brettdresseur

NEW UPDATE AND LONG AGAIN...

Tolsab you're welcome, as everyone here knows Turkish is very hard and isn't something you can pick up in a month. The first time I went I just tried to pick out where words began and ended and after a month I made progress. When I first landed everything sounded like a blur; it is a very uphill battle. OT I sent Bulut's stuff with the USPS and it got there very quickly. I used the insured one with the bells and whistles and it got there super fast. I have even better news, since you all are from Izmir he will probably have his visa in 3 days max. He won't have a long wait!

I also just found this online thing called conversation exchange. I will have my first lesson with my conversation partner over Skype tomorrow and I hope I make enough progress to string sentences together better than what I am able to now currently. You make a quick online profile (name, location, age, language you speak and want to learn and then a short bio on why you want to learn that language). I simply stated that I preferred a college educated person that could really explain the ins and outs of the myriad questions I have when it comes to the language. I found a guy that graduated from Ist Bilgi Univ., has an MBA and worked in Silicon Valley for a while and at the very least his written English is flawless. (http://www.conversationexchange.com/)

A little tip if you want to find a good partner. State that you are in a relationship up front or in the first message to try and weed out the people looking for dates, look for someone with a solid grasp of Turkish grammar, sentence structure, conjugation (although it is called something else that begins with an "a" but I can't remember), etc. Try to have a partner that can speak English decently only because you will have a hard time explaining how everything works if they can barely understand you and last but not least try to use Skype. We are only using the voice service, so you don't need to be face to face, but it helps a lot when you hear the language. Phonics come very easily once you hear and read everything. After my first month in Turkiye I would read the newspaper to Bulut and not know what the hell I was saying, but just listening and trying so much made the phonics a breeze. I still don't see the letter c the same anymore...

Oh, this whole exchange is free! Yay!!!!

Once again congrats Tolsab and expect to see your hubby sooner rather than later!

THIS WILL BE LONG

Mari there are lots of Turkish classes taught in Turkiye but they are usually quite expensive (to Turks and Americans alike). The best classes cost between 1-2k USD and are usually in Ist/Izm and I think they have quite a few like that in Adana. Those classes are usually 6-8 hours a day and very intensive because they are more for expats that moved because of their jobs.The courses typically run about 4-6 weeks although I have seen some for 2 weeks. Your other option is a private tutor which usually runs about 10-20 lira an hour.

While not being as intensive as the aforementioned classes, they are a lot less expensive and you will pick up a lot just by living there. Just make sure you have a tutor that understands the mechanics of the Turkish language and can explain things. I learned a lot by listening (even when I didn't know anything I would just listen to pronounciation) and by "reading" Bulut's newspapers and then ask questions. Make sure you learn how to pronounce everything properly the first time because it can be a pain relearning something. Bulut gave me this GREAT turkish language book except it is so thorough to the point that it seems like it was written for academics because there are NO LESSONS TO TEST YOURSELF! One of my favorite strategies is to EAT. Eat like it's no tomorrow!! Bulut and I usually eat at a restaurant and I always refuse the English version. Sadly I can't remember knife, fork, spoon or plate, but I have you on food .

Ohh, play okey if you want to learn turkish text/chat lingo. It is a whole different world. Sadly I thought the way you asked someone how old they were/are is by saying, "yas kac." Turns out that it is an abbreviation and I can't remember the actual phrase to save my life.

Welcome Evelyn and Tebrikler Tolsab, it goes quickly from here!!!!

Thanks KRJ and congrats Michelle!

Yup, everyone is ok. We're Izmir and Ist here. I've been meaning to ask some of the native turks about some conjugation.

Using aile as the root word, how would you conjugate for the pronouns? I know ailem = my family, ailen = your family

his/her/it's family=

our family = ailemiz

your family formal =

their/its family =

Bonus question, if you were to say, our cats would you say = kedimizler or kedilermiz (I understand vowel harmony just too lazy to switch to the Turkish keyboard on my computer, so you could just explain which would come first and why it would help me tons. Bulut explained this before but my American sentence structure doesn't translate well when to more complex Turkish sentences.)

