Evidence of own funds?

[meauxna 15]

It is called an Account Reference Letter. For Bank of America accounts write to:

Bank of America, Att: Judy Cumba

FL1-002-01-31

5570 Idlewood

Tampa, FLorida 33634

USA

They charge you $10 processing fee and when you write to them, you need to give your permission for this fee to be deducted from your account. Mine was deducted 5/1 so I know the letter is coming finally.

Holy Moly, sadie, that could be FAQ-worthy---I know BofA has caused people soooo many problems over this letter!

Will have to get that added to the I-134 & I-864 Guide or sumpin'. Let me know when it comes thru?

[sadie33138 0]

It is called an Account Reference Letter. For Bank of America accounts write to:

Bank of America, Att: Judy Cumba

FL1-002-01-31

5570 Idlewood

Tampa, FLorida 33634

USA

They charge you $10 processing fee and when you write to them, you need to give your permission for this fee to be deducted from your account. Mine was deducted 5/1 so I know the letter is coming finally.

Holy Moly, sadie, that could be FAQ-worthy---I know BofA has caused people soooo many problems over this letter!

Will have to get that added to the I-134 & I-864 Guide or sumpin'. Let me know when it comes thru?

Hi Mo

Yep, it's been a royal pain dealing with them over this. Will let you know when it arrives. One thing I was thinking about last night was wondering if there is a different Customer Service address for each state depending on where you opened your account/or live in the US. I opened mine in Florida and my Customer Service mailing address is in Tampa. Could it be different for other states? That would be interesting to know as well because if that is the case you would have a different address to write to to request an Account Reference Letter depending on where you opened your account/or where you live currently in the US.

[Liver Perfect 0]

I'm back from my interview and all is well! Are we sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...

OK, so I was supposed to be there at 10.30, but by the time I'd got off the Underground at Marble Arch it was already 10.35 and I still had to find the Embassy. So I pretty much ran all the way until I saw a large building surrounded by three fences and some concrete barriers. "That must be it!"

I had to walk around the other side and join a small queue of people who were waiting to get in for visas - there were only about a dozen people there when I arrived, which surprised me.

The guy at the front of the queue checked our passports and appointment letters and the pointed us in the direction of a hut between the various fences surrounding the place. Inside the hut was an airport security type set up, with an xray machine and walk-through metal detector. Once through that I was told to follow the yellow signs around the other side of the building, where I entered a lobby. The guy behind the desk checked my passport and letter again and told me to turn my phone off.

I was then sent through some doors and found myself in the biggest waiting room in the world - there were hundreds of people there, sat in rows infront of a set of large monitors. I had to go to a small desk and tell them whether I was there for an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa. The woman gave me a ticket with the number 016 on.

I looked up at the screens and saw that they were currently processing people around the number 200 mark, which struck me as odd. It turns out that most of the people there were applying for non-immigrant visas, hence the big numbers, but the immigrant visa people got there own numbers. By the time I'd fought and won myself a chair to sit on they'd just called 014, so I really didn't have to wait long before I was called.

So I went up to a window where an English bloke took my passport, birth certificate, police certificate, receipt for the fees I paid, copies of bank statements (that's all the financial evidence I supplied, btw) and my passport photos. Then he gave me a huge envelope, which turned out to contain the chest Xray I had at the medical in March - apparently I have to take that with me when I enter the country...

*pictures self wielding a huge ###### envelope around the airport*

Next he asked me to sign a couple of the forms I'd sent them, and I had to fill out a pink form with the delivery instructions for the visa, should they decide to give me one. He also checked that I understood the rules about how soon I had to use the visa, and how soon we had to get married, and that I couldn't leave the US until I'd adjusted my status, which could take up to a year! He did mention that in exceptional circumstances (ie. someone in my family dying) I could contact the Dept of Homeland Security to request permission to leave. Then he told me to go and take a seat again until my number was called by the person who would be doing the interview (at which point I started having visions of being taken off to a small room somewhere and interrogated by secret agents).

10 minutes later a woman's voice called out my number on the tannoy, so I went to another window. This time it was an American woman and she seemed very friendly. She gave me back the original copies of all my documents except my passport. Then she looked at the passport photos and said "Well, that definitely looks like you". I pointed out that I was even wearing the same shirt as in the photos, at which she enquired "Was that intentional?" I assured her that it was purely coincidental and we chuckled about that but then she suddenly adopted a very serious face and asked me to raise my right hand...

"Do you swear that the evidence you have given us is correct to the best of your knowledge?"

"I do!" (good practice for the hitchin', eh? )

Then I had to have both my index finger prints scanned before she started asking me questions about my relationship with Cate...

"Where did you first meet?"

"When did you meet in person?"

"What was it that first drew you together?"

"How did you know that she was 'The One'?"

It was all done in a very informal, chatty way, though, and I can't remember half of what I said. All I do know is that on the train back I realised that I'd only got as far as telling her about when me and Cate got together in April last year - I didn't mention my trip out there or our decision to get engaged, but it didn't seem to matter - I guess she was just trying to read my body language and such to see if I was for real.

So before I knew it she'd told me to go to the couriers desk and give them the pink form, which kinda meant - "Congratulations! You've won a visa!"

So, it will arrive in a big blue envelope in the next two days! I've been told to open the blue envelope to retrieve my passport, but NOT the brown envelope that contains the visa itself.

And that's about it - in and out again within an hour! And after alll that worrying!

[rebeccajo 14]

Ah...nice account of your day!! Brings back memories. That 'huge waiting room' looks and sounds exactly like the Dept. of Motor Vehicle Office here in my state...right down to the "ding" of the numbers and the automated voice calling out "now serving Customer No. 16 at window 13".

Stay tuned to VJ for future help with your AOS! And...congratulations!

[meauxna 15]

Great report---great result!

Congratulations

[Liver Perfect 0]

Thanks all! See you for the next thrilling installment of bureaucracy!

[Yodrak 7]

Liver Perfect,

Point of clarification - the visa will be in your passport. The brown envelope that you are not to open contains the case file.

Yodrak

... I've been told to open the blue envelope to retrieve my passport, but NOT the brown envelope that contains the visa itself.

...

[Liver Perfect 0]

Aha! Yes, that makes more sense, eh?

[Liver Perfect 0]

Wow, that WAS quick! My visa arrived before 9am this morning!

[Boiler 46,047]

Wow, that WAS quick! My visa arrived before 9am this morning!

So they did not ask about the affadavit at all.

And just a point of clarification, Advance Parole is just one of those things you file for automatically when you file to Adjust, you do not need an emergency.

Congrats.