US Military Spouses

[BexandAlan 0]

I wish I could help Jamaican Love but I have no clue so will leave it to the others to guide you. Good Luck though.

Sarah Jayne did I just read your post wrong or are you thinking about commuting to the UK for school?!?!? Once you have permanent residency the fees in the US change quite a bit. I've worked out that the cost of my MA will go from $20,000 to $2,000 if I wait off enrolling for a couple of years. Even if i enrolled as soon as I get there $20,000 is still £10,000 which is what it would cost me here. I hate that its so expensive. I have over £10,000 debt from the last 4 years and that was living at home and working a as many hours as I could. I couldn't really afford to go but I don't like being told no so I went anyway.

I hope everyones doing well, just wanted to stop by and say hi. Have a great weekend.

Bex xxx

[Arla 0]

Hello! My husband's in the US Navy. We met when he was stationed overseas but now he's back in the US and I'm back in the UK. We're at the last stage of the visa process and I'm hoping that I'll have the visa within the next month or so.

[Army_Wife 2]

I wish I could help Jamaican Love but I have no clue so will leave it to the others to guide you. Good Luck though.

Sarah Jayne did I just read your post wrong or are you thinking about commuting to the UK for school?!?!? Once you have permanent residency the fees in the US change quite a bit. I've worked out that the cost of my MA will go from $20,000 to $2,000 if I wait off enrolling for a couple of years. Even if i enrolled as soon as I get there $20,000 is still £10,000 which is what it would cost me here. I hate that its so expensive. I have over £10,000 debt from the last 4 years and that was living at home and working a as many hours as I could. I couldn't really afford to go but I don't like being told no so I went anyway.

I hope everyones doing well, just wanted to stop by and say hi. Have a great weekend.

Bex xxx

Hi Bex,

Yes, commuting is really what I've already been doing .... holidays in U.S. ... term time in U.K. ... basically 10 weeks in U.K. at a time., and it was hard, but do-able .... I was supposed to have returned to the U.S. for the Easter hols, but the pending I-130 kind of got in the way this time

The degree I was studying is a specialist subject (Mining Engineering) and only 4 colleges in the U.S. are worth attending for it .... the U.K. has the top college in Europe for this subject, and the fees work out much cheaper overall than enrolling in the U.S. .... 3 years here .... 5 years there.

I have an open ended place on the course anytime I want to return, and my colleagues will send me any work I may need in the future to help me .... pretty cool.

However, we'll see if I return .... as much as I love it, I can see my priorities changing somewhat when I'm eventually able to live with my Husband.

Talking about student debt, I'm trying to get a job here for a couple of months so I can pay some of mine off before returning to the States .... $2 to £1 doesn't make it very viable to leave it till I get over there.

I don't envy you with £10k. .... however, the $2000 for a masters is fabulous .... that's super cheap!

Hope you have a good weekend too and catch up with you soon

xx

[Army_Wife 2]

Hello! My husband's in the US Navy. We met when he was stationed overseas but now he's back in the US and I'm back in the UK. We're at the last stage of the visa process and I'm hoping that I'll have the visa within the next month or so.

Hi Arla ..... just looking at your timeline .... you were approved superfast on your I-130 .... hope you don't mind me asking .... was that DCF or due to deployment ??

US Navy guys are quite cool ... they sorted out my spouse ID card the other day as there's a few stationed on a U.K. base near where I am .... they also gave an appointment with the dentist under tri-care so that I wouldn't have to deal with the NHS anymore ..... that's was super appreciated

Edited March 28, 2008 by KipandSarahJayne

[Merk 0]

Hello all MILITARY SPOUSES!!!!! I just wanted to let you all know that your understanding and support of the"military life" is graetly appreciated. Keep your faith strong, we will all be with our loved ones soon!!!

[Nick/Nadia Bluma 0]

O.k.....and I'm back......

LOL

I am going to take the general advice and stay on the I-130 course and work the military expedite for all it's worth. I am going to use it for the I-130 and also at the NVC.

I have a big question and I am going to ask it here as well as in a thread by itself:

Is it possible to have the NVC send the I-184 as well as the other paperworks to me instead of to my husband in Iraq? and to do this would I just have to make myself the agent or does that only pertain to the packet that is sent to the beneficiary?

Our biggest issue is with the time it takes for the mail to go back and forth from Iraq. If I mail the documents in for him (filled out and signed by him) that would make transit time much shorter and also....less likelyhood of things getting lost. We have already lost mail sending it from there.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello Arla,

Nadia here - I've been away for a while but I'm back. Yes, the way I understand it if you make yourself the agent all communications from the NVC will be forwarded to you instead of your husband. Considering that he is in Iraq, that would definitely be the better option.

