carla1

I am a generally patient person I think but this is driving me mental... How do you guys deal with your stress? The wait is taking its toll on our relationship. It's hard to spend all this time on the phone and online and keep up a normal schedule.

This month the time changes here in Wisconsin and I will be an hour AHEAD of Carlos in El Salvador and that makes it even harder!! I work 6a-2:30p and 10 hours of mandatory overtime per week.

The worst part about this whole thing is his dad is the Deputy Chief of the USCIS Forms Center West and he can't even help us expedite anything.

Give me your ideas on how to get thru this trying time...

The fact of having your future in some nameless entity's hands that won't even give you the courtesy of a phone call was amazingly stressful. In addition I had to take a job that doesn't suit me and causes even more stress to be able to bring my beloved to this country. It seemed at the time that everything in my life sucked big time!

How did I deal? I tried everything but in spite of it I just got to the point where I was deeply depressed and couldn't climb out... and thank God for antidepressants and a Doc willing to prescribe!

Finally we got out Noa2 after about 5.5 months and we are now waiting on the embassy interview. Check out the embassy pages on this site for average wait times. I would push back the wedding date because that firm date in an uncertain process only causes more stress.

Good Luck.

My fiancee Daniel is from Chile, he had to be persistent and argue a bit to get the visa to come here. Daniel was able to show several ties, a business, property, autos and 2 sons, one of which is listed on the k1 petition. Eventually the lady in Santiago gave him a visitors visa for 2 weeks, in february to Dallas Texas.

Daniel arrived in Dallas yesterday, valentine's day and thank God they let him in without any problems whatsoever. They asked him why he was visiting and he said, to visit my highschool sweetheart. That was the only question, they didn't ask to see any paperwork.

Needless to say this is the best Valentines day ever!

Thank you so much for starting this forum!!!!!!!!

I will be bringing over my fiancee this spring and he will be coming with his 18 year old son. (I am really looking forward to having a family!)

If I understand everything right, my then husband will have to wait and sponsor his son as the marriage will take place when the son is already 18. We will file the AOS for my husband right away, approximately how long before we can file the AOS for the son? He turns 19 in June so I am worried about the time running out. Given his nature he is definitely going to want to work, will he have to wait for the EAD? Or can that be filed earlier?

I am looking for information regarding how to proceed with legal status for my fiancee's unmarried 18 year old son.

He will be attending his final year of highschool this year in the states, because of the huge delay with K1 visas, he will be 18 when we get married.

I know there are restrictions on this but really am confused by the information I am getting.

Has anyone gone through this?

The process of the NOA 1 to NOA 2 approval is terribly stressful, months without any notice whatsoever, the need to be apart while the process is ongoing and recently the delays experienced by VSC.... What can I say? (Other than it SUCKS!!)

Right now I haven't seen Daniel since April 1 2010, and to me it feels as if he is a little farther away, I know he loves me, but I think with the long frustrating wait it is a little easier to not talk every day and feel the pain and loneliness. I really am very uncomfortable with having no control and/or knowledge of the process, the doc put me on anti-anxiety meds which really make me a better person to be around at work.

Fortunately we were able to get a tourist visa for Daniel to come visit Texas Feb 14 - Feb 26, and 3 days after we got the visa our NOA 2 came in.

Strangely now that I know we are on track I am having giant jitters. I am 47 and set in my ways.... what was I thinking of? What if Daniel changes his mind, what if he hates it here, what if we don't get along???? What if he has changed in the last 10.5 months?

Logically I know when I see him all these fears will go away, I do know that we love each other, but my whole life is about to change!

I guess my point is, while it is a relief to be over with the NOA 1 wait, there is a new set of stressors afterward. But I guess that is what building a life with another person is like!

Thanks everyone!

I have some unemployment benefits for 2010 and wanted to know if they count, I have been working since June 10th 2010, so should be ok.

Do unemployment benefits count toward the poverty level? Does anyone know?

