GnG

Thanks for the responses.

We phoned a second time to see if USCIS's story changed. Unsurprisingly, it did: we were told that there's no need to re-submit the I-485 form and that it'd be ok to change the info when we go to our local office for biometrics (as you did, raymaga).

But we're posting the form anyway. Call it insurance!

We've just received an NOA that gives my middle name as my first name. Doh!

The NOA says "Please notify us immediately if any of the above information is incorrect." This gives us the impression that the USCIS wants to rectify any mistakes. More fool us.

We contact the National Customer Service Center, who inform us that we need to submit the form again! We don't need to pay the fee, but we have to use up more time trying to correct the USCIS's error. There is nobody the NCSC can tell to open our case file and make the change. Or so the NCSC claims.

Is there really no alternative to snail mail?

After your fiancee enters the US (and before she gets her Adjustment of Status), she will need the approved I-131 Advanced Parole (AP) to leave and re-enter the US. (It costs $170.)

Without AP, she *can* leave the US - US officials aren't going to force her to stay in the country.

But! if she leaves the US without AP, she *cannot* re-enter on the same K1 visa. Instead, she would have to stay in Japan and re-apply for a new K1 visa - requiring all the time and repeated form filling that you've already been through.

So the best thing to do is definitely getting AP.

As an immigrant to the US, I don't mind paying what it costs to do the processing. (Though my wife is entitled to question why her taxes don't cover the service.)

But immigrants (and *only* immigrants) have to also cover the cost of processing refugees and asylum seekers? Now that's seems a touch unfair.

(We also have to pay for the immigration processing of 'certain other applicants', what's that about - defecting Cold War spies??)

Well, I envy those of you who manage(d) to get the varicella vaccination plus I-693a form for $35, $20, or for free.

We’ve had no such luck, despite living in a major town with a comprehensive array of medical services and a long USCIS list of local civil surgeons. The irony! – we even live just one block from the local ‘hospital district’!

In our town and the ten-kilometre radius around it, after calling around 30 clinics or physicians, the cheapest price we’ve found for the shot and the form is $124. Even the local health dept charges $65 just for the shot (no I-693a).

Guess we just have to stick it on the ever-growing immigration tab...

Umm, no, you go to the uscis webiste - here is the like that you can use to see the surgeons in your area:

https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?act...office_type=CIV

Thanks, just what I've been needing!

the civil surgeon/physician will have this document.

photocopy would be fine

keep phoning around different medical doctors, you do not need to have the vacc done at any particular doctor just as long as you take evidence of having it to the CS

Thank you - btw, is a 'civil surgeon' the same as a 'physician' in the US? Is the best way to find them to call numbers under 'Physicians' in the yellow pages?

As the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says: Don't Panic!

You're going to have to wait a little longer before you hear anything, but the London embassy works much more efficiently than certain other branches of the US government (hem hem). For reference, check our timeline and that of other couples, and remember London's average K1 processing time (from receiving a case file to issuing a visa) is 76 days.

Here's the 'Step One' checklist from Packet 3:

DS-230 Part 1 (pages 1 and 2 only)

DS-156 in duplicate (do not sign)

DS-156K

DS-157

And here's the 'Step Two' list of things to bring to interview:

Passport

Birth Certificate (must be 'long form')

Adoption Certificate

Deed Poll for any name change

Marriage Certificate for previous marriages

Divorce or Death Certificate for previous marriages

Police Certificate (for all countries lived in for one year+)

Court Record for any conviction

Military Record for any service

Two colour passport photos

Evidence of Support (eg. petitioner's I-134)

Translations of anything not in English

Good luck! Try not to bite too many nails while you wait...

Can anyone explain the i693a for us:

- who provides the form? us? or the physician/medical practice?

- will the physician/medical practice need to see the original vaccination sheet (currently in our case file), or is a photocopy enough?

- is $120 too much to pay for the varicella vaccination? that's the cheapest we've been quoted (by anyone who sounds like they know what they're doing)

Thank you - we're tearing our hair out over this...

Yes. The A# is the Alien Registration Number and I think they also ask for it on the G325 etc.

Aha! That's very useful to know (they do ask for it on the G325a). Thank you!

"Non-immirant Visa Number" is the "A#" listed on your Visa.

Thanks for swift response!

BTW: is our A# 'non-immigrant visa number' also the A# 'File Number' that's requested on some other forms?

So, we took a couple of days to enjoy being in the US together - it feels GREAT!

But now the form-filling starts again.

On the I-485, what are you supposed to write for 'Current USCIS status' (if you entered on a K-1 and are applying for AOS to conditional residency)?

And what is the 'Non-immigrant visa number'? My visa has a 'control number' and another number under 'annotation' - is it either of these?

