People between NOA2 and Interview ~2009~

[mr and mrs 187]

yoohoo! its me again. <waves>

so, i came back a week or two ago from a REALLY GREAT visit with jamie in england. and now ive got all my new boarding passes and the new uk entry stamp and new us re-entry stamp. jamie has a few things from this visit (like a hotel receipt and a car rental receipt with both of our names on them) as originals.

my question is, should i go ahead and send over the original boarding passes and other little bits of 'evidence' so he can have them if they are needed at the interview? or should i just scan/email copies for him?

it seems to me that this sort of evidence is not usually necessary at the interview. and just to give you a more complete picture, when i went, i brought him all of the originals submitted with the I-129F petition as well as a copy of the entire petition. meaning that he already has lots of evidence (photos, emails, bills, phone bills, boarding passes, leases, credit card stuff, etc, etc, etc, blah blah blah) of both having met and an ongoing relationship.

should i send more original evidence?

[KnightAndMagpie 7]

Not such a biggie honey, they have automatically extended your NOA2 date but best to be safe to have the letters, they probably wont ask for them but better safe than sorry

Oooh...so essentially we just need updated letters of intent? What needs to be notarized?

Magpie.

[KnightAndMagpie 7]

Knight here -

So essentially, they need another letter of intent from the both of us that we need to have notorized? My question is, does this actually prove anything to them (again) or is this just a "suggestion" with no actual basis in fact?

And with the NOA2, I suppose I can get that notorized but wouldn't it just be a better idea to photocopy it and send it to Magpie? Seems a little silly to notorize something with all their seals and deals on it that they themselves made.

[mr and mrs 187]

ms. magpie and mr. knight,

i dont have an answer for you about the NOA2/letter of intent issue. i am certain when one of the 'Wise Elders' comes around, they will tell you what you need and will put your minds at ease. im sure it will be just fine.

sincerely,

lisabette.

ps. does anyone know if the letters (letter of employment or the letter from the bank) need to be sealed? im just wondering what to tell the people i ask to do this for me if they need to seal the letters.

[Marty J 0]

Knight here -

So essentially, they need another letter of intent from the both of us that we need to have notorized? My question is, does this actually prove anything to them (again) or is this just a "suggestion" with no actual basis in fact?

I don't think they need to be notarised, and it appears that they don't always ask for them anyway. Better to have some sort of statement from the both of you just to be on the safe side.

And with the NOA2, I suppose I can get that notorized but wouldn't it just be a better idea to photocopy it and send it to Magpie? Seems a little silly to notorize something with all their seals and deals on it that they themselves made.

There's no point getting something like the the NOA2 notarised. It would be meaningless.

ps. does anyone know if the letters (letter of employment or the letter from the bank) need to be sealed? im just wondering what to tell the people i ask to do this for me if they need to seal the letters.

I don't think it makes any difference. I would rather not have them sealed so I could check them for accuracy before I submitted them (people do make mistakes), but it's up to you.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Marty J

[mr and mrs 187]

I don't think it makes any difference. I would rather not have them sealed so I could check them for accuracy before I submitted them (people do make mistakes), but it's up to you.

yeah, i am hoping they dont need to be sealed for that exact reason. thanks for your reply.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Here's my take on the updated letter of intent but it's just an opinion from reading and thinking about it. I read all kinds of memos issued to consular officers, adjudicators's handbooks, etc. Let's say you the USC were marrying a person you'd only seen in person for two weeks on one visit. You have different religions, don't speak the same language and your cultures are vastly different, and you met on a mail order bride website and she comes from a country with higher than average visa fraud cases. Ok, so already you've got a lot to prove that you are in love and are going to make the perfect married couple. Then the NOA 2 comes July 1. (expires Nov. 1). The embassy sent out their P3 about Aug. 1. Then nothing is responded to. No DS forms, no checklist is sent back to the embassy. In reality you broke up as a couple and that's why no response. Jan 1, the embassy pretty much counts your petition as abandoned and have the legal grounds ditch it because they have a Nov. 1 expiration date on file for you. Then you guys patched things up and started sending in forms by Feb. 1. She shows up at the interview pregnant, but you haven't visited her in 12 months. Because your case looked abandoned and she looked, well... not abandoned, they could possibly want you the USC to verify that you indeed still wanted to marry your foreign fiance since 7 months have passed without any kind of action by the petitioner and beneficiary on furthering the case. Extreme example, I know, but just wanted to make the point why some Embassies want letters of intent and maybe others don't need them so much.

So do you fit in this type of scenario? Size up your case and make a judgement.

Did you start sending in documents before the expiration of NOA 2? Yes, Magpie did. She dribbled things in to buy some time, but it was a carefully planned dribble. I helped her make the plan way, way back. hehehe

Has London every asked anybody to get out that new letter of intent? None that I know of and I've been reading this stuff a year.

It's your call. Do what makes you feel happy.

Sealed letters from employer/banker. Not a transcript of your college grades. No sealing required, but that's an excellent question that nobody has ever asked. Why to you always have to send sealed transcripts?

