Kat&Jon

My understanding is that K-1 visa holders are exempt from the $165 immigrant fee, because K-1 doesn't automatically qualify you for a GC - you have to AOS after marrying the person named on the K-1.
As Kat&Jon said, the $165 fee is intended to cover the cost of producing and mailing out the actual, physical green card that is mailed to new immigrants after they enter the US for the first time on a valid immigrant visa. K-1 is technically a nonimmigrant visa, it doesn't provide the holder with the right to stay in the US beyond 90 days unless they marry and adjust status. It's the adjustment of status process that makes them an immigrant and triggers the production of the GC, not the K-1 visa. The cost of your fiance's actual, physical GC will be covered by the fees for the AOS process.
From the USCIS page about the immigrant fee:

From what I remember about the guides here, the date you supply for a wedding is on the DS-160 Applicant Readiness Form. I have seen it recommended several times that you put one as early as possible. It may be a little white lie, but if you are more concerned with your child getting into school at the start of the school year I would put a wedding date in August. It has been confirmed that the USCIS doesn't check up on your actual wedding date. They just care that you get married sometime before the 90 days is up.
Once you get the Visa, you can leave when it best suits you (but remember it expires 6 months from your medical) and your 90 day clock starts from POE. Since October is well within that time, entering the US in August should not cause any issues with wanting to get married in October.
I would recommend checking with your Fiance on how much time you might need to give the school advance notice of the new student. I don't have any children myself so I am clueless as to how all that works but I am sure there are certain steps to registration that have to occur in a timely fashion to be in by the start of the school year.

It varies guys.
2 weeks to get letter. 4 weeks to interview.
3 weeks to get letter. 4 weeks to interview.
3 weeks to get letter. 3 weeks to interview.
4 weeks to get letter. 2 weeks to interview.
6 weeks to get letter. 1 week to interview.
You can go in early.
You will not get a 1pm appointment. Interviews are in the morning. (There was a brief switch to afternoon only interviews in the 2015 summer.) It is back to mornings. Most appointment letters will have a 8:00 to 9:00ish time.

This part is written to those applying for immigrant visas---

An affidavit of support (Form I-864, I-864EZ or I-864W) from the petitioner/sponser who filed your immigrant visa petition. If both the sponser and the spouses income are to be used to meet the minimum income requirements (not applicable for IR-1 cases) your sponsor and their spouse must complete the I-864A. Contract between sponsor and household member. To download complete instructions and forms visit the USCIS website.
Your K1 visa is actually a non-immigrant visa being processed by the immigrant visa unit. You have been handed a form that would be correct for a spouse visa. It would require an I-864. And the I -864 does require a tax return. A fiance visa does not. But the fact that you already turned in an I-134 and you are supplying an employer letter verifying her job and salary, they can approve the visa and toss out what does not actually apply to you in the law. Either they can't be bothered to write a proper one for K1s or the officer picked up the wrong form letter. You should be fine. It sometimes takes them 2-3 weeks to get back to working on cases that were not prepared at the interview so don't panic if you don't get an immediate turn around. Back to your original question. Your instruction letter that you received from London when your case originally arrived there, tells you that if your I-129F fiance petition has expired before your interview, you should bring a new letter of intent from the American fiance to the interview. I think you are okay without that because you did interview before the date, and your fiance has provided support documents since then that would indicate she is still on board and has not backed out of the relationship.

When I did an adv. search for threads like this, I found that while they started off well they tended to get derailed big time because they didn't focus on the subject matter (the last one went from "you need to do this" to "I want to get this food to take with me" to "I'm going to be living near you"). Others got ignored and pushed to the bottom of the pile.
I would like this thread to be the main resource for things you need to do or cover before you leave for the US from the United Kingdom. Hence I will be dividing it into sections and anyone can contribute items that they know of which needs to be sorted before you go.
Government (inc. Taxes)
-File Form 85 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-leaving-the-uk-getting-your-tax-right-p85 with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
-Check with Jobcentre Plus regarding any benefits you are currently claiming. Most will stop when you move abroad (like JSA and ESA).
-Inform your Local Council you are leaving. You may be able to claim back Council Tax for the time you won't be in the UK if you paid it in one blast up front.
Medical
-Get your Medical Records from the Doctor's. You may have to pay for this. Also inform Doctor's you're emigrating and thus will be leaving the surgery.
-Stock up on any vital medications you will need whilst changing over to a US Doctor. Be aware that some items (or large quantities of items) will need a Doctor's Letter verifying you actually need the medication.
Financial
-Inform your Bank that you are moving abroad to the States. You might want to keep the account open to avoid exchange rate fees when you visit the UK.
-Transfer any savings or anything in that vein over to where you want it to be (be it in a UK or US account).
-Cancel any Insurance Policies you won't need in the US (Car, for example).
-If you're expecting a pension you may need to check on whether it can be paid in the US or if you need to take action now.
Employment
-Hand your Notice in and make sure you get the length of time right. You might lose pay or the like if you don't.
-See if you can get a reference to take over with you, sealed in an envelope (if on good terms with employer).
-Don't do anything silly on your last day of work which might jeopardize you being able to leave for the States.
Possessions
-Anything of sentimental value you can't pack could be couriered over pre-move in plenty of time. Check around for costs and applicable regulations at Customs and Border Protection. See details here: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go
-Get any last items of food or drink you want to take over with you to tide you over, again keeping in mind the Customs regulations (see link above).
-Sell anything you can't take or don't want to take. Ebay or local shops may be an idea. Charity shops are also an excellent idea.
-If renting accomodation make sure it is clean and tidy, nothing is missing from your inventory and the Landlord knows where to send a deposit refund to (or a bill for damages/cleaning).
-Make sure your Mobile Phone is unlocked and therefore can accept a US Simcard to save on roaming and all.
Family/Friends
-Make sure your family can get hold of you in an emergency (be it via email, social media, phone or whatever you choose). You might find that teaching family members to use Skype or the like is a good idea.
-In a similar vein, make sure that you have a nice send-off with your friends and family so they can all see you before you go. This may be the last chance you get for the next six months or so.
--------
What else do you think needs to be added under these categories, guys?

