we've just received my husband's paperwork and visa from the consulate today---we were granted our waiver earlier this month (yay!); the stamp is in his passport and we got the mysterious brown packet that we're not allowed to open, but the expiration date of the visa states 29 March 2008!!!!!!!

it says: Visa issued 13 Feb 2008, Visa expires 29 March 2008----can this possibly be right??? do they determine the expiration date based on when the visa was granted or from your initial visa interview (which was in Oct 2007)??? can they possibly expect us to be ready to travel in 6 weeks??

i phoned the £1.20/minute line but they couldn't deal with it and gave me a reference number and told me to email the consulate; this i have done, but they sent me a reply saying that they're taking 3-4 days to address stuff...so i thought i would check and see if anyone else had had a similar experience

help!

anna

OMG I HOPE THAT ISN'T THE CASE ANNA. WE HAVEN'T GOT OUR VISA YET BUT WEREN'T PLANNING ON GOING UNTIL THE END OF APRIL. WE HAVE TO GET THE BABIES PASSPORT AND REGISTER HIS BIRTH. THE EARLIEST APPOINTMENT WAS THE 7TH OF APRIL AND THEY SAID IT COULD TAKE UP TO 15 WORKING DAYS TO GET THE BABIES PASSPORT BACK. WE HAVE TO GO TO THE EMBASSY TO DO THIS TOO. WE LIVE IN THE NORTH SO THIS WILL BE A MINI VACATION I SUPPOSE. ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER ISN'T IT!!!

What kind of visa is it? If it's a CR1 or a K3, it is a multi-entry visa. If you have to rush to get the visa activated, how about just going to the border to activate the visa and then return to your home country and finish making your travel arrangements.

I realize this advice would mean lots of extra time and money, but if you are in a rush this would work. If your visa is a K-1, remember it's a one-time-only entry.

Good luck, and congrats on getting your waiver sucessfully!

it's a CR-1 visa, so we have Plan B to send him to NY on a cheap flight and turn right around and come back---MAJOR pain in the behind, tho, but we'll have to do that if nothing else can be sorted...

the only thing i can think of is that the waiver process took up the 6 month grace period and they won't change it...but i pray they can give us more time...

lord, it's neverending...

anna

any more word on your visa? we are waiting to book our flight because we are waiting what the visa says!

nothing yet; the automated confirmation email i got from the embassy said that they're taking 3-4 days to respond to emails so i'm not expecting an answer until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest...*sigh*

we looked at flights to NYC last night, and we can get Paul on a Virgin flight to NYC, 5 hour layover then back on a plane to London for £445...we're actually thinking it might not be all bad because then when we arrive in the US rogether in May, his social security card should be waiting for us and he can start looking for work immediately---we're trying to find a silver lining here!

one good thing happened yesterday: i won £675 on a radio phone-in competition!!! <LOL> so at least we have a little extra cash to pay for all this to-ing and fro-ing

edit: i just remembered something i thought of last night---Paul's medical exam was on 29 March last year...i wonder if that's the reason...maybe they'll just let us have another medical...just a thought

The expiration of the medical only comes into play on the ISSUANCE of the visa, not the validity. It should be valid for 6 MONTHS, ours was. I expect the embassy made a dumb mistake and they can fix it by re-issuing it.

Hopefully when they answer your email they will give you a valid reply and tell you how they will do that.

Your plan may end up biting your foreign-born in the butt. .

I was about to say exactly that. The intending immigrant should enter with you or after you, or at least that's what they told us at MTL.

oh flipping hell...that was our only contingency plan...there's simply no way we can be ready in 5-6 weeks...

well, hopefully we'll hear something favourable from the embassy when they respond...

DCF... sponsor domiciled in US. Why can't they?

i thought the visas were good for 6 months; we are living in the UK and our sponsor lives in the US, but that doesn't change the fact that we have things to tie up here---we have to give notice for jobs, sell cars, arrange travel for us and 2 dogs, get medical records----none of which we could accomplish before we knew if our waiver was going to be granted

You are the sponsor (primary), and having declared that you are domiciled in the USA, is indication that you are *there* for all intents and purposes. The person in the US right now is a "joint sponsor".

we aren't domiciled in the US: we direct consular filed because we both live in the UK...our sponsor (or joint sponsor) lives in the US...anyway, that's all semantics----it doesn't change the fact that they expect us to pack up and move our whole lives in 6 weeks, which i think is unreasonable

Oh brother! How can someone that appears not to have placed time or effort into learning what is involved in the process complain about something being "unreasonable"?

annasherwood, for your own health and that of those around you, please read up on the process and what you are about to undertake. This is the first step and there are many ahead. You need to be prepared.

DCF requires that the primary sponsor (for newbies the primary sponsor in a marriage-based case is the US citizen spouse) establish domicile. Domicile is evidenced in a number of ways, but for DCF (Direct Consular filing) it must be established. Any "joint sponsor" in the USA is not going to obviate the need for the sponsor/petitioner to show US domicile for the I-684.

mermaid---you are rude and sarcastic, and i frankly would rather you didn't reply; i can do without your assistance, thank you.

As for my assistance, no, you're right you don't need it, but you do need some assistance. As for your preference that I not reply, well, that's not going to stop me interjecting facts. You might consider me rude and sarcastic, but I believe I am simply being frank. And I'd rather be that than be unrealistic, which it what it appears you are more inclined to be.

As it was too late to edit, I'd like to add that it might be I come across as being a little bewildered at your apparent lack of preparation. In reviewing your former posts, you expressed that you were so anxious to get back to your home, that it just seems a bit unreasonable that you'd complain when your express desires were being realised, especially when you were in a wiaver situation. Why not be thankful that your husband's prior actions didn't complicate your case, rather than to lament that it's going so smoothly. I am sure there are plenty of folks in less unorthodox situations that have had to wait much longer, and had no prior convictions in their history. It would be wise to use any time you have available to research the process, so you know what to expect and when. If for no other reason than that it would preempt the need for people that know to jump in and provide you with the information you so desparately need.

ohhhh...now i understand you and what you're about...you just like to come onto internet forums and act superior and abuse people...ok...have your fun, just don't expect me to jump into a slanging match with you...i have better things to do, like pack to leave for america in 6 weeks!

I think my history here would prove otherwise, but as you were. You do have a lot to do.

we just heard back from the Consulate, and the expiration date is related to the one year anniversary of Paul's medical exam...apparently, the medical exam results are only good for one year, so we have to travel before that date...i've sent off another email asking if he could have another medical, or if we have to travel to the US in March...fingers crossed they'll just let him repeat the medical so that we can travel just once in May, but we'll see!

Well Anna hopefully they let you get another medical. I am sure this past week was miserable waiting to see the answer. I don't think my husband had his medical until last July so we are okay in that respect. We are also moving in early May. Had to wait to get an appointment for the little one at the US Embassy to register his birth and for his passport. Couldn't get one time the beginning of April. Good luck with everything else.

Karen

Yes it does, personally I would have been less restrained in my response.

to the OP there are plenty of Immigration Lawyers in London, an Internet Forum is not suitable for all, nor is DIY. I would highly recommend that one of you is aware of the proces you are undertaking, or pay somebody to keep you advised.

if that refers to me, i just want to say that i must not be too much of a moron, since i've managed to get us a waiver and a visa...what i have a question about now is the expiration date of the visa, so i'm not sure what all the abuse is about---clearly you've not bothered to read the original post or i didn't explain it well enough...don't worry, i won't bother you again with my idiotic questions

Idiotic questios are fine.

Its the response that can be a problem