From Wiki
This article goes over the process that you will follow if you are applying for a K1 visa though the US Embassy in London after your foreign fiancé(e) has filed I-129F on your behalf. This is a more detailed process than the one outlined on the K1 visa article.
Note: Where the UK Citizen was the beneficiary of an I-129F petition, they are now the applicant for a K1 visa.
[edit] Process
It is recommended that once your foreign fiancé(e) receives their Notice of Action (NOA) 2, you begin assembling the relevant documents to support your application. The US Embassy in London will not begin any administrative processing on your case, nor will they answer any queries about your case until they receive it from the National Visa Center (NVC).
- The NVC, upon receipt of an approved I-129F petition from a USCIS service center, will forward the applicant's case to the US Embassy in London.
- The Immigrant Visa Unit (IVU) of the Embassy will send a letter to the applicants informing them that their case is now in London and the IVU will begin processing their case.
- The IVU will send a set of forms to the beneficiary (often known as Packet 3). Packet 3 is made up of:
- Form DS-230 Part I (Biographic Data for Immigrant Visa Application and Alien Registration)
- Duplicates of Form DS-156 (Nonimmigrant Visa Application) - forms may not be included as the US Embassy requires electronically completed versions of this form with a 2D barcode (see article for more information)
- Form DS-156K (Nonimmigrant Fiancé(e) Visa Application)
- Form DS-157 (Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application) - only required for males aged 16-45
- Form DS-2000 (Evidence Which May Be Presented to Meet the Public Charge Provisions of the Law) - information sheet, not an actual form
- Form IV-15 (Document Checklist)
- Sometimes the Embassy will send information regarding the Medical Examination at this time
- Complete and send back the following forms to the IVU at the address shown below:
- Form DS-230-I (Part I only) for each person applying for a visa, regardless of age
- Unsigned forms DS-156 (see article on Form DS-156 for information regarding the electronic completion of this form)
- Unsigned form DS-156K
- Form DS-157 (if applicable)
- Form IV-15 (if required documents are already assembled)
- If not already done so, assemble the relevant documents required in support of your application, and mark said documents off on Form IV-15 as you collect them. Do not send these documents to the Embassy.
- Sign and date Form IV-15 and send to the IVU at the Embassy, if not already sent.
- Upon receipt of the above documents, the IVU will continue processing of your case and will then send an interview appointment for your visa interview at the US Embassy in London. The Embassy may send information on the Medical Examination at this time, if they did not send it in Packet 3'.
- Schedule and have the Medical Examination (see below).
- Attend scheduled interview.
- If approved, leave passport with the Embassy for issuance of K1 visa. The passport will be returned via courier with the visa affixed inside (see below).
[edit] Medical Examination
Part of the K1 visa application is a physical examination of the applicant, as well as ensuring that the applicant has all the required vaccinations for their age. The medical examination must take place before the scheduled visa interview, and at least 4 days before your visa interview is recommended. The examination is done by Knightsbridge Doctors. Your local GP, or any other doctor, is not able to perform the medical examination required by the Embassy.
Appointments can be made by calling 020 7486 7822 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). Have your London Embassy issued case number to hand when making your appointment.
It is recommended that you turn up to the doctors about 10-15 minutes prior to scheduled interview time with the following:
- Passport
- Passport-sized photograph (one for each applicant, including babies)
- Spectacles or contact lenses if you wear them
- Vaccination records , with original certification
- Appointment letter from the United States Embassy
- Medical reports of any past or current illnesses including psychiatric
Upon arrival, inform reception staff of your name and case number, fill out medical history questionnaire, and sign consent forms. These forms give your understanding that if you test positive for HIV, the doctors will have to notify the US Embassy, and you will become ineligible for a visa. The doctors office will contact you if there is anything in the blood test results.
You will have chest X-ray and a blood sample taken. Pregnant women may forgo the chest x-ray, but one will have to be done following the birth of the child once the applicant files for Adjustment of Status (AoS).
