I feel happy and proud that we were able to navigate the US immigration system successfully and are able to now look forward to sharing every moment, together, in the same country :) I can now breathe a big sigh of relief that this lengthy, expensive and often somewhat confusing process is over... for now ;p Since my hubby and I have only been married for just over a year at the time when my visa was approved, we will only have to go and do it all over again in 2 years to prove that our marriage is most definitely real and that my hubby and I are still very much in love. Well, maybe not all over again and in the same format but sure as hell we are not looking forward to another immigration process ha! :o)
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Now I attended my Medical, the only thing I had to wait for was my interview date (exciting!).
I was sure to check I had collated all the necessary documents (this checklist is awesome: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/interview/interview-prepare/required-documents.html). I also had to make sure I registered for the courier delivery service. In the UK, your passport will be returned to you after the interview via DX courier. You can opt to get the passport delivered to a DX depot or (for an extra fee), to have it delivered to your home address. I opted to have it delivered to a depot since there is one not far from where I live. Once the registration was complete, I was sure to print out the confirmation page. The day before my interview, like (somewhat anxious) Santa at Christmas, I checked my document checklist twice (or maybe three times, who knows?!) and put all the docs into a folder. Since I don't live in London, I stayed with my friend in Tottenham the night before my interview. Thankfully, public transport worked just fine on the day and I got to Vauxhall with no issues whatsoever. The embassy is a 10-15 min walk from Vauxhall tube station. The walk is nice if you take exit 1 and walk along the Thames. You can also take exit 2 and take the bus or walk along the carriageway. The embassy is well signposted and visible so I found it easily. I arrived 35 min before my allocated interview slot (08:55 to be precise). I checked in with a lady at the front desk outside the consular services entrance. She ticked my name off the list and invited me to go through an airport style security gate. Security was quick and well organised, but be sure you do not bring big bags or laptops - you will not be allowed in and there are no lockers available at the embassy to leave your stuff. I only had a small handbag, my phone and my documents - I was admitted with no issues. Once through security, I followed clear signage to the inside of the embassy building. The queue inside the building was quite long and so I asked a member of staff if I needed to wait in the long queue. It transpired that, since I was an Immigrant Visa Applicant, I was able to skip the queue and go straight to the desk where a very helpful lady checked me in and gave me a slip of paper with a number on it. She then asked me to go to Floor 1 using the lift and turn left and follow the signs to Immigrant Visa section (windows 20-22). I was ready and waiting in the waiting area by 09:10am. I only managed to sit down for a minute or so when my number got called up to the first window. At the window, I was met by a very professional and kind lady who asked me to confirm some basic personal details and collected my documents (passport, 2 photos, birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate from previous marriage and police certificates). She also asked for T's W2 to confirm the financials. She explained that she scanned the documents and that the originals will be returned to me after my interview. She asked how soon after the interview I wanted to travel and then took my fingerprints and asked me to go back to the waiting area and wait to be called forward for my interview. I waited about an hour for my ticket number to be called forward for the actual interview. I was asked to go to a window next to the window I submitted all my docs, and was met by an American gentleman who was very nice and professional. He placed me under oath and asked me a few questions. He asked when/where T and I met, when we got married, what T did for a job and what I wanted to do once I am over in the US. He was thoroughly professional, and put me at ease so the entire experience was very pleasant and I realised I did not need to feel anxious at all. After I answered all his questions, the Immigration Officer told me that I was approved and explained that the Embassy will hold my passport so that a visa can be placed in it and that it will be couriered back to me within 7-10 days. That's it! I was so very happy! The very words I have been waiting to hear all that time! Approved! :) I rang T right away, even though it was 3am in LA - he was wide awake waiting to hear the good news. We were ecstatic and finally able to make plans for my move over to the US! Whoop whoop! Once I got my Interview Invitation, I felt like the checkered flag was firmly in my sight! I was ecstatic but a little anxious as didn't have lots of time to prep. I managed, but only because I was well organised and used the long wait to collect all the docs and forms.
