Finally made it to NOA2, now what?

[Marissa&Stephen 0]

Hello all. Long time reader, new member and poster. Figure I better start at the beginning.

I am a US citizen, my fiance is a UK National, and we filed for a K1 visa in October. The California Service Center had finally got around to our I-129F application in early January. Unfortunately, they sent a letter stating that they needed more evidence of us having met over the period we stated. We spent weeks gathering more "evidence" that we thought would be sufficient to them. We sent that on, and after much delay (see signature), they finally received it. As of a few days ago, we *finally* received our NOA2 -APPROVED!

So after months of waiting and more waiting, it finally appears as though the US part is nearing an end and we can start on Phase 2. My question to you all with past experience in this is what can we expect? I've read good things on here about the interviews at the London Embassy, but haven't really been able to find what to expect prior to that. We're curious about what exactly his first packet will have in it. Should he wait to get his police background check for awhile or would it be alright to have it ready? For those of you involved in UK cases, about how long can we expect to get from where we are now (NOA2) to final approval?

Any help/advice/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

[gag54611 1]

Congrats on getting your NOA2!!

From this point on, here is the sequence:

1. California sends your petition to the National Visa Center - typically takes a couple of weeks.

2. NVC processes the petition and gives it a case number, then forwards it to London - typically takes about a week.

3. London receives the package and it sits in a holding bin waiting for processing - seems to be about a 4 to 6 week wait at the mo.

4. London processes the package and sends you 'Package 3'.

5. You complete package 3 and send it back to London.

6. London processes package 3 and sends you details of the medical and interview - interview likely to be 4 to 8 weeks out from this point.

7. After a successful interview, you receive your passport back with the visa in a few days. The 6-month visa validity clock starts now.

So, you are probably around 3 or 4 months from visa approval at the moment. BUT, it could be less, and unfortunately it could be more.

Regarding Packet 3: It will contain:

DS-230, DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157 (only for males), I-134, and a checklist. A few notes on these. The checklist has explicit instructions regarding what to send back. For the DS-230, you only complete Part 1. For the DS-156, London requires you to fill out the electronic version (which will generate a pdf file with a barcode sheet. The barcode is important, because it saves them typing in all of your info.). You can find all of the 'DS' forms at this web page. When you click the link for the DS-156 you'll be taken to another page that has a link to the electronic version near the bottom of the page.

Go ahead and start filling these forms out now. You can sign and date them when it comes time to send them back to London.

Regarding the police certificate, file the request now. You don't have to wait for packet 3. You should be aiming to be in a position to return packet 3 to the consulate on the same day that you receive it, or the next day.

Does this answer your questions?

Best of luck,

G

[Marissa&Stephen 0]

Ohmygoodness, YES! Wow, thank you so very much for the information, all very useful. Heading over to get some of these forms right now, thanks again!

[Marissa&Stephen 0]

Regarding Packet 3: It will contain:

DS-230, DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157 (only for males), I-134, and a checklist. A few notes on these. The checklist has explicit instructions regarding what to send back. For the DS-230, you only complete Part 1. For the DS-156, London requires you to fill out the electronic version (which will generate a pdf file with a barcode sheet. The barcode is important, because it saves them typing in all of your info.). You can find all of the 'DS' forms at this web page. When you click the link for the DS-156 you'll be taken to another page that has a link to the electronic version near the bottom of the page.

Unfortunately getting a lot of "page not found" error pages when I click on the links for the pdf files. Ah, the government - bless 'em. Hoping this is only temporary.

[Jasman0717 8]

Congratulations

[MaryandMian 1]

Congratulations and best of luck on your next step in the process.

Mary

[Sinergy 3]

I am so happy for you!!! After such a long wait you finally got it!!! Congrats! I felt your happiness you were so happy

Big hugs,

Tara

[mrswooten4ever 0]

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/filterlist.php

If you do a timeline search for k1 Uk London you will get a pretty good idea of what the waiting times are like. Currently around 8-12 weeks from the time they issue packet 3.

Good Luck

Adele

[gag54611 1]

Yeah, it looks like the Dept of State web site is having trouble. Try VisaPro at this link. They seem to be working fine, and after you download them you can fill them in on your computer.

However, note that you must use the electronic DS-156 on the Dept of State site. It seems to be working fine.

G

[sean&gabi 1]

You should read about what happened with Gabi and me here.

It all worked out in the end, however, it just has taken 3 extra months

Sean