Just Turkish

[Michele&Omer 0]

Hi Michele&Omer,

Ugh this sucks! I am sorry to hear that it is taking so long. I found this info at an aruba website, where they say it can take up to 4 weeks. Hopefully your husband will have his visa in hand shortly!! Maybe you can call the foreign affairs nuber in Aruba?

All Visa applicants should submit the following supporting documents:

· A completed and signed application form

· 2 photographs

· A valid passport

· Proof of economic solvency: the last three monthly bank statements

(must be original), bank letter alone will not suffice.

· Employment letter showing salary, position, total time on job, guarantee of employment upon return

· If self employed, excerpt of the company’s registration from the Chamber of Commerce

· If you are visiting family or friends, a letter of invitation

· Flight and Hotel reservations

Applications for a visa can be done through the representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Embassy or Consulate) or directly through the Department of Foreign Affairs in Aruba. In both cases, applications for tourist-visas will be handled with priority in order to facilitate the tourist as much as possible.

In other cases, the entire procedure might take up to four weeks and the visa will be handed over to the interested party by the Dutch Embassy and/or Consular Officials in the country where the application has been done or by fax if the application has been done directly through the Department of Foreign Affairs of Aruba.

J.E. Irausquinplein 2-A, Oranjestad

Tel: (297) 583-4705, Fax: (297) 583-8108

Yes he has turned in all the requested documents and photos with the application.

I wanted to have him file for the visa in May but the embassy told him to wait for June. Turns out June 2nd they started a new process where you not only pay for the visa but you have to pay for the appointment as well, and the fees they listed are lower than what he was charged. He paid for his appointment on June 2nd like he was told and then when he called the embassy to say he had his pin number to make the appointment they said it took 24 hours to get it in their system. So he calls on monday and they want to make his appointment for the next day well with a 20 hour bus ride and having to get his fathers documents that just was not a possibilty so they made his appointment for the following monday which was the 12th but they did not send the visa request to Aruba until the 19th.

Our reservations are for the 17th to the 27th of July. He did call and say he had mail today but ofcourse he is not home this week as he is working for his family picking apricots out of the orchard. His dad sent the mail on the bus for him to get on Wednesday. I hope it is his passport with the visa inside!

Thanks for sending the info if that mail is not his passport i will certainly try calling Aruba and see if they can tell me the status of his application.

He also has a layover in Amsterdam both coming and going to Aruba and he has said that the embassy understood that so his visa should be good for transit there as well, if not, I am not sure if we have time to get that amended.

After making all these reservations and applying for the visa I found out that Venezula does not require visas from people in Turkey and Venezula is like just a few miles from Aruba, wish I had known that months ago. But something to think about if this doesnt work out for us.

Some other good news I just got my RFE for the K-3 visa on Monday so that hopefully that will be moving soon. I am also working on the CR-1 visa we have turned in AOS bill and his choice of agent just waiting for the package from them as well.

Michele

[Deb_Res 0]

Welcome Michele! And good luck with everything. I have no advice for you, but just wanted to say Hi! Also wanted to respond to the bread eating statement! LOL! I noticed the same thing! Resul must eat the equivalent to 2 loaves of bread a day! I was amazed! He said to me "Baby, don't you like to eat bread?" and I said "I love bread, unfortunately it doesn't like me!!!" (as I have the weight problem and he doesn't ). So good luck with everything and keep smiling!

~Debbie

[joyeann 0]

**BUMP**

Hi!! Any updates out there???

[Deb_Res 0]

Hey Joye!

The only news I have is that we sent Packet 3 into Ankara on Wednesday! So now we will be waiting for Packet 4. Wait... Wait... Wait... As you know

~Deb

[joyeann 0]

Deb isn't packet 4 the interview letter? And packet 3 is that what went to the NVC? Our interview was scheduled really quickly.. so you should be getting ready!!

[chispas 0]

My husband and his family do not associate themselves with any religion so our situation may be different bc of that but my turkish husband cooks almost every meal and he cleans the bathrooms and does the laundry. I clean the kitchen and the living rooms. We have it split up pretty even. My husband doesn't expect anything of me as a wife really. I mean the normal, stay faithful, maintain mutual respect, and work together to have a great life. But beyond that, he doesn't want me to change how I am or how I go about my daily activities. I don't think he expects anything from me except to just be me.

Some of the things that have been hard for us is our completely different views on medicine and illness. For ex: he thinks you should treat minor wounds a certain way which I think is completely ridiculous and putting yourself more at risk for infection and he also thinks if you take a shower and go to sleep with wet hair, you'll get a cold. He also thinks that central air and heat will make you sick and blames his sore muscles on it. It's crazy to me and it can get annoying sometimes but I try to meet him halfway on things like this.

Anyone else deal with this sort of stuff?