I certainly agree with all of you that they do make it overly dramatic for sure! I am one of you who also can't look away when watching this show. I do really like to see the genuine couples though! For example I really enjoyed Yamir and Chelsea! They were really in love and they had different struggles that I found were interesting!
I agree that Danielle and Mohammed were a train wreck but I honestly wanted to skip those... it was hard for me to watch since they didn't really seem in love like Yamir and Chelsea and also Danny and Amy. I like those stories the most where it really seems like our stories here on VJ where they really do know and love each other and have to go through this difficult process.

The question is asked over and over. The times vary. Here is a list of some real people from the UK forum. There are reasons why some are different. Maybe they didn't send their Readiness Form immediately. Maybe they had to get additional info from their GP which delayed their medical forms getting to the embassy. Maybe they said they weren't planning to marry for four more months, so the embassy shoved them back. However I think most of these people were pushing through as fast as they could.
This is raw data for what it is worth to those who ask the "how long?" question. The date is the interview date. Copy the list and add your info in interview date order. Don't ask questions, or chat, or explain, or say "can somebody add me?". If you can't copy the list and add yourself, then PM somebody and ask them to do it for you. Let's keep it clean and simple.
2015 Medical to interview date
4 wk 2 days Feb 11 (TheAndies)
6 wk 3 days Feb 17 (kristenxo)
3 wk 4 days Feb 17 (Pheebs)
6 wk 3 days Feb19 (DaveNot)
3 wk 5 days Feb 23 (Kimberley95)
3 wk 6 days Mar 3 (vicks5721)
5 wk 1 days Mar 5 (Shana)
4 wk 0 days Apr 2 (TeamJS)
5 wk 6 days Apr 7 (Pilot)
6 wk 0 days Apr 9 (Chrismorrison)
9 wk 0 days Apr 13 (Allison_Simon2014)
5 wk 2 days May 18 (wbeem)
8 wk 4 days Jun 2 (xbritto)
6 wk 0 days Jun 6 (DeborahNeil)
7 wk 4 days Jun 15 (JamesRenee)
7 wk 6 days Jun 15 (TLSR2014)

I dont care how simple the question is. Show some accountability and that you have something invested in this versus screaming for help in all caps and jacking your font up. You can clearly see some users ask these ludicrous questions and every micro question along the way. Sure we all have stupid questions cause these processes aren't clear and easy....Should I use staples and all caps or whatever.....but THOSE questions have been answered nor were you likely the first to ask. I can see why the mods lives would hard just triaging all these posts and forums. Like a question literally asked multiple times /day nor Senior contributors. It makes searching worthless trolling dozens of threads.
Sure theres old / dated threads. There conflicting posts in the same thread and conflicting threads. So sure ask something more specific...go nuts.
Theres 'stupid' questions which are fine, but theres LAZY...show some initiative and LEARN about the stuff that directly impacts you and give it 3secs of your time.

Just today someone whined about no information for DCFs and how impossibly unfair the lawyer fees were. Someone explained this site was DIY and the information was here. Someone else did the work and sure enough linked a guide. He still asked explicitly where the information was? So was the lawyers fees unfair when too lazy to even search here ?
I've gotten so much value perhaps just in the camaraderie alone and the fact that so many nice, genuine users that are in relate-able experiences, I made a conscious effort to contribute back but its kind of numbing. Maybe need more mods ways to pin threads as people dont vote up enough either, mark them as answered...etc.
Also yeah aside from those perhaps w/ no access to a PC which I still think is a minority as petitioners in the states certainly should. I can't believe aside from basic questions and such whom would prefer to handle a matter like this via their stinking phones. either need to improve mobile option or make it so bad people are compelled to a full pc experience

This is answered in the CBP FAQ for ESTA (acronym salad).
http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/frequently-asked-questions-about-visa-waiver-program-vwp-and-electronic-system-travel
Q: Can a VWP traveler with more than one passport travel to the United States on the passport that was not used when applying for an ESTA?
A: No. Each VWP traveler must have an approved ESTA for the passport he or she plans to use for travel to the United States. If travelers acquire a new passport, they must submit a new ESTA application for their new passport. and
Q: How long is a travel authorization via ESTA valid? A: ...A new travel authorization is required if: (1) the traveler is issued a new passport.

I am no expert, but there is another post on the forum (tried to find it to link unsuccessfully) where this was a question and it was determined that it may look suspicious at the Embassy but there should be no issue at USCIS as long as you have lots of evidence to prove the new relationship is bonafide.
I also know from reading the forums pretty heavily that there are quite a few regular posters (hopefully one can post here as well) who have filed more than once and they were able to do so without issue. If I remember correctly there is a waiver required if it is 2 or more visa requests. (but I could be slightly off on the number since this is all from memory, since again I couldn't find the original post to link)
Hope this helps! I will keep searching for the original post I am referencing!
Edit: This isn't the one I was looking for, but it does show that you can file more than once and gives an example waiver request letter
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/443814-waiver-for-multiple-filer/
Edit #2: Here is the original forum post I was referencing!
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/510972-multiple-filer/

You might want to use the words "we became aquainted" playing the same internet game...etc and name it. Save the words "we met" to fulfill the petition requirement of meeting in person. Focus on evidence of being in the same country.Also a UK tip in response to this posted to you "Keep it with your chat logs, photos and other stuff that you will use to prove your relationship to the embassy. " Interviews in London don't need evidence of your relationship or to prove anything of that sort.. It is a few casual questions and very easy. So don't worry about compiling chat logs, emails, photo albums, and such for his London interview. When it comes to the consulate and interview stage, each country has their own vibe.

