biggish data

Are visits to the US during the process allowed?

#1. The letter from Customs that said not to go was from an individual giving his advice. Since he can't promise you will get in and he isn't completely sure about how it affects the K-1 (because he works for an info center for USCIS, not on immigration visas specifically) the safest answer is to advise you not to go and therefore, you will have no problem. He's covering his butt, which is more or less what you have to expect from those types of resources. Perfectly respectable, but not very helpful to us. Here is a link to the US Embassy in London's page with a direrct answer to the question:

http://london.usemba...proc.html#iv038

#2. I have visited Meg twice while waiting for my K-1 approval. The first time was a 10 day trip and I got hell at immigration, but I got through. The second trip was for 80 days and I sailed through after 2 questions. I think the most important thing that helped me was that I was honest. If you say that you are visiting friends and they are satisfied and let you in, that is great, but if you say that and they ask you another 67 questions, it might be hard to keep to your story. If you call your fiance a friend and later have to admit that you're engaged, it may make you look shady to the officer. We agonized over the decision of whether to say I was visiting a friend or a fiance. Many people have been successful both ways and you will get advice for either path. In the end it just has to be your call. (But I am strongly in favor of complete transparency)

#3. I am also self-employed. I sold my house and moved in with my mum to get rid of the house while there was still a market for it and save some money. All I had was a copy of the I-129F and NOA1, a return ticket, bank statements to prove I could support my trip, a letter from my mum stating that I live with her, pay her rent, and have left my belongings at her house and am expected back, and also a letter from my accountant stating that my company is trading and he is currently being paid to keep the books. No one looked at any of this on either trip, but it is good to have, just in case.

#4. Visit your fiance! You cannot imagine what you will miss out on if you don't try. Just go with the mindset that it is possible that you may get turned away. Skype kept us going, but to spend that kind of time together is just not substitutable. If you are lucky enough to have the means to do it, you have to try! Plus, it makes the waiting go by so much faster!

Best of luck!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-09 11:43:00

We filed for K1. Can I visit him AGAIN using my VWP?

I have visited my fiancee twice since we filed the K-1, once for 10 days and once for just under the 90 day limit. Got in both times but had a tough experience on one of the visits. It's just luck what kind of mood the officer is in on the day.

Like others have said, it's ok to try, but do not assume you will be let in - and bring as much evidence of ties back home as possible, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-24 19:59:00

Got RFE after 5 months 2 weeks.

The same happened to us. But we are trying to look on the bright side - at least they have reached our case now!

Hang in there!!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-24 20:13:00

We had one exactly like the example you provided. I had read that people were getting RFEs because they were not recognizing it as official. Here's what I sent and it was accepted with no RFE
A color copy so the red seal shows up.
Yellow highlighter over the sentence from "it is hereby certified that said decree...." and continuing to "...marriage was thereby dissolved."
Highlight DATED:xxxxxxxx
Yellow highlighter on the teeny, tiny print in the footer that says "Decree of Absolute (divorce)"
To the others who were not divorced in the UK. That example is the official divorce decree.

Thanks for this post, very helpful :thumbs:

Today I got a colour copy done and got it signed by a solicitor to state it is a true copy of the original and we are going to highlight those exact parts that you did. It just seems crazy that USCIS do not realise that it is a genuine decree. Surely they must have seen plenty of them over the years.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-26 12:16:00

It is the right form . . . D37 and after looking at it closer, it does have a stamp on it but it just didn't photocopy very well. Maybe I can just have my fiance try to make a better copy of it and post it over to me.

We sent ours which was a perfectly clear colour copy, and with the stamp and got the RFE. Just warning you. You may need to get it signed as well like I previously explained.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-25 09:59:00

I have a divorce paper for my English fiance as well. On the bottom it says 'Certificate making Decree Nisi Absolute (Divorce)' . . . there are no signatures or stamps. Does anyone think that will work or do I need to try and get something else?

It should be form D37 Decree of Absolute (Divorce) with a court stamp on it. They had forgotten to stamp the first one the court sent me, so I got them to send another. Maybe they forgot to stamp yours too? Sounds like it is likely you will get an RFE like we did if you send it like that.

Ok, I just called the County Court who dealt with and issued my divorce decree. They have confirmed that the certificate I have is the decree and that NO signature is present on decree's from England and Wales. This is correct and standard for England and Wales. He also said that he has seen a number of times where organisations such as USCIS request for a signed version. It is not standard proceedure but if you apply in writing the court will do this for you and should take approx 5 days. Just call the court that provided the certificate and they will give you an email address to request a signed copy.

