HappyRs

exactly! well said!

I actually lost weight since I got here. I was down with flu for a week just a couple of months after my arrival. That's when I lost about 8-9 pounds and haven't been able to gain it back because I cannot enjoy the fatty, tasteless food here... I was skinny before, but even more so now . I went back to Romania for 8 days last Fall and I actually managed to enjoy my meals and gain 2-3 pounds...but I would not be surprised if I lost it again now.

I was cheated on, by my foreign fiance. We were a bit different than the norm here, because we spent the majority of our relationship irl until I moved home to USA. It was a great relationship at the time, and I could honestly say I trusted him 100%. We were together many years as well, and I could honestly say I knew him like the back of my hand.
Long story short, a month before the interview, he got caught in a whole mess of stuff. One of which being an affair.
I had spent our entire separation working hard for us - getting a second job (my first one was self-employed, and I did not meet the prior 3 year tax transcript req's) so that I could qualify to sponsor him, I set up 'home' for us, I collected things from the UK which I knew would make him feel 'at home', etc. I was incredibly lonely and exhausted, lol. So yeah, I can understand loneliness. But while I was doing that, he was out taking care of his.
I actually had an inkling something was not quite right, but I also didn't quite put my finger on what, exactly.
Needless to say, I dumped the lying SB pronto. And I've never looked back since. Yes, it was devastating, and we were together almost a decade. And yeah, I can hear all the rationalizations of how hard it is to be alone, it was a mistake, blah blah blah, but at the end of the day, IMO - if the trust is broken that severely, there's no fixing it.
Others may disagree...I'm not saying it's impossible. You may come to a different conclusion - esp because you have a child together. But imo, how a husband and father can show such little regard to his wife, his child, his family's future, all because he might have some secret desires or whatever the case may be, shows a profound disrespect and such an indicator of his character and lack of morals, that for me, I would never be able to get over something like that.
Btw, I am now married to the love of my life and we have a healthy and gorgeous baby boy, and I thank God everyday that I had the strength to do what I knew was right.
Good luck

Yes that was a message. What a lot of folks don't seemt to understand is that with international dating and dealing with immigration, all normalcy of a relationship is thrown out the window. You must work within their guidelines and that means being flexible and ensuring your priorities are in the proper place. There is a 90 day window in which to marry, when using the K-1, if there is not enough time to plan the super duper wedding of the universe, then you either don't do that or don't use the K-1.
Supportive families and friends will and must understand. This isn't about them, it's about the international couple.

I do have one serious comment: it seems that aside from whether she married you for money or not, neither one of you know what the definition of a partnership is. She's doing her thing, you're laying down ultimatums, both of you are manipulating the other in this over year long power play. Look back at your posts: 'I'm going to make her...' 'I'm going to tell her she needs to....' 'I will take away internet' etc. She also is dictating to you what she wants, and it seems that neither of you have the slightest desire to actually consider the other's feelings, and actually strike a reasonable compromise.
I think that aside from the actual money issue, you two (if you want to stay together) need counseling and need to understand how a true marriage works.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but there you go.

yaayyy! Congrats girl!

You need to be married within 90 days of your entry to US on a K-1.
To be precise, you need to be married before the expiry date on your I-94, which is virtually always 90 days.
It is a very good idea, for a whole host of reasons, to file your AOS papers as soon as humanly possible after the wedding.
However, you do not have to file your AOS before the K-1 I-94 expiry. If it goes out a few days or weeks after the I-94 expiry date, it is almost certainly no big deal. If you're coming up on that deadline, do not rush yourselves. Take an extra day or three, go over the paperwork and make sure everything is correct. It is much more important that the paperwork be accurate and correct than that it get to USCIS before your K-1 I-94 expiry date.
One of the reasons why it is a good idea to get the AOS forms sent off as early as possible is that doing so allows you to get the AOS NOA1 as soon as possible. Once your I-94 expires, you will have no way to prove that you are legitimately in the US until the AOS NOA1 receipt shows up. If there is a gap of time between your I-94 expiry date and when you get the NOA1, and you happen to have a run-in with federal law enforcement or ICE during that gap, your life will temporarily become far more interesting than you'd like. There won't be any permanent consequences, but you'll have a very interesting couple of days, and not in a good way.
So try to get it sent off as soon as possible. But don't sweat it if it's a few days later.
To answer your question specifically, yes. If you are sending off your AOS papers two weeks before the K-1 I-94 expiry date, everything will be fine, and you even have a very good chance of getting the NOA1 before your I-94 expiry date.

