February 2014 filers

[tina:) 5]

I loved reading everything you guys wrote! I feel the same exact way

We met at a high school lunch table when we were teenagers and we were lucky enough to spend the first 8 months of our relationship living in the same city But we've been in this long distance relationship for sooo long now, I can't wait to finally just be together! I envy every couple that gets to spend time together on a daily basis

[Abby & Andre 27]

I just love this thread. February 2014 has an AWESOME group of people (mostly female it seems LOL).

Andre came for Valentines Day this year and that is when we finalized our petition to be sent out. We didn't know at the time if we would visit during the processing or not, but have since decided to save money and hold off. Although this decision majorly sucks, it makes the most sense right now. I am so jealous of everyone that is getting to visit their significant others right now. I miss him terribly!

I find that my family and friends don't doubt our relationship, but they definitely don't understand how difficult it is. For the most part they are supportive. My friends complain when they don't get to see their boyfriends for just a couple days or weeks..and I'm like HELLO....try going months. Or I get the "You cant find someone to be with that lives closer?" Umm no...you can't help who you fall in love with.

The biggest issue we're having right now is my fiance HATES the fact that I will have to financially support him while he waits for the EAD. He is very independent and somewhat traditional. I am worried about him going stir crazy since he won't be able to work right away. I just don't want him to be miserable here for the first couple months. I really hope he can find a job as soon as he is able for both of our sanities LOL

[Tina and Johan 206]

The biggest issue we're having right now is my fiance HATES the fact that I will have to financially support him while he waits for the EAD.

Same here! I jokingly called myself his "suga mama" the other day. He laughed, but then stated that his having to wait to work is stressing him out quite a bit. Seriously, dude, enjoy your free time. once you can work, I'll expect you to.

Tina (I wonder if he reads these... we share this account. may edit for content later. ha)

[Nikki181 8]

This will be us on Saturday when he's here visiting for 2 weeks. I cannot wait. And God (and USCIS) willing, when I go there this summer, it'll be to bring them home with me.

YAY! Lucky you! Gotta say I'm a bit jealous! Lol! He wanted to visit but we decided to save money and just wait for him to come for good! Hopefully we won't be waiting for too long! It seems like it's right there, but just out of reach! And that's the worst! Enjoy your time with your love!

[Nikki181 8]

When I was at the airport the first time I went to see Zack the customs officer, asked me who I was going to see, I of course explained I was going to meet my boyfriend. He asked how we met and I told him we met on the Internet and this was the first time I was going to see him!

He looked at me like I was crazy and then blurted out 'have you ever seen catfish, because there's some absolute lunatics out there sitting in basements pretending to be young men' I told him of spoken to him over Skype and I was pretty damn sure he was only a little bit of a lunatic he replied 'well as long as your not found chopped up on the side of the freeway it's all good' I didn't know wether to laugh or cry :')

I'll never forget Ben's face as he walked out of customs the first time we met in person! They kept him for like an hour because he was staying for almost 3 months...they grilled him big time and he looked terrified! I felt so bad! The second time was a pain too but not as bad as the first! When I went there it was so easy. Lol!

[MichelleRenee 14]

Haha what a good feeling getting out afterwards.. Freedom!! Rich was grilled really hard the first and second time, as he came for three months both times. The second time they were like, "yeah… this is the last time you can come for three months." haha. I remember being soo nervous and so excited the first time when I got to the airport to pick him up but then I ended up waiting 2 or so hours so by that time I was just like okay okay let's get this show on the road, wasn't nervous at all haha. Ah, it's fun to reminisce.. I love hearing everyones stories.

I'll never forget Ben's face as he walked out of customs the first time we met in person! They kept him for like an hour because he was staying for almost 3 months...they grilled him big time and he looked terrified! I felt so bad! The second time was a pain too but not as bad as the first! When I went there it was so easy. Lol!

[nicvno 10]

The biggest issue we're having right now is my fiance HATES the fact that I will have to financially support him while he waits for the EAD.

I'm the same way! My current employer is US based and are already asking when should they expect me.. it's so frustrating to keep saying that I don't have a time frame for ANYTHING during this process.

However, I wouldn't mind waiting a week or so for it so I can decorate our new house.

[Nikki181 8]

Haha what a good feeling getting out afterwards.. Freedom!! Rich was grilled really hard the first and second time, as he came for three months both times. The second time they were like, "yeah… this is the last time you can come for three months." haha. I remember being soo nervous and so excited the first time when I got to the airport to pick him up but then I ended up waiting 2 or so hours so by that time I was just like okay okay let's get this show on the road, wasn't nervous at all haha. Ah, it's fun to reminisce.. I love hearing everyones stories.

