You're only a couple hour drive away, sunny, I imagine I'll hear the Yahoooooos coming from accross the lake long before I read about your approval here. I hope everyone is having a fun sunday!

LOL yeah Blake! We are planning many a trip to Chicago as well since Gareth is a huge Blackhawks fan and well Chicago is a cool city He is dying to go to the outside game between Blackhawks and Redwings that is supposed to happen in January. I told him if he would get his bum over here we might just get to go! Hahaha!

I am heading to my sisters tonight for dinner and for cousin and sisterly bonding haha. Went to our towns Bike time weekend happenings past two days which was way fun. Not sure if I have ever shared my link to my online photo site but here it is if anyone is bored and wants to see more of my life...

Steph's Photos Online

Hi guys,
apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere (i'm sure it has but navigating around this beast of site is pretty daunting given that I just registered 5 minutes ago!) but i've got a CSC/NVC question.

In a nutshell myself (in the UK) and my Fiancee (in California, US) filed for the K-1 I-129F visa back in early January of this year. On the 31st May I had e-mail notification that it had been approved (hooray!) and within a few days my Fiancee received a letter through the post confirming this and informing us that it would be forwarded on to the NVC within "2-4 weeks".

Clearly it's been longer than 2-4 weeks so we called the NVC on Friday (18th July) and they informed us that they have yet to receive anything from the CSC which is a little frustrating.

I was wondering if this is unusual and whether others are experiencing these kind of delays? Also, was the original quote of 2-4 weeks unreliable anyway and not to be taken so literally?

Would it be worth getting in touch with the CSC and if so would anybody have any helpful contact details....... or would you advise that I simply wait for another few weeks and then call the NVC again?

Any friendly advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Alex

@Alex: Welcome to the site ^^

As for what you wrote, I have seen it happen before but it is not very common for it to happen, most of the time it just takes a couple of days for it to arrive at the NVC. If I was you, I would call CSC right away and see whatt hey have to say.


@Steph: Nice looking pics you got on that site, hope you could've send your mind away a bit from the whole visa process. Hopefully this week will be your week

Thanks yeah every week I am hoping it is OUR week hahaha! gosh I cannot wait to get that dang approval....sigh....
Today I am getting a manicure cause well I deserve it! haha

Good for you, sunny!

I love your photos - your daughter looks so like you! She even smiles in the same manner.

Alex - such a long delay is certainly not normal. CSC does take a little while longer than VSC to ship petitions to the NVC but even so 2-4 weeks is more normal, not 7-8. I'll echo Jeroen and recommend that you ring CSC as soon as possible. BTW, congrats on having an awesome name.

Well, I must confess that I missed the internet this weekend. I texted Alex constantly until twitter told me I had reached my limit (I text him through twitter so as to only pay local text costs and not international text costs ). He's also feeling lonely in his new apartment. I'm beginning to regret setting a wedding date in late December and I'm leaning towards flying out early in October, which would be the earliest feasible date, regardless of cost. Blake, you were right!

However, lack of internet aside, it is so lovely to be at my friend's house. She's already left - she left Friday - and it is just me and her cat. I am allergic to him but as long as I remember to shut my bedroom door and wash the bedcovers regularly I shall be fine. I spent most of the weekend thoroughly cleaning her house and doing laundry. My boxes were rather taking over her living room so I've piled them up in the corners and artfully disguised them with throws so as to make them less obtrusive. Now I have six weeks of no longer worrying about being too quiet, or too noisy, or having to share the internet, or wondering whose food is whose, or feeling that I am in everyone's way.

Just a quick post here because I think Cécile's interview is today!
All my thoughts are with you today, and I cannot wait to see your new post, to let us know your update!!
I am afraid to wish you good luck.....so I am just hoping great things for you!

Ooh! Good luck Cecile!

good luck Cécile!! Hope you do well

I seem to love making these types of posts:

Blake -- I'm happy to hear that Olga is safe and with people she trusts. That ex of hers sounds horrible. :/ Those 54 days will fly by and you two will be reunited once again.

Sunny -- Your ring is absolutely beautiful. I'm really crossing my fingers, though, that USCIS will stop dicking you and Gareth around and issue the NOA2 already.

Guster4lovers -- Congratulations on your visa! Though since it's past Sunday, I'm sure you're spending a lot of time with your fiance, instead of checking up on the internet. Hope you two have a fantastic life together.

Rachel -- Of course I caught where your avatar is from, as I am such a huge fan of that series [I actually had jury duty yesterday and brought those games with me to the courthouse. :x]. The picture you posted of your ring is quite beautiful. Congratulations, too, on having a place to yourself for the next few weeks.

Cecile -- I hope you'll be able to show us pictures of your dress soon [I'm sure finding a veil will be the easiest part of the dress-process], and that the rest of your packing goes seamlessly. Wishing you the greatest of luck on your interview today, darling!

Ooh good luck Cecile I am sure all will go flawlessly!