You will then undergo a general physical by the examining doctor. This includes weighing, eye test, and a hernia test for men. Your vaccination history is assessed, and additional vaccinations administered if required and requested. (See section on Vaccinations).
At time of writing (May 2008) the cost is £180 for adults (15yrs old and above) and £90 for children (14yrs old and below).
Results of the medical are forwarded to the US Embassy in London, and the applicant is given a copy of Form DS-3025.
[edit] Vaccination Requirements
As part of the medical examination, the examining doctor is required to verify that the applicant has met the vaccination requirements where medically appropriate. The best way to verify this is by having with you copies of your vaccination records. These can be obtained from your GP.
Applicants are not be required to meet the vaccination requirements at the time of the visa interview. However they are required to meet the requirements at the time they file an application for AoS. If any of the vaccination requirements are not met at the time of the medical, the applicant can choose to have any missing vaccinations done at the time of the medical examination for a cost set by Knightsbridge Doctors. An applicant may also have them done by their local GP. If doing so, they must remember to get a copy of the vaccination record for later proof of vaccination.
The following vaccinations are required to be current at the time of filing an AoS application based on the age of the applicant, and their cost if done by Knightsbridge Doctors:
- Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTP) - (2 months - 6 years of age) - £25
- Hepatitis A - (12 - 23 months of age) - £35
- Hepatitis B - (Through 18 years of age) - £35
- Human Papilloma Virus - (Females, 11 - 26 years of age) - £120
- Influenza - (6-59 months of age, and annually if over 50 years of age) - £20
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) - (If born in 1957 or later) - £35
- Meningococcal MCV - (11 - 18 years of age) - £20
- Pneumococcal - (Through 59 months of age, and over 65 years of age) - £35 Adult, £45 Child
- Polio - (2 months - 17 years of age) - £30
- Rotavirus - (2 - 6 months of age) - £65
- Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids - (Over 7 years of age for TD; 10 - 64 years old for Tdap) - £30
- Varicella - (Over 12 months of age; wavered if applicant has had chicken pox as a child) - £60
- Zoster - (Not available in the UK; over 60 years of age) - N/A
Note: Consult doctor or physician for the length of immunization each vaccination provides in order to determine if your vaccinations are current.
[edit] Knightsbridge Doctors
Knightsbridge Doctors is the only practice that is authorized to perform the Medical Examination required for immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications.
When you call to schedule an interview, you will be informed at which of the two locations your examination will take place.
Contact information for each branch is as follows:
Knightsbridge Branch
Knightsbridge Doctors,
15 Basil Mansions,
Basil Street,
London,
SW3 1AP,
email: info@knightsbridge-doctors.com
West End Branch
Knightsbridge Doctors,
4 Bentinck Mansions,
London,
W1U 2ER
email: usinfo@knightsbridge-doctors.com
[edit] Interview
[edit] Required Documents
For the interview, you will need the following:
- Appointment Letter
- Documents listed on Form IV-15
- A copy of the NOA2 from the I-129F petition
- Proof of ongoing relationship (see below)
[edit] Proof of Ongoing Relationship
One of the requirements of the K1 visa application is an ongoing relationship with the USC who originally filed the I-129F petition on your behalf. The Consular Officer may ask to see proof of this relationship. There are no hard and fast rules as to what is acceptable as each officer may be looking for their own thing. It's recommended that you take a few pieces of a few types of evidence that span the period between the I-129F approval and the K1 application interview. Suitable evidence types could be:
- Pictures of you and the USC together
- Letters and postmarked envelopes/emails (personal information can be censored out)
- Telephone bills
- Flight tickets
[edit] Process
The interview will take place at the US Embassy in London (see Physical Address of Embassy to get directions).
- The Embassy will advise turning up 30 minutes before your scheduled interview time. Upon arrival at the Embassy, you will follow the signs for Visa Services, not the line for Citizen/Passport Services. A security staff member will check your appointment letter, and direct you to a secondary line based on your interview time.
