People between NOA2 and Interview ~2009~

[haleywynne 0]

Okay thanks

[morretti 0]

Thanks for the reply, Nich-Nick. Not thinking straight at all, what you said about myself being the only traveller makes perfect sense. My husband will have his passport with him when we attend the interview, so ID won't be a problem.

[haleywynne 0]

Wow, just called the NVC and they sent my petition out to London the same day they got it - the 20th.

When they said things went faster here they weren't kidding haha.

[viknkam 0]

HI everyone.

My fiance is an Indian citizen, but has been living in the UK since 2003. Even though we requested the interview be in India, the information came from London and we have sent back the packet 3. The issue is that his visa for the UK expires July 31, 2009. He can stay 28 days after that, but if the k1 interview does not come during that time, then he will forfeit any option to renew his Visa to be in the UK, and by default be in India and not be able to attend his interview in the UK for the K1 visa. What ideas/options do we have? He has emailed someone that the over-priced number gave him, and I contacted the 202 number and they claim it is on the embassy... HELP!

-Kam

Hello Kam,

My fiance has been in the UK since 2004 and is a Pakistani citizen there on a UK Student visa. If you search the topics/posts under my name, the story of our visa journey (still continuing) is written in great detail . To answer your questions:

First, yes, NVC sends your file from the USCIS centers directly to the embassy in reference to the residential address of your fiance/beneficiary. We had the opposite issue when my fiance's I-129F was in progress: We wanted to make sure he was going to be interviewing in London rather than Pakistan, because our dimwitted lawyer had put "Islamabad Embassy" in the section where it asks for the embassy location in the I-129F forms. We called NVC to ask about this and NVC explained to us that they send the file depending on the current address of the fiance listed in the I-129F. So my fiance's residential address is a UK address so his file was sent to London, as we had hoped. So since your fiance's residential address was listed as a UK one in the approved I-129F, his file was correctly sent to London. The best way to have prevented this was to have changed his residential address at the time the I-129F was being processed at the USCIS centers. He would have had an Indian residential address and as a result his file would be taken care of by a US Embassy in India. But since this is not an option any longer...

You mention that you called the 202 # (DOS). Did you inform them of an address change? I know that he is still in the UK and technically does not have an Indian residential address, but that is the only way to prove that his interview should take place in India rather than in the UK. Case files have and can be transferred from one embassy to another in circumstances such as this.

You also mention that your fiance emailed the embassy in London. Unfortunately, as far as what I am hearing now and we ourselves too are witness to this: the embassy is currently not replying to emails in 3-4 days as they mention in their automated response email. It has been over a week since we emailed them regarding an issue we have and we still have not heard a response, same goes for a few others on this forum. Did your fiance email the embassy requesting his file to be transferred to the Indian embassy? Or did he ask for an expedited interview date? He can put in both requests by email: to either get an expedited interview date or to have his file be transferred to a US Embassy in India. He should also inform them of his residential address change to an Indian address, to provide a strong basis for his request.

You mention that his UK visa expires July 31st, 2009. He does in fact have 28 days after his visa expires to remain legal in the UK, but if he does not want to extend his visa, then he will become illegal after the 28 days if he chooses to stay in the UK.

You have the following options that I can think of:

Option A:

Why doesn't your fiance apply for an extension for his visa? Is he a student in the UK? My fiance applied for an extension for his student visa back in November 2008 which was approved in April 2009. But now, the processing times have significantly reduced for applicants applying after March 30, 2009 for UK visa extensions. The delay that my fiance experienced had a lot to do with the "re-vamping, updating" of the UKHO visa procedures. Now, the wait times are not as bad as they had been when my fiance applied for an extension. By applying for an extension for his visa in the UK, your fiance will be legal, even after the 28 days pass from the date of his visa expiration, because his application would be considered in progress once he sends it in for an extension, and his status in the UK will remain legal as it is right now. For proof regarding this, see the UKHO website.

So your fiance can apply for an extension for his UK visa and successfully remain and interview in the UK for his K-1 fiance visa at the US Embassy in London.

The cons of choosing this option: Of course time is a gamble--he may end up postponing his K-1 interview date a couple of times while waiting for the approval of his UK visa extension. The reason for this is because your fiance's passport must remain with the UKHO while his UK visa extension is being processed. HOWEVER, he may be eligible for premium processing, where a decision is made then and there when he applies for his visa extension in person at one of the UKHO offices. See the UKHO website for additional details regarding his eligibility for premium processing. If he is eligible for premium processing, his passport will be returned to him within a week, and he will be notified of an approval on the day of he does to apply for a visa extension in person at a UKHO post. Of course premium processing is quite expensive, but its your choice to make.

