AUS2USA

Hey DonDon!

You must have read my mind. In fact, in the 'September filers' thread, i mentioned something along the same lines, and THEN i saw this one!

A lot of people, if not everyone waiting, are in the same position. I was wondering why there weren't more people letting out how they feel, I find THAT really strange. Surely, I couldn't be the only one that let out the tears. I couldn't be the only one that longed to see my S/O so badly and I sure couldn't be the only one, period.

When I pray, I thank God for the goodness he has cherished my life with, I give thanks for the health of my Family and Friends. When it comes time for my Wife, I pray for her strength and well being and I pray mostly for this (Sorry family and friends!) and it usually ends up in weeping.

Every day, I wake up on the right side of the bed and think, 'today is going to be a great day'. And, it usually is up until around lunch time. My work doesn't provide much of a distraction and all I seem to do is think about my Wife.

BUT, when I get home, and I'm skyping with my baby, or I'm on the phone or whatever, I always remember- We are a couple, but we are also individuals. This whole experience is character building for us as individuals as well as a couple. Imagine, Donna, when this whole process is done for, and you're walking through the 'Arrivals Gate' and he's there... Waiting for you with a big cheesy grin on his mug. Think about that very moment right now. Will the past X months come into mind at all? Or, will it be the future that you and your S/O other share for the years to come?

I have a fairly good idea of what your answer will be.

Hang in there DonDon! You're literally on the home straight.

I'm hoping i get touched tomorrow... Or, better yet, approval

In the last 3 months, my job performance has taken a massive drop. It doesn't distract me enough to not think about it. It's sending me insane!

Any ideas to help ease the stress/depression/craaaaziness??

MsSheka, how awesome are you! Thanks for that =)

What's USEM?

Also, where does one see the "touches" I notice people referring to?

Keep the faith, Waiter. There's nothing we can do but wait.

hey sachinky.

USEM is US Embassy

after you get your NOA1 and register an account with USCIS. you add your NOA1 number to your portfolio. and when the column "last updated" change, you know you got a "touch" (hope i explained it well?.... )

i know waiting is hard. i am not good at waiting. this whole immigration process is teaching me how to be patient

keep the faith guys

The new USCIS site doesn't seem to have the 'last updated' section. Unless a touch now means foinh from 'initial interview' to 'evidence required' etc?

thanks carolyn! Whenever I see it, I think of how crazy my s/o looks haha

Yeah the chores were great! Chopped down a couple of dangerous trees and helped a buddy move house! Not the whole house, just the furniture hahaha

From my understanding (which isn't much), once you pass the NOA2, the consulate will send out DS230 + DS2001 to the beneficiary. So yeah, get em done! Careful to read the instructions as per usual. I think it was the DS230 that you DON'T sign the second page. meh, i'm sure you'll be fine haha

I hate life at the moment

Tell me about it. I've been the through the worst of it in the past week I think. I contracted bi-polar haha. But yeah, I have been keeping myself SO busy today though! The news of people getting their NOA2 in 4-5 weeks has definitely put a spring in my step, but as I said, I'm not going to hold my breath!

To make matters worse, a friend of ours from Australia (Her bridesmaid) landed in California today, and so they're spending the day at Disneyland and all sorts of funness... Ah well, house work for me =)

From the looks of it, 4-5 weeks . I'm not getting my hopes up though, as hard as that is

WOW! Congrats on the 21 days! Thats amazing!

What's even more amazing, is that, I emailed the US Consulate in Sydney today and got a reply in under half an hour (Normally can take up to 48hours.)

So why the quick NOA2's lately? any thoughts? I'd love to get some insight and estimate how much longer we'll be waiting =)

yeah actually i was expecting an october approval at the earliest. but getting approved earlier, hey i ain't complaining!

aside from the NSO certified MC, i also provided YM chat logs, skype call history, few pictures and 5 affidavits from friends and family having personal knowledge of your relationship. try this link i just googled it Evidence of Bonafide Marriage (***removed***)

See, I sent over marriage certificate, Aus property lease agreement with both our names and an australian joint bank account. we were going to send skype chats and phone cards etc. but i have that filed ready for the interview.... i'm thinking i made the wrong choice? haha

EDIT: One other thing is this whole 'touched' thing. I understand that it's when someone at the department physically picks up the papers and logs it. Thats to my understanding anyway. On average, how many 'touches' are there. And where to you see notices of it being touched? I can't seem ti find it on my case tracker on USCIS. Cheers

Hmmm, So i just looked at the status on USCIS, and it says "Initial Review". Looking into backgrounds for frud and what not. I was hoping it'd say "Accepted" haha. This isn't a bad thing is it? I mean, we have nothing to worry about wither of us. just wondering if it's normal =) cheers

Thanks for the welcoming guys!

