demiurgician

It may go down, but usually the longer you wait for christmas flights the more expensive they get since it's such a popular time to travel

I agree. The prices are more likely to increase as you get nearer your travel date, particularly traveling at the holidays. You might want to check other airlines for cheaper fares. While I usnderstand the whole aire miles thing, I like to find the best price. I've had a lot of luck get better fares through US Air to/from Manchester.

Thanks for the advice! We are definitely will to travel whoever is cheapest (I'll check US Air), I just hate the thought of book a flight for almost $900 when it might be less than $700 in a week. Conversely, I hate the thought of *not* book a flight at almost $900 when it could be more like $1,200 in a week. I hate the airfare game...

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping that those of you who have been doing this longer than we have might have some advice. My husband and I are hoping to travel back to England for Christmas. We almost always fly American Airline (for the airmiles) direct from Chicago to Manchester, and usually pay somewhere between $600-$700. Last weekend when looking at Christmas fares there was a flight available for $630, but unfortunately we hadn't confirmed time off of work yet and couldn't book it. Now that the time off of work is approved the flight has gone up to $875, leaving Dec. 21 and returning Dec. 30. My question is this: Should we book the flight at this amount, or wait to see if it will go back down? We've been doing this long enough to know that flights can go up and then back down frequently, but we've never traveled at Christmas time before. I'm hoping some of you have some insight into what we can expect to pay at that time of year.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

Hi everyone,

You may remember my posting last week because we never received an RFE for our AOS. Well, the letter finally came (asking for my W-2s, I realize that it was an oversight on my part, but it's still annoying that a month and a half was lost for something that literally took me half an hour. Stupid post office).

Anyway, the returned W-2s/RFE notice were accepted and signed for on Thursday of last week. Should I expect my case to be touched soon? I'm slightly concerned that it hasn't been touched yet, because while I realize that I could be in for a long wait for approval, I was under the impression that they would scan it when they received it resulting in a touch. If anyone could let me know if this is normal I would appreciate it. I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but we all know how nerve-wracking this process is.

Also, if anyone happens to have any insight into how much longer we should expect to wait for the EAD that would be great. I realize they technically have another 90 days, I'm just really hoping it won't take that long!

Thanks,

demiurgician

Great, the mail came and no notice. My husband called, and apparently now they say they have *60* days to send it to us. I will be making an infopass appointment today, but does anyone know if this will effect the processing of our EAD and AP? Technically the notice was only about the I-485, but I'm worried...

PS: How can it possible take 2 months to send out another letter?? The efficiency of the USCIS is staggering...

Good Luck !

Thanks!

If USCIS said to call them back today, that's what I would do. Let them tell you what to do next.

I'm not sure where else you could start, as they would have to be the ones to re-generate the notice.

The only other thing I can think of, if you get no joy from them on the phone, is to make an infopass appointment at your local office and see if they can help.

Thanks for your help!

Infopass, and do it ASAP because RFE's typically have an 87 day timeline and I don't know if they will extend this if you didn't receive the notice in the first place (yeah it would be fair if they did but we all know USCIS isn't fair).

Thanks so much for the information!

You need to make an infopass appointment at your local USCIS office and explain to then about the returned mail... they will contact the service center and request the mail be resent... they can also tell you what it is... you need to do this very soon as you only get a limited time after mail is returned before they will concider your case abandoned... also make sure your name is on the inside of your mailbox where the mail person can see it....

Kez

Thanks so much!

It might not be an RFE - if you've not had a notice about your biometrics appointments, it could well be that that has gone missing!

Sorry, I should have stated that he has already had his biometrics appointment. Thanks though!

Hello,

We received our NOA for the AOS, EAD and AP (wow that's a lot of abbreviations) on 11 June. On 13 July I received an email notification pertaining to the AOS saying that a "notification" they had sent to us had been returned and to contact them with our correct address so it could be resent. I had been having problems with the Post Office for several months (had to have my W-2s mailed 3 times, stopped getting mail altogether for 2 weeks, never received birthday cards/wedding cards, and have actually seen pieces of mail with my correct address and a "return to sender, address not known" sticker on them), so while upsetting this was not shocking. We actually moved the day the email was sent, and immediately updated our address with USCIS (we have received confirmation letters from them at our new address). However, while mail service is now excellent, we have not received whatever this "notification" is. My husband called USCIS earlier this week and they said to call back today if it had not yet arrived (apparently they had until the 15th to send it out, although I have no idea where that math comes from). Today's mail hasn't come, but I'm not holding my breath.

