advocator

Seems like a few people have received interview dates now - congratulations rallybug, kutakendra and advocator! Brilliant news

Thanks! And they scheduled it even though packet 3 was lost in the mail! They told us just to bring packet 3 to the interview, but we had already mailed a second copy before they sent that email... Too bad my fiance will most likely be denied due to a CIMT and we will have to file a waiver

Good luck to you and everyone else who is waiting!

I'm about to visit my fiance from the 6/30/2011 through 7/4/2011.

Fiance has signed her G-325A, but it expires 6/30/2011 (the same day I leave).

Mine is a two part question: Will USCIS post the new G-325A on 12AM 6/30/2011 (the same day it expires to replace the old one).

And, will USCIS accept the G-325A if it is a version old?

I believe this information is correct, but someone please correct me (Nich-Nick should know) if I am wrong: The date on the form is the date that the form will go under review to see if changes need to be made on a future version. You can continue to use that version until a new one is made available.

A Consular decision legally is non-reviewable. In other words your Senator does not outrank your Consular in the world of VISA issuance. The Consular decides by what the law tells him/her can be done. If a waiver is needed it will be required, plan on that reality and prepare accordingly.

Steve Heller is a solicitor in UK, he worked at the US Embassy London in the USCIS section as an adjudicator. He can evaluate the "crime" and tell you if a waiver will be required and help you prepare one that can endure USCIS scrutiny. He is far less expensive than a stateside attorney and is probably the best credentialed of any US Immigration lawyer with respect to US Embassy London.

I look at this as a simple proposition, pay now or pay later. If you prepare and have the case laid out by an attorney you might not get held up for months waiting for an "advisory opinion" from USCIS in one of the busiest consulates in the World, if no waiver is needed. If a waiver is required then you will have it handy to submit and reduce waiting time on that front as well.

IMHO the "key" to this mystery lies in how the UK law matches up with the US Law in determining if it is a CIMT and if its not, articulating that to the consular officer who does the interview. If there is doubt at the interview, respectfully request a supervisor to look it over so your paperwork doesn't get shelved for a couple months. If they allow attorney at interview, take Heller with you. He might still be a familiar face at the Embassy.

Good luck

Thank you for the advice. We hired Steven over a month ago. Since posting this topic, I have spoken with him about the subject of senators. He says a Senator won't hurt us at this stage, but it may delay the interview due to the bureaucracy involved. However, a senator may be of some assistance at the waiver stage if for no other reason but to keep things moving and to make sure no delays are added on to an already lengthy process. Unfortunately, Steven feels we will be denied. We have already started working on the waiver and I hope to be able to file as soon as a denial is given. But a small part of me still has hope that the consular officer will be on our side and interpret the law accordingly.

I like that way of thinking.

By the way, congratulations on being a permanent resident!!!

Thanks for the encouragement Nich-Nick! Our lawyer thinks a Senator may just delay things at this point and not be of any real help. He says Senatorial intervention may be of definite help at the waiver level. Its just so frustrating because the charge was "fraudulent use of a tax disc" which sounds awful and that word "fraud" is like a death sentence to visas. That same charge is used for people who steal tax discs and counterfeit them as well. Graeme did a stupid thing when he was 24 years old, but it was a tax disc he paid for. It wasn't stolen or counterfeit. And his only punishment was a 35 pound fine! That's my best defense for him, but I don't know if it will be enough...

I guess we'll find out on July 5. Thanks so much for the advice!

I think the most frustrating aspect of this process is the "not knowing when" your case will get approved or denied. I've been checking the waiver status website daily and after six weeks it was updated on June 6th. It was just updated again today so at least we're starting to see some movement. I'm certainly not complaining about that. However, it advises you not to look at the order of the applications as any indication as to where you stand. Okay, I'm done venting.

We have recently learned that we will most likely be denied on July 5 at our visa interview. I've followed this thread and I'm just dreading the wait for the waiver decision. Our lawyer seems to think USCIS has sped up a bit of the past few months, but I'm not convinced...

Good luck with your waiver!

Hello everyone,

I recently learned that my fiance's visa will most likely be denied due to a crime involving moral turpitude from 17 years ago. Short version - he had 2 cars and used the tax disc from one car that wasn't working on the other car that did work. Has anyone had any luck with a Senator's intervention in getting a visa approved? I know its a long shot, but we have to try everything we can think of at this point. A waiver will be hard to get approved, not to mention another 8-10 months waiting for a decision... I'm heartbroken and desperate.

Yeah, I handed them in with all my other documents.

Woman went off to find them, and came back empty handed.

"Do you have the DS-156?'