- After passing through a security checkpoint, you will be directed to the Visa Unit entrance of the Embassy building. After entering, you will show your appointment letter to an Embassy worker who will generate a set of barcodes and give you a number. The number will be used to call you to a Consular Official's interview window.
- When you enter the waiting lobby, you will see the SMS Courier desk on your left, and seating and display screens on the right. Take a seat and wait for your number to be called. As well as hearing it on the PA system in the lobby, the display screens also illustrate what number should be at which of the 20 interview windows. When a new number is called, it is also displayed on the screens. You may notice many IV numbers on the screens, but your number will begin with NIV. (The IV numbers start at 1000 each day, and the NIV numbers start at 5000. This can give you an idea of how many more people are ahead of you).
- Once your number is first called, proceed to the assigned interview window. The consular officer will ask for different documents from you to make copies of or to place in your file. You will be given a slip of paper and asked to go and pay for the visa at a specific interview window, and then return to the consular officer (see [[K1 London Applications#Cost|Cost).
- Pay for the visa (this is non-refundable).
- Once you have returned with a payment receipt, the consular officer will go over a few details of your application, hand you a pink slip for the courier (see Cost) and then tell you to take a seat and wait for your number to be called for your interview.
- Once your number is called again (it may be to a different window than earlier) you will be interviewed by a Consular Officer after swearing that the information you are about to present is correct to the best of your knowledge. Answer all questions asked to the best of your ability. Do not offer any information above and beyond what is asked. (An analogy that is often quoted to illustrate this is 'When asked "Do you know what time it is?" The correct answer is either "Yes" or "No", not "It's 10:45am"').
- Providing the Consular Officer is happy with the information you have presented, and the fingerprint check does not return anything untoward, you will be approved.
- Leave passport with the Consular Officer, and take pink slip to the Courier desk that you passed on your way in.
- Leave Embassy the way you entered and retreive any left belongings from security.
- Receive your passport via courier 1-5 business days later (depending on delivery method selected).
[edit] Things to Note
- It will be mentioned on the appointment letter from the Embassy, but electronic devices are not permitted inside the Embassy. This includes, but it not limited to, cell phones, music players (tape, CD, mp3), headphones, cameras, car keys with electronic key fobs. Electonice devices are no longer held at the Embassy. There is a pharmacy down the street that will hold them for £10. When you first start to line up for the security check, you will be given a clear plastic bag for any metal devices (belt, coins). It will be x-rayed, and you will be given the metal objects back before you enter the Embassy.
- You may be lined up outside the Embassy for quite a while (30-60 mins. is not uncommon). Do not worry if this means you're still outside come the appointment time listed on your appointment letter. Check the weather before hand, and bring necessary protection as you're standing outside.
- Allow 2-3 hours for the whole experience.
- Bring a pen to fill out the courier form while you're waiting between Consular Officials.
- The photos you need are to US State Department Specifications, not UK sizes. There are many stores around the US Embassy that will have signs offering passport photos in US sizes. These are typically £10 for 2 photos. You need 2 for the Embassy and 1 for the medical. The medical will accept British style (smaller) passport photos because they cut down the larger ones to fit on the form.
[edit] Final Steps
Work in progress
[edit] Ineligibility
Under U.S. visa law some people are permanently ineligible to receive an immigrant visa and are not eligible to enter the United States unless they have obtained a waiver of the permanent ineligibility. These include persons who have been afflicted with a disease of public health significance, including those who are HIV-positive, a mental disorder which is associated with a display of harmful behavior, drug addicts/abusers, and those with criminal records.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to U.S. visa law. Anyone who has been arrested and/or convicted of any offense, regardless of when it may have occurred, is required to declare the arrest and/or conviction. A determination on a person's eligibility for a visa cannot be made until the day of the formal visa interview.
If the applicant is found ineligible for a visa, the consular officer will advise the applicant if he/she is eligible to apply for a waiver of the permanent ineligibility and of the steps which must be taken to apply for and process the waiver.
