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Sukie's US Immigration Timeline

  Petitioner's Name: Sukie
Beneficiary's Name: Julie
VJ Member: Sukie
Country: Australia

Last Updated: 2018-07-26
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Immigration Checklist for Sukie & Julie:

USCIS I-130 Petition:      
Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:    
USCIS I-751 Petition:  
USCIS N-400 Petition:  


IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Event Date
Service Center : National Benefits Center
Transferred? Texas Service Center on 2013-12-30
Consulate : Sydney, Australia
Marriage (if applicable): 2013-03-16
I-130 Sent : 2013-06-27
I-130 NOA1 : 2013-07-01
I-130 RFE :
I-130 RFE Sent :
I-130 Approved : 2014-01-31
NVC Received : 2014-02-25
Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : 2014-04-02
Pay AOS Bill : 2014-04-06
Receive I-864 Package :
Send AOS Package : 2014-04-10
Submit DS-261 : 2014-04-10
Receive IV Bill : 2014-04-02
Pay IV Bill : 2014-04-06
Send IV Package : 2014-04-06
Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : 2014-06-11
Case Completed at NVC : 2014-06-04
NVC Left : 2014-06-16
Consulate Received : 2014-06-19
Packet 3 Received :
Packet 3 Sent :
Packet 4 Received : 2014-06-11
Interview Date : 2014-07-01
Interview Result : Approved
Second Interview
(If Required):
Second Interview Result:
Visa Received : 2014-07-03
US Entry : 2014-07-15
Comments :
Processing
Estimates/Stats :
Your I-130 was approved in 214 days from your NOA1 date.

Your interview took 365 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.


Lifting Conditions
Event Date
CIS Office : Vermont Service Center
Date Filed : 2016-04-22
NOA Date : 2016-04-25
RFE(s) :
Bio. Appt. : 2016-06-10
Interview Date :
Approval / Denial Date : 2017-04-13
Approved : Yes
Got I551 Stamp :
Green Card Received : 2017-04-25
Comments :


Citizenship
Event Date
Service Center : Online
CIS Office : Albany NY
Date Filed : 2018-02-18
NOA Date : 2018-02-22
Bio. Appt. : 2018-03-12
Interview Date : 2018-07-26
Approved : Yes
Oath Ceremony : 2018-08-17
Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Sydney, Australia
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Event Description
Review Date : July 1, 2014
Embassy Review : We had a lovely experience at the Sydney Consulate today. While the guards at security don't crack too many smiles, as long as you follow the rules (no bags or backpacks, no electronics, wallets and paperwork only) they were pleasant. Both the paperwork checker and the interviewer were pleasant and smiling.

As everyone else has said "GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU GO THROUGH SECURITY!" We were not upstairs for as long as I thought (one hour), but I could tell it could have been much longer.

Also - if your medical report was put on a DVD or CD - make sure you tell the guards what it is. They stopped someone from bringing a CD upstairs today (thinking it was pictures, I guess), and he had to go back downstairs and get it (from the 51st floor to the 10th floor).

As one of the first same-sex married couples to come through the Consulate, we were not quite sure of the kind of reception we'd get - but there was nothing to worry about. We were organized, and they didn't even want to see our wedding pictures!!!!
Rating : Very Good


POE Review: JFK
Event Description
Entry Date : 2014-07-15
Embassy Review : JFK is a huge airport, and usually gets terrible reviews. Your trip (ordeal?) through immigration will depend on a lot of factors: your arrival terminal, how many flights are getting in at the same time, and where they are from, what time of day you arrive.

We arrived at Terminal 7 - the British Airways terminal. While the departure portions of the BA terminal are fairly nice, the immigration hall is small and can be hugely crowded. There are ramps leading down to the hall - I've seen people backed up on those ramps. The sides are divided into two main lines: US Citizens, Permanent Residents, Crew, Global Entry, and Embassy versus "Visitors".

I felt extremely bold this morning, and I did not stop to ask "Where should Julie go?". I just had her go with me into the US Citizen's line, and we approached the CBP officer together. I said, "Hi! This is my wife, and she is immigrating today!" I had on my most charming smile. He smiled back and said, "Oh, do you have your packet?" and she nodded.

He opened the packet and slid out the contents. The ONLY things he did was to check to see if the medical report was in there, and then he stamped the cover sheet on the packet. Then he stamped her passport right above the visa and walked us into another room with lots of chairs. We sat for about 5 minutes while another officer looked through things and fingerprinted Julie.

And then we were done!

Now, I must tell you - we were the only flight in the hall, and due to many frequent flyer points, we were flying Business Class which meant we were at the very front of the line. There were no other travelers outside our flight. The agents were rested (time was about 1:15 p.m.) and friendly.

The officer was very curious about us - he didn't want to offend us, but we were one of the first same-sex couples coming through on a spousal visa. He asked us how long the process had taken, and we said over one year. He just shook his head.

He did ask us why we didn't adjust status from Julie's coming on the Visa Waiver Program - and we said that it could raise suspicions, and we wanted to do it the right way. What I didn't say was that at the time we married, it wasn't LEGAL for us to adjust status, as DOMA had not been ruled unconstitutional yet.

The one thing I'm not sure about - we talked to Officer #1 about making sure the request for the Social Security Number was generated. But then in the group room, the officer there said - Oh, you can go to your local Social Security Office. So I'm not sure if the request was generated or not....

Your mileage may vary at JFK. It took us 15 minutes - but it could have taken us 3 hours - especially if we had been in economy class.

We are very tired - the flight from Australia takes about 26 hours in all with the layover - but we are very happy, and we cannot wait to get Julie's physical green card in hand!
Harassment Level : Low


Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!

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*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.

** Not all cases are transfered

vjTimeline ver 5.0




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