BlakeandOlha

GOODY!! You are talking wedding hairstyles here

Feeling a bit like a fish out of water...... hairstyles, going to have to find a stylist for Olga (note, add to the list).

Congratulations Rachel , I'm glad the interview and all that was easy for you. I've got about 3 weeks until I fly out to Kiev for our interview and we are all set for an apartment and everything else. Then two weeks later I fly out again to bring her home!!!! Then three weeks later the wedding. Yikes, I better get crack'n on this one. Sunny, I need your organization skills.

The good news is that the wedding dress arrived Saturday and it's absolutely lovely. Thanks Sunny for the link (I ordered from China like you).

If I could stop working 12 hour days I might feel like I can get things done, but that's not happening right now. Hopefully soon.....

Ooooohhh photos of the dress please! Did you get from PeriDress then? I seriously am so pleased with mine from them! I mean it was a chance but hey at a fraction of the cost I really LUCKED out!!!

And 3 weeks is gonna go by sooo quickly!! Hooray!

Well, unless you want me to try it on you'll probably have to wait until the wedding Yes Sunny it was a Peridress - Jasmine collection. I was actually suprised at how nice of a job they did. It really is stunning. The first thing we'll do when Olga's here is get it fitted at the seamstresses just to make sure it's perfect. Talk about a great way to spend the time waiting for approval, Olga and her sister must of had 40 dresses lined up at once. But this is what she finally settled on.

Oh heck, here it is, http://www.peridress.com/shop/product.php?...t=77&page=9

Wow gone for a couple of days and so much good news!!! Congrats to Rachel and Jeroen I have good news too! My daughter gave birth to her second daughter Friday at 2:45 pm so I'm a grandma again

Congrats!!

OMG... i just got an email back from the consulate and I GOT APPROVED!!! :D

Dude, That's Wonderful!!!!

I was really worried about your approval, this is fantastic.

I can't believe that we're all getting through this together - and soon!

GOODY!! You are talking wedding hairstyles here

Feeling a bit like a fish out of water...... hairstyles, going to have to find a stylist for Olga (note, add to the list).

Congratulations Rachel , I'm glad the interview and all that was easy for you. I've got about 3 weeks until I fly out to Kiev for our interview and we are all set for an apartment and everything else. Then two weeks later I fly out again to bring her home!!!! Then three weeks later the wedding. Yikes, I better get crack'n on this one. Sunny, I need your organization skills.

The good news is that the wedding dress arrived Saturday and it's absolutely lovely. Thanks Sunny for the link (I ordered from China like you).

If I could stop working 12 hour days I might feel like I can get things done, but that's not happening right now. Hopefully soon.....

Ok I just read on another forum that people got letters from NVC...does this happen? I thought besides the harcopy of NOA2 coming I have no other part really in this process....do I still get other stuff sent to me?! Thanks!

Steph, do not worry, we never got any mail from NVC even though they said we would have.. I guess it is the same with the paper NOA2, some get it, some dont

You don't really need it either,when you call the NVC you can give them your case number and they will inform you if they have the petition yet and, if they have it, what the status is

One thing, though.... You will need your NOA2 original in the AOS process so you might want to ask when you can expect it so as it does not go unsent.

Jeroen,

Man, I'm so sorry to hear the news, I know that the feelings of hopelessness are probably a little too much right now, but I know you've got the strength to pull yourself through this. You may want to hire an attorney to get the court to clarify the circumstances around the incident (it seems there is an exceptional amount of confusion in the documents or police report). If you have been an otherwise model citizen, who just happened to have the wrong friends this one time, perhaps your or your attorney can get the judge (or any judge) to write some supporting clarification. I don't know what options are available to you, but I just want you to keep fighting to get through this and not to give up even if it takes time to get everything cleared.

Be very careful what you write to the embassy - as the saying goes "what you say can be used against you."

Godspeed and good luck.

Thanks people

just 24,5 hours left

Good Luck to you Jeroen, I'm keeping fingers crossed.

DATED 8/8/08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We got APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Sunnybear, I'm so happy for you. Huge bigtime congratulations to you two!!!!! Now all seems right with the world again.

Our case has resumed!!!! YAYYYYYY now let's hope for some action!!!!

What the.....

What does that mean specifically Sunny - did you get another touch? If so that could be the big one........

Here's hoping it is.

My biggest nightmare is forgetting something on the checklist! Other than that right now I am not too concerned. London doesn't ask too many questions, I have nothing to hide, and I shouldn't need to revise (like you would for a job interview) because I know my own story pretty well!

However I just know that waiting in the room before being called to a window will be torture! There's something about waiting rooms that really gets to me.

You'll be fine, and I'm glad you know your own story. Very important, that part.

