By Victoria
Well whoops, we forgot to post after the actual biometrics appointment. It took place on November 4th; we arrived at the place a little early expecting there to be a line for security at the door since it's an official USCIS Government outpost building, but security was actually a bit slack. It was just a couple people at a receiving desk who asked to see Colin's appointment notice, then gave him a 1-page form to fill out with his basic information. There was no metal detector walkthrough or X-ray scanner for bags. You're also supposedly not allowed to have cell phones inside the building, but no one asked us. The people at the desk barely even looked at me and didn't seem to care whether I would've had anything potentially prohibited. When we took a seat for Colin to fill out his form, I actually heard the desk person ask someone entering if they had a phone with them...neither Colin nor I were even asked that question. Oh well!
Once Colin was done with the form, we got into a line that takes you to another desk where a man was briefly looking over the information, checking IDs, handing out numbered tickets, then directing people to the waiting area. This place actually reminded me exactly of the DMV -- you get a number, then wait forever to get called for something that will take about 5 minutes. We waited for about an hour and a half, well past Colin's appointment time!
Anyway, once your number gets called, you go into a secondary waiting room that's walled off with glass from the larger waiting room. I could see that the employees' desks were in there and they had cameras mounted to take photos for ID cards, fingerprint scanners, etc. Colin was luckily first in this secondary line, so it didn't take long.
He told me afterward there was a snafu with recording his home country; the woman taking his information clearly didn't have a good grasp on geography, because she kept pointing to where he wrote "Northern Ireland" and said "You wrote you're from Ireland! You're from Ireland!" even after Colin tried to explain Northern Ireland is part of the UK and showed her his United Kingdom passport. Awkward. And then he said she wrote "UN" in the country code instead of "UK"! Guess he's a citizen of the United Nations now...
So that was our adventure just to get Colin's fingerprints scanned and another photo taken. We haven't heard anything at all from the government since then.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Biometrics Appointment Set
By Victoria
The Application Support Center in Alexandria sent over a notice with the date and time of Colin's biometrics appointment. The appointment is November 4 at 10:00 am. I'll take him over since obviously he can't drive here yet. We'll probably try to get there at least an hour before, as there will no doubt be security at the door and there might be a line to get through it. Cell phones, cameras, and other recording devices aren't permitted in the building.
The notice says all you have to bring is the notice itself and photo identification (we'll just use his passport). It doesn't have much in the way of specifics about what will happen at the appointment, but I know they'll at least be taking his fingerprints. I'm not aware if an interview is involved at all.
The Application Support Center in Alexandria sent over a notice with the date and time of Colin's biometrics appointment. The appointment is November 4 at 10:00 am. I'll take him over since obviously he can't drive here yet. We'll probably try to get there at least an hour before, as there will no doubt be security at the door and there might be a line to get through it. Cell phones, cameras, and other recording devices aren't permitted in the building.
The notice says all you have to bring is the notice itself and photo identification (we'll just use his passport). It doesn't have much in the way of specifics about what will happen at the appointment, but I know they'll at least be taking his fingerprints. I'm not aware if an interview is involved at all.
Monday, October 19, 2015
AOS Receipt Confirmation
By Victoria
Today we received confirmation in the mail from USCIS that they've received Colin's Adjustment of Status application, as well as a separate mail confirmation that they've received his Employment Authorization application. The received date is October 9, 2015 and the notice date is October 13, 2015.
Colin included a G-1145 form with the mailed packet to receive electronic notification of receipt, but he says he never got any emails or text messages. So much for that.
The notices came from the USCIS National Benefits Center in Missouri, even though the paperwork was sent to Illinois.
Today we received confirmation in the mail from USCIS that they've received Colin's Adjustment of Status application, as well as a separate mail confirmation that they've received his Employment Authorization application. The received date is October 9, 2015 and the notice date is October 13, 2015.
Colin included a G-1145 form with the mailed packet to receive electronic notification of receipt, but he says he never got any emails or text messages. So much for that.
The notices came from the USCIS National Benefits Center in Missouri, even though the paperwork was sent to Illinois.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Permanent Residence Application: Requirements and Organization
By Victoria
Buckle up...this will be a long post. And complicated.
REQUIREMENTS
To jump right in, here is the full list of all the forms and documents we submitted with Colin's I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status -- Adjustment of Status (AOS) for short.
Despite what appears to be an overwhelming list of required documentation, most of these files were easy to obtain or track down for the purposes of including in the application packet. Aided by the fact we had most of these already gathered, since we already anticipated needing them down the road, overall it took about 5 or 6 days to put the whole application together (which includes plenty of buffer time for me to obsessively review everything about 10 times).
