Englishsammy

6 hours ago, GeorgiaRoseyRose said:

Well I never. You really do take the little things for granted. 
 

And how lovely to have your parents move over. I’d love that, then it would be complete. 
 

Talking of poor geography, do you find some people will say things like “I have a friend from [random town]” as if you know them? Or still assume that everyone is from London?

Yesss - I know Dan from London… it makes me laugh as though there’s only 5 dan’s in England.

Thank you, I read the same. It’s just all a bit worrying for them I think. 

Hi everyone 

my parents arrive on their IR5 visa. We did everything electronically so they don’t have a “packet” just their passports - does that sound correct?

also we are somewhat confused about the COVID entry requirements- they were vaccinated and have had the booster a while ago so that’s covered but  they need the negative test. They are booked in with Lloyds for the rapid antigen test and certificate - all the reading I’ve done has indicated that it’s accepted for travel (Fit to fly) but now someone has told my mum that it needs to be the PCP? Anyone have any insight?

Anyones advice is much appreciated 

I just stumbled across this thread and I’ve really enjoyed reading it!

I came to California as an exchange student in 2005, met my now husband and got engaged. Returned to England to finish uni and applied for K1 and then came back and we got married. Fast forward to May 2007 and our first son came along and we decided to move to England to be closer to my family (he’s not close to his) and to get ourselves more established and supported.  We always planned to move back to Cali. We bought a house in England, had another baby and decided to move back in 2016 before our oldest left primary school (now it’s so weird that English kids go to high school at 11!). My husband got his uk citizenship too.

We moved back in November 2016 and just hit the ground running. I was pregnant when we moved (a ‘surprise’) so that was a bit stressful but we’ve settled now, bought a fixer upper and we love our life here! I personally feel my children have so many opportunities here - my oldest is 14 and an athlete, he’s been accepted at a great school (both academically and one of the best in the nation for football) and I just feel like he’s not had to grow up as quickly as they do in England. His friends from there seem to have such a different life than he does and I’m just grateful for the opportunities he has here to stay busy and focused. 
 

I missed certain things at first like walking to town to do some shopping, cheese, crisps, a good chippy but I barely think of it now, I’d for sure miss more US stuff if we went back! I dislike the amount of grape flavored things, blackcurrent is just better!
 

The health care was stressful but we opted to go with Kaiser which is a HMO and that’s helped me figure everything out and I think we get great care which is much more thorough and way faster than in England. We are healthy though so I can’t speak on it from any other angle - I just appreciate that I can go to urgent care, get treatment, X-rays, prescriptions etc and be home in an hour! 
 

American drivers are just terrible but I appreciate the big roads and ease of getting around. LA is a different story but at least you can get to it from two major freeways. I mean they just won’t let you switch lanes even when indicating in advance and they’ll just block the exit rather than let you out - what’s with that? Lol

I think living in both countries has been amazing and my husband knows the English culture and so do my older kids. My parents are moving out to live with us (MIL suite) within the next month so then there’s not much else to miss. In the future I’d like to buy a small flat there so we can go back more often but that’s a dream right now, maybe when the kids are out the house! 
 

Oh and everyone thinks I’m Australian because I’m Northern!

1 hour ago, lorisglen said:

Thats awesome! Question! How many weeks from the interview before your parents get their visa in the mail? 

They got it within the week - they were denied pending some uploaded documents so that added a couple of days while i did it then they approved it and it was there the next day! This was London.

On 10/14/2021 at 7:00 PM, FA081 said:

Just wanted to update, my mom got her interview date, Nov. 2! She has two weeks to get her medical sorted. 
 

apart from the usual docs, did anyone else’s parents take anything else? 

Just make sure the documents are the same as what was uploaded to the NVC. My mom took another copied of her certified marriage certificate and it had another number so we were denied pending that we uploaded the one they had seen.  She also needs your birth certificate. 

On 10/13/2021 at 9:39 PM, lorisglen said:

Just to update my IR5 case for my mother. Her case was documentary qualified on Aug 2020 and after more than a year, we got an email from the NVC stating her interview date! Its crazy because we just literally got it today 10/13/2021 and her interview date is on Nov 5 already. Thats literally only 3 weeks! We scheduled her medical exam already next week Oct 22 and omg the price of it. Its 17k pesos for the medical exam fee. 

