January 2011 Filers!!!

[Nok and Phil 0]

Hi everyone! I received NOA1 on January 6, 2011. New to this forum. Any words of advice? Thanks!

June 2010 - Met online

July 2010 - Met in person

Sept 2010 - Proposed marriage

Nov 2010 - Together for 3rd time

Dec 31, 2010 - K1 packet sent

January 6, 2011 - NOA1 received (CSC)

Edited February 25, 2011 by Phil E

[TwoCats 55]

June 2010 - Met online

July 2010 - Met in person

Sept 2010 - Proposed marriage

Nov 2010 - Together for 3rd time

Dec 31, 2010 - K1 packet sent

January 6, 2011 - NOA1 received (CSC)

Welcome Phil.

I'll get you added to our timeline page sometime within the next couple of hours (getting ready for work right now).

You can follow/update your status on that page using the link in my signature.

Otherwise, you're welcome to hang out, share questions and comments, and experiences.

[Ash&Ham 0]

Thanks Pejo for the advice. I was freaking out about this, but when I talked to my mom she said that she reviewed all my forms before mailing them off for me and caught the mistake. She just crossed throught the typed letters and hand printed the correct name.

Also, someone mentioned a while back that I should switch my timeline to the Vermont service center from the Texas service center becuase they transfered my application from texas to vermont. However, whenever I go to edit my timeline profile, it clearly states in bold by and astric to type the service center that you filed at, even if it was transfered to another....

what has everyone else done?

thanks everyone!

[Diana and Chris 25]

Thanks Pejo for the advice. I was freaking out about this, but when I talked to my mom she said that she reviewed all my forms before mailing them off for me and caught the mistake. She just crossed throught the typed letters and hand printed the correct name.

Also, someone mentioned a while back that I should switch my timeline to the Vermont service center from the Texas service center becuase they transfered my application from texas to vermont. However, whenever I go to edit my timeline profile, it clearly states in bold by and astric to type the service center that you filed at, even if it was transfered to another....

what has everyone else done?

thanks everyone!

You are Vermont. That's the service center that is going to be handling your K1.

Best of luck!!

[TwoCats 55]

Also, someone mentioned a while back that I should switch my timeline to the Vermont service center from the Texas service center becuase they transfered my application from texas to vermont. However, whenever I go to edit my timeline profile, it clearly states in bold by and astric to type the service center that you filed at, even if it was transfered to another....

what has everyone else done?

Probably me.

I'm a stickler for prodding people to update their service centers.

You filed your petition at the Texas Lockbox. Note the bolded word.

The lockbox is NOT the Texas Service Center.

It's just a sorting facility.

Your case is actually at Vermont.

[Ash&Ham 0]

Thanks guys!! I'll go change it now.

oh and another concern.... I'm just full of them these days!....

As I stated in a previous post, I am presently living and working in St. Lucia, where my fiance lives (i never left after completing my Peace Corps service). Now my family is saying that we should just get married in St. Lucia, and all of them will come to us for the wedding.

Does anyone know what happens if you get married in your fiance's country while your K-1 Visa case is being processed??

I know that for people who are already married, its a whole other application...

I think this might just complicate things, but I wonder if it can be done.

Once again, thank you to everyone who is able to address my questions and concerns.

I know that I am lucky for getting to be with my fiance while we wait, but it is still very nerve racking, and very stressful!!

Best,

Ashley

[James And Oksana 19]

Thanks guys!! I'll go change it now.

oh and another concern.... I'm just full of them these days!....

As I stated in a previous post, I am presently living and working in St. Lucia, where my fiance lives (i never left after completing my Peace Corps service). Now my family is saying that we should just get married in St. Lucia, and all of them will come to us for the wedding.

Does anyone know what happens if you get married in your fiance's country while your K-1 Visa case is being processed??

I know that for people who are already married, its a whole other application...

I think this might just complicate things, but I wonder if it can be done.

Once again, thank you to everyone who is able to address my questions and concerns.

I know that I am lucky for getting to be with my fiance while we wait, but it is still very nerve racking, and very stressful!!

Best,

Ashley

If you get married out of the US, you will abandon the K1 and start over from that point on filing an I-130 petition. The conditions of a K1 visa is that you are able to marry in the US at ALL times during the process until the point of entry, where you have 90 days to marry within the US. If you marry elsewhere before this, then you would not be able to get married in the US, thus requiring a different petition. My suggestion is to wait and marry in the US, as you do not want to waste more time by withdrawing this petition and filing one after marriage.