This is asked about time and time again. The instructions state to mail the I-129F petition to the Dallas Lockbox facility, but people are still often confused about where to mail it, where it goes, and where it gets processed.
The Dallas Lockbox is an intake facility. It is not a USCIS service center. They do not process and adjudicate the petitions there.
The address for regular mail is a Dallas address and the address for courier mail is a Lewisville address. They are still both being sent to the Dallas Lockbox. The difference in addresses is just because the Dallas PO Box address cannot accept courier mail.
This is exactly what happens when your petition is received at the Dallas Lockbox > http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/lockbox-intake/lockbox-intake-processing-questions-and-answers
The Lockbox Service provider performs the following activities when processing incoming applications:
Receive, open, sort and stage mail. Prepare and scan documents. Enter document data in system from scanned images. Accept or reject applications and related fees based on business rules. Balance applications and fees. Deposit payments to the U.S. Treasury Send receipt notices for accepted applications to the applicant and designated representative. Return rejected applications to the applicant or designated representative. Transmit application data to USCIS and payment data to U.S. Department of Treasury. Send application files to the appropriate USCIS service center or field office for further processing. Once your petition is received and dealt with by the Lockbox facility, it will be sent to one of the USCIS service centers to be adjudicated. This is not a transfer of your case. Transfers only happen between one service center and another. If your petition was to be transferred, then you would receive a transfer notice stating such. Don't enter a transfer into your VJ timeline unless you actually receive a transfer notice, which is something entirely separate/different from your NOA1 receipt notice of filing.
Your receipt notice (NOA1) will contain your receipt number and the service center location that your petition was sent to. Currently there are only two service centers processing the I-129F petitions. They are California (CSC) and Texas (TSC). If your receipt number begins with WAC, then your petition is at the CSC. If your receipt number begins with SRC then your petition is at the TSC.
Typically the petitions are sent to one of the two service centers based on where the USC petitioner resides. I have seen some report that is not always 100% the case, but for the most part this is correct.
California Service Center: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Texas Service Center: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Me and my Fiance met on an MMO as well. He mentioned it in the attachment. This is what ours looked like:
I, Fiances name (Petitioner) met Lindsay LastName (Beneficiary) online in May 2014 while playing a Major Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. We began talking more frequently and decided to begin a relationship on September 16, 2014. I booked a Greyhound bus and arrived in Canada on October 10, 2014, and met Lindsay for the first time in person at her school, name of my university. The following weekend was spent in hometown with Lindsay’s family for Thanksgiving dinner. I left on the Greyhound bus October 15, 2014, and returned to the United States on October 16, 2014.
Since then, Lindsay and I have met in person 5 more times, for a total of approximately 3 months:
Then we listed the dates that we've been with each other since. For example:
December 12-26, 2015: Lindsay visited me in Fiances town.
February 13-21, 2015: I visited Lindsay in Town, Ontario during her reading week.
And so on, until the most recent meeting.
We also had a little sentence after that that said "More detail can be found in the “Proof of Meeting Within the Past Two Years and Proof of Ongoing Relationship” section of this package" and explained the visits more in depth and included pictures.
We didn't include the terms of service and had no trouble at all. Hope that helps

CLOSING CREDIT CARDS
THE FACTS
Closing a CC (credit cards) does not lower your FICO scores in and of itself. When deciding to close a CC there is two important things to consider. In the short-term, closing a CC can have an adverse affect on your UTIL percentage calculations and this in itself can definitely lower your scores. In the long-term, a closed CC in good standing (nothing derogatory reporting) with a $0 balance will generally be deleted from your CRs (credit reports) after 10 years. Once this account is deleted, you lose the history and age and this might lower your scores.
SHORT-TERM
The most important factor to consider when closing CCs is the affect on your cumulative UTIL percentage calculation; this is the total sum of all of your CCs CLs (credit card limits) divided by the sum of their balances.
Utilization Percentages
To fully understand what Utilization percentages are, you must understand FICO scoring has two types of util percentage calculations, one that looks at the extent of utilization on individual revolving accounts (i.e. CCs, overdraft protection and sometimes Helocs) and the other is cumulative and looks at the extent of utilization on all of your revolving accounts.
Example
Card 1: CL 5K, balance 1,000 = 20 percent util
Card 2: CL 3K, balance 800 = 27 percent util
Card 3: CL 2K, balance 1,000 = 50 percent util
The total CL (credit limit) is 10,000 and the total balance is 2,800, so the cumulative UTIL is 28%. Not bad but not ideal.
Let's see what happens if you close one of them.
Close Card 1# and pay off the balance:
Total available credit decreases from 10K to 5K
Cumulative Utilization: 5K CL, balance 1.8K = 36 percent
YIKESGetting worse!
Closed and opened CC TLs are weighed and scored equally by FICO. You will not be punished by simply closing a CC as long as it is in good standing, has a $0 balance and your cumulative Util remains at 1-9 percent. Increasing the CLs (credit limits) on the cards you plan to keep open before you close the card(s) you don't want might be helpful as this too helps to keep your Util percentage low.
Also open and closed accounts age the same. Closing a CC has no affect on average age of accounts or credit history length.
Tidbits (this section is courtesy of moderator, Lel)
- If a closed CC account with a balance continues to report the original credit limit, then both the balance and the CL of the closed account will be used in the utilization calculations.
- If a closed CC account is reporting a zero CL, even if there is a balance on the CC, the card will not be included in the calculations.
- If a closed CC account is reporting a non-zero CL but has a zero balance, the card will not be included in the calculations.
- If a closed account reports a CL that is equal to the balance (balance chasing), then this will be included in the calculations. This is the worst-case scenario with regard to utilization.
LONG-TERM
In the long-term, closing a CC in good standing with a $0 balance will generally be deleted from your CR after 10 years. Once this account is deleted, if your length of credit history and/or average age of accounts decreases in the number of years, your scores might drop.
FINAL NOTES
In the short-term, there should be no adverse affect to your FICO scores, average age of accounts, or the length of your credit history, provided there is no increase in your util% calculations after you close any CC(s). In the long-term, a CC in good standing (nothing derogatory reporting) with a $0 balance will generally be deleted from your CRs (credit reports) after 10 years. Once this account is deleted, you lose the history and age of this TL and this might lower your scores.

