August I-130 approvals, lets do NVC together.

[Ilya R. 0]

MsZ,

it is great that I can buy Czech beer in the U.S. Me and my hubby went to BevMo and always bought a lot of Czech beer. BevMo has 4 types of Czech beer - Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen, Krusovice and Zatec.

I recommend everyone here to try STAROPRAMEN. It is wayyyyy better than U.S. beer.

Yes, I can cook but I am not as good as my mom. My hubby keeps telling me that my mom makes better goulash than me.

Martina

OMG I love Krusovice!!!!!!!!!

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

NVC received my case on Sept. 2nd, i was just curious and called NVC to see if they have my case on the Automated Voice Response but to this day nothing has been entered on that AVR, any idea why?

[nimche 8]

NVC received my case on Sept. 2nd, i was just curious and called NVC to see if they have my case on the Automated Voice Response but to this day nothing has been entered on that AVR, any idea why?

They may not even like you man. My new case number has the same problem and I think there is somthing wrong with AVR but I am sure you case is moving forward.

Don't worry.

[CHD 0]

My husband and I married in the US in November 2006 and filed for AOS the following March. Speaking of all the ignorance surrounding immigration, I had no fiancee visa. At the time I honestly didn't know I needed one. Even if I had known that the visa existed at all, I, like 95% of Canadians, believed we don't need a visa for anything in the US. We didn't even think to look into whether or not there was anything to be filed until after we were already married (I swear, we ARE intelligent people... ). That would have been fun to explain at the AOS interview.

The adjustment period was nothing short of insane. I've lived 10 minutes from the US border all my life and was not expecting anything more than a small twinge of missing my mother from time to time. As soon as the excitement of the wedding died down I wanted to go home. Didn't help that Christmas was a month later, and the first one I've ever spent without my own family. I became very depressed and withdrawn. Nothing around me was good enough because nothing was like home. The brands of food I liked weren't available, the Diet Coke (my poison of choice) tasted way different, I had a really hard time finding clothes and even shoes because the sizes are different (even though the numbers are the same). And I became very very needy of my husband. I think its probably accurate to say that I became almost childlike. I wanted him and only him, and if he wasn't paying attention to me I would just cry. He tried to encourage me to talk to/meet/socialize with others but I would think he was just trying to pawn me off. I've always been a very independent person and this whole ordeal was extremely out of character for me. I went to a couple of therapy sessions and it was explained to me that I was in a grieving process as real and intense as that of a bereaved widow. She explained that I lost all of my loved ones but one in a single day, including myself, and life as I knew it. I still thank my husband on a regular basis for having the strength and understanding to see me through that time, because had he crumbled our relationship would have followed.

We ended up withdrawing our AOS petition because we got an RFE on the I-864 just as my husband was laid off, and he was unable to find a new job in time. I moved back to Canada in July of last year and I'm afraid to say I was very excited about it. Since he still didn't have a job my husband stayed here with me until just after Labor Day before returning home. Funny thing is that as soon as he left, I went through the same ordeal all over again, though to a lesser extent. I had absolutely everything back that I thought I'd wanted while I was living in the US, and I already couldn't wait to give it all up again. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect when I move back this time. I would think that it will be easier now that I know exactly what I'm dealing with and what I will and won't have and who I'll have around me, but who knows. Wasn't expecting either of the first two depressions either. At least if it does happen again, I'll be able to tell myself with confidence that it will pass, and I'll be able to remind myself about what I feel right now - wanting him so badly that I almost can't breathe. But we'll see soon enough.

Edited September 25, 2008 by CHD

[nimche 8]

My husband and I married in the US in November 2006 and filed for AOS the following March. Speaking of all the ignorance surrounding immigration, I had no fiancee visa. At the time I honestly didn't know I needed one. Even if I had known that the visa existed at all, I, like 95% of Canadians, believed we don't need a visa for anything in the US. We didn't even think to look into whether or not there was anything to be filed until after we were already married (I swear, we ARE intelligent people... ). That would have been fun to explain at the AOS interview.

The adjustment period was nothing short of insane. I've lived 10 minutes from the US border all my life and was not expecting anything more than a small twinge of missing my mother from time to time. As soon as the excitement of the wedding died down I wanted to go home. Didn't help that Christmas was a month later, and the first one I've ever spent without my own family. I became very depressed and withdrawn. Nothing around me was good enough because nothing was like home. The brands of food I liked weren't available, the Diet Coke (my poison of choice) tasted way different, I had a really hard time finding clothes and even shoes because the sizes are different (even though the numbers are the same). And I became very very needy of my husband. I think its probably accurate to say that I became almost childlike. I wanted him and only him, and if he wasn't paying attention to me I would just cry. He tried to encourage me to talk to/meet/socialize with others but I would think he was just trying to pawn me off. I've always been a very independent person and this whole ordeal was extremely out of character for me. I went to a couple of therapy sessions and it was explained to me that I was in a grieving process as real and intense as that of a bereaved widow. She explained that I lost all of my loved ones but one in a single day, including myself, and life as I knew it. I still thank my husband on a regular basis for having the strength and understanding to see me through that time, because had he crumbled our relationship would have followed.

