Between NOA2 and Interview - 2010

[SunDrop 59]

Was looking for a thread to match the one started by MARM last year, but couldn't find it! So here it is

Thought it might be useful to have a first post contain the 'next steps' with helpful hints that are London specific. Please let me know if there's anything you notice or would like added, and i'll keep the post information current. Hope nobody sees this as an 'abuse' of my organizer ability to edit a post indefinitely. Just seems logical to keep the first post the one that's up to date.

[SunDrop 59]

Please note changes to fee payments!

The $350 fee must now be pre-paid before the interview will be scheduled. You do this by calling:

Callers in the UK: 09042-45010. Calls to this line are charged at £1.20/min

Callers in the US: 1-866-382-3589. Callers are charged a fixed rate of $16:00 for up to 7 minutes

1. Gather Documents for Packet 3

Packet 3 is available to download from the US Embassy London website here.

• DS230 - part 1 which is pages 1 & 2 - Okay to sign (do not sign part 2)
  
• DS156 - Okay to sign
  
• DS157 - no signature required
  
• DS156K - DO NOT WRITE BELOW THE LINE The consular officer will assist you in answering this part, so don't write/sign below.
  

DO NOT send these documents until you have received your P3 letter or the DOS has confirmed that your P3 has been sent. Doing so will cause delays to your application.

The postal address is:

Immigrant Visa Branch

United States Embassy

5 Upper Grosvenor Street

London W1A 2JB

If you hold a British passport and it was issued in the UK, this is the way to answer the passport issuance questions on the DS-156:

Place of issuance/city: UK Passport Agency

Country: Great Britain and Northern Ireland

State/Province: England

2. Gather Documents for Interview

• Birth/ Adoption certificate
  
• Divorce decree
  
• Passport
  
• Police certificate/s (see below)
  
• I-134 (see below)
  
• 2 passport photos (U.S size) These are available in the UK at Snappy Snaps or Gould Pharmacy. The USEL also has a photo booth, but relying on it working is not advised!
  

Note: If more than 4 months has passed since the petition was approved, you will be required to furnish a notarized statement of your intent to marry within 90 days of your arrival in the U.S.

I-134

London likes Q.11 to state 'intend to support'.

Suggested phrasing is: "whatever sums necessary to ensure the beneficiary does not become a public burden."

Nich-Nick has a fab summary of supporting documentation for the I-134 here

Police Certificates

London requires a police certificate from every country you have resided in for more than 1 year after your 18th birthday and a UK ACPO certificate. The exception to this is if you were born outside of the UK and have resided in that country for more than 6 months after your 16th birthday.

Your ACPO certificate will come back with one of the following:

No Trace - this means that you are cleared and have no previous involvement with the police.

No Live Trace - this means that you have a spent conviction. It is recommended that you get a subject access from here before interview. Court and prison records may be required.

Convictions - court and prison records will be required, as applicable.

3. Get your LON case number from the NVC

If you call (603) 334-0700, press 1, then 5 with your EAC or WAC number ready. They can confirm when your file was forwarded to the embassy and give you the case number.

4. Confirm London has logged your file

After your file has left the NVC, the DOS is responsible for your visa application. Call (202)663-1225, press 1, then 0. They can also confirm if packet 3 has been sent, received and tell you your interview date, if you haven't received your packet 4. It is also the contact point if you have any matters arising (such as additional documentation requests or missed visa fee payments!)

Contacting the Embassy

In certain instances, you will need to contact the Embassy directly, for example when you're out of processing times (i.e. >2 weeks waiting for your visa after interview) or to ask questions about unorthodox situations like being in AP or other out of the ordinary situations (like not having paid your visa fee!) etc

Callers in the UK: 09042-45010. Calls to this line are charged at £1.20/min

Callers in the US: 1-866-382-3589. Callers are charged a fixed rate of $16:00 for up to 7 minutes

Press 3 to skip the voice preamble and get an operator. Ask them for the weekly code for e-mailing the embassy as they will not generally give you general case updates. This will get you to the attention of someone who has access to the paperwork who can check for you. They may take 2-3 days to respond to send you an e-mail response.