Introduction
Seeing how building a credit score is one of the biggest hurdles for an immigrant to tackle, and every now and then you see a topic pop up with a question about things like credit cards, buying a car and so on, I thought it would be a good idea to have a single topic to gather all tips and tricks in a single thread.
In time, maybe we can incorporate this info into one of VJ's Guides...
What is Credit Score
The US Credit Score is a number between 300 and 850, which reflects your ability to handle credit. The official score is often referred to as FICO (Fair, Isaac & Company)
There are 5 items that contribute to your score, each with a different weight:
Payment History (35%): Any history of bankruptcy, liens, judgments, settlements, charge offs, repossessions, foreclosures, and late payments drops your score. Revolving Debt (30%): The amount borrowed versus available credit. Think Credit Cards. Length of Credit History (15%): Both the average time of accounts, as well as the age of the oldest account. These must be ACTIVE accounts. Types of Credit (10%): installment, revolving, consumer finance, mortgage. If you handle more than 1 type of credit, this is good. Inquiries and New Debt (10%): When making an inquiry for credit, such as credit card applications, shopping for a loan etc, your rating goes down. Why is this good or bad as a new immigrant
As an immigrant you do not have a history in the US. This means you DO NOT HAVE a US credit rating when you arrive.
The positive thing is that you also do not have any BAD payment history.
The bad thing is, credit is a catch-22 problem in the US: You can't get credit without a good credit score, and you can't get a good credit score without having and using credit.
Any cards, accounts or history you have or had abroad do not count. (One known exception, see below)
What credit score ranges are there
Excellent credit score: 720 and Up Good credit score: 680 to 719 Average credit score: 620 to 679 Poor credit score: 580 to 619 Bad credit score: 500 to 579 Miserable credit score: Less than 500 How to get credit so you have items reporting into your credit score
A lot depends on your personal situation. Are you married, employed, do you have cash to open an account, and so on.
Typically, you will need to find a bank or credit union first, so ask around.
Once you have found a suitable financial institution, ask for a "Secured Credit Card". This is a card with a certain spending limit, which amount you secure through the financial institution by depositing the cash equivalent on a locked account.
You can then use the assigned credit, and after the first month's statement is due, you will have items reporting into your credit score. You now have payment history, length of credit and revolving debt.
Usually, your bank will replace the secured credit card with a regular credit card, increasing the limit on the card. Expect this after a few months, if you pay your statements on time.
People coming in through a work visa can often get a company credit card, which makes life a lot easier!
If your spouse has a good credit rating, the financial institution might also allow him/her to co-sign the credit card application. Check with the financial institution on the requirements they have. In theory any person (in the US) with good credit can co-sign, so a family friend, parents etc are fine too.
How to get from decent to excellent credit
OK, now that we have some things reporting into our credit score, how can we boost that score up?
1. The number one rule: PAY EVERYTHING ON TIME, IN FULL
2. Specifically to credit cards, the use of credit is important, more specifically, how much do you charge to your card:
Per account, avoid exceeding 33% of assigned credit. Some people say it's best to have a utilization of 12-20% (Some say between 1 and 20%) The utilization is based on the amount due on the reporting date. If you buy a 900$ television on a 1000$ credit, but deposit 700$ before the reporting date, your utilization is only 200$, or 20% (Can anyone confirm?) Do not leave credit cards unused (When not using credit, this hurts your score). If you have a 500$ secured card, you could for instance use it to put fuel in your car every week or so. Do not close old credit cards, this hurts your account age! 3. Diversify. Get at least one credit card and one installment loan. You can get a secured installment loan through your financial institution. If you want to buy a TV for 1000$, but that 1000$ in a secured account at the bank, and have them give you a loan over 12 months against that deposit.
Another option, typically when buying a car, is to get a car from a dealer who gives credit to "anyone". But ALWAYS ask if they report to the credit agencies (CRAs). Then pay the remainder of the loan after at least SIX months. The intrest rate will be ridiculous (over 20% in most cases).
According to Equifax, having at least 4 (different) lines of credit are required to get a really good score (Credit Card, Mortgage, Car Payment, Student Loans, Personal Loans, Home Equity Loan for Credit, ...)
My credit union actually suggested the following:
a) Get a "personal secured loan" to buy a car. (basically: Put the money you would pay as a cash downpayment on a car, into a secured loan for yourself)
b) After 90d of employment, you qualify for a "first time borrower" loan. Bring in the title to the car, and you can use the title to borrow against. You'd get a mediocre intrest rate (C-level credit).
This would give you 3 lines of credit after about 4 months, which is pretty good !
Age of Credit Accounts
Even if you have a decent credit score after a few months, when the time comes you want to buy your first car, you might get rejected quite a bit on your loan, due to "no sufficient credit history". Although the average age of accounts only counts for 15% of the credit score algorithm, financial institutions will count this as one of the major factors for credit decisions. The solution is to get a large downpayment, and preferably work with the financial institution directly, not through a dealer.
