2ond journey

just a quick question. My husband would like to petition for his brother and sisters. I see you must fill out the I-130 form but what about the fee

? Do you send any money with the I-130 form or do you wait until its approved before any fee's are paid?

Hello members, Just alittle update on our journey and question. My husband arrived in the U.S in November 2008 with a cr1 visa. We started our paperwork in Janaury 2008. It was a quick process for us even though we had many red flags. We are doing very well and he is adjusting fine. Got a job in March and his drivers licence in July, now he is taking classes in September. My question is we will be lifting conditions around November 2010 does he need to get any immunizations before we do this. He only has the shots they gave him in Islamabad for the interview. He has been bugging me to ask this question on here so I hope somebody can answer it. Thank you very much. I hope everybody gets thier visa's soon , especially the ones that have been waiting so long.

Don't worry you will be fine , especially going to Islamabad. I went to Peshawar last November and nothing happened to me and I am a girl with white skin light hair blue eyes. After that we went to the bus depot and got on a daewoo bus and traveled to Lahore. Everyone was very nice and hospitible. I am sure you will have no problem.

I loved her in maude.

I was in Swat a year and a half ago with my husband. These people are not barbaric, it's the taliban that is. They have come and taken over thier community. Swat was once called a paridise on earth. The taliban uses this kind of thing as a scare tactic to scare the people. I am sure that brother was forced to hold her legs down. It said in the tape that someone was saying to hold her down more.

Its a shame they have come in and taken over and have destroyed many landmarks such as bhuda statues carved into rocks that have been there over 1,500 years. Also many other things like mansions that Kings of Swat lived in long ago.

The Pakistan army is doing nothing about it either. I am so glad my husband is out of there.

Hello everyone,

I have great news, the Visa has been issued!!!!!! I will be getting married in a few days!!!!!! Its finally over!!!!! I hope everyone else gets their visa soon!!!!!

Congratulations, I am so happy for you both.

2ond Journey,

Maybe you're husband has been unfaithful? J/k.

Clue me in, Why do you think my husband has been unfaithfull? Another thing, why do men read a thread that is obviously for woman. Could it be you might be also thinking of getting a Mirena insertion also.

Hey ladies.

Recently I had given a birth to a beautiful baby boy and because of after birth complications i needed to start taking irth control.

Right now I am on Yaz but being that my husband is coming soon I want to take something that will be more of a long term not an every day thing. I was considerng either the shot (from which i have heard there is alot of weight gaining) for 3 months or Mirena... I like the idea of not having to worry about birth control for up to 5 years but i wanted to hear it from someone that has experiaced it. IS there any side effects, or anything i should br aware of about mirena?

Please share,

Thnx

I just had a Mirena inserted in January. So far I don't like it. My periods are maybe a little bit lighter not much. I get nausea sometimes ( I thought I was pregnant at one point). What really is bad is when we have intercourse I start to bleed within a couple hours. First it's bright red then its dark brown afterwards and last for about 3 or 4 days. I know maybe its not in there right so I am calling the doctor on Monday. I am tired of it. I might just ask about getting my tubes tied. My friend got the mirena after she gave birth and it came out of her after her second period. I hope I didnt gross anybody out B) .

Can grow tomatoes just about anywhere as long as the light is right - a friend bout this Topsy Turvy tomato planter and loves it (hung in/near a window). http://www.cleanairgardening.com/totuupdotofl.html

I was thinking of getting one of those but I thought maybe when you water it the water will come down onto the floor.

I can't have a garden outside so I am thinking of growing tomatoes inside. Have any of you ever tried this? If so what was the result. Do you have any tips for growing them inside?

Thanks

Hi SIBTAIN

I am hoping he does get his visa this month. It is 7 months since his interview so we are at the average time for AP. I know it can go longer but I am hoping it comes this month. I broke my ankle at work last week, so now I am at home in a cast. Waheed is so upset that he cannot be here right now cause I am injured. But I am doing ok. My kids are taking very good care of me. This would be a good time for Waheed to come so I can stay at home with him and not work when he first comes. So pray for us. Keep us updated if you hear anything with your case.

peace

~kris

[/quote

I am sorry to hear you broke your ankle I broke mine 4 years ago. It wasn't much fun. I hope your husband can join you soon to come help you out. Till then I will be praying for you both.

