UK VJers Progress Update Thread

[-Shana- 152]

Looks good, rob! I was asked for the tax return at my interview and nothing else. A lot of people said employer letter is all they need so I was glad to have the tax return too. I took a letter and some party stubs as well to be safe.

Edited May 28, 2015 by -Shana-

[rob999 51]

Also, for the police certificate, did you literally scan in a passport photo?

Yes - are you doing the online application? I scanned in all that was requested for and sent that and it all was fine. Only took 10 days to come through normal postage.

[rob999 51]

Good post Rob. It shows you've been doing your homework and making lists to keep things straight.

**US & UK photos done--do you have 4 for the medical forms?

**Got Jabs (flu too as looks like my AOS could fall into flu season)--the beauty of getting signed off at Knightsbridge is that if you are complete on the day of record, it doesn't matter if your AOS goes into next flu season, you are still complete for USCIS without a flu shot.

**On medical make sure I get a copy of DS-3025 for the AOS.--make sure they fill it out correctly before you leave and give you the waiver for varicella. (And everybody else, make sure they mark the waiver for "not flu season" which is F)

**Bank statements-- Meh.. What does that prove really? Well unless she needs to make up for shortfall of salary with assets.

Thanks Nich-Nick. Yeah I read a fair few posts and looked like a lot of people were confused so I had to go in for Tetnus anyway and they offered flu as I showed the immunizations chart so I though what the hell why not, it's done then in case something did go wrong. They did say they "usually" don't do this for Visas anymore but they'll make this exception. Not sure what that meant, I have paid my taxes for a couple of decades!

Thanks for note on DS-3025, I've had chicken pox before so I'll make sure of that. From your guide it said I just tell them I've had it and they believe me. When I spoke to my GP it looks like they have really screwed up my medical records as I have moved a couple of times.

Thanks Shana, I'll do the same, prepared is best!

Edited May 28, 2015 by rob999

[swji89 41]

Yes - are you doing the online application? I scanned in all that was requested for and sent that and it all was fine. Only took 10 days to come through normal postage.

Yes I'm planning on doing it online. So, did you crop the scanned in image to just be the passport photo itself?

[rob999 51]

Yes I'm planning on doing it online. So, did you crop the scanned in image to just be the passport photo itself?

No you need to do two separate things here.

The first is to scan a passport sized photo (not part of the passport as the hologram will interfere). This photo will appear on your certificate.

The second is to scan your passport which shows the photo page (my photo page is in the front so I opened the passport up on photo page and scanned the full thing.). I think this is more for identification and database checking of you.

The notes here are quite good, see the second page

https://www.acro.police.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Bureau/Forms/Police%20Certificate%20Application%20Form%20-%20ENGLISH%20-%20May%202014.pdf

Edited May 28, 2015 by rob999

[swji89 41]

Thanks. I understand the difference between the passport photo and the scan of the actual photo page of the passport, so that's fine. What I meant was, did you have some passport photos done and then scan in that physical passport photo to cover the 'passport sized photo' element? And when you did, did you crop the scan so it gets rid of all the blank space around it when you scanned it in?

Hopefully that makes sense!

Edited May 28, 2015 by swji89

[JamesRenee 47]

Thanks. I understand the difference between the passport photo and the scan of the actual photo page of the passport, so that's fine. What I meant was, did you have some passport photos done and then scan in that physical passport photo to cover the 'passport sized photo' element? And when you did, did you crop the scan so it gets rid of all the blank space around it when you scanned it in?

Hopefully that makes sense!

That's what my fiancé did...he scanned his passport photo he had taken. It did take him a few times to upload it though....he had to make sure it was the correct specifications

[rob999 51]

That's what my fiancé did...he scanned his passport photo he had taken. It did take him a few times to upload it though....he had to make sure it was the correct specifications

Yeah so I cropped it to right size. I remember also having to reduce the file size of the image. Though when you go through the form it'll tell you if its not quite what it expects

[Pheebs1201 269]

Ps. Pheebs congrats on EAD, hope the job follows quickly too!

Thank you! I am going home for my mums graduation over summer so I am going to get more serious about job hunting when I return, however at least I can now do some temporary things like babysitting in the meantime without breaking any rules

[BryterMoon 30]

Hello all,

Thought id add to this topic and say hello.

Heres our brief story

I met my fiance online a over two years ago, spent alot of time going back and forth from the UK to Indiana, and she is completely and utterly my other half. I proposed in Sept 2014 with a custom made Tolkien inspired ring (We are both big nerds). We have our wedding booked for 25th of July at Butler University in Indiana (A college she went to.)

In January we found out that we are expecting our first child (after doctors telling her she wouldnt be able to). We started the K1 process in Feb, and we were very lucky to have the first stage approved in only two weeks. Fast forward and i had my medical in London on the 15th of May, all went fine, and they got my completed medical and all other forms needed on the following week.

Now we are waiting for a interview date, its incredibly hard being away, missing baby things and her changing, but we are happy to be at this final stage.

Fingers and toes crossed for a interview in the next month or so!

Good luck to everyone else waiting for interviews and being at any stage of this strange and wonderful journey of the K1 visa.