So I gave her that.... and then she asked for all the rest too, haha

Its taken a while for it to sink in, but for sure i feel a lot better now.

I've started making a list of all my possessions to help when I start labeling boxes and filling out forms for shipping.

Our packet 3 was lost too. They scheduled our interview anyways and said to just bring the forms with us. We had already mailed a second packet 3 by that time though... Now the wait for the interview...

Congratulations to you!!!

Forgot to add: hours of the phone service: 8 am - 9 pm UK time Mon-Fri (3 am - 4 pm Eastern US time) and 9 am - 4 pm Sat UK time (4 am - 11 am Eastern US time)

can it be done by the states? Is this number that he can use to pay 1 866 382 3589? thank you for the replied

Yes that's the number to call from the US. There is a flat $16 fee for the call and the K1 is an IMMIGRANT visa when you listen to the prompts. Its actually a customer service number that's based in Glascow, Scotland. After he pays for the visa, they will email him a receipt and you will need a copy of this MRV Receipt to bring with you to the interview. The customer service line will ask for your email address so they will send you a copy of the MRV Receipt as well. Bring that and your interview letter to the embassy just to get in. You will need other documents (see embassy website) for the interview itself. Good luck!

I'm glad I found this site before applying. We did everything ourselves until we ran into a problem after our NOA2. We hired a fantastic immigration attorney and even researched him on this site. I didn't want to go the lawyer route, but our situation deemed it necessary. If you have no complications, you should be able to do it on your own just fine. I've posted all sorts of questions and great people have replied nearly every time with very sound advice. I especially appreciate the diamond/platinum members who don't mind giving advice based on their YEARS of experience with USCIS. Good luck either way!

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering if I use the bank detail of my fiance to pay for the visa fee of $350, would that be a problem? Can it be done by me as his fiancee? If not how can he pay for my visa fee?

thank you ever so much have a great day

Either one of you can pay the fee, but the cardholder needs to be on the line when you call to make payment just to give authorization. Good luck!

So I guess you have an interview July 5 or they looked at somebody else's file. Maybe they felt bad that you've waited so long and made an exception for you and have indeed scheduled you. They have their standard procedures, but have made many flexible exceptions in the past. Allowed in to embassy/interview without a passport...Visa without an original birth certificate....

My theory on 'How can we get an interview date with no paperwork???' is that nobody really looks at your answers on the paperwork before the interview. I think somebody puts it in the file and marks it received on some computer checklist without going over it.

Then at the interview, document lady opens the file to see if it's there and adds the documents you bring. Then she moves it to the back room "inbox" where the interview guy is. He picks up the next file and skims over your papers and reads up a bit on the fiance while entering your number into the pager system. You show up, he's still skimming, he chat's briefly and suddenly you're approved. BAM!

I totally made this up. I would hate to see it spread as fact like so many things on VJ do. Otherwise by next month all the K1s forums will be saying, 'London doesn't even look at your papers' or 'London says to bring those forms to the interview.' LOL. You know how it becomes a Chinese Whispers games on here. But I have long thought that your forms are not read until 3 minutes before you walk up to the interviewer's window. Think about it. Have you ever heard of an RFE mailed out of London over a form mistake? Well anyway, I haven't.

Ditto to all your thoughts. I told Graeme we will wait a week or 2, then call the DOS line and see what the computer says. And hopefully an interview letter will arrive as well. We have a month to find out... At least they will have our paperwork on Monday whether they want it or not!

Just as an FYI, our subject access took about 30 days to receive...

We've been checking daily (over a month) for an interview date and they kept saying that packet 3 still hasn't been logged. Finally I called the extortion line and they gave me the email code to ask the embassy if our paperwork was floating around somewhere. Within 3 hours, they responded to say they never received it (lost in the mail - mistake not using recorded post...). So we overnighted another set of papers yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon we got another email from the embassy saying they have no packet 3, but Graeme can just bring it with him to the interview on July 5! So bizarre! We should be getting confirmation of the appointment in the mail soon! How can we get an interview date with no paperwork??? No complaints, just trying to figure this whole thing out...

OK, so get this:

We sent an email to the embassy to see if they even had our packet 3 paperwork because it was sent over a month ago and no interview date as of this past Tuesday. Within hours, they responded to say they don't have his packet 3 paperwork. So we got everything together again and sent it overnight on Friday morning due to arrive Monday morning. Friday afternoon I got another email from the embassy saying they still have no paperwork, but he should just bring it with him to his interview which is now scheduled for July 5! I will add that the tone of the first email was a bit blunt and the second was very apologetic and personal. I didn't think they would schedule an interview without paperwork. Its already been sent so I guess we're ok. The second email also said we should receive written confirmation of the appointment soon. Is that just weird or what?

