purplecub

Hi all

I wonder if you could help me please with a couple of questions I have concerning completion of form DS-156. Just for a recap, I have received my NOA2 and am currently getting the packet 3 forms ready for sending off to the London US Embassy.

I have read a lot of threads on here regarding confusion about whether or not the DS-230 Part 1 and the DS-156 needs signing before they are sent back to the London Embassy. I think a lot of the confusion arises because form DS-156K makes it clear that that form should only be signed in the presence of the Consular Officer.

I have read the recommended threads and Wiki articles and am still not sure 100% of what to do. Also, there are two sources of information that give contradicting guidance. This link says not to sign the DS-156 before sending off:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...rocessing.html

Whereas this link says to sign the DS-156:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/DS-156


1. I sign the DS-230 Part 1 before it gets sent off to the London Embassy and take Part 2 unsigned with me - is this correct? Plenty of places say to complete the form but nowhere does it say to sign it.

2. So, what is the correct thing to do? Should I sign the DS-156 before sending back to the London Embassy or not?

3. Also, at the bottom right hand corner of page 1 of the DS-156 there is space for a photo. Should I attach a photo here before sending off or not? (again, I have read lots of threads about this and have not come up with a definitive answer).

4. Also - case numbers - on none of the forms that get sent in in advance of the interview i.e. DS-230, DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157 does it ask for the case number. Now, as the Embassy always asks to quote the case number in all correspondence, should I be marking the case number somewhere or should I provide a covering letter with the case number on it? I'm trying to minimise the paperwork involved here but at the same time I don't want to mess anything up or get paperwork queried unnecessarily.

I would be grateful if anyone with recent experience of London US Embassy
K1 proceedure (or if you otherwise know) could help me with these questions please as I have now spent more time trying to answer them than I have completing all the other forms put together!! In the absence of definitive official guidance I'm going to have to rely on 'good practice' or 'best current practice'.

Thank you for any help you can give me with this

purplecub

Anybody....please?

jeffreyhy

pc,

What entity is going to process your visa application - US consular staff in London or BE Wiki contributors?

Regards, JEff

Rebster

1) The form itself answers this question. Sign the first part, not the second. It must be signed in the presence of a consular officer.

2) Follow the instructions listed on the US Embassy link: DO NOT sign the DS-156. It also must be signed in the presence of a consular officer.

3) Again, follow the instructions of the form. It states to attach the photo via staple or glue (we used staples)

4) I recall writing our case number on the upper right hand corner of every document we took with us to the interview at the Embassy. Cover letters just add more paperwork and can get lost.

Don't stress and don't overthink this stuff! Sometimes the instructions from the government can be a bit fuzzy, but these items are pretty straightforward. I would tend to go with what you can find on the government websites vs what you read on forums. These places can be quite helpful but they also can be full of people who are getting it wrong themselves.

When in doubt, do what the form tells you to!

purplecub

Thanks for your comment Jeff.

The problem is, people such as myself are often told / advised to go away and read up on possible solutions to our questions. In particular, people are often told to read the Wiki articles posted in the forum. I did this and it seems that the Wiki article is incorrect and therefore got conflicting advice. The Embassy site is not without error either - that is why I asked if anyone knew the correct answer.

Some people come on this forum who can't be bothered to look up information and they get rightly advised to go away and do some research. However we have to caution ourselves here because not everyone has the same amount of time/ resources/ capacity to do research.

I spent more time trying to look up the answer to my questions than I did on all the forms put together. What I don't understand is, there are some very knowledgable people on this forum who obviously spend a lot of their time on here who are well able to help people such as myself. However it seems though that sometimes some questions just get totally ignored or met with sarcastic / really unhelpful answers and I really don't understand that. Surely, if someone knows the answer to a question, why not help that person? Why not give them the invaluable assistance they seek at that time? After all, if people are devoting hours and hours of their personal time on here then why would they do that if not to help and guide others?

purplecub

Hi Rebster,

Thank you for taking the time to try and help me. It is very much appreciated.

Regarding point 3 - it also says to not 'write below this space' which made me think it might be for official use only. Plus I have never seen anywhere on this forum people talking about attaching their photos to the DS-156 before sending off.

Regarding point 4 - The forms I am completing will be posted to the Embassy, I won't be taking them with me. As it says to always include your case number in all correspondence with the Embassy and as all the forms (incredibly) do not have any boxes to record the case numbers, I naturaly wondered if it was good practice to let the Embassy know your case number via a covering letter to help them reference the case.

Thanks again

ian-mstm

A fair point. I would counter by suggesting that just because someone doesn't have the time, resources, or capacity to do research... they should not expect us to do it for them. It is not our responsibility to spoon feed them... and if that's what they want, then they should hire someone to do it... and be prepared to pay through the nose for the privilege. For most people, the immigration process is pretty important... so they should act accordingly and take responsibility for their own affairs - and if they can't be bothered to do some research on their own... quite frankly, they should look elsewhere for a spouse/fiancee.


