TSC JULY 2014 FILERS - NOA2 APPROVALS

[LoveinGhana! 55]

Not yet. I hope and pray for you to get the NOA2 hard copy today.

Hopefully we will get our notice our cases have been sent to NVC!! I think we have waited long enough (haha).

I can't wait to check the mail when I get off work! Before I would forget some days to get my mail....not now!!! I check daily! lol

[Vicky&Fritz 33]

Got our NOA 2 hard copy today. Hoping for the NVC notice!

[Megan & Luke 93]

Hopefully we will get our notice our cases have been sent to NVC!! I think we have waited long enough (haha).

I can't wait to check the mail when I get off work! Before I would forget some days to get my mail....not now!!! I check daily! lol

You may want to call the NVC directly and ask if they received your case yet instead. They have a track record of not always sending letters and it will definitely take longer than a few days to receive it, especially with the current weather situation in that area. I called twice, and 10 business days after we were approved our case had made it to the NVC and was assigned a case number.

[LoveinGhana! 55]

Got our NOA 2 hard copy today. Hoping for the NVC notice!

We got ours today also. Yes we want the NVC notice!!! I hope it's tonight!

[LoveinGhana! 55]

You may want to call the NVC directly and ask if they received your case yet instead. They have a track record of not always sending letters and it will definitely take longer than a few days to receive it, especially with the current weather situation in that area. I called twice, and 10 business days after we were approved our case had made it to the NVC and was assigned a case number.

Thanks Megan if I don't hear anything by Wed which will be 8 days (6 business days) then I will call them to see if they received it. I would love to have a case number in 10 days...haha

[LoveinGhana! 55]

On my NOA-2 it says if you would like them to forward the petition to a different consulate contact the consulate, or you can fill out form I-824 to request that we notify another consulate of the petition approval for visa processing.

Is that on all approval notices????

[Vicky&Fritz 33]

Mine says that, but has no consulate information on it. Am I missing something?

[Lorvin 45]

Mine says that, but has no consulate information on it. Am I missing something?

That seems to be the way they are for K1s, says the first woman I talked to at NVC.

[Vicky&Fritz 33]

Fair enough . I'm just slightly concerned since my fiance lives in one country but is a citizen of another. I can completely see them sending our petition to the wrong country.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Vicky&Fritz

[Megan & Luke 93]

I had the same issue with my NOA2. I opened an inquiry with a Tier 1 agent, but I doubt they will do anything for it. I probably should have looked at VJ first to see if it was even something to worry about but after waiting nearly 7 months at TSC, I panicked and wanted it fixed RIGHT THEN, haha. Either way they sent my case on to NVC and the inquiry still hasn't been assigned for processing (sad really, they are so slow.) I don't think it's anything to be concerned over though, I've read a number of people - even those approved and past POE already - who had the same thing.

Fair enough . I'm just slightly concerned since my fiance lives in one country but is a citizen of another. I can completely see them sending our petition to the wrong country.

I would definitely call the NVC after about 10 days to 2 weeks to see if your case has arrived and been assigned a case number. At that point you will know where the file is being sent to - the first three letters will tell you the embassy and if you aren't sure, you can ask the agent. Ours is LND for London, so if you know your fiance's embassy code you'll know right away. If it's incorrect I am unsure the procedure, but the agent should be able to help you. The NVC folks are much much nicer than the USCIS agents.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Megan & Luke

[Abbumimapa 30]

On my NOA-2 it says if you would like them to forward the petition to a different consulate contact the consulate, or you can fill out form I-824 to request that we notify another consulate of the petition approval for visa processing.

Is that on all approval notices????

Yes. It also says the petition has been sent to listed consulate but there is no consulate listed.

[Abbumimapa 30]

Fair enough . I'm just slightly concerned since my fiance lives in one country but is a citizen of another. I can completely see them sending our petition to the wrong country.

Our case is the same. She isn't the citizen of Kuwait where she was born and has lived ever since.

[Megan & Luke 93]

Information needed when you call NVC:

*You can't use the self-help feature to see if your case number has been assigned. The K-1 is a hybrid/Immigrant visa, depending who is handling it, and only Non-Immigrant visas can use this phone feature.*

1. Dial 1-603-334-0700

2. If you get a message saying "Due to the high call volume", just hang up. It will disconnect you in a few minutes anyway.