Credit Reporting Agencies
There are 3 major CRAs in the US:
TransUnion (http://www.transunion.com) Equifax (http://www.equifax.com) Experian (http://www.experian.com) They all have minor differences in how they calculate your credit score. By law, they are (each) required to give you one free credit report per year.
What can affect your score negatively?
(From TransUnion) Wondering when judgments and bankruptcies will no longer appear on your credit reports? Check the dates on records in your credit report. Generally, here's how long judgments and bankruptcies remain on a credit report: Bankruptcy Generally, Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcies appear as public record items on your credit report for up to 10 years after filing. Chapter 13 bankruptcy records are sometimes taken off sooner, 7 years after filing, depending on the credit reporting company’s policy. When you receive an Order of Discharge in bankruptcy, your creditors should mark those accounts that were discharged as "Included in Bankruptcy" and they will stay on your report for up to 7 years. Charge-off accounts Generally, if a delinquent account is charged-off, the charge-off record appears on your credit report for up to 7 years. Closed accounts Generally, negative or derogatory information about delinquent accounts remain on your credit reports for up to 7 years. Positive closed accounts (without late payments or other delinquencies) may appear for longer than 7 years. Collection accounts Generally, accounts sent to collections will be listed on your credit report for up to 7 years, beginning 181 days from the most recent delinquent period before the collection activity. A collection account’s status should change to "paid collection" once you've paid off the entire amount. If you settle with the collection agency for less, your credit report may list the account as "settled for less than full balance." Inquiries When a creditor or lender checks your credit in connection with an application, you'll usually see a "hard inquiry" on your credit report. Generally, these stay on your report for as long as two years, and may lower your credit score slightly. When a creditor reviews the credit report of an existing customer, or when you access your own data online, a "soft inquiry" typically shows up on your credit report. Soft inquiries don't lower your credit score or appear to businesses checking your credit. Judgments Generally, most court judgments, including small claims, civil and child support, stay on your credit reports for up to 7 years from the date they were filed. Late payments Generally, if you make a payment late, the delinquency could appear on your credit report for up to 7 years. Tax liens Under federal law, city, county, state and federal tax liens could stay on your report indefinitely. Generally, after the lien is paid, the record of it stays on your credit reports for up to 7 years from the payment date. One of the most important of these are the inquiries. If you want to get store credit or a new credit card, DO NOT JUST APPLY for one. Every time you apply for credit, your score will drop a few points, and the inquiry itself (Often referred to as "hard inquiry) stays on your report. Lenders who see systematic hard inquiries on a report see this as negative.
However, when shopping for a car (and thus car loans), all hard inquiries within 14 days are reported as one. When buying a house and a mortgage, they are grouped into one for 30 days.
Major Tip:
VISA and MasterCard are basically payment PLATFORMS, where local financial institutions issue the credit through the platform. Your credit history and account reside with that financial institution.
American Express (AMEX) however, issues the credit itself (Sometimes through local companies, but the credit file is shared with Amex --> This appears NOT to be the case: If cards in your country are not issued by American Express directly (Global Network Cards), they cannot be transferred.).
If you have an Amex abroad, and have had it for more than 12 months, you can (in most cases) request a US Amex card to replace your foreign card. The advantage is, with a good foreign history, chances of approval are very high, plus, the age of your account goes back to the first issuance of your Amex card abroad !
https://www.americanexpress.com/global-card-transfers/united-states.html
Transferring Funds to the USA:
Another point to remember is that transferring your foreign money to your new US account (for instance, to get your secured loan or secured credit card) can be a costly affair. Banks have 2 areas to make money off you:
Transfer fee: Usually a flat fee or a fixed percentage. This is the fee that is generally quite visible. Exchange Rate: The exchange rate your bank will use is quite different from the real exchange rate on the market. For example, the exchange rate between the EURO and the US DOLLAR might be 1.330 on the market, but your bank might only offer you 1.290. That is a 3% difference you might not see ! After doing some research, I settled on TransferWise. (https://transferwise.com/u/b6f15). This seems to be the best platform so far for people in Europe (incl. the UK) to send money to the US. (Or from UK -> EU and vice versa).
It takes a few days longer than most bank transfers, but other than that, I have found it faultless and easy to use. The people behind TransferWise are those that built Skype.
Little disclaimer: The URL provided (https://transferwise.com/u/b6f15) is linked to my account and will allow me to accumulate friend referral benefits.
There are other platforms that outperform high-street banks and Paypal, please feel free to comment below to add your experiences (and from where to where you sent the money). I would find it useful to add information on how to send money from Non-EU countries, and also how to send money to the foreign spouse / fiancee.
Reading Tips:
http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/articles/
http://www.freescore.com/good-bad-credit-score-range.aspx

