inhopeofglory

Depends on when the travel date is... mine is early March, and I just received the interview letter today!

Hi,

Are the 5 x 5 photos that are required for the visa interview in addition to the two needed for the DS-156 and its duplicate? i.e. do I send in the two DS-156s with photos attached? Does it matter if they're not 5 x 5 (i.e. US-size)?

Thanks.

Sorry, I meant to say that I'm applying for the K-1 visa - I'm filling in the forms for the IV-15 and checklist...

Receipt Number: EACxxxxxxxxxx

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

We've been approved! Like Stephen & Elisha, we didn't get any touches before we were approved.

Kimbear, what evidence did you take the second time you were refused entry? Did they elaborate on what they meant by "insufficient ties" in your case?

On a more positive note, I see you received your NOA2 a few days ago. Congratulations! :-)

Thanks for the reply. What "trouble" did you get at the border?

I was wondering today about the length of time since I last visited my SO, and whether - if I don't visit in September - that will adversely affect my visa interview. It's been almost 5 months now, and will be at least 7 or 8 months by the time I get to interview - will that be considered evidence against a bona fide relationship? We talk and webcam every single day, so far without exception, so the relationship is definitely strong. But we've only seen each other twice, both occasions within six weeks of each other, beginning late January this year.

Perhaps it's worth the risk of a denial of entry and/or going into AP between NOA2 and Packet 3 in order to offset the risk that the CO will look adversely upon the huge gap...

Hmm... well, I read a few reviews that mentioned a "sight test" so I wondered. :-) Were your parents retired? Maybe they only sight test those who are going to work...

I hope this is the right place to put this question...

Regarding the medical, what standard do they require for the sight test? My glasses are over a year old now, so I'm wondering whether I need to get my eyes tested and new glasses made up before then... I work at an optician's, so it shouldn't be too difficult. :-)

Thanks for the link. I'm still considering visiting my fiancée, but as we're so close to potentially getting NOA2 I don't want to put a spanner in the works...

Anyone know when the Consulates start their security checks?

Hi,

It's likely we'll receive NOA2 within the next month, as we're late-March filers, and I'm thinking of visiting my SO sometime in mid-late September for a few days. With that in mind, I have a question...

Does anyone know when in the K-1 process the "initial background check" (as referenced in the FAQ - "... some newsgroupers have reported that once the initial background check is done by the Consulate, subsequent visits to the US required an additional FBI check done by the Consulate, which resulted in a delay in the visa application process.") is done by the Consulate? Is it immediately after the NVC transfer the documents to the embassy? Or do they wait until they receive the completed Packet 3 first?

Thanks!

My packet 3 arrived two weeks before a pre booked final visit to the USA to spend some time with my loved one and to help with wedding plans and had a couple of questions asked by the border guard.

Can you remember what you were asked? How did that occasion differ in the questioning/attitude of the CO to the previous 4 occasions?

Gary_UK, when you say you "have never been shy" about mentioning your K-1, do you mean to say that you volunteered the information (e.g. when the CO asks "why are you entering the US?")?

On another point mentioned, I'm currently considering making this visit to my SO in mid-late September, which potentially is a good month after we (may) get our NOA2. Is that too late in the process to be "safe"?

I would also mention that even though you're coming on VWP, and will most likely be let in, just be mentally prepared for a secondary interview. Nik has been pulled in every single time, but always passed through in the end. Just having that in mind will make it easier to get through if it's not a surprise!

Nik has always wound up telling the POE officer of his relationship with me, and they let him in all three times (5 days, 88 days - traveling together this time -, 16 days).

I'm thinking of going for ten days, not long. My previous two trips back in January and March were of similar length.

Do you know what questions Nik was asked when he was pulled in for second interview, and how he answered? I am convinced that honesty is always the best way, but I don't want to provoke needless questions...

Thanks to everyone who has answered so far - it's much appreciated!

Well that's good to know. :-) Any comment on the "... once the initial background check is done by the Consulate, subsequent visits to the US required an additional FBI check done by the Consulate, which resulted in a delay in the visa application process."?

It's not the visiting (successfully) that I'm worried about. It's the possibility of being denied entry and that denial causing a delay on the K-1.

No problem! I'm referring to the whole Packet 3 process - the time between London getting our approved petitions and granting us an interview. It's not a specific delay as such.

By "delay at the embassy" I'm referring simply to the time it takes for London to issue an interview date, after having received one's documents (assuming you send Packet 3 promptly).

Thanks, mox. I hope that's the case. A year's a long, long time to be apart... but at the same time it's better than getting a huge delay put on the K-1.

From the FAQ: "... some newsgroupers have reported that once the initial background check is done by the Consulate, subsequent visits to the US required an additional FBI check done by the Consulate, which resulted in a delay in the visa application process."

Does anyone know any more about this? When is the "initial background check" done by the Consulate?

My apologies for making a request that I imagine sounds all too familiar. That is why I tried to direct the question specifically to Brits and those who entered through IAH, in order to gain more specific advice/preparation for my trip.

