Just Turkish

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

Happy Ramadan

Best wishes

Peace to All,

Debra

[Deb_Res 0]

Hi Michele and Everyone!

Yes! Resul has finally arrived. He arrived on Sept. 18 and seems to be adjusting well. How is everything going for the rest of you? I hope all is well with everyone and I hope you get an interview date soon Michele!

Can anyone out there tell me about AOS? My lawyer said that Resul can not apply for a work permit, a social security card, or driver's license until after we marry and then it will take another 30-45 days to get them. Is this true? I don't know what to believe from him!

Take care and Happy Ramadam to all!

~Debbie

Hello MPGGPM,

It might take for your case a month even to 'reach' NVC..or for the NVC to 'admit' they received it.

And then choice of address and agent form is sent to your spouse...she makes her choice either making you her agent or herself or a lawyer and sends it back. In that form she also states the address sh wants correspondence to be sent from then on.

Then the iv fee letter and then affidavit of support fee letter are sent to the agent. You send the fees in money order as fast as you can..and to the right place.

When the forms arrive you should correctly fill it out...preapre the i864 form correctly..prepare it with the addition of W2s and everything. Not forget adding anything that might be asked for later. And then send it back as fast as you can.

Different from most other nations Turkish applicants are asked to send all their paperwork (criminal record paper, nüfus kayit örnegi, papers like that) to the NVC. They process these documents instead of embassies doing it.

Once you sent everything they asked for your case will be 'complete' (usually one week or 10 days after they received everything). If it is in the first 10 days or so of the month then they send it to the embassy on 15th to 20th of that month. If it is later then they send it the following month.

Once NVC receives your case and if you send everything they ask for as fast as you can without making any mistakes then it takes +/- 2 months or so for your case to be complete.

And the agent receives the appointment letter. It is usually 45 days after you receive the appointment letter sent by the NVC.

I called NVC to find out what happened to my application. So you can call too..and/or send e-mails about the appointment date. Some of them are flexible thinking people so they might help you/your spouse by quickening the appointment date for you.

These are all too general answers. I hope it helps.

Why do not you try sending e-mails to the embassy instead of calling them?

If it is a very important matter you can contact your congresspeople to have them contact the embassy on your behalf.

BY THE WAY Congratulations on your petition's approval! I hope he waiting period for your spouse is going to be short and without problems/worries.

Thank you for your reply. It had a lot of information in it and I thank you for your time.

I didn't realize all of that paperwork would still be done from here, and had thought that they would just send my I-130 packet to Ankara, and everything would be done from there. As I see ............that obviously is not the case. I apparently still have a bit to do from here in the USA.

I was finally able to get hold of someone at the embassy.......on the 3rd day of trying, and they were able to answer that other question I had.

So....it is just a matter of time now.

Thanks again.

[awaterlily 0]

Deb,

Congrats!

İ wish you both a happy and prosperous future together.

waterlily

Hi Michele and Everyone!

Yes! Resul has finally arrived. He arrived on Sept. 18 and seems to be adjusting well. How is everything going for the rest of you? I hope all is well with everyone and I hope you get an interview date soon Michele!

Can anyone out there tell me about AOS? My lawyer said that Resul can not apply for a work permit, a social security card, or driver's license until after we marry and then it will take another 30-45 days to get them. Is this true? I don't know what to believe from him!

Take care and Happy Ramadam to all!

~Debbie

[SOlcayto 0]

Internetkafe,

It does not take 7 days for the passport with visa to arrive at your house. They fedex it and they tell you it will be 4 days maximum. My husband got his in January during a really bad storm and it took 3 days. Another person I know from Turkey got his visa at his house the very next day and he didn't put the name of an alternate person who could accept the package and it got sent back bc he hadn't gotten back from Ankara yet. So, it's actually really fast.

SOL

P.S. Sorry I don't remember if they use Fedex or UPS but either way, they ship it to you as soon as possible.

[MPGGPM 0]

Internetkafe,

It does not take 7 days for the passport with visa to arrive at your house. They fedex it and they tell you it will be 4 days maximum. My husband got his in January during a really bad storm and it took 3 days. Another person I know from Turkey got his visa at his house the very next day and he didn't put the name of an alternate person who could accept the package and it got sent back bc he hadn't gotten back from Ankara yet. So, it's actually really fast.

SOL

P.S. Sorry I don't remember if they use Fedex or UPS but either way, they ship it to you as soon as possible.

That timeline of yours is not encouraging. Yeesh.....over 10 months until your husband's interview from the time you both got word that your I-130 was approved? Wow...that's a long time.

There is a part of this forum that I looked at, and although the amount of responses wasn't so great (just 2 couples apparently reported their experience)...it said 196 days (so just over 6 months) was the "average" time it took to get the interview in Ankara.

I look at your timeline.....and I see it taking over 10 months!

Let's hope they've improved since then..............

Edited October 1, 2006 by MPGGPM

[awaterlily 0]

Hey Deb & SOlcayto,

Hope all is going well with you and your families.

Cheers,

Waterlily

[Michele&Omer 0]

Hey Deb & SOlcayto,

Hope all is going well with you and your families.

