Liam&Lizz

cell phones on the same account, gym membership contracts with both names, printout of emergency contact from a doctors office, added as a beneficiary for AD&D can usually be changed at any time. We ran into the same problem with SSN because our offices have been closed forever. We just had out interview today with what I would consider weak additional evidence. The IO was more interested in the when and wheres of our relationship since it was long distance for over five years. We had a pretty unfriendly IO too, but his status just changed a little bit ago to card being produced. We frontloaded the heck out of the  I129F and I485/I765. Good luck and think outside the box, cheers. 

If you're so inclined to check out our timeline Liam and I also had our case sent to the London Embassy right before the lockdown in March of 2020. It sat there, languishing at the embassy with no word from anywhere. I made lots of calls to the embassy and NVC and a scheduling line in Virginia for an appointment; all to no avail. As my review background on my timeline states I have a medical condition and got the expedite. However the CO did not approve us for the medical exception, she said we qualified under the National interest exception (we showed no additional proof for an NIE, the only information we had was a letter from my neurologist which did not impress the CO at all.) He got a 221g for the medical and police cert which was waaaaaay expired. After some rush orders and quick taxi bookings we got him sorted. The CO did say that IF he was approved he would only have 30 days to travel. He was approved on March 15th, booked a flight for April 6th and the rescheduled because the Easter holiday messed up the covid test results which we paid for not one but two overnight couriers and on April 9th I picked him up at ORD Chicago. I am happy to report we were married on May 21st, 2021 after almost exactly one year of the Covid shutdown. I look at him everyday and tell him I'm so happy he is home and how lucky we are. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or give any advice or recommendations about our journey thus far and the London Experience. My heart breaks for everyone who is still waiting for just a drop of information, chin up tho. Cheers

Hello all I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post on or if it should be in the K1 area but I'll start my inquiry here. My fiance made it to the US (finally ) on a K1 NIE on April 9th. I got him added to my credit card no problem, t omy bank account with a little issue (had to fill out some crazy form and wait an hour). I would like for him to get a SSN before we get married May 21st. I wanted to know:

 - if we are able to make an appointment with our local office do they retain any original documents or do they look/copy and return? 

 - If they approve the application (SS5 or some such) do we need to wait for it to be in hand to get married/ or is it a matter or once they approve it we can marry and just wait for it to come in the mail?

I guess I'm just a little confused on the timing as we have been flip flopping if we should get in now or when we file AOS.  Thanks for any advice!

did you mean 70 pages or 700? If it was literally 700 pieces of informtaion that might be a good indication of the reason for delay. 700 pages of documents is astounding and to be a little frank, overkill. The consulate officers are looking for consice information that is clearly spelled out for them. Imagine if everyone brought in 700 or even 500 pages of documents when the officers is looking for specific information. It would be an insurmountable task for them to undertake. Think of it like this, you have to spell out what they are looking for in easily digestable formats. If they are asking for a letter from the petitioner about how you met, make it into bullet points of the most important information that would generally fit on one page. If they want who paid for the tickets a reciept or screen shot of a credit card statement, paypal transaction, wester union transfer etc. Family tree documents can be bullet pointed in the same way as the petitioner letter. The point is you should resist the urge to show all of everything that you have available to prove your evidence. Most of it should be quite self explanatory. 

As for the other part of your post the Tax returns, stocks, bonds, financial information etc. and the affidavit of support I too sent 3 years worth of tax transcripts, bank statements for a year (the summary page), savings information, yadda yadda. The consulate officer didn't even look at them or take them or make copies. While the petitioner is required to have and be able to prove they make 125% above poverty level all of that information will generally be "proven" when you go to adjust the status. That's where it really counts. If the consulate officer looked over the financial information and didn't take any of it then they didn't want it. They are the ultimate arbiters of our fates (unfortunately). Perhaps they looked and were satisfied with what they saw. 

Lastly to address the overall "time to make a decision" part of your post.  My fiance and I went through the same thing at the London Embassy. The long wait. We could do nothing but check the CEAC daily (sometimes several times a day). Ours finally changed to Refused, then Ready. We were horror struck and downtrodden until a quick google search showed that this meant his visa was going to the IV unit and within a few days it changed to Adminstrative Processing then Issued. Our total wait from the last piece of 221g information being submitted to Issued in CEAC was about a week. Keep in mind though this was after a December interview where he had to get a new police certificate (that took about a month) and a new medical (another month), then some follow up paper work to the visa medical group before they would send his medical to the embassy. All said from the interview to issue that was about 2.5 months. YMMV.

