Chris and Steph

Wow! This was quite unexpected! Words can't express how grateful I am for all of you. This thread shined a little bit of light on my day. Thank you so much everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers!

Awww you all are amazing! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I'm sorry that my story has pretty much killed this thread for Sara and Perviz. Please everyone... if there's one thing you can do for me, it's getting a petition going for them! No two people should ever be forced to be apart like this!

Unfortunately, I'm not up to this task anymore. Feel free to copy the petition draft that I started. I just am not really able to function at all at this point. Although you can no-longer count on me to write the petition, you can still count on my signature.

I flew to Ontario from Washington State after Chris' father called me to tell me that Chris had been hit by a car while crossing the street. When I arrived, I found Chris laying in a coma in a hospital bed in ICU with a black eye and brain damage so severe that his head was swelling. The hospital told us that he would not recover and it was only a matter of time. Later that night, his parents decided to cut his life support and he died within a few hours.

I hadn't seen Chris since November. He always said, "we'll see each other soon enough... why waste the money?"

I know this whole process of waiting sucks, but... be grateful that you have someone to wait for, because it could be gone just like that.

I'll be gone from VJ for a while, but... part of me wants to become some sort of immigration activist. So, we'll see.

Take care everyone, and best of luck to all of you on your visa journey!

I will not be able to continue the K-1 Montreal tracker. And I'm not at home, but I will be able to email someone the spreadsheet, within a few weeks, should they want to continue it.

I flew to Ontario from Washington State after Chris' father called me to tell me that Chris had been hit by a car while crossing the street. When I arrived, I found Chris laying in a coma in a hospital bed in ICU with a black eye and brain damage so severe that his head was swelling. The hospital told us that he would not recover and it was only a matter of time. Later that night, his parents decided to cut his life support and he died within a few hours.

I hadn't seen Chris since November. He always said, "we'll see each other soon enough... why waste the money?"

I know this whole process of waiting sucks, but... be grateful that you have someone to wait for, because it could be gone just like that.

I'll be gone from VJ for a while, but... part of me wants to become some sort of immigration activist. So, we'll see.

Take care everyone, and best of luck to all of you on your visa journey!

Alright... Here's the first draft of the petition (unless someone else is already writing one). Let me know what you all think. Is it too simple? Should I elaborate more? Any grammatical errors? Was anyone else planning on writing it? If so, you can just disregard this! I plagiarized a bit from one of KimandRuss' posts. I hope that's okay!

So once we have a final draft, we'll need to figure out who to ask permission from here on VJ before starting the signatures. I really like JeroenAndMichelle's idea about mailing all the signatures to one location.

Thanks for any and all input. Let's get this thing moving!

Hey there. Welcome to VJ and congrats on your engagement!

Well... I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for your NOA2. There are some things you can do now that you're outside processing times. Call up USCIS and tell them you're outside processing times. They may do a service request where they contact the Vermont Service Center to see what is taking so long. Another thing you can do is contact your congressperson and/or senators.

And while you wait there are some amazing people right here to wait with.

Hope your NOA2 comes soon! Best of luck to you.

Whoa! I didn't notice this thread until just now. I was talking to my fiancé on the phone a few hours ago about Sara and Perviz. Then we started talking about how we should start a petition... I even started writing one, but everyone here is totally on the ball! I don't think there's a person alive that wouldn't sign a petition on your behalf, Sara. Not only are you the sweetest person on VJ, but what you've gone through is completely unacceptable. Pretty much everyone in my life knows about your story and agrees that what USCIS has put you two through is terrible. I'll get friends/family/co-workers to sign too!

Maybe we can do an online petition on www.PetitionOnline.com so we can have all signatures in the same place and do some sort of press release about it and one on Google Docs to print out, sign, and mail to our individual congresspersons? Or maybe having two copies (one online and one on paper) of the same petition isn't such a good idea. I dunno...

I think the petition will get the attention of those who hold power over this process and the media! And if not... there's always protesting naked at our local federal buildings!

Sara, I know we don't really know each other... but I will do anything for you and Perviz. You deserve your NOA2.

You all let me know if there's anything I can do!

~Stephanie

So I just got off the phone with DOS. I asked the lady why the guy I talked to yesterday told me I needed the DS-156. She looked up our case and said, "Oh, I see what he was talking about. Your fiance can just bring it to the interview." Gah! I have no idea why the guy even mentioned that yesterday. Then she told me that Chris is "qualified" for an interview, but it hasn't been scheduled yet. So I believe we are officially in the queue at Montreal! Yay! I dunno... this past month since NOA2, I've felt very proactive with our case: calling NVC, calling DOS, filling out more forms, gathering everything to send to Chris for his interview... and now it's back to just sitting on my butt and waiting. Sigh.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

Best of luck to you on the rest of your visa journey!

