NVC process for step daughter from Thailand.

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

Good morning all, I have a question. I filed an I-130 for my unmarried minor step child who resides in Thailand. I am a US citizen and her mom is a LPR in the U.S.  

Questions are:

1 how difficult is the completion and submission of forms required at this stage?

2. What’s the average timeframe for processing at this stage in the game. 
 

the I-130 was processed through TSC

[RamonGomez 259]

I went through this although my stepdaughter is from China.

 

1. NVC process was very easy, especially if the child is younger than 16 and doesn't need a police background check. I just had to upload the usual things - birth certificate, passport pages, financial info for the affidavit of support etc. Be prepared to show proof that the biological father will allow the kid to leave - a notarize letter should suffice. I don't think you need to submit this at NVC (doesn't hurt and we did it) but you may be asked about it at the interview. Make sure you triple check everything and send very high quality scans, otherwise you'll be asked to revise and resubmit, and your case will go to the back of the line before it's looked at again at NVC.

 

2. Hard to say. I'd expect 2+ years from I-130 filing to consulate interview at this point. Since your I-130 was just approved, I'd still expect a lengthy wait. If Bangkok used to take 1-2 months for an interview, I'd expect 6-12 months just based on ratios and proportions. This is because NVC currently has more than 6x as many petitions waiting for an interview compared to January 2020, right before Covid. Make sure your wife is able to join for the interview. We were considering having my wife's sister attend, but we were really glad my wife made a 3-day trip to China just for the interview, since there were a lot of questions about our AOS case, and details only my wife would've known. The interview was straightforward, but not "trivially easy". 

Edited March 22, 2021 by RamonGomez

[RamonGomez 259]

One more thing - I just want to re-emphasize triple checking everything and not making any mistakes when submitting docs - right now NVC is super backed up, and is reviewing cases from Dec 23, 2020. So after you submit your stuff, it will take NVC about 3 months to check it. If you need to re-submit something, I believe you'll go to the end of the 3-month line, at least that's what people were reporting back when we went through the process in 2018. A few extra days of work could save you months. Good luck.

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

6 hours ago, RamonGomez said:

One more thing - I just want to re-emphasize triple checking everything and not making any mistakes when submitting docs - right now NVC is super backed up, and is reviewing cases from Dec 23, 2020. So after you submit your stuff, it will take NVC about 3 months to check it. If you need to re-submit something, I believe you'll go to the end of the 3-month line, at least that's what people were reporting back when we went through the process in 2018. A few extra days of work could save you months. Good luck.

Bro, thank you so much. I definitely didn’t want to get in over my head. The I-130 was pretty easy and I sent waaay more than I needed just to err on the side of caution. I am probably going to use an attorney in Bangkok to chase all the documents and get the translations done as it’s a lot cheaper and a quicker turn around to prepare packet 3 and 4. I sure hope they start pounding 8 hour energy drinks and it would only take a month or two for our daughter to get here. 
her father passed away long before my wife and I married so there’s no custody issues on that end. 
thanks again I truly appreciate the feedback 

[RamonGomez 259]

On 3/22/2021 at 6:33 PM, Kevin&Kanyanat said:

Bro, thank you so much. I definitely didn’t want to get in over my head. The I-130 was pretty easy and I sent waaay more than I needed just to err on the side of caution. I am probably going to use an attorney in Bangkok to chase all the documents and get the translations done as it’s a lot cheaper and a quicker turn around to prepare packet 3 and 4. I sure hope they start pounding 8 hour energy drinks and it would only take a month or two for our daughter to get here. 
her father passed away long before my wife and I married so there’s no custody issues on that end. 
thanks again I truly appreciate the feedback 

No problem man. It was a roller coaster ride for us, and we had to stumble through it mostly on our own. There's surprisingly little info out there about stepchildren. If there's anything else you need, reach out to me anytime. Really wish you the best of luck, I know the feeling of wanting this process to be over ASAP so we can all be reunited. 

