We have a date!

[Tim n Irina 29]

UPDATE:  Its SO good to be HOME..TOGETHER.

 

We arrived in Boston June 25, spent the night in Portsmouth NH and drove home to (now) Dixmont, ME on Sat the 26th.  We are now settling in and getting started on making our cabin habitable and awaiting the arrival of her Green Card...which isn't actually green, but I digress.

 

In BOS they were sending all Immy visa holders to a side room where (I think) CBP made online checks of everyone's Med records.  So why the disk?  Any way, all is good and it only took about 10 minutes.

[TBoneTX 46,190]

Congratulations, you two lovebirds!   

[Tim n Irina 29]

I forgot to mention, we DID have a bit of drama in Zurich airport on our way home.  We flew United (?)/ Swiss Air KBP-ZRH-BOS

 

During preboarding check in at the gate the checker wanted to see her immy folder from the Consulate.  She then sent us to an adjacent gate where the supervisor was working and after explaining why we were there HE asked for the same thing. 

ME: that's all in checked baggage, we have the disk for the Med Exam.

Him:  Are you married

ME: Yes

Him:  Do you have your marriage certificate?

Me:  No we have a valid Immigration Visa issued by the US Govt.  Why do you need to see anything else?  

Now my voice is starting to rise.

Him:  Um, have a good flight

 

It took Irina over an hour (in flight) to finally calm down from that one.  What the ACTUAL hell?

 

Anyone else fly through ZRH?

[uapilot 77]

5 hours ago, Tim n Irina said:

Anyone else fly through ZRH?

We did not (Istanbul, which has its own issues due to executive orders from a few years ago), but the passport checker there also asked if we had our packet and we just needed to flash it to him.

 

The airlines are just trying to do their due diligence to make sure you're able to enter the country. My assumption is that the responsibility is on them if you get deported back because of invalid documentation, either via a fine or you have to be put on one of their flights for free. We especially go through a rigamarole in Ukraine because they need to validate that we're allowed to take my step-daughter out of the country. That plus actual visas, plus COVID tests, plus the packet. We want to fly back to Kyiv in the fall for a quick trip, and I'm already worried that they won't know what a parole document is for re-entering the US.

 

Also, I have to say, you're pretty brave sticking the immigration packet into checked luggage. 😆 I treated that thing like a baby until we handed it off to a CBP officer. I was constantly terrified somebody would rip it open during our journey because they didn't know what it was.

Edited July 7, 2021 by uapilot

[Tim n Irina 29]

The only packet I was worried about being opened was the Med Exam stuff that only the Consular Officer could open.  After that we had the CD for the CBP at our point of entry.  There was no packet of docs.  The stuff (I thought) was in our baggage was just the stuff we submitted to start the visa process and as it turns out, is still in our bedroom in Kramatorsk.  We were both so concerned with what stuff we could bring with, neither of us thought about it.  A translated copy of our marriage doc would be nice to have. 

 

Oh well, we'll manage and our house mate can ship it to us if needed before we make another trip over.

 

On a cheerier note, her SSA card showed up in the mail today.  I thought we had to go apply for that.  Just waiting for her GC, but we can go open a bank account for her now.  Then an Ebay & Etsy shop for her hand crafts.

 

[uapilot 77]

On 7/7/2021 at 5:04 PM, Tim n Irina said:

The only packet I was worried about being opened was the Med Exam stuff that only the Consular Officer could open.  After that we had the CD for the CBP at our point of entry.  There was no packet of docs.  The stuff (I thought) was in our baggage was just the stuff we submitted to start the visa process and as it turns out, is still in our bedroom in Kramatorsk.  We were both so concerned with what stuff we could bring with, neither of us thought about it.  A translated copy of our marriage doc would be nice to have. 

 

Oh well, we'll manage and our house mate can ship it to us if needed before we make another trip over.

 

On a cheerier note, her SSA card showed up in the mail today.  I thought we had to go apply for that.  Just waiting for her GC, but we can go open a bank account for her now.  Then an Ebay & Etsy shop for her hand crafts.

 

Ah, gotcha. I think our process was a bit different because of K-1.

 

Well, glad you're both here and continuing to build your life together!

[Tim n Irina 29]

After poking around here a bit, I see that the GC is taking up to 90 days or more these days.  Anyone have recent info on that?

We're fine if it takes awhile as she CAN use the stamped visa as her GC for now.

 

[uapilot 77]

90 days seems optimistic, but I don't have hard numbers.

 

I saw that someone that applied for I-485 in March has their GC interview in August.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

On 7/23/2021 at 1:28 PM, uapilot said:

90 days seems optimistic, but I don't have hard numbers.

 

I saw that someone that applied for I-485 in March has their GC interview in August.

I think @Tim n Irina is talking about delivery of the actual card for a CR-1/IR-1 (though the endorsed visa counts as a green card), not AOS from a K-1 (which even pre-pandemic almost never took less than 90 days unless you were at a very fast field office).

[Tim n Irina 29]

19 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

I think @Tim n Irina is talking about delivery of the actual card for a CR-1/IR-1 (though the endorsed visa counts as a green card), not AOS from a K-1 (which even pre-pandemic almost never took less than 90 days unless you were at a very fast field office).

Thanks, you're correct.  I was talking about delivery time after entry.

 

UPDATE:  her GC arrived in the mail on Saturday, so 28 (ish) days after arrival.  IR1 good for 10 years.

 

Now to get her on some Eng lessons so she can study for the Citizens test.

[uapilot 77]

4 hours ago, Tim n Irina said:

Thanks, you're correct.  I was talking about delivery time after entry.

 

UPDATE:  her GC arrived in the mail on Saturday, so 28 (ish) days after arrival.  IR1 good for 10 years.

 

Now to get her on some Eng lessons so she can study for the Citizens test.

I wish we had gone that route now, haha.

[TBoneTX 46,190]

16 hours ago, Tim n Irina said:

she can study for the Citizens test.

This is the definitive study guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/382775-mrs-t-b-the-citizenship-test/

 

[Tim n Irina 29]

19 hours ago, uapilot said:

I wish we had gone that route now, haha.

There were many times I wished we had gone the K1 route....or just flew to Mexico and walked in. 

But its all done and over with now so all's gone.  And to be honest I made several mistakes on my AOS that resulted at least a year's delay.  Being stuck in S. Africa last year caused almost another year delay when we got the notice for her interview July 14th 2020

[Tim n Irina 29]

6 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

This is the definitive study guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/382775-mrs-t-b-the-citizenship-test/

 

OMG that's priceless!   🤣

 

I spewed coffee all the keyboard, sending the bill.  The price tag for your free kitchen remodel is piling up.  

[Tim n Irina 29]

Yesterday I heard my gal utter the best word ever (well, almost the best).

She will frequently say things like "kak horosho" in that very contented tone, as we set out in the Ram to go somewhere.  Yesterday it was "I'm happy in Maine." 

 

Of course having mushroom infested woods around our home building site doesn't hurt at all.  We already have 2 of the large BJ's (or Sam's/ Costco) mixed nuts canisters full of dehydrated shrooms, some of which she wants to make powder out of.