redmist

25k??? Holy moly. We used Boundless who had and I think still do have a reduced deal since fees are supposed to get more expensive. Their rate is usually 1k flat + I-129F which is 535$. They're also advertised on this site.

You can expect to hear back anywhere from July 19 and August 29 2023. Of course it can be a little later than that so I personally wouldn't schedule a flight or book anything before you actually have your visa in hand. NVC times are hard to estimate right now and I'm not an expert on how medical exam and Consulate in Vietnam work out. But you can keep that timeframe in mind, including the about 4-6 months for NVC, medical exam and interview.

I remember that article talking about how in Oct 2022 USCIS got those billions of funds to acquire and train new workers. Cases started picking up around January and keep picking up. Maybe it only takes a few months to train?

I think you already got all the answers you needed but I want to share my own experience with this because I've never really come across this before! Since me and my fiance are pretty young (20 & 21) and had been dating 3 years upon applying I was asking myself this question too. Of course we had discussed marriage and the ins and outs, fully aware we needed to marry when I come to the states. But it was still odd because meanwhile being engaged isn't a legal status, suddenly it seemed like we were engaged once we submitted the application but not because I had been proposed to. Due to the distance and the both of us not having super traditional values, it just never actually came up. I'm sure if we didn't have to do K1, we would eventually have gotten married anyway, maybe one or two years later.

From what I've heard and myself having a history of SH and hospitalization: Seek out a therapist, and/or your main practictioner, two is better than just one to prove that you are not a threat to yourself or others. That is the really crucial thing that you want to be able to show the person who will be examining you during the medical. Additionally it wouldn't hurt to express, verbally or confirmed by who is going to write you a letter, that this behaviour has stopped a few years ago and is unlikely to re-occur. Be honest, don't try to hide what happened. The medical examiner will want to know everything and is on your side. They gain nothing from making it harder for you, but you should still come prepared. That also means bringing any documentation from psych evals and hospital visits, surgeries etc. Even if it's not something you struggle with right now and it seems stupid to have to get a therapist or professional just for this letter, it's worth it. I don't know how visible your scars are, but from your disability due to the SH you would have to admit to it anyhow and like I said, you wouldn't want to lie. Like I said, come prepared and then you should be fine. It's something I'm going to have to get through myself but there are stories on here from people with multiple hospital stays for mental well-being, multiple diagnosees and a trail or SH that were honest, and got the letters. And they were fine too. I wish you the best on your journey!

I don't really understand why. There is a lot of negativity in this community and from one side it's understandable because at some point you just become kind of bitter about the whole process. Additionally some people are not capable of being happy for someone else when they had an easier or quicker time getting approved. Another thing I previously saw is a discussion about whether or not USCIS workers being sent to the border is going to slow things down for us. I'm not sure whether or not that is true, since those are asylum cases and should be handled by people different from family-related cases and so on?

So, I'm pretty pooped. Apparently you cannot sign the intent to marry digitally and I did. I didn't and still don't have a printer at the time to print the document, sign, scan and forward to my fiance to send off our package with. Kind of struggling with beating myself up about it and at the same time kind of being upset that we were not being informed about this by the attorney firm we chose. Because really we paid them so that mistakes like these wouldn't happen. I guess I just assumed it would be fine. When I got my passport, I had no choice but to digitally sign that thing either. Maybe it's a different thing because theres a representative sitting across from you watching and it's a device supplied by the town hall I had to go to? Anyway, I e-mailed a representative from the firm about it and they said, yea, most likely it's gonna result in an RFE. Jaw to the floor, since that's kind of my worst fear. Frantically told my fiance who in turn then called them directly. They said, that if they notice, which they might not, it would take us literally minutes to re-submit the document signed by me with a physical signature. It shouldn't put months on our processing. Regardless, it really (removed) sucks. I'm gonna print out and scan the document elsewhere and pay for it in the case, that we do get an RFE. Get it over with as quickly as possible. I guess this was kind of a vent but also to let others know who were not aware of this, to not do what I did lol. Just recently I saw somebody inquiring about it, which led me to e-mail them in the first place. Also, please don't be mean to me about this, I'm beating myself up enough as is.

