Jematt

What does your email acceptance say? Does it say it was routed to CSC?

Mine says it was accepted and routed to National Benefits Center.

Most likely to the new one in Overland Park, KS. That's where all petitions go lately.

Here's what it says exactly: "Your case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS California Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number..."

I wonder why they route them to different places...

Blueberry, congrats on getting your NOA1 too!!!

And thanks for the info. about how hubby can come into the country! I'm hopeful he'll be ok coming in.

Thanks Murf & Reggie!

Blueberry Pancake - I'm guessing the California Processing Center is where we'll be processed since I'm in California...no other clue why they did that!

It seems like a few of us are living apart....it's not fun. Hubby just left on Saturday and I'm already so sad without him. Coping strategies anyone?

Hi Everyone!

Thanks Blueberry Pancake for the invitation over here. I am excited that I got my text and email of receipt of the paperwork today. I only sent it in last week. I sent it to the Phoenix Lockbox. It has already been sent back to the California Service Center. Seems kind of silly since I'm in California already....hah! Only government works this way!

Anyway, very excited and hope this process goes fast for all of us! What do the processing times look like for all of us? I'm hoping it's going to be better news than what I've read in other forums. So, good luck to us all! Let's get this party started, USCIS! My hubby is in Amsterdam for now because he has his job there. I'm in California. So, hopefully this won't take too long...I want him here. In the meantime, we're going to probably try for him to travel here. Some people have said that it will be a challenge with immigration--some officers are nice and let spouses in and others are very tough. Crossing fingers and toes!

My husband sent ours to Chicago last Tuesday and he still hasn't received a notice back - should I be worried?

Vintine, I sent mine last Tuesday as well and only received the text today. So, I think it's ok. May just be a delay in the mail. I haven't received the paper copy yet--only the text and email. =) Hope that helps rest assure you!

Got receipt of notice text and email at 6:51am! It has been sent to the California Service Center. For some reason, I can't get a processing time on the website for the CA Service Center, though, only for Vermont. Is this notice considered NOA1?

Thanks Blueberry Pancake! Will do!

Thanks Alaska2012 and NLR. I have read a bit and seen that there is an NOA1 and an NOA2. I don't know when to expect what. From reading the links you gave me, I should expect to receive the NOA1 in 2-3 weeks, it looks like.

Thanks for the feedback about the photos. I had a feeling they would ask for the item with some sort of form. Looking at the list, I have submitted every other item they request. I feel kind of silly for forgetting one little thing, when I even had them done. But, c'est la vie!

Thanks for those guides as well. I see that there is a substantial amount of paperwork that they will request such as certified birth certificates, police records and tax documents. Good to know so we can get started on that now. Do you know how recent they need to be? I know my hubby has to order his docs from the UK and they may be slow. I just don't want to start too soon either.

I just filed the i-130 with the Phoenix location since I'm in California, petitioning for my husband's visa--he's in Amsterdam. We were married just three weeks ago, so lots of new things to deal with. I'm just hoping some of you can give me an inkling of what the process will look like from this point forward. I realized, after I sent everything in, that I had forgotten to include the two recent passport photos, for example. I'm assuming they will request these from me when they see that they are missing. I included everything else. So, I don't plan to send them until they give me a case number and let me know what's missing--best plan, right? I hardly imagine they'd reject the application because of the missing photos.

Anyway, if anyone has experience and can tell me what to expect, I'd appreciate it. I feel a little like a fish out of water. I did see that the processing times are slow, up to a year. Has anyone got any idea why, and if they have sped up at all?

Thanks for any and all input!

holy cow do I wish.. my case file was not sent to nvc until I finally shook the right tree

file arrived Friday and the "kind" folks at immigration helped me get a case number today... that means that if my wife has her act together she should be here by the end of august

let's put it this way.. I can see the light

Oh no!!! That's awful. I can imagine them being that bad though, to be honest. I hope that she can be here by August! That would be super. Our tax dollars clearly at work to make things run well when we need them at our friendly government offices, huh? LOL! =)

he would be traveling on a tourist visa or vwp

either way it is up to him to prove that his ties to return to his home country outweigh the intent to immigrate assumption

Thanks Stevie. I'm pretty sure he can show that--with his job, salary, bank accounts, rental agreement, etc. Seems like a crazy burden of proof to carry with yourself, but, this timeframe would cross over Christmas/New Year & being together is important/preferred for those big holidays.

