Dear all VJ'rs, I am confused as hell. I'm sure this will apply to many of you who want to do things right the first time.

With I-129f & I-130 Approved on the same day, I-129f goes to the consulate and the I-130 stays at the NVC????? (That's a
question)

Now what??? I want to see my wife asap and want her here in the US with me. Based on what I read, k-3 means I-129f?? and gets her here quicker.

Here's the big issue, many pursue k3 and leave the (cr1) i-130 ALONE. With that in mind, what the hell happens to i-130???

Can you really neglect the i-130 route and pursue k3?? Or does the USCIS require for you to submit i-130 requirements (ie., police certs, medical, packet 3 or 4 shhtuff)?? oh yeah, not to mention the additional fees???

Is it required to pursue both at the same time just to be safe??

I would hate to ignore a USCIS procedure requirement (cr1 docs and fees) with wishful thinking that my k3 will go through, and get screwed because I ignored the cr1 (i130) route.

My compressed version timeline:


12/6/06: I-130 Sent
12/29/06: I-129F sent
1/11/07: I-129f NOA1
4/10/07: I-129f & I-130 NOA2 (Approval)

With both approved The I-129f is transfered to the consulate for K3 and I-130 stays at the NVC till your wife gets here and she can apply for adjustment of status

k-3 is teh visa that is issued when I-129f is filed with USCIS and gets her here quicker.

I-130 stays at the NVC until your wife gets here and applys for AOS or adjustment of staus and that is when the copy of your approved I-130 comes into play

Nothing gets screwed as long as your NOA2 for I-130 says that she will be applying is the US for AOS.

Where is is spouse residing? mine is in Karachi and am just curious

My wife is in Karachi too.

Very cool maybe they'll get their interviews the same day. Have you tracked you I-129F at NVC yet?

No, Haven't done that. How can you track that??
The last thing I recieved was the Notice of approval (I-797)

Notice type: Approval Notice
Valid from 4/10/07 to 8/9/07
Consulate: Islamabad

And above her name she has an A #.

zeyad and Khurram,

The approved I-130 does not go the the NVC, let alone stay there. The approved I-130 stays with the USCIS waiting for adjustment of status.

Yodrak

thanks Yodrak

Khurram, How do you know it is off to Islamabad Consulate? Is there a tracking system? Also, please let me know how your wife gets notified or her papers as soon as you find out. I am kind of worried about the whole address issues in Karachi. You know how it is, "unorganized". Thank you.

I'm in the same situation as you two it seems. So how do you track it when it leaves the CSC and gets to Islamabad? I notcied your timeline being pretty specific about the changes.

I'll keep you two informed if anything happens with my wifes papers.

Thanks, I haven't heard anything from Khurram yet, I am curious to see how to find out where the NVC stands on both cases. Someone was telling me that some I-130's may even get passed through NVC and a packet sent out before i-129 f.

Got another question for anyone out there?? Does packet 3 come to you or your spouse or both.

Packet 3 goes to the foreign beneficiary directly from the consulate.

You can use your CIS (NOA) receipt number from your approval to find out.
On calling the NVC automated voice response number (603) 334-0700 you will.... press 1 for English press 2 for Spanish
press 1 for information about your immigrant visa
It will then ask you if you know your CIS receipt number.....press 1
(Once you have a case number you can use this.....press 2)
You then follow the instructions to key in your number.
It will then tell you if NVC has received the petition, and assigned a number.

You can also email them :
Email address for NVC
NVCINQUIRY@state.gov
When making enquiries always put your case number in the subject line.

After you have a date of when it is leaving (approx) you tack all diplomatic pouches going from US to the Consulates by searching on the specific dates :
http://track.dhl-usa.com/TrackByRef.asp?nav=TrackByRef
Select the approx dates you expect your package to go out which is usualy 3 to 4 days after NVC tells you they sent out the electronic communication.
put in reference number I-730 and click track.
Let me know if this helps you guys

Khurram

Thanks Khurram for your help.
I just called and they had no info on my I-130 (WAC-XXX-X), and they had no info on it. And the automated system didn't give me an option for letters starting with MSC for my I-129f Notice number. It had a few other letter scenarios, but nothing for MSC.
I guess I will try again in a few days. Are you going to Pakistan when your wife will be interviewed?

