Jigar7

Jojo92122

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

Sorry if I confused you all. To clarify:

I (husband) am a US citizen and I am the step-father.

My wife is a temporary green card holder, waiting for her permanent green card to arrive sometime in the next few months. (she applied for fiancé green card through me 5 years ago and subsequently applied for green card).

Her son (who lives with his dad in Iran) is 17 now and wants to come here and live with us. When my wife applied for fiancé visa, she did not include her son in the application because her son lived with his dad in Iran.

What is LPR?

My wife and I got married a few years ago and she is waiting to get her permanent green card. Her son who lives overseas is 17 year old and we want to apply for him to come here. Should we wait for my wife to get her green card or should I apply for it? I am a US citizen. He is currently in Iran and finishing high school.

1. Should we apply for him through me (US permanent resident step-father) or my wife (temporary green card holding mother)?

2. How long does it take before he would be able to obtain a visa in each scenario?

3. I already filled out the I-130 form and getting ready to mail it. Do I need to attach any other documents such as pictures/birth certificates or anything else?

4. Would I benefit from hiring an attorney? How much would it typically cost?

thank you

My wife (Iranian citizen with US green card) and I (US citizen) have been married for almost 4 years. Her son (my step-son) is 16 year old and lives in Iran. What is the best and quickest way to bring him to the US? Should we apply through my US citizenship or my wife's Permanent Residency status? What are the advantages/disadvantages and approximate wait times for each method? Please advise. Thanks.

Hi

I filed my petition in June 2012 using an attorney and paid him 800 for filing. Once I got the approval notice (NOA2) I followed up on my own because at that point I had already read so much on the matter that I knew more than my lawyer. Our interview was done 3 months ago and we are waiting for the Administrative Processing. I would recommend using an attorney to file the petition and then if you have the time and feel comfortable, do the second step yourself. Good luck

Dear JDBA

Thank you so much for replying to my post. Congrats on your approval and your visa. I noticed that on your timeline, you have August 3 as US entry date... I assume that means you have a flight ticket for August 3rd.... you two must be very very very excited!!!! I am very happy for you.

As you know, Iranian applicants have to go to another country for their interview (since US does not have any diplomatic relations with Iran). Turkey (Ankara) is the most popular place for Iranians to go for obtaining a US visa. The website posts AP numbers for both Turkish and Iranian applicants. What I find amazing is that so far I have not seen a single case number on the AP approved site that begins with ANK20135XXXXX. As you probably know, ANK stands for Ankara, 2013 is the year, the first three numbers after that are the day of the year plus 500 (for example 530 means 30th of January), and the last 3 numbers are the case number assigned for that day (random number). So if your case was received by the embassy on March 30th, your file number would be ANK2013590XXX. (590-500=90 meaning 90th day of the year.... March30). So far, this year, nobody not a single person has been approved for AP beginning with ANK20135XX. That means there is such a huge lag. I see some file numbers which start with ANK2013050XXX which I dont understand what they mean... since 050 is less than 500... do you or does anyone know what that stands for? I thought the number after 2013 always had to be more than 500. In this case 50! Can anyone shed some light on this?

one more thing,.... on the embassy website it says they will not respond to emails about AP for less than 6 months because most AP takes 3-6 months. Is that new? Or has it always said that and I have missed it? I hope it is more like 3 months and not 6 months. Ours has been 3 months and I just sent an email last week and no reply so far.

God bless everyone and I hope every single person on here gets to see their loved one soon. Thanks for reading.

My fiance had an interview in Ankara (Turkey) about 3 months ago (in April) and she was put on AP and was told to check the website. We are still waiting and checking the site every single day. There was someone on this forum that was monitoring how many of the interviewed applicants in Ankara were being put on administrative processing (AP) recently. I guess he/she was checking the interview schedule of the embassy and then checking the status of the application after the interview date. If I remember correctly, he/she posted recently in this forum that 100% of applicants were being put on AP. I wonder if he/she is still monitoring the applications and interview outcomes. Whoever you are that was doing this, if you are reading my post, could you please post an update? I am very interested in knowing what percentage of applicants (mainly K1 and CR1 applicants) at Ankara embassy are currently being put on AP. Thank you so much.

PS. I am going to start monitoring the interviews myself from now just to get an idea how everyone else is doing on their applications and interviews.

