lazulineiris

Sara! Oh, my goodness, I am SO Happy for you! When I saw this, I literally squeaked out loud and cheered at the computer screen, haha. I can't believe this day is finally here for the two of you - I bet it's so surreal for you. No one deserves this more than you and Perviz. I really, truly hope that the next steps in your process are nothing short of swift and incredibly problem free.

Again, so many congratulations! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

They're working on march filers atm. Still about 95 march filers to go,

Still about 95 VJ members to go. In actuality, there are many more March filers who don't use visa journey that are waiting. Always remember that we are not the only people who file for these types of visas.

Anyway, ms_jinga_lala -- The whole "We won't help you for 5 - 6 months" is a script that they stick to. They will not tell you anything else for the next six months, so I really wouldn't bother with listening to that. However, VSC seems to be processing applications in roughly five months, as you filed in May and, according to your timeline, "your I129f may be adjudicated between October 3, 2009 and October 9, 2009."

Here's hoping it goes faster for you, but keep in mind that it may not; just try your best to be as patient as possible.

Your best bet would be to contact the Melbourne embassy and ask if they do K-1 visa processing; however, given that VJ only seems to have data for the Sydney embassy, it seems like you may be out of luck. Never hurts to make an inquiry, though.

As people have said, it will be nigh impossible to prove hardship. On USCIS' website, there is a section to review administrative decisions for various petitions. I've linked you to the decisions pertaining to K-1 visas. To save yourself some time, here is a decision that relates most to your case: click. Specifically, page 4 will contain most of the information that you may find relevant to this matter.

Unfortunately, I've read many of these and have seen very few cases where their hardships are recognized; in those cases, the circumstances were quite extreme and involved a lot of work on the part of the petitioner. Either way, reading through some may be helpful to you. Good luck.

I doubt you'll run into any problems. I've seen questions like this before, and people have answered saying that, from their own experience, the immigration officer won't mind.

That said, my fiance has booked a round-trip ticket and just won't use the return-ticket. It was, like, 3000 dollars to fly one way from AMS to SFO, and only around 800 to fly round trip. Ultimately, you have to do what works best for you and cheapest is likely what's going to be the best way to go.

Here are some links to help further ease your mind:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...60&hl=plane

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...61&hl=plane

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=280175

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=282972

Best of luck.

First, Liz, my deepest sympathies regarding the news of your uncle.

Peet, the forms they're going to ask you to fill out can be found here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1forms The ones you are looking for are the DS-156/156k, and DS-230, I do believe. I'm not entirely certain if you have to fill out all three, but since you're looking to get ahead of the game, it couldn't hurt to fill out all of them. You can find examples for them here. Make sure your fiance sends you last year's tax information, as well as three recent paystubs. You may also want to start collecting evidence that shows that your relationship has been ongoing since petitioning.

..Although, honestly, you probably won't need it. Better safe than sorry, however.

As for us -- He got the visa in the mail today. Thanks, everyone, for your kind words from my last post. To answer your question, Liz, his last day of work is at the end of August, so he won't be moving out here until at least September.

Sorry for being so late with responding to everything. It's been quite a hectic week - I'm leaving for Holland next Monday with my entire family [and with my mom, who got her passport today!], so I've been running around a lot, trying to get everything ready. I can't wait to see him again.

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Just to give an update..

He mailed back his birth certificate and, a few days later, they called him to let him know that they'd received it. They also said that they would gladly approve him, but they forgot to ask him to sign something.. so he had to go back. He went back, signed everything and triple checked to make sure there was absolutely nothing else for him to do, and they told him they were going to expedite the passport back to him.

Yesterday evening, he received it in the mail! We're approved AND we have the visa in hand. Hurray!

I hope everyone is doing well.

So, today, TamTu went to the embassy to provide the signature that they told him they were missing. While he was there, he asked the lady many times "Are you suuuure there's nothing else that I need?" She laughed, and said she was absolutely sure there wasn't anything else. She told him that they were going to send him his passport, along with the sealed package, and not to open it.

Finally, we're approved. !

