Garu

Greetings everyone,

Approval letter received in the mail 05/10/2011.

USCIS website still shows the status as "Initial Review" and have not received email or text notification.

VSC filed 12/08/2010, Biometrics 01/14/2011

Good luck to everyone waiting.

Next stop; citizenship application in seven months!

Excellent! Great News!!! congratulations.

Good news, very good news Mrs. Rowe. I am very happy that you will finally be able to conclude this process and move on with your life.

Congratulations!!!!

DCF is a whole different ball game. Much better if the petitioner is with the bene with normal petitions.

You NEVER see a petitione regretting they attended the interview.

See LOTs that regret they didn't tho.

Oh wow, now i'm confused . I'm filing for CR1 and my hubby really wants to be there when the interview happens, it's just that we're concerned that his presence can be used against us.

Does anybody know for sure if this is allowed? Need help. Thanks!!

why would his presence be used against you? Only if he started talking too much and getting deeper into trouble. If the Manila embassy allows it, he should go if he wants to and he should be there to provide support to you; not to take over the interview and talk too much. If a question is asked to him, he should answered. If a question is asked to you, you should answer it. He should not answer for you. They want to hear you. Or maybe if the age difference is large, they could question it more if they actually see the person; don't know about that.

I went to the interview and it was fine. It was very hard to stay quiet and not talk too much. I didn't talk a lot but still more than I should have. No problems at all.

Hi all. I’m here. I don’t check the forum everyday (20 times a day) like I used to do but I still read a bit. I am aware of the people still waiting from the September approvals and pray that it all works out for each one of you.

Yes Sasha, I have also noticed a “change of the guard” in the forum. How the familiar nick names disappear and new ones start popping up. Getting philosophical and melancholic for a moment, this reminds me of life itself. How we come into it all excited with our goals and dreams and how as time passes, those dreams are realized or changed, and how at the end we move on.

And then the new generation takes over, learns from the old ones, and looks for ways to improve or change what had been the norm; and fight their own battles. And then the cycle starts all over again.

This experience that we have gone through together as part of the VJ forum will be unforgettable. It changes you forever. Although I was told that sometimes I got lost in the forum (meaning over reacting or jumping to every little issue someone had by thinking it could happen to me), I was glad I had a place to go and vent when needed, cry when needed, learn when needed, and people there that were going through the same process and always willing to help. For the first time, I felt I wasn’t alone.

Good luck and God help all those from the September group still waiting to continue their lives and best wishes to all the new people starting this wonderfully painful process.

Like the last poster said, it will impact a non-immigrant visa like a visitors visa. You will have to disclose the overstay in the visitor visa application and the embassy has sole discretion to deny or approve. I have friends in this situation and although many years passed, the visitors visa was denied. I think it is the embassy setting an example for others.

It will not impact an immigrant visa like the CR1 or IR1.

whohoohoo!!!! yes!!! another one!!! Congrats!!!

Don't mention the incident. It can only create problems and provide an excuse to deny. You were not convicted by any authorities and I have never heard of them checking with prior employers.

You have a moral debt to yourself and you can clear that by being a good person and doing something good for others in need. But don't mix your feelings with the realities of legal forms and legal processes. You are not breaking the law by not disclosing a minor incident you had years ago at a job that did not result in prosecution or conviction in a court of law.

Hello everyone,

My wife's interview was today and by the grace of God she was approved. the only question they asked her was what was the date of our marraige and then said congrats you got the visa. THanks to everyone who answered my questions and good luck to all who are still waiting.

jummy

Jummy!!! Congratulations!!!! That is great news. Another one from September gets the visa. Yes!!!!!!!!!

It is normal for immigration documents to get stuck in customs in China. I've been checking tracking reference numbers and except for a small package sent at the begining of the month all October mailings from NVC to Guangzhou are stuck. CR-1 should go quickly once Guangzhou opens the application. I've almost given up hope for a February interview I am hoping for March right now. Either way I really wanted her here for my birthday and it looks like she will miss it Hopefully we will be able to celibrate her birthday together.