So this option is if he wants to stay in the UK and interview for his K-1 visa at the US Embassy in London and complete the process there and not jeopardize future chances of applying for visas/visiting/remaining in the UK.

UKHO website: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Option B:

As I mentioned earlier, contact DOS by phone and contact the US Embassy in London by phone and email. Inform them of an address change for your fiance (must be a residential address in India) so that your file can be transferred from London to India. The reason you must inform them of an Indian residential address is to prove a sound reason for your file to be transferred from one embassy to another. I don't think the embassy or DOS will entertain requests like, "I want to interview in India instead of London". There has to be a viable reason, and since your fiance will be in India if his visa expires in the UK, and since he wants to be interviewed in India, informing the US Embassy in London and DOS of his address change from London to India will be a legitimate and verifiable reason for his file to be transferred from London to India for further processing and interview.

The cons of choosing this option: Transferring a file from one embassy to another may take a significant amount of time, I am not sure on an estimate, but it is a process in itself, so be prepared to wait. But keep in touch with DOS to inquire about the progress. Also, I am not sure about the type of evidence your fiance may need to provide to prove his Indian residential address change if he is asked for one. I don't think he will be asked for any evidence because he is an Indian citizen, so his passport is proof enough that his permanent address is in India.

If you choose Option B, be sure to contact DOS. You should contact DOS as well as your fiance--just to emphasize the matter. And your fiance should contact the embassy by email and phone if he hasn't already regarding this matter. The address change is what should get things moving for you both, if Option B is your choice.

Another thing I want to mention, you may already be aware of it--your fiance may go under additional administrative processing after his interview even if approved--whether he interviews in India or in the UK. Do a search under immigration time-lines for people who went through India interviewing for a spousal/fiance visa or do a search under member profiles for all members whose concerned consulate is Indian. As far as interviewing in the UK, so far, everyone that I know: namely the following members: merijan, KhanShahid, mansehra, Linkin, SadEyes, KnightAndMagpie, DairyFarmer, and a few others that I am not recalling at the moment were all applicants for fiance/spousal visas who interviewed at the US Embassy in London but were not UK citizens (Except for KnightAndMagpie, Magpie is a UK Citizen, but was born in India). All of these members endured some kind of further additional administrative review/processing after being approved at the interview. The reason is unclear, but there is a pattern of non-UK background being directly proportional to further processing required after a successful interview. The time for this processing can range from a few days (such as merijan) to more than a year (SadEyes). So the time process is fairly unpredictable, although the average seems to be 4-5 weeks...

My fiance is probably in some type of additional processing too at the moment, but we have not been informed as of yet by DOS nor by the embassy in London as to whether it is a fact or not. But we are surely experiencing a significant delay in his visa issuance (see our detailed time-line on my profile page in the "About Me" section).

I don't mean to discourage or scare you, but to make you aware of the facts. It's better to be mentally prepared before it happens although it doesn't make it any easier , but it's not a rude surprise either if it happens. But as I always say, hope for the best but be prepared just in case.

I hope all this information has helped. Feel free to PM me with any further questions.

Good luck!

I understand what you are saying, and the scrutiny and time that they take is just ridiculous. I am applying for him. I made an adequate amount of money to support him. Neither of us has a criminal record. There are not issues of any kind- except that we need to know to extend or not to extend his visa. This is a simple question, and we expect the embassy to respond to our emails soon.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

Has anyone who's actually been to an interview taken original divorce decrees or any other original identity documentation from their USC with them?

There's some random talk on another forum saying that original divorce decrees from the USC are needed, but I'm not reading the Embassy site that way.

Just want to be sure Ian has what he needs when he goes.

Gracias!

Edited July 27, 2009 by Ian and Lisa

[MonkeyJuice 3]

No you wont need the USC divorce cert. The only info they need from USC is the financial info.

Good Luck

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Has anyone who's actually been to an interview taken original divorce decrees or any other original identity documentation from their USC with them?

I think the talk of originals comes from the fact that you submit photocopies of documents with the I-129f petition, but somewhere stated in the USCIS talk, they can ask you to produce originals if they choose. So the place you would come face to face with a person to show your originals would be at an interview. Considering it's USCIS that approves the petition, I would think they would ask to see those originals before approving the I-129f if they questioned the photocopies.

