bestofboston

What kind of job was she trying to get? It is difficult for her to come here and get a good job with no work history in the USA. My wife was a school teacher with her bachelor in elementary education before coming to the USA. Her first few jobs was with the Christmas Tree shop and Walmart. She took a CNA certification program at a local community college and the nursing home where she did her internship hired her because they liked her.
She had to wait for her green card when she first got here before anyone would hire her. Fortunately it was only a few weeks because we were already married before she came to the USA.
I told her that she needed to start at the bottom and work her way up. She is enrolled in college and is pursuing a Registered Nursing degree.
The nursing home where she is a certified nursing assistant loves her and it will help her a lot when she becomes a RN.

Look at the bright side, by the time the I-130 is approved, you will have been married for two years (or close to it) and then your husband will receive a 10 year green card versus the 2 year green card. Once the I-130 is approved, wait until the two year marriage mark occurs before coming to the USA and he will get a 10 year green card. This will save you a lot of money.
You need to be married for two years to qualify for a 10 year green card

Can't believe my wife's journey is almost over with. This Monday, Jan 12th she will have her interview for citizenship and hopefully soon there after she will be sworn in as a US Citizen. I so proud of her because she really loves the USA and she is so deserving of citizenship.
I can't tell you the feeling I will have but I am sure that tears will flow down my face with joy when she is sworn in as a citizen of the US. She has fully embraced becoming a US citizen. She will be able to vote and serve on a jury as her obligation as a US citizen. America is a better place with people like her becoming a US citizen.
She is such a hard worker in her job and she receives frequent recognition for her job performance as a Certified Nursing Assistant. She will never become a leach or sucker on the resources of USA other than when she becomes eligible for Social Security retirement income that she will have paid into it for many years. She has a bachelors in elementary education and had taught for ten years in her country before coming to the USA.
She and others like her that come to the USA make this country a better country to live in.
Being a veteran of the US military, Proud is an understatement of how I feel about her desire to be a Citizen of the USA!!!

The U.S. Consulate does not give out wedding license in Cebu. They will provid an afadavit from the U.S. Gov that you are eligible to marry in the Phiippines provided that you provide the U.S. Consulate certified copies of divorce decrees of any and all previous marriages. You then can provide the town office in the city you intend to marry and then after 10 days you can get married. You have 30 day visa to get this done before you have to depart the Philippines. I'm sure that the afadavit is good for at least 6 months to a year

You may have a case. I suggest that you take it to the State Attorney General and also get one of the local TV stations to air what is happening.
Or rrrrrr you can relax and do what others have suggested. Have her find another job.
My wife was a school teacher also in the Philippines. Her degree is in Elementary Education. Do you once think that she would be qualified to teach here immediately? I don't think so. Its not just about education. There are a lot of other factors to consider. I do know that she would be one of the best teachers where ever she taught because of her unique ability to communicate and get along with others but her problem is with her sentence structures and pronunciation of words. I would not expect anyone to hire her as a school teacher until she learns or masters the english language. I suggested to her to take speech at one of the local community colleges. She may just do that.
When she first came here, she took a coarse to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. That is the field she is working in now. She arrived in April 2011 and by the end of August 2011, she had her first job as a CNA.
I made it very clear to her when she came here that she would have to start at an entry level position and go from there. Her first job was at a Christmas Tree Shop in New England. Her second job was a cashier at Walmart and then she became certified as a CNA after she completed about 12 weeks of class and hands on training at a nursing school. She is at her third job as a CNA. She has received accommodations at each job because of ability to care for residents at each of the nursing homes she has worked. Her first change of jobs was a result of relocation due to my retirement. She changed jobs once since we came here because of better pay and benefits at her current job. She also continues to take courses so she can eventually get a better job. I had to deal with some criticism at my job before I retired because of whom I married. It was clear discrimination but I sucked it up. You have to decide on what wars you want to fight. Is the current war worth fighting?

