Question about provisional file

[CinTexas]

On wednesday last I emailed a request to Warsaw to open a provisional file. Then on Friday I faxed the same request along with copies of NOA 2 and OF-169 and asked for the earliest possible interview date. In both cases I asked that they respond via email. The NOA 2 came from TSC and has an approval date of 9/17.

How long should I wait for a response?

5 minutes seems like an eternity!

[Rags]

... in response to Question about provisional file, posted by CinTexas on Oct 1, 2001

It won't do any good to send an OF-169 without the Warsaw file number (WRW...) on it. It will get placed in the circular file. Trust me on this one.

You might as well chill because there is no way you will get an interview date before mid-November at the earliest.

[Peter Ryan]

... in response to Question about provisional file, posted by CinTexas on Oct 1, 2001

Ditto with John. I went through the TSC and got my NOA #2 Sept 14. Sent a fax to them to open a provisional file and called them on the phone last week and they had not only registered my fax, but recieved notification from TSC, sent out the packet already and I had them reschedule the interview from Nov 21 earlier to Nov 15 to keep clear of Thanksgiving. The Moscow embassy is very efficient. I would call Warsaw and keep calling them every few days until I got an answer about the interview date.
By the way John, I still am undecided about these plane tickets as I don't know enough about what the Moscow Aeroflot office will do. Does someone there speak english that you can call on the phone and have your questions answered do you know? How is your fiancee planning to buy the plane tickets in Moscow? Cash in hand? Your Credit Card? And can she buy them with less than a days notice? One way?
After thinking about it I have gone sour on the idea of driving back from NYC. I agree with I think Steve who pointed out that you do not want to do too much too soon. More than anything one thing I want to be is flexible and spontaneous as much as possible and leave our options open. If we decide that we are up to doing something energetic then so be it.

[JohnG]

... in response to Re: Question about provisional file, posted by Peter Ryan on Oct 1, 2001

I'm still up in the air "so-to-speak" about the airfare. I may call Aerofot in Moscow myself and see if anyone speaks English. I'm not sure my fiancee understands everything I wanted her to ask them. From my own experiences on Aeroflot, their planes to New York were about half-full when I travelled there in May, so I think buying a short-notice ticket will be ok. I was going to ask for an earlier interview, but to tell you the truth, this came much faster than we expected given the delays at the TSC, and she is now dealing with the emotions connected with leaving her home and family and country. I'm thinking maybe she needs this time right now.

I have been sending her money every week by Western Union for her trip and interview expenses, so she will buy the tickets with cash while in Moscow.

We will spend a few days in new York with my family who is anxious to meet her (they live right by JFK) before leaving for Florida. I'll leave it up to her. Maybe events in the world will calm down a bit and she will feel better about flying. Otherwise, well, it'll be a nice drive.

Later,

John

[davet]

... in response to Re: Question about provisional file, posted by Peter Ryan on Oct 1, 2001

Peter, was the Nov 21 (then Nov 15) the "earliest" date you could get?  In other words, is Moscow about 6-8 weeks out on the interview dates?  Or could you have scheduled a date earlier than Nov 15?

Thanks

[Peter Ryan]

... in response to Re: Re: Question about provisional file, posted by davet on Oct 1, 2001

I did not ask for any earlier because my understanding was that it had to be no less than 60 days from the NOA #2 approval and also like John suddenly we felt that one and a half months is the least amount of time that you need. And not only for my fiancee but me too, emotionally and all the rest! After waiting for 3 plus months 46 days is not a lot of time. I got the impression from the the lady there at the embassy that I could have asked for an interview tomorrow and she would have given it to me.

[JohnG]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Question about provisional f..., posted by Peter Ryan on Oct 2, 2001

It's funny. I have been alone since my divorce (and very lonely, don't get me wrong. The 18 year old strippers I sometimes see for "comfort" do not satisfy that need for companionship and love). My apartment is a mess because I get to things when I get to them. This is going to be a major change for me too, even though I am not leaving my country. Now I don't answer to anyone. My kids live with me 50% of the time (a "true" joint custody"). The other 50% of the time I come and go as I please and do what I want (which most of the time is just watching South Park or The Sopranos, I have no great social life! As a part-time musician, I spend enough time in clubs on the weekend to have grown to hate that scene). Now all that is about to change. I think to myself, "I should probably vacuum soon..." 6 weeks is not a lot of time for me either, so I am not asking for an earlier interview date.

Please don't get me wrong. There is nothing I want more than to be with her each and every day, I really love her very much. We have been waiting and longing all this time waiting for the TSC, and suddenly the day is almost upon us. I have read so many posts in the past where the foreign fiancee comes here and marries, and then is so homesick and unhappy with her new life in America that she goes back home, a nightmare that is always in the back of my mind. In my sometimes joking and sometimes serious way, I am trying to say that this is not only a huge adjustment for our overseas fiancees, but for us too, even though we both want it.

Ah, life is not without its risks. There are many of us now at the same stage, waiting for the interview and trip to America, and the beginnings of a new and wonderful, and challenging, life ahead. I wish us all the best of luck and happiness. Perhaps we will all stay in contact and share our experiences beyond our up and coming marriages. It can only help.

[JohnG]

... in response to Question about provisional file, posted by CinTexas on Oct 1, 2001

I got my approval from the TSC on Sept. 13th. I am dealing with the Moscow embassy. I faxed them and copied them in email asking that a provisional file be opened up on Sept. 18th (I had gotten tired of waiting for the I-757 to arrive). (By the way, I did not do the cabling option.) They emailed me back on September 25th telling me they had gotten the file from the TSC and set my fiancee's interview date.

I realize you are dealing with a different embassy, but perhaps my dates can be some kind of gauge.

Good luck.