IR1 Visa Interview

[Ben Murphy 11]

Hi guys,

 

I have my IR1 Visa interview coming up and have been getting together all the documentation. On travel.state.gov it says that you “…do not need to bring your Affidavit of Support or financial evidence you submitted to NVC”. However on the US Embassy London website under documentation to bring with you it says “…Form I-864, a contractual affidavit of support, must be submitted at the time of the interview”.

 

I’m a bit confused as to whether I need to bring this form or not? And if so, do I need to print the whole form out that my Petitioner did, or do I need to do one myself?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Ben

[Wuozopo 4,293]

@Ben Murphy

 

It’s already uploaded and the embassy in LONDON will use that one.

 

If your source list is this page https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/required-documents/

that list is for those who did not process at NVC or upload anything. They hand it all in on interview day. That would be people who did DCF or got expedited out of NVC prior to DQ. 

That page also used to explain what NVC processed people bring….originals of civil documents like birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.. Sometimes the embassy reorganizes the website and leave good information off the newer version. Or the webmaster messes up and nobody checks it 😆 

 

Some recent interviewees have posted in the UK forum of Visa Journey that they did not have to present an I-864

Edited March 13, 2022 by Wuozopo

[ohiohopeful 53]

13 hours ago, Ben Murphy said:

Hi guys,

 

I have my IR1 Visa interview coming up and have been getting together all the documentation. On travel.state.gov it says that you “…do not need to bring your Affidavit of Support or financial evidence you submitted to NVC”. However on the US Embassy London website under documentation to bring with you it says “…Form I-864, a contractual affidavit of support, must be submitted at the time of the interview”.

 

I’m a bit confused as to whether I need to bring this form or not? And if so, do I need to print the whole form out that my Petitioner did, or do I need to do one myself?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Ben

I had my IR1 interview at the start of March and was confused about the same thing.

 

I took all financial documents to be safe, but didn't need any of it. The extent of the questions around finances was asking who the joint sponsor is and how I know them.

 

If it was me, i'd probably print the I864 out and take it again, much rather have it and not use it than need it and not have it.

[Ben Murphy 11]

1 hour ago, ohiohopeful said:

I had my IR1 interview at the start of March and was confused about the same thing.

 

I took all financial documents to be safe, but didn't need any of it. The extent of the questions around finances was asking who the joint sponsor is and how I know them.

 

If it was me, i'd probably print the I864 out and take it again, much rather have it and not use it than need it and not have it.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I'll bring it with me!

 

So you recently had your interview? Could you give me any insight as to what I should be expecting from your experience? What documentation did they ask for on the day? What questions did they ask you during the interview? 

 

How did yours go? Well I hope!

[ohiohopeful 53]

1 hour ago, Ben Murphy said:

Okay, thanks for the advice. I'll bring it with me!

 

So you recently had your interview? Could you give me any insight as to what I should be expecting from your experience? What documentation did they ask for on the day? What questions did they ask you during the interview? 

 

How did yours go? Well I hope!

Yeah I had mine on the 2nd March, it was very simple and I was approved on the day - I've posted a full recap/review if you want to have a read:

 

Any other questions, just comment on here or there and i'll help where I can!

 

[Ben Murphy 11]

1 hour ago, ohiohopeful said:

Yeah I had mine on the 2nd March, it was very simple and I was approved on the day - I've posted a full recap/review if you want to have a read:

 

Any other questions, just comment on here or there and i'll help where I can!

 

Ah, brilliant! That's exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for! So it sounds like they really don't ask for many documents and it's a relatively straight forward process. Was there not too much of a formal interview either? 

 

By 'joint sponsor' do you mean you had someone agree to sponsor you in addition to the petitioner? 

 

I assume you wore a suit or something similar? Did they ask to see any photos or anything that suggests you have a bona fide relationship with your spouse?

 

 

[ohiohopeful 53]

19 minutes ago, Ben Murphy said:

Ah, brilliant! That's exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for! So it sounds like they really don't ask for many documents and it's a relatively straight forward process. Was there not too much of a formal interview either? 

