how long does it take?

[david b 2]

My fiancee and I filed for the petition in April 09 and it got approved fairly quickly. She received the letter saying it had been sent to the US embassy in London in July but I am still waiting for the next stage..... My fiancee lives in California and I live in England. Do I just wait now to hear from the US embassy?

I'm worried something has gone wrong, shouldn't I have heard something by now?

[Rhiannercakes 14]

You should have heard something within a month at least.

Have they sent you paperwork to fill out? If not, you need to contact the embassy and get it sent to you, you can't get an interview date without the paperwork filed and sent back to them.

[david b 2]

Thanks for the reply. I have not received any paperwork at all yet. I just thought I had to wait, did I do something wrong? I knew I would eventually recieve information on the interview and medical etc but I haven't yet.

[david b 2]

My fiancee received the single white letter saying it has been forwarded to my country. When I go on the uscis site and check the status it says post decision activity.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Once it's approved and sent to the benificiary's country, nothing will be updated on the USCIS website.

You need to call someone at England's embassy and ask if the petition has arrived. It most likely has, but your package of paperwork that needs to be filled out didnt make it to the beneficiary's residence. You may need to ask them to resend it so your fiance can fill out the paperwork and send it back to be eligible for an interview.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Rhiann

[david b 2]

So you think when it got sent from US to UK it never arrived? I am the beneficiary, will I be able to call the US embassy to check if arrived or will my fiancee in US have to do that?

[Rhiannercakes 14]

It's possible that it never arrived or the package of forms they sent to you never arrived. I believe either one of you can call, or email. It depends if your embassy takes phonecalls.

You should contact them on Monday and ask if your petition arrived and that you can have Packet 3 (called that in most countries) sent to you. (The Benificiary)

[david b 2]

Wow I can't believe we have waited this long! I should have called the embassy months ago. Will it be a problem now that months have passed?

Was I supposed to call before they would send me the next papers to fill in before the interview, I didn't know this, I thought they would automatically do it.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

They usually do automatically send you Packet 3, but sometimes it doesnt go to the right address so it doesnt always reach the person it needs to.

You need to check if your NOA2 expired. I've been told most consulates re-new it automatically, but since you've waited a while with no contact to the consulate, it may have fully expired.

I guess you've got a few questions for the consulate.

[garfield529 47]

They usually do automatically send you Packet 3, but sometimes it doesnt go to the right address so it doesnt always reach the person it needs to.

You need to check if your NOA2 expired. I've been told most consulates re-new it automatically, but since you've waited a while with no contact to the consulate, it may have fully expired.

I guess you've got a few questions for the consulate.

This may be redundant, but you can call both Department of State and the Embassy directly (if they allow that). I am not sure how your embassy functions, but with China you have to go through a little hassle and cost to call the embassy and most folks say that they don't always get the best answer directly. You need to determine that the petition file was received and then go from there. Sorry, but it seems that you have been waiting for several months longer than you needed to, but now you can hopefully get some answers. The only concern is as Rhiann stated, your petition may be fully expired now. Call first things tomorrow and get some answers.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

There were several postal strikes in the UK last year- I bet your packet got lost when it was sent to you (unless you moved and didn't tell them).

[NatPatBen 3]

If you have trouble calling your embassy, you might also try email. Or try both.

[david b 2]

Thank you everyone for your help and replies. I EVENTUALLY got through to the US embassy in London today and explained what has happened. Apparently, they sent me the information in September 09, which I never received. He didn't seem bothered about where it disappeared to, but he gave me the weblink so I can fill out the DS forms etc and then send the checklist off when I'm ready for the interview. My fiancee in the US and myself both have to send another letter of intent to marry as our petition expired.

He said we must get the letters notarized, does anyone know how and where this can be done?

He said by a lawyer or notarized public or something...I didn't quite catch what he said.

I'm gutted, I could have been doing this ages ago.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Yes, lawyers can notorize papers. They may charge you for it though.

[david b 2]

Ok, thanks but my fiancee and myself don't have a lawyer, can we get them done at a courthouse or somewhere..?