Noo! D:

How frustrating! Don't they mind that people may have already bought plane tickets?

Obviously the folks in England haven't really got it all together on their planning. I've bought the first ticket there and back for the interview on the 10th. It's this next one that is going to be tricky because I have to coordinate (now) a trip to Bedford with a second leg to Kiev and then try and get Olga and her son on the same flight back to the US with me. Some of these airlines do NOT like to sell one way tickets, which makes this whole thing difficult and costly.

I'm just thankful that I hadn't bought these tickets yet. Something told me there might be a problem with the timing and Prague. As time goes on, however, things just get more expensive.

#######, just found out they changed the board meeting from Prague to England, which has overturned my careful planning and coordination of Olga's ticket out of Kiev on the 25th..... back to the drawing board and the airline websites

Patience, patience, patience, and lots of room on my credit card.....

anything that can be done, must be done without putting off. But that's just me

lol, that's just like I am... I seriously got to change that, though.. The island mentality isn't exactly that way

Radical change indeed. Mahala yowlie

I'm new the group too as a August filer to the Vermont center. Mailed my via DHL yesterday.

Best of luck everyone, and congratulations on getting all the paperwork in - that really is the hardest part, aside from the waiting...... Believe me, this process will end even if it seems like forever from now.

Just wondering, for everyone here who is married already or who will be married before the end of the year, do you plan on getting the SSN before or after the marriage? No-one seems to agree about this issue on visa journey...

For me and Olga, it is SSN application the day after arrival - the office is only a mile or two away. I figured that there's enough going on that the more things I can get off my list the better my mental health. Name changes can be done later if the number doesn't come through for the wedding. With my schedule, anything that can be done, must be done without putting off. But that's just me

If you do it too fast, they will have to manually inquire about your status to DHS and it will take 6 weeks at least. On the guides here they say to do it at least 2 weeks after she arrives.

Yeah your right, I remember now....... damn, add it back to the list......

Just wondering, for everyone here who is married already or who will be married before the end of the year, do you plan on getting the SSN before or after the marriage? No-one seems to agree about this issue on visa journey...

For me and Olga, it is SSN application the day after arrival - the office is only a mile or two away. I figured that there's enough going on that the more things I can get off my list the better my mental health. Name changes can be done later if the number doesn't come through for the wedding. With my schedule, anything that can be done, must be done without putting off. But that's just me

After my flight, I went through the POE, which went fine. The guys was friendly, and after five mns, I was done!

I also appreciate because there were such big lines for the visitors to go through immigration, and nobody in the "new immigrant" line. After our long waiting process, I enjoyed that moment!

Membership has its priveledges - as the commercial goes.

WELCOME!!!!!! I'm so happy that everything went smoothly for you and there were no problems, other than some red eyes. Pam, keep us up to date on the wedding plans and the adaptation to the Minnesota lifestyle. Just don't start ending every sentence with "Yah?"

WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL TODAY WITH OUR INTERVIEW DATE!!! September 10! Valerie called me this afternoon and had me check my email. Sure enough, there it was.....

"We have received the fax you sent us and has updated your file for correct address. Your appointment letter for your interview on 10 September 2008 is being mailed to you. Please bring all your original documents along with their photocopy on the day of your appointment.

Thank you.

K Visa Unit

Vancouver, BC"

Such a relief!! It's a big weight off our shoulders, just wondering if we'd be able to get our interview date scheduled before the wedding. So October 3rd, here we come!!!

Same interview date as I have - but since I'll be in Kiev I'll be 8 hours ahead (important so we don't detract from each others good energy ) Fun times are coming quickly.

Well if my man would have been here then yes we would have done an August 8 wedding! hahaaha! So what number of marriage is this for you Blake? This is number 2 for me and LAST I agree!!!!

I told Gareth our new theme for our wedding will be "When Hell Freezes Over" since that seems to be when they are going to approve us and this whole process will be done heh heh heh!

They have all my info now in Cali I tracked it to make sure it got to CSC and it got signed for there at around 1030 am Cali time......now the wait for the status change....Gareth says he reckons I must watch paint dry to make sure it is drying properly with how much I track everything dealing with this process ha!!!

Number 2 for me as well - and the last!

Keep an eye out on the approval, I've seen RFE's mostly get cleaned up in a week or two. What are you going to do with all these highly developed tracking skills once the approval comes through? Positive energy focused on you!

Do they base it on renewing our bond or on how long we have known each other?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

That's a great story, but to answer your question - neither. The rules surrounding the filing of the K-1 are pretty specific about what they need (and actually care about). The criteria is relatively simple - both free to marry at the time of the filing, having met in person within two years of filing, etc., and are outlined very clearly in the guides. Filing the K-1 is really an study in document assemblage, and providing the specific proof of having met the criteria. Remember, these are pencil pushers reviewing your application, and, according to one account, they actually do not spend much more than 15min reviewing the documentation in any one application.

