M and A 2011

Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zur Verlobung. Dann kanns ja jetzt losgehen.

The purpose of question 18 it to determine if you've satisfied the requirement that you have physically met within the past two years. You should check the "Yes" box and provide a brief explanation of the circumstances of the qualifying meeting. When, where, etc. If you don't provide at least this information then you haven't answered the question. The adjudicator doesn't care when you met the first time, or how your relationship developed. That stuff will be addressed at the interview.
If your fiance/e is from a high fraud country then question 18 can also be used as an opportunity to frontload relationship evidence or address circumstances that might be seen as red flags at the consulate. In that case, you answer the question about the qualifying meeting and add "See attachment", and then provide an attachment with your additional statement. There's no guarantee the consular officer will actually read it, but it will at least get your statement into your case file.

If you are looking for a few specific flowers, it's easier to find them in a flower store than in a field of 10,000 square miles.
You violated the quality over quantity rule, plain and simple.
The good stuff you have in there is hidden among the stuff that has no bearing to the ROC process. You traveled to Azerbaijan when courting your wife? Great, but that was way before she moved here and long before she got her Green Card. And how exactly does that prove that you lived together in the same household since she got her card?
You don't have a joint bank account (neither had my wife and I), but do you both have access to your spouse's account(s), in case one of you guys is crushed by a school bus and the rent is due on the first? If so, did you send proof of that?
You "reimbursed" your wife for cost she had in regard to school costs? That's a term you use in the business world, but it's not something that would help in an immigration case between a man and his wife who live together in harmony. Roommates reimburse one another for cost related to sharing a living space.
"Various cards from family?" Wow, how easy is it to ask family members to send a few cards for birthdays and holidays. That's not proof of you two living together, but meaningless filler as well. Affidavits from friends and family also fall under this category.
It is my opinion that you could have pulled this off with LESS evidence and a good cover letter instead of drowning the I.O. in so much paperwork that they did what I've predicted many times on this board: got fed up with it, closed the file and send an RFE.
You need to make it EASY for the I.O. to approve you.
Same house: apartment lease. Taxes: tax returns. Banking: bank statements or letter from manager stating full access to each other's accounts. Intermingling: travel tickets and boarding passes, photos, car titles, insurances.
Everything else is filler. I also -- and that's my personal opinion -- feel that politics and religion should be left totally out of the immigration process.
The final component is how you come over. The I.O. opens your package and if it's neat and organized he'll check out the first page which is the cover letter. About 1 minute he should know everything he needs to know about you and your wife. He then checks out the documents he's looking for, like you would look for certain flowers. If 3 pounds of papers are pouring out of the envelope, many of which land on the floor so that he has to go down on his knees and try to figure out what's going on . . . that's not helping a case either.

Mike you sure are ready to head out and leave There's nothing to separate you from Amber anymore. I always say that long distance relationships are actually so much stronger and more intense because of the distance; because you talk so much more than every other couple, because we have such different problems to get though...
I'm sure you'll have a great time in the US. This process is going to be long and strenuous but it is sooo worth it. I wish you guys all the best!
My dad is kind of the same with the whole computer relationship etc. He loves his god darn TV but he cannot stand computers... oh well.. all the best to you guys... I think I'll take another peek into the german forum

Greetings!
Colorado is a nice place to live. It's arguably not as nice as sunny California, but must certainly rank among the US's Top 10. Your writing skills in English are already quite good and the fact that you study Law in the Fatherland proves that you are an educated person. Unfortunately, US and German law are conceptual as different as coffee and tea, thus none of what you learned so far can formally be transferred to the New World.
Still, I'm sure you'll find something meaningful to do with your life, something that satisfies you personally, challenges you intellectually, and helps to pay the bills. You are still young, so you most likely will go back to school (we call all of this "school") at some point.
Usually, immigrants fall for the most part into one of two categories:
- those who have a hard time settling into their new environment with a (for them) strange language and habits, always missing Sauterkraut and Knödel, or
- those who quickly feel comfortable and make the US their home. I belong to the second category, haven't been back to Germany since 1994.
Welcome to America!