Cheers,

Waterlily

WooHoo!!!!!!

Dear Michele,

This is to inform you that your spouse is scheduled for 01 November 2006 at 10:00 am. An appointment letter was sent to his address on October 04, 2006. He may consider this message as an appointment letter.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Unit

We have our interview date!!!!

Happy Ramadan

Michele

Now to get the airplane tickets, the hotel, and all paper work ready....time is going to go fast!!!!

Can I just get a one way ticket to Turkey and wait to get our tickets after we know he has the visa to come back home?? I want to spend a few days with his family there and then have him meet my family in Wisconsin before we come home to Georgia...so it will be a multicity ticket with a definite stop at JFK to hopefully get the temp EAD.

Also any interview tips would be much appreciated. THANKS

[internetkafe 0]

I hope everyone here waiting for the next step (because steps are endless..once you complete one another obstacle will be waiting for you till you get naturalized) gets it faster than s/he expected.

Edited October 8, 2006 by internetkafe

[MPGGPM 0]

Also any interview tips would be much appreciated. THANKS

I also second that request. If anyone could share just what it was like at their interview in Ankara, (What kind of questions they were asked, what was the person who interviewed them like, etc.......)

Any kind of advice or description of what the interview process was like would be very helpful to those of us who haven't gone through it yet.

I'd also like to know how long it takes to get the visa in the mail, once you are approved? (How many days, etc?.....(so I can kind of judge how much time before making any travel arrangements for my wife....)

Thanks.

(By the way....we are doing an I-130)

[internetkafe 0]

Questions like how did you meet? What does your wife/husband do for a living? Who is this and this (if there is a co-sponsor). What do you intend to do in the US? (job) Maybe even fewer questions. It takes 5-10 minutes..the interview. They usually would want to see the pictures taken with your wife/spouse. Apart from that they did not even ask to see anything else as 'evidence'. It is also up to the consular officer's mood at the moment but most of them are nice people. I have had 3 interviews for 3 visas so far and all of them were likeable people (K1-K3-CR1) They take 2 index fingerprints. There is no need to worry if your marriage is genuine as almost all of them are. You can choose the language of the interview..either in Turkish or in English. All my interviews were in English. Sometimes consular officers speak Turkish and conduct the interview in Turkish. Also there are Turkish staff who work at the consulate and they translate during the interview.

The issue of how long it takes for the applicant to receive his/her visa is up to many factors including the time past during USCIS&NVC phases. Once your interview date is set (by the NVC itself) you have 1-2 months before you appear at the conuslate for your interview.

My wife's I130 petition for me was approved in August 2005... we were not able to send the fees right away. And I got a K3 visa to come to the US for the second time (After a K1 experience a few months before K3). My interview date was set for May 2006 but I had to reschedule it for August for work related reasons and also for a chance to get cheaper plane tickets. I stayed in Turkey for a month in case something goes wrong. But now I see that that was not necessary. Once I had the interview I received the visa in 4 days (via UPS).

If you have more questions I can answer them.

Also any interview tips would be much appreciated. THANKS

I also second that request. If anyone could share just what it was like at their interview in Ankara, (What kind of questions they were asked, what was the person who interviewed them like, etc.......)

Any kind of advice or description of what the interview process was like would be very helpful to those of us who haven't gone through it yet.

I'd also like to know how long it takes to get the visa in the mail, once you are approved? (How many days, etc?.....(so I can kind of judge how much time before making any travel arrangements for my wife....)

Thanks.

(By the way....we are doing an I-130)

Edited October 10, 2006 by internetkafe

[MPGGPM 0]

Questions like how did you meet? What does your wife/husband do for a living? Who is this and this (if there is a co-sponsor). What do you intend to do in the US? (job) Maybe even fewer questions. It takes 5-10 minutes..the interview. They usually would want to see the pictures taken with your wife/spouse. Apart from that they did not even ask to see anything else as 'evidence'. It is also up to the consular officer's mood at the moment but most of them are nice people. I have had 3 interviews for 3 visas so far and all of them were likeable people (K1-K3-CR1) They take 2 index fingerprints. There is no need to worry if your marriage is genuine as almost all of them are. You can choose the language of the interview..either in Turkish or in English. All my interviews were in English. Sometimes consular officers speak Turkish and conduct the interview in Turkish. Also there are Turkish staff who work at the consulate and they translate during the interview.

The issue of how long it takes for the applicant to receive his/her visa is up to many factors including the time past during USCIS&NVC phases. Once your interview date is set (by the NVC itself) you have 1-2 months before you appear at the conuslate for your interview.

My wife's I130 petition for me was approved in August 2005... we were not able to send the fees right away. And I got a K3 visa to come to the US for the second time (After a K1 experience a few months before K3). My interview date was set for May 2006 but I had to reschedule it for August for work related reasons and also for a chance to get cheaper plane tickets. I stayed in Turkey for a month in case something goes wrong. But now I see that that was not necessary. Once I had the interview I received the visa in 4 days (via UPS).

If you have more questions I can answer them.

