DougM

Hi everyone.

Filed for AOS in July. After a fairly smooth K1 process we never expected the nightmare me have experienced with the AOS process. There have been no mistakes on our part, it has been entirely incompetence and unprofessionalism at USCIS that has messed this up beyond belief. We filed for my wife and each of her three children and only one (the oldest child) has gone smoothly. I'm a believer in adding accurate timelines to this site so others can know what to expect but the amount of info I'd have to post would be impossible.

Seriously, if you imagined the worst possible sequence of events you would not have imagined this. You just could not make this stuff up. Yes, we got our congressman involved but it changed nothing. He will be hearing from me again tomorrow. We have paid thousands to our government for the priviledge of being jerked around, lied to, played games with. The only possible explaination for some of this is that it has been intentional. We have just gotten to the point that any step forward, no matter how small, is counted as a victory.

I must emphasize again, we studied the process, we submitted everything correctly, we have the income, we've done our part right!!! Yet here we are, frustrated beyond words. This system is clearly broken!

Thanks for letting me vent. I'm sorry I haven't given specifics. It has been so screwed up that it's hard for us to follow and we're living it! I've given up trying to explain it to people.

Just joining the July filers. Mailed my wife's packet July 11th, delivery confirmation on July 15th, and now nothing......no texts, no checks cashed ..... trying to be patient. Good luck to all!

Great news! Congrats!

Thanks for the responses, everybody. Donna has handled this long wait better than I have. What a great surprise today! It gave our spirits a boost.

I thought it probably wasn't a big deal about the USCIS website but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. What's important is having the approval notice in hand.

Hang in there, Tater, your's should be coming soon. I've watched your timeline and a few others to try to guess when ours might arrive. I'll bet you'll get your NOA2 any day now!

BTW, I called the NVC late this afternoon and waited on hold for 45 minutes then finlly gave up. I'll try again tomorrow. After listening that long to their recording while on hold, I thought I was going to lose my mind!

Hi All,

We finally got the hardcopy of our NOA2 in the mail today! (k1) It was a big surprise because the USCIS website still says our petition is in the "initial review" stage. We had our first "touch" six days ago but our case status didn't change. Now we find that our petition was approved on that date! YAY!!!

Should we be concerned that the website shows no status change?

Also, from what I understand, we need to call the NVC to check whether they received it or not. Is that correct?

Thanks to everyone who has answered our questions here. You've been a big help.

Moving forward with the process!!! Yeehaw!!!

Doug

I'm not a fan of Magic jack. Oh the calls were pretty good but Donna and I talked so much they kicked us off. No refund, no returned phone calls, nothing. They have a clause in the fine print where they can do this to you if they think you're using it too much.

We use Skype when we can and it works pretty well. We have had to get creative to stay in contact as much as we want to. CAN'T WAIT till I don't have a phone in my hand all the time! We've both learned to do just about everything while holding a phone.

oh just so you know

i had same as she and was denied

i needed a hand written notarized letter from natural father giving permission as well as photo copies of his ID showing his signature

my one son's father is not listed and he was no problem but he is 16 years old not sure if that had anything to do with not needing letter

my other son's father is listed

he is 8 years old and they asked him when last time he seen his dad

i was CR1 visa in montreal interview was april 22 which i was denied until i sent in original hand written notarized letter and his Photo ID

which i sent in immediately Montreal received the required docs april 28 and i am STILL WAITING FOR APPROVAL

so just a heads up on my dealings with this

i had a parental agreement signed and witness by 2 lawyers as well as father and my self

i had a court of queen bench stating i have primary care and control and child permitted to move to USA

montreal did not accept these documents in fact gave them back to me and asked for hand written letter

hope this helps

because it sure caused me a whole lot of depression and delays for my children and husband as well

if i had known i could have had a simple document with me at time of interview

instead of fancy court documents that cost a whole lot of money.

good luck

Thank you for the reply, Smurfette.

Am I understanding you correctly? Your one son's father was not on the birth cert and there was no problem? No letter of consent was required?

Your other son's father was listed so you had to get the consent letter even though you had sole custody?

Thanks again for your help.

Yea she will either need a letter from the father or from the courts I believe if he is not listed on the birth certificates.

I have sole custody and my sons father has had nothing to do with my son all of his life, yet I had to track him down to get that letter.

Thanks for the reply, Sprailenes.

Was your son's father named on the birth certificate?

The packet 3 checklist from the Vancouver consulate says that "You must show that you have sole custody for each...child OR present a notarized consent statement from the child’s other parent..." That seemed pretty straight forward to me. Maybe not.

My concern was more about any issues that might arise because the fathers aren't on the birth certs as required in the packet 3 checklist. The one father simply can't be found. Even support enforcement couldn't find him. We wish they could beause he owes tens of thousands in back child support.

A big "thank you" to each of you who responded. I have read SO much about this process and have saved SO many links that I just couldn't seem to remember where to find the info I was looking for.

Add me the the list of people who feel this process is excessively complicated and ridiculously expensive (times 4).

Does she have the "Long Form" certificate? The wallet sized certificates don't have that info on them. You need to have the long form that has a lot more info on it.

Yes, they are the "long form" birth certificates. She is the only parent listed.

The higher consulate fees are really going to hurt because my fiancee has 3 three children coming with her also. The cost of this process (K1) for us just got higher by $876. I've been looking all morning but can't find an answer to my question. Did other fees go up as well? Specifically I'm wondering about the fees to adjust status once she's here and we are married. For us, any increase is multiplied times 4!!! We may end up broke after all of this but at least we'll finally be together!

