Ducker

I have a USCIS online account already, but can't find the account number anywhere.  Anyone know how to get it?

Gotcha, I replied trusting the info was still applicable.  

Please check this out, screenshot included of the checklist from my fiancee's DS-3025.

As seen below it's marked as complete by the examining physician in Ukraine.  We took care of this during the K1 process with the advice that it'd be needed for AOS.  

Do I need to be concerned about missing Td, TDap, or other fields, or is this considered complete?

HI folks, thanks for this thread.  Just to make it utterly clear, if you have a completed DS-3025, and the fiancee arrived under K1, when sending in the AOS I-485, we do not need to include an I-693 at all, just the DS-3025?  Or do we just fill out Part 1 and include the I-693 also?  Thanks in advance.

Got some input on SSN and the AOS process so far, but I'll pick up in another thread.  Best wishes to everyone on the back half of their K1s.

 I hear that it's sweater weather in Ukraine now... it's still sweaty weather in Louisiana.

OK, interesting.  You’ll be glad to know that Kiev is one of the quickest and they’re very professional.

So, I can understand that you wouldn’t want to travel to Kiev twice if you didn’t have to.  To save money I’d recommend Airbnb, and thankfully food and accommodations in Kiev are pretty cheap.

With that strategy in mind you might wait to get the medical exam until your interview date is scheduled.  Do it at least two weeks in advance.  Then schedule your medical appointment within a week of that date.  It will be a little risky to schedule it closer than three business days prior to your interview.  

As as a side note my fiancée had her exam in Kharkov with the interview in Kiev.

As this is the last step, I would want to be very careful and do it right the first time.  I’ve read that coming back after the interview with medical exam results is possible, but again I wouldn’t recommend giving them any reason to deny your visa.

Sorry, I’m confused as to why a Russian citizen would schedule the K1 visa interview in Kiev?  I didn’t think that was possible.

14 minutes ago, Ninelle666 said:

I'm from Russia but going to have an interview and medical check in Kiev. Do I have to go there twice? Is there a chance I can do the check and then in several days interview? 

After reading this topic I understood that after getting the visa they were able to fly to him together, is this an option?

I'm new to the whole thing, we just finished preparing the documents

Are you a citizen of Ukraine?  Otherwise I don’t understand why you’d have the checks in Kiev.

If yes then I’d recommend traveling together with your fiancée very much, yes.

It’s not easy to schedule the medical exam and interview closely together, but as mentioned, it will be valid for six months so I would go ahead and take care of it.

Arrived back home with the fiancée (and the luckiest Ukrainian Pomeranian of all time) yesterday morning.  We are so relieved and a little exhausted, still.  We’ll get started on the SSN paperwork soon.

Quote from a customs officer after we were detained by Customs, as is standard ops, for K1 entry visa interview at JFK airport:  “you know you gotta get married by November, right? I don’t know much more about it so here you go, have a nice day.”  😂

 Just wanted to mention that the transportation of pets can be tricky.  While the USA merely requires proof of rabies vaccination, remember that it must be translated into English.   We additionally got vet’s a bill of health, required by Ukraine and supposedly also required by Delta Air but not checked, officially translated for a small fee.  

 I’d brought an airline-approved soft pet carrier and checked with and paid both UIA and Delta’s pet fees, $125 per booking.  You want to do this early because flights usually don’t allow more than 2 animals per flight.  We did encounter another dog on one of our flights.

Arrived back home with the fiancée (and the luckiest Ukrainian Pomeranian of all time) yesterday morning.  We are so relieved and a little exhausted, still.  We’ll get started on the SSN paperwork soon.

Quote from a customs officer after we were detained for K1 entry visa at JFK airport:  “you know you gotta get married by November, right? I don’t know much more about it so here you go, have a nice day.”  😂

 Just wanted to mention that the transportation of pets from Ukraine can be tricky.  While the USA merely requires proof of rabies vaccination, remember that it must be translated into English.   To exit the country, the government requires a vet exam at a state-run hospital.  This cost a whopping 18 UAH (which was made with a 24 uah bank transfer fee, lol).  We got this bill of health (supposedly also required by Delta Air but not checked) officially translated for 170 uah.  I noticed the dollar-hryvna exchange rate is getting close to 28:1 now, for comparison’s sake.

A mandated review and approval of the bill-of-health paperwork (which is valid for only three days) at the government’s airport office in Kiev cost 230 uah I believe.  I’d brought an airline-approved soft pet carrier and checked with and paid both UIA and Delta’s pet fees, $125 per booking.  You want to do this early because flights usually don’t allow more than 2 animals per flight.

1 hour ago, artml said:

@Ducker have you received any notifications from TMM? When I was picking up my B1/B2 four years ago I got an sms that my package arrived to Kharkiv warehouse 3 or 4 days after the interview. No status updates from CEAC whatsoever.

No I didn’t.  I highly recommend to others to select pick up at courier rather than mailing, so you aren’t stuck waiting.  I don’t really trust the infrastructure here, but then again Fedex, USPS, and UPS can all be shady from time to time.

