K-1 Visa-Dublin Embassy

[nmr 0]

The K-1 visa process with my fiance from Ireland has not gone according to the guides, so I want to ask others about it.

 

1.) The Embassy in Dublin never contacted my fiance in Ireland, by email or by mail.  They only sent me (the US citizen) an email with a packet of information about what he will need to assemble prior to scheduling his interview.  I thought that he was supposed to be receiving something in the mail.

 

2.) In the packet of information, it does not request for us to provide proof of our relationship since the petition was filed.  Do, I assemble this information anyway or should I trust the fact that it doesn't request it so I don't need to provide it.

 

3.) In the packet of information, it does not request an additional letter stating my continued intent to marry my fiance within 90 days of him entering the US.  Do I provide this information anyway or not?

 

4.)  The DS-160 form is not loading and I have tried on 2 computers with various browsers.  I have also contacted them at their "technical issues" email address.  Am I doing something wrong or is the DS-160 form link broken?  

 

Any input on the process as it relates to Ireland or these issues in other countries would be very appreciated!  I am going to send out my packet of forms and information to my fiance and I want to make sure it is complete before sending.

 

Thanks in advance!

[CH & JO 16]

Hey NMR,

 

A fellow Dublin Embassy filer here. I hope I can tell you about our experience and that might help a bit.

 

I am the US citizen fiancée living back in the States again and my fiance is still living in Ireland (Galway).

 

1. I got an email a few days ago from the Embassy in Dublin. They no longer mail out what is sometimes referred to as "Packet 3". That is what you would have gotten in your own email box. You are suppose to forward that onto your partner. What you will get in the snail mail is a letter from the NVC in the next few days. It is one page and just says the case number on it and that it made it to Dublin. You need to copy that and send it onto your partner with the other documents (I-134, etc.)

Once your partner has all the documents and the medical done then they submit the Notice of Readiness (NOR) to the Dublin Embassy via email.

 

* A note about the medical that we just found out that is specific to Ireland. I wish we had know this in advance! They recently changed the doctor/hospital where you can get the medical done. The process has completely changed. My partner called over a month ago and the next available appointment was 27th July. This is a lot longer than we thought for a wait time. Also with this new location they DO NOT give you the results on the day. You have to come back 7 days later and pick them up. You cannot submit your Notice of Readiness (NOR) until after you have the medical results in your possession. There is a waiting list but they said on the phone that they give first preference to people who live in Dublin or surrounding Pale area. This is because the cancellations usually only give 2-3 hours notice. Not enough time to get from say Dingle to Dublin.

 

2. From what I understand about the proof of relationship stuff at the interview- you do need to have that stuff with you on the day. BUT this material only needs to show proof of your ongoing relationship. I.e. we submitted out packet to the USCIS in March and so at the interview if they do ask for material like that it is just for documents, pictures, cards, text messages, etc. from March 2017- present. To show that you are still together and are still talking about getting married and building a life together. You cannot bring too much material into the Embassy. They are very strict on security. So what I will suggest my partner bring in is the following: 10 pictures of us together dated between March 2017- present, 5 pages of text message print outs- one for each month; I choice messages that showed us talking about our wedding plans, buying furniture, and then also talking about major family/pet life events (i.e. me texting him that my cousin is expecting a new child this October or him sending a picture of their new family dog), cards that we sent each other for our anniversary, flight information for the last time he was here and receipts for some of the places we visited.

 

3. I am not sure what the official policy is about the intent to marry letter. I have seen that other people brought an updated letter with them on the day of the interview. This cannot hurt. I also read about a case were they were turned away on the day because the officer did not believe that the people were intending on getting married. They officer asked for proof of wedding plans. So perhaps to be safe I would sign a new letter with a date listed that is closer to the interview time. That is what I will be sending to my partner.

 

4. There is no way to file the DS-160 on paper. You have to do it on the Internet. Have you tried updating your Adobe Flashdrive? You could always have your partner fill this out instead if it is not working on your computer?

 

I hope that information helps! It is nice to know that another Irish couple are going through the process around the same time as us.

 

Wishing you all the best!

 

 

[nmr 0]

Thanks so much CH and JO for your reply!  So much valuable information.  My guy is from Galway too!  I'm sure he would like someone to talk about his crazy American woman with! haha

 

At the risk of sounding dopey, if the Embassy in Dublin isn't specifically asking for proof of relationship since filing and an additional intent to marry letter why on earth would they expect one to have these at the interview? Is this all a just in case they aren't convinced and you need to supply more info you have it kind of thing?  I expected them to specifically request this information in the packet and it wasn't there.  For that matter I expected them to mail my fiance a letter and it wasn't there either. 

