Robyn-n-Kris

Hope everyone still going through the process is making great strides. I just wanted to give a quick heads up for anyone that may need to know. It looks like the I-864W form has been reinstated for use by the USCIS. For those that do not know what it is, it is the form used to waive the requirement of filling out the I-864. It is based on earning 40 credit quarters with the social security office. It would have been helpful last year for hubby and I, though we were still able to get approved with the exemption, just not with the form. You can find it here:

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864w

The core requirements are these:

You have earned or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA). If you have 40 quarters of SSA coverage, you are exempt from the requirement to file Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ. You can acquire 40 qualifying quarters in the following ways:

A. Working in the United States for 40 quarters in which you received the minimum income established by the Social Security Administration;

B. By being credited under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 213A(a)(3)(B) with quarters worked by your spouse during the marriage or a parent during the time you were under 18 years of age; or

C. A combination of the above.

If you are claiming credit for quarters worked by a spouse or parent, you may not count any quarter in which your spouse or parent was receiving means-tested public benefits. Include all SSA forms necessary to establish that you have or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage.

On 2/9/2021 at 1:37 PM, os306 said:

We filed my I-130 petition via DCF London on 16th March 2020, interviewed at the US Embassy on 21st October 2020 and approved visa that day Received a large white "Do not open" envelope a week later.

 

I arrived at JFK last Friday with my envelope. Fortunately, there was barely anyone at Passport Control, and I was summoned to the desk within a couple of minutes. The Immigration Officer ripped open the top of the envelope and took out a stack of papers (I spotted my birth certificate at the top). I joking said that I had a mini-heart attack on the flight when I noticed a slight tear in the envelope and the Officer joked back "oh that's okay, if it had ripped any further we should have just arrested you". Was slightly taken aback by that comment but appreciated the sense of humor!

After a couple of minutes, I was handed back my passport and asked to confirm the address that I wanted my green card sent to. I wasn't asked to provide any fingerprints.

 

Wanted to thank everyone on this forum who helped out. Special shout out to @Wuozopo, @Stuwoolf and @Robyn-n-Kris

 

 

So happy you finally made it over! We are settling in fairly well. I've started back with  my old employer and hubby is looking for work.  

So, hubby and I will be moving back to the US this month after his visa got approved. We've lived here since last May when I came over on a spouse visa. What I can't seem to find the answer to is what do I do with my BRP? I know for the reverse, when we moved here hubby had to relinquish his green card, but I can't seem to find anything about surrendering my BRP as it expires next year if I do not file for my Further Leave to Remain. 

Anyone that has gone through this situation, what was required, if anything?

26 minutes ago, Arrowword said:

Yes, I bet it does make it easier. We thought about having them picked up at the airport and then dropped to us by an agent, but we don’t live that far from the airport, so my wife was happy to go get them.

Ya if it was closer I would have gone, but it is over 3 hours away. 

On 11/18/2020 at 9:09 PM, Arrowword said:

Ours arrived yesterday and they are absolutely fine! It all went smoothly. Only issue we had was at the pick up and that was nothing to do with Petair. 
 

Petair advised we called Atlanta airport desk and asked any questions we had about collection and they were very helpful. Informed us we had to pay a small handling charge (which we knew) and we could pay once we got there. Anyway, once we got there, turns out we couldn’t just pay we had to use the website. The website wouldn’t load on our phone and ended up having to drive to a gas station and doing a money order. So, my advice would be if you know you have to pay a handling fee, check with the airport exactly how it needs to be paid. 
 

The crates they make the cats are fab, really sturdy and the foam padding means if they have to have a wee whilst in it, they stay dry and the puppy pad beneath soaks it up. Both cats are doing great and settling in  

Good to read,. We've gone with them but have had them arrange someone to get them from Houston and transport them to us over in Round Rock. It cost extra but makes it easier.

On 11/16/2020 at 12:37 PM, Arrowword said:

My cats have just been picked up 2 hours ago to start their journey over to Atlanta.

 

We have gone with Petair and they have been fantastic so far. It’s not cheap, but the service has been great so far (touch wood).

 

After we booked, the BA flight they were due to go on was ‘cancelled’. Petair were brilliant in helping us find alternatives - we looked at Miami and DC. But, it then transpired that BA had cancelled the commercial flight, but were still flying the plane as a cargo flight and our cats could still go.

