Der Bücherwurm

I don't think it is, but the people at least need to use something to cover up.

Personally, I don't care if a breastfeeding mother covers up or not. Scandinavian women don't usually bother. They just lift their shirts and whip it out for their babies to feed.

Yes, and any one of these numbers would beat the -1.9% we had for 2008 or the -0.5% for 2009. It's an upward trend that the economy is on rather than the steep downward trend that is has been on when this administration took office. Unemployment numbers have always lagged following a recession so there's really nothing new in the continued high unemployment numbers. You know that, of course, but you just elect to pretend that this is somehow unique to the economic recovery we're now embarking on.

If you think the public is going to accept high unemployment over a period of years then Obama needs to dust off Pres. Carter's "malaise" speech.

Actually, it would need to be a Ronald Reagan speech he'd need to dust off since he was president the last time unemployment was so high. Also, it is continued use of 'Reaganomics' along with two ill-advised and ultimately futile wars that are a big cause of the financial problems that ultimately led to the total economic collapse under the Bush administration.

Good idea or no? I think they should have 3 different offices to handle visa applications: One for those that paid more for expedited processing, one for processing the straight-forward applications with little to no red-flags and one to handle the harder cases with tons of red flags.

I never got a letter, just an email informing me of the interview date and what to bring.

You know, there are those who feel that living together before getting married is a must. You may not agree, but to outright claim that the people who don't follow your path to marriage "don't need" an immigration visa is more than a little silly.

I agree. My husband and I lived together for a year before getting married. Neither of us needs a piece of paper to tell us how we feel about one another but we had no choice but to get that piece of paper in order to apply for his visa. Had we met in the US we'd probably just live together without ever getting married. There are plenty of cultures out there where people cohabit with one another for far longer than most traditional marriages last. Perhaps it is people that need material objects like a ring and a piece of paper to feel secure in their relationship that are the ones whose relationship isn't strong enough.

Good Luck!

I have been waiting for an interview date in Ankara for almost 45 days! I do not suggest Turkey.

Hi,

You are not alone, My wife she got AP from US embassy in Ankara. As you said Embassy in Ankara is very hard for Iranian. I hope they can finsh AP in 4-6 weeks. Let me know if I can help.

Did she get AP before or after the interview? I'm trying not to get my hopes up before the interview because you never know if there will be further AP after the interview or not.

Some countries allow a citizen to petition an SO so that you can be with the one you love whether you are gay or straight without having to marry. I know Scandinavian countries allow for this since most people there live together as 'samboere' without ever marrying. So I'm wondering why the US doesn't allow for this...

What Penguin said. Plus, it wouldn't hurt for you to just type up a paragraph explaining that you wanted to be there for the interview but couldn't due to the physical. Then print it out, sign it and give it to her to present at the interview.

Click on my timeline and scroll down a bit....there's a pretty detailed account of our interview on there. Definitely practice beforehand. The questions might be different, but he'll get a good idea of what to expect. Try to put yourself in the interviewer's shoes and look at your relationship from that perspective...its a good way to anticipate what things they might ask about.

Best of luck!

Tanya

Some tips for other people going through the interview at Ankara:

1. Dress nicely (we did and we honestly felt that it helped in how we were treated/perceived)

2. Be prepared with your answers. I printed a list of sample questions from the US embassy website and we went over them prior to the interview. I feel this helped us in knowing what to expect.

3. Be affectionate...not overly of course, but hold hands, etc. You are engaged after all!

4. Be positive and confident. Unless there is a honest to God problem, I think most people get their visa, if for no other reason, just because the American citizen is asking for it.

5. Go together if at all possible. I watched several people whose interviews appeared to go well get turned down for lack of evidence of a relationship. Alternatively, I saw interviews go incredibly badly but the couple was there together and the visa was granted. If you can't go together, send lots and lots of evidence!

Good tips in your timeline.

By "dress nicely," do you mean a suit and tie? I will definitely wear a skirt and blouse but should Hubster wear a suit or would khaki pants, button up shirt and a sweater be ok?

Chill, Len. It's just a question. But I guess Donna is right. If the USC is paying then a fraudster wouldn't care. I never knew high fraud countries couldn't compete in the diversity visa lottery. Honestly, I agree with Lone Ranger that wanting a greencard and better life in itself isn't fraud. It just sucks to see some people being used. But I don't see how one could educate the USC about fraud if they're in love.

Sorry, I have to give you the "Talking out of my a$$ award".

While no two women are alike.... generally speaking, Russian woman are quite a bit different from the Average American lady. (and it's not all good).

They also look for different things in men.

Example, I have never known a Russian woman to long after a HUGH GRANT TYPE GUY.

Danno, I've never seen you not blow words out of your ####. Obviously, cultures differ but culture is man-made. People the world over basically want the same things. And what a coincidence, I've never met an American woman that particularly cares for Hugh Grant. I think you need to get out more instead of ASSuming you know so much.

Well, my favorite meal is red beans and rice so giving up meat 2-3 days a week would be no problem for me.