Just once...unless FBI can't read the fingerprints; then you'll get a new appt.

AP does not need biometrics.
The green card and EAD have your photo and the green card has your finger print ON the card. There for only thos two need Biometrics.

as long as you guys have strong proofs of bona fide relationship the age gap is not that much of an issue. the CO in Bucharest did notice our age difference and commented upon it (I could even sense a bit of a sarcasm there), but we have a solid relationship with lots of visits in 2 years so he just had to approve us. Your fiancee should be ready to answer questions if they arise, but I am sure she'll be approved .

Technically, your K1 visa is not valid anymore once you entered the US in September. The date I think you have in mind is the one on the I-94, right? You were supposed to get married within the time frame of 3 months...and you did. While it is not mandatory that you apply for AOS before I-94 expires, it is advisable that you do so. There have been couples that applied for AOS months after the I-94 expired and they didn't encounter any problems, but that's not recommended. Bottom line, if you start working on your papers soon and send them off as soon as possible (even after Dec. 6), you will be just fine... Good luck!

**External link removed from the above post.

I suppose the NOA1, acknowledging that you have applied for AOS is good enough...

I feel we're too hard on each other... Those of us who attempt to offer our thoughts and sometimes, we offer bad advise.. Let's keep this in perspective.. We aren't lawyers, but keep in mind that even lawyers offer bad and even illegal advise with the intention of lining thier pocket books and not so much to help others.. The majority of people on this forum have only sincere intentions to help.. We often are jumped on by other VJ'rs but nevertheless, the intentions are sincere..
I disagree with the way this whole issue was handled by katheryn, her response may have been a little too harsh. It is good the moderators point out when bad advice is given.. It may have been better handled a diferent way..
Dont Forget, This is a Free Forum that all can participate.. Unless VJ want's to restrict everyone from offering advice unless we meet some sort of prequalification, we just have to expect that some responses will be bad advise... However, people can and do benefit from VJ in a HUGE way.. I won't be the only once who'll say this, but for me, there is no possible way I would have gotten as far as I've gotten without the help of all of you.. I am extremely grateful for this forum... But I do realize, sometimes, I might get some bad information, so I need to review other resources as well.. I beleive my situation is typical across most others on this forum...
Loto, Please take this for what its worth, I appreciate you starting this thread, because, I think some have lost perspective, so this thread is a opportunity to discuss that..
I consider everyone here as a friend, that doesn't mean that I dont have a life, it's just is a testiment of the good people I've met though various discussions and the motives each of us have here are simply to help each other thought this process..
Kenny

Before my husband and I got married, he asked me whether we need to support my family in Philippines after getting married. I told him no. I then asked my mother if she expected me to support her and my siblings. She said that she was offended that I would even ask that question. She said they were able to survive without my husband before so why did he think that he'll be a cash cow now. My mother also said that I should let my husband know that my siblings are highly educated. My sister is a psychologist and my brother is an architect. They have a house that's fully paid unlike my husband who was still renting back then. A year after I got married, I decided to give a $4k gift to my family back home. I have a $80k job and we were still renting then without kids so we could easily afford it. That's when my family have changed. They aren't poor. But it's greed that got them to want more. Being poor doesn't automatically make you to want stuff. Likewise, being affluent doesn't also mean you aren't materialistic. Same reason why drug lords continue to do it to make more money not because they need the money. But because they're greedy. My family is definitely not poor but very greedy. They became greedy over time. So, I don't think you should judge people based on their wealth. I think they should be judged based on their moral integrity.