 

We have the medical appointment at the beginning of August.  It's so annoying to hear that he's going to have to drive all the way back there to pick up the results.  Is that the "interview date" they are speaking of in the confirmation email for the appointment?

 

Any word on how long it will be once we file the notice of readiness til we get an interview date?

[Nutmeg1521 1]

On 6/29/2017 at 9:55 AM, nmr said:

Any word on how long it will be once we file the notice of readiness til we get an interview date?

I can't speak for anyone else, but it was just a couple of days for us.  

[CH & JO 16]

It look my partner ages to get a medical appointment too so I feel your pain!

 

I think it is up to you if you want to include that extra stuff. It is definitely not laid out as something he has to bring to the appointment. In my own dealings with the Dublin Embassy I have always found them very understanding and friendly. This is in contrast to the cranky border officers you sometimes get at the airport.

 

They recently changed the system and you do not need to bring the "interview confirmation" to the medical. You actually cannot schedule the interview until after you do the medical. I am guessing that this is because the Mater Hospital are being such slow-pokes with getting all the appointments booked. To the medical for paper work he should bring passport, full medical record, and full immunization record. They do not have a lot of the shots there to give him so it is best if he does these with his local GP and then brings the confirmation. This is what my partner is doing. He has to get tetanus shot, etc. Not sure how old your partner is but there was a scare in Ireland in the 1990s that shots gave children learning disabilities and so my partner was missing A LOT of the shots we would considered standard children shots in the US. 

 

I emailed our case officer through the general email of the Embassy- make sure to sight your case number in the email and both names in full. She replied back quickly and said with the Dublin Embassy they are currently hoping to have all interviews scheduled within 6 weeks of submitting the notice of readiness. Now that could mean it takes 6 weeks or it could be them making sure to stay with in long timelines. We won't really know until after they submit. But I am glad to hear that Nutmeg1521 got theirs in a few days. Congrats! 

 

She also advised us that you should only submit your Notice of Readiness when you are ready to go for the interview the next day. You will not get a next day appointment but you cannot cancel or re-schedule the date they give you. There is not a list of dates you get to chose from. They just assign you a date. If you do not show up and cannot prove a medical emergency then they automatically add 1-3 months extra onto your wait time. So basically you need to be ready to go to America the next day if they give you a specific interview date. I guess this makes sense because they do not want to waist their time work on re-scheduling peoples interviews.

 

I hope that helps! 

 

How did you meet your fiance? My partner and I met while in school at NUIG. We have been together for 8 years and I only moved back the US last year. It has been hard being apart but I am looking forward to this roller-coaster being over 

[nmr 0]

Nutmeg 1521 when you said it was just a couple of days for you did you mean that you received an interview date that was scheduled for 2 days after sending in the notice of readiness or do you mean that a couple days later you received notice of having an interview date that was scheduled for some time in the future? 

 

I am wondering how far in advance the actual interview dates are from the date that you submit the notice of readiness? 

 

From what CH & JO said above it is less than 6 weeks.  Gosh, I am hoping it won't be another 6 weeks to get the interview.

 

Also, does anyone have any Dublin specific information on the timeframe between the interview and receiving the visa?

[Nutmeg1521 1]

1 hour ago, nmr said:

Nutmeg 1521 when you said it was just a couple of days for you did you mean that you received an interview date that was scheduled for 2 days after sending in the notice of readiness or do you mean that a couple days later you received notice of having an interview date that was scheduled for some time in the future? 

 

I am wondering how far in advance the actual interview dates are from the date that you submit the notice of readiness? 

 

From what CH & JO said above it is less than 6 weeks.  Gosh, I am hoping it won't be another 6 weeks to get the interview.

 

Also, does anyone have any Dublin specific information on the timeframe between the interview and receiving the visa?

No, we received NOTICE of an interview date in a couple of days, but the actual interview was about three weeks  out.  Sorry for the confusion. 

[CH & JO 16]

Thank you for clarifying nutmeg 1521. And for updating your timeline. That is most helpful. P.S. Your cat is adorable. Have a good weekend ladies!

[CH & JO 16]

Hey Nutmeg 1521 and Nmr,

 

I wanted to give you an update on our time line and ask Nutmeg 1521 a question- if she would be so kind.

 

So my partner's medical exam got moved up the 8th July because there was a cancellation. It was originally scheduled for the 27th July.

 

It look 14 business days for him to get the results back. He had to call a lot. It sounds like they are short staffed in the summer.

 

He submitted his notice of Readiness on Friday 21st July. We got the interview time today. It is 3 weeks out. Which is disappointing because he will not be here for my vacation time.

