stevie b

I'm married to a USC husband and me and my son( my husband's stepson) has pending IMMIGRANT petition from my husband. My 11 year old son said that he will not come with us to the US unless his grandma(my mom) will come with us. My mother agreed to come with us in the US but as a tourist only. How can my 67 year-old mom apply a tourist visa inorder for her to come with us once me and son's immigrant visa is approved? my mom only wants to apply as tourist for she doesnt want to live in the US. She has a couple of bank accounts here in the philippines, cars, and running a boardinghouse business but is named after me. I hope it helps to prove that she has a couple of reasons to go back to the philippines.

you are on the right path

a tourist visa is issued after the applicant proves to the interviewing officer that they have no intent to immigrate based on their own merits

hey stevie, how do u know if the nbc is in backlog n they are catching up now? does the tier 2 tells these info or no?

oh no a tier 2 wont tell you that I have been reading vj for over a year and with my change from a 129 to a 130, I have been watching the challenges and changes that have evolved since DACA started and screwed up the whole process

find out where your file is and go visit it, that will at least put your mind at ease

Hello!

I'm hoping we won't get any RFEs, but if we do, are they mailed to the beneficiary or the petitioner? I'm living in Africa until August, so I don't know if I would be back home in time to get the RFE if they send it to me (US citizen). Just checking so we can make plans for taking care of it quickly. Thanks so much, guys!

Tara

petitioner

I wanted to summarize our experience for the forums incase anyone runs into a problem similar to ours. This information may help you save time that my wife and I lost.

Our I-130 was approved on March 25, 2013. We knew it would take about a week or two to arrive at the NVC but called the USCIS just to make the I-130 had been sent to the NVC. They said it had. About a week after our I-130 was approved, other members with similar cases I had subscribed to on the Immigration Timeline had begun updating their timelines and a lot of their I-130's had been received by the NVC. By the 3rd week we were starting to get a bit suspicious as the NVC had received nearly all their cases.

So we called the USCIS who continued to state that our documents had been forwarded to the NVC. We asked to speak to a Tier 2 representative who were not helpful at all and would not give us ANY information regarding our case. We called nearly everyday and also checked with the NVC. We decided to send an email to NVCinquiry to find out what happened to our I-130 and at the same time submitted a service request at the USCIS. We even sent a service request to the Ombudsman. None of this helped. We got the standard "Allow us 90 days...". I checked with the forums here and often got suggestions from others to just keep calling. This too is not a good solution.

The ONLY way you can get your application back on track and find out more information about it, is to contact your Senator or Congressman. In our case we got assistance through my wife's local Congressmans Office. They have a higher clearance and can get further information as to what has happened to your application. It was week 5 (after the I-130 had been approved) when we learned that our application was mistakenly sent by the USCIS to the NATIONAL RECORDS CENTER (NRC) and not the NVC. We were informed by the Congressmans office that it would take 3-4 weeks to get the application sent back to the USCIS from the NRC.

By May 17th, our application had been received back from the NRC and the USCIS forwarded it to the NVC. The Congressman's Office constantly followed up with their own contact within the USCIS and this designated person within the USCIS handled the retrieval of our documentation from the NRC and made sure it was forwarded to the NVC.

This probably will not happen to most of you but should your approved I-130 not be received by the NVC after 3 weeks (mind you this is just receipt, I am not talking about getting a case number) you should start to be a bit more vigilant. I really recommend getting assistance from the Congressman/Senators office rather than try to gather information yourself particularly when the USCIS or the NVC have no clue where your I-130 is.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

On a seperate note, one of the Warning Signs for a "lost" I-130 application, which in hindsight is now more apparent, was that a week after our I-130 was approved (March 25, 2013), our case status was changed and updated to "Inital Review" (April 2nd, 2013). This may be a coincidence but I remember getting a little bit concerned when this happened. Thats when we called the USCIS to make sure I application was sent to the NVC, which of course, it wasn't....As of today, our case status on the USCIS portal still shows "Initial Review"

happening more and more... mine was tagged for nrc, but found it to be holding at the local office that approved it.. got the same run around from uscis until I told them I know where my file is because I went to an infopass to confirm it. I have now done the same as you, omnibudsman, congressman etc.. approval date april 19, confirmed file is still at local office may 28, and since then have been rattling the trees trying to get it going.. I might be able to get it out of there before I hear back from my congressman's office

Hi guys, how old the police report has to be? Would it raise a red flag if the police report obtained before packet 3 received? Does it matter if is already 2 months old by the time of the interview? Any input would be appreciated.

police cert longevity is country specific

check the embassy website or email them for clarification

I thought that I can just drive through with proof of her rabies shots.... Am I wrong? We saw something to that effect on an immigration lawyer's website (in the general information section)....

