waiting4approval

I would suggest that you better hope for a shorter AP than no AP at all.. at least you wont be devastated... We knew AP was imminent just becuase of our origin and the visa type but even then as soon as she said, "we have to do more office work" I felt helpless and crushed.. I cna't even imagine teh feeling if I was hoping for no AP.. probably it's just me!!

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

^you will provide the affidavit of support at the NVC(National Visa Center) stage.. USCIS would approve the case and send it to NVC, thats where you provide the rest of the documents.

Got my interview date yesterday by email.........October 16 at 8:00am, although I will be calling the embassy to see if they will reschedule me any sooner...what with the delivery being so close by and having to travel by plane and whatnot..... have a few questions for you guys though...by what time do you guys think Haseeb and I should go to the embassy in ISL? This is the very first time either of us will be traveling to the islamabad embassy (I know that's sorta sad, even though I'm a usc I usually get my dad to deal with them though..lol). Any tips on where we should go, when to get their and how to get wherever(like whats-up with the bus that takes you to the embassy???? I don't get it)....completely clueless here so any suggestions......would be great!

Step by step instructions totally welcome....hehehe

ok this is how it goes..

DSS (Shuttle Service) is located on the 3rd ave on your way to quaid-e azam university.. if you are staying overnight in Islamabad and will be calling cab, all you have to ask for is Shuttle Service for US embassy but if you are driving there then I don't know what to say because most of the roads are occasionnaly blocked and I guess they keep switching the blocked locations so your best bet would be to ask the police officers (we did and they were very helpful)

At the DSS, you need to show your passports and the interview letter and get a ticket for Rs. 200 each, make sure you have your files n folders either in clear bag or holding them in hands because no briefcases, etc. are allowed.. you will have to deposit your cell phone at the far left corner counter and then stand in a line for the shuttle.. will go through one security check before you get on the bus...it takes about 30 mins to reach teh US embassy.. once you are at the embassy, there are two lines for immigrant and non immigrant visas.. get into immigrant visa line.. then there is another security check right inside the embassy, thats where you will be separated from your husband because he would go for the finger printing while you will have to wait in the waiting area either inside or outside depending on where they tell you to wait!!! (usually they send the USC inside but I guess it varies) Then just hang in there until he comes back from finger printing and then both of you can wait for his name to be called.. tadaaa!!!

good luck on your interview :-)

Finally guys my husband has recieved the call to submit his passport ASAP... Alhumdulila I am relaxed and now ofcourse I'll be waiting for him to have the stamp on his passport and come here to me inshallah.

Mahzesh, When was your fiance's interview?

My husband had his interview on July 22nd

Congratulations.. thats a great news mashaAllah!

thats a good news.. inshaAllah he will be with you soon.

Congratulations on a baby too, do let us know if it's a girl or a boy, when the time comes :-)

Inshallah to that and I hope he does get here by the time ) and inshallah I'll post you guys with the good news and thankyou specially because its you who gave me the number to call DOS )...now I am waiting crazily when my husband will actually recieve the call

no problems.. he should be getting the call soon. If you want you can send an inquiry to Islamabad embassy as well at PakIVQuery@state.gov and usually they reply within 24 hours if they are about to issue the visa. :-)

Congratulations Sibtain! When are you going???

Thanks.

I am planing to go after Eid.Coz i wanna be celebrate this Eid with my family in pakistan.

Praying for all.

woww after going through such a long AP, you are not gonna do eid with your wife.. is she still talking to you?!? (j/k)

have fun with family and Congratulations again!

I just called DOS again and the energizer bunny is still going....and keep going.CO said its still pending like a broken record and then there is next week.And now i m just gonna watch final destination 4.

yours should be in the same time frame as us but then who knows what they are doing... just keep calling to keep yourself informed of any action taken on your application! Good luck, it will be over soon!

oh awesome... thats what you wanted,sometime in October :-)

Just take the interview letter to your medical appointment.. In Karachi, my husband was required to make an appointment, however, I have heard that Aziz clinic in Isb/pindi actually takes walk-in as well.. you can just go there with you interview letter. Ask him to call before he goes! and don't worry about taking the medical asap..they prefer the closest-to-interview medicals, just schedule something for early october :-)

^ I was stuck in my citizenship AP for 33 months.. first 21 months, background check was pending so lawyer wasn't even an option.. once the background check came out clear, the officer who connducted the interview decided to put my file away while I moved back to my country.. When I returned, I made an info pass appointment and the oficer there told me to hire an attorney otherwise I would never get the oath date.. I was shocked! I hired an attorney in July 08, I took my oath on Sept. 17,2008 without even going to the court or anything!!

So I guess you should wait until at least the background check comes out clear.. until then even a lawyer won't take the case because they can't speed it up!

Congratulations Sibtain! When are you going???

Thanks.

I am planing to go after Eid.Coz i wanna be celebrate this Eid with my family in pakistan.