Hi,

My fiancée and I have now been in the K-1 process four long months, having applied end of March. With the current long delay at the London embassy, we're not expecting to get my visa until nearly December, which together with other considerations means that our wedding is probably going to be in March 2010, just over a year since we got engaged.. and thus a whole year since we were last together in person. I am therefore planning to visit my fiancée again, in order to break up that huge wait, but am very wary of the risk of being turned back and/or delaying or stopping our visa application.

I am keen to hear from anyone in my position - a Brit marrying an American - who has visited their SO during the K-1 process (whichever POE), as well as anyone (British or not) who, in doing so, went through IAH (Houston). What information/documents/supporting evidence did you take with you? What kind of questions were you asked, if any? I've seen on other threads that it's a good idea to take a copy of the NOA1, your return ticket, and perhaps also a letter from your current employer stating that they expect you back in your home country. Is there anything else that might be useful? What about if you already have the NOA2? Does that change things/increase or decrease the risk?

For those who went through IAH, what were the Customs people like with regard to you visiting during the K-1 process? I've heard/read that IAH Customs has a reputation for being more strict/stringent than some. What did they ask, and how did you reply?

I'd also like to hear, if there are any, stories in which things didn't go well, and someone was turned back at Customs. What are the effects of such a denial of entry on the K-1 process? Are such denials common?

Thanks for your help!

Regards, inhopeofglory

PS Note to mods: please move this thread if it's in the wrong forum/subforum.

Hi,

My fiancée and I are between NOA1 and NOA2. We'd put her home phone number down on the forms, but due to a mistake on the part of her phone company her parents have had to change their phone number. My question is, should we contact USCIS about it? If so, what's the best way to go about doing so?

I know it's unlikely they'll ever call, but just in case... we really, really don't want to delay the application!

Thanks!

Hi,

Thanks for the replies!

@Heather: The last two US weddings (one CA, one TX) I attended, the best man said a few words but there was no speech from either the groom or the father of the bride. I guess it's more variable than I thought. In the UK, in contrast, every wedding I can remember attending had the three speeches (and in one, even the bride might have said a few words!).

@Leenie: From what I've read online, the "US wedding" is very flexible - it's pretty much whatever you want! There don't seem to be many "concrete" US traditions, it's more a matter of what people are used to/know about. Are you or your fiancé from the UK? Things that I've seen in US wedding ceremonies that I hadn't seen in British ones include lighting "Unity candles" and "sand ceremonies" (a variation on the unity candle idea)...

@Laura: Actually, we got engaged on the 20th... I arrived in TX on the 19th. I didn't realise I hadn't remembered correctly until I mentioned this thread to my fiancée yesterday... :-)

Hi,

My fiancée and I are currently making wedding plans, having got engaged on 19th March and filed for a K-1 on the 28th. I'm English (actually half-Chinese, half-English, but born and raised in England), my fiancée is American. We're both committed Christians.

I'd love to hear from any here who are/were in my situation, and are having/had a blended US/UK wedding. I'm looking for some good websites on the differences between US and UK wedding traditions, as we're going to get married in the US but my immediate family and an as yet unknown number of British relatives/friends will be joining us for the wedding. So far a couple of primary ones are the lack of congregational singing (i.e. hymns) in US weddings, even Christian ones, and the common lack of speeches by the father of the bride, groom, best man etc. Does anyone know of any others? How did you "blend" the traditions from each country, and the expectations from people on each side?

Thanks!

Regards, Dominic

Thanks, but the question wasn't whether or not to use an attachment sheet. It was more to do with whether it'd be neater/better to just write "see attached" without filling ANY information on the actual form (for that particular question), and then just put all the information in a neat table on the supplement.

Thanks, yep I've seen the example forms - very helpful overall but unable to answer these questions, hence the post...

I guess I'll just use "UK" as "United Kingdom" won't fit everywhere. I do have a problem with the occasional short box for my hometown (which is long) - I'm not sure what to do there, whether to just leave it blank and fill it in by hand, or...

Any comments on the addresses/supplement question?

Hi All,

My fiancée and I are filling in the forms for the I-129F. For the above question on the G-325A, is it okay for both of us to answer "Other" and "I-129F Petition"? Or should my G-325A (I'm from the UK) have something like "Fiancé visa application"?

Also, if I'm adding an attachment for my addresses and places of work, should I fill in as much as possible on the form itself and only put the additional stuff that wouldn't fit on the attachment, or just put "see attached" and put ALL of the addresses/information in the supplement?

Oh yeah, and is putting "UK" instead of "United Kingdom" okay? "United Kingdom" fits in some places, but not in others. Should we be consistent in using UK/United Kingdom, or just put United Kingdom where we can and UK where we can't?

How accurate do the dates for places of residence have to be? If, for example, we're out by a month or so does it matter?

Thanks!

Thanks again. So should I state all the "coming back home" periods between semesters at University/Bible College? (most were only a few weeks long) Technically I was only "visiting" home during the holidays and between semesters/university years. So, for example, my second year at Bible College was taken in the USA, but I flew back to the UK between semesters (between May and August).

Also, I was born in England/the United Kingdom. Is "UK" sufficient for the forms? "United Kingdom" fits in most of the boxes, but not all of them...