DCF - London. Not received a NOA1

[Silas 0]

Hi,

Myself and my wife sent off the I-130 to the London embassy back in late June. Since then we've heard nothing from the embassy although according to our bank statements they did take our payment early July.

I was just wondering if anyone else using London has had a similar experience of not reciving the NOA1? Is there anyone, for instance, whose first communication from the embassy was when they received the NOA2? I guess what I'm worrying about is should I be trying to contact the embassy to double-check or should I just be assuming that eveything's fine and the petition is where it should be?

Sorry to sound so panicky. I'm not normally like this, it's the visa process I tells yah!

Thanks

[YuAndDan 153]

If you are talking about NOA1 from USCIS, DCF dose not generate NOA1 or NOA2, it is handled at the consulate, and they only contact USCIS for name checks.

[Silas 0]

If you are talking about NOA1 from USCIS, DCF dose not generate NOA1 or NOA2, it is handled at the consulate, and they only contact USCIS for name checks.

Okay, I must have my terminology wrong.

What I'm referring to is a notice of receipt. The US London embassy websites states that "upon receipt of the I-130, USCIS will send an email/postcard to the petitioner confirming the date the I-130/I-360 was filed with the USCIS London Field Office." I assumed this was a NOA1.

Anyhow, it's this confirmation - or lack of one - that I'm concerned with. This is what we haven't received, though they have taken payment. I'm interested to know if anyone coming through DCF in London, who may be further on in the process, also did not receive confirmation of when their petition was filed.

[wodge2003 0]

We filed DCF through London this year in Jan. We also didnt receive any acknowledgement from the embassy in fact the first response was our I 130 approval notice. I would't worry some do and some don't receive receipts, and as they have processed your payment you'll be fine....

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Nope, no real NOA1 here either! I contacted the Embassy because I was freaking out about this (I hadn't discovered VJ yet, but I figured I was supposed to receive something to confirm receipt!). Our post was being stolen and I thought that the NOA1 might have been part of it. The Embassy confirmed via email that a postcard had been sent (my NOA1, I guess), so I guess sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Oh, the mysteries of the London Embassy!

I suppose if you must have an NOA1 (i.e., if you're an obsessive like me) you could always contact the Embassy and ask if something had been sent, and if indeed you are just waiting for NOA2. Good luck!

[Silas 0]

Thanks for all the responses. That's put my mind at ease.

Elmcitymaven, yeah I am bit obsessive about paperwork like this and making sure I have a full audit trail. In your experience what's the best way of contacting the embassy? I've only heard bad things about how useful the helpline is. Is there an email address (I've had no luck finding one for visa queries) or should I just write in politely via snail mail? Ohh, and have a fantastic flight over on the 19th.

[essjay 0]

Hi there. We DCF'd in London. We had no "NOA1", no acknowledgement and no e-mail. We knew the credit card had been charged but had no paperwork.

ECM is not the only obsessive VJ member There are quite a few of us.....

The extortion line is exactly that, extortionate, and rarely tells you anything other that "there are no updates on our system at this time" or "you are still within normal processing times and I shouldn't worry yet if I were you" and other such unhelpful responses.

E-mailing can sometimes get a response but usually gets a reply saying that your e-mail has been deleted without being read.

If you have been waiting ages without hearing anything, and you have gone beyond the processing times posted on the London Embassy website, the extortion line can give you a special e-mail code to avoid the deleting without being read drama.....

Hope you hear something soon.

[MargotDarko 0]

You should be totally fine as they've taken payment. The postcards (London's equivalent of NOA1) aren't always sent or are sometimes lost. You should get NOA2 within 3 months or so of mailing the I-130 package. If you really want something before then, you call the embassy line and they should give you a reference number. Then you e-mail the embassy with the reference number in the subject line. I managed to get a reference number within about three minutes when I needed to change my address, so the call cost me almost 4GBP.

[Stand_By_Me_Babe 0]

Hi there,

We sent our I-130's for hubby and son to London on July 1st and got an email on July 9th saying they'd filed on the 6th. I had researched beforehand though and came across a few who did not recieve any news til they had an approval so I would say you're safe as they've taken your money!

Rest assured you are not the only one to become a paranoid wreck during this journey! I had to take a break from looking on here for awhile just because the word "obsessed" had been uttered a few times by those around me!

I'll keep an eye out on you cos when you get an approval I'll know mine won't be too far behind (she wishes wistfully!). Best of luck!

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Thanks for all the responses. That's put my mind at ease.

Elmcitymaven, yeah I am bit obsessive about paperwork like this and making sure I have a full audit trail. In your experience what's the best way of contacting the embassy? I've only heard bad things about how useful the helpline is. Is there an email address (I've had no luck finding one for visa queries) or should I just write in politely via snail mail? Ohh, and have a fantastic flight over on the 19th.

Thanks Silas! We're hoping all will be well on the day -- don't know why it wouldn't, but the boy is still worried that he might be turned away at the last moment...obsessive? Hmmm...

Yes, if you must call, it is probably best to call the extortion line to get the code. They will tell you to put it in the subject line, and email it to londonconsular@state.gov. Note: the codes change every week, so try to get the code at the beginning of the week just in case you forget.

[nacampbell 0]

We didn't get an NOA1 either. We filed our I-130 with the embassy in London on June 14th and they processed our credit card shortly after that. I waited patiently for the NOA1 to arrive but then the I-130 approval letter arrived out of the blue. It was approved on July 20th which was pretty speedy. I re-read and re-re-read the letter again to make sure it was indeed the petiton approval and not the NOA1. I'm still a little perturbed by the speed it was approved and it is a little ironic as we're not even in a particular hurry to get to the next stage. I have just started the 3 month wait to have a criminal background check come back from Japan which I know will hold everything up.

There just doesn't appear to be a set way of things happening with DCF.

P.S.

This is my first post but I'd like to thank everyone who posts on this site and makes this daunting process a little less foggy.

[Silas 0]

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my question. It's been really helpful to hear about your experiences!

[essjay 0]

Silas, don't forget...

And come on over to the UK forum.