Noorah101

Oh, I was just thinking, though....you still have 90 days in which to get married...so even if your visa has an expiration date of June, you can still enter the USA in June and then get married in July.

So you're probably OK getting the medical and interview done as soon as you'd like.

Rene

technolog

Yes and getting the visa in hand and selling the house* (we have four viewings in its first week on the market ) will allow us to set a date for the wedding. That gives our would-be guests time to save for the trip. We were thinking we'd be lucky to have a month's notice of the date but this way we could perhaps have as much as 4 months notice.

* Not selling the house won't be great from a peace of mind point of view but we've been told we can simply give power of attorney to my sister who can complete the sale on our behalf.

technolog

Google is your friend

US Department of State
Consular Electronic Application Center
Visa Status Check

https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

No need to register, just enter your LND case number and you're presented with your visa status together with case creation date and status update date. These are 'Ready', 14th Jan 2014 & 22nd Jan 2014 respectively in my case.

technolog

I was all set to book my medical last week. I found the Knightsbridge Doctors website to look for its location so I could gauge travel arrangements and most suitable appointment times.

I also found a list of items required to be brought with you to the medical:

I wasn't aware a lot of this was required. Taking each item one at a time...

I assume the appointment letter is only required IF you get the interview scheduled before the medical?

Passport. Fair enough as a form of photo ID.

Passport photo. Expected this. Presumably US size?

Medical questionnaire IV18a. First time I've heard of this. Is it required to be taken or can you fill one in on the day? Wouldn't hurt to take a look prior to the medical I suppose.

Police certificate. Fair enough.

Spectacles or contact lenses, if worn. I wear reading glasses occasionally. Hopefully I'll have these with me if required.

Vaccination records with original certification. Wasn't aware of the requirement for this. If indeed it IS required, I assume it means my GP medical records. What is meant by original certification?

Children's red book health record. I assume that this only applies to children? I'm certainly not aware of ever having had one.

Medical reports of any past or current illnesses including psychiatric. Taken at face value this would appear to mean both GP AND hospital medical records. Is it really a requirement?

Step three of the Immigrant / Fiancé(e) Visa Interview Checklist only makes mention of bringing a photo and your police certificate.

Would anyone be able to set me straight on what's required and what isn't?

Noorah101

Correct.

For the medical, probably doesn't matter, but better to be safe than sorry.

You can fill it out there when you arrive.

Not sure what original certification means, but there are plenty of people who report going to the medical without vaccination records. The doctor can tell what you need, based on your age and where you're from. Or they can do a titre test to see if you need any vaccinations. If you can get your vaccination record and bring it with you, it probably saves some time and effort.

I assume so as well.

Not in general, usually only if you've had psychiatric problems, a history of arrest due to drunk driving, some kind of illness that could make you ineligible for a visa, or have done self-harm in the past. I've seen reports of people not bringing any medical records and then something crops up and the doctor wants to see them, or wants a letter from your GP stating you're all over whatever problem you had, etc.

Rene

technolog

Thanks Rene. Sorry, I was a lazy, lazy boy . After posting I googled (wrong way round, I know) 'IV18a' and it clarified a lot of my questions.

The passport photo needs to be US-sized, if needed at all.

IV18a questionnaire itself is a straighforward, one page of the 9 making up the iv18a_medical.pdf

I realised, as I'm doing the K1 process, I won't NEED the vaccination record. However I might take it with me so that it can be checked and 'signed-off' prior to my AOS (with the exception of varicella and influenza).

I can still see no mention of the children's red book health record so I'm glad to see you're thinking the same way as me.

The IV18a pdf only mentions applicants who have had TB needing to bring related medical and specialist reports. I've applied for GP and hospital medical records, if I have them by the time of the interview (and I should), I'll take them with me.

technolog

So my next steps are:

1. Fill in DS-160 visa application online.

2. Book and attend medical examination. I'm now thinking of having it done in two or three weeks time. This allows me to get a couple of 'heavy' weekends out of the way and get back running in an effort to get my habitually high-ish blood pressure as low as possible.

3. Assemble documents required for interview. I believe I have everything except my I-134 which my fiancée's stepfather is currently working on. He'll be sending his requisite tax returns. Does my fiancée need to supply me with her tax returns for my interview too? She hasn't actually filed tax returns since leaving the US nearly 20 years ago as she's never earned above the threshold for filing. That being the case, would I need to present anything in support of that claim?

4. Complete the online Notification of Applicant Readiness Form.

BunnyGirl

Just to point out that you don't have to wait until you've attended your medical to submit your Notification of Readiness, you just need to have scheduled it.

technolog

That's a valid point. However, I can't complete the Notification of Applicant Readiness Form until I have all my documents but I suspect I'll be waiting a while yet for the I-134 Affidavit of Support. I fear it will be subject to a little transatlantic toing and froing until we arrive at something accurate and acceptable.

Noorah101

Just a reminder not to get the medical exam done too far ahead of when you're ready to interview, because the visa will only be valid for 6 months from the date the medical was done.

Rene

technolog

I'm just filling in the DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa application.

On the 'Personal Information 2' page it asks for 'National Identification Number'. The help notes on the page say the following:

I would assume they require either my National Insurance Number or Passport Number. Does anyone know/remember which it is?

Noorah101

It's not the passport number. I doubt it's an insurance number, either. My guess is that the UK does not issue National ID numbers. Some countries do.

Rene

technolog

There I go again, asking before googling!

It's neither. For the purposes of this form, UK citizens don't have a National Identification Number and should tick the 'Does not apply' box.

Frequently Asked Questions DS-160 Visa Form

Noorah101

Glad to know I was right.

Rene

technolog

I've googled this one - honest!

Help notes say:

We've not decided at this stage whether I'll be travelling with my fiancée or whether she'll enter the US before me. What should I put?