Hi! Both of us signed it digitally. It should be fine since we would've gotten an RFE already if that was the case, I assume. I'm not sure though, but even for my passport they only do digital signature these days.

Then they are either willing to try, to see if they can make it work or if one is just simply too uncomfortable for it, then unfortunately it can’t work. It should be something discussed priorly though in my opinion, as in the first time they find out about it shouldn’t be literally in bed. Then that gives the man in question some space to think about whether or not he is confident enough in his sexuality to try, or not which would be fine as well. Maybe it’s just something he’s not interested in and knows that before trying. As long as that is communicated respectfully because there are many instances were trans women had their life threatened because they allegedly were being deceiving.

Personally, I don't think so. I personally have never fallen in love with someones genitalia. Or thought of someone as sexually attractive to me because of a specific sex organ. Of course people have preferences but then we would be complicating the whole topic. A different example would be that theres mainly men out there, who specifically seek out trans women because they are specifically attracted to the fact they look like a woman, but have a male sex organ. That's not really a sexuality though more than it is simply a fetish - a degrading one as well to minimize somebody down to their genitalia and for ones own sexual gratification. But if you don't specifically seek out trans women because you are fetishizing them but just happen to fall for a woman and find out she is trans and you can find yourself to be okay with it - then no. You just simply love somebody for who they are, a trans woman. But that's really just how I feel. ✌️

Thanks everyone for the insight! I guess I get a little anxious about the 6-months from the medical exam and hoping the interview will be able to be held soon after so I have a good buffer post-interview to sort things out. Congratulations! I hope everything goes smooth for you and your fiance when you move!

That seems fair. I guess what I forgot to mention as well that we don’t have the “2-weeks notice” here. It’s not really possible to quit on a whim, depending on your contract and time spent in the company it can go up to a “1-month notice” or even “3-month notice” and there is quite a predicament you can get yourself stuck in if you don’t respect your contracts timeline of when to quit til you actually leave the company.

Hello all, this is a pretty broad topic of question and I was just wondering if any others would be interested in sharing how they went about it. My (beneficiary, K1 visa) NOA1 is March 28th, so really recent. I am starting a new job and of course one of the questions in the interview were what my future plans are as in: "if you tell me theres a solid reason you're gonna quit in the next 1-3 years I'm probably not gonna hire you." I'm from Germany and having to lie about this is really common and and recommended, especially because there is nothing that would have you make to submit that information. So, do I bring it up down the line? In my experience anyone I've told that I'm waiting on my visa and trying to explain it to them, they don't understand quite what a long process it is and also how suddenly and quickly things can change and how I only know of a vague time-frame that I can expect to move. Or should I wait for my NOA2 and then just quit without a heads-up? Anyway, I'd be interested if there is anyone in the same boots as me inclined to share how they went about it. Thanks!

Hey guys! I-129F sent March 14th 2023 I-129F received March 28th 2023 (NOA-1) I-129F Notice Date March 30th 2023! From Germany!

Thank you, especially for that post I had not seen before as it is really detailed and insightful. Germany is kind of old-school when it comes to medical records so I do have a folder full of physical copies and original letters explaining hospitalisation and therapies. I will most definitely request a letter from my GP and therapist when the time comes, stating that I am stable and no risk to myself or others. Like the person in their post said, two opinions would be better than one.

