The Earl of Drumer

Hi guys, I tried to ask this elsewhere but no luck so far. I'm trying to move to the US as my American fiancée lives there, and so far it has gone quite well - we sent the initial petition off, then five months later she got a letter saying they had received it and I would get instructions soon. Sure enough a week later I got a letter linking to a website saying which forms I need to fill in, that I need a birth certificate, police certificate, etc. I'm starting that now but since I'm not great at forms it's a slow business (I've only been doing it for a few days).

Now, I thought that when I collected everything together I sent off the 'readiness' letter to the US embassy in London to indicate I was ready for the interview (and presumably the medical since I'm guessing they send you a date for that too?), but just yesterday my fiancée said she received a 'I-797 Notice of Action' letter, and it mentions something about 9th August.

I'm confused. That can't mean for me to move over there by August (way too soon anyway!) as I've not even sent any forms off to the embassy yet, so what does it mean, and why did she get it and not me? Does it just mean I need to send the 'readiness' letter off before that date or it all expires?

Any help appreciated.

meauxna

Can you please ask your fiancee to transcribe the I-797C for us? I have one idea what it might be about but can not tell from what you've posted.

I'm also moving your thread to our marriage-based visa forum.

The Earl of Drumer

Hi, I've sent her an e-mail asking for her to scan it when she's on later. In MSN yesterday she wrote:

"but it says that it is valid until August 9, 2011"

"it clearly says it is not a visa"

"it just says that a copy of the approval was sent to your consulate"

"and then it says stuff about "when the person this petition is for enters the US based on this visa, he or she will be admitted for 90 days in order to marry the petitioner"

Noorah101

She should have received the USCIS NOA1 a long time ago. The Notice of Action Receipt of I-129F usually comes within a few weeks after filing the I-129F.

We need to know specifically what this NOA says. It is most likely the I-129F approval. She received it yesterday in the mail, but what is the Date on the NOA?

Rene

Noorah101

Yep, this sounds like the NOA for the I-129F approval, which evidently London has already received, since they've already sent you the information on how to proceed. Sounds like the mail delivery of this NOA was delayed a bit.

The I-129F approval is good for 4 months (my guess is that the NOA is dated April something...which makes the approval good until August). Supposedly you should be done with everything and have your interview by August, but that doesn't always happen, and the ConOffs know this. The I-129F approval can be extended, if necessary, by the ConOff, when you go to your interview.

Everything sounds like it's right on track.

Rene

The Earl of Drumer

Thanks. I'll try and find more later. Maybe if I get the scanned document I can post it here (after editing out specifics)!

So does this mean (if it's what you think) I don't have to try and extend it myself, I just carry on writing/collecting documents? I mean I'm not anywhere near finished that yet - it'll probably take me another few weeks at least. As I said I'm not great at doing forms but I wanted to do it myself than get a solicitor.

Noorah101

That's correct. You cannot extend it yourself. The ConOff must do it at the interview. She will just do something internally on her computer, there's nothing you need to do.

If it gets close to August 9, and you haven't got the interview booked yet, you might just want to email the consulate letting them know you're still working on things and do not intend to abandon the K-1 process. Just so they know you're still around.

If it comes to that close of a call, you might also have new Statements of Intent from you and your fiancee to show the ConOff, if she asks for them.

Rene

The Earl of Drumer

Thanks for such quick help - it's really appreciated . As I said I'll try and get that letter scanned later today and maybe you or someone else could take a look and let me know if it's what you thought.

Final question for now, but as I said in the original post do I wait for them to send me a medical appointment too? I'm kind of unsure if it's the sort of thing I have to actively pursue outside of this process or if they include it in with the appointment.

Right, off now to sort out the Police Certificate forms .
(It never ends, huh?)

The Earl of Drumer

Oh, sorry to reply to myself, but before I turn the computer off for now I should say when I was there in the US (holiday) in April she did get a letter on my last day too, so I'll try and scan that.

