os306

Arrived in the US on the 5th of Feb. Happy to report that my physical green card arrived in the mail yesterday! Was expecting a much longer wait. I already had a SSN from when I was living in the US on a visa previously, so don’t need to wait for that. 

22 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Happy that you’ve arrived and all went well. Are you up for Minnesota weather? Can’t even imagine.

23 hours ago, Stuwoolf said:

Hey, this is great news. So pleased you have arrived.😊

 

Hope you get settled in and normality appears very soon. How is the weather? Boca Raton is 78 and sunny.....oh how I luv the sunshine.

Thanks. And yes...it's rather cold here...!

We filed my I-130 petition via DCF London on 16th March 2020, interviewed at the US Embassy on 21st October 2020 and approved visa that day Received a large white "Do not open" envelope a week later.

I arrived at JFK last Friday with my envelope. Fortunately, there was barely anyone at Passport Control, and I was summoned to the desk within a couple of minutes. The Immigration Officer ripped open the top of the envelope and took out a stack of papers (I spotted my birth certificate at the top). I joking said that I had a mini-heart attack on the flight when I noticed a slight tear in the envelope and the Officer joked back "oh that's okay, if it had ripped any further we should have just arrested you". Was slightly taken aback by that comment but appreciated the sense of humor!

After a couple of minutes, I was handed back my passport and asked to confirm the address that I wanted my green card sent to. I wasn't asked to provide any fingerprints.

Wanted to thank everyone on this forum who helped out. Special shout out to @Wuozopo, @Stuwoolf and @Robyn-n-Kris

2 hours ago, Stuwoolf said:

Today I received my Green Card. It went to my Mother in Laws address and she brought it round today

 

😊😊😊

 

All in all, from arrival on Nov 4th it has taken 10 weeks to receive.

 

A big Thank You to OS306 for reminding me, a day or 2 after I arrived, to make the payment😂

 

Good luck everyone🙂

Fantastic news Stu, your Visajourney has well and truly come to an end! Glad I could be of some help with the reminder  I will be headed across the pond in a few weeks, so it's reassuring to hear that your physical green card didn't take too long to arrive.

All the best!

On 1/7/2021 at 9:50 PM, Orcrist said:

Did anyone here use tax returns instead of transcripts? Where they accepted?

 

I'm filing under the streamlined procedure and it will be quicker to use tax returns rather than wait who knows how long for IRS transcripts.

 

Plus I'm wondering what I'm supposed to put for current income on the I864... I won't have an income by the time I move back to the states. 

You can also have the IRS 'efax' your transcripts to you pretty much instantly over the phone.

On 10/8/2020 at 1:20 PM, Mpere said:

Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately 5weeks after my interview, my visa status is still at “ refused”. I have no idea what to do to be honest. Maybe will just ask for them to send my passport back next week, so I can fly to South Korea to stay with my parents while the processing is ongoing. 

Out of interest, has there been any progress on this front?

11 hours ago, Stuwoolf said:

THE FINAL ACT.

 

Today I arrived at Miami airport and submitted my Immigration Packet to the Immigration Officer at Passport Control.

 

The Passport Control line at Miami airport was huge! However it didnt take too long.

 

I got to the Passport Control desk and submitted my passport, open at my visa page, along with the Immigration Packet sent to me by the London Embassy....unopened, of course!

 

The officer took my pic and asked my wife and I to wait for a second officer to take me to the next stage. The second officer arrived and asked us to follow him in to a side room. There were about 10 others in the room and most of whom were receiving what appeared to be some sort of interview. The second officer retained my Packet and passport.

 

About 40 minutes later I was called up to a booth in that sideroom and the officer manning the booth asked what address did I want my Green Card sent to. I gave a different address to that which was on the Packet. This was not a problem. The officer updated his IT Record with my revised delivery address.The officer explained my Visa would act as a Green Card for up to 12 months or until my GC arrived, usually within 6 months.

 

That was it! The officer handed back my passport and my wife and I left the sideroom to go collect our luggage. The officer even gave us helpful directions on where to go. Everyone was very pleasant.

 

So there you have it. My Visa Journey began on March 05 2020 and was brought to conclusion today, November 04 2020 at Miami Airport.

 

Once again, a sincere thank you to all who have helped and encouraged me. It was all worthwhile.

Fantastic news. Very pleased for you. Congratulations!

