UK VJers Progress Update Thread

[Nauchelle Iain 0]

Dublin is indeed a POE, I imagine 3 hours will be more than enough, I plan on using this route when I enter also as I think I will feel more relaxed on the flight if I've already passed through POE and enter as domestic! I've been through Dublin to JFK before, moved through pretty fast on VWP!

36 days whoop whoop to that... It will fly by!

Dublin Ireland is your POE if your flight leaves thru Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is the only one for US Pre-clearance. While most flights to the US go thru there not all of them do. If it does not then your POE will be where the flight lands in the US.

Hope this helps.

Good to know about Terminal 2. Yeah - I figure once he's state side it will be easier to get him other flights if he happens to miss his connection if by some odd chance he doesn't fly through Terminal 2 at Dublin.

I'm getting SO excited. Each day is a little more bearable knowing he will be over here with me in 34 short days!

Thanks for all the support along the way and all the help everyone!

And for those of you just starting - it won't be easy but this community will definitely help you through and help you maintain your sanity when you're over analyzing every teeny tiny thing!!

[AMZJ 61]

The RFE evidence was marked as received yesterday. They emailed me today to let me know they would be continuing to process our case and that it's now off hold. So the waiting game commences again.

[YorkshiretoAZ 12]

My interview is a week today! Feeling a little nervous!

[Tricked 33]

Good luck!

Medical tomorrow...

4am start... yay.

[simonschus 58]

Good luck!

Medical tomorrow...

4am start... yay.

I remember the early start for my medical (leaving my house 1.30am, only because I was airport keen and wanted public transport to the airport). The way back was more enjoyable!

Have a safe, comfy journey!

[chipmunk92 11]

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah and I am the petitioner from NY and my fiance, Michael is from England. I sent my I-129F packet to lockbox yesterday and got a shipping confirmation that it was received first thing this morning!

I was hoping to get some insight from others who are currently going through this process on the timing of everything... just about every website I have looked at has said that the timing of this process is highly dependent on your situation, but some of the numbers I have seen scare me (ex. 5 months between NOA1 and NOA2!) I have seen some timelines on here though that seem to show that the process can actually go much faster which gives me some hope...

I am going into this with an "expecting the worst but hoping for the best" approach, but I was hoping that some of you who have also started this process recently could share some of your experiences with the timing of each step, or tips on how to be ready for the next step before it happens. Thank you so much!

[yuna628 9,676]

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah and I am the petitioner from NY and my fiance, Michael is from England. I sent my I-129F packet to lockbox yesterday and got a shipping confirmation that it was received first thing this morning!

I was hoping to get some insight from others who are currently going through this process on the timing of everything... just about every website I have looked at has said that the timing of this process is highly dependent on your situation, but some of the numbers I have seen scare me (ex. 5 months between NOA1 and NOA2!) I have seen some timelines on here though that seem to show that the process can actually go much faster which gives me some hope...

I am going into this with an "expecting the worst but hoping for the best" approach, but I was hoping that some of you who have also started this process recently could share some of your experiences with the timing of each step, or tips on how to be ready for the next step before it happens. Thank you so much!

Congrats on your first step. Your application will go to California Service Center (the lockbox will forward it). You can typically expect them to work on the case in a few weeks to a few months. While five or six months is the USCIS average processing time, it does not reflect what may typically happen at CSC. Petitions used to be split between Texas and California. Those at CSC were cleared within days to weeks, while those at Texas were trapped in a backlog hell of 300+ days. Then things changed, and those who newly filed were all sent to California. I'd say they still run fairly fast, but bear in mind they will have increased workloads than they had before. So while you should keep the average processing time in mind, provided there are no issues on your case I don't think you'll be waiting too long. Once you get past all the USCIS waiting, things move along at a much faster pace.

[chipmunk92 11]

Thank you so much for the information! That certainly makes sense and I am glad to hear that they seemed to have streamlined the process a bit... No one in our situation should have to wait that long to start their lives together!

[vpalermo85 62]

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah and I am the petitioner from NY and my fiance, Michael is from England. I sent my I-129F packet to lockbox yesterday and got a shipping confirmation that it was received first thing this morning!

I was hoping to get some insight from others who are currently going through this process on the timing of everything... just about every website I have looked at has said that the timing of this process is highly dependent on your situation, but some of the numbers I have seen scare me (ex. 5 months between NOA1 and NOA2!) I have seen some timelines on here though that seem to show that the process can actually go much faster which gives me some hope...

