DCF in London - January 2020

[AlanD26 14]

26 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

  In general for most interviews where charges, especially cautions, are considered it is better to have an actual report rather than thinking a personal retelling will be sufficient. If you have specifics already on your police certificate or get the court record then you have some facts to present. 
 

 

 

It was a drink driving charge from 2009 and all details of the date, court, and fine / driving disqualification are on the ACRO report. Not sure what else the court records will show. The lady on the phone just now said that because it was so long ago I need to email a request in which I've just done, no idea how long its going to take to get these details over to me, fingers crossed not too long ......

[Cauldron 5]

Hiiii there! Does anyone here have experience with how they process your case after you sent in the requested additional documents? How long does it take? Do they email you? Thank youuuuu! C

[Stuwoolf 44]

Received my SSN today.😊

 

I guess all I need now is my GC and I have the full set.

 

Went to open a bank account today. Couldnt get it done as I need a bill or something with my address on it. Need to think about how to proceed with this.

[Morgan5698 58]

5 minutes ago, Stuwoolf said:

Received my SSN today.😊

 

I guess all I need now is my GC and I have the full set.

 

Went to open a bank account today. Couldnt get it done as I need a bill or something with my address on it. Need to think about how to proceed with this.

Wells Fargo should open an account for you without a proof of address. I had no issue with them. 

[The4Sands 67]

2 hours ago, Stuwoolf said:

Received my SSN today.😊

 

I guess all I need now is my GC and I have the full set.

 

Went to open a bank account today. Couldnt get it done as I need a bill or something with my address on it. Need to think about how to proceed with this.

Did the letter with the SSN not count as a piece of mail with your name on it? We’re staying with my parents at the moment so I can’t see how my husband is going to have much mail with his name on it any time soon 😬

 

 Was planning on going to the bank this weekend to try and add him to my checking account. Will see what happens...

[Stuwoolf 44]

16 minutes ago, The4Sands said:

Did the letter with the SSN not count as a piece of mail with your name on it? We’re staying with my parents at the moment so I can’t see how my husband is going to have much mail with his name on it any time soon 😬

 

 Was planning on going to the bank this weekend to try and add him to my checking account. Will see what happens...

No. The letter wasnt enough.....crazy but there you go. The fella at the bank give us a list of items which would meet the ID criteria.just noticed that the list is applicable to those WITHOUT a GC. Dont know if the visa in my passport covers that? The problem may arise that the passport cant be used twice? Think I will try Wells Fargo as Morgan5698 suggests.

 

Will let ya know🙂

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing so maybe a Santander account or a Barclays account may have been easier as I think they both how a presence in the US.

[Stuwoolf 44]

23 hours ago, Morgan5698 said:

Wells Fargo should open an account for you without a proof of address. I had no issue with them. 

Thanks. Account now opened. Grateful for your guidance.🙂 Really appreciate your help.

21 hours ago, The4Sands said:

Did the letter with the SSN not count as a piece of mail with your name on it? We’re staying with my parents at the moment so I can’t see how my husband is going to have much mail with his name on it any time soon 😬

 

 Was planning on going to the bank this weekend to try and add him to my checking account. Will see what happens...

What a difference a day makes......

 

Went along to Wells Fargo at Lighthouse Point (between Boca Raton and Deerfield). No problem.

 

Presented my passport and the address portion of my (tear off) SSN Card and he was happy. Minimum amount to open the account is $25. Was given a Temp card and the proper card will take about a week maybe 2. If the bank doesnt meet expectations, I will change banks.

 

Now at least I have another type of ID🙂

 

Also got my US phone number fixed up too.

 

Good luck everyone🙂

[The4Sands 67]

On 11/19/2020 at 7:19 PM, Stuwoolf said:

Thanks. Account now opened. Grateful for your guidance.🙂 Really appreciate your help.

What a difference a day makes......

 

Went along to Wells Fargo at Lighthouse Point (between Boca Raton and Deerfield). No problem.

 

Presented my passport and the address portion of my (tear off) SSN Card and he was happy. Minimum amount to open the account is $25. Was given a Temp card and the proper card will take about a week maybe 2. If the bank doesnt meet expectations, I will change banks.

 

Now at least I have another type of ID🙂

 

Also got my US phone number fixed up too.

 

Good luck everyone🙂

Yay! Glad it worked out for you. 
 

I still haven’t managed to add him to my accounts as because of COVID my bank only takes pre-booked appointments and you can only get an appointment M-F, between 9:30am and 4:00pm. But I work every weekday from 8-4:30 🙄

 

 Have you heard anything yet, @Cauldron?

[laurenuk 1]

Hi there, 

 

Hope this is the right thread to post in. I'm applying for a IR1 via DCF here in London (through exceptional circumstances). 

 

My i-130 is approved and I've submitted the DS-260 and have my LDN case number. 

 

Problem is, when I try and book an interview on the booking site I keep getting the message 'case not ready'. They also provided an email address, which I've sent a note to, but I'm obviously worried about that being responded to quickly. 

 

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Or can offer any advice? 