I'm jealous that Cubans get preferential treatment because of their expected long wait at the embassy. I think the embassy we're going through (Montreal) has been speeding up the past couple months, but I'm still jealous.

We got our interview date today .. April 28

Congratulations!! :dance:

No idea about Hotwire poprocks. I just assume it's USD unless it says CAD.

Stephanie, that spreadsheet is terrific! Do you want us to send you a message if we have updates or just post them in out timeline? Thank you SOOOO much for doing this!

If you all have updates to your timelines, a PM would be very helpful! But I'll try to check the timelines as often as possible for any updates. I have A LOT of downtime at work!

Wow Steph, thats a great spreadsheet. If you need any help maintaining it let me know, I would be happy to give you a hand

Thanks! You'll probably receive your NOA2 and packet 3 around the time we have our interview (or hopefully even sooner the way CSC has been moving lately!)... And by that time I'll be so busy with last minute wedding details and AOS that I will definitely not be able to keep up. So I'll be more than happy to pass the baton on to you! As for right now, I'm clueless as to how more than one person can manage it. Like I said earlier... I'm a total Google Docs noob! lol

And I totally know what you guys mean about being OCD when it comes to this stuff. When I mailed Chris the folder I had prepared for him (copy of I-129F, I-134, etc) I made him get on webcam as I walked him through everything in the packet. I then told him he needed to "study" everything. I'm so paranoid he'll forget to cross a "t" or dot an "i." Then he said, "Hey you forgot to sign the new letter of intent!" Doh!

That's great thanks Stephanie!!

What is the number of days for? It seems it is the number of days between packet 3 received and sent. But what is that for?

lol, yeah it's the number of days between receiving packet 3 and returning packet 3. I'm not really sure why I included that column. Work was really slow the day I made the spreadsheet and it seemed like valuable information at the time.

That is weird, we are not supposed to send the DS-156 back to Montreal but have to bring it to the interview. It has to be signed there.

Maybe they meant DS160? BEcause that needs to be submitted online?

See that's why I'm so confused why the guy at DOS told me that our file said we needed the "DS-156 in duplicate." I'll call them again tomorrow and ask them to clarify. Well, Chris has already completed the DS-160. I don't know if he sent the confirmation page along with his checklist or not though. The way the guy phrased it on the phone it sounded like some sort of consular version of an RFE.

Yeah that's surprising to me... and really strange. Honestly, I think they are just really disorganized! I'm looking at that chart that Chris and Steph just posted and there are like 6 people who sent their packet back before me who don't have an interview. Maybe that's because they didn't call to find out, or maybe that's just because nothing follows a logical order! I didn't request an early interview or anything, so I don't understand that. If I was someone in that position, i'd be a little unhappy...

I e-mailed Montreal to confirm the interview date (because I'm paranoid) and they said they mailed out the packet 4 on Friday, so hopefully I get it soon! Poprocks, you got yours super fast. That's Canada Post working for you!

Well I haven't updated the spreadsheet since I made it on Friday. It could be that the folks ahead of you hadn't updated their timelines. There were a few of you who post here regularly who hadn't updated your timelines, but I knew that you'd been granted an interview from reading about it here.

I'll go through the timelines now to see if there are any updates and do a little tweaking to the spreadsheet if need be.

For the lucky ones who got their interview dates for April , what date did you put on your DS 160 for you entry date in the US?

Maybe it depends on that...

Possibly... I put June 20th

That's not that then because I put June 15th

Ahh! I hope that's not what they base the interview date off of! I think Chris put some random date in September down.

Hey all. I went gown shopping today! It's starting to feel like I'm really going to get married soon!

And... I just got off the phone with DOS. The gentleman I talked to said that Montreal did receive Chris' checklist and DS-230, but that they also "need the DS-156 in duplicate." Now I haven't seen Chris' packet 3 or anything, but I looked over the checklist on Wiki here and I didn't see it say that this was to be included with our checklist anywhere. Was DOS just advising us to bring the DS-156 to the interview (whenever it happens)? Or was Chris supposed to send the DS-156 with the checklist and DS-230? I'm so sick of this process!

So I also started working on a new spreadsheet for those of us going through Montreal. I'm quite the noob with Google Docs, so it may take some tweaking.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pF7...b9kOA&hl=en

Let me know what you all think (am I missing anyone? Should I add any columns? etc...?). It's organized by interview date (or lack thereof). The old spreadsheet was sorted by the "Entered Montreal Waiting List." I don't know where to get this info other than having you all PM me your dates. So if you all could do that, I would really appreciate it!