Hello, My husband and I just recently went through the visa process in Islamabad. It took us from January 2008 till November 2008 to finish the process. We had many red flags in our case. I am white he is paki. Great age gap. Different religions. Not only is he from Pakistan but he comes from Swat which to my knowledge is a very hard place to get someone a visa.

At the interview the consulate asked him maybe 3 questions. Didnt look at his evidence at all. No field investigation. Six weeks later he got the visa. The only thing I can think of that we did different than some others is that I included in the original submission all our proofs. Pictures, emails, phone history ect. I also included in the package a explanation letter of all our "red flags" that the could possibly lead to denial.

In our case his family did know everything about the marraige and so did all his village. Once you let the "cat out of the bag" not only does his family know but everybody will know. It kind of puts them in a situation where thier reputation not only him, but his family gets put on the line. In the case of my husband, when everybody found out they told him " Oh she is from america and she will leave you" blah blah blah. What if I had left him, I asked him. He said " No father in his village would of given his daughter to him. Which was fine with him but maybe others would not want to take that chance.

I'm not saying that fits your situation I am just telling you what my husband has told me. Reputation and a good name means everything to Pakistani's. If family doesn't except a marraige and disown's you that is the worse thing for them.

If my husband had not told his family I would of been very suspicious and probably wouldn't of gone to meet him. Thats just me though. I hope everything turns out well for both of you and good luck in your visajourney.

You wrote this

"The only thing I can think of that we did different than some others is that I included in the original submission all our proofs. Pictures, emails, phone history ect. I also included in the package a explanation letter of all our "red flags" that the could possibly lead to denial."

My wife also did the same thing but i could not get my visa early like ur husband.

So thing is that everybody has their own circumstances.I got telephonic investigation not feild investigation may be they did but i dont know.

In "ABENITEZ" case absense of her law's is not an issue the issue is if her husband will get the field investigation like Marry wrote above (Almost all gets investigation in Desi to non desi marraiges) then it could become a problem for him and yes they can deny for visa.

You are right Sibtain, everybody has thier own circumstances and every case is different. I still dont know why my husband got his visa so fast, all I can do is guess. I have always had bad luck in my life and really didn't expect him to get his visa for 5 years. On the other hand, my husband has always had good luck .

I can say though because I was expecting problems on our journey I did do my research on denied petitions. So when I sent our application out to USCIS I included in the packet a couple inches worth of emails, e-cards. He would also called me everyday so included phone history of calls (from him) everyday. All our chat logs of us to prove we talked everyday. I printed out 2 sheets of photos (9 pictures on each sheet) of our wedding and included pics of his family with him and I. On the first page I included and explaination letter that basically talked about our relationship. I hope you get your visa soon so you can be with your wife and have a happy life. Good luck to you.

Just wanted to update all of you on our journey. My husband arrived here in November. We live in alaska so he was getting depressed because of no sunlight and cold all the time and staying inside. I tried to make him feel at home by cooking Pakistan food and stuff. Only I dont know how to cook it so some things didnt come out right. He said to me "oh its so good" but i knew he missed his food and things at home. It was rough for awhile.

Then he found a job at walmart. Now its very good. He met some pakistani people there. I drive him to work and he takes the bus home. He is trying to save up some money for a car so he can drive himself to work and back. Everybody just loves him here. His department has gotten the best so far and he is so happy now. He is happy now I am happy.

Hello, My husband and I just recently went through the visa process in Islamabad. It took us from January 2008 till November 2008 to finish the process. We had many red flags in our case. I am white he is paki. Great age gap. Different religions. Not only is he from Pakistan but he comes from Swat which to my knowledge is a very hard place to get someone a visa.

At the interview the consulate asked him maybe 3 questions. Didnt look at his evidence at all. No field investigation. Six weeks later he got the visa. The only thing I can think of that we did different than some others is that I included in the original submission all our proofs. Pictures, emails, phone history ect. I also included in the package a explanation letter of all our "red flags" that the could possibly lead to denial.

