Travelbugs

Hey everybody,

we're having a huge problem.

In a nutshell:

We got married in Dec 2010, found out that we're pregnant in Jan. Since my husband was going to college, he decided to drop out and start working again. After all we need money for the baby and I can't work yet, won't be for a while due to the pregnancy.

He now got employed at a private security company that pays super well and is going back to Iraq. (He used to be in the Navy before).

However, he doesn't have an exact start date yet, but it will be some in April/beginning of May. Our interview is scheduled for April 26th, but there is no way he can't take the job. We need the money, after all he's financially responsible for me and he's fighting for this country.

What should we do?!?!? Any experiences?!?!

Gosh, I'm freaking out here. Dealing with this GC stuff, pregnant and alone soon. I'm just exhausted.

Thank you so much for your responses!!

O common people don't be sarcastic give them a chance to settle their immigration problem, why did you get married to a US citizen just to settle your immigration status here in the United states even though you are not 100 percent sure that your spouse loves you,common look back where you came from people...everybody is accountable through their own actions.

Your post is absolutely outrageous!

I'd be on the first flight home if I could. Pretty conceited of you to think that everybody leaves their home and marry some American to become a citizen. I'd never give up my citizenship, and should a divorce happen or should something go wrong with our marriage, I'd definitely not stay here but go home.

There are better places in this world.

I submitted my I-485 with a copy of my marriage certificate. At the same time as submitting my I-485 application, I also submitted the Travel Document I-131 and the EAD but did not include a separate marriage certificate for each of these applications. Will I just get an RFE for this? I thought I had double checked everything and now I am a bit concerned. Can anyone share some insight into what will happen?

I only included one copy of our marriage certificate, too. I submitted I-485 and EAD at the same time. I wasn't even aware you should submit one with each application. Where did you read that?

I just followed the USCIS instructions...hmmm. hopefully, we'll be fine.

If he is in the reserves he should be able to get TRI Care Select - we used to have that - you pay $198 a month for husband and you. They had reasonable coverage and pretty low co-pays/deductibles.

Omg, this is awesome news! We just checked it out, and it's perfect! Thank you so much for the info!!!

Depending on where you/ he work, they may have health insurance as part of the benefits package. If not, be very careful about getting pregnant, as most private health insurance has a waiting period for maternity coverage, ie if you are pregnant when starting insurance or get pregnant within a year, it won't be covered.

We got short-term health insurance to cover us from the day we got here, as getting enrolled in private insurance takes 4-6 weeks, then moved the kids to a private health insurance plan with BCBS (very good plan, covered everything) once it became apparent that my husband wouldn't find work quickly.

thank you!!

he's full time student right now on his GI bill and in the Reserve. we're going to inquire with them if there is an option there.

it does seem that the pregnancy part is the problem. thank you for letting me know about the waiting period. we weren't aware of that!!

i'll look into the short-term health insurance and BCBS.

thank you so much!

tell your husband to go through USAA its military only benefits, www.usaa.com even if he gets out of the military he can still obtain these services. You may not be able to get state assistance without it coming back to him, thats why they have the AOS form he filled out to show you wont be a public charge off .

thank you for your response! he just called but they unfortunately don't offer pregnancy insurance. we're gonna keep searching. thank you though!

Hey there,

so, my move to the US is just around the corner (two more weeks ))), and John and I have been researching health insurance companies for me (us).

Since he just got out of the military, I will no longer be covered as dependant. He, himself, is covered through a Veteran's insurance or the Reserve which he joined after his discharge.

What kind of health insurance did you guys get when moving to the US? What's recommendable, esp. considering a possible pregnancy?

Btw, we'll be living in California (San Diego).

I would greatly appreciate your input!

Thank you so much!!!!

Can i ask what a decend priced for shipping it is? And how many things are u bringing?

Also do u pack in normal cardboard box or u pack in woodboxes? or how?

The prices i found when i looked was really high.. and that was only for around 8 boxes.

Sure, I am using a company called Pangaeacargo. I used them before one time and I was super satisfied with their service and everything.

I am shipping 9 boxes (1.37cbm) from the South of Germany to San Diego.

The price for pick up and transportation to the German port is 95 EUR, export fees and loading fee is 100EUR and $400 for shipment to San Diego. They were BY FAR the cheapest I could find.

I pack all my things in cardboard boxes (all same size which makes it cheaper). I am not shipping furniture or anything, just books, silverware, towels, clothes, shoes.

I can really recommend that company. Let me know if you have more questions!

