downunder301

Hi,

I am trying to understand when the INS has officially approved your application for citizenship. I understand you are not a citizen until completion of the oath ceremony.

I completed and passed my INS interview and received form N-652. The form said "congratulations you application has been recommended for approval". I.e. I passed my test and the officer will recommend that I get approved but it still has not been approved.

I have since received a on-line case status update saying they have placed me in line for an path ceremony and a notice will be sent out to me. Nothing about whether I was approved, although you might imply they wouldn't schedule me for a ceremony unless someone approved it, but I am only speculating.

At what step in the process can I finally say I was approved? I see on-line stories how some people get recommended for approval on N-652 and later find out it was denied for some reason when a supervisor reviewed the recommendation. Should I now assume the supervisor has approved it as well?

Final question. What other on-line case status updates can I expect to receive now that I have received an update they are placing me in-line for an oath ceremony.

Thanks

I know I was lucky to get the B2 visa with the immigrant visa pending but I just got another welcome surprise. When we received the passports we were given a 10 year multiple entry visa for our first ever U.S. visa! If we need to come and go a few times before we move over we have the flexibility to do this and take our time.

You will always get 6 months if you continuously stay for a short period of time over a one year period. But as that changes and visitor's actions become suspicious then you may get as little as 2 weeks entry.

I have 4 or 5 weeks of stuff I want to do with the family and book flights to other cities in the U.S.. The last thing I want to do is make arrangements like this and then have them tell me I only have 2 weeks of entry when I booked a return flight 1 or months later. Hence why I am trying to see what everyone gets. I have not taken the family to the U.S. before so have no clue what to expect.

Process sounds stupid to me. If someone looks suspicious why even bother letting them enter? If someone is going to break the law or not return what do you hope to achieve by only allowing them 2 weeks to do it?

When you entered the U.S. on a tourist visa what period of stay did the immigration officer stamp in your I-94? Trying to get an idea what is normal.

I have a B2 tourist visa and want to change the travel dates I put in the on-line application from the end of March to the end of May and stay for 4 weeks instead of 3. Basically moving the trip from spring break to the longer summer school holidays. Can I still use the same B2 tourist visa (period still covered by the visa) or do I have to apply for another visa?

# 1) You wont be granted a tourist visa. I went thru this exact thing & strongly advise you to save your time & money. If you just wont accept this advise just pay the fee & step up to the window. They will explain to you that your ties are stronger to your husband once you enter the USA. That over comes any evidence that you could possibly submit indicating otherwise. Your intentions dont matter to them.

# 2) Yes. That pending petition will insure you are denied. It shows intent to immigrate. Even if you got a tourist visa you would be denied entry at the POE. The visa would only allow you to exit Thailand. The POE is where the real entry questions occur.

Tourist visa approved today for me and my daughter! They asked a few questions about the approved immigrant petition and I explained we are not ready to move back yet, want to visit in the meantime and they were OK. Showed some documents to prove intent to return but not that many. They were mainly focused on my husbands job in Belgium, how much he earned and that I was a resident of Belgium. When I asked if we should expect any problems at the point of entry they said no, just bring evidence to support your return, your residency and you will be fine.

Wow. Granted you may not have been allowed entry at the point of entry, but the officer actually flat out lied to you about not being allowed to issue the visa. If only he had read his manual.

9 FAM 41.31 N14.3 Spouse or Child of U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien

(CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005)

An alien spouse or child, including an adopted alien child, of a U.S. citizen or resident alien may be classified as a nonimmigrant B-2 visitor if the purpose of the travel is to accompany or follow to join the spouse or parent for a temporary visit.

I thought this was very interesting in the FAM handbook as well. It clearly states they can issue a tourist visa with immigrant applications pending:

9 FAM 41.31 N17 AUTHORITY TO CLASSIFY CERTAIN VISAS “B-1/B-2” AND AMOUNT OF FEES TO BE COLLECTED

(CT:VISA-1034; 09-24-2008)

a. You may properly issue B-1/B-2 visitor visas to aliens with immigrant visa (IV) applications pending with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You must be satisfied that the alien’s intent in seeking entry into the United States is to engage in activities consistent with B-1/B-2 classification for a temporary period and that the alien has a residence abroad which he or she does not intend to abandon. While immigrant visa registration is reflective of an intent to immigrate, it may not be proper for you to refuse issuance of a visa under INA 214(b) solely on the basis of such registration, unless you have reason to believe the applicant’s true intent is to remain in the United States until such a time as an immigrant visa (IV) becomes available.

