Idiot's Guide Required!

[True Brit 10]

Hi everyone! My head is whirling and try as I might, I just cannot find the answers to my questions on this site although undoubtedly they are there somewhere! If anyone has the patience and kindness to supply an idiot's guide for this idiot, describing the process I would be so very grateful! I have made one phonecall to the embassy on the premium number which seems to be the only number they give out. It cost me £29 and I ended up more confused than I had been originally. For example, I read that the required police certificate is for every country you have lived in for more than 12 months since the age of 16. The person on the phone told me it has to be for every TOWN you have lived in for 6 MONTHS or more since the age of 16!!!! I nearly had a heart attack I can tell you as I have moved around a fair bit in the UK!

I met my (now) husband 9 years ago and we have a lot of evidence of our relationship including shared property ownership etc but we only actually married on 30 June 2012. My husband is a US citizen and has been living in the UK for 10 years. He will return to take up a new job in St Louis on 28 August and I am to follow as soon as my papers come through. We filed my I-130 at the American Consulate in London and of course have heard nothing yet. Can anyone tell me what happens next?

1) I believe the 'NOA' I have seen written about on this site is Notice of Approval. Do you get an interview at that stage or what? I am puzzled by 'Packet 2' and Packet 3' etc. What on earth is all that about?

2) The lady on the end of the expensive phone call said the whole process should take about 6 months. Would people agree with that as being the correct ballpark figure?

3) My hubby has read that the required forms for the next part of the process should be these: DS2001, DS230 parts 1 and 2 and I-864.

Is that correct?

4) My current passport expires in July 2014. The name on it is my previous name and not my new married name. To change just my name would involve sending it away and paying £85 which seems a bit steep considering it only has two more years to go and yet I cannot apply for a new 10 year one at this stage. Do people think my current passport along with my original marriage certificate would do?

I appreciate that to reply to all the above will take someone time and effort and I can assure you that any replies will be carefully read by an eternally grateful, confused, middle-aged woman (me)! :-)

[Sunshine25 17]

Hi there!

I can answer some of your questions, but others are related to a spouse visa and as I've done the K1 fiance visa, someone else will have to answer the rest!

1) You should receive a NOA1, which means they have received your paperwork, however Keeto who is doing the spouse visa aswell, never received one. Packet 3 and packet 4 is how the letters used to be refered too. Sometime after you receive your NOA2 you will get a letter (pkt3), just one piece of paper telling you what forms you have to send into the embassy before you can get an appointment. Packet 4 is another letter, again one piece of paper, basically telling you when your interview is and gives a link for the embassy to say what you should bring with you to the interview.

2) 6 months seems to be the average. Some take longer, some take shorter. We filed for the K1 visa January 9th and had our interview August 2nd, so that was almost 7 months. I think it's quicker for a spouse visa.

Questions 3 I don't know.

4) When you do the police certificate you have to send in a photocopy of your passport. If you do change your name, you would have to do 2 police certificates, 1 in each name. When I had my interview I was asked for a police certificate in my old married name (I was previously married) and I said I never changed my name and have only ever had a passport in my maiden name. Some people don't change there name, so I would have thought your current passport along with your marriage certificate would be ok. What do others think?

The police certificate is for every country you have lived in for more than 12 months since the age of 16. What the person said on the phone is wrong. The police have a national data base, national! It will cover every town!

I lived in Spain for 8 years so had to get one from there and also pay a translator to translate it.

No, you need just one certificate from the U.K.

Keeto had a few problems in his interview so if you read his thread on here 'verbal RFE at Interview today', it may help you prepare more, also maybe ask him some questions?

I hope I've helped a bit?

Edited August 8, 2012 by Sunshine25

[True Brit 10]

Oh thank you Sunshine - it is so kind of you to help. Now if I can find Keeto's post I will have a good look at that too. So helpful - thank you for finding the time.

Trudi x

Hi there!

I can answer some of your questions, but others are related to a spouse visa and as I've done the K1 fiance visa, someone else will have to answer the rest!

1) You should receive a NOA1, which means they have received your paperwork, however Keeto who is doing the spouse visa aswell, never received one. Packet 3 and packet 4 is how the letters used to be refered too. Sometime after you receive your NOA2 you will get a letter (pkt3), just one piece of paper telling you what forms you have to send into the embassy before you can get an appointment. Packet 4 is another letter, again one piece of paper, basically telling you when your interview is and gives a link for the embassy to say what you should bring with you to the interview.

