Ian and Deanna

Thank you all so much, all this info really helps a lot!

I did apply for a secured CC but they rejected me...so I'm going to re apply and try other banks/stores etc until someone gives in!

Thanks again!

Well if you were refused then it must be a Chase thing, or it might be how much you deposited into the bank in the first instance. I put in a few grand and US Bank offered me a secured credit card straight away. Bearing in mind its your own money not there's. You could also try and get a secured loan, again it works around the same principal, that would also give you a credit history. Check out youtube as well there are many videos on the subject. Hope you get something sorted.

Hi,

Well i also had the same problem when i opened my US Bank, they told me i was not eligible for one also as i didnt have any credit history, well not a US one anyway. And there is no way to use the UK credit history over here. I was told though that you can get a secured credit card, which basically you give them the money to set the limit of the card. Say you give them $1000 to put on the secured card. You then use your card with the $1000 you just put on in the first instance, say you then use $100 to buy something. Then a month later you pay it back, keeping the credit to $1000. Yes your money is in limbo, but you always have the $1000 which is yours. Just cancel the card when ever you want and get your money out. I know it sounds weird using your own money, but its the only way you can show the bank that you are worthy of having a credit card. Then in a years time or what ever time scale the bank sets, they would probably give you a proper card when they see that you are good to use and pay back the money. I believe it takes 6 months to establish a FICO credit score. Also as some have mentioned you can get store card, although this is not an actual credit card it does go on your credit history over here and as long as you pay it back after every month as per the terms then you can build up your credit history that way! Just don't over spend and not pay back as this will damage it not help it. I hope this helps.

we are already married... mine is CR1

Well i guess, the wedding is one less thing you have to worry about then!! Congratulations anyway!!

Hi Everyone,

Well after 10 months of waiting, its finally here....Yipee!! I have my visa, my flights booked and the wedding is planned, so what next!! ....and apart from the obvious that i get married, what happens now?

I have tried looking for info on visa journey, but i cant find anything!! I just wondered about the process about flying and when i land in the U.S? what documents do i need to show apart from my passport, and the file i got from the embassy ? am i right in saying that i have to fill in an I-94 on the plane? is there anything else?

Then do we file for AOS and EAD at the same time, and when are you able to get a SSN so i can open a bank account etc?

Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered somewhere, but there seems to be so much to do and organize, and am a little exhausted lol

Any help would be appreciated

Many Thanks

Visa in hand...... Flight booked.... leaving on 11 july

Congratulations ....How lucky are we!!, i also have my visa in hand, booked my flight yesterday and i travel on the 10th July!! Get married on the 13th, feels amazing dosnt it. When is your Wedding?

I have my interview on Friday of this week and am getting a little nervous about it all. Have i got every thing, the right forms etc

Is the form i received from the embassy, stating that they are ready to begin final processing my interview letter? or is it a separate document? It does show my visa appointment date and time on the bottom of the form, so will this be sufficient or is there a different interview letter i need?

Also i have read somewhere that you have to phone up prior to your interview to pay your visa fee's but on the bottom of the IV019 information sheet it says you pay $240 at the Embassy on the day of the interview and the fee is paid to the operated assisted information service, what does this mean!!

Sorry to act a little dense on this, but having got this far i just want it to go as smoothly as possible!!

Many thanks in advance!!

What an informative post!! Just super for you to describe your experience the way you did!

The build up to actually attending the medical was horrible, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Although it doesn't sound like you had to do the ' stand on one leg, stick the other one out in front of you and flap your arms up and down with your eyes closed' test? Am I the only one that had to do this? Please tell me I'm not, because I would feel more of a fool lol!

I think the worst part of it all was waiting for the phone to ring saying something came up in my X-Ray or bloods, but thankfully it didn't...