So that's the rundown! You'll notice the sub-tabs are on the bottom of the pages instead of the sides -- I found a guidelines page by USCIS that stated they prefer tabs on the bottom due to the way they file the documents.
We also wrote up a cover letter to go in the mailing packet, just to introduce the purpose of the mailing and everything that's included. We have tracking confirmation from the postal service that the packet already arrived in the Chicago lockbox, but we're waiting for USCIS' confirmation that it's in their hands.
Buckle up...this will be a long post. And complicated.
REQUIREMENTS
To jump right in, here is the full list of all the forms and documents we submitted with Colin's I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status -- Adjustment of Status (AOS) for short.
- E-Notification Form G-1145
- Adjustment of Status Form I-485
- Copy of Foreign Birth Certificate
- Copy of Passport Page with Nonimmigrant Visa
- Vaccination Supplement (Letter)
- Biographic Form G-325A
- Two (2) Passport-Style Photos
- Copy of Fiancé(e) Petition Approval
- Certified Copy of Marriage Certificate
- Arrival/Departure Form I-94
- Affidavit of Support Form I-864
- Proof of Sponsor's Citizenship (Letter)
- Letter from Current Employer
- Copy of IRS Individual Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2014
- Copy of Form W-2
- Copy of Form 1099-Misc
- Employment Authorization Form I-765
- Government-Issued Identity Document (Passport Page with Nonimmigrant Visa)
- (2) Passport-Style Photos
+ $985 Filing Fee
+ $ 85 Biometrics Services Fee
Despite what appears to be an overwhelming list of required documentation, most of these files were easy to obtain or track down for the purposes of including in the application packet. Aided by the fact we had most of these already gathered, since we already anticipated needing them down the road, overall it took about 5 or 6 days to put the whole application together (which includes plenty of buffer time for me to obsessively review everything about 10 times).
ORGANIZATION
I still had two clear report covers left over from when I submitted the original petition application, so I used those to organize the AOS application. I divided the forms and documents into two packets: 1) Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status and 2) Additional Forms.
Packet 1: Main Application
This packet included main items 1 and 2 in the list I provided above -- so Form G-1145, Form I-485 (AOS), and the required evidence documents for AOS.
- E-Notification Form G-1145
- Adjustment of Status Form I-485
- Copy of Foreign Birth Certificate
- Copy of Passport Page with Nonimmigrant Visa
- Vaccination Supplement (Letter)
- Biographic Form G-325A
- Two (2) Passport-Style Photos
- Copy of Fiancé(e) Petition Approval
- Certified Copy of Marriage Certificate
- Arrival/Departure Form I-94
The AOS form itself wasn't too hard. Colin is the applicant, of course, so he had to fill it all in. There were questions about some biographical information and under what status he's registering for permanent residence (Box C, "I entered as a K-1 fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen whom I married within 90 days of entry ..."). After that was a lot of yes/no questions about having ever participated in terrorism, drug trafficking, and other things that were obvious "no"s!
As you can see in the list, there are a lot of supporting documents that need to be submitted with the AOS. Our only big hiccup was the requirement to provide evidence of vaccinations that are required to be a resident of the United States. Colin had a medical exam completed within the past year as part of the K-1 requirements, so he didn't have to do another one in the US to meet the AOS requirements. However, the AOS says you still need to prove you received all the vaccinations...the thing that we got worried about interpreting is the instruction in a different form, Form I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that states:
If the vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed and included aspart of the original overseas medical examination report, you will have to have the Part 7. Vaccination Record completed by a designated civil surgeon.
Colin's DS 3025 was completed at the time of his medical exam in London and was submitted to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of his visa packet when he was checked at his US Point of Entry...so we interpreted that statement to mean he doesn't need to fill out the Vaccination Record for the AOS. If we interpreted it incorrectly, though, this will result in a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS and we'll have to find a civil surgeon to fill out that form and submit it. This would delay the overall AOS approval process, so...we'll see what happens.
Anyway -- the evidence requirements for the AOS also include Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, but I moved that into the second packet because there were already too many sub-components in the first packet, and I was struggling to include everything in there without it getting messy.
Packet 2: Additional Forms
This packet included main items 3 and 4 in the list I provided above -- so Form I-864, Form I-765, and the required evidence documents for both.
- Affidavit of Support Form I-864
- Proof of Sponsor's Citizenship (Letter)
- Letter from Current Employer
- Copy of IRS Individual Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2014
- Copy of Form W-2
- Copy of Form 1099-Misc
- Employment Authorization Form I-765
- Government-Issued Identity Document (Passport Page with Nonimmigrant Visa)
- (2) Passport-Style Photos
Form I-864 Affidavit of Support is a form the US sponsor has to fill out. I basically needed to provide employment and income information to prove I'm financially capable of supporting Colin so he doesn't become a burden on the country. The income requirement is 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size. I had to fill out a similar affidavit when Colin was filing forms for his London visa interview, but apparently the US sponsor has to do it again...so there you go. Nothing was too complicated with this one except digging up my old IRS tax return files (always save your tax returns going back three years!!) to copy numbers off of them and also submit a copy of my 2014 return with W-2s and 1099s.
