Will passport be sealed inside the embassy envelope?

[alicekitty 8]

My fiancé (French / working living in London) has scheduled an interview for K1 at the London Embassy for December 13. However he will be flying to the US on December 23 for Christmas. After the interview, will the embassy take his passport along with other documents? If so, would he get his passport back in time to travel (not on K1 but on ESTA visa waiver for short term visitor)?

How long does it take to get visa after the interview (London)?

Second question: will the embassy seal the passport inside the envelope which is only to be opened by immigration officers at the port of entry?

When visa is ready, do you get your passport and the sealed envelope back (separately)?

Thanks!

[Cathi 5,755]

The passport will be sealed in a clear sleeve on the outside of the package. Whatever you do, do not open the sealed envelope under any circumstances, just remove the passport from the outside sleeve.

[Jmc1 13]

My K1 visa in my passport took one week to be returned from the London Embassy at the start on November, however standard advice is do not book travel that you can't get a refund or move before you have your visa/passport back in your hand.

Also my understanding is that once you have a K1 visa, your ESTA is automatically cancelled or no longer valid, so your first trip to USA needs to be your one and only K1 entry. Therefore I'm concerned that your plan will not work and a possible solution to take this trip without moving is to delay your interview until after this holiday.

Best of luck.

[Charmily 19]

Hi All, 

 

I know this is an old post but I searched long and hard to find any information on entering the USA on an ESTA once you have the K1 Visa in your passport. All UK citizens, let me tell you, IT CAN BE DONE

 

I second guessed myself and whether this was possible for a long time and found very little evidence out there for or against apart from warnings so I did it myself. 

 

I received my K1 visa on April 13th 2018. And booked my return flight to Fort Lauderdale airport that same day. 

 

On April 20th 2018, I was lucky to have my girl hold my hand the whole way but I can tell you that an ESTA is not a Visa and therefore does NOT get cancelled when you are given a K1 visa in your passport. 

 

Its very reasonable to tell the officer that you are coming in to plan your wedding. Why should we not have the right to enjoy planning our day with our future wife/husband. 

 

They will take you into secondary. They will want you to have a return ticket. And of course if your spouse is with you or can meet you at the airport that is a plus. I even had letters written from my employer, parents, spouses parents, evidence of multiple leaving gatherings when I returned to England, but they looked at none of this. 

 

Be confident in who you are and take as much evidence as you can. Then when you make it through share your experience and encourage others to do the same because it is not against the law. 

 

Just because we Brits fell in love with the most amazing American Man or Women does not mean that we have to suffer for it. 

 

Enjoy your love! And have a Fab Wedding Day!