October 2014 Filers - Texas Service Center

[UKPaul 12]

I was thinking as there are alot of approvals now dated on the first week of September then hopefully October ones will start flooding in in three weeks. I will have the paperwork gathered and medical done this month so I hope to get through the next stage quickly!

Up until now I was very relaxed about the wedding but slightly freaking out at this point!!!!. I have bridesmaids and a dress though I am postponing fittings.

Currently we are looking at renting a large house and canopy for an outdoor wedding in MD for August.....but I wonder is it too presumptious for me to make solid plans for Aug???

What dates have other October filers set? And is anyone else doing a canonopy wedding....any advise would be helpful!

We booked for 27th of August, but we have an arrangement with the venue to make the final decision by June. So if we decide to postpone because it looks like the visa won't be ready in time they will move it to October for us and just transfer the deposit. All our vendors have been accommodating with the situation too, so no risk of losing out on deposits etc. If we don't make that date it might be a bit disappointing but at least we won't lose any money! So, fingers crossed!

[Gill&Grant 5]

Yes, born and raised in Baltimore. Hope one day to move back, still very much a city gal.

One way you could get around being stuck at a venue in the city itself is doing a courthouse wedding at where the license is issued and then holding the big proper ceremony at wherever you find the best, prettiest, and most affordable for you. Hope you can find what you're looking for.

That's cool Yuna, Baltimores is a big city...our appartment is in mount vernon....Any local knowledge would be valuable! That's an excellent point about the courthouse wedding and I had thought of if by sheer luck if I was processed in June I'd go over and do that right away to get the whole AOS ball rolling! Your absolutely right.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Gill&Grant

[Gill&Grant 5]

Have you checked your consulate's time frame of scheduling interviews? I know you think 5 months will be enough time, but it may not. You may end up putting down deposits and later being disappointed if you have to cancel. For my fiance & I, August would seem pretty doable realistically since the Ecuadorian consulate only takes maybe a month or two from the NOA2, which I don't think any of us Oct filers will be seeing later than June. However, I don't know how Ireland's consulate is. I've heard a few consulates can take monthssss just to get an interview, and then there are small chances of rejection and having to do another interview. Sometimes applications get stuck at NVC, as well. Happened to an Oct filer at CSC! He was approved a while ago and has been stuck in limbo for months. You never simply know.

Some June filers ended up waiting up to 8 months just for a NOA2, since a small percentage still end up waiting after the majority has been approved. Ireland could take very little time to do an interview, but you should really research that, because you may end up being surprised at how much longer the process still is after the NOA2. NOA2 doesn't equal having the visa in your hand right away. There's still much more (and possibly much more time) to the process than the annoying NOA2!

If you feel like the risk is worth taking and wont lose the money if you have to reschedule, then I would say at least wait until you have a NOA2 to book anything or put deposits. Seriously, it's REALLY not recommended to make solid plans at this stage- not just by us, but by the government, too, hahah!

Good luck to you guys!!

Hey, I looked into this the average time waiting for an interview is one month!...this matches with other recent Irish K1 approvals I have seen on here! That's good right! ....they are very relaxed about having the medical before the interview too....I feel this will be good for shaving off time....yeah it is a big risk alright....I just feel so silly not gave ANY plans ! But maybe if we can explain the situation an a three men's can be made with vendors... Edited March 17, 2015 by Gill&Grant

[Gill&Grant 5]

We booked for 27th of August, but we have an arrangement with the venue to make the final decision by June. So if we decide to postpone because it looks like the visa won't be ready in time they will move it to October for us and just transfer the deposit. All our vendors have been accommodating with the situation too, so no risk of losing out on deposits etc. If we don't make that date it might be a bit disappointing but at least we won't lose any money! So, fingers crossed!

That's ideal, jeez you two are so organised.....I feel very behind :/ ......it's excellent that they are so flexible!

[yuna628 9,676]

That's cool Yuna, Baltimores is a big city...our appartment is in mount vernon....Any local knowledge would be valuable! That's an excellent point about the courthouse wedding and I had thought of if by sheer luck if I was processed in June I'd go over and do that right away to get the whole AOS ball rolling! Your absolutely right.