A 221g is far from an outright denial. It means they are constantly looking at your case so they can wrap it up one way or the other. A search on this site will show you that often times the 221g is the means to an end for a very long and anxious wait and an Issue notice from the Embassy. I wish you the best of luck,  I can tell you in my case, it was so SO worth the sadness, uncertainty, tears and all the waiting. Cheers

Ah congrats to you! when my fiane got that goofy huge envelope he has been protecting it like a golden egg. He flies out this Friday April 9th to chicago, golden egg in hand! Cheers! also if you still have to take a covid test by the time you travel Do Not use Halo verify, they screwed us terribly and we had to pay for a second test.  be careful!

So I have been on this forum since the day we sent our i-129F petition out all the way back in October of 2019. As we smoothly moved through the USCIS and NVC everything was shut down in mid to late March. Our petition had already made it to the UK embassy by a hair. Then the wait. The loooooonnnnggg wait. I have been in the March 2019 NVC to Embassy group and there was so much activity surrounding Covid that it was painful to be on the forum - painful for our story and so heartbreaking to read everyone's story as well. We (Liam and I) made an agreement to only check the forums once or twice a week to limit the sad reality. Thankfully we both worked through the pandemic (we are both hospital workers) and we had much to fill up our days. Through an expedite interview he got his Visa on March 16th and will be hitting the ground stateside on April 6th. Wow, we couldn't be happier or more humbled. My question now is since there are so few people being granted K1's is there no forum posting for K1 to AOS? am I looking in the right spot? Can someone direct to the correct area please? We are already starting to gather information and paperwork and since we used this site to get us through the K1 with guides here is there one for AOS as well. Thank you for looking/answering, I'm happy to answer questions and hang in there everyone this too shall pass; it does get better. Cheers!

im not sure of what amenities are available where he lives (a quick google search for cvs, walgreens etc in Greece did'nt return anything). What we did was I had my UK fiance take that appropriate picture (white background, don't smile, no shadow, etc) send it to me via email. I reformatted the picture on the Walgreens.com picture section to (4) 2x2 tiles on a 6x4 photo paper gloss. I printed 3 copies (it cost me $1.80) then cut the trim off myself. I put them in a sandwich bag (in case the letter got rained on) and then mailed them snail mail. I included enough for his medical (they wanted 4 little pictures for some reason) and 2 that the embassy required.  This is a really diy kind of way to do it, but we had to get creative with covid being an issue and not wanting to pay $15.00 per "passport picture" that walgreens offered. If he needs them in hurry (it seems you are still in the gathering phase) try looking for a print shop online that will do a few prints formatted the same way (you send them the formatted pictures). A third option is if he has a printer at home order some photo paper off amazon or similar site and format the pictures using good old microsoft work in the table function. I hope this helps, we went through a lot of diy stuff for our application and evidence. Cheers!

greetings and salutations,

My fiance and I are also in an online relationsip and have been for 5.5 years. I jad travelled to see him first ten another 3 years went by (so that would have put us outside of the two year meeting requirement). He then came to visit me and we filed our I-129F on the day after he went home. In our evidence for the 129F I made sure to include twitter TOS (thats how we met) for IMBRA to show it was not a paid service or arrainged through a marriage broker, loads of pictures from my visit (even though those technically were not valid for establishing the two year meeting requirement (they were used to show longevity IMO), customs forms of sent gifts via the postal service, screen shots of whatsapp convos where i even redacted some pet names and such, skype log screens to show the duration of the calls and days (we skyped all the time), a letter from my sister, who is also a military veteran and now small business owner as to the validity of our relationship (she met him on both our trips),  a brief timeline of how we met. I used visastutor, im not shilling for them but it was so very helpful for the layout out of information. All the information I provided was secondary and on it's own won't amount to a hill of beans without meeting the two year meeting, both parties free to marry, and financially able to provide for him. Im happy report they accepted our petiton and while covid knocked us down for a year his is flying to the US on April 6th. Inbox me if you have more questions I would be happy to help anyway I can. Good Luck to you!!

Check with your airline to see if they will accept a certified copy of your passport for travel. If the embassy keeps your passport you can request a certified copy of it (literally a black and white photo copy of you passport with the embassy seal stamped, consulate officer initials and stamp that's says "certified copy"). They kept my fiances passport at the London embassy but he still needed to get his medical at knightsbridge and they required a passport. This is exactly what we did; the embassy even sent via email from the IVunit. It was acceptable for that but again check with the airline and explain the situation to them in detail. Good luck on this and your interview ; cheers! 

