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Three weeks after receiving the I-129F? Even longer for people that filed in Feb....

and why didn't we get touches on the I-130 as well, since pairing means putting together TWO forms...

Anyone tried to call to ask about the touches?

Many have been touched around the same date.It could be that they are putting together I-130 and I-129F.

So, among K-3 MARCH filers, who got touches these last 2 weeks?

No. You can travel freely there, but you cannot RESIDE (although no one will check normally, they will in order to issue you with a work permit). It is easy though to get residence there, since your spouse is a EU citizen, but he/she will need to get residence in Ireland too first...

If I hold a Dutch residence visa (note: NOT a permanent residence, just a year-valid residence card that enables me to work), and am married to a Dutch citizen, is it true (as I've heard from my Mother and Sister in law) that I am legal to live in Ireland (so long as the visa is valid for) and need only apply for a work permit in order to work there?

Thanks in advance

You mean K-3 touches? Some got touches on Apr. 13 and 14... But I still have not seen a sustained level of Jan/Feb. approvals..Only one or two random cases. I believe they are still working on Sept. Oct. Hopefully we'll soon seen many Nov. Dec. as well... and who knows with USCIS, perhaps even many Jan. Feb. and March!

Hi,

Count me in too with your list of february filers, though our case was filed on the last day of feb

One thing which I did notice is that a lot of people february filers have got their last touch either on 26th of feb or on 14th of March.........just something to ponder about

I disagree.. the pairing must have taken place closer to your NOA1... Recent touches MAY be a good sign, or perhaps means that they have started the checks on you? That an RFE is on the way? hope not that! ;-)

touches don't mean anything

Probley not, most likely just pairing up the I-130 with the I-129F, then back into a dust infested box with hundreds of others petitions to sit there to rot. Its emontinally draining what we go thry to be with our hubands/wifes. Somethings got to give soon. Its starting to take a toll on my marriage. And yes, Im VERY negative today.

Paris Heart

touches don't mean anything

I think your three touches (March and April) mean that you'll VERY soon get approved for your I-130. That is also consisten with your timeline...

You didn't get any touches on the 13 and 14 of April?

Perhaps your approval is already in the mail! good luck and be positive!

Surely something is up! I hope you get some good news this week!!

But my question is: are there only FEW people who got all these recent touches, or are there many? If they are many couldn't it simply mean that they have sent the names to the FBI for the background checks, or that they are rearranging their files somehow? I WANT to believe that no, it is because someone is taking a look at our applications and feeling they are straightforward cases that can be sent to our embassies because a K-3 ought to be fast... BUT...

another part of me says, do NOT be too excited... it might stop here and still would have to wait your 4-5-6 months like anyone else....

Oh pretty PLEASEEEEE PLEASE!!

Now.... who else got a touch today?????

yes, back in October and before they were fine.. whenever you called, the website will get updated in the "Last Updated" column..

Somethingis up with VSC, they touched me again just now.

Paris Heart.

Another record approval! Congratulations!!

I think this coming 20 days we will see many approvals from Nov., Dec. and possibly some more from Jan. at VSC...

Keep us posted of progress with NVC!

I agree, it is very important from an emotional point of view, but honestly I cannot draw too many conclusions from this.. They might be accessing the petition ONLINE, just to do whatever. It does NOT mean necessarily that the petition

(forms and all) is actually on anyone's desk....

I saw VJers that got touched Feb. March and now April, but still nothing in terms of NOA2... Let's keep monitoring! It would be good to know HOW MANY from the Jan. Feb. and March filers got touches, from which countries, and how many did not at all ever since NOA1.

Ditto, K-3 seems to be moving, or at least many touches are being generated. But let's not rejoyce to early...

Are we sure that a touch means that they are actually doing anything on a petition? Anyone got random touches and then nothing again for a few months until approval? I hope that is NOT the case and that a touch means that an approval is round the corner!

My I-129F also got touched on two consecutive days last week. I think Vermont is making progress and that good news is on the way for all of us!

Paris Heart, you should join our January filers thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=104382

So the system would allow a credit-card payment? I hope it goes live soon, so that we can all benefit from faster processing!

They should do the same at USCIS to submit I-130 and I-129 and pay their fees... All you'd need would be a scanner and an internet access, and you could then file the original petition before getting the final approval for double checking... even just being able to pay online instead of via check would save time and money. This would speed up procedures and cut costs for all.

