Darren&Laura

Hi, I'm currently struggling with a few issues regarding applying for my adjustment of status relating to the medical information required to be sent.

The guide on this site for adjusting status states the following:

11. I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status. (If you already have this from your overseas Visa Interview submit a copy that medical check form; No fee is required in this case. If you are a K-1 fiancé(e) or K-2 dependent who had a medical examination within the past year as required for the nonimmigrant fiancé(e) visa, you only need to submit a vaccination supplement (I-693A), not the entire medical report. You may include the vaccination supplement with your adjustment of status application.)

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=k1k3aos

I had my full medical in London in February this year before getting my K1 approved and moving to the USA in March so I assume I only need the I-693A to be completed. Firstly, I cannot locate the I-693A form on the USCIS website - I can find the full blown I-693 but not the supplement (A) I require. Is this form still in existance or do I need to have a full medical again over here?

Also, I was given the vaccination supplement at the time of my medical, but not other information whatsoever.. is this normal? Will the doctors in London I went to for my medical have already filled out the full I-693 as part of my original K1 processing? (I went to the surgery on Bentnick Street by the way.) I'm wondering if I could call them and ask for a copy to be posted or faxed to me.

I guess I may not need to if someone could point me towards a copy of the I-693A, although without knowing the content required on this form I'm unsure if I can complete this myself without a GP signing it off.

Thanks for any help!

Darren.

Thanks for this. I'm aware from VJ and my K1 visa, (and was also told by the consular officer and at the port of entry), that my visa is valid for 90 days. My gripe was just that the USCIS website seemed badly organised and I was unable to locate the information I required on there, (I wish it was laid out as intuitively as VJ is - I have no problems finding any info I need on here.)

I had read the page you mentioned, but had disregarded downloading the pdf file you mentioned as we are married so I'm not a fiance anymore! My mistake, as this is the file I needed which explains the procedure AFTER marriage. Thanks for pointing me back to this!

Thanks to all the other people who took the time to help me on this thread too.

Several things:

1) K-1 Visa is a Non-Immigrant Visa that is good for 90 days after your arrival in the U.S. This should have been explained to you by the consular officer at the U.S. Embassy/Consulate. If they did not inform you of this and you overstay, it can be grounds to have that fixed. However, it is nearly impossible to prove that they did not SAY this to you.

2) You should have read the "How do I?" pages and got to here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD which would take you to this document: http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/A2.pdf

The USCIS website has other information on the process, but that is one of the easiest guides to find.

3) Even if you overstay, as long as you marry who your K-1 intended you to marry, you are fine. Sure, they may initiate deportation proceedings, but then you get an attorney and make the legal leaches richer. Either way, you can cure an overstayed K-1 by filing an I-130 and I-485 with the person who you received the K-1 through. It's just not advisable to get in a position to have to do that.

4) When you entered the U.S. and were given your I-94, the officer giving you the card should have explained your period of stay and its requirements.

Hi everyone,

We got married on 4th June, and returned from at trip to South Dakota yesterday and now it's time for me to adjust status as my K1 expires soon.

VJ provides full guides for me to do so but my question is how the heck would I cope without it? I've trawled around the USCIS website for ages looking for "official" guidance, (trying direct from the homepage rather than the link provided in the VJ guide), and haven't received any official correspondence at all since arriving in the USA - is this normal?

I'm concerned because if I didn't know about VJ I wouldn't even be aware that I need to adjust status or do anything further!! This seems concerning as surely I wouldn't be allowed to go out of status and for removal proceedings to be taken against me without any correspondence from USCIS or other agency?

In the guide on here, there is a link to the instructions for I-485, should I be receiving these officially or not? I'm quite happy to follow the VJ instructions to the letter but am concerned by the silence from USCIS in dealing direct with me. It seems strange that the onus is on me without being given any instructions directly.

Anyway, my parents and family have all flown back to the UK now, so I have the time to get all this sorted, (so long as my baby twins are good!)

Thanks to the VJ community in advance for any assistance.

Darren

You are responsible for yourself and maintenance of your legal presence... This is a self initiated process... The USCIS will not "officially" correspond with you. Do not expect it from them at anytime.

Thought as much, but it would be nice for their website to be better organized so I know what to do! Without VJ I wouldn't have a clue what is required

Thanks for replying to my post and clarifying my position.

Hi everyone,

We got married on 4th June, and returned from a trip to South Dakota yesterday and now it's time for me to adjust status as my K1 expires soon.

