Zoeeeeeee

I'll give Halifax a call or pop in over the weekend and hopefully they're the same as Barclays. Still toying with my phone, I'm really torn. It would be a nice upgrade for a family member so we'd be able to video call for free, but saving a chunk of money on buying an additional line on my fiancee's plan does sound lovely. 
 
 
I'm just going to leave the car with my Mam should anything happen to either her's or my Dad's. Change of ownership will be sent end of March just to be sure as come Mid-April I won't really need one and will just place myself as a named driver until I get of here! 
 
 
Pension I'm not too sure but that's a good one actually thank you! Currently writing an email to them now to see if I'm able to withdraw it to set  up a new policy over the pond and if so what do they charge. I mean there isn't much in it but we'll see. I'm with Scottish Widow with a work placed pension so I'm not too optimistic on them.

Hey, 
 
So our interview is fast approaching and we've started discussing the remaining items that I need to sort out before my departure on 11th May (all being well):
Ensuring Income Tax adjusted after I leave for a refund, Cancelling Phone/iPad contracts (probably be selling these prior to leaving), Cancelling Life/Car Insurance, Selling the remaining electronic items, donating the surplus clothes/books,  Organised next section of Open University, Double check medical documentation/records - is it worth getting my full medical history electronically to take to the USA?, Ensure all documentation/paperwork (Birth certificate/Change of Name Deed etc etc) all organised and safe and easily reachable, Last and certain not least, binning, geez binning so much stuff.  
Is there anything major/required that any one else can think of that's needed?
 
I understand it's hugely based on the individual but required actions maybe  
 
Thankfully my fianceé is visiting just after the interview for a couple of weeks so we're going to purchase additional baggage and she'll return to the US with x2 suitcases and then I'll fly out with x2 a month later
 
Thank you in advance for any feedback and I'm aware of the post at the top regarding permanently moving to the USA, but the last post was years ago 
 

Thanks everyone, off the plane & straight to courthouse with a shotgun it is then 😎

No problem  It definitely made me re-think flying in to do the interview in one day. Think the plan is to fly in the night before now in case any delays occur!

Thanks for taking the time to put this together @O-J and glad you weren’t screwed by the fog today!

Not completely sure but I believe as long as its before the appointment that they should accept them.  Anyone else able to back this up?

From the airport to the medical..
 
The Journey:
Got the 08:50 flight from BHD to LHR. It was delayed until 09:50 due to fog in London and ended up getting me into London for 11:10 (originally due 10:20). A lot of the morning flights had been cancelled so I was really starting to panic that I wouldn’t get there. Not a great start but it was such a relief it ended up not getting totally cancelled.  
 
I had arranged (booked online) a Blackberry Car to meet me at arrivals for 10:50 but as I got in late the driver was no longer waiting there. A quick call to the company informed me my driver had not yet left the terminal and would be there in a couples minutes. He arrived minutes later and we headed to the car. The driver was very nice and took me straight to the doors of the medical for £39 for the 45 min drive. I arrived at the medical place around 12:20 but waited a while before going in around 12:50 for my 1:10 appointment. 
 
The Medical:
Buzzed in to flat 4 and entered and went to the door on the right and go to the receptionists window. I told her I had an appointment for 1:10 and she asked if I had my documents. 
I handed over:
Police certificate Vaccination record Medical summary Completed medical questionnaire (use the link they will provide in your booking email) Email from the NVC stating my case number Passport  4 UK sized passport photos  
She asked if I had an interview scheduled yet and I told her my date. She copied all the above documents and handed me back everything except my passport then handed me a red zip bag and a pot for a urine sample which she said I could do any time during the appointment and hand it back into her. I received another medical questionnaire to fill in that was slightly more in depth from the one I had completed before. It just goes into each category and a simple yes or no tick for things like seizures, stroke, heart diseases etc. Handed this back and did the urine sample (there is only one toilet at this place as far as I am aware). There was no one else in the waiting area at this time. Female doctor then called me into her room after about 40 minutes of waiting. 
 
Doctor:
She goes through the in depth questionnaire and reads the questions of it to confirm the answers once again. 
Undressed down to my underwear behind a curtain and put on a robe she provided in order for her to take my weight and height. 
Checked my ears, throat, temp, breathing
Checked my eye sight 
Took my blood pressure and a blood sample
Took 15 minutes tops for all that 
 
Back in the waiting area and there’s now 2 guys. Get called in about 20 minutes to go for the X-ray. As I head down 2 families arrived. 
 
