Overview of IR1 Process in London
Sep 15th 2009, 3:03 am
#1
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3
Overview of IR1 Process in London
I’ve found this forum quite a useful source of information over the last few months, so I thought it was about time I returned the favour and described my experience – on the off chance it might help someone.
I had my interview at the US Embassy in London yesterday – and my application for an IR1 visa was approved.
Firstly, a little about me:
Secondly, information about timeframes
Thirdly, a little information about the interview – it was two step process.
The first step was to ‘meet’ (i.e. at a booth window) with someone who was referred to as an Embassy staff member (as distinct from the Consular Office – more on that later). This was a very relaxed affair, which involved: handing over my photographs; having my finger prints taken; paying the US$400 fee (which you do at a different window); submitting all forms (I864, D230 Part II) and evidence.
Something I wasn’t clear on beforehand was that you can either (a) provide originals (or certified copy) of the evidence, or (b) the original (or certified copy) plus a photocopy of the original (or certified copy) if you want the original returned to you. For example, I wanted to keep my marriage certificate (it was the original signed on the day), so I handed over both the original and an uncertified copy – so they gave me back the original marriage certificate.
The other thing I wasn’t clear about is that this guy apparently wanted ALL evidence that I wished the Consular Officer to consider – including for example, about 15 pages of various bank statements support our claims about assets for the Affidavit of Support. In the end I didn’t hand over EVERYTHING, because there were some things that, without explanation, would have appeared irrelevant (e.g. I had a copy of our lease with me so could prove my wife didn’t have any long term commitment to living in the UK – to fulfill the domicile requirement of the AoS).
The second step, which occurred about an hour latter (take a good book and don’t get annoyed with waiting, these things take time and it's ultimately worth it) was the interview with the Consular Officer, who, I gather, has the legal power to make the decision about your visa. My finger prints were retaken, presumably to ensure I was the same person who had submitted the evidence earlier. (The original of our marriage certificate was returned at this point). I was then asked to raise my right hand and swear that I would tell the truth. I was then asked a series of questions. The Consular Officer’s tone was polite, but very direct and interrogative (entirely appropriate in my view). The first set of questions focused on my wife (i.e. the USC), and was aimed at understanding how long she had been living abroad, why and the rationale for us moving to the US at this point in time. I believe the Consular Office may have been trying to establish confidence that my wife fulfilled the domicile requirement of the Sponsor – more about this below. The second set of questions was even more intensely delivered and was focused on any ‘problems’ I might have had with the law or with border officials. Once we’d finished that part of the interview, the Consular Officer left – at which point I noticed that there was a tick in a box on the piece of paper in front of her, which appeared to suggest they were going to suspend my application while I obtained further information. I had mentally prepared myself for this, so wasn’t too disappointed. However, when the CO came back shortly thereafter, I was slightly taken aback when they smiled and told me they were happy to approve my visa!! All-in-all this interview probably took less than 5 minutes – much to my amazement.
I’ve read that some people in a similar situation to ours have had a problem with the domicile requirement recently – and I had anticipated I would as well. Unfortunately for others (e.g. ginblossom), I’m not really sure how the CO was convinced of this in the end – I’d presented evidence of my wife paying tax in the US (for the last three years), and the basis for my wife supporting me was through a stock portfolio she has which is managed by a US broker (we were not using income as my wife is intending to be full time mother when we live in the States). I wasn’t asked at all about our living situation here (although it was clear from our financial evidence that we don’t own a house in the UK – in fact we have no substantial assets here at all). I guess there may have been elements of our personal story that the CO may also have taken into account – but that’s all fairly ‘soft’ stuff. We didn’t present any evidence of my wife’s voting record, nor is my child enrolled in a school (too young), nor have we purchased any property or signed a lease in the US.
So that is that (assuming the mysterious tick on the CO’s piece of paper doesn’t reappear to haunt me)… all I need now is a job and that dream of a great big yard for our kid(s) to run around in will almost be a reality!
