Yardies, at home and a farrin' (Part 4)

[nyseness 0]

For those of you that filed K1 and are now married:

Considering that my fiance's interview is 6/19 and if we estimate two weeks the visa will be delivered around 7/4, is it possible or realistic to get married immediately and still manage to file for AOS before 7/30?

I think it is entirely possible. We got married 6 days after he got here. Look up what the waiting period is for a marriage license in your state and plan on getting the license as soon as he gets here. You can basically fill out all the AOS stuff together prior and fill in any missing info after he gets here. As for the marriage certificate we got ours filled out by the pastor and opted to bring it to the courthouse ourselves. We brought it in the next day and filed it on record and got our notarized copies that same day. Within that little window of time you should get some pics from the ceremony and if you can get him added to some bills to show as evidence that is good. We also sent in congrats cards from the wedding and a statement from the pastor. The bulk of the evidence can be shown at the interview if needed.

So I say with a well thought out and executed plan you can do it

Thanks, Jamie. That's what I was hoping to hear. I guess I better get started. Dammit, I thought I might be able to breathe for a little while after the interview!

I don't know about getting his name on a utility. Doesn't he have to be present for that?

I was seriously considering the same thing....but damn it is gonna be a close call. the pressure continues to build....think it is time for a drink..

You can put him on your utility if he has a ss #. He doesn't need to be present. I know several ppl that have utility bills in their children/dog names esp w/Comcast.

[Dwarf_Ogress 0]

Marlon called me today. He was using his sister's phone in Kingston, one of the phones everyone has been talking about. Only bummer is it doesn't work in Clarendon! Anyhow, he got my package today and we went over what he needs to do with the DS-230 part 1. He will be sending it via courier tomorrow. Now I need to gather all my documents and send them his way. The only thing I am missing is the job letter from Blockbuster, they are being stupid and say that can't give me what I need! They have a stupid website where someone has to pay $15.00 to verify my income. So what I will do is attach a copy of my W2's for last year to a letter I write explaining the difficulty in obtaining employment verification.

[Jamaicagyaldat 1]

Hey Ladies. Okay so what I want to know is has anybody brought your husbands kids over AFTER they have immigrated here? I hear something about 1 year. Did it have to be done within 1 year of being in the US. NEil came up on K1 visa and it has been 1 year since he arrived. So do we have to start over to immigrate his daughter here or what? Im not sure what I am doing here...I see the guide, but not sure of our situation.

[MyDestinyAwaits 0]

Packet #4 has the interview letter which is needed for the medical. Once you drop of the DS-230 give it a few wks and try calling or emailing the embassy. They should be able to give you the interview date. So your SO can schedule a medical two wks prior to the interview. You will need the packet to attend the medical but not to make the initial appt.

thanks for the info! can the packet 4 be picked up at the information window or will he need to schedule an appt to pick it up? we are NOT going to wait for it to come in the mail if it's at all possible.

[nyseness 0]

the amounts I heard where higher than that...I know she was paying at least $200-$300 per barrel. Might be the duty but it might have been the distance. I will search around a bit...

Maybe because I'm shipping from NYC, that might account for the price difference

It varies on the size of the barrel it can be from $60-100+. Also it costs around $8000 JA to have it cleared thru customs. If you're going to send a few items then a barrel is not worth it, but if your going to send a lot then it's worth every penny. My parents go to JA every winter for a couple of months and they usually send barrels down w/certain items to prevent them from buying it in JA. Also I had a friend in Jersey that sent 6 barrels for her 3 kids. I thought it was too much but overall she said it saved her a bunch.

[SupportOAFJF 0]

Hey Ladies. Okay so what I want to know is has anybody brought your husbands kids over AFTER they have immigrated here? I hear something about 1 year. Did it have to be done within 1 year of being in the US. NEil came up on K1 visa and it has been 1 year since he arrived. So do we have to start over to immigrate his daughter here or what? Im not sure what I am doing here...I see the guide, but not sure of our situation.