Many thanks if you can help us with our form-filling!

So we've finally gotten the visa, and my fiance will be arriving in the states tomorrow... But I'm a little confused about what happens next. If he gets an EAD stamped in his passport right away, that's great. But if not, I can't figure out how to proceed: according to the Social Security application, he needs something showing that he is authorized to work in the US (like an EAD) in order to receive a SS number. But it also looks like he definitely needs a SS number to get married. So does that mean that he needs to get an EAD before we can get married?!? I'm so confused about this! Is there anyone who knows about this?

I had my medical examination on Monday. It wasn’t eventful or even exciting, but here’s what happens, just in case anyone else out there wants to know.

Arrival

You need to present to the receptionist:

• The completed Package 3 Medical Questionnaire plus any supplementary answers.
  
• Your passport (just to confirm your identity, they check it and hand it straight back).
  
• A passport photo (either US- or UK-style is fine).
  
• A copy of your vaccination record.
  

(A copy of your vaccination record, which can be obtained from the medical practice where you’re registered, is not essential. But it is essential for the Adjustment of Status after you enter the US. At that time, you have to arrange in the US any vaccinations that weren’t confirmed at the UK Medical Examination.)

You fill out another form with another checklist of medical conditions and sign a consent form for an HIV test.

Then you wait.

Vaccinations

A nurse goes over your vaccinations. Those that are confirmed (from your vaccination record or from having them done there and then [at extra cost, naturally]) are recorded on a form that will go to the US embassy. You are given a photocopy and advised to take it with you to the interview, just in case.

Then you wait.

Examination

A doctor asks you a few questions about your health, including HIV risk, drug use (both medication and the naughty stuff), any operations. It didn’t apply to me, but I guess this is when you’re asked follow-up questions about particular medical conditions.

(There are no questions about your family’s medical history, only your own.)

You sign your photo and the examination form.

Your eyesight is tested (with glasses on/contacts in); your height and weight are recorded; your respiration and reflexes are checked; your sex is confirmed (just a quick look, no touching); and blood is taken for the HIV test.

Then you wait.

X-ray

A nurse takes an X-ray of your chest.

Then you wait.

Last details

You pay the £160, plus any extras for vaccinations. You can pay by cash, credit card or debit card.

Once the bloodwork is done (a couple of days), everything will be couriered to the embassy. The medical practice will only contact you with your HIV result if it’s positive.

And that’s it! The whole process lasted just under an hour for me and was totally painless.

(The only surgery is the removal of £160 from your pocket. Why oh why oh why are two expensive London practices the only authorised examiners? One VJer in the Netherlands recently said his examination cost him less than 50 euros...)

My fiance has his interview at the Embassy in London in January, and I'll be in London visiting him anyway. I understand that I don't have to be there (since the UK is considered low-fraud), but can I go anyway? Will they let me into the interview, or will I just have to wait outside until he's done (possibly up to three hours...)?

Does anyone know about this?

I just sent it in for my fiancee, and put in a bank statement, not seeing the part about DOB. They sent it back and said "We need something with DOB." If that's the case, why make a bank statement an option? Who who has a bank statement with their DOB on it?!

It's not the most intelligent form...

As mmb says, if you fill out the form at a police station, you can show your passport or driver's licence on the spot - no need to post it off anywhere.

Hi all,

Got great news today - we finally have an interview scheduled!! Yay!!

(Some impressively efficient processing by the London embassy is making up for some shocking handling errors by the USCIS/NVC.)

We just have a quick question: do the photocopies of documents for the interview need to be legally-certified photocopies? or just regular, straight-out-of-the-machine photocopies?

Thanks!

GnG

You got the forms right - you're supposed to have the interview at the embassy/consulate in the country where you're resident at the time. Nationality shouldn't come into it.

Good luck with it!

I was married on Sept. 2 and my husband tried to go to the DMV to get an ID (for our marriage license) ... We were only married three weeks but never made it official because of the ID thing ... our marriage is as real as they come.

That's a tough situation and I wish you the best of luck with resolving it. But your information is a bit confusing - did you and your partner get married or not? Did you somehow get married without a marriage license? Do you mean you had a wedding ceremony without registering it?

GnG

From the UK, 37 euros sounds pretty good. Here, the medical examination must be conducted by one of two medical practices, each charging 160 pounds. That's an eye-watering 236 euros or 310 US dollars per person!

Well, one of my teachers back in school always said the only stupid question is the question that isn't asked, so here goes...

On the DS-156, are you supposed to attach photos before sending it back to the embassy? The space for photos is, well, for photos (duh), but I don't see any explicit instruction.