We ended up withdrawing our AOS petition because we got an RFE on the I-864 just as my husband was laid off, and he was unable to find a new job in time. I moved back to Canada in July of last year and I'm afraid to say I was very excited about it. Since he still didn't have a job my husband stayed here with me until just after Labor Day before returning home. Funny thing is that as soon as he left, I went through the same ordeal all over again, though to a lesser extent. I had absolutely everything back that I thought I'd wanted while I was living in the US, and I already couldn't wait to give it all up again. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect when I move back this time. I would think that it will be easier now that I know exactly what I'm dealing with and what I will and won't have and who I'll have around me, but who knows. Wasn't expecting either of the first two depressions either. At least if it does happen again, I'll be able to tell myself with confidence that it will pass, and I'll be able to remind myself about what I feel right now - wanting him so badly that I almost can't breathe. But we'll see soon enough.

Thanks for sharing your story CHD. This is nice. Even though Immigration process as we know it, the most frustrating process ever but at the same time gives you a feeling to be strong in front of any problems in your future life and definitely changes your lifestyle in every direction.

We are almost done and I can feel my wife next to me now Probably she is sleep-walking

[nimche 8]

I still have no idea what is wrong with PCC copy as I called again 20 min. ago and she said you case for PCC is still under review and wait 10-15 days. I hate this generic message. I hope they let me know soon. Original PCC should be there tomorrow.

Hows everybody doing here?

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

After you pay your AOS Fee Bill Online, how long does it usually take them to send you the Instruction Packet for the documents they need?

Again I know I can send them right now, Cover Bar Sheet, Employment letters, tax transcripts, I-864's. But since I cant i'm waiting on the instruction packet...

has anyone received anything when they paid online?

[CHD 0]

After you pay your AOS Fee Bill Online, how long does it usually take them to send you the Instruction Packet for the documents they need?

Again I know I can send them right now, Cover Bar Sheet, Employment letters, tax transcripts, I-864's. But since I cant i'm waiting on the instruction packet...

has anyone received anything when they paid online?

If I'm not mistaken, when you pay online they DON'T send the instruction packets in the mail. we did both our payments online and my husband did not get an AOS package nor did I receive an IV package. If you log into the Department of State online payment website and click on the 'Receipt' tab, there's a link at the bottom titled 'Go to the Affidavit of Support Processing Instructions'. If you pay the IV fee onlne as well, the link will state 'Go to the Applicant Document Processing Instructions'.

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

After the petitioner (sponsor) has paid the Affidavit of Support processing fee, the petitioner (sponsor) is contacted by the NVC. You are ready for the next step in the immigration process, which is to download the necessary forms, complete them, and then submit them for the purpose of sponsoring the intending immigrant.

The I-864 Affidavit of Support is a contract between a sponsor and the U.S. Government. The legal basis for the I-864 Affidavit of Support is Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

After receiving notification from the NVC to download the Affidavit of Support Instructions, take the following actions:

[nunyab 0]

Got my new case number from the sweetest operator yet, Emma so Nimche do we need to change the flag under our avatars??

This is really good news. I was really worreid to what happened to your case.

You can figure out what date they changed your case by looking at your case number (pay attention to Ling ILng instruction) For instance my case is: NPL2008***000 so if you get *** - 500= actual date from 365 days in a year for example 222 then you can goole and see what date is that.

I may change the flag:O I am wonder if I should. She rathers being an Italian than a Iranian. I am just kidding

lol.. i've seen someone here is from Spain and she said they're going fast i soooo hope so. I am a little confused my case number is MDD2008***001 so what does that mean??

still waiting for my IV Bill to be invoiced now.

Does anyone know if we get case complete the first week or two in oct is there still time to get in on nov interviews in Spain????

[nunyab 0]

After you pay your AOS Fee Bill Online, how long does it usually take them to send you the Instruction Packet for the documents they need?

Again I know I can send them right now, Cover Bar Sheet, Employment letters, tax transcripts, I-864's. But since I cant i'm waiting on the instruction packet...

has anyone received anything when they paid online?

the only thing i've ever gotten was the IIN after that nothing in snail mail. I am still waiting for my IV bll to be invoiced but i keep checking the same site i paid my AOS bill...

