acrow

Hey everyone! I added some pictures to my profile from my last trip down to Jamaica if you are interested in taking a look!

Has anyone had to get the non-impediment for the interview?

It's in packet 3 as a requirement, but I haven't heard of anyone getting an RFE for not having it. Are you thinking about not getting it? I considered that, too, since it's WAAAAAY too expensive for something that seems optional.

It wouldn't be a RFE. It would be a pink (?) slip at the interview. A slip of some color anyhow.

And, YES, I have heard of people being denied until they can produce it.

Yes, you need it, trust me. They asked us specifically for it at the interview. Maybe requiring it is a fairly new development, but yes you need it and can get it at the same time that you get the newer version of the birth certificate, both of which you can get in MoBay.

I found that getting ready for the interview and actually getting the interview scheduled was the hardest part of the process. I was probably extra stressed, though, because I was desperate for my husband to be here for the birth of our child, and it was cut very close!

Good luck to you, mstee!

I agree that age is just a number...and in the case of my husband, and perhaps many Jamaican men compared to American men, he seems older than his age because of a hard life. He was responsible for helping to raise his little brothers as well as hustling to help make a living from the time he was old enough to talk. As the oldest son he has always been the man of the family. Because of this he is a GREAT father. I have never seen a better one. I adore him!

My aunt works at a hotel that gets lots of international guests. She said she's noticed that men from many other countries seem more mature than similarly-aged American men.

I could see that. Men here in Portland, OR at least aren't ready to settle down and have a family until about forty if ever. Most of the men I know are still dating, getting drunk, and living in houses with many roommates into their late thirties. Most don't even believe in marriage.

Well...not all Portland men are like that, but it seems VERY common here.

900 years...13 months...53 weeks...366 days....25 hours...61 minutes and 61 seconds.

one year

WHERE U BEEN

hubby 2yrs older

KK

I've been checking in every now and then. I am adjusting to being a new mom and wife...all is going well!

I agree that age is just a number...and in the case of my husband, and perhaps many Jamaican men compared to American men, he seems older than his age because of a hard life. He was responsible for helping to raise his little brothers as well as hustling to help make a living from the time he was old enough to talk. As the oldest son he has always been the man of the family. Because of this he is a GREAT father. I have never seen a better one. I adore him!

My age difference between my mate and I are 16 years difference.

Does the age difference concern you? I cant even tell from your picture which one of you is older.

I have always dated older guys...My husband is the first man I've been with younger than me, and he is only younger than me by a year. It still gave me pause, though.

one year

Well, our AOS has already been approved, we just need to remove conditions. I didnt see anything on the page about removing conditions that said I needed to submit any proof of income. Please let me know if I am mistaken.

Tickets back and forth will be hard, but we are saving money and putting some aside, and I plan on keeping an emergency fund of about $1000 US in my mother's care.

Anyway, the move isn't planned until November or December so I will have a little time to work out any kinks...

Thanks for all of the kind words and advice. I am getting ready to do some research here soon...some of you might get a pm from me.

Yes my husband is here with me now and he has a two year greencard. We are planning on coming back to the US as much as we need to be able to still file to remove conditions when the time comes.

Congrats on the decision Acrow. How will you qualify for 125% of poverty guidelines living in Jamaica for AOS? I'm curious because I had a friend that moved to Jamaica and she got a job...but ended up finding it very difficult to afford a plane ticket (and much of anything else beside bare essentials) to get back to the US. She ended up begging family to pay for her return ticket...last I heard she made another go of it in Jamaica...and is doing a lot better than her first attempt.

Thanks for all of the kind words and advice. I am getting ready to do some research here soon...some of you might get a pm from me.

Yes my husband is here with me now and he has a two year greencard. We are planning on coming back to the US as much as we need to be able to still file to remove conditions when the time comes.

I am "moving" to Jamaica. I put quotes around moving because I always have a place to stay here in the US and I plan to stay here at least three months out of the year. My husband has a comfortable house just waiting for us to come home to it outside of Falmouth in Jamaica and after months of talking it over we have decided to move there.

