S*UK

Wondering if anyone can help me who had their interview recently in London. 

Can you take your phone into the embassy with you? I heard a while back they won't allow electronics inside but not heard it mentioned recently.

if not, what did you do with your phone? 

Thanks! 

@Salty2305 you're the only person I could think of as being really recent. 

1 minute ago, Kathergarc said:

That relieves a lot of stress thank you so much! I sent in proof of my travels, I sent copies of my passport stamps of when I went in and out of the country during the last two years, I also attached letters signed by my partner and I stating that we do want to get married within the ninety day period I hope that will help! 

Obviously I cant say for sure (some officers are more lenient than others), but that seems like you should be ok in terms of proving you have met within the last 2 years. If not, an RFE isnt the worst case scenario in this process. All you can do now is sit back and wait. Its a long ride but its worth it  

If you are filing for a K1 visa you do not need to present evidence with the I-129F petition of a bonafide relationship. This is done at the interview at the beneficiary's home country embassy. Sending this evidence with your petition is known as 'front loading' and may or may not help if your case is particularly complicated.

What you do need to do is provide evidence that you have met in person within the last two years. This can be done by sending boarding passes, hotel reservations, the information page of your passport along with passport stamps or other hard evidence that you were both in the same place at the same time and in each others physical presence. Pictures are only used as 'secondary evidence'.

Basically, if you have sent enough evidence of meeting each other in person within the last 2 years already, the pictures aren't needed. If you do want to send them anyway you can do as suggested above and send them printed on paper or taped to a sheet of paper. You will need to wait for a 'request for additional evidence (RFE)' now unfortunately as there is no way to add to a submitted petition - so to speak. And as I have said above: if you have already sent enough evidence of meeting, you may not even get an RFE anyway.

Good luck!

Oh and Congrats @Tatiana&D.S. on your Visa! Next stop: POE

Hey everyone i've been so busy recently at work I havent had time to follow everyones case so I hope that things are running smoothly for you all. 

I have my interview on Tuesday, so hopefully all will go well with that. I know there are a few of us all interviewing around the same time so good luck to you all!

@Salty2305 Sorry to hear they didnt have your medical in time. I hope it doesnt delay things too much? Since they received it that same day I would imagine you hear from them about being approved very soon. Did you hand over your passport anyway? (thats always a good sign that things will go quickly)

@Melodica256 im actually so sad that you still havent received your approval yet. Its so upsetting to see them working on other peoples case whilst yours is still sat in a pile somewhere! I can completely sympathise with you when your fiance is not wanting to 'look stupid'. Its hard because we as the beneficiary cannot do anything to enquire about our cases. I didnt have to go down that route luckily, but I know that if it had come to it, my fiance would almost certainly have not gone to his congressman for fear of looking dumb.

@Estibaliz hope you're having fun with Gary! I dont remember your POE but good luck for the big day! (the first of many big days to come!)

@Mike & Tuyen Good Luck for the interview! Its so nice that youll be there to support her through that

2 hours ago, rachied26 said:

Hello everyone I'm sorry to be a pain and keep asking lots of questions but I'm finding this whole process so confusing!! 

 

So on CEAC NVC case tracker it changed to ready today, can I book an interview now or do I have to wait for the letter to come through from them? 

 

 

2 hours ago, ColdSummer said:

You have to wait for packet 3 from the Embassy with the instructions and then you can schedule the interview, at least that's how it was in my case. They sent the instructions to my fiance on the email and he sent it to me.

2 minutes ago, Mike & Tuyen said:

We never got packet 3, but they sent us a link in the email with the instructions.  It was a pretty straightforward checklist which is why it was so fast for us.  It might be country specific though.

You don't have to wait for anything. No mail, no email. 

You can schedule your interview now. 

Make sure you have filled out the ds-160, then submit your readiness form and then schedule your interview. It's all on the US embassy in London website. 

These things are very country specific. 

2 hours ago, _Mia_ said:

Sorry I'm being annoying today.. For UK filers, after my CEAC says our case is ready do I then book the medical or and after the medical book my interview? I'm slightly confused if I need to wait for the confirmation in the post. 

You need to now call Knightsbridge and schedule a K1 medical exam. 

Then you need to fill out your form of readiness.

Then you schedule your interview. 

5 minutes ago, scottnmo said:

Direct Filing Consular? Never heard of that - will need to do some research

 

Thanks for the tip. Financial is not a concern, minimizing time apart is the main concern.

Sorry, wasn't aware that Canada doesnt have DCF. Thanks for that info @Going through.

If finances are not an issue, I suggest the K1 she can visit whilst you file and you will be together much quicker than a K3.

I dont actually know the answer to this - maybe someone else reading this can chip in - but, can you not go via the Direct Consular Filing route in Canada since you are a US citizen living in Canada? This is quicker than a K3 and gets you all the benefits of the K3 - work, green card etc.