The 129 for K-1 are never put into the automated sytemat NVC and you must talk to an operator for information. Not sure if the same is true for the k-3, but might be worth a call.

We have the same case, both aprovals received on the 16th of FEB
the I-129F which is the K3 has been sent to Cyprus (As we were married there) and contacted by the US Embassy on 01 March, faxed the 1st part of the DS230 and still never heard from them again for the interview date

the I-130 till now is not at the NVC, some of the people here seem to think that the I-130 is retained before going to the NVC as they assume that we will follow the K3 route and in order to make the transition u have to file a form and pay $200 to forward it to the NVC ( I am not sure if this is correct).

We called our lawyer who called the CSC to ask to forward the I-130 to the NVC (last week) still no movement

The I-130 aproval says that the AOS will be done at the consulate in Egypt (Since I am Egyptian) and does not say that it will be done in the uSA since it did not move yet.
Are we in trouble???
Help
Thank you
I will keep posted here any progress
Good luck to you all

Zeyad,

You have to select option 5 and talk to an operator for the I-129f and as far as the I-130 does it not sent to NVC unless it is being processed in Pakistan for the CR1 visa which in your case it's not.
I would call them and press the option 5 and tell them your MSC number and they should be able to tell you the status of your application.


sahar1018,

Yes it is true that if you want the I130 to be processed you have to file the form I-824 (Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition) which has a fee of $200 but I have yet to see an I824 processed, it looks like it will probably be pointless in most cases as those who are filing it will likely have their K3 visa before the I130 can be forwarded and processed.

Addition to previous post, Unfortunatly I won't be able to go for the interview for my wife due to my job.

Thanks Khurram for the detailed info. The automated service dosen't include my 129F approval MSC number. I'll just wait until Monday night to call them. Your timeline seems to be about 2 weeks ahead of mine. Good luck with everything.

You are welcome and the I-129F (NOA2) is never mentioned you have to press option 5 and talk to customer service agent to get the status

When your I130 & I129 are simultaneously approved,,, I129 will be forwarded to the NVC then after that to the embassy,,, Your I130 is left at the CSC where you can apply for AOS ( adjustment of status) when you arrive at US.

Thanks everyone., Now that a few have told me that the I-130 stays at the NVC or CSC. Do you think my interview should be right around the corner now.

? for Khurram, Can you keep me posted on exactly what your wife received in Karachi, and if the interview letter/date was included in whatever she received. Thanks.

Zeyad,

I will let you know as soon as my wife receives the package, she hasn't received anything yet

Khurram,

I tried calling that hotline at the NVC, and didn't have any luck. when I entered my I-130 # (WAC-XXXX) , they didn't have anything on file. And when I tried pressing 5 it kept on rerouting me to the automated then the automated system said to call back since customer agents are still busy, said goodbye, and hung up on me. I've tried 4 times today. Is there any strategy that I can use to talk to a human being.

Zeyad,
There is no strategy to calling them but I was assuming you are going to track your I129f (MSC######) as looking at your time line your I-130 won't go the NVC only the I129f will, as you are following the K3 route.

You can PM me my goiung to my profile and sending me a message and I can call you and get them on a conf if that helps. Going through the process myself I am glad to share the information that other members here have provided me on this forum

Congrats Khurram, I am happy for you. I finally got through today and talked to a "real person". They have no record of either case yet, and said that it can take two weeks and up to 90 days before uscis sends it to NVC. Are you using a lawyer? Please let me know what came in her packet. Thanks.

I am not using a lawyer I have filed everything myself, I will let you know the whole contents of the packet as my wife will be scanning and emailing me all docs received tomorrow morning

Me too.