53 minutes ago, AlanD26 said:

Hi everyone, havent been here in a while as life has been busy with our 6 month old. 

 

Just compiling all my paperwork at the moment (I have a drink driving conviction from 11 years ago so thats proving to be a little stressful).

 

Quick question, it says we need birth certificates from everyone, including my spouse. Is that the case? Shes the American so not sure why they would need her birth certificate. ITs currently back at her parents house in the US so would need to get it sent over.

 

Also, just seen your post StuWoolf, such amazing news! Congrats!

No, fortunately, you don't need your US citizen spouse's birth certificate. They already have her proof of citizenship from the I-130 petition.

2 hours ago, corntop said:

I received an automated email from the Embassy about half hour ago saying they have released documents to the courier, with a link to DX tracking. Apparently they will try and deliver it tomorrow! (I'm getting it sent to my work).

Ditto, I was approved on Wednesday and received an automated e-mail from the Embassy earlier today confirming the release of documents to the courier.

4 minutes ago, chriskrichardson said:

Hi there! I have my embassy interview next week.

 

I am concerned about my financial sponsor's (US spouse's) documents.

 

We uploaded federal income tax returns for the last three years.

 

For the most recent tax year, this included W-2s and 1099s.

 

For the previous two years, we included the tax return but not the W-2s and 1099s.

 

I am concerned that we will be asked for these, as we don't have them to hand. 

 

At this point, should we:
1) source them and upload them to CEAC
2) source them and wait to present them at interview
3) not be concerned, as we have them for the most recent tax year

 

I should also add that we have a joint sponsor (my US father-in-law), with a complete set of federal income tax transcripts (not tax returns), as my financial sponsor (US spouse) was below the income requirement.

 

Many thanks!

So I had my interview earlier today and was in a similar position to you (My US citizen spouse didn’t meet the income requirement so we used a joint sponsor).

All they wanted was the most recent year’s tax transcripts for both my spouse and the joint sponsor. I had 2017 and 2018 available too and even offered to provide them to the officer but he said they weren’t needed. In your case, your spouse’s 2019 tax return (plus W-2 and 1099s) should be fine. It’s your joint sponsor’s income they’re concerned about anyhow, and the 2019 tax transcript will suffice.

Good luck!

14 minutes ago, Robyn-n-Kris said:

Yay! Congrats. 
 

side note, hubby’s visa came by courier today.

Congrats! 

15 minutes ago, Stuwoolf said:

Excellent news. Congratulations😊

 

Its been a (Visa) journey and at last you are at the destination.

 

Good luck🙂

Thank you! Hopefully you’ll hear some good news too.

I’ve posted my review here: https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=28700

One thing I forgot to mention was that I was not asked to provide any proof that my wife was going to be re-establishing domicile, nor was I asked anything about health insurance. 

Had my interview earlier today and was approved. The whole process took about 30 minutes and, in line with what others have said, was painless. I’ll post a review up shortly.

Many thanks to the people on this forum who assisted with my questions and queries. Good luck to those of you still waiting!

1 minute ago, RadChan said:

So, update on the visa medicals photo situ - after going to snappy snaps and paying (eeeeek!) 20 quid for 8 photos (advice of my lawyer to get 8 not 6, cause I will need probably more when I get there!), I called to book my medical appointment and they told me "oh, your application has all gone online so you don't need to buy any photos!" What the..... so, a waste of a tenner getting those 4 extra photos. 

 

SO..... anyone else in the same situation, call and book your medical before getting the photos! Because you might not need to take any, I wish they had informed of the possibility of this happening on their website (although their website also says you can book by email, not true!) Incidentally, the receptionist at the medicals place was pretty rude and unfriendly. Surprised that everyone else has found them to be lovely! Maybe she was having an off day.

20 quid for 8 photos 😳 It’s a travesty that Snappy Snaps gets away with charging such extortionate prices.

From my understanding, anyone applying via DCF still needs to bring in printed photos to the medical (although these can be U.K. sized, which are cheaper). Nonetheless you still need to bring in 2 US sized passport photos to the actual Embassy interview.