Praying for all.

woww after going through such a long AP, you are not gonna do eid with your wife.. is she still talking to you?!? (j/k)

have fun with family and Congratulations again!

mahzesh.. they returned our originals to us at the interview and we were happy to have them back.. can't afford to lose original marriage certificate, birth certificates and all that!

I called DOS today morning,first thing. Lady on the phone asked me whether my husband has got the call to send his passport and I told her no.So she said he'll be getting it soon but didn't say when but said soon. So I am bit happy and relaxed and still hopeful he maybe able to make it before Sept 15th (my due date)...oh yeah glass is half full

thats a good news.. inshaAllah he will be with you soon.

Congratulations on a baby too, do let us know if it's a girl or a boy, when the time comes :-)

Congratz Sibtain.. it's over.. when are you leaving?

I feel like calling DOS its been only 10 days

I called 4 days after the interview so go ahead

mahzesh.. they returned our originals to us at the interview and we were happy to have them back.. can't afford to lose original marriage certificate, birth certificates and all that!

oh ok... well you can easily check that with DOS.. Once you call them, they would let you know if he is on AP or just waiting for the documents to process through!!

Good luck :-)

mahzesh.. DOS is Dept. of State thats where you get the updates for your AP and their number is 202-663-1225 prompts 1 and 0 to ge the operator right away...when was his interview?

Please fill in your timeline!!!

Sorry I did not come on VJ this weekend so missed your post, but I guess w4a got the answer for you!

w4a-is your hubby flying from LHE?

nopse from Islamabad inshaAllah!

w4a got the drinks ready?

I am ready for the party.. we shall meet up here!

PS: I just started cleaning my apt. and I am surprised at how much extra stuff I have in there.. I was definitely using the retail therapy while waiting

hehe desi looking Germans

Omar.. any news from your side?

Still Pending and this time Anna (Operator) told me nothing is done to my case since the day of my interview.

Call again.. sometimes it's just the matter of the operator that you get.. I was told it's PENDING even after the visa was issued and operator pretty much yelled at me and left me teary!

Keep bugging them!

Try to call between 9-11AM US EST, thats when I usually got the nice operators!

hehe desi looking Germans

Omar.. any news from your side?

^Isn't that three years to apply for a citizenship for a IR visa?!!?

Mumtaz.. Good luck with everything.. Here is the number for Islamabad embassy..

Tel +92-51-208-2700

Congratulations.. with airline deals it's all about how quick you want him here and how lucky are you to find a good deal..here are the quotes that we got from different travel agents in Islamabad

Gulf for Sept. 8th..69k

Emirates for 9th.. 76k

Etihad for 12th.. 71k

Qatar for 12th.. 56k

PIA for 12th 69k

but then these are the dates that we were looking.. if you move forward another week or two, you can find ticklets between 50-60k without an problem.

He didn't choose Gulf because he likes dubai better... hehe no because price difference wasn't big and lay over time was longer :-)

We didn't go for 12th because I have heard that JFK is pretty busy on weekends so first time immigrants shall enter on weekdays.. not that it would make a big difference but may be a bit faster than a Saturday or Sunday!

Congratz... that was quick mashaAllah :-)

Yep my husband is arriving at JFK.. would like to meet but he is arrivig on the 9th and your wife is coming on the 12th.. right!?!? JFK is about 5 hours drive from the place where I live in MA so I don't think hubs will be travelling such long drives anytime soon

We might be moving to TX in a year or so (he is a chemical engineer and thats where the jobs are) so we might see you there

yeah Emirates is one airline taht I didnt even look at because of expensive tickets and cheap service but this was the only one available before the weekend of 12th so he just went ahead with it.. I hope his experience turns out better than mine!

I must sleep now.. it's been 3 nights of not so proper sleep and my boss may send me home tomorrow if I showed up at work with glossy red eyes!!!

Tickets are booked for September 9th travelling Emirates inshaAllah..... thats the earliest he got at 76k but totally totally worth it!!!!

I love the date 9/9/09

11 days to go inshaAllah....

Congratulations Ali.. start looking for the flights :-)

Lonely.. yayyy Congratz... when is your husband coming?

Congratulations Ali.. start looking for the flights :-)

Lonely.. yayyy Congratz... when is your husband coming?

I just went on Etihad's website and this is what I got..

. Your planned itinerary

Outbound: Islamabad (ISB) to New York (JFK terminal 4), Sat 12 Sep 09

Flight Date Departs Arrives Stops Duration Travel Class

EY232 Sat 12 Sep 09 05:00 Benazir Bhutto International 06:20 Abu Dhabi International 0 21:30 Coral Economy (H)

EY101 Sat 12 Sep 09 10:05 Abu Dhabi International 16:30 John F Kennedy 0 Coral Economy (H)

2. Total price

Fare Details Fare Tax Total

1 Adult PKR 63,590.00 PKR 7,501.00 PKR 71,091.00

Etihad Guest Miles Earned: 8,142 miles

I guess I will just wait until tomorrow since most probably he will be buying the ticket tomorrow!