BOS_LHR

Not for spousal filers. London actually advises that we wait until they receive our case file from NVC (after interview scheduling) before the medical is done, that way they have our documents on file to pair the medical results with when Knightsbridge sends them.

I just wanted to drop by and let you all know that my husband's visa was (finally!) approved this morning at the consulate in Amsterdam! Thank you everyone here who has been so helpful during this entire process!
(As an aside, sorry that I haven't been around, but me and the girls have been super busy with kid type stuff, so I've been more active on facebook than here. Miss you guys!)

IV pancake!! I know that's meant to be package, but I like pancake better Maybe this is my brain's way of telling me it's time for breakfast.

Online consultancy! VJ members would write testimonials for you Don't forget -- "I just saved a bunch of money switching to VJ!"
That's a very interesting tactic! I've never heard of anyone having success removing a checklist for that by going through NVC directly, but having the embassy/consulate get on their butts is brilliant. Anyone who has just received a checklist for that bogus blank line, have you tried this?

IV pancake!! I know that's meant to be package, but I like pancake better Maybe this is my brain's way of telling me it's time for breakfast.

Good morning (or afternoon, or evening) everyone! Seems like NVC has had a sluggish start this week on top of their generally sluggish performance, hopefully they'll pick it up for the last half and get the good news rolling. Just thought I'd send some good vibes out into the ether since I've been a lurker the last few days

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaylin, would you please do the honors of updating the spreadsheet? I HAVE A CASE COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!! (I'm getting ready to submit the form, I'm just being dramatic with this post)
Agent Jean also said they are still scheduling July this week!

NVC will almost always send an email to notify you one week after your case is complete. Note the "almost always," because not everyone gets one, and it's not 100% reliably one exact week later. The email also has no useful information whatsoever. Best to call NVC to get your exact CC date from them.

Completely agreed. We just don't have the numbers for anyone to five a flying f- about our demographic. Put against the much more visible, much more vocal camp working on amnesty? It's an uphill battle to get our voices heard. It doesn't help that most of us happily drop off the radar as soon as we finish our own paperwork, either. Those who would be vocal proponents prior to having a visa in hand can't be bothered when they're finally reunited with their families. I was so disappointed during the I-130 backlog when my elected representatives showed not a shred of interest in the issue. One of them campaigned on a platform of preserving family, another was on some committee for government oversight and reform. I thought, surely, this kind of thing is their bread and butter! Nope. As always, we fell through the cracks because people like us just aren't quite who they had in mind. Until/unless we can demonstrate a tangible (political) benefit to people in power in exchange for tackling these problems, nothing is going to get changed.

USCIS cleared its backlog.
It takes about a month from NVC receiving your case to issuing a case number. Actually it might be more like 3-4 weeks right now. Use this time to prepare your affidavit of support form and collecting any supporting documentation you need, so that when next steps become available, you'll be confident and ready to send your package right away. If you finish that, start getting the beneficiary's civil documents ready for the IV package too

Completely agreed. We just don't have the numbers for anyone to five a flying f- about our demographic. Put against the much more visible, much more vocal camp working on amnesty? It's an uphill battle to get our voices heard. It doesn't help that most of us happily drop off the radar as soon as we finish our own paperwork, either. Those who would be vocal proponents prior to having a visa in hand can't be bothered when they're finally reunited with their families. I was so disappointed during the I-130 backlog when my elected representatives showed not a shred of interest in the issue. One of them campaigned on a platform of preserving family, another was on some committee for government oversight and reform. I thought, surely, this kind of thing is their bread and butter! Nope. As always, we fell through the cracks because people like us just aren't quite who they had in mind. Until/unless we can demonstrate a tangible (political) benefit to people in power in exchange for tackling these problems, nothing is going to get changed.

Completely agreed. We just don't have the numbers for anyone to five a flying f- about our demographic. Put against the much more visible, much more vocal camp working on amnesty? It's an uphill battle to get our voices heard. It doesn't help that most of us happily drop off the radar as soon as we finish our own paperwork, either. Those who would be vocal proponents prior to having a visa in hand can't be bothered when they're finally reunited with their families. I was so disappointed during the I-130 backlog when my elected representatives showed not a shred of interest in the issue. One of them campaigned on a platform of preserving family, another was on some committee for government oversight and reform. I thought, surely, this kind of thing is their bread and butter! Nope. As always, we fell through the cracks because people like us just aren't quite who they had in mind. Until/unless we can demonstrate a tangible (political) benefit to people in power in exchange for tackling these problems, nothing is going to get changed.

It's only a matter of time before they cycle down again, if USCIS history tells us anything. I see a lot more K-1 filer posts about review times for their petitions creeping over 5 months... guess who took the hit to get I-130s back on track? It's insane. Instead of doing their job uniformly across the board they just sacrifice one group for the sake of the other, over and over again. I've seen it bounce back and forth about four times now just in the past year and a half. There are still blatant, systemic problems at USCIS.

