Mr. Florida

Because I did not realize so many people would comment on my last thread, "Hell after NOA2", I would have replied on there this morning but it was closed. I was away from my computer all weekend praying at the temple and seeking advice. I do appreciate everyone's viewpoints and opinions on there. But most people on there made the assumption that I'm the bad person, the jerk, the male chauvinist, or whatever who demanded too much from her fiancee when it was not her fault. Most people on here assumed a lot of things about me without knowing everything that went on between me and her. I am willing to let it all out in the open since she ended everything.

If you read my original post, I already conceded that it was not her fault and the florist's fault. However, I would like to come out and say why I said what I said. The whole Valentine's Day incident between me and her was partly about the Valentine's Day. I honestly would not have cared if I did not receive anything for this year's Valentine's Day. Why? It was because the same thing happened last year between her and me. I sent her many gifts last year, and she did not bother to do anything. And I accepted it without every complaining. Although Valentine's Day is more celebrated here, I always knew her friends over there celebrated the occasion. Moreover, believe it or not, my birthday went by last year. And she didn't do anything for that either. I should have picked up on those red flags. I was very hurt after that. I can take her love for me on faith only so far. Yes, she does not have to prove her love to me. But when I have proven my love time and time again by sending her gifts, doing her visa, visiting her and her parents only a week after her birthday, etc., after all this, I don't think it is too much to ask for a simple email on Valentine's Day.

This year's Valentine's Day was different for many reasons. After we got our NOA2, if other people have noticed on here, she posted a thread on her own asking others how people make the adjustment of moving from their home country to the States. Well, what no one on here knows is that she hounded me with those same questions day in and day out non-stop for the 30 days prior to us breaking up. And most of the time, I always answered the same questions. What were those questions? Here are a sample and my answers to those . . . .

Fiancee: "Baby, what do I do when I reach the U.S.?"

Me: "Baby, we will have the time of our lives. We will go out on the weekends shopping, visit my friends and your friends in the U.S., go to the beach, go to social events like concerts and gatherings, visit my parents, etc. But you have plenty to learn in a society vastly as different as the U.S. is to India. The culture here is different but enjoyable. The food is different but delicious. The music is different but entertaining."

Fiancee: "Baby, will I be able to work?"

Me: "Yes baby, after we both think you are ready to drive and know the rules of society here, then you can go to work."

Fiancee: "Baby, will you take me to India to visit my family?"

Me: "Yes baby, I have promised you I will take you to India once every year. And your parents can come and stay with us when they visit."

Fiancee: "Will your parents come and look after me if I ever need help?"

Me: "Yes baby, why won't they? My parents will see you as their own daughter after we are married."

Fiancee: "Baby, will you really take care of me? I'm leaving everything behind for you. I hope you realize that."

Me: "Yes baby, you are making the biggest sacrifice here. I know that. I will spend the rest of my life giving you happiness and peace the best I can."

I answered these same questions at least once every single day. I did the best of my ability to console her doubts and her suspicions from this far away. I even told her as a joke I should buy a tape recorder, record my answers, and play it back to her. And a few weeks prior to this when she started having suspicions, I asked her to tell her dad to come and visit me on a tourist visa to see how things are over here. But she told me if her parents came to visit you now, they would not be able to afford taking their daughter with them after she got her visa.

I do not want to make excuses for what I have done. But people on here also do not know I have been under enormous stress for the past 4 months. I was laid off from my last position almost 4 months ago. I faced the stress of finding a job quickly because I would not be able to write any source of income for the Affidavit of Support when the time came when I needed to send her documents for her visa as we were already in the waiting phase for our NOA2. I finally got an interview at another city after a month of searching desperately. And then I faced a very big decision of moving away from family, my parents who I supported and lived close to for all my life. My parents are all I have in this country. I do not have any brothers and sisters. I do not have any other extended family anywhere in the U.S., no grandparents, no uncles, no aunts, no cousins. Why did I do this? I realized if my fiancee can leave her parents and her country behind for me, then the least I can do is leave my parents behind and give her a good life at another city with more social events, a bigger indian association, a better night-life, etc. I sacrificed my life with my family in the hope of a future of spending with her. And yes, answering another commentator from before, I would have left the U.S. to be in India with her. I even told this to her dad on the phone right after we broke up. If he is apprehensive about sending his daughter this far away, I told him I am willing to go to India, marry her, return to the U.S., finish up my life here, and return to India after a year or two. But her dad completely rejected this idea.