And I'm sorry if someone else has started a new spreadsheet... If anyone else wants to take over, let me know! I don't wanna step on any toes here.

~Stephanie

Yayyyy! :dance: I'm so excited (and totally jealous lol) for those of you who got interviews! :dance: Congrats!

Um... why was this moved?

Thanks guys! You're the best!

Sometimes I feel like a petulant child who wants to scream “It’s not fair! They haven’t done their time yet!!!” I know it’s childish and mean and I don’t begrudge them their approvals in the least but couldn’t it be Sara, Brian or some of the other “old timers”… or even me?

I know that we'll get that all allusive approval one day but it is so hard to stay strong.

Well, I don't scream "It's not fair! They haven't done their time yet!!!" when I read the fast approval threads, but I sure as heck think it! I'd really love to smack that adjudicator over the head, shove an "old timer's" petition in their face and say, "approve this!" This system is so broken. It's ridiculous and frustrating to no end. I know I haven't said much here since I got my NOA2, but you all are still in my thoughts everyday. I wish there was something I could do.

BTW, does anybody know how to do multiple quotes in one reply? I've tried edit but it won't do another quote. Anybody knows?

What ya do is click down there where it says "quote" at the end of each post you want to reply to. Once you've done that, click "addreply" at the very bottom of the page and all the posts you selected will be quoted in the text box thingy.

Last question before sending back the checklist and stuff. I promise! We are wondering if Chris needs to send back a copy of the DS-160 along with the checklist and DS-230. It seems like he does according to the Montreal Consulate Info page here on VJ. "What forms should be sent back to the Consulate? DS-230, DS-160 Online Form, Checklist" But Chris says his checklist doesn't mention including it. I just don't wanna delay anything too much more. Any input would be appreciated!

To be honest, I think the people at the USCIS call center just pull those dates out of their butts. The first time I called after it had been six months, the lady I talked to acknowledged that I was outside processing times and granted me a service request. It hadn't even been six months since our NOA1, just six months since the "received date" on the NOA1. I called about a month later and the person I talked to told me that I was still within processing times.

I would recommend contacting your Senators and Congressperson.

Best of luck to you!

We are both thinking positively and hope that things will go as planned and judging by average timelines I will hopefully receive the K1 Visa by September/October. We plan to get married on Siesta Key this Fall, and almost all of our families will be in attendance.

Cool! I just did our Timeline and our I-129F may be adjudicated between July 24, 2009 and August 6, 2009. Which is about the dates we figured and are hoping on....

I know this isn't the purpose of your thread here, but... Just thought I would point out that there's still quite a bit of waiting between NOA2 and POE, especially if your SO will be interviewing in Montreal. Here are some helpful links to give you an idea:

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/inde...mp;cty=Montreal

According to this, the approximate wait time between Packet 3 being sent back and interview is 4 to 6 months.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=160083

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the replies to my question guys! I honestly don't know what I'd do without you all.

I forgot to send some congrats out to Rob and Mel and RYCK! :dance:

Another question! Sorry I keep bugging you all with questions, but everyone is so amazing here! Chris is having difficulty filling out the DS-230 question #25, "List dates of all previous visits to or residence in the United States. Give type of visa status if known. Give DHS 'A' number if any." While Chris was going to college in BC (just three hours north of me) he'd visit just about every weekend. We have absolutely no way to answer this question as he has entered the US well over 100 times. Any advice?

With NO RESPECT! you are a piece of s%#t if you dont like the laws of my country then go somewhere else. If you really love somebody everyminute a part is torture, yes I know and it is true. But if making people wait one year can prevent another incedent like 9/11 then so be it.

You know what I love about America? The fact that we have the right to disagree with the laws that govern us and our law makers. If no one ever disagreed with our laws, we'd never move forward. Are you Bill O'Reilly incognito or something?

I don't think the background checks and what not are what tick people off about this process. I think it's waiting 6+ months for someone to spend 15 minutes on your case and approve it. I selected "customer" whenever I logged onto CRIS to check my status online. If I was a customer with a private organization, I most certainly would have demanded a refund. I understand they receive a crapload of petitions, but I personally think that employment based petitions should be the ones taking 6+ months and the family based petitions should be taking less than three months.

Congrats bauser and thanks for the tips! :dance:

Good luck getting an interview soon francie! Remember when we thought we'd be with our SOs by March? *sigh*

Thanks for the info Jen!