Exciting news!! Yes, it's so expensive! You're almost there now though, congratulations!

I forgot to update but my parents had their interview in August and were approved (we had to submit some more paperwork but it was approved within a couple of days).  They aren't here yet, just selling their home etc but should be here before thanksgiving.

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Both needed numbers to pay the fee are located on the visa, itself. 

Thank you! I thought there was something but couldn't pin it down.  We will get this done now! Thanks again

My parents were approved for their IR5 and I feel like they are supposed to go online and pay for something else before they move.  I know this is vague but I can't find the information anywhere but I feel like there is something else they need to do before they move - like pay for the greencard? Maybe I'm just confused but if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it!

On 8/12/2021 at 2:11 PM, Pheebs1201 said:

We were DQ'd in May and my mum's interview is September 9th! We got the email yesterday.

On 8/11/2021 at 11:27 AM, sonOfTheParents said:

Soooo happy. Interview Scheduled. Parents timeline as follows:

 

NVC: Received April 19th 2021

DQ'd: June 15th 2021

Interview email received: Aug 11th 2021

Interview Scheduled: Sept 16th 2021

Great news! Everything seems to be running smoothly for everyone now! 

My parents just had there's at the end of July and they just took the print out vaccinations from the GP and the medical summary sounds similar to what you will be taking and they were fine and they had no issues.  They just took their glasses with no prescriptions and they just used them to read the board on the wall for the vision test.  

I can't say much about your medical issue but the summary seems like it would be fine especially as you don't have medicine for it etc but maybe someone else can advise on that.  

On 8/12/2021 at 2:10 PM, Pheebs1201 said:

Thank you for the reply, her interview just got scheduled for September 9th!

Great news!! Good luck with everything!

On 8/7/2021 at 11:17 AM, d4jr89 said:

What kind documents did they have to upload? Trying to get an idea of what additional documents I could be asked for.

 

Also, how long before the interview did the medical happen?

Sorry for the late response! Well... they had their medical on the 22nd July and their interview was 2nd August so it was plenty of time but she needed the TDAP and the doc at Visa Medical said she could just get it from her gp and send in the new vaccine record (I had said she should get anything she needs there so it's wrapped up and done) so she did that but then had to wait over a week to go to the doctors and it ended up being received by the Visa Medical the day before the interview.  They sent it pretty quick, I think by the 3rd the Embassy had received it.  I would just get any vaccines you need before you go and if you can't, pay for them there if you can - so much easier.

The next issue was I didn't realize my parents had a couple of certified copies of their marriage and birth certificates so I guess the ones I uploaded weren't the ones she took with her (I just presumed they'd be the same as she'd not mentioned these extra copies so that stressed me out). They had a different reference number so anyway I just had to upload them to the NVC/CEAC website. They received their passports on Monday so 6 days later with no other issues.

They were asked for their passports, interview letter, passport pictures, DS-260 confirmation, their birth and marriage certs, my birth cert and that's about it.  

My parents just had their interview in London.  They were asked when I moved and why, if I had kids and do they live with me, they asked who my husband was (they used his name and said who is he), when was the last time they saw me/visited, how often do we communicate (they didn't ask for evidence) and when they planned to move.  My parents said everyone was very friendly and it didn't seem like they were trying to catch them out.  

40 minutes ago, TCLondon20 said:

For those who have had their interviews recently, how long does did it take for the passport with visa take to be shipped to your address?

My parents interview was Tuesday and they were refused pending we upload a couple of documents to the CEAC website and my mom's vaccine report had not arrived from the medical place yet (it arrived Wed) and today it was 'Issued" and will arrive Monday from the courier.  

My parents had their interview on Tuesday and it went well.  They did take a different copy of my dad's birth certificate (I didn't realise they even had another one so this was a surprise to me lol) and my mum took her certified copy of my birth certificate so they got initially refused pending the upload of a copy of these documents to the CEAC NVC log in.  I did that and it has turned from Refusal to in administrative processing .  My mum was missing a vaccine and had it done but it had not arrived from the medical place yet so that was also on the refusal.  The medical place confirmed they'd now sent the report with the vaccine. Hopefully they'll be 'ready' next week...

