K_London

Cheers X2 Ian!

K_London

Thanks Ian

K_London

So, there has been movement on the CEAC front! It now says "In Transit", (Chris told me this changed about a week ago) but the message says the NVC has already contacted me to inform me of my interview date. I have not received anything from the NVC and I'm unsure as to what 'communication' I would be receiving!

My two questions are:

1. What medium of communcation does the NVC use to inform a person (me) about the interview date?

2. How long from the "In Transit" notice does contact take? E.g. A letter - 2 weeks or so from the CEAC status change.

Thanks people!

Kas

BunnyGirl

1. You won't receive anything from NVC. Once you've submitted your DS160, your Notification of Readiness form and the Consulate has your medical results you'll then receive an interview letter from London.

2. In Transit just means that your file is on its way to London, once it reaches London your CEAC will change to Ready. You should receive a letter from London inviting you to complete the steps above a few weeks later.

ian-mstm

I agree with BunnyGirl. You won't receive any direct communication from the NVC. Once London has your case file, they will contact you with instructions to submit your visa application, schedule a medical, etc. You won't receive an interview date until you return the Readiness form.

Ian

K_London

Awesome, thanks you two

So, I have filled out my DS-160 and it is saved (not submitted). Chris is in contact with a few people in and around the Portland,OR area who are also pursuing K1 or CR-1s and they said they have just seen an "At Embassy" status on their CEAC tracker. Chris thinks ours will update very soon - so I have booked my medical for the 26th Feb. So hopefully, I'll have an interview a month or so after the "Ready" appears our CEAC!

I do have a question though: Chris told me that once the K-1 has been affixed to my passport, I am no longer eligible for VWP entry to the US! Is this true?

I was going to come to Portland for July 4th (my last trip before I emigrated to Portland in August). But Chris is saying if I have the visa in my passport the Border Officer (sorry for incorrect terminology) has no choice but to use that K-1 as it superceeds (obvs) the VWP.

Can anyone confirm if my darling Chris is right / wrong please?

Also, I am meeting Chris in New York next week, from what I have read on the threads a pending K-1 is a non-issue? I just want to confirm that too!

What a long message - kudos to the brave soul who can be bothered with this!

Kas

ian-mstm

No - you are still eligible. However, it will be up to the CBP officer to allow you to enter on the VWP rather than the K-1. He may insist that you enter on the K-1, and there's really nothing you can do about it. Most often, though, entry on the VWP will be allowed.


The K-1 does not supersede the VWP. If it did, no one with a K-1 would be allowed to enter on the VWP, and that simply isn't true.


Correct, it's a non-issue.

Ian

K_London

Cheers Ian! I appreciate that.

celticgrid

Definitely this

I would go as far as to suggest having at least 3 copies - it does seem as though everyone wants a copy, sooner or later. We've had a couple (one of mine, one of the children's) never make it back to us and it is much easier to just shrug and move forward than have to chase it up.

K_London

Thanks Celticgrid! I'll be sure to order a two more copies.

So, good news! It took only 2 days for our case to reach the Embassy! CEAC now says "Ready" - this is all so exciting!

I have my medical on Feb 26th (aforementioned) and I am now just double checking my DS-160 which I will send before I leave for New York next week.

As per usual, a question, somewhat random in nature...academic transcripts is the name of the game.

Do US employers need to see both my degree certificate and transcript or is just the certificate acceptable? If so, I might order another copy of my transcript as I only received one copy at graduation and I'm not sure if that is even an 'Official Transcript' - I've learned after 23 years on this planet that my Birth Certificate was only a decorative one until I obtained a Full Form one.

Had it not been for you knowledgeable people on BE I would never have known!

Cheers

Kas

BunnyGirl

Don't forget to submit your online Notification of Readiness form as well, they won't schedule your interview until they have all 3 of those things (Readiness form, medical results and DS160). How long will you be spending in New York? Will there be someone to check your mail in case your interview date comes through?

K_London

Thanks BunnyGirl! I will be sure to submit everything. I think it might be prudent to let the medical results arrive then follow up with the DS-160 and NoR.

I am in New York for a short trip to see Chris (late v-day) Feb 19-Feb 23, Medical on 26th and I fly to Germany on 27th-1 March- so a little hectic!

I have my work address as my mailing address for everything so, hopefully, everything will arrive a-ok!

Cheers!

Kas

ian-mstm

That'll really depend on the type of job you're after. If you're after a job in academia, both the certificate and an official transcript will be needed (although you can provide an unofficial transcript until you get past the interview stage). For other jobs, if a degree is a requirement, transcripts are often asked for... if for no other reason than to verify that your certificate isn't fake. For some jobs, the certificate will do on its own.

Ian

sd8447

Hi K_London,

Congratulations on all the progress that's been made so far with your application. I have an ongoing K-1 application too but it's going a lot less well (see my post: http://britishexpats.com/forum/marri...is-nvc-852574/).

I was wondering, what date did you receive your I-797? And what date did the NVC receive your approved petition?

My I-797 got lost somewhere between USCIS and NVC back in October but this was only realised 3 weeks ago and since then there's been no progress in finding it that we're aware of. We're trying to decide whether we persevere, start a new application or change our plans completely. It would be interesting to see how long some of the earlier stages have taken for you as your experience is still quite current.

Before everyone warns me, I fully understand that every case is different and I would never rely on someone else's time-line as an indicator of current processing times - it would just be interesting to know.

Thank you and good luck with the next steps.

K_London

Hello everyone!

So just an update...my medical exam is tomorrow and I am just wondering (in retrospect) if I have made a mistake.

I submitted the DS-160, paid the MRV fee and submitted my Notification of Applicant Readiness before the medical. I did say on the NoAR that I had a future medical exam...CEAC has updated twice (on 18/2 and 23/2) and yesterday I received Packet 3 at work.

Does anyone think this will cause a problem.

Also, one more random one. So I just got back from New York yesterday too (straight to the office, unfortunately) and I checked my passport and saw that this time, my stamp did not have any handwriting on it (normally, the CBP writes a date on the stamp)...there is no date on the stamp, is this an issue?

Thanks for all your help so far! After the medical, it's just the interview to go and then it's onto the next 'hoop'...AOS...

Cheers,

Kas