Completely agreed. We just don't have the numbers for anyone to five a flying f- about our demographic. Put against the much more visible, much more vocal camp working on amnesty? It's an uphill battle to get our voices heard. It doesn't help that most of us happily drop off the radar as soon as we finish our own paperwork, either. Those who would be vocal proponents prior to having a visa in hand can't be bothered when they're finally reunited with their families. I was so disappointed during the I-130 backlog when my elected representatives showed not a shred of interest in the issue. One of them campaigned on a platform of preserving family, another was on some committee for government oversight and reform. I thought, surely, this kind of thing is their bread and butter! Nope. As always, we fell through the cracks because people like us just aren't quite who they had in mind. Until/unless we can demonstrate a tangible (political) benefit to people in power in exchange for tackling these problems, nothing is going to get changed.

Completely agreed. We just don't have the numbers for anyone to five a flying f- about our demographic. Put against the much more visible, much more vocal camp working on amnesty? It's an uphill battle to get our voices heard. It doesn't help that most of us happily drop off the radar as soon as we finish our own paperwork, either. Those who would be vocal proponents prior to having a visa in hand can't be bothered when they're finally reunited with their families. I was so disappointed during the I-130 backlog when my elected representatives showed not a shred of interest in the issue. One of them campaigned on a platform of preserving family, another was on some committee for government oversight and reform. I thought, surely, this kind of thing is their bread and butter! Nope. As always, we fell through the cracks because people like us just aren't quite who they had in mind. Until/unless we can demonstrate a tangible (political) benefit to people in power in exchange for tackling these problems, nothing is going to get changed.

Wasn't the idea for the I-130s to move faster? I really hate seeing posts from people complaining about the I-130s moving faster just because it didn't happen to us. I'm sure my opinion isn't going to be popular, but I don't think it's right to poo-poo on someone for getting thru faster. Congrats to the fast approvals! I'm happy to see that our letters shifted their tooshies into gear and those who filed behind us are reaping the benefits. That was the point of our letters! Not just for us to get through quickly, but everyone.

It's only a matter of time before they cycle down again, if USCIS history tells us anything. I see a lot more K-1 filer posts about review times for their petitions creeping over 5 months... guess who took the hit to get I-130s back on track? It's insane. Instead of doing their job uniformly across the board they just sacrifice one group for the sake of the other, over and over again. I've seen it bounce back and forth about four times now just in the past year and a half. There are still blatant, systemic problems at USCIS.

It's ok that your taxes are rounded, as long as you use the numbers exactly as they're given on your tax return or transcript you'll be fine. My income figures were also rounded to the nearest dollar on my tax returns, I used them as they were given and everything was perfect. The golden rule is to make sure the income you list on the I-864 is identical to what's on your tax return, whether it's a whole number or a decimal.

It's ok that your taxes are rounded, as long as you use the numbers exactly as they're given on your tax return or transcript you'll be fine. My income figures were also rounded to the nearest dollar on my tax returns, I used them as they were given and everything was perfect. The golden rule is to make sure the income you list on the I-864 is identical to what's on your tax return, whether it's a whole number or a decimal.

Don't use the numbers from your W-2s. You should be using the income figure from your tax return or tax return transcript, exactly as it's shown.

I'm going to lump your questions together to try to answer what I can in the most efficient way possible
Their CEAC status shows Administrative processing, which I know from reading other posts is normal, but how long on average does it take to change to "issued" or whatever it is supposed to say? When will they be notified when their passport is ready to pick up?
-Time spent in AP varies, but for recent London approvals it's only been about a day to go from AP to Issued. Hopefully that'll be the case for you. In my husband's case, his interview was Monday, visa status was "issued" on Tuesday, and the visa arrived for Depot pickup on Friday. I believe he got notification from the courier Thursday. Shipping might take a little longer for your parents as they're farther from the embassy.
When do they actually pay the Green-card fee?
-Any time after they get their packages back. The visas will have the A- number that you need in order to register with ELIS and pay the fee. I'm hoping that paying it well before POE will mean faster green card processing later, and I paid our ELIS fee the day my husband picked up his paperwork. They can wait to pay it until after POE, but the green card won't be issued until that's sorted.
Will they get the sealed envelope back with the passport or how does that work?
-There will be a larger outer package which will contain the passport and another, inner envelope, which is the sealed one they're not to open themselves.
One last question and I should know this but I'm uncertain, but do they get a 2 year or a 10 year green card?
-I believe it'll be a 10 year green card, along with the other IR visa types.

Don't use the numbers from your W-2s. You should be using the income figure from your tax return or tax return transcript, exactly as it's shown.

You use Adjusted Gross for the 1040EZ and Total Income for anything else, including 1040A

People confuse whether they should use Total Income or Adjusted Gross Income, which is dependent upon which tax form you filed (1040 or 1040EZ, respectively).