In our case his family did know everything about the marraige and so did all his village. Once you let the "cat out of the bag" not only does his family know but everybody will know. It kind of puts them in a situation where thier reputation not only him, but his family gets put on the line. In the case of my husband, when everybody found out they told him " Oh she is from america and she will leave you" blah blah blah. What if I had left him, I asked him. He said " No father in his village would of given his daughter to him. Which was fine with him but maybe others would not want to take that chance.

I'm not saying that fits your situation I am just telling you what my husband has told me. Reputation and a good name means everything to Pakistani's. If family doesn't except a marraige and disown's you that is the worse thing for them.

If my husband had not told his family I would of been very suspicious and probably wouldn't of gone to meet him. Thats just me though. I hope everything turns out well for both of you and good luck in your visajourney.

My husband should be getting his EAD card in the next couple weeks but he is technically authorized to work now based on the stamp on his I-94 card. He got his SSN number about a month ago but I put him in a class first so he could have some kind of US certification. He graduated yesterday from his class and plans to go out tommorow to apply for jobs. I'm not sure what kind of timeline all of this would fall in but I think he is on the right track. The hardest part for my husband is he is a medical school graduate but can't work as a doctor. For now he is willing to take whatever job he can so I thank God for that.

I'm sure each man is different on what works for him. They need at least a few weeks to a month after arrival to adjust and get the hang of things. After that it is a matter of them just trying to find work once they have authorization. The economy definitely makes things hard so what I did is search for what jobs are the most in demand. Though it is well beneath my husband's level, I saw the job with the most openings is nurse's assistant. It isn't glamorous and isn't the greatest pay, but it is a job and a step in the right direction. Try to look for what is available in your area and requires little or no training for your husband. That is my suggestion. Good luck!

What kind of class did you find for your husband? My problem is that my fiance is coming from Guatemala and did not graduate high school, he quit school at 16 to start working. He also does not speak hardly any English. Since we are going the K-1 process and will have a few months before receiving EAD, the general plan is to get GED (offered in Spanish!) and to work on learning Spanish so he can at least handle an interview, even if the actual job doesn't require a lot of English. He has only done restaurant work in Guatemala and as he lives in a tourist town, he has picked up his English that way - we always speak in Spanish but if I ask him what he ate for dinner, he almost always responds in English He has said he will do anything, sure there are jobs he prefers over others, but he wants to work ASAP. With my income as a teacher we can make it, but we really want to start saving money to have kids within a year or two Either way, any ideas for jobs for those who don't really speak English yet? BTW, glad you all here in MENA aren't against hearing from those from elsewhere

I sent my husband to a Nurse's Aid class. It cost about $1000 and is a 4 day a week class for 3 weeks. At the end of the class your certified and can get a job at a hospital or nursing home. If you do a job search in the medical field you will see there is a high demand for Nurse's aid. The pay isn't great, depending on the area it is between $7 to $12 an hour but it gets them started on something, will give a reference for later and is an easy job to get. Not only that but the job usually comes with medical benefits which is important.

Thats what i am sending my husband through is a C.N.A class in May. The starting pay here is about 15-16 an hour. He could also decide if he wants to become a nurse or something else in the medical field. They are always looking for people in that field. I almost was going to send him for Phlebotomy but that takes almost a year to complete so he changed his mind. The hospital here will pay for half of your schooling if you work for them and decide to further your education. I think it might be a good start for him. I am a C.N.A , so I have told him all the about the job and what it entails.

Well we have had change of plans. Tariq got a job working in Walmart. He loves it so far. He comes home so tired though The way he got it was , we were shopping there and he saw a man that looked like a boss working there, from India. So he went right up to him and started talking. The man told him to use him as a reference. So he did.

The interview was so long , 2 hours .

So no need to take the C.N.A course now. I suggested though, because the hospital has better benefits, he could take the Phlebotomy class now. It's about one year long. One day a week at night for 3 hours. He seems to be adjusting well here now he just misses his family so much.

The only problem I have now is in the morning it takes so long to get him going. It's almost like having another teenager in the house getting them up for school.

