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!