UK VJers Progress Update Thread

[Emmylou151 44]

Quick Question!

So our case was received at the London Embassy on the 29th of December- Saying READY.

It's been almost a month and my fiance in the UK has not yet received a letter from them - should we be concerned about this?

He needed to get his passport renewed before he left -- was expiring in March 2016!! So we are waiting on that before we can get police certificate etc. And have to wait for the police certificate before we can schedule medical! Getting a little nervous as our I-129F expires on March 30...

When you scheduled your medicals, were you able to easily get a date / time? Or was it limited?

Hey!

Don't worry about the letter - some people get theirs months later - I read London aren't necessarily the best at getting them out. So long as your case is ready, you can go ahead with the next steps. No need for concern.

Do you mean the NOA2 expiry date? This is the date to be aware of - if it does expire, I believe all you need is an updated letter of intent, then they extend it. You would need to call the NVC.

EDIT: The letter of intent saying you agree to marry within 90 days from both of you, with a recent signing date.

With scheduling medical, they ask you when is best, I asked for ASAP and got mine in a week.

DON'T schedule until you have everything you need - if you need to cancel you will be CHARGED.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Emmylou151

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Quick Question!

So our case was received at the London Embassy on the 29th of December- Saying READY.

It's been almost a month and my fiance in the UK has not yet received a letter from them - should we be concerned about this?

He needed to get his passport renewed before he left -- was expiring in March 2016!! So we are waiting on that before we can get police certificate etc. And have to wait for the police certificate before we can schedule medical! Getting a little nervous as our I-129F expires on March 30...

When you scheduled your medicals, were you able to easily get a date / time? Or was it limited?

You may never get that letter so carry on without it. You can submit the DS-160 online then do the other things as the pieces fall in place. There is usually not a big wait to get a medical appointment. Go work on shots now if you haven't.

[Nauchelle Iain 0]

Hey!

Don't worry about the letter - some people get theirs months later - I read London aren't necessarily the best at getting them out. So long as your case is ready, you can go ahead with the next steps. No need for concern.

Do you mean the NOA2 expiry date? This is the date to be aware of - if it does expire, I believe all you need is an updated letter of intent, then they extend it. You would need to call the NVC.

With scheduling medical, they ask you when is best, I asked for ASAP and got mine in a week.

DON'T schedule until you have everything you need - if you need to cancel you will be CHARGED.

Okay - good to know!

Yeah- that is what I mean.

We are going to wait until he has everything to schedule - but I will make sure he asks for something ASAP as well.

Excited to get this part done!! Looks like its going to be soon for you and hopefully in the next two months for us!!

Unfortunately - he won't be here until the 1st week of May regardless because of a family wedding and his STAG DO is scheduled for the last weekend in April!

[yuna628 9,676]

Quick Question!

So our case was received at the London Embassy on the 29th of December- Saying READY.

It's been almost a month and my fiance in the UK has not yet received a letter from them - should we be concerned about this?

He needed to get his passport renewed before he left -- was expiring in March 2016!! So we are waiting on that before we can get police certificate etc. And have to wait for the police certificate before we can schedule medical! Getting a little nervous as our I-129F expires on March 30...

When you scheduled your medicals, were you able to easily get a date / time? Or was it limited?

London won't do much until you complete your three things (medical, readiness form, and DS160). That's when you'll get your interview date. You also don't need the letter to make an appointment at Knightsbridge, as long as you have your LND number.. some people have taken a screen shot of the READY and it was sufficient. Making the medical appointment is straightforward. Last year when he made it there were plenty of openings, but due to his job circumstances he had to make it for a few weeks out.

So it's very important to get the passport and the police certificate taken care of asap. You can't do much without those. Your date will be extended by the consulate, so that's not a big issue.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

What you (actually your UK fiance) miss if you don't get the letter is where it says if your petition approval expires before your interview, they want you to bring a new letter of intent from the USC to the interview. But half the time they don't even ask for it.

You the petitioner will get a letter from NVC that tells the new LND number. They are pretty slow with those and the case is usually in London way before NVC informs you it has been sent.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[Emmylou151 44]

What you (actually your UK fiance) miss if you don't get the letter is where it says if your petition approval expires before your interview, they want you to bring a new letter of intent from the USC to the interview. But half the time they don't even ask for it.

You the petitioner will get a letter from NVC that tells the new LND number. They are pretty slow with those and the case is usually in London way before NVC informs you it has been sent.

The letter confuses me.

It says "your petition is valid for 4 months AFTER the priority date below" (on mine, 01 Dec 2015). Then it says, if your interview is after the priority date, I need a new letter of intent. So, I need one? cos my interview is 25th Jan 16?

Edited January 20, 2016 by Emmylou151

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

The letter confuses me.

It says "your petition is valid for 4 months AFTER the priority date below" (on mine, 01 Dec 2015). Then it says, if your interview is after the priority date, I need a new letter of intent. So, I need one? cos my interview is 25th Jan 16?

I think they have revised their letter and didn't proofread it. They do that with their webpages as well...a little cut/paste to update that doesn't quite do it.

I think they needed to cut this sentence " if your interview is after the priority date, I need a new letter of intent.". I think they used to calculate your date four months after NOA2 so yours would have said Priority Date April 1. If your interview date is after.....etc.

