Élan

It's great to read all these stories! I guess I should share mine. My husband and I have been living together for more than a year now (4 months in Malaysia, 8 months in USA). It's been difficult, but we are very happy with each other! I gave up my job when I went to Malaysia, so I had no employment when we arrived in Minnesota. We had to live with my parents... which I don't recommend. It's hard to be married when you both feel like kids with their parents. Luckily, things are getting much better. I have a full-time job and my husband has an internship with a well-respected organization here in Minnesota, but he's still quite upset that he hasn't even gotten one job interview despite his MBA and many years of relevant work experience in an English-speaking country. I'm afraid people see his very foreign name and feel very apprehensive.

Truthfully, we occasionally regret moving to the United States. Malaysia is a beautiful country and we were in a very good financial place there! We had plenty of money to go out every night, take trips and do lots of shopping. In the US, we can't afford anything and can't find any jobs in our fields! Despite that, we're planning to stay here and go to school--Amir wants his PhD and I want a J.D. Eventually (after he is a US citizen), we may relocate. Who knows, though... I keep telling him that his dream job is just around the corner! We keep applying and trying. Eventually something will go our way!

Our relationship is great now, though. If only our job situations would improve, things would be perfect!

The worst part for Amir (worse than being unemployed)? Going to an American dentist for the first time! He needed 1 root canal, 1 crown, 4 fillings, and 4 wisdom teeth extracted. Yowza! He had no culture shock, just dental shock.

Why is the letter of intent asking for [Embassy Address] then? Would you know where my fiance would have to go in Texas for her interview then?

Because later on you'll submit updated letters of intent when you go to the embassy for your interview. Your fiancee won't have an interview. I included no address on my initial letters of intent when filing the petition and had no problems.

^ Glad you got the green card! We sent our application and got NOA1 before you so I'm hoping soon we will have an approval too. It's getting frustrating!

^ I'm in the same boat as you. MN filer here who was transfered to CSC and is still waiting! I was started to get very worried so I thought I'd check out VJ. Now I see that many of us are having this problem!

I wonder too. But all in all, best to have it before the interview!

How is your HUSBAND enjoying the US?

Hi there! He is doing great, although I am a bit annoyed he is being so slow to get his driver's permit! Life is good though--he even got to see the President already! Obama came to my small town of 4,000 people for a town hall meeting. What an exciting day for a new American resident (and an old one!)

^ I would just include a supplemental sheet explaining the use of two passports as well as the differences in calendars. If you'd like, I'm sure you could include a signed statement from a friend who speaks Persian and English that includes the translation of the numerals.

Reading this thread makes the visa sound really difficult for Iranians. My (now) husband and I had no problems during our K1 visa process. He was in AP for only 15 days. Perhaps the Kuala Lumpur embassy is easier than Anarka, but I just want to say don't be too worried! After you send the first packet, things get easier. Just make sure you have copies of everything you send.

I read too much on mohajersara during my husband's K1 journey and I regret getting so worked up. It sounds like you have everything figured out. Just get a solid co sponsor lined up and you'll be all set.

Some embassies might allow you to interview even without the police certificate (or other missing documents) but they will not issue the visa (if approved) until they receive it. They will issue a 221g form and you would have a certain amount of time to respond to it.

I wonder if Malaysia does this as well. It seems unlikely that anyone would go to the interview without the police certificate since you have to send in a checklist stating that you already have the certificate before you even get an interview date scheduled.

Thanks for the info on certifications. We didn't have anything certificated or translated professionally but they didn't seem to mind.

^ Either is okay. If you have everything on the checklist already, send them together. However, if you are still waiting on your Certificate of Good Conduct or anything else, then send them separately.

You can see in my signature that it took about 2 weeks from the NVC letter until I received packet 3. We never phoned them (well once, and they were angry haha!), just waited for it to arrive.

Oh my goodness, congratulations! I bet you can hardly believe it! Safe travels to your new home.

oh my gosh,two weeks for an iranian male?they are on a roll!

I know! I was hoping for 2 months but instead they called in 2 weeks. Even better! Do you think the embassy makes a big difference? 2 weeks seems so fast based on the other figures mohajersara.

Congrats again and have safe journeys picking up your visa and flying to the US. Too bad you have to go back to Turkey! We are staying in Malaysia for an extra week so his parents can come say goodbye, otherwise I'd want to fly home tomorrow.

Congrats! We are in the same spot as you.... we planned to have a few months to take care of things here in Malaysia (get rid of all our stuff!) but he was cleared in 15 days. Oh well, at least we got our trip to Bali. So excited to be flying in 12 days.

