C Med

Looks like you're all set!
Thanks for the detailed interview experience, and congratulations in advance

What a wonderful review... and outcome! Reading this makes being a VisaJourney member the most worthwhile.

Congrats! I have to add that any reasonable human being could understand your predicament with the hurricane issue and not want to trouble your life any further, immigration or not... May God restore you abundantly in Jesus name, amen!

We just got home from the interview! It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk around the city for a little while afterward. I think it went as well as can be expected! Here's a rundown of the day!
We arrived at 26 Federal Plaza at around 11AM. We went through the standard "airport" security procedure and headed up to the 8th floor. We checked in at the front desk where we presented our original letter that we received with the interview information. My husband was asked for his green card. He said we lost the card in the hurricane. The woman paused and looked at us as though she was thinking "uh oh". She gave us the paper again and asked us to step aside to the next window where we would receive our ticket. Once we received our ticket, we took a seat and waited. We watched people come and go and basically sweat through our clothes as we waited to be called. A couple sitting in front of us were separated, and when the man came out, he was shaking his head and looked on the verge of tears. His wife went in and the man sat trying to compose herself. My husband and I felt terribly for this man. The wife was in there for about 40 minutes before the husband was called back in with her. We were then called in before the couple came back out. I don't know what happened to them, but I just want to say that I wish them the best and hope that things went well.
We were called in by the interviewer. She was a very friendly woman who walked us back to her office. She asked us for our identification and my husband's green card. We told her that his GC was lost in the flood. Her mouth dropped open and she looked very sympathetic. She said she was so sorry to hear this and asked why we didn't get a replacement card. We explained that we just didn't have the money to replace the card in the wake of the storm and by the time we were on our feet, we figured his 10 year card would be along any day. She nodded and said she understood and was again sorry for our loss. She made a note of this in our file. Then she said she was going to flip through our filed (which was very thick lol) and ask me a series of random questions about my husband. She told him not to say anything.
She asked:
1. What is your husband's full name?
2. What did your husband study in college overseas?
3. What are the names of your in-laws?
4. Where do they live?
5. Where did your husband live overseas? (meaning addresses)
6. How and when did you meet? (When we told her we met in April 2000, when we were just 17, she said she was amazed we had known each other so long and had a quick conversation with us about that in a very friendly way)
7. Describe the meeting.
8. Where did your husband work overseas?
9. Does your husband work now? (This is where it got scary. When I explained my husband wasn't working, and hadn't yet worked in America, she lifted a red pen and started writing in our file. She also looked very uncomfortable. Then my husband explained about the concussion and gave her documentation from the neurologist he had seen. She smiled and looked relieved that he brought that paperwork with him. She made a note that he had suffered a medical issue and that he brought supporting documentation. I think she shaved about 5 years from my life when she lifted that red pen, but all is well that ends well lol)
She asked my husband:
1. What is your wife's full name?
2. What is her date of birth?
3. Where does your wife work?
4. What does she do there?
5. Where did she live when you met? (when my husband gave my address in Brooklyn, she said, I knew you were from Brooklyn, which part? When I told her, she said she was from the same neighborhood, and she had a feeling I was too because of my accent. We then had a brief conversation about the neighborhood, etc.)
6. Where has she lived since?
7. What other places has your wife worked?
8. What are your in-laws' names?
9. Which company does your wife have life insurance with? (He didn't know the answer to this. He said "I'm not sure which company it is, but she's covered through work". She laughed and said, "It's ok, as long as you know it was through her work." I said, "I actually don't know the name of the company either" and she laughed at that as well)
10. What are the names of your landlords?
11. What is the name of your auto insurance? (We actually don't have auto insurance. We have renter's insurance through Geico and she assumed it was auto insurance.)
Those were all the questions but she asked me a few, then my husband a few, then back again. She said, "Well, you two obviously know each other very well if you can answer even the most random questions about each other from so many years ago" (we had given each other's addresses from over 10 years ago). She then told us that we were called in for an interview because we failed to send our 2011 tax returns. I explained that was because we didn't have them because of the flood. She said my 2012 records were there but that there was a form missing from them. That's the whole reason we were called in!! Thankfully, in NYC, the IRS building is right across the street from 26 Federal Plaza. So she said, "I hate to do this, but I have to ask you to do one more thing." She said "you should be fine, but we just need those documents for the file". She asked us to go across the street and request our IRS tax statements from 2011 and 2012 and bring them back to her. We told her we would, and she said to my husband, "You should be fine. You will get your green card in 30 - 60 days." We ran across the street, got the forms, and were back within the hour. She came out to the front desk when we came back and looked at the documents. She said "this is perfect" and again said that we should be fine. We thanked her and shook her hand and were on our way.
Considering the fact that my husband didn't even have his green card on him, and isn't working, I don't think it could have gone any better. I was also very relieved to hear that we were only called in because of those missing forms, which they now have. It helps to know that they never questioned the validity of our marriage.
Thank you all so much for all of your support throughout this journey. I won't be 100% relieved until he has that GC in his hand, but I think we'll be ok.
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give all information in case it helps anyone else.
Thank you again!!

