Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

I disagree that nothing can happen until the medical is completed... you might want to check that assumption against some other recent experiences. :)

Birth Certificate, make sure it's the long-form one with parents' names on it.
Police Certificate/ACPO, you have not yet ordered this?
Passport Photos, make an effort to get the US sized ones.. they are different from UK (US size may not be required for medical & police cert)

edit: meant to say, I think the sputum test is for further TB screening?

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

What can I say, I'm a lazy fella. I also like to play it safe - and have all the documents in hand in case something goes Horribly Wrong (tm).

So, the latest...

March Summary
Spent this month having my fiancee chase down the supporting evidence for the I-134's from varying employers (and sponsors' employers). Also, filling out the forms and chasing down someone to sign the back of the photo for the ACPO certificate.

29 March
Called and booked a medical with Knightsbridge Doctors. Hard to get through to them - their number rang engaged a lot of the time - managed it eventually. They had an early available slot - 01/04/10. I took it.

01 April 2010
Attended the Bentinck Mansions KD site for my medical. It was actually just a flat in a nice old building transformed into a medical centre. The buzzer intercom was very silent, and took me a few seconds to realise someone was trying to speak to me through it.

Entered, had my passport, vaccination history and forms checked over (I forgot to fill in my telephone number!) and then was given a further form to fill in. Once done, I was waiting around five minutes until stage one - the chest x-ray. There was then a little wait (in a tiny waiting room) until the rest was done (vaccinations, eye test, height and weight check, visual inspection and blood extraction). The whole process took less than an hour.

05 April 2010
Sent off the form, signed photo and payment for the ACPO Police Certificate. Paid for express service (70GBP).

13 April 2010
Police certificate arrived. I am apparently a ghost in the system - no trace :)

16 April 2010
Today I will be sending off all the forms the embassy needs. In one big glorious batch! Thus only leaving me the joys of the interview in the month(s) to come.

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Uh-oh! The G325A forms my USC and I sent were single page, single copy.... so we printed and signed them.... it didn't duplicate anything or print out four (was 2 pages; form and guidance), have I done something wrong?!?! :unsure:

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

... just as they should be! When I wrote the post you've quoted (you knew the post was almost a year old, right?), people were still submitting 4 identical copies with original signatures... not now though.

Ian

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

:o oops!
you, sir, just drastically reduced my blood pressure!!!!! thank you! :D

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

I'm a bit late to the party, I just read through the thread for the first time there.

However, I thought I'd chime in and wish you the best of luck on a short wait for your interview. That's the easy part, believe it or not. At least mine was, kind of an anticlimax after all the build up, forms, the delayed flight to Edinburgh for my medical and worrying if something would come up that would make them decide to not let me in.

All a bunch of worry over nothing in the end - but I did forget my driver's license the day I flew to London for my interview and had to head right to Luton airport to beg EasyJet to let me fly without picture ID. They did, but I couldn't help kicking myself over that stupid mistake :eek:

Nice to read a thread from someone who has their sh*t together though, and took the time to research the process properly :)

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Hooray for streamlining :D

Sorry to worry anyone there, and thanks for the well-wishes. Will no doubt update about the ol' interview once it's scheduled :)

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Update: 23/04/2010
I have received notification of my interview date - 4th June. Soon be all ready to make actual firm plans for moving(!)

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Nice one :)

Almost done now.

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Well, I'm only 3 days away from the interview and I guess the nerves are kicking in a little. Despite all my prep I'm still concerned that fault may be found with something and my application fail at the last hurdle.

Photos left to be taken (at the "famous" Gould Pharmacy) when I arrive in London on Thursday. Will be in the queue bright and breezy Friday morning :blink:

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Good luck :thumbsup:

Get there nice and early, it helps you feel a bit more in control of things. Actually, when I got there I was 2 hours early but they let me go in anyway so I was actually out around my scheduled interview time :). I think I was just in the right place at the right time though, but you never know.