My husband should be getting his EAD card in the next couple weeks but he is technically authorized to work now based on the stamp on his I-94 card. He got his SSN number about a month ago but I put him in a class first so he could have some kind of US certification. He graduated yesterday from his class and plans to go out tommorow to apply for jobs. I'm not sure what kind of timeline all of this would fall in but I think he is on the right track. The hardest part for my husband is he is a medical school graduate but can't work as a doctor. For now he is willing to take whatever job he can so I thank God for that.

I'm sure each man is different on what works for him. They need at least a few weeks to a month after arrival to adjust and get the hang of things. After that it is a matter of them just trying to find work once they have authorization. The economy definitely makes things hard so what I did is search for what jobs are the most in demand. Though it is well beneath my husband's level, I saw the job with the most openings is nurse's assistant. It isn't glamorous and isn't the greatest pay, but it is a job and a step in the right direction. Try to look for what is available in your area and requires little or no training for your husband. That is my suggestion. Good luck!

What kind of class did you find for your husband? My problem is that my fiance is coming from Guatemala and did not graduate high school, he quit school at 16 to start working. He also does not speak hardly any English. Since we are going the K-1 process and will have a few months before receiving EAD, the general plan is to get GED (offered in Spanish!) and to work on learning Spanish so he can at least handle an interview, even if the actual job doesn't require a lot of English. He has only done restaurant work in Guatemala and as he lives in a tourist town, he has picked up his English that way - we always speak in Spanish but if I ask him what he ate for dinner, he almost always responds in English He has said he will do anything, sure there are jobs he prefers over others, but he wants to work ASAP. With my income as a teacher we can make it, but we really want to start saving money to have kids within a year or two Either way, any ideas for jobs for those who don't really speak English yet? BTW, glad you all here in MENA aren't against hearing from those from elsewhere

I sent my husband to a Nurse's Aid class. It cost about $1000 and is a 4 day a week class for 3 weeks. At the end of the class your certified and can get a job at a hospital or nursing home. If you do a job search in the medical field you will see there is a high demand for Nurse's aid. The pay isn't great, depending on the area it is between $7 to $12 an hour but it gets them started on something, will give a reference for later and is an easy job to get. Not only that but the job usually comes with medical benefits which is important.

Thats what i am sending my husband through is a C.N.A class in May. The starting pay here is about 15-16 an hour. He could also decide if he wants to become a nurse or something else in the medical field. They are always looking for people in that field. I almost was going to send him for Phlebotomy but that takes almost a year to complete so he changed his mind. The hospital here will pay for half of your schooling if you work for them and decide to further your education. I think it might be a good start for him. I am a C.N.A , so I have told him all the about the job and what it entails.

Well i have a funny little story about my husband trying to find a job. He just started putting applications in at places. The first one he took his application too he was alittle nervouse. I told him that it wasn't a good idea for me to come in there with him to submit it. Anyway, I went into the first door with him and told him to go into the next door and give them the ap. He came out a minute later and said " Come here and talk to the woman here". I kind of rolled my eyes thinking, What now. I went inside and she said to me, " all we have available is Janitorial work, is that ok?" I said, Yes to her, thats fine.

Thinking to myself, why he couldn't tell her that himself. We got outside and I asked him , " Why didn't you tell her yes?" " Why did you have to come get me?" He said, " I didn't know what Janitorial Work was." I said. " Didn't you ask her?" He said, "Yes, she said it was cleaning." I said, "Then what was the problem?" He said," I thought Janitorial was kind of a sexy word in english." I'm thinking now , what the hell is he talking about. Then he kept saying the word over again and it came out in his words GENITORIAL. I started to laugh my #### off. He thought he would be cleaning GENITALS at this place. I can just picture in my mind what he was thinking.

2ond journey - I just looked at your link - great tool!!! But I'm confused by what you said about the McDonald's french fries - the site claims the following:

CONTAINING NON ZABIHA BEEF EXTRACT

That is not the same as containing a pork product.