This is what we have done and will send this on to USCIS.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-25 09:29:00

hmm I dont know. I am assuming they are looking for something similar to what they give us in the US...the judge actually signs it. You would need the Decree not the Certificate. I did order a divorce certificate, but in the end I used the Decree because the certificate didnt show up in time before I sent the petition.

In England and Wales the certificate is the decree. It even says so at the bottom of the page - Decree of Absolute. At no point did I receive anything signed by a judge. It does have the court stamp on it though. I guess USCIS are just not familiar with our certificates. I just read a post by someone else who had the same problem and they sent another copy of the same certificate back to USCIS but highlighted at the bottom where it says Decree of Absolute! They then got their NOA2!! So I will just try the same.

Professional bunch these USCIS people! Training required maybe?

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-01-25 06:43:00

Expedite

Not a hope of getting expedited! I see you received your NOA1 at the end of September. When is the wedding planned for?

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-07 11:52:00

YAY!! NOA2 after RFE

thats awesome, congrats!

Thank you! Love your wedding website by the way!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-09 22:35:00

YAY!! NOA2 after RFE

We just got an email that says our petition has been approved on Feb 9th!!! :dance:

We have been really disheartened because first of all we got an RFE asking for my divorce decree (which was in our packet we sent) and then, when we sent the response to the RFE, USPS managed to lose our letter! It eventually found it's way to USCIS a week late and we got notice from them that they had received it on Feb 7th. So it only took them 2 days to approve it!! So, just a bit of hope for all you RFE'ers out there...maybe California are turning them around a bit quicker at the moment!

YAY NOA2!!!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-09 22:18:00

RFE

Lesson learned: Everything mailed to USCIS should be by Express Mail, and always track it on the internet. With all the money you spend to make this happen, the $15.00 for the Express Mail is an insignificant blip.

Thanks for the lesson Al422, but we paid extra for the Priority and Delivery Confirmation service which can be tracked on the internet. Unfortunately their automated system that reads the address read the PO Box number as the ZIP code and hence sent it on a little unwanted trip. No amount of money spent on delivery was going to prevent that little mishap - it's just bad luck.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-13 17:38:00

RFE

Thanks everyone...hi niguel and meggie..when is the due date of your RFE? did you send it already at the USCIS?

I think we had until April to respond to the RFE. Yes we sent it in already and once they received it they approved the very next day. Unfortunately in the meantime USPS lost our letter so there was a delay of a week in getting it to USCIS.

So did you receive yours yet? What did they require?

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-13 11:09:00

RFE

We were notified of the RFE on the 19th Jan and received the letter on the 24th Jan.

Edited by Nigel&Meggie, 07 February 2011 - 08:35 AM.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-07 08:34:00

RFE after almost 5 months.....

Yeah, it's really upsetting getting an RFE. But if it helps, once you send in the requested information it really doesn't take them long to process it. Once they had recevied our RFE reply it only took them one day! Unfotunately, USPS lost our reply letter in the post for 1 week inbetween grrrrr. Of all the letters to lose :bonk:

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, return the RFE info soon as you can and it shouldn't take long

Good luck

Edited by Nigel&Meggie, 11 February 2011 - 08:30 AM.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-11 08:28:00

vaccinations

If you look at the link in my signature there's information on two different pages telling details about the immunizations. Ask your mum if you had chickenpox.

Credit where it's due...that is a great K-1 guide! :thumbs:

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-16 19:58:00

i129f approved in less than 1 month???

Wow, congrats, that is pretty cool B-)

I'd call'em up and bit-h if I were you. I'd tell em I want my full 5 months

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-02-18 01:52:00

NOA-1 question

I recieved my NOA-1 yesterday and the beneficiaries information section showed her country of birth as unknown. It was clearly entered on the 129 form as "Kiev Reg/UA" I would have like to have put Kiev Region, Ukraine but the box was very small that asked for "State/Country". Should I call the phone number on this I-797C form and explain what I meant.

For some reason they sometimes don't bother to fill that section in. Mine was also 'Unknown' and it can't get much simpler...UK! Hasn't caused us any issues so far, so I'd say don't worry.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-06 12:34:00

Petitioner's Addressed Changed

We filed for our I-129F back in December and have our NOA1, currently waiting NOA2. While waiting for NOA2, the petitioner's address has changed but he still has access to mail from his old address (relatives live there now). Is it worth it to change the address at this point or should we leave it and adjust it later?

