Will I EVER get to USA?

[mrsB 0]

Hello everyone.

I just wanted to share my story with you all as I'm starting to run low on hope.

I'm 25 years old, college graduate from Finland. I married my American husband in December 2007, here in Finland where I still am now. My husband is in USA, living in the apartment he had rented for us and working long days to keep it all paid for as neither of us was prepared for all of this to take so long. I made the mistake of giving up my apartment in Finland before the wedding as I went to set up our place in USA a few months prior to the wedding, thinking I'd be back there with my husband in no time. This obviously hasn't been the case. Almost everything I didn't have to sell here, I shipped to USA to wait for me. I only brought a suitcase of clothes to Finland with me. Now, about 1,5 years after my arrival to Finland to prepare for our wedding, I am still sleeping on my parents' couch as I have no idea when I actually can get to USA. During this time I've finished my college, but I've been unable to really move on with my life due to this unstable situation.

After the wedding we started to gather the neccessary documents needed to start our application process. By February 2008 we had both of our papers together and mailed them. It wasn't until April 2008 that we received note that it had all been received by the USCIS. Already I began to wonder how long would this all take after all... That was actually the last we heard from the USCIS. In October it had been 6 months since the papers had been received and I was told (by the embassy in Finland) that it'd take about 6 months to get my visa. Nothing came. No info what so ever. In December my husband called the USCIS and they stated that the case had been recently forwarded to the person who deals with them. The process had started. 2 months after I should've had my visa, according to the embassy. We have since sent out a service request 4 times (which was supposed to speed it all up) but the USCIS has never contacted us about anything. All the info we've got has been due to our own activity. I was worried sick about absolutely nothing seemingly happening and I contacted the embassy again in the beginning of February 2009 and they were shocked to hear that I still haven't gotten anywhere. They said I should've indeed had everything done in last October (2008). They instructed me to tell my husband to contact a local congressman, which should solve the case quite quickly. My husband quickly got in touch with his congressman who then soon sent a letter to the USCIS requesting information. The information he got was that FBI was doing a background check and that there'd be nothing that we could really do about it. My husband called the USCIS and they said we shouldn't worry about our case until it has been a year (around mid-April 2009).

I'm curious as to why all of this has proven to be so incredibly difficult. During the (soon) 1,5 years that we've been married, we've been able to spend 2 weeks together. Am I alone in thinking that it's rather ridiculous?

Let's think about it all for a moment. I'm not a kid, I have no kids. I've never been married before, I have a college degree, I speak English well enough (as you can see here) and I haven't got so much as a parking ticket on my criminal record. I've known my husband for years before we even got married so this wasn't just a sudden thing. He has spent close to 2 months in Finland, whenever he could get a holiday (which are hard to come by in USA). I've spent about 10 months in USA over the course of these years, during my college and it's holidays. I consider myself to be a decent person and I come from a country that (to my knowledge) has a good standing with the USA. A harmless, small northern nation. Everyone in the world who knows anything about Finland can agree with me that this is hardly the kind of country anyone would be eager to leave for "something better".

There has been plenty of proof provided about our relationship, including several testimonies from family and friends.

This has been the hardest time in my life so far. Not being able to be with the person I love and being generally stuck in my life, due to the fact that I have no idea what'll happen next month, much less in 6. All I would want to know is why this is all happening? Am I somehow a suspicious person? Why can I do NOTHING to move this thing forward?

I've been asking the embassy if I could at least go see my husband in USA... We both miss each other so much. The last time we saw each other was 2 weeks in last October when he was here. The time before that was our wedding. The embassy says that I cannot get a visitor visa because I'm already waiting for a permanent one and that if I use the visa waiver program, USA can, if they feel like it, turn me back at the border, which would automatically result in my application being denied. For good. I'm just trying to figure out how can these people have the right to keep us apart for years like this? Shouldn't take too long to check my background. But apparently it takes months.

We're both young and would like to enjoy our youth together. I'm tired of missing his birthdays and him missing mine. I'm sad that he missed my graduation and that we couldn't spend our wedding anniversary together or Christmas, my favorite holiday. His birthday is in a couple of weeks and I'm once again going to miss it... I just wish it'd be the last event that we can't spend together.

Thank you for reading this.

Edited March 25, 2009 by mrsB

[GueraKristina 1]

Thats sooo sad. Im sorry that this is going so horribly for you. I do not know why it is taking so long. All i know is i would be calling the embassy every week, and i would have ur husband doing the same. Heck they would know me by the sound of my voice. Maybe your husband should have the congressman write another letter, maybe you should have ur congressman write a letter or something to the same effect. I am sorry that you guys are missing out on eachother's youth, that is horrible, my husband and i are young, im 19 and he is 24,we love eachother more than anything in this world, and it was sooo hard when he was in mexico for 6 months without me being able to see him. I know how the seperation feels, and i hope you guys get some good news soon. The wait is deff. unbearable.