The actual NOA2 or any NOA for that matter is not requested at London. But very, very important. DO NOT LOSE THE NOA2. You must send a photocopy of it with AOS. To get a new replacement costs a couple hundred bucks if I remember correctly. Make some photocopies now and file them everywhere so you'll find it when time comes.

Sending copy of original petition to London. Go back to the couple described when I started this. They are going to quiz her on things they know about you from your petition. So if she has a copy of it, she can memorize your Mum's maiden name and where your Dad was born. She can memorize how and when you met. She can translate those emails and talk about those chat logs. It's a study guide. It is not presented at the interview. They have your petition in front of them.

More evidence of your relationship. London doesn't care. Hannah took a truckload. They didn't ask. Stinky Monkey went Friday. They didn't ask. I think there's over 300 reviews of interviews at London up there in the menu bar. I don't think one of them mentions having to prove the relationship further. In Manilla...yes they look at and expect scrapbooks. In London...not one that I've ever heard of unless somebody says, "Please look at my scrapbook I worked so hard on."

Again, do what makes you feel best.

[KnightAndMagpie 7]

Again, do what makes you feel best.

Thank you, Nich that's cleared things up considerably. I was a little uncertain as to why we had to bring one, if that were the case, but I'd say that our relationship is rock-solid . I think we might go without worrying about getting that prepared, but Knight sees no harm in doing it anyway. :: hugs :: You get free cake! I'll mail it in a pretty box to you when I'm there .

Magpie.

[Bob and Patricia 0]

ive decided that you probably already knew all of that stuff i spouted up there. ive also decided that you wanted to know roughly how long it takes to get a medical with the knightsbridge doctors in london once you have contacted them. :l im slow. sorry.

since we have not scheduled one, i cant tell you personally, but it seems like they have a lot of availability. i thought it said 1-2 days on the website when i checked the other day, but i dont see that time frame there now. instead it currently says,

The practice is open on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm.

For appointments, please call 020 7589 8965 .

Appointments can usually be offered promptly at a time to suit you

.

which also sounds promising.

i believe you can book your appointment once you have received your LND case number.

(it's very possible that i am just posting to read my own advice and see if it makes sense. ignore me. : ) )

While on the subject of medicals... I just called the NVC and got our LND number (K-1 visa) At first, the very nice lady at the other end of the line did not want to give me the number. I explained that we wanted to set up an appt for a medical. She went on to explain that we should not do that until packet 3 was received and returned. In the end she gave me the number.

This waiting seems to clash with traditional VJ wisdom, that says make the appointment as soon as you can. Is there such a thing as too-early for a medical?

Bob and Patricia

[Laura+Tom 2]

I don't see why not, just bear in mind that for AOS purposes the medical is valid for one year.

[Bob and Patricia 0]

I don't see why not, just bear in mind that for AOS purposes the medical is valid for one year.

Kinda my way of thinking too. And if it takes more then one year from this point, we've got bigger problems then re-doing a medical.

Bob

[Stinky Monkey 1]

I cut down on everything I was originally going to take for proof of ongoing relationship. One of the questions I was asked was had I met any of Todd's family I replied yes, and said would you like to see a photo and he smiled and said no that was ok. I only took 1 e-mail per month from my hotmail, work and myspazz. I am not suggesting not to take anything but unless you are not UK born I would not take tons of evidence, keep it to a minimum

[Laura+Tom 2]

Well instead of having a two week holiday in the US in April I'm going for two months. So my interview isn't going to be until at least June/July now. Hopefully my Packet 3 will arrive soon, we haven't been able to contact NVC to see whether they sent the case to the embassy. I did email them but no reply.

[mr and mrs 187]

im feeling slightly meh because i called the DOS to see if they could give me a firm date as to when the embassy rec'd our case, and she said 'it's on its way'. so i guess it hasnt arrived yet, despite what the last lady said. it was nice to think it was safely in the hands of the embassy in london. but im not too worried, still seems like things are bobbing along at about the right pace.[/size]

progress report:

called the DOS again this morning. (so easy to get through. it amazes me.) the operator said that 'packet 3' had been sent out today. woohoo. i need to get moving on sending signed documents to jamie so they are there in time for the interview. i hope i still have a week or so to get those out, because my co-sponsor (my mother) is out of town for the next week. i am counting on at least 2 weeks (probably more like a month?) of lag time between the embassy's receipt of our 'packet 3' and the date of interview. im sure that our interview wont be scheduled much before mid april. that would be perfect. we are shooting for entry in the first week of may. <hope hope hope>

anyways, i just happy to be checking off another step. feels good.

[skparker 0]

i saw my fiance posted a little something of his own about going to london. he is there safe, watched good ol' manchester beat intermilan. sadly even tho his room said free wifi this floor doesnt get it so he wud hav to sit at the front desk to get reception...so we had a little phone call and a few texts for the day....usually we are on skype all day every day so a bit unusual for us.

so right now with the new time change....they are 5 hours ahead....which makes it approx 530am almost. his interview is at 830.....so hopefully all goes well in 3 hours!!! im sure stuart will post his experience on the united kingdom interview forum when he gets back.

thank GOD ill be sleeping while he is doing all of this so atleast im not awake looking at each minute that goes by.

Thanks again nich for the message....ill be emailing you about the aos soon.....