Wedding Blog
Sort of. Last night I received one of the best emails of my life, and it was from the US Government!
This is what it said:
The last processing action taken on your case:
Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)
Current Status: Approval notice sent.
On March 10, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.
Woohooo!!!!!!! I have no idea what this means, because I only vaguely remember the rest of the steps we need to take. I’ve been so focused on worrying whether or not we’d receive notice in time that I’ve completely forgotten the rest of it! I know we need to go to London for an interview, and Mr. D needs to go to a US Embassy-approved physician, but I couldn’t care less right now.
I can’t begin to describe the worry that Mr. D and I have been feeling since October when we sent in our application (and $455) to USCIS (aka US Immigration peeps).
The only update we’d seen from October until today was that they were overloaded with cases and wait times were longer. I was so worried, that I left a message with my congressman yesterday. Constituent services, including immigration, are part of their job, so if you’re getting worried too, it doesn’t seem like it could hurt to call for back up. Luckily, I don’t know if we’ll need them now!
The toughest part about the immigration process has been the waiting. You spend all this time worrying about getting your application together and if you have enough information, or the right information, or if you perhaps forgot to sign one of the 271 pieces of paper you’ve submitted to a faceless government entity. Then you simply wait for months with no inkling as to what could be coming, all the while planning a wedding you’re not even sure will include a legal marriage. A few things could happen: it could come too early and you’ll need to be married early to avoid visa expiration, or it could come too late and you’ll have a wedding without a legal marriage. It’s a pickle no matter how you slice it.
Is anyone else on the immigration roller coaster?
Part I of the D’orsay Immigration Saga
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Share this post: We’re Barely Legal!
Ugh, I’m so not looking forward to paying for that! I’ll be filing a petition soon for my French husband and hope it all goes smoothly. Congrats to you, though!
My husband is immigrating too, except to Canada. It’s been a pain, but it will all be worth it in the end!
Hello there!
It’s funny you’re posting about this because I just received an email from my lawyer today to tell me that they sent my greencard application to USCIS. Yeah!
Now we just have to wait and see.
And we can finally concentrate more on the wedding than on all that paperwork, much more fun!
Yes! We just had my husband’s green card interview yesterday morning..
congratulations! That’s great. hope the rest of the process goes smoothly
YAY so happy you’ve passed this hurdle! Congrats 
The rest of your process is in my prayers; I hope it goes smoothly!
My fiance lives in England and we’ll be starting all this stuff very soon. I’m so nervous! Glad to hear that everything is going well for you so far!
oh my goodness, how stressful! I am glad you’ve gotten some good news!
Major congratulations to you. I’ve said this before on the boards, but i’m english and my FI is American, and we’re getting married in England. The ‘fiance visa’ process is as much of a nightmare going in that direction too. We did all the paperwork/fees/fingerprints/photographs/interviews only to be told that we filed too early and to come back in July. Seriously?! PUT THAT ON YOUR WEBSITE!!!
We are going through the exact same thing. We got approved in january and my fiance went to his medical last week. Now we are just waiting for the VERY slow people at the embassy in London to assign him his interview date and then he can come here permanently. We are really thinking forward to no more back and forth… and our beautiful June wedding.
I’m not going through the process (we’re both citizens) but I’m an immigration paralegal so I see this stuff everyday!! haha it’s funny to come home and see it on WeddingBee too!
Good Luck! and have a happy great life! 
I work at an Embassy, so I totally understand why you were nervous!! I’d be freaking out if I didn’t hear anything from October til March!!
(BTW, if I hadn’t checked on my visa app. I would never have found out it was SITTING ON A DESK collecting dust waiting for Jesus to resurrect. Or something like that, they FORGOT about it!!!)
Congrats to you! I know that the gov’t can tend to work at their own pace, which isn’t necessarily YOUR pace…luckily it worked out for you!
Congrats on the good news!!! I hope things go smoothly in the future!
Yes! But we are doing it the opposite way and getting married in Scotland. The stress of waiting for approval, and the absolute joy at receiving that email (I got a very similar email from the UK Consulate when my visa was approved) can only be understood by someone else going through the same thing! Congrats!
Congrats! Thankfully I got my green card years ago but ooooh what a story we have to tell from THAT day! I’m so happy to hear it’s moving along for you - it’s like one of the scariest things ever because if it goes wrong…ugh…
Congrats! My fiance is immigrating from Australia and it’s constantly on my mind whether he is going to be approved in time (or at all) for our wedding. I hope I get one of those emails soon!
Hooray for you! Look forward to having you both in the area. (And not just because of that offer to babysit … wink.)
congrats! we just put together our bazillion piles of paper 2 days ago and sent it off.
*fingers crossed* it’ll work well for us too…
my fiance calls those his “wife importation papers” and that i should wear a “Handle with Care” tshirt when i move to the US, LOL!!
AUGH! Congrats! I knew it would be too bad! From what the Vermont Processing Center states, we should be getting FH’s approval in June…cross your fingers!
Will you let us know if the three years of tax returns are required from the VCS? I’m still looking for that one from 2006…I’m hoping it’s not!!
Keep us updated!
I was on that roller coaster 2007-2008, but I was by myself. I was getting my citizenship. I have been on a green card for the last 25 years and finally went for the citizenship in 2007. After sending the paperwork it was definitely a waiting game. I finally got my fingerprint notice then I had to wait again for the interview.
I had a bit of a snag with mine. I was in Los Angeles when I started the process. I applied in April. I decided to move to North Carolina (to be with sweetie) at the end of the year. I thought ok, I can just update them with my new address and have it processed here. It may actually be faster since its not in LA. Now the “interview” is not something you want to reschedule. They dont like that and it can add a lot of time to your processing if you ask to reschedule. Murphy’s law, I get a notice weeks before I leave that my appointment is 3 days AFTER I would have left LA. I go through the customer service dance and mail in notices. Good news is it was rescheduled here in NC. The interview was a bit nerve wracking but i made it through. I even got to go through the oath ceremony with a few others in a special July 4th celebration.
Hang in there, its a slow beast but you will get there.
Yesy! And fingers crossed for you that it works out in your favor!
Woo Hoo!!! Happy Dance for Miss D’orsay. My fingers are crossed too for smooth sailing for you through the rest of the process!
Congrats and good luck with the rest of the process! Sounds like a nightmare.
Thank you so much for all your well wishes! We’re so excited, good luck to everyone in the immigration boat! <3
I just heard from my poor sister who lives in London with her fiance. She just got denied a temporary visa at which time the officials kept her passport and told her that she had to return to collect it and they would escort her on a flight home!!!!! She is engaged to be married June 2010 and she might have to come back to the US by early April aka 1-2 weeks from now. Some kind of date/correction error occurred and thats why the visa was denied but like you say here, you have to fill out a billion papers so even she is unclear as to the error. I believe that if she gets married legally in London that she can stay but Im not sure. I feel so bad for her, shes been crying non-stop all day. I wish I could be there for her! Sorry to put a damper on this happy board I just dont know what to tell her :-(. Congrats on your official immigration status!
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Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UK
Age and Occupation: 24, Stay at home fiance (formerly in nonprofit communications)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shop
Engagement Date: August 10, 2008
Wedding Date: August, 2009
Venue: Oakland Manor
About Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
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