KAT&Allie

Well my interview was July 8th. Not impressed at all with the "customer service" I recieved at all at the embassy, the interviewer was cool, but the person I had to hand my forms into and get fingerprinted with was well, I dont have anything nice to say about her that doesnt involve any foul language. I did recieve my visa tho Tickets are booked and I'm moving in 3.5 weeks, and we are planning an October wedding.

Congrats Amber!! That's really good new! About time too.

Maybe, once all of us September filers are over here, we should organise a meet up? It looks like lot of you are in either NC or SC. We could do a weekend together in either state. What do you say?

Good luck with the move. I'm so excited for you.

And it looks like HG finally got out of AP at US Embassy in Cairo! Good news all round.

Hi MARM,

I couldn't believe when I finally looked at VJ again that you two are still having problems with London Embassy.

I've been in your shoes (waiting for the infernal visa to turn up) so I can appreciate how frustrating and annoying the whole situation is, especially since they didn't say they'll put him in AP at the interview once they receive his passport. All I wanted to do is to scream at somebody and to get some answers. But you know this process all too well now to expect miracles or speed. Keep bugging you congressman (however frustrating it may be) as they seem to have the most success in getting some answers. Also, make sure you send emails to London Embassy with codes - without them your chances of receiving a reply decrease drastically. When you phone that horribly expensive line, give them you name and case number and don't tell them talk you "maybe I can help you" situation. Otherwise, they'll ask you the same questions, like your email address and phone number every time you call regardless that they already have that on file. Persist and just keep praying and hoping.

I really hope he gets his passport with visa in very soon.

All the best.

CONGRATS!!!

After all these months you'll have your HG with you soon.

All the best.

Hi everybody,

haven't been on VJ for so long that I forgot my password so it took me forever to catch up on this thread.

Finally submitted my AOS on 27th. Honestly I really didn't think this process would be as near as stressful as I found K-1 to be but so far it's been a shear hell.

I didn't get my I-94 form and since I was clueless that I needed it at all (I know I couldn't have the green piece of paper I-94W but somehow I thought that K-1 visa was enough and nobody gave me anything else to fill in except the customs form), so I didn't ask for it. Only realised I needed it when I started assembling forms for AOS and they all seem to ask for the I-94 number. I can't even get SS card without it. After being send from pillar to post (CBP and USCIS), speaking to numerous supervisors and managers and anybody in between, I finally have had enough and arranged for an Infopass appointment. For which I had to wait almost a month !!! Apparently they had lot of naturalisation ceremonies going on. At that point I was so furious about it all, I wasn't sure I would be polite enough to the immigration officer at all. As it turned out, I needn't have worried since he wouldn't let me speak. All he wanted to know if we were married and shaved a stack of applications forms through. But he did say that for AOS application I do not need the I-94!!! I just wish somebody told us that during all those phone conversations and we didn't waste all these time.

I used Dr. Arnold since all local doctors wanted to give me an examination first (and obviously charge me for it) regardless of me explaining that I don't need it so I gave up and sent everything to Texas. No probs at all. Wish I didn't even try the local CSs.

So all the forms have been mailed to Chicago and apparently they've arrived too. Now the waiting begins all over again. I'm not holding my breath this time though.

The downside is that without I-94 I cannot get my SS number and as consequence, cannot get the driving licence. Apparently I can only (legally) drive on my UK one for 1 month. And Orlando doesn't believe in pavements unless you live downtown, I'm stuck. I can't even volunteer since I have no means of getting there (they have bus lines but nowhere near where I live ). So I've been cooking, and cooking some more. BTW, Magpie, those marble cupcakes looked delicious.

I'm glad we all seem to be here. Congrats to everybody who already got their GCs, EADs and APs. To rest of us, speedy journey and best of luck.

Thanks rebeccajo. Shall be looking for it asap.

Thanks YuAndDan for the advice too.

Well firstly, you would have been given the WHITE I-94, not the green one (the green one is for VWP travelers only). Are you sure you don't have it?

