K1 application and Britain

[Sue_Philips 0]

My future husband lives in Glasgow, I live in Colorado. We have decided to get married and so I am going to file a I-129F to get the process started. It seems that you guys have been there before.....

I would be interested in previous applicant experiences, if you do not mind sharing. How was the interview in London? Were the staff rude? How was the medical? It seems that it is a place called Knightsbridge Doctors. Are they OK or just in it for the money. Do they stab you with vaccinations you do not need just to run up the cost?

My reason for asking is that I have heard some ugly rumors about the K1 process and so I am looking into things more before we jump right in. It seems that our wonderful Federal Government makes the process as bad as possible to stop all the "mass immigration" I hear about on Fox News (or not as the case is).

Did anyone feel that they were persecuted because they were following the rules? We want to do this the legitimate Visa way, as do most people I am sure. I am told there are other methods that make use of 'loopholes', but we do not want to use those unless we have to.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your replies.

Sue

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

My future husband lives in Glasgow, I live in Colorado. We have decided to get married and so I am going to file a I-129F to get the process started. It seems that you guys have been there before.....

I would be interested in previous applicant experiences, if you do not mind sharing. How was the interview in London? Were the staff rude? How was the medical? It seems that it is a place called Knightsbridge Doctors. Are they OK or just in it for the money. Do they stab you with vaccinations you do not need just to run up the cost?

My reason for asking is that I have heard some ugly rumors about the K1 process and so I am looking into things more before we jump right in. It seems that our wonderful Federal Government makes the process as bad as possible to stop all the "mass immigration" I hear about on Fox News (or not as the case is).

Did anyone feel that they were persecuted because they were following the rules? We want to do this the legitimate Visa way, as do most people I am sure. I am told there are other methods that make use of 'loopholes', but we do not want to use those unless we have to.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your replies.

Sue

The loopholes have gotten smaller and tighter in the last few months. So tie a knot in the end of a rope and start researching either the K1 visa (for engaged couples) or the CR1 (for married couples).

Now to answer some of your questions:

How was the interview in London: These are generally easy and relaxed compared to other consulates. Consider yourselves lucky. No the staff is not rude but they are businesslike.

Medical at Knightsbridge - these are the current panel physicians contractually hired by the immigrant visa unit at London. They are your only option. You can save some money by having your fiance get all his jabs from his local doctor. The doctor needs to document that your fiance has been inoculated.

You won't be persecuted for following the rules. You might if you don't.

And stop watching Fox News.......

Edited January 22, 2011 by Rebecca Jo

[Mal and Meg 12]

Hey Im currently going through the process and you will see my timeline in my signature!

Im from a wee town about 90 miles from Glasgow

As for the medical i was in and out within 45 minutes it was straight forward and quite a pleasant experience!

Get your other half to go to his local gp and check he has mmr and tdap jabs and if he has already

had chicken pox they will just tick it off!i didnt need jabs at the medical as i got them at the GPs

Ill know better about the interview on Feb 16th!

All i will say is be prepared for a 6-9 months journey the waiting is the hardest part

[Damian&Kelly 16]

We got very lucky with the process. But right now the timelines aren't close to ours. When we started, we couldn't wait to be together but were prepared for the 6+ month wait. We honestly didn't think much of the wait, I mean waiting isn't ever fun and the distance is hard, but it was what we had to do to be together.

The Interview: Well I'm the petitioner, but my husband said it was very easy. They asked him 3 questions, didn't ask to see any relationship evidence, and were more concerned about the sponsor/money than anything. He waited awhile for a 5 minute interview which in his eyes was pointless. He felt like he was there to just hand over the paperwork in person. The people weren't rude, just there to do their job in what ever speed they want!

The medical was very straight forward. Xrays, Blood test, and look down your pant to make sure you are the sex you say. My husband got his vaccinations at his own doctor so he didn't have to pay. Though my husband traveled a lot when he was younger, with his parents, so had most the vaccinations already for other visas to other countries.

[Boiler 43,804]

Where did you hear the ugly rumours?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Our experience was painless. It's not instant, but no problems with the government at all.

See this forum UK FORUM and find the pinned thread where over 500 posts describe the medical exam. Jump in at the more recent ones.

And to read details of 500+ interviews in London go HERE

Edited January 23, 2011 by Nich-Nick

[JoannaV 173]

How was the interview in London? Were the staff rude? How was the medical? It seems that it is a place called Knightsbridge Doctors. Are they OK or just in it for the money. Do they stab you with vaccinations you do not need just to run up the cost?

The process costs money and takes a while, but is otherwise straightforward.

I think someone linked you to the section on this site that has reviews of the London Embassy.

The staff at the Embassy are very straightforward and friendly. (Well, most of them I guess!) I'm sure they are not quite so nice when there are complications, for example if the applicant has a bad criminal history or whatnot, or if there are other factors then the interview is probably much more in depth. But the majority of interviews are very cursory.

