Going Green

Hi All,

I know this thread is old, but it seemed the most appropriate place to post this!

I had my biometrics interview a week ago at the Milwaukee Dept. of Homeland Security building. It was easy to find (an unassuming building sat at the foot of a hill). There's a car park nearby, or metered parking across the street. If you're lucky, you can head up the hill and around the corner where you can park on the street for free.

After passing through the normal security gate, I handed over my appointment letter and passport and was handed one of those plastic coaster things you get in restaurants which buzzes when your table is ready. Then I was directed upstairs to a big waiting area where a couple of dozen people were waiting to be called for whatever they were there for.

After 10 minutes my buzzer went off and I headed back downstairs. I was directed into a large room with a computer station in one corner. The chap who saw me was friendly and asked me about Britain (casually checking to make sure I was a Brit, I guess!). He had me place my fingers on a scanner and the prints appeared on the computer screen. He took them one by one, then had me sit back down for a photo.

And that was it. I wondered whether they might take a blood sample, but no. There's no mystery about 'biometrics'; it's just prints and a photo.

All in all, I was there for 20 minutes. No problemo.

We did the same thing we were careful in between the dates! All worked out well for us!!

Good luck

Lexi (usa) and Nick (UK)

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my experience of shipping my things over from the UK to the US.

Like everyone, I was a little intimidated by the number of agents out there. Not only that, but the spectrum of people’s experiences seemed pretty broad. In the end, I chose to go with Excess Baggage; their website seemed professional and people’s opinions seemed mostly positive. Plus, they supplied all the boxes I’d need and provided a door to door service.

Their website shows all the various sizes of container you can request. Basically, you mentally box all your possessions up, then e-mail them for a quote. I wound up needing 18 boxes (most were small ones for books and DVD’s), with a couple of larger boxes for clothes and one big bike container for my framed movie posters.

Once you are ready to proceed, you give them the go-ahead and they’ll take an initial fee and arrange for a day to deliver all your boxes. The only niggle was that the courier could come at any point during the day. Not ideal if you work all day and live alone. So I had to leave a note on my door asking the courier to call me when he arrived, as I worked just a couple of minutes from my flat. Fortunately, he did, so I got my flat-packed boxes, along with four HUGE rolls of bubble wrap and eight rolls of parcel tape.

I never thought I’d use all that bubble wrap, but I ended up using every bit!

It was hard work packing everything, labelling the boxes (your name, ref, item number and destination) and noting the contents of each box on the forms without error. Took me a good 8 hours and the knees of my jeans were literally worn away from all the kneeling, but I got there in the end.

The courier came the next morning and took everything away. It’s shocking how bare your place looks afterwards! I then finished off the customs forms and faxed them to Excess Baggage. They billed me for everything and that was pretty much that.

Subsequently, I quit my job, moved out, went for my K1 visa interview, was approved (thank God), made the jump across the pond and got married to my good lady. With all those life-changing events, I’d virtually forgotten about all my stuff til I got a call and an email to inform me of its impending delivery. I had to pay $20 to the delivery company and the van pulled up a few days later. All the boxes were intact and the contents undamaged. In total, it took about 10 weeks for them to arrive (they say 12 max).

All in all, it cost me around £900. Sounds a lot, but that’s for EVERYTHING, and a door to door service from Leeds, UK to Appleton, Wisconsin.

I’d definitely recommend Excess Baggage. They supplied all I needed, their processes were straightforward and their fees reasonable. Their website made it very clear what forms I had to complete and even contained a helpful guide for doing so. As for their service, I have nothing but praise for them. The lady who handled my move was called Jade and she was polite, went out of her way to assist me whenever I had a problem and was ALWAYS contactable. Seriously, I don’t think she ever left the workplace.

So, whoever you decide to use, I hope your move goes as smoothly as mine did.

Nick

Yeap add us Nick (UK Leeds) and Lexi ( USA Wisconsin)

Happily together in Appleton, WI!!!

Hello,

We met on myspace, and I have to agree the waiting period does seem to weed out alot of not ready for this step peeps. I too am shocked at the number of people who go through all of this and then "change their minds". BUT happy endings do happen, We are totally still in love and living the happily ever after!

Nick and Lexi

Okay here is my two cents dealing with the K-1 visa was a very unpredictable we did the same made plans and then had to cancel them, made new ones and cut it VERY close with that one!!! But I wanted a wedding with all the bells and whistles which takes time to plan, so TOTALLY understand!! Wish I could be more help and give you a definate yes or no but the government LOVES to go slow!! Just don't stress to much and lose sight of the bigger picture being together is the BEST!!!

