Kristy S

thanks once again guys

they told him to keep it with his luggage when he flies over. he doesn't want to open it in case he's not supposed to. does anyone know if he's sposed to keep it in his checked bags or his carryon?

make sure you guys have your police certificate with you for the medical, they will not even let you book it without having it in possession now. we lost 6 weeks because it went into effect the week before we tried to book our medical appt.

thanks everyone, you guys are always so helpful

i'm sure there are tons of you who have already done the research on this, and we're kinda last minute since we weren't expecting the visa until mid-late march and now it's next week (yay).

but what would be the cheapest/easiest/safest way to ship his belongings over?

i'd love any input that anyone has.

thanks

And arent last minute plane fares terribly expensive?

not anymore for some reason, as long as you do roundtrip anyways. i tried booking one for tomorrow, just for fun, and it's the same price as one for 2 weeks from now. 705$. oneway was about 1100$ though.

It depends on whether your consulate allows you to pick your visa up, or if it gets mailed to you. I got mine 4 days after my visa was approved, but Montreal is a really slow moving consulate. Your best bet is to ask when you have your interview.

Good Luck!!

And I know this is very cliched, but it is very true, you will have a lifetime of xmas's, new years's and (well not 30th', but other) birthdays, so try not to be too upset if it doesnt work out. V-day is on a monday anyways (blah), it will be much more fun if you can make a weekend out of it afterwards

My hubby and I have been married for 4 and half years, due to gruelling immigration process, this is going to be our first valentines day actually spent together!

Good luck at your interview!!

lol, monday is actually one of my weekend days i put in 13 hour days on weds, fri and sat, and pull a 9 hour on sunday. so not only would it be vday which would be nice, but also a day i don't have to try and get an employee to cover for me. (i don't want to be THAT employer). and theoretically i know it doesn't really matter, but when we started this process last may, our lawyer (that charged us the equivalent of 4 months rent) PROMISED me he'd be home by christmas. so this is the last tangible "holiday", and it would just be lovely if he could actually make it.

if not then i'm just thrilled that we got an interview date a week away from our notification letter i guess.

hope your valentines day is romantic as hell

i know it's a pipe dream, but would like him to be home on valentines day, and our interview is feb 10th. missed being home for good by xmas, new years and my big 3-0 birthday, would be nice to make this occasion.

do they ever approve and give the visa on the same day anymore? or is this pretty much a thing of the past?

thanks for any input

i think if you call 011444 020-7499-9000 then it will give you the number for that? or someone there will have it?

that's how i found it last time...didn't call it though cause woulda been 15$ flat rate for me to call it

wait, i think i found it...i have stuff scribbled everywhere..i think it's this:

09042-450-100

i've seen people denied because they had engagement ceremonies that the interviewers decided was 'marriage' ceremony, then denied them and told them to file for spouse visa, DEF do not mention in in any way

I will keep my war untill I get what I need !! a response from VSC !!!!

and that will happen at the same time it's gonna happen anyways, but have fun stressing yourself out about it in the mean time.

what about that NO MORE THAN 90 days part? is that government speak for at least 90 days?

the timeframe for the AP is 3 months on uscis website. the timeline for approval for a fiance visa is 5 months, and we are seeing those go past 5 months every day. it's the government, if it's done on time, it's considered early.

even then, the 90 days would be like january 6th...so why would you have booked a flight for what would've been 75 days?

and if you look at other people's timelines, there are quite a few cases where it took almost 4 months to get the AP, and sometimes they even got the greencard first.

i can't see how calling them every day would help or even bother them, you will never talk to the same one twice, and it's their job to answer phones. they never give the right info, and i sometimes doubt they even look anything up. if it's not your they talk to it will be someone else, and what difference would it make to them? all you would do is back up the phones for other people trying to get through.

and if it's anything like other parts of the government (my mom has worked for 2 or 3) then they'll make some kind of note on your file about you being a jerk and good luck gettin them to help you or even take you seriously.