Form I-765 is only one page long, so that's no problem. The only particularly complicated part of it is flipping through pages and pages of category references and explanations to find the one that applies to you, which you then write down on the form. For K-1 fiancé(e)s, the category is (a)(6).
So that's the rundown! You'll notice the sub-tabs are on the bottom of the pages instead of the sides -- I found a guidelines page by USCIS that stated they prefer tabs on the bottom due to the way they file the documents.
We also wrote up a cover letter to go in the mailing packet, just to introduce the purpose of the mailing and everything that's included. We have tracking confirmation from the postal service that the packet already arrived in the Chicago lockbox, but we're waiting for USCIS' confirmation that it's in their hands.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
APPLICATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE SUBMITTED
By Victoria
Colin's application to register permanent residence is now in the mail!
This application is headed off to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lockbox in Chicago, Illinois. It also includes Colin's request for permission to work in the U.S. More details on the contents and requirements of this packet to come!
For anyone keeping track, it is now exactly one year and five months since we submitted the initial Petition for Alien Fiance(e) application. I didn't even realize until now that we also sent that one on day 7 of a month!
Colin's application to register permanent residence is now in the mail!
This application is headed off to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lockbox in Chicago, Illinois. It also includes Colin's request for permission to work in the U.S. More details on the contents and requirements of this packet to come!
For anyone keeping track, it is now exactly one year and five months since we submitted the initial Petition for Alien Fiance(e) application. I didn't even realize until now that we also sent that one on day 7 of a month!
Sunday, September 6, 2015
MARRIED
By Victoria
Sorry this post is so late -- we've been married nearly a month now! Whoops!
As mentioned before, we got married on August 7, 2015. We had a small, simple ring exchange ceremony in our apartment with just 3 friends and the officiant.
The following day, we drove down to Charleston where most of my family lives. We had a family get-together over the weekend to celebrate, plus took a moment to take some photos.
After that, we headed off to Lake Michigan for our honeymoon! It was a road trip -- we drove from SC up to MI, then over the next several days, we drove up the west coast to the top of the Michigan mitten. The big spots we hit were Grand Haven, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Old Mission Peninsula / Traverse City, and Mackinac Island.
We're settled in back at home and enjoying married life so far! On the paperwork side of things, we've sent to the courthouse the request to get copies our certified married license. Pretty soon we'll need to buckle down on submitting the application for Colin's green card, which requires quite a lot of evidence/documentation; although we've already met the 90-day requirement to get legally married, I'd still like to submit the paperwork around the time that 90 limit arrives on September 26. The sooner, the better.
Sorry this post is so late -- we've been married nearly a month now! Whoops!
As mentioned before, we got married on August 7, 2015. We had a small, simple ring exchange ceremony in our apartment with just 3 friends and the officiant.
The following day, we drove down to Charleston where most of my family lives. We had a family get-together over the weekend to celebrate, plus took a moment to take some photos.
After that, we headed off to Lake Michigan for our honeymoon! It was a road trip -- we drove from SC up to MI, then over the next several days, we drove up the west coast to the top of the Michigan mitten. The big spots we hit were Grand Haven, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Old Mission Peninsula / Traverse City, and Mackinac Island.
We're settled in back at home and enjoying married life so far! On the paperwork side of things, we've sent to the courthouse the request to get copies our certified married license. Pretty soon we'll need to buckle down on submitting the application for Colin's green card, which requires quite a lot of evidence/documentation; although we've already met the 90-day requirement to get legally married, I'd still like to submit the paperwork around the time that 90 limit arrives on September 26. The sooner, the better.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Marriage Date!
By Victoria
We have a date: August 7, 2015!
We've booked an officiant to come to our apartment and conduct a short and sweet vow ceremony, including a ring exchange. She'll then fill out the rest of our marriage license and be responsible for mailing it back to the courthouse. After 10 days, we can write in to get certified copies from the courthouse.
The next day (Saturday), we're going to drive down to my hometown of Charleston, SC and spend the weekend with my family to celebrate. This will also be pretty low-key. I'll more than likely take that whole following week off of work as well, but we haven't decided what we want to do with that time (or where we might go!).
We have a date: August 7, 2015!
We've booked an officiant to come to our apartment and conduct a short and sweet vow ceremony, including a ring exchange. She'll then fill out the rest of our marriage license and be responsible for mailing it back to the courthouse. After 10 days, we can write in to get certified copies from the courthouse.
