Alex356

I'm really glad it's gone pretty well for you so far. My fiance (also from the UK) has been here about a month now and is just settling into a routine. Like you, he's made a few friends but at a local pub (we go to a church too but just haven't made any church friends yet!).

I laughed at the tornado thing. He gets all excited and puts it in his Facebook status to impress the UK people when there's a tornado warning lol

One thing he really misses is OXO cubes, he brought some in his suitcase but they only last for so many Sunday roasts!

It's weird....being together in person, and having the FIANCE VISA was like ALL we wanted! And we kind of thought wow everything will be perfect when we have that... and now that he's here we talk about him missing things in the UK like his job and family! We just are like well, I guess with a relationship like ours you just have to make sacrifices. Haha that sounds soppy (picking up the British words already) it is getting late....

Ok, so are you actually legally married? I didn't know you could do that by phone. If you're not legally married, I think you can just do the K-1 (fiance) visa but you still would need to meet in person. Maybe he could meet you in Canada?

Just a word of (unsolicited, I know I'm sorry!) relationship advice-- you really need to meet in person before you decide if you want to be with someone for the rest of your life. There are quirks and habits that come out when you're physically with a person for days, or even months or years. Not all bad, just things you should know about before you make a commitment like that

Thanks. I currently have airfare to see him again in July, but will have filed the petition before then. Should I include future dates of seeing him or do you think that will be a moot point since it hasn't happened yet?

It's not really necessary. You just have to prove you met at least once in the past 2 years. I just included 2 pictures from the visit, where we stayed, the flight numbers, and a short narrative of what we did (met my parents, etc.). If you have a boarding pass or receipt from the flight or hotel that's good to include too.

Okay, thanks guys! I'll make sure I tell him not to drink the night before, although I don't know if he'll listen to me!

Yea if he is British I don't think he'll listen to you on that!

My fiance just had the blood test, chest X-ray, and doctor's physical exam. No urine test...but I guess they do check for gender

My fiance and I spent about 2 years visiting each other back and forth...he would come to US for 3 months, I would come to UK for a few weeks. It's not ideal, and you'll miss your SO like crazy...but it at least gives you some time before you make a decision about getting married

It does seem like it should be easier, especially with two countries that are so similar and on basically equal economic standing (not like people from a poorer country trying to find anyway to get in and live off benefits ) but unfortunately there is a lot of red tape, and it is even more difficult if you are not ready to get married.

Have you already been to university? You could try for a student visa! You would be able to work at the university if you went that route.

[quote name=NVC FAN ' date='17 June 2010 - 04:59 PM' timestamp='1276808360' post='4010598]

I think it would be easier to find another girlfriend.

that could actually be posted in many (most?) of the threads here

I'm jealous you have another UK/US couple to hang out with

So how is everyone's wedding planning going (after all, I guess, the whole reason for this whole visa stuff!)? Are you having just a civil ceremony or a whole traditional event?

My fiance and I are having a big event in September, and have most of the planning (church, reception hall, dress) done. I'm waiting to register for gifts until he gets back though , and we'll also meet with the photographer and florist then...even though he could probably care less about that.

How is it going for you?

You may want to consider shipping fees, too, if your SO has a lot of stuff to move from the UK It can definitely add up

Staying busy with work really helps me. Another big one is hanging out/ keeping in touch with friends. That is a HUGE help and makes it so you don't get so lonely.

Also, don't count the days you are apart. When it gets close to your SO coming back you can mention weeks...but if you count the days it will drive you crazy!

My fiance and I have been apart about 5 months now...but he'll be here at the end of the month! It was sad being apart, but it wasn't as impossible as it seemed before he left.

Arrrrrrghgg! lol I am so frustrated

My fiance just got a letter in the mail saying the interview fee was being raised to $350. His interview is on June 8.

We were so close to making it under the old fee! Now it is double the cost.

This is my first time posting to this thread...but you can add us to the June interviews! June 8

I am not sure where you have gotten those numbers, but as someone who works in the insurance industry I can assure you those figures are grossly overestimated. If someone is paying that much for insurance, it is probably for a VERY small company whose employees have a lot of pre-existing conditions or something else is going on. $1k a month would cover a whole family normally.

Typically, and it depends on the state you live in, the employer is required to pay half of the employees insurance costs. However, the employer is not required to pay anything towards the family coverages. This is why it is usually cheaper for a husband and wife to have insurance through their own respective places of business versus having the same insurance. This is why the employee's insurance may only be $50.00 a pay check and for the spouse on the same insurance it is $100.00 a pay period (I am making up numbers here to show the point). The employer is paying the other $50.00 a pay period for the employee, but is not paying anything for the spouse. Again these laws can vary from state to state, so it's possible for individual insurance to be as high as you said, but not likely and nothing I have EVER seen outside of the COBRA program.

