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. 

So happy you finally made it over! We are settling in fairly well. I've started back with  my old employer and hubby is looking for work.  

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
 
 

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
 
 

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
 
 

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
 
 

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!

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. Very pleased for you. Congratulations!
 
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.

Fantastic news. Very pleased for you. Congratulations!
 
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.

There is a provision that anything you collect in a foreign state pension will reduce your monthly Social Security check. You can’t double dip old age government pensions from two countries. Private pensions are different.
 
So you will have to determine if what you pay over the next 20 years will be worth it since you could probably collect the same amount of money via Social Security. 
 
Another consideration is NI state pension pays everybody the same...whether a high wage earner or a minimaI wage earner.  Whereas Social Security will pay you a much bigger monthly check if you move up and earn a big salary. So if you think you might have a pretty sweet US income whenever you retire, your monthly check might well exceed anything you get from State pension. So maybe not worth paying more to collect something that will reduce your SS check.i hope that makes sense.  It’s really hard to predict. But as an example...I came to the US already eligible for a full UK state pension.  I work a little in the US and will be eligible for SS but not much because of having a low yearly income and only for 10 years. My state pension will benefit me and be higher that a SS check.  But a young guy with many years to work under Social Security contributions and a chance to build a sweet career and increasing salary, stands to do better by going with SS and forgetting UK.  If you are somewhere in the middle, then ???  
 
Lots to guess on since you don’t know what the rules will be when you retire. Best advice is build a 401k.

Regarding hotels.......on Sunday Oct 25, we stayed at Travelodge Vauxhall as it is 10 mins walk to Embassy.
 
The Travelodge is located adjacent to a bus terminus. Its not possible to stop you car and unpack any bags. Thankfully St George Warf car park (£38 for 20 or so hours) is about 5 mins walk away, in the same direction of Embassy. 
 
IMO close proximity to the Embassy was the hotels only good point.
 
The room was fine except for issues with bathroom, ie no soap for shower, loose toilet seat and light out above mirror. In addition, next day I noticed there was a plastic bag covering the celing mounted smoke detector in the main room area. Rather odd, not to mention unsafe.
 
Quite honestly I was annoyed and embarrassed I had subjected my wife to this place. Had I known of an alternative hotel available we would not have stayed. With this pandemic I will  definately not us a bus or, unless there is zero option, a taxi.
 
As we scrambled across a busy road to get to the Travelodge, just before we passed thru the bus terminus, a rat scurried past us (about 8 feet away)......that did not make for a happy hotel guest that night. Thankfully my wife didnt see it. When I told her, after checking out, to my surprise, she wasnt too bothered. She said the rats in NYC subway are as big as cats!😂
 
I recall reading somewhere, in big cities we are never more than a few feet away from rats......aint that the truth!😂😂😂
 
Anyway, that was our experience.
 
Good luck everyone🙂

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Medical done ✅ Overall a very smooth process. Felt a bit strange being on the other side of the examination process.
 
Word of advice: drink a bottle of water on the bus/train ride in, so that you’re ready to go when they ask for the urine sample! Also, if you arrive very early (like I did) Selfridge’s is close by so you can kill some time there.

Funnily enough, I was in a similar situation. I explained the situation to my GP and they mentioned that they were inundated with appointments and requests and that it would take them a few weeks to write the letter. I don't like playing this card, but I explained that I was an NHS doctor myself and that I could draft the letter for them, which they could read over and sign. Luckily they agreed and I was able to get the signed letter a couple of days later. I was charged £40 for the letter itself (even though it hadn't been altered from the version I wrote) which I thought was a bit cheeky, but I can't really complain! Long story short - see if you can suggest drafting the letter for them if it'll speeds things up (if your hypertension is well-controlled and you don't have any complications, you don't need to be a doctor yourself to draft this).

Really easy. Went there, filled in a form, got pushed into a waiting room, then saw a doctor, got prodded, weight and height taken, asked a bunch of questions I obviously said no to cause I've lived a pretty healthy life. They never even asked about the mental health consult but to be fair, it is a CONSULT, I did hear them talk about it among themselves and I think I heard them say to just amend it so maybe they think that cus it was listed as a consult, I was just talking to my GP about how I was feeling (which is actually what happened.) Then I had my x-ray taken and then my vaccinations looked over and the ones I didn't have given to me.
 
The people were really nice, the guy doing the x-ray's is a BAME fella, really awesome person, easy to talk to. I was missing one shot apparently and I spent about £40 on it. After that I just paid and left. It was one of the easiest experiences I've had at a doctors. 
 
Onto the interview!

Well the day has finally arrived.
 
My letter came today. All I need now is to find the correct URL to "complete the steps on our website ...." "404 Page Not Found".
 
You couldnt make it up!!!