I can't believe it, I had to read the notice about 5 times....

It has been so very long with no touches, no notice, no nothing except the "group touch" october 3.

It feels like a dream, I don't think it has sunk in yet.

A couple days ago Daniel got the tourist visa to visit, he has never been to the USA. He had to insist that he will return to Chile and eventually they gave it to him. I am just praying tht they don't turn him away at the POE. He arrives the morning of Feb 14, absolutely perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I pray that Vermont continues approving petitions and those of us that have been waiting so very long get our approvals.

Thanks for posting this. I sent mine around the same time, they received it 4 AUG.

Out of curiosity, your little signature thingy says "7/10 – K1 refused due to typo"... what was the typo?

Something stupid. I checked divorced and single. I should have checked divorced and divorced.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sent: Thu 1/13/2011 10:32 AM

To: NCSCFOLLOWUP, VSC

Subject: EACXXXXXXXXXXX

Good Day,

My name is , xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and my case number is EACxxxxxxxxx which has a receipt date of August 9, 2010. I am attempting to place a service request since I am over the 5 month processing timeframe.

I called yesterday and was put through to "level 2". After being on hold for 1 hour and 10 minutes the phone went dead.

I am certain this was a mistake, however with my work hours I will not be able to be on an elongated call for the next week and half.

As I have heard nothing from USCIS I am concerned that my petition may have been lost.

This process has been stressful, as I am certain you can imagine and any information you can give me regarding my petition would be very welcome.

Thank you,

********************************************************************

Good morning Carla,

Your Petition for Alien Fiancé (e) (Form I-129F) was received on August 9, 2010 and is pending normal processing here at the Vermont Service Center (VSC).

The posted processing time on the www.uscis.gov website indicates that at least one case filed within that timeframe has moved to "active processing" at that office. This means that at least one case filed in the posted timeframe has been moved to an adjudications officer's desk for review. This does not necessarily mean that a final decision has been made on all cases received within that timeframe.

For future status inquiries of a petition or application filed at this Center you may want to utilize our National Customer Service Center by calling 1-800-375-5283. If you would like to obtain forms, filing instructions, case status or schedule an appointment with your local office, please visit our website at www.uscis.gov.

Officer Jason

Vermont Service Center

Customer Service Unit

********************************************************

I just wanted everyone to know that they do respond to email. vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov was the email address I used.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called uscis today and my goal, since we are 3 days over our 5 months, was to get escalated to Level 2.

Level 1 tried to put me off, and said they were processing july 10 currently, which they have been stating for the last month. I told him that can't be true as I belong to an online site and I know that some people in august are being approved.

He hesitated and then put me through to level 2. I waited approx 1 hour and 10 mins and got hung up on. Nobody ever answered. After about 50 minutes the music stopped playing and I eventually was disconnected.

I am so sorry that you are in this situation.

My heart goes out to you.

You have told him and us VJ'ers that the relationship is over.

You have asked him to leave but he does not.

If I understand correctly the conflict in your heart seems to revolve around feeling guilty for bringing this man close to your children and you are afraid your little one will blame you for sending his new "daddy" away.

Please, if this is the case forgive yourself. I am certain you did the best that you could under the circumstances. People make mistakes all the time and this is a lesson that your children will learn. You have to do what is best for your children and I ask, do you want them to grow up in a household where "daddy" beats mommy and there is physical/emotional conflict?

You seem like a compassionate caring mother and I don't think you want that for your children.

I hope my 2 cents are of use!

Please take care.

I have read of others on the site that have been able to get a tourist visa while awaiting a K1.

However, you truly have to show strong ties to the home country in order to achieve it.

In our case Daniel has a successful auto-body repair shop, has 2 sons, (one of which will be coming with him on the K1 visa) and owns property and 2 cars. Daniel's sons will not be coming with him on the tourist visa.

I also wrote an invitation letter stating how incredibly stupid, and expensive, it would be for Daniel not to go back home and legally complete the K1 process.

