January 2017 I-129F Filers

[glmg21 330]

17 minutes ago, sande17 said:

Ah I see what you mean. Okay that's good advice! I wasn't sure what I was going to say to that question - we haven't really decided re: me working either. Thank you for the insight.

Absolutely nothing wrong with saying you intend to work if you're asked, because it's what we all do, but just explain that you're aware that you cannot do so until you've married, applied for AOS, and have your EAD!

[sande17 1]

1 minute ago, glmg21 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with saying you intend to work if you're asked, because it's what we all do, but just explain that you're aware that you cannot do so until you've married, applied for AOS, and have your EAD!

Thank you @glmg21! What does an EAD stand for? 

[Mazeda 37]

Does anyone know what it means when CEAC changed your "CASE CREATED" to todays date? 

[HazeyHaze 221]

10 minutes ago, glmg21 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with saying you intend to work if you're asked, because it's what we all do, but just explain that you're aware that you cannot do so until you've married, applied for AOS, and have your EAD!

True, but those CO's are unpredictable. I'm not suggesting they say no, but to just say something safe. People have been burned by this question before. I guess I'm just a bit too cautious because I've read some horror stories, and that I come from a third world country. You are very right, though, that most of us will definitely be working there eventually. It's just sometimes, being completely honest may bite you in the patootie. You never know what type of consul will interview you, so I still think it is best to just answer it with a "we haven't talked about it yet as our main goal right now is to get married." Just my two cents.

Edited July 14, 2017 by HazeyHaze

[glmg21 330]

10 minutes ago, sande17 said:

Thank you @glmg21! What does an EAD stand for? 

EAD is your employment authorisation document. Once you're married and filing for AOS (green card), you have the option to file for an EAD at the same time. It gives you the right to work while you're waiting for your actual green card application, which can take a long time, to be approved! A similar document for travel called AP (advanced parole) also exists in the same way.

[Hannah96 110]

55 minutes ago, glmg21 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with saying you intend to work if you're asked, because it's what we all do, but just explain that you're aware that you cannot do so until you've married, applied for AOS, and have your EAD!

I agree. Talked to my lawyer today and she said that's totally fine to tell them that you want to work. I was scared of telling them that I plan on studying if they should ask since student visa was denied and she said it's totally fine. 'Talk to them like you would talk to me and just be honest' that's what she told me. 

[lara u. 66]

1 hour ago, Mazeda said:

Does anyone know what it means when CEAC changed your "CASE CREATED" to todays date? 

DId you have your interview today? Mine changed when i had my interview.. hing to worry about..

[Mazeda 37]

24 minutes ago, lara u. said:

DId you have your interview today? Mine changed when i had my interview.. hing to worry about..

My fiance had his interview on Monday, he went under administrative processing but today status changed to Application Received and the case created change and it went from Immigrant to Non Immigrant 

[lara u. 66]

8 minutes ago, Mazeda said:

My fiance had his interview on Monday, he went under administrative processing but today status changed to Application Received and the case created change and it went from Immigrant to Non Immigrant 

Same thing happened to me. It was in application received for a week until today.. it went back to AP. And also changed to non inmigrant.. still in administrative pricessing and on non immigrant.. i think k1 visas are really non immigrant at first since we still need to get married before changing status. It's justbwhat i think but im not so sure.. if it worries you, try calling the embassy, thats what we did.

[Mazeda 37]

1 minute ago, lara u. said:

Same thing happened to me. It was in application received for a week until today.. it went back to AP. And also changed to non inmigrant.. still in administrative pricessing and on non immigrant.. i think k1 visas are really non immigrant at first since we still need to get married before changing status. It's justbwhat i think but im not so sure.. if it worries you, try calling the embassy, thats what we did.

When you called the embassy, what did they tell you?

[lara u. 66]

Just now, Mazeda said:

When you called the embassy, what did they tell you?

It happens and it's something normal. But after a full week we called and asked why it took long. Then they filed an inquiry.. so i think you need to wait for 2-3 business days since it changed. If it does not change back to AP, then call. Unless they need more documents from you.. that would be the reason your case is still on received.. since they updated the date, they must be looking at it at the moment. 

