Hi all.

Oh my gosh, first off, I want to say that I feel soooo terrible for all the people who are going through the nightmare of having to restart paperwork and add months and months on to their best laid plans, hopes and dreams. I was catching up on the board last night and when I started reading, I *think* i actually had my first real live panic attack... then after several deep breaths with my head between my knees and a full glass of wine, I dug deeper to see the full story of this mania. Again... my heart goes out to those affected by these policy changes. I am fortunate enough to be going through the USCIS London office... which is subject of my question.

My husband and I started the DCF process on the 2nd of January with a NOA1 on the 5th of January. I'm going through all the details of what we need to do and please correct me if I'm wrong... but this is how I think it's supposed to go:

We get packet 3 in the post, then sendo of the DS-230I and DS-2001 as soon as we have all paperwork gathered (which we do now, really)
Then we wait for the interview - where we bring all the paperwork we've collected, passports and certificates, the completed I-864 and supporting documents, Police Check... etc. Is this right? We just take it all to the interview?

I just want to make sure I'm getting this right. In fact... if we have all our documents now, can we just send the DS-230 and DS-2001 Now?

Thanks for your help everyone!

I have just began the process myself and must have spent hours looking through the various stages of getting an IR 1 visa.

From what I have read I beleive you are right however I'm sure you wont be able to return the DS 230 until the petition is approved by the USCIS. I think you would be better waiting until asked....How are you going to get your post in the UK when you will be in the US ????????

Just thinking outloud !!!

Who did you use for shipping your household goods ? We will be doing the same very shortly from the same area as you !!

Hi there

We are contacting the USCIS to let them know that our address will be changing to my in-laws... which is where we'll be staying, and will be our residence in the UK until my husband's visa is approved. Once we get our Packet 3, we will have our prepared DS forms filled out and ready to post immediately because all of our paperwork is already ready to go.

We are using a company called Freightworld UK to send our stuff. We are using their sea freight service. We paid about £300 for one cubic meter of stuff... which ends up being about 7 really huge boxes that can carry about 30kilos of stuff each. So that's more than enough space for the things we wanted to take. You can get up to 3 cubic meters for about £380... They provided the boxes and tape for free... we bought a gynormous roll of bubble wrap the size of a large human for about £30 (worth every penny).

Our boxes will be picked up tomorrow and will take 6 weeks to arrive. They come to the house to pick them up and deliver them to the door of our home in Wisconsin. From all the different quotes we got, this was the best way to do it... So we're sticking with the max luggage allotments when we fly, and sending everything else in boxes weeks ahead of time!! It's going to be strange living with almost nothing for a whole month in our house! I'm sure the time will fly though

I was just wondering if London has given you any timeline for how long it might take for your I-130 to be approved. We had ours approved in Copenhagen on January 6th but it has now been sent to London for re-approval but nobody can tell us how long it will take. And we can't seem to get in contact with London other than by regular mail to ask them.

We filed and were approved in Stockholm last year and now our file is in London as well. Yesterday, I got an RFE of a bona fide relationship and marriage. Now, once again, we're collecting and copying all the stuff we originally showed the CO in Stockholm to send to the CIS in London (letters, cards, emails, phone bills, etc.). They also want affidavits from other people saying our marriage is legit. Whatever.

Angela,

Just looking at your timeline, I'm wondering if you might have to re-do the medical exam? When I asked who the doctor was in Malmo, so I could get that out of the way- I was told that I had to wait for that information and that the exam is only good for 6 months. I had heard one year but the embassy said 6 months. Have you heard anything different?

Although I haven't specifically inquired about this at the consulate, I think the medical exam is good for one year. I looked back at a timeline for another Swedish I-601 filer who was approved and got his visa about nine months after his doctor visit without having to repeat the medical. I hope we don't have to re-do the medical... the first one cost $315 (physical/x-rays/vaccinations/blood tests)