Picked up the visa today from the courier in Kharkov.  On the eighth day after interview with CEAC still saying “issued,” my intuition told me it was perhaps sitting in a warehouse.  Sure enough it was.  FWIW the courier is “TMM Express.”

9 minutes ago, Faith2018 said:

Where can you find this information about their schedule or to book???

This happens after filling out a DS-160 and paying the Interview fee (getting a receipt number), then registering for an appointment through www.ustraveldocs.com.  Go ahead and register an account there now so you’ll be ready.

I feel a sense of relief and accomplishment; and as a project manager I managed to make up a few days time in lags, pretty good for government work 😅

My fiancee started crying as we left, and I felt I had to remark to security, "she's happy not sad!"  Definitely good advice for me to be there and hold things together before and after.

Now, question:  can I book her one-way flight home with me using her Ukranian passport, or do I need to wait and enter her K1 visa number when booking the flight to JFK on Ukranian Intl. Airlines?  I'm guessing they won't sweat it much in Kiev, just want to make sure we do things the kosher way for Customs in New York.

20 minutes ago, YulenkaF said:

congrats! Can you please share which questions they asked? 

Thank you

He asked her “When and how did we meet?” He also asked her if we had a child and been married before.

He asked me if I was the petitioner.  He also asked me what I did for a living, and where we planned upon getting married.  All questions were made in a very pleasant tone by an American.  I thanked him and he wished us all the best.

Before our interview, the documents check guy was a little more stern, but just standard Ukrainian stone face. Thinking about it in looking at consulate reviews, just make sure to have *more than enough* documentation, the actual talk will be a breeze unless they detect any red flags.  And it was good advice I was given to show up in support of my fiancée. It’s not required, but you want to put this to bed after nine months of waiting.

Specially he asked for: Police report, medical exam, affidavit of support form, her birth certificate, my tax returns, my bank records, and proof of relationship.

5 minutes ago, Masha_777 said:

I meant, is it a big line to record for the interview. or in the embassy many free days?

At the point I booked, the month of August looked pretty open.  We had to wait a little longer than expected but were in and out in under 90 minutes.

6 minutes ago, Masha_777 said:

did you wait a long time to sign up for an interview?

No, I scheduled it once I got “in transit” status, 2 1/2 weeks ago. That was a bit of a risk but I researched and assured myself that it would arrive in Kiev and be “ready” within one week, and it did.

Theres no risk in getting the medical exam early, as it’s valid for six months.

Had our interview today and the visa was approved, hurrah!  Thanks to you all for all the help.  Where would we be without Visajourney?

Hi guys, it's "in transit" now with a batch of other December '17 filers, good deal.  I've got my finger on the trigger of scheduling a interview appointment.   I've also decided that I'm going to be there for the interview.  

Question:  did you all schedule one-way flights to Ukraine for the interview, and did you have any problems with that?  Several years ago I traveled to Taiwan on an open-ended business trip and did this.  The airline staff didn't like this, and kind of hassled me about it, telling me a confirmed return ticket was required, but they eventually let me get on.  

I plan to fly Ukraine International Airlines through JFK, and they, like most Ukrainians, don't seem to sweat the details, but just making sure this won't be  fumble at the goal line, as we say in America  because I'd hate to miss the appointment.

Got the “In Transit” CEAC status today, hurrah!

Hi folks, my dearest sympathies to those with RFEs, denials, and no NOA2 yet.  I suppose I should feel very fortunate.  

Has anyone in NOA2 had their case assigned but sit "at NVC" for over two weeks?  I was hoping to breeze through this step, but still waiting for it to be sent overseas since case assignment on July 5th.

Can somebody give me an average timeframe on K1 processing at the NVC?  I got my case number on the 5th and it's now the 19th.  I called yesterday and was politely told "we'll let you know."  CEAC site still says "At NVC."

6 hours ago, artml said:

Isn't it six months?

Six months will be more than enough for us, just need 30 days at most.

My fiancee is on the ball.  She got our medical exam set up today.  As mentioned, the crucial document here is a form with your KEV case number on it.  For us we'll go with the re: email from asknvc@state.gov that states our Case Number, Beneficiary ID, and Invoice ID number.  They wanted a printed piece of paper with the address she'll be moving to in the USA with me, too.

I may call the NVC today to see if we can get movement on sending it over to Kyiv, CEAC status tracker still says "At NVC." https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker

Sorry, what's the max allowable timeframe between the medical appointment and the interview date?   We'll go ahead with this step as recommended if there's no risk of invalidating it.

FYI It's been 12 days since we got a case number. but https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/ still says "At NVC."  

7 minutes ago, Alabamak1 said:

My wife just said she doesn't like gypsies. .  

 

 

 I do understand.  My fiancee's mom calls them "chavella" which is apparently the Russian n-word for gypsies, lol.  

One last question, on ustraveldocs.com, do I need to enter my fee payment info now, or wait for receipt of the NVC-sent package at the Kyiv embassy?