Introductions

[PeteandJoe 8]

Hi all, have been lurking around a while so thought I'd tell the story

My hubby and I started dating in July of 2010: he is American but was living here in the UK, in London. We lived and loved together, and finally after it was made legal got married in May of 2014.

He was offered a job in Pittsburgh, PA and we went along together - new to me, he'd lived there before Europe - in July. I went on a tourist visa and within the three months we found a place to move into, his company helped a lot and are helping with the relocation, providing is with a lawyer from KPMG.

Totally loved the city and it was with a heavy heart I left alone in October. You go through everything in your head and think it'll be difficult but nothing quite prepares you for missing the small things; the hug when you get home from work, laughing together at silly things you hear exploring, or just simply being.

We received the NOA1 December 13th - priority date December 11th 2014 - and now play the waiting game. Luckily busy with a temporary job whilst living with family in Leicester but it's always there in the back of my head... Repeating the mantra; the bigger picture will be worth it!

So thankful for technology; the ability to FaceTime certainly helps when days are tough.

How're your experiences? Are there other same sex marriage couples going through the CR-1/IR-1 process?

Hugs to all

Pete

--

You're never fully dressed without a smile

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi and welcome. I mostly read UK posts via "portals". I am aware of quite a few same sex couples from the UK going through the process...some fiancés and some spouses.

Wishing you a lot of patience because it always takes more time than you would like, but you'll get there.

[desdemona67 2]

Hi my name is Sammy and I live in the UK. My fiance is a US citizen and we are in the process of getting together I-129f. I hope to be communicating with a few of you on our visa journey, so many questions I dont know where to startbut one step at a time and I look forward to receiving your own experiences,knowledge and guidance to help me be with my fiance in the US.

Regards

Sammy and Floyd

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

[PeteandJoe 8]

Thanks everyone I checked the case status today and it has changed to Approved... That's the biggest relief for starters at least we filled in the form/submitted initial evidence right, always a worry!

Have found this forum incredibly useful so far, such a vast amount of information to find, so thanks to those supporting it/providing the information!

[Simkha 0]

I love the gay stories! My wife and I are -- oh my god, this has been agony, since September 2013. I swear. But YAY for the gay folks here. Sorry for rambling. i am having a terribly tough week.

We're American and Greek.

[Simkha 0]

Hello Pete and Joe,

I don't know the specifics of the numbers of the visas and things. My wife (I'm female, too) and I actually got a lawyer for her immigration. I thought phase 1, my petition, would take the longest, but this second part is driving me nuts. Our lawyer filed our petition first on September 28, 2013 and we heard back at the end of March, 2014. Then a whole bunch of beuauracratic (I cannot spell that word!) ####### ensued - mainly to do with the postal systems in Athens and the US/Charlotte, NC so that documents that arrived here on July 21st ended up sitting in a post office for nearly two months. We finally got our stuff filed to NVC on Sept 24th, and waited (yes, we know it's a waiting game for sure). And waited. In December we heard: "we didn't receive X, Y, and Z." Well, our lawyer HAD sent x,y, and z, but try telling NVC that. Eventually they needed more documentation and a new application for me to fill out, all that arrived at the NVC on December 24th, and that is the last we have heard.

We have had no notice like "We received your documents on December 24, please allow 60 days for processing." There is silence. That is why I was shocked when I saw that someone had gotten through to the NVC. Our lawyer keeps encountering a busy signal. Tonight I got so fed up I called them. That automated dude came on to tell me the lines were busy.

For me the hardest part of all this is that my wife and I have seen each other maybe 21 days in a year and a quarter. I don't have a job that I can just take off and fly to Europe, and we are hesitant to have her come back here, because we don't have any idea - it could be any day, I suppose - when they'll say "approved. now come to your interview."

I miss her so much and lately just getting out of bed seems a nearly impossible task.

Yeah, not to sound so pessimistic but I have been feeling very discouraged lately.

Unfortunately I live in a quite redneck state, but we have decided to go ahead and have the lawyer contact my senator. For those who don't know: American citizens can request that their congressperson intervene with the NVC to get an update. Apparently, the NVC must by law respond to all requests from congresspeople. this doesn't mean the congressperson actually has to honor your request, but some may agree to do so. "My" senator just happens to be anti-gay and anti-immigration, so we tried to avoid contacting him. But at this point we feel rather desperate.

I just needed to find a place to vent and find out if others are experiencing the same kind of ####### as my wife and I are.

Thank you.