For the past 2 months, I've been under incredible pressure at work trying to impress everyone here at my new job and living life on my own away from family. A person on his own can only take so much stress and so many of the same questions every day before he starts questioning the relationship. And that is why I said what I said. I wanted to hold off on the visa because I wanted to step back and reevaluate our relationship. Since she is leaving everything behind, I wanted to reevaluate if she would be happy here in the States with only me while my parents are in another city. I only got these ideas in my head after answering her same questions every day. It was NEVER a threat. I NEVER intended to ditch her at any point of our relationship. Has anyone ever stopped to think why would I go through such a lengthy process and ditch everything at the very last moment right after we get our NOA2? I wouldn't. I only used the Valentine's Day incident as an excuse for us to step back some and reevaluate things. I even told her over the phone before our break-up I wanted to come back to the visa in 2-4 months time when the time was right, which is something she neglected to mention in her post on here. I did not want her to sacrifice everything for me if she is questioning everything and turns out unhappy here with only me and away from her family. During the past month, I only got the impression she would miss her family more than she missed me two weeks back. Throughout all this stress of finding a job quickly, moving away from family, settling down on my own, learning a new city and a new job, waiting for our NOA2, and soothing my fiancee's concerns and doubts every day after our NOA2, I just could not bear the tension any longer. I should not have said what I said. I was not thinking clearly. But I never would have imagined she would leave me for it. I thought she would be the first person in this world who would sympathize with me and understand what I'm going through.

Yet since everything is over now between me and her, I wanted to get it all out in the open since it doesn't matter anymore. Yes, we are both young. Yes, we are both not as mature as we need to be for marriage. Yes, I have made my share of mistakes. But at least I am willing to confess if she willing to do the same. I can only do so much from so far away. I have called her repeatedly during the week she was hospitalized to do exactly this. Her phone was turned off. I called her dad on the same day. He said he would call me back, which he never did. And I called again 4 days later, and her parents destroyed me over the phone. I have been to hell and back for the past 2 weeks.

If people on here can be just kind enough not to blast me any more to this thread, I would greatly appreciate it. I hope I was able to convey my points. I will use this as a learning experience and move on with my life. Yes, I will man up. We have both made our share of mistakes. I am willing to accept mine, but if she wants to remain rigid, then I need to move on from this. Thank you to everyone on here, but I implore everyone not to bash me anymore. I still have not fully recovered from this.

I don't know how to start this topic, but I am extremely upset, confused, angry, and depressed as I write this now. I can use other readers' advice on how to deal with my situation now.

My ex-fiancee's K-1 visa petition was approved on January 31, but over the past month, our relationship literally fell off the cliff. My ex-fiancee and I had been patiently waiting for our NOA2 for over 5 months, and this topic would be our subject of discussion day in and day out. We were both equally super excited and zealous about her coming to the U.S. and starting a life with me. And we started planning what we would do and how she would adjust after she moved. Yet after we get our NOA2, I noticed a stark and unexpected change in her attitude about the whole approval of our petition. In the days after our NOA2, she was suddenly depressed all the time when I expected her to be enthusiastic and joyous about our approval. I asked her repeatedly about her reaction toward our approval when I was hoping and expecting for several months prior that she would celebrate this occasion. She told me her parents are constantly telling her that they love her and they do not want to let her go. And I'm left wondering why are they saying this now when these things were settled several months ago before I visited her in India last summer to get engaged. About a week after our approval, we had a series of arguments about this. After those arguments, we eventually came back together, and I told her I understand how big of a sacrifice she is making to leave her country and her family behind to spend her life with me. And I told her I would do everything I can to support her and guide her in a trying time like this. So a few more weeks went by but we constantly had recurring conversations whether if she can manage to live away from her country and her family. I always consoled her during this time, but I thought in the back of my head that someone who is questioning so much to move to me has serious doubts, maybe about the move or maybe about our relationship.