I hope that USCIS wakes up to the 21st century and computers soon too!

Exactly, don't sweat it! I doubt that congressmen can do much... Normally they just act on late applications that probably would get approved presently anyway... Your situation is probably straightforward, and you are still well within USCIS timelines, so you can only wait, but considering your situation it is worth a try, you never know..

I am sure you'll get your approval by the end of next month! Consider how to speed up your NVC process (shortcuts or at least line up all the info/documents in advance) and you'll be fine!

Good luck

Probably doesnt help that I live in Texas where there is a large number of Mexicans trying to immigrate here.

I'm sure he sees letters like mine every day.

Let's hope that the new director cleans the house and gets things rolling at long last!!

Either the forums are slow this month or the NOA2 are slow, figured i would just pop in and say Hello to everyone anyway. Good luck to us all and I hope both centers start back up soon.

I can't wait to get thru this April and see where both VSC and CSC are for the month of april. I hope/pray/beg that they get this sh*t moving at faster pace.

CS

Perhaps depends on country of origin? I have noticed other people from Iraq that got approved in record time...

CONGRATULATIONS I think Im right they must be pushing the Iraqis

November filing and approved? Isn't that fantastic! Congratulations!!!!

Vermont, watch and learn!! California is WAY faster than Vermont!! Vermont seems to bother about K-1 only...

Congratulations!!! Good luck on the rest of your journey!!!

Thank you. I'm sooo tired and need some sleep, but I'm hyper! We got approved!!!!

Iwas told, do not break any laws and always carry an english translation (done by you is fine) of the DL..

Apparently they cannot stop you for a check if you do not break any rule?

At any rate I prefer to drive a rental car rather than my spouse's car, if I need to get stopped for any ticket! ;-)

i would suggest to just go and get a US license first, then it takes care of all the trouble from it.

We thought about buying a car, leasing a car (my sweet said it wasn't a good idea in LA because the distances are so far), and after all we will probably share his car for the first few months until i get a job .

(it was more $$ responsible for the start).

She is not eligible for a US license...she is a visitor...her foreign is perfectly good for driving here.

REALLY?? Last time I visited I spent 1400 with thrifty! and for 3 weeks!! more than half is taxes and insurance...

J, can you tell me more about insurance ? Can you use an external company for that??? can you do that AFTER you have rented the vehicle??

Thanks!

B)-->

I'd rather avoid the big names because I am afraind I'd get a raw deal... thanks to everyone for the opinions..

I have also found cheap car rental... will see which one is cheaper. I do not care the car is great.. as long as it drives me approx a couple of hours per day for 2 months or so.. Buying another car does not seem a good option. Will buy one when I finally get my greencard and US DL...

For now, for visiting, I just need cheap transportation, without any risks. Will see if I can cover part of the damage liability with my spouse car insurance, but I doubt they can insure a car that is owned by a rental company?

I do not mind the rates, what is too expensive usually is damage liability etc...

16.16 a day for entreprise for a compact... (for a montly rent)

rent a wreck (despite its name still sound more interesting)

sorry i didnt read you were just visiting !

One car is not enough, is it!

I'll check that out but the name doesn't sound good! ;-)

He doesnt have a car??

Use RENT-A-WRECK if they still exist.

I'll be travelling to see my USC spouse (if they do not send me back at Immigration!) since I am only at my first month of waiting after filing my I-130...

I am planning to stay a couple of months, but I'll neeed a car. What's the best option to rent one, knowing that I have a non-US driving licence? Since damage waiver is very expensive, is there any option? In case my USC spouse can rent it for me, if it makes any difference..

as long as you are in the US faster and back to work "NOT later" than with CR-1, I think it is worth it!

I don't think the K-3s are really moving much faster through USCIS at this point. They do however, only take about 1 month at NVC compared to 3 months for CR-1/IR-1. Interview times for the two can vary widely, so I would suggest checking your regional forum to determine the Embassy/Consulate time lines for the two different visa types.

My opinion, is the end result is on a K-3 he will be in the U.S. faster, but he probably won't be back at work faster. It really depends on your priorities.

Kip, I'll book my flight with Delta: I think it is the cheapest too for my route! I'll try to risk the weekend though, unless I find evidence that it's best to stick to weekdays in the next couple of days..

