Britlover

My wife just got her green card, but my step-son's I485 is still pending (she was a K1, he is K3). First I am surprised they didn't process them together.

We want to book plane tickets for a trip to England in early April, but I don't want to purchase tickets if I'm not sure he can leave the country & return (in case his applications is not approved yet). Since she is his mom (he's 11), would he be allowed back in the country based on her green card, or is he required to have one in his name? If so, is there any way to request special permission from the USCIS for him to travel? We did not initially send an I-131 with the I-485 so no advance parole.

Thanks

I flew BMI to Manchester last year & was impressed with them-very friendly staff (mostly British). Other than that I would say they are on par with US Air or Delta.

For the flight over I got bumped up to first class & that was a great experience. Super great service, gourmet food (the chef came out & took my order personally) & the seat was very roomy & fully adjustable. Wish I could fly like that every time!

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure they would accept the card because they are adamant about my providing a statement from the NHS proving that my wife & stepson had coverage for the 18-month period. I gave them copies of their passports (issued 3 years ago) & K1/K2 visas, which proved they were British citizens during that time period but they would not accept these. They said they used to accept passports but had been "burned" before so they require the COCC.

I recently added my wife & stepson (who just moved from the UK) to my health insurance group policy. Unless I submit a "Certificate of Creditable Coverage" showing they were covered under another insurance policy during the previous 18 months a pre-existing condition limitation will apply for 12 months.

They will accept coverage under the NHS but only if I provide the certificate from them. Does anyone know how to request this from the NHS or if it is even possible to get it? The NHS web site is absolutely no help.

My wife immigrated to the States three weeks ago on a K-1 visa. She is a huge Manchester United football fan & misses being able to watch the games. Other than an occasional game on Setanta, are there any ways to watch their games live here in the States-possibly over the internet?

I've seen satellite services that offer British channels here in the States but they are ridiculously expensive. Any ideas?

Thanks

I live in the deep South, so when Anna speaks she gets their attention. Usually her purple hair makes them take notice first though (as there are not too many ladies with purple hair in South Carolina) & when she starts talking they are amazed. I get a kick out of watching peoples' reactions when we are out shopping. She does get a lot of compliments like "I luuv your accent" & one guy even flagged down his wife & then asked Anna to "say something" so that she could hear her accent.

People have guessed that she was from Scotland and Ireland, & one person thought she was from New England (???) Some people just say "You ain't from around here are you?"

Way to go-congratulations & best of luck to the two of you. Anna had her interview this morning & was approved as well-it really is a great feeling & a huge relief. I know the two of you must be ecstatic.

Anna had her interview this morning & it was a breeze-she was out of there in two hours & the file was stamped "Approved." I will be on the plane in a few hours & in England tomorrow morning.

Were they married when she had the child? You need to determine whether he has "parental responsibility;" if he does then she will have to obtain a notorized affidavit from him giving his permission for her to move the child to the US. If he does not then you won't have to get this but you wil have to prove that he does not have parental responsibility.

My fiancee had her interview this morning. I had sent a bunch of photos, plane ticket receipts, engagement ring receipt, etc. & they didn't ask for any of it. But as someone posted it is better to err on the side of caution & bring a few just in case.

"An appointment has been scheduled for July 30 at 9.00 a.m. Written confirmation of the date and time of the appointment has been sent to you."

I booked three round trip plane tickets last night to London & back; I will fly over next Wednesday night (July 30) & the three of us (me, Anna & her son) will fly from London to Charlotte August 7 & they will be here to stay.

Congratulations getting the interview date. Fingers crossed you receive the visa in the mail in time for your flight on August 7th.

Thank you. Based on the timelines I have seen we are alowing plenty of time, as they usually get there in two or three days (as did yours). We allowed five business days so I don't expect any problems (touch wood!)

Congratulations and good luck to Anna.

Our interview is the day before yours in London. I'm flying over this weekend. I'll be coming back on August 7 too, but Nick won't be coming until October. So I guess it's still goodbyes at the airport for us, but just one more time. YES!! This will be my first time to Heathrow and I hear it's kind of a crowded mess. So I guess I'll be lost and confused. LOL I've always done Gatwick in the past.

Thanks and congratulations to the two of you as well!

Most of your questions about what you need to send to the embassy & when can be answered here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1948461

I-134 only, no need for the I-864. It's not the first time London sent out a Packet 4 asking a K1 applicant for the I-864 by mistake.

You're fine -- now calm down and bring us back some good news after the interview!