X-ray:
Older male carries out the chest X-ray.  Undressed behind a curtain again and put the gown on. Anything from the waist up has to come off and if you have long hair there’s a hair clamp to put it up. Breathed in and out and the X-ray was done in seconds. Didn't get to discuss this really, just had to wait for the scan to appear on the screen then headed back to the waiting room.
 
Back to the waiting room and there’s now 2 families, 3 guys and a girl waiting. Get called back for vaccines in about 15 minutes. 
 
Vaccinations:
Female nurse does this. Went through my list of vaccinations and asked what visa I was applying for. My tetanus (£40) was expired a year so I opted to have that there along with the flu shot (£14). 
 
Headed to the reception and she asked me to wait another 5 minutes until the nurse provided my vaccine details. She then called me and handed back my passport along with two sheets to say I had my flu shot and tetanus there along with the DS-3025 form to use for AOS saying I opted to have all necessary vaccinations there. Paid a total of £384 (£330 plus the vaccinations) and that was that. The medical took about 2 hours with the majority of this being wait time. Left around 2:45 and explored London the tiniest bit before my car arrived at 3:40 to bring me back to the airport. Same company as before but with a different driver and he was there on time. Cost £30 this time as I had booked a return journey. Took the 7:45 flight home which was again delayed until 8:15 due to weather. 
 
Overall the staff there are very nice and it was really nothing to worry about. As the day went on the place seemed to get busy really quick. I would recommend the taxi company for pure peace of mind if you’re like me and do not want to have to deal with working out London’s tube system and fret over being delayed or something. If you’re flying in try and book an early flight to leave time for unexpected delays and an afternoon appointment or stay the night before if you want an early slot. 
 
   

Oh, I’m so excited for you to be going in 2 weeks! Sounds like you have a well-considered plan - are you still planning on a Vegas wedding? Have a few friends that have got married there and it’s been amazing.
 
Due to a lengthy divorce (LA takes forever on EVERYTHING marriage-related it would appear), it took 1.5 years until we submitted our petition, so I’m used to waiting - but now it’s in (start of December), I’m anxiously date-watching!
 
I’m going to be in Valencia, which is very north - however, it’s right off the 5, so you can get to places pretty quickly (takes about 30 minutes to the valley, 40 minutes to central Hollywood, 40 minutes to DTLA) - and it’s very family-orientated, good schools etc. 
 
Ha! I feel like I’ve just done a sales patter for Valencia - it just gets a bad rep for being too far away (which in miles it is) - but then when you go there, you realise how quick it is to get to, because you’re on the 5, rather than the 405!
 
Ideally would like to work in Burbank, as I lived there in 2017 and my fiancé works there (that’s how we met)...so I just have an affinity for the place 😍.
 
Where are you going to be?

USCIS's lawyer contacted me and the petition is approved.😁

I had my medical yesterday at Knightsbridge’s and my experience echos the positive accounts shared by other users. It’s nowhere near invasive as one would imagine and the people working there really are lovely. One thing that really made the experience an easy one (other than turning up with everything they asked for) was the medical letter I acquired from my GP regarding my long history of depression and agoraphobia. The physician conducting the medical assessment remarked that the letter was excellent and provided all the necessary information. The only question I was asked was if I had received counselling to which my answer was no, I wasn’t questioned any further.
 
If you need a medical letter from your GP especially from one that doesn’t know you (as was the case with me) consider providing them with this outline and a note explaining your history in your own words and how you currently feel. It might provide some helpful insight and gives them something to refer to once you have left.
 
This is the outline I provided the GP with as the basis for my letter:
 
Diagnosis? Treatment? Duration of treatment and illness? Any prior or subsequent mental health or illness? Have there been any incidents of self harm, harm to others or suicide attempts? What is the prognosis and your opinion of the patients mental state. Is she a risk to herself or to others?  
I used my appointment to discuss my history and current mental state and explained that these questions needed to be addressed in the letter which they were and she even included parts of the note which I wasn’t expecting.
 
I know it won’t guarantee the same results but it helped me and the Knightsbridge physician’s reaction made it feel worth sharing. 
🤓

So, I just re-read this thread from start to finish and saw a comment re people sending in the signed wedding license (which you get on the day) when applying for AOS (and receiving an RFE). I think we’ll do this, as at least then the wheels are in motion re the AOS application - and we can then reply to the RFE with the certificate when it comes 🙃.

Maybe that is it, definitely sounds plausible...
 
I think that’s the problem with AP, all the poor person waiting can do is think about information relating to them and their circumstance...but perhaps often it’s relating to something completely removed, ie, another person, with no link to the petitioner or the benefactor, who just happens to share the same name...
 
