Visas issued

[Beachcomber556 0]

It has been many months since my last posting, but I wanted to let all the couples out there know that it can and does happen. Vika and I were married in Odessa (Ukraine) back on August 26, 2006. A few days later we travelled to Kiev and submitted our petition. The consulate staff went out of their way to make our experience quick and painless. The petition was approved on the spot. Several days later I returned to Iraq and we began the application process. Timing was a challenge throughout the process due to my being in Iraq and we had to work around not only the Immigration and Consulate schedules, but also my R&R schedule. The Consulate folks were incredibly helpful and understanding. When the application was approved in October, we scheduled her interview for the first possible day in January, as I would be home again for New Year's and Orthodox Christmas. On January 8 we drove up to Kiev, a really neat trip, and went to our interview at 9:30 the next morning. By 11:00 we were on our way back to Odessa with big smiles and happy hearts.

We now have our plane tickets and will make the big journey home to Houston the last day of May. It has been an incredible experience. There have been a few challenges, but we are very glad that we decided to marry in Ukraine and travel home to Houston as husband and wife. I can not speak for anyone else, but for us it was the right decision.

Good luck to all who follow after us. Patience and Please and Thank You will see you through to success.

Best wishes,

Tom and Vika Flinchum

[SoL. 0]

Congratulations!

[TracyLuis 0]

So nice to hear about such a positive experience.

[Reba 2]

cool.

Safe trip home