Sirdaniel42

And a tip for you:Start a file on your computer for trips out of the country with the dates. Then if/when you apply for citizenship, you will have a handy reference of those dates because it is a question on the application form to list all dates out of the US.

Get to know her better before you file. You only knew her a week.

I loved this post!

Hi everyone,
I had my interview at the US embassy in London on 29th August and have been approved!!!! I just thought I would add my experience of the process.
TOP TIPs
1. Keep calm and carry on!
Yes I know the whole process is a nightmare but keep on filling in every form, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's and eventually there are no more forms to fill in and you get to the interview.
2. Dont sweat the small stuff!
If you are like me and have spent hours worrying about a form you have sent in, whether or not you put the right date on, or even signed it, or did it get delivered, or whatever.... then don't worry. I made a whole pile of little errors (including being 2 years out on my sons d.o.b. lol) but was still approved.
3. Take 2 big envelopes
Envelope 1 - should have everything in it that it says to take on the list that you get online when you receive your appt letter.
Envelope 2 - take every other piece of paper you have that you may think possibly could be relevant. I took copies of every form i had filled in... extra photo copies of birth/marriage certs police record checks etc etc
You probably wont need anything out of envelope 2 but its just comforting to know you have it!!
3. They want you to succeed!
I found the embassy staff to be very helpful and fair. Obviously they have a job to do but if you are an honest person in an honest relationship then you have little to fear. They are on your side. I'm pretty sure that they already know 99% if you are approved or not... they just want to give you a looking over!
4. At the Embassy
Read the forums. They are spot on. My appt time was 9am. I arrived at 7.45am and dropped off my overnight bag and iphone etc at Gould's pharmacy (very efficient service). Then I joined the queue. There was probably 15-20 people already there. A couple of ladies check your invite letter and passport then you go through airport style security. I was in the embassy by 8.15am. Hang around waiting for your number to come up and then bingo go to the window.
5. At the window
I struggled to hear the lady behind the window because of the background noise and her Chinese accent made it a little difficult but she was a lovely lady and patient. She asked for various forms (out of envelope 1 lol) and ticked a few boxes and asked if I had paid the fee and did I have the receipt. I had paid the fee but i had forgotten the receipt!!!!! it wasnt even in envelope 2!!! panic panic!! it was left on the floor by my printer in my lounge 200 miles away aaaaghhhhhh!!
She asked her supervisor and after a little bit of discussion they just ticked the boss and trusted me! (I have an honest face!!). All done at the window go back and sit down.
6. At the 2nd window
This window was around the corner in a quieter area and an American young man explained that he needed to ask me a few questions under oath. Raised right hand and repeated the oath. He asked me how we had met? How long ago? How we were going to manage financially? When did I plan to travel? I waffled on a bit until he said you are approved!!!!! They have security glass in-between you and the interviewer which i think is there to stop me kissing him!!!
I was out by 10am, all approved, walking in a daze around the park opposite trying to phone my wife to be at 5am her time she was so pleased lol.
One other recommendation. I stayed overnight at the imperial college near Exhibition Rd which was a cheap and cheerful £59 including cooked breakfast. The place was very clean and only 20 mins away on a Boris bike which is a fantastic way of getting around London on a nice weather day
So now in just over 2 weeks I retire and fly out to the USA and yes im gonna fly 1st class cos I deserve it!!

I hate even commenting here because of all the negative energy you insist on creating over and over in posts. You are working so hard to defeat yourself, even telling someone at the embassy your details to further insure everybody knows you shouldn't get a visa instead of letting the officer figure it out.
Here's a positive London interview http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/318062-visa-approved/#entry4764008
My fiance went to his interview today in London and we were convinced he would be denied. We've been preparing for it for 2 months since we learned he had a crime of moral turpitude on his record from 17 years ago. We've almost finished preparing the 601 waiver and I was making plans to visit him in August. So he calls me this morning and says "I'm sorry darling, you won't be spending this winter in Wales. I'l be with you in America!" We were both crying by that time and I still can't believe its true!
Apparently the crime was moral turpitude, but of a minor nature and they allow you one conviction. We knew about this exception, but thought the other three offences (all minor traffic violations) that all happened at the same time 17 years ago would negate the forgiveness clause. Apparently not! The CO said "you're approved" and Graeme was in shock. She had to keep telling him he could come to the US without a problem. The whole thing is so surreal and still hasn't completely sunk in yet.
For all of you who are still waiting, don't give up and good luck!!!