By the way, I saw your timeline on your signature. Congratulations on the approval. Is your wife now here?

Thank you, ***removed***. Yes, I am a U.S. citizen, so I am relieved to hear your clarification about my visa being only 10 months. I was obviously looking at the time frame for the other visa you mentioned, petitions by a permanent resident. Whew!

Also, thanks for the info. about the lawyer not being needed. I'm not a huge fan of lawyers, so that is a nice relief, also. My experience with them is what you mentioned--they take lots of money, make lots of mistakes and we, the customer, pays for them. I think I can thoroughly read directions and get the paperwork in order myself. I've done lots of more detailed paperwork, so I'm sure this is no different....cross the t's and dot the i's.

I was actually wondering if HE would be able to come in and out of the U.S. while he waits for his visa to process. I can't imagine not seeing each other for 10 months. I realize we can meet somewhere neutral like Canada--but requiring a hotel, etc. will make it all the more costly and such...

Thanks again for your help!

Hi Everyone,

My fiancé & I plan to get married this summer while he is visiting me in California. He's then returning to Holland for his job. We plan to file for a spousal visa at that time. What I need some help with are a few things:

1. I looked up time frames and it looks like spousal visas are being handled for cases back in 2010....is that really the time frame we are looking at? Please, someone tell me that this moves faster than 3-years! I thought I read much faster results from other people on this site. I am in California, if that makes any difference. I looked up the timeframes for the California processing center.

2. Did any of you do the paperwork yourself or have you got recommendations for a service? Is an attorney necessary/recommended or just an added expense?

3. I have no idea what this process looks like/how it begins. Do we need any supporting documentation, other than our marriage documentation? Will they ask for proof of the relationship, etc.? If so, what should I have prepared?

4. Have any of you had any luck with traveling in/out of the US while waiting for your spousal visas to come through? Any advice?

I know I'm asking a lot. Thank you!

NikiR, thanks for your response. I was reading your signature... Are you currently in the process of obtaining the IR1/CR1? I really didn't want to travel outside of the country to get married, so was trying not to do that. But, judging from your reply, you agree that it wouldn't be wise for him to "visit" and for us to get married. This is why I thought the fiancee visa was "cleaner." The problem seems to be that with that option, he can't come and go.

If we did go with the spouse visa option and got married here on a whim, let's say--and he then went home--would that be a problem? Wouldn't he be unable to travel on a regular travel visa to see me until his case was processed?

I've been reading and it looks like we have to process a spouse visa in the same country we get married in. So I'm not sure I can see how this would work...if he travels here and we marry--wouldn't he be in violation of just taking a regular travel visa and wouldn't that hamper our approval of a spousal visa? And also, it looks like the processing time of the Spouse visa is considerably longer than the K-1. Am I missing something? I know several of you said the Spouse visa is better... Thanks!

Thanks you guys. Ok...so the spousal visa is an option for us, huh? I hadn't thought of that at all. Will we be in trouble if we get married here and he leaves and then we apply for it? What would be the process? And does anyone know the time frame on that? I just heard horror stories of spouses being separated for years waiting for a spousal visa so I didn't want to chance it... thanks for the replies! =)

Hi Everyone. We are so confused as to what to do here. My fiancee is in Europe and I'm in the US. We want to move him here permanently. Trouble is--he has a good job there and we don't want to have him quit his job and wait a year to be able to work. We're thinking the best solution is to apply for a fiancee visa, let him come here and get married, then go back to Europe to work. Will that work? Will he be allowed to come and go while they process a work permit? We don't want to bother doing the temporary work permit as it takes as long as waiting for the permanent one after the marriage, from what we've read. But, we also don't want to be separated for a year or two without him being able to travel back here. I can't travel there due to family circumstances, so he must come here. I'm just throwing this out for ideas....any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!