NepaliDreamer

Just thought I would add my experience. We paid during the first month of the new fee using the old website. Paid after we were issued a visa and before we left. Bank statement shows the payment, we have the receipt numbers from government. That was in April 2013 - still no Green Card. I have called four times. First time was told to wait 15 days, then 30 days then 60 days, the last call she said wait until June 2014 - "it should be there by then - this new fee has caused a lot of issues and there is a tremendous backlog." So, we have been waiting. Everything is in order on our side. I plan to wait until April and if no card we'll call our congressman. It's very annoying like an itch you can't scratch, keeps the long and arduous process of immigration going when you expected it to be over.

We came in June and still she has not received her card. However, I think this is just an issue with the first payment portal, pay.gov. I have contacted USCIS and they are "working on it", but the ISO told me, "they are severely backlogged" due to the new Immigrant Fee process.

Hi Darnell,

called again today and spoke with a nice ISO who assured me that I have done all I can and it's USCIS TSC's turn now. They are backlogged with many issues related to this new Immigrant Fee; mistakes people made on the form. She hoped that we will receive a Green Card within the next 30 days.

Strange that this issue hasn't come up anywhere else on this site if so many people have been affected.

I am just glad that I kept my receipt for the payment.

Still no card and still our case shows up as having an unpaid "immigrant fee". Nearly to the end of the "if you don't receive a card within 60 days call back" period. So odd that pay.gov can find the payment but USCIS can't.

Wow, really having bad luck with USCIS websites. We tried to change our address online, filled all fields then hit "signature". Next page is supposed to give us a confirmation number,,,, guess what there wasn't one. To get a receipt of your change of address confirming you filed it you need your confirmation number. Circular problem. At no point did they ask for an email address to send a confirmation. It's difficult to comprehend the US Government can't build a website that works. I guess this is why USCISs telephone queues are always 6 hours long.

Update: Just found there is a new website I found using google search and search term "USCIS update address" a different link and it is working! Now I wonder if the old one actually set my request or not since there was no confirmation number I resubmitted on the new website. This time there was an email address and I did get a confirmation number and email. Hope that's OK.

Old web address = broken---- https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=coa.cr.Residence

New web address = works---- https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do

You can only find the direct link from the USCIS homepage at the bottom right. If you click on "Change of Address Information" you will be taken to the wrong page that gives the old weblink. You need to click on "Change Your Address Online"

I made a payment for my wife on April 16th 2013, the day after she got her visa, using the pay.gov website. I called to see where her card was in early August and they informed me her file was just getting reviewed at the Texas Service Center and she would be receiving her welcome letter soon. We came into the US on June 3rd. A week later I get a letter in the mail saying we never paid our Immigrant Fee. The following day I called USCIS and waited on hold for 90 minutes to speak with a Rep. He told me to send their letter along with a copy of my receipt for the payment to the Texas Service Center (he said he couldn't help me over the phone; couldn't take the information and initiate a service request over the phone). So I mailed the documents as he suggested. A month went by and still no card. So I called again, waited another 90 minutes and spoke with a rep who told me to give her the tracking number for the payment and she would initiate a service request to TSC. She told me there were quite a few people whose payments went "missing" when the payment database was transferred from pay.gov to USCIS ELIS. It's been ten days since and still our case shows up on USCIS as not having received payment. Still no word from USCIS… A bit frustrating to see that even with the help of computers they can't fix their blunder in less than 60 days, and that I had to bring the issue to their attention in the first place. I mean, they have my money, weren't they wondering what it was for.

Woohoo, glad you two made it to the US safely!!

Did you pay the $165 immigrant fee after getting the visa?

Um, wow, the NOA2? That's the approval notice from USCIS for the I-130 petition. Kinda late.. You don't need the NOA2, especially since she's already immigrated, but it might be a good idea to have for your records, but it's up to you. And weird about her case regressing, especially since she's long been out of USCIS. *shrug*

Not much to do now except to settle in! If her SSN card doesn't arrive in 3 weeks from POE, then have her go apply in person at a local SSA office. That's what I ended up having to do.

Saylin, I called USCIS today and they told me that the craziest thing. I have to fill out a form I-824 ($405.00 ) in order for them to re-mail our NOA2 to our current address in the US. He said that was the only way since our visa application was approved. Guess we don't need that piece of paper after all.

Oh, I did pay the $165 Immigrant Fee after we got the visa and before we left for the US. I never got any confirmation that it was paid though. Guess I should check my bank statements to see if it went through? I remember thinking the payment portal was confusing and also how odd that there was no email receipt.