I’ll keep monitoring this post for a few weeks, so if anyone has any specific questions about details I missed about my experience or clarifications, please let me know.
I had my interview at the US Embassy in London yesterday – and my application for an IR1 visa was approved.
Firstly, a little about me:
- Husband of a USC (also an EU citizen) who petitioned on my behalf, and who also sponsored me. My wife has been living abroad since late 2004.
- We’ve been married for a little over two years (it was less than two years when I first applied, and was initially listed as applying for a CR1 visa, however, they switched it to IR1 by the time I had my interview – I didn’t ask them to do that, it just happened.)
- I’m living in the UK on a Tier 1 High Skilled Migrant visa
Secondly, information about timeframes
- Filed petition: May 15, 2009
- Petition approved by USCIS: June 2
- Letter from Immigration Visa Branch at US Embassy in London inviting me to apply: 8 June
- Medical: 24 June
- Submitted DS2001 & DS-230 (Part 1): 25 June
- Letter from Embassy requesting details for NZ Police Certificate application: 10 July
- Appointment letter (dated): 20 August
- Interview: 14 September
Thirdly, a little information about the interview – it was two step process.
The first step was to ‘meet’ (i.e. at a booth window) with someone who was referred to as an Embassy staff member (as distinct from the Consular Office – more on that later). This was a very relaxed affair, which involved: handing over my photographs; having my finger prints taken; paying the US$400 fee (which you do at a different window); submitting all forms (I864, D230 Part II) and evidence.
Something I wasn’t clear on beforehand was that you can either (a) provide originals (or certified copy) of the evidence, or (b) the original (or certified copy) plus a photocopy of the original (or certified copy) if you want the original returned to you. For example, I wanted to keep my marriage certificate (it was the original signed on the day), so I handed over both the original and an uncertified copy – so they gave me back the original marriage certificate.
The other thing I wasn’t clear about is that this guy apparently wanted ALL evidence that I wished the Consular Officer to consider – including for example, about 15 pages of various bank statements support our claims about assets for the Affidavit of Support. In the end I didn’t hand over EVERYTHING, because there were some things that, without explanation, would have appeared irrelevant (e.g. I had a copy of our lease with me so could prove my wife didn’t have any long term commitment to living in the UK – to fulfill the domicile requirement of the AoS).
The second step, which occurred about an hour latter (take a good book and don’t get annoyed with waiting, these things take time and it's ultimately worth it) was the interview with the Consular Officer, who, I gather, has the legal power to make the decision about your visa. My finger prints were retaken, presumably to ensure I was the same person who had submitted the evidence earlier. (The original of our marriage certificate was returned at this point). I was then asked to raise my right hand and swear that I would tell the truth. I was then asked a series of questions. The Consular Officer’s tone was polite, but very direct and interrogative (entirely appropriate in my view). The first set of questions focused on my wife (i.e. the USC), and was aimed at understanding how long she had been living abroad, why and the rationale for us moving to the US at this point in time. I believe the Consular Office may have been trying to establish confidence that my wife fulfilled the domicile requirement of the Sponsor – more about this below. The second set of questions was even more intensely delivered and was focused on any ‘problems’ I might have had with the law or with border officials. Once we’d finished that part of the interview, the Consular Officer left – at which point I noticed that there was a tick in a box on the piece of paper in front of her, which appeared to suggest they were going to suspend my application while I obtained further information. I had mentally prepared myself for this, so wasn’t too disappointed. However, when the CO came back shortly thereafter, I was slightly taken aback when they smiled and told me they were happy to approve my visa!! All-in-all this interview probably took less than 5 minutes – much to my amazement.