I'll line up some irrefutable evidence, in case they ask me: I think well stuffed EU bank accounts tell a clear story about the fact that I cannot be a liability to them! I doubt I can write my own employment letter, so I ll take with me a copy of my company's papers.. I'll also carry a copy of I-130 and I-129F probably, altough the fact that I filed recently surely doesn't play in my part (they might think I cannot bear the waiting, but I hope they read it as: I know how it works, I have nothing to hide and I do want to play by the rules!)

Does anyone know what EXACTLY they can see once they scan your passport/name? The name of your spouse? The whole I-130 data? If you have any other internal flight in the US booked?

you think POE is closed Saturdays? Hope not!

American Airlines would suite me MUCH better... but I think I can use Delta if they accept my Skyteam miles! ;-)

What can be considered STRONG ties to your country? I am self employed and do not rent a house...

But I do have bank accounts in 3 European countries... What a stronger tie than money? ;-) Would that be ok to show that one has bank accounts here in Europe?

Yes ..... Dublin has POE for the US, but not on all flights. I called the US Immigration department at Dublin Airport and asked the very nice and friendly American (by the sounds of it there was only one .... the rest were Irish) what flights were under the U.S. POE scheme and he told me Delta.

I was shocked at the ease of contacting them .... as I haven't been able to in the U.S.

I am looking at going on a flight during the working week (monday through friday) incase they're all off at the weekend .... the Irish are wonderful, but their working hours may be a dodgy at weekends I'm thinking.

The U.S. POE is only open in the mornings from 6am till 12pm I do believe, but basically, if you fly Delta to the U.S. on a morning flight out of Dublin you'll clear Immigration in Ireland .... and know that you're through before start the trans atlantic flight.

Make sure it's a direct flight into the U.S. and not one with a changeover outside the U.S.

Take anything you can get your hands on which shows ties to your homeland .... the American Immigration Officer I spoke to in Dublin did stress this to me, but was helpful and friendly.

As far as one way flights ..... I don't know about that .... if you had purely Delta, they'd be able to see your return flight booked on the screen maybe when you check in .... remember you'll get more questions there as well.

I have no idea if you'll get a hard time having return flights with different companies.

And AJS .... as far as flying when a case is at NVC, my personal opinion would be that they would just the same .... you're still an impending immigrant ..... always take as many ties to your homeland that you can and hope for the best.

If they question you, at least you can be honest and say you're approved but still have to return for interview anyway .... who on earth would want to ####### it up at that stage is beyond me.

Flying with an intent to immigrate to the U.S. in the future and proof of it on the screen is going to be dodgy, whatever way you look at it , but hopefully you guys will get someone with a heart that day when going though POE.

Goodluck, and do let us all know if you get through if you decide to fly.

Saturdays, I was just presuming that being 'fun' Ireland, everything may not be as 'on the ball' as during the week, hence I'd do it during the week.

Just my preference, so to make myself feel more secure with going through POE in Ireland.

I don't know about American Airlines apart from there being a couple of people on here in the past who got caught out flying with them through Dublin, and ended up going through POE Stateside.

Me, personally, I wouldn't risk it, as the Immigration Officer was specific about Delta.

Strong ties, to me ? Well, if you're self employed, then you'll have business cards and business bank accounts. I agree that there is no stronger tie than money.

However, it is a 'tick box' scenario isn't it really .... so, you could even type up a letter using your company letterhead, stating you have to be back for work on a certain date, and get one of your managers to sign it .... just a thought obviously.

Plus, you have to live 'somewhere', and there surely is paperwork appertaining to that ??

Utility bills at least ??

And don't forget that all important return flight.

My humble opinion, long journeys are the best ones to get to know each other... But espcially when apart, MORE and BETTER communication is needed.

In the long life journey, investing some time for the Visa Journey and to know where your marriage is going, is well spent time. Whatever the outcome, you will have learned something and hopefully sorted out what is best for you!

Good luck

We are at the first stage of our visa process, USC husband just filed the I-130, but I am already feeling like giving up.

I downloaded the forms from USCIS website, filled up the I-130 and G-325A, put a sticky note at where he supposed to put down his signature, double checked everything before mailing them to him by snail mail. After two months of constant reminders, he finally mailed them out to USCIS on Mar 15 2008.

