Jewel-8

Today is a big day!!!! We woke up and wished Roslyn a happy birthday!! Tomorrow we are doing cake and things. Pictures will follow.
Then we headed into town for a doctors appointment. I had a miscarriage in May and then some abnormal test results so I needed to follow up with those. Not only did we find out it was probably nothing, but we confirmed that I was pregnant again!!! Woot!!
Not that I didn't know, just that I wasn't getting too excited until we saw a heartbeat. We did!!
Now I was napping on the couch and got a text to check my case status for Removal of conditions. I freaked out a bit because I thought that meant interview or RFE, but card production has been ordered!!!
I knew I was right picking the 13th for my daughter's bday!! Friday the 13ths are f'ing amazing!!!

Anyday now!!! Can't wait to see pictures!
You will be surprised at how much lighter you are a week post partum. Most of what I gained the last month was swelling and as soon as my milk came in my blood pressure went back to my normal prepregnancy level and the extra fluid was gone. Woosh!
Serioously, what seems excessive during the last couple weeks is nothing if you know you've been ok up until now.

Our six month photos just came in. My husband demanded that we put her in her Halloween costume for some of them. It is just too funny to not share.

Our six month photos just came in. My husband demanded that we put her in her Halloween costume for some of them. It is just too funny to not share.

I am much more established in the US than he was in the UK because I own a home, 2 vehicles, etc. My total costs for my mortgage and utilities were the same as him renting a bedroom. I had a 7 year old son at the time and we didn't want to uproot him. We can survive on just one salary here - we did fine on mine and then he got his job that pays twice when mine does. I can finish my degree here. We can afford to have as many children as we want here. Health care and dental is better here according to him (just more expensive). He makes 50% more here than he did at his last job over there. I can't stand the rain.
Enough reasons?

I am much more established in the US than he was in the UK because I own a home, 2 vehicles, etc. My total costs for my mortgage and utilities were the same as him renting a bedroom. I had a 7 year old son at the time and we didn't want to uproot him. We can survive on just one salary here - we did fine on mine and then he got his job that pays twice when mine does. I can finish my degree here. We can afford to have as many children as we want here. Health care and dental is better here according to him (just more expensive). He makes 50% more here than he did at his last job over there. I can't stand the rain.
Enough reasons?

You can't blame the UK for cracking down on immigration so well when people move to a different country and refuse to give up the laws and behavior that are ONLY acceptable in the countries they CHOSE to leave behind. I hope judges everywhere punish immigrants that don't conform to the laws of their new country harshly. Seriously, send them back if they refuse to adopt the culture.

Does your bill show two lines? Can you show you both contribute to pay bills for the household? Having a joint bank account is great. If you are required to go to an interview and can show that you ARE sharing finances that is wonderful.
The posters that come on AFTER the interview and ask what they can use to prove their marriage are in a hard place. AFTER the interview is too late to begin creating proof because the interviewer will specifically want proof from before the interview. Since you have proof from before you will probably be alright.
Some ideas I have for me and my husband:
Show delivery receipt in both of our names for the mattress we just bought.
Keep receipts for the Christmas present I have planned - a ski day and possibly lessons for both of us and my 8 year old son.
Show receipts for things he has bought my son, like sending money from his personal account to the district's lunch program, etc.
Good job on getting prepared! I hope your ROC process is over quickly!

rsan, The systems were down quite a bit in mid-May. My husband's GC is dated 5/13, there were card productions ordered on 5/17 and 5/21. The first we knew we were approved was 5/21 when I got a text (and email) telling me to check the site. It said card production ordered on 5/17.
My guess is that you and several others on VJ had their paperwork received during a time when the USCIS employees were not able to get everything linked in the customer login website. I would assume that they will correct the problem in 60-90 days when someone actually gets your file to review.
The situation sucks, but I just wanted to let you know that it is probably going to be ok. The only thing you can do is keep your NOA1 somewhere safe and take screenshots of the status issue so that you have a record of it.

You called and they predicted 4 hours? It will be nice when it is back up!!

My damned husband won't admit that I'm right. ALL THE TIME. Pffffttt.

Melissa, I don't know what happened in the other thread in Site Updates that got closed because post/s were deleted. I posted those examples of the things Julian has said because you didn't believe that he could possibly say something like that. I hate to break it to you, but you DO know he can say things like that, because he's made several antagonizing posts in topics that you have been involved in (and you even spent a while apologizing on his behalf) and they were towards Americans, Jamaicans, Russians etc. If you need proof of that, I can find those too.
If you don't like that people are saying these horrible things about your relationship, then ignore it. Do you know what I would do if someone told me that I'm with my husband for selfish gain? Let them think what they like, because it doesn't affect me or my relationship. I know why I'm in this. Don't come in here once the topic has been closed just to open up another can of worms. If you were really upset that Julian has said certain things, why not log off VJ and speak to him directly about it? The moment someone else agrees with you and says that Julian has been saying horrible things for a long time, you jump to his defense and claim that no one here knows him and calling us condescending b!tches.
Comparing how much your situation is worse than others is a losing battle, as someone else pointed out. In the time your entire process has taken until now, we hadn't even gotten the NOA2 yet. You're lucky enough to see Julian often while many people either don't have the money to do so, or have too many ties meaning they can't leave. You're lucky enough to have bought a 4/5/whatever bedroom house that is to your liking while many people are either living with in-laws trying to save up the money or living paycheck to paycheck after the visa process has cleared their bank accounts. You're lucky enough to have the option of working full/part time, being a housewife, being a mother, whatever you want because you're financially secure enough to choose; while many people are dying for their EAD so they can work any job they can to pull money. Try focusing on those things whenever you feel the need to whine about how many hurdles you've had to overcome. And by the way, I don't say that out of jealousy. I say that because it's offensive to see you bring up your horrible process and compare it to others when you've been extremely lucky.
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Please don't close this topic, it isn't involving language, sexual tone, racism, sexism, etc. There's not even any bullying going on here. It's no different to any other topic where there's a different in viewpoint.