Just wanted to check in and say that we made it to the US and my wife was approved for her 10 year green card. Obviously she hasn't received her green card or SS card in the mail yet.

We were so worried after arriving at our POE that we'd miss our connecting flight in the US (the customs and immigration lines were horrendous and they wouldn't let us go to the front) that we didn't thank the Immigration officer who approved my wife. He began to explain everything but we were sort of rude, "yeah, great,,, ok. Gotta go!" We ended up missing the flight anyway…

Now we are in the US and I receive an email from USCIS saying that her NOA2 was returned by the post office on May 30th. That's 45 days after her visa was approved! They wan't me to call. Is the NOA2 an important document to have? Should I bother calling USCIS and having them send it to us? Also, her case on USCIS has regressed from "Post Decision Activity" to "Initial Review".

Now that we're here is there anything else we need to do? I can't remember.

Thanks to all on the VJ, especially Saylin, for their help. I hope our experience will contribute to helping others make their journeys.

I like the new logo. After being through the visa process I understand the old one, but graphically the new one is better.

Can anyone confirm what happens after they've paid this fee. Have they been notified that it's been received and processed?

I paid for my wife and on the first page it asked for last and first name A number and case number. I used my name because I was the one paying. Hope that was correct? I haven't received an email or any other notification that payment has been accepted.

When filling out the form on the first page it asks for case number, a-number (that's easy) then it asks for last name and first name. It's a bit confusing because you think you should put the first and last name of the visa applicant but you find out later that it's the first and last name of the person who is paying the fee. Because the name field comes out under "Account Information" on the payment page. Then when you get your receipt it doesn't show the case number or a number on it. Leaves it all a bit confusing. I paid so I entered my name, hope that was correct?

It feels so weird not to worry about the visa process anymore!

I'm happy and relieved and remember feeling like we'd never see the light at the end of the tunnel and, all of a sudden, it's done and we made it.

I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to the "VJ community" for their help and support. Being able to be here and share our stories really made a big difference as I was navigating through all the steps.

Good luck to everyone!

Congratulations!

Can't create new photo album. I am not sure I understand this feature so it might not be a bug.

My wife's visa was issued today. Very happy. We'll be going in tomorrow morning to pick it up. Only one person allowed to go in.

Me

Wife

Son

Daughter

Just an FYI for long time VJ users. NVC does open your mail the day it arrives in the mail room and rubber stamp it with the date it arrived. We received our files back from NVC with the DS-230 stamped on every page.

Forgot to say that when I called after my case was expedited and sent to the embassy leaving my DS-230 and civil documents orphaned at NVC the operators kept telling me they hadn't received my IV packet yet. Supervisors were only aware that it was there because I convinced them it was by saying I had tracked it as received on the 18th. Yes, they have a serious problem with keeping track of stuff after it arrives in the mail room and before it's pulled from the "shelf" of cases. Thank the Booble, I only need to go through this process once.

Just an FYI for long time VJ users. NVC does open your mail the day it arrives in the mail room and rubber stamp it with the date it arrived. We received our files back from NVC with the DS-230 stamped on every page.

Wife had interview today. All went well except her medical files were't there. They gave her a 221g and said they will call her once her medical file shows up, and to bring in her original civil docs, still on the way from NVC but should be here this week. So, looks like we'll be going back in on Thursday/Friday to finish up the petition. We're feeling pretty confident that she'll get her visa.

The consular just asked her three questions. Name? Your husband is a USC? You have two USC children? Finished. Oh, they looked at our photo album.

So, if you want an easy interview this is what you do: You marry your foreign spouse; move to her country and live there for eight years and have two USC children.

Call and speak with a supervisor at NVC. It sounds like they haven't forwarded your request to the embassy yet. It took NVC seven days to forward my expedite request and then it took 48 hours for NVC to receive a response from the embassy.

Our visa approved!!!!!

My wife has her interview tomorrow; the 9th. Embassy people know that she won't have her original civil documents (we do have photocopies). So, her case will most likely be put in AP until the originals arrive from the NVC sometime this week. They just asked her to fill out a new DS-230 and bring that and we'll go from there.

Both of us are a little bit nervous. Guess we'll just see what happens.

I assume that as long as the initial interview is before April 15th that we won't be needing tax documents from 2012 even if her original civil documents aren't in their possession before the 15th?

Got an email from the embassy today saying they rescheduled interview for Apr 14!!! Then another email 5 min later saying no they take it back b/c they haven't received my case yet (lazy, it got there on Thurs, it's probably sitting in the mail room), but once they do they'll schedule us for the next Sunday (they only do IV interviews on Sundays).