I am not sure how it works out, but there is definitely some kind of process

Hi Can someone pleaseAdvice me as to when the applicant is able to do the medical exam ? foe example once he,she has a case number or do they need to have packet 3 in hand?

Thanks in advance

you have to check with the panel physician to see what they will need to do the evaluation

It's completing 11 days since we got approved and I just checked the timelines and I saw many others waiting since May 14th the Number from NVC.

I'd like to understand why they are taking so long time to give us the number.

Please if someone has any information share with us.

Thank you

latest info on nvc is that they are swamped

have you confirmed your case has been received by nvc? the letter from uscis saying it has been sent is not always accurate.

I have been approved for over six weeks and my file is still sitting at that stupid office that approved it.. not that I am just sitting back and waiting for something to come in the mail

if they have not received it, you have to wait 15 business days until you can ask nvc to research

if they have received it, it has been taking up to 20 business days to get a case number

I emailed the Panamanian embassy and was less than enthused about their reply, so I hope to find an answer here. This is what I wrote:

"Dear Sir or Ma'am,

I am a US citizen that is seeking a immigrant visa for my wife that is a

Panamanian citizen and currently living in Panama. We have just had our

I-130 approved and are entering the National Visa Center portion of the

process. My question refers to the medical appointment. How does that work?

Can we schedule an appointment now? Or do we have to wait for the NVC to

make an appointment for the interview? Also, when is my wife supposed to

get fingerprinted? I haven't heard anything about that yet. I'd like to get

as much done before hand to save time if possible. I have had the I-130

approval expedited and expect the NVC to expedite as well, so anything we

can do to prepare for the interview would be helpful. Thank you for reading

and taking the time to reply.

Very Respectfully,

XXXX"

And this was their reply:

"Thank you for writing to the U.S. Visa Service Desk. We understand that you would like to know about the immigrant visa application process. In order to continue with your immigrant visa petition, we kindly request you to please wait to receive notification of the next step. You should not begin interview preparation without notification from the NVC."

Are you kidding me? What kind of reply is that? Just tell me NO you can't have the medical appointment right now. But they didn't even say that. Clearly, I am expediting and trying to finish what I can control as soon as possible. Does anyone know an actual answer to this question? And I STILL don't know when or how my wife gets her fingerprinting done. Anyone have any info on that? I asked these questions on this forum before and was instructed to ask the embassy...a lot of help they are. Still no answers. Thanks for anyone that replies though!

contact the panel physician that you will be using to see what they will require. some will only need the nvc case number, others will want the paper copy of the interview letter. also double check the valid duration of the medical once it is complete as it will still need to be valid upon entering the states

I got the same nonsense about a police certificate

I-130.

your missing the 165 bux that will need to be paid after the interview

instructions will be given by the embassy at that time

thanks for answer, I emailed the embassy in Stockholm right now and I guess I'll see what they say. Looking through this pdf though I cant find anything about bringing interview letter.

http://travel.state.gov/pdf/medical/STK-MED-ENGL-0005-1305.pdf

sometimes the embassy will give you the run around about when you can have it done

there are plenty of members here who have done it earlier than recommended or better yet have done it even though the embassy said to wait.. as someone stated here.. they aren't used to how fast we move here on VJ

just make sure the medical is still valid at the time of entry.. the medicals are usually valid for six months, but that is country specific

I'm happy for you I'm asking about your case I apply April 18 2013 and last week my husband went USCIS he ask about the case USCIS person tell to my husband tilnow your case is pending and you wait to call how long I wait call from USCIS I'm worried.you have idea thank you so much

you are a little early to worry about approval notification

if it helps you, you can call every three weeks or so, but really sit back and relax

cases have been farmed out to local offices for adjudication ... approval depends on the office's volume

most people do NOT get notified that it has been transferred

Spoke with a tier 2, and he said file is still at NBC, and not to send and wait for RFE,

that will slow down my whole process

But i think i will send a letter explaining the answer just to be on safe side .

good deal those IO's can have different answers.. my wife's name was spelled wrong and they told me to send the correction before I got an rfe.. slow the process. .doubtfully

We receive our first NOA on March 12th after my wife sent off the i-130. Neither of us have heard anything since and we are starting to get worried as a lot of the timelines on visa journey where the situation is similar to ours received NOA 2 after 2 months or sooner. Should we be getting worried or is this normal and is there any way we can find out what is happening?

worrying is the worst thing you can do

if you are really interested.. call uscis, get an IO and ask if your file is still at nbc or if it has been dispatched to your local office

if it is at the local office, you can go check on the status with an infopass

nbc does retain and process some petitions

sit back and relax

don't start worrying until you are past your 5 month mark

good news is that uscis is catching up on the backlog, although the backlog didn't pertain much to 130's

I understand your worries; it's true that some people with your priority date have received NOA2. You can call the 1-800-375-5283 select the change of address option and from there I think you will be able to talk to someone. Tell the person you talk to that you would like to talk to a tier 2 about your case. Hopefully you get a positive news.

nope just call and don't press anything

Why can't your boyfriend come to see you?

denied tourist visa

intent to immigrate

although that was not outlined, that is the most common reason for these situations

Hi,

Our case isnt complete yet at the NVC, I called friday and they said that the AOS is under review and the IV packet should be under review this week. Anyhow, I've called around to the doctors offices in Sweden and I managed to get an appointment june 13th in Gothenburg. This was the only one they had, Stockholm had none and is not taking any appointments after june 27th she said.

