The Vent

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Len and Bren

The US tax system is totally alien to the Canadian tax system. I found the biggest help for me was to invest in one of those big humungous tax guides that they sell at book stores for around $20. A lot of the information won't be relevant, but for the stuff that is they are a godsend. Look over the different ones that are available and make sure it has a good, clear chapter on resident aliens and taxes. I also had to contact the IRS tax help line for clarification and found them very helpful. Here is the link:

http://www.irs.gov/help/article/0,,id=97185,00.html

US taxes are atrociously convoluted and non-user friendly!

[L & P 0]

well isw anyone can vent i want to vent abot vsc having approvals so fast glad for the people but so hard for csc filers

[Autumnchik 6]

Man, I am just whiny lately

Today, I asked my office manager how much our insurance will cost once I give birth and add my child to the policy. I carry the insurance for myself and hubby right now. His job makes him wait a year until he can qualify for insurance. I work for a small agency and they can only afford to subsidize 70 % of my coverage, so we pay full price for hubby already (and it is not cheap). Well, adding my child will mean that I have to pay 800 dollars a month for health insurance!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! I am going to search for other, cheaper options, but still am feeling shellshocked a bit.

Pardon my French but... HOLY FUKCING #######!

Autumn, that's insane!!!! DO please shop around for other plans, if you can. Or are you tied to one plan through work?

I am starting to shop around .... probably I will need to stay on my work plan, especially since I am 7 months preggie, but new baby and maybe hubby can have different insurance. Have not found any great plans online yet, but am still going to look, because 800 dollars is fricking UNREAL!!!! This is what I get for leaving the school system and going to work for a small nonprofit agency.

Edited March 11, 2008 by autumnchik

[TheATeam 0]

Ugh! VENT! Seriously, who shows up 20 minutes late for their appointment and expects to still have the appointment? I mean, I had her down as a no show and just as I'm cleaning up my stuff to go home she saunters in. ARGHHHH! It really pisses me off! I don't know why people like that can't call and say that they're at least going to be late. It's irritating as all get out! Plus, I was looking forward to leaving early tonight!

Edited to add: I can't wait to QUIT! ~giggles~

Edited March 11, 2008 by TheATeam

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Ugh! VENT! Seriously, who shows up 20 minutes late for their appointment and expects to still have the appointment? I mean, I had her down as a no show and just as I'm cleaning up my stuff to go home she saunters in. ARGHHHH! It really pisses me off! I don't know why people like that can't call and say that they're at least going to be late. It's irritating as all get out! Plus, I was looking forward to leaving early tonight!

Edited to add: I can't wait to QUIT! ~giggles~

Sister, U still @ the Strathcona Reg? If so, after yuo leave, drop by the 2nd Cup and ask my girls to treat you to a latte. Tell them Queen B1tch sent you.

[Toastburglar 0]

*******warning******this post will probably offend you*********I warned you********

I am so fukcing p1ssed at all this bullsh1t!!!!! I am starting to think that visajourney only exists to make my suffering worse by having to read about how many fukcing couples get approved ahead of me for no effing reason other than that they are fukcing lucky as #######. Oh and also the fun of getting to hear about all the wives who moved to the US and are now bored or homesick or whatever their effing problem is at the moment. . . . if people don't want to move to the US then please stop clogging up the immigration pipeline for the rest of us who want to be there more than anything in the world!!! I've gotten to the point where I can't read have the posts because it's all "I miss my country" or "oh no I got an interview too soon!!!" Like, who the f are you to complain when there are people like me who can't even get out of bed in the morning because I am so homesick for my husband and our home. And it must be wonderful to have the money to just hang around the US for months and months not working like some of you are doing. . . you get to be with your spouse AND you dont have to work? wow, that's really a lot to complain about. . . stop coming on VJ just to post pictures of your cat or tell us what you're having for dinner. . . I come on here because I legitimately want to know as much as I can about this process to try and get it finished as soon as fukcing possible, so I can go home to my husband and never think about it again. This process is literally killing me. . . I've been losing approx 7lbs/week and I can't eat or sleep anymore. . . so I will either get to go home or die in the next few months, and I'm begining to not care which.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

