Approved (still a lingering question though)

[CLMIKE 22]

Fiancee was approved this morning.

Pros:

• Approved
• Easy questions (when did you first discuss marriage, how many times had you been to america, how did you meet, etc)
• Approved
• Was over prepared, and in and out relatively easy.
• Approved (I like this one)

Cons:

• Didn't get the famous African american lady everyone raves about, got Mr. Series professional dude
• They kept both the certified copy and regular copy of the police certificate. Fiancee says they told her her forms would be in the envelope with her passport. Seems odd, will probably just advise her to buy another certified copy.
• Mr. Professional did not give her the info on adjustment of status or tell her what to do on port of entry. Just was like you're approved and that's it. Nich: Any PDF's out there with the same info she was supposed to get after getting approved?
• Lady at first booth said we had too much info (ha ha). She got confused when Fiancee was giving her evidence, receipts, new fiancee letter, offering her old passport, etc etc. Guess this can be a pro as well.

Little disappointed in the inconsistency in how the interviewer was compared to all the other excellent reviews of the other lady, but that disappointment is nothing compared to the excitement of knowing she got approved.

Thanks for all the help. I'm sure I'll be sticking around the boards. I'll need all the AOS info as well I'd hit the bar already to celebrate, but the whole job thing kind of slows that down.

[Novembro 1,763]

Congrats!

[phem0r 16]

Congratulations

I too did not get any AOS information given to me after being told i was approved

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Congratulations.

Police certificate: I have heard many times that the original is kept by the embassy. My husband got his back, but I quit saying it would be given back after so many were kept. For what reason do you think she needs another? You won't need it for immigration. It will be in the DO NOT OPEN envelope that comes with her passport, and will remain in her immigration file.

AOS info: I am unaware of anything specific being given out. I know they sometimes verbally say "you have to marry within 90 days of your entry." Anything else...I dunno.

POE: also not aware of any written document or info given by the embassy. You can read POE reviews of your intended airport and see what others say. It's pretty simple....get off plane...go to immigration hall...present passport and sealed envelope. At that point, most airports have a separate room to process immigration packets so the general line keeps moving. So you wait your turn behind anybody else in that room. When called, they open the envelope, shuffle the papers a bit, stamp your passport, write on your visa the 90 day date and remind you to marry within 90 days.

Then you go pick up luggage, pass through the customs area turning the blue and white customs slip every person/family on the plane gets. Then you leave to the arrival area and hug your fiancé, OR if you have a connecting flight, you remain airside, re-check bags, and go to your departure gate.

I have made an AOS checklist page to give an overview if you would like that. For details, there are example forms on VJ and the whole AOS forum where the same questions repeat a thousand times. You can't beat reading the form instructions as you work on the forms.

Try this and tell me if it works. It is a link to my AOS list but I think it is the mobile link. When I try to get into it on my desktop, Google tells me I need to update my browser or something I keep putting off. So try the link and tell me if you get a document you can print. I would like some feedback on if it works.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FIsgnb7Tfj7tcRNnqRMKUOXQdEfR6HTUDY2vX6zKqqU/mobilebasic?authkey=CNXN_oQH

Edited May 12, 2014 by Nich-Nick

[CLMIKE 22]

Link worked for me. I printed it out just fine. Thank you Nich

As for POE, I was more curious than anything, because I'm going to fly to England to help her prepare for the move, and she and I will fly back together. I'm hoping I can be with her during the ordeal.

I think I read on the boards though there's no ESTA, and we're to tell the lady when checking in for the flight at either Delta or American Airlines that we are flying in on a K1 visa instead of Esta if they ask.

That's still correct right?

[CLMIKE 22]

Wait. You are right Nich it is in Mobile. But then I got the update browser as well when I clicked desktop. But I had the option to click and continue anyway and it still worked.

The browser you're using may not support all features of the desktop version of Google Drive.

Continue to desktop version

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Link worked for me. I printed it out just fine. Thank you Nich

As for POE, I was more curious than anything, because I'm going to fly to England to help her prepare for the move, and she and I will fly back together. I'm hoping I can be with her during the ordeal.

