MissCharlotte

I recently married my boyfriend of 3 years who is a US citizen. I am now looking to apply for the spouse visa to go and join in him the US. He has yet to finish university and we wantedto time it so that my visa is approved as he finishes (which is around December/January) We have no idea really as of where to begin!
I contacted a solicitor to help me with my application but they wanted £2650 for the whole process and this is something that we cannot afford so have decided to do it ourselves. What I wanted to know is if I rang up the embassy, could I make an appointment to see someone who could help me- tell me what forms I need, how long it's going to take, how much it is going to cost etc....? All I have seen is appointments for face to face interviews pertaining to a visa they have already applied for.

Thanks so much!

HunterGreen

Your language seems to indicate you are back in the UK, but can you confirm?
Which state in the US does your husband live?

And congrats on the marriage.

MissCharlotte

Yes. I came back to England ( I am a UK citizen) because I knew you couldn't adjust your status whilst in the USA from entering under the visa waiver programme.
My husband lives in New York.

HunterGreen

You're applying for a CR1 visa then. Here's a link to a lot of info about it: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigra...ypes_2991.html

This following info is all in there, but for starters your husband files an I-130 for you at this address:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804616
Chicago, IL 60680-1029

You could also choose a K3 visa, but processing times for that are so long right now you might as well go straight for the CR1. The CR1 is a visa that allows you to go and live and work in the US permanently. The K3 ends up the same way, except it was designed for people to be allowed to wait out the approval of the I-130 in the US. This was when I-130's took a long time to get approved. These days I-130's and K3's are about at the same 'speed', so that kind of defeats the purpose.

MissCharlotte

Yea I was going to apply for the K3 initially but if the CR1 is taking the same amount of time, then I may as well just do that.
Roughly how long do you think this process will take?

HunterGreen

We have a cute saying around here: it takes from beginning to end, or however long it takes. It may not sound cute to you, but there really is no telling beforehand how long exactly it will take. It varies a lot depending on the circumstances (and just plain randomness, it seems).

I don't have time to look up approximate processing times right now, but I'm sure someone else will jump into this thread and give you a few more handy links including that one.

Here's a link to the form I-130 and instructions: http://tinyurl.com/ybh955

Here is some more info about the K3 visa just in case: http://tinyurl.com/6h7hm3

HunterGreen

Here's a link to the processing times, you would be looking at Vermont: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

Processing times are very much approximate.

To give you an example of that, when I filed my I-751 (removal of conditions) at the end of August last year, we were done and dusted only two and a half months later. The processing date on NSC is February 2007 however, which would indicate that people who filed after February are nowhere near being even looked at. There are many posters around here who filed their I-751 long before me and haven't heard a peep yet (and nobody really knows why). Just to give you an idea about how much faith you should put in those listed times (being none, really).

MissCharlotte

Ok thank you
I just help we don't get too confused along the way!
I guess the best thing to do is just forge ahead and see where we end up!

HunterGreen

You're welcome.

And stick around here, lots of good info to be found, it will help you a lot along the way.

Noorah101

A typical Immigrant Visa through London, with no snags (i.e., past criminal history or medical problems), takes roughly 8 to 10 months.

Rene

MissCharlotte

Thanks so much for all your help.
Now I just need to figure out what I do- what forms I need etc...
My husband must file his form first, I know that much but do we have to wait for a reply from that one before we start proceedings here or can we do them simultaneously?

Tracym

Certainly you can do it yourself. Another alternative is to contact an immigration attorney in the U.S. - you may find that the cost is exponentially less.

Noorah101

Here's a good flowchart which shows you all the steps involved in getting your immigrant visa. Yes, you have to wait for each step to happen before moving on to the next step. You can certainly take a look at what forms YOU will need to fill out eventually, so you can have an idea (check the London website for those forms). You can also get your police report while you're waiting.

http://www.familybasedimmigration.co...aflowchart.php

Best Wishes,
Rene

MissCharlotte

That's a good idea
I shall look into that this week

sselbie

I am going through the same process right now, we married last July. We hired a lawyer in London and paid just under £1,500 ..... All filing costs were included in this price. It has been a life saver and made life allot let stressful. All in all it is a 12 month period depending on process times but the lawyer jumps hoops that you can't!

The first stage took the longest to go thru but then it's go go go.

You will need to go ahead and have your US partner and co sponser if you have one get their last 3 years of tax forms together.
last 3 months of pay slips etc.
your police report...the new style (takes about a month to get)
Passport pics which must be specified size and not from a machine!
Proof of assets.
Long form Birth certificate

Once these second stage items go in it'll take about 8 wks to process.
Then you will be given an interview date and medical.
roughly 5 days later you will be issued with your visa and off you go!

I am using http://www.evanswallace.com/ and they have really done everything for us we just sign where told and obviously had to collect the above info.

Some prefer to go it alone but with rules changing constantly I prefer the lawyer!....they sent us changes twice during the process that I would never have known about.

Any help I can be mail me ok!