Hello all, there is something that has been gnawing at me since starting the process. Theres a few posts I was able to find now discussing the possible link to poor mental health and denial of the visa. I don't plan on going too much in depth so here is the situation: I had been in therapy from age 12 til I was 18. On top of that I had an involuntary hospital stay for about a month when I was 12 as well due to the doubt I could cause fatal harm to myself. I am currently looking for another therapist because up until I was 18 I was a minor and now I am an adult and therapists usually specify here on which age group they treat. The only diagnosed conditions I have are depression, PTSD and an unspecified personality disorder. Most of the information I can find is rather outdated, since I feel as though the stigma around mental health has lessened a little with recent years, but I do know that that unspecified personality disorder might be a problem because that part definitely hold a lot of stigma still. Now, luckily I don't have a lot of visible scars that might make my past clear in the medical exam. I do plan on going on an anti-depressant with my new therapist, which I believe is something I would definitely have to tell whoever will examine me. So my question is now: How much should I offer up? Do I have to offer up anything at all besides the medication? I was 12 at the time of the hospital stay which is basically a decade ago and I was a child. I see most people don't want to risk pretending like that part of them doesn't exist but rather are upfront about it, gathering mostly letters from a GP and possible therapist proving that they are no harm to themselves or other people. It does sound like the safer route to go. Personally I am also from Germany and I've seen some employers literally be able to find out whether or not you've been in therapy before. Anywho, any experiences, advice or tips for how to go about this would be appreciated! Many thanks!

Hello guys! The only thing I've been doing since we got our NOA1 is eat, sleep work and research more on this process, feeling depressed one minute and euphoric the other, lol. Which is why I'm making this post to say hello to everyone but also to find people who are in a similar situation of this process as I am or just somebody that wants to chat about it! I don't know if I can speak for everyone here, but personally this, even though very fresh experience, already has felt quite isolating. Quick sum up: Met my fiance on a site for writers looking for other writers in 2019. Didn't really start talking much about writing til weeks later due to how interesting we found each other as people. We made things official on March 26th 2020 since I was hesitant about an LDR, especially because I was 16 at the time (he is one year older than me). Ever since then, we spend as much time as we could together and our matching interests make it easy and it seems like we always have something to talk about. Unfortunately right after we started dating COVID hit and we couldn't make a trip in the summer happen. Besides, he is a university student and still is, graduating almost a year from now. So the only time we can really make meeting happen, is in the summer, as I also work myself and these trips are very expensive for people our age and circumstances. Regardless, he finally came here in 2021 for 2 weeks and met my family. My german family is quite sucky with english and I had to translate almost all the time, but regardless of that they still loved him (especially because he's just such a lovable guy and gives off that vibe). Saying goodybe was harder than I thought it was going to be but we were able to make meeting happen again in 2022, of course me coming to the USA for the first time in my life ever. Customs were a nightmare, they thought I was suspicious due to my nervousness and the fact I was "hesitant" about admitting to the fact we were dating and my already homebound flight did not convince them so I was pulled for further questioning. Awful. I liked Minnesota more than I thought I was going to even though it's so much different from Germany. I got especially along well with his mother and brother and even met his baby nephew! His brother makes jewelry and we made each other engraved rings that I just never really take off and almost haven't for a year now. I stayed for 3 weeks and saying goodbye again, was so painful. But he always assures me theres going to be a point where we don't have to say goodbye anymore. With me coming of age, 20 now, I feel like it got harder to deal with the distance. I loved him as much as I love him now but a part of me was childish and maybe I am still to an extent. But I'm properly becoming an adult and so is he and I want us to set our life up, together, you know? He had talked to me about K1 and CR-1 before and I acknowledged it even though it still to this day took me a lot of research to properly understand it myself. We were going to wait a little bit more, but sometime this January I was just like: This can take longer than it will, even with my wishful thinking and we can afford it right now, so let's do it. We went through Boundless because it made my partner feel more calm about the fact we might do something wrong on our petition, they also had a reduced price deal for the time being because apparently it's going to get more expensive to apply soon? Not sure if it actually will or it was a marketing thing, but regardless we were going to apply. So we received the NOA1 March 28th. The waiting game begins. I feel a little bit hopeful about statistically faster processing time for February and March but I will keep my cool and just wish that they keep up what they're doing right now. Also he's going to be coming again this summer, I'd rather wish I could go there again due to some of my home circumstances making me believe it wouldn't be as nice but honestly, it's him that matters. We're both too anxious about me trying to go there especially because of what happened last time and of course all they can do is send me away but that would be a lot of money lost. So! If you see yourself in a similar position, or not even at all but have some wisdom then I would really welcome you to send me message, maybe! (picture of him at lake superior that he took us to last year!)