On paper, me and my fiancé should be fine (no criminal records, financial issues, lack of evidence of relationship or lack of visits)...but there’s always that worrying thought that something outside of our control could easily impact it...
 
I’m really sorry you’re going through this and hope your AP ends soon 🙏.

I'm assuming you're not a time traveler and so mean 2020, but you need to be legally married (and the certificate is proof that you are) to apply for AOS, and probably need to be legally married for your spouse to add you to their health insurance.
 
It's useful to do the former ASAP because the sooner you file for AOS, the sooner you'll get EAD/AP and/or a green card (though in LA,  getting a green card will take a while) and be able to work and travel outside the US (and come back) legally.
And it's useful to do the latter ASAP because employer-provided health insurance is usually significantly less expensive than anything you could purchase individually, and anything major without insurance can be very expensive in the US.

You have 90 days from POE to get married. I asked my wife’s lawyer if the AOS can be filed later than 90 days from POE. She said that a week or two is fine.  Beyond that, the K-1 visa holder is out of status. According to her, ICE won’t start looking for the out of status K-1 visa holder immediately, but after two weeks past 90 days, start to worry. Definitely don’t leave home and don’t answer the door.  
 
Now let’s do some rough math.  
 
POE is Nov 25. K-1 thus expires about Feb 25.  You plan to get married February 7, about 2 weeks before the K-1 expires. Even if we add 2 weeks for slack before ICE comes looking, that gives you 4 weeks to get your AOS together.  Including your marriage certificate. Which might not come until 12 weeks  after Feb 7, or roughly April 30. 
 
To put it mildly, your plan seems very high risk to me. 
 
Get married as as soon as possible and not in LA county:
 
Apply for SS card
Apply for marriage cert 
Wait up to 3 weeks for SS card
Marry in a county where marriage cert is available in less than a week
Get marriage cert
Apply for state ID/DL (with 60 days or more left on K-1)
Once k-1 has SSN, open joint bank account and add k-1 to bills.  PGE is hard. T-mobile is impossible. Comcast I’ve heard is impossible.  
 
With  your plan the k-1 won’t get an SSN before AOS. Opening joint accounts without an SSN is hard. AOS wants to see joint accounts.  And you won’t have a marriage cert by the AOS deadline so at best an RFE.  
 
 

If you haven't filed for AOS within 90 days, you're technically out of status (though as long as you've actually married, it's extremely unlikely to actually be a problem except for the issues I mentioned).
And you do need the certificate to file for AOS (in the K-1 section of the I-485 instructions document it says this).

Hey everyone, 
 
Just realised we’ve only got one week left of February - so we should all be 2-3 months through the process now! 🎉🎉🎉
 
I also have a question that I’m hoping someone can answer - I read lots of threads on here and keep seeing references to ‘Igor’s list’ - who is Igor / how do I find his list?! If anyone can help, it’d be much appreciated!
 
Thanks
 
Zoë

Thanks for giving such a comprehensive guide to the day - and congratulations!

My fiance and I were talking about the many things we will have to do, for years, after he's finally here and we're finally married. He described it as "being in the shadow for a long time", but, for me, I would rather think of each event as an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to each other. It's stressful, but each approval is a reason to celebrate! Having just received our NOA2 a week ago, we are really at the beginning of our journey, but it's a fantastic journey! 

I strongly recommend CR-1 in your situation.  It sounds like you're in a solid relationship already, multiple visits, so get married anywhere you like and submit the I-130 and I-130A for your spouse with the marriage certificate and other supporting documents.  Read the CR-1 guide here on VJ, and also submit evidence of your relationship, time spent together, etc.  Good luck!  And by the way, you're never "too old" to fall in love!

It's all finally happening. Just had my interview here in London February 1st. Here's a summary of the experience for reference. Hope it's helpful for anyone anxious about theirs.
 
Getting there and check-in.
 
 Interview for 9:30am. The embassy guide said be there 15 minutes early. I arrived 30 minutes early. Rush hour is unpredictable so better safe than sorry. Nearest tube is Vauxhall, then a 15 minute walk along the river to the embassy. Go to the south entrance (signs are near the building, if in doubt ask a heavily armed policeman for the visa entrance.) There is airport style security (with real TSA personnel.) Had my passport and DS-260 confirmation print out ready to be checked then went through security. 15 minutes or so from start to finish.  Once past security there'll be another queue at a reception in a big lobby. Once again had my DS-260 confirmation checked. Enjoy the giant Rachel Whiteread artwork along the wall to the right  15 minute wait time in this queue. At the reception desk I was allocated a number which was stuck onto the DS-260 print out and then sent on my merry way.