Seems the USCIS want make more money because the fee of I-845 to adjust status is $1,000. Or you have to pay $200 for I-824 to resume the CR1 that you can get the immigration visa before you get here.

I feel very unhappy about this, because I have already paid $170 for the I-129F, now they stop my CR1 just because I apply the K3 and ask me pay $200 to resume the CR1. That 's unfair.

Normally, the K3 should be a few months faster than CR1.

Sorry for my mistake. The fee of I-845 should be $325 not 1,000. That's reasonable.

*Just bumping this cause I wanna hear more about this topic*

What do you wanna hear?

I just wanted to read what others had to say. I guess I just like reading it cause I'm t this crossroads now.

1. U.S. Petitioner Receives second Notice of Action (NOA) acknowledging I-129F petition has been approved.
2. Case Forwarded by your Service Center to the National Visa Center and I-130 is put on hold at the SC to wait for AOS when you spouse is in the US.(Two weeks after you receive the NOA2 you can contact the NVC to see if they have received your approved I-129F. You can contact them at 603 334-0700. Their homepage is here. Welcome to the US Department of State! Things move much faster now smile.gif ).
3. Case Forwarded to U.S. Embassy as specified in the I-129F. (NVC uses DHL to send the package, which typically delivers a package worldwide within 3-5 business days.)
4. Embassy receives package and processes it. They will then prepare a letter to be sent to the foreign spouse. (5-7 business days after the NVC sends the package to the embassy, you can begin contacting the embassy to see if they have received it)
5. Forms and Checklist (Send me your email add and I can send the one my wife got)sent to foreign Beneficiary (Spouse).(This will be sent out within a week (typically less) from when the embassy processes the received petition. This package will include a checklist of items and paperwork that must be collected. Some will be sent back asap, and others will be sent back later or brought to the interview, it all depends on the Embassy as my wife told to just bring everything to her interview)
6.Beneficiary fills in Forms and assembles various documents. (The downloads section for K-3 Visa's has a list of some forms the foreign spouse will need. You can practice with these forms.)
7. Beneficiary sends completed Forms to U.S. Embassy (Not in my case as my wife will take everything to the interview)
8. Foreign spouse must attend medical interview prior to interview (This is scheduled with an authorized doctor which are mentioned in the package that the spouse gets)
9. U.S. Embassy issues Beneficiary with Interview date (This may occur before your have your medical. You will need to get the medical done before the interview as instructed by the embassy)
10. Beneficiary has interview at U.S. Embassy for K-3 visa. All being well case is approved.


Khurram

turtle,

Here's my take on the current situation in which the I-130 and I-129f petitions are approved simultaneously, or if the I-129f petition is approved first as it usually was. My comments are based on the following assumptions, which I believe to be the most common situation:
a. the objective is to get the the alien spouse to the USA ASAP
b. after entry to the USA the alien spouse will prefer to adjust status in the USA rather than return to their home country to obtain an immigrant visa.

1. The approved I-129f petition will get to the US consulate abroad sooner than the approved I-130 petition - several months sooner.
2. The USCIS has established a procedure, based on assumptions 'a' and 'b' above, of retaining the approved I-130 petition in anticipation that the alien will apply for and obtain a K3 visa and will adjust status. This procedure saves both the USCIS and the NVC some amount of time and effort (=$), and minimizes the risk that the file or some of its' contents may be lost.

Conclusion:
No Brainer
- submitting an I-824 to have the approved I-130 petition sent to the NVC is a waste of money for most people, it makes no sense at all unless they have a particular reason for wanting to obtain LPR status via an immigrant visa rather than by adjustment of status
- For someone whose objective is to gain LPR status ASAP, rather than get into the country ASAP, there was no reason to submit an I-129f petition, shot yourself in the foot (both feet) if you did.

Yodrak

I concur completely. If you now find yourself contemplating filing an I-824 to get the I-130 moving you might also consider shooting yourself in a third foot.

thanks khurram and yodrak

You are very welcome