Last Things Last – Post Interview
You've got your passport and BBE – now what? Well, it goes without saying you and your other half will now need to decide when you're leaving so you can book flights. Go ahead and do that now assuming nothing major is barring you (like a pending house sale).

There's a thread on things you need to do before leaving the UK - read the entire thread though, as many people have contributed things not in the first post.

When you arrive at your Point of Entry (POE), make sure you have your Passport, BBE and Customs Declaration ready. Ask the immigration staffers where they want you to go – some airports (San Francisco) have special “New Immigrant” lines. Others will have you go through the “Visitor” line. Some may even have you go through the “US Citizen/LPR” line, especially if your future spouse flew with you. Note if you're flying from Dublin, that IS your POE as they have pre-clearance there and therefore when you touch down in the US it's as if you flew in on a domestic flight.

You will get taken into Secondary Processing, or at least directed to it. In your case this is nothing to fear – you're basically being signed in. They'll take your BBE off of you as this gets sent away ready for AOS later on. Your visa will be stamped or written on and you will be told what date you need to be married by. As with all CBP officers, you might get a nice one, or a grumpy one. Can't help that, unfortunately. Note, if you have a connection you want to leave lots of time just in case there's an issue as you will have to recheck your bags and go through security one last time.

If your first stop is your last one, you best be ready to run into the arms of your beloved. If not, get your bags, recheck them and go through the security checkpoint one more time before you go to get that last flight. Next up is marriage and AOS. But think about that a bit later, first off you might have some serious catching up to do!

After the interview
Congratulations! You just finished the first (and arguably hardest) part of your immigration journey. What happens now is you watch your CEAC status to see how things are going. Again, there are two main statuses in this phase:

Administrative Processing (AP): This is normal for London – this just means they're finishing everything up and getting ready to issue the Visa. You should be out of it in 1-2 days.
Issued: This means the visa's been printed, put in your passport and is ready for the courier to pick up. Note: If you were not born in the UK, your visa may take longer to be issued, especially if from the Middle East, Pakistan, India or if you have Muslim ties. This is the dreaded security AP that takes awhile. It’s not the paper shuffling that occurs briefly for everybody prior to issue. Even if the interview is perfect and the guy says you’re approved, there is the option of more security checks they run you through. This is only to alert you to the possibility if you fit the profile, so you’re not blindsided with disappointment.
When the courier is ready for you (either for pickup from the depot or delivery if you paid for it), you will get an email with your tracking number. You will need some kind of ID (bank card, driving license) in order to take delivery of the visa and the BBE (big brown envelope). The latter thing there is your entire casefile which you hand over at your first point of entry into the USA. DO NOT OPEN the brown envelope because it is to remain secure. A small tear or damaged envelope is fine; as long as it is not so open that you could pull out papers and alter your records.

Interview Day
You should have paid the visa fee in advance so take the confirmation page you printed when you paid online. Take your appointment letter and documents. Bring photocopies of any document that you need back. They look at the original and file the photocopy. Things you might want back: birth certificate, divorce decree, police certificate, letter from employer (use again for AOS maybe). Basically don’t give up your only copy of something.
The American Embassy is located at 24 Grosvenor Square London, W1A 2LQ
This map from Nich-Nick will be helpful http://www.click2map.com/maps/nichnick/Embassy_London because you can move it or zoom in close to see detail or zoom out if needed. The embassy, medical, hotels, and Gould’s Pharmacy are marked, as well as bus stops and tube stations.
The closest tube stations are Marble Arch or Bond Street.
Before going to the Embassy, check your mobile phones, car keys, headphones, thumb drives, and any electronic items at Gould’s Pharmacy at 37 N. Audley St. (marked on the map). They open around 7:20 AM and will keep your items for about £3-5. They can store larger items like luggage, but if you stayed overnight nearby, ask the hotel if they will hold your luggage while you interview.
The interview line forms near the corner of N. Audley Street and Upper Brook Street. They suggest you get in line no earlier than 30 minutes before your appointment, but it is first come first served. Your appointment time is more of a “suggestion” to stagger arrivals. If you have an 8:00 appointment and don’t get in the door until 8:15, you won’t miss your interview. You will just have a lot more people ahead of you that arrived earlier.
While in line, you will be given plastic bags for putting pocket change, watches, cigarette lighters, etc. in. That is mainly for men. Ladies with handbags can put their watch inside the handbag. At the front of the line, they will check your passport and appointment letter before sending you to the glass security booth. It’s like the airport. Put your things on the conveyor and walk through the metal detector, then collect your things.
The embassy has prepared a YouTube video that shows exactly the process you will encounter on interview day. I think it’s geared toward visitor or student visas with the sample “questions” you will see, but it’s a good preview of things you will see and do at the embassy. You can see how people dress for their interview. The last part about scheduling and paying for the courier at the counter inside the lobby is no longer done by K1s. You handle that part online when you pay your visa fee.
The “interview” is like a chat and is not intimidating. The officer of course has read over your file before you walk in so knows a little about you and is just checking that you know something about your fiancé.
So how did you guys meet? What does she do for a living? Does she have kids?
I have written a detailed account of my experience at the Embassy from queuing up in the cold outside to final approval – this has everything you need to know, from handing your documents over at the first window to what kinds of questions you might get asked at the second window with the Consular Officer.

Again, best of luck. Do NOT panic! We all know this is one of the most important interviews you'll ever have, but we've all done it and come through the other side. Just keep your calm – the Consular Officers themselves are widely reported to be really nice and the interview is usually more of a conversation than an interrogation. At the end, one of two things will happen. Normally, it's an approval and they will tell you what happens next regarding delivery (or pickup) and give you a leaflet on the AOS process, and give you the opportunity to ask them any questions you have lingering.

However, if you are not approved they will explain why and give you a written paper detailing what is still needed, and most of the time it's something that can be fixed by sending them documents of one kind or another – and they will explain how to do that. It could be the wrong police certificate, or not having your “long form” birth certificate. One member got denied because her passport was damaged, but as soon as she had a replacement and had it couriered in, she was approved and is now happily married in the USA. If they call it "denied", don't panic. They give you opportunity to submit whatever is needed for approval.

Paying for the Visa
Once you have your interview date, there's one last bit of admin to do and that's to pay your Visa/MRV Fee. Go to this site and follow these instructions: Hit “Register” then select the top option. Enter your details. Hit “Add Applicant” and then pick the middle option in the drop-down menu (“I need to register a K Visa Appointment”) Fill in the details here too, and then you'll be taken back to the main page. Hit “Continue” and select the closest DX Secure depot to your location (You can pay for home delivery afterwards if you want it delivered). Then enter your appointment information. Next up is paying the visa fee which is currently £150. Once that's confirmed, you can then print off a copy of the next page as evidence of paying. After that, you also now have the option of paying an extra $30 (currently about £19) for home delivery of the visa. Print off a copy of that receipt too – you get sent the confirmations via email as well so you can print those off at a library if you have to. Congratulations – your visa (and home delivery if you selected it) are now paid for.

