Hi

I am new to this site, and its great! Althought I am starting to panic, a lot!

My Fiance was living in the uk for 2 years when we met, and we lived together for 6 months when his employer sent him back to the US. We had already started to plan our wedding before he was sent back in June, and as we always planned on moving back to the UK never n eeded a Visa! Our wedding is december 1st, and our receipt date is 16th May.

We still do not have aproval form the CA USCIS office. Do you think I will make my wedding?

I just want some good news.....please!

Claire

Where is the wedding - US or UK?

Have you received any notice at all? Are you living You should have received an IMBRA RFe a few months ago...

Where is the wedding - US or UK?

Have you received any notice at all? Are you living You should have received an IMBRA RFe a few months ago...
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Maybe. What phase is your application at?

Sorry, i am not sure how these posts work! I think I did that wroneg......

The wedding is in the US. We had it all planned and then Matt was sent home, so Matt applied for my Fiance Visa so I can stay once we get married.

I not familier with the terms used but our case status is "On August 10, 2006, we received your response to our request for evidence or information. However because preliminary processing was complete, the remaining processing time will be less than the maximum stated in this message. You will receive a written decision on this case. You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done. Follow the the link below for current processing dates. "

As far as I am aware we are just watiing the final aproval form the USCIS? We havnt been touched since August 10th.

No...you still have a medical exam and a face-to-face interview to go. I would formulate a backup plan for the wedding. Don't put down anything you can't get back. You may get the visa before your wedding date; you may not.

[


No...you still have a medical exam and a face-to-face interview to go. I would formulate a backup plan for the wedding. Don't put down anything you can't get back. You may get the visa before your wedding date; you may not.
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Its too late for all that! As I said, we had already starting planning our wedding, we have everything booked. We did all this before we knew we needed a visa. We planned on coming back to the UK to live, so it wasnt a problem. We applied for the Visa as soon as we knew, its been

I am aware that I still have a medical and interview to go through, my question was more how likely it will be that I get this processed in time! Its been over 16 weeks since we started this process, we were told it would take 90. I guess we were wrong.

Slow down - you're stressed & we get that.

Have you looked at the flowchart?
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=k1flow
It tells you how the process goes.

I'm confused - are you staying in the US or going back to the UK? If so, you don't need the K1.

You do still have an interview to go. It takes about roughly 2 months after your approval from USCIS.

If you are not approved, you may have to have a non-legal ceremony in Decmeber & return for good when the K1 comes through. And marry after the K1 comes through.

I was coming back, now I plan on staying in the states. I guess if it takes 2 months from now we may just make it in time. If not the non-legal ceremony sounds like the only option.

Why is it tacking so long? I have seen people on here aproved and they sent off after us!

Did you receive the IMBRA RFE? At this point you should really have a Senator checking into it for you....

I noticed the comment in your time line said..

"Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated as early as August 30, 2006*.

If this date has passed by more than 10 days or your application is past due per USCIS processing times then you should consider calling the USCIS to inquire on your petition. If you have been approved please update your timeline. "


I would suggest that you do jus that and contact USCIS. You are right, it has taken a long time and you should have heard from the London embassy by now with an interview date. Once London have your case and you have submitted the forms that they request you can try the e-mailing them regularly with the date of your wedding technique to see if they will not bring the interview date forward for you.

Good luck!! Hope it all work out.... and remember a lot of us end up splitting up the 'legel' wedding from the nice frilly dress with party and lots of guest wedding. It seems to be part and parcel with marrying a foreigner....

Keep us informed of your progress and we can try to help.

Maggie

[quote name='clairerubunda' date='Oct 2 2006, 03:05 PM' post='483724']
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No...you still have a medical exam and a face-to-face interview to go. I would formulate a backup plan for the wedding. Don't put down anything you can't get back. You may get the visa before your wedding date; you may not.
[/quote]

Its too late for all that! As I said, we had already starting planning our wedding, we have everything booked. We did all this before we knew we needed a visa. We planned on coming back to the UK to live, so it wasnt a problem. We applied for the Visa as soon as we knew, its been

I am aware that I still have a medical and interview to go through, my question was more how likely it will be that I get this processed in time! Its been over 16 weeks since we started this process, we were told it would take 90. I guess we were wrong.
[/quote]

I know you don't want to hear this right now but you shouldn't have set anything in stone before the visa was issued on the off chance that the processing would be delayed.

16 weeks doesn't sound out of the ordinary at all. There are people here who've waited much longer than that, and others whose applications were processed very quickly. You just never know; you just have to plan for the worst case scenario unfortunately.

why oh why would you book a wedding without finding out what the requirements are for the country you plan to marry in??? you say you did not think you would need a visa..

Sorry you are now in the situation where you may have to change your plans... I hope you just maybe get your K1 before the date you have set....

Good Luck

Kezzie

It looks like they received your returned RFE on August 10 so yes, you are at the end of the process and just waiting for your final approval. Since CSC is still processing March applications and yours was received in May, you are unfortunately well within the processing timeframe.