We just got home from the interview! It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk around the city for a little while afterward. I think it went as well as can be expected! Here's a rundown of the day!
We arrived at 26 Federal Plaza at around 11AM. We went through the standard "airport" security procedure and headed up to the 8th floor. We checked in at the front desk where we presented our original letter that we received with the interview information. My husband was asked for his green card. He said we lost the card in the hurricane. The woman paused and looked at us as though she was thinking "uh oh". She gave us the paper again and asked us to step aside to the next window where we would receive our ticket. Once we received our ticket, we took a seat and waited. We watched people come and go and basically sweat through our clothes as we waited to be called. A couple sitting in front of us were separated, and when the man came out, he was shaking his head and looked on the verge of tears. His wife went in and the man sat trying to compose herself. My husband and I felt terribly for this man. The wife was in there for about 40 minutes before the husband was called back in with her. We were then called in before the couple came back out. I don't know what happened to them, but I just want to say that I wish them the best and hope that things went well.
We were called in by the interviewer. She was a very friendly woman who walked us back to her office. She asked us for our identification and my husband's green card. We told her that his GC was lost in the flood. Her mouth dropped open and she looked very sympathetic. She said she was so sorry to hear this and asked why we didn't get a replacement card. We explained that we just didn't have the money to replace the card in the wake of the storm and by the time we were on our feet, we figured his 10 year card would be along any day. She nodded and said she understood and was again sorry for our loss. She made a note of this in our file. Then she said she was going to flip through our filed (which was very thick lol) and ask me a series of random questions about my husband. She told him not to say anything.
She asked:
1. What is your husband's full name?
2. What did your husband study in college overseas?
3. What are the names of your in-laws?
4. Where do they live?
5. Where did your husband live overseas? (meaning addresses)
6. How and when did you meet? (When we told her we met in April 2000, when we were just 17, she said she was amazed we had known each other so long and had a quick conversation with us about that in a very friendly way)
7. Describe the meeting.
8. Where did your husband work overseas?
9. Does your husband work now? (This is where it got scary. When I explained my husband wasn't working, and hadn't yet worked in America, she lifted a red pen and started writing in our file. She also looked very uncomfortable. Then my husband explained about the concussion and gave her documentation from the neurologist he had seen. She smiled and looked relieved that he brought that paperwork with him. She made a note that he had suffered a medical issue and that he brought supporting documentation. I think she shaved about 5 years from my life when she lifted that red pen, but all is well that ends well lol)
She asked my husband:
1. What is your wife's full name?
2. What is her date of birth?
3. Where does your wife work?
4. What does she do there?
5. Where did she live when you met? (when my husband gave my address in Brooklyn, she said, I knew you were from Brooklyn, which part? When I told her, she said she was from the same neighborhood, and she had a feeling I was too because of my accent. We then had a brief conversation about the neighborhood, etc.)
6. Where has she lived since?
7. What other places has your wife worked?
8. What are your in-laws' names?
9. Which company does your wife have life insurance with? (He didn't know the answer to this. He said "I'm not sure which company it is, but she's covered through work". She laughed and said, "It's ok, as long as you know it was through her work." I said, "I actually don't know the name of the company either" and she laughed at that as well)
10. What are the names of your landlords?
11. What is the name of your auto insurance? (We actually don't have auto insurance. We have renter's insurance through Geico and she assumed it was auto insurance.)
Those were all the questions but she asked me a few, then my husband a few, then back again. She said, "Well, you two obviously know each other very well if you can answer even the most random questions about each other from so many years ago" (we had given each other's addresses from over 10 years ago). She then told us that we were called in for an interview because we failed to send our 2011 tax returns. I explained that was because we didn't have them because of the flood. She said my 2012 records were there but that there was a form missing from them. That's the whole reason we were called in!! Thankfully, in NYC, the IRS building is right across the street from 26 Federal Plaza. So she said, "I hate to do this, but I have to ask you to do one more thing." She said "you should be fine, but we just need those documents for the file". She asked us to go across the street and request our IRS tax statements from 2011 and 2012 and bring them back to her. We told her we would, and she said to my husband, "You should be fine. You will get your green card in 30 - 60 days." We ran across the street, got the forms, and were back within the hour. She came out to the front desk when we came back and looked at the documents. She said "this is perfect" and again said that we should be fine. We thanked her and shook her hand and were on our way.
Considering the fact that my husband didn't even have his green card on him, and isn't working, I don't think it could have gone any better. I was also very relieved to hear that we were only called in because of those missing forms, which they now have. It helps to know that they never questioned the validity of our marriage.
Thank you all so much for all of your support throughout this journey. I won't be 100% relieved until he has that GC in his hand, but I think we'll be ok.
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give all information in case it helps anyone else.
Thank you again!!

