TravellingGal?

[galeteia]

Just wanted to give you an update and let you know my visa was approved yesterday morning in less than five minutes. (Well, five minutes for the interview, two hours of paperwork and waiting beforehand)

All of this was made easy by your recommendation of VisaJourney, and I am eternally grateful. Thank you again.

I also said something extremely stupid at the end because I was so shocked it was that quick, but he didn''t take offense and agreed that I was right. Oh man. All I tried to say was that as a Canadian, I wasn''t trying to use my Fiance as an escape from the horrible living conditions/wars/etc in my country, but it came out all wrong.

Oh well. Done until May 1st when we file for AOS. Thanks, TG!

 

[TravelingGal]

Oh Galateia, I am thrilled to hear this! A big congratulations to you!!!

I know what a tough journey this was for you...being away from your man, the long wait, and all the financial aspects. And the horrifying thing is that this was all the EASY part...moving and marriage are harder! Take it from someone who knows...hehehe...

But processes like this make you tough and think twice when you want to bolt when tough times come. Your man and (especially) you have been though a lot to get here. I wish you the best of luck and hope Texas won''t be too much of a culture shock for you.

Break out the bubbly girl, whoo hoo!!

 

[bee*]

Glad to hear that you got the visa Galateia!

 

[Mara]

YAY Gala, what a long process but it sounds like it ended well. Now the real planning can begin!

 

[galeteia]

Date: 2/8/2008 11:11:41 AM
Author: Mara
YAY Gala, what a long process but it sounds like it ended well. Now the real planning can begin!

Thanks ladies! Unfortunately, the process is half-over; the visa will get me across the border with permission to marry and file for Adjustment of Status, which is the second half of the battle. Once that''s done, I will be a landed immigrant and free to stay in the US with my hubby.

Fortunately, though, the process is half-over

and the second half I actually get to be with my guy, so that will make things easier.

Moving-wise I''ve pared everything down to a 5x6 block of space to fit into a U-Pack truck, so it will be a matter of loading it into a little u-haul van, taking it to their terminal, loading it in their truck, and the reverse when it gets to his town. Everything except for my clothes is already pre-packed and in the load bearing boxes they will be shipped in. I won''t be taking my bed or my desk or my computer, which is all I have ''out'' and not packed. I''ve already pared my clothes down. I can have everything set for the uhaul in a day.

And for marriage-wise ... perhaps it''s our fields of study, but we''re lucky enough to have some serious communication skills under our belts which we have been and will be using constantly. Marriage is always work, I understand, but I feel confident we have the necessary tools at our disposal and the commitment to develop more if needed. We''ve weathered two years in a LDR, and an insane visa process by most standards, and come out stronger, more mature, and more committed.

Also, TG, thank you for the wonderful analogy of cheating being like dropping a match on a pile of kindling! I would never cheat, but it was nice to put a name to the warning signs and save myself the discomfort of finding myself in an awkward place.

 

[TravelingGal]

Ah...AOS...that was a bad word with us DV winners...so much so that people actually traveled back to their countries (at great cost) to go through consular processing vs AOS!

In your case though, you don''t have that option, so I know AOS will be fine...I don''t think you have the timeliness that we did with the DVL.

And kudos to you for packing light! I am sure you will accumulate lots more stuff in your life together.

I wish the very best in your upcoming marriage. I wouldn''t wish LDR or a visa process on anyone, but it sure does a good job of mixing the concrete to pour a foundation. Keep us posted and visit us more often around here, will ya? I miss disagreeing with you and smacking you around for your LIBERAL views. Tee hee.

 

[galeteia]

Date: 2/8/2008 6:25:19 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Ah...AOS...that was a bad word with us DV winners...so much so that people actually traveled back to their countries (at great cost) to go through consular processing vs AOS!


In your case though, you don't have that option, so I know AOS will be fine...I don't think you have the timeliness that we did with the DVL.


And kudos to you for packing light! I am sure you will accumulate lots more stuff in your life together.


I wish the very best in your upcoming marriage. I wouldn't wish LDR or a visa process on anyone, but it sure does a good job of mixing the concrete to pour a foundation. Keep us posted and visit us more often around here, will ya? I miss disagreeing with you and smacking you around for your LIBERAL views. Tee hee.

Oh, I still lurk plenty and cackle when I see a telltale zinger. I will chime in now and then on threads but mostly I'd just be echoing what someone else has said and don't want to be redundant. If I don't have anything to add I'll just keep my mouth shut. Shocking, I know.

It's nice to have essentially all the packing issues out of the way. As soon as I get my visa, I'll be booking the U-Pack space and finalizing details. I love getting things like this taken care of and out of the way long before D-day arrives. It helps keep me sane.

And a thousand amens to what you said about these circumstances mixing the concrete for a solid foundation. I cannot count the number of people who have gone bug-eyed at my explanations and commented to the effect of "He must be quite a guy to be worth all that." Yes, yes he is. And after two years of mayhem and resulting constant soul searching, we're still certain this is the right thing to do.

 

[onedrop]

Galateia: wonderful news about your visa being approved!! Thanks for sharing. I think I might have chimed in on at least one of your threads regarding the visa issues because my hubby was going through the same thing. Gratefully we have the visa approval and AOS behind us, so we can sick back and enjoy one another. You''ll get there soon enough, and hopefully that part of it isn''t so bad for you.

Best wishes with your travel and relocation. It can be tough at times, but it''s so worth it.