When I moved from Canada, I had to fill out the form 3299 and give it to the moving company along with a list of what was being moved. I numbered my boxes and just put a breif description of what was in the box (kitchen items, clothing, linens etc). They also suggest listing serial numbers for any electronics. You will need to provide the shipping company a copy of your Visa (and your I-94...I think as you have to enter the country before your goods). All goods that you have owned for a year or more are able to be imported at no cost and you can continue bringing your personal goods tax free for 10 yrs (but it has to be stuff that you owned prior to moving to the US).

Awesome! Thank you so much! That helps a lot!

Hey there,

I am getting ready to organize my move to CA in November.

I have found a decend priced shipping company who gave me the information that moving goods are customs and tax free.

According to CBP this is true, however, I want to be positive about terminology.

CBP states that goods are tax-free for nonresidents/first-time immigrants when moving household items that had been in the foreigner's use and hands for a minimum of one year.

This all is true for me, except that I will be entering the US on a K1 - does this count as first-time immigrant?

Also, in your experience, will the shipping company take care of paperwork (e. "Customs Form 3299 “Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles,”), or will I have to provide this upon pick-up of my goods at the US port?

Any experiences with that? Thank you so much already for you help!!!

Hey guys,

anybody out there with Hypothyroidism who can tell me what exactly I will have to do to get my medication in the States?

Do I need a prescription? Do I need a note from my German doctor to verify the findings?

Any suggestions, information and advice is welcome!

Thank you

Back when I went there, I just queued up at the Immigrant Visa line (also because it was much shorter and I was asked if it was the right one... he didn't really seem to know/care) and I was let in 2 min later..

Don't worry, you'll be just fine

edit: Be careful, the information in the link above may be outdated. If in doubt, visit http://germany.usembassy.gov/visa/ and you'll find what you need.

I just had my interview a couple of weeks ago, and they put me in the immigrant visa line. I had asked where to queue up with a K1, and that's where they put me which sucked, of course, because it was ten times longer.

Hey there,

so I'm busy preparing for my move to the US to be with my fiance, get married and start our life over there.

I am unsure, however, on how to deal with my German bank account. My bank told me the best would be to terminate my accounts (Girokontos) to avoid having to pay the fees. My only money movement would be my monthly payment for my life insurance. All my other savings are on saving accounts that are not affected by any running fees.

What did you guys do?

My parents would be willing to have the life insurance payments run through their account and take care of all other financial transactions.

It just feels a little weird to completely terminate my account (but maybe I'm just being sentimental ), since I have strong ties to Germany, and my husband-to-be and I will be traveling here a lot and maybe even move here in 10-15 years.

What advantages/disadvantages did you guys experience with keeping/terminating your German Girokonto?

Thank you all!

I can only agree with you guys on tap water! Not a good idea!

As to the food, I have a hard time dealing with all the sugar and grease! Taco Bell, Chick-a-filet and Co. are totally out of question for me. Cramps, stomach aches, bad skin, weight gain, whatever you want.

I only eat out at good and fresh restaurants avoiding any kinds of chains, or we cook at home. John has to appease his fast food and fries cravings by himself, unfortunately. I totally avoid any TV dinners etc., too. They mess me up. I also wouldn't recommend Chinese buffets...

Yay, yay, yay...I received my visa and all the docs yesterday!!! I'm so happy :-) Now we can really start planning

I had my interview last week in Frankfurt, Germany. They didn't keep my original birth certificate, but were happy with the copy. The only original they required was the police certificate and the forms of course.

Just take both with you. I gave them both, and they returned the original at the end.

I don't know, however, if this is the same for Ecuador.

Coffee sounds good !! I will be waiting for you !!!

Sweet We'll stay in touch, and I'll be able to improve my French again

Where in SD are you going to live....We're in Coronado, right by the beach I love our place! I can't wait to feel the sand between my toes again.

I'm sorry to hear about your woes.

From what I can gather and understand, you are definitely investing more than she does. She's been breaking promises, been taking your money, your help, you even support her family and she can't even do you the favor of cutting contact with her ex?!

From an outside perspective, I would say she wouldn't even have deserved to come live with you and marry you in the first place. She hasn't been honest with you from day one!!

I would go back and read your post again with the eyes of someone else. I think it then becomes clear what to do...I think there would only be one reasonable next step...you have to keep in mind that, in a relationship, it's a give and take. You have been giving much more than you have been receiving, and that is not what a relationship is about.

Don't be too nice, or you get taken advantage of...I've been there. Don't sell your self short!! You deserve better than that.