If you want to try and change your interview date, call and inform them, the operator will give you the email code of the week (ask for it if he/she does not). Then email the embassy with the email code in the subject line as well as in the body and also include your case #. Then explain in the body of the email how you want your interview date changed. You will get an automatic acknowledgment email from the embassy within 15 minutes to a few hours stating that they have "received your email, we are averaging 3-4 days to respond, please do not email again". And the embassy usually is very quick with a turnaround response and they will usually accommodate your request.

5. Book Your Medical

You can do this as soon as you have your LON case number. Your medical must take place before your interview, and they prefer it to be at least 5 days in advance to allow time for your results to reach the embassy before interview. This isn't always practical for those who live a fair distance away, so as long as your medical takes place before, you're alright. You also MUST take your Police Certificate with you to the medical. If you do not have it, they will not carry out your medical, requiring you to rebook.

It's worth getting your immunisations updated before the medical. Most adults will only need MMR and TDaP boosters. These are usually available free from your GP. Most children will require Hep B. Your GP will probably charge for these. You do not need to have any immunisations completed before your visa application, but it is required for your AOS after marriage. Some applicants have had problems with finding reasonably-priced Civil Surgeons in the US and complications with the required I-693 form the AOS process requires.

It is therefore recommended that you get all of your AOS required vaccinations completed prior to the medical - or at the medical so they can be recorded on the DS3025.

You will be given a copy of the DS-3025, which you should safekeep, as it will be required at the other end! Also keep a copy of your payment record and receipt, as you may be required to prove that you have undergone a medical and when.

If you have any history of mental illness (depression, self-harm, attempted suicide, bi-polar, etc.) it is strongly recommended that you get a letter from the treating doctor or your GP stating that what your current condition is, and specifically that you do not present a threat to yourself or others.

Have a look at the medical questionnaire as soon as possible. It has been suggested that if you answer 'yes' to any of the questions, you get copies of the related medical records to take with you. It's also worth having a general check-up with your GP shortly before your medical, in case it reveals any possible underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure. The Panel Physician will want to know that these are being managed before giving you a clean bill of health for immigration.

You will need to take your passport and a UK sized passport photo. You can use US sizes, but they cut them down.

Requirements for K-2/4s

A letter from the non-immigrating parent is required to obtain a dependent's visa. It must state that they permit you to relocate with the child to the United States for permanent residence. It must be notarized.

If you do not have any contact with your child's other biological parent, the following is acceptable: information needed!

See this thread for more info.

Previous K-2 applicants have suggested that an I-134 is required for each applicant, including K-2. For item 9 on the K-2's I-134, write 'fiancee's name, with this same petition' and the Relationship to Sponsor, write, 'daughter of fiancee'. Only one set of supporting docs for both affidavits.

If the father is not listed on the birth certificate, you may be asked about contact with him. Previous K-2 applicants have prepared a certified letter from their solicitor in lieu of the letter of consent, stating the beneficiary has sole parental custody under UK law, including the right to remove the K-2 applicant from the country. It also contained a paragraph showing a sworn statement that the biological father is unknown. In this case, the letter was not used, but it provided reassurance to the beneficiary at interview that she was as prepared as possible to meet any request, and thus avoid potential delays.

Helpful Hints for Interview Day

Do not bring any electronics. This includes remote lock car keys! You can store any such items at Gould Pharmacy for a £5 holding fee. See link for contact information and map.

This map designed by Nich-Nick shows all the relevant locations for embassy, medical and Gould, as well as a couple of member-recommended nearby hotels.

Edited February 14, 2011 by SunDrop

[Justine+David 218]

It would probably be helpful to add in the websites too...for NVC, press 1, then 5 with your EAC or WAC number ready.

Phone number for DOS is 202-663-1225, press 1, then 0 to get consulate updates like if they have received your petition, logged the info, sent p3, logged p3, interview date...then of course the poor souls who are approved pending additional documentation like us.

Calling the embassy (copied from 2009 thread courtesy of MARM and other snippets):

Callers in the UK: 09042-45010. Calls to this line are charged at £1.20/min

Callers in the US: 1-866-382-3589. Callers are charged a fixed rate of $16:00 for up to 7 minutes

--> Press 3 to skip the voice preamble and get an operator. Ask them for the weekly code for e-mailing the embassy as they will not generally give you general case updates. This will get you to the attention of someone who has access to the paperwork who can check for you. They may take 2-3 days to respond to send you an e-mail response.