In food labelling lard [pork based shortening] must be labelled as lard or animal based fat. That will be a huge tip off for anyone trying to avoid questionable animal based fats - the law plainly states it:

(14) Each individual fat and/or oil ingredient of a food intended

for human consumption shall be declared by its specific common or usual

name (e.g., "beef fat", "cottonseed oil") in its order of

predominance in the food except that blends of fats and/or oils may be

designated in their order of predominance in the foods as "------

shortening" or "blend of ------ oils", the blank to be filled in with

the word "vegetable", "animal", "marine", with or without the

terms "fat" or "oils", or combination of these, whichever is

applicable if, immediately following the term, the common or usual name

of each individual vegetable, animal, or marine fat or oil is given in

parentheses, e.g., "vegetable oil shortening (soybean and cottonseed

oil)". For products that are blends of fats and/or oils and for foods

in which fats and/or oils constitute the predominant ingredient, i.e.,

in which the combined weight of all fat and/or oil ingredients equals or

exceeds the weight of the most predominant ingredient that is not a fat

or oil, the listing of the common or usual names of such fats and/or

oils in parentheses shall be in descending order of predominance.

So - if a label says "animal fat" it can be ANY animal. If it states "beef fat" or "beef tallow" it HAS to be from a cow.

The same nomenclature rules are followed for flavors. If a label states Natural Beef Flavor - it CAN NOT contain flavoring items not from a cow [that being said non-flavoring items like salts, solvents, and preservatives may come from other sources...Ethyl Alcohol is a solvent, so be warned]. If a label states Natural Beef Flavor with Other Natural Flavors, the flavor will contain ingredients from other flavoring sources [like garlic or onion or autolyzed yeast proteins - possibly even other meat sources!].

I know labels and ingredient statements in the US are tough to follow. Improvements are being made ALL the time. But it's just like everything else, industry fights it because of the costs associated with changing the way of doing things...

I thought the lard they cook the fries in might of contained pork fat. I read it somewhere but now cant find the site. It might be Wendy's I cant remember. I will have to research it more. Here is another site.

http://www.soundvision.com/Info/halalhealthy/ingridient.asp

You might also consider researching the cr-1 visa. I did that with my husband from pakistan and he just recieved his 2 year resident card and dont have to worry about doing anything for 2 years. It really doesnt take that much longer than k-3 visa and is so much better in my opinion. Good luck

I started calling dos,weekly, after one month after his interview. He got the call from the embassy to send in his passport after 6 weeks of ap. He is also from Pakistan. When he called me and told me the embassy had called I serouisly thought it was a joke from his friends or something. His sister took the call. I called the dos right away and they told me that i would be getting company soon and congratulations. We had many redflags also. He has a very very common name, big age difference, different religions ect. He is now in the next room sleeping like a baby . So dont get discouraged he may be off ap sooner than you think even if he is from Pakistan. I didnt email the embassy or call my congressmen I just kept calling dos each week. I think thats all you can do for now.

I did email them one week before he got the call to get his visa. I just stated that I would be in Pakistan visiting him and that if they needed to reach me I would be at his cell phone number. He was able to fly back home with me. I hope you have smooth journey like we did and good luck.

My husband got his visa today, after waiting for 15 days for AMEX to call. He has a cr-1 visa but it says its only good for one year residence. I thought a cr-1 was good for 2 years. Does anybody know if it should be for one year or two? If its suppose to be for 2 years should we mention it at the port of entry?

Congratulations!

The visa in the passport always says it is good for one year. Once you activate it and come to the USA you use it for proof until your green card arrives usually 4 - 6 weeks after the POE. The one year notation gives you plenty of time while waiting on the actual card. The actual green card shows a 2 year validity date.

Have a safe trip home.

Thank you so much mary. We are hoping to get tickets tomorrow and fly home together the next coming week. To answer choo-choo's question. Our interview date was end of august, he was on ap for 66 days. Hope you all get your visa's soon.

My husband got his visa today, after waiting for 15 days for AMEX to call. He has a cr-1 visa but it says its only good for one year residence. I thought a cr-1 was good for 2 years. Does anybody know if it should be for one year or two? If its suppose to be for 2 years should we mention it at the port of entry?

My husband got the call to send his visa 2 days before i was leaving for Pakistan. He sent it out on the 4th of November , the day i left for Pakistan. We are still waiting. I have to say I was quite surprised I expected to wait for another year for ap to finish. We waited alittle over 2 months for ap to finish . So now we are stuck here in Pakistan waiting for the infamous call from amex.