jobaba

good to know, thank you all and Merry Christmas!

I am on IR-1 visa and will enter the US next month. So I guess I would have to fill in the customs card which has this line asking how much value you are bringing that would stay in the US. I was wondering if they would charge me import tax at the spot or ????

thanks!

Thanks everybody. Looks like I am all good to go!

I am waiting for my offers to come. A company wanted me to send them a copy of my visa and current pay slip before they make the offer and I am shocked by that. I am inclined to tell them I will only provide those when there's an offer on the table.

Thanks Aaron!

Just checked, my SSN card says "valid for work only with INS authorization"...hmmm...perhaps it's better to check with the local office when I get there...

Cool. You can start to work immediately. Familiarize yourself with Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form. It is required for all US jobs.

Make sure that your SS card does not have the "Not authorized for work" statement. If it does, you need to get it fixed AFTER immigrating and activating your LPR status.

I had F1 visa in the US for 10 years. I could work in campus for up to 20 hours during school and up to 40 hours during summer.

Hi, how come you have the SSN card? How and when did you get it before you get your CR1 visa?

Thanks for your answer in advance.

thanks for all the replies! I do have a SSN since I was in the US before, and I kept the SSN card. so I guess I can start right after my POE then, yay!

You need two things to legally work in the US; 1) work authorization and 2) a social security card.

When you enter the US, you will have work authorization based on the IR-1 visa (which upon entry is stamped as a temporary 1 year green card). However, you will not have a Social Security Number card. Without a SSN, you cannot work. It will take about 2-4 weeks to get the SSN.

I have a job offer in the US and they required INS Forms 688 or 688A showed to them the first 72 hours after I start working there. I am going to enter with my IR-1 visa and start working within a week. My understand is I would get my green card in a month. So I am wondering if that temporary green card is either form 688 or 688A or something else?

It was stated that:

Acceptable documentation includes, but is not limited to: a United States passport or social

security card, a certificate of United States citizenship or naturalization or INS Forms 688 or 688A.

that's great! thanks everyone!

Thanks Lena. Sorry I didn't make it clear. I would like to know if anybody has shipped their furniture over and how much it costs to ship them...

Walmart: cheap - Ikea: economical - Sears/Macys: expensive. Some local furniture stores offer a whole room of furnishings for $1500 and a "free TV". Really cheap: second hand shop like the Salvation Army.

is it worth it? does anyone have experience in how much it costs for a bed, a sofa...etc?

Thanks Penguin_ie! That's great! I can give them my UK passport! I have a visa on my other passport and have been entering the US using that one anyway

I was a dual Irish/ Swiss citizen and interviewed in Ireland. They took my Irish passport, but my visa says "Swiss" as citizenship (it's my birth citizenship).

In his case he should be able to use his US passport get into the US?

I don't know the answer but would be interested in any responses you receive since my husband is also a UK/US national who will be travelling to the US for interviews etc during the visa process for myself and my sons.

I have finally received a letter for my interview date (Nov 1, which is a Thursday) but I am scheduled to go to the US for an onsite interview the following Monday! I just contacted the place I will be interviewing with and they told me that it's not possible to change the interview date since there are folks flying from other parts of the US.

Fortunately I am dual citizen and will be able to travel with the other passport. Does anyone know if they only take one passport? do you get to choose which one to give to them (I have put down both in my forms)? Would it be a problem if I travel with another passport to the US?

very frustrated....

Hi Holly2234,

when you emailed them did you email londoniv@state.gov with your case number?

or did you have to call them first to get some sort of code?

thanks!

I keep losing my own links when i need them so its partly for my sanity too

I see. thanks!

I was confused and was waiting to get everything ready for I-864. I just submitted the read for interview form. Hope it doesn't take long to get an interview!

You do need all of that along with the I-864 but there is nowhere to submit too. You simply take it all with you to the embassy on your interview date. It is only people filing in the US that have to submit it. The IR-1 and CR-1 section of the forum tends to lead to confusion on that since DCF is different. So you might have read over there that people send it away. You dont need to do that.

Thanks again Holly2234

So I don't have to send all the evidence (tax forms, property valuation in the UK, proof of domicile in the US) when I submit the I-864 form?

It is not necessary, you take the I-864 to the interview with you so anything that needs to be explained, you are there to do it.

I was wondering if a I-864 coversheet is necessary for DCF? It was not mentioned on the London US embassy website.

We have received NOA-2 and I started to getting things together. Now I hear things about DS-3032/I-864 bills. I have only got a letter and it says follow the instruction at the London Embassy. My understand is I need to submit the I-864 form, and then once it's approved I will get a letter saying that I can schedule my interview. or am I wrong?

Now I see people are talking about DS-3032 / I-864 Bill and I am not sure how to pay for these?

very confused

Thank you both, Nich-Nick and Gegel!

I am applying for a family-based immigration visa through my husband but I need to go to the US for a job interview in a couple weeks. I was wondering if this is allowed? I was told that I can't go during the application. I am British citizen and don't need a visa to enter the US.

thanks!

September 5

Wow they are close! When is your medical?

Thanks Holly2234, I will call! Looks like our timelines are very close, good luck to both of us!

Its probably best to find out. The embassy may not know what to expect for your case so even if they havent got it, they wouldnt know it was missing. Also, they may have got it but not matched it up with your file. Call!

We are currently living in near London so we are filing the application through the London Embassy. However I lived in other countries so I had to get my no criminal records from them. It supposed to take 4 weeks and they would send the cert directly to the embassy and won't notify me. I have also mailed in the DS-230 to the embassy and will have my medical exam soon.

My question is: I am not sure if any of the mail got lost and if the countries have mailed the no criminal record cert to the embassy. Do I call to find out? Or they would check when I schedule the visa interview?

thanks!

that's good to know, thanks! It may not look good at the immigration if she's on the CR-1 visa and she goes in and out of the US often - but it's good to know that she can travel on that right away. A US address wouldn't be a problem since we can use my parents'.

She will need to activate the visa if it is in her passport, but you are wrong about her needing to wait, as she is on a CR-1 visa she will get a stamp on the visa page in her passport when she goes through immigration, and this stamp will act as a temporary grencard for a year, so she can travel on that. She will need a US address with someone trustworthy checking the mail for when the physical greencard arrives (can take 2 weeks - 3 months).

Thanks everybody. A related question, can my wife go to the US just for a short visit for job interview (not using the visa even though she has it)? cuz if she goes with the visa she would have to wait roughly a month for the green card before she can leave again if I understand it correctly. Reason is that she wants to get a firm offer before she quits her job in the UK.

Yes, this, Travel over together, rent a home or move into one you own, then you travel back after a week or two.