Document check
  The visa services area is on the 1st floor. There are elevators. Admire the declaration of independence and Kennedy quote as you wait for the elevator. Once you get upstairs there will be a giant Men in Black style waiting area with lots and lots of screens displaying numbers. The immigrant visa section is to the left, around the corner, tucked away with its own separate waiting area.  There was only 1 other person waiting when I arrived and I was called to the window right away.  I was asked to provide DS-260 confirmation, email confirmation of interview, passport, 1 US passport sized photo, birth certificate, ACRO police certificate, marriage certificate, and an original deed poll since I changed my name not too long ago. I arrived with photocopies of everything but was never asked for the copies. I was not asked to provide form I-864 (affidavit of support), proof of relationship, proof of my partner's domicile/nationality, proof of payment for IV fee or AOS fee. Although of course I showed up with all of those documents also. After a quick check that all the documents were present, the lady scanned my photograph and returned it to me. She also gave me a CD with the xrays from my medical which she instructed me to carry on my person when I travel to the US. This only took 5 minutes or so. After that I was instructed to wait for my number to be called again.

Interview
  10 minutes later, back I went to the window but this time a case officer was there with a folder full of my documents. I was asked to raise my hand and swear an oath (to tell the truth.) The CO went through all of my documents and asked me a series of questions:  How and when did you and your partner meet? When was the first time you met in person? Why has it taken so long for you to move? Where will you live when you get to the US? What will you do when you get there? Have you resided in any other country since you were 16? Do you hold an existing US visa? Have you ever changed your name? I answered truthfully and except for being asked why it has taken so long, was met with polite but curt acknowledgement. (He wanted a more in depth answer about why it had taken 7 years to apply for this visa.) Finally, after the questions were done he quickly let me know that my visa had been approved. I should expect the visa to arrive via my chosen delivery method (DX courier) within 2 weeks. The visa in my other passport (different country) was cancelled with a stamp, and my documents were returned to me. I don't remember if the lady returned them to me beforehand or if the gentleman returned them to me after the interview but can confirm that everything except the ACRO certificate was returned to me. A few parting words from the CO: "You must travel to the US before the date stated on the visa. This date is 6 months from the date of your medical appointment. Your partner must either be in the country when you travel or travelling with you into the US. When the passport is returned to you it will come with an immigrant visa package, do not open the package and ensure you carry it on your person when arriving in the US for the border officer to review." No problems at all throughout the process. Not at all intimidating and not nearly as complex as I thought it would be. I was out of the building in under 5 minutes and back home an hour later. 

Receiving the visa
  During the registration process before the interview I opted to receive my passport back visa DX courier. My interview was on Friday morning and I received a text on Tuesday that it would be ready to collect from the depot that day. In actuality it was not ready until Wednesday (it arrived Tuesday evening but the depot closes at 5pm.) At any rate, far faster than the 2 weeks predicted by the CO. I received no immigrant visa package with the passport. The visa enclosed reads 'IV docs in CCD' which negates the need for the package.


So that's it. The entire process. The final step for immigration after this is the immigrant fee ($220). This is the fee for the green card and it must be paid before travelling to the US. 

Now onto packing, sorting the house out, quitting the job, and getting outta here!

Congratulations @bucksy, glad it’s all gone so smoothly for you!

My final update on this - I've had the email saying my VISA is ready for collection from tomorrow.
 
So summary on times:
 
Medical Monday 28th Jan.
Interview Feb 8th.
Visa collection Feb 14th

We're APPROVED yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

The London Embassy staff were so lovely yesterday, they asked only a few simple questions, they congratulated us on our engagement & actually said thank you to us for making it the "easiest case" to come to a decision on.

All hands on deck now to be ready to move as soon as my visa arrives.

MASSIVE THANKYOUS to everyone here who has offered help, advise, sense & support.
Also, for all of you still waiting-best of luck to you all & I hope you also get yours through soon ❤️

So I got in from work and booked the 11th of March! I'm here, I'm here and alive. I'm just knocked for 6 with the seasonal cold 😂 
 
March can't come soon enough! 
 
Hopefully you get yours soon Cam & Thomas!! 

she went back to the embassy today. they gave her the visa the lady said that she was sorry and that someone messed up by not putting it in the packet. now to wait a couple months so she can finish her college and after just over 4years she'll be here