Anyway, I was wondering if anybody had any advice for me...how long can I legally stay as the wife of a Jamaican citizen, how do become authorized to work, and how do I file for our son to become a dual citizen?

Any advice is appreciated!

All he wants to do is bring home clothes primarily for his siters and brothers so I am tempted to just pack them in our suitcases... but when we are leaving the aiport and going through customs they will probably search our bags and then want to charge us... does anyone know how much charges are?

If you are putting the clothes in your suitcase just take off the tags if they are new...i bring clothes down for my hubby family everytime i go down and they don't ask as long there is no tags...they do look through your suitcase but they won't examine your clothes...I wouldn't worry...they charge based on how much the item would cost in JA...so it usually not that much if its nothing to big...like a tv set or something...

Don't agree with the charges statement here. I took a whole suitcase of presents for Christmas one time. Had tags on and ALL the receipts. The stupid duty cost more then I paid for the ####### I took.

If it were me, I would take all the tags off and mix everything in with your stuff.

They didn't check our bags...we went through nothing to declare and we took one carry on each as well as one large checked bag. We had lots of gifts. But I know we lucked out. I agree...take the tags off of the clothes and mix in. Don't take too many suitcases because it will look suspicious

All he wants to do is bring home clothes primarily for his siters and brothers so I am tempted to just pack them in our suitcases... but when we are leaving the aiport and going through customs they will probably search our bags and then want to charge us... does anyone know how much charges are?

If you are putting the clothes in your suitcase just take off the tags if they are new...i bring clothes down for my hubby family everytime i go down and they don't ask as long there is no tags...they do look through your suitcase but they won't examine your clothes...I wouldn't worry...they charge based on how much the item would cost in JA...so it usually not that much if its nothing to big...like a tv set or something...

Don't agree with the charges statement here. I took a whole suitcase of presents for Christmas one time. Had tags on and ALL the receipts. The stupid duty cost more then I paid for the ####### I took.

If it were me, I would take all the tags off and mix everything in with your stuff.

They didn't check our bags...we went through nothing to declare and we took one carry on each as well as one large checked bag. We had lots of gifts. But I know we lucked out. I agree...take the tags off of the clothes and mix in. Don't take too many suitcases because it will look suspicious

DJ and I have talked some about the money -

I will be the first to admit, looking back - I grew up spoiled - My parents always took us on nice vacations, out to eat, bought us what we wanted, paid our credit card bills, covered bounced checks, .... I can recognize it now and realize that they gave us ALOT. All of that stopped when I was in college and had a fight with my father and he cut me off - it was a hard lesson to learn, and I damaged the HeLL outta my credit while doing it. It has taken me a long long time to build it back up, and get my spending in order. I am finally in a position where I make good money, know how to save, invest, etc...

I have no problem with the fact that I earn more than DJ or that I will earn more for a while - we have talked about this and he realizes it as well - he knows that it takes time to build up in your career, and that he is gonna have to put in the years to earn it. We have also talked about my concerns of how he is with money - cause when he has it he spends it - So when he first gets here, I expect that to be one of our biggest problems for a while, and we will be doing some strict budgeting / allowances for both of us until we come up with a workable solution for us.

My husband spends money so fast in Jamaica, I was worried how he would be when he got here...but now that he's here he is very conservative. He scrutinizes every purchase. He loves flea markets and garage sales!

Acrow, I am glad to hear that everything has worked itself out this morning. But babay girl I felt your panic right thru your post. You are indeed stressed, do you do any yoga. You should try some yoga movements, it will help you to feel a little less stress and you will sleep better when you are asleep. Being a new mother is a stressfull time, you don't want to get burned out some soon in this venture. Note:, some babies don't sleep all night until they are 12 months. So try something that will help you to de-stress.

Good Luck and Congradulations on being a new mother.

Yeah, I am much calmer now...I have done yoga before but haven't been recently. I have to be honest with you...when I have free time right now(I also am working) I sleep. I take the baby for walks for exercise and entertainment for him, but I de-stress by reading. I haven't been able to focus on a book since before the birth, though. I am only spending so much time on the computer right now because I am too tense to sleep at the moment...