But things unexpectedly crashed last week for Valentine's week. On Monday of last week, I had planned something special for her as I organized one of the flower services in India to send her flowers and candy on Valentine's Day. She received the flowers but the chocolates arrived a few days later. And I later learned on Valentine's Day she had planned something for me on the same day with a florist service here in the U.S. She told me this on Monday. I returned home from work on Monday expecting something waiting at my door, but I found nothing. I called her and told her I got nothing. She was very sad to learn this. So she gave the number of the florist service, I called them, and I learned they had gotten my address and phone number wrong. The florist service told me they would attempt to deliver again on Tuesday. So I went to work on Tuesday, returned home, and found nothing again. She called me later that night, and I told her I'm feeling very sad because this would be the 2nd Valentine's Day apart from each other and the 2nd Valentine's Day I sent her a gift and she did not send me anything. She was more sad and our conversation ended at that. On the next morning, she sent me an apology email. Because I was too sad and upset about the whole situation, I emailed her back saying I was really expecting something for this year's Valentine's Day. I understood it was not her fault the florist service could not deliver, but since she did not even bother to say Happy Valentine's Day either through email or a simple card in the mail, I told her I am really upset about this situation and I would like to hold off on the visa. I felt as though I've been doing everything for her constantly over several months, including visiting her and her family in India and her visa, and in return I do not get a single actual gesture of love from her. I've heard her tell me she loves me too many times. But on this Valentine's Day, I was really expecting something from her. It did not have to be complicated. Something simple like an email or a Valentine's Day card would have sufficed. I know she was making the true sacrifice of moving to me, but does that mean she never has the need to show her love for me ever through all these holidays like Valentine's Day and my birthday because she will one day make the true sacrifice?

A day later, I called her, and her phone was turned off all day. I called her dad later that day. I found out from him she was hospitalized. He told me he will call me later on. I was in total shock and totally helpless. I wanted to do something but I could not do anything being this far away. For the next 4 days, I called day in and day out, but her phone was turned off each day. So after waiting for her dad's phone call during those days, I called her dad again last Sunday, and both her parents told me their daughter recently returned from the hospital. I asked if she was okay and what went wrong. And they both blamed me for the whole situation and were suddenly dead against our whole marriage. I asked how can someone be hospitalized over a small comment like that. They gave me a very vague answer. I asked to speak with her, but they would not allow me to speak with her. They told me never to call them again. And these words are coming from parents who made a promise that we are getting married at a temple in front of God last summer.

Immediately after hearing this, I called my parents who were out of town. I told them the whole situation. They could not understand why her parents insulted me for calling them to ask about their daughter's health. While on the phone with them and not able to bear this stress anymore, I started to experience anxiety attacks and collapsed on the floor. My parents sensed something was seriously wrong, and they called an ambulance on my behalf. I spent the next 24 hours in a hospital. My dad flew in from out of town to take care of me and has been with me ever since that day. During this time, my dad sent my fiancee an email stating I was admitted to the hospital and did not understand what she was doing and why. Amazingly, my fiancee never bothered to reply back to that email asking if I was okay or safe.

After I returned from the hospital, our relationship spiraled into total destruction. I was hoping things would cool off, but I could never imagine what would suddenly happen. A day later, she sent me an email saying only the words, "I quit". I only replied back saying "I'm sorry". A day after that, she sent me a message on Facebook asking me to remove all our photos together and her friends from my friend list. I never replied back to that message, but I wanted to ask her why she was cutting it off suddenly. I did not ask her that question since I knew she would never bother to answer back as she was ignoring my dad and me. I did not want to be feel insulted all over again because she had been ignoring my texts throughout the week and her parents had insulted me viciously on the phone when I called to ask about her health. And today, she finally took the last step and un-friended me from Facebook and is asking all her friends to do the same.

And now I am left with a thousand questions.

How can she just dump me over a simple little argument over Valentine's Day?

How can she not bother to contact my dad if I'm okay knowing I've been sent to the hospital when she knew I was contacting her and her dad repeatedly when she was in the hospital?

How can she value her anger over my safety?

How can she just ignore everything I've done for her over the past 15 months, including my visit to her country, our engagement, and all my effort and money spent on this fiancee visa?

How can 14 months worth of happiness and joy be destroyed over a single month of confusion and bitterness because all our arguments had begun after we got our NOA2?

