My Visa Journey thread

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

1 minute ago, BJ & Christine said:

You can track ur case the uscis web page or download there app.

U will receive the noa2 prior to ur nvm letter. That will in form u that ur case is being moved to the appropriate embassy.

Thank you thats info that i will need to know!! God bless

Crazy Cat · April 8, 2018

6 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Thank you and yes i know thats the case. Every situation is different im sure and to jump right into that negetivity is not were i wanted to go with this post.

Its more for me going through the process correctly.

Didn't you post " Any tips or advice at this beginning stage would be great."? The "negativity" you perceive is merely advice by seasoned members here who have seen many cases similar to your case result in heartbreak and wasted money/time. My junior high school history teacher used to say "A word to the wise is sufficient". That holds especially true for long-distance relationships.............that's my advice....take it or leave it...

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

4 minutes ago, missileman said:

Didn't you post " Any tips or advice at this beginning stage would be great."? The "negativity" you perceive is merely advice by seasoned members here who have seen many cases similar to your case result in heartbreak and wasted money/time. My junior high school history teacher used to say "A word to the wise is sufficient". That holds especially true for long-distance relationships.............that's my advice....take it or leave it...

Let me clarify then. " any tips or advice at this beginning stage OF LEGAL PROCESS would be great" i should be more clear. My apologies to the negetive nancies looking out for my emotional welfare.

You should listen to your teachers advice more often. But then again thats an opinion of mine. My junior highschool shop teacher used to say measure twice cut once...and years later ended up cutting off 2 fingers. Great guy though

Edited April 8, 2018 by stringpuller

Muffinji · April 8, 2018

11 minutes ago, stringpuller said:

Her dads case was 2016.

I could be wrong but if I remember correctly at the end of 2016 was when all the processing started to take longer time (older forum member will know better) I can only say what I remember from reading old topics in the forum and looking at the data from past forum members.

For starters you can see how long it took for others in the past year

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php

just making sure you make informed decisions and not file and then be super stressed it’s not approved in a few months time.

Crazy Cat · April 8, 2018

4 minutes ago, stringpuller said:

Let me clarify then. " any tips or advice at this beginning stage OF LEGAL PROCESS would be great" i should be more clear. My apologies to the negetive nancies looking out for my emotional welfare.

You should listen to your teachers advice more often. But then again thats an opinion of mine. My junior highschool shop teacher used to say measure twice cut once...and years later ended up cutting off 2 fingers. Great guy though

You might want to study the K-1 guide, K-1 tips, and K-1 flowsheet here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

7 minutes ago, Muffinji said:

I could be wrong but if I remember correctly at the end of 2016 was when all the processing started to take longer time (older forum member will know better) I can only say what I remember from reading old topics in the forum and looking at the data from past forum members.

For starters you can see how long it took for others in the past year

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php

just making sure you make informed decisions and not file and then be super stressed it’s not approved in a few months time.

Thanks ####### for the headsup my friend. Im aware it could be a year. Ill inform the mrs about what im learning here. If janurary rolls around and we have not made approval yet i will go visit at that time. Any of you ever have authentic Vietnam food? Its so good!

Edited April 8, 2018 by stringpuller

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

4 minutes ago, missileman said:

You might want to study the K-1 guide, K-1 tips, and K-1 flowsheet here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/

I will thank you

JFH · April 8, 2018

7 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Thanks for the advice. But Are yall serious? She lives in another country thats why i am here. I have 12 days vacation at the moment and can only feasably visit her 1 time a year.

Are you suggesting that I visit her once a year for 3 years then marry her?

I posted here for the process info and not for decision making advice whats best for me morally. I think im a pretty good judge of character.

How many times have you met your over seas fiancee before marrying him her? The requirement is once within 2 years correct? Is there an amount of time frame? And have 90 days to wed.

Btw...if this girl is faking and insincere she should be in hollywood with an oscar award. I just dont believe that her and I are not being authentic. Im pretty much past teenage infactuations.

You might think it's negativity but people have been denied for not being able to convince the CO that their relationship is the real deal. Just lettting you know.

I visited my husband about 25 times before I married him, about 15 more after the wedding and before immigrating. We had been together 2.5 years when we got married. Now been married 3.5 years.

What's wrong with a three-year period of dating? Would you marry someone on the other side of the country that quickly? Would you believe someone who said "spent 7 days with this girl now we are going to get married because she's the one for me'? You need to see it how the CO will see it at her interview.

Edited April 8, 2018 by JFH

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

8 minutes ago, JFH said:

You might think it's negativity but people have been denied for not being able to convince the CO that their relationship is the real deal. Just lettting you know.

I visited my husband about 25 times before I married him, about 15 more after the wedding and before immigrating. We had been together 2.5 years when we got married. Now been married 3.5 years.

What's wrong with a three-year period of dating? Would you marry someone on the other side of the country that quickly? Would you believe someone who said "spent 7 days with this girl now we are going to get married because she's the one for me'? You need to see it how the CO will see it at her interview.

Im glad that your situation worked out for you. I hope mine is as successful!

stringpuller · April 8, 2018

10 minutes ago, JFH said:

You might think it's negativity but people have been denied for not being able to convince the CO that their relationship is the real deal. Just lettting you know.

I visited my husband about 25 times before I married him, about 15 more after the wedding and before immigrating. We had been together 2.5 years when we got married. Now been married 3.5 years.