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

hahaha, just make sure you are there bright and early, the queues can be long, I stood in one a couple of years ago, just glad it was a nice warm November morning, and I'm serious it was warm :)

Good Luck, hope it all goes well for you :thumbsup:

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Update: 04 June 2010

Well, I am back from the embassy where things were very officious but straight forward. My visa will be with me by courier in around 3 days. Lovely :)

More detail when I'm back at a proper PC :)

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

Awhhh congrats!! Another success! :thumbsup:

Re: YAKAT - Yet Another K1 Application Thread
 

K1 Timeline
07 August 2009 - I-129F received by California Service Centre
04 November 2009 - Request For Evidence received
15 January 2010 - Further evidence dispatched
20 January 2010 - Processing resumed
27 January 2010 - I-129F approved
20 February 2010 - Packet 3 received
29 March 2010 - Booked visa medical
01 April 2010 - Attended visa medical
05 April 2010 - ACPO Police Certificate applied for (Express)
13 April 2010 - ACPO Police Certificate arrived
16 April 2010 - Packet 3 sent
23 April 2010 - Interview date received
04 June 2010 - Interview attended, K1 approved

Visa Interview Account
My interview was at 0900hrs on Friday 04 June 2010 at the London Embassy. I travelled down to London on the 03 June, and took up temporary residency at the City Road Travelodge for the princely sum of 55GBP a night.

That first day, I travelled to Goulds Pharmacy (where you can see the embassy from the street) where I had my US Passport-style photos taken. They queried if it was for an immigrant or non-immigrant visa, and I was taken aback because I wasn't expecting a choice!

The following day, after fitfull sleep, I woke at 0645hrs to shower and get dressed (part of the previous day was taken looking for a 1hr dry cleaners to get my trousers cleaned - I recommend City Slickers on Lime Street Passage!) before heading down for a small breakfast (too nervous to eat properly!) at 0700hrs.

Leaving all my gadgets in my hotel room, I walked over to Liverpool Street Tube Station and hopped over to Bond Street Tube Station before walking over to the Embassy (having gone to Goulds the day before I'd walked out the route).

I was directed to a lass with a clipboard out front who asked for my interview letter (which I didn't have - one bit of paperwork I did forget!) but then looked me up on her list and directed me to the security booth.

On scanning my folder of documents, they had me remove a musical birthday card (part of my ongoing relationship evidence) which they kept in the booth as it wasn't allowed.

Walking round the side of the Embassy, I popped inside and at the reception desk was asked for my interview letter (again). Advised that I didn't have it and was then asked if it was an immigrant or non-immigrant visit. One quick "immigrant" reply later and I was supplied with my ticket for processing (I-919 if I recall correctly).

As I had no timekeeping device on me, I can't say how long the next steps took but I was eventually called up to a window. I was asked for my ACPO cert, birth certificate, two photos, evidence of support forms, and then all the forms I'd previously sent in as packet 3. Everything. Good thing I'd brought my filled out copies (and I'd recommend eveyone does so!).

The lady took my fingerprints on the digital unit, then directed me to go pay the (now extorionate 350 USD) fee for the visa. This is the longest wait I had all interview! Not because there was a queue, but because there was noone at the cashier window.

Eventually a gent came and took my payment via my Visa Debit card and I was directed back to the window I started at. I was given a form for the courier service to fill in and then directed to wait for the interview portion after the forms were processed.

After a good old wait, I was called up for the interview (standing at a similar window as before but out back, near the cashier window) with different lovely lady. I was sworn in, against perjury and fingerprints scanned again. I was passed my medical documents in a white envelope (chest x-rays, etc).

I was then asked...

- How I met my fiancee (on an internet gaming chatroom)
- How the relationship progressed (over the course of a year as friends, before getting serious in 2005)
- If we've met (I've flown over and met her on five occassions)
- If she's flown over to the UK (nope)
- Why she hasn't done (a fear of heights)
- How I plan to support myself in the US (by working when legally able, she was concerned that my Evidence of Support was borderline)

I was then advised that my visa was approved. The ongoing relationship evidence was never asked for. One quick visit to the courier desk in the main waiting area later, I had paid 25.50 GBP for pre-1000hrs delivery of my visa and happily left the embassy premises.