I think it's mainly so your fiancée can know exactly what you wrote on all the forms. In our case, the interviewer asked my fiancé detailed questions about things I had written in our "explanation of meeting" section of the I-129F. Luckily, he knew exactly what I had written so he was prepared for that line of questioning.

Thank you so much! He kept saying "They don't do that in Malaysia". I will show him your post and say "See, a real Malaysian says they do!" Thank you for helping me win this argument!

^ Thanks! We are excited! We went to the embassy yesterday, though, and they wouldn't let us in! They sent us to Wisma MCA, who told us that we should go home and email the embassy. My fiancé wanted to go home and email them, but I said "NO! I am going back to the embassy! This is not fair!". We went back to the embassy and they finally let us in. A short wait and we got the pink slip--approved!

Can I ask the Malaysian natives a question? In the US, if you save your change up (coins), you can take it to the bank and they will give you bills (paper money) for it. Can you do this in Malaysia too? In the US, banks just have big machines that automatically count and sort coins for this kind of thing. Amir feels like we'll look like paupers if we do that, but he just has SO many Malaysians coins saved--probably 100RM.

It's great to see newcomers to the Malaysia thread!

The embassy called Amir yesterday and said his background check was finished and he should drop off his passport on Monday. We are feeling so happy!

Wow wow wow, thats great news. Congrats!!! Thats a heck of a way to start a wonderful weekend. Very happy for you both.

We are still waiting go our interview date. Cairo Embassy/NVC <-

Just looked at your timeline... so sorry you are still waiting. I will them for you too!

Thanks for the congrats. I can hardly believe it only took 15 days!

Sorry for the double post but I didn't see a "edit" button. The embassy just called and said that Amir's AP is over and he should bring his passport in on Monday. Only 15 days in AP? Could it really be true?

Good morning, everyone. TGIF! AP for 15 days now. I'm lucky that I'm here in Malaysia with my fiancé but it still stinks! His mom is going to come here in early July to meet me and see her son for the first time in many, many years. I'm trying to distract myself from the AP by preparing for her visit.

I'm glad they included the information about many Malaysians being against this kind of group and way of thinking. Some states in Malaysia are quite conservative, but for the most part people here are very kind and open minded.

Thank you! We can't wait for AP to be over. Our trip to Bali was great, though. Now we're back in Malaysia waiting and waiting.

Ok, so I received the NOA 2 and it was approved! But one thing that confuses me is this, on the letter is says "The above petition has been approved and forwarded to the listed consulate. (and above it says Jordan) Please contact the consulate with any questions about visa issuance." Does this mean that the application is already in the US embassy in Jordan, or is it still in the NVC?

Help please and thanks. Also, is it normal to have a "valid through" date on the NOA 2 form?

Many people are receiving NOA2s that say the file is being sent directly to the embassy. However, all those files are still going to NVC. Your file will be going there, too. It will be assigned a new case number and then forwarded to your embassy. You can call or email NVC to find out the new case number OR you can wait until they mail you a letter with the new case number.

Congrats! I'm happy to see people getting out of AP in less than 2 months.

Oh my gosh! That must be any handy man (or woman)'s dream work bench!

Happy Memorial Day, all. I don't post here much but I feel like I'm at the point where I need some support. Amir has his interview on Thursday and was put into AP, as expected. Malaysia tricked him and didn't let me come to the interview, but at least it went well for him! The CO said he has no doubts about our relationship but he still has to go through AP. Amir said at least a third of the people (mostly men) had to go through additional background checks after the interview. The CO said it would take 1-2 weeks or perhaps more. Of course I am assuming it will take much longer. I have the "AP blues".

Hope everyone had a good memorial day weekend. Malaysia has a lot of public holidays but, unfortunately, memorial day isn't one of them.

Well, our interview is over! It was quite strange. Unlike most interviews at this embassy, they didn't let my fiancé leave after document drop off. Instead, they kept him there and interviewed him privately after everyone went to lunch (about 11:30). When my fiancé said "My fiancée is waiting at KLCC... she was going to come to the interview", the CO said "Sorry for ruining your plans" and carried on with the interview. Oh well! After about 10-15 questions and a chat about jobs in America, the CO reminded my fiancé that the CO has absolute power to approve or deny the case. Then he said he believes in our relationship totally but unfortunately has to put us in AP since my fiancé is from Iran.

Amir (my fiancé) said he only saw about 5 people get denied, including a crazy woman who refused to pay the fee and a Nigerian guy who had to be escorted out by security.

Now we just wait for AP to be over. We're leaving for Bali on Tuesday for a short and much-needed vacation. Hopefully soon we'll hear something. The CO said 1-2 weeks but he can't guarantee anything. I'm hoping that it only takes 1-2 months!