We always thought it was best to keep USCIS updated with our address changes, and had no problems doing so. The petitioner can change their address online here:

Changing address with USCIS

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-08 08:06:00

DS-2001 Cover letter help

Hi all, i got my poilce certificate today, so booked my medical for next week (almost at the end!) Now i just need to send off my DS-2001 form to london to say i have everything. I know you need to add a cover letter to this, but i don't know how it should be worded/presented. is it an actual letter or is it just a piece of paper with some words and dates on it??if anyone could copy and paste theirs (without the personal info) into a post for guidance that would be great. thanks!Josh

This was the one we sent...

K1 Cover Letter sample.doc 23KB 384 downloads

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-08 14:52:00

Please help with email I got this morning!

Oh wow this is great news. And no RFE or anything?! Hopefully things move alot faster after NOA2! I have another question if anyone knows the answer for police clearance cert do you need it from the COUNTRY, STATE OR CITY? Can you get you from your local police centre? Thanks

I presume you are from Rep of Ire. If so, this is what the Garda website says:

How do I apply for a Police Certificate?
Applicants for Police Certificates for these purposes should make an application in writing to the Superintendent in charge of the district wherein they reside, or formerly resided, in the Republic of Ireland.

Here's a link for contact numbers for various regions:

Garda stations contact info

Hope this helps

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-16 06:26:00

proof of meeting/Missing boarding passes

Hello folks,

After going over everything i am ready to mail off my I-129F package. My only problem is that I am missing a couple of boarding passes from when I made my return trip from Manila. I Have my boarding passes from the depature trip (ATL-NRT-MNL) but for my return trip (MNL-Nagoya,JP-DTW-ATL) I only have the boarding pass from my flight from DTW to ATL, because when I went to board in DTW they had given my seat to someone else and had to assign me another seat and give me a new boarding pass, and when they (Delta) did that they kept my boarding passes from manila and Nagoya. I didn't realize it until after i got home that the people at the gate in Detroit had kept all of my return trip boarding passes. Delta has been non-responsive about getting me copies. How bad will this hurt me as far as evidence of meeting my fiance? I have everything else i need, just missing those boarding passes. Thanks all!

Make sure your boarding passes have the year stated on them otherwise USCIS will not consider them as evidence anyway. Also, you can always provide copies of your passport stamps as proof of the trip you made.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-24 18:43:00

Is this possible???

Hello. I mailed out my i129-f K1 Fiance Visa to teh Vermont Service Center and it was received on September 28, 2010. I have not received an approval yet. i called two weeks ago and they were processing filers from September 11, 2010. I called today because I was expecting it to be complete and they told me they were still on September 11, 2010.

Here is the major crisis. My wedding is May 29th!!! Two months. My fiance is from the UK. Do you guys honestly think that it will make it in time??

I am overwhelmed and do not know what to do. It is a month over normal processing times for Vermont. WE have spent close to $25,000 for our wedding. Will it be done on time or should I just prepare myself for canceling the wedding?!

Ok, for arguments sake, let's say you get your NOA2 tomorrow, and let's also suppose (also just for arguments sake) that your timeline follows the exact timescales of a recent London person...me! Ok so that would make NOA2 date 30th March. Which would give you an interview date of 16th May. Now after that it will take anything up to 2 weeks to get your passport back. Let's say 1 week, as it's kind of around that at the moment. So that would mean you would be able to travel on May 24th or thereabouts. So that's 5 days within time for the wedding.

Now I consider my timeline to have gone quickly since the NOA2, so even on those timescales it is CLOSE! Don't forget you may be put in AP along the line somewhere. Also, it is possible you may get an RFE!

I think you really have to think of Plan B. Even if it did go as per the 'argument sake' scenario, how do you invite guests to the wedding when you don't even know if it will happen until 5 days prior?! I really hope you can re-schedule without losing much money. If it was me, that's what I would do. It will probably save you a lot of stress.

Good luck!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-03-29 13:11:00

Going to meet him

Thank you all for your advice. I will collect all the evidence required. For the NOA1 and NOA2, I have scanned copies. Those should be okay right?

