Andrew@Michelle

Hello everyone,

I’m understandably confused. A couple of days ago there was a notice on this site wishing a K1 couple good luck for the interview in London. I thought interviews were not possible right now. Are we able to have interviews or not? Was this an error on their behalf?

Your thoughts are most welcome.

Andrew and Michelle 

9 hours ago, Jeni82 said:

Yeah  I emailed the London embassy after that update and got the below generic response.  
 

Thanks for your reply. Very helpful. They’re not taking it that seriously though are they? This administration are using Covid to advance their anti immigration agenda. I can’t help but see it this way.

Hello Everyone,

London interviews for K1 visas. Are they happening at the moment or not? I am so confused. I noticed that someone on here had a K1 interview in August and was granted their visa. I saw a video from a immigration lawyer in San Diego saying that Embassies will soon start these interviews. Then I hear tales of woe. What do you all know? Is it more sorrow or is it go man go?

Thanks

Andrew

7 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

I think anyone getting an interview at this point is good news though because the sooner they get through phase 1 and the backlog, hopefully the sooner they can start another phase which could potentially include the K1s

Very true. Even though my NOA2 isn’t due for two months, I’m watching this carefully because the back log will make a difference to us. I hope you’re keeping well. 

11 minutes ago, Morgan5698 said:

I managed to book an interview last week for Mon 24th August. At the time of booking there were slots for Mon, Tue and Thur throughout August. Albeit only a few slots. I'm DCF though. 

You should be ok with those. It’s the K1’s that are the issue at the moment.

On 7/25/2020 at 12:29 AM, patis said:

Is that the solution? The airport told her the US was not accepting any visas from tunisia. There is too much misinformation out there. I don't understand it

You both should have researched it thoroughly. Don’t leave anything to chance. Cross reference everything. Especially at the moment. I don’t know how some people get through life.

35 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

Is anyone else having accessing the UK US Embassy website? I am getting either a 404 error or a prompt to log into a google account with an america.gov email address.

Hopefully it’s because they are updating it to tell us all that they’re starting K1 interviews.

26 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

Is anyone else having accessing the UK US Embassy website? I am getting either a 404 error or a prompt to log into a google account with an america.gov email address.

Same here.

15 minutes ago, shallot343 said:

I am honestly starting to feel like like this with all of these updates

 

But if the US is as obsessed with maintaining bilateral relations with the UK (and EU, but less so) as they seem to be, they cannot keep the travel ban in place too much longer. What that means for the embassy is anyone's guess.

 

At the moment I’m thinking I will probably die on British soil. That’s how optimistic I am.

1 hour ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

Since I am from the states, the only in person appointment I would need to have would be the biometric at USCIS, and from what I have seen on the UK visa subreddit they are taking appointments starting mid July. I am leaving here in September so hoping things may be back to somewhat closer to normal by then for when I would need to make an appointment. 
 

And yes, I feel you about feeling penalized for following the rules but I feel like we just need to remember even though it’s all doom and gloom now, this will come to a resolution at some point and when it does we will be happy we did it the right way. 
 

My fiancé is the Brit, I am from New Jersey and I certainly would not mind moving here! We are located in Brighton 😊

Brighton is a great place to be. I used to have family in Kearny which is probably about 5 miles from Hoboken. I have been a few times. We are near Miami and Bristol. Michelle loves all the history and the buildings here. I am the Brit as you can tell from my spelling.

36 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

It’s beyond frustrating 😕 even if they were to tell us they will open in a year, yeah it’s a long time, but at least there would be an end date instead of indefinite uncertainty. 
 

We are going to wait out the US K1 but also apply for a UK Fiancee for me, so we won’t be effectively voiding the US one if that happens to come through and then we will just settle In whichever country issues the visa first. At least this way, we can be together and then if we decide we want to move we can still be together while the other files for a spouse visa for the other country. 

I have thought about that too. The U.K. route requires 6 months of payslips but is probably faster than the K1 at this point in time. Do check that the U.K. immigration office is open and staffed because the last time I looked it wasn’t. I should be now though. 
 

I have to say that I feel somewhat penalised for going about this process in the right way and within the law. 
 

Personally I don’t mind if we stay in the U.K and I know that Michelle prefers it here rather than Florida. That’s probably because we are in the Bath and Bristol area. She would think differently if we were in Luton or Stoke On Trent.

I can’t help but feel victimised by President Trump’s policies. While he may have done a great job economically, I feel that the likes of our community here are being used as pawns in the game of chess that is the election. By keeping us out his loyal public will think he has saved American lives. Right now though if 100 planes full of Brits came over we would statistically be lowering the infection rate if 100 planes full of Americans left. Therefore it’s all completely flawed. I think Biden will be good news for our community because he will be pro immigration but the institutional investors on NASDAQ won’t like it.

17 hours ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

K1 interview for August 7th cancelled. No dates available to reschedule as of now. 

Sorry to hear this Sarah. This is the reason I contacted the appointment call centre to get some clarification on this and a lady there told me there are no K1 interviews, (or others for that matter) at this point in time. As you pointed out, we are quite a long way behind you in the process but it will still have a big impact on us causing delays with the huge backlog that has built up, awaiting their interviews. The situation is ridiculous.