I don't know what was worse for me, the build up or actually, as you described waiting for the results, or should i say not hearing from them lol, i think it must be the later, because we wait to long to get to this point and if they did find something then it will not only delay the process considerably, whilst they investigate or treat something, but the cost of it all....well ill cross my fingers and legs and just pray all is ok, and i dont get the call!!

And did you really have to stand on one leg etc or were you joking ?

I had the medical there yesterday afternoon. Mine was the same (without the coughing - I'm a woman, so I got my breasts checked).

You didn't mention having your BP measured. Presumablky you did. Was that OK?

I dont know how i missed that out and yes i did have it checked and it was all good. How did yours go?

Thanks for writing down your experience.

I'll have my medical on tuesday and I am super nervous...

I was more nervous waiting for the day than i was when i was there lol, but waiting to find out if the blood tests and the Xray was ok is the worst part. They said if you dont hear from us in 2 working days then it will be sent to the embassy!! No news in this instance will definitely be good news!! lol

Good luck with your medical!!

Hi Everyone,

I had my medical yesterday at 4 Bentinck Mansions, my appointment was at 10:50 so had plenty of time to get there!

I left my home in Birmingham at 06:20!

I traveled down the M40, A40 which leads directly onto the Marylebone Road!I decided i didnt want to pay the congestion charge of £10.00 or indeed park closer to the Knightsbridge doctors as the deeper you go into London then the car parking fee's get ridiculously expensive. So i searched the Internet and found a car park just outside the congestion zone charging zone minutes after leaving the A40 and Marylebone flyover....I was there at 09:05 and i only drove at 65 mph as i had plenty of time to get there!! it does get busy between 8 and 9 but just compensate for small delays!!

The Iparking Car park in Bell street was £12.00 from 08:00-18:00 and you didnt have to book, but you did have to pay when you got there! Just ask for an all day ticket. It was underground and very secure. The staff was also so friendly, so i was just happy the first stage was over... getting to London and parking lol

The Car Park is about 1 miles from Bentinick Street and the Doctors office and they say walking is about 30 min's ish, But i started walking which is basically 2 main roads and i looked in every shop on the way and it only took me 35 mins.

I

I got there at 09:40, still over an hour to go, so i went for a coffee and there are many nice places to eat and drink around there!!

I went back to the Doctors and Rang the bell and they let me in, its a fairly nice building with the door just on the right. I opened the door and i was called to the second window.

Just tell them your name and the time of your appointment!! They then asked for my documents. I did take all my originals but i had photocopied all my paper work and they said that's fine, which saves them doing it. Although they did want my original passport and immunization card which i got from the NHS doctors, with all my immunizations on there.

I gave them my:

Police report - Photocopy

Passport - Original and photocopy - You get Original Back

Immunization card -Original - You get Original Back

USA Medial Questionnaire Form - Page 9 - Photocopy

1 Passport Photo - UK version

And Doctors report, cause i answered yes to 2 of there questions and it just states that when i had it and that i have been in remission ever since.

They then handed me another questionnaire of my medical history and asked me to sit in the waiting area and fill it in. The receptionist came back just as i was finishing it and took it off me. 2 mins later the nurse called me through. She was really nice and put me at ease. She took my blood pressure, weight and height and then she took some blood. I asked what they was looking for and she said the only thing they test for is for syphilis, but i dont know how true that is, but that is what she said. She then asked me to take a seat back in the waiting area, withing a few minutes i was called through to another room to have my chest Xray, this is to check mainly for TB but possibly other chest problems! They took the first one and said they wanted to take another one, i asked if there was a problem. She said cause i was so tall then she couldn't see all my chest with just doing one lol.

