The Immigration Process
Before Cindy and I could truly be together, we needed to go down the long and winding road that is immigration. To a great many couples with a partner in the UK that seeks to live in the USA (as was the case with me) this meant obtaining the K-1 fiance(e) visa.
Since it has been a relatively long time now since we went through this process, the form names and number may well have changed, but it gives an idea of the process. Indeed the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) became the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) and is now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Below is a timeline of the activities and events along with their dates that we had to do in order for me (Derek) to immigrate to the USA.
K-1 Timeline (dates in the US month/day/year format)
| 08/04/98 | Submitted Petition for Alien Fiance(e) I-129F ($75). |
|---|---|
| 08/10/98 | INS received petition. |
| 08/11/98 | Date of first Notice of Action. |
| 08/26/98 | Date of Notice of Action - Approval of petition. |
| 09/15/98 | Package to Derek from US Embassy in London with forms for visa application. |
| 10/01/98 | Contacted US Embassy in London with questions about application process. |
| 10/07/98 | US Embassy in London received request for further information. |
| 10/08/98 | US Embassy responded to questions. |
| 11/07/98 | Police Certificate from Leicester Police Station (10 GBP). |
| 11/09/98 | Submitted K-1 fiance(e) visa application. |
| 01/19/99 | Inquiry sent to the US Embassy concerning location of Cindy's birth certificate and divorce decree. |
| 01/24/99 | US Embassy answered inquiry about birth certificate and divorce decree, documents at US Embassy in London. |
| 01/29/99 | US Embassy in London returned documents to Derek. |
| 03/17/99 | Received notice for visa interview for 03/29/99. |
| 03/29/99 | Interview (30 GBP) and medical exam (85 GBP), K-1 Fiance(e) Visa issued. |
| 07/29/99 | Derek enters the USA at Lambert International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri, I-94 issued. |
| 08/02/99 | Indianapolis INS office issued temporary employment authorization, based on I-94 (valid until 10/28/99). |
| 08/03/99 | Applied for Social Security Card at the Evansville, IN office. |
| 08/14/99 | Received Social Security Card. |
| 08/30/99 | Derek took written and physical driving test, obtained drivers license. |
| 09/09/99 | Wedding :). |
| 09/25/99 | Submitted application to adjust status I-485 ($220), fingerprint fee ($25) and Affidavit of Support I-864 from Arnold and Cindy. |
| 09/27/99 | Indianapolis INS office received I-485 packet. |
| 09/28/99 | Derek begins working at W3DM/Communication Logistics Inc. |
| 10/13/99 | Submitted change of address to Indianapolis INS office, received permanent employment authorization card ($100) (valid till 10/27/00). INS officer returned both I-864 documents stating that the forms may not be necessary. |
| 10/27/99 | Sent (email) letter to Senator Evan Bayh concerning high quality of service at Indianapolis INS office. |
| 11/27/99 | Received fingerprint appointment letter. |
| 11/29/99 | Fingerprints taken at Louisville, Kentucky INS office. |
| 11/29/99 | Received reply letter from Senator Evan Bayh referring to email sent to him about great service and workers at Indianapolis INS office. |
| 12/11/99 | Received second reply letter from Senator Evan Bayh with attached letter from the INS office in Washington, DC. |
| 08/21/00 | Derek changes jobs to work at Stens Corporation. |
| 10/03/00 | Cindy called the INS customer service center to request an update of the case status. |
| 10/23/00 | Had to renew employment authorization card as no interview was forthcoming as yet (another $100). Valid until 10/27/01 now. |
| 01/16/01 | Received letter stating that for the INS to give us an interview date may take another 5-7 months. |
| 03/03/01 | Received letter about the interview to adjust Derek's resident status. Interview date given as 03/15/01. |
| 03/15/01 | Interview to adjust Derek's resident status. Interview went well. 'Proof of Relationship' requirement was easy to meet. We took documents with both our names on (phone bills, bank statements, renters lease etc.) and photos of us and our apartment. |
| 05/15/01 | Permanent Resident 'Green' card arrived! Expires 3/15/03. I am a permanent resident since 3/15/01. |
| 02/20/03 | My renewed green card. Expires 3/15/05. |
| 06/03/04 | I now have my 10-year Permanent Resident card. It expires 6/03/14. Before that time I will likely do the Naturalization thing. |
Costs
US-dollar (USD) amounts: $520 USD
GB-pound (GBP) amounts: 125 GBP (Converted at 1.5 GBP = 1.0 USD): $187.5 USD
Total Cost of Immigration Process (so far): $707.5 USD
A commentary on the process...
This is something that Cindy prepared for a friend of ours that was going through that same sort of process. It makes interesting reading, especially if you are thinking of embarking on obtaining a K-1 visa.