[mrsB 0]

We've been trying to contact everyone we can think of... every time I call the embassy here, I hear the same thing... that our embassy can't do anything about it. They can't influence USCIS in any way. And in USA everyone seems to have their hands tied as well. It's starting to feel kind of ridiculous, especially when every day someone asks me or someone in my family if I'm still here... and wonder how it can be taking so long. Every day I hear my mom explain to someone this whole situation and every day it's just kind of being rubbed to my face. I've tried so hard not to think about it, but these days it seems to be ALL I can think about. It's been soon 6 months since I saw my husband... and with no idea of when I'll see him again... It's hard.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

What did you submit for evidence of bona fide marriage? Please give more details. And so people can help you out.

If you are out of processing times, there are things you can do.

[mrsB 0]

When I say everything possible has been done, I do truly mean it. Our case is outside the processing times by several months, we've sent service requests as mentioned, but no results so far. According to our sources that's all we're able to do. The senator has already been involved, which hasn't helped us in anything other than getting the info that FBI is doing the name check, whatever that means.

As mentioned, for the proof of our marriage there has been written documents from our friends and family stating that we have indeed had a relationship for several years and from those who were present at the wedding there were statements. It has been explained how we met and when, about our trips to see each other and so forth. Not really much else there could possibly be. If 50 or so people can testify that our relationship and marriage is for real, I'm not entirely sure what is the doubt there.

As far as a timeline goes, I could fill in one, but it might be a bit useless, considering that it has all been resting in our hands and we haven't really got any information from USCIS without contacting them about it. I also haven't kept record of the exact dates when I've called the embassy or the USCIS etc... The post I made states pretty well what kind of a timeline we're talking about.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

When I say everything possible has been done, I do truly mean it. Our case is outside the processing times by several months, we've sent service requests as mentioned, but no results so far. According to our sources that's all we're able to do. The senator has already been involved, which hasn't helped us in anything other than getting the info that FBI is doing the name check, whatever that means.

As mentioned, for the proof of our marriage there has been written documents from our friends and family stating that we have indeed had a relationship for several years and from those who were present at the wedding there were statements. It has been explained how we met and when, about our trips to see each other and so forth. Not really much else there could possibly be. If 50 or so people can testify that our relationship and marriage is for real, I'm not entirely sure what is the doubt there.

As far as a timeline goes, I could fill in one, but it might be a bit useless, considering that it has all been resting in our hands and we haven't really got any information from USCIS without contacting them about it. I also haven't kept record of the exact dates when I've called the embassy or the USCIS etc... The post I made states pretty well what kind of a timeline we're talking about.

#######?- then hope people have time and willingness to sort it out for you. I don't. Good luck.

[mrsB 0]

Excuse me?

First of all, I gave all the times (if not by exact date) in my original post. And second, I didn't ask you to draw a timeline for me. I originally just wanted to know from someone if they've had a similar experience and if they were ever explained as to why it all took so long. If there's going to be a happy ending to all this.

If you're not willing to tell me things because you don't have the exact dates for the activities concerning my case, that's fine and I can live with that. Thanks for your time.

[mrsB 0]

I'd also like to point out that the only documents that I have with any kind of an actual date on them are the receipts from the USCIS from 2008. As that is the only time we got anything from them. The dates for the form in question are:

Received date: April 11, 2008

Notification date: April 16, 2008

Since then we've been the ones contacting the USCIS, the congressman and the embassy.

[Ban Hammer 13,251]

As far as a timeline goes, I could fill in one, but it might be a bit useless, considering that it has all been resting in our hands and we haven't really got any information from USCIS without contacting them about it. I also haven't kept record of the exact dates when I've called the embassy or the USCIS etc... The post I made states pretty well what kind of a timeline we're talking about.

timelines help keep vj statistics accurate. by not filling one in, it gets questions like that previously posed by len, and anyone from finland won't have recent statistics to draw on.

[mrsB 0]

Alright, sorry, I didn't know that timelines were mandatory for posting here. The last call to the officials was made by me when I called the USCIS on 12th of March 2009. During that phone call I was only told that our case was opened and that all I could do would be to tell my husband to send in a service request. I told him this and he told me 4 had already been sent. So the most recent information I have is from March 2009. The USCIS did not mention about the FBI name check, that we learned from the congressman in February. I guess this topic can now be considered as abandoned as I don't have a timeline. Thank you all for reading and for your time. I shall seek help elsewhere.

