For those of you that have already had your interview in Ankara....

[MPGGPM 0]

My wife will have her interview soon. (don't know the exact date yet....but expect it sometime in May). I will not be with her. (My wife's a tough woman....she can handle it )

What advice can you give regarding the interview in Ankara? What tips or information can you give regarding the medical?

Also, when did you book your plane flight for your spouse? The main problem I see is.....if I wait to purchase the ticket until after the interview, buying it so soon before she leaves, the tickets will be more expensive. But the obvious issue is.......if I purchase the ticket now......although I feel she will get the visa, nothing in this process is guaranteed. And something could happen at the interview, which would delay her return, and then we'd have to cancel the flight and incur the charges to reschedule. Any tips on travel agencies I could use?

She won't need info on places to stay while in Ankara, because she has relatives there and will stay with them.

If there is anything I've missed or didn't ask, that I/my wife should be aware of as well........please let me know.

Thanks.

Edited March 17, 2007 by MPGGPM

[NY_IZMIR 1]

My Wife is having her K3 interview on wednesday. I will let you know how it went and what kinda things they asked for.

The medical was the easy part, she went to the American Hospital in Istanbul. Problem is she lives in Izmir and she only had time todo a day trip. So we asked a friend of ours in Istanbul to pick up the results of the exam the day after (with the receipt they'd given my wife) and mailed it to my wife. They took a chest x-ray and that was part of the results but Ankara's website says not to bring an x-ray to the embassy. One minor problem with the medical was that they require immunization records which is sorta hard to come by. My wife works at a medical university and was able to have one of the doctors there write up such a note explaining all the vaccines that were administrered (all true) on his precription notes.

As far as travel, to be honest, I don't think Turkish Airlines (or other operators within Turkey) have the same exponential price increase as the travel time nears as we do in the states. This has been only true for me if I go through a travel agent however. I would not worry about it and would wait till you wife has the interview. If it's a couple of hundred bucks difference between buying then and buying now, you might have to pay the same difference in rescheduling fees anyway. Definitely have her goto a local travel agent and ask for the price of one way trips on a few days when you think everything will be settled.

My wife also had a J1 2year HR requirement, but thankfully, we got a no-objection waiver. Otherwise we would've had to wait another year.

Good luck to both of you.

[MPGGPM 0]

My Wife is having her K3 interview on wednesday. I will let you know how it went and what kinda things they asked for.

The medical was the easy part, she went to the American Hospital in Istanbul. Problem is she lives in Izmir and she only had time todo a day trip. So we asked a friend of ours in Istanbul to pick up the results of the exam the day after (with the receipt they'd given my wife) and mailed it to my wife. They took a chest x-ray and that was part of the results but Ankara's website says not to bring an x-ray to the embassy. One minor problem with the medical was that they require immunization records which is sorta hard to come by. My wife works at a medical university and was able to have one of the doctors there write up such a note explaining all the vaccines that were administrered (all true) on his precription notes.

As far as travel, to be honest, I don't think Turkish Airlines (or other operators within Turkey) have the same exponential price increase as the travel time nears as we do in the states. This has been only true for me if I go through a travel agent however. I would not worry about it and would wait till you wife has the interview. If it's a couple of hundred bucks difference between buying then and buying now, you might have to pay the same difference in rescheduling fees anyway. Definitely have her goto a local travel agent and ask for the price of one way trips on a few days when you think everything will be settled.

My wife also had a J1 2year HR requirement, but thankfully, we got a no-objection waiver. Otherwise we would've had to wait another year.

Good luck to both of you.

It's good that your situation worked out. I remember your post a while back, concerned about whether your wife would make it to the US in time for your future plans, because your I-130 was processing slower than you were hoping for.

I guess we'll just have to handle the medical without the immunization records. I called my wife earlier after I saw your response, to ask her about it. Since she originally entered the US in 1993 with her J-1, she says she no longer has the records. However, I then read on the Ankara Embassy website, that if you don't have the immunization record, the doctor will work with you to decide which ones you need, and which ones you don't.

The airline ticket's a gamble. I see some tickets now for $700. Most are in the $800 range for that time.(May) So, we'll have to decide if we gamble and buy now, or wait. The reason we thought about a travel agency, because normally when we've flown back and forth from Turkey we've use online websites like Expedia, Travelocity, etc.........is that if something did come up like a delay, perhaps the travel agency would be more flexible if we had to work something out. The online websites.............some do not even allow for changes.......so are risky.

My wife and I will have to talk about it more and make a decision. (about the ticket)

Thanks for your response. I wish your wife well at the interview.

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

Best wishes on your upcoming interviews MPGGPM and NY_IZMIR

I wish had some updated info to give you but things have changed since we went thru Ankara.

May you both have a quick and easy interview so that you may come together with your loved one.

Many Blessings,

Debra

[phila 0]

I wish you both the best as well! We will be interviewing in Ankara (God willing), in June or July, and I am eager to read the feedback you get.

Good Luck!

PS- I price airfares daily, and I'm looking at 1300-1400 USD for June-August travel. Ugghhhh... I keep waiting for them to go down

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

I used this company b4, you can sign up for monthly email. This is a Turkish Company and they have good prices.

MENTOR TRAVEL,INC. – NEW YORK

E-MAIL: reservations@mentortravel.com - info@mentortravel.com

http://www.mentortravel.com

Iffice Hours Mon-Friday 10am-6pm New York local time

I wish you the best also phila and InsAllah you will be together so soon with your loved one.