I then was asked to sit back in the waiting room and because there was only doctor one and there was 3 people in-front of me , i did have to wait 40 mins. But i took some magazines with me although they do have selection of magazines in there!! It was quite a nervous wait as so far so good. It was then my time, this female doctor called me in and introduced herself and said it she was pleased to meet me, which is a nice touch i guess. She then asked me some questions about answering yes to a couple of questions and being as i had a medical report from my doctors it was just a general chat asking the circumstances, she got me to sigh my name over the photo which was stapled to my form. She asked me to read the eye chart, so if you wear glasses take them. I then asked to sit on the bed and she checked my eyes, ears, throat!! She asked me to slip down to my boxers and lie under the blanket. She then came back and checked my lymph glands in my throat and neck, my chest and back with a stethoscope and pushed around my tummy area. She then checked my knee reflexes and the last thing was she lifted the top of my boxers to look at my genitalia when i coughed, i never did understand why you coughed when they looked down there. But apparently having later checked on the internet it is to check to see if you have hernia! She signed a few papers and took me back to the waiting area.

I was then called to reception and handed me my vaccination document worksheet which you need to take with you to the states to prove what vaccinations you have had, when you apply for your adjustment of status!!

The only vaccinations they was interested in for me was:

Td - which i have to get renewed in 2016 in the U.S

MMR

Varicella - But they write VH on the form if you have had chicken pox and they take your word for it!!

Every thing else they put not age appropriate as im 49, so you may need more than i had depending on your age!!

She then said you will need to pay the £227 fee, but could have been more if i needed to have more vaccinations!!

They then told me that they will just need to wait for the results of the Xray and Blood test and if i don't hear off them in 2 working days then it will be sent to the London embassy, where they will issue me an interview date, and send you confirmation!!

I then left the Doctors and headed back home, it was not what i expected and to honest it was not as bad as i was expecting. I just hope i don't hear off them in the next 2 working days!!

Total cost of the day:

£50 Petrol

£12 Car Park

£227 Medical Fee

£2 Coffee

Total = £291.00

So it was a good day and driving down there was not as bad i thought it was going to be, but i planned my journey, did my research printed out the maps and phoned the car park owner to check if they had places and doing all that made it going smoothly and more relaxing.

Good luck to everyone with their medical and the rest of their visa journey!!

It takes quite a while, take a look at the following thread

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/430131-obtaining-uk-acro-police-certificate-process/

I meant to update the thread post, but it came a week after they sent the email to me!!

It takes quite a while, take a look at the following thread

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/430131-obtaining-uk-acro-police-certificate-process/

The missing bar code image is probably due to your browser, i used Google chrome and i had the same problem, but i read that you need to do it in internet explorer for it to work correctly, I switched browser and it worked fine!! But i hope it all goes well for you!!

Hi

I have all my documentation that i need to book my medical and attend my interview and therefore need to send my DS forms off to the London Embassy but i have a few questions whilst filling out the forms!! I tried to find the answers in the forum but without much luck.

So can anyone please answer the following:

DS-230

Do i send part 1 only to the Embassy and take part 2 with me, or do i send part 1 and 2 to them in the post?

Do i attach the photographs to the forms or again do i need to take them with me?

Q.32

Will gaps in my dates for my Employment history for the last 10 years due to unemployment cause a problem?

DS-157

Q.12

Will gaps in my dates for my last 2 employers due to unemployment cause a problem?

Q.14

Will listing that i have firearms and explosive training during my military service be a problem with my application going through ?

Q.17

Whilst listing my educational institutes do i really need the day i started, i know the month but couldn't tell you the day i started, will this make a difference to the application?

Also what is the best postal service to send the forms back so they get them as soon as possible? Recorded delivery, next day ???

Many thanks

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what to put on form DS-156 about passport place of issuance, being as uk passports do not state this and there are many offices around the country, me included lol

So i contacted the IPS by email asking what i would put when applying for a fiance visa as the place issuance and their reply was as follows:

............................................................

Thank you for your enquiry.

You will need to write "IPS UK" where it asks for place of issuance.

I hope this answers your query.

Thank you

Customer service e-mail team

..................................................................................

So where it says:

City of issuance you put IPS - UK

Country of Issuance Great Britain and Northern Ireland

State or Province Just leave blank

I hope this helps everyone who has, or had the same thoughts as many asking this very question just as i did!!

