Those of you who are already done with immigrating to the US

[BelleSade 3]

I was browsing the internet and found this article:

It's a comedy site and has some foul language, so I guess it's NSFW.

How accurate is it? I'm just starting this whole process and this kind of put a damper on my hopes....

[one...two...tree 2,762]

How accurate is it? I'm just starting this whole process and this kind of put a damper on my hopes....

It is a long and involved process, but so are things like adoption. Are you the one immigrating or you are trying to bring someone here?

[alex and astrid 38]

I had a pretty smooth visa journey, so in terms of comparing it to myself, it's not completely accurate. I didn't get any RFE's, and really, no hiccups along the way. However, it is pretty accurate that this process takes time and MONEY. My husband I were talking about it the other night, and just up to the stage we are at now (AOS approved) we think we've spent upward of $3000 getting me here. That's $3000 spent in the time between our NOA1 for the K1 in August 2009, to when I got my green card in May 2010. And we did it all ourselves, no lawyers or anything.

Here's hoping the cost of ROC and Naturalization don't skyrocket in the next three years!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

It wasn't anything like that for us. YMWV.

[Fandango 1,439]

For a straightforward fiance/spousal visa, I really don't see what the hoo ha is about. Easy peasy.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

I think the article is pretty accurate. Of course, she didn't mention that she only had the option to apply for an immigrant visa because she was married to a USC husband. Most of the illegal immigrants simple have no way to apply for an immigrant visa to begin with.

[Fandango 1,439]

I think the article is pretty accurate. Of course, she didn't mention that she only had the option to apply for an immigrant visa because she was married to a USC husband. Most of the illegal immigrants simple have no way to apply for an immigrant visa to begin with.

lucky for you that you did!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

It's accurate ENOUGH, but it's also wrong in many ways

Personally for my K1 it cost us:

US$ 455 - Petition (approx AU$512)

AU$ 400 - medical and required shots ($1000 in the article is INSANE! This person must not have had ANY immunisations and needed them all.. there was only one doc though)

AU$ 131 - police clearance (with fingerprints... that's where that article is wrong, it's clearly written in the instructions)

AU$ 90 - flights to Sydney where the interview was

AU$ 30 - taxi to and from interview venue in sydney

AU$ 176 - visa application fee (paid before interview)

AU$ 100 - Photos, photocopying, printing, envelope for them to send passport back etc (this is an estimate)

AU$1439 - TOTAL - rough estimate

So far for AOS it's cost --

US$ 50 - I-693 transcription

US$1010 - AOS application fee

US$ 10 - photos (had 10 printed for $1.90) and cost of mailing things

US$1070 - TOTAL SO FAR

Not to mention if you don't have a passport you need one. Also not counting your personal costs for the wedding, and the cost of flights. Luggage if you don't already have it, mailing your own stuff over. Getting yourself set up with a vehicle and drivers licence

Getting a social security number was easy (unlike the article said).

It's really not that difficult, especially when you have such a large group of people on VJ able to give you advice and help you out. My K1 journey took 6 months which is pretty good really. My AOS is at 25 days. Just gotta make sure you read the instructions properly, ask questions when you're not sure, double check everything you send out and it's all good. I didn't use a lawyer either and didn't receive any RFE's for the K1, and none as yet for the AOS **knock on wood**

Edited May 15, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[littlecrazyangel 1]

It's pretty accurate.You also have to wait a LOT.For us this was the hardest part.But now we are together

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I had more problems with the government's mailroom then USCIS themselves. Mailroom cost me nearly 6 months.

[milimelo 4,156]

I think the woman from the link came on a K-3 and that's why it cost so much plus she is mentioning the second, joint interview after entering the US with the visa.

[BelleSade 3]

Wow, you guys have made me feel better :-D

I'm the USC, he's Australian. So far our biggest issue has also been the postal service... where I live we always get the mail at least a week later than we're meant to.

As a wedding gift (not marrying yet, just engaged) we got 10 grand and we're using on this process.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Wow, you guys have made me feel better :-D

I'm the USC, he's Australian. So far our biggest issue has also been the postal service... where I live we always get the mail at least a week later than we're meant to.

As a wedding gift (not marrying yet, just engaged) we got 10 grand and we're using on this process.

You will have change left over from your $10,000 bill. At least from the immigration process. We are still involved with it, we file for lifting conditions later this year (seems like yesterday I was filling out the I-129f) We didn't have any "problems" and no unusual delays, but the normal delays, normal expenses. It is like anything I guess, you prioritize and do it. It is just part of our life and will be part of yours, at least until they become citizens. Not a big thing...but it is a thing. Hey, having cancer would be a LOT worse, so deal with it, take the steps as they come, be careful, be accurate, be complete...pay attention to details and write a check every now and again. Heck a brake job and front struts can cost you more than the visa process and that is just normal wear and tear. What you spend on travel and weddings is your business and you can spend that whether you marry the guy next door or the guy in another hemisphere.

This is a lifetime commitment, it isn't a dinner date. It would be WAY too much trouble for a dinner date. For a lifetime investment...no big deal. Yes, it seemed to take forever, but now we are lifting conditions later this year, which means she has been here two years already. Time goes quickly and dammit...it was worth it!

[Gemmie 142]

Ours was nowhere near as they described.

It did take 8.5 months or something (5 months until USCIS approval and then the rest for mail, interview wait, etc). That was the most frustrating part of the process.

But other than that, it was easy peasy for us. No RFE, no huge set-backs, no huge bills. We paid 180 GBP for the medical, and only needed one injection which was a further $180 when I got to the US. Criminal record check only cost 35 GBP... my bus tickets to London for the medical and interview were cheap as I used good sites. The most costly part of the process was actually flight tickets (we couldn't stand to be apart for almost 9 months).

Don't worry.