2) 6 months seems to be the average. Some take longer, some take shorter. We filed for the K1 visa January 9th and had our interview August 2nd, so that was almost 7 months. I think it's quicker for a spouse visa.

Questions 3 I don't know.

4) When you do the police certificate you have to send in a photocopy of your passport. If you do change your name, you would have to do 2 police certificates, 1 in each name. When I had my interview I was asked for a police certificate in my old married name (I was previously married) and I said I never changed my name and have only ever had a passport in my maiden name. Some people don't change there name, so I would have thought your current passport along with your marriage certificate would be ok. What do others think?

The police certificate is for every country you have lived in for more than 12 months since the age of 16. What the person said on the phone is wrong. The police have a national data base, national! It will cover every town!

I lived in Spain for 8 years so had to get one from there and also pay a translator to translate it.

No, you need just one certificate from the U.K.

Keeto had a few problems in his interview so if you read his thread on here 'verbal RFE at Interview today', it may help you prepare more, also maybe ask him some questions?

I hope I've helped a bit?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Here's the London embassy instructions for what happens after the I130 is approved. http://london.usembassy.gov/ivprocess.html

The case is basically handed off to a different department. USCIS happens to have an office in the London embassy, but in general the embassy falls under the Dept of State (DOS) . So it's like you're dealing with the water department and the cable guy and neither knows the other's requirements that well. USCIS approves petitions that allows a US citizen to bring a foreign spouse to live in the US. But to get to the US, the DOS (embassy) has to approve and issue a visa. Thus you are waiting for the hand-off to the Immigrant Visa Unit (IVU) of the embassy so you can apply for your visa.

Links:

http://london.usembassy.gov/ivprocess.html about the forms and some intro stuff

http://london.usembassy.gov/ds2001.html the REAL instructions of how to apply for the visa and forms to download

http://london.usembassy.gov/application_documents.html the list of documents to gather which get taken to the interview. (There is reference to the National Visa Center (NVC) which is a middle hurdle most spouses have to jump to get to the IV unit in London. You go straight to the IVU because of doing DCF, so ignore references to NVC.)

Okay, that should point you to lots of information on the embassy website. Please take the time to read the whole page. And in the text of each of the above pages, there is often a link for "more information" you need to click. Like for example, the police certificate is explained in detail on one such link. Also there are side links on the left to explain the medical exam, visa fees, the interview, the courier, and even a video of how it goes on interview day.

[True Brit 10]

Wow thank you so much for all those links. I should have been able to find them myself, I am sure, but I am hopeless at that sort of thing. Thank you so so much for replying. I will get reading now! Kindest regards Trudi

Here's the London embassy instructions for what happens after the I130 is approved. http://london.usembassy.gov/ivprocess.html

The case is basically handed off to a different department. USCIS happens to have an office in the London embassy, but in general the embassy falls under the Dept of State (DOS) . So it's like you're dealing with the water department and the cable guy and neither knows the other's requirements that well. USCIS approves petitions that allows a US citizen to bring a foreign spouse to live in the US. But to get to the US, the DOS (embassy) has to approve and issue a visa. Thus you are waiting for the hand-off to the Immigrant Visa Unit (IVU) of the embassy so you can apply for your visa.

Links:

http://london.usembassy.gov/ivprocess.html about the forms and some intro stuff

http://london.usembassy.gov/ds2001.html the REAL instructions of how to apply for the visa and forms to download

http://london.usembassy.gov/application_documents.html the list of documents to gather which get taken to the interview. (There is reference to the National Visa Center (NVC) which is a middle hurdle most spouses have to jump to get to the IV unit in London. You go straight to the IVU because of doing DCF, so ignore references to NVC.)

Okay, that should point you to lots of information on the embassy website. Please take the time to read the whole page. And in the text of each of the above pages, there is often a link for "more information" you need to click. Like for example, the police certificate is explained in detail on one such link. Also there are side links on the left to explain the medical exam, visa fees, the interview, the courier, and even a video of how it goes on interview day.

[Holly2234 66]

Your questions have been answered already but im doing DCF and this is it in a nut shell.