He just received the NOA1 in the mail today and sent me a scanned copy. I saw my name on the NOA I-797C was wrong! It was my husband's mistake. He somehow mixed up the forms that I mailed to him and the a copy that he filled up earlier with the wrong name. Don't ask me how that could happen!

I have done everything required on my part, gathering all the documents required from me for the next stage of the process, and I am waiting to send them out as soon as we get the next NOA. But, he is taking his time to gather the documents for the I-864 and doesn't seem to have a clue of what he is supposed to do, even though I have forwarded all the guides from this forum and USCIS website to him. He hasn't looked at them!!!

He wants me to visit next month and is looking for an apartment for us to move into (he lived with his cousins since he moved back there last year). In fact, I have started all the preparations to move gradually since we decided to start the migration last Nov, I have sold the brick and mortal business that I used to run and is working mostly online right now. I have also sold some of the furniture, getting ready to rent out the house and sell the car so that I can move back to my parents for a few weeks before leaving to visit him next month.

I have doubt about my decision and my future life in the States right now. Should I even bother to proceed with this long and winding journey with little support from him? I guess my discontentment started when I see what others are doing for their SOs on this forum and felt that I am being taken for granted.

At the same time, I have been offered a job with an ex-employer (left 9 years ago) that required me to relocate to another city, I am tempted to take up. The reason for that: I felt that I am embarking on a lonely journey without a companion, and having a new career will keep me occupied while my husband put his acts together.

I know this is a marriage problem, not a visa problem, and I don't really know what answers I am looking for. But, thank you for a place to rant.

Add the G-325As... Whatever the lady told you, best to follow the rules! Who knows how and when they put together the petitions! And do not forget the photos.

We filed the K-3 because we think that it will be quicker than the CR1... Everyone files for CR1, not everyone files for K-3... Also, you save time at NVC (hopefully). Faster at the consulate (hopefully). And you only waste more time once you are at least already reunited. We count on a speedier AOS further down the line once USCIS has put itself together after the big summer crisis, rather than a speedy CR-1 procedure right now.

It seems that the date of filing the I-130 is what matters also for the K-3, but at any rate we filed only 10 days apart or so...

Good luck!

quote name='Daniele & Jen' date='Mar 27 2008, 10:55 PM' post='1701112']

Hi March Filers!

I had a little down time today and started looking into the K-3 visa. I decided to write here in our thread because we are all at the same stage in this process and I haven't found a great thread elsewhere with sufficient answers or maybe I just couldn't find it.

I saw that Gracey has filed an I-129F and I'm wondering what everyone else is planning on doing. Its my understanding that the K-3 can go a lot faster (especially at NVC) and that my husband can travel between the U.S. and Italy on it while the I-130 is still pending (or we can apply for Adjustment of Status here). I called USCIS and the woman I spoke to strongly suggested I apply for it because at this stage it doesn't cost any extra and because it was going to take "234 days to adjudicate the I-130" (thats not counting the NVC and Italy part)!!!. I'm thinking its worth a try so that my husband can at least visit me here! My vacation time, holidays, and personal days can only be stretched so far for trips to visit him!

For those of you that have filed or are planning to file the I-129F, what are you sending with it? The person from USCIS said I only need to send the I-129F, a copy of the NOA1 (as evidence of the I-130), and a copy of my marriage certificate. She said that the G-325A didn't need to be sent again because it had already been sent with the I-130. This is all in contrast to what the VJ guide says: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k3guide. I wish the guides included WHY certain things should be sent when USCIS instructions indicate otherwise: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-129Finstr.pdf (only documents from Items 1,2 and 4 are required). I verified this requirement with USCIS (not that they actually know anything).

I would love to hear what everyone thinks!

Jennifer

Please do let us know how it goes next week!

This latest F**K UP from USCIS has pushed me over the edge. I have been in contact with my Congressman from the beginning of this process, was told he would send an inquiry at anytime. Well, I have been patient and not wanting to use that inquiry to leap ahead people. We filed out I-130 Sept.21, so I have waited patiently for over 6 months. But, with this mornings rolling back the clock on us at the VSC was the last straw for me. I sent over the letter to his office and it was faxed to the VSC about 2 hours ago. If all holds true they are supposed to reply back to the Congressman's office in 48 hours. If any one is interested I will report back here when I get some news.