Any February 2012 filers?

[afoyoswa 178]

I have a question - is it weird that we got our NOA1 from Vermont? o.O We didn't get any email or text that it will be forwarded or anything. We got it straight from Vermont =/

The paper one is what really matters, and if it comes from Vermont, that's what tells you where it was forwarded from the lockbox in Texas.

Now that you have your receipt number, you can get an online account at USCIS and sign up for email and text updates there.

[StarGirl 13]

Hello to all the new February filers!!! Good luck!!!

I have a question - is it weird that we got our NOA1 from Vermont? o.O We didn't get any email or text that it will be forwarded or anything. We got it straight from Vermont =/

No, it's totally OK. Applications that are sent to Texas are being forwarded to either California Service Center or the one in Vermont based on the location of the petitioner, I believe. Ours, too, was directed to Vermont. So, it's all good ))) We are one more day closer to the finish! YAY!!!

[afoyoswa 178]

And oh yeah..They've stayed with me and my family 5 times now, and one visit was for the entire month of August. They're pretty familiar with the Boston, Providence and Cape Cod areas and love it here. I'm looking forward to taking them to my Chiropractic School's reunion in Iowa this summer. Hoping to drive there so they can experience more of the USA cause they're having a hard time grasping the size of the country LOL

Wow, that must have been nice! I really wish Aaron had had a chance to visit here before we started this whole process. I know he'll settle in just fine eventually because he's an adaptable sort of guy, but still.

Joy, your wedding idea is good. I am also thinking of having ours at my church, but I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Once we get the NOA2 I am sure I will get in high gear with wedding planning. :-)

So a little about me: I'm Vanessa and I'm the petitioner. I currently live and work in MD within the D.C metro area. My fiance Edward is Ugandan but works for the East African Community Secretariat in Arusha, TZ. Very interesting organization. Arusha is quite lovely...I spent a few weeks there in Dec 2011/Jan 2012 and Edward took me to just about every TZ national park near Arusha, which was amazing. Edward is a history buff, so he will love seeing all of the monuments and museums in the D.C. area. A drive/weekend trip to NYC will probably be second on the list.

Me and Edward were introduced through my best friend who did an internship where Edward works. We connected immediately, and here we are! :-)

Wow, another USC woman + Ugandan man couple! There are more of us than I'd realized. And if you want history, you should totally bring him to Boston.

And yes, we have a 8 hour time difference, too, which means that unless he stays up really late or I call when I'm at work, weekends are the only time when it's feasible to talk. (Which is why it's so frustrating when I can't reach him for an entire weekend!)

Hi my name is Steve. I just sent in my packet today. Good luck to everyone!

Hello to all February Filers! My Fiancee just sent off our I-129F package today by UPS to the Dallas Lockbox and hopefully it will get there tomorrow. Happy to join the February filers group!

Merryjay76.

Congratulations and welcome! We did introductions a few pages back, so if you get a chance and want to, tell who you are, whether you're the petitioner or beneficiary, and whatever else you want to throw in. I'm so glad we're all here.

[Z&A 2]

Hello everyone! Aaron told me today that the check has been cashed. But he hasn't gotten a mail or an e-mail about that yet. Neither have we gotten NOA1 yet. Is this ok?

[Z&A 2]

Yes, but you got an email - I got nothing

No confirmation - where is it???

Congrats on getting your NOA1 Hope the whole process goes fast for you

[Ingodwetrust 0]

Wow, that must have been nice! I really wish Aaron had had a chance to visit here before we started this whole process. I know he'll settle in just fine eventually because he's an adaptable sort of guy, but still.

Wow, another USC woman + Ugandan man couple! There are more of us than I'd realized. And if you want history, you should totally bring him to Boston.

And yes, we have a 8 hour time difference, too, which means that unless he stays up really late or I call when I'm at work, weekends are the only time when it's feasible to talk. (Which is why it's so frustrating when I can't reach him for an entire weekend!)

Congratulations and welcome! We did introductions a few pages back, so if you get a chance and want to, tell who you are, whether you're the petitioner or beneficiary, and whatever else you want to throw in. I'm so glad we're all here.

My name is Steve I'm the petitioner and my fiancée is Wendy. We're both from Guatemala. We recently just kind out she's pregnant, we're so excited. So now it's more important than ever to get her here, the first place we'll probably visit is the doctors office. Lord willing this will be sooner then what we think. God bless and good luck to everyone.

*found out

[Darkmoonfaerie 19]

Wow, that must have been nice! I really wish Aaron had had a chance to visit here before we started this whole process. I know he'll settle in just fine eventually because he's an adaptable sort of guy, but still.

I feel incredibly lucky to be engaged to a teacher who gets lots of time off. Having him and his boys here for a month (and it still not being enough time together) really solidified that this is the right thing for us

Did I see you say you're from the Boston area? I'm on the MA/RI border now and went to Boston U then worked up there so lived in the city for about 5 yrs. I'm sure Aaron will do fine settling in. There's so many different cultures in this area that you should be able to find things from back home for him while he's adapting. I've already searched out the English/Irish imports stores in Plymouth and Boston and plan to make regular drives!