The interview invitation email was clear and contained instructions on what to do before the interview, including guidance on how to arrange my Medical. I rang the clinic directly and quoted my case number. TIP: Since it takes on average 5 working days for your results to be passed to the embassy, it is recommended that you schedule your Medical more than 5 working days in advance of your interview date. Visa Medicals were efficient and professional throughout the booking process and the confirmation email was detailed and easy to follow. The day of the Medical The closest tube station to Visa Medicals is Bond Street. The clinic is opposite a busy pub and is easy to find using the instructions from the email confirmation I had. The clinic is clean and staff are very professional and kind. I was seen by three different medical professionals to have the following carried out: - chest X-ray - vaccination check - general physician examination + blood test Apart from that, I also had to wee in a pot. The whole process was well organised and pleasant, all things considered. Once all my tests were carried out, I made the payment and was given a receipt together with some papers that I had to keep safe. Those papers will have to be passed on to my future health insurance provider in the US. The nice lady who handled my case confirmed that results of the tests will be passed directly to the embassy so I did not have to worry / carry any medical info with me to the interview. Done! Easy! I was in and out in 1.5 hours (it was a busy day for the clinic). Now our case was DQ, we were delighted but still had to wait... wait to get my interview date at the US embassy in London.
This stage is arguably the most difficult and frustrating as you know you're nearly there.. you can see the checkered flag... BUT.. you are not quite there. This is when things may appear as though they fall into a black hole.. Seemingly nobody is able to give you a timeline of how long it will take from the moment your case is DQ to when you get your interview email. You can call NVC daily and all you'll hear is that they cannot give you a timeline. TIP: Keep an eye on the Visa Journey website - it is useful to see what happens with the other VJ community members. It can give you an insight into what's going on at NVC. TIP: Whilst you're waiting patiently for your interview date to come through, it is worth making sure you are ready for what comes next. Before you can attend your interview, you need to attend a medical examination. There is only one accredited clinic that may carry out your US visa medical examination - Visa Medicals in London (Bond Street area). TIP: This website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/LND-London.html#ExternalPopup contains useful information regarding your medical examination and also indicates what documents you need to gather beforehand. One thing the website does not tell you is that you must obtain a GP Care Summary report from your GP. If your GP surgery is busy, it can take a few weeks to obtain this report and so I suggest you make enquiries with your GP while you wait for your interview date to come through. Whilst, in most cases, you get at least 3 weeks from the date of the interview invitation email to the actual interview date, that is not always the case. I had 15 calendar days notice so had to scramble about a little. Thankfully I got everything sorted in good time beforehand. Note: Visa Medicals will not see you without the GP Care Summary Report and the 95 GBP fee for missing your appointment or rescheduling is rather off-putting. TIP: Make sure your vaccinations are up to date BUT do not do what I did and do not go ahead and have every single vaccination that is listed on the website (silly me!) - some vaccinations are age specific and may not be appropriate, depending on your age. Here is a useful table: https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/pdf/Vaccine-Requirements-According-to-Applicant-Age.pdf One thing to keep in mind is that vaccinations have to be up to date so jabs like MMR may need to be repeated if you had those done more than a few years ago. It's best you consult with your GP/nurse to see if any of the relevant vaccinations from the above table need to be repeated to help you be compliant for your medical. This website is super helpful as it breaks down the steps you must take to begin NVC processing and what docs to submit where etc: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/after-petition-approved/begin-nat-visa-center.html
The good thing is that NVC processing for London applicants is done online (yay!). In your welcome email from the NVC containing the case number and invoice number, you will also get instructions on how to log on to the CEAC system, which will be used to facilitate NVC processing. The system looks dated but it is quite straightforward to use, in my view. Action: Pay fees - the first thing we had to do was to pay processing fees. Without those, we were not able to move on with the process. TIP: The fees have to be paid from a US bank account and cannot be made using UK bank account or credit card. You will need a bank routing number and a checking or savings account number from a US bank. Once the payment is submitted, we had to allow 3-5 working days for the payment to clear. We were not be able to move on until the fees were paid and payment was cleared. Action: US citizen - T had to complete an affidavit of support + provide financial docs. For spousal visas like CR1 and IR1, the US citizen will have to complete an affidavit of support (for us, it was the I-864EZ form) and submit supporting financial documents to prove that they earn enough to support their spouse. The US citizen will likely have to obtain their W2s and a transcript from the IRS. This website is useful: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-4-collect-financial-documents.html TIP: Even if you find a pdf version of the I-864 form which allows you to type in your answers directly to