We're still awaiting our NOA1. It sure is taking longer than expected! Congrats and good luck to those of you who got your NOA1's... Or, NOA2's in some cases! If only you could feel my jealousy- which i'm sure you have already haha

Dont worry you will get it soon. I got my NOA1 exactlly 2 weeks after I mailed my I-130. But NOA2 was much faster. Got it approved in 17 days after they recieved my application

Ummm excuse me? 17 days? No wonder why you're confused haha nah, thats awesome! I can only hope and pray that my 130 is approved in that amount of time! But, I'm not holding my breath haha!!

Don'tWhateverMe - My wife got the NOA1 today!!!! Saturday (aus), Friday (usa). Wow! I am pumped man! Now I just gotta stay pumped for the onslaught of the next 3 months haha!! One step at a time though

Thanks for the welcoming guys!

We're still awaiting our NOA1. It sure is taking longer than expected! Congrats and good luck to those of you who got your NOA1's... Or, NOA2's in some cases! If only you could feel my jealousy- which i'm sure you have already haha

after finally getting all the paperwork we needed in order, we sent the petition last saturday 9/12/2009. It was delivered on Monday 11th, but haven't heard anything since!! Not too worried, but def keen to get verification that it's all good. My wife paid by money order. Not sure if there's anyway to check that it has been cashed?? I'll have to talk to her tomorrow bout it i guess.

I have heard of people sending countless amounts of evidence with their 130. We sent the basics, lease agreement from aus, joint bank account from aus and marriage certificate. Should be enough... Right? =)

Good luck everyone! Here's hoping n praying for a speedy process

We filed last weekend. They received it last tuesday. Still waiting for NOA1

Pushbrk,

If I was keen to read FAQ's and Guides, I'd email USCIS and/or the consulate. Thats all they seem to want to do. I understand that my questions may be answered in there, but not in the way that makes 100% sense to me. And, I don't want to be 99.9% going into something like this. Especially with the amount of waiting time there already is.

Plus, I get the added advantage of SPEAKING with people whom have already completed the journey or are still within the journey.

However, I do appreciate the response. Working 14 hour days makes it difficult to frequent this site. I thought being able to start my own thread, I'd be able to ask specific questions that can be answered promptly thus eliminating the minutes/hours/days of researching. But, I do see where you're coming from and I will have to find the time to peruse this site moreso.

thanks pushbrk

Thanks again everyone!!

Edit: Sorry pushbrk, that may have come off as a bit obnoxious. Was not intended that way! Cheers bud!

Thanks for the responses guys. I just spoke to my wife, she's yet to receive the 325A forms, so once she gets them, we'll send off the i-130.

So, will I be receiving any NOA's? or will my wife receive them in the states? do they then have instructions onhow to go about the rest of the procedure.

I was looking on the USCIS web site and it's down to 5 months to process the i130. that time is just a waiting period right? no medicals or interviews are scheduled until after the 130 has been approved, correct?

Hey guys,

Firstly, let me introduce myself. I'm Mike, I'm 22 and I currently reside in Sydney, Australia. I met my wife whilst we were both working on a cruise ship 2 years ago. By mid 2008 she had moved here to Aus on a one year visa and we lived together for that year. I finally popped the question on christmas eve just passed and we married on 2nd May 2009. Unfortunately, by this stage, we hadn't decided whether we were going to stay here in aus or go to the US. Finally, we decided us was a better option for many reasons. She moved back at the end of June and i would be telling the biggest lie if i said i didn't miss her ever second of every day, which i'm sure many of you can relate to. I'm sure you can relate to the stressful feeling of figuring out these visas and getting it done right the first time.

Secondly, I am a frequent user of other sport, fitness, musical and motorbike forums and know that it can be frustrating to see the same questions asked each and evertime. Believe me when I say, I have used the search function, but still have some unanswered questions.

Thank-you and sorry in advance - thanks for the answers, sorry if they've been asked before =)

So, I've sent over what I think is to be the last of the visa forms (4X G325A's). They should be arriving in California today where my wife will then send them off with all other relating documents.

My questions are:

1/ The difference between CR1 + K3, and how to go about applying for them. At the moment, as I understand it, when you send the I-130 petition, you automatically apply for CR1 + K3 (being that it is a petition for US Ctzn spouse. I also believe that i read somewhere we have to send the i-129F?? i thought this was for fiancee to come over and marry? this isn't the case for us so we don't use that, right.

2/ CR1 comes with benefits that K3 doesn't offer, such as able to work immediately without needing to apply for work auth. like K3, correct? I have heard/read that K3 is obsolete, and CR1 is the way to go, but can't find much info on CR1 on the USCIS web!?!?!

Like everyone else, I want to get to the States in the quickest time possible, with as few a hassles as possible (perfect world, right?)

Why do they make this so hard? haha I am envious of those who have completed this journey. congrats to you all. I hope to be sharing the same experiences as you guys have gone thru

Regards,

Mike