My wife and I were married in the Philippines therefore we went the CR1 route. It takes about 10 months from the time you file the I-130 to get her here in the USA. The timelines for the CR1 process should be very close to that time frame. It takes about 5 months to approve the I-130 at the USCIS. Once approved, the paperwork is forwarded to the NVC where it takes about another 5 months to get her interview. Then two more weeks to get her Visa package sent to her home. The good news about this process is it is actually cheaper overall than the K1 process. It just takes longer and she can work after she gets her green card (2 weeks after arriving in US).
If you decide to marry her in the Philippines, you will need to get an affidavit of eligibility to marry her from the the US Embassy in Manila or at the US Consulate in Cebu (lower level of the Waterfront Hotel is where its located). If you have never been married, I just think you need to swear to that when obtaining affidavit but if you have been married, you will need to bring original or certificated copy of divorce decree with you. Do not give them the original copy. Have a copy and retain the original.
After you have the affidavit of eligibility, you will need to take that to the city office and apply for a marriage license. Then you have to wait 10 days before you are eligible to marry and most towns require you to attend marriage seminar for one day. Not a big deal. Its more intended to prepare locals on the responsibility of marriage, etc.
Once married, your wife will need to obtain copies of the marriage certificate from the NSO in the Philippines. She will then also want to get her new passport with her married name. She will also need to get certified copy of birth certificate for her. I recommend getting multiple copies of each (3 each). She and you will need these for the I-130 and for her interview at US embassy in Manila.
Go to forums on this website for the Philippines for more information.
It took about 1-1/2 months after we were married to obtain a marriage certificate from the NSO.
She will also need to get a police certificate from the NBI in the Philippines for the I-130 to ensure that she does not have a criminal pass.
I recommend the CR1 because I have read too many times on this website where the Philippines will not approve co-sponsor for a K1 but they have no choice because that is not determined by them for the CR1 process. That is done here in the USA at the NVC.

You can take additional documents with you on your trip. You have plenty of time.

We used our Senator to get my wife expedited here to the USA. For us, it may not have saved anytime but when my wife was at her interview, the person interviewing mentioned to my wife that my Senator was involved. We also were able to get the interview date setup directly with the embassy rather than the NVC scheduling our interview date. This only applies for IR1/CR1 process where the NVC sets up the interview date but because we were being expedited, the NVC forwarded their package directly to the Embassy in the Philippines.
What I did to get it expedited was contact my Senator because the NVC was dragging their feet and lost the our paper work.
Perhaps you will be able to get better results.
Either your Senator or Congressman can help. We used our Senator because he had been just elected to office and was anxious to help people that helped him get elected. Go to their website and fill in the appropriate forms and email it to them.

If you decide to purchase a magic jack to send to another country, set it up at home and make sure it is working before mailing outside the USA. You may need to utilize magic jack on line support to get it working. That way you avoid issues with someone that is not as computer literate as you. It is really easy but on a couple occasions I needed magic jack online chat support. I have one at home. My wife's parents have one, my wife's sister now has one. These are all the magic jack plus because once you set it up using your computer USB port, you can then connect the magic jack directly to the ethernet router (wifi router). One of usually 4 ports available on your wifi router and an AC outlet. This way you don't need to leave a computer running. I love it. The other thing is once you have it running, you can also setup your cell phone to receive and make phone calls using a magic jack app. Why would you want that? Anytime you are on a trip outside the USA, you can still receive your home phone calls using your cell phone if your cell phone is connected to a wifi signal. That is a really nice feature to have.

One thing I recommend is to send a magic jack to your spouses parents so they can call your spouse anytime on the phone. Of coarse, the spouses parents will need to have internet at home. My spouses parents are able to call my wife on her cell phone or home phone. Occasionally they talk using Skype but they usually talk over the phone line. This will help so much for your spouse to deal with being home sick. My wife's sister now lives in Sweden. We just sent her a magic jack plus so she can call my wife's parents in the Philippines or call my wife in the USA any time. This has helped so much for my wife to make the transition. She is now totally adjusted. The other thing that helped her a lot was getting her drivers license as soon as possible and getting an entry level job. She was a school teacher in her country but is now a Certified Nursing Assistant. She is now taking some prerequisites for nursing school.
In a few more months, my wife will become a US Citizen. I am so proud that she wants US Citizenship.

It is unfortunate for you. It does hurt when the reality that she used you when you had good intentions all along becomes clear. What she did to you, she will do to her older boyfriend.
I divorced a Ukraine woman back four years ago as soon as it became clear to me that she was just using me. One of my better decisions I ever made. I would recommend steering clear of women from that part of the world. They are the most materialistic women I have ever met. Everything is designer this and designer that. I don't own a single pair of shoes that come close to costing $200/pair. That is all they want. Channel this and Channel that, designer this and designer that. I bought her a new DELL computer one Christmas for her. She complained because it was not an Apple computer. I told her that she better get use to it because I was not going to buy her another computer.
Count your lucky stars. You are so much better off now than when you were with her.
Move on with a smile.
Good Luck

It is unfortunate for you. It does hurt when the reality that she used you when you had good intentions all along becomes clear. What she did to you, she will do to her older boyfriend.
I divorced a Ukraine woman back four years ago as soon as it became clear to me that she was just using me. One of my better decisions I ever made. I would recommend steering clear of women from that part of the world. They are the most materialistic women I have ever met. Everything is designer this and designer that. I don't own a single pair of shoes that come close to costing $200/pair. That is all they want. Channel this and Channel that, designer this and designer that. I bought her a new DELL computer one Christmas for her. She complained because it was not an Apple computer. I told her that she better get use to it because I was not going to buy her another computer.
Count your lucky stars. You are so much better off now than when you were with her.
Move on with a smile.
Good Luck