How can something so good go wrong so fast?

My parents are supporting and encouraging me in a time like this. They're now telling me a girl who can be this heartless and cruel as not to care about your health stopped loving you. "If she was truly in love with you, no matter the argument, she would have had the urge to call just once to see if you're okay." And my parents are telling me, "she lived in a fantasy world all this time thinking she would move to America. But when our petition for her visa was approved, she fell back down to reality and thought she cannot give up everything for me". They're saying she did not realize just how tough a move from one country to another can be and she did not have the maturity to let go of her parents nor the amount of love to actually make this move for me. I shared my experience with one of my senior colleagues at work, and he echoed the same sentiment telling me she is not mature enough to marry a guy at her age and would probably not have been happy after she moved to the U.S. I asked one of my good friends about this situation, and he told me their family will one day regret what they've done to me.

With such thoughts in my head, now I am left wondering I loved someone so dearly that I visited her, dragged my parents with me into visiting her last summer, got engaged at a temple in front of God, returned to the U.S., spent a lot of time, effort, and money into our fiancee visa, went through 5 months of heart ache waiting for our approval, and finally received our NOA2. After over 12 months worth of effort, she just threw me out on the street when things finally looked bright for us. And now I feel like a total fool. I have posted many threads on this website asking for advice and opinions on official matters, but now I need some desperate advice on a very emotional matter, for which I know our relationship ended suddenly and heartlessly. I would like to hear thoughts from others on this matter please. Maybe what I did was wrong about the whole Valentine's Day incident, but I was totally willing to make up for it as we have had many simple arguments like this in the past. But is a simple argument like that good enough to throw away something as precious as love? How can she do this to me? How do I move on from this? What do with my life now?

Okay, thank you for your thoughts. I needed some clarification since I've never been married before and I'm not sure what needs to be done in a situation like this.

To clarify furthermore, I am paying for her visa and her eventual green card, but her parents are paying for their and her plane tickets.

Hello to all the VJ members out there. I have a question for all the veterans out there who have either faced this situation or something similar to what I'm about to face.

At the time of this writing, we recently received our NOA2 and our K-1 petition is on its way to the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, India. My fiancee who is from India and I are planning on what we should do after she arrives to the U.S. We have already planned ahead that we will return about a year later to India to complete our traditional, ceremony wedding in front of a priest with both our families in attendance.

However, after she arrives to the U.S. with her K-1 visa and we have our registry marriage at the court, our families were thinking if we should conduct a small, ceremony wedding in front of a priest at a local temple in my city before her family returns to India, mostly because both our families think it's auspicious to start a life with God's blessings and blessings from both families. We will still have our main traditional ceremony wedding a year later in India. Since it is customary for the girl's family to hold the ceremony wedding, obviously our situation is different since she and I live on other sides of the planet at the moment. My question is the following. Who should be responsible financially for the temple, ceremony wedding here in the U.S.? Is it me, my parents, or her parents? I will find it especially difficult to pay for the ceremony wedding here as I am financially burdened from all directions with her visa, her future green card, my moving expenses since I recently moved to a new city for a new job, expenses for some basic furniture I need to buy before she arrives, etc. I am not unwilling to pay at all, but I need to know whose responsibility is this from a religious or cultural point of view. Who here has faced a situation like this and what solution did you come up with? I am very confused on this matter. Your opinions and experiences would be greatly appreciated and most enlightening to my situation. Thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day to all you guys and girls! I totally feel your pain as we are all in the same boat together. Hopefully, our pain will be replaced soon with a fresh wave of energy and enthusiasm at the prospect of our lovers finally coming to us. I wish everyone a smooth and flawless journey!

I'm surprised no one here has started a topic on this yet. Or maybe I'm starting this topic on the wrong forum. I'm sure it will get moved sooner or later. Oh well. lol

To all the K-1 visa petitioners and your fiancees out there, this post is dedicated to all of us who are separated from our other half who brings us love, life, and lust. Just remember. We are fighting this long and hard for our angels with our share of the risk, preparation, and paperwork, and they are coming from so far away leaving everything behind to spend their lives with us. After we all get our visas in the end, every day should be a Valentine's Day for all the couples to make up for all the Valentine's Days we have missed.