3. Keep calling back until you hear a different message. Ignore the message as long as it isn't "Due to high call volume"

4. Press 2

5. At this point you should be in the queue - you can have a significant wait time here (both times I got someone it was after 45 minute waits). There is no callback feature like there was for USCIS.

6. When you get the agent, you may be able to tell right off the bat if they have your case. Once they ask you your USCIS case number "SRCxxxxxxxxxx" they may ask you one of two things..

a. Did you receive an approval letter? What is the notice date of that letter? (This tends to mean they don't have your case yet, they will tell you to give them 35 days. There is no point arguing it since they really don't have the case yet)

b. They will ask you to verify details - this seems to mean that they have your case and most likely have a case number assigned!

7. The information they will want:

a. Petitioner name (beneficiary cannot call) and they will ask if you are the applicant

b. Beneficiary's name

c. Beneficiary's birthdate

d. Petitioner's email address, possibly also phone number and address. They will ask you if the beneficiary would like an email address on file.

e. Possibly the beneficiaries passport number - have it in case

8. At this point they will tell you when they received your case and then you can ask if a case number was assigned.

9. They may give you only the case number - if they do also ask if they can provide you with the invoice number. The invoice number can/will be used when your fiance must make their visa payment. It's a good number to have on file.

10. Your case number will begin with three letters - this identifies the embassy it is going to. In our case it was LND = London. If you are unsure, ask the agent where it is going and ask them to explain the letter code.

Notes:

Your mileage may vary by agent that you get. They were quite helpful. My first experience was so-so, the second agent who gave me my case number was very pleasant and it was a great experience. They actually seemed happy to help... nothing like the calls to USCIS!

Reports have been that the best time to call NVC is later at night - after 8:00pm EST. The worst time is lunchtime - 11:00am - 1:00pm EST and even early mornings seem bad for a lot of people. Don't be discouraged - I had to call 25 times before I got a message other than high call volume the first time I called. They are open from 7:00am - 12:00am EST. Please note if you are calling during these winter/bad storm hours they may close early or be closed due to weather. NVC is not always prompt in putting up a "closed due to weather" message.

So you got a case number - Great! Now...

This is where you want to start tracking - CEAC Status - https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx

(Make sure you choose Immigrant Visa) Our government sees the K-1 as a hybrid, but the embassies consider it Immigrant.

Until your case is completed on the embassy level and your fiance's visa has been approved, you will need to watch this space. Your USCIS tracking days are over for now until you begin the AOS process.

Some guides say you can call DOS (Department of State) to check for your case number, but as far as I know you cannot get information out of DOS until after your case has reached the embassy.

Hope this helps!

Edited February 10, 2015 by Megan & Luke

[Vicky&Fritz 33]

Thanks a million!! That's perfect!

[Megan & Luke 93]

You're welcome! If there's any changes to that I will need to make a new one, as I can no longer edit it

CEAC Statuses (Pre-Visa issuance/interview)

1. At NVC - Pretty self-explanatory.. the case is still at NVC awaiting shipment to your fiance's consulate/embassy.

2. In Transit - Again, straightforward. This means it is on it's way to the scheduled consulate/embassy.

3. Ready - This means the case has arrived at the consulate/embassy and is now awaiting your fiance's next steps - medical results, DS-160, visa payment, interview, etc..

Once the status has switched to Ready your fiance should be expecting Packet 3 - for some embassies this can be received through their consular website, for others they have to wait. This will vary as well, depending on consulate. Packet 3 is typically a set of instructions from the embassy or consulate that tells your fiance what their next steps are and what documents will be required for their interview. Many people have reported not receiving this packet until after their process was done - if at all. Check the embassy's website for a digital version of this.

For many of you, you can probably begin your processes before the case reaches the embassy. Verify with your fiance's specific consulate before proceeding, but many can have their medical exams completed and DS-160 completed ahead of time but not submitted.

DS-160

https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Default.aspx

As mentioned above, check with your embassy's specific instructions prior to filling this out.

The good thing about the DS-160 is that you can actually begin the application ahead of time and save it to submit later. This way you and your fiance can be prepared way in advance as this application (for the visa!) requires a lot of information. If you need to fill it out for your fiance, this is acceptable per DOS, however your fiance MUST be the one to digitally sign off and submit it. Once you have completed the application - if it is prior to the embassy receiving your case, choose the option to save for later and do not submit. You can load this application when it is needed later on and submit it.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Megan & Luke