Cok tesekkur ederim!!!!

Hos Geldin Jack and Mya! Feel free to ask any questions you have about anything!

Congrats on the Dec. 14th interview!!!! Bulut received his visa 3 days later so it is possible for you to be looking at your fiance before Christmas.

I have never flown into SAW. It just isn't practical for us. Even when SAW has cheaper flights I'm not about to be stuck in traffic for days just to make it to the European side. We do have a relative that stays on the Asian side, but when we stayed with her we always ended up catching a taxi, catching a ferry, catching a minibus or riding the train (gotta love the Akbil) to head over to the Eur side.

HOTELS

If anyone is looking for a very cute hotel in Istanbul, I recommend you stay at Nisantasi My Residence. It is very cute, the interior is very modern and they are apartments. I think we were there in the middle of the summer and it was only about $100 per night. Bulut also booked the W.O.W. Hotel in Istanbul, but it isn't practical unless you are staying around Ataturk. Their breakfast enables you to gorge on your favorite foods and even ones you have never thought of. We were the only ones that were eating breakfast one morning and their spread was still insane.

When we went to Ankara we stayed at the Gordion Hotel. We walked to the embassy from there and it was the most charming boutique hotel. They have museum pieces from the Ottoman era and a nice little spa and cozy rooms. I was extra proud b/c Bulut is a hotel snob and he approved of my hotel pick. (I redeemed after I chose a hotel for my layover in London and he said "Honey, that hotel looks creepy." I told him it was fine and then when I arrived....yikes. The Indian food was the best I've ever had though.)

INTERVIEW

I stressed over the interview so much. Basically be honest and bring PERTINENT evidence because they really can't review everything right then and there. Start to worry if your interview lasts long; The general consensus is that they have made their mind up already whether or not they will grant the visa. Bulut saw a glimpse of our file and he thinks he saw the words "approve this visa" written on there. The interviewers are quite nice and aren't out to get you without reason. *Sidebar* When we went to Ankara to pick up the certificate of non-impediment, we had drinks at a little cafe/restaurant next to the embassy. There were some embassy workers having lunch right next to us and they were talking about everyday things, so assure me they are definitely human

**Disclaimer** We did all of the above and I was still nervous as hell until he called me.

Just have your documents ready for NVC. It took my husband 30 minutes to get his police clearance and everything else was pretty fast. We were at NVC for about 4 weeks (including a quick rfe) so if you have everything and your luck is still rolling you can get out of NVC in probably 3 weeks. NVC schedules embassy appointments and from what I have seen and experienced your interview will be about 6-8 weeks from the date of your case closing.

Tebrikler on your fast USCIS approval!

Michelle, Bulut received his visa after 3 days. It would have been 2 but UPS received it at the end of day 2 so Bulut picked it up on the third day.. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Yes, that's it. I looked on the site and cc is out of LAX and LGA & JFK in the states. I can't get an NYC routing with THY for anything. I always get Chicago. The only time I had an NYC routing was with Delta and flight 72/73 with Delta is horrific in econ. A while ago I found some good bus rates but I can't find those rates anymore. You will def enjoy cc.

HAHA the other day I thought you had elite status when you said you went to Turkey 3 times already. I need to do a mileage run, but I hope to get status with a new job I'm about to start. I remembered that someone said that the comfort class cabins were usually empty and that it was because they made it difficult to book online. I did a few dummy searches today and the other day and sure enough, I couldn't book comfort class. The cheapest flights in Dec out of Atl have me on LH so it seems like comfort class keeps missing me. AAAH!!!

Hi Michelle, Bulut and I are chugging along. He is working now and will get here in December. We are planning a little getaway then to finally enjoy being able to be in one place for a long period of time. We have been together a little over 3 years but this will be the first getaway we will do where neither one of us has been to the destination before.