17 hours ago, Bcoulter said:

Hi All, 

 

We are gathering our documents together for the interview and just wanted to make sure we have everything  

-Interview appt email letter and courier confirmation info/email

-DS 260 confirmation page

-beneficiary birth certificate

-beneficiary passport

-marriage certificate

-I-864, Tax return/Transcript & W-2s (we have 2 giant packets of a previous I-864 from May with all my direct deposit pay stubs from my previous job, as well as an updated I-864 with direct deposits from my new job/job contracts, and my 2019 W-2s, tax return, and tax transcript)

-ACRO police certificate

-2 passport style photos 

 

Is there anything else we are missing? I can't seem to find the DS-5540, I know that recently they just ruled that you did not need to have that for the interview, but we want to have it just to be safe. Does anybody know where to find this as we can't seem to find it on the travel.state.gov website. Please let me know if there is anything we seem to be missing or you think we should bring? 

 

Thank you  

The reason you cant find the DS-5540 is because the form itself is not required for immigrant visa interviews following multiple court injunctions (see here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/update-on-public-charge.html). Therefore, I wouldn't worry about it. Based on people who have been interviewing at the London Embassy recently, this form is not being asked for.

On 10/6/2020 at 2:54 PM, RadChan said:

Hmm I would be surprised if anyone in this forum had changed to the UK route (or at least if they were still active on here after doing that!). If you can get it in 10 days, that is amazing! Is there a similar site to VisaJourney dealing with UK visas instead of US ones? If so, you might have some more luck there or be able to get an idea of how common it is. 

We used the UK Yankee forums (https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=17.0). They were an invaluable source of help.

I agree with @Morgan5698 in that the UK process was more stringent (and excessive in my opinion) in terms of documents required. This added to stress, more than anything. On the flip side, we paid for priority processing and everything went through very quickly.

30 minutes ago, MikeMinusWife said:

Thanks, I get the 6 month limit timeline it’s really a question of when that 12 month timeline for arranging the interview begins.

Ah, got it. I'm not sure if you filed via DCF as you haven't filled out a timeline, but if you take a look here https://uk.usembassy.gov/information-for-nonimmigrant-visa-applicants-following-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/ it says "Applicants are typically given 12 months in which to apply for the visa, starting from the date on which the Embassy’s Immigrant Visa Unit writes to them with instructions about the status of their case."

20 hours ago, MikeMinusWife said:

Thanks - from what date does the clock start running ?

The clock starts ticking from the date of the medical interview as the embassy sets your visa to expire 6 months from the date of your medical.

On 9/23/2020 at 8:52 AM, Mpere said:

Thank you @Wuozopo 

Being apart from my husband for almost 3 months now, and being in a foreign country alone without any family Support plus the whole COVID situation just makes it harder. Hopefully the 2 weeks timeline mentioned by the CO during the interview is somewhat true, I’m slowly losing my mind while waiting for the visa  

This sounds like a very unfortunate situation to be in. I'm very sorry to hear this and I sincerely hope you are able to find a resolution.

8 minutes ago, The4Sands said:

@Cauldron it might be worth checking in the UK forum on the CR1/IR1 thread if you haven't already.  All of those people have their USC in the States already.

The DOS came out with a policy a few years ago stating that a 'wet' signature was no longer required for the I-864. Although technically this refers to people submitting their documents to the NVC, I don't see why it wouldn't apply to DCF filers. Prior to this policy being introduced, it sounds like it was pretty consulate specific with some consulates requiring an ink signature whilst others (e.g. London) were far more relaxed.

23 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

To claim the foreign income exclusion, you must be living in the UK, which you currently are. Once you POE, your residence is the US and any UK income earned after the move to the US can not be excluded on Form 2555. Any part of the year while living in the UK is excludable still. The maximum amount that can be excluded is figured as a percentage equal to the percent of the year you resided in the UK. Example—If you move exactly halfway through the year, your UK residence is 50%. The most you can exclude is 50% x $105,900= $52,950. Form 2555 has a calculation by days to come up with your percentage.

Thanks @Wuozopo. If the OP's plan is to return to the UK immediately after POE and continue working (and earning money) in his/her UK job for a few months, then can they claim that they were residing in the UK while this income was earned (and hence exclude from taxation whatever percentage of $105,900 the calculation adds up to based on days resided in the UK)? Or does the fact that the OP will have an I-551 stamp mean that they are considered a US resident even if they return to the UK immediately after entering?

On 9/27/2020 at 4:50 PM, Bug&Bug said:

Right so I now have a CR1 and I need to figure out the next steps and im overwhelmed. Sorry for the long text.