As stated all he needs is the notarized I-134 & the documents to support the income and/or assets.

Congratulations & good luck for your future-I'll be right behind you B)

Well after calling the DOS line daily for the last two weeks (I bet they recognize my voice by now) with the same "your fiancee is approved for an interview but no date has been scheduled yet" response I received an email yesterday from the London embassy that read as follows:

"An appointment has been scheduled for July 30 at 9.00 a.m. Written confirmation of the date and time of the appointment has been sent to you."

I think I did the happy dance, the chicken dance & cut three back flips when I read that (OK I'm too old for back flips but I felt like I just about could have at that moment ). Called Anna & she was ecstatic as well. The long wait is finally over!

I booked three round trip plane tickets last night to London & back; I will fly over next Wednesday night (July 30) & the three of us (me, Anna & her son) will fly from London to Charlotte August 7 & they will be here to stay. No more goodbyes at the airport, no more Skype phone calls or waiting for Uncle Sam to get off his lazy butt & approve the paperwork. It is indeed a great & very rewarding feeling.

Thanks to everyone on this site for providing invaluable information & support-we couldn't have made it without y'all. Good luck to all of you who are still waiting & I hope I can help some of you out in the future.

I always countered that one...I mean, how many soccer players get hit by guys that are 6'5" and weigh over 300 lbs? I hardly call it wussy...it's intellegent!

I have to say I agree with that one. Also with European football hard body contact is discouraged & the players can get penalized for it-but with American football it's the way the game is played. I have to laugh when there is a penalty kick (or maybe a free kick-I'm not sure which) the defenders line up in front of the goal & hold both hands over their...well let's say "private parts" for protection. Maybe pads/cups aren't such a bad idea after all!

I am beginning to like watching English football now that I understand a little about how the game is played. The legwork that some of those guys can do with the ball is pretty amazing. She is teaching me English football & I will teach her about American football & I'm sure we will enjoy watching both together. That's what it's all about!

Anna lives in North Yorkshire, not far from York-right down the road from Sarah's SN! She will be moving to South Carolina (talk about culture shock!)

She's a huge ManU fan-I'll have to show her what "real" football is like (she says American footballers are wooses because they have to wear helmets & pads).

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU!! That must be a great feeling. Best of luck to you & yours for the future.

So you do NOT send any passport photos with the packet 3 forms? I noticed there is a place on the DS-230 to staple a photo, but you are not supposed to attach it at this point, correct?

I'll echo what Rusty Englishman wrote- the advice given on this web site is invaluable & very much appreciated!

I sent an email to the embassy last Friday asking if they had received the file & if packet 3 had been sent out. Got a very nice response today telling me that they received the file & keyed our information into their system on June 26 (Thursday), & that packet 3 would be mailed to my fiancee shortly. A very quick & cordial response from the embassy- I am impressed.

I guess things can get lost in the translation between the embassy & NVC, or maybe the embassy had not keyed in the current status yet; either way all's well that ends well.

A couple of other things-I was able to call the $16 per call embassy line & get the email code without paying anything for the phone call. Also the code is only good until Friday of the week that you request the code (in other words no more than a week) so if you need to send additional emails later you will have to call for a new code.

Cheers!

If the petitioner is not self-employed then are the tax return documents not required/needed, as long as you send the statements from your bank & employer? Thanks

Oh the hoops they make us jump through-I feel like a trained seal sometimes. I just wish they'd throw me another fish!

Ours took less than a week. I've only heard weeks or months for the embassy in China! London tends to be pretty quick, so I'd sit tight for a bit longer before freaking out!!

Tell that to my fiancee!

Thanks for the info; based on the timelines I'm guessing she may get the packet sometime next week.

According to DHL our K1 file arrived at the London embassy June 23 (4 days ago). I called the NVC line today & was told that London had received the electronic file but not the physical file. The lady I spoke with said that once the physical file arrives it has to go through customs, etc. before they can enter it into their system & mail out packet 3, & that it can take "weeks to months" for that to happen. Hopefully that is just our government's usual song & dance that they recite to try & keep people from calling & asking too many times.

Based on most of the timelines for other UK K1'ers it seems like the embassy usually receives the file & sends out packet 3 pretty quickly. Does anyone have an idea how long the file normally sits around before they enter it into their system? Hopefully not weeks or months... give me some good news please B)

Also, is the date in the timeline for "Consulate Received" supposed to be when they physically received the file, received the electronic file or keyed in data from the physical file?

I'm so confused...