The 'formal' interview is the last stage, it's conducted at a service window and took the shortest amount of time out of all of the stages for me, maybe 10 minutes total? 

19 minutes ago, Ben Murphy said:

 

By 'joint sponsor' do you mean you had someone agree to sponsor you in addition to the petitioner? 

Yes, sorry, my wife was living with me in the UK when we applied, so needed a financial sponsor to meet the income requirements.

19 minutes ago, Ben Murphy said:

 

I assume you wore a suit or something similar? Did they ask to see any photos or anything that suggests you have a bona fide relationship with your spouse?

 

 

So we stayed in London the night before as i'm from the Midlands and had a 9am appointment. Timing was fantastic as there was a tube strike and it was tipping down with rain on the day of my interview. So I wore jeans, tshirt and a coat, but had a formal shirt in my bag to put on just before I went to the embassy. In the morning mess of getting to the area in the downpour and finding somewhere for my wife to wait for me, I completely forgot about the shirt and just went in my jeans/t-shirt/coat/trainers. There was no problem whatsoever. Most people were wearing smart clothes, but I don't understand how any decision could be based on what you wear, unless you have something particularly offensive on a t-shirt?

 

I took 7 or 8 photos from various points in our relationship, e.g. wedding photo with family, honeymoon photos, random family gathering pics, but they didn't ask for any kind of evidence at all. All I got asked was how we met, where we are going to live and when i'm planning on travelling.

 

Anything else you think of, ask away!

[Ben Murphy 11]

3 hours ago, ohiohopeful said:

The 'formal' interview is the last stage, it's conducted at a service window and took the shortest amount of time out of all of the stages for me, maybe 10 minutes total? 

Yes, sorry, my wife was living with me in the UK when we applied, so needed a financial sponsor to meet the income requirements.

So we stayed in London the night before as i'm from the Midlands and had a 9am appointment. Timing was fantastic as there was a tube strike and it was tipping down with rain on the day of my interview. So I wore jeans, tshirt and a coat, but had a formal shirt in my bag to put on just before I went to the embassy. In the morning mess of getting to the area in the downpour and finding somewhere for my wife to wait for me, I completely forgot about the shirt and just went in my jeans/t-shirt/coat/trainers. There was no problem whatsoever. Most people were wearing smart clothes, but I don't understand how any decision could be based on what you wear, unless you have something particularly offensive on a t-shirt?

 

I took 7 or 8 photos from various points in our relationship, e.g. wedding photo with family, honeymoon photos, random family gathering pics, but they didn't ask for any kind of evidence at all. All I got asked was how we met, where we are going to live and when i'm planning on travelling.

 

Anything else you think of, ask away!

Haha yeah I imagine not wearing nice clothes wouldn’t be a reason to reject months (or years!) of work! 
 

What are your plans for moving out there? Do you know if you’re going to use a removals company or something similar?

 

Congratulations on your approved visa, by the way! 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to the UK regional forum, for country-specific input ***

 

[ohiohopeful 53]

21 hours ago, Ben Murphy said:

Haha yeah I imagine not wearing nice clothes wouldn’t be a reason to reject months (or years!) of work! 
 

What are your plans for moving out there? Do you know if you’re going to use a removals company or something similar?

 

Congratulations on your approved visa, by the way! 

Thank you! It was honestly a huge wave of relief when it was approved.

 

Moving over on the 7th April, and will just send a few boxes over with 'Pack and Send'.

 

When's your interview booked for? Planned date to move?

[Ben Murphy 11]

1 hour ago, ohiohopeful said:

Thank you! It was honestly a huge wave of relief when it was approved.

 

Moving over on the 7th April, and will just send a few boxes over with 'Pack and Send'.

 

When's your interview booked for? Planned date to move?

I can imagine! I'm apprehensious about it but looking forward to getting to the other side!

 

That's soon! Will you miss the UK? There's loads of things I'll miss. Pubs for one (friends and family go without saying of course!).

 

My interview is next Wednesday (23rd). They originally booked it for the 1st but I couldn't make that one.