US Immigration from Belarus

Hello,

On January 3 we received an email that our approved I-129F had been expedited and sent to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and that my fianc would be contacted with further information on scheduling an interview, required documentation, etc. I read that now that a little more than a week has passed, we can start contacting the embassy to find out if they received the package from the NVC and what the next steps are to get an interview.

How do I contact them? When I call the embassy phone, it just sends me to an automated message. When I try calling their "call center" number indicated in the automated message, the call just cuts off.

Since Cambodian mail is not the best, I have heard that in many countries this letter never arrives and the beneficiary has to go to the consulate to personally pick it up. Is this the case or is it embassy-specific?

Hi, VJ!

The USCIS approved our case, they sent it to the NVC, and in early January I got an email from the NVC that they'd sent our file to the consulate. (Actually they told us that our request for expediting our case had been approved- I never asked for an expedited case, but USCIS was very slow initially and I wrote to our congresswoman, she may have intervened on our behalf).

My fianc and I completed the DS-160 together online and received confirmation of our submission, as requested in our email from the NVC.

Now I guess all we do is wait for the embassy to send the package and contact him for an interview? What about the I-134 financial support form? I'm not seeing any mention of my filling that out, either from the NVC emails or in any K1 timelines. Do I fill it out and send it with to the interview? What about all my tax transcripts for proof of financial means? Do I do the same with that? I don't want us to show up to the interview without the required paperwork filed!

When my step son filed his I-130 for his wife and baby daughter ( IR-1/CR-1) he was an LPR. He just passed his USC test and will be taking his oath shortly. When he becomes a USC is his application status automatically upgraded ( to hopefully reduce processing times) or does he need to inform them of his status change. If so, how. Thank you.

I've had a pending K1 application (received 2/2/2017) since August.

My application was received 2/2 and sent to the CA processing center.

Checking the dates on the USCIS website, they reached our PD in July. I called the customer service center and they put in an inquiry. In early August they told me that we were stuck pending ongoing background checks.

I waited a month and called again in September- to find out that USCIS had updated its dates on its website, they were so far behind and couldn't catch up, we weren't late anymore!

But two weeks later, we were indeed "late" again per the USCIS website. I put in another inquiry.

Again, I received the same email: "We have placed your case on a processing hold because the required security checks remain pending. Until we receive the results of these security checks, we cannot move forward on your case. We require the results of security checks before we make a decision on any pending case."

Given that in July when I called they were likely just very behind, I suppose that we are only just now outside of processing times.

I do work for the US government and have on and off for years as a contractor and have been subject to loads of background checks and finger printings in the past. I assumed this would be very quick as a result, but I'm learning (from USCIS reps on the customer service line and from one attorney I spoke to but did not hire, as she said she couldn't do anything about it) that likely my name set off some sort of alert.

I looked at the USCIS website and it indicated that of the 20% of us whose names pop up as either personnel or criminals (it's nice we're all in the same group :/ ) 99% are resolved in 6 months.

So... is there anything I can do at all? Is there any way to calculate how long I've been in a hold for a background check?

For what it's worth, fianc is from Belarus but is currently living in Asia (where I was also living on a contract with an int'l agency with him for a year, we decided to apply through that embassy since we thought it would be a lot faster and in any case he's got a job there for the time being).

Hi all,

My wife has arrived to NYC yesterday through JFK. CBP officer told us that we should expect her Greencard in 6-12 months, no earlier than that. Is it true? Can someone please share their experience on this? Hard to believe that it takes 6 months to produce a piece of plastic even considering the amount of people there.

Thanks!