Some good news on my side, our I129F was received and left the NVC already (25 March) and has already been received by the US Consulate here in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm just so excited!! I agree with Sarah Jane on the issue of the USCIS making our guys wait yet again to be reunited with their loved ones. My husband is going crazy in the US (he's a US Marine.......... Every time I say that I literally glow!!!).

Here's a funny story: before I was a military wife I never paid much attention to the war in Iraq, US foreign policy, etc. Since marrying my man (Nick), I've been exposed to some serious education (not one sided I might add), both sides of the story and the "human face" of the situation, a side the world DOES NOT see. Last week a colleague criticized the US, the war in Iraq and the country in general. I wanted to thump them full on the nose (I do kata-boxing....very difficult to control myself when fired up)!!!!! I was not upset, oh no ma'am......... I was livid!!!!! I chose, however, to chastise them verbally with: "How does it feel to criticize a situation of life and death from the safety & security of your emotionally detached armchair?" They felt 2-feet small, I excused myself gracefully and with 'guns smoking'. Here's to military spouses everywhere

I'm praying for all of us, that our journey to our loved ones is speedy & safe, and that wherever our loved ones are deployed, may they find favour with God and rest under the wings of His protection.

Cheers,

Nadia

[Nick/Nadia Bluma 0]

O.k.....and I'm back......

LOL

I am going to take the general advice and stay on the I-130 course and work the military expedite for all it's worth. I am going to use it for the I-130 and also at the NVC.

I have a big question and I am going to ask it here as well as in a thread by itself:

Is it possible to have the NVC send the I-184 as well as the other paperworks to me instead of to my husband in Iraq? and to do this would I just have to make myself the agent or does that only pertain to the packet that is sent to the beneficiary?

Our biggest issue is with the time it takes for the mail to go back and forth from Iraq. If I mail the documents in for him (filled out and signed by him) that would make transit time much shorter and also....less likelyhood of things getting lost. We have already lost mail sending it from there.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello Arla,

Nadia here - I've been away for a while but I'm back. Yes, the way I understand it if you make yourself the agent all communications from the NVC will be forwarded to you instead of your husband. Considering that he is in Iraq, that would definitely be the better option.

Some good news on my side, our I129F was received and left the NVC already (25 March) and has already been received by the US Consulate here in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm just so excited!! I agree with Sarah Jane on the issue of the USCIS making our guys wait yet again to be reunited with their loved ones. My husband is going crazy in the US (he's a US Marine.......... Every time I say that I literally glow!!!).

Here's a funny story: before I was a military wife I never paid much attention to the war in Iraq, US foreign policy, etc. Since marrying my man (Nick), I've been exposed to some serious education (not one sided I might add), both sides of the story and the "human face" of the situation, a side the world DOES NOT see. Last week a colleague criticized the US, the war in Iraq and the country in general. I wanted to thump them full on the nose (I do kata-boxing....very difficult to control myself when fired up)!!!!! I was not upset, oh no ma'am......... I was livid!!!!! I chose, however, to chastise them verbally with: "How does it feel to criticize a situation of life and death from the safety & security of your emotionally detached armchair?" They felt 2-feet small, I excused myself gracefully and with 'guns smoking'. Here's to military spouses everywhere

I'm praying for all of us, that our journey to our loved ones is speedy & safe, and that wherever our loved ones are deployed, may they find favour with God and rest under the wings of His protection.

Cheers,

Nadia

Hi there,

My apologies, this post was not in response to Arla (nothing personal Arla ) but to Jamerican Love. Hope it helps

Nadia

[AmericanSoldier 0]

Hi, I'm Sarah and thought it may be good to start a thread specifically for Military Spouses.

I didn't see one anywhere else on the site, and thought it may be a good way to start some form of support network which incorporates our different set of stresses, to those whose partners have normal jobs.

I met my US Army Husband online when he was in Iraq originally back in 2005, and when he returned we've lived with him being a Reservist, but he goes Active again in a few weeks.

With the current climate of things, it's a little worrying .... I pray there's no deployment, again.

At the moment, I'm separated from him, in England, while we go through the I-130 process which we started in January 2008.

I'm sure there are a few Spouses (and for Fiances for that matter) on here which are in difficult situations regarding their partners involved in the Military, while they too are on their own personal visa journey's, and are finding it harder than normal as they are not attached to or able to access their 'Family Readiness Group' as yet, till they reach the US.

Hence, attempting to start a form of one for us here.

Not sure if this was a good idea, but I didn't think it could do any harm.

Good luck to us all, and I hope we all have a speedy reunion with our Beloved One who is part of the defense structure of the country we will soon be calling 'Home'.

Sarah x

p.s. The link here is for the Military specific immigration hotline (with real people to talk to), which may be of use to some of you http://www.military.com/military-report/im...ESRC=miltrep.nl

Hello All,

Here is an issue I am comtemplating. Maybe some of you can add to it. Have found some answers, but still more question. Read on........