So here's the rundown:

 - Got a letter for my medical condition from Neurologist

 - Sent in email request to London Embassy on Dec 1st

 - Got email confrmation of appointment for Dec 8th

 - Went to interview (he's on his way back home as I type) got  a green letter

In the green letter there is   check marks for "updated medical" - we were anticipating this bc he had his medical was done in March right before the world shut down. "Updated Police Cert" that we also anticipated as it was well out of the 6 months. There was also a check mark on "other" National Interest Exception.

We will schedule out medical and all that what we are confused about is the National Interest Exception. Is there an application we need to fill in? I see one in Departent of state for work related visas but not anything about ours in particular.  If we don't meet the requirements for this exception did we mess up our whole process. It should be noted that they DID keep his passport.  I am not familiar with this at all and any information would be amazing.

there are pet transport services that take care of all that for you. They aren't too expensive but it will cost to have your furry friends brought over. I googled "pet flight service" and similar services. Be sure to have a regular check up with your vet and get the necessary vaccines (for dogs I know they require several titre tests before hand and a dewormer within 48 hours). they will probably also need a "pet passport"; sounds funny I know but many countries require it. I know that going from US to UK the passport required a certificate from the department of agriculture to obtain it. Start with your vet and the pet transport services they can tell you exactly what it will entail paperwork wise and give you a ballpark idea of the cost. The penalty for failing to fulfill these steps could mean a 6 month quarantine in a state run facility.

Good Luck and Cheers!

they did extend london medicals by a month. I should have clarified further, the testing would dtermined between two surgeries. Thank you all for your replies too this is really helpful!

I have the medical issue in the US, Sponsor. just to clarify

Hello all, 

I am debating on requesting (or having the beneficiary request) an expedited interview for k-1 visa due to a medical issue of mine (the sponsor). I don't know how many people here have successfully been granted one during regular times let alone pandemic times, but any advice or insight would be really helpful in our decision making process.

 - Here's the rundown on the K-1 side: as of March 31, 2020 our CEAC has been ready, we have the DS-160, police check and medical done (march 6th). He has all paperwork except my most recent paychecks and bank statements (we were waiting so they would be current). We have had 3 interviews scheduled and then cancelled  by the London Embassy (yes we understand why). Prior to the world shutting down we were anticipating his arrival around mid to late April.  We are fully ready to interview.

 - Here's the run down on my medical: I have a neurological condition that is making me lose sight. So far I have been a year into my diagnosis and medication regimen but require further testing; possibly surgery. Both the testing and the brain surgery require that I have someone at home to help me recover as I won't really be able to do regular household chores, care a great deal for myself etc. I have postponed all my testing until further notice, I don't have any family or friends remotely near me. My neurologist is getting pissed and has rallied the support of my GP to push me for the testing. I am continuing to lose my sight and without intervention can and will most likely suffer permanent vision loss or total vision loss. Right now I am still able to work and function mostly normally, vision is not the best tho. My neuro has not scheduled any surgery at this time, mostly because I haven't got the tests done. 

I'm not reaching out for sympathy or anything I am looking for answers to the following question:

      1) does this potentially qualify for an expedited interview?

      2) I will need documentation of my diagnosis and what else? letters from GP and Neuro? 

      3) If we request an expedited interview and are denied I assume it will not hurt our visa approval down the line when regular appointments open up, please correct if I'm wrong or if any one has experiences with expedited request denials.

      4) If we end up requesting a interview based on this information it will go to the immigration visa unit in London, correct?

      5)  Will I (sponsor) or he (beneficiary) have to request the interview?

As I stated any information would be helpful. Thanks in advance everyone, hang in there!!!

Cheers!

belarus is not restricted to either country i believe. she wouldn't have to quarantine when she returns as it is not part of the Schengen zone. 

our july 9th interview for k1 was just cancelled as of an hour ago. no new appointments  in london. beyond sad.