I’ve read that some people in a similar situation to ours have had a problem with the domicile requirement recently – and I had anticipated I would as well. Unfortunately for others (e.g. ginblossom), I’m not really sure how the CO was convinced of this in the end – I’d presented evidence of my wife paying tax in the US (for the last three years), and the basis for my wife supporting me was through a stock portfolio she has which is managed by a US broker (we were not using income as my wife is intending to be full time mother when we live in the States). I wasn’t asked at all about our living situation here (although it was clear from our financial evidence that we don’t own a house in the UK – in fact we have no substantial assets here at all). I guess there may have been elements of our personal story that the CO may also have taken into account – but that’s all fairly ‘soft’ stuff. We didn’t present any evidence of my wife’s voting record, nor is my child enrolled in a school (too young), nor have we purchased any property or signed a lease in the US.
So that is that (assuming the mysterious tick on the CO’s piece of paper doesn’t reappear to haunt me)… all I need now is a job and that dream of a great big yard for our kid(s) to run around in will almost be a reality!
I’ll keep monitoring this post for a few weeks, so if anyone has any specific questions about details I missed about my experience or clarifications, please let me know.
Sep 15th 2009, 3:20 am
#2
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 475
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
Hi and welcome to BE 
What an awesome post, this is what makes this forum so great, people sharing experiences with others!! Instant karma on its way!!
What an awesome post, this is what makes this forum so great, people sharing experiences with others!! Instant karma on its way!!
Sep 15th 2009, 3:31 am
#3
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,687
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
Congratulations, and Welcome to BE!
Rene
Rene
Sep 15th 2009, 3:40 am
#4
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,475
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
Welcome
I'm confused why you were fingerprinted.
I'm confused why you were fingerprinted.
Sep 15th 2009, 4:14 am
#5
Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,049
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
tnm,
In accordance with the law. When the marriage is less than 2 years old the pending immigrant is classified as CR, once the marriage becomes more than 2 years old the classification changes to IR.
Regards, JEff
In accordance with the law. When the marriage is less than 2 years old the pending immigrant is classified as CR, once the marriage becomes more than 2 years old the classification changes to IR.
Regards, JEff
[*]We’ve been married for a little over two years (it was less than two years when I first applied, and was initially listed as applying for a CR1 visa, however, they switched it to IR1 by the time I had my interview – I didn’t ask them to do that, it just happened.)
All the visa applicants are FP at the interview now. Checks, checks and more checks. 
Sep 15th 2009, 4:43 am
#7
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,475
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
If they do it the same day, how can they approve them then and there????
No back in those days they didn't do fingerprinting unless there was a hit on the name and/or the nationality was such that it was considered warranted. But name checks were done on the foreign spouse long before the interview date was assigned. So in essence they do a fingerprinting but the foreigner is still allowed in regardless since the outcome is not known
Sep 15th 2009, 4:49 am
#8
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 475
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
If they do it the same day, how can they approve them then and there????
No back in those days they didn't do fingerprinting unless there was a hit on the name and/or the nationality was such that it was considered warranted. But name checks were done on the foreign spouse long before the interview date was assigned. So in essence they do a fingerprinting but the foreigner is still allowed in regardless since the outcome is not known at the time of approval.
No back in those days they didn't do fingerprinting unless there was a hit on the name and/or the nationality was such that it was considered warranted. But name checks were done on the foreign spouse long before the interview date was assigned. So in essence they do a fingerprinting but the foreigner is still allowed in regardless since the outcome is not known at the time of approval.
The UK police now use a mobile fingerprint scanner called 'lantern'. This device checks fingerprints in real time to establsih / verify the idenity of an individual at roadside stops, stop and search, etc .
These devices will also flag 'hits' made in real time.
(btw none of this info breaches any security guidelines, it is info in the public domain)
Last edited by YouWantFriesWithThat; Sep 15th 2009 at 4:53 am.
Sep 16th 2009, 1:26 am
#10
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Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
Thanks to everyone for your congratulations.
Just to complete the story (sort of), I had my passport returned by courier this morning - complete with a shiny new visa sticker
Just to complete the story (sort of), I had my passport returned by courier this morning - complete with a shiny new visa sticker
Sep 16th 2009, 1:31 am
#11
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 475
Re: Overview of IR1 Process in London
Congratulations Best of luck for the future.
