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[Eric & Lizeth 0]

Greetings Everyone!

My name is Eric and I am brand new to these forums. I've actually been lurking around the past couple of days and decided this place is such a great treasure trove of information that I should sign up and make my presence known.

To give you a little background about myself, I am a soldier with the US Army, currently deployed in Lima, Peru. On New Years Eve (Dec 31, 2009), I was introduced to my fiancee through mutual friends. She's from Bolivia but was visiting in Peru during the holidays. We hit it off instantly and spent a couple of months together before she had to return back to Bolivia to take care of personal matters.

We filed our I-129F last month. Because I had to send it to VSC from Peru, it took a little longer to get there. I've received my first NOA and I've already created my account with USCIS to track my case. As of right now, we're still in the "Initial Review" phase. I've taken the liberty of setting up my tracker here in VJ to help others gauge timelines. I know that we still have a long road ahead of us but it's great to know that "we are not alone!" Thanks to everyone who contributes to these forms because I know they will be a great asset to me in the long run.

I do have a specific issue currently at hand and I'm not sure which way to go. As I mentioned, my fiancee is back in Bolivia and I am only going to be here for another four months. She wants to come back to Peru and stay with me during that time. I miss her very much and want nothing more than to be with her again...

I'm wondering whether or not this would be a wise move to make. I know that it's difficult to predict timelines, etc., but what happens if she's here and she misses an important piece of mail or her interview comes up during that time? I know that it's most unlikely that her interview will come up within the next four months but is it possible?

What's great about my deployment is that I' actually stationed at the American Embassy in Lima! Everyday, I see dozens of people waiting in line to get their interviews. I've recently sent an email to the Embassy in Bolivia asking if it's possible to have her interview changed to Lima. I received a response telling me that I could call DHS and get her packet forwarded here. I did speak to USCIS this morning and they said that I would have to file another form (I-824??). There's a fee of $300+ attached to that little piece of paper.

If I have to return to the states before her interview date, then she would most certainly have to return to Bolivia for her interview. I would hate to have her packet forwarded to Lima and she ends up back in her home country.

I know this is a lot of information for my first post to the forums. I really want to see her again (even if it's only for a few months), I just know that we spent 3 weeks compiling our I-129F packet to ensure that all of our "I's" were dotted and our "T's" crossed. I don't want to create any additional snags to a process that's already complicated enough as it is.

If anyone has any advice, experiences, tips, or humorous anecdotes, please feel free to chime in. I thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to participating in these forums.

Peace,

Eric

[Otto 83]

Hi Eric, Welcome to VJ.

I don't see any problem with her being near you while this whole thing plays out - you guys will have to make necessary arrangements for medical exam, police certifications etc but you should be able to do that from where you're at (I would think).

You've got a pretty good chance of getting the interview moved to Lima (in my opinion) but it might be best to wait until the petition is approved, then forwarded to NVC. Once NVC has it, you'll be able to call/email to get the DOS case number and use this as a reference when contacting the Embassy in La Paz.

When you do contact them - you could simply explain you're US Military (thank you by the way), stationed in Lima and would it be ok...blah blah blah. I'd bet they'd find that no problem. That's my take, maybe others can chime in too.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

There is certainly no problem with her being with you while you are waiting for your NOA2 because nothing will be sent to her until after you have received approval of the I-129f petition. It would only be after that when she would expect to receive information from the Consulate and would be required to take action. If she is still staying with you after that then she would need to have someone back home watching her mail for her who can notify her when she receives information from the Consulate.

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

Thank you for your responses to my question. I guess what worries me is that I only have four more months left until I have to return to the US. My I-129F is still in the "Initial Review" stage. I'm worried that I will have to return to the US before my I-129F is approved and then she will have to go back to Bolivia. If I have her packet forwarded here, to Lima, then it probably won't be in Bolivia if she has to return. If I knew for certain that these background investigations only took a couple of weeks then it would be a no-brainer for me.