I'm looking forward to seeing Cecile's dress, too!

I love the idea of playing those games in an actual courthouse! And I love the games too - it's probably my favourite games series. I can't wait for the next one! (Definitely at least two more planned).

Thank's guys.

Today I called the NVC from the UK. It went as expected as in they said they hadn't received the case yet and give it 90 day's etc, etc.

I then called the CSC (Telephone 800 375 5283) and spoke to a representative called Janice - as nice as she was it sure sounded like the entire conversation at her end was being read from a script

Anyway, she has confused me slightly because my interpretation of the whole K1 process is that you file, you get approved, the CSC send it to the NVC and then the NVC send it to relevant consulate (London I guess in my case) and then London get back to me and arrange medical/interview dates etc

But what she seemed to be telling me is that the documents are sent from the CSC straight to the consulate in the UK (in my case) which doesn't quite sound right because what part would the NVC then play in all this?

She didn't really know any time estimations of how long it would take (we were approved on the 30th May) or couldn't tell me when the case was sent from the CSC and constantly referred me to the letter which my Fiancee received in the US which confirmed the case has been approved and that we should hear back within 2-4 weeks.

What Janice did tell me is that I should go on USCIS and on the left hand side click on the 'Info Pass' box and get my fiancee to arrange an appointment.......

I've got to say that I really didn't expected to be more confused than I was before picking the phone up today but I definitely am

Does anybody know what this 'Info pass' appointment is for - is it useful or useless - and is the info I was given today regarding where the CSC send cases....is this also wrong and if so what do you suggest doing?

I guess I could just sit about and wait the 90 day's but I get the feeling that I could get better advice if I got through to the right people.......

Thanks,
Alex

I'm voting for 'Janice didn't know what she was talking about' unfortunately. I have never heard of CSC sending your file straight to the consulate; I have always heard the sequence of events as happening in the way you describe.

Ack. I have no further suggestions at this point, but I'll see if I can find out any further information.

Thank you everyone
Our visa is APPROVED!!!!
It went very smoothly, it took less than 2 hours. No co-sponsor needed. no proofs asked. nothing to worry about!
I wrote a long text in the train with details, I will probably type it tomorrow.

Alex, you were approved May 30th and your case is not yet at the NVC? I would definitely have your fiance schedule an infopass appointment.

Here's a link with more information about Infopass.

I hope you have some answers soon!

Congratulations Cecile and Bryan!

Yeah!!! Congratulations!!
I am really happy for you and Bryan!!
I cannot wait to read all the details of your interview!!

Hooorraaayyyy!!!!!

Now get over here already

Congratulations Cecile!

HURRAY!!!


May you recieve the visa soonest and may you have a safe flight to the US soon... and I want to see your dress also

As for me, i still have 42days left in the Philippines.. I have finally found the dress i want and will be buying the clothes today so the dress maker could start working on it. After a year of design hunting, i have decided to just get one part from one dress and then one part of the design of another then another.

Good luck to everyone who are going for medical and interview soon.

And Sunny, hope to see your approval soonest. Stay strong, you are a day closer to that approval and being with Gareth.

HOOORAYYYYYYYYYY Cecile! I knew it would be cake for ya! Cannot wait to hear the details and of course see pics of that dress! Congrats againnnnn!

WAHOOO!!!!!!!

A HUGE congrats to you both! Wonderful news!!

Here is my review (copied from my timeline)

It was a piece of cake.
I arrived in front of the embassy at 12:30, they told me to come back 10 or 15 minutes before the appointment time (1pm). So I waited and as soon as people started to go towards the guards, I followed them, the guard checked my appointment letter and my passport and let me enter. I was the second person to enter.
They took my cellphone and my ibuprofen, I didn't have any other "potentially dangerous" items. I took a ticket with a number (A111, easy to remember) and took a seat. There were lots of people sitting there (from the morning appointments). It is a big room with 18 "windows" around, but there were only 6 or 7 with people working behind them.
At 1pm they started calling the numbers starting by A. They took my appointment letter and the small part of my ticket. Then I went back to my seat.
The second time, another woman asked me if my address and my fiance's address had changed. She also asked when I was planning to go back to the USA. Then she took my birth certificate, my police record, etc, the forms DS-156 and DS-156K (she also told me that I should have filled out the DS-157 just in case, but no-one asked me for it). She then took the I-134 and all the related financial information. She only kept the tax transcripts of 2007.
Bryan had wrote a letter explaining why he did not make enough last year (though his current income is above the 125% of poverty line). She was reading it, and she told me that it didn't matter, only the current income was necessary. She also added that we should not need a co-sponsor to adjust status when we're married. She was speaking very fast, in French, and didn't look very friendly but she answered all my questions.
Then back to my seat for more waiting. Then back to a window, this time with the American consul. She was friendly. While she was filling forms, she asked me when and how we met, what happened after, if we had met each other's parents, if he still lived with his parents, what he does for a living, what I do and what I plan on doing in the USA. She didn't ask any proofs. Just small talk (she even said that Bryan's birthday was the same as his brother's, and she laughed when I told her that it was my dad's birthday too) She then said that all our paperwork was in order, that the visa was approved and that I should get it by mail at the end of the week.
It took an hour and forty minutes (and 7 hours of train ). Most of the time I was waiting. Everything was easy, no bad surprise.
If everything goes well, I should be in a plane next week!