Also any interview tips would be much appreciated. THANKS

I also second that request. If anyone could share just what it was like at their interview in Ankara, (What kind of questions they were asked, what was the person who interviewed them like, etc.......)

Any kind of advice or description of what the interview process was like would be very helpful to those of us who haven't gone through it yet.

I'd also like to know how long it takes to get the visa in the mail, once you are approved? (How many days, etc?.....(so I can kind of judge how much time before making any travel arrangements for my wife....)

Thanks.

(By the way....we are doing an I-130)

Thank you for that information. I guess I didn't pose that one question too clearly about receiving the visa, but you did answer it in that last sentence. I had meant after she actually has her interview, and as you responded, it should take around 4 days for it to arrive (she lives in Istanbul).

I guess like everyone else, before this process is actually done, I just have the usual worries and concerns. I just want this process to be over with.

Ours is a unique case. My wife and I will have been married nearly 3 years by the time she has her interview in Ankara. We met and married here in Florida, but she had to go back to Turkey to serve her 2 year residency for her j-1 visa that she arrived into the USA on. She spent nearly 10 years in the USA, and is about as "Americanized" as any Turkish person could be. Although, she is also a very proud Turkish woman, and quite proud of her culture and country....as I suppose most Turkish citizens are. (You should have heard her reaction when I once cheered for Mel Gibson in the movie Gallipoli, not thinking of course about who they were actually fighting at the time....ooops ...............I have since learned better. ).

It has been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong nearly 2 years of separation.(although I have spent a total of about 5 months in Turkey these past 2 years visiting, and have learned quite a lot about the Turkish culture).

I am just waiting for the day that this will all be over.

Thanks once again for your reply (I copied your response and fowarded to my wife in istanbul). It should be reassuring to her when she reads it.

[MPGGPM 0]

By the way, about that "rooting" for Mel Gibson, ......obviously I saw that movie a while ago, before certain...um...recent events happened.

Had I known he was such a jerk at the time, I'd probably have been hoping it was him who got shot in the movie, instead of his friend

I also spoke to my wife this morning, and I again appreciate your reply. It was encouraging. I guess until we/she actually get the green card in hand.......it's going to be a stressful few months until that time hopefully/actually happens. But at least it cheered her up a bit. (She read what you had written this morning)

Thanks again

Edited October 11, 2006 by MPGGPM

[internetkafe 0]

You are welcome.

I think most people here have stories like yours requiring more patience. If they write their stories several volumes of books could be created. But I doubt this issue (family/immigration) will have any audience...unfortunately.

As far as I see you have been married for over 2 years. If that is correct your wife will get a 10 year PR card with no conditions attached. That is good.

My suggestion for the interview: being sincere and open pays off. It also lifts the nervousness and anxiety (if there is any) off of the shoulders of the interviewed.

As for Mel Gibson.. he is a rare talent still. I wonder if what happened to him after that incident falss into the category of freedom of speech? You know when the Danish newspaper printed the caricatures of Prophet Muhammed some same people said it is freedom of speech - people who demonized Mel Gibson. I sense double-standards/hypocrasy here. Anyway...

I wish a speedy journey for your wife.

By the way, about that "rooting" for Mel Gibson, ......obviously I saw that movie a while ago, before certain...um...recent events happened.

Had I known he was such a jerk at the time, I'd probably have been hoping it was him who got shot in the movie, instead of his friend

I also spoke to my wife this morning, and I again appreciate your reply. It was encouraging. I guess until we/she actually get the green card in hand.......it's going to be a stressful few months until that time hopefully/actually happens. But at least it cheered her up a bit. (She read what you had written this morning)

Thanks again

[Michele&Omer 0]

Thanks for the info....we have found it helpful as well.

It took 7 days for my husband to get his papers from the embassy stating when he interview is, he lives in a small village and mail (and UPS) seem to take forever to get there. Would you think it will take that long for the visa to get there as well or do they send it faster (expedited) than other things the embassy sends?? I am trying to decide when to make my return trip home, as we hopefully can travel back to the USA together. I have more time off than what it should take to get the visa in hand but we want to have some time for him to meet my family and friends before I have to return to work, so planning ahead is rather difficult.

Wondering if there is any chance we could just pick it up at the embassy on our way to the USA??

We are excited and nervous about our upcoming interview.

Hope all is going well with you, MPGGPM.

Michele and Omer

[internetkafe 0]

Hi Michele,

I do not know how long it may take for the package to be delivered there but if it is a city it takes 1 day only. I think UPS has subcontractors working for them and delivering packages to villages.

If you prove to the consulate that you have an emergency situation (serious emergency cases) the consulate might give Omer his visa the same day. This happened in the past for sure but it is rare.

You can e-mail them and ask about picking it up yourself explaining the reason clearly.

There is nothing to worry about the interview as long as the applicant is sincere in answering the questions and have enough 'evidence' ( ! ) ready in case they ask for it.

As to the question of K1 visa holder's rights... he can get his social security number before you get married. In most states he can get his drivers licence too (provided you have proof of residency in that state for over 30 days). As you know JFK port of entry is reported to be giving temporary work authorization to K1 visa holders on entry into the country through that POE.