In terms of K3 vs K1, K1 is quicker but more expensive. Your fiancee will have to accept not being able to work for a minimum of 4 months (depends on marriage date) once in the US on a K1. So I guess the question is more a financial one if that becomes an issue.

I hope this wont affect the process of getting a SSN before EAD?

I plan to get my SSN as soon as I arrive in the US using my K1 visa in passport and I-94 like many others have done.

I cant apply for a driving license until I have a SSN and equally I cant be enrolled into the military DEERS programme

19 hours ago, Aman Grewal said:

Hi all,

 

i want to ask that although my fiancee meets the poverty guidelines, but still if she want to add the joint sponsor for I134 can she do so?? I mean is it right to add the cosponsor despite having the  income little more than 125%??

If she already meets the poverty guidelines then she should not add the co-sponsor. There is no need to and it would also confuse the officer at the interview I imagine. Keep it simple the requirement is 125% or 100% for military. As long as you are sure you meet this you are fine. Good Luck

1 hour ago, Salty2305 said:

Hey the medical was all good, that flu jab was pretty vicious though! I’m ok with vaccines but that one was rough! The journey there was the worst part! Such a nightmare living so far away from London.  

 

Have you got your visa in hand? I would really like Raleigh or Charlotte to be our POE but we are also considering JFK or Toronto based on the flight offers we’ve been looking at. I guess the good thing about those 2 is they problem experiences so many k visas whereas I could not find a lot of reviews for anywhere in NC. Hoping to fly out on or before Halloween  how about you?

 

Glad to hear all went well! Yea the travelling was the worst part for me too. I didnt have to have the Flu vaccine, but had it at work anyway. It wasnt bad when I had it but maybe it was a different type?

My interview is on the 17th OCT so after yours actually. I dont leave my job until the 12th of November so it was hard fitting it into my work week.

I think Raleigh will be the easiest for me. I dont want to have to get on another flight after POE incase I miss the connection. I just can't predict how long it will take to get through immigration. There are some flights that go striaght from Heathrow to Raleigh too. So I might do MAN-LHR-RDU for my flight and keep it simple. Hopefully prices wont be too high but hey, we've been doing this for years so whats one extra expense .

Your POE is so soon! I bet youre excited. I hope you and your little boy settle in well, im sure you will. My POE is NOV 20 (hopefully). We just put our deposit down on our apartment in Fayetteville. Things are moving so quickly. After 3 years of waiting I kinda have to stop and realise how far we've come. Its a crazy experience.

1 minute ago, Estibaliz said:

Yeah, flying from Asturias to Salt Lake is quite a trip, usually around 20-21 hours to be safe with the connecting flights. He'll be arriving here in exactly 24 hours

 

This time he's flying to Dallas (around 2.5 hours) and then from there to Madrid, which is over a 9 hours flight (over 10 hours when we go back to the States ), and then 1 hour from Madrid to Asturias. Yep, quite a trip indeed 

Wow! Thats crazy. I  admire you both for being able to do that. We thought our 8 hour trips were hard and tiring lol. Im actually so excited for you to be finally doing this. In little over a month it will be my turn I have 5 weeks left at work and 6 weeks until POE! (providing all goes well at interview).

@Salty2305 have you chosen your POE yet? And how did your medical go? (sorry if I missed an earlier post on this)

11 minutes ago, Estibaliz said:

Waiting can be unnerving and frustrating... I think we all here know that very well!  However, then time passes by faster than you expected it to do. I know what I'm talking about, since Gary is just flying out of Salt Lake in 3 hours

 

Anyway, here you have the link to the POE reviews: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php

Choose wisely!

 

Thanks so much!
Wow you must be so excited to see Gary. How long is the flight? Im assuming he would have to get a connection coming across the pond from Utah? When I fly from London to Washington DC to see Collin its a good 8 hour flight . Hope his travel is safe and comfortable

*Also... I just looked at the reviews for Raleigh... there are 4 reviews: 1 doesnt say anything and 1 is for someone entering on VWP. Why does no one like to enter at RDU ?? There are hundreds of reviews for other POE.

11 hours ago, Meils said:

Hello all, 

Ii had my K-1 interview today at the US embassy in London and I was approved which is awrsome! However being me and a tendency to worry my head off about these things, I checked my case status online just now and it still said 'Ready'. What I'm curious to know is, now they said my visa is approved at interview, does this mean i will definitely get my visa in the next 2 weeks, as specified. Basically is saying that I am approved at the interview the last word? Can I chill out now? 

 

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

thanks! 