Good luck - and read the guides, they will save you a lot of worry and mistakes in the future.

Whose special someone arrives to the US next?! Or should I say who on here goes next?

Well I finally got plane ticket number 1 for the interview in Kiev - great price on Luftansa, only problem is I arrive at 1:30 am. Not much to do in Kiev at that time of night but wait for O.'s train to arrive at 6 am. My new office looks out over O'hare airport and every afternoon I see the big international jets land and take off. Soon I'll be on one of those. Can't wait.

Can't believe that I've got the ticket and the apartment all set, time is moving fast. Wedding planning is moving ahead, this is definitely the last time I do this!

I heard a lot of talk about August 8 weddings - anyone got one?

We would like to be able to live in the same area for a year or so before actually getting married and moving in together. Also we would both like to be finished school before getting married.

My question is whether it would be possible for us to complete the K-1 visa before I finished school and then have me go to the states and get married but not live together right away.

The answer is NO. You have 90 days to wed once you enter the country, if you fail to do so, and fail notify the gov't that you have married, you will run into problems that would probably lead to your deportation and, depending upon how long you overstayed your visa, prohibition of re entering the USA. If you decide to come and get married but not live together you might have some trouble later on getting you permenant green card since you will not have much evidence of a real relationship (shared bank accounts, address, etc.).

Probably better to wait until you can fulfill the requirements of the visa.

Good Luck Everyone that filed in July! All I can suggest is to stay active in this thread, you will make great friends, and the wait will not seem so long. Congratulations to all.

Which dress were you interested in Miss Yoko?

This is that one is it yours?

http://www.monsoon.co.uk/invt/35202341

Beautiful dress, wow.

Yeah I think I am gonna let Gareth share that info when they ask for proof of ongoing relationship haha!

Ok here's a question....does Gareth pay another fee when he goes to visa interview? We know he pays for police record (he has to get new one now argh) and medical but he wasn't sure if he pays a visa fee as well? Thanks!!

Sunnybear,

What exatly did you send them? If you sent the same information as proof of having met as last time then you might have the same problem. There is a big distinction in the minds of these people between evidence that proves an on going relationship and evidence that proves that you have met within the right time period before the application was sent in. This is the issue that is causing your problem. The cards and phone records, etc. are good for showing an ongoing relationship, but they do not answer the question of having met in person within the two year period prior to submitting the application.

You can prove you were in England through passport stamps and military ID's, but I can see how the adjudicators are confused by the circumstances because if I read it right you were there with your husband at the time. So it is not as if you flew to England to specifically meet Gareth, but met him while you were already there. In your "Circumstances of Having Met" memo in your application did you give dates and details? The documentation you give to prove that you two have met has to conform with this.

This is where purchase receipts, train tickets, hotel receipts, bank transactions (atm receipts) are important - they all place you in England at the time you and Gareth met (according to your circumstances memo). You don't need to prove that Gareth was in England, that is assumed by the adjudicator. You, as the applicant, have to prove you were there at that time.

You've got the on-going relationship thing nailed, I worry that it's in the proving of having met that you might still run into a problem God, I have my fingers crossed for you two.

Sunny I hope things will go very smooth after the RFE. With all these things you are sending them, there should not be any more problems.

Damian, we live in south St. Louis. There seems to be several people from this area on visa journey!

So, I've been in the USA for 4 days now, it is VERY hot right now, I knew it was hot but I had forgotten it would be that bad I'll get used to it. the good thing is I don't need to blow my hair after the shower: two minutes outside and it's done!

I have been exhausted the entire weekend from the jet lag. I have opened a bank account at NationalCity, they only needed my passport and another ID (I showed them my French driver license). No SSN needed. Now I'm waiting for my bank in France to set the wire transfers via the Internet.

It is nice to be here again, and together. I have met some new people and some old ones too, so nice to see them again I feel quite overwhelmed by the many things I will have to learn (all the conversion things, getting used to new products at the grocery stores, driving, etc.) but as long as I do all this step by step it should be ok.

Today is my first day completely alone, Bryan went back to work this morning. And when he comes back, we will go to a restaurant because today is my birthday we can finally celebrate together.

We will probably get married by the end of August.

I'm so glad you are settling in - and remember, I warned you about the heat in St. Louis I think you have the right attitude - one step at a time...... After all the hype and anxiety and waiting the sudden silence has to be a little deafening. It will be nice for you to get into a routine again that will keep you busy. If you two ever get buggy, Chicago isn't that far away.....

OH YES, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!