IMO you don't need to worry about most of the things you listed. Many couples don't wear wedding rings, don't change the wife's name, and/or don't have children (my husband and I don't and will never do any of these simply because we don't like to). These things aren't necessary to prove a bona fide marriage. Having utility bills in only one spouse's name or only one spouse working is also quite common. The only unusual thing about your case is not having the green card and the marriage license (I suppose you mean marriage certificate?), but given the extreme circumstance it should be understandable. Good luck!

Sympathies about the hurricane losses, both material and financial.
All that you can do is be candid and forthcoming.
The prospect is remote, but they might split you up and query you separately (Stokes interview).
Might you print off some of your earlier VJ posts/threads, in which you ask questions about fulfilling the process lawfully? You might also find some statements to support the bona fide nature of your marriage in the eyes of an official stranger (the interviewer).

Just be honest about everything particularly on that sad experience you had due to Hurricane Sandy. They were maybe just wondering that there was no copy of GC presented and marriage license which are important requirements/proofs. ( You can actually get a copy of your ML online)

Goodluck anyway and wishing that your case will be approved. Keep us posted.

There's not much time left today, but consider searching for a template for a Medical or Healthcare Power of Attorney valid for your state of residence. Fill it out with mutual information, get it notarized if necessary, and bring it (one for each of you -- you to him, him to you) to the interview.

If banks are still open when your POA is ready, they'll have notaries.
Look also for "mobile notary" in your area.
In some states, POAs like that need not be notarized.
Yep; after Trop Storm Allison and Hurricane Ike, understood.

We had our interview in June, no prior RFE. Put together a good package. We are a legitimate couple but I was stressed nonetheless. It was very similar to our AOS interview. Started off with "Are you in removal, have you ever been deported......" Then went through our documents and basically just chatted with us for about 15 minutes.Our IO is set to retire next month so I reckon he's done a fair amount of interviews and probably gets a good sense of who is lefit and who is not. I'm sure you will do fine. Good luck!

Here are the facts as you have already heard them.
1. She is going to have to divorce her current husband and go back to her home country.
2. You can then file a petition for her. If she takes the steps to divorce and leave the US before she receives her green card, she may have an easier time the second time around for the K-1 visa, but beware. It isn't going to be a straight forward process. A lot of questions will need to be answered, and if she had a relationship for a significant amount of time with the OP, is USCIS going to find your relationship of a few months more concrete? I don't know about that, but I do believe that you will have to provide a LOT of evidence to support your relationship.
But here's something that you may not have yet been told. If her husband finds out about the two of you, he could very well notify USCIS and have her charged with immigration fraud. Then she is in a whole world of trouble. Especially if that happens before she petitions for divorce. I would be very careful with this situation. There is a lot of potential for serious problems with immigration here. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck.