Essentially what happened was - she got a letter saying the petition had been approved (I think) and I should be receiving something soon. Then a few days letter I got a letter informing me of the forms I needed to start getting, and then a few days after that (yesterday) she got this Notice of Action. Hmmm... I wonder if her original letter was what you meant and this is a new one.

jeffreyhy

She should have received the notice of receipt from USCIS within a few weeks of sending in the petition, not five months after. This sounds like the letter the NVC sends to the petitioner advising them that the NVC had received the approved petition from USCIS and would forward it to the appropriate consulate. You need to be more precise than "mentions something about". No, that's not what it means. And she got the notice she because sent the petition, it's her petition. You will get a separate notice from the consular section instructing you on how to apply for your visa.
You need to begin the visa application process by responding to the notice that you will get from the consular section before that expiration date. You do not have to be ready for interview by that date. The consular section will delay the expiration date as long as you make progress with the visa application. Much of your confusion appears to stem from the fact that you apparently haven't actually seen the notices and letters that you're asking about. Have your fiancee scan them and send them to you by e-mail.

Regards, JEff

meauxna

Was your I-129f approval date April 9?
The petition approval is only valid for four months.
This would be common and expected.

But you need to tell us what the letter says, with a lot more detail.

I think Noorah guessed it right.

Moxie

The approval of your I-129F petition is on a form called an I-797. It will have an approval date (April 9?) and an expiration date 4 months later. Aug 9. As others have said, if you start sending your things to London, it will be fine if it takes past Aug 9 to interview. The expiration date gives it a "shelf life" so they can close out your case as abandoned if you don't bother to do your London part by sending in the application forms. Say you ignored everything for 8 months, then decided you wanted the visa. They could say, "sorry, start over with a new petition; your expired." As long as you follow through in a timely manner, you don't have to worry about the expiration. And do not lose that form I-797. You need it for removing conditions after your marriage.

You make your own medical appointment. They will ask your LND number when making the appointment. That would have been assigned by the NVC and your fiance would have gotten a letter telling your new LND case number. London would have also included that number in the letter sent you giving you the website link on how to proceed. And if you look at the left column of the embassy website link, there is a topic "Medical Exam". Click it. Read it and any link off that page. It will tell you what to do. Your police certificate (or copy) will have to be shown at the medical, so get that in hand.

The Earl of Drumer

Hi again, thanks for your replies! Still waiting for the scans (obviously the time difference does this) but I doubt I need them now as you have all cleared it up pretty well (I'd obviously like a copy of the notice of action anyway though) - entering the original receipt number on the USCIS site does indeed show 'On April 9, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)' so I guess that's cleared that up regardless . Can you tell I'm nervous ?

In reply to Moxie, I do indeed have the LDN number on my original letter - I had no idea I could do the medical at any time (i.e. pre-interview/date). As I said I'm actually doing the Police Certificate tonight for sending off tomorrow, so after that comes back successfully I'll perhaps look into the medical then, or maybe even get the required vaccinations by my Doctor (I know you don't have to until you adjust status, but even so it would be another thing down).

Since I'm less good with forms my approach has been to do little bits and pieces every day until it all comes together. I was thinking of sending my 'readiness' form (along with DS-230 part 1) before I'd finished everything else and then finish up, but really I'd like to be totally prepared first.

Noorah101

I understand why you take this approach, but it also is very helpful to see the overall big picture of your immigration process (all the way from now until after AOS in the USA). Then focus on each step as you're doing it. But always know what the next step will be, so you can prepare for it.

I agree, don't send in the readiness form until you're ready for the interview. You never know what can take longer than you anticipated.

Your medical must be done ahead of the interview. The consulate won't set an interview date for you until the medical results are in their hands.

Rene

rallybug

And to continue Noorah's reply, if you have the case number starting LND (for London) and as, presumably, the embassy has received the case file you can go ahead and book the medical now. They're currently taking about 2 weeks to get an appointment date.

Great that you've had contact from the embassy though We got NOA2 (approval of the petition) on 18th April, and the embassy have yet to do their part beyond logging the case onto their system.

I'm sat here twiddling my fingers to a certain extent, waiting for the embassy contact and for my fiancee's employment letter, pay stubs, etc to come through in the post