AoS journey soon to begin

[Kittyfang 6]

First of all, I would like to mention three things.

1. I am old forum member and have always found a lot of information and hope in the people I met here. Should someone ask me to give my opinion of VJ forum, it would contain nothing but praises.

2. This being said, my AoS situation (or rather, the way I presented it, or the way some people read into it) upset some people. This was never my intent. On the internet, it is very difficult to fully understand a person's tone or the simple message they are trying to carry, more so, because of the anonymity, it is very easy to let loose and forget that the words your are reading come from a genuine person. For this reason, I had to take a break and decided that I would be back once I knew a bit more about what was required of me to complete an AoS.

3. It is now AoS time for me and I am here. But please know one thing. My experience is my own. Full of mistakes, of surprises and impulses. Nothing in this has ever been done to upset or offend. Should you feel so, or believe otherwise, please contact me and I will be more than happy to make sure no bad feelings exist.

I wondered for a time how I should do this. Should I just come back and say "hey gang! y'all remember me?". To which I answered "no, most people who were here when I was probably are done with they journey". I then wondered if I should start a blog. Surely some people are in the same situation as me. Surely they would like to see how others are doing things. But, I lack the motivation to advertise and publicize such an endeavor. Then I figured I would come here. Where people have always been so helpful. Share my story and hopefully find some answers and help other people find theirs.

So we begin...

I am from Canada and met my American husband online, 4 years ago. We spent about 6 months talking online and decided to meet. I traveled to the U.S. to meet him and spent about a week. I returned home to find that my work did not "require my services anymore". I was living in a city by myself at the time, away from my family, so at that moment I decided that I would go back home. But, before I moved back, my (then) boyfriend and I decided that I should travel back to see him. I was jobless, didn't have the responsibilities of rent (it was a month to month arrangement) so, the decision was made that I would go see him for a few months.

Canadians did not need a passport to cross the border. All I had, at the time, was my birth certificate and a picture I.D.

We spent months together, in the U.S. and decided that we wanted to spend our life like that. We had NO IDEA what immigration processes were, what forms we needed and how much time and money it would take. In all honesty, we were very naive. "We're married, we probably just need to file, like a piece of paper and that's it".

We got married 6 months after I got the the U.S.. We didn't have a lot of money, so we had a small wedding with his family. A few days after I called USCIS and this is what I was told:

- I will need an Adjustment of Status package. It includes the forms I-130, I-485, I-765. I will also require a medical.

I also asked how long I can stay in the U.S. until we file these forms. As long as you need, but I would do it as fast as you can.

Well, it has now been three years and we are finally ready to file.

The three years delay was not intentional. We did not have a lot of money and, yes, it did take us this long to get our stuff together. On the other hand, people have told me that waiting this long maybe a good thing as it proves that I did not come here with the intent to get a green card.

We have the money for the forms, but not a lawyer, so we are doing this on our own.

We have a passport for me that serves as picture I.D.

We will have, once I receive an EAD, joint bank accounts, my name on the property deed and cars, bills in both our names, some pictures, etc.

Now, I have typed all this out hoping that some people might be in the same situation and might give me their input. I welcome any comment, but please, be nice, I turned 30 this year and the older I get, the less I want to fight, the more I want to embrace everybody. I understand that this situation isn't always seen in a good eye by people who went the K-1 way and believe me, it is in no way ment to upset them. With the knowledge I have now, I would love nothing more than to do this their way, but here we are, trying to do the best we can.

[Miranda&John 0]

I don't have any advice, but I would like to say "Welcome Back!" and good luck in the process

[Kittyfang 6]

Thank you. We're much more informed and it's helping a lot. There's nothing that seem to take the stress away, but I guess that short to having Obama shake my hand and tell me he'll take care of it personally, nothing would. lol!

[Darnell 8,478]

Nice to see you on VJ again. Good Luck with the paperwork stuff !!!