VJ provides full guides for me to do so but my question is how the heck would I cope without it? I've trawled around the USCIS website for ages looking for "official" guidance, (trying direct from the homepage rather than the link provided in the VJ guide), and haven't received any official correspondence at all since arriving in the USA - is this normal?

I'm concerned because if I didn't know about VJ I wouldn't even be aware that I need to adjust status or do anything further!! This seems concerning as surely I wouldn't be allowed to go out of status and for removal proceedings to be taken against me without any correspondence from USCIS or other agency?

In the guide on here, there is a link to the instructions for I-485, should I be receiving these officially or not? I'm quite happy to follow the VJ instructions to the letter but am concerned by the silence from USCIS in dealing direct with me. It seems strange that the onus is on me without being given any instructions directly.

Anyway, my parents and family have all flown back to the UK now after coming over for the wedding and to meet Laura, her family and our twins, so I have the time to get all this sorted, (so long as my baby twins are good!)

Thanks to the VJ community in advance for any assistance.

Darren

You can do multi-city tickets through one airline without problems, well that is if the airline you are using serves additional US cities.

American Airlines & Continental provide the ability to book multi-city destinations through their online booking. You can also do the same thing on orbitz.com and choose multi-city. Using orbitz, you will see numerous airlines & prices.

Yep, that's what I did to get to the USA, primarily because I wanted to fly from Leeds to London then direct from London to Colorado without stopping as it knocked a good few hours off my flying time.

as the post above says, most online travel agents have a check box for a "multicity" option - I've used both orbitz.com and lastminute.com and used this feature before.

It was also beneficial to do this for my one-way flight when I moved to the USA as booking a "normal" one-way flight seemed more expensive than a return flight with the 10 or so booking agents I looked at. By using the multicity option I saved quite a lot of money as we don't seem to be penalized in the same way as booking a one way flight.

I just put mine in the flap of my checked in suitcase and it wasn't required at all.

I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming and find everyone here really nice and welcoming. Because I'm from Yorkshire I have to speak slowly and clearly, but my accent isn't really anywhere near as strong as my family for some reason so it's OK although sometimes you can see people do a double take when a totally different voice to what people were expecting comes out of my mouth.

I've had a few experiences of waitresses in diners coming to take my order and then running off and getting their friends to come over and hear me speak as they've never heard an English person "in the flesh' before! Cheyenne people, and small town people in the west in general from my experience are very welcoming and friendly. Before finally moving here I'd done countless road trips and my last one took in 15 western states and 6000 miles and I found everyone I encountered to be lovely, other than a few nights in San Fran and Las Vegas, pretty much everywhere I stayed was a very small town.

I love it here in Wyoming, other than the weird weather, (80 degrees one day then two foot of snow the next!), and the high altitude which sometimes makes me feel as if I'm dieing when I've been running! It's a beautiful place and I'm with my true love too and my two little girls which makes it perfect.

Hey guys, we just got married yesterday We are waiting for the marriage certificate so we can send it in with the neceassary forms to the immigration. I was wondering if I can apply for a ssn before I get my status adjusted for perm resident and approximately how long does it take to get the ssn? B.t.w I am cali. Any help in this matter will be appreciated.

I arrived to the USA in mid March on a K1 and waited two weeks before applying for my SSN. It arrived the first week in April. I'm not married yet and so haven't adjusted status or anything but got the SSN no problem.

Hi everyone,

Ive been back in Wyoming with my fiance for a couple of weeks now after entering on my K1 visa, and it's great to be home with my wife to be and our babies. I couldn't believe how much the babies had changed in the month I had to return to the UK for my medical and interview and also play the waiting game. I was gutted to have to leave, but I'd been in the USA for 90 days so had no other option. The babies are now laughing and being playful and are so much more aware of their surroundings than when I had to leave.. they are the most gorgeous, sweet things, and I'm really happy to be a stay home dad for the time being. Laura has now returned to work this week after her maternity leave, but I intend to live off my savings for at least a year or so to spend the time with my kids and find my feet in the USA. Plus Laura can't give up work to look after the girls as we need her medical insurance for the babies - the bills so far have surpassed $90,000 since their birth in December, which would have been obscene if Laura wasn't insured.

It's fantastic to wake up every day knowing I will never have to leave again, (even if it is to a screaming baby wanting to be fed/changed/some attention, etc.), and we also set a date yesterday for the wedding - June 4th. Everything is starting to move fast again now - we've are also in the process of asking Laura's brothers and their wives to be god parents to one of our twin girls each.