*******warning******this post will probably offend you*********I warned you********

I am so fukcing p1ssed at all this bullsh1t!!!!! I am starting to think that visajourney only exists to make my suffering worse by having to read about how many fukcing couples get approved ahead of me for no effing reason other than that they are fukcing lucky as #######. Oh and also the fun of getting to hear about all the wives who moved to the US and are now bored or homesick or whatever their effing problem is at the moment. . . . if people don't want to move to the US then please stop clogging up the immigration pipeline for the rest of us who want to be there more than anything in the world!!! I've gotten to the point where I can't read have the posts because it's all "I miss my country" or "oh no I got an interview too soon!!!" Like, who the f are you to complain when there are people like me who can't even get out of bed in the morning because I am so homesick for my husband and our home. And it must be wonderful to have the money to just hang around the US for months and months not working like some of you are doing. . . you get to be with your spouse AND you dont have to work? wow, that's really a lot to complain about. . . stop coming on VJ just to post pictures of your cat or tell us what you're having for dinner. . . I come on here because I legitimately want to know as much as I can about this process to try and get it finished as soon as fukcing possible, so I can go home to my husband and never think about it again. This process is literally killing me. . . I've been losing approx 7lbs/week and I can't eat or sleep anymore. . . so I will either get to go home or die in the next few months, and I'm begining to not care which.

Vent ahead sister, that's what this thread is for.

As far from judging what others think.... whatever rocks your boat. I miss my country, and I miss Canada as well. And if that offends you, it is really not my biz. Hang in there toast, you will get your approval soon, you'll see. Sending good vibes your way. I mean that.

peace, l.

[TheATeam 0]

Heck no I'm not at the Registry Len! Sometimes I wish I were though. Now I'm working at SpaLady! SO much worse! At least at the Registry I knew when I started and when I was finished and I always knew what my hours would be like. Here, if I have no appointments I go home. Less money!

Oh yeah, and your 2nd cup is closed for renos right now, has been for awhile! Every time I pass it I think "I need to remember to tell Len" and then I forget. It was the one on 104th right?

And Toastburgler- I know how you feel. It's hard to be separated. The end will come though and all the waiting will be over. Feel free to vent away, and I hope that you feel better soon! My thoughts are with you.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Heck no I'm not at the Registry Len! Sometimes I wish I were though. Now I'm working at SpaLady! SO much worse! At least at the Registry I knew when I started and when I was finished and I always knew what my hours would be like. Here, if I have no appointments I go home. Less money!

Oh yeah, and your 2nd cup is closed for renos right now, has been for awhile! Every time I pass it I think "I need to remember to tell Len" and then I forget. It was the one on 104th right?

And Toastburgler- I know how you feel. It's hard to be separated. The end will come though and all the waiting will be over. Feel free to vent away, and I hope that you feel better soon! My thoughts are with you.

BLASPHEMY!!!! It's the one on the Varscona Hotel sister -- where the cool and glamorous hang out The one in 104th went down the tubes because the staff was formed by a bunch of weirdos (Whyte Ave style) with dubious hygiene and really bad, bad service.

[TheATeam 0]

Ahhhhh gotcha! I wasn't sure but I didn't think that you worked at that one. I LOVE the one at Varscona Hotel! It's beautiful and really clean for being on Whyte. You know how yucky everything there can get!

[Lili 3]

I am French not Canadian but i really need to vent.

I am so tired of all this immigration thing. First, it is the American side (it took us over two months to get everything together).

Now, it is the French side. Bah, i thought...Can't be as hard as the American side. Oh boy, was i wrong!

I sent all my paperwork so my hubby can be recognized as my hubby in front of my government to the French Consulate. I sent it priority mail with signature confirmation. Easy as pie, right? Think again!!!