Again, a valid observation... but you're missing the obvious. The good people who frequent this forum do it because they want to... not because they have to -- which means that they can choose to respond or not at their sole discretion.

Ian

meauxna

I don't like to link back to this particular site anymore because the quality of information varies so much. However, this is what is written there.
It says to not sign the electronic forms, but you need to do it online to get the barcode. I will make the guess that this includes your case number information.

Packet 3 Contains: Packet three is just now a letter with a link to where to download all the forms and the IV-15 checklist http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/iv_15.html

The letter also provides a link on how to book your medical http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...v/medexam.html

The forms that require downloading and filling in are:
DS-230-I Part I
DS-156 x2 (Fill out online to generate barcode http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...lectronic.html - Do not sign) (Not necessary for CR1/IR1)
DS-156K x2(Do not sign) (K1/2 Only) (Not necessary for CR1/IR1)
DS-157 x2 (Not necessary for CR1/IR1)

You have run into a thing that has conflicting advice. This happens, it happens a lot, and it happens less now than it used to. You just have to do the best you can with the information you get, and be flexible if you actually need something different on the day of your interview.

I don't answer questions like yours because I never completed the form, I don't follow K cases all that much and I figure that there are lots of answers out there.
I think that JEff's answer to you *was* helpful, but that maybe you didn't see the helpful part.
This forum has never been so much a step by step how to place as a learn how to research place. When questions are asked, they are usually pointed; ie in this case, I believe JEff is saying that the Consulate's site or letters *should* be considered more reliable than a wiki. Unfortunately, this is one of those times when either could be more correct.. I have found many 'errors' on the London Consular site, including the page you link to.. they don't send you the forms anymore, right? Does it mention the electronic forms yet? http://evisaforms.state.gov/default.asp

Processes change. Many of us who answer questions here to help people get going or get through their case are way past form filling now.. maybe no one is stepping up to create guides or keep the wiki up to date. I know that the guy who did the K visa wiki here (and did an awesome job, thank you Knight!) already feels like he is too far past it to accurately update the wiki, but no one else steps up. So, the information gets old.
I did send Knight a PM asking him about this specific topic, if he could clarify.

I don't know how to make the people who have the answer come back and give it to you.

The other thing that you have to keep in mind is the Worst Case Scenario. They're not going to deny your visa if you get the signature thing wrong. They'd have you complete a new form, at the interview.

Finally, posting on the weekend is a thread killer. If you want lots of answers, I find it's best to post during the week.

meauxna

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...&postcount=138



It seemed you had already solved this a week or so ago?

purplecub

Thanks for your thoughts Ian. As I said in my original reply to Jeff, above, if people can't be bothered to look stuff up then they should be guided to it.

I wasn't missing the obvious in the second point. My point was that if people want to help others then logic alone dictates that the reply should be helpful or considered (although of course the definitions of that alone is subjective). I wasn't suggesting that responses should be made to every question, no; because, as you point out, people have the choice to respond or not. That's why I am grateful to those that do because they have chosen to

purplecub

Thanks for your thoughts and comments, Meauxna. I understand about the Wiki articles having 'use by' dates and also that people have devoted time and effort to them. It's appreciated by me and of course countless others. Once things have settled for me and I can think straight(ish) again I don't mind spending some time going through some of the Wikis and updating / deleting where appropriate.

purplecub

Not really, no. When I replied in the link you quoted above I did caution ajcmals that I wasn't 100% sure and to get what I was saying confirmed. Then, when it came round to my turn to completing the 'packet three' forms, and doing more digging, I ended up very confused because of the conflicting information that I was reading!!

Knight

No, that's not how it works. If people can't be bothered to look stuff up, then why should anyone else be bothered to guide them to it. If someone takes the time to look something up but needs some help clarifying or understanding an issue, then they'll get a much friendlier response.

That aside, I will have a look at the Wiki article and try and work out why I worded it the way I did, and make any changes that need to be made. I may have to ask you a few questions on DS-156, it's been a while since I went through the process and wrote the articles.

Knight

All I can come up with is that I worded the article REALLY badly, and by "when returned to you sign and date it" I must have meant when the consular official hands the form back to you, then you sign and date it.

I've removed the offending piece of text, so hopefully there'll be no future confusion.

Hopefully.

purplecub

I know what your saying but I meant guided to it so that they can find the answer for themselves as opposed to a forum member spending hours telling them / suggesting what they should do Sometimes a bit of empathy is called for, remembering that everyone is different and that some people need a little more of a nudge than others I agree though that once a person has been pointed in the right direction that the expectation is that they try and find out as much for themselves as they can