I think that everyone is stressed and understandably so. It isn't easy. No one wants their lives to be totally out of their hands, and that's basically what this is. We take our wishes, our hopes and dreams, and write it all down on paper. Then we turn it over to USCIS and ask if we can have those hopes and dreams come true. Then we wait. And we wait and we wait until someone that we've never met tells us whether or not we can have the lives we have chosen. Yes, we did know what we were getting ourselves into, but that doesn't make it easy. I think even the creator of this thread is feeling the stress of waiting, even if he denies it. If not, why would the complaints of others be so annoying? Because it serves as a reminder of his own waiting time.
My petition is only a couple of months old but I still feel the stress of being away from the one I love. I can't go visit him because I can't take time off of work right now, and he can't come here. So I don't know when I'll get to see him again. When you love someone, when all you want is to see him smile and to see him happy, then even one day is too long to be apart.
Have some patience for the people who need to vent. Most of the people on here don't have anyone in their lives who have ever been through this before. So none of their family and friends REALLY understand how they feel. But we do. So they come here to be heard, and we're here to listen.

Here’s a link with a guide on what you’ll need. Scroll more than half way down the page to “What to send your fiancé(e) once the I-129F is approved (Receive NOA2):”
http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide
Then this link gives you Embassy specific information on what you’ll need:
http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Macedonia&cty=Skopje

Hope this helps...My fiance is from Ireland, and was arrested for aggravated assault. Now, keep in mind, that the lunatic neighbor who called the police on him, has also called the police on half the people on the street, and has a file as long as your leg at the police station for making false accusations. The police in the area don't usually entertain her accusations, knowing that they are false. In this instance however, rookie cops were sent out to the house, and not knowing ths situation with this woman, they arrested my fiance. He did nothing wrong at all.
Once it was cleared up, my fiance was released, and was told that the arrest would be removed from his record entirely. We were concerned that this would cause delays in our case, at the very least. When my fiance obtained his police cert for the interview, sure enough, it was blank. When filling out the forms in packet 3 however, he was asked if he had ever been arrested, and to explain. Not wanting to lie, he checked that he HAD been arrested and explained. Even though there was no trace of the arrest on his police cert, we didn't want to deny it had happened...just in case.
I attended the interview with my fiance in Dublin, and I was all ready for the CO to ask about the arrest. He never did. It didn't seem to be an issue at all. I think the fact that there was no conviction made the difference.
I know your situation is a little different, but I hope this helps ease your worries somewhat. Either way, every case is different, and what's true for one may not be true for another. If you and your fiance have a legitimate relationship and follow the instructions of USCIS and the consulate to a T (preparing and providing accurate documentation, pictures, etc.) than I think you have little to worry about. Also, the office at the consulate in Dublin is very nice. The interview went a lot easier than I thought it would. I strongly believe that attending the interview with my fiance helped a great deal..so if it is at all possible for both of you to attend the interview in Dublin, I would recommend it highly.
In short, no, I don't think that your petition will be delayed in any way because of the arrest, but you may...or may not...be asked to explain the circumstances at the interview.

Hope this helps...My fiance is from Ireland, and was arrested for aggravated assault. Now, keep in mind, that the lunatic neighbor who called the police on him, has also called the police on half the people on the street, and has a file as long as your leg at the police station for making false accusations. The police in the area don't usually entertain her accusations, knowing that they are false. In this instance however, rookie cops were sent out to the house, and not knowing ths situation with this woman, they arrested my fiance. He did nothing wrong at all.
Once it was cleared up, my fiance was released, and was told that the arrest would be removed from his record entirely. We were concerned that this would cause delays in our case, at the very least. When my fiance obtained his police cert for the interview, sure enough, it was blank. When filling out the forms in packet 3 however, he was asked if he had ever been arrested, and to explain. Not wanting to lie, he checked that he HAD been arrested and explained. Even though there was no trace of the arrest on his police cert, we didn't want to deny it had happened...just in case.
I attended the interview with my fiance in Dublin, and I was all ready for the CO to ask about the arrest. He never did. It didn't seem to be an issue at all. I think the fact that there was no conviction made the difference.
I know your situation is a little different, but I hope this helps ease your worries somewhat. Either way, every case is different, and what's true for one may not be true for another. If you and your fiance have a legitimate relationship and follow the instructions of USCIS and the consulate to a T (preparing and providing accurate documentation, pictures, etc.) than I think you have little to worry about. Also, the office at the consulate in Dublin is very nice. The interview went a lot easier than I thought it would. I strongly believe that attending the interview with my fiance helped a great deal..so if it is at all possible for both of you to attend the interview in Dublin, I would recommend it highly.
In short, no, I don't think that your petition will be delayed in any way because of the arrest, but you may...or may not...be asked to explain the circumstances at the interview.