Best wishes,

Peace,

Debra

I wish you both the best as well! We will be interviewing in Ankara (God willing), in June or July, and I am eager to read the feedback you get.

Good Luck!

PS- I price airfares daily, and I'm looking at 1300-1400 USD for June-August travel. Ugghhhh... I keep waiting for them to go down

[MPGGPM 0]

PS- I price airfares daily, and I'm looking at 1300-1400 USD for June-August travel. Ugghhhh... I keep waiting for them to go down

That's about right.........

I looked at fares roundtrip from Florida, in case my wife's case dragged on into the summer. If it had.....I would have flown there to be with her. Since her case "looks" like it will be in May (I figured around that time....looking at all the other timelines from various people who got their visas through Ankara, which seems to be about 2 months from when the case is completed at the NVC).......then my flying to Turkey probably won't happen, since it's more difficult for me to get time off of work during that month.

I've seen them mainly in that range.....$1300-$1400...................although, every once in a while, I will see a fare in $1100 range (flying on "Martinair Holland"). I saw that fare on the Expedia website.

Thanks for both of your "well wishes", (and also for the "travel agent" link. I will look into them). I can only imagine were I in "NY_IZMIR"'s place right now..........being it is the night before the interview for his wife. (it must around midnight there)..........I don't think I would be able to sleep at all!

The night before my wife's interview, I will probably be pacing around our home all night.....like an "expectant father" The only bright side I see, is,................ if by chance I DO fall asleep, and since Ankara is so many hours ahead of us.........................by the time I wake up in the morning.............at least the interview will be done!

Edited March 20, 2007 by MPGGPM

[MPGGPM 0]

Forgot to add.....

That price seems to fluctuate a lot....the $1100 one......and also one annoying thing about Expedia, is it has this habit of when you "click" on the departure and return flight, it will all of a sudden "jack up" the price and tell you it's been "changed". Right now, for the time I believe you said you were looking for, late June to August....best I saw tonight was $1253. So, to try get that $1,100 price, you need to check the website often.

By the way, I also wanted to mention , by looking at your "timeline"......about Fethiye.......

I would say out of ALL of the places I have been to in Turkey so far, and I traveled around the Mediterranean region of Turkey quite a bit 2 years ago, I definately have the fondest memories of Fethiye and the time my wife and I spent there. We stayed there 2 nights.........on the way toward Antalya.

From the view of the water,.....which we could see while we ate our breakfast on the hotel terrace (with the usual cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, etc.....that you get during a typical Turkish breakfast)....... to a short ride on a ship around the area, where they stopped at various places, and my wife and I went swimming in a few spots in the cold waters, surrounded by the mountains/hills in that area.......................to a journey we took through some old ruins, where after hiking up to the top of one mountain, there was this old delapidated church at the very top........where if you looked at the other side, you could see the Mediterranean Sea.....

It was really such a wonderful time.

Seeing it mentioned on your timeline..........it brings back a lot of fond memories.

Edited March 20, 2007 by MPGGPM

[MPGGPM 0]

Geez........2 years on this website, and others.......reading everything I can to learn about the immigration process.

And still.........life has a way of coming right up behind you, kicking you you right in the rear with a big surprise!

I just came back from my mailbox......noticed an envelope by the State Dept.......opened it up and..........

HELLO!

I was only off by about a month and a half on my estimate of my wife's interview time.

Instead of Mid to late May as I was thinking, I opened the envelope tonight to find..........it's April 4th!!

So, I called my wife up in the middle of the night ,(it's 3 a.m. in Istanbul) because , we have barely 2 weeks!

Obviously, I am happy about the date being...um...just "slightly" ahead of where I thought it'd be. But at the same time, I now have had to scramble....calling FEDEX.....etc......because I have less than 2 weeks to mail that package the NVC sent me to my wife in Istanbul. You think they'd at the very least give us more time to mail things!

So....thanks again for all the well wishes and thoughts.

Looks like we'll need them MUCH sooner than I thought.

I better get busy.

Edited March 21, 2007 by MPGGPM

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

....Congratulations....

Yes, one can always be get kicked at some point in this immigration process, LOL.. .

time to get moving

Again...Best wishes and congratulations.

Peace,

Debra

Geez........2 years on this website, and others.......reading everything I can to learn about the immigration process.

And still.........life has a way of coming right up behind you, kicking you you right in the rear with a big surprise!

I just came back from my mailbox......noticed an envelope by the State Dept.......opened it up and..........

HELLO!

I was only off by about a month and a half on my estimate of my wife's interview time.

Instead of Mid to late May as I was thinking, I opened the envelope tonight to find..........it's April 4th!!

So, I called my wife up in the middle of the night ,(it's 3 a.m. in Istanbul) because , we have barely 2 weeks!

Obviously, I am happy about the date being...um...just "slightly" ahead of where I thought it'd be. But at the same time, I now have had to scramble....calling FEDEX.....etc......because I have less than 2 weeks to mail that package the NVC sent me to my wife in Istanbul. You think they'd at the very least give us more time to mail things!

So....thanks again for all the well wishes and thoughts.

Looks like we'll need them MUCH sooner than I thought.

I better get busy.

[wendya 0]

I was reading your posts and I want to also extend my well wishes to you and happy that you have an earlier interview date then thought (even though I know it puts added pressure on you both)

Please post how things go. I, as I am sure others that have loved ones in Turkey, are anxious for any feedback we can get.

By the way, has anyone had an experience with a I-601 waiver through the embassy or consulate in Turkey, and how long it took?

Best Wishes,

Wendy