The next day (Saturday), we're going to drive down to my hometown of Charleston, SC and spend the weekend with my family to celebrate. This will also be pretty low-key. I'll more than likely take that whole following week off of work as well, but we haven't decided what we want to do with that time (or where we might go!).
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Marriage License Received
By Victoria
Today we went over to the Fairfax County Courthouse and got our marriage license! This is only part 1 of being officially recognized as a married couple...next is finding an officiant/celebrant who will fill out the bottom half of the form (the marriage certificate) and mail it back to the courthouse for final processing.
The process of getting the license was actually very simple. Fairfax County has a pre-application option online that allows you to fill out the paperwork before even going to the courthouse, which saves everyone some time. For both spouses, this paperwork is just basic information like your full name, level of education, parents' full names, birth state (or other country), etc. It's only about a page in total. Once that's submitted, you receive an email confirmation and instructions to bring a valid photo ID and Social Security Number with you to the courthouse. (The pre-application expires in 60 days.)
We were a little worried by the fact that Colin obviously doesn't have a SSN since he isn't a U.S. citizen, so to be safe, we collected pretty much every form of ID he brought over with him -- passport, birth certificate, driver's license, old voter registration -- and the official K-1 petition approval from the NVC in case we needed supporting evidence in lieu of the SSN.
Our visit to the courthouse was probably 15-20 minutes total...no problem. We went through security and got to the office we needed, where the wait wasn't long because there weren't many people. When it was our turn, we handed over our pre-application confirmation for the woman to scan, along with my driver's license and Colin's passport. There's also a $30 fee to get a marriage license.
After that she looked at Colin and asked him if he had a Social Security Number; he said "no," to which she just nodded and kept typing things on her computer. So we didn't need any of his other ID information! It turns out she just left that field blank. She didn't even ask for my SSN either and used my VA driver's license number in its place. Oh well.
The last part was just reviewing the information we'd submitted to make sure it was accurate, then she had us raise our right hands and take an oath that we were truthful with our information and intentions...then there was an explanation of the next steps, she handed over our packet of papers, and we were off!
Today we went over to the Fairfax County Courthouse and got our marriage license! This is only part 1 of being officially recognized as a married couple...next is finding an officiant/celebrant who will fill out the bottom half of the form (the marriage certificate) and mail it back to the courthouse for final processing.
The process of getting the license was actually very simple. Fairfax County has a pre-application option online that allows you to fill out the paperwork before even going to the courthouse, which saves everyone some time. For both spouses, this paperwork is just basic information like your full name, level of education, parents' full names, birth state (or other country), etc. It's only about a page in total. Once that's submitted, you receive an email confirmation and instructions to bring a valid photo ID and Social Security Number with you to the courthouse. (The pre-application expires in 60 days.)
We were a little worried by the fact that Colin obviously doesn't have a SSN since he isn't a U.S. citizen, so to be safe, we collected pretty much every form of ID he brought over with him -- passport, birth certificate, driver's license, old voter registration -- and the official K-1 petition approval from the NVC in case we needed supporting evidence in lieu of the SSN.
Our visit to the courthouse was probably 15-20 minutes total...no problem. We went through security and got to the office we needed, where the wait wasn't long because there weren't many people. When it was our turn, we handed over our pre-application confirmation for the woman to scan, along with my driver's license and Colin's passport. There's also a $30 fee to get a marriage license.
After that she looked at Colin and asked him if he had a Social Security Number; he said "no," to which she just nodded and kept typing things on her computer. So we didn't need any of his other ID information! It turns out she just left that field blank. She didn't even ask for my SSN either and used my VA driver's license number in its place. Oh well.
The last part was just reviewing the information we'd submitted to make sure it was accurate, then she had us raise our right hands and take an oath that we were truthful with our information and intentions...then there was an explanation of the next steps, she handed over our packet of papers, and we were off!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Accepted through Immigration
By Victoria
Colin is flying out of Dublin, Ireland directly to the Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC (technically northern Virginia) at about 7:35 a.m. EST (in a few minutes). Dublin actually serves as a Point of Entry (POE) for immigration into the United States, which means they check your visa papers over there instead of having to wait until you land on U.S. soil. I got to talk to Colin this morning, and he's been accepted to immigrate to the United States!
Reportedly, it was very easy. All he had to do was hand his sealed visa packet envelope -- which he received after being approved at his London interview -- to the immigration officer. The officer opened it, looked through the papers, took a photo of Colin, and reminded him that we have to get married within 3 months. That was it! So once Colin lands in the Dulles airport, all he has to do is go through regular international customs/security.
His plane is scheduled to land at 3:35 p.m. EST!