Hey I think if the chil was on the paper as FOLLOW TO JOIN they would have to travel within 1 yr. But if they did not you would have to start the process all over for the child..

Question....does my husband need to take his children birth certificates to the interview even though they will not be traveling with him ?

[Dwarf_Ogress 0]

NVC received my packet today!

[SupportOAFJF 0]

NVC received my packet today!

Yippie !!

[nyseness 0]

Packet #4 has the interview letter which is needed for the medical. Once you drop of the DS-230 give it a few wks and try calling or emailing the embassy. They should be able to give you the interview date. So your SO can schedule a medical two wks prior to the interview. You will need the packet to attend the medical but not to make the initial appt.

thanks for the info! can the packet 4 be picked up at the information window or will he need to schedule an appt to pick it up? we are NOT going to wait for it to come in the mail if it's at all possible.

The Embassy doesn't allow walk-ups anymore. If you need add'l ppwrk or a packet you will need to make an appt.

I will be adding Neil to my insurance plan through my job as soon as we're married. I pay $30 a month for me and my daughter, once he's added it will be $37

U must work for a great company, I paid over $200 for me and my son a month

I work for the public transportation company. It was free up until 2 years ago, some of my co-workers weren't very happy about having to pay.

I pay $110 a month for me and my daughter. Once Javon arrives I will add him but I'm not sure how much it costs. I work for Walgreens so the premiums are reasonable.

[finesse 3]

for inquiring minds...

my man had his medical last week at andrews hospital in kingston....he had NO shot records and the medical and the shots cost him only $175 total...we were prepared for it to be close to 300 so we were happy only having to pay $175. He was in and out of there in 2 hours and everyone there was really nice/supportive/professional and wished him the best. i only hope the interview goes as smooth...

[jlvr 1]

NVC received my packet today!

[jlvr 1]

for inquiring minds...

my man had his medical last week at andrews hospital in kingston....he had NO shot records and the medical and the shots cost him only $175 total...we were prepared for it to be close to 300 so we were happy only having to pay $175. He was in and out of there in 2 hours and everyone there was really nice/supportive/professional and wished him the best. i only hope the interview goes as smooth...

My fiance had his on the 30th. He didn't have any records either and I think it cost him about $100. I think. He went to the place in Kingston, not the one on Hope Road, the other one.

You can put him on your utility if he has a ss #. He doesn't need to be present. I know several ppl that have utility bills in their children/dog names esp w/Comcast.

But he can't get a SS# until a couple of weeks after he's been here. If we're trying to make the 7/30 deadline that might take too long.

[nyseness 0]

for inquiring minds...

my man had his medical last week at andrews hospital in kingston....he had NO shot records and the medical and the shots cost him only $175 total...we were prepared for it to be close to 300 so we were happy only having to pay $175. He was in and out of there in 2 hours and everyone there was really nice/supportive/professional and wished him the best. i only hope the interview goes as smooth...

My fiance had his on the 30th. He didn't have any records either and I think it cost him about $100. I think. He went to the place in Kingston, not the one on Hope Road, the other one.

You can put him on your utility if he has a ss #. He doesn't need to be present. I know several ppl that have utility bills in their children/dog names esp w/Comcast.

But he can't get a SS# until a couple of weeks after he's been here. If we're trying to make the 7/30 deadline that might take too long.

I thought u needed the utility bills for the actually interview not the packet.

[BelwinMills 0]

Same boat here, Tia. I pay $435 a month out of my paycheck for Andre's insurance. So wanting to drop that. On the bright side, in one year, he's had 2 ER visits and a few doctor. It has definately paid for itself in the end.

$435 WOW!!!

wow that is a lot. I pay 65 dollars a month for me. Putting my husband on will cost us 145 a month. I need to add him soon. Maybe I should call mania.

It was really quiet in here today. I only had one page to read!!

I am really craving ackee and saltfish and roast breadfruit I don't know if they're pregnancy cravings or just because I miss Jamaica and can't wait for our vacation in August!! The tin ackee is about $18 at the JA store near me

Are the tins of ackee any good? Dwain said they aren't great.