I think this is "Americanized" thinking.

I don't think you know a damn thing about what American or Russian women are thinking. And yes I have come across many Russian, Ukrainian and other East European women during my time living in various countries in Europe and the ME. I find that East European women generally want the same things out of men that American or any other group of women want. Perhaps you are suffering from some measure of self hate and feelings of inadequacy and transferring those emotions into a negative view of American women. Whenever I meet a misogynistic American male it always makes me wonder if his mother was a materialistic stripper since people tend to view the opposite sex based upon how their parent was. Guess your views don't speak well of your mother.

Good luck. Be sure to update us after the interview and let us know how it went and what questions they asked.

We are going through the embassy in Ankara for DCF. You can see our time line below in my signature. The staff can be nitpicky about all the documents and requirements and seemed a bit rude. But I guess it is their job to have a bit of an attitude. They did schedule our interview within 3 months of receiving all our documents. I will update my time line after the interview and say how it went.

What would be a better way to reduce fraud if you don't think higher fees for high fraud countries would help?

Oh.. just thought of another question. I am filling out all the forms for him, as I know many other people have done, but someone told me that I should NOT list myself on the DS forms as having assisted in completing them.. and just have him sign them. Well, I could understand this if we were filing for a visitor visa.. but why not this time? He is obviously intending to come here to stay with me, so why wouldn't I want to list myself on the forms as having assisted in preparing them? Yes, it was a red flag on our first visitor visa application, but I don't see the problem with it now.

It would be obvious he didn't do it anyway, as I don't have Turkish characters on my keyboard and the "i" in his family name would be wrong.. as well as a few letters in the addresses.

If that is going to cause an issue I will download a Turkish Key board and use the Turkish Charachters instead of the English ones.

I'm living in Istanbul with my husband and we have our interview scheduled for Dec. 15th. I filled out all the forms except where his signature was required. I put my name and status as his wife where it asks who filled out the DS forms. We are living together so it isn't like I didn't verify everything with him. I don't know if we will be penalized for that or not. I would think they would have contacted us about it before scheduling the interview if it were a problem. I will post here after the interview to say how it went and what they asked in case it might help somebody else out. Good luck.

Oh, I have a question too. For those that have already had the interview could you post some of the questions they asked so the rest of us can be prepared. I've heard the embassy staff can be rude and are cracking down on requirements so I'm a bit nervous.

Ok, now I'm relieved that I went with the CR1. I just wish I knew what the average time line is to get the visa from the Ankara embassy after the interview.

In some countries, the K3 is still a little (2-4 weeks) faster than the CR-1- in many countries, it is not. However, considering how long you wait overall (6-8 months), this really isn't that long, and you trade in the slightly shorter waiting time of being together for alot of hassle, time wasting and money when you get to the USA as you cannot work immediately, have to file AOS etc. So I agree with the majority on this site in saying the K3 is obsolete.

Oh, ok. So the difference is that the K3 is sometimes, but not always quicker but then you have more hassle upon arrival by not being able to work immediately and you have to file AOS, etc. But with the CR1 it 'might' take longer to get the visa but then when you arrive stateside you can work immediately and don't have to file AOS. Am I correct?

No, you dont' automatically apply for both. After the NOA-1 comes for the I-130 you must file the I-129F. Your I-130 gets taken out of line, matched up with the I-130 and put at the back on the line. Then both petitions are approved at the same time. When we filed, I-129Fs were being approved 6-8 weeks after the stand alone I-130s. So no, it does not save time at all. Plus, it is almost twice as expensive as the cr-1

Good luck.

When doing DCF in Turkey you don't file the I-129f. You send in the I-130, DS230, G325, I864 and all supporting documents at once. Then they schedule your interview and tell you to bring passport, etc. so I don't know what is even on the I-129f. I just noticed that right under the title for the k3 forum it says:

People who file for a K-3 have automatically also filed for a IR1/CR1 Visa (I-130) and can persue that visa if it is approved faster than the K-3.

And under the title for the CR1 forum it says:

Please note that all K-3 applicants have already filed for this visa by default (the I-130 you filed). If this option is faster than the K-3 then you can abandon your K-3 Visa and get this one instead.

I keep hearing that the staff at the Ankara embassy are quite rude. Hopefully they will be in a nice and generous mood at our upcoming interview.

I still don't quite understand the difference between the K3 and CR1. When you send in the I130 you've automatically applied for both, no? If one will be faster then you can abandon the one you have for the other. But other than differing processing times, what is the real difference and why don't they just automatically start processing the one that will be quicker? I'm doing DCF in Turkey for the CR-1. I hope that is the best route. I will verify it at the interview in December I suppose.

Did anyone get family members to write a letter stating that they are aware of their relationship and can't wait for the happy couple to be together in the US? I was wondering if it would help to take such a letter to the interview or if it would look silly. If it will help I'll do it, but if it will just make me look like an overgrown child with a field-trip permission slip from mommy then I'd rather not.