They told Ben that he couldn't come back for like a year when he came through the second time because he was staying another 3 months! They told him he spent more time here than in his own country for the year! Lol! And then he almost got in the wrong side of the car! HA! But I do the same thing when I am there!

[ashleyphilly 70]

Hi guys. How a nice thread this has been. I think the most difficult part of this journey is uncertainty. Hopefully, when we all get our NOA2s, we will feel more relieved. Fingers crossed.?

[Tee and Megan 10]

I'm in the March filers, but man, these conversation threads make me happy.

We've had SO many people question us, particularly because my fiance is from a "poor" country, (have you ever thought he's just using you to get a Green Card? How do you guys communicate? Does he even speak English?) But we've stuck it out and our relationship grew even stronger as a result.

The longest separation we've done is 11 months; but we're hoping this separation will be shorter!! However, just knowing this could be the end to all the tearful goodbyes, sobbing in multiple airports, perpetually calculating time differences and all the other bittersweet things that come with this situation, makes it all worthwhile. Thanks for being awesome, February filers!! Blessings and prayers for all your applications!!!

[Abby & Andre 27]

Same here! I jokingly called myself his "suga mama" the other day. He laughed, but then stated that his having to wait to work is stressing him out quite a bit. Seriously, dude, enjoy your free time. once you can work, I'll expect you to.

I love the "suga mama" comment..thats hilarious! I wish I was the beneficiary. I would live it up if I got a free ride to enjoy at least 3 months off work LOL

[belandnyc 10]

Sent our packet on the Feb 13th and just received NOA2 this evening Apr 8! My SO is sleeping so she'll have to find out when she wakes up

Our application was under expedited review so I don't want to give anyone false hope that this is the norm. Tier 2 told me max timeframe for expedite is 45 days.

Edited April 9, 2014 by belandnyc

[Tina and Johan 206]

Sent our packet on the Feb 13th and just received NOA2 this evening Apr 8! My SO is sleeping so she'll have to find out when she wakes up

Our application was under expedited review so I don't want to give anyone false hope that this is the norm. Tier 2 told me max timeframe for expedite is 45 days.

Expedite or not, congrats on the noa2! I'm sure she'll be thrilled.

[jameswhunt 12]

I haven't ever shared my story on here before but I saw some other people were so I might as well!

My name is James. I am 24 years old and live outside of Dallas. My fiance's name is Rebecca. She is 20 and from Alberta, Canada.

We met in 2012 on Instagram. Yes, Instagram. I am big into health and fitness and so is she. One day she was scrolling through pictures and found one of mine. She liked my picture and started following me on there. I couldn't help but notice her so I started following her too. We would like each other's pictures back and forth, but never thought anything about it because of the distance between us. Eventually we started commenting back and forth which lead to me finding her on Facebook.

Our conversations started out like normal. For a couple months we would chat back and forth on Facebook, learning more about each other. In May of 2013 we had our first Skype conversation. She thought I was a fake person because she said I was too good to be true. All of her friends thought I was just pulling her leg, so she was pretty relieved when she first saw me. We would Skype every day in between work and whatnot. Our conversations would go on for hours. We had an amazing connection with each other. We would skip going out on the weekends with friends in order to chat on Skype.

In July of last year I had planned on taking a trip to California with some friends. I thought it would be cool if she flew to the United States and came with us. She said yes and we planned on her flying out to California. At the last minute we decided to change plans and have her fly to Dallas where I live and we would drive to California together. Pretty daring! 24 hours of straight driving with someone you've never physically met.

When I got to the airport I was extremely nervous. Even though we had been talking on Skype for months you never know if someone's lying to you. I waited and waited for her to walk through the terminal. I was on the phone with my sister when out of the corner of my eye I see this tall beautiful girl. It was her! I was so excited that I tried to kiss her when she wasn't paying attention and looked like a fool!

I drove her to my grandparent's house to meet my family and then we left. We drove to California that night and had the best trip of my life. After spending a week in California we drove back to Texas and she left several days later. It was extremely depressing not knowing if I would see her again in the near future. As soon as she got home we started making plans to see each other again. I was in the process of getting an apartment and we talked about her coming back down in December. It seemed like 5 months was going to take forever...

(This is a lot of typing and I've got to run to the gym but I will catch you all up to speed when I return!)

[Nikki181 8]

Soooo I just woke up a dead sleep and for some reason I wanted to check my phone...well I'm sure glad I did because WE GOT APPROVED!!!!! I'm so excited! Thank you God! It really does happen out of nowhere when you are not expecting it!