Gould pharmacy website: http://www.gouldpharmacy.com/ContactUs.asp

For returning packet 3:

Immigrant Visa Branch

United States Embassy

5 Upper Grosvenor Street

London W1A 2JB

DS230, part 1 which is pages 1 & 2 - Okay to sign (do not do part 2)

Ds156 - - Okay to sign

DS157 - no place to sign

DS156K - DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE The consular officer will assist you in answering this part, so don't write/sign below.

And don't be confused by that seciton of the 156K that says "the following must be attached..." This is a worldwide form so is somewhat generic. London wants you to bring those in hand to the interview and the checklist you sign tells them you've got them in your hands ready to bring. pics are not required to be attached to the DS-156

----

This is a good idea! If you can have it all on that first post (editing it as mods can) it would be so easy to tell someone, "go look at the thread!"

[Leenie 15]

Thanks for this, SunDrop/Justine. We're using this info already

[SunDrop 59]

Thanks for this, SunDrop/Justine. We're using this info already

Glad it's helping! I'm editing that first post as I go, trying to find out more about what I need and more specifically trying to find anything that I need for my daughter's K-2. My current "find-out" is if the instruction to do an I-134 for each applicant applies to her too.

There is such a big hole in the K-2/4 information, my next focus is going to be on filling said hole! lol

[Justine+David 218]

You can contact the embassy when you're out of processing times (i.e. >2weeks waiting for your visa after interview) or to ask questions about unorthodox situations...like being in AP (treehugger was told she was approved at the interview and called the embassy a few weeks later and found out she was in AP), our stupid payment problem, etc etc. DOS doesn't always have the correct info, or they choose not to tell you for some unknown reason...like, I've called every day asking about interview dates and only on one of the occasions did the lady say that there was a note in the file that I could be scheduled an interview from such and such a date to such and such a date which were the dates that David had given them and yet all the other phone calls never said that. And over the last week on Thursday the lady said we were in AP no other status or info could be given. On Friday a lady said that there was a note from March 17 saying that the beneficiary had been notified that payment was required...

It pretty much kills me that they can have a lot more info on their computer screen than they choose to give out.

[Closed account 1]

Just a quick question it says we need us size passport photos. I have 2 uk photos will these not be ok? If not where do we get the 2 photos needed? Thanks zoe

[nickm 1]

For the medical the UK sized photos are good, but not for the Embassy, last time i needed some US sized ones i got them from the chemist near to the Embassy, which is mentioned above. 11.99, i think, they cost.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

You can get US-sized pics at any Snappy Snaps as well. As nickm said, UK-sized is fine for the medical but nothing else.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Regarding the medical portion - in order to streamline the process, any medical conditions - not just mental illness should be documented. For example, Nik had high blood pressure, and it was found at the medical, and slowed things down for a few weeks until he could get a letter from his GP saying he was clear.

A checkup with your local GP should shake out those sorts of things.

Also, another person was asked to get a letter regarding a previous hospitalization. A good rule of thumb might be that if you're going to check "yes" to any of the questions on the medical checklist, get a letter from your doctor about it.

Also, the vaccinations are a PITA in the US because you have to do the whole civil surgeon BS. If you get your vaccinations done before or even at the medical, it will make things SO MUCH SMOOTHER in the AOS process.

[Claire and Troy 2]

Glad it's helping! I'm editing that first post as I go, trying to find out more about what I need and more specifically trying to find anything that I need for my daughter's K-2. My current "find-out" is if the instruction to do an I-134 for each applicant applies to her too.

There is such a big hole in the K-2/4 information, my next focus is going to be on filling said hole! lol

It is my understanding that a I-134 is required for each applicant, including K-2. I, the USC, filled out two. One for my then fiancee and one for her daughter. For item 9 on the K-2's I-134, I wrote, 'fiancee's name, with this same petition'. Oh, and the Relationship to Sponsor, I wrote, 'daughter of fiancee'. Both I-134s were taken when asked for the affidavit of support and accompanying docs. We provided only one set of supporting docs for both affidavits.

As far as the letter of consent is concerned, we were not asked for one since there's no father listed on the BC. However, my wife was questioned on it by the CO asking if her daughter had any contact with the biological father, which was none. The CO seemed satisfied with that and moved on.

The one thing the CO keyed on with the K-2 questions was her relationship to me. I'm thinking this is probably judged on a case by case basis depending on the circumstances, but in our case, the CO seemed very interested in this.

