US Immigration from Scotland

Prior to my Interview, I prepared a binder containing my DS160 print out (the one with the barcode), Passport (current and previous), x2 Visa Photos (they only required 1), email confirmation of my interview appointment & courier information, I-134 & supporting evidence, signed reaffirmation of relationship by the sponsor, police record (ACRO), original birth certificate, evidence of ongoing relationship, NOA1 & 2, Letter from NVC & photocopy of I-129F.

For the affidavit of support evidence we included:

- Tax transcripts

- Signed letter from her company stating her position and salary, on company letterhead

- 12 month bank statement

- Pay Stubs

- A signed Letter from her bank, detailing when she opened her account and the present balance.

Everything that is bold and underlined is all that I was asked for on the day of the interview, but don't take that as advice as all you will need - I found it was better to be over-prepared for the interview.

Here's my summary of the day:

- Boarded tube from London Victoria to Vauxhall on the Victoria line, then walked (5-10 mins) from Vauxhall underground to the US Embassy.

- Prior to the airport style security screening, you'll be greeted by an officer who will ask for your appointment confirmation email and passport for inspection. You will also be asked to unlock your phone and open an app. NOTE, laptops are not permitted into the building and they will require you to drop it off at a nearby cafe where they will look after it for a "small charge".

- After security you will queue at the reception area. I was towards the end of a rather long queue for 20 mins without moving an inch, until 11:25am, when they rapidly started scanning everyone's DS-160 then would notify you where exactly to go. I still made my appointment on time for 11:30. When they scan your DS-160, they'll put a sticker on it with a reference number - pay attention to this as this will be shown on a screen when it's your turn to see an officer.

- After reception, you'll take the lift to the 1st floor, take an immediate left, then another left at the end of the corridor. You'll find yourself at a waiting area with 7 or 8 kiosks. You'll wait here until your reference number is shown on one of the screens.

- In my case, my number was shown immediately. An officer asked for my passport, ds160, I-134 & evidence, visa photo, police records and birth certificate. In return, he handed me the results of my chest x-rays from the medical, and also a document notifying me of my rights as a spouse in the U.S. He returned me my birth certificate and visa photo (he only needed a photocopy). He asked for my finger and thumb prints, then invited me to take a seat until my number was called up again.

- 25 mins later my number was again displayed on the screen. I was called to a different kiosk, where an officer asked me to raise my right hand and affirm everything I was to say was honest. He asked me one question - "tell me about your fiancee'". I proceeded to tell him how we met, what she does for a living, where she stays, our wedding plans, how many times I've seen her since 2017 and about the engagement. His response was this - "I have no more questions, all I'm looking for is that everything makes sense, and this makes perfect sense."

And that was it. Extremely painless. All together, I was in the Embassy for 40 mins. The officer informed me that my passport should be back with me within 2 weeks.

Hi All,

I travelled to the US on the 21st of November 2019 and activated my CR-1 visa, so I thought I'd give a list of my experiences and issues thus far.

• Paid the immigrant fee a month before I travelled.
• The CBP officer at LAX didn't know what type of visa CR-1/IR-1 was -- guessing he was new -- he flipped through a little book/guide, called a few people but no luck. He had to get someone up from secondary. I chatted with the guy for about 30 to 40 minutes holding up the line until the secondary guy arrived. Went to secondary with him for 10 minutes and everything was good. Had to explain to the secondary guy that I didn't have a physical packet and that it was all digital.
• Social Security Card was printed on the 25th of November and I received it in the mail a couple of days later. Only issue was the address omitted the Apartment number, despite it being correct on my DS-260.
  • I went to the social security office to try and get this fixed and create an online account but I was told to come back with a Green Card or a California licence or ID.
  • So apparently what I had was sufficent to get a social security card, but not sufficent to change the address or create an online account for whatever odd reason.
  • My wife was with me also to get the name on her card changed, they were a bit sniffy and obstructionist with the Scottish Marriage Certificate she used as the name change document but eventually accepted it after a bit of pushing from me.
• Went to the DMV to try and get a Real ID, after a few attempts I got someone who would accept the MRIV with a stamp as an identity document. Not received the Real ID yet so there could still be issues. Also they scutinised the Scottish Marriage certificate again when my wife was changing the name on her licence.
• I have a conditional job offer from the State of California, when filling out USCIS Form I-9 they were initially a bit reluctant to accept the temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV) in the passport. I was able to deal with this by linking to the USCIS site. Then I also had to explain that the 'IV Expires On' date field on the visa wasn't the visa expiry date.
• Still waiting on the Green Card, the last action taken was on the 4th of December 2019 with a status of 'In Process'

I wish things were a bit more joined up. That the bureaucracies and civil servants and administrators were more knowledgable and shared information:

• They really don't seem to like Temporary Green Cards.
• A few people got K1 mixed up with CR-1/IR-1 and seemed to think I also needed an I-94.
• It might be worth changing the 'IV Expires On' date field to something more descriptive.

Got my biometrics done in November and about a month later it says im ready to be scheduled for an interview. Tracking on Fort Myers field office says between 9-24months wait time .

I can t see many recent posts from people waiting on AOS from Fort Myers. Is anyone else waiting or has been through Fort Myers? Is it more likely to wait 9 months or closer to 24? It d also be good to hear from other people waiting so we can keep an eye on each others cases. Im getting so bored waiting but hopefully my EAD/AP should be adjudicated upon in less than a month.

What does everyone else do to pass their time?

How do I get status update on k1 visa fiance nvc status? Application was approved and last notice on 12-13-19 was sending to NVC. How do I find out the status if received or what is happening? Please help

See attachment. I do have stocks and bonds. My question is if i have other sources of income proof do i actually need to attach the stocks? I use a robo service that constantly buys and sells hundreds of stocks so it would not be accurate. I don't know what stocks I own at any given time. Should I put $0 If i don't plan on attaching them or fill it out with the current amount and just not attach?