schaeferj

I was wondering the exact same thing. We have the interview on Monday and I wasn't sure whether or not to go. I believe that the checklist asked if anyone would be attending the interview with you and I think my husband put my name down. I don't mind going but wasn't sure if it was mandatory or if they prefer you didn't go???

From what I've read I believe you can go but that it's optional. My concern was going and then being told I couldn't go in with him.

Hi

We're doing DCF through London as well- we mailed off the checklist (can't remember exact date) and about 2 weeks later (on July 3rd) we received our letter saying our appointment was scheduled for July 28th (only a few more days to go!). We were thrilled- we were expecting to have to wait longer for the appointment.

Assumming there won't be any hold ups with the affidavit of support I'd go ahead and mail it in.

Good luck!

We are doing DCF through the London embassy and found out last week that our appointment is July 28th! Finally!

My husband has two police certificates from non-english speaking countries- he is fluent in both of the languages. I'm assumming we need have the certificates translated?

My question is can type up a translation himself? He called the extortion line and they were useless as usual- all they did was read him what it says on the website which is that documents need to be translated by a 'competent translator'

Has anyone had a problem translating documents themselves? If he translates them himself and then has the documents notarized/certified would that help? (all of the police checks are clear so there isn't much to translate anyways)

Also I swear I read on here somewhere that there is some specific wording you use on the translation document- some format? Does anyone have that or a link to it?

Thanks!

(and just fyi I tried searching the forum for this info and for some reason keep getting an error message)

I was not aware of this. What is the new requierement for the people going through the UK? What certificate do you need now?

When we applied for his police check back in Feb/March we just had to fill out a simple form and drop it off at our local Met police station- I think it cost like £5 or £10 maybe? Well I guess in the past couple of months they have changed the UK police certificate that they give- this new one is called an ACPO certificate and it sounds like its a bit more detailed and official- the application requires you to send in proof of address, copy of passport, a passport photo signed by someone to verify your identity etc. It costs £35 and they say it takes about 2 weeks to get it back- or you can pay £70 and get it in a few days. Here is the link to the application that I got from the UK embassy website- http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp

It doesn't sound difficult to get really- our concern is we already have the other one and I really hate to pay £35 to get another one- I know that isn't much but we're at the very end of this process and I feel like we've spent so much money doing this already.... I think my husband wants to go ahead and get it just to be safe. I figured we could call the extortion line and ask but that would probably cost at least £10 and they might end up telling me to get it anyways so maybe we should just do it...

I find this so annoying!!!

Is there anyone out there who has been to an interview in London very recently and used the old police certificate?

Hello

Does anyone know how long they will accept the old UK police certificate? My husband applied for his back in March before they changed it- now you need some ACPO certificate.

We just sent in the checklist last week and are waiting for an appointment -we have everything we need and are all set to go and then I read online about this new certificate and now I don't know what to do.

I was hoping someone might have had recent experience with this?

We were in the same boat- we received an RFE from the London embassy last month. We mailed the affidavits and a packet of evidence to them and they got back to us really quickly- I think it took about a week.

Don't be worried about getting the RFE- from what I've read it seems as though the London consulate gives out contradictory instructions- it says in the checklist not to include anything but what is on the list- no proof of relationship etc. So we follow the rules and don't and then we get an RFE. Then later I read somewhere else that you should include that. So frustrating!

Anyways good luck and don't worry! We're just waiting to hear from them about when our appointment will be so fingers crossed!

Hello,

Ok I thought I was clear on this but then I read some posts and now I'm really confused.

I'm the USC- my husband and I live in London together. We are doing DCF through the London Embassy and sent in our checklist a few days ago.

I will be doing the I-864 and have filed all of the necessary taxes. I will need a joint sponsor and will be using my father.

Now here's where I am going crazy. I thought my dad only filled out the I-864a but now i'm thinking that's not correct.

He files taxes jointly with my mom however she does not work so the actual 'income' is coming from him.

So will he need to fill out an I-864 AND an I-864a? Or just one or the other? And will my mom need to fill out a separate I-864 since she files jointly with my dad?

I'm confused by the I-864a as it says it's a 'contract between sponsor and household member'- am I considered a member of my father's household? My permanant address in the US is at their house and that is where we will be initially residing once we move.

I hope I'm making some sense. Any help is appreciated. I'm glad I came to realize this now!

Thanks!

That's great news- thanks!

I think we'll go and apply for the SSN ourselves- can't really go wrong that way and hopefully within a couple of weeks we'll have it so he can go take care of everything.

Hi everyone,

We are in the process of DCF in London and are sending out or prrof of bona fide marriage this week- we expect (ok well hope...) to have the visa and be able to move by October.

We are now starting to think about what will happen when we actually get to California. My husband will need to get his SSN, get a driver's permit and then a license, bank accounts, all that fun stuff

Our question is once he receives the IR-1 visa in his passport and we enter the US how long will it take to receive the green card? Do we need the actual green card in order to go down to the SS office and apply for a SSN or will the paperwork and the visa in his passport be proof enough? He needs the SSN to be able to do pretty much anything so we're trying to figure out a timeline for all of this.

Also I remember reading somewhere that it was much faster to go and apply for the SSN yourself when you arrive and not to have them send it to you automatically- anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

I believe the I-130 is good for one year after approval. After that you have to refile with all the fees.

So that would be from the Notice of Approval date and not from the filing date? That would be great- say we get the NOA2 sometime in April or May and had a year from then to send in the checklist that would give us plenty of time. Figuring we won't get the actual visa for a couple of months after we send in the checklist and then once we get it we have 6 months to enter the USA...

That would definitely work for us!

Thank you!

Hello,

My husband and I have been married almost 2 years and have been living in London (i'm the us citizen) Our long term plan is to move back to the states so we decided to start the visa process. We mailed in our I-130's and were notified that our filing date was February 4th, 2008 (we are doing DCF through the London embassy). We've started collecting all of the necessary documents, police checks etc so we will technically be ready to go when we hear from them.

The problem is now for various reasons we are thinking we might need to delay the move a bit. We were initially hoping to move this fall but now we aren't sure.

My question is... does anyone know how long you can take to send in the checklist once you get the notice of approval? I understand that the checklist simply let's them know that you are ready for the interview and next steps. Are there any sort of time constrictions on this? Now that we have our filing date could we hold on to the checklist and not mail it in for say, 6 months or even 1 year or longer?

I know this may seem like a strange question as most people on here are in a huge rush to get through the process.... but if anyone knows anything about this we would appreciate hearing from you!

Thanks!!!