Now I dedicate this passage to my beloved who is half a world away in India. It is very hard for those of us here in the States to do something to sweep our lovers off their feets, given the distance. Yet I am sure each of us finds our own way to channel our love towards our other half. My angel is sleeping now as I type this. But if she were here now with me in the States, I would take her out for a very private, candle-lit dinner with soft music in the background, drink champagne with her until the early morning hours, visit the beaches and give her a soothing back massage under the starlight, and return home to finish off the night with a bubble bath. Well, that would not really be the last event of the night, but I will leave the details out since I don't want my thread to be deleted. I hope she wakes up in the morning, logs onto VisaJourney, and finds this post dedicated to her and all the couples out there. I love you princess, and I can't wait for you to be in my arms once and for all. I pray we never have to be this separated ever again in our lives.

And now to all the lovers out there without their sweethearts, what would you have done and what are you doing now on this Valentine's Day regardless of the distance?

Did anyone here have any problems with their partners while processing the papers and all that for the visa? It's just that my fiance and I never had any problems in the past, but ever since we started filing for this visa, i feel like our relationship has been strained. i love him so much though, and i'm scared that in the process...well...you know.

just want to know if i'm the only one who's going or gone through this before. thanks!

My fiancee and I are going through a rough period now as we speak. We have waited for our NOA2 for over 5 months. We haven't seen each other in over 7 months. After we got our NOA2, all of our problems have now begun. I'm not sure what to do because our relationship now is very strained.

Yeah, I'll give it another week. Thank you, Aztec&Taino.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Congratulations!! I am very happy VSC has transformed from a turtle into a sports car in little more than a week.

I have a quick question for the veterans. How much time goes by between the USCIS confirmation of our petition approval through email and through the status change on their website and the actual NOA2 letter in the mail? I'm wondering if I should begin contacting the NVC although I have not received my NOA2 in the mail yet. It has been 3 days since I was approved.

Thanks

Sorry in advance, this may not be where to post this but I don't know where else.

What cell phoneservice do you guys use to talk to your fiances? Mine is in honduras and I have sprint pcs and its expensive! They charge for incoming international LD and I don't know if I can keep paying it, its getting ridiculous! someone please help if you have a cheaper way. Thanks in advance!

Sorry again.

If you have a smartphone, you should be able to download some good phone apps on there. I have an iPhone, so I use a combination of Vonage Mobile and Skype. With Vonage, I can talk unlimited for only $25 with my fiancee who lives in India. I am not sure if Android phones currently have Vonage Mobile, but I'm guessing they do have it available by now. But you can get Vonage for your home landline anyway, and you would have to pay a separate, one-time price for the adapter.

Mr. Florida, congratulations....

... Only word I have is "Awesome" ...

She is very lucky person who have you on her side, God Bless

Best wishes for future ride through immigration.

Thank you for the good wishes, Deep2009!

I know your feeling, and I feel your joy....many congratulations to you!!

Thank you Lisa.

OMG!!!! I'm dancing around like crazy over here. I just checked my status online w/o logging in...well actually going down the different numbers and when I got to mine (ending in 7) it said "On January 31, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)." At first I didn't even realize that it was MY number...then I logged in and sure enough the last update was today. I clicked through again and saw those same words!!! No text or email (yet). OMG!!! I just said to FH last night, if we get approved tomorrow, we can plan out everything with no worries, because he wants to get married on our first anniversary (March 5). I am soooooo amped right now. Happy that we can finally move to the next step.

Congratulations on your victory!! I was approved on the same day as you also. I am very happy VSC has stepped up now and is even outpacing CSC. I pray and hope the next part of our journey is much faster and smoother. Good luck to you and your fiancee!

Baby u brought tears in my eyes.I love u so much,i am really lucky to have u as my fiancee.I know i go wrong at times and i disappoint u several times but what matters is that i can give up on anything,or anyone just to be with you for the rest of my life. You are a great guy and i am proud to have u. I super happy we got approved. Love ya

Princess, you are the reason why I fight so hard, why I wait so long, why I bear so much pain, and why I keep pushing forward. But I would not be able to move an inch without help from Above. We have both fallen many of times. But we both fall together. And the most important consequence is that we both pick ourselves up and keep on fighting. Never lose your faith in our God and in us! I love you too! I will never forget this long and cumbersome journey we faced to reach our NOA2. I pray and hope now you ace your interview at the embassy when the time comes. We have a lot of research, homework, preparation, and praying to do. Our fight is not over. I have faith in you. God will be with you, and He will carry you to me from around the world.