Colin is flying out of Dublin, Ireland directly to the Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC (technically northern Virginia) at about 7:35 a.m. EST (in a few minutes). Dublin actually serves as a Point of Entry (POE) for immigration into the United States, which means they check your visa papers over there instead of having to wait until you land on U.S. soil. I got to talk to Colin this morning, and he's been accepted to immigrate to the United States!
Reportedly, it was very easy. All he had to do was hand his sealed visa packet envelope -- which he received after being approved at his London interview -- to the immigration officer. The officer opened it, looked through the papers, took a photo of Colin, and reminded him that we have to get married within 3 months. That was it! So once Colin lands in the Dulles airport, all he has to do is go through regular international customs/security.
His plane is scheduled to land at 3:35 p.m. EST!
Monday, June 15, 2015
Next Step: Legal Marriage
By Victoria
Once Colin is accepted at the border of the U.S., the K-1 Visa 90-day period to get married kicks in.
To be married in the state of Virginia, we only need to have a marriage license issued to us by the county court, have any certified officiant perform the marriage/fill out the marriage register, and have the officiant mail the form back to the courthouse. There is no requirement for witnesses, no blood test, no waiting period -- nothing like that. Easy! But there is also no Justice of the Peace at courthouses here, so we do have to find our own officiant. We can be married pretty much anywhere in the state, though...you could probably stand on the sidewalk outside the courthouse and have the officiant sign the marriage register right after you get it, if you wanted.
Given this process, it should be pretty easy for us to be married within a month after Colin arrives! There's no point in waiting, as that will only drag out the subsequent process to get his green card/permanent resident status and his work permission. (Yes, this will require a boatload of more forms and evidence, plus another months-long wait.)
As I've mentioned previously, we'll worry about having a small wedding ceremony later on, possibly a year afterward. We still plan to celebrate once we're married, though!
Once Colin is accepted at the border of the U.S., the K-1 Visa 90-day period to get married kicks in.
To be married in the state of Virginia, we only need to have a marriage license issued to us by the county court, have any certified officiant perform the marriage/fill out the marriage register, and have the officiant mail the form back to the courthouse. There is no requirement for witnesses, no blood test, no waiting period -- nothing like that. Easy! But there is also no Justice of the Peace at courthouses here, so we do have to find our own officiant. We can be married pretty much anywhere in the state, though...you could probably stand on the sidewalk outside the courthouse and have the officiant sign the marriage register right after you get it, if you wanted.
Given this process, it should be pretty easy for us to be married within a month after Colin arrives! There's no point in waiting, as that will only drag out the subsequent process to get his green card/permanent resident status and his work permission. (Yes, this will require a boatload of more forms and evidence, plus another months-long wait.)
As I've mentioned previously, we'll worry about having a small wedding ceremony later on, possibly a year afterward. We still plan to celebrate once we're married, though!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Preparation for Leaving (and Official Move Date)
By Colin
I have an official announcement for moving: My ticket to the U.S. is booked for June 26th.
I think my final day at work will be this Saturday (5th), and the next 3 weeks will be complete bedlam with getting everything else fixed before I go.
My visa expires July 7, so my time was running down. The visa lasts for six months, but they start it at the date of your medical exam instead of the date you're actually issued the visa.
My preparations are now well under way.
I have started to sell larger things that I won't be able to bring with me. DVDs and CDs are being taken out of their boxes and the boxes thrown away. I've used the boxes that blank CDs come in to store the discs, saving a lot of room and weight. Aside from a lot of digital media, my main items for shipping are a few books and a couple of smaller electrical items. These should fit in one or two medium sized boxes.
I have also had some good news regarding the flat. I thought that under my Co-Ownership terms of agreement that it was impossible to rent, but since the flat had still not sold after a few months on the market and a reasonable reduction in price, I contacted Co-Ownership regarding my situation.
I attended an interview at their office and was told that I could rent the flat with certain clauses in place (permission from my mortgage lender, a legally drawn up leasing agreement with the tenant, proof that it had been on the market for a certain period of time and so on).
I'm still waiting for a form from the lender, but from what their man told me on the phone, he sees no reason that I would be turned down, which is a big relief.
If anything else of note comes up soon, I'll post another update!
I have an official announcement for moving: My ticket to the U.S. is booked for June 26th.
I think my final day at work will be this Saturday (5th), and the next 3 weeks will be complete bedlam with getting everything else fixed before I go.
My visa expires July 7, so my time was running down. The visa lasts for six months, but they start it at the date of your medical exam instead of the date you're actually issued the visa.
My preparations are now well under way.
I have started to sell larger things that I won't be able to bring with me. DVDs and CDs are being taken out of their boxes and the boxes thrown away. I've used the boxes that blank CDs come in to store the discs, saving a lot of room and weight. Aside from a lot of digital media, my main items for shipping are a few books and a couple of smaller electrical items. These should fit in one or two medium sized boxes.