Absolutely certain! He just stamped the passport and gave it back to me without any additional papers. The only white paper I got on the plane was the customs form which they've kept.

Unfortunately I didn't know I needed I-94 otherwise I would have said something to the IO.

I'm hoping somebody can guide me in the right direction.

I've entered USA on Sunday 17th May, got married on Monday and have started to download AOS paperwork just now. As I started to read the I485 for, it asks for I-94 number. That got me puzzled as I remember from the previous visits to the US, it was a green form that I had to give back on exiting. But this time I wasn't given ANY! Just a stamp in the passport!

Do I need one? If so how am I supposed to obtain it?

Talk about major panic attack!!!

What am I supposed to do? Can somebody help me please?!!

Wow, being away from VJ for few days sets you behind in going-ons for a while.

Congrats to all people who were approved recently and Moira, great to hear you got your visa.

Good luck PB&JAM on your interview tomorrow.

I'm slowly starting to settle in after a surprise wedding on Monday (they've managed to find some loop hole so we managed to get married despite of some disapprovals). I'm still slightly bewildered, jet-lagged so I don't feel like like being here for a very long time let alone married . I'm sure I'll get over it all soon enough. Also, it's been raining here ever since I came so if it wasn't for the higher temperatures, I might as well be in England.

Good luck to everybody getting ready to take the final leap over the big pond.

Wow!! Congratulations Kat&Allie, good luck on the wedding!

Thanks Gemmie. Being married doesn't feel any different

I know eh they are soo slow in Montreal. I just called, as is my weekly routine and no date set yet. At least the representative was nice and polite and said sorry. It's been 5 weeks since they logged my p3, and from what I have seen the average wait time here from date they log p3 to interview date varies from 70 to 90 days....

Which is rediculous because some people wait less to get their NOA2 (of course not any of us sept fillers). And I'm really starting to get annoyed because some of the other people waiting for interviews at my embassy and getting impatient filled the initial petition in December.... Well cross your fingers that next week is my week. If I dont have a date by the 29th I am going to e-mail them and request the earliest date possible, even though I think that will be a waste of time, or maybe I will do it sooner, who knows.

Well I am super glad to see that the visa finally showed up and you are going on Sunday. I am going on the 29th for a few days to visit and celebrate our anniversary and my birthday. Hopefully this will be my last visit.

This really is ridiculous!!! Why is it taking them so long to process the paperwork? It's not like the half of Canada is emigrating! I really hope you get your packet 4 soon. Enough of this waiting!!!

I arrived yesterday and my baby surprised me with a wedding date. It looks like I'll be getting married today!! Assuing I manage to iron out wrinkles on my dress by then .

Good luck Amber, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Congrats to all new approvals and congrats to KAT&Allie for your visa arriving, have a great flight!

Thanks Paul. At this point I don't care if they put me in cargo hold as long as I'm on that flight !!!

Ah! I am SO happy for you that you finally have your visa!!! Good luck at POE!

Thanks. And I might need it the way this visa journey has been going.

CONGRATS Magpie!!! Fab news indeed!!!

Did your visa show up yet?

Yes, this morning. Finally !!! Flights rescheduled for this Sunday. I'll finally be with my baby.

Have you got your interview date yet, Amber? How long are you supposed to wait? Until your need to draw pension?

Happy to report we are approved!!!! Wow, now the rest of my life can begin! On the train home now so will write a full report later but wanted to say thank you to everyone on here for all the help, advice and support we've received. This place has been a godsend and I intend to stay with it for all the other processes and form filling to come. So thank you!!

Gimme one of those shiny stars please!

CONGRATS H&V!!! Nice to see another approval.

