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-   -   Beginning the application process (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/beginning-application-process-116902/)

TraceyB Nov 11th 2002 9:06 pm

Beginning the application process
 
Hi,

My American husband and I have been married 2 years, living in the UK, and have finally decided (after months of talking about it) to move over to the States.

We mailed the I-130, and both our G-325a's to the US embassy in London today, along with all the ID bits required, and we're wondering what to expect next. I know that we should expect a timeline of 3-6 months, with the average being about 4, but does anyone have any advice on things we can do to smoothe the process (such as applying for my police record now, instead of waiting for the second pack to come through)?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks,

Tracey

Pulaski Nov 17th 2002 1:46 am

Re: Beginning the application process
 

Originally posted by TraceyB
..... Any advice gratefully received!

Tracy,

You are doing exactly what we did eighteen months ago, except that we had been married about eighteen months by the time the interview date arrived, and it is my wife who is the US citizen, I am British.

About the only thing worth doing at this time is getting a copy of your police record. Go to the nearest police station to your home and ask for a "data protection form" as you are actually applying under the Data Protection Act for records of you on the police computers. The fee should be (not more than) £11.75, being £10+VAT.

Otherwise the process should be quite smooth as long as you take your time and fill in all the forms carefully. By the time you are done you will be quite sick of writing out your name and your address history!

It took me five months to get my visa from mailing the original application, of which about a month was the time that I took to complete the forms the embassy sent me, and obtaining my police certificate.

Don't worry about your vaccination records. If you are a UK citizen/resident between eighteen and sixty there are only three vaccinations (I think) that you need, and if you don't have records the surgery where you will have your medical will give you the necessary vaccinations for only a few pounds. It is not worth the trouble to try to get them yourself beforehand.

Good luck!

Yorkieabroad Nov 17th 2002 2:37 am

Pulaski - was chickenpox one of the required jabs? I came in from Singapore, and the doctors/embassy there said it was essential. I only had the first (of 2) as hadn't time for the second before leaving Singapore. The US embassy were not amused, said it was essential blah di blah di blah, but said I should be alright as long as I made sure I got it prior entering the US. I had 2 weeks in the UK but couldn't get the second jab there. Nor could I get it at the travel clinic in Schipol en route. So I arrived without it - I was asked for my vaccination record at immigration and.....no-one batted an eyelid at a pink highlighted gap on the form with the notation "to be completed prior admittance to US territory"! What a waste of time!

Pulaski Nov 17th 2002 5:09 pm


Originally posted by Yorkieabroad
Pulaski - was chickenpox one of the required jabs?

I'm fairly sure that it wasn't as I have never heard of a chickenpox jab. It is pretty much a rite of passage that all kids in the UK get chicken pox.

It is also possible that it is required for younger immigrants - they also have a longer list of required jabs - hence my reference to immigrants 18-60.

I did refer to UK citizens/ residents as the requirements do vary in different parts of the world, and at least one of the jabs the INS usually specifies is not available in the UK.

Yorkieabroad Nov 18th 2002 12:39 am

No, I'd not heard of it before, and although I have had chickenpox, my childhood medical records got lost along the way, so I couldn't prove it...
most of the doctors I spoke to (anywhere apart from Singapore) looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for it! Anyway, I'm in now, without it, so no worries!


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