You need to really REALLY read what you are looking at with these policies. If you go through a private insurer and have ANY pre-existing conditions they could exclude them for up to 1 year even IF YOU BUY A POLICY. You might want to get a letter from your old doctor stating you had medical coverage up until X date in order to help with that. I could go on and on about the warnings, just make sure you read it and that you understand EVERYTHING before you purchase a private policy. Even some group plans have really....REALLY annoying policies.

Case and point:

When I swapped to a job in the insurance industry I was hired as a temp and lost my old insurance. (the overlap was short so I dealt with it). About 4 months after I was on the new policy I had to go and have a heart test run. Insurance paid for the tests up to their part of my policy. However, when I went to the doctor to get the results of the TEST, they wouldn't pay for the office visit ans said it was a pre-existing condition because I just had the test for it. I had to FIGHT it and it was the most absurd fight I have ever had to go through in my life.

Be very wary.

It's very good insurance. Mine covers medical, dental, orthodontic, and vision.

I don't know if anyone has posted this already, but I know that people regularly ask about when the new Federal Poverty Guidelines will come out, and there's an interesting piece about that on HHS' webpage here: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09extension.shtml

Essentially, Congress has prohibited HHS from changing the federal poverty guidelines before March 1, 2010, because if they did change them the figures would for the first time have gone down, rather than up. Having the numbers go down would have been good for K-1 sponsors who are just on the cusp of eligibility, but it would have been bad for impoverish people who receive needs-based assistance, so Congress delayed it from happening.

Thank you for posting! Very informative

The $175 to join your OH's plan is a great deal.

Be VERY careful of any insurance that is cheaper than that!! There are tons of scams out there. $122 sounds too good to be true

To give you an idea, at most companies, they pay $800-1000 per month for one person's insurance...the $175 is just a small portion that they require the employees to help out with.

We got a notice from NVC today and our petiton has been forwarded to the US embassy in london, i am going to book my medical now and i have everything ready for sending to the embassy.

I have seen some people dont wait for packet 3 to arrive and they just go ahead and send the forms..

> DS156

> DS157

> DS156K

> DS230 1 & 2

> Checklist IV15

Thats it right (i know two of them are required in duplicate but i cant remeber which off the top of my head, i do have them ready though)?

If it is ok to send these before receving the packet. how long should i wait before sending them? i want to make sure they have my case and that they dont discard the forms thinking they are just ramdomly submitted.

Thanks

nick

Maybe you should start a new thread with this question? I would like to know the answer too!

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, and my USC fiance has recently filed our K1 petition (last month). I have since been talking to potential employers in the US and was wondering what my options are for working.

I know that right now I cannot work legally in the US. I also know that I need the fiance visa before I can apply for the work permit/green card. However, does anyone know if it is possible to have a US employer sponsor me for a work visa (H1B) while my K1 visa goes ahead? Or would that just cancel out my K1 visa?

I'd be grateful for any advice!

Thanks

When you're talking with potential employers, keep in mind it will likely be another 5-6 months until you live in the US. After that, you will have 90 days to get married and file "Adjustment of States" (includes an application for work authorization). After THAT is approved (it can take 3-4 months), you'll be eligible to work. So if you just filed your K1 last month- you are looking at a possible 10-12 month wait until you'll even be authorized to work in the US.

An H1B might be a good idea if you have an employer ready to sponsor it. However, if you ever lost your job or wanted to move you'd have to still go another visa route to stay permanently. But if you do have the chance to do this, it would be great because you can see your fiancee sooner

I don't know what the rules are about processing them concurrently.

Good luck!

So all in all the amount in the Petitioners bank account is void unless they aren't above the poverty line by 25%? Okay, that's great news. Also, what I meant by worrying is, it'll of been four months in two days, do you think we should be worrying, because we feel the NAO2 should of came by now (We're kind of going by a timeframe of the general six months it seems to take most people on average), or are we being over-anxious?

That is a bit on the long side. Ours took about 2 months, and that seems to be somewhat common (don't mean to rub it in!).

If you don't hear anything this month, then you can contact your congressperson (on the US side) to check into it. If VSC is the same as CSC, they say it'll be 5 months until the NOA2 so according to them you don't have anything to complain about until you hit that point.

Good luck- it should be any day now!

We are getting towards the end of our journey (yipee!!) and I'm putting together the pieces we need to mail off the DS-230 packet. I've been reading up to make sure I don't miss anything, and am a little confused on a couple of points. I thought maybe someone might be able to help me out here.

One question is do I need to send a copy of MY birth certificate (I'm the US citizen, my husband is from England) along with it? Will they require a copy of MY previous marriage certificate and divorce? And does my husband need to send a copy of something stating he has legal custody of his 4 children that he's bringing with him to the US?

