Confused...

[UKHusband 1]

Thanks, unfortunately I've gone through a few email addresses and a few computers in that time, so all that's gone...

I'll figure something out - the annoying thing is they have all that info already, not me lol. If I don't have it, I'll just have to tell them why - not like I can do anything about it really (except find my old passport!!)

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks, unfortunately I've gone through a few email addresses and a few computers in that time, so all that's gone...

I'll figure something out - the annoying thing is they have all that info already, not me lol. If I don't have it, I'll just have to tell them why - not like I can do anything about it really (except find my old passport!!)

Like I say, do the best you can. I'm sure folks leave out stuff by mistake all the time! I'm not even really sure what they're looking for that they wouldn't already know. Seems so redundant.

[mindthegap 2,550]

Quick question - I've filled out the next form (the DS-230 or whatever it is called) and I just need to do the 'dates you have entered and exited the US supplemental sheet.

I have two problems with this - 1) I can't find my expired passport anywhere and my current one only goes back to 2006 and 2) how would I know the exit dates from memory?

I must have made at least 10 trips to the US in the last 15 or so years and can't remember how long each trip was. Some were work trips so I wouldn't have booked them, but for the ones I did myself I've checked my Expedia and Travelocity accounts and neither store information back that far!

Any ideas/suggestions? Is 2006 onward enough? I spent a lot of time travelling backwards and forwards to America from 2003 to 2005 as that was when we were in a (really) long distance relationship for much of the time prior to the start of 2006 when my then fiance came to England for five months on a tourist visa before we got married - I just don't have any detail!

I did mine via a combination of expired and current passports, frequent flyer logs, emails, and old boarding passes.

I used two additional sheets- something like 60 entries into the US in not many years.

You think thats bad, wait until you do a russian visa - 'list all countries visited in the last ten years with dates'

[Jviddy 1]

Luckily my current passport covered all the back and forth long distance relationship travel but had to think carefully about the stuff before that.

i only got to 21 visits

[UKHusband 1]

I'm struggling a bit with this I must admit.

Even if I find my old passport I'm only going to be able to take a best guess at leaving dates, as they obviously remove the green thing when you leave the country and give you no other indication!

[mindthegap 2,550]

You could always file a FOIA request with the CBP....this will list all your entries and departures. They are required legally to respond within 20 days.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/976/~/record-of-my-travel-in-and-out-of-the-united-states,-foia

Drastic perhaps, but if you really don't know then it may be a solution as this will most definitely list all of them (provided you give them the necessary info)

Edited July 18, 2013 by mindthegap

[UKHusband 1]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'd read that took six months, but 20 days isn't too bad!

Spent a painstaking evening last night revisiting old emails in my wife's Gmail account and through some Sherlock Holmes type work managed to get all but three pretty close to nailed down! I reckon we can figure out another two, but on the last one (of ten) I'm just going to have to take a best guess! It will be close enough lol

[Dbkrantz 16]

I have to say I am pretty lucky because my husband only visited the US twice so not hard to remember the dates!

[UKHusband 1]

This is the only part of the process that makes absolutely no sense to me to be honest - they already have this info, but until I started this application it never even crossed my mind that this was info I would ever need again in the future (why would I?), so I never paid it any mind!

Oh well, just about managed to sort it in the end with minimum of guesswork!

[UKHusband 1]

Irritating experience with the Practise Nurse at my GP yesterday.

Took the afternoon off work as I'd booked to see the nurse to get my vaccination record, and have my MMR vaccination in preparation for the medical as I knew I needed it.

When I got there she said 'the doctor has said he doesn't know if you're entitled to this, we've never been asked for it before and he thinks you will have to do it privately'. I suspected this was wrong and told her that and she just said 'I'm caught in the middle, what can I do?'

I said I would pay for it then (just to get it done) and she said 'we won't be able to do it, you'll have to find a private practise'.

Someone is supposed to be calling me back today. I have checked online and it recommends on the NHS website that all adults my age should have it if they haven't already (and not in relation to visas - just generally!)

Also, for my vaccination record she just handwrote it in a 'are you ready for your holiday' leaflet? Will this be acceptable to the Knightsbridge lot?

Really annoyed me as I've taken time off. Anyone else had trouble with this? Useless.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Irritating experience with the Practise Nurse at my GP yesterday.

Took the afternoon off work as I'd booked to see the nurse to get my vaccination record, and have my MMR vaccination in preparation for the medical as I knew I needed it.

