officialsono

Would it speed up the process if I just booked and attended a medical asap as oppose to waiting for the package to arrive at my house?

Or would it be better to wait for the package ext.

Noorah101

No, it won't speed up the visa process. In fact, it will shorten the time your visa will be valid after the interview. The visa is valid for 6 months from the date of the medical exam, so you really don't want to have the medical done too early. Plus, you run the risk of having your medical results arrive at the embassy before your case file gets there, which makes it difficult for them to match the two up later.

I would wait.

Rene

officialsono

Ok and just to clear it up my wife received a letter from the Visa centre to our address in the States this morning that stated the visa I am applying for is:

Immigrant Visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen. (CR1)

I saw that a lot were confused on the opening page.

Noorah101

Thank you for clarifying.

Rene

officialsono

My wife received a letter on the 28th of Feb at our Northern California address stating our attorneys have been removed from the case.

We called our attorney to clarify, he confirmed that the process had be concluded in regards to the forms so they had done their job and were not needed anymore. Good news?

3 weeks on I am still waiting for a package with information in regards to the next step (Medical? Interview date?) any idea how long this wait usually is?

officialsono

Unfortunately my wife called in to the NVC last night and they explained to us that our affidavit of support had returned with adjustments needed to be made and our solicitor who received an email about this last week had failed to notify me or my wife.

Now as you all are aware well those that have read this thread my wife is currently 7 months pregnant due to give birth the first week of May, so naturally we had hoped to have had me back in the US prior to the arrival or our new born. I doubt this will happen now.

A bit of advice please, if I was to cancel the whole process altogether (at this late stage I know) could I go back as a visitor on the usual 3 month esta program? and if I was to restart the process while over there would I still need to return to the uk and wait (a further 8 months or however long it takes) or could I remain in the United States while my process was on going?

Take in to consideration the only reason I am in this mess and stuck in London is because I left the United States during my process to come back to London for a week to see a family member not realizing the civeriority of the whole thing.

Failing the above is there anything me and my wife can do in order for me to be in the United States on the grounds she's pregnant and we have a baby on the way humanitarian visa? anything?

Any help is as always appreciated.

Thank you.

GarethB789

We also had a checklist for amendments on our Affidavit of Support but we knew straight away as our email addresses were in their system. From what I've seen in various reports it seems like a waste of time hiring an attorney to do these steps as they often mess up! NVC are currently working at 15 business days to review checklists so if you get the response in by the end of the week you will be looking at 14th-15th April for case complete. Then roughly 6 weeks for an interview which would take you up to 26th May. This is only an estimate going on current trends.

If I was you, I would definitely not abandon the process. I know it must be really tough not to be there for your wife when she gives birth but you've got to ask yourself this - would you rather miss the first 6 weeks and be there permanently after that, or be there for the first few months and potentially miss the next couple of years?

Also, I'm not sure but I think with the fact that you were previously deported, abandoning the process at this stage could raise some serious suspicion the next time you file. That is just me speculating, maybe someone more knowledgeable could confirm that.

Another thing you need to consider is that you may have issues travelling on the ESTA as they will see at POE that you have shown previous immigration intent.

And there is no kind of humanitarian visa, or a visa because your spouse is pregnant I'm afraid.

GarethB789

Just a thought... I know NVC give you 1 year to correspond with them before they send your case back to USCIS so technically you could just not respond to the checklist and travel to the US on the ESTA. Upon your return you could then pick up where you left you with the Affidavit of Support checklist at NVC.

This would involve the risk of being pulled up at POE though, and perhaps more knowledgeable members on here know of other risks to doing this. But if pulled off, it would mean you would get to be there for the birth and pick up from where you are without abandoning the case and starting again.

Gareth

officialsono

Hi Gareth, Interesting on arrival in the US wouldn't I be abandoning my case once again? and also wouldn't I have a problem with border petrol.

ian-mstm

You don't need to cancel the process in order to visit. You are allowed to visit the US during the process.


No. The US has no interest in your personal circumstances.

Ian

ian-mstm

Solution - don't abandon the case in the first place! You are allowed to visit.

Ian

officialsono

You sure Ian? I was deported because I left the country during my process (a week) and my travel document arrived late. If I could visit that would be great.

GarethB789

That's because you were filing for Adjustment of Status inside the US. You are allowed to travel during the CR1 visa process if you are covered by the ESTA. I did so and had no issues. Although I travelled a lot earlier in the process before the I-130 was approved.

I suppose there is a risk you could be stopped on border control and questioned but you will never know for sure until you try.

officialsono

Ok, and just to confirm I was deported back to London while going through the Adjustment of status phase for leaving the United States for a week. If I am sent back by border petrol will this be used against me during my case?

I just don't want to get in to any trouble and of course I will book a return flight prior. I am covered on the ESTA program since Oct 12.

Also is it ok to continue the process by sending things to the NVC even though I am travelling or should we stop? Ideally we would like to continue so that when I return to the UK I'm closer to my process being finalized.

ian-mstm

I totally forgot this was your situation. If this is true, you might not even be eligible for ESTA.


Did you update ESTA (as you are required to do) following the deportation? It's likely that your current ESTA is not valid - in which case, you have no way to get back to the US until your visa is approved. You could both meet in Canada, if that's of any help to you.


Yes - you are allowed to continue living your life! I'm really not sure why you think you need to stop the process!

Ian