My mother has confirmed she will come to the wedding today, (I gave her a cheque to cover any flights and spending money she'd need before I left as a thankyou for letting me stay with her while I was back in the UK as I sold my house while in the USA around Christmas), but it's great for her to confirm she can make the date, it means I will actually have at least one person from my side of the family at the wedding!

I've just come on VJ tonight to find out what i need to do to apply for a SSN and have printed off the relevant stuff I need - I hope to get this done Friday when Laura will be home and able to look after the girls so I can drive down to the local SS office. Once again VJ has proven invaluable in steering me in the right direction.

All the best to all the August and September filers that have recently arrived in the USA, or will shortly be doing so, this is a great thread to continue keeping in touch.

Darren.

Please accept my apologies if this is a really dumb question, but having just entered the USA on my K1 can I get a drivers license here now without a social security number?

I don't think I can, but aren't 100% sure, but if not is my UK license still valid until after I adjust status after the wedding?

Thanks for any help, I'm a bit confused as you can probably tell

The only teas they had were Lipton (yuck!) and their own Fresh and Easy "English Breakfast Tea", which doesn't sound any better. I didn't see any Brit imports at all.

Last time I was in Wyoming in February, I was surprised to find the Walmart in Cheyenne sold Tetley tea bags!

Anyway, I shouldn't be reading this forum right now, I should be sleeping - I fly back tomorrow morning on my K1!

Hi everyone, just a quick update.... my visa turned up at 9:58am!! (I paid for the pre 10am service, and was convinced it wasn't gonna show on time, )

I've finalised my travel now - I'm flying on Monday morning... I decided going this weekend was a tad optimistic! I want to see my dad before I go and wasn't able to until the weekend, so decided flying Monday was a better option. I'd already sold my house, business, car, etc. and have been staying with my mum for the past month so pretty much all my commitments and loose ends are already sorted meaning I only need a couple of days to finalise my plans.

I can't believe the worst part of this process is finally over - on Monday I'll be back with my love and our twin daughters.

Thanks again for all the invaluable support, advice and sense of community that VJ has given me, keeping me sane during the various months of despair when apart from my loved ones.

I think I'll just concentrate on my family once I arrive for the first week or two before we start to arrange the wedding... we are looking at setting a date in early June and I've promised to pay to fly my mum and her husband over for the wedding, (as a thank you for letting me stay here the past month since I had to come back to the UK.) Plus it would be nice to have at least one member of my family at the wedding!!

Oooh, I got the text tonight to say my visa will be with me before 10am tomorrow!!!!! I'm in the process of booking a flight to the USA now online for Saturday, (no point wasting time away from my babies and their mom!)

I can't believe I'll be with my family again the day after tomorrow!

Hi all,

Another approval to add to the list! I'm so happy. The interview/ embassy process was incredibly smooth and easy - and everyone was very friendly including the lovely Chinese lady! She was talking to me about her daughter for about 10 minutes!

I'm planning on flying out March 31st. All I was given to take away was my x-ray and told to put in in my luggage.

Thanks for all the help I have had in this forum.

Donna

More great news! A big congratulations to you! Glad you got the Chinese lady too, she was really friendly and helpful for me too.

I believe the ACPO is replacing the "police certificate" since last month, so you would need only the ACPO More expensive but quicker to get

Yes, this is correct, I was one of the last to get the £10 certificate during the transition. The price may have increased, but at least now you are guaranteed to get the certificate within 10 working days, rather than 40 days.

You can get the form here : http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp

Ahh maybe it was you I saw with the cheap hotel room?!!? I keep forgetting to check and then when I remember I can't find it

Yep, it most possibly was , I did respond to your question though in the interview thread though, (rather than PM you).

I stayed at The Orchard Hotel : www.orchardhotel.co.uk (the website is ancient, but the hotel was clean and friendly, I did make fun of their website with the manager while I was there who has promised it would be updated soon ).

As far as I am aware you can take it with you to the embassy and they just put it in a clear plastic bag, give you a ticket and return it to you when you leave... of course I haven't been yet so I may not have it exactly right?

Yes, that is correct, I saw plenty of people in the queue at the Embassy doing exactly that.

I decided to do the touristy thing and booked a hotel for an extra day so I could explore London after my appointment though so left my phone in the hotel... it seemed the longest walk ever walking back to the hotel so I could grab my phone and let people know I was approved!!

Grr - somewhere someone said they stayed in a nice but cheap hotel near the embassy in London and you think I can find the post to send a pm to find out where the hotel is?!?!?!?! GRR!!

