Yes, I am! And I hope you're getting ready too. :)

Well today, I had the time to take some photos of everything that I'll be bringing to the embassy for the interview. It's overwhelming to just look at these things and remember all the time I spent completing all the documents I need. Falling in line was the worst part but the rest like having things printed and photocopied was a breeze. I have everything I need and I'm now confident to head on to my interview.

This is it. Most of these things, if not all, have already been posted in my previous blog entries. I'm just reposting the completed version now.

I'll be bringing my folder, a heap of paper as the proof of genuine relationship, and plastic envelopes which hold original boarding passes and plane tickets in the pink one and our photos in the green one.





A closer look.
You'll see the blue receipt from BDO, my USEM letter which has the St. Luke's stamp already as evidence that I went to the required medical examination, underneath that is the email printout of the USEM interview schedule and my completed DS forms.

Here is another shot of my NBI clearance, birth certificate and CENOMAR.

These are the financial documents that are separated as photocopies and originals, the proof of genuine relationship and my 2x2 photographs.

And lastly, a closer look of the two envelopes that hold boarding passes, plane tickets, hotel receipts and our photos.



I've even prepared three outfits for the interview itself. My J loves the second look but I like the third. So to lessen the argument, maybe I should wear the first. :p

And of course the shoes, I'd prefer flipflops or really flat sandals on regular days. Above are almost four-inch heels. I'm almost 5'9'' in those shoes. I look like a tower! But I guess that's where the extra confidence comes from. :p


To all those who are preparing for their upcoming interview, I wish all the best. :)

Labels: 1-134, evidence of support, forms, k1 interview, k1 requirements, paperwork for k1 interview, pictures, requirements

Labels: medical

As the rain pours down my window pane, I just realized how thankful I am for being pain free at last. After battling an almost three-week sore throat, I woke up the other day feeling anew. I also got my throat culture back from Lung Center, Dr. Nacpil found that the bacteria I've had was resistant to Augmentin. I'm now in my third day of taking Pneumocal, which is another strong antibiotic. But after that I'm pill free too! :)

Labels: k1 requirements, k1 visa, medical

Low-grade fever every afternoon, fever of 38.8C every night, loss of appetite, and sore throat... Yup, I'm still considered sick! My fever has been on and off for three days now and J was getting really worried because of the outbreak of Dengue. So yesterday afternoon, I headed down to Lung Center and saw Dr. Nacpil who was a family friend. My blood test was negative for Dengue, thank God. My platelets were really high at 410 when normal figures are at 150-400. We figured out that right after I finished my dosage of co-amoxiclav, which another doctor prescribed, was the same time that my fever started. He asked me to take Isoprinosine three times a day for the next four days to help my immune system cope up with the illness. I was also asked to do a throat culture to find out why my sore throat did not respond to antibiotics. Because the culture might take four days to complete, I was asked to see him again by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

 I hope I'm all cleared by then so I can go ahead and complete my St. Luke's Medical. I know God is good. :)

Labels: requirements, visa interview

We all know I have been sick, so apologies for those who have been waiting for updates. But what a big update this is! I'm almost done with my antibiotics, I've received all remaining paperworks that I need from J and say what... a new blog layout too? :p I hope you all like it. I think, it's cleaner version of what I had before. I've lost my comments page but hey the chat box is there for all of you to leave comments or just feel free to say anything. And although I want to thank J's insomnia attack, because I have too much time in my hands right now, I'm also wishing him a good rest as he has been working too hard lately.


Shall we begin?



It was late afternoon, last Thursday, when I received my USPS package from J, which was delivered via FedEx. We didn't know anything when we were trying to gather the paperworks. That's why I'll be sharing photos of it and its contents so that other people trying to complete the package will know the difference of a 1040 from a W2. It was a good thing that J's dad is anal about documents that he kept all of J's tax records since 2007. Also thanking my future mother-in-law for helping J gather all his pay stubs since January 2010. :)  We were actually done gathering those files in 10 minutes. Miss Michelle from his HR was also quick in trying to respond in giving him an employment letter and a copy of his insurance policy. The thing that we needed to wait for was the bank statement that came early August. With everything that was placed in separate envelopes, let's just say I received a hefty amount of original paperworks.

This is the exact copy of the US Embassy requirement with regard to financial documents or the Evidence of Support. As you can see, I've murdered my copy with an orange highlighter and my black pen.


You need SIX basic things to complete this evidence to "substantiate the I-134."

1. The two-page I-134 form, completed by your Fiancé and notarized.


2. US Federal Income Tax Return or Form 1040. I found that this has different versions, depends on whether your Fiancé completed his form manually or electronically.


3. Wage Statement or Form W2. The perforations are just a big temptation as I just want to tear it to pieces. :p


4. Employment letter stating salary.


5. Bank statement.


6. Pay stubs. Although not part of the requirement, it has been suggested many times in VJ to just bring some. J gets paid bi-weekly, so I have around 14 of his pay stubs!




There you go, the exact things I received from J. Just a few reminders, because these are very important files, please do make it a point to photocopy them. Before J sent them, he also scanned all these. It's not bad being anal sometimes. We'll never know what might happen, right?

