tataocb

I have several questions about my wife's situation now that the PD is set to Current for the F2A category. I have searched through the forum and haven't found any info relating to my case specifically.

Here's the story. I filed an i-130 petition for my wife with a PD of Nov 3 2012. It was forwarded to the California Service Center, and I still have not received the NOA2 stating whether the petition is approved or not. I have noticed though, that a couple of people who had PD as late as Oct 2012 have received their NOA2 saying they were approved. So that leads me to believe that perhaps it might not take long until we receive or NOA2 which hopefully says our petition is approved. I know there is no way of knowing for sure how long that will take, but what is certain is that the process has started to speed up over the last couple of months for the F2A category. With that being said, my wife, the beneficiary, is 6 and half months pregnant, she is due in the first days of October 2013. Our plan is to include our baby in her petition once the baby is born by sending the necessary forms and birth certificate; so that our baby can get a visa at the same time my wife gets her visa. So this sets up 2 potential scenarios.

The first scenario is that the baby is born before we receive the NOA2, meaning we are able to send the necessary paperwork to include her in my wife's petition before the petition is approved, so by the time it is approved, the baby is included in the petition.

The second scenario is that the baby is born after we receive the NOA2, meaning my wife's petition was approved without us ever mentioning the baby. One of my questions is, if this is the case, would there be any way to still include our baby in my wife's petition so that when she gets her visa, the baby gets a visa too?

Now, some general questions that apply to either scenario:

1. Once the petition is approved, and the PD becomes current, the next step is to schedule an interview. Since my wife is in her native country, would the date for the interview depend on the US embassy in her country, or on the NVC?

2. Once the petition is approved, and the PD becomes current, how much time does she have to schedule the interview?(By this I mean, can she wait a couple of months before scheduling the interview, or is there a limit as to how much time can pass before she schedules the interview....just like once the visa is issued she has 6 months to come to the US...is there a similar deadline for scheduling the interview)

3. What type of things do they ask for in the interview?

4. If everything goes well in the interview and she is approved, approximately how long would she have to wait until she gets her temporary visa to enter the US and get her green card?

Thanks for any help guys.

Congrats to all that have been approved!

My PD is Nov 3. 2012 and I still haven't received NOA2. I'll just wait patiently. I just found out today that the visa bulletin for August is listed as Current for F2A filers! That is great news! Hopefully they keep it that way until we all get our NOA2!

Just to make sure I understand you guys right...those that have been approved with a PD of Oct 2012...was your application handled by the California Service Center?

I'm a bit frustrated now. I just noticed there was a mistake in the zip code in the part where I list the address where the applicant is going to live. The part with the petitioner address has the correct zip code, the part where I list the address where my wife intends to live has the zip code off by 1 number.

How would that affect my application? Would that cause a significant delay in the process? Is there any way to amend the application before it is processed?

Please help.

Thanks for replying again. So I guess I'm waiting for NOA1 then.

As for her traveling: She'd only be staying a couple of weeks (she has a job to return to), we have no intention of her staying here more time than what the immigration officer tells her when entering. Maybe I'll look into becoming a USC to speed up the process, after all, I've been a resident for way over the 5 years required.

Again, thanks for your help.

Thanks for the quick reply Jay Jay.

I guess I'll have to wait for the application to be processed in the CSC then. Is the form I-797 I will receive in the mail what you guys refer to as NOA1?

With my wife's travel...I think her passport still lists her as single, or what if she doesn't mention she is married to an LPR at all once at the US port of entry. What if she says she is just going there to visit a friend or something like that? Would that increase her chances of being granted entry? My main concern was if she could lose her tourist visa now that the I-130 process has started, as her tourist visa is good for 10 years, she just got it earlier this year.

Hi,

This is my first post in this forum, seems like a very nice place for all of us concerned with visa questions.

My story: I'm a LPR and got married in July. I filed for my wife and got an email yesterday saying they had received the package and it was being forwarded to the California Service Center. I was told to expect an official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) in the mail. Is that what some of you call a NOA1?

My other question is why was the package forwarded to the California Service Center when I live in Texas (and that was the address used in the application, although it was mailed form El Salvador)? I thought the application would have been sent to the Texas Service Center, where the processing time for an I-130 application is less than 5 months, where as in the California center they are currently processing the applications from September 3, 2011. This would set our process back almost an extra year. I guess there is nothing I can do about it, I'd just like to know why they would send it to CSC and not the Texas Service Center.

I've also read other stories where they sent the application to the CSC and then it was forwarded to other service centers. What are the chances of that happening?

And one final question. My wife has a tourist visa, can she still use it to travel back and forth to the United States to visit me without risking losing that visa?

Thanks for any help guys. I really appreciate it!