Finally, I have mailed paperwork for The English

The paperwork has been mailed. Within a day or two, the USCIS California Service Center should receive our thorough an polite request for a K1 visa for Duncan. You can see the time line here, but in sum, it looks like about 7-9 months. We might get lucky and go a little faster, but since average processing time for the first portion is about 5 months, I'm trying to be realistic.

The total package contains 103 pages and is neatly bound and tabbed in a blue Acco folder. It contains photos, forms, copies of forms, redacted emails, Facebook screenshots, Skype conversations, professional histories, a birth certificate, financial and travel records, receipts, hand-written letters and even a picture of my ring.

I hope our reviewers find us witty, but I suspect not. Generally, I live in fear of getting the wrong reviewer who will cite us on a minor detail that I left out that will continue the delays. I cannot imaging what this process must be like for someone who doesn't speak English and/or doesn't have the benefit of the type of work I have done in the past. VisaJourney.com has been a huge help to us.


What the hell took you so long to file?

We were engaged by the end of July (though made no announcement until it was clear that Mom would find out from us and not, say, Facebook), but The English had to update his official documents, and some items required signatures. Arguably, I should have reviewed the documents while in the UK, but in the end, we kept finding new things that had to be signed instead of emailed or faxed. Then we had the Sheep Incident, where we learned that Customs does not accept packages that make sheep noises and are presumably unable to discern the hopeful bleating of Shaun the Sheep toys (and the soft rustle of our visa paperwork with them) from hostile intent. Part of the documents were carried by a friend from London to Seattle and the remainder ended up neatly folded in a Diwali card which took over TWO WEEKS to arrive in the US, though normal air mail takes only 2-4 days. The card was square and presumably USPS can't auto-sort it. Sixteen days of hope-and-dismay at the mailbox.


FAQ

Can't you just get married and th--? Yes, but the wait would be longer.
Can The English come here while you wait? No.
Can you work from the UK? Unlikely.
When will you see him again? Probably after Christmas.
How about Canada? He can live and work in Canada, but his jobs are in London.
What if he gets a job here? If you want to hire him, please feel free.
Did you use an attorney? I spoke to an attorney, but it was expensive, and most of the time I spent was gathering info. When the greencard bits happen, we'll probably hire someone to finish the process.
How much did it cost? $455 for the application, and we've spent a couple hundred more on passport photos, printouts and shipping.
Did you include the engagement story? No. You can make a deal with The English if you want to hear it.
"I have a friend/coworker/neighbor who married a foreigner, and they..." It's been helpful to hear others' experiences, but many people you know probably a)got married before 2001, or b)were already on a work or student visa when they got engaged. Maybe I could find an attorney that could cut off a few weeks, but what I've read and the attorney I spoke to indicate that we are on the right path. Optimally, The English gets a job here that sponsors him on a work visa, but the odds of that happening are very low. I would gladly work in London for a year, but all my clients are here (plus my previous client had about all of me they could take), and it's hard to keep building out a practice from London. Then again, any London start-ups who want to hire me: I am exceedingly clever and an important component of your organisation, and you want to hire me starting in January.

Feel free to ask more questions and/or check the previous post for other questions.

Ah, romance...How to Import a Husband

I'm marrying an Englishman. In fact, I refer to him as The English because he is THAT English. Only K2 is more English. I have listened to them discuss tea.

I don't know when we will marry, other than "as soon as we can." Having made up my mind, I'm not interested in goofing around planning an elaborate wedding (since I worked catering about a million and seven of them while in college). Unfortunately, The US Government has to validate our nuptials.

Behold--a set of Frequently Asked Questions.

Are you moving to the UK or is he moving here?
The English is moving here, we hope.

Would you have gotten married if he could just live here?
Hell, yes. And I'll move there, if it comes to that.

Can't you just get married and then bring him here as your husband?
We could, but the process to get his permanent resident status would take much longer.

Where are you getting married?
We will get legally married in the US.

When are you getting married?
We don't know.

When will he be back in the US?
We don't know. It may be possible to enter the US during the visa process, but it's not recommended, and his visa interview must be done in the UK.

Why don't you know when you're getting married? Is it really *that* hard to get a visa if you're getting married?
He is a British citizen. Before we get married, we have to file for what is known as a K1 or "fiance" visa. Yes, it's tedious and expensive because USCIS has to look out for things like this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8573486.

What's the process for getting the visa?
Before we file for the K1, we both need to make sure we are administratively set--passports and driver's licenses are up-to-date, etc. We started this process in August, and it'll take 4-6 weeks to complete, if all goes well with the British government.