[davemcphe 22]

On 3/22/2021 at 11:27 AM, RamonGomez said:

One more thing - I just want to re-emphasize triple checking everything and not making any mistakes when submitting docs - right now NVC is super backed up, and is reviewing cases from Dec 23, 2020. So after you submit your stuff, it will take NVC about 3 months to check it. If you need to re-submit something, I believe you'll go to the end of the 3-month line, at least that's what people were reporting back when we went through the process in 2018. A few extra days of work could save you months. Good luck.

I did not find this to be the case.  Once my Case was received by the NVC they looked at it within the week, (Nov 2020) then once I had submitted all my documentation it was again only a week before we were DQ'd (Dec 16, 2020)  We are waiting for our embassy appointment now.  Good luck.

 

Dave

[RamonGomez 259]

8 minutes ago, davemcphe said:

I did not find this to be the case.  Once my Case was received by the NVC they looked at it within the week, (Nov 2020) then once I had submitted all my documentation it was again only a week before we were DQ'd (Dec 16, 2020)  We are waiting for our embassy appointment now.  Good luck.

 

Dave

Sounds like you got lucky. If that's the norm, then that's great news! I'm going off of the image below from the official sauce. When we went through this process in 2018, NVC was  about 5-6 weeks behind vs 3 months now. That was consistent with what people were reporting at the time. There were a few posters who spent 3-4 months at the NVC stage because they had to resubmit 2-3 times, and each review took 4-6 weeks. 

 

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

38 minutes ago, davemcphe said:

I did not find this to be the case.  Once my Case was received by the NVC they looked at it within the week, (Nov 2020) then once I had submitted all my documentation it was again only a week before we were DQ'd (Dec 16, 2020)  We are waiting for our embassy appointment now.  Good luck.

 

Dave

Dave, appreciate the feedback with your experience. I know the official stance stated it days a few days for you to be able to pay the fees then a few days for the payment to be processed. It literally took a day for each.  

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

40 minutes ago, davemcphe said:

I did not find this to be the case.  Once my Case was received by the NVC they looked at it within the week, (Nov 2020) then once I had submitted all my documentation it was again only a week before we were DQ'd (Dec 16, 2020)  We are waiting for our embassy appointment now.  Good luck.

 

Dave

Good luck with your process!  We did the K1 and I can tell you embassy in BKK was super efficient, polite and professional. 

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

Hey guys, one more question. 
My payment was accepted for both the I864 and DS260 within 48 hrs of paying. I’ve completed and submitted the I-864 with about a billion supporting documents. 
My question is regarding the DS-260. It’s completed but prior to the e signature it says the applicant/ beneficiary has to e sign it. Can her mother and I do this on her behalf. Daughter is 12 and not technically savvy to log into CEAC in my opinion. 
thanks in advance. 

[Chancy 6,233]

4 hours ago, Kevin&Kanyanat said:

Can her mother and I do this on her behalf. Daughter is 12

 

Yes, mother can e-sign the form on behalf of minor child

 

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

Yes, mother can e-sign the form on behalf of minor child

 

Thank you

[Sterai79 25]

I just got my two step kids I130 approved today..

Can anyone advice..what next to do when I received the letter.

 

Please and thank you..@Ramongomez

Edited April 1, 2021 by Sterai79

[Kevin&Kanyanat 168]

9 minutes ago, Sterai79 said:

I just got my two step kids I130 approved today..

Can anyone advice..what next to do when I received the letter.

 

Please and thank you..@Ramongomez

Start gathering the documents. Youll get a NVC case Number and invoice number. 
with that you can go to CEAC and pay the two fees. Everything there is all electronic submissions so it goes as quickly as you’re prepared. I paid and it was processed in under 48 hours. DS260 and I-864 completed in under 72 hours with all the supporting documents as well. Now it’s in their court. Good luck. Keep a pile of the original documents. They’ll be needed at the embassy interview. 

[payxibka 10,044]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:39 AM, Kevin&Kanyanat said:

Good morning all, I have a question. I filed an I-130 for my unmarried minor step child who resides in Thailand. I am a US citizen and her mom is a LPR in the U.S.  

Questions are:

1 how difficult is the completion and submission of forms required at this stage?

2. What’s the average timeframe for processing at this stage in the game. 
 

the I-130 was processed through TSC

1.  Not

2.  With the pandemic,  very unpredictable