Its just the DS-156 that you need to do online, as it generate's a bar code. once you fill it out and submit it, just print off the 2 copies you need, all the rest can be done by hand

Congratulations that's Awesome!!

I hope i feel the same as you did when i leave my interview !!

We did not date stamp our passport photos and our petition was approved without any RFE'S, and we sent in only 8 photographs of us being together, our plane tickets, and a couple of photocopies of cards we sent to each other and the envelope with the date stamped on it, we didn't include any Skype or Facebook messages and we received no RFE'S. So you should be fine!! Besides when you receive your NOA2 and you get your interview then you need to provide updated proof of ongoing relationship, like plane tickets, and letters along with a new letter of intent from the US Citizen only!

So i wouldn't worry yourself to much about it, they can see who is genuine and who is not!!

Good luck!!

Well i think that plane flights can be booked at the very last minute anyway as there are many flights from the UK to US. I fly from Birmingham to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Portland Oregon and i have many flights to choose from, so i could book this a couple of days before i go anyway!!

And i suppose each wedding will be different depending on your circumstances i guess, we have both been married before so neither of us want another white wedding. All we know is that we want to be together so as long as its official and we can be together that is all that matters!! A pastor can marry you anywhere for a small donation!! So naming a wedding date for us is just picking a date we would like to get married and go for that date if the visa comes through or if it dosnt i guess we can rearrange it with out to much difficulties, so no flight costs have been factored into the equation, which makes it easier for us!!

They ask you the date on the form so i guess they must expect people to be presumptuousness when naming a date, cause know one really knows when the visa will be issued!! Its a tricky one isn't it lol

I was wondering the same, do you put a date you would like to get married to speed things up or leave it blank, cause you cant guarantee when your interview will be and be ready to travel!! But assuming you don't put a date you run the risk of being at the bottom of the pile, i guess, from what i have read on here!!

I wonder if they even ask you for the wedding details, and travel documents ?

We have a date in mind, of when we would like to get married and it wouldn't take that long to plan as we know how we are going to do it, but just like you, how do we know that the visa will be issued in time and can we take that risk!!

We have a July date in mind and would love to make final plans and book my flight ticket out of here, we can smell it it that close lol.

Well an update from my original post

I received an email from ACRO this morning and they said "I can confirm that the latest your application will be dispatched is the 20/05/13" which means its not a 10 working day service therefore its not worth the paper its written on, well the instructions anyway!!

Updated:

18 April - Received NOA2 acceptance

19 April - I downloaded the forms and filled them out

20 April - Went to get passport photographs done

26 April - I received my Photograph Endorsement form and photograph back

27 April - Sent package off to ACRO Portsmouth

30 April - ACRO received my package

13 May - Received email saying "It will now be dealt with in accordance with the published guidelines

14 May - Received another email saying "I can confirm that the latest your application will be dispatched is the 20/05/13.

The police certificate is valid for 1 year so order it well before you get your NOA2 else it will cause a delay in your process, this will enable you to be ready when you come to book your medical for which the Police Certificate is needed. Also you need a UK passport size photograph not the US size......US sizes are 2"x 2" and the UK are 1.38" x 1.77"

Also if you are only a few months into the process go to your doctors and get your vaccinations that you require cause the knights bridge doctors do charge a lot for these especially when they are free on the NHS, i got all mine done free of charge:

I got the following vaccinations done:

Hepatitus A&B combined

TDP - Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio

MMR - Measles, Mumps and Rubella

Influenza - if you are in the risk group i believe its 50 and over and in flu season

Varicella - not needed if you have not had chicken pox

But these all depends on your age so check out going for your medical forum, all the info is there

Also as EmMatt said get your fiance to gather the required documents needed to support the new Affidavit of Support I-134, we went for overkill on the supportive documents, don't want to take any chances we missed anything out!!

