MrStrain14

Hello All

I am from the UK and moved to the USA in July 2010 on a K-1 visa. We are currently putting together our removal of conditions packet as my GC expires end of March.

When I came to the US, I left a fair amount of Loan / Credit Card debt in the UK and have had an ongoing agreement to pay a minimal amount each month to my creditors. This has been in place since I arrived here, but now I am at the point where I want to just clear the debt and move on. I am not in a position to make lump sum settlement offers and so I am looking at the Bankruptcy route.

Rules basically state that I can apply for UK Bankruptcy as long as I have lived there within the last 3 years. This time limit will expire in July so I want to get the ball rolling. Are there any VJers who have gone through this process and can recommend a company / solicitor to handle this for me?

I have found a few companies online that claim to specialize in such things; I obviously don't want to have to fly back and forth to the UK to deal with court visits, official receiver appointments etc, and so I would like to use someone who can represent me in my absence. My concern is that I have no way of knowing which companies are legitimate and whether they will do a good job etc.

Any recommendations will be gratefully received; thank you in advance for your help.

Mike

Congratulations on your wedding! Read and follow the instructions here:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

This is a thread devoted to Adjustment of Status topics. You can always do a search on the website before posting as most questions have been asked and answered before, so will maybe help you find things a little more easily. Good luck!

Carolina Pride do a similar product. Mild Smoked Sausage. Not quite the same, but not too bad either! Look for a Yellow Box, you get about 5 good-sized links.

Well done mate, welcome!

Yeah, no worries, mostly waiting around. Put a long review on VJ but basically got asked me about 8 questions - how we met, how long we've been together, when i proposed, where we'll be living, when i'm leaving, what work do I do here, if i'll be working out there, what will I do. I literally needed Passport, passport photos, Original BC + copy, Police Cert + copy & I-134 with tax returns, payslip & employer letter. Didn't want her BC or passport copies, or relationship evidence. Didn't want co-sponsor I-134 either. All good, got my visa on Wednesday.

I took Simone's Original BC and a copy but they didn't ask for it. I go with being overprepared, just in case!

Visa in hand! Sweet...today is a good day.

Approved!

We were in and out of the embassy within two hours, very quick indeed! We got called in order to the first window but we were called for our interview before the two I-numbers 'in front' of us. Not sure why this happened but our interview took about 5 minutes, most of which was the guy sorting out his sleeves on his new shirt! Fingers crossed for a quick delivery!

Congrats to the other June 17th graduates!

Woohoo! Us too, approved today and VERY happy about it. Will write a full review at some point but right now I need sleep, been up since 5am.

Congrats to everyone else approved today, and good luck arwilson80, hopefully AP won't take too long.

Yep, don't need photos until the interview itself, so get the forms sent in right away.

Snappy Snaps also do US-size photos.

Hey Sundrop,

First off, congratulations on your approval! Woohoo!!

Secondly, if you wouldn't mind amending my date to the 17th please, that'd be great. Thanks!

K-1.........MrStrain14............17 June 2010 (56 days)

Most states allow you to drive for upto 1 year on your UK license, but once you become a resident you generally have to get a state license within a certain time period. Vermont is 60 days, I think.

Some VJers have suggested waiting until you get your EAD before applying for the license. DMV employees don't seem to have much idea about rules for immigrants, so waiting until you have a SSN, Bank account & EAD will prove to them that you are a legal resident and that you meet the requirements for a license. Each state is different though, so maybe Google Vermont DMV & see what you can find through a bit more research. Hope that helps a little!

Question is though - is the 'other half' worth it?

That makes 3 of us that day then... Mine is a 09:00 appointment though.

I'm gonna get there as early as they allow, and prepare for a few hours of waiting. I'll bring a big book.

Hi, congrats on the approval!

Be useful if you could fill in your profile so we know which consulate you'll be going to - various consulates have different requirements, so would just help us to give you more specific answers. I'm going through London, so only really know what's required based on that embassy.

Generally though, you should start preparing all the evidence you might need for the interview - again, this depends on the consulate, but will include things like police certificates, birth certificates, passport photos, plus the I-134 which you're already thinking about.

For the I-134, as long as your co-sponsor meets the required income levels, then your fiancee's unemployment will not be a problem.

I hope that helps for now, once you let us know which embassy you're going through then we can give you specifics & hopefully give you some links to look at. Good luck!

I got an email from them today saying that they have re-scheduled me for the 17th also! SunDrop, could you update mine from the 14th to the 17th on your list please? MrStrain is yours at 8am?

Sweet, nice one! Did they move it further back originally? I think mine says 8:30 but I plan to get there early as possible. Should both wear a red cap or carry a copy of The Times in our left hand to identify each other!!

I know, SO frustrating. I got the same letter today, they've only just changed it. Like it doesn't cost enough already!

It's really up to you, there's no reason for waiting really. I'm from the 'better safe than sorry' school of thought, so I booked my medical as soon as I got P3.

Thanks for that. Sorry to hear that your interview got moved. Good luck with it and I hope that it's a positive outcome so that you can join your SO asap.