My Canadian fiancee has 3 young children who will be coming here with her. She has sole custody and sole guardianship so a letter from their fathers wont be required. They have no involvement with the kids at all and don't want to so we shouldn't have a problem there. However, the packet 3 checklist states in bold letters that both parents must be listed on the birth certificate but they are not listed on the ones that she has. She doesn't even know where one of the fathers is anymore. My questions are, how strict are they at the Vancouver consulate about this requirement? Will we have a problem if the father's names are not on the birth certs? Has anyone dealt with this issue before?

Thank you in advance,

Doug

You're taking a gun advocates opinion on this, which you're entitled to. But you're still wrong. The second amendment was not written to enable its citizens to revolt.

Well, as I stated before, it doesn't take alot of digging to prove you wrong. The Federalist papers were writings of the founders that essentially clarified their intent regarding certain matters so there would be no confusion. I could fill these pages with evidence to support my position.

Alexander Hamilton in Federalist #29 addresses this.

Hamilton clearly states there exists a right of self-defense against a tyrannical government, and it includes the people with their own arms and adds:

"[T]he people, without exaggeration, may be said to be entirely the masters of their own fate. Power being almost always the rival of power, the general government will at all times stand ready to check the usurpations of the state governments, and these will have the same disposition towards the general government. The people by throwing themselves into either scale, will infallibly make it preponderate. If their rights are invaded by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress. How wise will it be in them by cherishing the union to preserve to themselves an advantage which can never be too highly prized!"

In Federalist #28, Hamilton wrote;

"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State. In a single State, if the persons entrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."

...and as I stated before, the Supreme court has upheld this right. Just because YOU don't want it to be true, doesn't mean it isn't true.

This one really frustrates me. Sometimes I think people here are incapable of seeing things from another person's perspective. As long as their needs are taken care of, who cares about anyone else. And what is good enough for me, is good enough for you - circumstances be damned. It's almost unreal. I had to stop myself from reading the news so much, because when I would read the comments on the news stories, I'd start having physical responses to the anger I felt from the ignorance and stupidity that some people spout. I feel like back in Canada, there wasn't as much of that. Or at least, I could respect other people's opinions because they were based on something. With the heathcare debate, a lot of people are really against the bill (even though it is now a LAW), but they couldn't even articulate why.

And the funny part is, almost all of our friends are conservative. I have a perfect example of my frustration. A wife of a friend posted on her facebook the other day, and here is how the conversation went :

K "Make no mistake, a 'yes' vote on the Democrats' health care bill is a vote for taxpayer-funded abortions."- tis the truth! As a catholic and as woman I find this revolting....pro-life all the way~!

23 March at 12:52 ·

M But there is an existing law prohibiting federal funds for abortions, there is nothing in the heathcare bill that mentions that, AND the President himself signed an executive order reaffirming that no government money will be used...? Why do you think this?23 March at 13:56 ·

K An executive order won't supersede legislation passed by Congress and courts will look to the legislation rather than the executive order when ruling on federally funded abortions.23 March at 18:47

M I know, but there already is legislation. The Hyde amendment. Google it. The executive order was just overkill to try ease the minds of over-zealous republicans.23 March at 19:05 ·

K Whatever it may be I don't trust Obama. He is a liar and a snake. He's represents everything I don't believe in. Thanks for your thoughts though! 23 March at 19:10

Since when did BELIEF hold more weight than FACT?

The Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortions. It is not a permanent law, rather it is a "rider" that, in various forms, has been routinely attached to annual appropriations bills since 1976. The Hyde Amendment applies only to funds allocated by the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services. It primarily affects Medicaid.

The Senate bill passed by the House on March 21, 2010 did not contain that Hyde Amendment language. As part of an agreement between Rep. Bart Stupak and President Obama to secure Stupak's vote, the President issued an executive order on March 24, 2010 affirming that the Hyde Amendment would extend to the new bill.

It is good to remember that the United States is a HUGE country with many different regions and many different sub-cultures. What you encounter in one area is likely entirely different in other areas. Just as a Canadian from B.C. is very different than a Canadian from Quebec, an American from say New York stands out like a sore thumb here in Alaska, and I'm sure I didn't fit in when I went to New York city!

In my experience, people from the rural areas tend to be laid back and courteous, whereas the folks from urban areas are not..... VERY generally speaking.

No disrepect intended, but whoever told you that has no idea what they are talking about. The 2nd ammendment was written at the time because the U.S. did not have a standing, professional army. The British had previously tried to ban the ownership of guns to prevent any rebellion. This was to combat that. Today, a lot of conservative and gun enthusiasts mistakenly interpret that to mean that the founding fathers of this nation wrote it in there to support rebellion against an overbearing government.

Wrong.....It doesn't take alot of study to clearly understand the intent. The Second Ammendment is specifically to prevent tyrrany within our own government first and foremost, and has been upheld by the Supreme court to be an individual right.

Thank you all very much. We are currently filling out forms and gathering the things we need for the initial filing for the fiance visa. Just waiting to receive a certified copy of my divorce decree (couldn't find it) then we'll get this thing officially started. Patience is not one of my strong suits but I have no other choice than to be patient through this process. Thanks again to each of you for the warm welcome.

Thank you all for the welcome.

Mrs. Cat, I live in Sterling, on the Kenai Peninsula.

Hi everybody! My name is Doug and I'm new to this forum. I am a U.S. citizen living in Alaska and my fiance, Donna, is a Canadian citizen living in B.C. We have been reading as much as possible in preparation for filing for a K1 fiance visa. We're anxious to get this started but want to fully understand the process first.

I'm sure we'll have alot of questions so thank you in advance for any help and advice we receive. Donna is not registered here yet. She may register separately or we may re-register together and share an account.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all and thank you again for any info you may share with us.