John and Camie

Of course, the one time we don't need it (my MIL is coming to see us in September). $200 off fares to London on my favorite airline, Air New Zealand.

Promo code: UK200. Sale ends May 15. x

I used to go through the non-UK queue when we were dating, so when I did the same as a married woman and the agent saw my husband waiting for me on the other side, he laughed, waived at him, then said, "go through with him next time." Definitely makes things easier, especially now that we've got a little one.

We were flagged for not having evidence spanning time of marriage to time of filing. I was like, didn't AOS count at all? We were just really confused. But yeah, we sent a lot of the AOS evidence again (bills from 2009, 2010, etc.). Like we don't go through enough, right? Maybe our ROC adjudicator was having a bad day, LOL. If you take your IO's advice and don't get an RFE, then that's rad. But if you get flagged, maybe pulling out the ol' AOS stuff will help you. x

Omigod. He is delicious, Dizzylox. I'm expecting a boy in November and I hope he turns out half as gorgeous, haha. What a little love. x

_{Yep, you go in the USC queue with your husband upon your return.}

_{Apparently, it works the other way around, too. My husband and I just returned from a few months in England. I usually go in the non-citizens' queue at Heathrow or Gatwick and then meet my husband in the duty-free section, but the customs officer interviewing me said that since I'm the spouse of a UK citizen, I could wait in the citizens' queue with him next time. Maybe that will help your husband when you arrive in the UK. Have a great trip. x}

Hey congrats kristinanddan09, we're also expecting our first. x

We received an RFE for our ROC, our first, and we were floored. We learned that we were supposed to send shared evidence covering the span of the marriage, not just since AOS approval. So we went through our old filing evidence (for K-1, AOS, etc.) and pulled out as much shared evidence from 2009 to time of ROC filing as we could (anything with both of our names and same address). We also included a printout of a Facebook post asking all our US-UK friends and family to share their experiences with us, and sent it in. Include as much evidence since your marriage as you can, even if you think it's silly, LOL. I just wanted my husband with me; I didn't care what it took.

We were not expecting a baby at the time, but that would've been a GREAT opportunity for shared evidence. Maybe include a signed letter from your OB that lists both of your names, his experiences treating you, and your husband's involvement in the process (i.e., your husband goes with you to all of your ultrasounds, tests, etc.).

If you have better medical insurance and your husband is listed under it (as is the case with me), then collect any bills from his medical appointments from time of marriage to present, highlight his name, yours (if it's on them), the date of the appointment and same address. In responding to the RFE for ROC, we included copies of my husband's annual medicals, which had my name as the insurance subscriber, his name as the patient, and our same address.

Also:

-Get your landlord to print out a new lease, and have the three of you sign it.

-I also had my HR dept. sign a letter stating that my husband had been on my benefits since 2010.

-Log into your online bank accounts and print out statements spanning your marriage to the present. If that fails, visit your bank, see if they can mail you old statements, and/or ask them to write a letter attesting to how long you have both had your accounts and shared address.

-Lastly, write a cover letter explaining why you don't have certain things (e.g., shared bills), and express how much you love your husband and how you could not imagine having to raise your child alone. Have both of you sign it. We included this kind of letter, minus the child part, and I think it made a difference. Or I'd like to think it did. LOL.

Good luck with everything! x

Hugs. I was cheated on by a long-term live-in bf years ago, and it hurt like hell. Your husband sounds like a classic jerk. If his GC is from AOS, divorce him and let him sort out his own ROC. I doubt he'll know how, or even stay on top of it. Then he'll go to Egypt to visit, return with an expired GC, and be denied re-entry. Karma cake. x

also i will be meeting more of her family on this trip, so surely this would be better to include in the pack photos etc??

I would collect as much evidence as you can before your fiancee sends off the application packet.

• Copies of ticket stubs (flights, public transport, cinema, etc.)
• Photos (get some of the two of you with her friends, family) - in order to avoid sending USCIS a stack of pics, we made a Walgreens photo collage for each of our cases: K-1, AOS, ROC
• Receipts, ATM withdrawals (yours and hers, to show same-place, same-time)
• Facebook (my husband and I started a thread for all of our friends and family to post comments about our relationship, then we printed it out and sent it to USCIS during ROC)
• Emails spanning the relationship
• Signed Statement Letters from family and friends. Each of our mothers sent one with every case, bless.
• Gift receipts (for gifts ordered online that show from you to her, or vice versa, or to UK family, e.g., every year, I send flowers to my mother-in-law in Essex, so I used those receipts for K-1, AOF, ROC)
• Chat Transcripts (if you have these)

And anything else you can think of that says, without a doubt, that you're in a bonafide relationship. Highlight all the dates and your names to make the evidence easier for the adjudicator to review.