It is unfortunate for you. It does hurt when the reality that she used you when you had good intentions all along becomes clear. What she did to you, she will do to her older boyfriend.
I divorced a Ukraine woman back four years ago as soon as it became clear to me that she was just using me. One of my better decisions I ever made. I would recommend steering clear of women from that part of the world. They are the most materialistic women I have ever met. Everything is designer this and designer that. I don't own a single pair of shoes that come close to costing $200/pair. That is all they want. Channel this and Channel that, designer this and designer that. I bought her a new DELL computer one Christmas for her. She complained because it was not an Apple computer. I told her that she better get use to it because I was not going to buy her another computer.
Count your lucky stars. You are so much better off now than when you were with her.
Move on with a smile.
Good Luck

It is unfortunate for you. It does hurt when the reality that she used you when you had good intentions all along becomes clear. What she did to you, she will do to her older boyfriend.
I divorced a Ukraine woman back four years ago as soon as it became clear to me that she was just using me. One of my better decisions I ever made. I would recommend steering clear of women from that part of the world. They are the most materialistic women I have ever met. Everything is designer this and designer that. I don't own a single pair of shoes that come close to costing $200/pair. That is all they want. Channel this and Channel that, designer this and designer that. I bought her a new DELL computer one Christmas for her. She complained because it was not an Apple computer. I told her that she better get use to it because I was not going to buy her another computer.
Count your lucky stars. You are so much better off now than when you were with her.
Move on with a smile.
Good Luck

Charging $7,000 for an attorney to obtain a CR1 visa should be criminal. That is why so many people feel that lawyers are a bunch of protected criminals. Be sure to file a complaint with the attorney general in your state. Tell the lawyer that if he does not give you the money back, you will file a formal complaint with the attorney general.
You still have to do all of the work when filing for a CR1 visa. The attorney fills out a form based on the info provided and attaches the documents required and submits it to the USCIS and NVC.

My wife was a school teacher in the Philippines. Like you, she can write english very well but she mis-pronounces words often and totally confuses me.
Don't feel ashame that you have trouble understanding english because of accents, etc. You will pick it up over time.
I often have a hard time understanding what some people are saying when in different parts of the USA and I was born here.
My wife stayed at home for the first 6 months when she came here. She got her first job in retail and obtained her drivers license shortly there after.
She is a very out going and friendly person and makes friends very easily. She now has tons of friends.
My wife has been in the USA for 1-1/2 years now.
I ask her when she wants to go back home for a visit. She seems to be in no hurry.
Between the internet Yahoo messenger and Magic Jack, she is able to talk and see and talk to her family often.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that her sister lives 1-1/2 hours away.
It sounds like your husband should give you a little bit of spending money so you can venture out of the house.
Some men like to control their wife but it is really better to trust your wife and give her the freedom she needs.
I know what you mean about the culture change. People talk to everyone back there in the Philippines. Not the same here.
Good luck.

Its much more difficult for the embassy in manila to deny a IR1/CR1 visa after it has been approved back at the NVC. They have to showl fraud was commiteed.
It is far more likely that a K1 visa gets denited but still not that likely.
My wife and I went the CR1 route because she wanted to get married in her home town in front of her family and friends.
You can work much sooner, months when coming on a CR1 visa. You get your Green card and social security card within several weeks of arriving and you can work right away.
You decide if its worth the chance of being denied on a K1 visa.
Also the manila embassy will not allow co-sponsor for K1 visa. That was not an issue for us because my income was well beyond what is required.
It took 10 months from the time I sent in the I-130 form to her arrival in the USA. 5 months at USCIS and approximately 3 months at NVC and 1 month to get interview scheduled and two weeks after interview to get her here in the USA

I believe that every marriage you enter you have to have faith that the decision you are making is the right one. Unfortunately it does not always work out that way. I have been often told that you really don't get to know a person until you have lived with them for a while. I think that is true. Obviously that is impossible unless you quit your job and go to their country and live with the person you are wanting to marry. Not practical if you have a job and a home here in the USA.
I also was unsure before I married my Filipino wife. When chatting with her every evening her time, I realized that she was raised in a home with very loving and good parents. I also was very happy that she was an elementary school teacher. Most teachers are loving and patient with others. Bottomline, I looked at what kind of person she was. How she showed respect to her father and mother. Everything played into my decision making.
2-1/2 years of marriage and 1-1/2 years of her being in the USA, I can tell you that I could not be any happier. She has far exceeded my expectations. I was very concerned before our marriage and in the beginning of our marriage because she is alot younger than me. It has not been an issue. I believe that she loves me much more now than when we first married and likewise.
I have also read a lot of horror stories about the person coming here and leaving their US spouse. It happens.
If you both have that special feeling about each other and you know when its special, then take that leap of faith.
Good Luck!

