juana17

Hola chica,

the internet has been very good lately from correodecuba, Aldeki writes me daily unless he has a day where he isn't in town and is home in Boyeros, I am thrilled to say i have hundreds of beautiful love notes!! Recently they are much longer and more detailed. And he sends me picture files all the time now of his latest works ( photos)so I know the accessibility de servicios es good. bien entonces,.. My other cubano friends and familia all claim the the mail is frequently picked thru though and so they use little codes for some things and to test. Since I am half cuban maybe none of this is news to me and i try not to let it bother, but once in a while when the mail gets held up for many hours and i am waiting for an answer to a question it is nerve wracking. yes, the amount of people waiting at all tiendas de correo is many and so it always takes un media hora---una hora para esperar... dificil pero mas barato ... The hotels are expensive to use and the service goes down often mid mensage, esa no es bueno! . Since I left in march it has been torture, being here living apart, so hard. Gracias dios we will be together in 2 days!!! And no more internet for us for a while!!!!! We go to the sierrra maestras to be with family and then get married, after that, just work to live and the back and forth will eventually be together not seperate. Time and distance between partners has a meaning all its own, entiende? claro, tu' sabes.... so any way, it is still very good to hear about other couples and to stay connected to sweet people. hope you are well and that spring there is very nice. we finally have leaves and flowers and my gardens are all planted so while I am away they will produce much for others to enjoy. take care, j

Juana!

Great news, and congratulations on your matrimonio. We'll be here to help out when you file!!!!

Paz, L.

Thank you so much, I just returned to the island (Another 18 hours driving!) so exhausted , and happy to be packing to leave on Sunday, my sweet partner awaiting me. I had a very sad and scarey experience after all my wonderful news but, faith and trust are good strengths to reach for... for me who is shy to share news with others is harder than easy, but to have such good support and answers for questions is lovely. sometimes it is perfect.

paz tambien,

j

After months and months of trying to find out what was the best way for us to get married, we are there.... I will have to post again after we are both breathing and less tired. We have been so close and so secure that our letters took on an other earthly feel, and reality is far uglier at times. Since we both felt a destiny moment 2 years ago and finally acted on it and found total satisfaction and soul -mate in each other, this has been strong enough to make our plans on. Or as Aldeki says, "you can bet for it always my tati,,,,"

(i love the thread , what does your SO say that makes you smile/laugh)

Any thing he says well almost anything, makes me so happy, we are both equally lucky... any way . I could write all about the procedure for getting married there, and yes it would make anyone look at any other option. It is designed to be crazy making. And expensive beyond compare. Its not the wedding you are paying for , it is just protocol and nothing makes good sense. But es cuba, and the people all pay through the nose for everything, how unfair!!! I will say I drove 18 hours to Washington from my island to wait hours and hours first at the US Authentications office, 9 $ per doc, Barato!! and my secretary of state , also 10 per... after the town notary , free, so in the END,

the CIS was 140.$ per doc X 2 for the translation!! so 3 docs was 840. 00 and then there was the translator who , no, was not in house as I had been told it might me, but a woman arranging her cousin to do a computer translation, and then run 10 blocs to another notary so at 25. per page..... hmmmmm oh well , at that point after 2 days of no sleep and praying that it ...would go uhmmmmm smoothly.(jejeje!)24 hours before! So, the good part is, :P :star: :star:

I get to marry my partner, and he is as happy as I am....We are ready to explode, and I can listen to him say he will be there for me for the rest of my life, it just feels good. So, my journey, bringing Aldeki here when we decide where that here will be, that will begin maybe after we do this. We are lucky we went for his passporte in febrero, and it was only 55,cuc, maybe who knows, he will be one of the men that has a good experience with a wife in Cuba that he can travel and not have to jump through rings of fire. Hope springs eternal. our life is pretty sweet right now...

.....ok so I never had a smiley face op, I'm gonna run with it .....

a very happy woman in love

Hi out there calling all persons who understand the lay of the land so to speak... Cuba es diferente, and persons in love with a cubano /cubana, sure know this!

please, real experience wanted...I need to know at least where to ask and who , if not here..

I am returning, need to for many important reasons and want to marry there , en habana.

I know to have my passport, birth certificate, copies of divorce, and that they will need to be translated ,( probably there but I'll get it done here too)

I want to know if I need to send my papers to who? for what? and what $$ ??? and how fast can it be done.. or if I am there can I just go to the consultaria/notary, spend the 700.$ plus whatever else to expedite ( i think 75.$) (so I am able to get it done and go visit my in-laws without worry of time running out.) and of course then book the time to do the deed and marry my beloved!

any one on this forum (US citizen only) married in Cuba or know someone I can talk with? I have been going crazy reading whatever I can get on the cuban minrex site / of servicios notarias and I still am not sure. the US gov sites are hard to understand for me. Please please help. I want this to go as well as possible, knowing Cuba, lots can happen!!!! gracias para todos...

J

OH FANTASTIC FOR YOU!!! I am so so happy to hear that you will soon be together, news like this gives me much hope... I cannot apply yet as we are waitng for papers, birth certificates etc. And I have lately been so down... but this is like sun to me here in the cold north. thank you. do keep sharing your knowledge, it does really help !!!