Have you actually picked a place out in the city itself? I guess for us we had to really consider if it was better to get our license in my own county or just apply elsewhere - this always comes hand in hand with the budget. In the city you'll run into the problem of budget and green space considerations. There are few outdoor spaces (Chase Court is in Mt Vernon specifically) and that's a good judge of how expensive the price point is. You can have fairly amazing weddings at some of the big historical downtown hotels, but it won't be in a green space. Mt Vernon is a beautiful place and I haven't been down there in quite some time. You can take a look at a lot of the weddings on this site http://charmcitywed.com/ featuring real weddings from the city and the county. I know that MICA (the art college) has places for weddings as well. Two other places to think of might be The Rawlings Conservatory or the Evergreen Museum (this could be on the high end for green space). But yes, courthouse and then picking the best venue you like might be a good bet, especially if the license has already been obtained for the city itself.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Hey, I looked into this the average time waiting for an interview is one month!...this matches with other recent Irish K1 approvals I have seen on here! That's good right! ....they are very relaxed about having the medical before the interview too....I feel this will be good for shaving off time....yeah it is a big risk alright....I just feel so silly not gave ANY plans ! But maybe if we can explain the situation an a three men's can be made with vendors...

That's great news!!! It's the same for our consulate, too! It's good because after waiting all this time we want the rest to go by as quickly as possible, hahah! You should be okay for August then, but be prepared to make other plans just in case! You'll be able to get a better estimate once you actually get the NOA2, I'd think!

[bybbies 4]

OMG I had to share this bit of information b/c I know a bit of hope goes a long way! As you can see from my signature/timeline, my NOA1 was October 6th. I got on USCIS to check my case status and no update BUT I decided to punch in the receipt numbers for the 5 cases before mine and for the 5th one farthest from mine, which was a K-1 visa petition (obviously can't tell if he/she is a VJ member) and saw that it was approved yesterday, as in March 17th!!!! So with some luck and positive vibes going out into the universe it could possibly mean that mine will be looked at and approved today!! I wish I could know for sure that that is the case! I guess I'll know tomorrow evening either by email or by punching in receipt numbers before and after mine!!! Here's hoping to the best news!!!

[Gill&Grant 5]

Have you actually picked a place out in the city itself? I guess for us we had to really consider if it was better to get our license in my own county or just apply elsewhere - this always comes hand in hand with the budget. In the city you'll run into the problem of budget and green space considerations. There are few outdoor spaces (Chase Court is in Mt Vernon specifically) and that's a good judge of how expensive the price point is. You can have fairly amazing weddings at some of the big historical downtown hotels, but it won't be in a green space. Mt Vernon is a beautiful place and I haven't been down there in quite some time. You can take a look at a lot of the weddings on this site http://charmcitywed.com/ featuring real weddings from the city and the county. I know that MICA (the art college) has places for weddings as well. Two other places to think of might be The Rawlings Conservatory or the Evergreen Museum (this could be on the high end for green space). But yes, courthouse and then picking the best venue you like might be a good bet, especially if the license has already been obtained for the city itself.

Well no, we are all over the place!!!....originally a family member linked to the Peabody thought they could facilitate something there....but it's not a goer......then we looked at cloyster castle which I like love but it's so expensive.....now we are on a homeandaway website looking at holiday home rentals where immediate family could stay and we could have a canopy and a band.....we found a few suitable ones buts it's slim pickings for August as it is short notice! That website charmcitywed.com is very inspiring ! I'm kinda disapointed manor houses and castles are common place in Ireland, we even have more than England randomly so there's much more variety....it's hard to find an affordable and rustic setting in MD .... I will stop my moaning now!!!!

Also the idea with the SRC codes is genius I played around with it today (at work) but everyone around my number had filed a different type of petition!!!