they have all the power, and they are mostly nothing but half informed phone jockeys, trying to harass them won't help you, THEY can't help you.

one way will probably mean less questions for you anyways, since he is going over there to stay

but technically doesn't make a diff. good luck to you guys

Calling them over and over worked for me. If they really work efficiently, I would not have to call them. If you have a problem with that, then too bad cause for me, it worked

actually, it looks like yours took about the same as most other ppl from vermont from your time period. prolly just had something marked in your file about you being annoying, and doubt it made any other difference

a lot of the time a round trip is actually a few hundred dollars cheaper, so check both

hope you get it in time, cutting it really close, isn't that less than 2 months away now? feb 3rd or something for 2011 right?

and i think the A# should be found on her visa?

it takes around 3 months to get AP approved usually...you really shoulda researched more before you bought tickets...sucks to be you guys, cause only choices are to waste the plane ticket money or have your wife not allowed back in the country with you, then a 6-12 month wait for her to be allowed back in with a spouse visa...

mine and a bunch of others that were approved on november 17th were to the nvc by the 22-23rd, and forwarded to embassies by 23-24th, so you might just be a week or so away from packet 3 already. a few of the other nov 17ths have already gotten their packet 3 materials returned to the embassy and are only awaiting an interview date.

so congrats, and find that noa2, i believe it's needed for the AOS?

if you wanna keep him busy, make him a list of honey-do's. fix stuff, organize/re-organize, yard word, housework, etc?

get his social security card and then as soon as you get married file for his AOS and file the work permit form (EAD) and the advanced parole form with it, then within 3 months-ish he should get those approved and be able to work and leave the country with the ability to return to it (if he needs to for any reason). and i think around 4 months-ish he should have his first green card (good for 2 years).

hm, i was under the impression they didn't give those anymore, but from what i heard of it, it was just a 90 day permit. if you got your AOS in like tomorrow, and file the advanced parole and work allowance thing with it then maybe it would come back before the 90 days in which the first one expired? but otherwise he wouldn't be allowed to work as soon as the first one expired and until the 2nd one kicked in. and i believe that even with the 90 day one, he still needs a social security number?

not positive on any of this, just stuff i remember from searching old threads and asking questions.

On this I am in complete agreement with you! Just when I am about to write you off you say something so totally true and up-beat! Go figure.

for some reason, in the area i live in there are a lot of rich yuppie jerks who basically buy foreign wives. i watch them go through the process practically seamlessly, and seeing as there is no real love there, they are basically without stress as well. it just makes me wish they weren't clogging up the system for the ppl that are suffering without their loved ones by their sides

I am with You on this one. An only difference is that my AWFUL marriage ended ten years later than yours.

wow, props to you, 12 yrs was my breaking point, it was either divorce or i woulda killed him or myself.

When? December? January? February? March? April? Later? Will some bureaucrat subject me to some of the horror stories I have read here? The uncertainty is ripping my soul apart, and I just can't take any more of this. I need answers, and I need them now. If I knew the visa would be issued in April, for example, I would be fine. No uncertainty. Just circle a date on the calendar and wait.

But the uncertainty is doing ugly things to me. Every night when I come home from work, I look eagerly in the mailbox. When there is no NOA2 in it, I scream curses, kick the mailbox, and go into a frenzy of anger. I can't help it. I just can't take any more of this. It has to end.

you NEED to find a way to calm down, that is not healthy for you or for your relationship. we all know exactly how you feel, but try to think on a longer term basis. this time next year, you and your spouse will be getting ready for the holidays together, and bundled up drinking hot cocoa and watching a movie TOGETHER. it sucks ####, we all know it does. especially seeing people go through the whole process in the same amount of time it will take you to get your noa2. just keep planning for the stuff you do know is a certainty, and find a way to keep you from dwelling on the stuff that isn't.