[bonzaigirl 13]

Hello all,

Thought id add to this topic and say hello.

Heres our brief story

I met my fiance online a over two years ago, spent alot of time going back and forth from the UK to Indiana, and she is completely and utterly my other half. I proposed in Sept 2014 with a custom made Tolkien inspired ring (We are both big nerds). We have our wedding booked for 25th of July at Butler University in Indiana (A college she went to.)

In January we found out that we are expecting our first child (after doctors telling her she wouldnt be able to). We started the K1 process in Feb, and we were very lucky to have the first stage approved in only two weeks. Fast forward and i had my medical in London on the 15th of May, all went fine, and they got my completed medical and all other forms needed on the following week.

Now we are waiting for a interview date, its incredibly hard being away, missing baby things and her changing, but we are happy to be at this final stage.

Fingers and toes crossed for a interview in the next month or so!

Good luck to everyone else waiting for interviews and being at any stage of this strange and wonderful journey of the K1 visa.

Oh good luck to your story Such an exciting one. Wishing you and your fiancee all the best

[bonzaigirl 13]

Thanks. I understand the difference between the passport photo and the scan of the actual photo page of the passport, so that's fine. What I meant was, did you have some passport photos done and then scan in that physical passport photo to cover the 'passport sized photo' element? And when you did, did you crop the scan so it gets rid of all the blank space around it when you scanned it in?

Hopefully that makes sense!

Yes you totally makes sense What I did was I just scanned my passport photo. And then uploaded it. And then I attached it. I didn't even cropped it. I just scanned it the normal way and then saved it in my computer, and that was it. I still got my police certificate, and my photo was also there. They did all the hard work of cropping it for me.

[swji89 41]

Yeah so I cropped it to right size. I remember also having to reduce the file size of the image. Though when you go through the form it'll tell you if its not quite what it expects

Yes you totally makes sense What I did was I just scanned my passport photo. And then uploaded it. And then I attached it. I didn't even cropped it. I just scanned it the normal way and then saved it in my computer, and that was it. I still got my police certificate, and my photo was also there. They did all the hard work of cropping it for me.

Thanks both. I get myself stressed about getting it all exactly right so as not to waste any time with them asking me to do it again etc! However, if the online application tells you when it isn't right, that's helpful. Thanks again!

That's what my fiancé did...he scanned his passport photo he had taken. It did take him a few times to upload it though....he had to make sure it was the correct specifications

Sorry, forgot to thank you too!

[JamesRenee 47]

Thanks both. I get myself stressed about getting it all exactly right so as not to waste any time with them asking me to do it again etc! However, if the online application tells you when it isn't right, that's helpful. Thanks again!

Sorry, forgot to thank you too!

Haha- no problem ? Glad I can be of some help ??

[ChasUno 101]

With regards to completing the online application for a Police Certificate, I think I may have been one of the first to have applied for it online rather than the more traditional via mail route. I wrote up a little guide as to how I did it:

"Anyway, I've completed the Police Certificate application online so I thought I'd update everyone on the process.

The good news, is that it seems fairly easy and painless. As long as you've prepared beforehand and have all the necessary documents scanned, in the correct format and size, and ready to upload. Also, the questions seemed to be a lot more linear and clear compared with the downloadable form version. Some of the additional question only come up after you tick certain boxes, so if they don't apply they don't appear on the screen. Answering the questions seemed very intuitive and logical, the only slight issue was with my 'conviction' in 1985. I didn't know the exact date, so I only put in the month and year, which was accepted. I then briefly explained what the offence was, and also that it was so long ago that I didn't know the exact date nor 'conviction', and that I didn't have any records regarding them either (I never got any!) It remains to be seen whether such a record even exists.

For those wishing to do the Police Certificate online, you can do so if you can get all the required documents and a suitable person is willing to verify you (you only need to supply their details).

A scanner is essential (I bought a used Canon Lide 90 from Ebay for £1.23!)

You need the following to apply online:

• A UK sized recent passport photo to scan from. I got 5 x done at a "Photo-Me" booth in Tescos for £5. I will need 4 (I think) for the medical/ interview. I just scanned in one picture in a normal scan mode to upload with the certificate.
• A scan of the two main pages of your passport.
• 2 x proof of your address. I used 1 x TalkTalk online bill (in PDF format), and I scanned the latest copy of my Barclaycard bill, both clearly showing my address.
• Driving licence number (if applicable).
• National Insurance Number.
• The name, email and telephone number of the person willing to verify you (helps that a good friend of mine is a Police Constable). It didn't ask for his address.
• A suitable Credit/ Debit card to make payment. £45 for a standard service. More if you need the certificate expedited.

That's pretty much it. Ensure all scans are no greater than 2MB. If they are, load them into an imaging program and re-save them again as a JPG. It should compress it further and will fall below 2MB. The whole process took around 15 - 20 mins, which included resizing one of the scans, and also waiting for my friend to get back to me (I couldn't remember if he was an Officer or a Constable). It certainly seems a lot less hassle compared with making photocopies and having to mail applications via post.

When applying for the Police Certificate, I strongly recommend the online route :yes:"

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/542442-online-police-certificate-application/