SerenityNOW's US Immigration Timeline
|
Petitioner's Name: American girl
Beneficiary's Name: Bulgarian boy
VJ Member: SerenityNOW
Country: Bulgaria
Last Updated: 2013-01-13
|
|
|
Immigration Checklist for American girl & Bulgarian boy:
|
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 : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Bulgaria |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2007-11-22 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2008-01-07 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2008-02-11 |
| I-130 RFE : |
|
| I-130 RFE Sent : |
|
| I-130 Approved : |
2008-04-22 |
| NVC Received : |
2008-05-06 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
|
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2008-05-12 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
|
| Send AOS Package : |
2008-05-14 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2008-05-06 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
|
| Pay IV Bill : |
2008-05-20 |
| Send IV Package : |
|
| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
|
| Case Completed at NVC : |
2008-07-09 |
| NVC Left : |
|
| Consulate Received : |
|
| Packet 3 Received : |
|
| Packet 3 Sent : |
|
| Packet 4 Received : |
2008-07-18 |
| Interview Date : |
2008-08-04 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
|
Second Interview
(If Required): |
|
| Second Interview Result: |
|
| Visa Received : |
2008-08-07 |
| US Entry : |
2008-10-20 |
| Comments : |
Sent DS-3032 by e-mail. Paid AOS and IV bills online (had to call NVC to get Invoice ID # from representative). Then sent I-864 and DS-230 + documents once fees registered "Paid" (~ 1 day) and cover sheets generated - in other words, I didn't wait to receive "packages". Approved @ interview with no problems. They seemed really into the fact that 1) I (the USC) was there for the interview 2) my mother had come to Bulgaria to visit and 3) we had lots of photos, especially of my husband with my mother. The only pain in the ass was they claimed they needed an ADDITIONAL bogus document (certificate from the mayor of his town) certifying that we were married - the marriage document isn't enough apparently. Don't know if any others have run into this or it was just randomly required of us... |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 71 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 175 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
|
Port of Entry Review
|
| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Dallas |
| POE Date : |
2008-10-20 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
Yes,Passport Stamp |
| Biometrics Taken : |
No |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
|
|
Lifting Conditions
|
| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2010-10-05 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-10-07 |
| RFE(s) : |
|
| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-11-22 |
| Interview Date : |
NONE |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2011-01-24 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Green Card Received : |
|
| Comments : |
Received three duplicate letters after biometrics requesting us to make a biometrics appointment. Scheduled an InfoPass appointment (for something else, but asked about this as well) - they initiated a service request about the letters. Received a letter saying to ignore the previous letters. Case status remained at last updated 11/24 until at least mid-January. Then approved on 1/24/11 with no RFE or interview request. |
|
Citizenship
|
| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Phoenix AZ Lockbox |
| CIS Office : |
San Francisco CA |
| Date Filed : |
2012-01-24 |
| NOA Date : |
2012-01-26 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2012-02-22 |
| Interview Date : |
2012-04-12 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2012-05-09 |
| Comments : |
|
|
Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Bulgaria
Review Topic: IR-2 Visa
|
| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
June 18, 2013 |
| Embassy Review : |
My husband and I came to Bulgaria for my 16-year-old stepson's IR-2 interview (also to fly with to the U.S.) We asked the guard at the embassy who would be allowed to attend with him, and he told us whoever's name was on the interview letter. The only name on the letter was mine as the Agent on the case, but as I suspected, only my husband (as the petitioner) was allowed in on the day of the interview.
My stepson did not get asked really any questions, they were all for his father: how did you become a citizen, a few questions about me and his family (he said the CO was pleasantly surprised to find out that his son's mother and I were outside the embassy together with his other son). They did look at all the photos we brought (~40 in plastic sleeves, from birth until the day before the interview) so, as was our experience for my husband's CR-1 interview: Sofia embassy loves photos. Bring photos!
No problems with the visa. The interview was on a Wednesday and the passport with visa arrived via DHL on the following Monday. |
| Rating : |
Good |
|
POE Review: Dallas
|
| Event |
Description |
| Entry Date : |
2008-10-20 |
| Embassy Review : |
CR-1. We asked which line to go in - they said the citizens/permanent residents line (since I - USC - was with him). Probably could have been done in either line because the officer had to leave his little booth to walk us all the way to the right side of the room where two guys processed the immigrant visas. There is a waiting area, and one couple was in front of us. After they were done, they called us up, took his fingerprints and confirmed the address for mailing the green card (since it is in San Francisco, but we came to Texas first). They were quite jovial about the whole process.  It took about half an hour total. |
| Harassment Level : |
Low |
|
Local US CIS Office Review: San Francisco CA
Review Topic: cis_topic
|
| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
April 13, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
My husband applied under the 3-year rule, his "journey" being CR-1, ROC and now naturalization. He wasn't the best at relaying what happened, but here is the gist of it:
We went in together. The guard downstairs said I could go in the interview with him (I was doubtful) but of course that was not true. I just waited in the (nearly empty) lobby.
A very nice IO came out to get him. She said I should stick around in case she had any questions.
He was in maybe 20 minutes. He said right after he swore to tell the truth he told her about the extra trip to Canada he didn't put on his application and she laughed at his *truthfulness* and said she would add it when they went over that section.
One of the general questions she asked him was when my birthday was and he was WRONG (by 10 days). She said "are you sure...?" and he finally got it right. She was laughing at him.
The questions he remembers (he swears she only asked 3 or 4, not 6):
If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
Who did the United States fight in World War II?
Reading question: What is the state with the largest population? Writing answer: California is the state with the largest population. [this may have been worded differently...]
She kept basically all the recent evidence of "marital union" that I stuck in the folder - two bank account statements, ALL of our original tax transcripts (four years' worth, 2007-2010), a car insurance document, 2 sets of original boarding passes (to my cousin's wedding last year and to Bulgaria Christmas 2010) and 4 pages of printed photos (8 photos in all) taken since our last USCIS submission (ROC in October 2010). I was surprised she kept all of that. At least she left our original car title (yes I stuck that in there!) and our 2011 tax forms that I haven't filed yet. Oh, she also kept our actual lease! So I need to get another copy of that I suppose...
So when he came out, he said it all went well... when the IO came out to get the next person, I went over and asked her what the next step was, how long we would have to wait for the letter about the oath ceremony and she said 2 or 3 weeks.... then we went out to celebrate at the closest bar and I read the paper that she gave us... it did NOT have the "congratulations" box checked. It had the box checked that said he passed all the tests but also the box checked that said "A decision cannot yet be made about your application." WHAT THE - ?! Was he approved or not?!
I saw a friend about an hour later who just had his oath ceremony a week ago and he said he had the same box checked (and applied under the five year rule).
(updated on April 13, 2012)
(updated on April 13, 2012) |
| Harassment Level : |
Good |
|
Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!
*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
ver 5.0