JBHypno

jb, dont worry, im still here. im stuck with the medicals. but youll be finished before i am.

Good to hear from you Sasha. People were wondering if you were OK.

Congratulations! Great news! You could be done with NVC in about a month if you pay online and have your papers ready.

Please start working on the police certificates. You need three of them. Some you have to request and go back in a few days to get it and one has to be taken from one office to another and then it takes an additional week to get it back.

I sent you a rough draft of my interview experience at the U.S. embassy in Lima. Don't know if you got it. Will post it to the embassy review section shortly.

Congratulations again!

The visa is good for six months. So you can stretch the NVC process for six months and you will have an additional six months once you get the visa to travel. Some people in the forum have done this. A benefit is that if you come into the U.S. after being married for two years, then you will get the immediate relative residence which is good for 10 years instead of the the conditional residence good for two years and that need adjustment of status later on.

I don't recommend to wait another year just for the IR visa but if for other reasons you have to wait the year, then at least there is this one benefit.

I just looked at my NOA 2 letter and it doesn't have an expiration date. It basically says to wait until you start getting papers from NVC. So you will have to slow down the process of returning the papers to NVC.

Yes! Congratulations! That is one of the sweetest emails you will ever get. Life changing.

You still have some work to do but it moves at a quicker pace. For me, the USCIS approval felt like the top of the mountain. Then it became downhill; with pitfalls and risks, but still downhill.

Congratulations once again.

Congratulations. It seems you were extremely well prepared and orginazed. You can use all that evidence for the removal of conditions interview in two years (if you got a CR1 status). Just keep adding pictures for vacations or activities with family in the next two years and any other documents that you create showing both of you.

I think it helps when the spouse is present at the interview. It shows your committment and interest in the relationship. For me, my proof of relationship came when they asked me how many times I had been to see her and I answered 12 times in a year and a half period! What! they said!. How did you do it? I told them every long weekend, every holiday I would travel to see her. I had copies of my passport showing all the trips but they didn't ask for it. They just laughed and approved the visa.

Thank you for your kind words everybody. This is a very tough journey and you don't really see the light at the end of the dark tunnel until you have walked many miles in darkness and come out into the light. There is no in-between.

All I can tell you is to never give up, never surrender. There are many examples of people here at VJ (like gogo, lingling, etc) who served me as inspiration during the difficult times. I hope all of you can find some comfort here when needed and remember that you are not walking the dark tunnel alone. Your spouse, your families, your friends, and all of us here at VJ are right there with you.

Good luck to everyone.

Well, after a long 13 months I am happy to report this nightmare is finally over. We arrived on a CR1 visa on Saturday December 27th at Miami International Airport.

The interview at the Lima embassy lasted 15 minutes but took four hours of waiting to get to those magic 15 minutes. The longest four hours of my life. No problems.

The processing at the Airport took 15 minutes but took three hours of waiting to get to those magic 15 minutes. No problems at all. The officer at the Immigration line was very nice and welcomed her, explained the process, and actually shut down the line with 20 people waiting so he could take us to the processing area.

The level of relief and relaxation the body feels after this is over is amazing. Never in my life have I experience such a drastic shift from tension to peace on such short time.

My hopes and prayers continue for all that have followed their hearts and chosen the road less travelled in spite of the pitfalls, challenges, pains, and difficulties that lie ahead.

Good luck and God bless all of you now and in your future lives together with your spouses.

How about "There is a crisp $100 bill in the mail for you if you give me the digits!"

Hey guys!

I have a question! We have our interview on December 22 and my wife has her medical exam this Thursday, however she has not received a letter from the consulate with the interview date on it as of yet. She has, however, received the letter from NVC with the interview date, would this be sufficient to use?

