June K-1 and K3 Filers join the wait

[johnj 0]

Okay, I admit I am jumping the gun here a bit but we are all in a hurry to get our significant other here. I figured I would start the June filer thread; since my significant other is from Russia; I am starting it in the Russia forum but others are welcome to join the discussion and wait.

Natalya and I are completing the paperwork via internet; she will be signing the documents and I will be gathering the last pieces of documentation during my visit June 12-June 22. Then it is off to the races!

Do others have plans?

[AKguy 1]

I'm planning to send out our packet by the end of next week. IF her paperwork shows up to me by then.

Good luck to you!

[johnj 0]

I'm planning to send out our packet by the end of next week. IF her paperwork shows up to me by then.

Good luck to you!

If you wait a few days, you can join the June filers

[mox 298]

Congrats to you both for taking the plunge, and any and all other filers out there!! As has been said here before, the number one thing you can do to make the wait more bearable is to learn patience. This process will stretch your patience to the max and then some. Resist bugging USCIS when your timeline shows you should have been approved 10 minutes ago, resist writing your congressman when you should have been approved 1 day ago, and resist calling in the National Guard when (Og forbid) someone else who filed after you gets approved before you do.

In the meantime, settle in and have a slice of pie.

Edited May 15, 2009 by mox

[johnj 0]

Congrats to you both for taking the plunge, and any and all other filers out there!! As has been said here before, the number one thing you can do to make the wait more bearable is to learn patience. This process will stretch your patience to the max and then some. Resist bugging USCIS when your timeline shows you should have been approved 10 minutes ago, resist writing your congressman when you should have been approved 1 day ago, and resist calling in the National Guard when (Og forbid) someone else who filed after you gets approved before you do.

In the meantime, settle in and have a slice of pie.

Easy for you Mox; you have been approved

[AKguy 1]

If you wait a few days, you can join the June filers

Tempting! That's the only word that comes to mind right now.

With the way things go the paperwork probably won't be touched until June anyway.

And Mox, thanks for the gratz! Patients will be a difficult pill to swallow for sure. I am excited to get this journey started though!

[johnj 0]

Well, another week (okay, only four days, almost a week, seems like a couple months) bites the dust and we are one week closer to filing. I leave for Russia June 12 and return June 22. We expect to file paperwork on June 23. Anyone else joining the June rush to get a visa.

Edited May 19, 2009 by john and natalya

[AKguy 1]

As much as I didn't want to, it looks like I might be a June filer myself... No offense of course! I just wanted to get it done sooner.

We're holding out until she submits the paperwork for her tourist visa. I can't convince her to do the "honest Abe" route and tell them everything in her tourist interview. (K-1 in progress, she's going back to Russia when it's over, etc)... SO, I have to wait.

She's going to try and convince the Embassy that she's going to Universities in the states to try and set something up between the Russian & American universities... So it looks like after her elaborate tale of joining together the international faculty fails and she gets denied, I will be going to Russia again after I turn in the K-1 paperwork. And if she ever comes on here, I didn't say squat about her plan failing!

[slim 1,514]

She's going to try and convince the Embassy that she's going to Universities in the states to try and set something up between the Russian & American universities... So it looks like after her elaborate tale of joining together the international faculty fails and she gets denied, I will be going to Russia again after I turn in the K-1 paperwork. And if she ever comes on here, I didn't say squat about her plan failing!

She actually has a pretty decent shot with that story. See, the stipulation for getting a "visitor" visa is a valid reason to visit. With that story, she'll have one. Just make sure she's got a point of contact (or 5) at the U.S. university.

[johnj 0]

Well, the days keep goin by, day by day. Another week closer

[mox 298]

Lucky you though, you get to be with your girl pretty soon! And if your estimated time to send your I-192F holds out, you're now under a month before it hits the post office. So hey, all kinds of things to celebrate.

Get good at being patient, but also keep remembering that one day you're going to look back on all of this, and it won't seem like it was as hard as it seems now. Hang in there, keep talking to each other and learning about each other, and before you know it you'll be hanging out in the airport with a bouquet of flowers hanging upside down in your hands.

[johnj 0]

WoooHooo all, it is now June 1. June filers join the discussion!

[johnj 0]

Lucky you though, you get to be with your girl pretty soon! And if your estimated time to send your I-192F holds out, you're now under a month before it hits the post office.

I am thinkin I might DHL it from Russia to USCIS, we would be able to do that on the 15th. We might gain a week on the processing timeline.

[mox 298]

I am thinkin I might DHL it from Russia to USCIS, we would be able to do that on the 15th. We might gain a week on the processing timeline.

This is an individual decision of course, and if you've got money to blow then I'd say hell yeah, do it. But if you're like most of us, you're pinching at least a few pennies. So you might want to blow the $100+ that it'll cost to DHL on something else, say some nice clothes or shoes for your lady, and just wait til you get back to the US. The week you're saving really doesn't amount to much when you consider that your approved I-129F can sit for up to (and sometimes more than) a week between USCIS and VSC, because they tend to send them in bundles. And it can also sit for another week or longer between VSC and Moscow. So in actuality the best you can really hope for is that you're saving yourself a few days, and at worst, you're saving no time.

And trust me, once she's here, you'll completely forget about that extra week you saved in processing time. But I guarantee she'll remember those shoes you bought her every time she puts them on.

Edited June 1, 2009 by mox

[1HappyGuy 45]

Good Advice Mox.

The application is going to sit for months anyway, so wait until you're back and use the US Postal Service with delivery confirmation. That extra cost will of course depend on your personal finances, but with the current conditions worldwide, a few extra bucks in your pocket or spent wisely may go a long way.

You will find that preparing for her eventual arrival will help to speed the time along. So, work on cleaning up the house and getting prepared for your new partner. She's going to need certain items, so ask her what she likes and get them. Remember, applicances from Russia won't work here unless you are crazy about electrical converters. Maybe you can paint some rooms or spruce up the garden with flowers, etc. You might also consider preparing an area for a vegetable garden. She'll think you're a very practical man. She's going to need closet and dresser space, so those old t-shirts and jeans are probably headed for the trash when she arrives. You may as well chuck them now.

Patience is a hard thing to deal with when the woman you love is so far away. So, keeping busy works wonders. Just make sure you have all possible documents with the application and respond as quickly as possible to any requests for evidence.

One more thing. Just because we have accomplished this procedure doesn't mean we didn't suffer just like you are now. Everyone has a story and most are not happy about the long delays, but it does eventually end. Concentrate on that day.