But I don't want to complain too much! I am so lucky with my baby! He has his father's calm demeanor. He isn't a crier, he just loves to laugh and play with people. He just doesn't sleep for long periods.

I am so glad that I will see my husband tonight!

I had a friend from the Ivory Coast that was in the same situation. He entered illegally and then a couple of years later got married. He had to get an immigration lawyer, but it did get sorted out, but it took a while. Definitely get a lawyer.

OMG I am freaking out! My husband is trying to come home on advanced parole and they wont even let him through Sangster! They say that his advanced parole document is messed up because it is not his name above his picture! I have a copy of the document and it is NOT SUPPOSED to be his name! It is the name of the authorizing agent! I yelled at the guy and told him just let him through and they will sort it out in immigration in Miami, but he is telling me Neil has to go to the embassy to get a new document! The embassy doesn't even issue these! Its USCIS that issues them!

This better get sorted out. I told Neil to refuse to leave

Yikes! That sounds like a nightmare. Quick prayer that God opens the heart of the agent working with your husband.

Thank God! They let him through! I almost lost it! I am home here with a five month old baby and I need my husband. My baby boy is waking up every two hours to eat still, and when my husband was here he would take the baby in the morning so I could sleep. I am so sleep deprived!

JaEnglish, those pictures are beautiful.

OMG I am freaking out! My husband is trying to come home on advanced parole and they wont even let him through Sangster! They say that his advanced parole document is messed up because it is not his name above his picture! I have a copy of the document and it is NOT SUPPOSED to be his name! It is the name of the authorizing agent! I yelled at the guy and told him just let him through and they will sort it out in immigration in Miami, but he is telling me Neil has to go to the embassy to get a new document! The embassy doesn't even issue these! Its USCIS that issues them!

This better get sorted out. I told Neil to refuse to leave

????? QUESTION ?????

as some may remember- i have yet to receive my paper NOA2, the only way i knew we were approved was from a letter from the NVC stating they were forwarding our case to kingston.

i have made multiple calls to the USCIS and have always recieved the same info- "it was mailed on march 26th and nothing has been returned, blah blah blah, fill out a form send us $ and we will send you another paper NOA2."

this past friday i again called USCIS and was transferred a couple times-

the person i ended up talking to made no mention of USCIS ever sending me the paper NOA2 and he told me he put in a request for 2nd Notice of Approval-

and if i didnt hear anything in 45 days via email, contact USCIS again (via 1-800 #)

so yesterday i got this email- (different email address that i gave the guy on friday )

do y'all think they are snail mailing me my paper NOA2?

email recieved from "USCIS-CRIS@dhs.gov"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: WAC#######

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On March 26, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

what da rass? after typing all that out- i realize it says march 26........ i read it as may 26th yesterday

@#$%@#$%^@#%!#$%

nothing has changed i bet

goodnight- im going back to bed

LOL

This should count as your NOA2 if you need to show it later. I don't remember anybody asking to see ours, and I'm sure if they did and I showed them this e mail and explained the situation it would be ok...

Our AOS is approved pending proof of a varicella vaccination and if they ever checked for this letter it might have only been briefly at the interview...I don't even remember. I would print this e-mail out and proceed as if this is your NOA2

Hi Acrow...did you ever get your k-2 taken care of?

yes and no. It proved to be easier than I thought...We e mailed the embassy and they replied the very next day with an interview date for his son that fell during the time I told them we would be in Jamaica. We just needed to get his medical, etc. Unfortunately, his mother backed out and decided not to let him come. We tried telling her it would only be for three months, but because it is an immigrant visa...

I understand her fear, but it is too bad because the hardest part of being here for Neil is that he misses his son in Jamaica. He is down there right now...I went for a week with the baby so his family could meet him, and Neil is staying for an extra two weeks so he can spend time with his oldest son.

Anyway, I really miss my husband!

Hey ladies! hope all is well! I have only manage to catch-up from pg 321 and I think the last time I was on we were at 287!

