eclipse115

GOOD NEWS! I actually just checked DHL and they have it. He gets to pick it up today ^-^

All that worrying for nothing

Lindsay and Mark not sure on Canada but in Australia once we were approved on 23rd June I had to wait 3 weeks till I got packet 3, 15th July. Had that all organized and sent off same day express mail and then waited till the 17th August till interview. So at least 8 weeks from approval to interview depending on how quick they move and how many k1 interviews they have come in I suppose. We had our wedding planned 11th September and I got in 1 week before lol.I had a hold up with my visa is all.So by rights you should hear something by end or middle of this month fingers crossed.

Sorry maybe I wasn't clear. We were approved for the visa at his interview on the 23rd of November. All paperwork done. Just waiting to get his passport back

I know this has been talked about in some other threads but can anyone tell me about how long it took to get their visa once they were approved. I know some people got it in a couple days and others 2 weeks but I wanted to get a sense of what the average is.

We're on the sixth business day since our approval (our appt was right before Thanksgiving) and I'm just mildly nervous. I want to be able to finally put some deposits down for the wedding

If there is a more collaborative thread out there please let me know. Thanks!

I (petitioner) received a copy of Packet 3 a couple of days after the beneficiary. Not really sure why.

Can anyone tell me how you "pay" for the DHL? When we registered and booked the interview I only paid the visa fee. Is there an additional fee for the actual DHL shipping and if so how and when do you pay that?

edit- Nevermind . . . just read in the packet it says, "If your visa is approved, we will put your visa in your passport and send the completed visa packet and passport to you by DHL courier at no extra charge"

We're also Nov 23. The waiting is killing me.

Thankyou all for your quick replies. Tim can't find his last year's return, so hopefully he can get a transcript before my interview date...Nov. 23

HEY! We have the same interview date! ^-^

You guys are really making me feel better. Here's hoping. I guess I'll put all my energy into making sure we have all the paperwork and evidence

Thanks everyone. That makes me feel a little better, now I just have to figure out if the panel physician passed him or not. He has the results but naturally you can't open them.

Hi,

We're getting ready for our interview next month and I'm getting a little nervous about the possibility of getting denied.

For the most part everything is in order.

I make enough money and am permanently employed

We have proof of relationship (chats, phone records, pictures etc)

No criminal backgrounds for either of us

No drug use

Neither of us have ever been married

No overstays

The thing I'm worried about is my fiance (the beneficiary) attempted suicide 3 years ago (1 year before we met). He went through group therapy and was under a Dr's supervision. He never had to take medication for it and has completely turned around his life.

He had his medical last month and answered truthfully about his suicide attempt. He brought a letter from his Dr outlining his treatment, his outlook and that essentially it was an isolated incident. The Panel Physician didn't seem to be too concerned about it and spent more time going over his vaccinations.

Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect at the interview? I'm sure they will ask but is it an automatic reason for denial? Is it automatic grounds for a psych eval or is it at their discretion?

Any help or experience you can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks!

As a follow-up, email Montreal for your exact status. They surprisingly got back to me within a day. Explain the different messages you're getting from the DOS and hopefully they can tell you exactly what's going on with it.

Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

Great news! Montreal got back to me within a day. They're sending out another packet!

Thanks for your help!

Not having exactly the same situation but DOS told me that Montreal sent us Packet 3 on July 2nd. We haven't received it. Maybe I should call back.

UGH . . . I just emailed them but several weeks for a response will kill me.

We've already been building our paperwork for packet 3. I think the only thing we're waiting for is the police certificate. Is it possible to just go ahead without packet 3? I know I've seen Montreal's packet 3 somewhere on the site but have to find it again. Is there something in there that he'll have to show someone?

I called the Dept of State and they said that the consulate sent out packet 3 on July 2nd. He hasn't received the packet and they advised me to call the consulate.

Is there something else we should do? Does anyone have a link to Montreal's Packet 3? Is there a way to move forward without actually receiving the packet?

*screaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmm* Just got our notice of approval!!! (>'.')> (7'.')7 <('.'<)

Another question to ask yourself, do you think she can reasonably navigate the interview? She hasn't been able to successfully navigate an interview for a tourist visa, she may not be able to do it for a K-1 either.

The tourist visa questions look for reasons she may decide to overstay. They likely saw some potential for that and denied.

The K-1 interview will be looking for a real relationship coupled with a genuine intent to marry. There is a good possibility she could give the "wrong" answer since your intentions don't align with what the K-1 is designed to do.

Additionally, have you met her in person?

But it's a legally unenforceable document. So there is no risk on the OP's part.

Not meaning to be rude, but the OP didn't ask us if he SHOULD do this. He asked us if he could. It isn't hard to get a K1 petition approved. It may be harder (at the interview) for his fiance to get her visa if she discloses there are no imminent plans to marry.

Nonetheless, it is an option and a viable one.

If she has no intent to marry she cannot truthfully complete one of the requirements, the letter of intent to marry. He technically can't begin the process with success as an outcome if he doesn't have that letter from her. She should not write and sign that letter if it is not true.

Ok . . . thanks everyone! I really appreciate it. Just trying to budget accordingly.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I wanted to know about fees before AOS. Thankfully that one was easy to figure out the cost.

I'm trying to get a general idea of what fees we can expect for getting the K-1. I've read some other posts but it just seems to confuse me more.

So far we've filed the petition and paid $455.

I know his medical will be $275 in Toronto and we'll have to pay some travel expenses for the interview in Montreal. I know there are nominal fees for the police certificate and birth certificate.

I think for packet 3 we will need:

DS-156 - Currently $131 but might go up to ____?

DS-156K - $0

DS-230 - I looked up the fee as $355 but I'm not sure if that applies.

I-134 - $0

Is this right? Is there something I'm missing or including that shouldn't be there?

I know you guys get this question a lot but unfortunately the government websites aren't very clear.

Thanks in advance!

My check's been cashed! They received it Mar 31 and it's been cashed 4/02. One tiny step closer

I'm having a difficult time trying to not lose out on anything... yet not do anything drastic before we get a yes. >.< I've seen signatures for K1 folks that don't have an interview date yet, with what looks like a firm wedding date planned. How can you do that? My fiance and I have a *hopeful* date...

And for those of you that are finished, how much planning/buying did you do before you got the yes?

What I've done is purchased my dress (it was the only one and I got a killer price), and emptied my fiance's future closet lol.

What I worry about is, losing the minister, losing our location, losing our photographer. I can't just expect they will be free with no notice, but they all need up front payments to hold the date of course.

I want to start getting more ready for him to move in. I don't want to jinx it either. So yeah, I am just curious how you all are handling this part of things.

We were really hoping for a date of 10/10/10 but it likely won't happen. I have put any non-refundable money down for venues or vendors. I make sure they can at least transfer our deposit to another date.

One thing we're definitely doing is having our wedding on a Sunday. There aren't many weddings on Sundays so with the exception of 10/10/10, I'm not really worried about losing my venue.

Congrats!

I know you're not allowed to leave the US after you enter on your K-1 but is there anything you can file to allow that? Is there anyway to have a non-US honeymoon? What's the fastest outlook for being able to leave the US after coming in on a K1?

I'm asking in part because it would be nice to go to Canada for the honeymoon and in part because my fiance's parents are older and I want to know what would happen if he had a family emergency and had to return.