Mark Weston

On 9/7/2020 at 12:08 PM, landy88 said:

Though it is fine for me to work with my 551 visa, how can I get paid without a SSN?

 - In order to get paid, I need a bank account which I also can't do without SSN. Are there ways around this?

As a UK Citizen, I can recommend Transferwise.  Originally I used them for sending money to my wife in the US, but a Transferwise account can now become a virtual bank account.  You can deposit money into your Transferwise account, choose to have it denominated in US Dollars, get a debit card for the account and get a valid US routing number / account number for incoming bank payments.  Application and ID verification is all online.  I’ve been using it since I arrived last week, and everything has worked smoothly so far.

Thanks everyone for the clear answers.

In retrospect, the bureaucratic reasoning is fairly obvious.  However, I'm still angry that the two Consular Officers who dealt with my case at the interview didn't mention this possibility.  Even an extra few days warning might have helped.  It would also be nice to know why the medical exam extension didn't apply to my case.

Anyway, back to running round in circles with hair on fire.  In many ways, the quick visit to New York to "cash in" has appeal.  But we have a kid and two dogs who probably can't be left unsupervised for a weekend...

I was wondering if anyone had come across this?

I had my medical in early march for an IR-1(via DCF) interview originally booked for March 17th.  Thanks to COVID, that was cancelled of course and after a couple of rebookings and cancellations, I finally had the interview on August 10th.  My visa was approved, and the final packet arrived yesterday with my passport and the Big White Envelope.  Cue celebration and much quaffing of ale (well, G&T...)

So, today, I was scanning the visa page in my passport to send to a potential employer.  And read the small print for the first time.  The issue date is August 12 and the expiry date is September 9th.  I had gone through the whole process on the understanding that the visa would be valid for six months.  It turns out we have less than a month to move our household (me, wife, daughter, 2 large dogs and a bunch of stuff) and I have no idea why.

1.  Has this happened to anyone else?

2.  Does anyone know if there's a phone number for the immigrant visa unit?  (I have of course already asked this question via the online contact form, but have no confidence in getting a quick reply).

On 8/10/2020 at 8:12 PM, os306 said:

Another question I had was: I have read that London is pretty relaxed about proving intent to re-establish domicile. At the start of this process, we were under the impression that I would have to provide evidence such as my wife's US voting record, bank statements etc. but it sounds like this evidence is rarely asked for at the London embassy?

I just had my IR-1 via DCF interview on Monday (Aug 10th).  Given how much prep we'd put into it, they seemed to treat the whole process as very pro forma.

In response to your particular questions, they seemed completely happy with 1 years of tax transcripts (actually, in our case the original 1040 as the transcript wasn't available yet), didn't want my wife's (the US Citizen) birth certificate, didn't even ask for evidence related to domicile and never asked about it during the conversation.  So that tree died for nothing...

Now if I was in your position reading this, I'd still collect the evidence of intent to re-establish domicile just in case!  But I think you can feel fairly sure that there's not much need to stress about it, which I have to admit I was when I was putting the final packet together.

3 hours ago, :Sarah: said:

I'm seeing several K-1 interviews in June cancelled which could possibly mean that consulates/embassy isn't going to open in June.

My June 8th IR-1appointment in London was just cancelled.

Well, I re-checked my application online today (IR-1 via DCF in London), and there were appointments available in June.  So I’m rebooked for an interview on June 8th at the Embassy.

Im not sure what to think.  I figure my new appointment is subject to cancellation at any time.  But there’s at least some chance of getting my visa before the petition expires, or the medical does, or they finally stop processing DCF altogether...  Then the next question is, does it even make sense to emigrate during such uncertain times?

Time for a drink.

I had a look at the usvisa-info.com site, where I booked my original appointment as part of DCF, tried editing and rescheduling the appointment but all I'm seeing is "There are no available appointments at the selected location. Please try again later".

It would be cool to get a date booked in May if they do re-open, but I'm sceptical of finding the "one weird trick" to get ahead of the queue.

13 hours ago, Googoobuggy said:

Even though they are closing and cancelling interviews, does anyone know if they still working on those who have submitted documents and have cases under Administrative Processing?

Applying for an IR-1 in London.  My March 31st interview was cancelled.  And they also said this in a general email answer to COVID-19 related questions:

Quote

What will happen with my visa application that is currently being processed?

If it is not possible for your visa to be issued prior to the Presidential Proclamation taking effect, your passport will be returned to you. 

 

If your application is subject to additional administrative processing, or under review pending a decision on a waiver of ineligibility or for any other reason, that will remain the status of your case until you are advised otherwise. 

 

If information or documentation other than your passport has been requested in connection with a nonimmigrant visa application, you can still send it in. Your case will be reviewed when routine operations resume. However, you should not submit your passport for a nonimmigrant visa case, even if it has been requested from you. 

 

If any information or documentation has been requested for your immigrant or fiancé(e) visa application, you can still send it in. Your case will be reviewed when routine operations resume.

Which strongly implies that all processing work has stopped.