AnnieMugaya

Sifa actually got packet 3 in the mail really quickly after we got notice that the petition had been approved. From what I've read here they either aren't mailing stuff out anymore (our interview was about a year ago, so they may have changed this policy) or at least a lot of people here haven't gotten the packet through the mail. But yeah, if you've been told that you can print them off the website then I'm sure it's the same stuff!

Where does your fiance live? If he's close to Mombasa or Nairobi the medical exam doesn't take too awful long. Sifa scheduled his and went in the next day. He lived really close to Mombasa though so it wasn't a big deal to go in. I think it's worse if you have to travel from out of Kenya or have a long trip to get to one of the major cities (I can't remember if Kisumu has a clinic or not...)

Yeah, once NVC forwards the case to Nairobi, the Embassy will send you an email with an interview date. The process definitely keeps changing but that is what happened for us only 3 months ago. The email has an interview date and specifically says that nothing will be mailed out via post. The email is the only confirmation you will receive and the forms can be filled out on the website.

Also, Kisumu doesn't have a clinic, although that would have been VERY nice and convenient if they did!! Jack had to go to Nairobi for 3 nights which was a total pain. Kepha will be able to do as Sifa did, and just complete the exam in one day and report back for results on the following day. It will hopefully be a breeze! Good luck!

Congratulations for you who have gotten your approval! How exciting!!!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs! We have exciting news of our own--- on January 5th, Jenna Inzikuru Pario was born, she was 8 pounds 5 ounces! She is a healthy little newborn and we are very excited to start this new part of our "journey." I am attaching 2 pictures!

Oh fabulous! Congratulations!! She is beautiful and your little family is beautiful too

Thanks. We are Mr and Mrs Mugaya Hope you are all doing well too!!

Thank you! It was perfect! We are delighted

Happy New Year! Just wanted to share the exciting news with everyone that Jack and I are getting MARRIED tomorrow! Yay! Saturday, January 15, 2011..... We are thrilled!! We decided last week that we wanted a full wedding so with my parents and family's help, we have managed to pull a full wedding together in 9 days.... And we are looking at a little over 100 people...! It has been stressful, but for me, better than going through 8-12 months of planning torture Enjoy your weekend everyone! We will post a pic or two after our big day!

The congressman or senator will not do anything if the petition is within the processing times.

Not totally true. See the speed of my approval and entire process? That was my congressman's work! They might not always help, but they are certainly capable of doing so.

Was there about 2weeks ago and going back later, they have me on Admin processing. Hope the date they gave me is for real and hope i get to speak to somebody else.How new is she?,she kept going back and forth as if getting info from somebody else.

Yes, exactly. And when she was dealing with other cases I could see her showing things to the other COs. A friend of mine who was actually a consular officer in Nairobi and then Nigeria (Abuja) recently got her newest placement and has only been there for a couple months. While I know that posts range from 1 to 4 years, therefore making it difficult to determine when she was posted in Nairobi, it could very well be that she was placed at the same time as my friend. Or she could be a replacement for someone who left unexpectedly. Who really knows. But her strictness seems to be a result of lack of experience. She follows the books and the script completely. I hope your visa situation will be settled very soon! Will be thinking about you.

Sorry you are apart right now! Adjusting to life apart after being together every day for so long is super tough. But the reunion is always awesome!!

I would think that 4 hours is plenty of time! If you get lucky and get to the front of the customs line you will be through very quickly. We took 45 minutes for everything so it wasn't bad at all. And if you feel that you are going to be late, you can ask one of the people directing immigration traffic to bring you up front. But 4 hours is quite a bit of time to be working with.

Jack is really liking it here. In a way this is the first time we have ever really had a life together. While I was with him for months in Kenya, we were limited in terms of our outings and such due to lack of transportation and pure lack of things to do. Here, he loves having a car and being involved in so many activities, meeting people, attending social events, etc... All things that we haven't really been able to do before. And while I have mentioned it before, he is in total shock of all this snow. Here in Central New York we have been absolutely hammered with lake effect snow. Syracuse has made national news- 4 straight days of snow. The snow is up to our waists! It's unbelievable! We haven't been skiiing, but will be sledding and ice skating this weekend. You probably won't be experiencing that in Houston, but if you'd ever like a taste of it, take a trip to NY!