When we first started with the immigration process we didn't know *anything* about it.. we're slowly learning more as we go through it.. I filed the petition (I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance(e)) for Derek in August of 1998 because we had no idea how long that would take.. and it turned out that it didn't take as long as we anticipated. The dilemma we were working with was that we wanted Derek to come over after he finished his university course.. if you would go the same route that we did you wouldn't have to worry about that..
The following information that I'm giving you is just an overview of what we've gone through.. more detailed instructions are included with the forms that you need to fill out.. I just wanted you to know that it's not that bad.. I think you've been told that it would be quite an ordeal and I don't think it's that bad.. if you follow directions. :)
To file his petition I called the 800 forms number (1-800-870-3676) and asked for the forms that I would need to petition for my fiance(e).. and they sent a packet of forms to me which I filled out and sent in to the service center.. the forms that I submitted were I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiance(e)), G-325A (Biographic Information) for Derek, G-325A for me, a copy of my divorce decree, a copy of my birth certificate, and some immigration photos of Derek and I. I think the fee to file this petition is now $95. After you file that, you will get a Notice Of Action telling you that they received your papers.. this Notice of Action will have a receipt number on it and you can call an 800 number to find out what the status of your case is.. or you can wait till you get your second Notice Of Action which will tell you whether your case has been approved or not.
After you get your Notice Of Action telling you that your case has been approved, your file will be forwarded to the American Embassy in London. After the Embassy gets your file they will send you a packet of papers that you need to fill out and return to them. The forms in this packet will include OF-156 (Non-immigration Visa Application) which needs to be filled out in duplicate, OF-156K (Nonimmigrant visa application, supplemental form), OF-230I (Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration). Derek also had to get a police certificate. The police certificate is a statement to show arrest and conviction history (if any). To obtain this, Derek went to the local police station to ask how to obtain the certificate. The police officer gave Derek a leaflet (The Data Protection Act and You) on how to get a copy of his police records from the records office. Derek phoned the number from the leaflet and requested the form to obtain a copy of his records. He filled out this form by checking the box stating that he wanted his arrest and conviction history, this cost 10 GBP. He sent this form off and the certificate arrived a short time (a few days to a couple of weeks) later. He submitted this and his birth certificate the day of his interview. I filled out an Affidavit of Support I-134, which Derek turned in the day of the interview also. Derek also had to have a medical exam the day of the interview. When we submitted these forms, Derek enclosed a note saying that he needed to have his interview scheduled around Easter time.. and we got notice then in March that his interview was scheduled. There were some people that Derek talked to the day of his interview that hadn't started the process until January and were there for their interviews the same day as Derek was.
Derek had his medical exam and interview.. which wasn't as bad as he feared.. it was mostly just a process to go through. Derek got his visa.. and then he had 6 months to enter the country on that visa.
He entered the country on July 29th at Lambert International Airport, St Louis, MO., and got a form stapled in his passport called an I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record). We then took this I-94 to our local immigration office and he was issued a temporary work authorization card (valid for 90 days). We then took his work authorization card to the social security office and filled out an application for his social security card which he got a couple of weeks later. After he entered the country on his fiance(e) visa (K-1 visa), we had 90 days in which to get married. After we got married we filed to 'Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status' (Form I-485). This is to be filed as soon as possible after getting married. With this form we submitted a copy of the Notice of Action that I received saying that our Petition for Alien Fiance(e) was approved, Form I-485 Data Sheet, a copy of Derek's birth certificate, G-325A (Biographic Information for Derek), a copy of Derek's passport, a copy of Derek's fiance(e) visa and I-94, Form 9003 (for tax purposes). After the local INS office gets this packet of forms with the filing fees they are supposed to send you a receipt that says that the filing fees were paid. You are then supposed to take this receipt to the local INS office with your Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and they will issue an employment authorization card that is valid for 1 year. Since we submitted our I-485 a bit later than we should have, we went to the INS office and they were nice enough to give us that receipt that day and Derek had his new employment authorization card before the old one expired. Then we were told to wait to receive the appointment letter for fingerprinting. We received that and had the fingerprints taken quickly. And now we're waiting again. The next step is to wait for an appointment letter for an interview at our local INS office which should come within the next couple of months.
I think the most difficult part of this process for us if finished.. it seems that the rest of it is just going through the steps.
Cindy
Looking into a K-1 visa yourself?
The most useful advice to give to people wanting to obtain a K-1 fiance(e) visa to immigrate to the USA is to READ ALL THE INFORMATION. Really, this cannot be stated enough. Basically all the questions we had were answered by reading the available information, be that on the forms themselves or on websites.
When we did it, that's what we did and we managed fine, so if you read and think about the information it can be a straightforward process as the above timeline indicates but you need to have your wits about you. :)
Here are some useful off-site links for K-1 visa information. The information from unofficial sites should be taken with a large pile of salt. Just because it works a certain way for one couple does not mean it will be the same for anyone else. Many people on these groups tend to think that the way THEY did it is the ONLY way that things can work. This is not the case.