My fiance (female) from Iran was also interviewed in Ankara for a K1 visa 2 months ago (mid-May) and she got a pink sleep at the end. They took her passport and she had to wait in the hotel for 5 days to find out that they have everything they need and all the documents are complete, but they need additional processing time. US does not have an embassy in Iran so Iranians seeking a visa have to travel to Turkey, Armenia, or UAE to visit the US embassy there. It has been 2 months since the interview and the CEAC website has not updated her status and it just says "Administrative Processing". I have contacted Dept of State but they really dont give out a whole lot of information other than what the website already says. I wish there was a way to get up to date AP status updates. I read about people waiting for their AP for more than a year on this site and I cannot fathom how insensitively these cases are being handled. I am not saying everyone should get a visa. I understand the security issue and they do need to check everyone but at the same time, they have to bear in mind that 99% of legitimate applicants with no security threats and an approximate waiting time would help people like you and me plan their lives ahead. I know nobody listens....I am just venting. I am sure some of you feel the same way.

Trying to start a forum discussion about how your interview went, how long it took for the embassy to process your files, and if you were put on administrative process (ap) or not and how long it took for you to hear back. Just wanted to start a forum discussion for people of all nationalities, mainly Turkish and Iranian applicants who have had to get their case done at Ankara. Share your experiences/

Hi

My fiancé and I are both from Iranian origin. She has only lived in Iran while I grew up here since I was a teenager and I am a US citizen. We applied for K1 visa in mid-2012 and our file was sent to Ankara, Turkey and she went to the interview in April. She was given a pink sheet with a checkmark "Administrative Processing" and was told to return to Iran (there is no US embassy in Iran) and check the Ankara (Turkey) embassy online to see if her number has been posted. From what I have read on here. out of about 20 Iranian couples or fiancés that have been interviewed in the past 6 months, my fiancé and one other person seem to be the only people who were put on AP. Everyone else got their visa within 10 days of the interview. My fiancé's interview and the other Iranian couples' interview were both done in Ankara. Someone else had also suggested to avoid Ankara embassy and try to go to Armenia for the interview. Is this true? I had read that women were less likely to be put under AP and in my case, that was not true. Does anyone know much about how long AP tends to be for Iranian beneficiaries? In our case a female beneficiary. It has been almost 5 weeks since the interview. Does anyone have any more information to share? Thank you very much and God bless all of you good people.

Yes. I finally got it

It took exactly a month from NOA2 until NVC received date. Check out my timeline.

Since I got my NOA2 (Jan 22) I have called NVC EVERY DAY (at least once) to check the status. I have also emailed them 5 times and also gone to the USCIS office in my state 3 times and spoken to them. I finally heard back about an email I had sent out and they are researching it. I also called USCIS and talked to a second tier rep that put in an expedite request because it had been over a month. Don't listen to the reps that say 90 days. That is not true. I don't think they know what they are talking about. It is suopposed to take 15 business days (roughly 20-25 days) from NOA2. Sometimes things get lost I was told by the second tier rep and he said if I don't hear back in a week call again. So I will let you guys know what happens when I hear something. I waited over 7 months for the NOA2 and now waiting over a month for NVC to get the file. I think I will have gray hair and walk around with a cane by the time my fiance gets her visa at this rate. This is so pathetic. We are living in the information age when everything is done electronically and with a click of a button. There is no reason to make people wait this long to unite with their loved ones.

Hi everyone

I am petitioning for a fiance visa and applied in June 2012. Our I-129F was approved in January and we got a notice (NOA2) on 1/22/2013. Today is 2/22/2013 and it has been exactly 34 days since NOA2 and I have been calling NVC and DOS every day and they have not received it yet. I have emailed NVCResearch@state.gov with a scanned copy of my NOA2 three times (three emails) in the past 3 weeks. Still no responce. Furthermore, I have made an appointment at the USCIS office in our state and visited them. The USCIS officer told me it was approved on 1/22/2013 and was processed to be mailed out on 1/28/13. He said "I cannot see anything beyond that". Basically he told me it is out of USCIS hands and that I need to follow up with NVC at this point. The NOA2 approval letter says the petition has been approved and forwarded to the consulate (in Turkey). I think all finace visas go through NVC regardless of what the NOA2 says. However, I have also emailed the consulate about our file and they replied a few days ago that they have not received our file. I don't know what to do at this point. I call NVC every day and they tell me I just need to wait. It is not lost. I have looked at hundreds of timelines on this website and I have not seen a single person whose timeline indicates such a long delay from NOA2 to NVC receipt. This is really worrying me. Any tips or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Hi everyone

