April 23, 2012 journey begins, January 15, 2014 : the start of a new journey

[RFQ 110]

We have been approved! Its been a long hard journey but I'm sure whats to come will be even harder. However, misery loves company xP j/k ! I look forward to making the best of it together, isA

Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar

[visaqueries 111]

Congratulations! May you find great joy...and immense relief...being together finally!

[RFQ 110]

Thank you so much. I hope you find your sweet end to this visa journey soon VQ

[thedude6752000 360]

10 months....wow....I hope the Delhi embassy is not that bad AP is supposed to stop terrorism but it IS terrorism, I live in terror everyday of what's going to happen after my wife's interview.....

[aditya3245 113]

10 months....wow....I hope the Delhi embassy is not that bad AP is supposed to stop terrorism but it IS terrorism, I live in terror everyday of what's going to happen after my wife's interview.....

Ours is going to be much longer

just the DHS/USCIS bit is going to be too damn long.

14 months with AP (?)

Delhi is super tough - but unlike Mumbai, you being there on the day of your interview will definitely help her out.

I also think that if you middle load at the NVC stage (which I am also going to be doing), you'll be fine.

Middle loading is pushing more bona fide marriage paper with the IV envelope (even though its not on the checklist)

What's the worst they could do - Delhi puts every other candidate in a 60-90 day AP.

Its bad but its manageable.

If you luck out (helpful CO etc), you'll get a visa in 14 days.

As a former permanent resident who lived in the US for a few years, came back to India to start something which did not work out - and am now intending to return back "home" - I will tell you this - this nightmare, no matter how scary it is - is nothing compared to fighting with Indian bureaucracy. I hope that comforts you in some way.

Edited January 20, 2014 by aditya3245

[thedude6752000 360]

Ours is going to be much longer

just the DHS/USCIS bit is going to be too damn long.

14 months with AP (?)

Delhi is super tough - but unlike Mumbai, you being there on the day of your interview will definitely help her out.

I also think that if you middle load at the NVC stage (which I am also going to be doing), you'll be fine.

Middle loading is pushing more bona fide marriage paper with the IV envelope (even though its not on the checklist)

What's the worst they could do - Delhi puts every other candidate in a 60-90 day AP.

Its bad but its manageable.

If you luck out (helpful CO etc), you'll get a visa in 14 days.

As a former permanent resident who lived in the US for a few years, came back to India to start something which did not work out - and am now intending to return back "home" - I will tell you this - this nightmare, no matter how scary it is - is nothing compared to fighting with Indian bureaucracy. I hope that comforts you in some way.

The problem of course, which you may or may not be aware of, is that she's a Muslim with the last name Khan and I am a white guy from Florida. I do take comfort in the things you mentioned though. Since my wife's family also hosted 2 male American exchange students in their house (in which my wife and her too sisters also live) in addition to letting their daughter marry a white guy from the US, I'll be getting affidavits signed by the US students and the American Institute in Lucknow stating that she is not a security threat. I have seen some bad AP's in Delhi though, more than a year, I am so afraid of that.

And believe me I know well enough about the Indian civil service, I did have a nightmare trying to get our Special Marriage Cert from the judge in Lucknow when I was there. With that, though, we were just able to go over the ADM's head to the DM and he got it done immediately. If the ADM had not been such an obstinate @$$hole we would have bribed him for faster processing too. In India there are ways to get around the system if you need to, but that's not true here unfortunately

[RFQ 110]

Its hard to guess I think. If all they do AP for is this so called "name check" then that is BS. My husband has had visa's to the US on several occasions approved for as long as 5 years... If they suddenly thought he was going to a terrorist 1 year after they approved a 5 year visitor visa in which he can stay in the US for 6 months at a time... why did they approve that with no AP and in a matter of days?

I wish you all the best, but be prepared for AP. I was so sure we'd escape it with my husbands long history of traveling and living in the US as a student and tourist. AP is by far the hardest part of the journey so making a game plan for extended AP now will help mentally prepare you a bit just in case.

@ "the dude" I think its great that your wife's family is so accepting. I have several Indian/American friends who have faced much backlash from families in marrying Anglo-Americans.

Edited January 20, 2014 by RFQ

[thedude6752000 360]

Its hard to guess I think. If all they do AP for is this so called "name check" then that is BS. My husband has had visa's to the US on several occasions approved for as long as 5 years... If they suddenly thought he was going to a terrorist 1 year after they approved a 5 year visitor visa in which he can stay in the US for 6 months at a time... why did they approve that with no AP and in a matter of days?

I wish you all the best, but be prepared for AP. I was so sure we'd escape it with my husbands long history of traveling and living in the US as a student and tourist. AP is by far the hardest part of the journey so making a game plan for extended AP now will help mentally prepare you a bit just in case.

@ "the dude" I think its great that your wife's family is so accepting. I have several Indian/American friends who have faced much backlash from families in marrying Anglo-Americans.

Honestly we are getting sick of the DHS, the DOS and their lies. I am on my career path to be a network engineer, in a year's time I should be pretty darn close or be there. By that time, too, I'll have a PIO card which will let me live and work in India like an India citizen. If one year from now we get AP and it doesn't get resolved in a month or so I am going to start looking for a job there (or, better yet, in another 1st world country like Germany where I speak the language and the immigration system is not so insane). I admire you perseverance but I am not nearly attached enough to this country to wait ten months after a year of the government's BS.

Edited January 20, 2014 by thedude6752000

[RFQ 110]

7 days!! AHHHHH... except it hasn't really hit me. I mean it doesn't feel real yet.