Edited March 18, 2015 by Gill&Grant

[MissPearls 38]

I also thought it was genius. Someone about 4 from my number cancelled their petition, so ha! 1 case closer! Lol.

[Pranvera-Kreshnik 7]

Any October filers approved?

Texas Service Center.

[MissPearls 38]

I think so far just 2, though on Igor's list it shows a November TSC filer from yesterday. Dominican, so I don't think it's an expedite?

[bybbies 4]

meh...I psyched myself up by anticipating news today (checking my case status and everyone else's around me every half hour) but you know what it was a good feeling to think today could be the day. I just won't do that again until April haha. It could become a depressing miserable cycle! I'll just revert back to my expectation of late April/early May NOA2. That's reasonable at this point. right? Have a good night VJer's!

[SantyAndAllie 155]

meh...I psyched myself up by anticipating news today (checking my case status and everyone else's around me every half hour) but you know what it was a good feeling to think today could be the day. I just won't do that again until April haha. It could become a depressing miserable cycle! I'll just revert back to my expectation of late April/early May NOA2. That's reasonable at this point. right? Have a good night VJer's!

Totally thought the same thing today! I checked for the first time since like November, LOL! But then I told myself that 1. we will get an email of the notice regardless. and 2. it's probably not coming just yet. come April, I'd hope. I saw that they've moved thru the last few months very quickly (less than a month per filing month), so if they keep it up, it looks like around the 6 month mark will be when we start seeing NOA2s!! that, for me, is 3 weekssssss... ahhhh!

--

Ps... it's still me guys! finally changed our name! hahaha. using my old AIM screenname (lovecometruex) was getting old

Oh.. something funny that I thought I'd share that you guys would appreciate. Are any of you guys TOTALLY sick of this question:

"So... what's going on with the visa?"

Because really, nothing. ever. Nothing goes on when you're in the after NOA1 limbo, but of course no one who's not in this process knows that. So Santy & I get asked all the time, and even though we explain the same thing every time, they still ask. I was telling Santy I was SO sick of hearing that question. Then that night we meet up with a Nov filer whos fiance is also Ecuadorian, and she said, "omg, I'm so sick of people asking me 'what's going on with the visa?' nothing!!!! ever!!!" hahaha, I was so happy to have someone who shares my pain

[yuna628 9,676]

Totally thought the same thing today! I checked for the first time since like November, LOL! But then I told myself that 1. we will get an email of the notice regardless. and 2. it's probably not coming just yet. come April, I'd hope. I saw that they've moved thru the last few months very quickly (less than a month per filing month), so if they keep it up, it looks like around the 6 month mark will be when we start seeing NOA2s!! that, for me, is 3 weekssssss... ahhhh!

--

Ps... it's still me guys! finally changed our name! hahaha. using my old AIM screenname (lovecometruex) was getting old

Oh.. something funny that I thought I'd share that you guys would appreciate. Are any of you guys TOTALLY sick of this question:

"So... what's going on with the visa?"

Because really, nothing. ever. Nothing goes on when you're in the after NOA1 limbo, but of course no one who's not in this process knows that. So Santy & I get asked all the time, and even though we explain the same thing every time, they still ask. I was telling Santy I was SO sick of hearing that question. Then that night we meet up with a Nov filer whos fiance is also Ecuadorian, and she said, "omg, I'm so sick of people asking me 'what's going on with the visa?' nothing!!!! ever!!!" hahaha, I was so happy to have someone who shares my pain

I've been on edge ever since that October approval came in, really so hoping it will come soon for all of us.

Yes I am so sick of that question, and I wish I had something new to answer... but today the fiancé came home to tell me he'd encountered a new question from good ol' dad of all people. ''So.. when are you two going to have kids? I want some grandbabies you know.''

Good lord!

[Wooderz 314]

Yes, totally sick of people asking what's going on, if a date is set, if he's moving soon. Nothing, no and no are the answers. Oh well.

I don't want anyone to get their hopes up. TSC is just beginning September. It's gonna be a loooong month if you check it every day. There seem to be a couple random approvals every month. But 99% of us will keep waiting.