I have also had some good news regarding the flat. I thought that under my Co-Ownership terms of agreement that it was impossible to rent, but since the flat had still not sold after a few months on the market and a reasonable reduction in price, I contacted Co-Ownership regarding my situation.
I attended an interview at their office and was told that I could rent the flat with certain clauses in place (permission from my mortgage lender, a legally drawn up leasing agreement with the tenant, proof that it had been on the market for a certain period of time and so on).
I'm still waiting for a form from the lender, but from what their man told me on the phone, he sees no reason that I would be turned down, which is a big relief.
If anything else of note comes up soon, I'll post another update!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
My Visa Interview
By Colin
Sorry that it has taken so long to post this -- but at last, here is a post about my visa interview experience.
I had to stay overnight in London, so I booked an evening flight for the night before, and I managed to find a reasonably priced hotel that was around 20 minutes walk from the embassy.
I didn't sleep much the night before the interview, waking up at least once and passing the time watching wrestling on television.
On the morning of the interview, I was up in good time and made my way to the embassy with the help of a map that was provided by the staff at the hotel. I didn't bring my phone, because I had read that phones weren't allowed inside the building (this rule later turned out to have been changed, and it was now only large electronics like laptops which were prohibited). I arrived at the embassy around 7:30, half an hour before my appointment as instructed on my letter. There was already a large queue.
There was a delay in the K1 Visa people getting access to the building, because the staff inside weren't ready for them on time. I didn't mind, because it was a nice enough day. People outside were talking amongst each other, sharing their experiences of the process so far and talking about how nervous they were. This part didn't help me much.
Eventually our queue started moving and we went through a security check point. I then handed over some documents and was given a number to watch for, coming up on a screen. I'd estimate there were around 100 people waiting in the room, for interviews for various visas, with a steady trickle coming in throughout my wait. My number came up and I went to a window where I spoke to a woman from the UK who gave me a form to fill in which had questions on it that I had already answered several times on previous forms. I answered them yet again. I handed over documents and my passport with some more passport photographs and sat down again, waiting for my number to appear a second time.
This was going to be the visa interview. I was in a state of panic. I'm not good in interview situations at the best of times, and especially not if it is for something as important as that was. My number was called and I went to the window. It was an American lady on the other side of the glass, with a man shadowing her. She was really nice, and her approach helped to put me at ease.
I was asked only a few questions:
Who is petitioning your visa?
How long have you known each other?
Have you visited each other?
Have you met her parents?
Why are you going to the United States rather than her coming to the UK?
I think that was all, although the whole five minutes or so that the questions took to be asked is a bit of a blur. It all seemed slightly surreal.
After I gave my final answer, the lady said that she was pleased to tell me that my application was successful. I cried. I don't think she was expecting it, and neither was I, but after going through what we had so far and spending the amount of time and effort and the weeks and months of being apart from each other, I think it was an outburst of relief that it was almost over.
After the interview, I made my way back to the hotel and sent Victoria a message to let her know. She was awake, even though it was early in Washington, but she was anxious to hear how it had gone.
In preparation for the interview, I had printed off some pictures of me with Victoria in various places over the last two years and brought a letter that she had written to me as well. I wasn't asked for any evidence at all, though.
The next few weeks will be absolutely hectic, but I think the very worst part is over. New adventures await.
Sorry that it has taken so long to post this -- but at last, here is a post about my visa interview experience.
I had to stay overnight in London, so I booked an evening flight for the night before, and I managed to find a reasonably priced hotel that was around 20 minutes walk from the embassy.
I didn't sleep much the night before the interview, waking up at least once and passing the time watching wrestling on television.
On the morning of the interview, I was up in good time and made my way to the embassy with the help of a map that was provided by the staff at the hotel. I didn't bring my phone, because I had read that phones weren't allowed inside the building (this rule later turned out to have been changed, and it was now only large electronics like laptops which were prohibited). I arrived at the embassy around 7:30, half an hour before my appointment as instructed on my letter. There was already a large queue.
There was a delay in the K1 Visa people getting access to the building, because the staff inside weren't ready for them on time. I didn't mind, because it was a nice enough day. People outside were talking amongst each other, sharing their experiences of the process so far and talking about how nervous they were. This part didn't help me much.
Eventually our queue started moving and we went through a security check point. I then handed over some documents and was given a number to watch for, coming up on a screen. I'd estimate there were around 100 people waiting in the room, for interviews for various visas, with a steady trickle coming in throughout my wait. My number came up and I went to a window where I spoke to a woman from the UK who gave me a form to fill in which had questions on it that I had already answered several times on previous forms. I answered them yet again. I handed over documents and my passport with some more passport photographs and sat down again, waiting for my number to appear a second time.