Besides that fun, Jack is making friends, has gotten a membership to the local gym, has been asked to coach a kids soccer team at a local indoor facility, and has had 2 speaking presentations so far about Malaria in Kenya, and traditional practices of the Luo tribe, respectively, to university students. He LOVES all the new food, and is really gaining confidence and independence with my family and in his new surroundings. Everything is just great!

When will you be arriving in the US? We are excited for you, and of you have any more questions feel free to ask! This is such an exciting time!

FYI, you never need your x-ray again even though the embassy says to take it on the plane and whatever. Sifa's is still sitting in our closet! I don't know why they tell you that you need to have it since it just is a pain in the butt to carry on with multiple flight changes etc...

Haha yes! Totally agree! It was an annoyance and kept falling out of the overhead compartment in the plane. Jack was so irritated when they never ended up taking it from him. I kept asking all these immigration officers throughout the airport just to be completely sure! We didn't want to believe we went through that hastle for nothing, haha

Congrats again to Ann and Jack!!

Sorry to here about the rude CO. I actually had to go back to re-package my visa brown envelope because of missed medication forms and it was so sad that all the visitors and students visa applicants were denied. She might have been the same CO i guess.

Jack, I will too be flying into JFK soon, was it so smooth going through the POE? Did you hand carry your X-ray from IOM?

I wish you two a happy life together!

Thank you! Our CO was only dealing with immigrant visas on the day of Jack's interview, but you're right, she wasn't the only one denying applicants. At least the other men and women interviewing and denying were nice about it though.

What happened to your envelope? How did you know that your medical papers weren't in there? That could have been bad if you didn't realize it before coming in. Glad that it was straightened out!

I pretty much did all the talking at JFK. I just handed the officer the big envelope and he went through it, stamping the appropriate pages and marking things up etc. He said he didn't want Jack's X-ray, so Jack and I couldn't really figure out why they told him at IOM to hand carry it. But better safe than sorry-- we would recommend bringing it just in case.

Good luck to you as you continue to prepare for your big trip. Everything should be very easy going! Safe travels!

Yeah she's new. We were only there less than 3 weeks ago, so looks like lots of people will be experiencing her wrath. When was your interview? Hope everything works out all right!

oh no!! Really hope we don't have that same experience! We are getting his SSN this week. And I agree, it was really nice being at the interview with Jack. I'm so glad I just beat the change in rules. There's no reason we shouldn't be allowed to go-- they are essentially playing with our fate as well! But I guess they were saying it was for reasons relative to the overcrowdedness of the consular section. They have sooo many people every day that they don't want people in there that aren't the applicant. Only problem I had with that excuse however was that I watched about 25 Somalians walk in with 2+ people, and definitely not people applying with them. Oh well. Maybe the consular officers feel threatened by us? Maybe they don't want our fiancé's to have the confidence that they do when we go in there with them? It must be much easier to deny the visa when we aren't staring them in the eyes standing 2 feet away from them haha. Regardless, the truth is that if everything is in order, we don't really serve a purpose in that room anyway, so I guess it won't be the end of the world for those who have future interviews.

Hi Annie! COngratulations on the smooth entry into the US! We thought ours through Boston was pretty smooth as well-- until we discovered at the SSN office that they hadn't given him an entry visa number--and we had to go back to the airport and get it!

I am really sorry to hear about the new embassy rules! It was so nice to be there with Hiller. I wonder why they changed that-- I would think it would help to see that the fiance is there and it is a legitimate relationship. It's also too bad about the new lady...why can't people be nice?

Thanks so much for the congratulations! I am about 5 weeks away now from my due date! We are very excited!!!

I remember being where you are about a year and a half ago....funny how the whole process is so much easier when you have your loved one by your side!

Happy to know that both of you are finally together! Tell Jack my husband and I said "Karibu sana." All the best on your wedding plans.

Thank you. Jack alisema asante sana kwa makaribisho!

Hey everyone-- still wishing you the very best of luck. It's bound to pick up speed one of these days. Jack and I are home now and getting adjusted to life here and most importantly-- SNOW! It's really fun and exciting. I'll be in touch. Hang in there!!

Thanks everyone for the congratulations!! Jack and I arrived home on Nov 23rd. The POE was sooo smooth. We went through the USC line together and the guy was super friendly and chatty. We had to go back to the immigration office which I'm assuming is pretty normal. They just logged in all the paperwork and checked a few databases and were cracking jokes the whole time. As we were walking out they all said in unison "Welcome to the United States!!" it was so nice!!