I strongly advise you NOT to have your fiance come to the US under VWP, get married, and apply for AOS. US Immigration is becoming more and more strict about people abiding by the law. When someone enters the US under VWP, they are saying that they have no intention of immigrating to the US, and are here only for a visit. By marrying a US citizen and applying for AOS without leaving the country under the VWP, you are committing immigration fraud. There really is no other way around it. Yes, some people get away with it, but it happens less and less often. Also, the fact that you and your fiance started a K-1 process and have an entire wedding planned is going to make it very obvious to US Immigration that your fiance used the VWP for purposes that it was not created for. The results can be devastating. He will be jailed, and you can be jailed as well, and then he will be deported and banned from the US. If you then apply for a spousal visa, there is every chance that it will be denied because he has been deported. I know someone who has gone through this, and her marriage resulted in divorce because her husband received a 10 year ban, and she could not move to his country for other reasons.
To me, this seems like a risk NOT worth taking just to keep a wedding date of November 5th. I know you have already planned everything and sent out invitations, but wedding plans can be changed, and invitations can be revised. What good will a wedding be if your new husband is thrown in jail, deported, and banned from the US soon after? I am not a scare monger, I am being very realistic.
You CAN marry your fiance under the VWP and as long as he returns to Scotland before the 90 days, he will be eligible to apply for the spousal visa. Just keep in mind that if you go that route, you will be apart for awhile. The spousal visa takes longer than the k1 visa from what I hear. So once he returns to Scotland, you're looking at another 9+ months of being separated.
I received my NOA2 4 months after filing the petition. My fiance is from Ireland (which has similar processing times to the UK) so you may want to peek at my timeline. My fiance arrived in the US 7 months (nearly to the day) of our NOA1 date. I think November 5th is going to be a long shot, and USCIS will not grant an expedite request solely because the wait time is interfering with your plans. That I can guarantee.
In the end, it's up to you and your fiance. Weigh your options and see where you both stand. You have several options. The one that gets your fiance here permanently in the quickest amount of time, is postponing your wedding date and waiting for the K1 visa.
I hope this can be of some help. All the best.

You won't get an RFE for sending in too much. An RFE is sent out when additional information is required. Also, I don't think RFEs are sent out at this stage of the game. I think that any issues in regard to missing documents would be addressed at the interview. I would bring a copy of everything that shouldn't have been sent in case there is any issue with missing documents. Best of luck.

I wouldn't include all of that information. Make sure your fiance is prepared to answer any questions that may arise about your previous marriage, but you don't have to tell the CO more than he wants to know. Keep the form very simple... I, (your name here) am willing, and am free to marry (fiancee's name here) within 90 days of her arrival in the US. Then sign it, and you're done.

Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
-- Lin Yutang

Congratulations on moving to NVC!
We were approved by USCIS April 19th, NVC received our case the 26th but it didn't get assigned a case number or show in their system until the 29th..so yeah give them at least a week before requesting an operator...good luck to you

Yeah, give them about a week and then start calling. The number for NVC is 603 334 0700
Congrats.

Hi all! I am ecstatic to finally be able to post here! We received our NOA2 from Vermont today and although I am so happy that I can barely think straight, the logical part of my brain is trying to focus on the next step. So, I know that the petition should now be sent to NVC. Does anyone know how long I should wait before calling them to confirm that our petition was received? 1 week? Does anyone have the phone number? Thank you Visa Journey family!!

OMG thats great!!! congratulations!! i was following your timeline we sent ours jan 18!! but we didnt get our NOA1 untill feb 9 i hope we are next

Congrats! wishing you success on the rest of your journey love and life.