My god I just stumbled across this thread and it sounds like an extreme version of me saying this stuff
I don't know about the US but I love Germans as they are so honest and fearlessly so.
I have the same experience as the rest of you in that all this stuff about the land being the most beautiful in the world etc makes me think what about the Greek Islands, the Med, Cornwall etc
Most of the US is referred to as flyover as it is arid badland. There is 2 thousand miles of revolting nothing starting a mile from where I am right now.
What's all this about only we are free and able to go anywhere ? Don't they know that Germans and French and Brits and ozzies and kiwis have free speech and can go anywhere ?
I used to be able to go to Cuba but I am banned now I have a GC ! I have lost 'go anywhere' by living here.
The US is just another country and if the citizens would behave like that instead of insisting that they and their system and their land and their government are all better than anyone else's (and therefore everyone else is INFERIOR)they would be more accepted in the world.
My wife is a USC and when she is introduced as such in any FIRST WORLD country, the response is usually a curling lip of distrust or disdain. This is a result of the militaristic adventures of the US government, the threatening and massive armed forces, and the attitude of the 'We are superior' people.
The real American people I meet are deluded but ok people as individuals - naturally so because they are just people like the rest of us and live in just another country like we used to. Doesn't stop them living in poverty on 700 dollars a month with little services and believing they are incredibly powerful and the chosen people.
Other countries have had isolation so it can't be just that that allows these attitudes to continue. It's still a mystery to me as to why this overbearing need to be superior exists.
If I went to a dinner party and announced that my wife was more intelligent and better looking than any of the other wives there, imagine the reaction. That is exactly what Americans do and then they wonder why they are resented around the world.
I had a dream last night that I woke up 85 years old in an American nursing home. They had taken all my money and I was surrounded by all these patriots who are really extreme right wing Nationists. They couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand them. I was trapped.
I will make sure that never happens.
I love it raining less than the UK and the cheap cars and petrol - does that count ?
I know some poor swine is paying the price of that - I saw 500 people standing in line for a soup kitchen on Boston Common. I didn't love that sight but Americans must be blind to all that.

It's a strange situation that many people here understand that most Americans might never grasp unless they have lived in other places... I am born and raised Floridian but had a real itch to see the world... I travel a lot and since meeting my husband in 2001, even more. I lived for nearly a year in his home town in Italy...
My husband and I constantly gets asked where we prefers to live and it is a difficult question... There are pro's and con's for each... After living in Italy and spending much time with his sister in Switzerland you can start to see the differences...
I always answer that in the US we have a higher standard of living (bigger homes, nicer cars, better job opportunities) But in Italy it seems to be a higher quality of life itself (knowing your neighbors, family nearby, slower pace, enjoying the small things like a long lunch and hour at the beach before going back to work, 1 month vacation plus 5 months paid maternity leave, stronger family bonds etc...)
However, I am an American thinker and was raised to think outside the norms, try what you love, take risks to follow your dreams and do what is in your heart... Whereas there is a more prevelant attitude of pick a career/workplace and be committed to it, dont rock the boat and I get looks of shock when I come up with an idea that it something different...
My husband is here now and luckily has a job that pays 10x what he would earn in Italy for the same work... so he enjoys the opportunity. But I know that one day we will go back over to Italy or Switzerland or Europe because that is where his heart is.
I dont think you have to be a USA, USA chanter to enjoy living here... Most countries do not have the same amount of nationalism (in fact in many countries it is frowned upon to be overly nationalistic, perhaps because of the fragility and wars which have changed the identities of many people depending on who won what war and what treaty was signed)... I know many (Europeans and SE Asians) who have had their nationality stripped, changed, borders re-drawn so many times that they look at national pride as support for a passing leadership...
But these concepts are very difficult for some, especially those who have not traveled, taken the time to meet people from other cultures or consider life in other parts of the world, to grasp and so these people can only see what they hold in their hearts and if everyone does not embrace the nationalistic pride for the USA... Then thier ignorant answer is "well then get the hell out and go home"...
To be an American is to be an immigrant, regardless of how many generations removed, we all come from somewhere else and need to keep that in mind and have tolerance for the differences and realize that it only strengthens our understanding of the world...
I embrace the things my husband has shown me and for his broadening my perspective of the world. I love my country, but I see that no place is utopia and there are good and bad. I also salute all of the immigrants here who have given up so much for the ones that they love and only wish the US would embrace those giving up their family, friends, careers and life the way most of those coming to USA have embraced this country... No flag waving and nationalistic chants required...
OK... She steps down off her soapbox now....

Hi Merejen,
Your fiancee will receive NOA1, hopefully in a few days. All you can do for now is wait till you get NOA2 (approval notice) and in the meantime you can start collecting proofs of ongoing relationship (phone bills, emails, plane tickets, boarding passes, photos), as you will need them at your interview. Good luck!