So im wondering if I can do this? go to the medical exam before NVC has completed my papers?

contact the evaluating doctor

some will need the actual interview letter, others will need the applicant's embassy case id #

seems to be country and doctor specific

Ok my I-130 was approved we sent back the DS-3032 and the AOS stuff but theres a delay now due us submitting the new AOS form. Our issue now is we my wife who is the petitioner and I am the application would like to go visit her family in November for thanksgiving. Am I allowed into the US for a 5 day visit whilst waiting on the IV Bill?

nothing prevents anyone from visiting as long as they have followed the legal ways of entering the country but seeing that you are at nvc, you should have no problem with November with the actual k-3 visa

ok i got married to my husband last year april,, been together for 6yrs... so i want to start his visa in order for him to come to us... so many pple been telling me if i want it approve on time,, i should hired a lawyer,,, that is better than to do it myself...... im thinking of filling the paper myself,,, can anyone pls tell me if i should use a lawyer or i can do it myself and there will be no problem... also what are the requirements,, what do i need to send in first,,, etc....

ditch the lawyer for sure

Processing

Estimates/Stats : Based on timeline data, your I130 may be adjudicated between June 3, 2013 and June 21, 2013*.

Mine goes up one day everyday lol. How close is the estimate?

you are getting close.. stop stressing about the vj timelines since the local offices have skewed all the data

I have a question.

In the form ds230 where father's date of birth is required:

I haven't been in contact with my father from a very long time,as my parents were separated long time ago.

Plus he lives out of the country and we are not in touch at all.. I don't have any document of his with his date of birth mentioned .

What to do? Can I leave that space and mention why i dont know his date of birth else where in the attachment ?

Thanks

duplicate whatever the birth certificate states

I leave it all blank since there is no father listed for my wife

Your fiancee will be interviewed at US Consulate in Moscow, so I would address to them.

agreed

I helped my friend to prepare the package for her finace visa, the PD was 4/30/2013 and it was approved last friday

are you sure the notice doesn't say accepted, because that is unusually fast

Ok so I am about to send my fiancee the I-134 and supporting documents for her (not yet scheduled) interview in Moscow. I've been holding off mailing it for the last couple of days for fear that I may have overlooked something (or may be sending too much).

What I have:

I-134

List of stocks and bonds owned attachment to I-134

I-797 copy

Copies of last three paystubs

Employment and salary letter (electronically signed)

Last three bank statements

Letter from bank stating balance

Income tax returns 2010-2012

Originals of I-129F supporting documentation

Copy of I-129F packet (is this needed?)

Evidence of continuing relationship

- Chat transcripts (one per month)

- Airplane tickets to a third country where we met recently (the I-129F included evidence of meeting in Russia on three occasions previously)

- Photos of us together in the third country

- Train tickets with our names on them

- Hotel receipt with both names for half the journey

- Museum passes with both names

- Western Union receipts for English lessons money

Think I am all good to send it out?

an updated intent to marry letter from the two of you

Hi guys its that time to gather my supporting documents for I134 and I've researched the required documents the send to my fiancé . However tho, on my most recent tax return I made $22,388 on 2012. And my fiancé has a child, so I'm guessing the household size will count as 3 making $24,412 as a minimum guideline of 125%.... This year tho, I got promoted and now making a lil over $3000/month with proof of pay stubs and also I now own 5% of company with employer letter and bank statements. My question is, do I still need a co-sponsor or will I be able to do it on my own with those supporting documents?

you're golden

Thank you! I had to force myself to stop looking at the CSC Igor's List because it made me sad to see them moving on to February. Hey! I noticed you weren't able to see your case on the USCIS website until your approval date. We keep checking ours and it still says "case not found". I know that one day soon we will suddenly see it say APPROVED, as you did in April. I can imagine the tears of joy you felt when you saw that! I will scream so loudly when that happens, that all Texans will hear me!

thanks for the good thoughts, but my stupid case is still stuck at that office and I am trying everything I can to get it out of there.

about your case not showing up online, the only good thing about that is that the cr answering the phone at uscis can only see that as well, so any questions you have will be routed to an IO

good luck, hang tough