Our plans are to frontload the he11 during the interview to prove that our chances of being refused a K1 are zilch and I am gathering reams of proof right now. Our interview for the tourist visa is Jan 31.

In the event that we are refused we have only lost some time and right now we have time.

Really thinking of you...estoy pensando en ti....y esperando una respuesta para ti prontisimo!!!

For those that do not understand Spanish the translation is:....I am thinking of you... and awaiting a response for you very soon!!!!!

I hope you get your Noa 2 very soon as you have a noa1 aproval date exactly one month ahead of us and for the same country. I am also anxiously awaiting to see what the RFE was about!

I pray it comes soon!

What a great opportunity to say something unpopular!

According to the latest census, there are currently about 310,828,691 people living in the US. Although the Census doesn't tell you how many of those are of Russian descent (if this is what rocks your boat), it's fair to assume that there are more potentially suitable spouses for you than you can possibly check out in your lifetime.

The US Government does not regulate who you can marry, as long as it's a human being (no space robots, no animals) of the opposite gender. What you asked the US Government (not the State) for is to import yet another foreigner from a country that was the US's largest enemy for a very long time, shortly after a Russian Spy ring was exposed.

It is only reasonable for a government, any government, to secure its country's borders and make sure that no unauthorized aliens can enter it or live with it. The US Government takes this mandate very seriously.

Bob, your response seems very harsh and uncaring. The writer was sharing his sense of despair, anger and hopelessness. The truth is that it is very, very, very difficult to be in a situation that you have no control over. And even worse....no information from the "powers that be".

Personally I thought his post was very well written and can relate to what he wrote. If that invokes a 2nd harsh response from you, so be it.

I have a quik question!

Our NOA1 came on Nov.5th and since then my fiance has came and visited me in Canada over the x-mas holidays. Is there anything saying that i could not go down to the states to visit him?

As long as you can get a tourist visa there should be no problems.

But you will likely need to show "strong ties" to your home country to assure your return while waiting for the K1.

Thank you everyone for the kind words.

After I read the first 3 posts I sat down and cried and cried and cried.

As a result I do feel better. I guess there is some comfort from knowing that others are in the same boat. True we are all in the same shitty boat but at least we are all together.

Thank you again to the VJ community.

****************************************************************8

to Lisa C:

And, just as a side note, I did not say never hire an attorney, I gave 4 qualifiers, and obviously if you are not filing the typical K1 and have police records, are a child molester...... an attorney might be the way to go.

However, most of us here are average people in love and have no unusual circumstances. I am careful with my words and seldom use "never".

(notice I did not say "never use never". LOLOLO)

Word of advice for those just getting started:

1. Don't even bother with hiring a lawyer as long as you have internet access, are computer literate, can read and follow directions.

2. Refer to this site for all timeline information.

3. Confer with others that have been through the process.

4. Expect the worse-case scenario so you don't set yourself up for later disappointment. (Of course you should hope for the best, but expect the worst.)

I paid a lawyer to assist with filing the K1 visa in Jan of 2010. He told me that after getting all the paperwork together we would be approved in 6 weeks to 8 weeks and the embassy would take about 4 weeks more.....in total the processing time would be 3-4 months tops!

The "love of my life" and highschool sweetheart began gathering all the paperwork together in Chile to file for a K1, however Chile had a 8.7 earthquake and many of the government courthouses where they store historical documents were damaged and unsafe to enter.

Because it is time consuming to get a tourist visa to the US and we were told that the separation wouldn't be too much longer, I made a 5 day journey to Chile and returned April 1 2010.

Daniel finally got all his paperwork together and sent it to me in early June. The first of July I completed all the paperwork and forwarded it to the attorney to double check. The attorney gave his OK and I sent in our K1 in mid July. Our K1 was returned because of a simple error that the attorney should have easily caught. (I checked single on my status yet provided a divorce decree from my former marriage which ended in 1983).

