Received NOA1, what next?

[BA2WA 5]

Hi! The USCIS case status page says that our K-1 visa application was received on Nov. 17th and was being sent to the California Service Center.

In reading the timelines, I'm not entirely certain what happens next. It seems like we simply wait for 5 months or so to hear anything further, then the Buenos Aires consulate takes over when the NVC forwards the file.

Is it 5 months of crossed fingers, or does anything happen in the meantime? I can prepare documentation for the embassy interview but I don't want it to be outdated by the time we actually need it.

One additional question...

The USCIS case status page also said to call a 1-800 number if we haven't received a receipt in the mail by Dec 17th. We live together in Buenos Aires and toll-free numbers are not available from outside the U.S. Anyone know what to do if nothing arrives in the mail? I'm having big problems getting things from the States the past few months. A direct number or email address would really help.

Thanks!

Edited December 4, 2014 by BA2WA

[Pitaya 2,576]

Welcome to the forum.

easily accessible at the top of the forum page. In particular, the K1 Flowchart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

when you accurately fill it out, VJ can provide you with processing time stats.

Good luck on your visa journey.

[sma1488 155]

If you were sent to CSC and are expecting 5 months, you're in for a pleasant surprise.

Also, you can use Skype to call most US 800 numbers anywhere in the world, for free. And did you put a US address as your mailing address? If so, the hard copies will go there. If not...I don't know.

[BA2WA 5]

I've read the guides.

Between steps 3 and 4 of the flow chart (NOA1, NOA2) it says to see Processing Times, which I've done and found 5 months for CSC. Does that mean we now wait approximately 5 months before doing anything or receiving anything?

Please, surprise me pleasantly! Is it realistic to expect something sooner given the info mentioned above?

I've never tried Skype. Thanks for that info, which hopefully won't be necessary.

[BA2WA 5]

I just entered our information into a timeline. At the bottom it says: "Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated between December 3, 2014 and December 9, 2014*."

What then is the 5 months mentioned in the Flow Chart Processing times for the California Service Center?

Sorry if I seem confused but I am.

[Pitaya 2,576]

I just entered our information into a timeline. At the bottom it says: "Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated between December 3, 2014 and December 9, 2014*."

What then is the 5 months mentioned in the Flow Chart Processing times for the California Service Center?

Sorry if I seem confused but I am.

These are estimates and very dependent on several factors, including, but not limited to, VJ members providing the correct information in their timelines. BTW, is Armenia your interviewing embassy?

Three years ago, it took 147 days for us to get our visa approved at the CSC. There are some folks that were processed sooner, and some slower. With the demise of K1 visa processing at the VSC, and the involvement of the TSC in K1 processing, the transferring of workloads between the various service centers, many folks have yet to update their timelines. This has had a net effect of likely skewing of the data.

YMMV,

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[BA2WA 5]

There is such a huge difference between NOW (Dec 3-9) and five months that it would render the timeline worthless. What do I not understand?

No, we will ultimately be filing (interviewing) at the Buenos Aires Argentina Consulate.

[sma1488 155]

Check here for up-to-date timelines that reflect CSC's current processing times:

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthly_filers.php?cfl=

You'll see that most cases without an RFE are processed within a month right now. I believe CSC takes a little longer to send the file to the NVC than Texas does, but CSC's lightning-fast pace more than makes up for that difference. You can look up (recent) cases specifically from Argentina who got sent to CSC and see how long the whole process took beginning to end on this site.

[TBoneTX 43,057]

If Armenia is showing up as your consulate's country, you'll have to go in to change it to Argentina. Armenia is the VJ default for when people don't indicate a consulate.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

~ Moved from K-1 Process and Procedures to K-1 Case Filing and Progress Reports -topic is filing/case status ~

[ForgottenNotes 12]

If Armenia is showing up as your consulate's country, you'll have to go in to change it to Argentina. Armenia is the VJ default for when people don't indicate a consulate.

Ahhhh that explains a lot, I was wondering why when I search similar timelines I see Armenia!

Thx

[ds10 0]

Hi BA2WA,

Glad your process is off to a great start! My now husband and I began our process in May 2014 and were married on Nov 10, 2014. He was in Buenos Aires for most of that time while I was here the starts, so our cases differ in that. But take a look at my timeline for an idea of how things went for us. Between NOA1 and NOA2 we didn't have as much time as we expected. The biggest delay for us was actually gathering the documents in Argentina, namely military records that I do not think you will have to deal with.

Feel free to reach out with any questions! Best of luck!

[sandra3711 52]

CSC are processing application faster than under a month currently, but you never know with the holidays coming up.