Ri - any updates on your case-status?

I hope everyone's day is going great.

Today I checked our case at USCIS.gov website and its saying: last update: 05/26/2009 so is that a touch? Did our call help?

I hope so!

Back in January, I checked my case status online and saw that I saw a touch -- but it ended up being the approval. Not to get your hopes up, but maybe you got yours! I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's good news.

:dance: We got it! :dance:

Many congratulations! The journey is definitely going to go a lot faster now. I hope everything goes wonderfully.

My fiance was definitely able to come visit me during the process, without a problem. Although he was prepared with a letter from his boss, as well as some bills in case they questioned whether or not he would return to his country, the officer never asked him for any of it. He just said "Oh, you're only here for a week?" And when he was told that my fiance had to go back home for work, he merely responded with "That sucks. Have fun, though!"

It would be good to have the aforementioned things, however, just in case you come across an officer who is having a bad day, or something like that. There's more information on it listed in the FAQs, here: http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-application.html#4.6

Okay, as an update: We managed to track down the address to which they shipped my mom's stuff - Turns out they wrote down one of the numbers in our address incorrectly [even though we'd written it down twice for them, but I suppose that's neither here nor there]. So, we waited and.. more or less stalked.. that house on and off until they came home. The guy was really understanding and sympathetic - And then we went to the UPS Store to ship it to where it needs to be. They should get everything tomorrow. Oy. This is turning out to be more complex than the visa process.

And, by the by, I can't wait to be told we're getting one, haha.

Friday is mere hours away, guys! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Have a safe flight, Jeanine! <3<3

Haha, have fun at the wedding tomorrow, Ri.

..They shipped my mom's birth certificate and stuff to the wrong address. Oy.

Ugh. Goodness, Sara - I don't know how you do it. I truly don't. I am so disgusted with how indifferent USCIS seems to be about all this and I wish so much that I could do something to help you.

I was reading through some of your old threads to see if there was any other information other than what you've written in your timeline, and I found a post from February where they told you that they needed some more information from you, and they'd expedite it if you were to follow their directions? What happened to that? Do you know if they got it? If so, why aren't they working on the stupid thing? Ugh.

Oh, and do you have any news about the website that was being put together for you?

And, finally - I concur with Rebeccajo's post. As he is not representing you, it is most definitely malpractice. Check out this website: http://www.osbar.org/cao The page details how you can go about filing a complaint and includes any numbers that you may need to call [including numbers to file a malpractice claim], as well as a sample form for filing a complaint.

kenneme - Definitely call them. Hopefully, it's just taking a long time to get to you, rather than something more serious.. like them having lost it in the mail or something like that. But definitely call to find out, because you'd hate to find yourself in a position where you get the interview date only to find out that it was a week ago. :/ I hope you get some good news soon.

our update is....we finished the i-129f. got approved. my now husband flew in 3-26-09...same day we both moved into our apartment (i didnt stay one night there until he moved here). we got married the 18th of april and went on a weekend honeymoon to myrtle beach, sc. (which was just beautiful except for the horrible sun burns we got in only 70s+ degree weather! im still pealing til this day!!!! so serious. ha

Congratulations on your wedding and new apartment, Kristine! I totally know what you mean about sunburns - I get burned quite easily, too. I hope the peeling stops soon, though, that's just a pain to deal with. :/ I'm glad to hear that things are working out so well for both of you. Good luck with the AOS process.

Ita - I'm glad to see that you had a safe flight and that you're finally with your fiance. When are you two going to get married?

As for me -- TamTu had his interview on the 14th. Despite all his preparation, he forgot his birth certificate. They did interview him, though, and he said that the guy was very nice, but asked few questions. "So who is this lovely lady? So, you've met before? How did you propose?" And I swear, there was something about my birthday in there, too, but.. he did propose on my birthday, so that may be what I'm thinking about, lol.

Anyway, they issued him a 221(g), requesting his birth certificate. He sent it to them and they called him today, saying that he didn't sign something, so he has to come back and sign it before they can officially approve him. So close, but so far. We'll get there, though.