I think I read on the boards though there's no ESTA, and we're to tell the lady when checking in for the flight at either Delta or American Airlines that we are flying in on a K1 visa instead of Esta if they ask.

That's still correct right?

Yes. ESTA is for visa waiver travelers. Anybody with a visa does not need ESTA. I was with my fiancé coming back. A line guy at Heathrow kept hollering out "Make sure you have your ESTA with you". When it was our turn for him to check, my fiancé said "I am traveling on a visa." At POE Houston, we went through the immigration line together. Pick the shortest line ...resident or visitor...or ask an attendant which they prefer. Most airports do not make you go through separate lines. (You are still a visitor not a resident in case you wondered.). No clue if your airport will let you in a separate processing room. I didn't try. I went to baggage claim to fetch the bags while he processed. We met back up and went out through customs together and to our happily ever after.

[mattwood79 2]

Congratulations! I too did not receive any additional information. He pretty much said "your visa has been approved" and then let me go with no further word! I did get my original certs back - he stamped the photocopies with a "this is a certified copy and I have seen the original" stamp and gave them back to me. Like Nich said though, there's no further need for the police cert, so no harm done.

[CLMIKE 22]

A few other brief comments:

1. They did not know anything about taking an older passport. She offered it to the lady at window 1, who had no clue what to do with it and said I don't need this so she kept it
2. Lady at window 1 managed to "hide/lose" her passport, so when she asked for it after my fiancee already gave it to her she panicked a bit thinking OH GOD only for the lady to find it and go never mind. Great...
3. Lady at window 1 confused her and asked if she'd ever changed her name. My fiancee paused, because technically she had not, her name was hyphened, but for the first 24 years of her life she didn't realize her name was hyphened so she thought she had two middle names. Now she goes by the hyphened name. When she paused the lady behind the window grilled her on why she just hesitated, so she explained and then it was fine. Still it kind of surprised my fiancee for that question. I figure it was lady at window was looking to see if she required a deed poll.
4. Lady at window 1 had no clue what the DX bar-code was. Just accepted the MRV receipt we printed by email.
5. Lady at window 1 was kind of rude. When my fiancee kept trying to offer her other potentially needed forms of evidence, etc, was told "you're not listening". Glad I wasn't there I'd have had to bite my tongue.
6. Lady at window 1 asked if she had done previous travel either by visa or visa waiver program. Fiancee answered she traveled by ESTA, was enough for her to accept that answer
7. Four questions asked were: how did you meet, how many times have you travelled and he travelled, were you both married before, when did you decide to get married
8. she was in and out by 9:45

[QueenOfBlades 224]

Yeah, the Asian lady who takes the documents at the first window can be temperamental. I'd heard a lot of bad things about her but she was relatively alright when I saw her, she was more focused on the fact that my application said I was currently employed by British Gas and how much she hated them and their prices sucked and she couldn't get anyone out to fix her boiler. I just listened to her rant and passed her the things she asked for.

I got a serious American guy too and the interview lasted about 10-15 minutes. He gave us the sheet afterwards, but it literally was just an A4 piece of paper with nothing special on it that you won't already know 10 times better from being on VJ. He reminded us we'll have to AOS and said we should try and get our finances sorted for our I-864. It's nothing you won't already know.

[CLMIKE 22]

Fiancee says this lady wasn't Asian on window 1. Fiancee insists though to not paint her in a grumpy light. She was more of a not very helpful or aware of everything that might be needed.

Ah well, it's over, we're approved, and it doesn't matter in the end And it's almost time to hit the bar to celebrate.

[Kiwinyc 62]

I never got this famous Asian lady either, I got a genial American guy who looked like a younger, thinner version of David Brent, without the sarcasm. He sighed with envy when he came across my (now) husbands letter from his employer because he's a software engineer at Blizzard Entertainment and then we had a conversation about video games and how his wife has to bring new games back for him from visits to the US because he has a US playstation...

Congrats on your fiancee's approval!

Btw my fiance travelled with me too and came with me/us (my two kids with us) into the secondary processing room at Houston and we all waited together until processing was completed.

[phem0r 16]

software engineer at Blizzard Entertainment

Ahh that's so cool!

[speaktru69 5]

Congratulations!