I am going into this with an "expecting the worst but hoping for the best" approach, but I was hoping that some of you who have also started this process recently could share some of your experiences with the timing of each step, or tips on how to be ready for the next step before it happens. Thank you so much!

Hey fellow New Yorker! That's the best approach to take--I just finished the first stage of the process and we got the visa in hand yesterday. We stayed on top of it as much as possible in order to help push it through as quickly as possible lol. So all together it was just shy of 4 months....it seemed a lot longer going through it but in fact looking back it's really not as long as other people on this site so I feel really blessed. Once you send in the paperwork there's little you can do to speed it along, other than making sure you sent everything in in the first place. Once you're approved you can help the ball roll. Start getting together everything you need for the next stage. London doesn't necessarily care about continuing relationship proof, but just try to put some together anyway. Have your fiance get whatever proof he needs of address so that when it comes time for the police certificate he can send that right off--same things for the medical, have him get his medical records together and his vaccination history. Lastly he needs his birth certificate and passport photos of varying sizes. That's really about all you can get together at this point, so when you get that NOA2 approval, call the embassy after 10 business days. Just remember you'll be fine and even though random officers might be judging your relationship, you know what your relationship is about and if you hold on to that, it should help curb 'some' of the anxiety you're going to go through. We've all been there so just keep telling yourself there's nothing you could do now to change the outcome, no matter how many times you want to call the USCIS for updates. The I-129F approval is the longest and most annoying part of the process.

[chipmunk92 11]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience...and congratulations on receiving your visa!!! You must be so incredibly pleased! Did your fiance visit you at all during those 4 months? Michael and I have a vacation booked in the Outer Banks in June which he plans to come out for through Visa Waiver and we are praying that he can convince the officer that he does in fact plan on going back to England and doesn't get sent away at JFK!

[vpalermo85 62]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience...and congratulations on receiving your visa!!! You must be so incredibly pleased! Did your fiance visit you at all during those 4 months? Michael and I have a vacation booked in the Outer Banks in June which he plans to come out for through Visa Waiver and we are praying that he can convince the officer that he does in fact plan on going back to England and doesn't get sent away at JFK!

Thank you and yes very pleased for it to be finally over for this stage! And yes we saw each other twice during the visa process. He flew to NY in February around Super Bowl and I went to London to visit him and his family for Easter. Definitely document your trips so you can easily add that later on to your continuing relationship proof. James and I didn't really have any trouble at customs, but both he and I have long track records with immigration proving we always return. Before we filed our visa, both he and I clocked over 20 trips to and from London in the course of three and a half years. We were nuts of course lol

[chipmunk92 11]

Right, okay that is definitely good to know! Wow, 20 trips is a lot but I can't say I blame you at all- I was in England for 3 weeks in Jan and for 10 days in April! Michael was working on an H2B visa during 2015 and left the US on time so hopefully that will go in our favor when he comes in June!

[Laurajc1984 8]

how's everyone doing? not been on much since finishing my contract at work!! Interview is next Thursday, nervous is an understatement but have checked my file and think I have everything needed. I'm sure I will still be checking the folder a few more times! lol.

[Sunya and Tim 55]

Right, okay that is definitely good to know! Wow, 20 trips is a lot but I can't say I blame you at all- I was in England for 3 weeks in Jan and for 10 days in April! Michael was working on an H2B visa during 2015 and left the US on time so hopefully that will go in our favor when he comes in June!

Tim came over a few times and never had any issues. He did carry a copy of our I-129F paper work so that he could prove to them that we understood the laws/process. They would say to him that he knows he cannot get married here during the stay, he would respond that we were in the middle of the K-1 visa process and let them know what step we are at like waiting for NOA2 or it has gone to NVC, etc.

Congrats on your journey!!!

[chipmunk92 11]

Tim came over a few times and never had any issues. He did carry a copy of our I-129F paper work so that he could prove to them that we understood the laws/process. They would say to him that he knows he cannot get married here during the stay, he would respond that we were in the middle of the K-1 visa process and let them know what step we are at like waiting for NOA2 or it has gone to NVC, etc.

Congrats on your journey!!!

Okay cool, thank you for sharing! Did the officers have a way of knowing that he was going through the K-1 process before Tim told them? I read somewhere else not to mention it unless they ask...