The other questions about the interview are how much will he have to pay at the interview in London? And does he need to bring his children to the interview as well? Or will they require just him to come (alone)?

Thanks guys! I appreciate the help!!

Hugs,

Julie

Michigan

Hey I'm in Michigan too!

You won't send any birth certificates to the embassy, he will just bring his to the interview (so no you don't need to send a copy of yours). You probably already have, but make sure he has the long form birth certificate We just ordered one for my fiance and it said it will take over 3 weeks to arrive!

Sorry, I don't know the answer about the kids.

Thanks!

Do they automatically send you an email confirmation? I don't even remember putting my email address down on the application. Was it on the I-130 or G-325A?

I think now I remember it was just mail for the NOA1.

But once you receive it, go to www.uscis.gov and on the left click "check my case status", then "sign-up for case updates". You can sign up there for e-mail or text notices, and you'll be able to log into the website to check your case status. It will drive you crazy though...I was checking it every day lol. It does make you feel like you have a little more information on how it's going though.

I checked my online bank account, and my I-130 application check was cashed on 3/2.

Does this mean my NOA1 will be the same date?

No, but it will be close. You'll receive an e-mail / letter in the mail with your NOA1 date. It'll probably be within the next few days.

Hello,

I do my best to search like crazy to find the answers I need, but this time I just can't seem to find it so thought I'd start my first topic.

I just got my NOA2 (yay!!) and am trying to assemble the papers we'll need in London.

I know the complete list of forms, documents, etc. that I'll need.

My question is-

Which ones get sent back to the embassy after the "packet 3" is received?

And which ones need to be brought to the interview?

Thank you soo much for your help!!

Hey everyone, our K-1 is making its way to the point where we should be expecting our NAO2 anyday now. Our timeline seems to say we should be adjudicated at the 25th of February at the latest. We're starting to worry because that doesn't leave us much time to get it, before we start panicing. In two days it'd of been four months since we filed the initial 129F petition; I guess what our question is, is should we be worrying?

Along with packet three we're under the impression that the Petitioner will have to send the Beneficiary (Me) bank statements from her, and because we're using a co-sponsor, theirs also. So I have a few questions:

- Will the amount of money in my partners bank account effect the outcome of the K-1 even if we are using a co-sponsor? (If so, how much should the co-sponsor have laying in their bank account generally?)

- As we are preparing for the NAO2 we're also curious as to how much is an accepted 'minimum' amount to have in the Petitioners bank account when sending off the bank statements for packet 3?

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

JackAndWhitney

The main thing is proof of income. You have to be at least 25% above the poverty level. You probably already know this since you've already decided to use a cosponsor.

From what I've seen, assets (including amount in bank account) only really matter if you do NOT meet the income requirements.

Although it's good to prepare in advance, you don't really need to be worrying because it will still be a few weeks after NOA2 that you receive PKG 3.

We have sort of a messy situation going on with the planning of our wedding ceremony and we're just wondering if anyone else is in or has been in a similar situation.

Basically, we need to get married in the US first, to comply with the terms for a K1. My Irish bride however, would prefer to have a ceremony in Ireland after a legal US marriage. After speaking with a (Protestant) Reverend, we have been told that we can not have a wedding ceremony, but only a "blessing" since we will already be married in the US. Furthermore, 1. we are required to walk up the isle together instead of her being brought up by her Father, and 2. We can not swap rings and cannot say our vows/ i do's.

This is very unfortunate for the both of us, and we're wondering if there's any way to work around this, so at least, she can be brought up by her father. I can understand if the wording of the ceremony needs to be different but it seems ridiculous to not allow the bride (or wife in our case) to be brought up by her father.

Does anyone have advice for our situation?

I know someone who had a civil ceremony (it was because the groom was going to be deployed for the army, they were both Americans), but then had a church "blessing" when he returned from Iraq. It was at an Episcopal Church (same as Church of England, don't know what it is in Ireland). Anyways, the priest had no problem with letting her father walk her down the aisle. They also had a "blessing of the rings" I believe, because there was a ring bearer and the priest said a prayer over the rings.

There was something extremely similar to vows/ I do's, but may have said "I will" instead, or something like that.

I would encourage you to try another church. Every reverend/priest is different in how they interpret Church rules/traditions and I know there are some out there who have problem with the things you described.

ALSO, keep in mind that if you are applying for a K-1 visa that the foreign spouse will not be able to leave (well, technically you can leave whenever you want but won't be able to return) until you've been granted AP (Advanced Parole). I think that usually takes about 3-6 months after you file (you file after your US marriage) so you'll at least need to wait that long until anything occurs in Ireland.

Not too good to be true, but not true for everyone. We filed Feb 1, 2008 and had the visa in hand by May 7, 2008. 91 days from start til interview.

Wow I can only hope ours is like yours!