munkeynutts

Excellent Mairo, thanks for the info!

Hi all,

I am a British guy currently living in Houston, Texas. I am a permanent resident. I am currently driving with my UK license. I learned from a friend of mine from New Zealand who lives in Austin that I do not have to take a driving test and can just go ahead and apply for a license.

How long is it typically to wait for a license?

Many thanks

Martin

Thanks for the great advice. So I guess I applied for parole not really needing to?

Hi everyone,

I am a permanent resident in the USA. I'm from the UK and have been a resident here since August 2010. I applied for parole (needed for first two years of pewrmanent residency) and received my approval (I-512L) several months ago. I stipulated on my application that I will intend to be leaving the US to visit the UK for a two week period between the middle of July and the middle of August 2011. However, I just noticed that my 'date to return and present my I-512L' is July 22nd 2011. Of course, I was hoping for/expecting a middle of August date, so that I could travel and return at any time within the timeframe I originally applied for (mid July to mid August).

Can I change/apply for a change on that date?

Would there be a problem if I returned after July 22nd, the date on the form?

I have been told by many people returning with parole forms that it is a breeze getting through and they just need a glance of the form and to see your green card and passport. I don't to take any risks though. I have a wife and job here now!

Advice much appreciated, thank you!

Martin

Thanks a lot folks. Thought as much. Our lawyer is kind of shooting in the dark, but we did get him free through my wife's company. But maybe that's the problem!

Hi all.

I arrived here on a K-1, and we are now married.

We are just about to file my I-485 (adjustment of status) and I-765 (Work auth). Our lawyer said we had to also file an I-130 (petition for alien relative), but we doubt his opinion! Some people say you don't, some say you do!

Do we need to file this also?

Thanks a lot.

Martin & Shawnie.

Went to see the doctor on saturday to pick up my TB skin test results and my sealed package for immigration. Also sat there and told the doctor that I didn't actually need the medical I had with him on thursday and that my lawyer mistakenly told me I needed one. It was sort of a congratulatory message for the doctor - you made money out of me you shouldn't of! I also told the doctor that he is wrong to suggest I need a Hep-B shot, as I have found out that you only need one at age 18 and under. Felt kind of weird telling the doctor what's what! He said, "Ok, you do what you want. You may get rejected. Your risk".

There are lots of irritating responses on this website. Just because the topic has veered off into religion doesn't make it any more offensive.

Questioning the existence of God is not 'getting personal' and offending people. Non-believers have nothing to prove. No single shred of evidence has ever proven the existence of God. It is scientifically impossible for God to exist. My faith is 100% in my friends and family, so I seek no other desperate outlet.

Wow, a real blunt view on abortion. Abortion is the right of an individual and is not to be judged/decided on by a collective of people (society, religion, etc). If you believe in God and additional rules fabricated for the benefit of 'Christian Extremists', then so be it. The world and it's people operate entirely with free will, not under the spell of ancient mythical scriptures (the Bible).

Darn it. Maybe I'll tell my lawyer he gave me the wrong info. Maybe he'll give me the $125 I paid! Imagine trying that, getting money out of a lawyer!

I guess I never knew that my vaccinations weren't up to date, as the doctor in London didn't seem to think so. She said I needed Tetanus and MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella). She should know ALL vaccinations I need to progress through the US K-1 visa process?

My next meeting with the lawyer may get heated!

Thanks all.

Martin.

Hi all.

Since I arrived in the US on my K-1 visa and got married, a friend of mine said, "Things only get easier and simpler now". Ok, so here's my story.

Me and my fiancee went to see our immigration lawyer just to check over and confirm what we need to do next in the K-1 visa process. So, as advised by him, I went to the Med Center in Houston today to have a medical and to fill out an I-693 (Record of a medical exam). Medical cost: $125.

However, I've already had a medical exam at a US Embassy-approved medical center in the UK, prior to my visa interview. This happened November 2009.

Did I really need a second medical, or did the lawyer get this wrong?

Also, while at the exam, the physician stated that my DS-3025 (vaccination record) that I presented him, was out of date. It was an "old, out-of date form". according to him. Also, he said that it may be refused by immigration because there is two different people's handwriting on it. Well, it's already been through immigration has it not? No problems up to now! Story is, I got my vaccination record from the medical center in London, and a woman there wrote 'K1' next to the two required vaccinations. She offered me the shots there and then for an extra £100 or so, but I opted to have them done for free on the NHS at my local doctor. So, I took my DS-3025 to my doctor, got the shots, and she wrote in the columns the shots I got, put the date in the 'date received' column, and stamped the back of the form with the doctor's surgery address and phone number (an official business stamp). So the doctor today had a problem with that. Two people have touched it, AND, according to him, the form is out of date!

Then, just before I left, he said, "Oh, you also need a Hepatitus-B shot, for $75. We can do that for you today".

