Fiancé Visa process question

[HadleysHope 0]

I am marrying a US citizen, our petition has been approved by USCIS and the processing centre and the last we hear that it was on its way to the US Embassy in London. We have called the Embassy but the recorded message says they do not discuss visa applications over the phone even to confirm the paperwork has even arrived.

As I say, we are getting married and trying to plan the wedding but there doesn't seem to be any way of getting information about where we are in the process.

Pretty much on my knees begging for information at this point! can ANYONE tell me how long it takes from this point on? how long till the US Embassy sends out the forms I need to fill out to get the medical and then interview. Its been about a week since it cleared the processing centre in NH but I have yet to hear anything from London.

Please, anyone! can you help at all?

[ginimerlo 0]

Im sorry to hear this! Unfortunately I am just getting started on the process, I am mailing my I-129F at lunch time so I have no idea how long it will take! Is there anhy way that you could make an appointment with the embasy since they wont discuss it over the phone? That way you may get more info!

You can also check in the immigration timeliness and see how long it took for others there!

Sorry and the best of luck!

[david-n-erika 1]

I am marrying a US citizen, our petition has been approved by USCIS and the processing centre and the last we hear that it was on its way to the US Embassy in London. We have called the Embassy but the recorded message says they do not discuss visa applications over the phone even to confirm the paperwork has even arrived.

As I say, we are getting married and trying to plan the wedding but there doesn't seem to be any way of getting information about where we are in the process.

Pretty much on my knees begging for information at this point! can ANYONE tell me how long it takes from this point on? how long till the US Embassy sends out the forms I need to fill out to get the medical and then interview. Its been about a week since it cleared the processing centre in NH but I have yet to hear anything from London.

Please, anyone! can you help at all?

have you tried e-mailing the embassy there? I filed for my Fiance in Colombia and they told me via e-mail that most of the time in Colombia the package 3 never makes it to the aplicant, since the mailing system is so poor there. They referred me to the website where all the forms are, we printed them, filled them out and sent them in...maybe you should try to e-mail the embassy...???

[HadleysHope 0]

Im sorry to hear this! Unfortunately I am just getting started on the process, I am mailing my I-129F at lunch time so I have no idea how long it will take! Is there anhy way that you could make an appointment with the embasy since they wont discuss it over the phone? That way you may get more info!

You can also check in the immigration timeliness and see how long it took for others there!

Sorry and the best of luck!

Hey thanks for at least replying. The 129F seemed to fly through, less than 3 months. It then took about 3 weeks for it to hit NVC and went from "we dont have it in our system" to "yes, we see it, its been sent via DHL to London" and here is the number of the embassy, but as above, they wont give out any information. Yea it might be an idea to see if I can make an appointment but they prob dont do that either.

I guess I will just have to wait. I am just concerned that there doesn't seem to be any info on when I might get the letter from the embassy and that they say it can take up to 3 months for that to process once its been sent off.

[ameribrit 37]

I am marrying a US citizen, our petition has been approved by USCIS and the processing centre and the last we hear that it was on its way to the US Embassy in London. We have called the Embassy but the recorded message says they do not discuss visa applications over the phone even to confirm the paperwork has even arrived.

As I say, we are getting married and trying to plan the wedding but there doesn't seem to be any way of getting information about where we are in the process.

Pretty much on my knees begging for information at this point! can ANYONE tell me how long it takes from this point on? how long till the US Embassy sends out the forms I need to fill out to get the medical and then interview. Its been about a week since it cleared the processing centre in NH but I have yet to hear anything from London.

Please, anyone! can you help at all?

You need to call DOS(Department of State) at 1-202-663-1225

After your case leaves NVC then DOS will track all aspects of your petition. Calling DOS will be the best, least expensive way, for you to find out information about your case. When you call press 1 for the main menu and then 0 for an operator. It may take a couple of tries to get through and they may have you waiting on the phone for 15 minutes before they connect you, but it is still way cheaper and much more informative than calling London directly.

Good luck

[HadleysHope 0]

You need to call DOS(Department of State) at 1-202-663-1225

After your case leaves NVC then DOS will track all aspects of your petition. Calling DOS will be the best, least expensive way, for you to find out information about your case. When you call press 1 for the main menu and then 0 for an operator. It may take a couple of tries to get through and they may have you waiting on the phone for 15 minutes before they connect you, but it is still way cheaper and much more informative than calling London directly.

Good luck

Thanks for this, appreciated more than you know.

[ameribrit 37]

Thanks for this, appreciated more than you know.

No worries. Just passing forward what I have learned going through this process. Feel free to get in touch if you have any more questions.

[N&S 32]

I second what ameribrit said - the DOS folks are really friendly and helpful.

The other thing I would recommend to give you some perspective on potential timeline is to go to the timeline function here

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op7=United+Kingdom&dfile=No&op1=&op2=&op3=1&op4=1&op5=&cfl=0

and check out other folks' times between the individual steps - I was pretty much in the window I expected for the interview.

Lastly and maybe most importantly: Don't wait for Packet 3 to fill in the paperwork and get the documents ordered or you'll delay! All package 3 tells you is to go to the website

http://london.usembassy.gov/kprocessing.html

and download and fill in the forms to send back and gather the docs. You can definitely get started on filling in the forms (I found it quite time-consuming to recreate my travel over the last 10 years and figure out when every trip to the US ever happened etc). I would also get the application for the police certificate in the post ASAP if you haven't ordered it yet.

Once you got the London case number from DOS (should start with LND2011) you can call Knightsbridge for your medical appointment but you will need to have your police certificate by the time you go there. Once DOS tells you that your papers have been logged and package 3 been sent you can then mail out your forms (depending on if you have managed to round up all the interview paperwork you can include the 2001 form - the interview readiness form - when sending back the documents; NOTE: one of the 156 forms says to include all the documents like birth certificate etc - that's not true for London, you'll bring them to the interview).

Your USC fiance will have to fill in and send to you the I-134 (you can find info in the guides) - if you haven't got that yet get your SO into gear pronto as they will have to send you the originals and you're not supposed to send the readiness form until you have all the docs so won't be assigned an interview date until you can confirm that you have all the necessary paperwork.

That should keep you entertained for a bit - if you need more info try the search function and keep your eyes peeled for postings from Nich-Nick, she's very, very knowledgeable! Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions but if it's something others might benefit from as well, I always think it's better to put them into a public thread.

Good luck!

Edited August 17, 2011 by N&S

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Your forms and K1 instructions are here http://london.usembassy.gov/iv_15.html

Order police certificate NOW. Get working on the forms. It could be 3 weeks before London even acknowledges your case arrived. It arrived 4 days after NVC said it went out.

NVC or DOS can tell you the LND case number. NVC is open later hours.

Get shot records from GP. Get MMR and Td (or Tdap) hopefully free before going to medical appointment. Tell medical people you had chickenpox when you go because that excuses you from varicella shot not available in the UK.

Count on 2 months from now if you get on top of things and are very lucky and 3 months if you wait around to hear from London for instructions. Don't book a wedding. Timelines are too variable. I've seen many miss out on their date.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Nich-Nick