Thank you everyone here for being so supportive

Yay! Congratulations Cecile!

It's good to hear that you weren't required to have the co-sponsor after all, though I still would've done the same as you and found one.

I'm glad the lady was so friendly, always makes things easier!

Kim - thank you for the information, I wasn't sure what an infopass appointment was!

Congratulations Cecile!!!

Maybe it will be my turn soon

Yes, it was a relief to hear that we did not need the co-sponsor. Too bad we spent $50 to have all the paperwork on time Oh well, better be safe than sorry


I am sure your turn will come very soon

And, good luck to Pam tomorrow!!!

Yeah, you never know, had you not turned up with the paperwork you may not have had such an understanding lady and they might have demanded to see a co-sponsor!

Anyway, all over now! I hope Pam's experience is as good tomorrow.

It's Alex's 22nd birthday today! He already opened his present from me last week because that's the kind of impatient boy he is.

Congrats Cécile!

and Good luck to Pam tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Alex!!!

That's awesome news Congratulations


That must be a guy thing... I received my bday present like 2-3 weeks ahead of time and, of course, I had to open it right away haha

LOL about the men opening the presents soon after getting them! My man is opposite! He is way against opening any presents ahead of birthdays or Christmas! I was going nutty waiting to open my presents from him that arrived before both Christmas and my birthday haha!

Congrats again Cecile, glad to hear all went smoothly. Isn't it sort of ironic that such a HUGE process, so filled with stress and anxiety ends with such a short, simple, and almost not necessary interview? The most stressful part for me was back when we were waiting for the NOA2.

Great to hear you're on your way to the states!

And Happy Birthday to Alex! Mine is next week! WAHOO!

Thank you Cécile, Rachel and Lucie!!
I doubled checked all my forms tonight, and I should be all ready for tomorrow!! I am not too too stressed right now, it helped me to know everything went ok with Cécile, I hope to have the same kind of persons !!

And happy birthday to Alex!

Good Luck tomorrow Pam, I'm sure it will all go swimingly

Wishing you all the best for tomorrow Pam

Levi Heather: Since you are going through the Vancouver Consulate as well, I thought you might be able to answer my questions and concerns. Valerie and I received notification from NVC that our file had been sent to Vancouver on 7/9/08. Here it is two weeks later and we haven't received our packet 3 yet! I know your timeline shows it took two weeks, so I guess it's normal. Val lives right outside Vancouver, so I guess I was hoping that it wouldn't take nearly as long. Anyways- we are planning on getting the checklist and the DS-230 faxed back the same day or the next after receiving the packet. But, I'm starting to get a little paranoid, because we have our wedding booked for October 3, and even though it's still 2 1/2 months away....I'm praying for an interview date in September!! Are you aware of the current interview dates being scheduled? This process has been driving me crazy ALL of 2008!! I'm just looking for a little relief!

Good luck Pam!!

Good luck today Pam!!!!

I think you should be getting packet 3 anyday now This process is very stressful I agree! If it was mailed out to the consulate July 9 by DHL the consulate should have received it the 11th. Levi received packet 3 in about 2 weeks but your dealing with how quickly the consulate actually mails it out then Canada Post. Levi's interview is August 27th so I would say you probably will have a September interview date and I think its not unrealistic to plan for an October wedding at all...

Also.. When you're feeling the most stressed out and you're totally sure it's been lost in the mail thats when it will show up That's how it worked for us anyway!

Thank you all guys for your support!!!

Soooooo...........we got approved!!!!!
Everything went well, it took me 2 hours, and the 3 ladies I had were all really nice with me!!
Like Cécile, the consul didn't ask me any proofs of ongoing relationship!, she only asked me questions, and after, she said "your visa is approved. Congratulations to you both!!"
I am so happy right now, and at the same time,I cannot believe we're approved. It is a long process, but I feel lucky comparing to other timelines.....
Thank you all again, your help and support was and still is so important !!

I still have thoughts to you sunny, and to the others ones left.

WAHOOOOOO!

congratulations

Many congratulations to both Cecile and Pam! I can't begin to imagine how excited the two of you [and your respective fiances] must be.

Aww thanks for your sweet words Pam and CONGRATS to you guys!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Congrats you two!!!! Well Done

Got a touch today and did NOT call!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....Gareth brought me down to earth saying it may have to do with me contacting congressman though..... dang reality haha....I can still hope and pray this may be it!!!!

I hope this is it for you Steph

Congratulations Pam!!!

Sunny I hope this is it!