London DCF Interview

[scrosso 0]

Hi Guys,

I have just been told that our interview is on Wednesday 6th October, and now starting to worry and feel not ready. Few questions:

1. We started to panic about a few forms the I-864a in particular so we have got my wife and her mother to redo it - would a scanned and printed copy of the signature do or does it need to be the original?

2. how long does the interview take roughly? do i book a whole day off work etc.

3. if anything was to go wrong, can we appeal?

i am extremely nervous now. all advice will be grateful.

[Christi85 86]

Hi Guys,

I have just been told that our interview is on Wednesday 6th October, and now starting to worry and feel not ready. Few questions:

1. We started to panic about a few forms the I-864a in particular so we have got my wife and her mother to redo it - would a scanned and printed copy of the signature do or does it need to be the original?

2. how long does the interview take roughly? do i book a whole day off work etc.

3. if anything was to go wrong, can we appeal?

i am extremely nervous now. all advice will be grateful.

Oh wow, you have your interview next week and you just found out?? That would kill me too - I'd need at least 3 weeks' notice to bring myself together

Anyway,

1. I think the original is preferable. If you have them sign it again and send it to you today by courier or 2-day air or something like that, you should have it by early next week or earlier.

2. From what people report, if you arrive early and be among the first ones to take a priority number, you can be done in an hour. In the vast majority of cases, it takes 2-3 hours, so at least a morning off work is a good idea (I'll be taking the whole day off on my interview day)

3. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but at this stage your chances of an actual denial are slim. Denials most commonly occur if they have reasons to believe that your marriage is not genuine and exists only to evade immigration. Doesn't sound like you have this problem as your I-130 was approved without even an RFE, plus if they were suspecting you of fraud, they'd be demanding that your wife attended too and they'd give you the "fraud suspect interview". They haven't, so you're off the hook. Denials can also occur if an intending immigrant has a veneral disease or has committed a serious crime that makes them ineligible, but at least in the first case there is the option of getting a waiver to overcome this. Not sure what happens in the second case, but hopefully you don't fall into any of these categories, so you don't need to worry.

Now, what CAN actually happen is not a denial, but a delay of your approval in case the CO feels that part of your documentation is insufficient/unsatisfactory etc. In which case, they tell you what more they need to see in order to approve you, you send it in (btw, you have a whole year to do that!), and you're then approved!! So really, you're looking at either an instant approval or a delayed approval. So no obvious reason to be denied, but if you were, yes, you could appeal.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes!!

Edited September 29, 2010 by Christi85

[Christi85 86]

Hey scrosso, today was your big day, right?

You must be done by now. Hope everything went well and I'm sure it did.

Let us know about your experience!!

[scrosso 0]

Apologies for the delay, a few beers were consumed last night in celebration!

after much waiting and nervous hanging around, today I had my interview at the London Embassy. The appointment was at 9, and I got there pretty early - 07:50 just to check location etc. They were already queuing to get inside so I joined the queue. As expected no electrical items allowed and quite a few people were turned away and directed to the local store.

On entry I was given number 14 for immigrant visas time stamp at 08:08. The room was quite large, and they have screens indicating which numbers are being called to which area. and immediately went straight for the coffee to try and relax the nerves. ON entry they were only on number 1, so I knew it would be wait. A rough estimate on timing was that every 20 mins the next immigrant number will be called (non-immigrant visa every minute - and the constant announcements of numbers got pretty frustrating).

As my number got closer, the nerves started to build up. I was called up at 10:20.

I got to the window and handed over my passport, interview letter, and photos. It was difficult to hear her through the screen but not that bad. She then asked for fingerprints, followed by the original and 1 photocopy of birth certificate, marriage certificate and police certificate. She also handed over a large envelope with my chest x-rays on a disc.

I was then asked for i-864, and mentioned I also had an i-864a to hand over. She didn't want that just yet. When she asked I handed over the tax returns for last 3 years, and she only took the most recent one. It was at this point she then asked for the i-864a, and the co-sponsors birth certificate (slight heart flutter here, as I only had a passport photocopy - luckily this was fine). She asked who the co-sponsor was and what she did, and that was that. I handed over the tax forms for my co-sponsor. (no domicile request at this point)

I could see her ticking off everything on the checklist - very similar to what we are provided with. She handed back all original documents and said I need to go the next counter to pay and then return to her to provide the receipt, I would then have to wait for the actual interview where my number would be called again. The cashier would take all forms of payment, I paid in UK sterling (£255), and then popped back to the original counter to hand back my receipt. The lady was already on the next person but she asked him to step aside and took my receipt.

I was back to waiting and this went a lot faster knowing the end was in sight, at around 10:45 my number was called up again, and I went to a different counter round the back. She had a copy of everything I had handed over and asked (from what I can remember in order)

1. How long have we been married? 5 months

2. Where Is my wife? returned to the US 4 weeks ago

3. Does she have a job? no

4. Do I have a job? no - but looking into transfer with current company just not confirmed

5. When do I plan to go across? 10th NOv. my wife will fly back over here and we will then go across on the Queen Mary.

At no point was I asked to prove domicile, and most of the stack of documents I went in with I came out with.

This lasted all of 2 minutes, and she said with a massive grin I am going to grant you your work permit, I signed the part 2 of DS-230 and was very relieved. She then showed me the bag my passport will come back in which I can open and then the brown envelope I cant open. I was then instructed to another counter to pay for the delivery.

There are lots of options of when you want it delivered etc. I paid for the basic 5 business days at £14.95. Word of advice on this part though, you cant pay in cash they would only take card, and on receipt of your passport photographic ID must be presented. I was planning to get this sent to my parents house, but as I wont see them for a few weeks they wouldn't have ID so had to change it to work address.

I was out by 11:00, and a very happy man - I just couldn’t phone anyone until I got into the office a bit later in the day.

That afternoon I looked into booking our transatlantic trip to NY, and then discovered that the prices had dropped - £370 one way for a cruise across the Atlantic lasting 6 days with all meals etc. and in the knowledge that we can take as much baggage as we want - as long as we can store it on our room - last count we were on 14 bags.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions I am happy to try and help. I have copies of all the forms and letters i used.

[Christi85 86]

Yay!!! Congratulations!! You have every reason to celebrate!!

Your case seemed pretty straightforward, and you weren't asked about proof of domicile because you said your wife had moved back to the States. As soon as you said that, the domicile issue wasn't a question anymore

Enjoy your last month in the UK, enjoy your cruise and happy moving!

Thanks for the review!!

[CandyBelle 0]

Congratulations!!! This made me feel al ot better about my application! I am very glad it went well for you. I've been stalking the forum for a while and so hearing success stories is excellent!!!