Once the petition is approved, it's like a new process in a sense. The immigrant applies for the visa from DOS via the Embassy, which is a different government agency with their own set of rules. It's only my opinion, but I think London figures everything to that point (free to marry, met in last two years, etc) has been given the okay by USCIS so they don't go into that part or re-evaluate it. They don't want to look at scrapbooks and relationship evidence either. London deals with original documents from the immigrant (police certificate, birth certificate, permission to take a child out of the UK). And they want to see well documented evidence of the Affidavit of Support from the USC.

I, the USC, didn't have a divorce decree but I was a widow at the time. London did not ask to see an original of my deceased husband's death certificate, which I had submitted in photocopy with the I129f to show USCIS that I was free to marry. They only wanted financials from me.

London, in general, is a pretty easy Embassy if the applicant has all the documents they request on their checklist and if he/she was born in the UK. They tend to delay approval of those not born in the UK with some additional security checks adding weeks on to the process.

This is the checklist and it is addressed to the immigrant, not the USC. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/...ess_K_visas.pdf

(FYI: The notarized statement refers to permission from the other parent to take a child out of the UK.)

Edited July 27, 2009 by Nich-Nick

[Lisa and Ian 7]

Thank you for your assistance!

[viknkam 0]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

I think you might have gotten an operator who had no idea what they were talking about (I HOPE!). The average NOA2 to Interview date for the UK is 64 days, last I saw.

On the other hand, it would be spendy to call back, but if it was me (and it's not), I would do it, just to get a second opinion.

That's got to be not right.

[MARM 7]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

I sympathize with your frustrations, we have been through a difficult process ourselves that is still continuing.

First of all, I don't know how much truth is in that statement: that his interview might be in 6 months?! I don't believe it is taking that long for interviews to be schedules in London. It may take a month or two at the most, but this new 6 month estimate is news to all of us here in the UK forum, I am sure.

Your fiance's medical is valid for 12 months from the date of the medical, so it is not going to expire in a month, it will expire 12 months from the date it happened.

Your fiance's UK police certificate is also valid for 12 months from the date of its issuance.

But all police certificates other than a UK police certificate are valid for 6 months from the date of their issuance. So you do not need to apply for new police certificates unless 6 months have passed from the issuance of the ones you already have.

I remember that we emailed the US Embassy in London regarding a similar question about my fiance's UK visa extension and we were told: "Unfortunately we cannot advise on this matter until the day of the interview" something to that affect. But each case is unique so I hope you get a beneficial response from London regarding your situation.

Have you called DOS and asked for their advice on what to do in your situation? I believe that if your fiance chooses not to interview in London, they can start a process to transfer his case to India. I know it is a decision based on a lot of issues, and I hope that London assists you in making this decision.

Hope you hear something helpful soon from London.

Edited July 28, 2009 by MARM

[viknkam 0]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

I sympathize with your frustrations, we have been through a difficult process ourselves that is still continuing.

First of all, I don't know how much truth is in that statement: that his interview might be in 6 months?! I don't believe it is taking that long for interviews to be schedules in London. It may take a month or two at the most, but this new 6 month estimate is news to all of us here in the UK forum, I am sure.

Your fiance's medical is valid for 12 months from the date of the medical, so it is not going to expire in a month, it will expire 12 months from the date it happened.

Your fiance's UK police certificate is also valid for 12 months from the date of its issuance.

But all police certificates other than a UK police certificate are valid for 6 months from the date of their issuance. So you do not need to apply for new police certificates unless 6 months have passed from the issuance of the ones you already have.

I remember that we emailed the US Embassy in London regarding a similar question about my fiance's UK visa extension and we were told: "Unfortunately we cannot advise on this matter until the day of the interview" something to that affect. But each case is unique so I hope you get a beneficial response from London regarding your situation.

Have you called DOS and asked for their advice on what to do in your situation? I believe that if your fiance chooses not to interview in London, they can start a process to transfer his case to India. I know it is a decision based on a lot of issues, and I hope that London assists you in making this decision.

Hope you hear something helpful soon from London.

He will be interviewing in London. We have long ago let go any prospect of interviewing in India. I called the DOS and they instructed that the representative that my fiance talked to was a bit "over-reaching." She told me to call back on Friday to see if the interview date has been scheduled or not. She sounded like she understood what is going on, but as for that ####### in London... The thing is, I think my fiance is a little discouraged about all of this to begin with, and answers like the once received from London do not help.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

I sympathize with your frustrations, we have been through a difficult process ourselves that is still continuing.

First of all, I don't know how much truth is in that statement: that his interview might be in 6 months?! I don't believe it is taking that long for interviews to be schedules in London. It may take a month or two at the most, but this new 6 month estimate is news to all of us here in the UK forum, I am sure.