Hello All,

I believe the carta blanca is gone. Mary has her Carta blanca in her passport, and was asked by the office of immgration to come in 10 days before she leaves. She went to the office and they told her there going to remove the Carta blanca, and add a stamp there...they took her passport, plane tickets and carne. she going to pick up the passport and plane tickes on thrusday, and unfortunatly, they are going to keep the carne. 9 more days until she gets here...i can't wait....Edwin

Oh thank you so so much for that...

I have been sweating blood over this, wondering what I should do and making my way to the process more slowly than i want because of the fear. I have also been 3 tims in the last 6 monthes, infact, I was there for 5 months ....wish I had not been such a scaredy cat about keeping stuff. Pictures of our bank book would be nice about now..

I really am nervous about the evidence because I have deleted so many photos it is sick, but although i have thousands of others and strangers and dogs, markets churches etc. i take very few of my boy friend back then, only now that I have digital... My plane stubs , i have some of course none from Mexicana which i could saywas the visit of my one fully hosted trip, almost entirely legal (I attended a conferencia of therapy and rehabilitacion) and so on....

can you tell me why you did not marry there? i am just trying to hear from as many persons as I can from US why this is the best, my case is that yes we want to be able to be here( very important), but that we must keep residency there as i am trying very hard to have a project there... So I really would love to hear what you know about our adjusted status after marriage to a cuban national. I ask because in the ministerio judicial i was told so many things that i do not know what to think....

Next question, does the medical "check " always cost 400. cuc?? is it possible any different from any different municipio or hospital/ dr.? I am well used to the hurry up to wait scenario en cuba...Es Cuba...... my biggest worries are in the waiting , needing to get money to him there for the next parts, I definitely would want to go in person , yet that is another huge chunk out of what we need to keep for this process. ! Que lastima!!! maybe i will let the good news of having found this board and some nice people settle in and feel happier, it must be the april fool's joke for me , a woman that loves to be warm to be on an island in Maine, where it is snowing!! not so fun, we all need some flores/flowers!! And at least now I am waiting for my loved one with a few friendly kindred spirits,right? If I could "see " examples of a really good format to present all of this that would b fantastic. Thankyou for helping another person feel encouraged, this is hard without help. one last question, Do letters of support from anyone important in state government help? I don't know if that is even possible but I would like to know just in case...

so, please , let me know the better approaches, all tips gratefully accepted!! And yes , i do have milions of questions, many of which are solely related to Cuba and the structure of the system,which is pretty complicated. Verdad! muchisimas gracias!! I am already feeling a bit better even though today is just as dark and cold as yesterday. I better put some music on and get going , lots to do!!

Joanna

I

First i like to say that i feel your pain.

I felt the same way about 8 months ago. When i originally filed my I-129f, and I thought i would be clever and use the hardship excuse that I couldn't visit my fiancé due to U.S restrictions. USCIS quickly replied and threaten to reject my petition until i provided evidence of meeting. I consulted with a lawyer, and he told me to reply back with the truth that made many trips to Cuba without a license. I provided the evidence - pictures, visas in Canada and Mexico, plane ticket stubs, luggage stubs, and a letter begging for forgiveness. And they approved my case with no problem. To be honest they do not really care if you go illegal. I have been there 3 times in the last 6 months. Twice i went to the U.S interest section, and never had a problem. In fact, they treated me very well. So do not worry about that. Although right now you might not have the emails to prove your relationship, but you can start sending emails to him and vice versa. Pictures of you two together are important, try to provide that. Phone bills, calling cards, letters, gifts are other examples. If you need any help, let us know...Edwin&Mary.

que bueno! gracias para todos.... I sometimes write more "stream of conciousness" than I should for others to read and respond to.... lo siento.

good to hear the advice on the meeting question, it has kept me up at night since I first saw it a long while back...

next , I am trying to get a final tally on all the fees on doing the K-1. because you are with a cubano, lets see if we looking at the same ahem.. remitances...

this is a big budget to make and try to hold down.....

We are applying for non-immigrant status, as we do not want to lose his residence.

I worry that we will have to put up a large "surety" money before his exit visa will be granted..

Had you ever considered marrying en cuba?

What are the best reasons not to?

Reasons to go to the interview there? it is all dificil, muy dificil.... es cuba...

My wondering of the time frame we are talking about is,

if we apply in MAY,( and god willing, it is approved) when does anyone think it is possible that Mi novio would arrive and for how long would he have the visa? 3MESES?

I of course need to know as RT plane tickets must have dates on the back end. And after our marriage, i want to register so that I can stay there with him for 6 months instead of 2...

complicado , eh?

Bien, this is a good start, to have this forum complete with real people from everywhere including the US. I had never seen it before last night, what a shock after all the constant searching I do, and to only have had a few canadian based sites etc.

