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WELCOME to Garth and Scarlett's US immigration timeline pages - enjoy your visit! |
Going through the immigration process is no cake-walk and we have been helped immensely by people who have told their stories and, by doing so, helped us along the way. Probably the endless waiting is the hardest part, but dealing with the mountainous paperwork comes a close second. This is our story, in the hopes it will help and encourage those who are planning something similar, or are already on their way. How we did the UK to US marriage-based visa journey... ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT TO DALLAS K1 with 2 K2 children (Texas Service Center London Embassy Dallas INS) July 16, 2002 (DAY 1) 129F petition filed via Catholic Charities (you don't have to be Catholic to use their service - we're not) July 22, 2002 (DAY 7) 129F petition NOA-1 receipt date (Sometime between these dates I opened a provisional file with London embassy.) August 7, 2002 (DAY 23) 129F petition NOA-2 approval notice date (Garth was visiting in England when petition approved so we don't know when exactly NOA-2 arrived at Garth's place but on August 13 (!!!) I received notification that London embassy already had NOA-2.) October 31, 2002 (DAY 108) London embassy interview and medical - visas received same day December 11, 2002 (DAY 149) Flew out to Dallas, via Newark Port of Entry December 12, 2002 (DAY 150) Legal wedding in our front room with local minister December 13, 2002 (DAY 151) Wedding recorded same day at Federal Building, downtown Dallas December 21, 2002 (DAY 159) Wedding ceremony January 3, 2003 (DAY 1 AOS - DAY 172 from filing 129F) Filed 3 x AOS (I-485) for me and girls and EAD for me through Catholic Charities January 27, 2003 (DAY 25 AOS - DAY 172 from filing 129F) AOS receipt date (though receipt didn't actually arrive till end February) March 5, 2003 (DAY 62 AOS - DAY 233 from filing 129F) Fingerprint appointment March 17, 2003 (DAY 74 AOS - DAY 245 from filing 129F) EAD issued and SSN applied for. The SSN took more than 3 months to get because of the need for BCIS verification. Arriving AFTER the green card, the wait rendered the EAD a total waste of money as I never got to use it. NB Social Security number finally turned up about a couple of weeks AFTER the green card. Learn from our mistake - if you come in on a K1 apply for that SSN BEFORE you marry. You'll save yourself a LOT of grief!! May 7, 2003 (Day 126 AOS - Day 297 after filing 129F) Got I-693 medical supplements for self and girls May 19, 2003 (Day 138 AOS - Day 309 after filing 129F) AOS interview. Passports stamped with I-551. June 09, 2003 (Day 159 AOS - Day 330 after filing 129F) Green cards arrive in mail. February 2005 Applied for removal of conditional status on Green Cards. 9 May 2005 Conditions removed. 2 October 2006 Applied for naturalization. N-400 goes in ordinary US mail, addressed to TSC, along with: *Filing fee (personal check) of $330 *Fingerprint fee (2nd personal check) of $70 *2 color passport photos *Marriage certificate *Copy of US husband's birth certificate (proof of citizenship) *Copy of both sides of Perm. resident card *Evidence of co-mingled finances ----joint mortgage papers ----joint bank account docs ----evidence of joint car loans ----evidence of joint liablity on credit cards *Evidence of termination of prior marriages ----Copy of a death certificate ----Copy of a divorce decree absolute *Cover index page listing all the above as provided 6 October 2006 Both checks show up cashed in our bank account. 14 October 2006 Application receipt received. 24 October 2006 More fingerprints taken. 21 December 2006 Received interview invitation. 15 February 2007 Successful interview. It was touch and go there for a while. I had to read a difficult sentence: "The woman liked her new house." Then I had to write something almost as tricky. I tried to get out of it by mentioning that actually we speak English in England too. I even threw in the fact that I teach ESOL for good measure. I'm pleased to tell you the defenders of Homeland Security take their jobs seriously. He didn't even crack a smile as he handed me the pen and then scrutinized my scrawl. There was a tricky moment when he asked me whether I supported the government. I managed to resist launching into an anti-war polemic by realizing just in time that he was referring to the government as an institution rather than the present administration in particular. Phew! I confessed to knowing who the VP was, why there are 100 US senators, and what the constitution is. There were a couple of other no-brainers, and that was it. He didn't ask me for the 13 original states or which amendments guaranteed voting rights. I promised I had never been a member of the communist party or a terrorist organization. I didn't get asked this time (as I did when I applied for my green card) whether I had ever been a Nazi or a prostitute, so things have definitely improved on the old insult-the-immigrant-o-meter. He asked if I was registered to vote (trick question), and I brandished my "Obama for America" bag and told him not yet, but I'd be signing on the dotted line as soon as I've taken the oath. They lost one of my photos, so I had to dash across the road and get some more done, but it was all pretty quick. 17 March 2007 Received invite to oath ceremony. 4 April 2007 I become a US citizen!
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Please click the links below for
more details.
London embassy
interview Preparing for
AOS AOS interviewAnd because poetry is how we met...
Here's a mug of coffee to celebrate! |
Click here to sign our guestbook Click here to contact Scarlett |
Some useful links:
British Expats
K Visa FAQ
Doc Steen's site
The Mysterious Sealed Brown Envelope
Kamya.com
Port of Entry info
BCIS (the former INS)
US embassies and consulates worldwide
US embassy - London
Federal Poverty guidelines - 2003
(NB You need to be 125% over this
to fulfill the financial requirements
of the I-864 Affidavit of Support)
Further link suggestions welcome.
