Approved

[GabiandVi 34]

We were approved on June 30. I'm only just now posting because we were out of town and didn't have internet. We had to drive back for the interview and then back to the family reunion at the beach.

I joined VJ in 2008. By that time we had already tried to DCF through Benin. I had called the embassy in November 2006 and spoken to an officer who said that it shouldn't be a problem for us to file through the embassy there while I was on holiday the following summer. My husband was moving back for work and would have been there for several months before I arrived for a visit. I was living in China, but we couldn't file there because it takes so long and my husband would no longer be living with us. Anyway, when I got to Benin, summer 2007, the officer I spoke to was no longer there and they had not replaced her yet.

We finally decided the following fall that I would move home. We first thought my husband could join us and we could file for AOS. That's what someone I spoke to on the phone from USCIS advised we do. But when I joined VJ and asked details about how to do it, I was told that would be fraud and all sorts of bad things would happen if we tried that. I NEVER wanted to do anything illegal, so we gave up that idea.

Instead the plan was for my husband to come for a long visit and stay home with our daughter when I started working in the US. She had never been in daycare and I was dreading the day I had to leave her for the first time. (In China, I had something like a nanny who came to our house everyday.) I was going to file the petition as soon as he got here, and we thought he'd have to return to Benin for about 6 months to complete the process.

Unfortunately, he was not able to come for a long visit and it cost too much for a short visit, so we waited for a time when he could come. That took much longer than we expected and we probably should have started the process, but I kept thinking he would be coming the next month, and then the next month, and I knew if he had a petition pending, he might not be allowed to enter the US, so we waited.

Finally, he arrived in January. Unfortunately, we didn't have everything we needed for the petition, so we had to wait until we got everything to file. In the meantime, a colleague insisted it was possible for us to file for AOS. I ignored her for a while because I thought she didn't understand all the particulars, but it was very tempting, so we looked into it. It seemed there was nothing to stop us, but I wanted to make an infopass before we did it, so we waited until my next holiday to make one. At the same time, we did the medical.

We learned from the infopass that there was no reason we could not file AOS, so I gathered all the papers, filled out all the forms, printed them out, made corrections, printed them out again, went over everything with a fine-toothed comb, had photocopies made, and finally shipped off our applications in mid-April.

Everything went smoothly from there, and now my husband has his EAD and is just waiting for the GC. (see our timeline below)

I'm sorry for everyone who is having so many problems with their I-129s and I-130s. I wish everyone could have such an easy journey as we had (once we finally officially started it.) I will say that our situation was a little different from the average VJer because my husband and I met while we were both living in a third country, dated for 2.5 years before we were married, and lived together in that country for several years after we were married, and we have a child together, so our AOS was bound to be smooth. Also, my husband had and still has VERY strong ties to his country so he was able to get several tourist visas to the US even after we were married. Not everyone has such obvious ties and can't qualify for a tourist visa.

Still, I wish everyone could do it the way we did. It's all about proving a bona fide marriage anyway, so when and where you prove that shouldn't matter too much.

I wish all of you speedy satisfaction in your process.

We are basically through until naturalization in 3 years.

[DoneWaiting 15]

Congratulations

[Pman's Wife 0]

Now that was a unique journey

CONGRATULATIONS

[besaangel 18]

Loving the detailed info... Congrats again hon

[ARMANI KHAN 3]

Congratulations

[Nwanyioma 11]

Many Congratulations!!!

[S&ET 2]

Congratulations

[PurpleSky 19]

Congrats!!!! YAY!!!!

Even though this isn't my situation, I still enjoy reading about others' journeys. Never know when it might be of use to someone. (I prefer to say that rather than attribute it to nosiness )

[C.D 1]

Congrats!!!!!!!!