Application for the Visa/Getting an Interview
London needs 3 things before they will schedule your interview.
Complete online form DS-160. For the photo, you can scan in your US size photo you took before and use that. Otherwise you need to find a white background and take a picture either with a digital camera or with your webcam. Once that's complete, print out the confirmation page at the end and keep it safe, along with your application ID from it.
Tips: Before you start, gather all the information this application is going to ask for—passport number, your work address, trips to US and abroad; fiancé name, address, birth date; your parents’ full names, birth dates (and death year)
FYI: You do not have a national ID number. Tick "does not apply". You do not have a state or province.
Passport city of issue? London works as an answer.

Schedule and attend a medical. (Details are in previous post.) Take your police certificate, immunization records, and information from your GP if you have any current or previous medical condition. Your results will be couriered to the embassy 3-4 days after the exam, unless the doctor needs something further from you or information from your GP about a health condition. The delay is because they need to get your blood test results back from the lab.

Complete the online Notification of Applicant's Readiness Form when you have in hand all documents you will be taking to the interview. That includes your fiancé’s Affidavit of Support Form I-134 with proof of income. Review the list of documents on the embassy website.
Tips for the form:
Planned Date of Marriage? Pick something sooner rather than later if you want a soonish interview. It may move you up in the queue over picking a date 7 months away. You don’t have to show proof.
NOTES:
The order for medical and readiness form are interchangeable. If you have all your documents, you can submit the Notification of Applicant's Readiness before you actually attend the medical. The embassy website says:
Please note that you can expect to wait 6 weeks from the date on which you email the forms before being contacted by the Immigrant Visa Unit. We will not respond to status requests during this time.
That means don’t expect to get an interview letter within days of the medical or submission of the readiness form, whichever comes last.

Tips if you don’t like waiting around, or several weeks have passed since your 3 things have gone to the embassy:
Call the Visa Specialist Unit at the Department of State - (202) 485-7600 – when your “Case Updated” field on CEAC changes. This means one of two things – they've either received your online Readiness form, or they've printed and sent your interview date letter. The DOS will be able to tell you when your interview date is, just in case the letter never arrives or is late. It is a good idea to check with them because some have never received their letter.

All about the Medical
Before you book the medical exam, you should have your UK police certificate and your LND case number. Some call to schedule the appointment as soon as they learn the LND number from the NVC, and before they have received notification that London has the file and is ready for the beneficiary to begin.
The only clinic contracted to do the UK visa medical is
Knightsbridge Doctors
4 Bentinck Mansions
Bentinck Street
London
W1U 2ER
Website: http://www.visamedicals.info/us.asp
Phone: 020 7486 7822 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
The London embassy page discussing the medical and cost is here: http://london.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas/medical-examination.html
There is more information and a questionnaire to fill in here: http://photos.state....18a_medical.pdf
Tips of things to do before your medical:
Get your immunization records. If you need any of the shots (as noted in the first post of this thread) get those done before the medical. You can probably see the practice nurse without a doctor appointment if that is the only reason you are going.
Look at the medical questionnaire. The Knightsbridge doctor may want a report from your NHS doctor if you answer yes about any of the conditions on the form. Exception: smoking, pregnancy. They are basically seeking more information about the diseases/conditions of a more serious nature like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, asthma, etc, and not a broken arm or ingrown toenail. They will tell you to send them a medical report before they can complete the exam results. Save yourself some delays and take a report to your exam if you have or had any medical conditions or take medications. They want to know full diagnosis, date, cured or ongoing, if it requires medication, etc. It’s a letter/report from the doctor, not photocopies of you records. If you are claiming to have suffered from depression, there are some magic words your doctor needs to write—“You are not a threat to yourself or others.”
FAQ
Why do they need my police certificate?
They are charged with evaluating if you have any addictions or things that fall under mental health. A view of your police certificate could reveal arrests for drugs, alcohol, drunk and disorderly, pub brawls, etc. It would clue them in to discuss those things further with you.
What will they accept for immunization records?”
Anything from your doctor office…a printout, handwritten, typed. Ideally something typed or handwritten would have a doctor name and address on it, or a signature by the nurse who did it. If your Mum has an immunization book or card from when you were a child, that works too. If you get a flu jab at Tesco or Boots, get it documented on paper. Knightsbridge can use all of that to make one record.
What if the GP office doesn’t have my records?
Not all records have been computerized. Ask them to dig out your paper records and make a list. Experiences vary with getting records, especially if you moved a lot. Some offices want to charge a fee. Work it out best you can.
If I can't get my records, do I need to repeat all the baby shots to catch up?
NO. Get only the shots required for adults.
What if I get to Knightsbridge and the nurse says I am missing a shot but I can get it at my GP and send with AOS?
The nurse does not know adjustment of status. You can’t send something from your GP to USCIS. You will pay a Civil Surgeon in the US to fill out a new immunization sheet. Get your records complete right then by paying. OR tell Knightsbridge to hold your results until you can get the shot and send them proof. Ask for their fax number. Have your doctor office fax the proof as soon as you have had the shot. Ask Knightsbridge to mail your copy of the DS-3025 after they have added the new shot and signed off.
From shana.mike:
Knightsbridge now require 4 passport pictures instead of just 1 now. Here is a quote from the email I received from them after booking an appointment:
"4 X Identical Passport sized photo UK or US size (please note this has recently increased and may not be updated on the online medical packs)"

What happens after NOA2? The Basics
Your Service center will send your file to the National Visa Center (NVC). You are done with USCIS when they hand off your file to the Department of State (DOS). DOS is over the NVC, as well all embassies.

