bsd058's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Chelsea Beneficiary's Name: Brian VJ Member: bsd058 Country: Canada Last Updated: 2022-04-12 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Chelsea & Brian:

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 : Vermont Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Montreal, Canada Marriage (if applicable): 2009-07-18 I-130 Sent : 2012-06-05 I-130 NOA1 : 2012-06-07 I-130 RFE : N/A I-130 RFE Sent : N/A I-130 Approved : 2013-03-18 NVC Received : 2013-03-26 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : 2013-04-10 Pay AOS Bill : 2013-04-19 Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : 2013-05-22 Submit DS-261 : 2013-04-09 Receive IV Bill : 2013-04-16 Pay IV Bill : 2013-04-18 Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : 2013-04-18 Case Completed at NVC : 2013-06-06 NVC Left : 2013-06-07 Consulate Received : 2013-06-07 Packet 3 Received : 2013-06-07 Packet 3 Sent : 2013-06-07 Packet 4 Received : 2013-06-07 Interview Date : 2013-07-17 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2013-07-22 US Entry : 2013-07-22 Comments : Interview went well. They just asked how we met, what she does, and what I do for a living. They skipped me, though. Window three numbers weren't being called until I interrupted an interview to let them know that there were a bunch of us being skipped. As soon as I told them, they gave me my interview (because they realized what was happening) and swore me in and approved me. :-) Completed ELIS on July 24, 2013. Optimized Aug 13, 2013. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 284 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 405 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : CDN-USA Border POE Date : 2013-07-22 Got EAD Stamp : Yes,Passport Stamp Biometrics Taken : No Harassment Level : 0 Comments :

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Orlando FL Date Filed : 2021-06-24 NOA Date : 2021-06-25 Bio. Appt. : 2021-10-15 Interview Date : 2022-03-15 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2022-03-15 Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : July 27, 2013 Embassy Review : Got to the consulate around 6:30am. People were already lined up, but I wasn't paying attention and went in front of them. Oops! Mean Lady set me straight! lol. When it was time to open, the guard let us in about 2 people at a time. I brought my keys to my car and my papers only. There is a big sign showing prohibited items, and these were on the sign. They just take your prohibited items and check them for you. Doesn't cost anything and the guards are very polite. Essentially after the metal detectors and Xray machines, they get you to walk down some stairs into what I can only describe is a basement. Acoustic ceiling. Kind of old looking. There was a photo booth, so if you forget your photos (not likely) you can stop and get them done right there. We all waited until a guard came into the room and opened the elevator for us. We all lined up and packed into the elevator as much as possible. When we reached the 18th or 19th floor, we all got off and lined up on the left to get an interview number. I got a VERY unlucky C3 (I'll explain later why this was unlucky). We all sat down on the other side of the room from where you get your interview number. Over the intercom they started calling numbers: C1, C2, C4...wait...didn't they skip C3 you might ask? Yes! They did! But I was sure they had their reasons. C5, C6, C8. Wait a minute. They skipped C7! Right you are! Essentially how the initial biographics and interview takes place is this: There are 4 windows side by side. They call you up in order of window. Window 1 takes {C1,C5,C9,...,Cn,Cn+4}. Window 2 takes {C2,C6,...,Cm,Cm+4}. And it's the same for the rest of the 4 windows. Window 3 must have decided not to show up that day. No one seemed to notice or care, though. Eventually they got to C18 and I had to interrupt (sorry C18). I asked them what was happening, and showed them my C3. They obviously weren't paying attention to the numbers, since they said that window 3's person must be out sick today or something and they will probably stay home. I asked if I should go and get another number or something because they are handing out window 3's numbers, but aren't calling them. Window 2's operator went to the back and spoke with a supervisor, came out and asked me to have a seat and told me he would get someone ASAP. Thank you! C20, C21, C3!! Finally! By this time my buddies Mean Lady and Back to KY were already approved and gone. But it all worked out. It didn't take long to complete the actual interview. As soon as I was done with my fingerprints and document checking, they asked me to come to window 7 for the interview. I was sworn in and answered questions like, "Where did you meet?" "Do you have any children?" "What do you do?" "What does she do?" etc. Very simple questions. The first one wasn't as simple. I told him we actually didn't know, because we had met like 8-9 years ago and were only friends until a couple of years before we got married. I had to explain that we did the long distance thing for a couple of years with me visiting a few times before we were married and moved to Canada for a few years. After all of that, the guy said that my paperwork seemed to all be in order and that he was going to approve my visa. From there, he gave me the Welcome to the United States of America letter and sent me on my way! It was a good experience overall, but a little stressful when they weren't calling window 3's numbers. Rating : Good

POE Review: CDN-USA Border Event Description Entry Date : 2013-07-22 Embassy Review : I didn't receive notification until Saturday that my package was sent to my Loomis location in London. I drove there from Sarnia as soon as I saw online that Loomis had my passport and immigration documents. As soon as I had my documents, I drove back to Sarnia and decided to just go over the bridge immediately to complete the immigration process. Went over the border and the CBP officer on the other side asked me questions like "Why are you moving this way instead of her moving up here?" I was like, "She has lived up here. We decided to move down there to be closer to family and friends." I was just thinking to myself, "If you're not going to have any say as to whether or not I immigrate, why are you asking me these silly questions? I've already gone through the proper immigration process with others. Just give me the immigration officer." He sent me to the left mini-parkade so I could be interviewed by immigration at the border. I waited in line for about 20 mins while others who were ahead of me were going in for routine checks or exclusion orders or previous criminal convictions. I was called in and the immigration officer was cool. He took my papers and asked me if I already paid the immigration fee ($165) on ELIS. I explained that I literally just got my papers today and I didn't realize I needed to get that done before I crossed the border. He said that technically I should, but if I promised to get it done right away, he would just complete everything for me. I agreed (and I did less than 48 hours later), and he endorsed my visa in my passport. He also advised me that going back to Canada was an option, but I really should wait until I'm actually going to immigrate. I explained that I just didn't want to wait for an hour during my travel day (the next day) in case I needed to catch my plane and the immigration process hasn't been completed in time. He was fine with that. He let me go and I decided to get some gas, and head on back to Canada. Went under the bridge for some fries (best fries in the world) to celebrate, and then went back home to pack and get ready for the next day. I left home at 4am and got to London at around 5 am. Took off at 6:30am and landed in Chicago about an hour or so later. The border guard asked me for my documents and I showed him I had just entered the day prior. He asked me why I didn't just wait, and I explained that I didn't want to take a chance on the flight schedule conflicting with the time it takes to complete the immigration process at an airport. With that explanation, he didn't ask me anymore questions, scanned my passport, and stamped it. I was on my way, and got to my new home around 8pm to the Space Coast. Harassment Level : Moderate

Timeline Comments: 2



*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.

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