We have been considering other alternatives but decided to stay on this path. I don’t think that marrying on an ESTA then applying for AOS when you have had or have a K1 is a good idea. A good idea though if you never had a K1 in the first place.

51 minutes ago, Feri said:

I am in the process of attempting the opposite route. I want to go live with my fiance in germany; is it possible for me to quarantine in Ireland or Britian for 14 days and then enter Germany? 

 

OR am I considered "family" enough? 

 

"persons immigrating into Germany for the purpose of joining their families and visits for urgent family reasons"

You are definitely welcome in the U.K. I know that for a fact because my fiancé is here now. Check with the German Embassy as to the latter. Failing that then you could meet your German fiancé in London or Dublin. If you both have jobs that you can perform remotely then perhaps you could set up home in the U.K. for up to six months. I wish I could help you more.

5 hours ago, databit said:

Think twice about Mexico: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-01/half-of-all-covid-tests-are-positive-in-mexico-highest-in-world?utm_source=facebook&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&cmpid=socialflow-facebook-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&fbclid=IwAR3SSn68_uxnJGHRSMkVciYD3CcsUkJSgmBtDbygjcH4g7monY3FcCMU3-M

Definitely. I was thinking of The Bahamas.

18 minutes ago, payxibka said:

You are not the first to have this idea

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t offering advice. I was asking if anyone had actually done this using their ESTA.

22 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Some have done this........Mexico seems to be a popular stopover. 

Using an ESTA? Or K1?

7 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

Mexico...or fly to Belgrade have a 14days holiday then fly directly to new york

Do you know if this has happened for anyone using the ESTA?

11 minutes ago, payxibka said:

You are not the first to have this idea

Has anyone done this with their ESTA though?

We all know that non US citizens can’t fly directly from the U.K. to the US. 
 

Has anyone travelled to a non travel banned country to remain for at least 14 days before entering the US from the said country?

I can’t see anything in the proclamation that prevents this. The proclamation says nothing about U.K. citizens being barred. It simply says anyone who has been present in the U.K. 14 days prior to entry.

21 minutes ago, shallot343 said:

Theoretically,  if you enter the US from a VWP country on an ESTA and marry a US citizen, you can file the Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, which is basically the same as the CR1 paperwork I believe, and change your status from a visitor to an LPR. I say theoretically because entering the US on a tourist visa with the intention of changing to an immigrant status is fraudulent, but because spouses of USCs are usually forgiven for overstays etc, people have gotten away with it. There is always a chance that the application will be deemed fraudulent due to immigrant intent and the applicant given a deportation order. Also while waiting of the AOS to go through the beneficiary cannot work or leave the US. 

I had heard about this off the record from a professional source. I think we must all take the approach that we are playing a game now. It’s a bit like chess. There are different approaches and different tactics but there is also timing of execution. To be honest, it’s a right head .

10 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

The person above me beat me the the punch, but yes exactly what they said! Like it could work, but if it didn't it would backfire BIG TIME. In my opinion, it is not worth risking it with even a slight chance of deportation.

Sarah, thanks for your thoughts. This really is a wonderful community but there is no way I would risk that under the current administration. He doesn’t even like people doing it legally. I’m not anti Republican at all. I’m just opposed to any politicians making our lives difficult which is definitely the case here. We want to be welcome in both the USA and the U.K. We definitely don’t want to burn any bridges.

8 minutes ago, shallot343 said:

Theoretically,  if you enter the US from a VWP country on an ESTA and marry a US citizen, you can file the Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, which is basically the same as the CR1 paperwork I believe, and change your status from a visitor to an LPR. I say theoretically because entering the US on a tourist visa with the intention of changing to an immigrant status is fraudulent, but because spouses of USCs are usually forgiven for overstays etc, people have gotten away with it. There is always a chance that the application will be deemed fraudulent due to immigrant intent and the applicant given a deportation order. Also while waiting of the AOS to go through the beneficiary cannot work or leave the US. 

Probably not worth the risk under the current administration. Immigration isn’t big on their agenda. If Biden wins the election then that will bode well for immigration. 

15 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

I understand that people do it all the time successfully, but given we have a K1 visa in process and would be entering with the intention of AOS on ESTA, I am pretty sure that is fraudulent.

What’s AOS on ESTA?

16 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

How far along are you in the process? From your timeline it looks like you have only received NOA1, so at this point, you may not lose THAT much time by starting over for the CR1.

 

If you were at the point where you were just waiting for the interview, I think abandoning may be a mistake, but if you are only just at the beginning of the process it may not be a bad idea since USCIS is still operating and approving petitions, it is really only the embassy stage holding things up and by the time you get there things may be back to normal/even if they are not the CR1 is considered mission critical so there may be a higher chance of getting an interview.

Hi Sarah,

our timeline is accurate. We are about six weeks in. I understand what you’re saying. Yes, it wouldn’t be quite the sacrifice as it would be if we were at the point you’re at. 
 

What a dilemma. 
 

Regards

Andrew