Wow. Granted you may not have been allowed entry at the point of entry, but the officer actually flat out lied to you about not being allowed to issue the visa. If only he had read his manual.

9 FAM 41.31 N14.3 Spouse or Child of U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien

(CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005)

An alien spouse or child, including an adopted alien child, of a U.S. citizen or resident alien may be classified as a nonimmigrant B-2 visitor if the purpose of the travel is to accompany or follow to join the spouse or parent for a temporary visit.

Doesn't surprise me. Thailand is a special animal when it comes to visa processing and the agents make up stories to justify their position. U.S. tourist visa's in Thailand are extremly hard to get and the bar you have to pass is a lot higher than other countries. We knew many that tried even with good jobs and they just got turned down. Also, on entry to the U.S. the customs agents are well aware of the Asian flights coming in and they srutinize the passengers a lot more than flights coming in from other countries. Having a Thai wife and dealing with getting visa's to other countries when she lived in Thailand was a nightmare. Now when we apply for the same visa (have not tried the US yet) we just apply at the embassy in Belgium and show them our Belgium residency card and it is 10x easier. Sad they have different standards by which they apply the rules but I guess they are going after the high risk countries a lot more.

# 1) You wont be granted a tourist visa. I went thru this exact thing & strongly advise you to save your time & money. If you just wont accept this advise just pay the fee & step up to the window. They will explain to you that your ties are stronger to your husband once you enter the USA. That over comes any evidence that you could possibly submit indicating otherwise. Your intentions dont matter to them.

# 2) Yes. That pending petition will insure you are denied. It shows intent to immigrate. Even if you got a tourist visa you would be denied entry at the POE. The visa would only allow you to exit Thailand. The POE is where the real entry questions occur.

An important point of clarification as it might make a significant difference based on how you explained your situation. My husband does not live in the U.S. nor is he a resident of the U.S. as we are both residents of Belgium. Every time he goes back to the U.S. on business the customs agent somehow knows he does not live in the U.S. as they ask him about Belgium. He is being relocated back from abroad and we have evidence to show that his assignment will keep him in Belgium. If my husband lived in the U.S. I could understand the embassy having this concern but it makes no difference in this situation as my ties would not be any stronger. I could also not travel at the same time as him and they could see he was not even in the country with me.

My I-130 petition was approved (NOA2) and we are now in the NVC stage and have 2-3 months to go before we get the immigrant visa. I need to find a house to buy and a school for our daughter to attend before we finally come over. We also want to visit some friends. We have no intention to stay, have strong ties back to our home country and will complete the final stage of the CR1 process at our consulate.

Questions I have on obtaining the B2 visa:

1) How will the fact that I have an immigrant visa in process impact my ability to get a B2 visa? What sort of evidence should I be prepared to show?

2) Since the I-130 petition was approved will this make it any difference?

Thanks

Not sure why this would be the case...I've never heard anyone else say that. You should be able to request a police clearance certificate by just giving them your information and the reason why you are requesting it, as this document says: travel.state.gov/pdf/pk3_supplements/BRS-PK3-MULT-0711.pdf

EDIT: Oops, or are you trying to get the police clearance from Thailand? Nevermind.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/thaipoliceapr09.pdf

This forum seems to suggest that you can use a copy of your NOA2: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/289088-thai-police-clearance-certificate-question/

I have to get 2 police certificates, one for Belgium and one for Thailand. I already have the one for Belgium but for Thailand they said we need the NVC packet 3 letter.

I have been trying to research this topic but keep getting conflicting information. I am currently at the beginning of the NVC stage applying from Belgium and trying to understand the following:

1) Does the police certificate get submitted to the NVC or do you only need to bring it to the interview? I need the packet 3 cover letter to get a police certificate so if I only need it for the interview it won't slow down my process as we can get it while I am waiting for the interview date. If I need if for the NVC it potentially delays my processing.

