milneshine

Well I had been worried.

Good luck with it all mate, found a decent Guinness yet??

Brief history:

Arrived in the US from the UK in May.

My I-797 is pending and should be processed soon.

HOWEVER...I have just been offered a job in a school working with kids with learning difficulties.

My temporary EAD runs out in a few days and the I-797 won't be processed until after the start date of the new job.

How do I get my temporary EAD renewed while I wait for the permanent EAD to be processed?

I just had my TB test (just a little ####### under the skin) in addition to blood tests for HIV and Syphillis DESPITE the fact that I had these tests done in London 6 weeks ago! Apparently blood tests are needed if your last test was over 4 weeks ago. My Doctor said this rule was changed at the beginning of April and showed me documentation to prove it.

Another $350 towards the cost of this process. Oh well.

K1'ers don't need to take the whole medical but do need the vaccination sheet filled out.

I was missing a tetanus booster and rubella. If you are missing anything then best to get it done in your home country I guess - especially if in the UK with the FREE National Health Service. Doh!

HOWEVER, the fact that I had to have the blood tests done again was news to me. Especially as I had them done in April to get into the USA anyway. But apparently they were 6 weeks old and you have to have them re-done if the last test was over a month ago. Well, nice to know that I STILL don't have HIV I guess.

Good luck with your vaccination stuff. Remember they can test your blood for antibodies, so if you have had measle, mumps, chicken pox (varicella) etc then the antibodoes will show up in your blood and you won't need shots for those.

So, I'm almost finished with the immigration paperwork. The one to make me a permanent resident, the one that says my wife will support me financially, the one that says that I can work, the one that says that I can leave America to travel to my Sisters wedding, and the one that you have to fill out four times with the same information! All that's left is the one that says I need a tetanus shot and a rubella (I thought they only gave that to girls?) jab.

I head to the mall that has the Immigration Medical Center, next to the Asian supermarket, the curry house, Western Union, Patel Brothers dresses and the Bollywood Video store. Hmmm. I'm the only one in there that isn't wearing a saree and has a relative filling out forms on my behalf.

As far as I'm concerned, all I need are two shots and he signs Part 5 and away I go.

BUT NO. They have changed the rules again. Because my last blood test was over a month ago I have to have another blood test for HIV and Syphillis. Then I have to have a jab for Tuberculosis (isn't that what my BCG was for?), oh and a boost for tetanus.

Thing is, I hate needles. Seriously hate them. So as you can imagine, being told that I had small veins slightly concerned me. After 4 attempts in four different veins I was feeling a bit feint. So the doctor lets me recover and then tries 3 more veins before getting the blood that he needed. Oh, well if he hadn't spilled the blood all over the floor perhaps he wouldn't have needed 7 attempts, plus the tetanus boost, and the TB jab. We decided against the rubella injection and will test the blood for the antibodies as my Mum reckons I had it as a kid.

And of couse I was fleeced for another $350. But still, who else has a doctor that would use them as a human pincushion and then invite them to join their Mid West Cricket Team??

Gotta love this process!

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!?!?!? Didn't we discuss this over Guinesses???

Thanks for the full reply!

Have just spent the last few hours filling out a mountain of forms.

Slowly getting there!

Legal alien allowed to work.

I filled out the form and then visited the SSN office. They tap in your visa details and then print out another form that you just sign.

The whole process took just under an hour and the SSN came through the post a week later.

One of the easier steps in this ridiculously long process.

So after the 7 months of ploughing through paperwork and collating evidence, and then emigrating, and then getting married, it's time for the next round of paperwork!!

WHY do the USCIS ask for an affadavit of support again, when I just presented them with one at the US Embassy a few weeks ago?

And why do they charge $1000 for the privelege??

And why do I need to show my letter of approval when I've got the K1 visa in my passport? How do they think it got there?!?!?!?

And why does this all take so long? Don't they realise that as soon as I can start working and earning I will be paying taxes???

Aaagggghhh!!!

Phew, I feel better now. So frustrating!

Hopefully you have photocopies of the necessary documents.

Oh, and take cash for the courier fee.

Well done! I got the old style one and then off the back of reading posts on this site I then got the new one done too. Hopefully all will go well for my Embassy interview on Monday!

Can't you also use HIS financial situation? If he has a job offer, or has assets then don't they take those into account? I've got details of investments, savings and a valuation on my house from an estate agent just in case I need to show it.

Yes, but the ridiculous thing is if the old certificate proved you weren't a criminal the new one will do the same checks and come up with the same result! I understand your frustration but thankfully some of the posts on here warned me of the issue. You were TWO days after their deadline.

The new one has a photo on it so I can see why they have chosen it. Not sure why they charge so much though.

Heard today that because we supplied an I-134 when we applied for the I-129F we don't need to produce this evidence again at my interview. They have the originals on file.

I posted all 4 but obviously they really only need the info on the first two pages.

I heard back from the Embassy yesterday and I have an interview on April 28th. They confirmed that I could use the original Affadavit of Support form that we originally completed when we applied for the I-129F. They already have these on file so I'm just waiting for the Police certificate too. I panicked so paid the £70 instead of the £35. It's only money!

Good luck with your filing. I think it took them a week from me sending the packet 3 to them replying with a date. INterview date is 2 weeks after receiving packet 4. That info might help you in your planning.

Oh #######! They sent me the wrong form in with packet 4.

They should have sent me form IV19 and instead they sent me form IV18.

Why don't they give these forms better names? No wonder they were confused. I guess I'll have to call the premium charge phone line tomorrow then.

So the good news is that I have a date for an interview at The Embassy.

The bad news is that they want me to bring along an I-864.

I swear this is the first time I have ever heard of this form. Plus if this is all I need to bring as my Affadavit of Support have I wasted my time collecting my financial documents, letters from the bank and an estate agent. I now have 10 day to get my Fiancee to fill one of these out, gather some info and get it back to me ASAP!

Hmm, not really a question here as such, just a minor rant!

When we filed for the I-129F my American Fiancee filled out the I-134 forms with letters from banks / employers / parents etc. The I-129F was successful.

I now have all my info ready for the K1 interview and have the copies of her I-134 forms. Do I need to get originals again or is it a case that when we filed the American papers all of that info stays on my file and doesn't have to be filled out again?

Right. It would appear that the old certificate is still being accepted for non-immigrant visas until August.

For immigrant visas only the new certificate will be accepted after April 14th.

Aaagh, so to add to the confusion:

I phoned the Embassy and they said that the old PNC check wouldn't be valid if your interview was AFTER April 14th.

HOWEVER, I was then e-mailed by ACPO, who produce the new certificates and they said that the old version was valid until August.

I appreciate that this process isn't supposed to be easy or user friendly but this is taking things a bit too far. Stress levels slowly rising....

I applied for a Police Certificate a few months ago (in advance) and have just recieved a PNC check from the National Identification Service.

However, my recent pack of instructions from the Embassy says that effective of February 15th Immigrants to the US, based in the UK, have to produce the certificate from ACPO but is this just the same info from a different office (and £70 dearer??)

Do I need to get a new Police check done. Please help as the interview date is pretty soon!!!