Please Mr Postman

And so our case is officially at the NVC, I called their special hotline and the (irritatingly drawn out - but oh so useful) automated message system (603 334-0700) confirmed it and even gave me our new NVC case number. It's very straightforward but seems to be busy for a lot of the time.

The next step is, apparently, when I receive a DS-3032 through the mail, although it seems that Foofer should receive a copy of that form too (though I'm not exactly sure why). This is the point where the process splits into two and can get complicated:

The DS-3032 asks me to nominate an agent to represent me. Often this could be an attorney or a family friend or even myself but, as payments are needed from a US bank account (which I obviously don't have as you need a social security number to open one) and we haven't relied on anyone else yet, we decided that Foofer would be my agent.

While I'm busy nominating my agent, Foofer will get a request (for money followed by another) for her tax history (I-864) to prove that she can support me if I were to be unable to find gainful employment. If that's acceptable than that would normally be her efforts completed - but as she's my agent she'll have a few more tasks.

It appears that I have to pay a fee too (or maybe two fees? I'll let you know if/when it happens) and then I'll receive the infamous DS-230 form (biographical information).

But for now, I'm waiting at the door for my DS-3032, checking my mail every day. Hoping that, today, the postman will make me smile...

Born again...

Well, not quite, but my second birth certificate has arrived.

Unlike the first one, I bought this certificate online from here, the official UK government website.

If you know your GRO index reference (look it up) then it is especially good value (£7) but, even if you don't, it's cheaper than the other online services. Most other online services charge between seventeen and twenty-one pounds, yet this site will find a certificate without a GRO thingy for £10.

I now have two certified birth certificates, just in case one gets lost during our process.

A Quick Note About Costs

Now, we've already paid $355 for the processing of the I-130 but, as the NVC is a separate part of the process (and, technically a separate entity), we have to pay them too. They require a further $355 plus a $45 "Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge".

Note that, once we progress to the embassy in London, we'll have to pay further charges for a medical (currently £180), the visa itself (about £95 but worth every penny) and the courier to get the visa to me (another £20). That's a total cost of just under $1,200 (not counting any certificates, postage or printing.)

Fortunately, spending the rest of my life with my wonderful wife will be worth every penny (and a LOT more besides).

So, What Next?

Once the CSC has approved a case and issued their NOA2 (they call it an I-797), they forward that case to the NVC, the National Visa Center, in New Hampshire.

We should hear from them within three weeks of getting our NOA2. Whether that's three weeks after the NOA2 date (March 4th) or three weeks after Foofer received the I-797 through the mail (March 19th) - I'm not sure. I am sure that using the word "mail" instead of "post" will take some getting used to.

So, for the moment, we await news from Portsmouth, NH.

Without a Trace

My Police Certificate came today. It includes a nice hologram, a photograph of my good self embedded into the certificate and lots of other clever anti-forgery measures too. All completely worthless as the company, ACRO, will only give you a certificate if you tell them which embassy you need it for. Once they know this, all they have to do is to tell the Australian, Canadian, New Zealand or US Embassy that you have applied and are clean, cleanish or dirty (and, dear reader, I suspect they do). No need for those expensive-looking touches to the certificates (except that they like to make you think you're getting your money's worth).

As for the meat of the certificate itself...
(I know, I know, you're dying to find out)

If they can't find out anything criminal about you, then you are not declared "innocent" or maybe having "no criminal record", they just type two words onto your certificate, in upper case: NO TRACE.

Not exactly a glowing reference.

Still, I have the certificate (or, in my case, two certificates as I paid extra) so that's one less thing to worry about and, as the whole process is hurrying along at a staggering pace, I want to get as much stuff ready as I can - I don't want to kill the momentum (even though that's not a crime worthy of a Police Certificate).

NOA2!!!

YAY

Foof received a letter today - we have our NOA2 (issued on the 4th of March 2009)

wow - that was fast

The road goes ever on

As I've said before, this is the quietest part of the process so you'll probably see fewer posts here in March.

I will continue the "5,000 mile love affair" entries and will note if/when any of my supporting documentation arrives. I'll keep my eye on visajourney.com and try to keep the "Estimated NOA2 date" as accurate as it can be (i.e. not very) but, otherwise, things will be a little quiet at this URL.

Certifiable

Today I sent off for my Police Certificate (ACRO). I paid £35 (+ £5 for a second copy).

I got one of my friends who is in the police to fill in the part of the form where they confirm my identity - they also signed the back of my passport-sized photo (you really do need a lot of those photographs for this whole process).

This will be used during the NVC process and should also be needed for the interview at the embassy (which is why I've paid for a second copy - just in case).

I've decided to order a second Birth Certificate too (there are many companies that will do this for you online) - just to be on the safe side. You can't have too much supporting documentation.