Your fiance's medical is valid for 12 months from the date of the medical, so it is not going to expire in a month, it will expire 12 months from the date it happened.

Your fiance's UK police certificate is also valid for 12 months from the date of its issuance.

But all police certificates other than a UK police certificate are valid for 6 months from the date of their issuance. So you do not need to apply for new police certificates unless 6 months have passed from the issuance of the ones you already have.

I remember that we emailed the US Embassy in London regarding a similar question about my fiance's UK visa extension and we were told: "Unfortunately we cannot advise on this matter until the day of the interview" something to that affect. But each case is unique so I hope you get a beneficial response from London regarding your situation.

Have you called DOS and asked for their advice on what to do in your situation? I believe that if your fiance chooses not to interview in London, they can start a process to transfer his case to India. I know it is a decision based on a lot of issues, and I hope that London assists you in making this decision.

Hope you hear something helpful soon from London.

He will be interviewing in London. We have long ago let go any prospect of interviewing in India. I called the DOS and they instructed that the representative that my fiance talked to was a bit "over-reaching." She told me to call back on Friday to see if the interview date has been scheduled or not. She sounded like she understood what is going on, but as for that ####### in London... The thing is, I think my fiance is a little discouraged about all of this to begin with, and answers like the once received from London do not help.

I had sort of the same fun when I called NVC yesterday and they said, "It could be up to 90 days till you're in the computer." I know she was giving a ballpark figure, but that was still not something I wanted to hear.

I hope you have something by Friday.

[viknkam 0]

So, my fiance called the overpriced number today, and they told him that the wait for his interview might be 6 months bc London is a very busy embassy. There are a couple of concerning issues here though. First, he has had his medical done, has his police records, and all other documents are valid for a month- at most! If the embassy makes him wait for longer than a month, then we will have to reissue and re-do all of those documents. What the hell kind of service is that? Second, we have emailed the embassy and are awaiting a follow-up email about what to do in terms of extending his visa to remain in the UK. Lastly, I don't know what to do. I am tired. I am so very tired. I don't know how much more of this we can go through. Help or advise would be much appreciated.

I sympathize with your frustrations, we have been through a difficult process ourselves that is still continuing.

First of all, I don't know how much truth is in that statement: that his interview might be in 6 months?! I don't believe it is taking that long for interviews to be schedules in London. It may take a month or two at the most, but this new 6 month estimate is news to all of us here in the UK forum, I am sure.

Your fiance's medical is valid for 12 months from the date of the medical, so it is not going to expire in a month, it will expire 12 months from the date it happened.

Your fiance's UK police certificate is also valid for 12 months from the date of its issuance.

But all police certificates other than a UK police certificate are valid for 6 months from the date of their issuance. So you do not need to apply for new police certificates unless 6 months have passed from the issuance of the ones you already have.

I remember that we emailed the US Embassy in London regarding a similar question about my fiance's UK visa extension and we were told: "Unfortunately we cannot advise on this matter until the day of the interview" something to that affect. But each case is unique so I hope you get a beneficial response from London regarding your situation.

Have you called DOS and asked for their advice on what to do in your situation? I believe that if your fiance chooses not to interview in London, they can start a process to transfer his case to India. I know it is a decision based on a lot of issues, and I hope that London assists you in making this decision.

Hope you hear something helpful soon from London.

He will be interviewing in London. We have long ago let go any prospect of interviewing in India. I called the DOS and they instructed that the representative that my fiance talked to was a bit "over-reaching." She told me to call back on Friday to see if the interview date has been scheduled or not. She sounded like she understood what is going on, but as for that ####### in London... The thing is, I think my fiance is a little discouraged about all of this to begin with, and answers like the once received from London do not help.

I had sort of the same fun when I called NVC yesterday and they said, "It could be up to 90 days till you're in the computer." I know she was giving a ballpark figure, but that was still not something I wanted to hear.

I hope you have something by Friday.

Thanks, me too...

[Aniomaman 0]

I really don't think you should take the chance of relying on the 28 day rule(it's like a discreet rule and sometimes u need to have a lawyer to make them enforce it), have your fiance apply for the extension asap or go for the premium service if possible...that way he will have his passport with him for when the embassy decides to interview him. The embassy will not accept an expired visa which is what your fiance will possess at that time and with the automatic AP trend for foreigners in the UK...u might get caught up in that. It's better to be safe than sorry and it might hurt your pockets a bit but it's better than going there and being turned back for an expired visa. Just my thoughts though. All the best