Anyway it was so exciting to see all the interview dates Congrats you all! I am so excited for you all!!

Honey and DADA I am so sorry to hear that your journey has come to an end, you guys will be in my prayers as you find healing!!!

Jawi, I am so sorrry to hear that you have to have another surgery, I hope this will be it and your body will heal!! I am so excited that your honey will be here so you can be wrap in his arms as you recovery!!!

Wakey, you look absolutly beautiful, when i did my big C man i could not wear it out I looked so much like my mother to the point I couldnt see myself when I looked in the mirror. But now I love it funny thing is my mother hates it, keeps asking if I want her to perm my hair!!! I use Carol daughter but the other day I got some real shea butter and I got a coconut and boil it until it produce oil and I have been using that but now I got braids, cause twisting my hair takes forever!! I am waiting until after the wedding to lock it..

Anyway ladies be bless!

- oh, I knew I forgot something- If anyone travel with AP, do not use Miami as your POE, they had my hubby in custom for 4 hours talking about that's normal for processing since he didnt have a GC! Thats absolutly ridiculous and then he missed his connecting flight which was the last one out for the night but luckly he got a nice AA Rep that gave him a hotel voucher and meal and booked him on the next flight for the morning. They did lose his luggage . THe vampire that check him in the next morning asked him what genuis gave him a hotel voucher cause they not responsible for miss flight when its customs faults!!! Biiit@h!!! But he is home safe and sound and they did manage to find his luggage even though his ginger wine was broken, my rum cream made it thru safely....

Oh No! This is my husbands POE with advance parole on Tuesday! He has his AP as well as a copy of our marriage license and some other docs...I hope he doesn't miss his connecting flight! He is flying AA as well.

Jawi, I hope your surgery goes well.

My husband is here since November on K1 visa. He has filed for AOS and received advance parole. We were told his son could follow within a year, and we are going back down to Jamaica to get him...

What do I do? Where does his son get his own visa...I am getting conflicting info all over the place. The embassy made it sound like he could just come join no problem, but now I am hearing we need to file all these forms.

Has anyone here done this? What was the procedure?

We are doing the same with our older son. First, it is a separate visa and you will have to do all the same things you did for his visa. Call the call center and make an appointment for your son using the same NVC case number. Your son will need a medical exam, you can make an appoitnent for that at any time using the NVC case number. If he is over 16 he will need a police certificate. He will need the DS-156, or any other forms the consulate uses, passport photos and birth certificate. All translated if needed. You will pay the $131 visa fee. Your husband must attend the interview and show that he has complied with the terms of his visa. That means marriage certificate and, minimum, copy of NOA1 for filing the AOS, or his AOS acceptance letter and green card.

The interview should be relatively easy. When his son arrvies you will have to file for AOS just like for him. Another $1010 fee. You will have 90 days to file the AOS. Just consider it K-1 part duex.

Wow, thanks! This is exactly the info I was looking for! I emailed the embassy now and hopefully all of our ducks will be in a row for when we go down there!

This is my question, too. Getting any info from the Kingston embassy is nearly impossible, but I will try. Just want to hear from somebody who has done it...

My husband is here since November on K1 visa. He has filed for AOS and received advance parole. We were told his son could follow within a year, and we are going back down to Jamaica to get him...

What do I do? Where does his son get his own visa...I am getting conflicting info all over the place. The embassy made it sound like he could just come join no problem, but now I am hearing we need to file all these forms.

Has anyone here done this? What was the procedure?

Yes, we listed him. So he doesn't need his own visa?

here's some pics:

my husband looks grumpy in the picture with the mountain.

he was so cold!

This is totally unrelated to your question but just saw this post and the picture w/the mountain. Were you in Oregon or was that Mt. Shasta? It looks a lot like Shasta but not sure. Poor hubby...hopefully he'll get a little more used to it by next season.

yes thats mt hood in

oregon

Thanks for the help! He is a boy!

Yes, we listed him. So he doesn't need his own visa?

here's some pics:

my husband looks grumpy in the picture with the mountain.

he was so cold!