UK AOS 2009 Thread

[Talyss 0]

I received my NOA1 today, dated the 31st march.

I would have updated the google spreadsheet but I couldn't work out how to do it.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

I received my NOA1 today, dated the 31st march.

I would have updated the google spreadsheet but I couldn't work out how to do it.

Nice work. You get NOA for all 3? AOS, AP, EAD? I sent off my I-693 stuff to Dr Arnold today; still a way off filing, mind.

[Talyss 0]

Yes 3 separate NOAs all in separate envelopes arrived in the post together. I think there is potential there for some cost cutting!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Today is Green Card Day!! It arrived in the mail this afternoon.

Summary of facts:

No RFEs the whole process from K1 to GC. Nice! .

Did not do an I-163 for immunizations. Submitted a copy of DS-3025 (which had all immunizations completed in UK).

Did not have a TB skin test, even though medical was after the June 1 cut-off date.

No interview because transferred to California Service Center.

USCIS website did not update and CRIS did not send email.

Elapsed time from putting that I-129F in the post to receiving GC in post: 1 year, 24 days

Total cost (applications, mailings, medical, travel/hotel London, shipping, etc): $5110.80 (yes, I am an Excel freak)

UK AOS Progress Timeline

[Talyss 0]

Today is Green Card Day!! It arrived in the mail this afternoon.

Summary of facts:

No RFEs the whole process from K1 to GC. Nice! .

Did not do an I-163 for immunizations. Submitted a copy of DS-3025 (which had all immunizations completed in UK).

Did not have a TB skin test, even though medical was after the June 1 cut-off date.

No interview because transferred to California Service Center.

USCIS website did not update and CRIS did not send email.

Elapsed time from putting that I-129F in the post to receiving GC in post: 1 year, 24 days

Total cost (applications, mailings, medical, travel/hotel London, shipping, etc): $5110.80 (yes, I am an Excel freak)

UK AOS Progress Timeline

Woohooo! Congratulations! Thats awesome news!

Very happy for you. :dance:

[Talyss 0]

A question about the online tracker. About how long can I expect it to be before they add my case numbers to the tracker?

[John Hall 0]

Hi

count me in too.....AOS sent off, biometrics done (Albany) and waiting for EAD, OP and AOS via the Vermont local office (I think).

Got the Capital One Card too, (bunch of thieves and shysters) but the $500 limit is useless. What you can do is get a card from Orchard Bank (HSBC in disguise) and deposit money with them and this will act as security for a higher credit limit.

The advantage of this is that you can have a useful amount of credit for buying airline tickets, traveling etc. and they report this limit to the credit ref. agencies, which helps with the credit score. Don't hold your breath though, it seems to take years to build up a reasonable score and the definition of reasonable, by mortgage companies etc. is getting higher and higher.

US credit organizations seem to treat any foreign credit history with contempt, as if we are all from banana republics, although with the state of the UK these days that might be appropriate.

Anyway, good luck guys and don't let the feds at USCIS grind you down.

[jojo_gee 8]

Oh joy. This whole getting married to an American process is unbelievable. I always knew applying for a K1 and waiting for the visa interview was a nightmare but I was quite content with the fact I was pretty clued up on all the documents and stuff expected. So I'm getting married in June and I've forced myself to start looking into AOS and all that jazz and now I'm back to not knowing anything about all the documents and stuff expected! It's horrible. I always feel that some of the guides aren't quite as up to date as they should be (am I wrong to think this?) I feel safer asking fellow VJers what to do. I really hope someone has written down a safe checklist of what one needs to start doing once we've landed in the States coz I'd like to get prepared in my head about what forms to download and fill out etc. It's never ending hey.

I wish everyone here a pleasant and safe journey to green cardness even if at times it is quite turbulent!

I'll be back.

JoJo XX

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi

count me in too.....AOS sent off, biometrics done (Albany) and waiting for EAD, OP and AOS via the Vermont local office (I think).

You don't have AOS/EAD/AP filled out in your VJ timeline John ( Your timeline ) so we don't have dates to add to the spreadsheet. When did you send? What is the date on your NOA notice? When did you do the biometric appointment?

[wifetobe 2]

Today is Green Card Day!! It arrived in the mail this afternoon.

Summary of facts:

No RFEs the whole process from K1 to GC. Nice! .

Did not do an I-163 for immunizations. Submitted a copy of DS-3025 (which had all immunizations completed in UK).

Did not have a TB skin test, even though medical was after the June 1 cut-off date.

No interview because transferred to California Service Center.

USCIS website did not update and CRIS did not send email.

Elapsed time from putting that I-129F in the post to receiving GC in post: 1 year, 24 days

Total cost (applications, mailings, medical, travel/hotel London, shipping, etc): $5110.80 (yes, I am an Excel freak)

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am well happy for you guys!! any luck with the job he was going to get??

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

No, he is still unemployed, so I put him to work fixing things around our house. It's a bad time to move and hope to find a great job immediately.

Talyss--the USCIS online tracker seems to have problems with no good answer. I added mine to the old K1 log-in and all three were there immediately on the day the new notices arrived in the mail. Some say a month+ later, they finally got it to show. Some just give up. I actually very rarely checked mine anyway. Things are going to happen when they happen and the AOS times are all over the place. But it doesn't seem like waiting is as bad when you're finally together.

[Rob&Dawn 1]

Today is Green Card Day!! It arrived in the mail this afternoon.

Summary of facts:

No RFEs the whole process from K1 to GC. Nice! .

Did not do an I-163 for immunizations. Submitted a copy of DS-3025 (which had all immunizations completed in UK).