My questions are these:

1) Who should I contact to actually make something happen here? Is this a big enough problem to contact my senator or congressperson? It seems that the people who answer the phones for USCIS, while perfectly nice, don't actually know what's going on or have the power to do anything. Our AOS has already been set back at least a month, and I really don't want to just keep waiting without doing something.

2) I can't imagine that the "notification" is anything other than an RFE (since it's not an approval), but is there anything else it could be?

3) Will this effect the processing of our EAD/AP as well?? Please please please say no...

Thanks for your help!

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but Gary arrived on Saturday (!!!!) and I thought I would let you all know about his POE experience in Chicago. The man who processed his visa had never seen a K1 before, so he had to call over someone else to walk him through it. Gary could hear what the supervisor was telling the man learning how to process the visa, and he told him to be especially concerned with looking through my papers for red flags. He also told the new guy that if there was a 25 year age gap "you can start asking questions." He told him to ask 1)Where we met, 2) Why I was in England at the time, and 3) How long we had known each other. The whole thing only took about half an hour, and that's with the new guy learning.

Just to clarify, they were both very polite, and it didn't seem to Gary as though the supervisor was telling the new guy to look for a reason to deny entry to people or anything like that (although we only have a 2 year age difference, so that wasn't an issue) but I thought it might be interesting for some people to have this very slight insight into the processing at POE.

Hi everyone!

My English fiance is flying in tomorrow (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I'm beyond excited, as you may have guessed :-)

He wanted me to check with y'all about the customs declaration that he will fill out on the plane. Although we've both taken this flight (Manchester to Chicago) multiple times, we've never really paid any attention to it before in terms of how it would be different when he was coming permanently. He doesn't have any fancy equipment or a lot of cash or anything along those lines, and I want to say that he will pretty much be able to say that he doesn't have anything to declare. He's a bit concerned though because, despite the fact that it's nothing brand new or terribly expensive, he will have what amounts to everything he owns with him, and all told it is worth *something*.

So what do you think? When you/your fiance(e) came over for good (!!) how did you fill out the customs form?

As a sidenote, did anyone here fly into O'Hare on the K-1? What was it like? I've read a few reviews, but nothing recent.

Only 22 hours and 30 minutes to go!

Hi all,

My fiance has his interview in London tomorrow (eep!), and is only now trying to book his train down from Manchester--we won't talk about that :-) Obviously being so last minute it's dead expensive, something like 170 quid, and it seems like driving may be a more economic option. Does anyone know if there is anywhere to park near the embassy, or even a car park or something near public transport that will take him there? We really would rather not have to spend so much money, but will if parking is out of the question.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

My fiance is from the UK and also lives with his parents, so a very similar situation with no mortgage, lease, etc. He visited for 2 weeks in November/December, and had absolutely no problems, they didn't even ask for any of his paperwork (although I would definitely have it all anyway, *especially* the return ticket). He was here for 2 weeks in May and 2 weeks in February as well, but we hadn't yet filed the K1 at that point, and the entry in November was after the I-129f was approved.

The fact is, people make a big deal about "you can't be sure! It's all up to the officer!", and they're right to a point, but I have looked and looked and looked, and I have never seen a post from someone saying that their entry was denied. Even if someone manages to pull up the case to prove me wrong, it's clearly teh exception and not the rule.

In other words, I wouldn't worry (but if you're like me, I know you will anyway!)

Hi all,

Our I-129f was approved on September 13th and Gary sent in his packet 3 info before the holidays (he may have just sent the checklist, actually, but after reading Adman's post I'll be sure he corrects that). Given the 4 month validity of an I-129f, ours will expire next week. Does anyone know if the London consulate automatically extends the I-129f, or do I need to email them to make sure that our case proceeds smoothly? Assuming I need to email them, what kind of identification info will they need?

Thanks,

Elizabeth

Hi everyone, I just need some confirmation here...

Everywhere I look on VJ (and I've been looking a lot, for a long time), it says that I need to fill out an I-134 affidavit of support for my fiance. When the I-129f was approved and he received his packet 3 from London, it included the I-864 as the support form needed. Can anyone just confirm for me that this is correct? It's all been filled out, and it feels like it's more for a K3 than a K1 form. So I'm torn between "this doesn't feel right" and "it's the form the embassy sent, so it's the form they want."