Have you considered paying the extra bag fees and bringing them in suitcases? If family comes to visit, they can also do the same. We weren't able to find reasonable prices and the extra bag fee is usually $50/bag and less likely to be lost on the way or delayed at customs.

I was thinking about that as well, and this is most likely what I'm gonna do. I was just so lucky with my shipping company last time moving from the US to Germany that I thought there might be something similar for the way back...yeah, I've been looking around and I definitely don't wanna pay 2000 eur for shipping a couple of boxes.

Thank you for your post!

I'm putting the final touches to my I-129F and followed the K1 Guide Line here. My question is about the I-129F Cover Leader "Proof of on going relationship". My Fiance and I been communicating since 2005 and I have over 200+ emails. Do I need to send all of them to USCIS or what do you recommend how much to send to establish our communication?

And, do I need to send my yahoo account information so they can login and check the emails. I'm printing them from the account itself which shows all the email information.

You definitely shouldn't send your account info and password. I would argue it is none of their business to log into your personal account. Plus, if they wanted to, they would have the means to do it anyways.

My fiance and I have been dating since Jan 06 and we have tons and tons of correspondence as well. What we did is print out samples of emails for over the years. I think we submitted two of each for every year (plus copies of letters, postcards, chat logs and such). To send all of them would be too much, in my opinion.

You'll be fine just sending a random selection.

Good luck on your visa journey!!

Hey there,

I am looking for shipping/moving companies from Germany to the US (Los Angeles). Who has any recommendations? I won't ship a lot; mainly books, dishes, silverware, towels, clothes. No furniture or anything of that sort.

I have been getting estimates, but so far all of them are outrageously expensive. I had moved a shipping company from the US to Germany before, and it only cost me 350 EUR from LA to Bavaria for 9 small book boxes. I can't seem to find anything alike for the return trip to the US...any ideas?!?

Thank you so much!

We are approoved everyone we are approoved.

yay!!! Congrats to you! I know how great it feels :-)

Hello !

I am going to wait for my visa then I am planning to flight there around the 10th of august ! the plan ticket are awfully expensive in August but I don't want to wait until september to see Rich again 7 months is more than enough !

I will be in San Diego too ! That's where Rich lives.

Omg, I can't believe you will be in San Diego, too. That's where we're gonna live

However, I won't get there until November. I'm still working and packing up and all that stuff. Plus, John and I wanna spend some more time in Germany together and then fly back to the US together.

We should have a cup of coffee in SD once I'm there

I wish to send my Pay Stubs in with my 864 package.

My question is should I send in my original Pay Stubs - or would it be fine for me to just send photocopies?

Since you can send copies of your tax returns, W2s, bank statements, etc I am assuming there is no REQUIREMENT to send in original pay stubs, correct?

My desire is to retain the original pay stubs and carry those with me to the interview instead.

I just returned from my K1 interview in Frankfurt, Germany, and they did not require the original paystubs. I had them with me just in case, but they said copies were fine. They didn't even want to see them.

But maybe someone with CR-1 experience can help out.

Congrats Florianna's Man and Travelbugs... when is POE?? What state will you be living in?

BirdyGirl...I am in same boat. I know waiting is hard but hang in there. It will be over soon. (I hope) hehe

Hey Iqha, I haven't booked my flight yet, but I intend to leave sometime in November for San Diego :-). We're still trying to figure out all the traveling since I want John to come over to Germany and to fly back together with him.

All I know, it will be soon

Good luck to you on the rest of your visa journey!!!

Yay, Congratulations Travelbugs!

I hope Soph's visa got approved. I'm thinking about her.

At this point I feel like my fiance Petteri will be the last one to be interviewed out of all the people in this thread... Blah...

Thank you all! I know I've been thinking of Soph too. It's funny that we had our interview the same day.

Petteri will be fine, I'm sure. But I know how you're feeling. At some point, you just wanna have it over with. I was getting so frustrated last week...everything was ready and taken care of - just the deposit slip I need for Germany just wasn't being sent...almost had to reschedule - I was so over it, but it all worked out in the end, luckily :-) Just hang in there, BirdyGirl!

I just want to add another line of compassion... I am so sorry about what he has done to you. There are no words. I cannot fathom how someone could do that to another human being. This is totally incomprehensible.

But, do not blame yourself or be ashamed. He should be the one feeling ashamed to the bone!

I strongly believe in karma and poetic justice! He will get his share of the bad he's done. The good as the bad always comes back to you. And you have done only good keep that in mind!