USPS lost my package. The lady in the San Francisco post office tells me "oh, we are sorry. Apparently, the signature confirmation wasn't showing up in our intranet so the carrier didn't ask for it. You can ask for a refund if you'd like". I asked the consulate and they told me i haven't received it.

Woohoo, i am getting a couple of bucks back. Are you freaking kidding me???? You lose a marriage certificate, copies of passport and certified birth certificates and you are offering me a couple of bucks?? Think again!! You better find the darn package.

I keep talking to supervisors after supervisors till i find an helpful lady.

Two weeks later, the package ended up being delivered but the Consulate sent it back to me.

Why, you wonder? Because there is no damn apostille on my marriage certificate! Huh, look again. Turn the page, voila! It is right there.

Freaking Christ, why do government people have to be so lazy!!! So i have to send it again with proof of my US Visa.

Which is another issue, I am F-1 pending AOS. Oh oh, i know the French government won't like that. Why?

Because it is a limbo status and they want a visa status valid for at least six months.

I am sick and tired of spending my lunches at work calling people. I want a life, a real one!

This is just not fair, i am doing this the legal way and i feel more penalized than an illegal person.

I just want my husband to be recognized as my husband. I am not asking for a visa or a citizenship. I am French dealing with my government, why does it have to be so hard? After that i want to get registered with my consulate, oh boy this is gonna be fun too.

Here i am crying. This is truly pathetic.

Have i mention me and my parents haven't been talking for half a year? They don't even know i am married.

They started accusing me of mean things and when i tried to reason them, they ignored my e-mails. I was so hurt that i had to just live my life. I have been trying to get in touch with them but they are ignoring me.

It all started when i said "enough is enough, i don't want to be your show puppet anymore, i just want to be me".

The words i used were better and i made sure to let them know that i wasn't disapproving anything but they had to stop making me feel bad when i made a decision or had a different opinion than theirs.

Didn't go over so well. I was accused of being a drug addict and a zombie. Me, who never touched drugs in my entire life. I told them that i was willing to do an hair drug test. They ignored it and started to say mean things.

The zombie comes from the fact that i am very pale. I was born like that, they should know that. They raised me!!!

I ended up feeling so bad about my skin that i went to the tanning salon and gave myself a nice skin cancer scare.

I couldn't spend my life pleasing them. I was miserable. I tried explaining them. It didn't work.

So here i am.

Cliff notes:

My parents do not know that i am married. The French Consulate is giving me a hard time.

My soul mate is in California visiting family.

Have i mentioned i haven't had a day off in almost a year? And that my week-ends are filled with getting paperworks and running from places to places.

[EmilyandJason 0]

Lili, I'm sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

I feel similar - I just want a real life.

[Lili 3]

Lili, I'm sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

I feel similar - I just want a real life.

Spill it out "EmilyandJason". It feels so much better afterwards.

*hugs to you*

[EmilyandJason 0]

Lili, I'm sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

I feel similar - I just want a real life.

Spill it out "EmilyandJason". It feels so much better afterwards.

*hugs to you*

I considered it but then realized the topic was "The Vent" not "The Rant" .. lol so I'll try and behave

I'm having one of those dark days where I am so frustrated I just want to scream. Some days are fine .. and some are ... not.

The problem is mainly that we researched the options after we were engaged in June and in the end we decided the CR-1 was really the best option for us. Jason is just starting up his career and we couldn't afford to have me unemployed while waiting for AOS. At the time we were told that the CR-1 would take about 9-10 months to complete. Obviously we were misinformed. It is hard to swallow that the K1 really would have been SO much faster. It is also hard to see so many approvals for people who filed after us. Not that I am not happy for them, but it has me concerned that maybe our I-130 is sitting on someone's desk who has gone on holidays or something. We've also had so many touches in the past few weeks I'm worried that maybe they've found something wrong. I don't know what it could be .. but you never know.

I feel like my entire life is on hold while this process is going on. I barely have time to do anything other than obsess about this because I'm traveling every weekend to see Jason. During the week I'm busy working overtime hours to make up the time I leave early on Fridays.

