Is there a possibility the delay could be (partially) caused by the country he’s currently a citizen of? (Someone mentioned Romania - I’ll wager their bureaucracy is as unresponsive and sluggish as ours is).
Unsolicited advice: “The squeeky wheel gets the grease” rule doesn’t usually apply when dealing with bureaucrats. Remember to use honey instead of vinegar. Don’t use terms like “Fuck you, sheer agony, you expect us to sit here and wait patiently, his friends have already seen their families & I am so sick of this bullshit.”. No matter how much you think it’s within your rights to complain, a goverment employee will duly not any perceived hostility in their file and accept it as an invitation to further slow-down the process. You’re dealing with what could only be defined as the ultimate monopoly.
I got you all beat. I married a beautiful (the most beautiful woman I have ever seen) Italian girl in 1990 while on active duty in the US ARMY. She did not get her green card until September of 1996. We had interviews every year. I even visited the main office in DC and the Veterans Admin. but it did not help. She was allowed to work and we visited Italy several times with no problems.
I found after dealing with the INS for six freakin years that it does not matter how you act. Be nice, they do not care, be a jerk, they do not care. Hell you are lucky if the person behind the counter even speaks English. And if they do speak english, odds are, they never graduated highschool. They have their own mysterious process. How it works, nobody knows.
No, I am not bitter, not one little bit. (ok so I spent one too many days standing in front of the local INS office at 4am waiting to get a number, only to be told 10 freakin hours later, in broken English, that I had to fill out yet another form and pay another $194.00 filing fee) ain’t life a bitch? And all that was before 2001.
BIGASS DISCLAIMER: I am not an immigration attorney or even an immigration paralegal, like our esteemed Eva Luna.
That said, I have been through this process, and finding it a frustrating pain in the ass to even find the information we needed, I created a website that outlines the steps (caveat, I was trying to keep up with it as each step happened, but towards the end I was trying to plan a wedding at the same time, so some of the details are patchy) that get you through the Fiancé Visa process. You can find the page with all my research and links here, and a consolidated “checklist” here.
I make no warranties that information hasn’t changed since I created this, however, we did go through all of this post 9/11 and I did update all the links to the new BCIS pages after the change in administration. I hope it’s helpful to you, and best of luck!
P.S. You people are scaring me. Everything went relatively smoothly for us (though there were some bumps that turned out to be more humorous than annoying) and Thomas had his Green Card less than a year after we got married (8 months, to be precise). However, we still have one more interview to go, which is sounding more and more like it could be a real nightmare.
liirogue, good luck to you, too. I hope it all gets cleared up soon!
He’s a fucking immigrant OP! Do you think the INS official is your husband’s twin brother! 6 months? Why are you bitching, are you mad that your husband can’t get instant confirmation online? FUCK YOU and your Romanian husband. He can wait his turn, as did I.
So you’re an example of what they’re allowing into this country? Pretty piss-poor job on their part I’d say.
Fuck the OP? No, FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!!!
What an utter shithead you are! And a stupid one, at that. What the fuck is this “twin” bullshit?
You’re not only an asshole, but you’re an idiot, too!
Did you not read about the problems they are having? That’s why she’s bitching, assface. If someone had a heart attack would tell them to get fucked because you had cancer? Just because your experience sucked, it doesn’t mean she’s being unreasonable, especially since she was told 2 weeks. In your lowlife case, I’m sorry you ever made it. Fuck you!
As much as I hate to say it, I have to agree with Paradoxical on this one. The op came off as one giant “Waaaahhhh!”