Your interview is finally here! That was the most nerve wracking part for me. The entire thing went along as I had hoped, right down to the timeline so I was worried that we would have a hitch because it was too easy. You hear all of the horror stories so you begin to think that something will happen. Even our rfe wasn't bad. The embassy in Ankara is good. Just don't bring everything because they won't take it all. Only bring the pertinent info. Bulut brought a bunch of stuff and the person told him to pick and choose because the official couldn't look through everything.

AHHH They don't offer comfort class on Chicago flights. I fly out of atl but always get transferred through ord so unless I get lucky I won't even have that option. Comfort class for $60 is well worth it. I have read a lot of reports from people that have tried it and the food is better and it is less cramped. You got a bargain, they have been offering CC upgrades at some airports for $200 one way. Not to mention the CC cabin is usually quite empty. What airport do you usually fly out of?

Hos Geldin Evelyn, I'm Ashley!

Came back to let my buddies here know about the amazing deal from IAD-IST from THY. They have a special going on where it is $599 round trip (not incl taxes I think) from the previous cities. The promotion will be going on for a while. Right now the it is about 920 to fly from ATL-IST with THY.

In ATL you will be on UA then route through ORD and then be put on THY metal out of Chicago. The ORD flight doesn't have Comfort Class though.

Also, do we have any interviews coming up?

The problem with this process is that it never adds up to if you do A and B you get the visa. This process is a ####### shoot when it comes to time and having visas issued. The only thing that really saved us is that we started researching this process a year before we were married (we wanted to know which route was the best one for us) and since he works abroad we knew we were in for a long haul.

You are at Cal Service Center, they have been moving pretty fast but this is definitely a process. There are even certain times of the year which have longer waits than other times. Just try to go about your business, talk to your husband and just live. Check my timeline and the timelines of others over in the Turkish portal to get a better feel of what you have in store. Judging by what we went through and what a few of the others went through, your NOA 2 can be right around the corner.

As far as the crew visa I have some insight into that since my husband works as an officer on a ship. His options are sign off the ship and leave the country. Crew members can't adjust status here. They are only allowed to come to the us to work on the ship and then leave. (I just spoke to my husband and he said that even if you have a C1/B1 visa, it is still difficult to switch it from a crew visa even though he was successful.) Crew visas don't let anyone do much and be wary of someone that says that their crew visa will allow them to stay for a while after they sign off, it is not true.

My husband changed contracts so he could work on a ship that stopped in the US. While we were going through the spousal visa he had to interview with customs (which is common) and even there they did not hold back punches. He said that it was the toughest interview he has ever had to do as long as he has been working on board and he has been all over the place.

I have heard so stories of crew members jumping ship, but they are illegal and you can't adjust status by leaving the ship. Crew visa allows you to come here, work on the ship and leave as soon as your contract is up. If you want to come back, get a tourist visa or choose another contract that comes here.

As far as evidence, traveling with her bf is good. For evidence we just pulled off the ship's log which had me listed as a passenger. She will definitely need a cosponsor because this process is not cheap by far.

Everyone on here has been spot on with their assessments and I would try to tell your friend about everything that you have read here. PM me if you have any more questions regarding what a crew visa entitles him to do.

Ten pictures should be fine. We sent more than 10, but they were the pictures that would help our case the most. Pictures of you all with friends and family should definitely be included. Always think quality over quantity as these pictures tend to help your case the most.

The pictures we sent in were of our engagement party, us at a relative's wedding, our wedding pictures and pictures of our reception with the guests. The officer is not going to want to sift through 400 pages of you two together although I would send in one or two if I need to establish a timeline.

We also put a footer on the bottom of our pictures which had my name, my husband's name, our case number and the date when the pictures were taken so they could use it as a quick reference if they needed to.

Ning is right. You don't need to have an affidavit notarized. She can write it and sign it and that will be that.

Michelle just saw ur timeline and you will probably have your interview soon. I'm thinking August. From what I've seen, the embassy seems to schedule us around 6-8 weeks after NVC finishes our case.

