result is more than worth it!!!

Agreed!! The whining is getting old.

This wait sucks for everyone and regardless what month we filed in - it is still seems like forever for approval. We will all be approved eventually!!!

Stay positive people!

Does anyone know of anyone getting their medical and police check done before NOA2 and packet 3 arrival? My guy is going to be here with me during our estimated / guesstimated approval time and I dont want to hold things up if he can get them done early. Our plan is to have his parents mail packet 3 to Las Vegas and we will finish all the paperwork together.

Can he do the medical at least in the U.S. ??

I would post this on my own page... but cant figure out how to work everything!

Thanks in advance if anyone has some input

Does anyone know of anyone getting their medical and police check done before NOA2 and packet 3 arrival? My guy is going to be here with me during our estimated / guesstimated approval time and I dont want to hold things up if he can get them done early. Our plan is to have his parents mail packet 3 to Las Vegas and we will finish all the paperwork together.

Can he do the medical at least in the U.S. ??

I would post this on my own page... but cant figure out how to work everything!

Thanks in advance if anyone has some input

Yay!!!! June is starting!!!!! Hurry up July...

Well I always say I am visiting a friend but the last time my OH came to visit he told them he was visiting his fiancee and had no problems

Hate US immigration though - always made to feel like a criminal

Ok - bedtime now

I had to laugh when I read that... I am american, and the last time I tried to get into the UK, upon arrival I ended up spending the day in immigration! I was pulled aside because I didn't have a return ticket (long story), and spent 8 hours in a holding room with other "detainees", being questioned over and over... Eventually I was denied entry, and sent back to the US... It was like they were fishing for reasons to deny me, and in the end their argument for my refusal was weak, but nonetheless, I was sent back to the US. I know that immigration in the US is pretty tough, but the UK is no picnic either!

Normally I am the silent reader, but I have to agree on that. I am American and was almost denied entry the first time (April '07) because I didnt have a print out of my flight schedule. I had not left the U.S in 7 years and the last time was with my father so I didnt know any better.

The next trip was in July '07 - no problems.

But the 3rd time, in mid September, I was detained and had my bags searched. They thought I was trying to stay in the U.K. because of my frequent visits in the past 6 months. I work/ live in Las Vegas and do quite well in the nightclub industry. Apparently its a crime to have a flexible schedule, good income and worst of all - be in love with an Englishman. I feel blessed on all three counts!!

They finally let me through after an hour of searching and 'gathering evidence'. I think they thought it was funny that I had 2 bags, the second being filled with American cereal (Apple Jacks) and a Nevada drivers manual.