[jingo 38]

Last night I kept dreaming that I was checking my email for the noa2 and when i opened my eyes at 7am in a half-asleep delusional state i actually thought that i saw one there. I think all this stress is getting to me.

Ash & Ham, you can always have a wedding ceremony in your hometown with your family but sign the actual marriage paperwork in the States when you get there

[Diana and Chris 25]

Thanks guys!! I'll go change it now.

oh and another concern.... I'm just full of them these days!....

As I stated in a previous post, I am presently living and working in St. Lucia, where my fiance lives (i never left after completing my Peace Corps service). Now my family is saying that we should just get married in St. Lucia, and all of them will come to us for the wedding.

Does anyone know what happens if you get married in your fiance's country while your K-1 Visa case is being processed??

I know that for people who are already married, its a whole other application...

I think this might just complicate things, but I wonder if it can be done.

Once again, thank you to everyone who is able to address my questions and concerns.

I know that I am lucky for getting to be with my fiance while we wait, but it is still very nerve racking, and very stressful!!

Best,

Ashley

Like you said. Its a whole other type of visa, another form, another fee. You have signed an intent to get married after you are both in the USA and only have 90 days to do so. One of the requirements for the Visa is to be free to marry... not to be married before you get it. It wouldn't only complicate things, they would simply not give you a K1 if you get married before.

[TwoCats 55]

As I stated in a previous post, I am presently living and working in St. Lucia, where my fiance lives (i never left after completing my Peace Corps service). Now my family is saying that we should just get married in St. Lucia, and all of them will come to us for the wedding.

Does anyone know what happens if you get married in your fiance's country while your K-1 Visa case is being processed??

I know that for people who are already married, its a whole other application...

If you decide to get married, you'll want to contact USCIS and make sure that you withdraw your K-1 application. It will no longer be valid as you will now be married and will need to be filing for a spousal visa instead.

I think, cost-wise, you actually won't lose that much. The K-1 is all-around more expensive than a spouse visa, because of the AOS step. Where as with the CR-1/IR-1 you get a greencard when your spouse arrives, no AOS. So even if you have to re-file, you probably won't be risking spending much more than you would have already with the K-1.

The only thing that's really an issue is that you'll be starting again from scratch. That means it may take longer before you can enter the U.S. You might want to look at when you are planning on getting married, and how long the CR-1/IR-1 is taking right now, and then compare that to the K-1 processing time to get an idea of how long this might delay things.

[Ash&Ham 0]

Thank for all the feedback!

We are thinking that maybe we will just get married in St. Lucia but not register it. Then, when we get to the states we can just go get married at the court house or something.

I dont know, we will see. I didnt realize that the K3 process was less costly. Interesting.

Take care everyone. Have a good weekend! I am sooo happy I only have internet at my office. It helps me curb my checking obsession!

[TwoCats 55]

I dont know, we will see. I didnt realize that the K3 process was less costly. Interesting.

Not K3.

It's CR-1/IR-1 now.

[ONA 133]

Ask for manager from the first level customer support, tell them you wish to have a request put in with IT...IT will not ever talk to you. The second level manager that can look up the info on the internal system can verify the petition status and put in the request with IT. Do not ask to be transfered to IT, as they will likely just say they do not do that and not listen to you from there on out.

Thanks. I'll tell him. I started feeling that i don't care about online status anymore, i'm just scared of what if they lose something or who knows what else can happen. This whole process is driving me crazy

I am sooo happy I only have internet at my office. It helps me curb my checking obsession!

Lucky

[Kellie & Phil 1]

New to this list. Thank you to everyone that is contributing and sharing. Its very comforting to see other time lines and experiences. Together we will wait and make it through this process. At the same time keep our hopes and dreams alive!

[TwoCats 55]

New to this list. Thank you to everyone that is contributing and sharing. Its very comforting to see other time lines and experiences. Together we will wait and make it through this process. At the same time keep our hopes and dreams alive!

Hey.

Welcome.

I went ahead and added you to our group timeline. You can view and edit it by clicking the link in my signature.

---

It's the start of another week folks!

And not only that, but it's the end of February.

That means that we're at least a full month into the process, some of us close to two!

Last week was actually really productive for me.

I bought plane tickets to go visit Kata in April and we made plans to see Lion King in London.

We also made some plans for our honeymoon, which we're hoping to have up in the Wisconsin Dells.

And my weight-loss journey is still doing well - I've lost 26.6lbs so far in two months.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend.

Let's hope USCIS did too, an will buckle down and get some real work done this week.