When I got there she said 'the doctor has said he doesn't know if you're entitled to this, we've never been asked for it before and he thinks you will have to do it privately'. I suspected this was wrong and told her that and she just said 'I'm caught in the middle, what can I do?'

I said I would pay for it then (just to get it done) and she said 'we won't be able to do it, you'll have to find a private practise'.

Someone is supposed to be calling me back today. I have checked online and it recommends on the NHS website that all adults my age should have it if they haven't already (and not in relation to visas - just generally!)

Also, for my vaccination record she just handwrote it in a 'are you ready for your holiday' leaflet? Will this be acceptable to the Knightsbridge lot?

Really annoyed me as I've taken time off. Anyone else had trouble with this? Useless.

I have heard of people running into problems, but persistence usually pays off.

My GP surgery doesn't have vaccines onsite, so I had to have a prescription written for the MMR, which I had to go collect and pay for and have the GP administer (so that ended up costing 14 odd quid). *I* also had to tell the GP that it was fine for me to have 2 MMRs 1 month apart (they do it rarely for adults, they're used to kids having them a year apart).

Some do it for free. Some charge.

I wonder what would happen if you just booked a GP appointment instead of seeing the practice nurse? Or, you go back to her with the NHS website printed out.

As for the record - yeah, it's probably fine. I don't think the Knightsbridge nurse takes too much convincing. I just had a rather unimpressive print-out from the GP surgery records. If you're a patient of theirs though, then she should be logging your jabs in the system properly, not just writing it on a bit of paper, anyway.

Edited July 23, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[lost_at_sea 995]

Irritating experience with the Practise Nurse at my GP yesterday.

Took the afternoon off work as I'd booked to see the nurse to get my vaccination record, and have my MMR vaccination in preparation for the medical as I knew I needed it.

When I got there she said 'the doctor has said he doesn't know if you're entitled to this, we've never been asked for it before and he thinks you will have to do it privately'. I suspected this was wrong and told her that and she just said 'I'm caught in the middle, what can I do?'

I said I would pay for it then (just to get it done) and she said 'we won't be able to do it, you'll have to find a private practise'.

Someone is supposed to be calling me back today. I have checked online and it recommends on the NHS website that all adults my age should have it if they haven't already (and not in relation to visas - just generally!)

Also, for my vaccination record she just handwrote it in a 'are you ready for your holiday' leaflet? Will this be acceptable to the Knightsbridge lot?

Really annoyed me as I've taken time off. Anyone else had trouble with this? Useless.

This NHS page specifically says "on the NHS":

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/mmr-vaccine-when-needed.aspx

And adults who missed out on MMR as a baby can have both doses within a month of each other later in life on the NHS.

And then it goes on to mention some specific year of birth bands who are likely missing the right vaccines. If you're in one of those brackets, I'd use that to your advantage, too.

Also, further below:

It isn't harmful to have an MMR vaccination if you are already immune. So, if there is any doubt about whether you have already been vaccinated go ahead and ask your GP for 'catch up' vaccination.

So there is nothing about this information that makes me think that they should not be giving it to you, and sending you private. This all reads very clearly to me as the MMR should be provided by the NHS (via your NHS GP).

Edited July 23, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[UKHusband 1]

Thanks! Will print that out and beat them over the head with it!

No call from the doctor's but amazingly I have received my NOA2 this morning - petition filed on the 11th July, approved on the 19th! Much quicker than expected.

I will check your guide but I think I remembered reading that at some point you could call up to get your case number to allow the booking of the medical? Is that correct? And should I do that now or wait a while?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks! Will print that out and beat them over the head with it!

No call from the doctor's but amazingly I have received my NOA2 this morning - petition filed on the 11th July, approved on the 19th! Much quicker than expected.

I will check your guide but I think I remembered reading that at some point you could call up to get your case number to allow the booking of the medical? Is that correct? And should I do that now or wait a while?

Wow. Brilliant. London's really on it! That's probably the fastest I've seen for NOA2 DCF. You might beat my 10 weeks at this rate. It's definitely the approval letter, right? I'm really shocked!

Yeah, that's correct. There's a bit of paper-shuffling between the two departments, so you probably won't be able to get it this week. Although, given how quickly they sent your NOA2, you never know.

Edited July 23, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[UKHusband 1]

At the top of the page it says 'Notice of Approval of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition' and the opening line is 'The visa petition you filed has been approved', and 'Classification 201(b) Spouse' so yeah, I'm 99.9% certain!

We're shocked too by how quickly it's moving.

I will leave it until next week before calling them to hassle them though lol