The medical is ok. Unfortunately your fiance will have to travel down to London twice, as the medical has to be done some time before the interview. The doctors do the job and are generally friendly. Probably not as friendly as your GP because, after all, they are only seeing you once and aren't actually interested in your health if you know what I mean. Knightsbridge Doctors only does what is necessary for the immigration process, nothing more. Now, you could debate that at times immigration has required "unnecessary" vaccinations, but that is not the fault of Knightsbridge Doctors. For the fiance visa you are able to wait until you are in America to get the vaccinations, but it is much better to get them in the UK. (Else it makes the process of adjusting status once in America slightly more tiresome and expensive.) Your fiance should look at the list of vaccines required and try to get them from his GP before the medical, if he wants to avoid paying Knightsbridge. The main one that seems to catch people out is MMR: he will need to prove he has received TWO MMR shots. (Or proof of immunity. If he has never had an MMR shot then he could get the first shot from his GP the week before the medical, he would then probably not require the second shot.)

I was nervous about the medical, that they were going to thoroughly examine every inch of my body or something, but it really is just a very general check-up. If your fiance has a documented health condition then he will need to prove that it is under control or whatever, they do insist on that, but generally that is easy enough to do.

[payxibka 10,044]

moving to UK forum

[Gemmie 142]

The medical is just expensive, it's not worth the anxiety you get waiting for it. Just a quick check-up and blood test, I was in and out in 40 minutes.

The interview was just like being at Argos - I waited 5 hours to be called for a 5 minute conversation (with a few easy questions). Painless!

[Sue_Philips 0]

Just to explain the 'rumors' part since the question was asked.

A few years ago before Ian (my fiancee) even knew what a K1 was, he met a person on vacation who claimed that he had worked as an application adjudicator (contractor) for the US Embassy in London. The thrust of his numerous complaints was that he was paid to be unpleasant in an effort to make people drop their applications, he also alleged that the doctors were under similar instructions. Of course this informant is now untraceable and we wanted to know if he was just spinning stories after being fired, or had truly repented and wanted to preach the word.

Thanks to all of you have responded so quickly. It seems broadly positive so far apart from the expense and the waiting. Are there really no people with a horror story?

Note the Fox news comment was just a joke. There are however differences between Brits and Americans. Americans know they live in the best country and so make jokes about other countries. The British know they live in the best country and so make jokes about themselves.

Once again thanks for your time and any further input.

Sue

[Jewel-8 21]

I would be interested in previous applicant experiences, if you do not mind sharing. How was the interview in London? Were the staff rude? How was the medical? It seems that it is a place called Knightsbridge Doctors. Are they OK or just in it for the money. Do they stab you with vaccinations you do not need just to run up the cost?

...snip....

Did anyone feel that they were persecuted because they were following the rules? We want to do this the legitimate Visa way, as do most people I am sure. I am told there are other methods that make use of 'loopholes', but we do not want to use those unless we have to.

Thanks to all of you have responded so quickly. It seems broadly positive so far apart from the expense and the waiting. Are there really no people with a horror story?

My husband is from Glasgow, but was living in Edinburgh when we went through the K-1 process. His biggest complaint was that they two train rides down to London during winter were FREEZING. He didn't mind the medical, it was very quick. Everyone else has given the same advice I would have - get the jags done by your GP. My husband also had other minor medical things taken care of before he moved to Utah. MUCH cheaper than getting anything done here.

The horror stories for the London consulate usually only come from people that have something show up on their criminal record. If that is the case with your fiance, you have a whole new form and wait period to worry about.

I definitely would advise against anything you see as a 'loophole.' If you lie to a US government agent with the intent of doing something else it is FRAUD and very bad things can AND OFTEN DO happen.

Good luck! Hope you find many other Brits in the same process as you as I really enjoyed making friends on VJ and then cheering for them every step of the way.

[dealradh 4]

My reason for asking is that I have heard some ugly rumors about the K1 process and so I am looking into things more before we jump right in. It seems that our wonderful Federal Government makes the process as bad as possible to stop all the "mass immigration" I hear about on Fox News (or not as the case is).

I thought I was the only one! Sometimes it feels like they make you jump through hoops like Flipper the Performing Immigrant, just because they can.

I mean, when you take a step back, it's a bit silly, isn't it? They make you fill out the same information over and over, wait months and months for no apparent reason, call a very expensive premium rate number at the embassy to pay their bills, charge you through the nose, make you wait outside for your interview and then interview you at a room that looks like a glorified post office counter!

I don't think it's wilful though, and I've never heard any actual stories of horror, it just makes you feel a bit like you're being taken advantage of for wanting to move to be with the person you love. It's just symptomatic of a big, complicated process.

Edited March 1, 2011 by dealradh