emeditz

Thank you. I have also given up on that timer. I did write some moderately irritated letters to my congresswoman about it. I guess I understand that there is a backlog and we all need to wait our turn and that these things take time ... but why is there a countdown that means nothing continually scrambling my brain on what to expect? When there's a whole separate website that says it's likely to take 14 months? &etc. Anyway, I'm just counting down until October. Good luck on your next steps, UK_Dreamer.

Awe @emeditz what a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it, and encouraging us. I also love languages and am thinking of teaching English as a volunteer; so, we all (Ayda, you, and I) have a lot in common. With regard to your decision to stay in the US, I think you are doing the best you can - the best you know how. You are right that maintaining your US income will likely be a huge asset to Ayda and you as you continue your lives together. I don't think the wait will be too much longer for any of us. I'm mentally preparing to wait until end of 2025 for the whole process soup to nuts, and I'm hopeful we'll have USCIS approval by end of 2024. Hang in there!

Congratulations on finding a life partner, Josh, and doing so in such a bold way. I traveled to Colombia once and successfully asked for and purchased a rain jacket at a corner store and that's my only successful interaction in Spanish, after four years of studying it.
 
For those who care about my story:

I spent about three years as a volunteer teaching assistant in English-language courses through the International Rescue Committee. For a number of reasons, the participation in the classes began to dwindle, and I was about to move to a new city, so I joined an international pen pal website, thinking that I may be able to help English learners online through writing. On there I met Ayda, who lived in Tehran and has a master's degree in linguistics, and our communication was infrequent at the beginning. But then after I moved — in late February 2020 — the world kind of froze in place because of the pandemic. She didn't leave her apartment and really neither did I (because I could work from home and still do). We were both feeling scared and uncertain about what the future would hold. Over that time, she helped me create English subtitles for some Iranian films, and slowly we recognized that we cared for each other more and that we should try to have an in-person relationship, which was challenging to fulfill because of the geopolitical challenges between our governments. She eventually moved to Istanbul, Turkey (one of the few countries she can visit without a visit) and got a job as an English teacher. I visited her there several times, and it is where we got married about four years after we met virtually.
 
She still lives in Istanbul, and I still live in the US. This is a struggle for us. She made a bold decision to live in a country alone where she doesn't even understand the native language (although she's much more comfortable with it now, as she is skilled with languages). However, I would likely need to quit my job to live with her, and I really don't want to do that. It feels like sacrificing my income-earning potential over the long term, and to live in the way we want to live in the US, obviously you need to have money. Turkey also has profound economic challenges — it's still experiencing over 70% inflation. Because I work remotely, I could basically live anywhere in the US, but I can't do it in Turkey because of the time zone differences and tax complexity for my employer. And she can't even come to the US until this immigration case is resolved. So I fly to Istanbul about four times a year, and we talk constantly over Telegram and Google Meet. I don't know if it is the right decision to remain in the US and I think about it constantly.

My comrades in suffering:

I just found this website and have entered my information in the hopes of getting a more proper time estimate than from USCIS, which hasn't really communicated with me.
Filed: Sept 19, 2023 NOA1: Sept 19, 2023 Service Center: Texas (TSC) Spouse Citizenship: Iran My wife is not able to come to the US until this completed — if it is completed, ugh. She will hopefully be interviewed in Ankara, but I have not heard anything beyond a receipt saying that our case has been received.

Sending out good vibes to you all.