I guess this might be a silly question, but I want to get everything *absolutely* right!

Thanks,

GnG

Yodruk,

Thanks for the good wishes, we appreciate it. Yes, if someone in London's IVU would pick up our I-824 and process it, that would be fantastic. Sadly, so far we have only been told that the IVU refuses to do so - with no reason given to explain why not.

And many thanks for the information about the Supreme Court ruling, I followed it up. Yes, the issue of the USCIS' control (or otherwise) of visa processing is a secondary one. But in case you're interested...

The Supreme Court ruling on Schweiker v Hansen is here: www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/09/SSR83-39-oasi-09.html. Folinskyinla is right when he says the ruling means an employee of a government agency cannot be held accountable for failing to give complete or accurate information.

(The Supreme Court ruling justifies this on the grounds that this would prompt too many lawsuits, costing too much money - the ruling prioritizes federal legislation requiring judicial costs to be restricted.)

But our case is different on three counts.

First, we weren't mislead by a single employee - we spoke to three people on three different clerical levels. That raises the question of whether we dealt with an individual employee or with the non-personal legal entity of the USCIS. If the latter, this is not covered by the Schweiker ruling.

Second, we weren't actually misled - we were accurately told what the USCIS' policy is. (The USCIS truly believes a consular mission should process an I-824.)

Third, the Supreme Court ruled against the claimant in part because they had failed to file a written application at the appropriate time. In contrast, we have complied with every necessary procedural requirement.

$200 isn't a big sum and not worth the trouble to try to recoup it. We're not planning on suing the government to get it back. But if we did? Well, it's not certain what the outcome would be.

What you paid for was the I-824. Nothing more. And that is what USCIS delivered. Nothing more.

If USCIS led you to have different expectations, well you've learned why a person should consult with knowledgeable attornies rather than the USCIS if one has questions. Or VJ if you prefer. USCIS is not responsible for the consequences of any mis-information that its' employees disseminate. (Neither are VJers.)

We couldn't disagree more. 'What we paid for' was - according to a USCIS customer service operator, a USCIS customer service supervisor and a USCIS immigration officer - a document that a consular mission should accept in lieu of an original approved case file. (Note also the title of the I-824: Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition.) The USCIS did not deliver what it told us we were getting.

Your argument that we have no legitimate grievance in this matter is unusual. If a washing powder guarantees it will leave your whites whiter than white, you buy it and find it does nothing, is it your fault for not consulting a cleaning products expert beforehand? Trading-standards legislation in the US prohibits 'guarantees' like that on the basis that you have to provide what you claim to be providing. The fact that a material good has changed hands is not enough. (If it were, people would still be selling snake oil and magic beans.)

As for your argument that the USCIS should not be relied upon... No - people should be able to rely on a government agency, especially if it is evident (as in our case) that the information being given out is not the opinion of a single employee, but the clear position of the entire agency. Sure, hire a lawyer if you need help understanding or acting on the information. But here the information was straightforward, easy to understand, easy to follow ... and wrong. This is not a matter of arcane legal subtleties that can only be navigated by expert lawyers.

And your argument that the USCIS is not responsible for the information it gives out... Again, let's keep in mind the information was not the mistaken opinion of an errant employee - it is the policy position of the entire agency. Is our situation the consequence of the information the USCIS gave us? Yes. So, yes, it is responsible.

Maybe you meant to say the USCIS is not legally responsible, ie. accountable, for information it gives out. Well, the general principle that government is accountable to the people is well-established in the US. It's enforcing accountability that's difficult. Does the USCIS have some kind of legal disclaimer we're not aware of that accompanies all information given out?

Hi Theresa,

Sad to say, yes, it could take a month. We're waiting for the diplomatic pouch to transfer documents from the Ciudad Juarez consulate in Mexico to the London embassy in the UK, and we've been told it could take up to three (three!!!) months...

It seems bizarre that the diplomatic pouch can take so long to deliver mail - much, much longer than regular mail, let alone couriered mail. You'd think that the diplomatic pouch would be high-priority mail, but apparently not.

GnG

With respect to #2, CIS delivered precisely what you paid for.

Hardly. USCIS told us we should pay for the I-824 because (according to USCIS) London would use it in lieu of the original case file. We paid; the USCIS approved the I-824; London refuses to use it. Did the USCIS deliver the I-824? Yes. Did it deliver what we paid for/what the USCIS told us we were getting for our money? No.

And that's the infuriating thing: the USCIS charged us $200 for an I-824 (so that we could overcome *its* mistake, not ours), when there is no mechanism or policy in place to ensure a consular mission will accept it.

But thanks for the tips about elected officials and lawyers, that looks like our next step.