Nikki, i hope everything works out for you! That is really to bad how that all went with the passports!

Is his birthcertificate delivered?

Yes, it is! He sent everything to them on Monday. Unfortunately, they called him today and said that one of the papers he gave them wasn't signed, so he has to go back next week for them to solidly approve him.

As for the passport situation -- We ended up having one of my truly amazing and selfless friends act as a proxy for my mom and was able to pick up my mom's birth certificate, which she overnighted to us. We should have it tomorrow! Hopefully, we'll be able to go to San Francisco's passport agency tomorrow afternoon and submit the papers directly. Keep your fingers crossed, but if the stars line up just right or whatever.. she should be getting her passport just in time!

Ok...haven't read this whole topic because I am at work...and um...don't want to be caught on the internet. LOL. Anyway, my fiance John is from Holland and I am a California gal. Just wanted to say HOI!

Welcome to the thread! As you can already tell, everyone here is quite wonderful to talk to.

ok,time for another introduction,I guess. I'm Blu's fiance from Holland.

Hello to you, as well. <3 I really hope the two of you are processed as quickly as possible.

Hey all,

I also am in the I-130 april filers topic... I think i am not going to look at that topic anymore because than i get sad!

You know what they said?

They called USCIS to talk about their case, USCIS said: Don't expect us working at those cases till close to the 6 months because they are working at the work visa's...

I need patience! I know we just started our journey and we have a long way to go but i was hoping we were so lucky as the february filers, they flew or are flying through the whole visa journey! Wish we filed in february too, but well we had enough at our head in february because family emergency etc.

Well just try to think and i believe, nothing is for nothing everything has a reason, but i am sorry i just don't understand or see the reasons sometime!

Aw, Ri.. with any luck, you'll be seeing an approval within the next few weeks. USCIS will always tell you that they're going to wait out the six months, but.. hopefully, things will be processed sooner than that. Stay busy and keep smiling. <3

Haven't read any of the above, as I'm in a huge rush to get home! yes, I got my visa without warning this morning...Mr. Senator pulled through for me...shame he's a republican!

Haha. Congratulations! I'm so thrilled that you finally got it. Have a safe flight. <3

Peet - Those pictures are absolutely fantastic.

I hope everyone's week is going great.

Paul, I'm so sorry to hear that things aren't going the way you want. This may be a silly question, but have you called the London Embassy to ask if they've requested the certificate? I can't believe things are getting so mixed up for what should be a fairly straight forward process. :/

That said, when it rains, it pours. My family applied for passports so that they could attend the engagement ceremony that TamTu's family is throwing for us in June. Yesterday, my mom called to check up on the status of her application, as my brother and father had their passports approved and she submitted hers the day before them. They told her that they intend to deny her a passport because while "Her birth certificate is definitely real and original, it's too old" for them to accept. They also said that it was a good thing she called, because they had no intention of letting her know until June 8th -- The day we're supposed to leave! So I spent many hours yesterday trying to figure out which city she was born in, the name of her hospital and all other important details to get to ordering a certificate for her.

We ordered one, but the fastest it will get here is, like, next week which is too much time. I also started contacting senators in New York yesterday, to see if they could maybe help us out with this situation. So we're considering having her fly to New York, unless we can get someone to go on behalf of her [in which case, we'd need to have a letter signed by a notary republic giving that person permission]. So.. now I'm trying to contact any of my New York friends to see if they can help us out. Fingers crossed. :/

And now? Did he get a new appointment, or can he send it by mail?

When I asked, he said that he can just bring it to the embassy to drop it off. He said he would go tomorrow, but he can't take the time off of work, so he'll likely go on Monday, as his job is supposed to have him in that area, anyway.

All went well, and we're approved!

I talked to a few of the other people there and it seemed like the majority was going to move to California as well.

Congratulations! I'm thrilled to hear that you were approved.

Also, you must have been the person my fiance was talking about. He said to me, "I ran into someone from VJ while at my interview today. "

As for us, my wonderful, sweet, amazing, funny, dorky fiance...

..Forgot to bring his birth certificate. No approval today.