 

Amelia 

As far as I am aware, after you have been approved at interview there is still a little bit of admin work that needs to be done on your case before the visa is issued. This is why the tracker will still read 'ready' for a little while. It varies from country to country also. So the fact that Michael above ^ was approved in September and still has 'ready' showing on the case tracker doesnt really mean much for you. I believe in the UK the visa is normally issued quite quickly... providing you havent hidden anything that they would uncover during that admin processing lol! (im sure you havent).

So good luck, I hope its issued very soon. Im right here behind you (interview on 17th)

14 minutes ago, Stefan101 said:

RFE has been requested. Frustrating as it's been such a long wait. Need to see what they requested. We sent a lot in our initial application. Hopefully doesn't delay us too long as it's been 170 days.

Hope it arrives soon and its an easy fix for you. Good luck!

39 minutes ago, Salty2305 said:

So me and my son are setting off in 2 hours for our 8 hour coach journey to London, get there at 6.20 am tomorrow and then back on the coach home at 4pm. Going to take him for pancakes and to see Buckingham Palace during the little bit of free time we have in London. Been busy the past few days with finishing packing up my house and getting all documents sorted for the medical tomorrow! 

 

Hope everyone is having a lovely week

Good luck! It will be a breeze! Update us when you have time and enjoy those pancakes 

4 hours ago, rachied26 said:

This is random but just wondering and i dunno guess my anxiety is just on a all time high today but just wondering as anyone thought about moving there and missing home and like how you'll all make new friends etc... I dunno I'm just hoping when Matts at work and I cant work for 3-6 months that I'm going to feel lonely. Anyone thought about this or just me lol Hope all is doing well, I'm hoping I start to feel better later on today. 

I worry about this all the time. I'm 22 so I'm used to having a pretty good social life, I rely on my car a lot, have a lot of friends at work and still live with my family. I'm gonna have to give all this up. Of course, it's all worth it to be with Collin.

The main thing making me feel ok about it all is knowing that Collin is off work a lot when I first arrive. Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas and then new year too. I'm hoping to meet some of his friends gfs/wives and luckily for me, the military base is going to be full of other people in my situation who have left everything behind when they moved on base. Some from other countries, some from other places in the US. 

I think itll be hard for us all. But I know that it can be done. Stay positive and optimistic! 

Just now, Murph4865 said:

The date on USCIS website shows the oldest cases files they are working on is all does not show currents ones

Are you referring to the processing times? I wasnt referring to these at all.

These are consistently months behind, it gives USCIS a kind of security blanket. Non the less, May filers are still well within normal processing times. There are April filers who havent yet been approved.

The fact that some May filers are being approved shows that USCIS are working SOME May files. But again, they are also working earlier cases also.

6 minutes ago, Lorimedo said:

Hopefully good news soon 

Have u checked ur application on the Web site ? If yes! I would like to know  what's the last updated ? 

I'm sure confused because our it has never been updated since may 10

Hey there,

You shouldnt expect the case tracker to have updated at all in the time since your NOA1. Im not sure what you think it should have updated for unless you have changed your address or personal details? 

The case tracker only updates after NOA1 when you receive your NOA2 or an RFE (and even then, it sometimes doesnt update. I got NOA2 August 19 and still shows recieved).

Being a May filer you are still well within the normal processing times. You may get your NOA2 soon, but equally it could still be a few weeks yet, so be patient and hang in there.

I know that you keep saying people after you have gotten their NOA2, but unfortunately this is just the way USCIS works. They dont process the cases in EXACT order, just general order i.e. generally March then April then May. So people after you being approved is just a guidline to the approx dates that USCIS are working right now.

Hope this helps ease some worry you may be having!

44 minutes ago, Melodica256 said:

Hi all, unsure if anyone follows my case but tomorrow will be 174 days since our NOA1 on April 11th, with no NOA2. It will also have been 6 months since April, so I'm really hoping to get some answers. Is anyone else still waiting for NOA2?

Have you had your fiance contact their state representitive? (senator?) I know that has helped a few people, at least just to get an answer on where the case is at. 

I really hope you have your NOA2 this week. Its been far too long. I cant imagine your frustration

1 hour ago, Yu&M said:

Another Update:

 

Interviewed the 27th (Wednesday) and got approved.

As of Friday 29th (today): Visa status; officially issued.

Fab to know it happened so quickly! Congrats and hope you have it in hand just as quickly 

26 minutes ago, Salty2305 said:

I think it depends on the exchange rate on the day  I paid £402 for 2x visa fees today but I would give yourself a £20 cushion in case the rate drops. 

True! I never thought of that. I should have maybe waited haha, but then you just don't know how the exchange rate will change!

2 hours ago, Salty2305 said:

Medical is £300 and the visa fee today was £201 and then an extra £18 for delivery. 

I don't know if this has changed but my visa fee was £209 plus £18 courier charge @rachied26