December 2009 Filers - CSC!

[Indy90 21]

My 8 year old has a father here with shared custody, and I cannot move without his legal permission, plus it would be hard on my other two older kids. I cannot even see how to marry him there because the new law in Ecuador is if you want to marry someone from there, you need to come in to his country on a (seeking) legal permanent resident Visa, stay 120 days, pay fees, become a resident, then marry, then wait for marriage certificate. Then I would have to return to US and file, then a one year wait. PS. I don't get that long off of work, and even if I COULD take my son and teach college there it is a salary of 12,000 a year, but it wouldn't pay my monthly debt here of car payment plus large student loan payment.

When did they move it to 120 days? When I got married to my wife in Quito last summer, I believe that it was at 75 days. In reality, I had only been in Ecuador for 1 week when we got married. A couple of days before getting married we had to present several documents to the judge in Quito and when we asked about the new law requiring 75 days, the judge to be honest had totally forgotten about it. When she realized that I had been in the country for far less time than required, she made an exception because in all I had spent well over 75 days in Ecuador. If you happen to be in Ecuador and know that you want to get married, it does not hurt to go to the civil registry office and ask a judge if they can make an exception, like what happened to us, because if you bring your passport or a record of your trips (obtained at one of the ministries in Quito) they very well might marry you.

Another option would be to look into getting married in a neighboring country like Peru or Colombia, although I do not know what the rules are. Traveling by bus to those countries is very cheap (I have done it multiple times).

edit: for some reason I missed that you were already looking into 3rd countries. Puerto Rico is out of the question because it is a territory of the US and therefore has the same visa requirements as the mainland US. Really, if money is an issue, look into Colombia or Peru first...taking a bus or flying is very cheap (round trip flights can be found for $140 to Bogota...$70 for a round trip by bus and it is way cheaper if you just want to get to a city closer to the border by bus).

Edited September 1, 2010 by Indy90

[MeggyMo 4]

Hey guys

How are all the December filers doin?

Angelo and I are busy trying to finish up this stupid AOS.

I am so tired of the paperwork. I can't wait to get my greencard. I hope everyone is doing well

[Y&E 12]

Hey Meggy, I hope to be able to send my AOS packet off tomorrow! Have you sent yours yet?

[Casper&Diana 0]

Greetings Decemberers! 'Been out of action for a while. I think I left off planning the wedding with only three weeks to do it. It was great! Honeymoon in Maui with 4 kids. A unique trip. Now also doing the AOS. What a PIA (pain in the ####!). Hopefully send all the docs off tomorrow. I've been going over and over it. Just finished the -693 medical form today. Had to do the complete physical again for both the wife and son even though we did them in Ukraine in June but they wouldn't give us copies then so we had to them again. Sigh, another $600 day.

So, I have a question: In another couple months there will be a new group of December Filers. What will we be then?!

[MeggyMo 4]

Hey Meggy, I hope to be able to send my AOS packet off tomorrow! Have you sent yours yet?

Not yet sadly. We have been so busy we have kind of put that on the back burner. I don't think it takes long though. I mean just the paper work right lol. So I am doing it all next week kind of cuttin it close.

I am happy that you had a great honeymoon Casper.

We will always be December filers #1!

[TerriandEric 4]

Hey all,

Caspar I am glad you had a great honeymoon

Well today is our AOS interview up in Cleveland, we have a folder larger then the K1 full of evidence, photos & assorted paperwork. Life has been plodding along here...I have been actively looking for work but not having a work history here in the USA makes filling out applications a joy (NOT!) We have also been preparing for Winter...wood pellets are stacked in the basement ready for the stove to be on..the yard is all winter ready for the most part. Other then baking to keep my sanity not much is new here lol.

Will keep you all posted as to how today goes

[MeggyMo 4]

Hey all,

Caspar I am glad you had a great honeymoon

Well today is our AOS interview up in Cleveland, we have a folder larger then the K1 full of evidence, photos & assorted paperwork. Life has been plodding along here...I have been actively looking for work but not having a work history here in the USA makes filling out applications a joy (NOT!) We have also been preparing for Winter...wood pellets are stacked in the basement ready for the stove to be on..the yard is all winter ready for the most part. Other then baking to keep my sanity not much is new here lol.

Will keep you all posted as to how today goes

So we have to go to Cleveland for that. Wow that is an inconvenience. Then again this whole thing has been just that.

Well good luck on the interview Terri. I wouldn't stress that much. From what I have heard its a breeze!

You guys will be fine

[TerriandEric 4]

Green Card APPROVED!! YAY! No more USCIS for 21 months. :dance: :dance:

[OBX 51]

Green Card APPROVED!! YAY! No more USCIS for 21 months. :dance: :dance:

Congratulations.

[MeggyMo 4]

Green Card APPROVED!! YAY! No more USCIS for 21 months. :dance: :dance:

Great news Terri!

I wish I was in your place lol.

[Y&E 12]

Congrats Terri and Eric. Any tips on what happened at the interview? I'm hoping for one as I hear that CSC is really backlogged right now and processing AOS really slow.

I finally sent the AOS today. It was a pain in the A## only because Yuri wouldn't look over the I-8 whatever because he was too busy.

So, now there is more waiting but hopefully no more paperwork for awhile. Just try to plan the 'wedding' now... so can't be bothered!

Caspar, that sounds like a fun honeymoon!