Good luck, and welcome to VJ. Just follow the K-1 guide, cross each K-1 "road" when you get to it (or you'll do your head in) and you'll do great. x

You are still a non-resident until you actually arrive in the USA.

If you are trying to book a one way flight, be careful, the website may not let you. That's what happened to us, they actually let us book and then 30 mins later I got an email saying the flights were cancelled as I was not a US citizen or greencard holder and thus not allowed to book a one way flight! Had to call themand sort it out. Of course, usually return flights are cheaper anyways.

Not sure why Penguin's advice wasn't enough. Her answer would've been the end of it for me. Smh.

I think everyone just about covered it, but wanted to come on and tell you that while the journey can be tough after K-1, you will get through it, just take a deep breath, follow the guides, check the forums to see how others handled any problems you may experience, and you'll do well. Btw, that fee is a doozy, isn't it? You'll somehow find a way to make AOS and all the other fees happen, too. I went through two layoffs between K-1 and AOS, and hubby is still here, LOL. Good luck. x

Congrats and best of luck in your visa journey. x

Oh honey, try taking that return flight all the way to LAX (Los Angeles). Highway robbery.

What we've done in a pinch is book a r/t with a bogus return date in order to get the best deal. That return date could be in September and it wouldn't matter. As rates tend to fall around that time, I'd schedule my return trip for that month if possible.

PBJ is spot on. We swear by Skyscanner. We just returned from spending a month in England, and paid way less than an LAX-LHR flight typically costs. Good luck! x

^{Wow, so happy that this is happening now. Congrats. x}

Crashing the June '13 N400 filers to send Besangel HUGS!! Love from Camie xxx

I'm really sorry, hun. Please don't give up on love. I wouldn't have my husband otherwise. You hang in there! x

John and I actually went through this. We kept our banking separate and filed separately as well, so we had to get creative. What we did was get our bank to draft two letters showing the same home address and supporting that we both bank at our local branch. We also presented three years of banking statements (his and mine; your bank should be able to send them to you if you've got enough time), additional utility statements w/both of our names, a new lease from our landlord, signed by all three of us and attached to a business card from our landlord, as well as a brief statement from him requesting that they call him to vouch for our living together as husband and wife. We also included receipts from our medical appointments, showing that my insurance covered them. We usually do our annual physicals on the same day, so that was extremely helpful. We posted our plea for testimonials on FB and got all our US and England family/friends to add their comments (we printed out the pages and sent them. We threw in receipts showing payment from both of us for our car. Resent our photo collages from 2008 to present, added our 2012 Christmas photo card and finally, receipts and photos from our trip to England in October 2012.

I hope some of this helps you, hun. Fingers crossed for you. x

My wifes notice of action letter that extended her greencard a year is now expired and we are still waiting on her greencard.... now what? Do they send us another letter, or what?

No worries, hun. Just schedule an Infopass and they will extend her another year. Coincidentally, my husband received his GC just before we were supposed to go to our Infopass appointment for his extension, LOL. Gotta love USCIS.

Hope her GC shows up soon. The wait between approval and GC has been crazy for a lot of people.

OP> It is best to get them done at or prior to your K-1 medical so you can have them marked off on the DS-3025. If you get all the required vaccinations for AOS and they are marked off on a properly filled out DS-3025, then you will not need to go through the hassle of trying to find a civil surgeon that will not insist on giving you a new medical and/or overcharging you.

This is so important.

Congrats! Enjoy the next two years free from USCIS. x

We were approved 11 days after sending out the RFE. Good luck! x

I'm sorry to hear about your divorce, and I hope you experience a smooth journey to Naturalization. x

Congratulations, hun! Wishing you a great marriage and smooth immigration process for hubby. x

Cam

No worries, hun. Just take your expired GC and your extension letter (NOA-1) with you, and you should be fine. My husband and I did this when we went to England. Btw, ROC took us a year, so be prepared for a wait.

Cam

Govisajourney, you're a sweetheart. I love how gentle you're being with this poor guy, and Sonly19, my heart goes out to you. I'll keep you in my thoughts, and I'm sure others will chime in with good advice and words of comfort. Don't give up on your ROC—you can do it! Just provide enough proof that the marriage was genuine for the time that it lasted.

And you'll find a better love someday, I promise. I was with someone for 15 years until he left me for another woman, and then I met my husband, who put my heart back together again.

We received John's card yesterday. Time to take a breather for a bit and enjoy not being scared to lose each other, then on to the N400.

Love to all our VJ family still waiting and awaiting interviews.