BTW, my visa turned up this morning. Had a text last night but still refused to believe it will be delivered until it was sitting in my hand. The courier couldn't find the address so he made it with 2 minutes to spare to 8am. I've reschedule the flight for this Sunday and I had an almighty fight with Virgin's customer representative but after 45 minutes on the phone, we managed to agree to something. Cheeky so ad so said he'll send my e-ticket in 48 hours. By then I lost the will to live and just pointed out that I'll hopefully, be on the plane already by then. We definitely spoke different languages today as his English was really difficult to understand. Done and dusted and I'm off.

Good luck to everybody and especially to all of you still waiting for your interview dates or to get your actual visas from the Embassy.

CONGRATS Magpie!!! Finally everything is coming together.

Sorry about the exam. Hopefully it wasn't as bad as you think. Good luck.

An update...

Just had an email from the congressman regarding delays in issuing visas. Apparently the Embassy is experiencing some IT problems and there are long back logs in processing. Excuses, excuses... I simply don't believe a word they say. I suppose they had to give some excuse after all....

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah so sorry to hear about you missing your wedding day. did they give you a time for when it will be done? can you get back any of the money you spent on your wedding, you know venue and such.???

So am I, believe me . And all we wanted is to be together. Who would have thought we had to put up with so much cr*p?! The major expense was the caterer and we had to put down 75% deposit which we lost but overall I'd rather lose it all and be together than this. Money is money, it comes and goes but the moments that we haven't spent together be reclaimed. We'll just have to live longer to make up for the lost time

On a different note, Nik got packet 4 today, and our interview is June 4, 8am!!! Hoping the medical follow up is completed in time! I am just thrilled!

YEA!!! Glad you finally got the date. Good luck and all.

Just to keep you all posted with my story, I had an email from the Embassy last night (after I sent the 2nd coded email to them this week) that said

"Unfortunately we were misinformed by the Immigrant Visa Unit and you visa was not issued until today (13th). Your passport has passed to the courier service for delivery to you.

Sincerely,

Consular Information Unit

CONS/VISAS/CIU/ak ".

I simply don't believe them any more and until I actually see my passport, I won't be able to believe whatever they say. Note that they didn't apologise or offer any explanation. That would be too much to expect, I suppose...

I did call the couriers this morning and of course they haven't received anything for me. At this point, I'd be more surprised if they said, yes, they have something to deliver to me.

Anyway, that's the story so far.

I am so sorry you missed your wedding day. After enduring the delay's of the process itself, to encounter these problems....AND see others interviewed after you, recieve their visa's... you must be furious.

I was sure about booking my flights as soon as I found out that my interview date was over a month before my intended departure date, but the more and more people I see left in limbo after getting an approval worries me and I may have to reconsider.

I'm rooting for you all.

Actually, I'm too heartbroken to be furious. If nothing else this visa journey taught me that the US government has a very peculiar concept of a queue system. I should've known better... I just can't believe that after everything we've been through I still, stupidly believed in their 5 working days statement. HA!!!

Regarding tickets, Virgin has allowed me to put mine "on hold" so to speak. I'll have to pay 70 quid for change of flight but that's better than buying a whole new ticket. Your call though, you might be one of the lucky ones. :-)

Their email address is londonconsular@state.gov.

You must call the expensive line and ask them for email code. Put this code into subject line and you'll get an automated message saying that they'll respond to your email within 3-4 working days.

Previously, they responded to my emails within couple of days and on Monday they answered the same day.

Good luck.

Congrats to MARM and Moira!!! Great news

Alixhilary and Paul, I'm sorry you are still waiting for your passports back. I wonder how many of us are out there?!

From personal experience, neither the people at the Embassy's expensive line nor DOS can tell you anything. DOS can tell that visa has not been issued but that's that - no explanation for the delay. I spent £17.5 on Monday having trying to get somebody at the extortionate line to give me an email code. She must have been the employee of the month considering how much money she managed to get out of me before she gave me the code!!!

I emailed them the same day and surprisingly got the reply the same day. It basically said that the visa will be printed out today and send to the SMS either that evening (Monday) or Tuesday the latest. Surprise, surprise, no visa in sight!!!