 

Thanks, 

Lauren

[Wuozopo 4,285]

18 hours ago, laurenuk said:

Problem is, when I try and book an interview on the booking site I keep getting the message 'case not ready'.

How many days have you gotten this? It often takes a couple of days before you get into the system. Once you get in, there may be no dates available. You have to keep trying. With covid situations going on, the release of open dates to the calendar are few and sporadic. Some try to predict based on the date of the last release of dates. I wouldn’t count on that. False hope because there’s really not a set pattern right now.

[laurenuk 1]

On 11/22/2020 at 4:58 PM, Wuozopo said:

How many days have you gotten this? It often takes a couple of days before you get into the system. Once you get in, there may be no dates available. You have to keep trying. With covid situations going on, the release of open dates to the calendar are few and sporadic. Some try to predict based on the date of the last release of dates. I wouldn’t count on that. False hope because there’s really not a set pattern right now.

Thank you for the advice! 

 

They got back to me/ updated the system so I could go ahead and book. Few dates left in December, so I'm all sorted! 🎉

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by laurenuk

[Cauldron 5]

Folks, I have to rant. I was told at interview back in November that I would need to send extra documents I was originally told I wouldn’t need. Miraculously I got it all together in a week and sent them right in. Now, 3 weeks on, nothing!! They made me wait for 16 working days before I could email them for a ‘status check’ and today I got back a generic response saying my case was still under review. There is no time limit for such a process and no system in place to ask for a status check again. So, I am to wait indefinitely. I haven’t seen my husband for over three months, he has missed all of the first half of my pregnancy which we fought to achieve for the last four years and to top it all off I am living at my parents house. I could actually explode right now. I cannot believe how disgraceful this whole process has been. Has anyone here had to send in extra documents and how long did it take for them to get you your visa? Did they ever even notify you that those docs had been received and were correct? 
 

thank you x

[The4Sands 67]

6 hours ago, Cauldron said:

Folks, I have to rant. I was told at interview back in November that I would need to send extra documents I was originally told I wouldn’t need. Miraculously I got it all together in a week and sent them right in. Now, 3 weeks on, nothing!! They made me wait for 16 working days before I could email them for a ‘status check’ and today I got back a generic response saying my case was still under review. There is no time limit for such a process and no system in place to ask for a status check again. So, I am to wait indefinitely. I haven’t seen my husband for over three months, he has missed all of the first half of my pregnancy which we fought to achieve for the last four years and to top it all off I am living at my parents house. I could actually explode right now. I cannot believe how disgraceful this whole process has been. Has anyone here had to send in extra documents and how long did it take for them to get you your visa? Did they ever even notify you that those docs had been received and were correct? 
 

thank you x

Oh @Cauldron, I’m so sorry. That sucks. No two ways about it. Are you stuck in AP or are they just being incredibly slow?
 

Have you considered contacting a congressperson or senator? My situation had resolved itself before my congresswoman could get too involved, but it did feel better to be actively doing something at the time. Make sure they know your beef is with the embassy and not USCIS if you do. Took me ages to get that point across. 
 

Hang in there. You’re so close. Don’t give up now. 

[Orcrist 2]

Hey all, we are in the final stages of preparing for a spousal visa interview in London via the DCF route. 

 

One of our major concerns is with regards to sponsor's I864 income/asset requirements. Now officially, using assets ONLY is still acceptable per USCIS guidelines if its 3x the poverty guidelines in the case of a spouse. However, it seems that many people are still rejected even when they exceed the asset only requirement and the consular officer still wants to see a job lined up or a co-sponsor. Basically, the ultimate decision is left up to the consular officer as to whether or not the petitioner satisfies the financial requirements. And practice seems to vary widely based on location of interview. For example, apparently you don't need to show proof of reestablishing US domicile at the London office whereas other locations are extremely strict about this. 

 

We are wondering if anybody has any experiences using assets alone to qualify for the spousal immigrant visa at the London office. 

 

We are not trying to "get by" but I, as the US citizen, am planning on moving back to the states with my British wife. And I plan on attending schooling first, so I won't have a job lined up. And no, unfortunately we don't have anybody that's willing to co-sponsor!   

 

Finally, I don't see anything with regards to the public charge rule implemented at the London Officer. Please can anyone confirm this? 

 

Thank you in advance for any answers! 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, Orcrist said:

We are wondering if anybody has any experiences using assets alone to qualify for the spousal immigrant visa at the London office. 

 

 I can’t remember any specific couples, but London is pretty easy if you meet the rules. US Tax return 100% required, even if it doesn’t qualify you. Proof of assets documented with financial statements or whatever the instructions for the I-864 lays out. Follow the I-864 instructions closely and if you meet those requirements, London will most likely approve you. Any separate assets of the beneficiary count. (See instructions) London is not overly suspicious of you like some consulates. They may ask how you plan to get those assets to the US. Tell them you have looked  into Transferwise. 
 

If you have assets scattered about, or in beneficiary’s name only, it would be helpful to create a spreadsheet. Identify bank, or brokerage, balance in £££ (as shown on some statement), then a conversion to $$$. Then total the assets. Do the math for them instead of them having to add up each financial institution.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Wuozopo