[CnT4ever 1]

If they are doing a name check, then maybe your name had a hit. Perhaps your name resembles someone on the FBI list??? I'm really sorry about your terribly long wait. I don't have a timeline and I have posted. I don't think it's manditory to make a timeline in order to post. The only thing I can think of is instead of doing a service request, have your husband do an expedite request for being outside of the processing time. A service request just tells you the status. An expedite request asks them to hurry it up. I wonder since the name check is what is holding it up, if your senator or congressman can contact someone in homeland security or at the fbi? I have no idea if it's possible, but it's worth asking. I have noticed that a few (not many, but a few) people have had extremely long wait times for their approvals. There must be someone out there that has waited almost as long as you.

I wish you the best!

[Sinergy 3]

There are still MANY MANY members on VJ still waiting for approvals for April. If you say your Notification date is April then that is your NOA1. You should have recieved a paper about that from USCIS.

and yes, if you want to be given the correct help and advise here, you NEED to fill in your timeline. Without it, no one can say for sure if you are out of the processing time and can not give you help.

[Minya's wife 24]

Alright, sorry, I didn't know that timelines were mandatory for posting here. The last call to the officials was made by me when I called the USCIS on 12th of March 2009. During that phone call I was only told that our case was opened and that all I could do would be to tell my husband to send in a service request. I told him this and he told me 4 had already been sent. So the most recent information I have is from March 2009. The USCIS did not mention about the FBI name check, that we learned from the congressman in February. I guess this topic can now be considered as abandoned as I don't have a timeline. Thank you all for reading and for your time. I shall seek help elsewhere.

If, when logged in you're looking at your account page , you'll see a link about half-way down the page called "my timeline". Click on that, it takes you to the page to enter your information. Approximation is fine, exact dates are not necessary. By looking at one's timeline, people can offer help and suggestions, and it is of great help to other members in estimating their own process.

Specific to your case, though...if your senator was able to find out that you're in FBI namecheck, it unfortunately means that that the lenght of time your process can take is uncertain. There is no set time for how long FBI namecheck can take, and you'e going to be able to find much more info than that. I'm sorry.

In the meantime...you should look around here and gather as much info as you can for what you'll need for when your petition is approved at USCIS. Your husband filed a spousal petition, and once approved there are still a few steps before you can interview for your visa.

On a bright note (it may not be any consolation, but I'll put it out there) since your process has taken long(er) and if it is two years since marriage, I'd scrap the K-3 visa and go with the IR-1 visa, which will give you the 10 year green-card right off the bat....no need to remove conditions. You'll be a permanent resident from the time you get to he US.

-P

[Sinergy 3]

Alright, sorry, I didn't know that timelines were mandatory for posting here. The last call to the officials was made by me when I called the USCIS on 12th of March 2009. During that phone call I was only told that our case was opened and that all I could do would be to tell my husband to send in a service request. I told him this and he told me 4 had already been sent. So the most recent information I have is from March 2009. The USCIS did not mention about the FBI name check, that we learned from the congressman in February. I guess this topic can now be considered as abandoned as I don't have a timeline. Thank you all for reading and for your time. I shall seek help elsewhere.

If, when logged in you're looking at your account page , you'll see a link about half-way down the page called "my timeline". Click on that, it takes you to the page to enter your information. Approximation is fine, exact dates are not necessary. By looking at one's timeline, people can offer help and suggestions, and it is of great help to other members in estimating their own process.

Specific to your case, though...if your senator was able to find out that you're in FBI namecheck, it unfortunately means that that the lenght of time your process can take is uncertain. There is no set time for how long FBI namecheck can take, and you'e going to be able to find much more info than that. I'm sorry.

In the meantime...you should look around here and gather as much info as you can for what you'll need for when your petition is approved at USCIS. Your husband filed a spousal petition, and once approved there are still a few steps before you can interview for your visa.

On a bright note (it may not be any consolation, but I'll put it out there) since your process has taken long(er) and if it is two years since marriage, I'd scrap the K-3 visa and go with the IR-1 visa, which will give you the 10 year green-card right off the bat....no need to remove conditions. You'll be a permanent resident from the time you get to he US.

-P

[cris11 0]

MrsB..

If you are a Finnish citizen you can travel to US, that are no rules who say you are not allow!

I had travel to US 4 times when my case was still pending, I had stay sometime 3 months in US then back to Sweden and back after few months again. Bring the proof with you that you plan to go back to Finland. I was in US when my case been approved and travelled back to Sweden, now I wait on my interview.

If you dont try - you dont know!

Good luck!