Besides, it does say in the Important Reminders:

"We will try to return documents that you submitted and asked us to return, but do not give us anything that cannot be replaced. Make copies of important documents and submit copies along with the originals you want returned to you."

Labels: 1-129F, 1-129F package, 1-134, evidence of support, fiance visa, financial documents, forms, k1 interview, paperwork for k1 interview, requirements, visa interview

I've been mute lately, literally and figuratively. I've been to the doctor's office last Wednesday since my recurrent sore throat has been coming and going for the past three months. I really thought I need to go under the knife already but was advised instead to pill pop! Unlike J, I love swallowing pills. :p It just doesn't help that both my tonsils are swollen. So even drinking my vitamins is a pain in the... throat!

Four more Augmentin tablets and hopefully I could LMAO! Evil sore throat.. be gone!

Earlier, he took a teaspoon of cough syrup and told me to grind a tablet of ibuprofen as he followed both medicines with a sip of mango juice. “J can’t swallow tablet-form medicines,” that was a reminder of her sister when she knew that J was coughing really hard and had fever.

It was almost midnight. I was sitting on the bed right next to my J who, unfortunately, was sick on the eve of his birthday. He was sleeping soundly, knocked out from all the medicines he took. We booked a room in this beautiful resort months in advance but I guess the 10-hour trip did no good for his condition. I felt so sorry for him and all I could do was to hug him under the comforter. I felt the heat of his body as I too fell into a nap.

It was around two in the morning when I woke up. It was already J’s birthday. He was still sleeping. I thought it was the best time to write him a letter. I hurriedly went to the bathroom and took out our handy non-permanent marker. I locked the bathroom door, afraid he might catch me, I hurriedly wrote down a short message.



Written on our bathroom windows:

January 21, 2010

My Dearest Jhayar,

You are the love of my life. I can never stop thanking God for bringing you in my life. Spending time with you made me realize that I can never afford to lose you. I hope you get better soon. Happy Birthday Mahal ko... I will always be here for you...

Forever and Ever just like what I promised...

I love you!

Love,
Karen



I turned off the bathroom lights, went back to bed, and hugged him. I must have fallen asleep for a few minutes but woke up when I felt J hugged me back and asked what time it was. I glanced at his laptop that was just sitting on the nightstand right next me. “Three AM,” I said. He got up and went to the bathroom.

Strike one, he missed my letter.

As his voice formed echoes inside the bathroom, I heard him tell me to go look outside and see if there are still stars. He might have wanted to see what he has missed while he was sleeping. I felt a gush of wind as I slid the door open. I took a few more steps and looked up. It was so beautiful. I shouted, “You need to see this.” He was taking forever to go outside, so I went in. I found myself inside the bathroom, innocently luring him in. That’s when he saw my letter. He stood there, reading. He took his time and turned around to face me. He said, “Don’t worry I’m still gonna marry you.”

Strike two, this time for me who did not get the clue.

As we walked outside, him being sick and all, he felt chills as the cold wind greeted us. He requested for a blanket so I ran back to the room to get him one. When I got back, I held his hand and told him there’s a nice hut over to our left. He was looking around for a spot so we could stargaze and the hut’s roof won’t allow this. So we walked around the resort. It was too early and the resort looked deserted as other guests were still sleeping. It seemed like we were alone. The waves seemed louder as we get closer to the beach. But our feet climbed the stairs and we found a spot by the poolside. He spread the blanket and shared it with me.

It was just beautiful looking up and seeing a dark sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars. “Find the brightest star,” J said. The nerd in me gave him a trivia. I told him that whatever is the brightest is not a star but planet Venus. I heard the sound of silence as J didn’t react to what I’ve just said.

Strike three, again this is for me, for being such a nerd.

He did brush me off. But he continued asking me to just pick the brightest one. So I went on playing his game, and literally was looking for one in a million above us. As his finger was pointing up above, he suggested, “How about this one?” Confused, I asked, “Which star?” I focused on his finger and something caught my eyes. I pulled his hand closer and asked, “What is this?”

I looked at him. He had the biggest smile. I knew this was not a game anymore. He finally asked me, “Will you marry me?”

There was something in sharing the blanket with him, something in the mix of the cold wind and the sound of the waves and something in his eyes that made me cry before I could say yes and hug him. How beautiful is the game of love? It’s not the stars or the princess-cut diamond ring he gave me that made it beautiful. It’s that twinkle in his eyes when he asked me to marry him. In that moment I knew, we made the home run.

Labels: anniversary

"I realized a perfect wedding day does not a perfect marriage make. But the strength of love between two people can make every day perfect."

Labels: anniversary, book recommendation, package

This is 120 pages of utter bliss. Although it was hard work to gather all the info, I had fun re-reading all the old conversations J and I had. :) And yes, this contains 40 pages of Facebook wall-to-wall screenshots. :p

Labels: 1-129F, 1-129F package, fiance visa, k1 interview, paperwork for k1 interview, requirements, visa interview