Lexi and Nick

No worries I went with Nick to our interview on the 27th, No one called ahead or anything take your passport and bingo your in!!! Remember in the arm load of info your guys are carrying is your info too. It was really easy and everyone was really nice!!

lexi

Hey All,

Just thought I'd post a summary of my K1 interview experience in London. Had it on the 27th Oct at 9am.

Lexi, my fiancee, was over so was able to attend with me. She certainly helped to organise and calm me down. For some reason, even though we knew there was really nothing they could refuse us on, I was a total bag of nerves and terrified of the Entry Clearance Officer giving me a stern and incontestible "Denied."

As the trains were a total rip-off, we opted to catch the National Express coach from Leeds to London at midnight. At that time it takes 6 hours to get there, with 10 stops along the way. Sure, it saved us a LOT of money, but neither of us managed to get any sleep, so we were pretty groggy when it arrived at Victoria Coach Station. We then strolled up towards Hyde Park and Marble Arch. It was pretty weird to wander around a pre-dawn London. The streets were virtually deserted, even outside Buckingham Palace.

After getting some much-needed breakfast (and taking a much-needed leak) at McDonalds on Oxford Street, we made our way to Grosvenor Square. We soon came to the famous Gould Pharmacy, where we handed over our electronic gizmos for storage and got my passport photos taken. Clearly, they get tons of business from visa applicants as they really had their stuff in order and fixed us up in 5 mins. So, then it was round the corner to the embassy to join the snake line of interviewees outside the security booth. Even just before 8am there were a good 30 people in front of us.

The line moved pretty fast. The officers were pleasant enough and going through was just like going through an airport security check. I hadn't called them to say Lexi was going to be attending, but it was no problem. They checked to make sure she was on my docs as my fiancee, looked at her passport, scribbled her name on my appointment letter, then waved us on.

Inside the embassy foyer, I handed the receptionist my letter and she gave me a number. We then entered the waiting area, which was far more pleasant than I expected. I guess I thought it'd be like a hospital waiting room, but it was more like a hotel lounge, albeit with no tables, only chairs, and a dozen windows off to the side behind which the staff sat. We took a seat and stared like everyone else at the screens, waiting for our number to be called to whatever window.

We were fully prepared for a wait of up to 5 hours, but we were fortunate. Things moved fast and after about an hour our number came up.

A word of advice: make sure you have your interview letter, birth/adoption certificate, police certificate and affidavit(s) of support ready to go. You don't want to be fumbling around in your files and peeving the person behind the glass off. Thanks to my super-organised girl, I was able to give the guy just what he asked for. No questions at this stage; he was just fingerprinting, processing and checking. He was British and very officious. Not rude, just kind of abrupt. Anyway, the only other thing I had to do was pay the $300 fee at the next window, which I did in a couple of minutes by Debit Card. After I handed over the receipt, he told me to return to the waiting area til I was called again.

It took about another hour before I was called again. This time we knew it'd be the interview. Maybe it was lack of sleep or getting step one done, but I didn't feel too nervous at that point. I wandered round, files in hand, to another window where a very friendly American chap took my fingerprints again, made me swear to tell the truth and asked me some questions:

How did you two meet?

When did you first meet in person?

What do you do for a living?

What does she do?

Where are you going to live?

This all sounds like an interrogation and very cold, but this guy was so nice it was like a chat and I wasn't nervous at all so the answers just flowed out freely and accurately. Then he told me that our case was extremely straightforward and we were approved. He gave me a pink form to complete so the courier could send my passport and immigration package to me then sent me on my way with a smile.

I was beaming. I'd have skipped down that corridor had I not been loaded down with coats, drinks and my forms! I told Lexi the good news and we wasted no time in completing the form and handing it over at the DX Courier counter at the back of the hall. We opted for 3-5 working day delivery before 10am. It cost £25. It took a couple of days for my item to appear on their website, but it's there now and scheduled to be delivered on Monday (3 working days).

So yeah, it was surprisingly swift and painless. Walking out of there, I think we both felt a massive weight had been lifted.

We spent the next few hours enjoying the sights of London. Unfortunately, we had a 'mare getting home as there was a crash on Park Lane that brought the traffic everywhere to a near-standstill. The coach was delayed by an hour and took 5 hours to get us home. We arrived home absolutely shattered, but, hey, it's a small price to pay. Now we can finally be together.

Hope all you guys have as easy an experience as us, and a positive outcome.

Nick

Good luck to Inlovewithmybrit, Melissa and Julian and GoingGreen for your interviews this month!!

Awhhh Thanks, at this point we are just so excited that this leg of the journey is almost over, and I get to go with!! Good luck on your AOS interview hope it is a breeze!!

Congrats!!! So happy for you two!!

