Hi all,

My wife and I sent off our I-130 and Bios and our credit card was charged on 26 February 2008.

If we have her police certificates and sponsorship forms ready, and if we send in the DS-230 and notice of applicant readiness immediately upon receiving packet 3, is there any way of knowing how many weeks we will have to wait for an appointment? According to most timelines, packet three should arrive sometime in May.

Also, is there any way to have the medical check-up before receiving packet 3? We live in west London, so it would be no problem to drop by the embassy's approved medical center.

Thanks!

Hello there! Once you get Packet 3, it shouldn't take much longer. Our interview was within just two weeks of sending back the DS-230 and checklist, but that was unusually fast. More average wait would be about four or five weeks after returning the DS-230 and checklist.

You can try calling the doctor's office to see if they would schedule the medical exam early, but I am quite sure that you need the case # first, which is assigned with Packet 3. It doesn't hurt to double check though.

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Hello there! Once you get Packet 3, it shouldn't take much longer. Our interview was within just two weeks of sending back the DS-230 and checklist, but that was unusually fast. More average wait would be about four or five weeks after returning the DS-230 and checklist.

You can try calling the doctor's office to see if they would schedule the medical exam early, but I am quite sure that you need the case # first, which is assigned with Packet 3. It doesn't hurt to double check though.
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Thanks! I'm still confused, however, because I the embassy websites mentions a DS-2001, which is a notice of petitioner readiness and is supposed to come in packet 3. If we are ready with the police certificates and sponsorship forms, can we send this back immediately just as we will be sending back the DS-230 immediately? The embassy website seems to imply that the date is only given once the DS-2001 is received.

Sending back the checklist (aka DS-2001) is what triggers assignment of an interview date. No DS-2001, no date. It's happened in London more than once that someone thinks they've sent back everything and is waiting for a date which seems to be taking forever. Then oops! it turns out they neglected to send back the DS-2001.

And yes, you need to have your London case number before you can get a medical appointment; as Margot says, it comes with your Packet 3.

I don't know about you guys, but my checklist looks nothing like the one they've got on the embassy website. It's the same basic info, but it's just more official looking. And I've just booked my medical, and I did have to have my case number to do it.

And finally, if you are getting your police cert, be careful to get the new kind. The embassy website (and the checklist I received) had both the old info and the new method in different places, but it's the new one you want:

http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/...s2001.html#pcuk

Hi,

My checklist did not look like the one the websit that you can download. However you got me worried for a second on te police cert had to go check i got the correct 1. got my interview on 1st april so getting nervous now, lol

Yes you should have got the checklist in packet 3 with the ds230 part1 ( application form) and medical info. If i had known the police cert took so long i would have done it in december and had it back before i got packet 3 , but i had to wait till march to get it. get your police certs asap.

The link you attached is to the old one....the new one should be a 35 pound fee and is done via mail in service to Farnham. Any information on this? I hear they are supposed to be accepting the old one (the 10 pound one at the local station) until August 2008. Thoughts?

Hi thomas

when i got my packet 3 in jan I followed the instructions on there as to how to get it so as far as i know the £10 one is the one they are ok with.

No, if you look the first bit of info after the link is about the ACPO cert, which takes 10 days, and costs 35GBP, then confusingly the embassy has neglected to remove the old info about cert applied for in a local police station costing 10GBP and takes up to 40 days.

If you do not already have your police cert, you should get the ACPO cert.

From here:
http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp

Thanks! That's the one I'm getting. But again, I read somewhere that the local ones would be accepted up until August 2008. That said, I'm not taking any chances! I'm getting the 35 pound one....and an extra copy of 5 pounds just in case.

Thomas