 

The Embassy says that they hold onto the passport for 10 business days after the interview and that it takes 5 business days for the passport to be delivered by the courier.

 

Nutmeg 1521- would you mind me asking how long it takes for you/your partner to have their passport released by the Embassy? Did it take the full 10 business days? I would greatly appreciate any help with this matter.

 

We are trying to decide a possible flight date so that he can prepare his family and friends for his departing.

 

All the best to you both. So nice to know other people are going through the same thing in US/Ireland

 

[nmr 0]

Oh my gosh, that is so annoying to hear all of this! Had no idea that the medical could even be moved up.

 

This makes me think of some more questions.

 

1.) What vaccinations did they require? My fiance was told tetanus and mmr were all that he really needed.   Is that true?  Did they administer any vaccines?

 

2.) Did they take the picture that you need to bring to the medical or can you use that as one of the two you need to bring to your visa interview?

 

3.) Did you get the results back 14 days later by driving back to Dublin like Nutmeg1521 or did they mail them? 

 

All the best to you too!  I am feeling you on how annoying this all is.  How on earth is one supposed to plan any kind of wedding with all of this uncertainty?!

 

[Nutmeg1521 1]

7 hours ago, CH & JO said:

 

 

 

Nutmeg 1521- would you mind me asking how long it takes for you/your partner to have their passport released by the Embassy? Did it take the full 10 business days? I would greatly appreciate any help with this matter.

 

We are trying to decide a possible flight date so that he can prepare his family and friends for his departing.

 

All the best to you both. So nice to know other people are going through the same thing in US/Ireland

 

Sorry to hear that he won't make it for your vacation, but glad he's got the interview sorted.  All cases are different, but as long as your paperwork is in order and there are no administrative issues, you should get it fairly quickly.  We got ours in less than a week. It was with the courier in two days.  But again, every case is different. It's always good to plan with the official timeline they give you, just in case things don't go smoothly.  But likely you'll get it sooner.

 

6 hours ago, nmr said:

Oh my gosh, that is so annoying to hear all of this! Had no idea that the medical could even be moved up.

 

This makes me think of some more questions.

 

1.) What vaccinations did they require? My fiance was told tetanus and mmr were all that he really needed.   Is that true?  Did they administer any vaccines?

 

2.) Did they take the picture that you need to bring to the medical or can you use that as one of the two you need to bring to your visa interview?

 

3.) Did you get the results back 14 days later by driving back to Dublin like Nutmeg1521 or did they mail them? 

 

All the best to you too!  I am feeling you on how annoying this all is.  How on earth is one supposed to plan any kind of wedding with all of this uncertainty?!

 

The vaccinations should be administered before the medical.  Don't think they do them on site.  MMR, Tetanus and Varicella (chicken pox, if your partner didn't have it as a child.) They also require the flu vaccine if it's flu season, which runs October through April, I think.  So yay for not needing that one.  Have your partner bring his vaccination records, if he can find them.  

 

They will keep the pictures you bring to the medical. The ones you bring to the MEDICAL can be standard Irish passport size, BUT be certain that the pictures you bring to the VISA INTERVIEW are 2 inches by 2 inches.  They will NOT mail your medical results in Ireland.  They will call in a week or so and arrange a time to collect them, so be sure to provide a reachable number.  

 

Best of luck to both of you!  It will be over with before you know it!  Though it's hard to plan a wedding around all of this, it can be done!  I recommend you choose a date that is about three or four months from the date you THINK the visa will be issued.  Gives you time to plan.  Once it's issued you have 6 months to use it, so there's wiggle room. Stay strong, it's almost over! Woo!  

 

 

[okaygrave 1]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm new to the conversation, but have been checking out everyone's timelines and the forums and the information you all have been posting has been extremely helpful. I did have a question, if anyone could help! My fiance had his medical on July 22nd and we are currently waiting for the results (were told 7-10 days); when he spoke to the doctor, the doctor said it should be fine if he turned in his notice of readiness that day but after doing some research, we decided to wait until he had his medical results back just to be certain.

 

Considering the wait time for an interview right now, would anyone advise that we should go ahead and turn in our notice of readiness this week? Or would you guys think it is too risky and just get the medical results back and then turn in readiness?

 

It's just so unfortunate that you have to wait around a week+ for these results without being able to get in line to the next queue for the interview.

 

On 7/25/2017 at 11:34 AM, nmr said:

1.) What vaccinations did they require? My fiance was told tetanus and mmr were all that he really needed.   Is that true?  Did they administer any vaccines?