7 minutes ago, TGDeano said:

If people are receiving notices of appointments only 2-4 weeks ahead of time, does that allow enough time to schedule the medical?  Thanks!

My parents were able to get in for a medical within a few days - they received the email on 13th July stating their interview would be on the 3rd August. They called the medical place and were even offered a slot the next day so hopefully it should be ok for everyone. 

My parents interview is on Tuesday. They had their medical in London last week and that went ok.  My mom was DQ'd in Jan and my Dad in March.  We received the email about the interview on July 13th

14 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

The interview is all about the person(s) getting the visa and their documents. All that should be required from you (petitioner) is your Affidavit of Support which you’ve already provided to NVC so it will already be in their file with no original needed. You were vetted an an eligible petitioner by USCIS and your documents (copies) were accepted when the I-130 was approved. As an example, my petitioner wife’s original birth certificate and her first husband’s death certificate to prove marriage ended were never viewed by anybody in the immigration process. The interview for my naturalisation said to bring them but the interviewer said, “Nope, don’t want to see those.” 

Thank you! I couldn't figure out how they'd want every petitioner to send their original birth, naturalization and marriage certificates through the mail - it seemed crazy! It's $555 for a replacement naturalization certificate.  I'll just make sure my mom has a copy of everything just in case.  I appreciate your reply.

On 6/24/2021 at 6:55 AM, Pheebs1201 said:

Thank you for the feedback.

I would give it a try! Include everything you can - maybe emails from daycare providers stating they are full etc and make a case that it would greatly assist your family in terms of emotional and financial. Of course it is not a work visa but family support really helps and financial hardship is one of the reasons and this ties in.  I would just send as much as you can with a clear explanation.  The worst they can say is no...

My mom was Dq'd in Jan and my dad in March and we received their interview yesterday for August 3rd.  Just for info if it helps at all.  It seems a lot of marriage ones got interviews with similar DQ times as my parents.

On 7/7/2021 at 11:29 AM, RosieCheeks said:

 

Strangely that nearly happen to me. I had paid for a duplicate birth certificate and uploaded to CEAC, but later on I found the original at my parent’s house and popped it into my folder. When we went to the Embassy, I handed over the original not realising that it had a different serial number to the copy! The CO picked up on it and asked me if I had a copy of the one I uploaded! Luckily I did.

If you saw the same lady as we did, she won’t hang about. She kept your passport so it was ready to be processed as soon as you amended your records. Our visa was delivered in 5 days. Good luck. 

Sorry to invade the thread but my parents have their interview date in August and it says to take the originals of the civil documents - do they need all of my originals too like my birth, marriage, naturalisation or will a copy be ok? I'm the petitioner.  They have their original birth and marriage to take. 

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

I’d be curious to know how it turns out for you…the three vs four year degrees and such. I know US degrees have a general education with some required maths, literature, lab sciences, history, social sciences, etc plus the courses in the major study.  
 

Please come back and update this thread.

I will, I've put it off for a couple of years because I didn't feel like the stress if they wouldn't accept it but now my youngest will be heading to school soon, I can't keep sticking my head in the sand.  Years ago I remember someone saying that they sent their A level transcripts and they accepted that as the first year of college type classes which is interesting. I'll just send everything from high school and hope for the best. I'll post an update!  

My husband received his Masters of Social Work from England and we had to do all of that through the Board of Behavioral Sciences and it was quite the process but eventually they accepted it and he's now a licensed clinical social worker (after completing that process of supervision here etc).  It's more generic for teaching, they just use the big companies like WES. 

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

Did you see the list California provides of acceptable companies for evaluation? 
 

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/leaflets/cl635.pdf

Yes, thank you! I just wanted to see if people had any recommendations. I'll go with WES because it seems the most universal.

Thank you, I had looked at WES so I'll use them. Just wanted to hear of others opinions! I need to re take my credential in California so I need to get everything verified first.  Most schools even private here want you to be working towards your credential so I just need to get it done.

Was it simple enough with our degrees being 3 years and theirs typically 4? I have heard some people had issues with that. 

Has anyone done this yet with a UK degree (and teaching qualification)? If so which company did you do it with and was it straight forward?

Thank you!