A new Letter of Intent from US petitioner only

New Affidavit of Support I-134

Letter from their employer stating their job title, start date, salary, and whether its a full time position

A bank managers letter, stating how long you had the account and what you have deposited over the last 2 years

Depending what you put in the Affidavit of Support I-134, we had a copy of her stocks and bonds, listed all the assets and values to match the I-134, and even her last 3 years IRS statements, even though i believe we didn't need it.

And ongoing relationship supportive documents since we sent in the original petition...her flight tickets and boarding passes of a recent visit.

Like i said this we went for over kill but its up to the individuals to decide how much over the minimum criteria they want to include. We just dont want to leave anything out if they do ask for it

And to all the brummies im from Birmingham too

Just a little advice about obtaining your police certificates!!

It is a lengthy process....so fill out your forms and send them off as soon as you get your text from the USCIS that your NOA2 has been approved, if not before because its coming up to a month and i still have not got them back.

Here is my journey to obtain one!!

18 April - Received NOA2 acceptance

19 April - I downloaded the forms and filled them out

20 April - Went to get passport photographs done

26 April - I received my Photograph Endorsement form and photograph back

27 April - Sent package off to ACRO Portsmouth

30 April - ACRO received my package

13 May - Received email saying "It will now be dealt with in accordance with the published guidelines"

So i guess they still have to do their checks and admin stuff and then send me it in the usual snail mail here in the UK, so another 5 days and it will be exactly one month till i finally get my police certificate, that's if it gets here in the 5 days!! I sent an email this morning asking what the turn a round time would be but still waiting for a reply!!

I paid £45 fee for the standard service, which they state is 10 working day turnaround, not including dates of receipt or dispatch, but that's 2 weeks once they receive it, in my case i had to wait nearly 2 weeks before they even looked at it! with getting photo endorsed, sending and receiving it wont be short of a month. This is the only document i need before phoning for my medical and sending off the forms needed by the London Embassy!!

So my suggestion to everybody is you want the certificate sooner is pay the £80 for premier service and a 2 day turn around but that's only when they start processing it not for the whole process and i guess it also depends if you have a criminal record or not!!, which i dont

I will updateand let everyone know when i actually get the certificate in my hands!!

I made up a wedding date a month earlier than what I hoped for. If you say your wedding is next May, they will put off your interview in favor of those with sooner weddings in an effort to get them to the church on time. That's a theory.

My newest theory is send the DS-2001 to arrive just after your medical has arrived there. Then your dates and readiness is fresh at hand. They say "well everything is here now" and crank out the interview. I'm starting to wonder if your readiness get's buried with the application forms and instead of speeding things up, you are sorta forgotten about. They may put the readiness form in Step 3 for a reason---because getting that last is more efficient for them. A random theory....

If you make/made up a wedding date to get it through earlier, will they not need to see proof of the wedding date or do they not ask? and if you did make up a date how did you pick a date not knowing when your interview would be or how long the process of getting an interview date ? so what do you suggest ? doing things in what order and when from booking medical to interview?

Well i guess if so many people are asking the question, then just like me they have read it somewhere that it is needed, Some say it is needed as i also read somewhere and some say that it is not needed as they have gone through the process without doing it.

Well i guess my thinking is if there is any doubt when you have your interview about your intent or your affidavit of support then getting things notarized wont hurt, infact it will help!! I guess its a matter of choice and i dont want to take any chances, having waited so long to get to this stage i dont want to delay the process by providing more information... Maybe they wont ask but they may!!

Also my fiance is a notary public in the states and she has been asked to notarize documents for the same visa purposes, so we have done the same!! Its up to the individuals i guess!!

Good luck anyway with your journey!!

Yes my 3rd child is over 21 and my twins are 18 and although i listed them on the biographic form i submitted with the petition it was never intended that they was coming with me and what Jihana said did cross my mind but it was the travelling applicants on my letter which threw me!!