Still bring some evidence, but not tons because the Immigration officers look at your forwarded packet and when Bulut brought extra evidence the woman (not the IO) told him to just choose certain ones because they can't look at everything. Just show the evidence that helps your case the most. Good luck!

Phone records are only 1 type of evidence. My fiancee and I can't talk on the phone. She's got a lousy cell provider and I can't get through to her from a land line or my cell in the US. Just provide more photos or other evidence and if it comes up in the interview, explain the situation. Should be alright.

+1 We didn't send any phone records simply because my hubby uses a sat phone for work and the number would change frequently. Instead we opted to show other things to prove that we have a strong relationship and we were approved a few days ago. Your case won't be made or broken on one type of evidence so just focus on the quality evidence you have and move from there. Most rejections are "Perfect Storm" based. By that I mean that one question wrong usually won't result in a denial but when there are multiple red flags AND a wrong question, that can result in a denial.

Some of what we used were pictures (with family and friends), boarding passes, selection of emails totaling 3 years, affidavit and a printout from his company showing that I had traveled with him on the ship for 5 months and other proof (which were wedding related which you won't have now).

Start talking about the potential red flags you may have in your relationship and then try to show evidence that rebuts those flags.

CONGRATS!!

We sent our red booklet in. We had the marriage translations done before I left and I sent the copy and the translations in the I-130 packet, but when we were sending the documents to NVC we sent the red booklet in. Don't worry about the time too much. After my husband filled out the forms and assembled the DS-230 he mailed everything over here (either DHL or UPS, I can't remember) and they arrived within a week.

Good luck on the rest of your journey and come visit us at the Turk Kahvesi thread if you have any questions!

Another update! I actually read this thread from beginning to end the other night, wow it is crazy to see how much time has passed.

Well Bulut already received his visa, it took all of 2 days and he would have received it the next day but UPS didn't deliver to Selcuk that day. He is actually on vj but neither one of us can actually remember his name on here and I don't think we are even friends. haha. I forgot to thank Kr for the guveç recipe, I will definitely be using that a lot. I will be buying some ramekins soon.

I have been really busy lately. I've been updating our wedding registry and studying Spanish. I will be traveling with Bulut for a month this year and even though we were all over Latin and Central America last year I never bothered to learn Spanish. A lot of people down there were confused because the people assumed that I spoke Spanish. They would start to speak to me and I would just look at them, then Bulut would respond and you knew they were were thinking "How does this gringo know Spanish?" Then it always ended up with some conversation about where I was from and that he spoke with a Spanish Spanish accent. Now I have too many languages bouncing around in my head and I'm starting sentences in English, switching to Spanish and ending in Turkish.

How is everyone doing with their Turkish?

Mine is ok enough where I feel as if I could get around and get my point across in caveman Turkish, but it is so çok zor that I feel like I'm going to be stuck speaking horrible Turkish forever. Bulut is a grammar and pronunciation nazi and explains everything in minute detail but when you can't even figure out the suffixes beyond the most basic ones it is extremely hard. Wow this is long.

Paging Kdj: what is the name of the sauce/condiment with patlican, kirmizı beber ve zeytin yağ? I need that recipe and I keep forgetting the name of it

Hi everyone! Sorry I was away, Bulut had his interview and WE WERE APPROVED!! I was just too nervous to come on here a fw days b4 everything because then I would start to worry about what we sent and what we didn't send and AP and a whole slew of other things we had no control over. So now you can tell I'm the woman that worried about everything. I could take an HIV test and come back negative, turn around and take another one 5 minutes later and still worry about the results. I put an embassy report up if anyone wants to know what happened (not much, as it was only 5 minutes).

Tolsab, I'm so hungry now! That is the perfect kahvalti and makes me home sick even more. I really miss peynir, tereyagi and ekmek and I'm all good.

oh if anyone wants to know, Bulut's medical was between 220 and 250, he doesn't remember how much it actually cost. I know he will be here around Christmas because his medical expires around Jan. and we don't/aren't going to chance it. Fortunately I will be traveling with him in Oct. or Nov. so we won't be apart that long.