This was going to be the visa interview. I was in a state of panic. I'm not good in interview situations at the best of times, and especially not if it is for something as important as that was. My number was called and I went to the window. It was an American lady on the other side of the glass, with a man shadowing her. She was really nice, and her approach helped to put me at ease.
I was asked only a few questions:
Who is petitioning your visa?
How long have you known each other?
Have you visited each other?
Have you met her parents?
Why are you going to the United States rather than her coming to the UK?
I think that was all, although the whole five minutes or so that the questions took to be asked is a bit of a blur. It all seemed slightly surreal.
After I gave my final answer, the lady said that she was pleased to tell me that my application was successful. I cried. I don't think she was expecting it, and neither was I, but after going through what we had so far and spending the amount of time and effort and the weeks and months of being apart from each other, I think it was an outburst of relief that it was almost over.
After the interview, I made my way back to the hotel and sent Victoria a message to let her know. She was awake, even though it was early in Washington, but she was anxious to hear how it had gone.
In preparation for the interview, I had printed off some pictures of me with Victoria in various places over the last two years and brought a letter that she had written to me as well. I wasn't asked for any evidence at all, though.
The next few weeks will be absolutely hectic, but I think the very worst part is over. New adventures await.
Quick Updates
By Victoria
1. Visa Arrival
As mentioned in the last post, visas are issued pretty quickly after the embassy interview. The visa packet with Colin's returned passport arrived in Northern Ireland about a week after his interview in London in February. You can pay more for them to deliver it directly to your home, but Colin decided to pick it up from the airport facility where it had arrived and was being held. He doesn't have to do anything more with this except bring it with him when he makes his immigration flight to the U.S.
2. Selling the Flat in NI
The major piece of business Colin needs to close out before he moves to the U.S. is selling the flat (apartment) he currently lives in over in Northern Ireland. As of last week, it is now on the market...so now it's matter of seeing how quickly someone makes a good offer and a deal can be closed. We want to make sure this is taken care of before he immigrates because it's obviously easier to conduct this kind of business when you're still in the same country.
That's it for now.
1. Visa Arrival
As mentioned in the last post, visas are issued pretty quickly after the embassy interview. The visa packet with Colin's returned passport arrived in Northern Ireland about a week after his interview in London in February. You can pay more for them to deliver it directly to your home, but Colin decided to pick it up from the airport facility where it had arrived and was being held. He doesn't have to do anything more with this except bring it with him when he makes his immigration flight to the U.S.
2. Selling the Flat in NI
The major piece of business Colin needs to close out before he moves to the U.S. is selling the flat (apartment) he currently lives in over in Northern Ireland. As of last week, it is now on the market...so now it's matter of seeing how quickly someone makes a good offer and a deal can be closed. We want to make sure this is taken care of before he immigrates because it's obviously easier to conduct this kind of business when you're still in the same country.
That's it for now.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
K-1 VISA APPROVED
By Victoria
Colin had his interview at the London embassy this morning, and he was approved to receive the K-1 Visa!!
I don't have the details of the interview process he went through, so he will post about it sometime when he's not exhausted from traveling in, through, and out of London. Meanwhile, though, to answer some questions I anticipate people asking...
Does this mean he has the visa now?
No, not quite. It takes 5-7 business days for the embassy to do the final processing on Colin's application, and they will send him his physical visa packet in the mail (along with returning his passport). This packet has to remain untampered and unopened until he reaches his U.S. Port of Entry, at which point he hands the packet to the border officer and they examine it to give the final "yea" or "nay." (Yes, even with a visa you can technically still be rejected at the border, but I think that's really only in extreme circumstances such as finding contraband in the immigrant's possessions.)
When is Colin coming to the U.S.?
Once his visa is in hand, he can technically immigrate to the U.S. whenever he wants. However, we suspect it will still be a few months before Colin makes the leap over here -- he still has to settle out things in Northern Ireland like selling his flat and his car, deciding what stays and what comes here, etc. etc. So even though he'll have his visa within the next week, it will still be a little while before he uses it.
If he has to wait, does the visa expire?
According to the Department of State, a K-1 Visa expires 6 months after issuance. That should give him plenty of time.
We've read in other places that some people had to wait 3 months to even get their embassy interview scheduled, so I'm really grateful Colin was able to have and complete his in such a relatively short period of time!
Colin had his interview at the London embassy this morning, and he was approved to receive the K-1 Visa!!
I don't have the details of the interview process he went through, so he will post about it sometime when he's not exhausted from traveling in, through, and out of London. Meanwhile, though, to answer some questions I anticipate people asking...
Does this mean he has the visa now?