the pdf document, do make sure that you print the form out, sign by hand and scan and upload. Electronic signatures WILL NOT be accepted. Immigrant spouse - I had to complete an online visa application form (DS260) and scan and upload all the relevant supporting documents. This website shows which documents are necessary: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html Hopefully you would have had enough time to collect them beforehand so you do not have to wait any longer now. TIP: When you scan the docs into the CEAC system do make sure that all scans are VERTICAL! Your documents will be rejected if the scans are horizontal. All text/ photos must be vertical. NVC will not rotate the scans for you - save yourself time and hassle by double checking all the scans before you upload them. TIP: Once submitted, make sure you print the DS260 submission confirmation page (DO NOT print screen). It has to be printed out on paper as the print-out will have a couple of barcodes that will be essential later down the line when you attend your interview. Wait NVC takes 6-8 weeks to review the documents. This website shows the processing times and indicates when you're likely to hear back. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-6-submit-documents-to-the-nvc.html TIP: It is not uncommon for NVC to send you a message via the CEAC system to ask for further evidence or for you to correct documents if you have not submitted them correctly, or if anything is missing. It really does pay off to make sure submissions are correct and full! We had one request for correction (vertical vs horizontal scan issue I referred to above). Our experience is that, even though the correction was minor, the review of documents went back into the long queue, and we had to wait a good few weeks to hear back from NVC. It took just over 4.5 weeks for us. In total, NVC had our case for nearly three months. Once NVC is happy that they have received all the necessary documents and forms, they will complete your case and then pass it over to the Embassy (for the UK it is the US Embassy in London). You will get an email from NVC confirming your case is Documentarily Qualified (DQ). That same email will inform you that NVC will liaise with the embassy to schedule an interview date for you. TIP: The visa journey (VJ) page (www.visajourney.com) has monthly threads for CR1/IR1 visa applicants where you can keep track of any news that other VJ community members report. They also run a spreadsheet that can show you how long, historically, things have taken. Look for Case Complete to Interview [Month] [Year] - for example: Case Complete to Interview August 2019. All being well, you will get the notification of your I-130 approval a few months after filing. For us, it took 8 months to have our I-130 approved but some couples waited longer than that and some couples had a much shorter wait. There is no logic to it unfortunately.
Anyway, that beautiful day came for us at the end of April 2019 and we saw the words we have been waiting for - Your I-130 petition is APPROVED. Great news and congrats were in order! We were informed that our petition would be sent by USCIS to the National Visa Center (NVC) so we can begin visa processing. The transfer of an approved case from USCIS to NVC can take up to 6 weeks. You may wish to contact NVC (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center/nvc-contact-information.html) to ask them if they received the case, but be prepared to hear the same message every time you call - please wait, it may take a while. Once NVC receives your case, they will allocate a new NVC case number (for the UK, cases normally start with LND########## , LND = short for London being the relevant Embassy that will eventually schedule and hold the interview) and give you an Invoice number too. That Invoice number is equally as important as the Case number as you will need both to identify your case and log on to NVC's online system. For us, it took approx 4 weeks for NVC to receive our case and allocate the numbers. We were notified by email of this, so be sure to check your emails! One day in March 2019 we received a Request for Further Evidence (RFE) letter in the mail (i.e. by post) and had to provide a more official document to certify that my previous marriage was dissolved.
I was married once before (in the UK) and sent through the original divorce certificate that I got after the divorce was registered. Apparently it was not official enough and was rejected. I had to go back to the courts and ask for a certified copy. It was easily done but if you can get this sort of thing right from the outset, it will help avoid anxiety and save you time. As the USCIS review your I-130 petition, the reviewing agent may decide that more evidence is needed. This is not uncommon so do not panic! It may be that they want to see more evidence of bona fide marriage, or that they need certified copies of documents. The key is to read the Request for Evidence document thoroughly and provide them exactly what they ask for within the timescale provided (normally the timescale is very generous so you should not struggle for time). It is also important that you read and follow the instructions on where to mail the additional evidence as the address is likely to be different to the one you'd used before. Once submitted, the RFE tends to be reviewed rather promptly. For us, it took 2 weeks and the petition was approved afterwards with no further requests or problems. :) Yay! TIP:
Whilst you wait for your I-130 to be reviewed/ approved, there are a few things you may want to do/ think about to help you on your journey: 1) Sign up to an immigration forum - when the going got tough, I found solace in talking to peeps in a similar position to T and I. This website - visajourney.com - is amazing! Once you register, there are MANY threads you can read or contribute to. It really gave me a sense of belonging to a larger community and helped make the wait more manageable. 2) Change your surname (last name) - if you want to take your partner's surname (last name), now is the time to get your passport changed! What I did not realise until later on in the process is that, even though you file your I-130 petition using your married name (because you have the marriage certificate, right?!), your visa and green card will only be issued in the name that matches the name in your passport. Since you are likely to be waiting a wee while for your I-130 to be approved, it is worth getting your docs in order if you wish to change your name since making changes to your green card once it is issued will cost in excess of $400 (!). 3) Start collating civil documents you will need further down the line - once your I-130 is approved, you will need a whole host of documents to begin National Visa Centre (NVC) processing. Now is a good time to at least review the list and decide when to start getting all the docs in order. Clearly you do not want to jump the gun and have everything ready too early because some documents expire within 6-12 months from the date of issue. However, there are some you may want to gather earlier rather than later: - birth certificate - only the full (long) UK birth certificates are accepted so make sure you either find yours or have enough time to apply for a copy. This UK website may come useful: https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate TIP: if you were not born in the UK then you will have to get your birth certificate (and translation, if appropriate) from the relevant country. I was naturalised and so had to go back to the country of my birth to get everything sorted. It took a few weeks, so I was glad I got it done early! - marriage termination docs - if you (or your spouse) were married before, now is a good time to get officially stamped or certified copies of marriage termination docs (and translation if appropriate). TIP: I was married once before (in the UK) and sent through the original divorce certificate that I got after the divorce was registered. Apparently it was not official enough and was rejected. I had to go back to the courts and ask for a certified copy. Again - if you can do this early, you are likely to avoid issues further down the line. - police certificates - those are only valid for 12 months from the date of issue so you do not want to get them too early, BUT if you lived outside the UK for longer than 6 months at any one time after the age of 16, you will have to get a police certificate from every applicable country. So, if you grew up outside the UK, were a gap-year backpacker or travelled around the world with your family/ friends then you will have to ensure you get certificates from all the countries where you lived for more than 6 months (+ translation, if appropriate). The I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative.. Great name, right? Petition for Alien Relative... I mean, not that I have a green oval head or anything ;p
The I-130 is a form that needs to be used by a US citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States who needs to establish their relationship to an eligible relative who wishes to immigrate to the United States. Since I am T's wife living outside of the US and wishing to immigrate to the US, this form was for us! Filing a Form I-130 was only the first step in helping me, as an eligible relative, immigrate to the US. This page: https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 is where you can find the most recent version of the form. It is important that you note the date when the form was last reviewed, so that you do not use an old form or one that is about to expire. The form is long but straightforward. If in doubt, refer to the guidance notes/ instructions. TIP: Be sure to complete all sections. Even if a section does not apply to you then I'd suggest writing in N/A in those lines/ sections. If you leave sections/ lines completely blank, the USCIS officer might assume that you missed certain sections (unintentional omission) and may ask you to go back through the form and complete all sections. You certainly do not want that - waste of everyone's time. Without a doubt, the most time consuming (and arguably, stressful) part of the I-130 application was gathering of the necessary evidence to show that the marriage is bona fide. This means a marriage in which the two people intend, from the start, to establish a life together as husband and wife ( or husband and husband / wife and wife). If, like T and I, you and your other half live in separate countries and do not have a child together, the list provided on the USCIS website can be quite daunting (i.e. documentation showing joint ownership of property, or a lease showing joint tenancy, or documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined financial resources....). I remember asking myself, how on Earth am I supposed to have those documents that you'd normally acquire whilst living in the country if I am applying to immigrate in the first place (and do not have a Social Security Number)?! I spent a few days researching/ googling and speaking with individuals who have gone through this process before and gathered evidence that was our best chance at proving that our marriage was bona fide. We provided the following evidence: - five affidavits of bona fide marriage, affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of us and our relationship - recent joint credit card account bill - evidence that T has made me a beneficiary on his 401(k)/ pension - wire transfer history showing transfers of money between T and I - evidence of previous trips I have taken to visit T and vice versa - evidence of trips T and I took together - evidence of correspondence between us, including an extract from our What’s App conversations and Facebook posts. Fun fact: when pasted into Word in Times New Roman size 10, the transcript of our What's App convo was in excess of 7,400 pages long (!) - print out of Facebook photographs that show both T and I together, spanning throughout