Katie-- I also read that thread about the rude CO in Nairobi. It probably was the same one. The other ladies there were super bubbly and cheery with everyone. All of us waiting in the waiting area were praying to go anywhere except window 10....it didn't work! Haha

Madelene-- I just wanted to say CONGRATS! I was excited to hear that you are expecting!

Beth-- Welcome to the thread! I was the newbie a couple months ago and flew through the process with the help of these fine ladies can't wait to hear all about your process along the way. Just an advanced heads up: According to the guards at the Embassy, I was the very last USC to be allowed to attend the interview with their fiancé. I'm guessing that the CO who interviewed Jack (and also told him I wasn't allowed to be there) had something to do with this. They are not permitting ANY Americans to enter the gate without their own appointment letter. They wouldn't let me pass through to pick up the visa, which is when they explained the new rules. If you want to attend, I would suggest sending them an email and asking them to reply with a confirmed appointment with both of your names on it. Would hate for you to make the trip and then be left waiting outside!

Well guys, we have been here a week-- and so far Jack loves it! We have gotten our first snow which was exciting for him and he is like a celebrity everywhere he goes. We were invited to be the guests of honor at our local rotary club's Christmas party last night. They didn't give a damn about me, as you can imagine, but he was bombarded by tons of intrigued people. It has been so nice for him to experience so many new things. All of you can relate I'm sure. It's so fun! Onto getting his SSN and vaccinations-- oh, and planning our little wedding...

Talk to you soon!

Hey guys! I am sorry to read about all of your frustration. I just wanted to let you know that our interview was very intense and tough but we made it through it and were approved this morning! 3 months and 4 days since our NOA1. We are very excited and fortunate and can't wait to be home for Thanksgiving! Good luck to you all! Keep it up

Hey guys- Jack and I are finally at ease. We had his interview this morning and he was approved!!! Although I wasn't allowed to stand with him, i think it really helped that I was there. The consular officer seemed new and a little unsure of the process, and she was so strict. She denied every single applicant ahead of us. She kept leaving the window to confirm details and the next steps with the other consular officers. At one point she returned and tried to give him a green slip to come back with more evidence. She said at this time, your case will be put on hold because you have failed to show evidence of support. And Jack asked her if she meant relationship support or what and she said he was lacking the affidavit, but she hadnt even asked for it! He was like no, no, I have that right here! And she intensely interrogated him for a full 25 minutes past that about absolutely everything under the sun, trying to trip him up along the way. She literally asked at least 50 questions and at one point asked if in our contract money had changed hands. He laughed and said nooo wayy. She was not amused, haha. She also told him that I wasnt supposed to be there with him, although I had confirmed ahead of time that it was ok. Overall the only pleasant part about the experience was the approval and the fact that we pick up the visa on the 18th and will be home for Thanksgiving! Anyway, she finally passed him a slip and said come back on the 18th to collect your visa, and have a good day. I walked by the window to leave and i smiled and said thank you and when we made eye contact she smiled so fast and then immediately looked backed down at her papers, as if she had remembered that smiling was against the rules So here we are. Thanks for all the support and advice. I will keep you all posted!

I don't think that it's fair to assume that people just line jump to be rude because they don't want to wait their turn. Having said that, some of us have genuine reasons to inquire about our case status that may or may not warrant an expedite on our own. I understand that some people feel bitter about that because yeah, the wait is brutal for everyone, but if you want a status update or there is an issue you need resolved, the congressman is a good person to turn to. Good luck to everyone! Once you get the NOA2 the process flies!

Nothing ventured nothing gained! My congressman called and I was the first august filer to get approved! No idea whether that played a role, and no saying what results it will bring for you, but go for it if you'd like good luck!

There are lots of people from July still waiting, and very few August approvals. Hang in there-- your time is coming! Best wishes

Hang in there everyone! I know this must be stressful! I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow night and our interview is on the 16th. I will keep you all posted and I'm wishing each and every one of you the very best of luck

For us, NVC assigned my case number and then forwarded my petition on the next day. I bet if you call back within the next two days it will already have been sent! Good luck!

Congrats!! I guess it wasn't the spilled coffee, eh?

Hey everyone! As of Oct 1, the process changed as they split the interview into two days-- the first to submit everything, and the second to have the actual interview. We appreciate all the thoughts! Jack just got his medical results back today-- he is perfectly fine! Yay! So that was the final hurdle we needed to leap before the interview....here we go! I'll keep you posted on our end result. Thanks again for the support!