Hey Nikki....hey everyone....my appointment went really well! The cardiologist said that my heart is fine and that it's just straight up asthma!

I'm so glad to hear that everything is okay with your heart.

Oh, TamTu's interview is coming up, yes that is exciting! Wooah, hope it goes well! Did he receive your post on time?

Thank you! And yes, he did.

Definitely keep smiling. It'll help get through the long days ahead.

We have.. a little over one more day until his interview.

Best of luck to all of you - It'll come a lot faster than you imagine. <3

Someone please correct me if I'm providing incorrect information, but.. as far as I'm aware, if you want to withdraw your K-1 petition, you just need to send a notarized letter saying so to the place that has your petition. If your petition has yet to be approved, then you would send such correspondence to the VSC - remember to include the receipt number issued to you on your NOA1.

Best of luck to you, no matter the outcome.

Congratulations on embarking on your journey. I hope it's swift and problem free.

Just remember, though, that it may take quite a number of months before you receive your NOA2, so.. try to keep yourself busy with work, a hobby, or planning your wedding/life together with your significant other. Don't let the waiting times stress you out - they won't, if you're prepared to accept that it may take half a year before hearing anything. It may seem like a horribly long time now, but in the grand scheme of things, it's truly not much. You'll get there, just have patience. <3

I myself am trying to stay away from here a bit, it is so frustrating to be so close and hear absolutely nothing

Anyway, am back to work and hope that will take my mind of things

That's always a really good idea. It'll be a lot easier to deal with the waiting if you have something to keep you busy, and it'll be an even greater surprise when you see the notification. Still.. I really hope you hear something soon.

That said -- TamTu had his tetanus shot a couple months ago, due to an injury sustained while at work and, unfortunately, he had to receive a second one because it was apart of a cocktail shot. I always forget which one, but.. yeah. You might have to have some repeat shots.

I have all our emails printed from the beginning! (my whole family thought i was silly but i more did it because i did like it and never thought that we really were going to get married when we started) but now, know how good it is ;-)

Haha. I love that you did that! I think it's very sweet. When TamTu and I started dating, I would save all of our conversations, and when he would come to visit, I made sure I saved all of his plane-ticket stubs and boarding passes, if I could, just to document the fact that he was here. I didn't tell him I did this because I am sure he would have thought I was insane, but.. unbeknownst to me it turns out I was actually planning ahead for the I-129F. ;P

Liz -- How did your appointment go today? Will you know about any results today, or are they going to make you wait it out?

I hope everything is going well for everyone this week. And I really hope those approvals start coming.

TamTu's interview is in less than two days. Exciting.

First off -- Congratulations!

Secondly -- Air tickets. It's a little difficult to help you find a cheap ticket when we don't know what the preferred airports are. Your local office is San Francisco, so I'm assuming your arrival airport is SFO. What is the airport you're flying out of? You probably want a one way ticket, right? What is the price that you're trying to beat? Do you have a preference concerning when in June?

That said, I always check the sites "Farecast.com" and "sidestep.com" to find the cheapest fares, and then I head over to the official website of the carrier that is offering said fare.

I'm going to assume that you want to fly out of BKK and into SFO on June 1st. Farecast and sidestep returned a fare of $540 dollars on Air China. I went to Air China and found that same fare -- for $486.70. The prices don't seem to change much if you adjust it from the 1st to the 15th.

But, yeah - farecast and sidestep are always quite helpful to me as far as creating a good starting point. Following that, always check the official site of the lowest price you find to see if you can find it cheaper, as many times you can take a bit off the total price by doing so.

Good luck getting everything together.

And I am sorry, I don't know your name yet, I will say lazulineiris ;-) lol, hope for you that your post goes fast, sometimes the post is slow! URgh... I see you are almost done with the journey!

Haha, aw. My name is Nikki. From your signature, I assume your name is Rianne -- Pleased to meet you. And, yeah, his interview is almost here. I'm excited! I see that you just started yours - The CSC has been working pretty fast lately, so I hope you'll hear some good news relatively quickly.