Dude, you need to stop beating yourself up and making yourself miserable over this. You took a traffic cone, and got essentially what amounts to a ticket. And you inadvertently filled out something incorrectly on a VWP form. You didn't steal a car or murder someone. Based on your timeline, you have your NOA2 and will likely have your interview in the next couple of months, and you are going to drive yourself nuts if you keep worrying about this. My advice is prepare what you need to prepare for your interview, and when you get to the interview, should any of your past come up, be truthful. But seriously, if you keep worrying about being denied and acting like you're guilty of a heinous crime (which you're not), your denial will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Refocus your efforts on preparing yourself for your interview.

Hundreds of thousands of petitions are processed by hundreds of adjudicators. NO they are not done in order. saying they are is politically correct but impossible. Stop checking the timeline and prepare for your next step. Imagine you walk into a grocery store with 100,000 people and are given a number as you enter. There are 400 cashiers. Do you think if your number is 1234, that you will come out of the store right after 1233 and just before 1235?
A lot of disappointment is caused by unrealistic expectations
What I can tell you, since I have done this, is that when it is approved you will no tbe ready for the next step unless you stop looking at useless online updates and start getting together what you need.
Have you collected all your transcripts from school? Had them translated? Had them evaluated? The visa is nothing, prepare for LIFE ahead.
FWIW when I out our receipt number in it says "initial review" Alla has been a citizen for more than a year.

If you help ROC as though you have a valid marriage you could be jailed and fined. She is using you. She could file under a waiver and you are not obligated to maintain health insurance after a divorce. You do know the longer you are married the more claim she has you your assets and retirement.

This is false.

I'm a little late to this party, but my fiance is in the same situation. His huisarts has only limited records of his vaccinations because he moved to the Netherlands as a child. What he plans to do is contact the doctor who performs the medical before he schedules it (his info will be in your packet 4, or you can find it right here in the NL portal), get the info of what shots will be required, and then have his huisarts perform the missing ones so that they will cost a bit less. If you wait until you go for your medical they will be expensive, but that's another option!

Congratulations

I agree, get a lawyer, you should get half of 401k and other retirement plans and investments, half of all assets and half on the overseas account money. And he should be paying you both spousal support and child support. Get a lawyer, don't let him fool you, his support should be based on income not on what he thinks children need. Also being married for 10 years weighs heavily when it comes to spousal support. Make sure you don't sign anything and don't use his lawyer....
He is a coward for leaving you without telling you anything, you are better off without him.

Is getting married in the US important to you? Because a spousal visa is more elegant and cheaper and the immigrant can work right away, whereas with the K-1 visa the immigrant can't work for at least 3 months. You could get married now (anywhere in the world) and then chase a spousal visa. Something to consider.
It's fine that the USC lives abroad, but she will need a co-sponsor based in the US and might have to show her concrete plans to move back to the US.

Lagos is the hardest place in the whole world to get a visa from. You have to understand proof of a valid relationship and red flags.
If you
met online
are white
are older ( especially of you can't have children )
are divorced
have children
You will have a harder time getting any visa. Getting married on your 1st 2 week trip will add to your headaches

EAD and AP fees are waived if applied for with an AOS.

chatting with Nanette tonight..interrupted by 'OMG love!!!! We just got approved!!!' On to the next step...finally

copies of the boarding passes are the best along with photos of you both together labeled with names, place and date. Also, photocopy of your passport pages with stamps from going over there to visit her. All the best.