The NVC is a short pit stop for a K1 case. They assign a new DOS case number and forward your file to London. Your new case number will begin with LND for London. The NVC will mail the petitioner a letter saying the file has been sent to London, as well as telling you the new case number. They aren’t fast about getting out the letters, so your case will likely be in London before you hear from them.
Shortcut for those who can’t wait for their letter: NVC accepts phone calls. You can call and ask if your case has arrived, if it has gone to the embassy, and if they have assigned your LND case number.
NVC: 603-334-0700 Press 1 for English
Hours: Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM to midnight (EST).
Best time to call is 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM or 10:00 PM to midnight.

You can also find out your case number from DOS.
DOS: 202-485-7600 Press 1, then 0. 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (EST)

Your case arrives in London. The embassy will send the beneficiary a letter of instruction. It’s not a “packet”, but just a letter that essentially says “We have your approved petition from the NVC and we're ready for you to begin submitting your forms and have your medical”. The letter has a link to the embassy website where you will find forms and instructions. The letter will have a very important date at the bottom called your priority date. The same date is found on your NOA2 showing the expiration date of the approved petition. This is your four month time limit – if you haven't had your interview by this date, London will require a notarized letter from the US petitioner stating they're still happy to get married. The letter is taken by the beneficiary to the interview.
Shortcut for those who can’t wait for their letter: If you have obtained your LND number, you can enter it in the CEAC Visa Status Check site,. Choose “immigrant” in the drop down. Include the letters LND with your number. The important thing here is to forget the text at the bottom about scheduling interviews or anything like that – the Embassy does that for you once you've sent everything in. There are two main statuses at this point:
In Transit – This one means your case is on its way from the NVC to London.
Ready – This one means London has your casefile and is waiting to receive something needed to progress your case. You may begin submitting forms and booking the medical.

You now attend the medical and complete your forms (separate topics) before London will assign an interview date. London will not notify you each step of the way. The beneficiary will receive an interview letter from London. The interview will likely be 2-4 weeks from when they send the letter.
Shortcut for those who can’t wait for their letter: DOS will know your interview date once it has been assigned. You may call them and ask the date. It is a good idea to check with them because London has sent out late letters or no letters in the past.

Once you know your interview date, you pay the visa fee online. (Details in a separate post)

Wheatley and Nich-Nick have collaborated on this new guide. Because the mods want pinned threads to be for information only, please don't post your individual questions in this thread. Read it carefully and if you don't understand something or have a unique issue then start a new thread with your question. Keep this thread clear of your progress, fears, joys, and frustrations. If anything changes in London, we will add information. The basic guide, once posted, can not be edited by either of us, so read to the end in case there are corrections
Pre-NOA2 Preparation
US Petitioner
Order your IRS Tax Transcript - Tax transcripts are an excellent source of evidence for your I-134 Affidavit of Support. They're certified by the IRS. You only need the most recent one. Start getting the I-134 ready with the supporting documents [e.g. proof of income].London will accept any proof on an I-134 that clearly shows income. Some ways besides a tax return/transcript are employer letter, pay stubs, pension letter, or banks statements showing direct deposits. Pick two. You don’t need to prove income five different ways. If you have a new job or earn more income since your tax return, then an employer letter and recent pay stubs are a better choice than a weak tax return. This one has to be sent the old-fashioned way with a “wet” signature on it. Copies of the form aren't accepted, but your proof of income can be scans or photocopies. London does not typically want to see relationship evidence. In the majority of cases they haven't asked for it. If it gives you peace of mind, get some photos printed but don't panic over it at all. Nor do they want to see your NOA2 or a photocopy of the I-129F packet– what do you think they have in front of them? UK Beneficiary
Go get your photos done. You're going to need 2x UK size and 1x US size. The two UK size photos are for your Medical and for your Police Certificate. Your US size one is for the Embassy – no longer do you need 2 of them, only one as they scan them in digitally. US size photos can be done at most photo booths at a cost of around £7 for 4 photos.
Go to your NHS doctor and get the immunizations you will need for Adjustment of Status. You can get a K1 visa without having any shots, but you will need them before AOS. It’s extremely wise to take care of it before getting to the US so you can avoid civil surgeon hassles and $$$. Many NHS doctors will do them for free, but they are not obligated to do so for immigration purposes. Get the shots documented by your doctor to take to your visa medical exam. If your doctor should say you don’t need something on this list, remember you have to go by US rules and that differs from UK standards. Here are the shots needed for 19 through 59 years of age: Td or Tdap - Tetanus/diptheria/pertussis or get DT, DTP or DtaP and it will be accepted for AOS also. The latest shot must be no longer than 10 years ago or you need a booster. If you have a record of receiving pertussis, then the Td is okay for the booster. MMR - (if born in 1957 or later)-Mumps/measles/rubella. It's two doses in your life, but if you get the first dose, and 4 weeks haven't passed by your medical, they will waive the second dose for "insufficient time interval". If you only had one dose as a child, get a second one before the medical. Varicella - Not routinely given in the UK . A history of having chickenpox excuses you from the shot. They take your word for it at the visa medical exam. Influenza – Required during flu season only, October 1 through March 31. This was a new recommendation dated November 2010 for all ages over 6 months. Older lists will say flu shots for over age 50. It changed. The list on the London embassy website is out of date since 2009. Don’t follow it.
Get all your documents together. Here is a link to London’s list of required documents. Be sure to click any links that say “please follow this link for more information” or you may miss details particular to you. Below are some links on how to get these documents or replacements of them:
Police Certificate
Birth, Marriage and Divorce Certificates
Military Records
Finally, make sure your passport is in order – You need to make sure you have at least 8 months until the expiry date on it, preferably more. If you've damaged it or gotten it wet, or the edges are wrinkled, it will need to be renewed. London is fussy about that.