Hello all and MANY thanks for all who have helped us through this process. To get you all updated we are filing for K1 visa everything is done but the interview which (finger crossed) we will get a date for this coming week. As fate has thrown us a curve ball Nick's mum has been ill with cancer for a long time BUT has been in good enough health that she was flying to the US for our big wedding in November. However things have changed and she is no longer able to fly, I would like to fly to the UK in late October and do a 'blessing' ceremony for her to see her only son that is gonna get married get blessed. And then Nick and I fly back together for POE in chicago. The questions I have are:

Will I have any issues at port of entry into the UK? Should I bring anything specific?

And anyone know a good pastor in Leeds? Being the USC I don't know where to begin to organize a blessing any suggestions I would greatly apperciate...leaving all this in Nick's hands makes me giggle to think...

Thanks to all

X

Lexi and Nick

Us to we are waiting, everything done, now just waiting for the interview date!!! The K1 is DEFINATLY a test on your skills at waiting... :) I am hoping by the end of next week to hear something next Tuesday is 3 WEEKS!!! UGH

Oh GOSH! now I'm DYING for a ploughman's sandwich with Branston pickle and REAL cheddar cheese

Okay grant you I am the American in this realationship but what is up with Branston pickle??? Nick was so excited for me to try some last time I was in Leeds, and I don't want to break hearts but that is some scary *&%#%!!! Can someone explain why he was gonna bring jars of the stuff with him?? (I found it here at World Market)... Now I could see Greggs Sausage rolls (we don't have anything like that in Wisconsin :(LOL)

We choose the K1 for many of the same reasons as others listed... but also we wanted to have the wedding with both of our families and friends there, not a quickie to fill the obligation of getting married (but that is us we are old souls)... being apart SUCKS but when we get married we know we don't ever have to be again!!

Hello All,

I had my medical yesterday and thought I’d share my experience with you.

As I understand it, Knightsbridge Doctors have two premises in London. Mine took place at the Bentinck Mansions location, which is about 10 minutes walk from Marble Arch (where I got off the coach). It’s easy enough to find as long as you have a half-decent map (I've attached one and a photo of the building).

Hit the button on the intercom and they’ll buzz you into the building. You want Flat 4, on the ground floor, which is ahead and to your right as you walk into the foyer.

Go through the door and you’ll come to the reception window. There were three or four people busy in the background as I talked to the receptionist and handed over my vaccination records, passport and UK size passport photo. I hadn’t filled anything in prior to coming, so she gave me two forms: one a fairly simple checklist and the other a more formal, more detailed one, which I assumed was for the embassy. I only had to fill in the first two sections of the latter; the rest would be filled in by the doctor.

She told me to take a seat in the waiting room, which was a spacious sitting room, with leather chairs and sofas, a fireplace and classic paintings on the wall. There were four other people and 2 kids in there. I guessed I might be there some time.

I returned the completed forms, then waited. After 10 minutes, a South African lady came in and called my name. I wouldn’t say she was rude, but let’s just say she wasn’t the cheeriest individual on God’s green earth. She led me to an examination room and had me stick my chest against a machine with a metal plate on it, then took my X-ray. After that little job, it was back to the waiting room for more waiting.

A good half hour at least!

I was starting to think they’d forgotten me, then another South African lady, called Dr. Kronje, took me into another examination room. Thankfully, she was friendlier than her colleague. She sat me down and went through the forms, filling in any blanks, asking me a few questions, such as if I’d been arrested for anything physical and if I’d ever had chicken pox. Didn’t take long.

Then she measured my height, recorded my weight and checked my eyesight with one of those ABC optician’s boards on the wall (if you wear glasses, even just now and again, don’t forget to take them). After that, I had to strip down to my underwear and lie on the bed so she could take my blood pressure, check my neck glands, shine a light in my eyes, have a look in my mouth, squish my tummy for some reason, draw some blood, then, yes, have a quick look to see if I was a man. I didn’t require any vaccinations since I’d had my MMR and tetanus booster jabs at my doctor’s the day before.

And that was it really. I went back to the waiting room and was soon called to reception to pay. They gave me my documents back, along with a printout showing that I’d had all my necessary vaccinations and that was that.

So, it was about an hour in total for me. You 20 minute people were lucky!

Nick

I am the petitioner Lexi, However Nick jumps on every once in awhile... and I can say we share the work... ONE MORE STEP for this part and we are back together!!!!

102 days, one RFE, and a 1am txt to say WE ARE APPROVED!!!! I have never been so excited to be woken up in the middle of the night!!! I am so happy, I know Nick is getting up for work right now so I am off to call him... Thanks everyone for your support thus far and for everyone that is still waiting IT IS ACTUALLY COMING I know, I know I had my doubts... but it does happen!! Good luck and fingers crossed!!!