 

(Side note: One thing we have learned is that some planes, I think newer ones, have a different way of loading the pets onto the plane. So instead of entering from the side, the nose of the plane lifts up and the crates are pallet loaded onto the plane. However, for some unbeknownst reason, this will double the cost of shipping them?! We managed to avoid this, as the BA flight didn’t use this plane, but if we chose Miami, it would have).

 

They were picked up today by a lovely duo who really put my mind at ease. They bought the specially built crates and left me to it to put them in there. They have now driven them down to their place near Heathrow where they will be checked over by a vet, looked after tonight and loaded onto the plane tomorrow. 
 

We just had to make sure they had their vaccines all up to date and provide the company with those records. We also erred on the side of caution and got their rabies done, even though this is not needed for the state of Georgia. They didn’t need a pet passport. 
 

My wife will be picking them up at the other end and the instructions for that are clear and easy. She doesn’t go to the airport arrival terminal, its a separate building that you can drive straight up to and it’s easy to put your pets in the car.

 

Don’t know if any of that helps, but I would say this has been the most anxious and worrying part of the move for us. I think that’s pretty natural.

 

 

 

Good to read a current review for petair.  We just signed up to use them for our 3 cats in December. 

1 hour ago, os306 said:

Congrats! 

 

Thank you! Hopefully you’ll hear some good news too.

 

I’ve posted my review here: https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=28700

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that I was not asked to provide any proof that my wife was going to be re-establishing domicile, nor was I asked anything about health insurance. 

Ditto on the above. Nothing about insurance or any of it. 

6 minutes ago, os306 said:

Had my interview earlier today and was approved. The whole process took about 30 minutes and, in line with what others have said, was painless. I’ll post a review up shortly.

 

Many thanks to the people on this forum who assisted with my questions and queries. Good luck to those of you still waiting!

Yay! Congrats. 
 

side note, hubby’s visa came by courier today.

31 minutes ago, Stuwoolf said:

Excellent! Congratulations🙂

Thanks! I am so flipping relieved. Now we can start actioning any plans.  

3 hours ago, Robyn-n-Kris said:

So hubby’s ceac status went from refused to admin processing . No idea what to expect when. So frustrated at the moment since they told him we passed all requirements.

Nm the above. Our status just changed to issued!!!!

So hubby’s ceac status went from refused to admin processing . No idea what to expect when. So frustrated at the moment since they told him we passed all requirements.

3 minutes ago, Stuwoolf said:

This is another massive step forward for you. After all the waiting, a few extra days will be a dawdle.🙂

That's what we are hoping for. Sadly, we just happened to fall into a part of the process they hadn't planned for. Hubby said the guy said he did everything absolutely right. So that makes us feel better.

So, hubby had his interview today. Everything went just fine. They were happy with everything he had. Unfortunately, they couldn't give us our instant approval. As some of you know, we are applying without the I-864 because we are exempt due to hubby having accrued 40 credit quarters with social security. The guy at the embassy knows he qualifies and knows it is fine, but because they discontinued the I-864W and they cannot ask for the DS5540 (which was to replace the need for the 864W) they were never given guidance on how to approve our situation. The guy knows we meet the criteria for approval, but apparently it has to be approved by someone in the US (supervisor I'm guessing). According to my husband everyone around him that works there knows he is good to go, but no one there can do the final approval because we fall through the 'cracks'. <headdesk> 

So, we are taking it as an approval that is just needing someone in the US to say 'Yes". 

Sadly, there was nothing else we could have brought in to assist on this according to the embassy, mainly because they have just not been given guidance from the US on these such cases. I guess we are rare lol. He thinks it should only take a few days to get the official okay from the US though. So we are planning based on that.

We did the UK spouse visa last year. We did priority but it still took at least a month. Much more paperwork involved but we had the benefit of living together in the US at the time of filing.

12 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

I-864W is no more.  As in, it's been removed from the USCIS list of forms.

 

For extra peace of mind, bring a copy of that section of the I-864 instructions saying you are exempt from filing I-864 if you have enough qualifying work credits.

 

We already have that. We are bringing the old form as well since it also lists the reasons to be exempt. Have both his social security statement and mine that show we both earned over the required credit quarters as well as the email from the unit in London confirming it.