I made this little change, and did my research which found that there were other little errors and resent in the K1. Our NOA1 date was August 12, 2010.

We were discussing Daniel visiting the first week of September 2010 as September was 4 months since we had last seen each other, however family members in Chile had been turned down for a tourist visa and afterwards were unable to apply for a visa for a year. We were very afraid of that happening, so I asked my PAID attorney who had no idea yea or nay about this. I contacted the Chilean embassy but got a garbled response that was ambiguous. We decided not to chance it as the visa would be coming through shortly.

Unfortunately I had not yet located visajourney.com and since my PAID attorney told me we would receive our NOA2 in 6-8 weeks we checked the USCIS status page every single day beginning at week 3. Those of you in this process are very aware of the sense of frustration, anger and hopelessness that resulted from seeing no updates, no touches, no nothing, day after day after day.

I left a couple of voicemails for the Attorney in October to ask why it was taking longer than he advised and never got a response back from him...and still haven't to this day.

When I was at my wits end and feeling very desperate in late October I finally found this website and discovered that my attorney was very uninformed about his job and not fit to be paid to do it. I also discovered that I submitted more than was requested and required for the K1 visa and if not for this I would have been able to get an earlier NOA1 date. (remember the earthquake in Chile and difficulty of obtaining paperwork).

And here we all are waiting and waiting and waiting. We are currently at 145 days (21 weeks) and no NOA2 in sight.

We finally got to where we should have been initially, to put it another way,we gave up and are expecting the worst case scenario. Daniel is attempting a 10 day visit on a tourist visa-his interview is Jan 31. He can show he has sufficient ties to return, and the visajourney community assures us that the year denial of a tourist visa will not affect the K1.

I am trying not to think any further than the tourist visa. We are both middle aged farts with clean police records, assets and no conceivable reasons exist to deny us a K1 visa, but having hope only disappoints and hurts every single day.

I am filled with anger at the way this is all working out. If we had done this the illegal way we would be together now and creating invaluable memories for our old age. I fully expected Christmas 2009 to be my last alone.

I live in Texas and run across illegals every single day. I swear this process has made me hate every single one of them because they are here and Daniel is not!

I am becoming hateful, vicious and despondent. I have am become a burden on my coworkers because of my attitude. Normally I am sunny, likeable and cheerful but that disappeared completely the end of November in the midst of the "holiday" season. (the " indicates sarcasm)

I am calling tomorrow to make an appt with my doctor and ask for anti-depressants, the truth is that without Daniel I see no reason for continuing. This is not living - it is existing and existing at a low level. Life has no joys, no happinesses nothing to look forward to.

I know this community understands exactly what I am saying, and I ask that the members please don't try to give me words of encouragement, I am way beyond that.

Just call me "48 and losing precious time together every day"

We will also (hopefully) be preparing soon for our Interview.

Our interview will be done at the embassy in Chile, and on their website they have a list of what comprises what they refer to as a "packet 3". Perhaps the embassy in the country your fiancee will be moving from will also have necessary info online about what is required at the interview. I would check. Good Luck!

You can do whatever you want, but I highly recommend that you send in the 3 years of tax returns that the "powers that be" ask for.

If you do not it is possible that your petition will be delayed and/or denied.

Do you not have access to 3 years of income tax returns?

I am so very sorry!!!!

I agree that for most of us here Christmas Sucked, New Years Sucked, and all we want to do is move forward so we can begin to live our lives with those that we love.

I hope you get news soon.

My life sucks to begin with and I just found out by calling USCIS that I am to receive an RFE dated 12/16/10. UUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!! After all these months of waiting. I am mortified

OHHHH I am soooo Sorry!!!

Did they give you a "reason" for not notifying you earlier?

Thank you Mari for the update. Please let us know if you get anything in a week!!!

OK

Turbotax.com works wonders for me! It asks a boatload of questions which I have to answer (of course) but I always get much more back than I would otherwise.