Also, I have heard that having too much evidence at the day of the interview could looked at negatively. I always though that the more evidence one brings the better. Oh well, I feel stuck between trying to decide how much is too much then being afraid that I dont have enough... This is crazy.

Thanks guys.

Crismar,

We received the letter from NVC and did not receive any additional letters directly from the embassy. The NVC letter was sufficient to take for the medical exam (take 3 pictures! I didn't know pictures were necessary for the medical exam but the female Doctor, Dr. Nari I think, asked for pictures). I don't know that we are supposed to get a letter from the embassy like you are asking about. I have read reviews about the interview day and they mention the interview letter which I take to mean the NVC visa interview document.

VJ member lars-n-yenia just went through their interview at the Lima embassy so you might want to message him and ask him if they got a letter directly from the embassy. I would aks him but I have already bothered him a few times and don't want to be a pest. Or you can email the embassy about your question. Let me know what you find out!

As far as evidence, I am taking lots of it but I am not showing it to them unless they ask.

You are not alone. We all have gone through periods feeling like this. I can't give you techniques to follow to feel better because nothing worked for me. All I can tell you is to hang on; to try to survive each day. I often think of the movie "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks and often feel like he did.

He was stranded alone in a deserted Island for four years and one day the wind brought him a sail. And he built a raft and took a chance into the ocean and just when he was about to die, a big ship rescued him. And a few days later he was back in a World he no longer recognized and he had ice cubes in his drink. And although he lost his old life and his old love, everything worked out at the end. The movie ends with him having found a nice woman that is sure to become his wife and mother of his children (I wish they made a part 2!).

So, I know it's just a movie but we can get comfort from it. He never gave up; he adapted; he survived; he lived day by day; and when the wind brought him a sail, he took a chance and when it looked the worst; the chance paid off and he was saved. And he met his new love because he never gave up on delivering the one package he kept; the one promise he made to himself.

Good luck and God bless you and us all because we sure need it.

Hi everybody,

I am already in the U.S., I arrived on November 16th 2008.

I would like to share my POE experience with you. My POE was PHOENIX, Arizona.

I got off the plane and went to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. There were 2 sections – for U.S. Citizens and Residents, Foreign Nationals. I was told to go to the Foreign Nationals section. Unfortunately, only 4 counters were opened at the Foreign Nationals section, so there was a huge line. I waited about ONE HOUR before it was my turn to speak to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. I handed him the brown envelope and my passport and told him I had an immigrant visa. He opened my passport, checked my immigrant visa and then told me to follow him.

We went to an immigration office, there were about 4 other people waiting. I was told to sit down in a waiting room. After 30 MINUTES I was called to the counter. The immigration officer handed me my passport and was smiling all the time. He apologized for the long wait and told me welcome to the U.S. He did not ask any questions, took a fingerprint of my right index finger and I signed an application for a green card. The officer mentioned my green card should arrive in mail in one or two months. The officer also gave me a document with information about removing the conditions of residence in 2 years.

That was all, I went to baggage claim to pick up my suitcases and rushed to meet my hubby.

Martina

Congratulations!! Thanks for posting your experience.

BECAUSE THEY SUCK!!!.... and not in a good way...

The class of Sept 2008 is rockinn!!!! Congrats to everyone.

yipee! case complete for us ! 38 days even with an RFE.

Congratulations Sasha!!! I'm glad the completion came as we expected it. 38 days is not bad at all. It took us 31 days without the RFE so your completion time was very good.

THe good thing is that since we got out of USCIS there have been more better days than bad ones. Kinda feels like you have been climbing a mountain and USCIS approval was the top and it has been downhill from there.

called nvc , nice operator said "your case is in the last stages of review and you can call us back next week". does this mean its the final review?

Yes! They told me the same thing and a day later (by the end of the day) the case was completed. Good luck! You are almost there!

After seeing everybody calling NVC I did the same and today they assigned us an interview date of December 22.

Package hasn't gone out to the embassy yet. will call next week to get a confirm mailing date.