The reason it is taking so long and you see others who filed after you with approvals is because a new law was passed in Jan. and went into effect in March that USCIS did not comply with. As a result, your fiance received a request for further evidence to comply with the law as did everyone else who applied after March 6. Normally it does not take this long and those who filed after with a new, revised form, have been approved.

Your best bet is to cross your fingers and hope for the best. Your approval should not be that way away but it sounds like you are cutting it awfully close on your wedding date.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone, really helpfull!

Just to make things clear, when I planned my wedding we were both living in the uk together. We planned to get married in the US as both our familys live there, we were going to get married there and then go on honeymoon and then come back to the uk. Thats why we planned everything, if you go on holiday to get married you dont need a visa, as you do not intend to stay!

AFTER all the wedding planning, Matt's employer asked him to move back to the US so we made a decision to move out there after the wedding, which is when we sent off for the visa. We would never have planned a wedding if we knew this from the start!

So, we have already spoken to thesenetors office, and we have now hired a lawyer who said (i will believe it when I see it) he can help speed up the interview at the embassy. I am praying he can, i check on line everyday.

Thanks everyone, I will keep you posted........................

Claire xx

Claire, lawyers claim they can 'speed up the process' but they're full of sh!t. He can't make it go any faster. It takes as long as it takes. I think you're wasting your money, personally.

Good luck; you'll need a bit of it.

Really! oh well, we are feeling desperate now. After living together for 6 months being apart is so hard.
We thought we would try anything!

I need big great heaps of luck!

Yep, you do.

Contact the USCIS and see what is taking your application so long, but I would make alternate plans for a wedding on a later date if I were you.

The USCIS can't guarantee processing times and they're not usually prepared to make exceptions for people who failed to plan ahead. I know it sounds mean, but it does take as long as it takes and every case is unique. You can't say just because so-and-so's case took only 90 days that yours will. All they can do is talk about averages and you can't assume that your case will take exactly as long to process as the average case. Even straightforward cases can sometimes take a long time, especially if they decide to randomly throw you into some sort of background check hell.

If I were you I'd start prepping for the medical exam and interview. If you have any chronic conditions of any kind be prepared to explain them. This would include things like precancerous moles and high blood pressure. If you have a history of mental health problems be prepared to explain that, and bring a letter from your GP for any chronic condition you have. As soon as they schedule your interview you should schedule your medical exam. Schedule it for BEFORE your interview so if they approve your case, they'll approve it the day of your interview and you'll have your visa a few days afterwards.

I don't know what will happen at your interview since we did not apply for a K-1, but I hear that they ask a lot more questions of K-1 applicants than they do of couples like my husband and I, who have been married for 5+ years and obviously aren't in a sham marriage for immigration purposes. There are other threads here where you can swot up on the K-1 process.

Good luck.

If you are the Brit, send off for your police certificate today!!!! Those take around 30-40 days.

(To obtain a Police Certificate in the UK, go to your local police station and request a form called "Subject Access". Send send this with the ten pounds fee to the Data Protection Officer of the police force for the area you are resident in. This form is then sent by the police to Scotland Yard and the results are supplied to the individual requesting them within a statutory 40 day time limit. If you're waiting for your certificate try 0171-230-3751 to see what state it's at.)

No one can speed up the process altho a senator may be able to get your approved faster. After that, it's all in the embassy's hands...

Good point...apply for that police certificate ASAP.

Hey girl hang in there and don't worry. I understand why you did things as you did. Also I had a K1 intrerview at the london embassy and it was easy :-) Like the above people advised get all the paperwork that you require for the interview together now, including vaccination records and police reports for any country you lived in for more than 6 months since the age of 16. If any of your documents are in another language you will have to get them translated and certified by a notary public.
My advise is carry on with the wedding plans.. even if you do not get the K1 in time and are not able to marry legally: 1. as far as USA immigration are concerned it is a family gathering you are entering the country for. 2. The guests will probably not even realize that you are skipping the legal part. Of course then you will have to leave the USA and wait to get you k1. After which you can enter the country on your K1 and get married legally. Your lawyer should be able to advise you on this plan if need be.

And for all some people like to get on their high horse about not planning a wedding before the paper work is in hand a lot of us do!!!

Good luck!! It will all work out in the end one way or another!!

Maggie

Thanks Guys. I love this site!

I have a big sigh of releif just to know there are people out there who understand are are going through the same process.

I have my police check in hand, i did that as soon as I realised, and I have no chronic illnesses I know of, so thats good.

I am going to speak to my Fiance and come up with a backup plan..........i just want this to be over!







Thanks Maggie, what a lovely message. You really seem to understand where I am comig from!

Family gathering it is unless we get reeeeaaalllly lucky!

x




How do I contact the USCIS?

You must call the CSC. You may be on hold for 50 minutes but you might find you have already been approved and if not why. I was approved but they didn't update my notes on the US Website until 7 days after it had been approved. You are still waiting for your NOA2 aren't you?

