thomasj

Wow! I can't believe all the kind messages and thoughts from everyone. Thank-you all so much for your words. I told Ally all about this site and how it was such a generous community of kind people helping each other out. I know that she's proud of you all. Thanks again,

tom. x

Dear all,

On January 20th my fiancee died of a heart attack related to a congenital disorder known as atrial septal defect (basically a hole in the heart). She was just 24 years old. She was diagnosed with the condition last March, and underwent open heart surgery in Cleveland on January 6th. The surgery was deemed a success and Ally was released from the hospital 6 days later. I had been visiting from England since Xmas Eve and flew back on the 13th January. The funny things was that the day I flew home our visa petition was approved! We were both so excited, as this meant I was looking at being back in the States for good around the end of March. I'd even interviewed for a job as a soccer coach in Cincinnati and been offered the position. Everything was looking perfect until I received a phone call from her mother...

I was wondering if anyone knew what I should do to close the K-1 case? Do I need to call the NVC or the US embassy? Any advice is gratefully appreciated.

I also wanted to thank the people on this forum for the help they provided myself and Ally during the whole process and wish you all luck on your journey.

Tom.

Hello all,

Myself and my US fiancee received our NOA2 on 13/01/09 and shortly afterwards I moved house. I'm unsure how to inform USCIS. I thought there was an online option, though this seems to only be for US citizens or those already residing in the US, not for benefactors of a K-1 visa.

I looked through the forum and it looks as though the best way would be to contact the NVC with my confirmation number and also contact the US Embassy in London. Would this be the course of action others have taken or would reccommend?

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone. I got back into the UK this morning after spending the festive period with my fiancee. I got off the plane and took a train straight to work... pure misery, especially as I was sad at leaving her behind for what I was expecting to be around 5 months. Then, so my amazement, sitting in my e-mail inbox was an update from USCIS that our petition has been approved on 13th January! We only filed on October 31st, so from putting it in the post to getting the approval was 74 days. I noticed that quite a few October filers have been pretty quick, so I hope that everyone else is as lucky as we have been!

Thanks guys! I called Ally up this lunch time and she was ecstatic! I'll update my time-line and get cracking with reading up on what to do next...

Brilliant! I guess I got lucky with the waiting time... phew. I only just got in this moring! Time to start compiling all the new forms then I guess.

Hello! I just got back to the UK after spending 3 weeks in the US with my fiancee. I got to my desk this morning and found an e-mail stating the following:

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case Receipt Number: (**********) Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) Current Status: Approval notice sent. On January 13, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service. If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

Does this mean what I think it means and we've been approved and should be getting an interview date etc... soon? It's only been two and a half months since we submitted the I-129F.

Thanks.

Thanks guys.

It states on the USCIS website that checks should be made out to;

"Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

Does this mean that either one will do when applying for the K-1 visa, or does it mean that we should make the cheque payable to one or the otehr depending on which visa we are applying for?

I presume it means you can make it payable to either one of them regardless of what you are applying for, but you can never be too careful so thought I'd check with some experienced folk!

Thanks.

Okay, thanks for all the help. I'll go with U.K. for country and British for nationality. Having studied in the US I bumped into several people who had a very limited knowledge of global geography... a friend of mine's girlfriend walked into his room and started studying a giant map of the USA that was pinned on his wall before posing the question;

"Harvey, where's Wales on this map?"

Hopefully she never made a career as a CO!

Quick question...

Is it best to use 'England' or 'UK / United Kingdom' when completeing questions such as 'Country of residence' on forms I-129f and G-325A? I only ask because I've already shortened 'Chorlton-Cum-Hardy' to 'Chorlton' and 'Greater Manchester' to 'Manchester' in order to fit neatly on the Pdf forms.

Thanks!

Nothing wrong with him wanting to be single again, and now he has running mate in his brother. Sounds like he's about to have a lot of fun.....

I don't think that this is a very helpful answer, or sensitive to the people involved in the situation. Probably best to leave comments like that elsewhere.

Thanks for the help. You can never be too sure with the immigration officials so I thought it best to ask!

This may be a silly question, but here goes....

Whilst completing the section regarding my employment history, the 'From' and 'To' boxes aren't big enough to contain the spelling of certain months. For example, 'September' becomes 'Septem+' with the plus being an indicator on the Pdf form that there is additional information to be seen. This also happened with my full address so I edited it down a touch to sit nicely in the box. However, in terms of the dates, will it make a difference that the full spelling of the month is not seen? The last thing I want is to get an RFE!!

Also, I have a US social security number from when I studied in the United States although I have since forgotten it and can't seem to find it anywhere amongst my records. Is there anyway I can find out what it is?

Thanks in advance!

Again, I would like to extend my thanks to you guys for offering your advice and help. There seems to be a really strong sense of community on this site! I'll keep everyone upto date with how the process is going.

tom.

Thanks for your replies, they've helped a great deal! I've printed off the guides and read through them all afternoon and the whole process is beginning to become a little clearer. I just hope everything goes smoothly with the filing!

Does anyone reccommend using an immigration lawyer or do most people tend to just get on with the process themselves?

Dear Group,

I am a British citizen who got engaged to a US citizen during a

recent holiday and we will be sending in an application for a K1

visa during the next couple of weeks. We dated for several years

when I was at University over in the States before ending our

relationship when I returned home. We stayed in contact though, and

after a couple of years it was clear that we were meant to be

together! I have a few issues that I would appreciate any advice on;

(1) My fiancee lives at home with her mother and is only earning

minimum wage at the moment whilst she looks for a job in her chosen

career field post-university. I don't think that she would meet the

financial levels required as a petitioner, so would her mother be

able to act as a co-signee?

(2) I studied in the US from 1999 to 2005 on an F-1 visa, then

received the OPT visa when I completed my degrees. However, I

returned home to the UK 3 months into the OPT period and unwittingly

voided the terms and conditions. Whilst I didn't attempt to return

on the OPT visa (I came back on the visa waiver program for 3

months), would this have any bearing on any future visa applications?

(3) I also received a J-1 visa to do some summer camps during the

summer months of 2006. Again, would this cause any issues with the

application?

(4) I am hoping to visit my fiancee over the Xmas/New Year period

during which time the K1 application will hopefully be in the middle

of being processed. Will the immigration officials at my point of

entry kick up a fuss if I try to enter on the visa waiver program

whilst a K1 application is ongoing?

(5) Assuming that the application is approved and I pick up the

visa, is JFK still the only point of entry where I can get an

employment authorisation stamped into my passport so I could

essentially work straight away?

(6) What are the likely processing times for British citizens?

(7) During my time at university in the US ( it would have been

during 2002)I was sent to court for underage drinking. I pleaded no

contest and received 3 hours community service and ordered to pay

court fees. I was tried at the same time as my friend from Northern

Ireland who recently married a USC. During his interviews there was

no record of this offense having occured. Is this incident something

that I should declare on the forms or is it a non-issue? Also, do

speeding convictions in the UK need to be declared? I recently

received 6pts after a court hearing for excessive on the motorway.

(8) I was issued with a social security number when I entered the US

as a student on F-1 status in 1999. Is this still a valid number and

should I include it on the forms that need to be submitted?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you could give me, and sorry

for the amount of questions!

Regards,

Tom.