[MaggieT 4]

Looks like from your signature block that you got it. Congrats.

YUP! Got it last night finally

Thanks, Maggie

[MaggieT 4]

Congrats on getting your NOA1 Hope the whole process goes fast for you

Thank You

[sejr 2]

Hello Everyone!!! I sent my packet (i-129f) off feb 8 and received a text message and email on the 15th. My name is Mika I am the petitioner and my boyfriend/lover/fiance is Marv he lives in jamaica with his son. He is familiar with this area of DC/MD/VA as his brother lives here and he used to visit alot. I was actually born in miami, grew up in jamaica and marv lived down the street from me, we dated when i was a senior in high school, this was in 2000. We broke up because i was young and just felt like things were moving too fast. I left jamaica in 2001 married in 2004, wow this is turning into a long story, anyways, i am divorced now, marvin and i saw each other for the first time in 10 years a few years back and it was the most intense thing i have every experienced. I just knew he was the one i was supposed to be with forever. We were like two middle school kids.. "i love you more, no i love you more". Lol. He loves Celine Dion so I plan to take him to vegas to see her perform.

Someone suggested that we start working on what we need to fill out once the noa2 is received. I think that is a good idea. Maybe we should come up with a list of some sort. Good luck to everyone.

[afoyoswa 178]

Welcome, Mika!

And yes, I think discussing what we need to do next would be a great use for this thread right now, even though some of the things are a little bit region-specific. Later on, it would also be nice to talk about preparations for our fiancé/fiancées' arrivals, and the sort of things we need to think about ahead of time to make the transition as smooth as possible (Social Security cards, documents they need to bring along when they come, etc.)

I'm giving myself a month or two off from worrying about documents, but I'll be starting soon. I'm thinking the police certificate(s) have the potential to take the longest, so that will probably be a good first target.

(Also, <bump>--how did we fall to page 3?)

[scott76 22]

The police certificates are usually good for like a year, so I think it's safe to start working on those anytime you want to.

Some stuff that I have been working on for Valentina -

1) Affadvit of Support (although I'm not sure yet how "recent" the documents have to be, but I am definitely including my tax return)

2) I bought her a book called "Living In The USA" from Amazon for like $5. It's all about our culture and includes chapters in the book on moving to the US, the culture of the US, and Immigration. It's not necessary but I gotta admit the book's pretty legit.

3) College Transcripts - I am going to have her college transcripts evaluated. It's a cost of about $200 and I'm using WES (wes.org) but I think it's worth it. She has her masters degree and we want to know what it equates to over here.

4) Money - We have been trying to figure out how to get her money ASAP for when it's interview time (mainly for the $350 Visa Fee). I'm going to get her a ATM card for my account. I considered buying her a travel VISA but the fees are exorbitant.

Other than those, not much I can do at this point. I'll be giving her a copy of the I-129F package with all of the original documents and photos, but there's not much else to prepare?

[Z&A 2]

The police certificates are usually good for like a year, so I think it's safe to start working on those anytime you want to.

Some stuff that I have been working on for Valentina -

1) Affadvit of Support (although I'm not sure yet how "recent" the documents have to be, but I am definitely including my tax return)

2) I bought her a book called "Living In The USA" from Amazon for like $5. It's all about our culture and includes chapters in the book on moving to the US, the culture of the US, and Immigration. It's not necessary but I gotta admit the book's pretty legit.

3) College Transcripts - I am going to have her college transcripts evaluated. It's a cost of about $200 and I'm using WES (wes.org) but I think it's worth it. She has her masters degree and we want to know what it equates to over here.

4) Money - We have been trying to figure out how to get her money ASAP for when it's interview time (mainly for the $350 Visa Fee). I'm going to get her a ATM card for my account. I considered buying her a travel VISA but the fees are exorbitant.

Other than those, not much I can do at this point. I'll be giving her a copy of the I-129F package with all of the original documents and photos, but there's not much else to prepare?

Thank you for the useful information about the police certificate. I thought one has to get the a few days before the interview. However, I have one question. It seems like everyone's cheques have been cashed after they got their NOA1. Ours has been cashed, and on the uscis website our case is under the "initial review". And we have received the I-797 e-mail too. Shouldn't we have received the NOA1 already?

Thanks ahead for the answer.

[KTandTommy 31]

I'm a February filer too! Didn't notice this topic 'til now, so I thought I'd introduce myself

I'm Katie, my fiance is Tom. He's the American, living in Florida. I'm Canadian, living in Toronto. We mailed our package in on Feb. 10!

[StarGirl 13]

Nothing too specific that we can do at this stage. One thing that I and my Love started doing after filing I-129f is exchanging emails. We are not big at writing letters - all we need to tell to each other we say during 4+ hours daily conversations. But, heck, they asked for emails as the proof - let's get them those emails ))) Also, I read on one of the forums here that it makes sense to apply for police certificate when you get NOA2. I can't tell for sure how long this document is valid so I will try to get it as close to the interview date as possible to avoid unnecessary complications. 

We are meeting for vacation in mid June, so He will have updated letters of intent and other forms ready by that time. Also a few more hundreds of pictures will be taken.. can't think of anything else that can prove "ongoing relationship"...