Let's go to the USA with Miss Yoko

"C'est vraiment trop injuste" is what say Calimero all the time something wrong happens to him.
It's the French version, I'm not sure how I have to translate it.

    * It's not fair

    * It's not right

What do you think?

So, why I feel like "C'est vraiment trop injuste" today? Why i feel like Calimero?

I told you already about that great website : Visa Journey, on that website you can setup your own timeline. Its a tools who give you an estimated date about when you'll receive probably your NOA2.
It's not something official as it work with what the other users filled on their own timelines, so if some users start a timeline and never come back on the website to update it, it will has effects on all the others timelines.
But even if you know that it's something non official, that it's maybe something really wrong, in that kind of situation, you feel good to see an information who tell you when maybe you'll be approved.

Those last days I was really happy checking my timeline, 'cause the date change often and in a good way. Like, you know, when i filled my timeline for the first time it says that I will maybe being approved at August 20, and some days ago it was July 23, it makes me feel so good.

And this morning when I checked it says : August 1...
It makes me feel bad.

I need my love, i need to be in his arms, i need a hug, i need a kiss...

I would like to but i have to say Strikes in France are not an urban legend.

Its true and it happens often... too often.

Like today, my daughter school is on strike and tomorrow too. So no school... what can I do? Staying at home with my daughter...
Hmmm, i can't, 'cause they need me at work.
And if I stay at home I have to take vacation days... it's bad!

So my daughter (her name is Gally) come with me at work. May you imagine a 5 years old girl spending an all day to a software publisher.
It's pretty funny. 'Cause it's not the first time that she comes now. So she knows everyone. She makes drawings for everyone. She goes chatting with everyone. Lol, the mood is less stressful when she's there.

Ok, i can't really work, because she needs attention, but i don't know why, my boss prefers that, rather I stay at home.
And by the way it makes me really busy... the day goes really really fast!

Its a bit weird as you're shared between different feelings.

First, you thank God to have that work, as it makes you busy and it helps to kill the time. I'm pretty sure if i was not working, waiting at home i gonna to be more crazy about the wait that I'm already. Even if i was not in that wait mood, I'm the kind of person who need to work.

Second, you can do what you want, you loose taste to work, 'cause you'll think that if you was not working you'll have more time to do all the stuffs you have to do. I know, what I say right now is a bit contradictory. But its true.

Third, ... In my case, you'll start to hate your work. Why? 'Cause I'm French and in France we get a lot of really good laws about work. Laws protect the workers and the employers. You can't be fired easy in France... but you can't quit easy either. I mean I will have to give a 3 months notice to my employer. I can't do it now, because I don't know when I will be approved and so when I will get the visa, and I can't take the risk to be without work, without money for weeks or months before I'll get the visa. I have to wait to have the NOA2 (approval) before I can quit, it makes me upset as I know that it will makes the process a bit longer for me.

I told you... nothing is simple or maybe it's just me :p

The worse part

Oh yes, let me tell you,how it works exactly, each step and estimated processing time.

1. Preparing your petition (for us it was around 2 weeks)
2. Sending the petition to the Service Center.
3. Receiving the Notice Of Action 1 (1 week)
4. Receiving the Notice Of Approval 2* (between 2 months and 6 months)
   It's the longest and the worse part.
   Why?
   'cause as soon the Service Center will receive your petition, they will just put your file on a rack. And then your petition will be not processed before all the petitions received before yours are processed. During that time you'll hear nothing from the Service Center. It means that you'll not know if all is good with you petition or not.
   And by the way, there is 2 Service Centers they're in charge of processing that kind of Visa :
   
   • Vermont Service Center (VSC), it look like they process petitions pretty fast, within 2 months.
   • California Service Center (CSC), the slowest one, not less than 4 months.
   And you know what... (cry), our center is the CSC...
5. Service Center send your file to NVC (National Visa Center) (1 week)
6. NVC send your file to the U.S Embassy in your country (between 1 and 2 weeks)
7. Embassy send to you (the foreign fiancé(e) what they call : packet 3 (between 1 and 2 weeks)
   Packet 3 is the list of :
   
   • all the paperworks you'll need for your Visa interview
   • all the new forms you have to fill for your Visa interview
   When you'll have all done for packet 3, you have to tell the Embassy by sending them the checklist.
8. Sending the packet 3 checklist to the Embassy (if you prepared all before receiving packet 3 (all forms and instructions may be download in advance) 1 day, more if you're not ready)
9. Embassy send to you (the foreign fiancé(e) what they call : packet 4 (instructions how to process the medical exams) (1 week)
10. Embassy give you your Interview date. (it use to be sent at the same than the packet 4)
11. Interview. (between 1 or 4 weeks after the packet 4)
12. Visa in hand. (around 1 week after the interview).

So between the date you sent your petition 'till you'll have your Visa it can be 4 or 8 months... or more
So now you'll have to find how you can kill time.


* Notice Of Approval 2 : It mean that your case is approved by the U.S.C.I.S

So, after reading the immigration forms and starting being scary.
You want to have more informations, 'cause you really don't want to make mistakes

Back to do again some search online with best friend. The best thing you'll find is the Visa Journey Forum.
Its the best place to have a lot information, to find a lot of peoples in the same boat than you.

There you'll have a lot of advice, guides and tips about how to do in the best way your visa petition.
'Cause i have to say, the U.S.C.I.S website is incomplete and it does not tell exactly what you have to do.

Without Visa Journey, you'll miss things in your petition.

BUT!

In the same time, Visa Journey is a scaring place.

WHY?

Because you'll figure out that it will be months before you'll get your visa! :((

Yes, we're engaged.

But.

Richard is in Chicago and I'm in Paris.

Something wrong right?
What can we do?

Ok, there is the solution, one of us will move... or i will say more precisely ... will immigrate.
After we made the balance about good points and bad points, we choose that i will move.

IMMIGRATION

Its a big big word!
You can maybe imagine, when you think about immigrate in a country so far from yours it's not an easy decision.
You'll have to left, home, family, friends, work... your life.
It's really a big big thing.

And as soon you took the decision, you'll go to the next step...
IMMIGRATION SERVICES

And then you think that taking the decision was the easiest thing...

Well, i don't gonna to tell you our all story.

But, since we met we are living something magical, wonderful...

Like say the song :

We got it together, didn't we?
Nobody but you and me.
We got it together, baby.

My first, my last, my everything,
And the answer to all my dreams.
You're my sun, my moon, my guiding star.
My kind of wonderful, that's what you are.

I know there's only, only one like you
There's no way they could have made two.
You're, you're all I'm living for
Your love I'll keep for evermore.
You're the first, my last, my everything.

In you I've found so many things,
A love so new, only you could bring.
Can't you see if you,
You'll make me feel this way,
You're like a first morning dew on a brand new day.

I see so many ways that I can love you,
'Till the day I die....
You're my reality, yet I'm lost in a dream.
You're my first, my last, my everything.

[instrumental]

I know there's only one, only one like you
There's no way they could have made two.
Girl, you're my reality.
But I'm lost in a dream,
You're the first, you're the last, my everything.

I know, some of you gonna to think that that song sounds like a cliché.
But

It's soooooooooooo true!!!!