 

1. USA income taxes

So the current plan is to enter the US in the next 6 months to get the green card but come back and continue at my UK job for few months until ive sorted myself out. 

 

Reading the IRS guide for aliens it looks clear that I would be a resident alien for tax purposes the moment i go through the POE. And any time before that I would be a NRA unless I chose to be treated as a RA.

 

Did I get this right?

So even if I worked for several months in the UK for a UK company, my income after POE would be taxable in the USA.

 

2. HMRC taxes

Right so for several months I would be living in the UK, making UK income and being a UK resident for all purposes while holding a green card.

So its fair to assume HMRC will tax that my income. Is there a treaty between the UK and US so I dont pay taxes twice on the same income and how do I even go about it?

 

3. Accounts

I own a EU bank account, UK bank accounts, a UK cash ISA and S&S ISA. None of them make any substancial income ( maybe a £100  per year). Can I keep them in the UK or what happens to them if I move to the US?  I also have a pension but i guess that will have its own conditions.

 

 

4. NI

What happens with the NI that ive payed in the UK and europe? Is there a treaty with the US so that my years paying taxes are not lost?

 

Thank you SO MUCH with any help you can provide, as you can see I am clueless.

It was my understanding that once you become a resident alien for tax purposes you would be required to declare the income from your UK job to the IRS, but you would be able to exclude up to the equivalent of $105,900 from taxation (known as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion). My wife (USC) and I currently live in the UK, but I have a SSN from when I previously lived in the US. Last year we filed as "married filing jointly" which entails treating me as a resident alien for tax purposes. Therefore, I'm required to declare my UK income to the IRS, but none of this is taxed due to the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

17 minutes ago, The4Sands said:

So, did people put N/A and 0 in all the blanks you didn't use on the I-864? Because I'm doing it electronically and it doesn't allow me to put N/A in a lot of the boxes.  Do I need to handwrite it in after I've printed it?

 

And just for the record, I did not wait until 2 days before the interview to start doing this.  We are using Boundless and they have still not sent us any docs, despite us sending them all our supporting docs and info weeks ago.  There's a chance they will send it all to me tonight, but I'm obviously not just going to sit on my hands and hope for the best.  Sigh.  This is why people do it themselves, I know, I know.

Yup, we printed out the form and hand-wrote N/A for the blanks. There were a couple of fields where the electronic form wouldn't fit what we wanted to write, so we hand-wrote those too.

Good luck for the interview!

4 hours ago, Stuwoolf said:

1.5 hours for the medical!? Yikes. In the old days, Military medicals take about 20 minutes flat.  Including, Cough! Next! 😂

Most of that is idle waiting around I'm afraid. The actual history, physical examination and blood taking part takes a few minutes. To be fair, I spent about 20 minutes chatting with the examining physician about his career pathway, the NHS, and common hospitals we may have worked at!

18 hours ago, Robyn-n-Kris said:

Nice. Hubby has his next Wednesday.  I'm going with though ill have to wait outside. 4 hour trip to get down there lol

Luckily there's plenty to do nearby. He'll be in there for about 1.5 hours.

59 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Are you sure? I’ve been around more than a decade and bloodwork tends to take 3 days to get back from the lab. Once they got that back, they used to send the report by courier over to the embassy and it got delivered same day. Some people have done same day medical and interview, but their results wouldn’t be available at the interview. I think the embassy prefers to wrap it all up at one go as the efficient way, but they still make exceptions for those that have to travel long distances...Northern Ireland for example. It just slows the work flow when not complete and they have to backtrack to previous interview dates to pick up the stragglers.

Hmm...I was sure that I had read a post from someone on the britishexpats forum who described having everything done and approved on the same day back when he went through the process after his first marriage yonks ago. However, I probably misread or misinterpreted what they were saying, and in reality, while they may have had both appointments done on the same day, their actual approval may have come a few days later once the medical report was sent across, as you say.

1 hour ago, Robyn-n-Kris said:

Nice. Hubby has his next Wednesday.  I'm going with though ill have to wait outside. 4 hour trip to get down there lol

It amazes me that previously (years ago) you used to be able to do your medical in the morning and Embassy interview in the afternoon, and your medical report would already be available to the CO. This doesn't apply to me, but for people living far away from London, two trips into the city is annoying.