Ohh Congratulations!!! it just goes to show, if God brings you to it, he will bring you through it. Thats what we all have to try and remember! I am soo happy for you!!

Yes, God is truly on our side. It is tough keeping the faith all this time, but it's definitely worth it in the end. I pray you get yours asap!

Congratulations !!! Unfortunately I already had one of those described days, I completely lost my hope but I had nothing to do so I had to wait more. Maybe at the next one I will be in your situation ...

Thanks for sharing your feelings ! The airport stuff are really true , I hate them most !

florinaRO, thank you very much! The airport moment was the most revisited and most agonizing moment from the past 7 months. It's one of those memories that haunts you until you meet your fiancee the next time. I hope I never have to go through it again.

I believe you will be in my situation before you know it. I saw you are a month behind me. With the pace VSC is going at the moment, I would pray and hope for something in the next month. But don't expect. Please remember a fine line does exist between hoping and expecting.

And one more thing, if I were you, I would get your other documents in order right now, such as the letter from your employer, the letter from your bank, your pay stubs, your income tax returns, etc., which you will need to provide as evidence with your Affidavit of Support. Acquiring all these documents does take time. It took me a few weeks to collect all of them. Good luck and share your experience on here with everyone when you get the good news!

Congratulations!

It is a great feeling, isn't it? Best wishes in the rest of your journey!

Aztec&Taino, yes it is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I truly wish all of you get your NOA2 soon so you can share in the moment.

When I read this it My Brother

was as if I was reading an exciting novel that i could not put down. I am happy for you.

I wish you both a long and fruitful marriage.

May God continue to Bless you bountifully.

Regards

My Brother

When I read this it was as if I was reading an exciting novel that i could not put down. I am happy for you.

I wish you both a long and fruitful marriage.

May God continue to Bless you bountifully.

Regards

shauntemoore, thanks for the compliment! I described the moment in the best detail I could from my memory. I try not leave out the details because other people can appreciate how I felt exactly and how we both reacted to the fabulous news.

please update your timeline

thks

Jun&Scheillo, I entered my NOA2 date yesterday. Hopefully, you should see it on Igor's Timeline.

And to everyone out there, your time is coming. Just keep the faith, remain busy in day-to-day life, don't think about the visa, don't visit VisaJourney too often unless you really need to (at least visit Igor's timeline at most once a day because visiting it several times a day didn't really help me while I was waiting), and pray to your God if you believe in a higher power.

Thank

Thank you everyone for all your best wishes !! I still can't believe it happened today. When it happens, it feels like a rush going over your entire body. Several hours later, it's still there! I only hope things begin to move faster now. My fiancee and I have a lot of preparation ahead of us. She is very excited. But I would rather work and make progress toward our goal than sit around forever like we were doing. Thank you God !! I wish everyone else and their God the same victory as God allowed us to share in His wealth today.

Has anyone tried calling USCIS before the five month mark. Does this do any good? Or does it do harm, cuz maybe you seem pushy? (assuming you are actually able to get to a 2nd tier person?) Just curious...

It won't help. I tried calling 2 weeks prior to my 5-month mark, and they simply tell you they are within normal processing time. They even told me the same story after my 5-month mark! lol But oh well! I got approved today, so my fiancee and I don't care anymore and we are ecstatic!

I know what you're going through. I went through the same emotion exactly a month ago. One thing people don't know on here is that the National Customer Service Center always has obsolete information. In fact, their info is updated once in the middle of the month from the individual service centers. If you are very eager to contact VSC directly, you can email them at vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov. They will not reply at first, but try 3 or 4 times and someone will hopefully answer back. They did for me. Good luck!

I know others have started similar threads on here, but I don't care. I want to share my story with others about how all the events unfolded today.