Did not have a TB skin test, even though medical was after the June 1 cut-off date.

No interview because transferred to California Service Center.

USCIS website did not update and CRIS did not send email.

Elapsed time from putting that I-129F in the post to receiving GC in post: 1 year, 24 days

Total cost (applications, mailings, medical, travel/hotel London, shipping, etc): $5110.80 (yes, I am an Excel freak)

UK AOS Progress Timeline

Congratulations

[mr and mrs 187]

question: so ive been reading about AOS in hopeful preparation for jamie's entry and our big over-the-top wedding extravaganza. the thing that i keep seeing come up as a possible sticking point is the TB test.

i see a lot of worrying about it, but not a lot of actual problems with it one the medical stuff is sent off to USCIS.

here is what i have gathered (they dont all relate to each other):

1. many (some?) UK residents have TB tests (or is it vaccinations?) as children. jamie has a little scar on his upper arm which he tells me is from a TB shot(?). (incidentally, i see these scars on lots of british people! am i making that up?)

2. having had a TB vaccination can sometimes cause you to have a positive result from a TB skin test (as an adult)

3. the TB test/vaccination is oftentimes not transcribed onto the I-693 vaccination record at the time of the knightsbridge medical (because often there is no documentation to prove it)

4. the test is one of the required screenings/vaccinations on the I-693 .

5. some people submitted the AOS without the TB test and hope for the best or wait for an RFE. (doesnt seem like the RFE happens very frequently for this reason)

hmm. i guess i am wondering if i have understood this stuff properly. and i am wondering if there is a 'normal' (middle of the road) protocol for submitting the medical info at the time of AOS?

more specifically, if our medical is not expired and we use Dr. Arnold in Tejas, he or she does the transcription, minus the TB part, we send it off to USCIS, can we just hope for the best? and if we do get an RFE for the TB test, can we get that done and then send the results to USCIS?

and is there not some confusion as to who can do the TB test (health center? civil surgeon?) and then who can authoritatively confirm the results to the USCIS?

this is not very well organized, im sorry. feel free to yell at me and tell me this has been posted 18,000 times before.

[mr and mrs 187]

blah blah blah

ms. nich, i see that post you made about getting the GC without a TB test, and i know that it is possible to do it the way you did it. (good for you!)

im curious to learn more about the factors involved so that we can make a decision as to what is best for us?

and if an RFE did come, what? like maybe a month or two of hold up? just checking.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

question: so ive been reading about AOS in hopeful preparation for jamie's entry and our big over-the-top wedding extravaganza. the thing that i keep seeing come up as a possible sticking point is the TB test.

1. many (some?) UK residents have TB tests (or is it vaccinations?) as children. jamie has a little scar on his upper arm which he tells me is from a TB shot(?). (incidentally, i see these scars on lots of british people! am i making that up?)

That would be Smallpox with the big scar..

2. having had a TB vaccination can sometimes cause you to have a positive result from a TB skin test (as an adult)

UK people often got BCG? shots as a child to prevent TB. It often causes a false positive on a skin test. It didn't on Daymo. Some people have been made to undergo six months of a strong antibiotic (Bex&Alan-UK) after a positive skin test even if their x-ray was clear. Insane IMO. There's some controversy about the antiobiotic being very harsh and you have to be monitored for liver function while taking it. Sorry, didn't bookmark that reference to give you.

3. the TB test/vaccination is oftentimes not transcribed onto the I-693 DS-3025 vaccination record at the time of the knightsbridge medical (because often there is no documentation to prove it) This is not about being vaccinated as a child. It's about taking a skin test to see if you have TB. That's also why you get an x-ray at Knightsbridge. The skin test is not immunization. It's a test, like HIV blood test, so it isn't on an immunization record. The TST is not part of the instructions to the Panel Physicians (Knightsbridge) so they aren't required to do it.

4. the test is one of the required screenings/vaccinations on the I-693 .

Some people take the whole medical in the US because they were already here on another visa and didn't start in another country or take a medical overseas just to get here. The I-693 is the medical form US Civil Surgeons report on. People who had a medical abroad within the past year can report their immunizations just on Part 2 of the I-693 signed/sealed by a US Civil Surgeon. That would be especially true if you entered the US without getting all the required shots at Knightsbridge. The I-693 is how your newly completed in the US jabs get to be a part of your record. TST is not in part two. It's with the blood test, etc part.

5. some people submitted the AOS without the TB test and hope for the best or wait for an RFE. (doesnt seem like the RFE happens very frequently for this reason) I would have to say I personally agree, but I do remember one person at an interview in Tennessee was sent to get a TST. That's the only one I can recall and it's something I have looked for on VJ everyday for 6 months.

more specifically, if our medical is not expired and we use Dr. Arnold in Tejas, he or she does the transcription, minus the TB part, we send it off to USCIS, can we just hope for the best? and if we do get an RFE for the TB test, can we get that done and then send the results to USCIS?

and is there not some confusion as to who can do the TB test (health center? civil surgeon?) and then who can authoritatively confirm the results to the USCIS?

Here's the official information. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0004718190aRCRD We chose not to follow it.

I can't advise one way or the other. Ya rolls the dice. Ya takes your chances. I figured an RFE would set us back a couple of weeks and I didn't care because we were in the US and living together. I was quite frankly tired of jumping through hoops and spending money at that point. My house had hurricane damage to deal with so I didn't want to sort out the TST and medical at that time or put off AOS until I could sort it. And the roll of the dice came out in our favor.

It's your gamble.