I am petitioning for a fiance visa and applied in June 2012. Our I-129F was approved in January and we got a notice (NOA2) on 1/22/2013. Today is 2/22/2013 and it has been exactly 31 days since NOA2 and I have been calling NVC and DOS every day and they have not received it yet. I have emailed NVCResearch@state.gov with a scanned copy of my NOA2 three times (three emails) in the past 3 weeks. Still no responce. Furthermore, I have made an appointment at the USCIS office in our state and visited them. The USCIS officer told me it was approved on 1/22/2013 and was processed to be mailed out on 1/28/13. He said "I cannot see anything beyond that". Basically he told me it is out of USCIS hands and that I need to follow up with NVC at this point. The NOA2 approval letter says the petition has been approved and forwarded to the consulate (in Turkey). I think all finace visas go through NVC regardless of what the NOA2 says. However, I have also emailed the consulate about our file and they replied a few days ago that they have not received our file. I don't know what to do at this point. I call NVC every day and they tell me I just need to wait. It is not lost. I have looked at hundreds of timelines on this website and I have not seen a single person whose timeline indicates such a long delay from NOA2 to NVC receipt. This is really worrying me. Any tips or advice would greatly be appreciated.

My NOA1 was received by USCIS VSC on JUNE 20th.... almost 7 months ago. Still no response. I think someone just lost my documents. I have called USCIS several times and they keep telling me it is within normal processing times but it seems like everyone on this site who filed before me has gotten their NOA2. It is very disappointing.

-WaitingforOregon, congradulations on your NOA2. How did you two celebrate? You are lucky in a way.. Canada is a lot closer than Iran and you can see each other whenever you want. Am I correct? Could your fiance come here to the US and stay here while waiting for the visa? And what is the next step for you two? Are you preparing your documents for the interview? It certainly makes me feel better to hear others have waited as long as I have. Thank you for the reply.

-Pumpkinpie, I totally feel your pain. I guess our cases are right around the corner... I hope we both hear good news in the next couple of weeks. I really really do hope we both get approved soon.

-Rottydog, I hear Iranian fiance and marriage visa applicant go through "administrative process" which can take up to about a year in addition to the normal times.... is that true? I hope that is false. Are you originally from Iran as well? Or just your fiance?

Thank you everyone for your replies.

-Jigar7

-Mimolicious, thank you for your encouraging words.

-MariamNasir, thank you for the suggestions. I am not religous (and neither is my fiance) but I will take any suggestions at this point. I will go to mosque, synagogue, temple, church, etc.... if that helps ;o) so... pray for me brother/sister

-Gosia&Tito, I will do exactly as you suggested. I am going to wait two-three weeks and call them if I don't hear anything until then. Since you have gone through this process, how long does it takes once the file gets to the embassy? I understand it takes a month from NOA2 until the file gets through the NVC and to the embassy. What then? How long?

Next week it will be 7 months since we got our NOA1. I wish somehow my file would have ended up at CSC instead of VSC. I have called VSC twice and they keep telling me "it is within normal processing time" and that I have to wait. I also had my congressman contact them and they said the same thing. I used an attorney to file my case and he says he cannot do anything and we just have to wait. I am looking at all the people who filed a month after me (July '12) and got their NOA2 from VSC and cannot help but to think something is wrong with my file. I have not gotten an RFE and I don't know if there is a problem with my file, or if it got lost, or it is because my fiance (she) is from Iran. I was also born in Iran and now naturalized US citizen and perhaps that has something to do with it too... maybe the background check and everything else just takes longer time. Any suggestions or words of wisdom or any advice would be greatly appreciated... I cannot go to Iran to visit her and she cannot come to the US to visit me... so we are just waiting... we have managed to meet in another country (Turkey) twice just to make the waiting more bearable!!! It sucks and I wish I could go to Iran to vist her but I cannot legally go to Iran (even though I was born there.... long story). Thank you visajourney and all members. I wish everyone the best and hope your cases get approved. The only good thing that comes out of this long wait is that I know we will appreciate each other more once she comes here.