When this day started, I thought this week would be just another week with no end in sight for our NOA2. My fiancee and I even started this morning with a fight over something stupid after I called her before going to work. I thought this week would be another week of hell since "morning shows the day", literally in our case. After I came to work and started my duties, I felt myself slipping down the slope of sanity, more so than usual on other days. For the past 5 months, I was able to hold on to my sanity and return my attention back to my work with no problems. But today was different. I simply could not take it anymore. My fiancee and I have been praying solidly and consistently non-stop from opposite sides of the world for the last 5 months. Around 12 pm, after checking more and more people on VJ from August were getting approved as the Vermont Service Center had recently woken up from its slumber, not to mention some people who received their NOA1 later than ours were getting approved, I texted my fiancee saying, "I have had enough of this wait", "I simply cannot take it anymore", and "I am losing my sanity". My fiancee came online soon afterward and told me to calm down and then go splash some water on my face and return to work. And she warned me to avoid returning to this website because these timelines were making the wait much more worse for us. I did as she said and told her that I still have faith in God but I am losing faith in myself. I simply could not wait any longer. But I was determined I'd only check VisaJourney once a day from now on.

After we ended our chat and I returned back to work, I tried desperately to focus on my job, but my brain felt like it was on fire, my head was spinning, my palms were sticky and sweaty, and I was having one of the worst days during this long and arduous wait. After a few more minutes of breathing heavily, I started to place my focus back on my job. Since I normally keep my phone on vibrate and in my shirt pocket, at that very moment, just as I was about to sink into my work, my pocket vibrated. I dismissed the vibration outright since my phone normally alerts me if I get an email, if I get a missed call on my Google Voice number, or if my fiancee texts me. Because I had no desire to check my phone today, I thought I'll text my fiancee later on after I regained some composure and returned to a somewhat normal mood. So I returned to my work. But about 10 seconds later, I get a desktop notification on my computer's taskbar that I received an email on my Gmail account. And I'm thinking to myself, "what are the chances that I receive an SMS and an email within seconds of each other?" Very, very small!! And then I think to myself, "Have I truly lost my mind today?" "Can it possibly be what I'm thinking about?"

I instantly pulled my phone out of my pocket, opened the SMS app, and read the following: "Your case is now updated. Check 'My Case Status' at www.uscis.gov . . . ".

I instantly darted my attention away from my work and knew right then and there I would not be able to work today. lol I opened up my Gmail account and read the following message.

"*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

....

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity

On January 31, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

.

.

.

.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)"

Reading only the few first words of that message, I jumped out of my office chair, I opened the bookmark to the USCIS website while standing, and I found the change I've waited more than 5 months to see! The USCIS site finally changed the "Initial Review" status to say "Post Decision Activity"!

I immediately locked out my computer, ran into the hallway outside, and speed dialed my fiancee while covering my chest with one hand feeling my heart pound as though I just ran up a flight of stairs. My fiancee answered the phone in her normal manner. I told her, "Baby, my heart is palpitating today." She replied, "You saw that website again. Didn't you?" I answered, "No, something else happened to me." And from then on, I was completely mute. My fiancee asked, "What? What happened?" But I didn't answer. She asked again. I didn't answer again. She knew I was on the phone since she could hear my heavy breathing. From the tension in my voice, she instantly knew something unusual happened, but I think she sensed the optimism and excitement in my voice too. And then she finally asked me. "Don't tell me. Is it what I think it is? Are you serious? Please tell me! Please answer me now!" Even at that point, although I wanted to unleash my enthusiasm like a dam with a surging river behind it, I still could not formulate the right words to express those emotions to her. So all I could say was the following, "Baby, I'm putting you on speaker, and I'll read you exactly what was written in the email I got." And next I read the email above out loud. From that point onward, she was launched into cloud 9, I was still reeling from my near brush with insanity, my hands were trembling, and my heart was palpitating stronger than ever. I was literally pacing back and forth in the hallway and almost dancing, and I could listen to her dancing up and down and telling her family that we have received our NOA2!!