What's wrong with a three-year period of dating? Would you marry someone on the other side of the country that quickly? Would you believe someone who said "spent 7 days with this girl now we are going to get married because she's the one for me'? You need to see it how the CO will see it at her interview.

I might think? Maybe but reread the thread and ask yoyrself who is overthinking at this time....just saying

JoelThai · April 8, 2018

11 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Any tips or advice at this beginning stage would be great. Thanks for this website folks!

The best advice I give is to carefully read the I-129F instructions and the USCIS form filing tips several times. Doing so can avoid issues later on and likely answer many of your questions. If anything is not clear, search or post on the Visa Journey forum.

After competing your I-129F form, take the time to carefully review all questions a second and third time. Often after submission, petitioners realize they forgot to check a box, sign the form, or include a requested document.

I-129F instuctions

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf

USCIS Form Filing Tips

https://www.uscis.gov/forms-filing-tips

Edited April 8, 2018 by JoelThai

iwir · April 8, 2018

Yes the requirement is having a meeting in person in the last two years. That's on paper. But CO also wants to see if you two have bona fide relationship and you can prove it.

7 hours ago, stringpuller said:

How many times have you met your over seas fiancee before marrying him her?

It's just my story and I don't expect you to agree with me. We're just normal people who believe true love waits. We have known each other for years before we decided to meet in person. When we reconnected, he shortly invited me to visit him when he had a conference in Hawaii. I'm a B visa holder so it's easy for me to visit him. He said he'd pay for all my expenses and I said flat out no because we just texted and talked online regularly for months. I wanted to know him more and if we meet in person it should be on my terms. And like any other level headed woman, I was also concerned about my own safety.

When we finally met in person, it wasn't in my home country. We have talked almost a year regularly and even when I used all my common sense and took safety precautions, people around me called me crazy. But this time I felt more safe because I paid my own ticket and hotel and we agreed to meet in public space. I could leave if I felt my safety was compromised. It turned out to be a good way for us to know each other more. After that fateful meeting, we talked more about our relationship and how to keep it alive despite of the distance. Both of us sacrifice a lot. I visit him in the US when I can, he visits me when he can too. We meet three four times a year and we've been dating long distance for three years. We put our relationship in the test many many many times before we started to talk about getting more serious and involving our both families. But then again we're just normal people who are skeptical with everything. We question each other about so many things and see if we have similar values about life in general, finance, sex, how we see our future together and where we want to spend most of our time (in the US or in Indonesia). We studied both countries legal system, marriage and immigration law and see which option is more beneficial for us due to our circumstances. It takes a long time to know someone even when they're genuine. We tested if our lifestyle, culture and values are compatible to each other and how we maintain our personalities and respect our difference. I spent time in the US to see if I liked it there and we had our preview of our domestic life. I still have cultural shock from time to time, even when I have travelled a lot. We compromise, we negotiate, we sacrifice. And we take our time. We believe if it's meant to be, the delay for gratification from being away from each other til we see each other again makes our reunion sweeter. We feel confident with our case that we do have bona fide relationship. It shows in our application that we're not merely wanting to meet the requirements on the paper.

Good luck!

JoelThai · April 8, 2018

2 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Thanks Roel i certainly will keep that in mind. Using me to get into my country is one thing but taking my things is another. That can be taken care of legally. My radar is on.

Yes @stringpuller, I do not think anyone here is trying to purposely give you a difficult time, they are trying to be sure you are aware of what can happen if you do not perform your due diligence in your relationship. Fraud is a real problem, and from your fiancees country, is a real issue.

Since your fiancee is from Vietnam, please keep your eyes as wide open as your heart. The unfortunate truth is there are many Vietnamese looking to find a way into the USA, and for many, a marriage visa is the quickest or only way. My former girl friend is Vietnamese, and while she was already a US citizen and living in the US when I met her, she has many Visa Fraud stories she is familiar with. One ploy that she has described to me is a case where a Vietnamese woman's husband was already in the USA, but since he is not yet a US citizen, he could not legally sponsor his wife. So, to expedite the reunion, she found an eligible US citizen to marry to bring her to the US. Once the green card was in her hand, she divorced her sponsor and reunited with her Vietnamese husband. This story is not unique or that uncommon.

Look for red flags the would suggest she is more interested in coming to the US than being with you at all costs. For example, does she have friends and family already in the US? Does she have children? Manufacture situations to test her, such as the previous suggestion of stating that you have decided to move to Vietnam to live with her. See how she reacts. Is she happy because she will be with you, or upset because she wants to live in the US?

The longer you know her, the more sure you will be with her intentions. But, at the end of the day, it is your choice as how to proceed. Everyone here hopes you will have a "happily ever after" ending.

Edited April 8, 2018 by JoelThai

iwir · April 8, 2018

This is the real test to question the real intention. If petitioner should pay attention to the real intention of the beneficiary and see if they're only after the green card, the beneficiary should also look for any red flag if the petitioner is so desperately looking for love and wants to buy them a "better" life in the US. Just from a beneficiary POV😊

Edited April 8, 2018 by iwir

George & Roth · April 8, 2018

I recommend you consider doing what I did, I moved to Cambodia and we lived together for 5 years before getting married.

After those 5 years she could still tolerate me so we moved to USA and got married.

You don’t really know a person until after a few years together. Some people on this site knew each other and lived together for only a year or two and got married! I think they’re making the wrong move!