SOL

My family is not from Turkey, but we have similar trends that are geared towards our lifestyles in our home country. For example, the sleeping with the we hair or air conditioned. We have that too in Panama, but we have thick nappy hair that doesn't seem to dry easily a nighgt so you feel stuffy in the morning waking on a bed of we hair. The airconditioning we have is full of mold and mildew and sucks in polution from the streets. That nasty stuff also gives you a cold. However, we have better blow dryers here and less humidity so both your hair and the airconditioning doesn't get musty.

My 2cents say let him/her do it there way and before you know it, they'll be doing it the US way w/o thinking.

cheers

Chispas

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

so soon now Deb_Res

Wishing everyone all the best

Peace,

Debra

[Deb_Res 0]

Hi Joye & Debra!

Yes, Packet 4 is the interview letter . And as Debra said it will be so soon !!! I saw another couple's timeline for Turkey and the embassy received their Packet 3 on June 14 and their interview is about the middle of August. So I'm assuming ours will be in late August to mid September So I will keep you all informed! Any word about Ali's visa Joye?

~Deb

[joyeann 0]

Hi Deb!! WOOHOOO!! You will have your honey with you soon!!! I can't wait to read "visa in hand"

Nothing new yet with Ali's visa. Still waiting... they should be updating the website again tonight I will just keep checking. We are coming up on week 5. I will call DOS again tomorrow just to see if the woman says there is only 1 check to clear Just to make sure that they say 1 lol

Keep me posted!!

[Michele&Omer 0]

Welcome Michele! And good luck with everything. I have no advice for you, but just wanted to say Hi! Also wanted to respond to the bread eating statement! LOL! I noticed the same thing! Resul must eat the equivalent to 2 loaves of bread a day! I was amazed! He said to me "Baby, don't you like to eat bread?" and I said "I love bread, unfortunately it doesn't like me!!!" (as I have the weight problem and he doesn't ). So good luck with everything and keep smiling!

~Debbie

Good news at last!!!

The mail my husband recieved was not his visa but the DS-3032, which we had already sent an email for and had been accepted.

He got back home on Monday and called the Netherlands Embassy (my call to Aruba Foreign Ministry got me nowhere) and they told him to call back on Tuesday afternoon. When he called on Tuesday, they said they had just gotten his package back from Aruba and YES it contained his visa!!!!!!

He wanted to pick it up instead of them UPSing it but they said that would be another appointment cost and they rather just send it...so at this point we are planning on leaving on Monday for our HoneyMoon!!!!

We still are being cautious until he has his passport and visa in hand but we are excited just the same!!!!

Now to find a birthday present for him....which will be on the 23rd while we are in Aruba.

Wishing everyone the best on their journeys,

Michele

P.S. Just a quick silly question...

My husband wears his wedding ring on his right hand and when I look at the other men in his family they wear their rings on the right also....is that something turkish or just something you think is just in their family? Then i wonder should i wear mine on the right hand too?? Any insights would be wonderful.

[Deb_Res 0]

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

Well I woke up this morning and checked my email and to my surprise I found an email letter from the Embassy with our interview date! Good news! Bad news- it's 9 days from today!!!! I am beyond shocked! So much to do and so little time! I will keep you all posted!

~Deb

[Simurg 0]

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

Well I woke up this morning and checked my email and to my surprise I found an email letter from the Embassy with our interview date! Good news! Bad news- it's 9 days from today!!!! I am beyond shocked! So much to do and so little time! I will keep you all posted!

~Deb

Well, you interview date is sooner than mine. How can it be possible? Our interview date is 14th of August I don't understand. Maybe something was wrong about me They didn't like my picture who knows.

Good luck.

[joyeann 0]

Hi isil, I believe that they do it by priority date, when you began filing your paperwork. I only had about 20 days till my interview.

Deb!! I am so dang gum excited for you!!! Woohoo Another renunion up and coming

edited: Looks like it might be by NOA2. That would explain the difference. Good luck to you both!!

Edited July 15, 2006 by joyeann

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

Congratulations Everyone

so happy to read all the great news

Merhaba isil,

nasılsın? it happens ...same thing happened to us when Betty & Seyhan passed us by.

Best wishes to everyone,

Peace to All,

deBra

[Deb_Res 0]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for all your good wishes! Leaving Tues. for Ankara. Preparing for the trip... Packing, packing, packing! And this time I will meet Resul's parents! Getting nervous! I will keep in touch...

Hi Isil,

I know, I am as shocked as you are ! I saw on your time line that your interview date was about 2 months from the day you got Packet 4. So I too was expecting ours to be 2 months from the day we got Packet 4, but to my surprise it was in 9 days! I cried after I read the email! I was happy, but on the other hand I was totally overwhelmed not knowing how I was going to get everything in order in 1 week! It's been rough but it'll be worth it in the end... Hopefully being rewarded with a VISA ! When I get back I will fill you in on everything so you will know for your interview in August . Good luck and take care.

~Deb