On a side note, we were armed with a certified letter from her solicitor in lieu of the letter of consent, signed by both Claire and the solicitor, just in case. It was not looked at nor asked for, but it did give us a certain sense of security for the interview. I can't remember exactly how it was worded, but in a nutshell, it stated sole parental custody under UK law, including her right to remove her daughter from the country. It also contained a paragraph basically showing a sworn statement that the biological father is unknown.

As you are probably aware, it's hard to get solid information on the K-2 stuff, but we managed to pick up bits and pieces here and there and I'm happy to share what we did. We sort of felt like we were flyin a little blind but it all worked out. I wish VJ had a subsection dedicated to this topic.

[Nik+Heather 121]

It's worth getting your immunisations updated before the medical. Most adults will only need MMR and TDaP boosters. These are usually available free from your GP. Most children will require Hep B. Your GP will probably charge for these. You do not need to have any immunisations completed before your visa application, but it is required for your AOS after marriage. Some applicants have had problems with finding reasonably-priced Civil Surgeons in the US and complications with the required I-693 form the AOS process requires. It is therefore recommended getting as much of your AOS requirements met before travel.

I like having an organizer keeping this updated. Hope the 'wok-ster lets you keep doing that.

Anyway, just to be a tad clearer, I would change the bolded above to say "It is therefore recommended that you get all of your AOS required vaccinations completed prior to the medical - or at the medical so they can be recorded on the DS3025."

If they simply get them done before travel (but after the medical) they are in the same boat as if they had waited to get to the US. Same as if they get only some but not others.

Speaking of the DS3025, Maybe we should also add a note to let them know to expect this to be handed to them, and they should keep it in a safe place for use later!!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

It's great that you are making this effort to gather info into one place Sundrop. I haven't read it all but I will. Could I suggest that you put it all in a VJ Wiki article. A long time ago Poiteen and some of the gals before me were wanting to organize info and get it in the Wiki. She asked for suggestions and fine tuning much like you are in this thread. I promised to help as soon as I got past the hurricane Ike damages and Nick's arrival/wedding/AOS submission. Well I never did. There is a start but the things you are writing are well organized and could replace or supplement what is already there. Then when you're long gone into blissful marriage and lose interest, somebody else can edit the Wiki as needed. Threads seem to get lost over time or way too long. The same things discussed today in threads were well explained over and over again. The people that know those answers have written them so many times, they get tired of repeating it.

So with your ####### and drive and excellent writing skills, would you please consider doing a UK Wiki? Then a link to the Wiki could be passed down. I would suggest that if different articles, they should all begin with UK-___________. Here's the Wiki topic page. http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/Special:AllPages

You'll see some UK things started (in the U's) but also Interview at London Embassy, which would be better if it said UK-Interview at London Embassy. And there's an article about immigration to the UK in the I's.

This thread could remain the place for people adding ideas and suggestions and contributions while you fine-tune the Wiki. It's great that you can actually edit the first post, which never happens, but it's still a thread with a 2010 date and will eventually get lost and clogged with chit chat. So???? Anybody want a Wiki article (set of multiple pages) we can point people to?

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Nich, I think that's a terrific idea. I was thinking about this myself yesterday afternoon. If we can just remember to update this regularly, we might have a useful resource there.

+1 from me!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

It's great that you are making this effort to gather info into one place Sundrop. I haven't read it all but I will. Could I suggest that you put it all in a VJ Wiki article. A long time ago Poiteen and some of the gals before me were wanting to organize info and get it in the Wiki. She asked for suggestions and fine tuning much like you are in this thread.

Yes, I did, and I have to agree with Nich-Nick that the Wiki is the place for updating this information. It's nice that you have the ability to edit your posts indefinitely, but it's not what the forum was designed for - it's what the wiki and the guides are for. If the Wiki is the place that people put their new/updated information, it gives everyone a chance to correct outdated/wrong information.

I have personally witnessed you, Sundrop, giving out the same WRONG information out about immigration to Ireland as an EU citizen twice. It's fine if you disagree with me, but if you had posted this information in your forever-editable-post, I would not have the opportunity to correct it near where the mistake occurs in the thread, so people would read this wrong information, and never get to my response to you. On the other hand, if your misinformation occurred in the Wiki, I could correct it myself with links to the relevant website from the Irish government.

Edited to add the word 'twice', italicised above.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Poiteen