Noorah101

The payment he refers to is not applicable in a K-1 visa process.

Rene

eddiewww

Thanks

Sugarfreeuzzy

Has anybody had issues traveling to the US to activate the visa? Given travel restrictions etc?

os306

None at all. Travelled over 2 weeks ago to activate mine and had no issues.

Gixxerboy_999

Did you book a Covid test at the airport before departing or get one elsewhere?

Sugarfreeuzzy

I can't see any exemption for someone with an IR1 Visa to travel to the us:

• British nationals cannot enter the USA and its territories if they have been in the UK, Ireland, Schengen zone, Iran, Brazil, China, or (as of 30 January 2021) South Africa within the previous 14 days

I see exemptions for some visa's but nothing for IR1

jonUK

I travelled in January to activate my IR1 visa. No problems at all.

I travelled with my wife and three kids. Did rapid tests at the airport (booked ahead) which meant getting to the airport around 6hrs before the flight. My IR1 visa was initially questioned at check-in but a supervisor reviewed the entry in my passport and confirmed it was ok.

At the point of boarding my flight I was asked to produce my marriage certificate, not something I thought I would need. I did have a copy on my phone that I could show. They called Homeland Security who confirmed it was not needed.

On the US side it took about twenty minutes for border control to review my white envelope etc. They indicated the physical green card would take between 6-9months to arrive, it arrived in 5 weeks. My social security number also arrived in around 2 weeks.

Remember to pay the USCIS Fee (I did this after I arrived in US but looks like it can be done ahead of time): https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/after...immigrant-fee/

Thanks

Gixxerboy_999

Great to know thank you, I fly out in 7 weeks, random question how full was the flight you were on?

jonUK

Flight out had around 90 people on there. Flight back to UK around 70. so pretty empty. Would say it was around 60% full. Was able to spread out and claim a few extra seats both ways.

os306

Congrats on making it over hassle-free! I had a similar experience, although I was not at any point asked to produce my marriage certificate. The people at Virgin/Delta check-in at Heathrow weren't sure about the visa and whether I was permitted to travel. I had to wait about 20 minutes until the Homeland Security representative arrived at 8am; he took one look at the envelope and said "IR1? Yeah you're good". Because I was travelling alone, on the US side things didn't take long at all. I wasn't asked to provide any fingerprints, which I thought was interesting since other's accounts have mentioned having to provide this. I wasn't given an indication of when my physical green card would arrive, but was anticipating waiting a few months. Surprised/impressed to see yours arrived so quickly.

Spouses of US citizens are exempt from the Presidential Proclaimation. Your IR1 visa in your passport actually states this too.

Mattw7

We finally arrived in the US yesterday, thanks all for the guidance!

We are trying to change the address for the Visa to be sent to but can't seem to find an option anywhere to do this. Can someone advise how to do it please? Also, is my wife's social security number sent out automatically or do we need to apply for it?

Thanks again.

Noorah101

If you are already in the USA, there is no visa involved anymore. Are you referring to the plastic green card? If so, then the address should have been verified with the officer at the POE, that was your chance to change it.

If the box was ticked to have the SS card automatically issued, sometimes that works, sometimes not. Give it a while to see if the card shows up. If it doesn't then apply in person.

Rene

Chins

If you didnt give your new address at POE then you need to update USCIS How to Change Your Address | USCIS

Also worth getting USPS to forward mail from the old address to the new one. They also take pictures of your mail so you can hopefully see it there as well.

Sugarfreeuzzy

Not sure if anyone can help, I entered the US recently as the final step in activating the IR1 - all good. I used to be in the US on an L1b visa for work in 2017 (expired when I changed job and moved back to UK) at the time I was given a social security number. Will that old SSN still be valid for me now? Or do I need to apply for a completely new SSN and if so do I need to wait for the greencard in the post or can I use the passport visa page?

lizzyq

Your SSN is yours for life, so yes, you can use the one you already have, however you need to go to your local SSA office with your passport and show them your endorsed (stamped) visa page to get yourstatus updated in the SSA system and to get a new card without any restriction printed on it.