ian-mstm

Okay... so here's our timeline:

Mailed I-129F: November 28, 1997
K-1 interview in Montreal: March 27, 1998
Married Sheila: May 23, 1998
Filed for AOS: June 15, 1998
AOS Interview: February 20, 2001 (yes - 32 months later)
Received PR status: March 4, 2001
Filed N-400: December 8, 2003
Biometrics: January 20, 2004
Citizenship interview: May 5, 2004
Oath ceremony: June 25, 2004 - and the journey is over!

Fifteen years ago today, Sheila and I got married! Where has the time gone? We appreciate the help and support we received from those who are still around! Sheila and I met in 1997 - and were among the first couples to meet online. It is so commonplace now, no one gives a second thought to it... but in those days, it was still pretty new - and it turned more than one head when it was mentioned.

In those days everything was done by mail and phone. You had to call the INS (there was no USCIS then), and request the specific forms you needed (and hoped you got the right form numbers)... and they mailed them to you! Too bad if you made mistakes on the forms because there was no way to properly correct the carbon copies! You'd have to call and request another form. You couldn't email the INS, and none of the forms existed online... and it would be another 10 years before fillable PDFs came on the scene!

In those days there were no email updates, no help line, and no way to find out what was going on. You sent in your forms and you waited for a response.

If you wanted information, BritishExpats was not the place to go... it didn't yet exist! For info, you either had to call to get it... or you got online and checked out one of two Usenet newsgroups: alt.visa.us and/or misc.immigration.us. Both had useful information... but not much, because there were very few people who had been through the process at that time, so there were no real mentors. We actually had to try to figure stuff out on our own!

Rete and I (d'ya feel old Rete?) helped to form the splinter newsgroup alt.visa.us.marriage-based. That newsgroup was eventually ported to BritishExpats as the marriage-based forum that you're currently reading. A few years later, the Usenet feed was cut... and this forum took on a life of its own. Okay... show of hands... who remembers the Usenet user "Retire to Italy"? Oh, that was some good entertainment!

And then September 11, 2001 - and things changed.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed; the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) was disbanded and reformed as BCIS (Bureau for Citizenship and Immigration Services) and then shortly after that, BCIS was reformed... and USCIS was created. And so it has remained.

For those who had already applied for a visa, the wait times got longer. For those who hadn't yet applied, the process became more involved... and wait times got longer. All of it revolved around new security checks that were put in place. Airport security increased by several orders of magnitude... and, in general, the world became a less happy place! And so it has remained.

Thanks for a great 15 years! Looking forward to more!

I'd like to take a moment to give a nod to two who came before: Alvena Ferreira and Doc Steen... and to some BE friends who have (hopefully) moved on to better things in life: Mr. Pink & SecretGarden, Jenney (with and without Mark), and Meauxna!

Ian

Noorah101

Happy Anniversary Ian and Sheila!

I met Sadegh in 1997, although we wouldn't be a serious couple until 2001, and didn't start his K-1 process until 2003. Time sure flies!!

Hugs!
Rene

Nutek

Happy Anniversary

I moved here from the UK in 1995. Time really does race by (though I'm sure it seems longer for Mrs N).

(we met on Compuserve btw), so another early internet* couple.

*Not even the internet, as such back then of course.

jeffreyhy

This belongs in the timeline thread, perhaps you should add it there. Happy anniversary! Which, although some effort was required, it had the advantage of providing us with a less superficial understanding. Regards, JEff

olliewat

Happy Anniversary!!!

Dave and I also met online in 1997. When people ask me now how we met they're like "Cool." But, you're right. Back then? "What do you mean you met ONLINE? Are you sure he's not a serial killer?"

Kids today, huh?

Nutek

This had a lot to answer for.

rpjs

"But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe you!"

I don't remember that user, but I do remember checking out alt.visa.us.marriage-based in the late 90s as I'd met a young American woman online, and we'd realised it was getting serious enough that we needed to look into how we could get one or the other of us to the other country... And then she discovered that her late grandmother's birth in Co. Tyrone had bestowed her with the right to claim Irish citizenship, so she moved to the UK, we lived together, bought a house, got married and then we didn't have to worry about immigration issues until we decided it was my turn to do the immigrant thang - and we found BE and its invaluable forums.

Now we've just bought a house again (a much nicer one than our UK one) and I'm counting down the days to my 3 year anniversary as a LPR less 90, in early October, when I can submit my N-400 and begin the last leg of the journey myself!

So thanks for all the posts Ian (and Rete and Rene and JEff and Landsbury and all the other regulars) and happy anniversary!

lansbury

Happy anniversary to you both, may you have many more to come and Ian you are a part of BE for that long as well.


Got you beat by three years. - 1994.



Man they were a hoot

Trixie_b

Happy anniversary

ian-mstm

Thanks for all the good thoughts - they're really appreciated!

To celebrate our anniversary, Sheila and I are going on an Alaskan cruise - in fact, we leave tomorrow morning! So, I won't be around for a while! See y'all when I get back!

Ian

Bob

Congrats on the anniversary!

And RtI...well that brings back memories...there have certainly been some characters over the years

civilservant

If you get back.... the nautical charts around Alaska are old are terrible.... information from 1884 anyone?

Congratulations though!

CAdreaming

Happy Anniversary Ian...thanks for your help!!!!

richbogle84

Hi Ian,

An interesting to read and congratulations on your anniversary!

Great to get some context on the BritishExpats forum, and also the immigration process as it was back then. I think it's particularly interesting to learn of how seemingly archaic the process used to be, especially when so many complain on here about the current process, wait times, and of course, the (mis)information line!

Any reflections on life in America after all those years? Top five pros and top five cons?

Hope you enjoy all that Alaska has to offer; my wife and I got married there last year and I can assure you it's spectacular! Here's to another fifteen years for you and Sheila...

Rich.

Holliver

Congratulations! Thanks for not leaving us and always providing help. Hope you have a great trip.