Good luck

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

I'm going to call tomorrow again and ask them if they're going to send anything out to me..

[Ling Ling 22]

Ling Ling how did you send your ds-230 part II?

Include the payment barcode? and cover letter and ds-230? Did you send anything esle?

I am going to send the PCC like that.

Yeah...I used the Barcode Coversheet and took a cue from CHD...wrote "URGENT, Response to RFE" on the coversheet.

Speaking of CHD....thanks for sharing your journey with us. It gives all of us some insight into what to expect, and how we might be able to deal with it.

OUR STORY....

we met online in Nov. 2006...we both love dance music, and it brought us together.

Neither of us was looking for anyone. We were both dating other people.

Somehow we started emailing each other every day...sometimes talking about how unhappy we were in our relationships.

About a month later we started calling each other. After the 1st call (lasted about an hour) I knew we had something special.

We talked twice a day, every day, for about an hour each time. Now comes Jan. 2007 and I had to go to Cannes, France for a meeting.

Ring Ring had to fly to Paris on duty. I extended my trip and went to Paris. When we met, it was like we already knew each other.

It wasn't like meeting someone in a bar, or being introduced by a friend, or meeting them on the street. It was like we had already known each other

forever and we were just being re-united. Needless to say, "I" fell in love then and there. We decided to keep seeing each other exclusively.

About a month later we both took some time off and met in San Francisco. I have a friend who works for Apple, and he has a great condo downtown.

As our luck would have it, he had to go to China...so the place was ours. We got to really spend some good time together, shopping, cooking, playing video games, etc.

and I think that's when Ring Ring fell in love with me. In March we took more time off, and went to a music event in Miami....and some extra time in Orlando. Every month we found some way to be together. By April we were wearing rings...married in our hearts. In October we made it real. I came to Japan for the second time that year, met her parents, took them a Wii, and asked permission to marry. At first they were hesitant. They liked me, but were concerned that Chicago is far away, and this is their only daughter. After an hour of conversation, I said, "At birth, the umbilical cord is severed so the child can breathe on their own, and grow. I'm not asking you to sever your ties to your daughter, but to give her the opportunity to breathe on her own, to grow, and to be happy". After that, her parents said yes.

She wanted to finish out the work year (very dedicated worker) and in Japan the fiscal year ends in April. So we didn't bother to apply for the visa...thinking it would only take a short time (ha ha ha).

We went honeymooning in Costa Rica in December. In February we had kind of a second honeymoon, spending time in Chicago, Cancun Mexico, Ishigaki Japan, and Tokyo.

In April I went back to Japan again, and we went to the consulate with all our visa paperwork. We had an I-130, G-325a, I-864, DS-230, and probably some other stuff.

We were ready to get the visa. Our number was called, we walked up to the counter, they looked at my passport...and told me that since I hadn't lived in Japan for 6 months, we'd have to submit everything to the lockbox in Chicago. We were shattered. We knew that visa timelines were 6 to 9 months or more. I got back to Chicago, made an infopass appointment and took everything with me. I couldn't believe when the people there told me that I had to MAIL the package to them, and they would forward it to the Embassy in Japan. Sure they left out a bunch of steps...but it made me REALLY mad and frustrated. I was thinking..."I just left the embassy in Japan".

So then we started thinking about ways around the system. We (or I) couldn't imagine being apart any longer. Ring Ring couldn't imagine coming to the US without a proper visa. We were ready to just start the paperwork when a friend said, "talk to my lawyer, he's great". So we waited almost 2 months to talk to this magical immigration lawyer. When we met with him he told us there was no magic, and advised the risks of trying to do an adjustment of status from a tourist visa or Visa Waiver.

After wasting more time and money, we put in the petition and found this great community called Visa Journey. Well we got lucky and were approved in August.

...the journey continues.

[Ling Ling 22]

Shpat....

they MIGHT send you a hard copy of the instructions and barcode cover sheet (that you can print online).

But you already have everything you need. Go ahead and send the I-864. Keep it moving, and you can be finished before x-mas....maybe before Thanksgiving.

Once they accept your DS-3032, you'll be able to pay the IV fee bill...and you've got most of that stuff ready...right?

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

Shpat....

they MIGHT send you a hard copy of the instructions and barcode cover sheet (that you can print online).

But you already have everything you need. Go ahead and send the I-864. Keep it moving, and you can be finished before x-mas....maybe before Thanksgiving.

Once they accept your DS-3032, you'll be able to pay the IV fee bill...and you've got most of that stuff ready...right?

Well I already printed the bardcode cover sheet, and the ds-3032 has been accepted via e-mail.

So all I need to do is send the I-864 and then pay the IV fee bill.