[BelwinMills 0]

Does anyone have an approximate cost to ship a large box to JA? What would be the best way to do it? I am thinking that I am going to send my guests wedding favors down a month early so that we don't have to bring all that stuff on the plane. I'm just trying to figure out how much it may cost me. I'm ordering them next month...On a side note, I wanted to put 2gether a little welcome bag for my guests coming from the states...any ideas as to what I should put in them? I'm not thinking anything too expensive, maybe 3 or 4 small items?

Just an FYI, one of my clients did not take my advice and the Beaches Resort's wedding coordinators advice NOT to ship wedding favors ahead of time. I flew with the bride and groom, took her almost 3 hours to get her stuff and they wanted to charger her $400 US ...I was able to get them to charge only $20. It's because they consider it importing and exporting and you have to pay taxes both ways.

I told her to ask a few wedding people (and myself) to take items down in their luggage before....we were there 5 days before the wedding.

Thanks for the info...but I just have 1 question: was she trying to ship the stuff to the resort or to a local post office? would that have made a difference or not? I have 20 guests coming from the states, and most of us will be there 5 days before the wedding as well, so I suppose we can bring stuff down, I just didn't want to have to deal w/ possibly paying for the stuff at immigration...

You will only pay at immigration if u say some of your wedding guests and or groom is living in JA,

That's totally not true.... I arranged the travel for 90 of her guests coming from all places in the US to stay in Jamaica for my clients wedding. None were Jamaican, although everyone of them are African American. The bride took it upon herself to ship stuff ahead of time thinking she would save money, but in turn.....literally fought with customs for 3 hours and they would NOT come down on the $400 US price. I sat back and listened and then after not getting ANYwhere, I stepped in, made a few phone calls and was able to have a Sandals rep there at the airport go with her and work it out to a reasonable cost to have to pay. It was 2 yrs ago, it was a nightmare, but .....a lesson learned by them !

She wasn't shipping to the resort, I believe it was the FedEx office. I seriously can't remember, because they did it on their own and I wasn't involved. The Sandals Rep at the airport asked where they booked their wedding/moon package from and the groom said, a travel agent and the Rep said, well.....I would seriously be upset with that person and the groom said, she highly advised us NOT to do this. I tapped the Rep on the shoulder and said.....travel agent came *with* them to make sure things ran smoothly, but I wasn't aware that they were doing this ! This was the only mishap in the 8 day trip!!

Just hide things, as everyone else said, take tags off, always say "no". I've brought sooooo many things, clothes, games, even electronic games, coloring books, crayons, shoes, deodorant, toothpaste, I mean tons and tons of stuff in the past 10 years. I was only given ALOT of grief by a woman checking....I had 4 bags and it was only me and my son. She kept saying are YOU SURE you don't have anything in there for anyone?? I said, please feel free to check. Never did and I was like...whew !!!!! Two of those suitcases were packed FULL of baby clothes and items for 2 of the girls that work at the hotel where I've been staying for 10 yrs.

ALWAYS put a hotel on the immigration forms.....put a big name hotel, like RIU Negril or Beaches. Pick one in the Negril area because that's more "touristy".

Thanks for the info...we will actually be staying at the RIU in Ochi...but someone said something earlier that's got me confused (again)...if they ask where is the groom from, I'm not allowed to say JA? Everytime I go and they ask me where will I be staying and I say with my fiance at his home (and they ask where), it never seems to be a problem....they do sometimes ask if I am bringing anything in and I always say "no" although I have brought him clothes, underwear, socks, etc...I just packed it under all my #######...but they never checked...so you're saying that if I let them know that the groom is Jamaican that they will charge me for bringing in the wedding favors, etc?

Yes they will!! Bingo And to me it was to costly to send things Fed Ex because then Dwain would of had to pay for the favors again for duty charges.

That is why I had my family members "Jamaican Virgins" bring our wedding favors down.

Be careful.