Yep, that'll be fine

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-13 14:32:00

Going to meet him

When we were engaged going through K1 and now that we are married my husband always goes through Dublin. He stays with his parents right now as we are in this crazy period. He's never been asked for anything other than to show a return ticket. He's never had travel insurance, never been asked to show how much money he has, never been asked for an extra information at all. He even has the old K1 in his passport and even that only got a "don't stay" talk. that was it. Obviously there's always the possiblility of denial but they aren't there to make life miserable. I wouldn't get too worked up over it.

I say better to be safe than sorry. It doesn't require much effort to get these documents together and if you end up being one of the unlucky ones who they do look more closely at, you'll be glad you did. I agree, it is probably unlikely but it does happen.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-13 13:47:00

Going to meet him

My question is, given all the above, is there anything else I can tell the POE officer to show that I will return?

Here's a couple more things you could take that, although some may be minor, could help:

Flight itinerary showing return flight;
Travel insurance showing dates that match your flights;
A signed letter from your parents showing rent payment and that they expect you back to continue paying;
Not sure if this applies to you, but any return coach/train ticket home for when you fly back to the UK;

Oh yeah, and don't pack too much! And make sure the things you do pack backup your claim that it is a short break, ie don't take 10 pairs of shoes! Or anything like a CV that would make it look like you are going to get work. Or anything that might look like you are not going to return, you know, belongings you might not ordinarily take on holiday. I'm sure you are already thinking all these things but thought I'd mention it

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-13 10:41:00

Insurance between POE and marriage

Yeah, your UK travel insurance will not cover it. Here's a couple of options:

http://www.americanv...rinsurance.com/

http://www.usnetcare.com/default.aspx

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-14 09:52:00

K1 Beneficiary

The OP was talking about the petitioner's divorce decree. She never mentioned whether the petitioner was divorced in England or Wales, so people are assuming the petitioner was divorced in the US.

Yeah, my mistake, I read it incorrectly. I thought she was referring to a divorce decree of her own.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-29 09:14:00

K1 Beneficiary

No Notory is needed. The dissslution of divorce will have a seal by the Courthouse and a effective date. It will be signed by a Judge as well. Having a Copy is good. But as the other post mentioned: This was already covered in your Original I-129-F Application and has been Accepted already.
If they questioned the the divorce decree you would have got a RFE already.

Just to clarify so as not to confuse the OP, the divorce decree is not signed by a judge in England & Wales.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-04-29 08:35:00

2 - 4 months for Divorce to be final

I'm sorry for adding this, but.... If he is currently married (legally he is mind you), is this going to be a red flag when he goes to file and shows he met someone within past 2 years and started a relation? In some states, even if you are legally separated, you can still be charged with adultery should your significant other wish to pursue.And this will be a sworn direct admission of engaging in a relationship with the intent to marry prior to being legally divorced.. ? I would get some really solid advice on this issue before proceeding with filing. And you have a little time before that can happen anyhow. Good Luck......

My fiancee and I got engaged less than a week after my divorce was final and it caused us no problems whatsoever. As long as you are legally free to marry, then you satisfy that part of the K-1 requirement.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-05-31 14:56:00

Passport photo size for his London interview?

I noticed that the London consulate site says you need passport photos that are the American dimensions - 2x2". My fiancé can only find passport photo machines that give photos in the British size, not the 2x2" size. The site says they have machines at the consulate, but if he has to get the photos signed by someone he knows, he can't get them taken the same day as his interview. Does the size matter a lot? Does he need the 2x2 size for his medical exam as well? How can he get the American size if there aren't any of those machines around him?

The 2X2 photos do not need to be signed for the interview. Just drop in to Gould Pharmacy on the way to the interview and get them done.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-06-20 12:49:00

Packet 3

Hi, when returning my packet 3 (letter of readiness) to London, do I need to include a signed photocopy of my MRV receipt?

Thank you all.

I asked this exact question on VJ and got 312 views and no replies! I did NOT include a copy of the MRV receipt with Packet 3, I simply took it with me to the interview and had no problems at all

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-06-22 15:48:00

This really wasn't that complicated of a question. I think Lea (Lilly1986) was just seeking reassurance. Need more love people.....MORE love.

You're right, it wasn't complicated, and it got answered :thumbs:

Maybe my last post wasn't obvious, but I was agreeing with Lilly1986 about the baffling comments made by aguilayserpiente.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-05 08:59:00

wow i read this 5 times now and i have to admit i have a hard time understanding what u r trying to say...