So now I'm running around like a crazy person trying to make sure all our packets are in order (it's all unorganized and all over the place right now) and seeing which pics I should print to bring with us....

I don't know if I should update the list here when they give us an earlier date? I don't want to throw off those waiting for their dates...

Congrats on your interview. What about his medical?

The long story. When NVC received approval from the embassy for the expeditious handling of our petition they didn't contact me via email before shipping out our case to the embassy. In fact I never received an email notifying us our case was expedited even though I was told I would.

NVC didn't/couldn't look for our IV packet which had been in the building since the 18th of March. Through persistence and happenstance I called on the same day our approved expedite request was sent to the NVC from the embassy. I spoke with a supervisor who guaranteed me that any stray files would be gathered up and forwarded. I mentioned that my IV packet was at NVC as of March 18th. She guaranteed that any files related to the case would be pulled and shipped to the Embassy. Unfortunately, her inter office email wasn't read by the person who had possession of our IV packet, and since she wasn't working on the day the case was shipped to the embassy she couldn't follow up on her own request. No body stood up and walked over to find the file, they just gave commands from their chairs. She also didn't ask anyone else to check up on the case for her. I assumed all was well because I never received any notice from that supervisor that the file had been orphaned at NVC (even though someone reviewed the orphaned file and updated the DOS portal to "Ready" on April 1st , one day before our case arrived at the embassy). Again, they screwed up because they just let the orphaned file sit there for four more days without notifying anyone. The original supervisor took no action and the person who reviewed our IV packet took no action even though the case must have shown up as 'expedite approved' and 'shipped' on their screen. I received no notice from NVC. I only found out after I visited the Embassy to arrange an interview that our IV packet was not in the shipment. I called NVC on the 4th and they said it was still at NVC but they would get it out to me the next morning. Called on the 6th and spoke with the original supervisor who told me it was STILL there and would ship on Monday the 8th. She apologized and told me to call her back on Tuesday the 9th for the DHL tracking number. They said they could not forward it to the embassy; that it had to be shipped to me. What a circus. I knew ahead of time they were going to drop the ball and I still couldn't avoid it. Calling everyday didn't make a difference. Stating my concerns to two different supervisors on three separate occasions didn't make a difference.

From this experience I can draw some conclusions:

1. Lack of effective communication is a big problem at the NVC.

2. Keeping their clients/customers in the dark while they work behind the curtains creates a confusing atmosphere that causes them to be overburdened with phone calls.

3. When cases don't fit into the models they've developed their system to handle there are serious goof ups.

3. They don't know how to handle expedites in an expeditious manner.

4. If you are going to request an expedite at the NVC stage do it before sending any of your documents to NVC, or after they have all been reviewed and accepted at the interview stage- NOT IN THE MIDDLE. Also, ask your congressman/senator to send in the expedite for you so you don't have to wait two weeks to find out if the embassy will approve it. If you are denied you only lose a few days time and continue with the normal process.

It seems the READY on the site comes once the casefile gets to embassy and they do whatever or NVC does whatever. I guess that's when NVC says Phew we are done. Now you Ready. LOL

Haven't been able to get online. I am not sure this is correct. I think Ready comes once they have finished entering your packets. My case showed Ready one day before it arrived at the embassy. It was Ready the same day they found/reviewed my orphaned IV packet and discovered that the rest of the case was sent the previous Friday.

Get another supervisor. That stuff can be sent on, if a supervisor or three makes it happen. OTOH, attend the interview with as much stuff as you have on the 9th, then go into 221g/AP status, until the rest of the casefile shows up.

It sounds like you not bring up what I wrote, with a Supervisor. It pays to do that™, so please, do that.

Thank you for your advise. I did send an email to the embassy last night, they'll get it this morning. I told them that the file was still at NVC and it was unlikely they could get it to the embassy before April 9th, but they were going to try. I asked if it was possible for them to "pull everything from SAFEFILE". Honestly, I don't know what that means so I had no idea how to phrase it. Anyway, I suggested that they might want to reschedule our interview for later the same week in anticipation of our DS-230 and civil documents arriving from NVC on Tue or Wed. We'll see what they say. I am also going to call NVC tonight, I was told to talk with the supervisors on first shift again and not speak to the second shift supervisors as it would just confuse things/people at the NVC. So, it's all up in the air again when I thought we were on the ground and running. Thanks again Darnell, you were the first to get me started on this forum and I still appreciate that.

I got approved today on my interview, wish everyone got their approvals soon.