My informacion from the consultorio y notarias is so vastly different that it is hard to do any comparative analysis with, but still, quizas because I am cubana americana culturally, I find myself weighing it all as if both side were equal... hmmmm....

well, I better stop now, my mind gets ahead of what I can do, because now its a waiting game. I will take the advice to get my letters together and try to organize them, I did see from one gentleman that had everything go very swiftly that he was meticulously together... hmmm.. documents are what you don't genrally save from cuba... we do hav a shared bank account, think that is a good thing? of course the bank book is there... ok thank you so much,good night for now!! joanna

[Hi, thanks so much fro at least trying to reply and answer my questions, yeah I know i went a bit over there, feeling so frustrated at that moment..

I took the time to read your initial or one of your first posts on your profile thing, sounds like we have some similar situations. I have a final divorce decree on May 14 all waiting done, I should have divorced long ago but just didn't do it and now I of course wish I had . because I worry it looks bad , so recent etc. nothing immigration hasn't seen before.. Any way. My big questions are much more specific because of the embargo on cuba travel. it is near impossible to get a license so not many of us do, we go and risk it because generally it works out. Here is my problem. I met my fiancee in 2006 and only met and talked , that was all. I saw him again last year and more of the same. No email, I was involved with my projects and conference etc. and that was that. I returned for more language course work again i n 2007 and immediately in January began our relationship complete, meaning we were both ready to commit and make a life together. Because I had no license to be in Cuba I want to know how do I answer that question, being person who wants to be honest but not stupid , this is hard. There is an actual clause that says you have to have met/seen your fiancee within the 2 years UNLESS it would incur some aspect of hardship or difficulty etc. I don't even want to ask any official this question. first , because of course i have met him and i am only trying to protect myself , and also his ability to come here.... then, the fact is that Cuba has such poor internet availability and even worse mail that we only have the flurry of email since I returned in March till now. very much about marriage etc. No , my fiancee has no way of saving or accessing records of anything else , saving emails was not possible until now. Cuba is different, for sure. Next, yes I know K-1 is for coming here to marry, which I think is preferable but I'm not positve... I am told I can marry him there and it is completely legal except the being there part!!! and then I would have to do a k-3, i don't know which is better , faster ?? these are my issus. i wonder what in fact might change for aldeki there if we married there,(for 850.US) if we would have the same incredible awful fees for his exit visa, carta blanca(130). and medical check ( 500 us) as well as the $$ here. hate to make it more expensive!!! oh well its only money right? money i want to put into our home and or tickets between our countries, as my husband is not looking to immigrate, only to be with his wife. We actually have much to work on there, and family both places ... so does that clear any of my presentation up. i hope so, I will try to re-write to the forums for a better chance at getting advice. I am set to apply asap after May when i have my documents in order perfectly. what should be filed online anything? and is vermont the only center for me being from maine? I saw that missouri was the center certain doc.s needed to go. Because cuba is cuba there is no embassy to go to there for aldeki, just then cuban interests section at the swiss embassy and immigration, lots of hoops and lots of money/// I only want to do the right thing, and it ain't easy, hahaha!

well I know this is long, so sorry , and really thank you so much

wish i was dealing with NZ, it might be a bit easier, you would think being half cuban would help but it actually is harder... ok , all the best, joanna

quote name=KimandRuss' date='Mar 31 2008, 04:54 PM' post='1711289]

I'm sorry I don't think i'm understanding what it is you're trying to ask. Perhaps try posting one question at a time and the lovely people here at VJ will be able to help you better.

As far as proof of relationship goes... you need to have met in person within the 2 years previous to filing. You can try, but there isn't much getting around that one. Sorry.

It's hard to give you information about other proof since we don't know if/when you filed..etc. You have access to the internet, therefore, you have a way of communicating and proving that. Many people here chat via text/cam/voice right over the internet for no charge. Your fiance doesn't have any of those previous emails or chat logs?

Not sure what you want to know about divorce. Both of you have to be free to marry and you must be able to prove that. How the divorce is handled and how long it takes depends very much on the country and/or state where the divorce is filed. I had to wait 120 days from my court date to have my divorce decree in Massachusetts. Some states are quicker and some make you wait to marry even after you are divorced.

You cannot file for a K1 and get married in another country. You must marry in the US.

How long it takes depends on which service center you file with and which consulate you are dealing with.

Hope that helps a little at least.

OK, somebody here with good energy, help me along on the this. Privately if you want. I need to know how we answer this one and where really should I be.... I am not ready to believe that very many of US had licenses in hand when we met our novios/ novias. so how much info is enough, what is not enough. We don't make phone calls, we can't afford it. I dumped last years email records when I changed servers entirely. Please encouragement, Im not new to this, and cuban american which doesn't uhhhh help. I do want to get married here this year before too long. the $ to do it there and then still spend the same for my husband to come here for a visit is nuts. and I worry thatbhte same sticky questions exist. I never let it bother me in the past, now I am ready to marry mi media naranja and just want this endless waiting to be over. How much weight does any one isue carry over another ie. divorce ....? Has anyone every clainmed not to have met their fiancee because of the "hardship"? Forgive me if this is a beaten to death topic.... I am feeling like I need to connect with some other couples in the same boat, least its not a raft/Launcha!! anyway thank you, Joanna