Thanks, I appreciate that. In fact, after e-mailing the embassy on Friday asking for any cancellations, I got a reply this morning to say that they do in fact have a cancellation & my interview is now the 17th June! So much better. Fingers crossed for that positive outcome!

Good luck for your interview next week!

Hi Z, can you direct us to where you saw that the fee is going up? Thanks Emma

It's now on the embassy website, wasn't there last week:

The fee for processing a fiancé(e) or K-3 visa is currently $131.00 per visa applicant. From June 4, the fee will be $350:00. The fee is paid on the day of the visa interview to the Embassy cashier. Fees may be paid in cash - sterling or dollar equivalent; by International Money Order or Bankers Draft; by Credit Card - Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover or American Express; or Debit Card with the Visa logo. The Embassy does not accept any other credit or debit cards, or personal checks.

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

It's a 167% increase. Bit irritating seeing as they'll be getting another $1010 off each of us for the AOS in a few months, not to mention renewal of EADs, Removal of conditions, etc. Oh well, we'll budget an extra £150 or so then!

This morning I got a letter from the embassy re-scheduling my appointment because they do not have enough interviewers on my original date. My interview date was on June 14th and we had planned around this but now it's June 22nd. My fiance is flying over to attend it with me (lands on June 12th) and we planned to fly back together on the same flight on July 3rd. I booked my flight as refundable just in case but don't want to change it. I have emailled them explaining the situation and asked if there's any available for the week of the 14th. Has anyone else had this happen? Did you have luck with getting the date changed?

I'm in exactly the same situation. Was 11th June, 2 days after my original appointment letter I got another saying they had moved it to June 30th for the same reason. Emailed the embassy, they won't change it. They said they advise not to make travel arrangements until the visa is in hand.

Sundrop, could you please amend my date to June 30? Thanks!

Wed - 2 days ago - received P4 stating my interview was scheduled for June 11. Hurrah!

Fri - today - received letter stating that, due to a 'lack of interviewing officers' being available, my interview has been moved to June 30.

Called extortion line, got e-mail code, sent email asking it to be moved forward again as I have started to make arrangements, and received an e-mail back (really quickly, to their credit) stating that the re-scheduled date is the earliest they have & that they advise not to make firm travel plans until visa is in hand.

I've replied asking for any cancellations etc, but bummed that my interview has been pushed back 3 weeks.

Anyone else had a similar thing happen?

Hi, congrats on getting this far! It's all very exciting!

Firstly - Yes this IS packet 3!! Hurrah! Although they call it 'Packet 3', they no longer send all the required forms to you - as you can see, they simply provide the link where you are expected to print off the forms & checklist yourself. So, here is what you need to do:

1. Goto the link & print of the DS-156k, DS-157 & DS-230 Part 1, Plus the IV-15 checklist.

2. Complete the DS-156 online.

3. Send in these completed forms with the checklist, and keep copies for yourself. Don't send in any evidence at this point though - things like birth certificates, relationship evidence etc is taken with you to the interview.

4. Schedule a medical exam if you haven't done so already. Read this for instructions. They reccommend you have your medical at least 5 days before the interview.

5. Wait! The embassy will contact you when they have scheduled an interview. They will send you a letter, known as 'Packet 4', which confirms the date & time of your interview. If you get impatient, you can call the DOS a few weeks after sending back P3.

Dont' worry about the colour of the envelope - the Brown envelope is sent to you after the interview with your passport & visa.

You should also start collecting evidence in preparation for the interview, if you haven't been doing that already. Things like getting Police Certificates, Relationship evidence, US-size passport photos, Birth Certificate etc. You also need the I-134 from your US fiance, as well as the NOA2 he received.

Looks like a lot to do, I know, but it's pretty straightforward really. Good luck, hopefully things will start moving really quickly for you now!

Nice one! I was gonna call them tomorrow, but got my P4 yesterday - 11 June is my interview, a week before you guys. Good times and good luck!

sorry about the earlier rant. Got home to good news.

Sundrop, I have an interview on the 7th of June (going to try and pull it forward) so you can add me to the received interviews - finally!

Congrats! Maybe your rant got through to them.

Good news for me too yesterday - Interview on 11 June! Get in! Be grateful if you can add me to the list please Sundrop

Thank you so much. Always feels reassuring to get an expert opinion - and I've seen enough of your posts on VJ to know you fit that category!

Again, thank you, not only for this but for other answers you give - some of your replies have helped us no end

I don't think that your source of medical insurance would be a factor, and you have to be the primary sponsor in any case. As you are getting a co-sponsor, I think it will be fine.

I don't know for sure, but from what I can see about sponsorship, using medicaid should not be a factor. Regardless of your income, you have to be Charlie's primary sponsor anyway, and DOS are more concerned that he will not be come a public charge - I don't think they will be concerned that you are using medicaid. As long as he can be supported financially, which you will prove by means of a co-sponsor, I don't see it being a problem.

Only offered an opinion on the VWP from what I know, & to make sure you guys have considered everything. Lots of people have no clue, just trying to help.

And congratulations on the wedding & pregnancy. Forgot that important part on my first post! Good luck to you both.