SultanOfSwing

For what it's worth, I will share my own experience with you. I met my wife online just after New Year 2004, and after 9 months of talking online and on the phone pretty much daily, I decided to spend a couple of months with her in late '04, which is when we decided that I would make the move to the US, rather than her coming to the UK. Didn't have any issues at the border then, though I did get a funny look and the 'where do you work' question when he saw the return ticket was for 71 days thence!

Came home for my mate's stag do and Christmas and then in early '05 I decided I couldn't take it anymore and went back for an additional 90 days. I realise now that was a big risk, but I got in again with no trouble, even though I had quit my job in order to be able to make the second trip . While I was out we sent off the I129 and all the pertinent documents and a week before I returned to the UK in April 2005, we got the receipt confirmation. Though it must have been held up in the mail because we sent it out in February!

From the confirmation on around April 4th, things proceeded relatively quickly. I happened to check the status of the application online in mid June and saw it had been approved. In July the paperwork started to come to me to be filled in and I had my medical on August 4th, and the interview on August 25th. I arrived in the US on the K1 on September 15th, and we were married on November 18th. Now I'm eligible to apply for citizenship when I finally get my arse in gear.

Didn't mean to ramble on there, but from receipt to K1 in hand took me a little over 6 months, which seemed very quick to me at the time but I guess is pretty standard. Of course, it was also 5 years ago but from what I have read on the forum, they seem to be going about the same rate.

Throughout the process we spent a total of about 6 months apart, broken up by my return visit and my wife coming to visit me in June, right in the middle of the timeline.

If you spend the time apart getting your affairs in order for the move. One thing I did that helped was to change some money at the Post Office on pay day every week and keep track of what I was going to be able to bring out with me. It helped me feel that I was doing something productive rather than just sitting around waiting. I didn't have BE at the time though, something I would have been very grateful for. Encourage your fiance to join if he hasn't already, it will be a good help to him.

Can't offer anything else other than my best. Stick around here and the time will go by that much quicker. It helps when there are others who have been through the same process, I think.

OK, that's enough out of me!!

hobbes79

Woah, you "win"

I think we went 6-months tops. We were fortunate in that we were going out during our college years.

So I would just save up for a plane ticket doing odd jobs, grab a last minute deal (cheapest I got was 160 pound return inc taxes) and zip off. We'd stay in each others dorm rooms, so no worries about paying for accomodation.

No ties and commitments during college breaks.

And I even snuck in as a student and took food Middlebury College cafeteria has pretty much the best food on earth. Free Ben and Jerrys ice cream every single day!!

cindyabs

UVM makes their own ice cream and sells it seasonally. Well they did when I was there,

Chris_UK2WI

[QUOTE=BubbleChog;8390313] theres something quite sweet about every conversation beginning with "can you hear me?!"



Currently undergoing the longest time apart... it's the most difficult thing I have ever done... but the thought of being with her at the end of it gets me through day by day... that and Skype of course!

Madelina

my mum said to me the other day "what do you do on skype, do you have cam-sex?" made me crack up laughing... i think if anything its cam-frustration!!!
the powers of skype are many and varied, and some may not be discussable on this forum, but i think we're all fuelled on by the prospect of being in the arms of the ones we love, once more.
Skype's great, but it don't give you a cuddle in the middle of the night

Chris_UK2WI

Yup yup yup... I don't know what I would do without Skype... it's kind of a blessing and a curse... it puts you close enough to your partner that you can hear their voice and see their smile, which is amazing, but ultimately just frustrates because you can't touch, or hug, or fall asleep in each others arms...

All in all though it has to be a blessing, and more than anything I rely on the thought of next seeing her face and hearing her voice and her laugh to get me through the days when we only have written words...

ian-mstm

After a few months of marriage... that all stops anyway!

Ian

meauxna

Is it bad that I had the same thought?
Well, a few years anyway...

Noorah101

Not if you continue with a long-distance marriage....LOL

Rene

meauxna

lol, thought of you as I wrote it!

One sure way to keep the heat on.

jeffreyhy

Speak for yourselves

Ja5on

hey, sorry i haven't had time to read the entire thread but 2 things that have helped me and my fiancee are rebtel and facebook.....we have our facebook accounts set to send us txt messages to our phones as soon as we get messages so we can log into them from our phones and just txt each other without the high costs.

rebtel is the big thing though, we can call each other from mobile to mobile completely free of charge (kind of) they give us local numbers to call each other on, one of us has to call the other then the other hangs up and calls back while the first stays on the line (not as complicated as it sounds) then we both get charged for local rate calls (i have unlimited calls to uk landlines with my contract and she gets my "local number" as a magic number which she has unlimited calls to) not sure if this will help at all but it helps us out since we are both busy people and can't always get to a computer to chat! it is hard but it'll be worth it in the end!

cosmicjunkie

Kinda makes you wonder why we bother!

cindyabs

depends on how cold it gets in the winter.

cosmicjunkie

Yep, that's true!