Now, the congressman is involved and all this email correspondence with the Embassy has been forwarded to him. Apparently, he emailed the Embassy both on Monday and Tuesday but has heard nothing. It's too late for us to get married this month but I'll be damned if I let this matter drop. If it means I'll have to send them an email every day, so be it. And if it means getting all relatives contacting their congressmen as well, it'll be done.

Hopefully, we'll all get our passports back soon so we can finally move on with our lives.

I am so sorry to hear this! It makes me so nervous! I've read your posts many times and felt so bad when you were waiting so long for your NOA2! It finally arrived and you received your interview so quickly. Selfishly, it had given me hope that maybe Nick would receive his visa prior to our wedding... we're starting to cut it close and still no sign of our NOA2... not even a touch. Almost all other November filers have been approved and well on their way (if not already) to moving to the states. VSC is mainly approving only January filers now. I feel so bad for you and can't imagine what you are going through right now. I have had a difficult few weeks and my situation doesn't even compare to yours. Have you talked to the airlines? Just wondering if you'd be able to hop a flight tomorrow evening if you manage to get the visa. This whole process is so draining and it seems you can never rest easy until the visa is in hand. I'm hoping your visa will arrive tomorrow morning!

I'm so sorry Jenn to hear you are still waiting. I sincerely hope you'll get your NOA2 very, very soon. We all seem to think that obtaining NOA2 is the final big obstacle and everything after that will go more or less smoothly. Well, my case just proves that not to be the case. All it managed to do is that I mistrust American government even more. I don't need to tell you how much I like them... to the point that I wish my baby was born as just about anybody else but American.

The airline had been quite accommodating and understanding but they only have to flights a day to Orlando. The first one I would not be able to catch and even the later one at 1 pm might be a bit tight since I live about 60 miles from the airport. Too late for us anyway. Wedding will now have to be set for June. This is the second time we had to cancel the wedding but at least the first time we didn’t lose any money over it since no deposits had been paid. This time everything was set, I even got my flowers yesterday and people booked their flights. Total disaster! Another lesson learnt...

Hi guys, I know I haven't been in touch for a while...too busy packing and sorting things out before my departure and the wedding. But all this has now been postponed.

As some of you may remember, I had my interview on 29th April and was told to expect my passport back within 5 working days. well, 5 days have come and gone by and still no passport. DOS is saying it hasn't been printed yet!!!! #######!!!!

I was supposed to fly out today and the wedding was organisedd for this coming Tuesday. It seems that everybody will be there exept for the bride !!!! He flew back to Florida by himself today... it was heartbreaking waving goodbye to him... Absolutely gutted....

DOS is saying that it's at Embassy's discretion when they print the visas and they can take as long as they want and we just need to sit tight and wait. Honestly, I thought that getting NOA2 was hard but this - I have never expected or would have believed. My fiance will be calling his congressman first thing tomorrow morning to find what the hell is going on. But the boat has sailed - I shall still miss my own wedding...

Can't find words to explain how devastated I feel right now... as we haven't waited long enough to get our NOA2....

I'm off to cry some more...

Well, I have some news.

As you all might remember, I had my interview on 29th April and was supposed to fly out TODAY. Well, the passport with visa has NOT arrived yet!! As of friday 4pm, after the last delivery to the couriers from the Embassy, the visa has not been prnted out still !! They did tell me at the interview it takes 5 working days to have it processed. The 5 days came and went and still no visa. So my baby flew back to Florida without me today!!!

The wedding was set for this comming Tuesday and some of the guests have already arrived. So at the moment, it looks like it will be a party without the bride!!! Can you believe this?

And I thought it was a tough going through NOA2 process... try missing your own wedding!!!

Nobody seems to know anything so tomorrow my baby will be in touch with his congressman first thing in the morning.

Oh boy, this is so hard....

Hope everybody else is doing a lot better then I am.

11 for me!

Although a bit scared of how much I still have to do...

Visa approved today!

Flight to FL in 11 days and wedding in 13.... Wooohooo!!!!