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Trending Immigration DiscussionsTopic Popularity Poster #1 Once AoS is approved, can my wife go to Mexico or will she need a US Passport?
Work and Travel Discussion- Nathan2424
#2 Embassy MNL ignores legit expedite
DCF Discussion- TYPHOONBOB
#3 NVC stage-Interview schedule
US Citizen Family Discussion- Island parents
#4 I-485 Interview Experience and Minor Concern.
Green Card Discussion- QuantumZX
#5 Wait for NVC letter
IR1/CR1 Visa Discussion- Penguin_DE
Community SpotlightAbandoned AOS and now regret it
Mariammaria posted a topic in Adjustment of Status Case Filing and Progress Reports,
Please be nice, I know I made a mistake... But got my K1 approved and arrived in the US June 25, 2024 and applied for AOS February 25, 2025 -- then left the US (abandoned my AOS). Will I be banned for re-entry to the US -- even under a spouse visa?-
- 32 replies
US Citizen with Foreign Fiancé: When and How to Get Married?
gandalf1989 posted a topic in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures,
I'm currently living and working in the United States. My fiancé currently lives in Japan. We have been dating for about 6 months, and we have met in person several times, but we are not yet married.
My fiancé will be visiting me in the United States on a tourist visa some time in March or April and staying for about 3 months. I want to file for a fiance/spouse visa asap -- what's next?-
- 15 replies
N400: Admitted to Weed during Green Card (was it a crime I was not arrested for?)
Left Over posted a topic in US Citizenship General Discussion,
To start, marijuana is illegal in my country of origin. When I was applying for my green card I admitted to trying marijuana when I was in my 20's (I'm 49 now). I got my green card and have lived in the US for 5 years. I'm in the process of applying for citizenship. What answer should I give to the question: "Have you EVER committed, agreed to commit, asked someone else to commit, helped commit, or tried to commit a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested? Yes or No" given that I admitted to past marijuana use during the GC process?-
- 29 replies
Fiancée threatened with deportation by customs agent after arriving at airport for false accusations. How concerned should we be?
deletedUser21321 posted a topic in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports,
Firstly, I want to get some things clear because I know everyone will say this otherwise:
We are seeing an immigration attorney for consultation soon. We've already printed out several documents to prove that my fiancée is not coming here with the intent to live here for the future until they get the K-1 Visa... Now, Heres the actual story...- 53 replies
Fiance or Marriage Visa in 2025 ? Pros and cons?
KandB posted a topic in What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration,
I'm 23F 🇨🇿, my partner is 29M 🇺🇲
We want to get our visa going sometime this year and want to be together as soon as possible but we are still unsure which visa would serve us better. I'd like to get married in my home country but on the other side i wouldn't mind getting married paperwise in the US and waiting for my work permit and etc if it would allow us to be together faster and then save up for and have our dream wedding in my home country.
What do you think ? All of this is so overwhelming and confusing and we just want to do the right thing.
I asked the same question on reddit, so many people recommended me to go with fiance visa, two suggested marriage visa. I need more input and advice from experienced people. Thank you
Ps: is it possible to have dual citizenship so i don't lose one from my home country? How does that work ?- 31 replies
Recent Immigration DiscussionsPolice clearance from the usa 4:39 am today
Riccardo Nastasi
Read 65 Times
3 RepliesHello!
I am currently in the k1 visa process and I am trying to understand if I need a police certificate from the US or not, because I lived in usa for 14 months as an au pairI can t find the information
Do you have any link or proof?
waiting for docs to fill out ds160. 9:58 pm yesterday
kevin mcgee
Read 74 Times
3 RepliesMy fiancee lives in General Santos City, her id was stolen, we are waiting for a replacement, she dropped a name so its taking longer than expected ,, she cant pickup her passport because she needs the id, birth cert is not adequate, ans its been 3 months since waiting for id, should be ready this month, my question is the first thing they want is the ds 160, which she cant fill out because she needs the valid id, should i call them and let them know that shes waiting for her id ?or do they just extend our case automatically ? the other issue is she tested positive for a latent T/B infection and is on treatment for 6 mos, which ends in August, so if she not done with her 6 mo treatment should she just go thru with setting up the interview or should she delay it until her treatment is done ,thanks .The tb question i asked earlier this year, and now since we received the notice from the embassy recently i thought i would add it to mt e mail to see what the opinions are/ thanks .
Embassy MNL ignores legit expedite 9:27 pm yesterday
TYPHOONBOB
Read 135 Times
11 RepliesFirst and foremost, thanks for reading and possibly advising. We are married, living in the Philippines together since 2017, never left and am on a spouse visa as an American living abroad, we have a US CRBA son age 6 and own property, bank accounts, credit, literally everything is both names. In the past week had a week overlap which was from a prior divorce, the overlap happened because of an attorney error, already addressed and flushed the old application, we remarried IMMEDIATELY Utah together on our sofa yet USCIS still wanted us to start over, we had gotten to the last interview without knowing about rhe overlap since my paperwork from divorce was bifurcated I didnt give dates any thought until they informed us at the embassy we needed to amend at uscis or refile. All this was 2023 and was with expedite.