So, why did the medical center in London not mention that I needed a Hep-B shot? Why did I only need a Tetanus and MMR, and not a Hep-B?

Also, prior to my appointment today, the doctor at the medical center in Houston said my medical insurance will not cover the cost of my medical and that he only accepts cash. BUT, when I filled out the registration form when I was there, I had to fill in my medical insurance details/plan number! Are they going to bill my medical insurance company also? Sounds fishy?

So, so confusing all this.

I am now feeling that I have had one medical too many (at the advice of my lawyer), and that I am being taken for a ride by the doctor I saw today!

Thanks in advance for any comments that could shed some light on all this!

Martin (Martin & Shawnie)

Hi all.

I have completed the K-1 process and am now married and living with my wife in Houston, Texas.

When I had my visa interview at the US Embassy in London, I handed over my original copy of my full birth certificate, which they retained. I have just realised that I never got it back! Where would it be? Would it have been in the brown sealed package I had to bring with me when I entered Houston with my visa? Or would it still be at the embassy in London?

I could have a nightmare trying to get it back as trying to call the embassy in London is tough enough from within the UK, let alone from the US!

I guess I should write, although I need the certificate pretty soon for ID needs here.

Thank you!

Martin

Ok. Me and Shawnie's K-1 process is finally over! Received my visa by courier on Wednesday February 24th and returned to Houston the following day. A breeze getting through immigration, and the immigration officers were very hospitable indeed, although the whole process took about 2 hours! Landed at 2pm, and walked through the arrivals doors to an open-armed Shawnie at 4pm!

Just need to set a date for marriage, adjust my status, and start looking for work!

Best wishes to all the other couples.

Love from Martin & Shawnie

Everything about this visa process has seemed insane. US Embassy should respond with a 'denied' letter, or issue me with a visa no longer than 5 working days until after they have everything/I have had my interview. I am literally homeless and couch-surfing. They have had MY passport and birth certificate for two weeks now. I cannot contact them as I have minimal funds to be able to pay the owner of the phone from which I have to call the US Embassy at a cost of £1.20 per minute! The Embassy should invest in a call centre, of which the phone number is a regular landline. They have the funds, they can do this. The embassy should be 'Customer friendly' and 'User friendly'.

Nobody has an answer to this one. I guess me and Shawnie are the most ###### out of luck people on here? The K-1 visa process seems to be a lottery.

I had my K-1 interview at the US Embassy on February 3rd. A few things were not in order, so courier collected these items from me on February 9th. Now silence. Should I be worried? No response, no visa, nothing.

Hi all.

Anyone know which number you need to call to get a code to send an email?

Thanks a lot.

Martin

Thank you. Which number do you call do get a code to send an email? Do you know?

Thanks.

Martin

My funds are limited (because the visa application has been so slow, I am unemployed, and I need to eat!). I simply cannot afford to call them. Their current system should be scrapped and replaced with a nice, normal, 0207 landline number!

I desperately need to contact the US Embassy, but do not have access to a landline, and from my mobile the £1.20 per minute would probably be double! I need an update on my visa application. I had my interview was on Feb 3rd, there were complications, courier collected extra identification and papers from me on Tuesday Feb 9th. Waiting for return courier with hopefully a visa.

Any email addresses?

Any alternative phone numbers?

Thanks for any help.

Ok. My interview was February 3rd, and I am still waiting for the elusive visa. What could possibly go wrong now?

It appears not, unless I am missing something.

Interview checklist:

http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/docs169.html

I-134/Evidence of support info:

http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/faffidavit.html

Ok, this is weird. Neither myself of my fiancee saw this before (the paragraph about supplying an I-134 and tax return paperwork). Did they just put this in? Maybe they just introduced this requirement, or me AND my fiancee totally missed it!

Duh!

The whole K-1 process has driven me and my fiancee to near insanity. It is littered with unclear instructions and ambiguity. I had my interview in London on Feb 3rd. We started the process back in May 2009. I checked the guideline notes for the interview and nowhere is it stated that you need to take tax return paperwork for your fiancee, nor does it say you have to file an I-134. The US Embassy website specifically states that K-1 visa applicants DO NOT need to supply an I-134, but to supply 'evidence of support', which I did.

When it comes to the interview day, it really is a shot in the dark and depends on who looks at your papers/file on the day. They have the power to decide on the day that they need to see specific information, even if you have not been asked to supply it in the interview guidance notes! So even if you have everything that you need (according to the embassy guidance notes), there is still a chance they may want something else on the day (which defeats the object of guidance notes).

Tax returns are certainly not required for K-1 visa applicants, but the embassy decided on the day of my interview that they wanted to see tax returns!

My interview was on Feb 3rd, and I supplied final requested documents to the embassy by courier on February 9th. I am still waiting for a visa!

It's ok. I have updated the courier company with my current address. Plus, they call or text the day before delivery, so I do get an opportunity to tell them where I am thankfully!