People on here can be really sniffy and though they are well intentioned sometimes a little more TLC would be appreciated!

I really hope that everything works out for you, but I must agree with the other VJer who said not to use an Attorney. If you do it yourself you will know exactly where you are and that your case is not sitting on an Attorneys desk while they go off to play golf

I didn't, Maggie.

Yup I am still waiting for my NOA2, am just getting used to all the codes and numbers and forms!

My Fiance spoke to the Senators his local senators office, the said "you should have an answer by 13th october, it could be sooner, but its not a gurantee" What does that mean!

I am praying everyday for the NOA2, and so is everyone I know!

How do I call them myself?

I don't think they can tell you by which date you can expect an answer. There's not a whole lot a Senator can do to push through a visa application; they can lean and prod but to my knowledge they can't call up the USCIS and bluster until they get their way. Either they can't, or they just don't.

Figure out where your application is being processed and call that particular center. You'll need your petition number which you should have. We did ours all in London since we both live in England, so whenever I needed answers I'd have called the US Embassy in London if they had opening hours that verged on the sane, which they don't, and if they had not charged premium rates for the call, which they do. Maybe your K-1 is still in a US visa processing center; maybe it's in London. I dunno; the K-1 gang can help you with that.

I would disregard promises about dates.

Because you have been waiting for so long you must call and find out what is happening.

Call the USA not the London Embassy.

I'm at work at the moment and the number I used is at home however I think it is 1 800 375 5283.

Give them your case number also I needed my fiances Social Security No. Also the address you have both listed on the application.

Good Luck. I hope you get some positive feedback.

First off let me say that I really feel for you and how long it is taking. My Fiancee and i submitted our petition on 15 March 2006 and have just gotten our interview date in London for the 20th of October. So we know the pain and anguish that you and your fiancee are going thru.

Let me clear up some points here though as regards to what you can and cant do.

First off calling the service center.

When you call the number that is available you are not talking to anyone at the service center. You are talking to a contract employee at an office in New York City. All they can do is tell you what is in the computer. Nothing, and i repeat nothing you can tell them will speed the process up. If you received your NOA1, then they have the right address and all they will tell you is that is in processing. We tried contacting our senators (waste of time as they take over 60 days to even look into it). We also contacted my congressman, there we got some action. You will be required to send them a form giving them permission to look into your case but once that is done, it seems congressman take action and do something. Mine sent a letter to the california service center and magically two days later we got our NOA2. Of course that was after waiting from March 15 to August 8th.

Once you do get your NOA2 the petition is sent to NVC. There you can call and they will tell you when they have received it and sent it on to the embassy. However this process can take from a few days to up to 4 weeks. It can take longer if you are put into administrative review!!! There is no telling if that may happen, it is on case by case basis.

Once you are thru NVC, the embassy will send you what everyone here calls packet 3. Once you receive that you can schedule your medical. You can not schedule it until you have a case number and the proper paperwork from the embassy. As soon as you get packet 3 fill out the required forms and complete the checklist. My fiancee and I had already filled out the proper paper work by downloading it from the web sites and all we did was just send packet 3 right back. (small delay because we were in Rome when it arrived) You already have the police checks, but do you have the financial statement from the US citizen that shows he has the income to support you? That is required prior to the interview. Once you return packet 3, the embassy will schedule you for your interview and send you packet 4 which is your instructions for the interview.

This whole process at the embassy can take from 3 weeks to 2 months. Now if there is no problems, you will receive your visa a few days after your interview, however nothing is for sure. There is literally nothing you can do to speed this process up (with the exception of having all the paperwork done in advance).

I wish I could wave a magic wand and make this all go faster but there is literally nothing you can do to speed it up. Just know you are not the only one suffering thru this and that we are all here to offer advice and support.

Good luck.

Thank you so much! I am going to get my Fiance to get right on to the Congressman, I will try anything!
He has his last years tax return, and he earns more than enough so I am sure that wont be a problem area.

I will let you kow how I get on...

I'm surprised that you have not yet observed that your "I hear"s are largely incorrect.

K-1 interviews in London are surprisingly question-free.

Never heard of many questions asked at UK embassy interviews.

My fiancee hasnt had her interview yet, but I too have yet to hear of anyone being asked many questions at the interview. For most that is the easiest part of the whole process!!!

Definitley. For the most part the review is, "All that worrying for nothing!"

They asked Paul one question, held up a picture of us dressed up for a halloween party and said, "Is this halloween?" then said everything here looks perfect, approved!

It'll be ok

Or is it some kinky playtime for you?

Sort of like ours was, then.

At my K1 interview, the 'ole man nipped to the loo, and when he came back, not only had I been called, but approved as well. No questions asked apart from "how the hell are you gonna stick a Vermont winter?"

I talked to J - his interviewer asked, how did you meet? Where did she go to college here? What did she study?

That's it!