Now, 2025 we hired an attorney to deal with it since my health is failing, my wife's tumor is huge and our son doesn't know a word of tagalog AND I have a job offer that expires in October that I am to be physically there for appointments.
First they emailed the MNL embassy for DCF request, then they FEDEX the same request a month ago, all have been ignored.
I want to bring docs and follow protocol to meet in person at the embassy but I cant seem to get a way in or figure out how to compel them to respond to the obvious life or death situation, we have 2 letters, one for me, one from my wife doctor, her case they cant treat here blah blah, same with mine.
Any ideas?
I-485 Interview Experience and Minor Concern. 9:09 pm yesterday
QuantumZX
Read 147 Times
6 RepliesI have my marriage based I-485 interview through K-1 visa the other day and would like to share my experience.
My wife who attended with me but the agent only interviewed me. Not sure if this is usual or if it something I should be worried about?
Neither I or my wife have any red flags in our past that would cause any potential problems, no criminal history, or past immigration issues, etc. We have a 8+ year well documentated dating history prior to starting my immigration process and have done everything by the book.
The interview itself was pretty straightforward, it was about 30 min in duration and the agent basically just asked me a lot of the questions from the I-485 application and also some very basic relationship questions such as how did we meet, where we live, and some family related questions, pretty basic stuff.
I handed in two errata sheet to correct some mistakes on my initial application and I also submitted some updated marriage evidence, financial evidence, and vaccination evidence.
Overall the interview was relaxed and and a pleasant experience. The officer did not give approval on-the-spot but did say that he does not see any issues or concerns with the application and that I should keep an eye on my mail box in about 3 to 4 weeks for a letter detailing the next step.
Overall I came of the interview feeling quite positive about it. While I would have really liked to have been approved then and there, I understand that is not necessarily a bad sign, maybe the application needs supervisor approval or they need to review the additional evidence I supplied.
The only thing that I have a concern about is that my wife was not interviewed with me or even separately, but maybe I'm just being overly paranoid... All I can do at this point is wait for the decision.
Visa medical/document review experience 8:50 pm yesterday
koriyal
Read 74 Times
1 RepliesI had my medical in London today for my K-1 and a few things were different for me than other's experiences on here. I found it very helpful reading about other people's experiences and I was super nervous, so wanted to do a quick write up for anyone else who might be feeling the nerves too!
My appointment was at 8.50am and I got there for when they opened the doors at 8.45am. I pressed the buzzer (used to be flat 4 but now is named visa medicals) and they opened the door for me. You go in the building and the door is on your right on the ground floor. I walked in and heard a voice calling me to a window on the right where a lovely lady asked for my name and crossed it off her list. She took all of my documents to copy (passport, police certificate, 4x UK passport pictures, medical questionnaire plus additional evidence from my GP and my welcome letter from the embassy) and gave me another questionnaire on a clipboard to start filling in. She came back a few minutes later with all of my original documents except my passport and told me to take a seat in the waiting room and finish the questionnaire there, making sure to hand it to the nurse when I saw them. It was pretty similar to the one you have to complete prior to the appointment with the link they give you but it was a few different yes/no questions. The font was tiny though so if be prepared to squint if you have bad eyesight!
I went and took a seat and at this point there were only two other people waiting. I took the time to fill out the questionnaire and then waited until I was called for my first check which for me was with the doctor. He was very nice and friendly and immediately put me at ease. As I am a woman the first thing he did was offer a member of staff to be a chaperone if I wanted (I declined), which I thought was nice.
When I was a teenager, like many, I struggled with depression and had about a year where I would cope with SH. Now it's been a loooong time (over 20 years) since I had any issues with SH but I still have the scars and I was very worried about this potentially causing problems. I had seen from other experiences here that it can help to get a letter from your GP beforehand so I had done just that. It basically detailed when I was last treated for depression, what medication I was prescribed and that I hadn't had any problems since then. I also made sure to get her to write that magic phrase everyone suggests- that I am not considered harmful to myself or others. He was very happy with this and said that due to the length of time it had been, the info from the GP and how I seemed to him in person, he said it was absolutely no problem and wouldn't cause any problems as far as the visa is concerned. When I tell you it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders I'm not kidding! He did also say that they're only really interested in any medical problems like that if they took place in the last 12 months anyway but said it was good to have all the additional evidence I brought in.
After that he went through all the other checks he needed to do. First up was an eye test, which was your standard stand and cover one eye and then read the lowest row of letters you can from the chart on the other side of the room, repeating for the second eye but reading them backwards. He then had me sit on the bed and he asked a few questions about any past medical history, then listened to my chest and back with the stethoscope. The weather was beautiful today so I had worn a knee length summer dress and because of that, he said I didn't need to remove my clothes/put the gown on because he could already see my legs and arms! I had been dreading the gown part so also breathed a sigh of relief when he told me that.