Hey Mike,
I find your posts most refreshing and inspiring. Well, I'm not such a young German gal (43 yrs) any more but still I have made the decision to leave my home and country to live in the US. My fiance and I had been friends for 23 years before we madly fell in love 2 years ago. It was hard to make the decision to leave I admit it especially since my parents are getting old now and I have no siblings. There are times when I'm still overwhelmed by guilt. My parents took it well if you can say that. Of course, I could tell that they were worried when I came back from my trip to Michigan 2 years ago much happier than I had been when I was leaving . At first I was sure I couldn't leave but then it was my parents who told me to go cause they want me to be happy. It touches me when they tell me that they don't want me to be lonely when they will be gone some day. I know it's an incredible sacrifice for them and for this I love them all the more. In addition to that I got only support from my friends. EVERYBODY told me to leave Germany and be happy. Might be also because everybody loves my fiance and that no one can really say that we are rushing things . So we filed for K1 at the end of June and are waiting...
I can really relate to what you say about your job. I feel that I'm stuck in a treadmill every day. By now I just HATE being an executive secretary . I'm going to America because of my fiance who I love dearly (before that I wouldn't have thought about immigrating to the US, not even in wildest dreams ) but I'm also looking at it as a chance to start a completely new life. I hope I will find work which I will like and which will satisfy me. I studied languages, English and Spanish to be precise and I'm sure that this will work in my favor. Maybe I can even be a language teacher, anything is better than what I have now. A little bit I'm still believing in the American dream and in the quality of the famous German efficiency .
So yeah I will go for it! We will see what will happen. In the end it's a big adventure

Hey Mike,
I am the lucky American guy that Severina loves. When I read what she wrote you I got a lump in my throat. I feel very very fortunate to have someone I love so much love me enough to go through what she is going through.To leave all that she has known, and all those she loves, well It can be very humbling. But mostly I feel very blessed.
You sound like a great guy Mike and I wish you and your little family all the best. I think you will prosper in the USA. If I ran a company here I would very happily hire Germans I lived in Heidelberg for 4 years back some time ago and I was always very impressed with the German people. I was especially impressed one cold December day in 1985 when I turned around on that bus and saw the most beautiful smile I have ever seen in my life. Cupid scored a bulls eye on me that day I never forgot that girl. And to be engaged and actually going through this K1 process all these years later is a miracle to me everyday. The USA will be a better place with you in it, and with my fiancee in it. And with all the German people on here who will leave their homeland for the chance at love and happiness. I say welcome to you all, I hope we make you feel at home. Oh and by the way I like the way you threw that "y'all in there. Severina has been practicing a little southern accent and it absolutely melts me Well we are all on a great adventure, even those of us who will be staying home, making a new home and life with our German loves
Best Wishes Mike,
Greg

Thank you Mike for you nice reply. Your doing well with your nice Texas fiancee influenced language flavorings. My Sev. also likes to refer to me as her "Dude" which I love. Perhaps someday down the road after all of this red tape is done for us all we can meet sometime. I lived in Texas for a year, in Ft. Worth. I've only passed through Colorado, it's truly a beautiful land. I live in Michigan and I am glad that Severina doesn't mind it here. It's not as beautiful as the area around HD, but there is no more beautiful place than that place where you are with the one you love. The truth is she has only seen the area of Michigan where I live, it's a big state with lots of beautiful scenery, and lots of water and beaches. So I hope to show her more of this area. We have taken a couple of really nice road trips in the US, and in Canada together. Maybe we'll find our way to Colorado someday down the road. Until then y'all take now ya hear
Greg

Oh I hear you. I think everyone was a little worried when they found out I met a USC and just couldn't stop talking about it.
Earlier this morning I saw this quote of Edward Thomas in someone's signature and it seemed as though it was speaking straight from my heart: "The simple lack of him (orig. her) is more to me than others' presence."
There is no question about leaving behind your family and friends - even though you love them - when there's this one person halfway around the globe that you can't stop thinking about - and that's why (most) everyone here is doing this.
I lived with my parents up until a couple of months ago (that sounds really lame but I did it for the visa) and I was the last one to leave the nest - believe me, there was some serious tear shedding - from both sides. I'm going to miss seeing my niece grow up and it was tough seeing how much people actually cared about me leaving but I'd made this choice to come live in the US and I am glad I did it.
I think marriage and migration are two way separate things that you deal with on two completely different emotional levels but I can see how some people could say that. For me, it wasn't the question whether I was ready to immigrate to a whole new country, rather than just a given - I wanted to be with this person and he just so happened to live in the US.
It was interesting to see how e.g. my best friend was the one to constantly question my decision to leave - because we had in fact been inseparable for the past 16 years and all she wanted for me was to be happy - and she really made sure my husband would make me happy.
There's no remedy for feeling homesick. You're going to miss home and you're going to feel out of place and that's just how it is. The US is so different from most countries in so many ways, D included. There's a point where you realize that you're not just on vacation anymore.. you're building a life - and finding employment is going to be a b!tch, let alone making enough money to make a decent living without a good paying job.
I for one know that I will go back to school and do what I really enjoy (I was stuck in a career that I did not want to pursue myself) and I know that it'll be tough (and expensiiiive) but this is the right place for people with a lot of determination and will power.
I always say how I wasn't abducted to Mars or anything - there's still trains and planes to see me again. And thank god there's Skype! Seriously.. think back 10 years and go figure..