Any advice?

Check out this link to the guides:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1k3aos

It tells how K1's file for EAD & AOS, plus has a link on the page for processing times.

Good luck!!!

Thanks, I had been to that page before but clicked on the wrong office links. Does anyone know how reliable the processing times are? For example, I'm in Chicago, and it says it's processing forms from August 29th (which freaks me out, 'cause 4 months is a long time to not even be able to *look* for a job), but the CSC still says June 1 for I-129F, and while there are of course some (very unfortunate!) people from June who do not have their NOA1s yet, I would venture to say that on average they have moved far beyond that...

Hi everyone,

My fiance and I are about half-way through the process, he has received his packet 3 and is just waiting for his police certificate to arrive before returning it to the London Embassy.

My question is this: On average, how long should we expect to wait from the time he enters the country on the K-1/Adjusts status to the time he is given work authorization? He will (hopefully!) be coming at the beginning of May, we will be married on May 26th, and hope to begin the AOS in early June, after returning to Chicago from our honeymoon.

I've tried to search for this, but frankly I'm confused about what exactly he needs, e.g. EAD (what does that stand for?) vs. greencard, and what role (if any) a SSN plays. If anyone could give me an idea about the average range, or even just point me in the right direction to do more research myself, I would appreciate it. I'm trying to figure this out now so that I know how much I should start saving for the time period when I have to support us both.

Thanks!

Hi all!

I have recently (as in just this week) started a new job that puts me in a position to easily clear the 125% requirement for the affidavit of support. For the 6 months before this I was *barely* making enough money, and for the 2 years before that I was an unemployed graduate student in the UK (where I met my sweetie!). Before I got the new job my father was planning to sponsor my fiance (he makes more than enough money), but now I'm not sure if it's necessary.

If I make plenty of money now, but I've only just started the job, is it better for my father to sponsor my fiance as we had planned? Ive been lead to understand that they sometimes want several years of tax returns, and obviously for the majority of the last 3 years I haven't even come close to making the amount of money required. Moreover, it seems that it would be harder to prove that this is a steady job if I've only just begun employment and will technically still be on "probation" when I fill out the forms.

My dad is more than willing to sponsor Gary, but I don't want to ask it of him unless I think it's something that I shouldn't do myself. What do you all think?

So, two questions:

-Will the approved I-129f make it any harder for him at immigration than it would otherwise have been?

-Should we explain to the embassy that he is putting off his interview until after he returns in December, or just delay sending in the material? Or both?

1. I'm gonna to have to lean towards yes, as your fiance is clearly intending to immigrate to the US. I would humbly advise him to gather as much proof that he still has ties to whatever country he's from (it's not immediately clear to me where he is from) -- perhaps an appointment letter from the embassy???

2. It depends on how quickly the consulate/embassy you are dealing with is currently scheduling appointments. If they're taking their time, I'd send in the packet three info when you can. if they seem to be quick on the draw, hold off on sending back the info they need, they won't schedule your appointment until they receive what they need.

Oh, and congratulations!

Thanks for the advice :-) He's from the UK, so it looks like we're talking about 8 weeks after they receive the packet from the NVC. I'm hoping that it will be clear that he is *not* planning to come in illegally, as why bother when we're so close, but definitely a good idea to have lots and lots and lots of evidence :-)

Well, I wasn't sure whether or not to post this at first, but I figure that it's good to let people know what's going on at CSC, even if it does seem blatantly unfair.

Gary and I were approved through the CSC yesterday, Sept. 15th, I just got the email. We filed on July 11th, so 72 days according to the VJ timeline. No RFEs, and only one touch on 7/25. We're excited, but I think at this point more in shock than anything. We're also a little nervous because he is planning to come for Thanksgiving in November, but our wedding date is not until May, so unbelievably this happened a bit too quickly for us (I'm sorry, I'm sure it's very hard for some of you to hear that).

So, two questions:

-Will the approved I-129f make it any harder for him at immigration than it would otherwise have been?

-Should we explain to the embassy that he is putting off his interview until after he returns in December, or just delay sending in the material? Or both?