[TerriandEric 4]

Thanks all. I received my 'Welcome' letter today in the mail. Interview was fairly easy. Here is the link for the review I put up: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=6649

It was a stressful process that I would not ever ask anyone to do UNLESS they are truly in love with the person involved. We all know how stressful and anxiety riddled the process is and it is not for those with doubts or who are feint of heart. There needs to be changes made to the process that much is for certain but that is somethign for someone in a little cubicle somewhere to deal with when the time comes...for now...I am going to continue living & loving my life with my husband and share that life with our family & friends who support us.

I will not say I have had a charmed time of it all. My family back in Australia have given me untold amounts of grief, guilt trips and stress. I was told 'that I should not be enthusiastic about my new life in the USA' by my parents & my children in AUS because it makes them feel 'upset that I am not missing them' All this was played out on my facebook wall over the last few months. I have since been ignored by my parents, my children & I talked it through...and thankfully they understand that I am happy & admitted that they were jealous not to be here with me even though they chose to stay there because of jobs & schooling. I have spent so many days crying because of it & have once again suffered migraines to the point of not being able to get out of bed...and here I can not get the over the counter medications I am used to using to deal with these migraines.

All I can say is thank heavens for each & every one of you for being there as a support...I may not have said much but knowing you were all there going through this right along side me gave me untold strength to fight another day.

XXXX

[Casper&Diana 0]

Greetings Fellow December Filiers!

So, possibly this is the last issue of our Great Month of December?! For fun I went back and read the first few posts of nearly a year ago and not surprisingly the first one was from Terri who, until now, was also the last poster here!

What a journey, huh? Wow. The ups, the downs, the stress, the waiting, and of course, the joys. I feel VERY fortunate to be one of the ones who started here a year ago (and quite clueless, I might add!) that ended the year with my new wife and son with me every day. My Love, Diana and I fit like a hand in glove, my new son Dennis, who also insisted on changing his name to mine, calls me Dad. It is a great feeling. Add that now is Thanksgiving (in America) and I have so much to be thankful for, most of all for my new family that with my daughters now numbers 5.

As to our current status, we filed the AOS 6 weeks ago and had the biometrics last week. Does that mean the next interview and GC are only a few weeks away??? I have to say that I don't stress much about the status and progress like I did before. Diana is here with me and always will be. The governement is now just one of the low-grade annoying things one must deal with from time to time.

To all that have shared a success like mine you know what I mean. To those who are delayed in your own journey I feel your pain and wish you speedy resolution.

To all who helped me with the endless questions along the way, I thank you. To any I may have helped (probably not many!), you are welcome.

In case our blogspot disappears soon with the fresh crop of new ('10) December filiers let me wish everyone a great and wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas to follow! Should anyone find themselves in Bend, Oregon for a vacation or just passing through, send me an e-mail at flyfast2002@yahoo.com and we'll get together.

Best of continued good luck to all!

Casper & Diana

[PanamaJack 1]

Greetings Fellow December Filiers!

So, possibly this is the last issue of our Great Month of December?! For fun I went back and read the first few posts of nearly a year ago and not surprisingly the first one was from Terri who, until now, was also the last poster here!

What a journey, huh? Wow. The ups, the downs, the stress, the waiting, and of course, the joys. I feel VERY fortunate to be one of the ones who started here a year ago (and quite clueless, I might add!) that ended the year with my new wife and son with me every day. My Love, Diana and I fit like a hand in glove, my new son Dennis, who also insisted on changing his name to mine, calls me Dad. It is a great feeling. Add that now is Thanksgiving (in America) and I have so much to be thankful for, most of all for my new family that with my daughters now numbers 5.

As to our current status, we filed the AOS 6 weeks ago and had the biometrics last week. Does that mean the next interview and GC are only a few weeks away??? I have to say that I don't stress much about the status and progress like I did before. Diana is here with me and always will be. The governement is now just one of the low-grade annoying things one must deal with from time to time.

To all that have shared a success like mine you know what I mean. To those who are delayed in your own journey I feel your pain and wish you speedy resolution.

To all who helped me with the endless questions along the way, I thank you. To any I may have helped (probably not many!), you are welcome.

In case our blogspot disappears soon with the fresh crop of new ('10) December filiers let me wish everyone a great and wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas to follow! Should anyone find themselves in Bend, Oregon for a vacation or just passing through, send me an e-mail at flyfast2002@yahoo.com and we'll get together.

Best of continued good luck to all!

Casper & Diana

Happy Holidays to Dec.09 CSC from Dec. 09 VSC filers...check out my timeline for the progress we are making.. You again are moving faster than us who filed in Vermont.

[TerriandEric 4]

Caspar I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving...we enjoyed our very first Thanksgiving & we were surrounded by family and an abundance of food.

Today saw my daughter and I experience our first ever snow! It is absolutely beautiful to wake to see the yard covered in a dusting of snow...though in a couple of months I will be aching to see green peaking through LOL!

An update on us....I am now working...I love my job & the people I work with. I am feeling semi normal now. Life is still very busy and I dont think I would want it any other way.

I still have to pinch myself some days to remember the journey we have been on over the last couple of years to get where we are today..seems kind of surreal.

I want to wish you all a wonderful festive season with your loved ones. May your blessings be all you can handle and your lives always be filled with love, laughter & happiness.