[mbassett 288]

11 hours ago, HazeyHaze said:

Alright, I have procrastinated long enough. I better write a full review of my interview before I forget most of the questions the CO asked me. Ha!

 

My interview was scheduled for July 12 at 6:40 am. When I got there just a little before 6 am, there were already a bunch of people outside. Most of them are companions of the applicants. 3 lines of hopefuls were standing under the rising sun, patiently waiting for the guards to let them in. They were lined up pretty far from the embassy entrance, though. I showed my appointment confirmation to the guard and he told me to go to the longest line, which is the line for those scheduled at 6:40 am. Batch numero uno.

 

The 2 other lines are for those scheduled at 7 something. I didn't really pay attention as I was already sweating, both feeling hot and nervous as heck. I couldn't pull out the reviewer I made from my clearbook for it would've caused my other documents to fly out and away from me. I couldn't risk losing them. I really wanted to review, though. I kept repeating my fiance's address, phone number, the number of tattoos he has and what they are, and even the number of moles on his face and which part they were placed. Mole on his right cheek. On his nose. He has a bunny tattoo on his right arm. 2 skeletons on his left calf. I must... remember!

 

After fifteen minutes, the guard told us to walk to the front of the building where there was a tent and two employees waiting. I thought to myself, oooh that pretty fast. Wrong. We stood under the tent for half an hour. My back and feet were killing me. I shouldn't have worn my new pair of shoes. My sweat was slowly erasing my makeup. I worked so hard on making myself look presentable. Damn, I shouldn't have put my blazer on yet. I couldn't take it off because I was holding my clearbook and my bag. Despite the discomfort, I tried very hard to remember everything I wrote on my reviewer. We've come this far, I must not fail. 

 

Finally, at around 6:40 am, they started letting people in. They gave us a ziplock bag to place our most recent passport in, asked for our DS160, put a sticker on it, gave us a laminated card with a letter and some numbers that correspond to the area we're supposed to go to for pre-screening. My card was A something something. As soon as I got inside, the usher guided me to the A area and the A area usher instructed me to go to window 43, where a serious-looking Filipino man was waiting for me. I greeted him good morning with a smile and he said it back, still looking serious. He asked for my DS160, NBI clearance, CENOMAR, and birth certificate. He didn't ask for my medical results because SLEC forwarded it to them since I went through psych evaluation. After a few seconds of typing, he started asking me his pre-screening questions.

 

Have you ever traveled outside the country?

What is your fiance's name?

When is his birthday? How old is he now?

Where did you meet him?

When did you start talking? When did you officially become

How many times has he visited you? When?

Where does he live?

Do you have photos together? Can you show me? (I showed him 10 pages of photos with a STORY in every page. He read some of the pages and didn't ask me any questions about the photos.)

What does he do for a living? Where?

Do you plan to work when you get there? (Don't say yes! I told him we haven't talked about it yet because right now all we wanna do is get married and that he really wants me to prepare food for him because he hasn't had a home-cooked meal in a long time. This made the Filipino guy smile.)

 

He asked quite a lot of questions but this was all done in less than five minutes. He wrote the time on my DS160 (6:46 am) and gave it back to me. He then instructed me to go to the next window, window 43, for the fingerprint scanning. A pretty strict-looking American guy was telling an old lady to put more lotion on her hands, so he let me do the fingerprint scanning first. Took about 30 seconds and then I was off to the interview section.

 

The usher asked me to take a seat next to this middle-aged Filipino lady because the consuls aren't there yet. I went from 15th (I think) in line to the 2nd, because the other applicants were taking a long time in the pre-screening stage. Some were old and slow and some had incomplete/incorrect documents. 20 minutes later, the line for the interview was already getting long. Still no consuls. We waited for around 5 to 10 more minutes, and then the usher asked the first 3 in line to go in front of the interview windows and wait for one to open. A few minutes later, an American man called the first person in line. Shortly after, I saw window 59 open, but I couldn't see if there was someone behind the window because it was in the corner. I walked up to it to check and a tall, slim American lady probably in her late twenties opened her arms wide with a cheeky smile as if she was saying, "Do you want to come here or nah?". I smiled and said good morning. She greeted me back. All my nervousness went away instantly because she seemed super cool and nice. She was kinda dorky, and she talked really, really fast. She too my DS160, asked me to take the oath, and began asking me her questions.