Step 1 - Send in the I-130, you usually receive NOA1 (notice of acceptance) and check on the dates here http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html . During this time, you might want to prepare the I-864 (affidavit of support). When your date comes up on there, you will shortly receive NOA2 (notice of approval) or sometimes an RFE (request for further evidence).

Step 2 - After NOA2, a few weeks (often 3-4) you will receive a LDN case number (often called packet 3). When you get this, you need to call Knightsbridge Doctors http://www.knightsbridge-doctors.com/ and make an appointment for the medical.

Step 3 - You then need to send back DS-230 pt 1 and DS-2001 (when you have all of your documents ready for the interview)with a cover letter stating when your medical will be (or was if already done) and any travel plans you have.

Step 4 - You will then receive an interview appointment letter (often called packet 4) and you take all of the documents listed here http://london.usembassy.gov/application_documents.html and your DS-230 pt 2 and I-864.

Step 5 - If you are approved, you pay the courier on the way out of the Embassy and they deliver your passport with visa inside within 14ish days.

Your passport, if you change your name, it is renewed for a further 10 years so it would probably be wise to do that now. They treat it as a renewal either way. I renewed mine with 2 years left when i got married and the new one is valid for 10 years. It is £77.50 to do that. On September 3rd, the price is going down to £72.50.

6 months is pretty accurate for current timelines.

The police certificate you have to do here http://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx and it is for every COUNTRY you have lived in for more than 12 months since the age of 16. Again, i think renewing your passport first would be the easiest option. Renewing from the US and travelling with two names can sometimes get tricky.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Holly2234

[True Brit 10]

Such a clear reply Holly - thank you so much! I think this 'idiot' is slowly but surely getting the picture - THANK GOODNESS!

Thanks so much again for your time and patience.

Trudi x

Your questions have been answered already but im doing DCF and this is it in a nut shell.

Step 1 - Send in the I-130, you usually receive NOA1 (notice of acceptance) and check on the dates here http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html . During this time, you might want to prepare the I-864 (affidavit of support). When your date comes up on there, you will shortly receive NOA2 (notice of approval) or sometimes an RFE (request for further evidence).

Step 2 - After NOA2, a few weeks (often 3-4) you will receive a LDN case number (often called packet 3). When you get this, you need to call Knightsbridge Doctors http://www.knightsbridge-doctors.com/ and make an appointment for the medical.

Step 3 - You then need to send back DS-230 pt 1 and DS-2001 (when you have all of your documents ready for the interview)with a cover letter stating when your medical will be (or was if already done) and any travel plans you have.

Step 4 - You will then receive an interview appointment letter (often called packet 4) and you take all of the documents listed here http://london.usembassy.gov/application_documents.html and your DS-230 pt 2 and I-864.

Step 5 - If you are approved, you pay the courier on the way out of the Embassy and they deliver your passport with visa inside within 14ish days.

Your passport, if you change your name, it is renewed for a further 10 years so it would probably be wise to do that now. They treat it as a renewal either way. I renewed mine with 2 years left when i got married and the new one is valid for 10 years. It is £77.50 to do that. On September 3rd, the price is going down to £72.50.

6 months is pretty accurate for current timelines.

The police certificate you have to do here http://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx and it is for every COUNTRY you have lived in for more than 12 months since the age of 16. Again, i think renewing your passport first would be the easiest option. Renewing from the US and travelling with two names can sometimes get tricky.

[JoannaV 174]

I'd probably apply for a new passport before getting your visa. They give you 10 years+9 months so you'd only lose a year, and it's much cheaper applying in the UK than in the US so you might actually end up saving money.

[True Brit 10]

Thanks for this - I have discovered you are absolutely right from reading these posts! I previously had no idea you could get a new passport with a change of name - I thought it would be just for the remaining term of the passport held. I have learned so much from this site -its an absolute Godsend isn't it? Thank you so much Joanna for taking the time to reply.

Trudi x

I'd probably apply for a new passport before getting your visa. They give you 10 years+9 months so you'd only lose a year, and it's much cheaper applying in the UK than in the US so you might actually end up saving money.

[Liam and Kara 6]

Ye I had to apply for police certificates from each of the countries(not towns) I had lived in for more than 12 months. Prague/Brussels I then had to have the certificates translated into English.