He then had me lie on the bed and he checked if I was ok with needles and took some blood. Next up was various other checks like pressing on my stomach and checking for pain, checking my feet, taking my pulse and then had me sit up and took my blood pressure. He checked my ears and took my temperature but didn't ckeck my throat or nose. I had also been expecting him to check my height and weight from other accounts here but he didn't. The whole time I was with him and while he was doing his checks, we were having a casual conversation about me and my fianc , where I'm planning on moving to, what I do for work etc. He was so lovely and friendly and the whole check was by far nowhere near as bad as I was imagining it was going to be in my mind! It felt like I was having a catchup with a friend.
I was then sent back to the waiting room and about 5 minutes later was called by another lady to have my chest x-ray done. We go into another room and she tells me to put my things on a chair and handed me a gown. She told me to go behind the curtain and remove my top half of clothing including my bra and to put my hair up in a bun- I had it in a ponytail but that wasn't enough. They have a claw clip for you to use though so that worked out perfectly!
I then came out and she took me to the x-ray machine. I had to press my chest up to the plate and put my chin on the top, hands on my hips and push my arms as far forward as possible. She told me to take a deep breath in and that was it! All done. I got dressed and went back to the waiting room, which by this point was full of a lot of anxious looking people.
5 minutes went by and I got called by another nurse- vaccination time! She went through my history and noted I needed my Hep B jab. I was already aware of this and had spoken to my GP about it before my medical, but they would only offer a 3-dose course which would cost me 150. For the visa/AOS purposes you only need the one dose and Visa Medicals only charge 40 for it so I had already decided I would get it done on the day. She also said I needed a tetanus booster. Apparently, the UK only requires the initial 5 doses which I've had, but the USA requires a booster every 10 years. So, keep that in mind! She gave me the choice of getting them both done then and there, or leaving it till I got to the states as they're not needed for K visas prior to the AOS. I had read stories about some people having to pay for all new medical exams in the states if you're missing vaccinations and she confirmed that it's possible, so I decided to have the tetanus done there too. She gave me the jabs and handed me a vaccination record to keep for my AOS once I get to the states. I was in the room for about 5ish minutes total and then got sent back to the waiting room.
Maybe 10 minutes passed and I got called back to the initial window at reception to pay. It was 395 plus the additional 80 for the vaccinations. She handed me back my passport and gave me a pink piece of paper which was a checklist of documents I needed to take to the embassy and gave me instructions on how to get there. I will say I also didn't have to give a urine sample. I hadn't even thought about it at the time and it wasn't until I got home and thought about it that I realised. No one else while I was there had to do this either from what I saw so they may be changing this so it's not required. Either that or I'll get a call in a few days telling me I need to come back in, but if I do, I'll try and remember to update this account!
At this point it was about 10.30am and the window to hand in your stuff at the embassy is 11.30am to 1pm. I decided to grab an uber and got to the embassy for about 11am, sitting outside for a bit before heading to the window for 11.30. There was only one person in front of me and I got in very quick. Went through security which as others have described, is just like airport security only you don't take your shoes off! I didn't have to open my phone or drink any of my water, just put everything in the tray to be scanned. I then walked through to the main embassy building and a lady gave me a sticker with a number on my passport and instructions on where to go (1st floor, turn left and left again and then take a seat).
I got up there and there was only one other person there who I had also seen at the Doctors. Sat and waited for about 30 minutes with more people trickling in from the doctor office before they started seeing us. They called me to the first window where I gave the man my passport picture and pink piece of paper from the doctors. He took my fingerprints on both hands, scanned my passport and told me to take a seat again.
Maybe 5 minutes passed and I was called to another window with a lovely American man. He went through the checklist and took all the evidence they will need for my interview. He ticked off my passport as they had scanned it and stapled my photo to the pink checklist. He then took my birth certificate, police certificate, I-134 affidavit of financial support form and the additional evidence for it (only took W2's although I also had 1040's, a letter from my fianc s employer and one from his bank, plus proof of his retirement account with me- I came prepared!) and that was everything. He put it all in a clear plastic wallet and sealed it with a sticker that says "US embassy checked, please do not tamper" and said that was what I needed to bring to my interview in a couple of weeks. He even said I don't need to take my DS-160 as it's all electronic, though I will be taking it to my interview regardless, just in case I need it to get into the embassy. In fact, I ll probably just take all my documents again just in case because I'm a worrier and I'd rather have too much than not enough!
Overall, the whole experience was very painless. Well minus the tetanus jab which has made my arm ache, haha. But if you are like me and are overthinking and worrying about the medical, please don't! I promise you the staff are all so lovely there and it will not be as bad as your mind thinks it will.