3 hours ago, The4Sands said:

Definitely bring photocopies of all the certificates because they definitely asked for those (and kept them) on Thursday at my husband's interview.  Weirdly they never asked to see confirmation that we'd paid the courier, but obvs you should bring that.  I just mention it because my husband kept waiting for someone to ask to see it and was confused that they never did.  He asked the CO if she wanted to see it and she acted like she didn't know what he was talking about.

Yep we have copies of all the certificates. 

1 minute ago, Wuozopo said:

 

Assuming you know the details but adding just in case. I am often surprised at how many don’t.
1: Passport with 6 months validity from expected entry 

2: Photographs US Passport size

3: Marriage certificate (copy and original)

4: Hubby's Birth certificate (copy and original) with parent names listed

5: Police certificate (copy and original)

6: DS260 confirmation 

7: Appointment email confirmation and courier confirmation

8: 864W with social security statements and 3 years of tax transcripts

Check out fee payment options so you bring the right kind of card.

Fees may be paid in cash – sterling or dollar equivalent; by International Money Order or Bankers Draft; Credit Card – Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover or American Express; or Debit Card with the Visa logo. The Embassy does not accept any other credit or debit cards, or personal checks. 

Passport (no issue there) 

Photographs were done in US sized

Birth certificate (No issue there they are listed)

The email we are bringing includes the courier confirmation. (meant to include that when I posted. oops)

We've confirmed payment options, and have cards available of every type. So should be good there as well. So barring anything bizarre, I think we are good. 

Thanks Wuozopo!

Ok, my turn to post our list.

1: Passport

2: Photographs

3: Marriage certificate (copy and original)

4: Hubby's Birth certificate (copy and original)

5: Police certificate (copy and original)

6: DS260 confirmation 

7: Appointment email confirmation

8: 864W with social security statements and 3 years of tax transcripts

I think that is everything we need to bring. Hubby is also taking a print out of the DOS site stating the DS5540 is not required just in case. We decided to fill out the 864W to include with our social security statements to show we understand that we are exempt from filing the I-864 form itself. 

Do we need to take my divorce decrees since they were provided with our I-130 application? I don't think so. 

Does it look like anything is missing? 

6 minutes ago, Stuwoolf said:

Yes. I had my medical on Monday and I too had to get a shot😔. Had the choice to get it done at my GP or at the medical. For the sake of £40 thought it was best to get it done there and then.

 

Hired a car. Drove down on Sunday, 7 hours, Medical at 10.10 Monday. Drove home at around 12.30PM, 7 hours again. Stayed at the Mandeville Hotel (lovely) which was 2 minutes walk (around the corner, literally) from VisaMedical in Bentinck Mansions. NCP car park, Portman Square, was 10-15 minutes walk from hotel. Prebooked 6PM to 2.30PM - £13, which for London I thought was a bargain.

 

Now need to try and get an interview slot, hopefully the tailend of October, after 21st or early November🤞

 

Good luck everyone🙂

Nice. We set out at 5:30am today to get there in time for the appointment at 10:30. Parking ran us 40pounds! I was floored. For the interview, we are thinking of staying in a hotel near London instead of trying the drive in the morning again. 

Hubby had his medical today. Went off nice and easy (i sat at a nearby costa coffee while he was in there). They did make him get a shot though. 2 weeks and his interview. Can't wait. 

31 minutes ago, os306 said:

Medical done ✅ Overall a very smooth process. Felt a bit strange being on the other side of the examination process.

 

Word of advice: drink a bottle of water on the bus/train ride in, so that you’re ready to go when they ask for the urine sample! Also, if you arrive very early (like I did) Selfridge’s is close by so you can kill some time there.

Nice. Hubby has his next Wednesday.  I'm going with though ill have to wait outside. 4 hour trip to get down there lol

Hubby was able to book an interview for Oct 15th. So happy!

1 hour ago, Stuwoolf said:

Well the day has finally arrived.

 

My letter came today. All I need now is to find the correct URL to "complete the steps on our website ...." "404 Page Not Found".

 

You couldnt make it up!!!

Yay!!!!  Congrats.

So.. for looking for an appointment for the interview. Do we know if they release dates over the weekend or just during the week?

Congrats to those who have gotten their LND. To those still waiting, I will keep my fingers crossed you all get yours very soon.

We've scheduled hubby's medical for Sept 30th. Going to get the DS260 done this weekend. 

For trying to schedule the interview. I'm guessing it is just refreshing all the time until one shows up. We are hoping for mid Oct.