That post completely baffled me too! :blink:

Edited by Nigel&Meggie, 05 July 2011 - 08:40 AM.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-05 08:39:00

thanks everyone so far! i dont need a visa to go the states. i also think beeing german will actually help me with that also i prepared a letter from my boss....my boss is a lawyer, i´m a paralegal, i think i should be fine....what would u suggest to the question: what is ur purpose of this visit? should i say right away that i am gonna see my fiance or should i just go with "holidays" and wait for further question? i think, i am just freaking out....but it would suck badly, if they don´t let me enter. By the way, i am entering the states in chicago, don´t know if thats important...

When I was asked the purpose of my visit, I said holiday. When they then asked who I was staying with, I said my fiancee. I was let in every time, although on one visit I did get an officer who was clearly having a bad day and gave me hell for 5 minutes...and then let me in!

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-06-30 13:55:00

Hi my dear VJers...i know this has been discussed a lot, but still i am worried. we have filled our petition for the K1 Visa on may 13th; NOA1 is from may 19th. i booked tickets to see my fiance (the USC) in august for his b-day. I will stay 12 days. Will i be ok? i have the binding ties. I am from germany so not from a fraud country...Does the officer see that i have a pending petition/visa? I am especially looking for an answer to my last question because i can not find any answer to that!

Thanks so much in advance, and any help is really appreciated!!!

Love from Germany, lea

Germany is in the VWP so you should not need a separate visitor visa. I visited my wife (then fiancee) numerous times successfully whilst my petition was pending, once for the maximum 3 months. As long as you take plenty of evidence with you to show you have existing ties back home, then normally, it is ok. No guarantee though, some have been turned back at the border, so just mentally prepare yourself in case that happens. If that does happen, it has no negative effects on your petition by the way.
It is mostly believed that the officer does not see on the computer that you have a petition pending, although if he asks you who you are going to see etc, it is not advisable to lie! They will make notes on the system about what you tell them, so it's best to tell them the truth.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-06-30 07:54:00

None or N/A

Hi, I see what you mean, u dont have to write N/A on all space, just the first line row is enough for N/A or None, thats how I filled my i-129f.
Hope this answers ur question...
Goodluck..

That's exactly how we filled mine in. Worked for us too.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-06 08:30:00

Process Started

Hey Everyone!! Just signed up so wanted to say hello. We just sent away our I-129F 3 days ago!! WOO HOO!!! And it begins....

Now sit back, relax, and try to enjoy the ride! Good luck

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-14 13:34:00

A few questions :)

That's a bit worrisome. I just mailed mine off, and I noticed my boarding passes didn't have the year. I sent an email copy of my itinerary (there's no hardcopy as it was through travelocity), and also sent in a color copy of my passport which has the entry stamp (year included obviously). I hope that suffices and I don't get an RFE or I'm screwed. I'm guessing it'll be enough cause they'd have to be pretty thick to see not see that the dates match lol. But in case, what would one do to acquire a boarding pass or something official to show the year? Not a single one of my boarding passes actually have the year on it.

What you sent should be ok, especially as you sent in a copy of the passport stamps. That satisfied our RFE, so I really don't think you have anything to worry about. What we did in response to the RFE just to make sure, was to write on the copy of the passport stamps and identify each trip with a short description and include any other evidence we both had that matched that particular trip. For example, I highlighted a trip to Spain we took and referenced it to a copy of the hotel receipt we included - just to make everything obvious to them that we were both there together. Also, regarding that Spain trip, as I'm from the EU I didn't get a passport stamp but she did. Therefore, even though my boarding pass didn't have the year on it, the date matched exactly the day and month of her passport stamp so I included that and wrote a brief description explaining it. We got our NOA2 a few days later. I just wish we had included the copy of the passport stamps in the first place, but the RFE didn't slow us down by too much.

Hope that makes sense - anyway, I'm sure you'll be fine with what you have already sent

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-27 12:35:00

A few questions :)

ah yeah, i know

I have my boarding passes as well as his copied. I just noticed that on the visa tip/guide thingy they also ask for the letter. I didn't want mine to sound retarded

Thanks!

Make sure the boarding passes have the full dates on them including the year. Some don't display the year and hence are pretty worthless. That happened to us and we got an RFE. Copies of passport stamps are better.

Nigel&Meggie

Male

England

2011-07-26 12:33:00