We sent packet 3 on April 27 and had medical on May 6. Results were sent to embassy on the 13th. I've been checking daily for an interview date and they keep saying call back. I finally called the extortion line and got the email code. The embassy replied to tell me they never received packet 3! I told my fiance to send it recorded post, but he didn't...

What a waste of 34 days! We're overnighting everything again tomorrow...

I've been calling the state dept on a daily basis to see if our interview has been scheduled since we sent off packet 3 on April 27 and medical was done May 6. They still had no record of it even being logged as of yesterday and said to call the extortion line. I did and they gave me the email code for the embassy. The embassy finally told me they never received packet 3 and we need to send everything again. I told my fiance to send it registered post, but he didn't and Roayal Fail failed yet again. What a waste of 34 days!!! I'm paying for overnight service this time!

Yep, call and make the appt. Be sure you have your police cert for the medical. They ask to see it just to make sure you have it before your interview.

After spending probably £10 not getting anywhere I got Karen to call from America, she paid the $16 got through straight away and I spent her the money to pay for it.

So that's my advice to anyone else paying their MRV

Ditto to that! I called and payed from the US and it was only $16 and they didn't charge me til I was talking with a live person. Keep in mind that on this line the K1 is an IMMIGRANT visa whereas in other places it has been referred to as non-immigrant. I saw an explanation for this discrepancy somewhere on this site, but I can't remember where.

Thank you so much. Because the official timeline says 14days until we can contact the NVC, and that seems a tad bit too long because i remember reading about people who start calling the NVC after 3 days. Yes, i'm going to file the EAD with AOS, but was hoping the stamp will make it easier to get the social security card.

I did find some info about the Malaysian consulate...and the wait time till interview is 50 days!! Gosh.. Oh well.. I'm just glad something is moving at last..

I do have another question though. Do i really need to send all the originals for packet 3? It sounds really risky to me.

You won't need anything but your visa and passport to get the SS card, but do wait about 10 business days after arrival so your paperwork from POE is in the system.

Packet 3 is simply forms (see embassy website for details) and a cover letter. They can be downloaded and signed after you print them out. Original documentation (birth certificate, police certificate, etc) needs to go with you to the interview. Have you checked out the embassy link for Malaysia here on VJ? I just looked at it and I do think some things are a bit confusing - there's a long list of things the consulate will need including some originals and its misleading as to when you get those to the consulate. Maybe someone else on VJ who has gone through Malaysia can answer, but I think originals like passports and birth certificates do not get mailed.

Also, I just checked Igor's list and it looks like the average wait between consulate receipt of your petition and interview for the past 3 months is about 77 days - sorry...

Good luck!!!

Hey there fellow VJ'ers,

My fiance and I finally got our NOA2 after 4 months of waiting. Yay! We received the email notification on 23rd May. I have read through most of the guides and flow chart etc but i just wanted to get some real time feedback on a few things:

1. How soon can we start calling the NVC and expect to get a case number?

2. How soon after getting the case number should we start calling the consulate in Malaysia about the interview?

3. Once we hear from the consulate, what's the average wait time till the interview?

4. Should i request for an EAD stamp at the POE when i come in with the K1?

I would really like to hear what most of you have experienced and any advice you might have.

[/size]

Congratulations!!!

Give the NVC about 4-6 business days to receive your petition, and then start calling about your case number. I'm not sure about timeframes for Malaysia (hopefully another VJ member can help you with that), but I don't think you are able to get an EAD stamp anymore at POE. You have to file for EAD along with AOS after marriage. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this point.

Hopefully things will go more quickly now!

Luckily, my wife could just use her old address because she still owns the apartment where she lived (although she has no intention of ever living there again.)

If I were your fiance, I would use the address that he would return to IF he had to return to the UK for some reason (emergency.) The truth is, nothing will be sent there and they won't verify the foreign address, but they need to show one on the account to include a non-resident as an account holder. That said, it should be an address that he would be able to receive something because, theoretically, they could send something there.

Thank you! We can use a friend's address and we had already planned on having it available if necessary.

US Patriot Act in action. If you don't have a social security number they will ask for foreign address and identification. Get the ss number and don't need to bother with that.

Excellent advice! Thank you!!!

We got our interview date yesterday

We sent packet 3 on the 30th April

and had the medical on the 6th May

With any luck, I'll be in America in time for independance day

And no, the irony isn't lost on me

So glad you got a date! Our timelines are very similar. Did you call DOS to get the date?