The next step is to start the visa process. Getting a visa can take anywhere from 3 months to over a year (or not at all), depending upon how things go. I start by filing I329 forms (which require G325's) and paying $455 to the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. Embassy site in the UK recommended allowing 3-4 months from the time the Immigration Center receives my application for the first portion of the visa to process. At that point, my betrothed will start his portion of the process. Feel free to read about it here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/fprocessing.html.
Among other things, he fills out forms, undergoes a medical exam by one of two U.S. Embassy-sanctioned medical centers at a cost of £180 (about the same cost as an uninsured person would pay for a doctor's appointment in the U.S.), presents his (clean, yes) crime record and provides proof that he "is not likely to become a public charge." Unless he manages to get a job and visa from a U.S. company (unlikely), he'll present a notarized affidavit from me guaranteeing that I will financially support him (which I will do happily, since he's giving up London!).

He will then be granted (we hope) a formal interview. He must do the interview at the American Embassy in the UK. Then, we allow several more weeks for processing. If all goes well, we will be issued a K1 visa.

We have 6 months to use the visa and must marry within 90 days of him legally entering the U.S.

So, if everything goes as planned, we might be able to marry in early 2010. Or not.

Are you going to hire an attorney?
We may hire an attorney if it looks like things are going to get hairy. A lot of websites exist that are USA/UK marriage-specific, and reviews are mixed as to whether or not one needs an attorney.

We have recommendations for an attorney here in Seattle.

Can you hire an attorney to make it go faster?
I have not seen anything online in discussion forums indicating you can expedite a K1 visa.

Is it going to be like that movie Greencard?
No, and stop reminding me of Andie MacDowell.

What does the visa application require? Do you have to know everything about each other??
The K1 visa requires that I show I am a U.S. citizen, he is eligible to become a U.S. citizen, and that nothing shady is going on--i.e. we have actually met and really intend to marry. I'm sure some website like www.illegallyimportbridesforprofit.com has a lot of tips and tricks that we don't need. Neither one of us has a criminal record, we have pictures and witnesses of us together, The English has never overstayed a visa, and I make enough money to sponsor an immigrant (>$17,500.00 per year).

And that's it then?
No. After the K1, we have 90 days to apply for his permanent residency status and start another long process so that he can stay and eventually work.

Can he leave the US?
Probably not until he has residency status.

So, now what?
Waiting. Lots of waiting. We won't plan the wedding until we are at least through the first part of the process. Originally we had hoped November, then February, but we really can't tell.

How long until he can work after you're married?
It looks like--and it gets hazy here because I'm more focused on just getting him here--it depends on who hires him and what the work situation will be like. I believe he may be able to start working once he has his conditional permanent resident status. It may be two years before he is legal to work in the U.S.

What if he got an H1 or something?
It might change things some, or it might just be too confusing and jeopardize the process.

Will you have two weddings?
Probably not, and we are not likely to have a big ceremony. It just depends on how things go.

How did he propose?
Classified.

well, did he get down on one knee?
No, nor do I have a diamond ring. It was made clear to The English that a ring is not something I want. I would have worn one if he wanted me to, but it's not really my thing. We will have wedding bands, though.

Are you changing your name?
Hyphenation is under discussion.

Are you excited?
Of course we're excited--in a really long, delayed administrative fashion.

Would You Like to Play a Game?

Why not play Go, courtesy of the ever-clever Dave Peck?

http://go.davepeck.org/get-going/


Oh, yes, and I'm "back"
Or would that be "I'm gone?" I head to the UK next week for month of rest, remote client work (all done with previous client) and general Limey-taunting. How about a FAQ:


What have you been doing since January? Working. A lot.

Are you still with Atlas?
Yep, and fired up to work with start-ups again.

What client(s) are you working on? I have internal and small client projects for the next month while I gear up for the large engagements (TBD--let me know if you want me to work with you--such things can be arranged).


If you aren't working full-time, what else are you doing?
Putting my life back in order--appointments with dentists, vets, mechanics, sundry advisers and aestheticians. I'm also makign time for things like letter-writing and blog posts.


Are you going to keep your blog again?
I may blog a bit if I do anything interesting, though mostly I plan to go actually spend time in London in the museums/libraries/general history parts and go to Devon/Cornwall. Everything else is pretty much wide open.


Where are you staying?
North London with friends.

Twickenham

I'm in the Greater London area for 4-6 weeks. I love England, even though I probably feel more out of place here than anywhere else I've traveled. I think they peg me as an American even before I speak. I'm told it's my hair.

I'll be here for 4-6 weeks (home end of February or early March). Mainly I work, jog and go to the pub. Then I work more. Unlike Portugal, though, I have friends who live here, so I get to hang out in houses and be a normal person from time to time.

And now back to work...