I just want to say I'm super proud of everyone in the thread for the information gathering, sharing and updates. I have sent my letters and we are hoping for the best. Dark times across the globe for many different aspects of life but helping each other and ourselves gives a glimmer of hope for being reunited as soon as we can.  Cheers all!

someone mentioned offline help and i didn't really see a reply.   OP take yourself and your child to an emergency room (hospital).  When they are triaging you one of the first questions they will ask is "do you feel safe at home?".  This is where you can get the ball rolling with the police as well as social services. Most hospitals have a social worker available 24 hours but if not they can have you wait there until their office opens. Keep in mind that like most social services processes is only as good as you put into it, Honesty is the best policy. Be prepared for a fight but at least this time you will have advocates for you and your child. It's scary feeling alone and doubly so in a foreign country so to speak; realize that you have strangers rooting for you.  Cheers and GL

On 5/20/2020 at 10:17 AM, RPete said:

Hey, is this the first time they've opened up the schedule since they shut down? I know some embassies have done that and then kept cancelling, but I haven't seen anything in London as such.

We got a June 8th appointment in May - Cancelled.  Rescheduled for August 5th, then for the 3rd - Cancelled.  Rescheduled for July 20th - Cancelled. On the same session of the July 20 cancel we saw July 9th open up. We took it. There were only two other dates at the time in July. This was two days ago. Today there are multiple dates in July and August. This has been an absolute rollercoaster that we simply can't get off yet. We keep each other going by reminding each other of the pay off - living a quite life together in the country. It will happen, on whose timeline though we must roll with the punches.  So to answer your question, No this is not the first time they have opened (and closed) dates. Strap in!  Cheers and GL

3 hours ago, Ronni Jo said:

Oh okay. Thanks. I know when this is over, my job position will be back but hopefully this isn't a long time issue. 

I spoke with my employer about my specific K1 issue and they offered to give me a letter stating that my job is secured when and if I get furloughed (hasnt happened as of yet but who knows). It may be worth it for you to try and get a letter in the event the interview comes up before you go back to work. IMHO it might show the CO that you are still employed and are concerned, obviously, enough to put forth the effort. just my two cents.  Cheers and good luck!

1 hour ago, 0NI said:

I wonder how this will affect K1 filers.

My Fiance and I are in the same boat, we managed to get an interview at the London consulate for June 8th, 2020. I have been scouring the posts on this forum and see that the K-1 is a temporary visa that grants the beneficiary the golden ticket into the US in order to marry. Beyond that the K-1 visa provides no other provisions. Period. It is when you move to adjust the status to a green card holder that this current ban would potentially affect the process. So lets do a little math with my scenario and you can take from it what you will.

today is April 21st, 2020 + 60 days would be June 17th. 

Fiance consulate interview is June 8th + 7 days for the courier to deliver is June 15th, 2020. (visa in hand)

Provided that airlines will be operating at some kind of capacity we would have 6 months to use up the "golden ticket" which at the far end would be December 15th, 2020. 

Now I don't want to wait til December so lets say for this scenario we book a flight for one month from the time of visa issuance - July 15th. Once he arrives in the USA we have 3 months (90 days) to get married which would put us at October 15th at the latest. 

Then and only then would this ban come into effect in regards to our K-1 visa. When we would have to adjust his status to green card holder. God willing and this may sound selfish in the current circumstanes of the world but time is still on our side for our happy ending. 

Stay safe out there, keep your chin up and remember what the Queen said "Happier days will soon return".

My Fiance booked his interview at the London Embassy about a week ago. for June 8th. We didn't have a letter from the Embassy we went ahead and booked. 

2 hours ago, Ryceryce said:

When is yours in June? Is the entire month of June open when you last checked?

It was just a few days for June from what we could see on the London Embassy scheduling site. There were only 3 time slots open for June 8th (the date we snagged). I can't speak for any other Embassies but I wanted to share with others that it maybe worth taking a look at your own if you aren't already stalking the scheduling website like we were. My Fiance and I were ready to complete all steps in March and have been waylaid like everyone else.  This easily has been one of the hardest pills swallow when it came to this process; through no fault of anyone anywhere our life was sent into a free fall. To be able to grab onto the little bits of hope or information has kept us going, just know that while everything seems to be at a complete standstill there is still progress being made in the world. Sorry if I get a bit preachy in these posts, my fiance and I both work in healthcare in different countries and it has brought into perspective hope and looking forward to the better days returning.  So good luck and keep your chin up. 

15 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

Some embassies are opening their schedules for June and July. If you are ready to schedule an interview you best be on the website paying your fee and scheduling your appointment. This is after all first come first served. 

we had everything ready to go by the end of February (employer letter, police cert, medical completed, DS-160, I-134, bank statements, photos, etc). Everything. We would check to see on the AIS website not really expecting much but yesterday it changed so we paid our fee, the courier and scheduled for the first opportunity in June. We took what we could get and are just happy to have a date to look forward to again.