Also, nmr - for the vaccinations, if your fiance has not had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, they will need to get a tetanus booster. They do not administer any vaccinations. You have to get them done by your general practitioner and then bring in a record (we got a letter) saying it was done. They do look for the MMR vaccination records. They ask if your fiance has ever had chicken pox and, if not, ask about the varicella shot. Technically, your fiance does not need the varicella shot, HOWEVER, what they don't tell you, is that when you do your adjustment of status in the United States, your fiance will (most likely from what I can tell from the CDC and other US websites) need to get it. If your fiance is over 21, they will need to administer 2 shots for varicella. The first shot followed by a second shot that has to be 4-8 weeks later. I would recommend getting this done because otherwise you will have to go see a general surgeon in America later for the medical form you need for the AOS. 

[CH & JO 16]

Hey everyone,

 

Okaygrave welcome to the Irish group! 

 

Thank you so much for answering my question Nutmeg1521! My partner and I really appreciate  So glad for you the passport came back quick.

 

On 7/25/2017 at 0:34 PM, nmr said:

1.) What vaccinations did they require? My fiance was told tetanus and mmr were all that he really needed.   Is that true?  Did they administer any vaccines?

 

2.) Did they take the picture that you need to bring to the medical or can you use that as one of the two you need to bring to your visa interview?

 

3.) Did you get the results back 14 days later by driving back to Dublin like Nutmeg1521 or did they mail them? 

nmr to give your our personal experience with the following questions....

 

1. All the information about vaccination requirements can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/vaccinations.html

Make sure your partner has them done before hand. They do not administer vaccinations on the day. The whole medical process took a little over an hour and my partner said it was very easy going. They ask a bunch of questions and asked no follow up questions. Even if he answered 'yes' to a medical history question.

 

* about the chicken pox. My partners parents were unsure if he had the chicken pox but his country GP knew his parents and said he would take their word for it that he did. This was added into his 'official report' from GP and therefore went into the medical exam as record. This is an easy way to avoid having to wait the extra weeks for the 2 adult chicken pox vaccinations.

 

2. The pictures you bring on the day to the medical are given to the doctor/staff and are used in the medical package that is submitted to the embassy. Basically they look at the photographs to see if this is the person they are examining and then included them in the sealed envelop. This helps to ensure the person who goes for the medical is the same person who shows up at the interview. You will not get these photographs back.

 

3. They NEVER mail the medical results. You have to go and pick them up in person. As I said previously it took 14 business days to get them back. We were originally told 7-10 but I think many staff are away on holidays at the moment. Remain polite but I would call every day after the 10 days have passed. There are 4 different people you will talk to when you call and only 2 of them have access to the records. Through polite persistence my partner was able to get them.

 

16 hours ago, okaygrave said:

 

 when he spoke to the doctor, the doctor said it should be fine if he turned in his notice of readiness that day but after doing some research, we decided to wait until he had his medical results back just to be certain.

 

Considering the wait time for an interview right now, would anyone advise that we should go ahead and turn in our notice of readiness this week? Or would you guys think it is too risky and just get the medical results back and then turn in readiness?

Okaygrave I can give your our personal experience on this one! We tried to do the same. Submit the Notice of Readiness after my partner went to the medical but BEFORE he physically had the medical results. And with the new system at the Matter the Embassy can actually see who has picked up their results! They talk back and forth about it through some electronic system. So when my partner tried to submit his Notice of Readiness before having the result to-hand the Embassy emailed him back and basically said we know that you do not have all these documents yet and we want to check one more time that you are saying you do. Basically if you are lying about the documents. Lying to the government = bad. So we waited the additionally 4 days for the result to be hand and my partner submitted his Notice of Readiness when leaving the doors of the Matter.

 

I agree with you that is seems silly to wait when it takes so long to get an appointment but this whole process seems a little silly- considering we first submitted our petition in February! 

 

Stay strong fellow K1 Visa peps and thank you to all for sharing their stories. I think it is great to be able to share what people have gone through and maybe help fellow Irish filers in the future.

[okaygrave 1]

CH & JO - Thank you so much for the information and quick response!! Your answer is so incredibly helpful. How frustrating though... the doctor literally told my fiance that even if he did get his interview, he could always come back later and drop them off the medical results because "it's just a checkbox on the interview."

 

I feel like you get so many conflicting opinions from people and really the only ones that know are the ones that go through it. It's extremely helpful to have someone else to ask a question to and there sure aren't a whole lot of us in the Irish group so it's nice knowing that there are others to talk to. Thanks so much again! 

 

Btw, congrats on your interview date! Won't be much longer now!! 

[nmr 0]

Did any of your guys have trouble getting the vaccination records from the health serivce? The process has been unreal for us because they have NO records of his mmr.  He has had to get a blood test to verify immunity instead.