I also feel like nobody really understands how I feel, even Jason. My sister actually was insenstive enough to ask me how married life was. Unfortunately for her, she asked me on a "dark day". Jason, of course wants to be with me more than anything. I feel he isn't affected the same way as I am because he is both starting a new career and living with his parents to save money. I'm doing something I've been doing for years so don't have the same distractions ... and I live alone.

We really want to just start our lives together .... we want a family! I know pretty much everyone here has felt this way and gone through this purgatory of seemingly endless waits.

I know I just need to hang in there and when it is over, this truly will feel like a bad dream.

Edited March 12, 2008 by EmilyandJason

[Lili 3]

Lili, I'm sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

I feel similar - I just want a real life.

Spill it out "EmilyandJason". It feels so much better afterwards.

*hugs to you*

I considered it but then realized the topic was "The Vent" not "The Rant" .. lol so I'll try and behave

I'm having one of those dark days where I am so frustrated I just want to scream. Some days are fine .. and some are ... not.

The problem is mainly that we researched the options after we were engaged in June and in the end we decided the CR-1 was really the best option for us. Jason is just starting up his career and we couldn't afford to have me unemployed while waiting for AOS. At the time we were told that the CR-1 would take about 9-10 months to complete. Obviously we were misinformed. It is hard to swallow that the K1 really would have been SO much faster. It is also hard to see so many approvals for people who filed after us. Not that I am not happy for them, but it has me concerned that maybe our I-130 is sitting on someone's desk who has gone on holidays or something. We've also had so many touches in the past few weeks I'm worried that maybe they've found something wrong. I don't know what it could be .. but you never know.

I feel like my entire life is on hold while this process is going on. I barely have time to do anything other than obsess about this because I'm traveling every weekend to see Jason. During the week I'm busy working overtime hours to make up the time I leave early on Fridays.

I also feel like nobody really understands how I feel, even Jason. My sister actually was insenstive enough to ask me how married life was. Unfortunately for her, she asked me on a "dark day". Jason, of course wants to be with me more than anything. I feel he isn't affected the same way as I am because he is both starting a new career and living with his parents to save money. I'm doing something I've been doing for years so don't have the same distractions ... and I live alone.

We really want to just start our lives together .... we want a family! I know pretty much everyone here has felt this way and gone through this purgatory of seemingly endless waits.

I know I just need to hang in there and when it is over, this truly will feel like a bad dream.

Emily,

From an outsider point of view, you made the right choice visa-wise.

You said it yourself, you can afford to be unemployed. IF you would have chosen a K-1 or K-3, you would have to wait for the EAD approval. It is supposed to be approved within 3 months but when it comes to immigration, nothing is certain.

Making a living on a single income for three months is tough, very tough.

Once the wait it is over, it is OVER. You take a backpack and cross the border. You get your green card and you can S-T-A-R-T your life with Jason.

If i were in your shoes, i would have made the exact same decision. If i were to wait an indeterminate amount of time, might as well make it worthwhile.

Touches are good, not bad. Someone is actually looking at your paperwork. If there was anything wrong, they would have sent an RFE. Trust me on that one. They do not hesitate a single second on sending those dreaded RFE's.

Would it be possible that your husband makes an Infopass appointment and moves things a bit faster. It seems Infopass do wonders! It does a body (and mental health) good!

You are definitely working too much. I understand the financial need but there is a point where everybody needs to recharge their batteries. Can Jason come over and you guys could go to a nice bed and breakfast? It doesn't have to be fancy or abroad. Just a change of pace and time to seat back and enjoy each other.

My hubby was working too much, so a swift kick in the butt into the plane to California to see his family for a week. He seems to be way more relaxed.

What about Jason doing the trip to visit you one of those week-ends? I am sure it will be nice not to drive for once.

I wish i could make it all better. I will think about you and wish for you you to get approved very soon.

Ps: I hope my comments haven't offended you. I just thought i could bring you a different perspective.