Immigration knowledge is addictive

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

i stay and help a few from Moroc

but it gets me when one of them say " read something on Facebook"   or tell a long time member they are wrong

or they don't post a timeline

and sometimes its hard to get all the pertinent info from OP(s)

 

i try to stay supportive but sometimes i would like to say "give it up"

like one woman wrote to me (divorces 4 times and had done 2 others petiitons) and i was careful in wording but she got responses from others and just quit VJ

people don't like the truth at times 

 

to me my son has been thru 38 surgeries and i have VJ  to during surgeries,  PT and dr appointments/it keeps me away from vetting about insurance companies and social security disability and medicare

[TBoneTX 45,248]

5 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Do I look quirky?

(Ahem) A superior primate (T-B. takes a bow) has you beat.

[manyfudge 285]

@Daphne . Thanks.  I figured I would make it easier to link the two.  I recognize a couple of cross posters (you!) and @Mike E

 

Things really changed since 9/11.  H1B lotteries did not exist, and TN visas were given out like candy (!) I took an afternoon off work, got my visa, went to

the SS office same afternoon.

 

I noticed the change after 9/11 when our I-485s (no concurrent filing back then with I-140) went into a black hole.  I-140 based AOS petitions were RARELY interviewed,

especially for those of us coming from other 1st world English-speaking countries.   We had a few friends with way sketchier contemporaneous I-140s, but their I-485s were approved very quickly while ours fell into limbo.  Likely due to 9/11 - our I-485s were pending for over 2 years.  Never needed to bother with AP or EAD (I still applied anyway as a precaution against layoffs).  No thanks to lawyers, I contacted congressman and lo and behold! interview took place and approval on the spot.  The officer never looked at our rolling suitcase of documents.

 

And interestingly, my spouse and I both had our oath ceremonies scheduled on the SAME day that we were scheduled to depart (10 years apart) on vacation.

 

A little recon work at the passport agency a week before to see what was required to get past the guard, and voila, both of us got passports the same day.  

 

15 hours ago, Daphne . said:

Hey! I recognize your username from Reddit and love your contributions there. You give great advice and reality checks. It’s like the Wild West out there 😳

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by manyfudge

[manyfudge 285]

14 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

i stay and help a few from Moroc

but it gets me when one of them say " read something on Facebook"   or tell a long time member they are wrong

or they don't post a timeline

and sometimes its hard to get all the pertinent info from OP(s)

 

i try to stay supportive but sometimes i would like to say "give it up"

like one woman wrote to me (divorces 4 times and had done 2 others petiitons) and i was careful in wording but she got responses from others and just quit VJ

people don't like the truth at times 

 

to me my son has been thru 38 surgeries and i have VJ  to during surgeries,  PT and dr appointments/it keeps me away from vetting about insurance companies and social security disability and medicare

Sorry to hear - you should install reddit.  r/immigration and r/uscis are also fun and distracting.

[CMJuilland 485]

I think it’s great that so many of us keep coming back. I am on here almost daily as well, and there’s always a good number of people whose journeys I follow and for whom I root as if it were my own case when they get their interviews/approvals/etc. 

When we first started, I stumbled across this page, and I gained so much knowledge here through other people’s experience. I’d like to think that I can pay it back (at least partially) by sharing my own experiences. 

 

[October 2022 26]

Not me. Once I'm done with my family's situation, I'm never going to talk about this. I hate all of it.

 

I don't mind helping others if they ask for my help, but to be honest, I don't find the process super complicated. I think it's more about commiseration and mutual support. A way to deal with frustration, because the process takes forever.

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

there's a lot of valuable info on  this site

i find it additive to read even if i can't sign in 

 

I will probably need answers in 10+ years as we applied for a brother 

 

 

i think the best answers to OP's are read and research and know the steps ,  cost,  income requirements  and timeframes

 

[Volli 31]

Another reason to come here is to learn about problems that wouldn't have occured to you otherwise. Things like what to do if your GC got lost in the USPS jungle, just to mention one of so many unforseeable obstacles. It's always good to be prepared for the worst even though it is not an actual or current problem yet.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Volli

[top_secret 2,402]

21 hours ago, Misscloud said:

Me. I’m still checking my USCIS account daily lol I need to go immigration rehab

 I have to admit I've logged into CEAC AND US Embassy Manila's interview scheduling website a few to many times recently too.

[Sammy_2496 116]

This site is addictive. I dont know that much about the immigration process, but i love learning. I know when my journey is over, im still gonna come on here daily 😅

[martinzl 91]

I still follow the board but I feel that the further I am removed from the active process, the less I may be able to help. I will also admit that it was good to be able to get most of our actions done pre-covid and our fiancee visa and subsequent AOS and citizenship was relatively simple. We still have a pending visa request for my wife's adult daughter so I may be looking for help down the road. I found this forum to be very helpful and it provided a great learning experience. I really appreciated the help we received from other members.

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:25 AM, manyfudge said:

@Daphne . Thanks.  I figured I would make it easier to link the two.  I recognize a couple of cross posters (you!) and @Mike E

 

Things really changed since 9/11.  H1B lotteries did not exist, and TN visas were given out like candy (!) I took an afternoon off work, got my visa, went to

the SS office same afternoon.

 

I noticed the change after 9/11 when our I-485s (no concurrent filing back then with I-140) went into a black hole.  I-140 based AOS petitions were RARELY interviewed,

especially for those of us coming from other 1st world English-speaking countries.   We had a few friends with way sketchier contemporaneous I-140s, but their I-485s were approved very quickly while ours fell into limbo.  Likely due to 9/11 - our I-485s were pending for over 2 years.  Never needed to bother with AP or EAD (I still applied anyway as a precaution against layoffs).  No thanks to lawyers, I contacted congressman and lo and behold! interview took place and approval on the spot.  The officer never looked at our rolling suitcase of documents.

 

And interestingly, my spouse and I both had our oath ceremonies scheduled on the SAME day that we were scheduled to depart (10 years apart) on vacation.

 

A little recon work at the passport agency a week before to see what was required to get past the guard, and voila, both of us got passports the same day.  

 

 

Even K1 was faster

spent all of June 2009 with Adil in Moroc

fiilled out the I 129 in moroc and filed as July 1 as soon as i could / even the post office mail was faster as my pd was the 6th

He interviewed in November/  little less than 6 months 

 

now the mail is slow as they check all

and immigration came to a slow walk