our relationship. We filed the completed I-130 form together with the evidence we gathered, photos and all the other docs as outlined in the I-130 Checklist on the USCIS page. We sent it to the address listed on the page in August 2018 and got a confirmation from the USCIS that they received the package approx 2 weeks later. TIP: Make sure you put in your email address into the I-130 form in the relevant section so you can get notifications from the USCIS. Make sure you check the mail regularly too as you will get a hard copy confirmation of the USCIS receiving your petition and giving you a case number and a Priority Date. This page will then become your regular go-to so you can monitor your case status: https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do Your I-130 petition will be routed to one of the five processing centres (or, centers) depending on where the US citizen lives - Nebraska, Potomac, California, Vermont or Texas. T lives in Los Angeles and our petition was routed to Texas (I-130s filed by US citizens who live in California seem to be routed to Texas). When we filed our I-130, the USCIS website indicated the average processing times for the Texas centre to be between 5-7 months. As our petition was received, those brackets were upped to 6-8 months, then 6.5 - 8.5 months then 8-10 months and finally 10-12 months. If you file I-130, you must be prepared to wait... For example, as of the day I am writing this post (9th September 2019), USCIS are busy processing forms received in November 2018 (!). The long wait is very, very difficult as there is very little you can do to speed things up. USCIS does allow requests to expedite, but to qualify, you'd have to meet very strict criteria that are unlikely to apply to most UK-US couples. Here is a page that explains the expedite process: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-make-expedite-request Now on to a looooooong wait..... T and I decided to represent ourselves and we decided not to hire an attorney. I have a law degree and, having consulted with a couple of attorneys on my proposed way forward, we decided we wanted to give it a go unaided. In hindsight, this decision was fine and saved us a lot of money. I will stress though that, if your case is complex (i.e. you're applying for a visa for more than just yourself and/or have criminal convictions or are aware of other circumstances that may deem you inadmissible), I'd most definitely recommend you hire a good attorney!
If you choose to go it alone - rest assured it can be done! Make sure you read all the forms thoroughly and DO NOT skip guidance notes that accompany most of those forms - those notes are super helpful! :) TIP: If you get married at the courthouse in the US, make sure you ask for (and pay for) an additional copy of the marriage certificate because you will not get a copy just like that (ha!). The one that will be produced will be kept by the officials and not be given to you as you'd ordinarily expect perhaps. Getting a copy of the certificate takes a loooooong time and is absolutely necessary to file your immigration petition, so best you request the extra copy when you are at the courthouse. After dating for a good few months we knew that we were definitely 'IN' and that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Erm.. That's quite soon, some of you might think.. Well, all I'd say is, try living apart from your other half for months at a time and spend hours on Skype - it is surprising how difficult it is and how much you learn about each other! Not being able to indulge in the physical aspect of your relationship is tough, but it also takes the relationship to some quite different level of depth.. The connection I have with T is simply amazing!
T proposed in March 2018 - one of the best day's on my life, hands down! We were on holiday in Scotland and had the best time together! When the time came to go back to our separate homes, we started chatting about our options on turning our long-distance relationship into living-under-one-roof kind of relationship. We were very excited but also somewhat overwhelmed with the weight of the decision one of us would have to make (i.e. the uproot of your entire life kind of decision). Having discussed our options, finances, job prospects etc. we decided it would make more sense for me to join T in the US. If only it was so easy, ha! I heard so many nightmare stories about US immigration... So we googled and researched, and spoke with a handful of immigration attorneys... The two most viable options were either a K-visa (aka fiance visa) or a marriage visa (CR1/IR1). T and I talked a lot about both options and decided to go for the marriage visa option. We applied to marry in April 2018 and were married in July 2018 (the best day everrrr!). My hubby and I met in a bar in LA (at the Venice Whaler to be precise) on the 11th March 2017 (or as the US folks would say - March 11!). He was out celebrating his birthday with friends (and was positively not-sober by the time we met) and I was enjoying a few beverages with my friend.
To be fair, it is my mate who I ought to thank as she'd suggested I started talking to the lads. T, my (now) hubby did a great job ignoring me for a little while and so I also should thank his buddy for chatting with me whilst T was making up his mind as to whether I was worthy ;o) Soon enough though (probably after he'd heard the accent), T decided to join in on the conversation. A few Mugatu impressions and (ladies) sunglasses swaps later, we called it a night. But not before we swapped FB details so I could message T a good night message (with a winky face and a kissy face emoji) or, as he'd say - brutally reject him. The rest is history, as they say! Fast forward a few months later and here we are :) |
About this Blog...I decided to write this blog to capture memories of my immigration journey and perhaps to give other Brits an insight into what they might expect if they find themselves in a similar position. ArchivesCategories |