If anyone sees it can they pm me and let me know - I am taking suggestions on hotels so I can book something for when I go down for my interview - not sure if I am going to go for one or two nights but I am fully intending to get the megabus down because it is so cheap on the day before and then the megabus back the day after I'll have a nice quiet chilled out time in London... but no internet... which could be annoying!! I will text Jeremy and force him to post on here... I'll prime him with the links to the relevant threads!! Hehehe

But yeah - I still don't have a date but am sending packet 3 back today so getting a bit nervous about it all!!!

I stayed here: www.orchardhotel.co.uk, it's only about a mile away from the Embassy near Paddington station... I booked a flight/hotel deal from lastminute.com and it worked out much cheaper than their advertised pricing.

Thats great news!! Can't help you on the famous dude though - how did you know they were famous?! I bet they had no problems getting a visa in about two weeks

Thanks!

The "famous" guy was smiling and waving at people waiting outside in the queue as he walked down the exit line..... of course he could just be incredibly vain but I did sort of recognise him though and have a nagging feeling I should know his name. The guy next to me in the queue said it was Bill Wyman, but I don't think it was.... same era though.

Oh well... the only other person that was vaguely recognisable I saw while in London was David Miliband MP...driving a black jaguar up Pall Mall while I was waiting to cross the road.

So happy for you!!! You'll be in the States in no time!!! Congratulations!!!!

Thanks!!!

btw - can anyone who was at the Embassy yesterday illuminate me on who the famous person was coming out around 10am - tall, thin, late 50's, died black shoulder length hair.... he looked familiar, (probably a rock star), but I can't place him and it's bugging me like crazy!

Another vote for XE from me... cheaper than nearly all banks, and a great rate.

Hi everyone - I've literally just got back from London five minutes ago - my flight was delayed due to the adverse weather in the north meaning the plane I was to fly on didn't arrive at Heathrow until after it was due to leave. However, none of that matters because I had my interview yesterday morning and:

I GOT APPROVED!!

I got to deal with the really nice Chinese woman that others have mentioned in this thread and she was superb, then when I was called back I spoke with a really friendly blonde English lady who only asked the briefest of questions then told me I was approved... I stayed near Paddington station in a hotel just off Edgeware Road called The Orchard, which was fine, (and cheap), and was also within a 20 minute walk of the Embassy, (I timed it by doing a dummy run the day before so I could ensure I got there bang on 30 mins before my interview yesterday.)

I'm chuffed. All being well I can fly back "home" before the week is out assuming the package arrives promptly.

Thanks again to everyone on VJ who has been such a help. I remember when I first discovered the site and especially the guides, I was a little overwhelmed by everything that needed to be done - but this site has proven itself an absolute god-send as seven months after applying without using a lawyer or any other help we've been approved. Thank you to everyone and also a big congrats to all the other recent approvals!

Darren.

Thanks for the advice! Great, all packed and ready then... cursing myself for sleeping late today now as not tired and was hoping to have an early night tonight and be up bright and early tomorrow! Oh well, doubt I'll be sleeping much these next two nights anyway for fretting about whether I missed anything obscure but important in my visa paperwork bundle

I'm going to be computerless until Wednesday evening UK time as I'm flying from Leeds to London in the morning and making my way over to a hotel near Paddington, (hopefully within walking distance) of the US Embassy. (I'll no doubt do a timed dummy run tomorrow once I'm settled.) My interview is Tuesday morning at 9:00am and I'm all packed and ready...I think. I think I've taken the "no luggage or mobile phone" thing a bit too seriously and so booked in an extra night at the hotel so I could dump my stuff in my room - hence why I'm not flying back oooop north until Wednesday. I didn't read the reports of people handing their phones and stuff to the Embassy staff open entry until I'd already booked.... my bad, but at least it means I'm not staying in the cupboard at my mum's place an extra day, (already sold my house in preparation of the relocation and staying with my mum and step-dad the past month since I came back to the UK which has been somewhat less than pleasant, (due my my step-dad being a royal pain in the ###), but I'm grateful of the roof over my head.)

As I don't want to have to take a big suitcase with me on the London Underground and trudge across London with it I don't want to take a suit, so is shirt and tie OK for the interview? (I don't want to be the scruffy guy at my interview, but likewise don't want to have to travel wearing a suit and have to wear the same one the next day.) I've not seen anything regarding what people wear for their interview so any pointers would be appreciated.

Congratulations to all the recent approvals!

I've booked a flight from Leeds to London on Monday, in readiness for Tuesdays interview... getting really nervous now - I must have checked through my file at least five times today to check I'd not forgotten anything, and that everything is filled out correctly. I imagine I'll do the same tomorrow, and the day after....

Hopefully this time next week I'll already be on my way back to the USA.