 

Where did you meet your fiance?

How did you two start talking?

Why him and not the other guys from OKCupid? (I told her I didn't message my fiance because he was in Japan at the time and I thought he wouldn't be interested, but he saw me visit his profile because he was online and he messaged me saying "HOW DARE YOU NOT SEND ME A MESSAGE, WOMAN!" and I thought that was funny so I responded. The consul and the 2 Filipino employees behind her laughed. xD)

Why was he in Japan then? (I told her he was in the military.)

Is he still in the military? (Nope.)

Where does he work now and what does he do? (My fiance works at Delta Airlines. She was interested so she asked me a few follow-up questions.)

Does he get free tickets to fly anywhere? Has he used them to come see you? (I said he hasn't because he just started working at Delta this May.)

How many times has he visited you and when were those?

What did you do the first time he came to see you? (I told her we mostly ate and that I took him to Manam where they serve the best sisig, and she asked me where that is because she loves sisig, too.  At this point, I already felt that she was going to give me an approval. Haha!)

Where will you be living when you get to the states?

 

She then asked me to put my 4 fingers on the scanner. She joked that she remembered to do the fingerprint scanning this time. She was so proud of herself. Haha! I and the 2 Filipina employees laughed. She then asked a few more questions.

 

Has he been married before? How about you?

Does he have kids? And you?

 

And then, STAMP! Music to my ears. She said "Well, I'm all good. I don't see any reason not to approve you, so congratulations and good luck to you!". She gave me the slip that tells me how to register my address online and told me my passport will be sent back to me in a week. She gave me the mandatory pamphlet and let me go home. I was stunned. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. It's all over! We made it! I'll be with my love soon! 

 

The consul asked more questions than the Filipino guy, but since she talked really fast and I answered each question very quickly, the interview was over after five minutes. I passed by the first woman in line who was still being interviewed. The consul looked very serious and she was leaning close to the window as if she was having a hard time comprehending what the consul was saying. I hope she got approved. She's a nice lady just wanting to be with her love. 

 

Anyway, I couldn't feel my entire body - heck, even my soul - as I walked out, but I sure as hell felt like a champ. 15th something in line, 2nd to be interviewed, first to be approved. I ran to my mother who was waiting outside to tell her the good news. She was so happy and sad at the same time. I checked the time on my phone, 7:53 am. I sent my fiance a message to tell him we have been approved and I messaged some of my friends, too. 

 

As soon as we got home, I passed out (I didn't get any sleep the night before because I was so nervous and I couldn't stop reading denial stories online lol) with the biggest smile on my face. No more stressful nights worrying if fate wants me to be with the love of my life.

 

I hope you enjoyed my review... erm, story. I sure talk a lot for an introvert.

 

Great review and thanks for sharing.. Enjoy your new life with your love

[Kenneth and Guada 18]

Good afternoon,  Im just so worried. We dont have our Case number yet and its been more than 6 weeks since the approval date MAY 31 2017.  I called the NVC  and they said they didnt receive any documents from the USCIS because they dont have our records yet in their system.   I called the USCIS about this and they said "It take up to 90days before USCIS send it to NVC or with in 90 days". Its so upsetting  i dont know whats going on.. 😭   

[Estibaliz 3,037]

1 minute ago, Kenneth and Guada said:

Good afternoon,  Im just so worried. We dont have our Case number yet and its been more than 6 weeks since the approval date MAY 31 2017.  I called the NVC  and they said they didnt receive any documents from the USCIS because they dont have our records yet in their system.   I called the USCIS about this and they said "It take up to 90days before USCIS send it to NVC or with in 90 days". Its so upsetting  i dont know whats going on.. 😭   

You probably tried this already, but remember the new electronic system is only accessible to check for officers in option 5 in the immigrant line, just in case...

Hope you find out something soon!

[Kenneth and Guada 18]

5 minutes ago, Estibaliz said:

You probably tried this already, but remember the new electronic system is only accessible to check for officers in option 5 in the immigrant line, just in case...

Hope you find out something soon!

I called immigrant and non immigrant. Still same answer. 😢 This is too much. Weve waited in our NOA2 almost 5 months then now wait  for 90 days again for case number😭