Generally it is best to just wait for an RFE sending it in now the new info will probably not make it to your file

They don't give you anything. They don't assess the overstay the second you leave, it's something you know, or something you'll find out when you try and enter again. You are already flagged as a VWP abuser, have no doubt about that.
Those people telling you this are doing you a disservice and have no idea how US immigration works. They WOULD do exactly everything that "everyone" keeps saying they won't.
They won't let the baby starve of course, but don't think they'll let you enter JUST because you have a baby. In fact, they'll probably ask if you have someone else that can take the baby, and when you say your husband is a USC, they'll be all over that and just send you back unless you think you can take the baby, safely, back.
You already HAVE overstayed. Your word means nothing now. You are a VWP abuser, and have no regard for US immigration laws. You are, to them, no better than a criminal and could be treated as such. You said you came in August, that your VWP expired in Nov, and you left in May. You also said less than 180 days of overstay. Without exactly dates I'm going to assume you're pretty darn close to 180 days, though honestly it doesn't really matter.
You have already abused the VWP and shown disdain for US immigration laws in deciding you'll "just overstay a little bit". The 180 days only matters in that more than 180 days = ban BUT less than still means you overstayed and still makes you ineligible to use the VWP.
The child is a USC, the child will not be turned away. You could be. Your child could still enter with your husband as they're both USCs.
Honestly, it is highly likey that you will be denied entry, detained until there's a flight back to the UK (or other European country as your passport permits entry there - they do not need to return you to your home country, just somewhere you're legal to go) and shipped right back. Your husband has no rights to be with you while you're detained and interrogated. He is a USC and will be let through.
You need a visitor visa, not the VWP.
I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to get you to see, the things you fear, are highly likely to occur. This is very very serious. US immigration aren't nice about things like this. In my personal opinion, your husband should take your child to visit your parents, you should remain in the UK. OR postpone the trip until you have applied for the visitor visa. Though you can still be denied entry on the visitor visa, you will have addressed the overstay at the interview for it, which should remove it as a risk.

One of the requirements of the I-129F Fiance visa is that you MUST meet in person within the 2 year period prior to filing. There are not many valid reason accepted to forego this requirement. You can find the requirements of filing on the I-129F instructions here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf
Look on page 4 "Who May File Form I-129F" for the valid reasons of not meeting.
I am not very familiar with the way things work in the Philippines, but I have heard that her getting a tourist visa to come to the US to meet you could potentially be very difficult. I'm sure others from the Philippines will provide you with more information on this.
I would assume that in your situation the best way to meet the qualifications for filing the I-129F would be to catch up on your child support payments, get a passport, and travel to meet your fiance.
You may also want to research the financial implications of filing an I-129F. This is not an inexpensive process.

Pay up the amount you are behind and you can get a passport and visit.

Do a search on this site and you'll find more than a few examples of people who had "non-legal" ceremonies and were denied...along with a similar refrain of waiting until the K-1 visa is in hand before making any reservations/firm plans:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/300963-k1-visa-refused-under-section-212-a5a-for-invalid-petition/
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/306181-k1-visa-is-rejected-what-are-the-alternatives-can-i-apply-for-spouse-visa/
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/408019-k1-visa-getting-married-before-the-visa-comes-through/
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/331197-non-legal-religious-wedding-before-k1-visa
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/70350-family-separated-by-immigration-policies/page__st__45__p__943472#entry943472
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/417606-non-legal-ceremony-in-foreign-country/
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/346279-how-can-a-k-1-misrepresentation-denial-be-overturned/
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/235732-help-help-help-k-1-visa-denied/

While going through London is one of the easier consulates/embassies, anything that resembles a wedding really should be avoided until you have the K-1 visa in hand and you're in the U.S. And the fact that you're calling it a wedding could lead to issues. There are more than a few cases of VJers who did a ceremony that was very wedding-like (or had relatives with public Facebook profiles calling it a wedding) and were denied visas because they couldn't prove they really weren't married.
Either dump the I-129F petition process, get really married, file the I-130 petition for a CR-1 visa and then go home and wait or skip the faux wedding altogether and continue on the path to a K-1 visa.

There is a requirement to speak very basic English. If he cannot speak very basic English then he is not eligible to become a citizen. It is not discrimination. He should take English lessons.

Sad to read this.
My suggestion is to think of your your happiness. What will make you happy.
Good luck.