Just received my RFE hard copy at 12:30 today. They're asking for a supplement to the old version of a form that was used, to explain the first K-1 that I file for over 2 years ago. I'm thinking that apparently my attorney used an out dated form or "waiver" last April when my current fiancé and I started this process. Anyway, I thought we had ample time to get this done, but USCIS is giving us only until August 19th to get it back to them. When my attorney mentioned that they can file for an extension if necessary, I flipped the I-797E over, and on the back it states that "if there is a certain date, and we do not reply by that date, they will make a decision based on the evidence that they have. No extensions will be granted." So we have to get things in on time! or it could lead to a denial down the line.

Recieved our RFE today, yeap missed an X and proof of meeting (which I just wrote a letter the first time oops) so I have stuffed them with all they will need overnight it in the morning and hopefully will get a quick response of approval!!! fingers crossed!!

I am experiencing the same thing, accdng to uscis, rfe july 21 but havent received it in the mail... *sigh*

Ours was 'sent' on the 20th but still haven't recieved it in the mail!!! Seriously if they just e-mailed you what they need you could print it send it back but I guess that would be WAY to QUICK!!! This waiting is killing me trying to 'guess' what they want!! I am missing him terribly...

Larysa...I think we maybe the only 2 left...as i see people in may are now getting approved...very frustrating.

We are April 19th and still no NOA2 wished for the same and just txt on the 20th and we are now waiting on a RFE!!! :( I hope you get your NOA2 and not waiting to see what T you forgot to cross, or what x I forgot to mark... GOING CRAZY THINKING ABOUT IT!!!

Thanks for all the positive feed back from everyone, especially from my "Twin" Luckily, the USCIS CSC in within driving distance from me here in California, so I expect to receive the hard copy within the next day if not sooner. My fiancé' and I went over copies of our documents last night, and we've already found errors in the spelling of her parents names and incorrect addresses (thanks law firm ), so we're hoping that those are the issues...we'll see!

LOL Nick and I did the same thing there one box I didn't mark maybe that is it! I have gathered more evidence of us meeting so that I can just send back WHATEVER they want! Jealous you live so close, here in Wisconsin I am sure I have a wait awhile to recieve the 'hard' copy!!! Ughhhh I just want it NOWWWW!!!

Wishing you Luck hope you get it today!! Keep me posted!! fingers crossed

Well still not had even a touch,please hurry USCIS...at this rate the baby will be born before i arrive back in Montana,yes thats right...sara called me late last night to tell me good news...she is pregnant.

Congrats!

I GUESS TODAY WAS OUR DAY: at 09:47 this morning, I received both a text message and an e-mail from USCIS informing me of a RFE! #######!! The text was misleading at first it read " your case WA************is now updated. Check "My Case Status" at www.uscis.gov." so when I checked my portfolio in the account that we've setup, it indicated that I received an RFE.

So then I called my attorney to give them heads up, and they wanted to know what the message said, but because I since I didn't have my USCIS decoder ring, I couldn't tell them.

We are TWINS we got one too on the same day!! Now waiting for the 'hard'copy so I cross the 'T', check the box, or whatever they want!!!

Wishing you all the luck hope we get thru this FAST!

Hello!

We will be in the same boat...our official marriage will take place as soon as we get the K1...but we will do a renewal ceremony for family and friends next year..and we will base our status paperwork on the official date

OMG!!! US TOO!!! We set a date thinking this would be a fairly quick process HA HA so we are on to plan B get married as soon as K1 process is over and have the big wedding later for family and friends!!! As for right now we are waiting for the NOA2! It does feel good to know that we are not alone!! Best wishes sent to all of you!!

Our plans.....

We are taking his family and some of my friends to Hocking Hills Ohio. Its in the mountains. (Yes Ohio has mountains). We will be staying in a couple of really nice cabins and then getting married in a very pretty gazebo near the state park, decorated with flowers and such. Our dog Sammy will be wearing her finest pink bow as she too will be attending with us. As to a dress......I am so lost as to what I should wear. Of course he shall be easy.....dress pants shirt tie blah blah blah...men clothes are so easy. Still even so we should have a great time and it will be a memorable occasion for everyone.

Giving till this Friday for any notice of NOA2 if that doesn't arrive Plan B goes into effect, a small family uber romantic in our small country church 6 people getting married nice dinner and going out on the town and then the BIG wedding in April (after most snow is over in Wisconsin) I already have dress, bridesmaid dresses, most details done, had a church, venue, dj and other things booked but do believe I will be canceling everything this weekend. BUT I will be with my love as soon as we get this damn NOA2 lol