My wife has now been with me in the USA for 18 months. I look back on what most of you are now going through and in one sense, it seems like yesterday and in another sense, it seems like years ago. I could not be any happier with my wife. She is a wonderful woman that is always happy and joyful to be with. Everyone that gets to know her just loves her. She is so giving of herself. Folks, I was married multiple three times before her. Something that I am not proud of. I made a lot of bad decisions before her but I have been finally blessed to have such a wonderful woman in my life. God has truly blessed me with her. I remember talking with her on yahoo chat and seeing my wife and her parents in the background watching TV. I knew from the very beginning that she was from a good family and her family had good values.
I know that most of you are wondering if my previous wives were from the USA or another country. I met my previous wives here in the USA. My first marriage lasted fourteen years. My subsequent marriages lasted two to three years a piece but I knew within days or months after marrying them that I had made a mistake. I remember reading about a Filipino woman asking if being married 6 times is a red flag. Yup it is! I bet you are thinking, love to hear what his previous wives would have to say about me. Me too! Ha! Ha! In my defense, all three wanted to stay married to me but I did not want to be married to them any longer. Each case was different. My second wife had already been married twice before me. Her quote was you are just trading issues with a different set of issues. True, but after living with them, I always asked myself "Do I want to spend the rest of my life with this person".
Well, I am with the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with.
I hope that everyone of you find the same hapiness in your marriage.

My wife has now been with me in the USA for 18 months. I look back on what most of you are now going through and in one sense, it seems like yesterday and in another sense, it seems like years ago. I could not be any happier with my wife. She is a wonderful woman that is always happy and joyful to be with. Everyone that gets to know her just loves her. She is so giving of herself. Folks, I was married multiple three times before her. Something that I am not proud of. I made a lot of bad decisions before her but I have been finally blessed to have such a wonderful woman in my life. God has truly blessed me with her. I remember talking with her on yahoo chat and seeing my wife and her parents in the background watching TV. I knew from the very beginning that she was from a good family and her family had good values.
I know that most of you are wondering if my previous wives were from the USA or another country. I met my previous wives here in the USA. My first marriage lasted fourteen years. My subsequent marriages lasted two to three years a piece but I knew within days or months after marrying them that I had made a mistake. I remember reading about a Filipino woman asking if being married 6 times is a red flag. Yup it is! I bet you are thinking, love to hear what his previous wives would have to say about me. Me too! Ha! Ha! In my defense, all three wanted to stay married to me but I did not want to be married to them any longer. Each case was different. My second wife had already been married twice before me. Her quote was you are just trading issues with a different set of issues. True, but after living with them, I always asked myself "Do I want to spend the rest of my life with this person".
Well, I am with the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with.
I hope that everyone of you find the same hapiness in your marriage.

Your boyfriend must be seeing a personality issue that you failed to mention. Why does he not want to marry you? Does he feel that your values are lacking? Maybe he believes you have not been sincere and you only wish to get a green card at any cost such as trying to find another man to marry so you can stay in the USA. As others have stated, NO CAN DO!
You can not stay in the USA if he does not want to marry you! You must return to the Ukraine! No options. The good news is he should pay for a ticket for you to get back to the Ukraine.

Your boyfriend must be seeing a personality issue that you failed to mention. Why does he not want to marry you? Does he feel that your values are lacking? Maybe he believes you have not been sincere and you only wish to get a green card at any cost such as trying to find another man to marry so you can stay in the USA. As others have stated, NO CAN DO!
You can not stay in the USA if he does not want to marry you! You must return to the Ukraine! No options. The good news is he should pay for a ticket for you to get back to the Ukraine.

Your boyfriend must be seeing a personality issue that you failed to mention. Why does he not want to marry you? Does he feel that your values are lacking? Maybe he believes you have not been sincere and you only wish to get a green card at any cost such as trying to find another man to marry so you can stay in the USA. As others have stated, NO CAN DO!
You can not stay in the USA if he does not want to marry you! You must return to the Ukraine! No options. The good news is he should pay for a ticket for you to get back to the Ukraine.

My wife is 25 years younger than me. I could not be happier. She does not have a dishonest or mean bone in her body. She is beautiful ahd she truly loves me. The age difference is not an issue with her at all and she turns mens heads on the time.

My wife is 25 years younger than me. I could not be happier. She does not have a dishonest or mean bone in her body. She is beautiful ahd she truly loves me. The age difference is not an issue with her at all and she turns mens heads on the time.