C3 and Askeptic both put out similar posts, showing that Liirogue’s situation isn’t unusual. Oh, and here’s another one. When I was born (in Davis Army Hospital, Seoul, ROK,) my father was a mere two months from rotating back to the US. My mother was married and in the interview process for natualization. Now, Dad’s been in the ROK for three years because he doesn’t want to leave Mom behind, even for a short tour back home. Ma finally gets a visa which will allow her to accompany Dad to Griffis AFB, in NY. Then I’m born. I’m an American citizen, as I was born in a US Army hospital, to an American citizen. But, as my Mother is still a Korean national, I get (yippie!) dual citizenship. Oh…wait…no, that’s bad. See, now I need a visa to get into the States. Takes two goddamend years. Even though I’m an American citizen. As much as I sympathize with Liirogue, you ain’t had it bad yet.
Um, you said October. I’m rather sure Paradoxical isn’t the only one who thought “Gee, six months?” So, ahem…next time GIVE all the facts.
Um, what kind of attitude is that? “Your dad died of brain cancer? A lot of people’s dads die of brain cancer. Quit complaining.”
Maybe if the system screws a lot of people, that means that there’s something wrong with the system, rather than the people it screws over being whiners.
The short answer is that you should file concurrently an I-130 and an I-485, and I also recommend an Advance Parole (I-131) to allow you to travel internationally while the I-485 is pending. (Even if you don’t plan to travel, you should get an Advance Parole anyway, because family emergencies have a way of cropping up at the most inconvenient times.)
I’ll write you the long answer tomorrow, when my brain will be working again (I hope). What jursidiction are you in? It may affect strategy and timing.
Very true. But, at the same time what are you going to do to change the system? Hell, the op even called her senator, and couldn’t get an answer. If there is an answer here, I don’t see it.
So, what you’re saying is, unless people can solve their problems, they shouldn’t complain about them? But if they can solve them, they wouldn’t need to complain about them. Which, I guess, means there’s no such thing as a valid complaint.
Not that there is no such thing as a valid complaint, but that all complaints need to be put into context. Complaing about John Q. Burgerflipper not washing his hands after using the urinal at the local McDonalds is a valid complaint, and it’s something that you can do something about. If you aren’t satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you are free to take your patronage elsewhere. Unfortunately, the complaint (and why I sided with Paradox in my feeling that the op shouldn’t whine) isn’t going to make the INS “Wash its hands” (if you will) and speed up the process. Her senator couldn’t do anything. So, who to call? The Secretary for Homeland Security? Yea, I’m rather sure that Mr. Ridge has the time to take that call. Even if he wanted to, I doubt he would take an interest in her one case because it would set a bad precident and slow down HIS office as it becomes innundated with phonecalls about other folks signifigant others.
The only answer (on review) I can see is in her own case, wait it out. It will happen, and the longer you tie up your INS monkey on the phone is that much longer that the process is going to take. If she is really wanting to make a difference for others, and perhaps prevent them from having to deal with month and year long waits, have her call her Senator and put language in next years budget which up the INS’ spending limit. Hire a few more monkeys to shuffle the papers faster?
What about just venting? Getting something that’s causeing you anger and worry off your chest? Isn’t that a valid end in and of itself? The OP is offering or asking for solutions, she just wants to talk about something that is justifiably pissing her off. Even if it’s a waste of time, it’s still her time to waste. What’s wrong with that?
I see the core of our disagreement. Venting is, IMO, different from complaining. With the way that the OP snapped at Paradox, I think it ceased to be venting. Just my opinion.
What idotic vulgarity? He popped at liirogue that (in light of what other experiences have been, including his own) the op shouldn’t be bitching that it’s only been six months. Mind you, the op only gives one time refrence and is unclear. The op was unclear and bitching about what (to the rest of us who didn’t know that anything had happened before the october she mentioned) is far below par for the course. Christ, I had a cousin come over to visit for a week right before i shiped for Iraq. It took him sixteen months for a fucking one week tourist visa, and he lives in an allied country (again, the ROK.) Six months IS nothing. How about this concept (and its one I’ve learned from my own experiences in the Pit.) If you’re going to rant, put out all the relevant facts first. She said October. If it was longer, she should have said longer, because october, which she said, and not before october, which she omitted, is only six freakin’ months. That ain’t nothing.