God literally took a day I expected to be atrocious and turned it into one of the happiest days of my life!! God willing, if everything goes accordingly, hopefully I can be with my fiancee once and for all in the next few months, if she passes her interview next! Neither of us have to say goodbye to each other ever again when she comes to me. The most heart-wrenching and crushing feeling ever was when I last felt her hand about 7 months ago at the airport before I boarded my flight to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Washington, D.C. I have relived that single moment time and time again in my head. I wished for so many days if I could relive the happiest 2 weeks of my life. But now God willing, He will give us both the chance to create new memories just like and better than the memories we created during those 2 weeks of my visit. I still can't believe this as I'm typing it! But it's true.

I thought I'd share this story with every one here on VJ. What is the moral of the story? Your time is coming. I kept my faith in God, in my fiancee, and in me. But the humorous part of the story is that everything fell into place on the day when I lost faith in myself and I could no longer take the wait.

I am very happy the Vermont Service Center has finally woken up and has gone through all the July and half of August applications in merely a week! Thank you Vermont! And congratulations to all the other filers out there who received their good news today and last week! Our time is finally here! And to all the others who are waiting, your time is coming very, very soon. After you receive your joyous news, you'll then understand my experience of a day full of a thousand emotions.

Congratulations!! I am still patiently waiting on ours. But now my patience is wearing thin!

ours took 4 days...but i know yours will be there soon... don't waste your patience in NOA1... you need that in you NOA2 .. good luck both of you..

I agree with AcrossTheMiles. Please don't waste your patience this soon because you have no idea what's coming up ahead of you. If you think 1 week is tough, 5 months and longer will feel like hell for you. If I were you, after you receive your NOA1, I would simply immerse yourself with work, talk with your fiancee, enjoy life, have fun on the weekends, and spend time with your family. Don't make the same mistake I made by checking your Case Status on the USCIS every few days because nothing will ever change. My case status is still on "Initial Review" after more than 5 months. My fiancee and I are finally impatient for our NOA2, but even after all this time, impatience does nothing beneficial in your life. Just know that once you mail in your I-129F petition, you have handed over your life to the U.S. government. It's really as simple as that. Good luck and please put your mind on other things because, although the K-1 visa is relatively faster than other marriage-based visas, 5 months and longer will still feel like an eternity.

i mailed it and it was received on Jan 24 and sent to Vermont. I reckon its in vermont by now, so when can i expect a decision on whether or not they accepted my petition?

I agree with the above posts. I am going on longer than 5 months after receiving my NOA1, and my status still says "Initial Review". If I were you, I would develop a lot of patience really soon because this process is close to 6 months or longer waiting for your NOA2. As far as the NOA1, you should hear something within a week. And if you filed Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application or Petition Acceptance, signing up for an SMS alert, USCIS is rather quick about sending you a text message before you see your NOA1 in the mail. I received my SMS within 2 days. But then again, I sent my I-129F packet through certified U.S. mail with return receipt, so they received it rather quick too.

so our nao2 is a few weeks late now, probably not a suprise to most people who applied in july/august like we did.

last night we called and the woman said she had sent a 'service request' so our visa should get looked at soon.

we have the service number and things but was just wondering....this anything more than a delay tactic to keep us off the phone to them for a while longer while they eat cookies and coffee?

Jaygregory, yes I got the same response when I called USCIS a week ago. I called them again in the middle of this week attempting to put in a service request, but it was denied again. However, due to the advice given by so many, I have emailed Vermont Service Center directly, and one of their customer service reps replied back saying an adjudications officer is currently processing my case as we speak. I suggest you email VSC directly and do it over and over if they do not reply back. I had to try 3 times. Their email is VSC.Ncscfollowup@dhs.gov.

Apparently, something else which I need to share with everyone on here, the individual service centers and the national customer service center suffer from a disconnect in real-time data because the processing date the agent gives you over the phone is only updated once in the middle of every month as the customer service center apparently receives this data from the individual service centers once every month, so if you call now, you'll get the same answer that they are processing July 24th applications, when in reality VSC has moved on much further. You'll only hear this date change if you call back around February 15. This information is coming directly from one of the USCIS phone agents.

I will call USCIS again today to see if they have updated information about my case since their website still displays "Initial Review". But as everyone can see on Igor's List, VSC has really stepped up their pace. If you compare CSC with VSC, thus far, VSC is moving faster. Good for VSC and good for all of us who are waiting for several months.

Try my suggestions and maybe you'll see some movement in your case. Good luck.