Hello everyone.

I was looking ahead into the future time and came to the realization that me and my spouse will be in Germany on military orders at the time of our 90 window to file for permanent residence with the I-751 form. She has a conditional residence green card which is good untill June 2009.

How does this work for those outside the United States on military orders? And at what office do we file?

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hi Adam,

Please call the US Military Immigration Helpline

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

They will give you all the information you need, and are extremely helpful. You will speak with USCIS directly and there will be no 'messing around'.

Once you get your information, can you please post it on the Military Spouses Thread, so that it can help those in your situation in the future.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111988

Goodluck,

Sarah x

Sarah,

Your an angel thank you. Thanks to everyone else as well.

Talked to them at USCIS. I was told that we will go ahead and file the I-751. At that point my wife will be issued an paper that will give her temporary green card a one year extension. Upon approval of the I-751 of course. I was also told to send a copy of my orders bringing me to Germany along with the rest of the supporting evidence. At that time the USCIS will make a choice as to if we or just my wife has to travel back state side for an interview.

Does anyone know if the interview process for this is ever waived or is it necessary every time for being granted true permanent residence? Its a pain to have to travel back to the United States upon getting to Germany and I am not sure if my chain of command would allow me to do that. Hopefully the USCIS will work with us.

I am sure I will cooked up more question and give those folks a call.

Adam

[samaci 0]

Hi there.. My husband is in the Navy.. I just wanted to add that the 1-877 # Military help line is very helpfull. WE had to call them today, and they gave us more info today about my GC and my case than I have ever gotten in the last 2 years dealing with the NVC. She read me updates, notices, notes documented when I ever called in... My GC has been returned to DHS twice now, marked "undeliverable", so we were calling about that. They were very nice.

[Catt 6]

Hi everyone,

I'm so happy I found this thread.

We were married in Feb of this year and have filed a K-3 application in March.

My husband is also serving in the US Army. He just returned from a tour in Afghanistan and will probably be redeployed to Iraq with his new unit in the course of 2009, which makes waiting for immigration processing in the meantime particularly gruesome.

Difficult to explain to someone not in the situation, which made me real happy to read all of your posts, you know exactly what I mean.

Take care,

Cat

[DanielParul 50]

Hey All,

Happy to have found this thread... Just got married on March 20th.. Husband is getting deployed to Iraq soon.... Keep in touch... Good luck to all of us!!

[eloko 0]

THATS FUNNY....

im already read all the post and it looks like its always the man who leaves the woman...

im married with a reserver soldier and SHES being deployed in june for 400 days, and when SHE receive the order to deploy we call right away immigration and with the order we being faster without them, but the thing its, only we have 2 months for everything before SHE leaves overseas... we are currently in NVC IV Fee bill, but takes to long for them to answer back... i send the paperwork on express mail and they send it in regular mail and that takes to long... the time its ending...

how can i make them, maybe, to they send the paperwork faster or something like that...

thanks ladies...

and to be honest, its weird being one out of all of you who its the men who stays and the women who is leaving...

[Catt 6]

Hi all,

My husband called the special USCIS military line about possible faster processing of military spouse cases.

They told him that unless he has actual deployment orders, it won't be expedited.

I don't understand this. Isn't the whole point of giving soldiers a minimum year pause between deployments, meant to have them spend time with family and relax before going off again? How relaxing is it to have to spend exactly that time stuck in immigration procedure, only to have to leave again when you finally have your spouse with you.

I think this sucks but oh well.

Edited April 4, 2008 by Catt

[Jamericanlove 31]

Good morning all. Yes apparently the soldier has to have deployment papers in hand for the expedite to be granted. It doesn't matter if he/she is about to go or gone already, just that deployment is in the mix. Hope this helps.

[Army_Wife 2]

THATS FUNNY....

im already read all the post and it looks like its always the man who leaves the woman...

im married with a reserver soldier and SHES being deployed in june for 400 days, and when SHE receive the order to deploy we call right away immigration and with the order we being faster without them, but the thing its, only we have 2 months for everything before SHE leaves overseas... we are currently in NVC IV Fee bill, but takes to long for them to answer back... i send the paperwork on express mail and they send it in regular mail and that takes to long... the time its ending...

how can i make them, maybe, to they send the paperwork faster or something like that...

thanks ladies...

and to be honest, its weird being one out of all of you who its the men who stays and the women who is leaving...

Hi Eloko,

Please call the US Military Immigration Helpline

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

They will give you all the information you need, and are extremely helpful. You will speak with USCIS directly and there will be no 'messing around'.

They will be able to help you with your expedite.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes to you and your wife during this difficult time.

Sarah x