2) Do I need to submit DS-230 part 1 & 2 to the NVC or only part 1 and then bring part 2 to the interview?

On the following web link it clearly states I don't need to send originals to the NVC and only DS-230 part 1 but maybe it is obsolete or incorrect:

http://usinfo.org/enus/government/forpolicy/docs/not_applying_in.pdf

A lot of other websites say you do need to submit all originals including police certificates to the NVC. Then someone on a forum that recently went through Belgium for a K1 visa said he never sent it to the NVC and only had to show it at the interview. Anyone know the rules of the game on this one or am I just going to have to wait until I receive the information request from the NVC?

Thanks

Thanks

I noticed reading through some threads and looking at some timelines that when the NVC receives the applications they collect the fees and either:

1) Send out all of the packet information, collect the documents and then forward to the embassy when the file is complete (normal) or

2) They just send the application to the embassy and the embassy sends out the packets and you bring the information to the interview

This would explain why some people complete the NVC process in a few days and others take a couple of months. Does anyone know why and under what situation it gets forwarded directly to the embassy?

I am wondering if my process will be like #2 since we both live in Belgium. My I-130 approval timeline was completely different at the USCIS because of this (11 days vs. ~5 months) so maybe the NVC process will be different as well.

Thanks

The documents will be in her maiden name. The police letter can be in the name shown on her NOA 1 or 2. She can present her new Thai I D to show them what her married name is.

She should get a new Thai I D in her married name. Then use that & the other needed docs to get her passport in that name. This is exactly what my husband had me do. Doing this helped me in many ways at that time & after I came to the USA.

Having those new docs will result in the visa placed in her new passport which will end the drama. Until then she will have to explain what happened a few times but its not a big deal.

Thanks but won't the Thai Police certificate show her married name since this will be the name she applies for the Police Certificate under?

After my wife found out she was approved on her NOA 2 she changed her name to our family / married name as this is what we had planned to do. I just did not want her to do this until we were completly through the process! NVC has not received the application yet as it is still in transit.

We still need to get some documents like the Police certificate, medical etc and it would be under her name and this won't match everything else.

What should we do? Just not pay the NVC fees and cancel? Do we have to refile the I-130 application or can I just show the name change certificate? The wait time for I-130 approval is only 2 weeks for me as they expedite processing.

Ah, this explains it. When both the beneficiary and the petitioner live abroad, the petitions are being adjudicated very quickly. Since they stopped doing DCF, they are trying to make up for it, as it were, and are making the process faster. You will see other reports here of people getting their petitions approved quickly in this instance. It's not a mistake. In fact, it's totally normal.

For instance, here is someone who got approved in 8 days.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/347759-approved-i-130-8-days/

And another post saying the same thing:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/347759-approved-i-130-8-days/page__view__findpost__p__5109714

Thanks for clarifying and it makes me feel better. I might be getting greedy but I wonder if they are also speeding up the NVC processing as well. It seems like a 2 month process for that part.

Is the petitioner currently living abroad? Your profile says "current location: Belgium."

Yes we both live in Belgium and I am relocating back to the U.S. Not many people go through Belgium but when you look at the processing time for those who did it is still 4+ months and you have to go through the CSC and no advantage by going directly through the embassy. I am not sure if it would have helped but I was also sponsoring my step daughter over so we had two I-130's that were approved at the same time. Maybe processing a minor at the same time might have helped. Maybe they just screwed up and put it in the Jan 2011 box instead of the Jan 2012 one!

I am sure this sounds like a strange thing to be worried about and something that does not happen very often but I am concerned my I-130 was approved too quickly (I never asked for expedited service either). My NOA 1 receipt date was Jan 3rd, 2012 and I was approved on Jan 17th (14 days) when the CSC processing time is about 5 months vs. my 14 days. I figured something had to be wrong and went on-line to check my status and it said I was approved. I then called the California Service center and spoke to a customer service reps to confirm this. He confirmed it had been approved, details on the file matched my case and that it had been sent to the NVC for processing. They said they had never seen this happen so quickly before.

What worries me now is that downstream at the NVC or at the consulate a couple of month later they will later find out they did not process it correctly and send it back to the beginning. Should I be worried and try to ask more question or just thank god for looking after me?