All immigrants here legally have Biometrics done when they apply for or renew a greencard. Why should people here ILLEGALLY be against it? Especially if they are in police custody.
Hasn't it always been police procedure to take fingerprints and mug shots for even criminals being booked and released?

Jeez...free information and people can get offended??....I recommend a lawyer ...free websites are not for sensitive individuals.
Sachi..love u.... I cant wait to meet you in Vegas with our folks from March thread...

Wow where are these posts coming from? My wife works so its not me buying her the car. Its got to be a mutual decision.
At any rate I think she'd rather not have a car and borrow mine when needed while we are saving money for the Mini. Nothing wrong with that I just feel bad and would like to see her get excited about something that could be bought sooner.
Charles had a good idea about renting a few models.

no, i think 50 cent is a usc.

I've stayed away from this debate, because I respect more than a few people who are posting in here and I don't want to poke the hornet's nest anymore. I've outed myself recently as a new singleton who's choosing to stay on VJ anyway, so I really don't give a toss what people think about me on here.
In any of these debates on abortion that turn up from time to time, I notice a distinct lack of women posting on here who speak from the experience of having had an abortion. It's a very common procedure, so I assume that these women are just not speaking up for fear of being judged. Well, here I am. I've had two. And I was married when I had both of them. Neither of these were decisions that I made lightly, and they were made with the support of my then-husband. I do not regret either procedure -- it was right for us at the time. I agonised over whether what I was doing was right, but ultimately I knew that I was not willing, ready or emotionally capable of being a mother at that time, and I did not want to carry a child to term and put it up for adoption. I am more than my womb.
Sometimes do I wonder what the putative children would have been like? Yes, I'm not a complete automaton, devoid of emotion or vague intimations towards maternal instinct. But I chose to put myself and my husband first because we were not ready. Go ahead and judge away, call me selfish and heartless, call me what you like. I just feel that people who believe that women do this blithely -- even when it's not for "severe reasons" -- are not seeing the full picture.

After dealing with the USCIS useless line calling NVC is a joy. Just call and have your case number handy. They will tell you if the petition has been sent and if you are nice to them they can look into the system and tell you if an interview date has been granted. It really helped us because Joseph has trouble with the ON/OFF concept of computer operation ( we now have a pile of Dummy's books )

I hope me detailing my info pass experience helps.....
After waiting nearly 2 months since receiving my NOA's- and not receiving an appointment letter for a biometrics, I decided to make an Infopass appointment. Making it online was a simple process.
My wife and arrived early hoping to be seen, however, security asked us to wait outside the building, and we could only enter 15 minutes before the appointment time. We had a 1 hour wait ahead of us. However, the security officer went off somewhere, then cameback and said we could go on in. That was good of her. We checked into one of the windows, and they gave us a number to watch for on the screens.
Withinn 10 minutes, the number came up. I explained to the officer that 2 months had passed etc.....etc.....and I had previously called the service number, and I had also advised the call center that my initial was wrong on one of the NOAs. He listened to this and then said, "take a seat, and I will investigate this ".
He called us back within 10 minutes, and said to us.
1. Your name is wrong on the NOA, if you have your passport I can change for you. he then changed it.
2. He then printed me an appointment letter for my biometrics, for the 12 th July.
All as simple as that, they managed to rectify the two things, that have been holding this up.
Lastly, and I think this is important, he said so many people don't come and check their status, and as a consequence, they miss the biometrics appointment, if the letter was lost somewhere. He then said this can cause all sorts of issues in the long run.
So my advise to all........
If you have not received your biometrics letter within 30 days, call service center and get a ticket number.
If you still don't receive your biometrics letter within another 14 days, make an info pass appointment.
It worked for me, but I don't know if I was just lucky with the officer....... I think being factual and prepared helped. They don't want to hear all about how you met, blah blah blah....getting to the issue in a precise and clear manner, was appreciated by the officer and he stepped unto the plate.
Thanks to all for helping me through to this nest stage.

Or, I posit that, she was taking up the job of self-immolation that Americans just won't do.

Team USA will humiliate England the way they humiliated Spain last year. 3-1

Julian, you would do America and it's residents a huge favor by staying in the UK. If you insist on coming to the US, at least have the common courtesy and manners to respect the fact that you are a guest in this country, and do not offend your hosts. If you come to the US and insist on flapping your jaw the way you have been in this thread, I expect one of those fat Americans is going to punch you in the face.

Well, if I really wanted to be rude about it I would have said her fiance was acting like a spoiled brat, and throwing a tantrum over a requirement they should have known about before they submitted the petition. He seems to feel he's being treated unfairly, and I wanted to remind him that he will be treated far more fairly than many others who are also waiting for a visa, for no other reason than the country he happens to come from. He should be grateful that his visa journey will likely be relatively painless. In that light, I think the comparison is a fair one to make.
Remember when your mom used to say "You should be thankful you HAVE spinach and cauliflower. There are kids starving in China!"

I disagree. Usually if I stop after a 2 months exercise kick I drop weight.. because my muscles disappear. An exercise kick is exactly what some people need to start realizing they should take better care of themselves and get some good habits started