This is correct "your petition is valid for 4 months AFTER the priority date below" (on mine, 01 Dec 2015)"

[pk4690 18]

Medical done today, pretty straightforward, all in good health. Got my 2nd MMR and another DT jab there as well, so should now be covered for AOS. Does anyone know when it comes to AOS, if you try to do it outside of flu season, do you not need to have the flu jab?

Looking forward to finding out an interview date in the near future!

[ChasUno 101]

Here's what we did. A few days after arriving, we checked his I-94 on the website to see if it had been entered in correctly (or at all). Once we confirmed that, we printed out the I-94. We were pretty busy with planning the wedding so we waited about two weeks, and then headed to the local SSA office, bringing with us all the things the SSA guide on VJ recommends. That means passport, I-94, form to fill out, and the SSA employee manual thingyamy that shows a K1 is eligible. I wasn't sure how a tiny town SSA would handle a K1 so I was ready for issues.

We explained to the SSA employee about the situation, and confirmed no he is not working because he can't work yet. I mentioned quickly that K1's were eligible, held up the papers to see if it would prompt them. They seemed to do a lot of typing before they nodded they had found him. The card arrived within a few days with no problems.

We returned after we married to get my SSA done.

As above, that's pretty much what I did though I didn't print out the SSA employee manual (to be honest I didn't even look at it!)

The local SSA office was close by, so I just popped in there a few weeks after arriving in the USA with my recent I-94 and passport showing K1 Visa. The chap dealing with me was good, he had to clarify a couple of things with someone but otherwise he processed the application without any queries.

Took about 4 - 5 weeks before I got my SSN in the post. Sorted!

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

Hello Everyone!

So sorta unrelated to immigration, but I was wondering if any of you had any advice.

I am currently in the UK visiting, and had a flight scheduled to fly back to the US on Saturday.

Unfortunately there is a huge blizzard rolling in and my current arrival time is smack dab in the middle of the worst of it.

United Airlines has been blowing up my phone encouraging me to try and book a different flight, but I am a little nervous.

I am a very inexperienced traveler, and this is my first time out of the US. If I do get my flight changed, I will most likely have a layover in another country.

I guess what I am looking for is advice on how to handle this. One of the possible options I saw was a layover in Dublin. I know I have seen around the forums that Dublin has some sort of pre-authorization POE thingy (I don't know the terms, hopefully you understand what I mean!). Does this mean I will need to grab my bags and send them through security again in Dublin? And if so, are there other airports in Europe that do the same sort of thing?

Sorry again for bothering you with this. I will be searching around the web in the mean time for info, and trying to get through to the very busy phone lines for my airline, but any extra help is appreciated! Thank you!

[yuna628 9,676]

I wouldn't get anywhere near the east coast on Saturday. Maybe late Sunday, but that all depends on the airport you're looking to come into and where they will be hit. My suggestion to you is to change it to the next available flight that works for you and that makes it easiest for you. Do you absolutely have to have a layover? Or were you looking for originally a direct flight from the UK to JFK to your home airport? The airline should be able to help arrange this for you.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

I wouldn't get anywhere near the east coast on Saturday. Maybe late Sunday, but that all depends on the airport you're looking to come into and where they will be hit. My suggestion to you is to change it to the next available flight that works for you and that makes it easiest for you. Do you absolutely have to have a layover? Or were you looking for originally a direct flight from the UK to JFK to your home airport? The airline should be able to help arrange this for you.

I would absolutely love a direct flight if possible, but from just searching available one-way flights from Manchester to Chicago (I only am able to change for free if the departure and arrival cities are the same) I don't seem to find any.

I suppose I made it seem like my eventual destination was the east coast in my first post, my bad, a little frazzled over this aha. My connecting flight was in Newark, NJ. That is what I am trying to avoid.

[gavw72 23]

I would absolutely love a direct flight if possible, but from just searching available one-way flights from Manchester to Chicago (I only am able to change for free if the departure and arrival cities are the same) I don't seem to find any.

I suppose I made it seem like my eventual destination was the east coast in my first post, my bad, a little frazzled over this aha. My connecting flight was in Newark, NJ. That is what I am trying to avoid.

Manchester is my local airport & If I remember when I was booking my flights last week I noticed that United fly direct from Manchester to Washington. Other options with them were via Frankfurt.

Best idea is to give them a call & see what options suit you best. They codeshare with a few other airlines so there should be a few options.

Good luck.....

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

If United wants you to change your flight, then they should move you to a flight at no cost to you. Shouldn't they? A friend of mine just got $800 in travel vouchers in December for agreeing to take a flight the next day instead of her scheduled flight. Work a deal. Ask for something for your inconvenience.

[trudi 1,317]

If United wants you to change your flight, then they should move you to a flight at no cost to you. Shouldn't they? A friend of mine just got $800 in travel vouchers in December for agreeing to take a flight the next day instead of her scheduled flight. Work a deal. Ask for something for your inconvenience.

I agree with this, Delta cancelled my flight earlier this year due to the hurricane off the coast of South Carolina and the associated weather and they rescheduled, offered to coverthe hotel bill (which wasn't needed as I stayed with Joe) gave me food vouchers and a Delta cheque for the inconvenience:)