No, not quite. It takes 5-7 business days for the embassy to do the final processing on Colin's application, and they will send him his physical visa packet in the mail (along with returning his passport). This packet has to remain untampered and unopened until he reaches his U.S. Port of Entry, at which point he hands the packet to the border officer and they examine it to give the final "yea" or "nay." (Yes, even with a visa you can technically still be rejected at the border, but I think that's really only in extreme circumstances such as finding contraband in the immigrant's possessions.)
When is Colin coming to the U.S.?
Once his visa is in hand, he can technically immigrate to the U.S. whenever he wants. However, we suspect it will still be a few months before Colin makes the leap over here -- he still has to settle out things in Northern Ireland like selling his flat and his car, deciding what stays and what comes here, etc. etc. So even though he'll have his visa within the next week, it will still be a little while before he uses it.
If he has to wait, does the visa expire?
According to the Department of State, a K-1 Visa expires 6 months after issuance. That should give him plenty of time.
We've read in other places that some people had to wait 3 months to even get their embassy interview scheduled, so I'm really grateful Colin was able to have and complete his in such a relatively short period of time!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Medical and Interview Date
By Colin
Since my last post, I have been in London for a medical examination, which I passed without any problems.
I had to fill in a form that had general questions about my health (and which was very similar to one I had to fill in and bring with me to the appointment). Then I was back and forward to various rooms to do different tests and get various checks. I had a chest x-ray, got weighed and measured, had an eye test, had my ears examined and had a top-to-toe examination of my general exterior health. I also had a blood sample taken to rule out several diseases. The total time for the examination was around an hour and a half. This fitted well with my flight schedule home, and thankfully the process was easily completed in one day, as I had planned.
I was told that if I had heard nothing after 4 days, I had passed. I heard nothing.
The next stage is an interview at the American Embassy in London, which has now been confirmed for February 12. An overnight stay was unfortunately unavoidable, because the interview time is scheduled for 8:00 in the morning.
I thankfully had the opportunity to speak to someone at the medical who had already completed his interview, and he told me that it isn't much to be concerned about. The main thing he told me was to be there in good time, because there was a long queue even when he arrived an hour before his allotted time. I have a checklist of documents I need to bring, all of which I already have.
I'll post again after the interview - hopefully with some good news.
Since my last post, I have been in London for a medical examination, which I passed without any problems.
I had to fill in a form that had general questions about my health (and which was very similar to one I had to fill in and bring with me to the appointment). Then I was back and forward to various rooms to do different tests and get various checks. I had a chest x-ray, got weighed and measured, had an eye test, had my ears examined and had a top-to-toe examination of my general exterior health. I also had a blood sample taken to rule out several diseases. The total time for the examination was around an hour and a half. This fitted well with my flight schedule home, and thankfully the process was easily completed in one day, as I had planned.
I was told that if I had heard nothing after 4 days, I had passed. I heard nothing.
The next stage is an interview at the American Embassy in London, which has now been confirmed for February 12. An overnight stay was unfortunately unavoidable, because the interview time is scheduled for 8:00 in the morning.
I thankfully had the opportunity to speak to someone at the medical who had already completed his interview, and he told me that it isn't much to be concerned about. The main thing he told me was to be there in good time, because there was a long queue even when he arrived an hour before his allotted time. I have a checklist of documents I need to bring, all of which I already have.
I'll post again after the interview - hopefully with some good news.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
DS-160 and Medical
By Colin
The next stage for me was to fill in an extremely in-depth form online: DS-160. This is the official K-1 visa application for submission to your interview embassy.
I was asked questions about myself, including details of my previous visits to see Victoria, employment history, a basic outline of my education and endless questions about whether I have been involved in things like genocide, people trafficking, terrorism, recruiting child soldiers and other shady things. As with all forms, it is important to read all of the questions carefully and not presume that the answer will be no to all of them.
At the end, I had to upload a picture in the passport standard size, which proved to be a nightmare. Every picture I took myself, would NOT crop down to the specifications required by the online "help" tool. In the end, I went back to a photo shop where I got my passport pictures taken and they put the original onto a flash drive for me. I uploaded that, and it worked perfectly.
One other problem that I encountered with the DS-160 was the very first question, which asked the location from which I was filing the application. I selected Belfast (being the closest place to me), but I hadn't realised that the answer should have been London, since that was the embassy which was processing the application. I received an email asking me to fill in the whole form again, because I made that one mistake.
I also have booked an appointment with the embassy doctor in London for my medical examination, which I will attend this Wednesday (Jan. 7th). I've booked the trip so that I don't have to stay overnight, so hopefully I'll be okay for time, getting to and from the airport.
I'll post again later this week to go into more detail about what was involved for the medical.
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