Again, I'm sorry if this is frustrating for those of you who have been waiting much longer than we have, and I know there are plenty of you who would kill to have our "problem," all I can say is I hope that you all receive your approvals soon, and I hope our approval signals that the CSC is finally getting in gear!

Hi All,

I am write in the middle (or maybe closer to the beginning) of the K1 process; we've already submitted the I-129F and don't foresee (fingers crossed!) any problems with it. I am slightly concerned about the interview, however, as my fiance and I can't really document our communication. He's not a computer person at all, so we rarely chat or email each other. We are lucky enough that we get to speak on the phone almost every day, but we use phone cards and skype to do this, so no records.

My question is this: What kind of evidence should I be trying to gather for the interview in light of this? I know it's going to be quite a while, but I figure it's best to get started ASAP rather than risk not being able to find what we need.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

I am planning to go visit my fiance in the UK in a couple of weeks (so excited!) and was wondering if anyone has any experience with immigration in the UK, Manchester specifically, when visiting your fiance. I've read all of the suggestions for a foreign fiance visiting America, but I'm trying to figure out how much (if any) "evidence" I need that I plan to return to the US.

Last time I visited we were not yet engaged, but I still had to answer *lots* of questions about us, and the immigration officer told me (in a friendly way) that they looked at my visit harder than they normally would because I had lived in the UK for some time and my visa had recently expired, so I already had a "life" that I could be trying to return to. Anyone else heard this?

From what I understand based on the article posted, you cannot be refused at the consulate based on something that was already known when the I-129F petition was processed in the US. In other words, the Consular officer can't refuse you the visa at the interview because you have had a "short" courtship if the length of the courtship was known by the USCIS and they approved the I-129F anyway.

Anyone else read it that way?

I wasn't worried about this before, and not too bad now, but it's one more thing on my mind :-) We met in October (in person, I was living in the UK at the time and we actually met in a bar, believe it or not), I moved back to America a month later, and we have visited each other 4 times since then for two weeks at a time. We were engaged in May (had known one another 7 months) and got the NOA1 at the beginning of July. We would have filed earlier, but just as I was about to mail the stupid thing I noticed that the expiration date on the I-129F was a week later, and had to wait for the post-IMBRA form, which I guess was a lucky thing. So let's hope that we're all worrying for nothing...I'm sure we are

Formerly the Western Adjudication Center.

Yodrak

WAC = California Service Center

...

Ah, thank you! I knew that Nebraska no longer processed these visas, but I was expecting it to say CSC, i had no idea of the former name :-)

Okay one more time. Neb and Tex no longer process I-129Fs all of those petitions have been transferred to CSC, thus the WAC code on your NOA1.

Thanks for the reply. I knew that NE and TX no longer processed K1s, I was merely confused because I had no idea that the CSC was formerly the Western Adjudication Center (which I now know thanks to Yodrak), and was confused by the acronym "WAC" when I was expecting "CSC."

Sorry if you're getting tired of the same type of question.

We also sent to Nebraska as required and a week later got the NOA1 stating our case had been transfered to California.

Since then we've received the IMBRA RFE and have been touched once... Looks like they're working on March cases now, so... be patient!!

Did it actually state that you had been transferred to CSC? I can't find anything about that, and I really really want to know where my case is! :-)

I received the NOA1 today; I know it's only the first step in a loooong journey, but I feel so much better now! So here's my question: I was under the impression that the first 3 letters in your receipt number indicated the service center where your application was being processed. The first 3 letters in of my receipt are "WAC," can anyone tell me where this would be? I seem to have a vague recollection of it being cities instead of state centers, but I can't find that information again.

Thanks!

I'm just confused about the I-129F petition and the Nebraska processing center. I mailed the initial application just over a week ago at the Nebraska center (I live in Illinois); now I'm seeing references to the fact that the Nebraska center no longer processes K-1 visas? On the USCIS website it still indicates that I should file in Nebraska, but I've noticed that the latest processing times table for NSC no longer includes I-129F petitions.

Can anyone explain to me what's going on? If Nebraska is no longer processing K-1s, will I automatically be reassigned to the CSC, or will it possibly go somewhere else? Will they send the petition back to me, or will they forward it automatically? Do you think this will substantially delay the process, or will it really matter?

Any information will be greatly appreciated; I've never posted here before, but this website was the single most important/best resource I found while preparing my application, so I trust that if anyone can tell me you all can :-)