mpheonix

Nevermind then, I just give up and I'll stop posting.

In regards to the A# change alert, from what I've read and from personal experience.. f you are a recent applicant (a couple of months and less) and receive the A# change alert, unfortunately this is a system glitch. But if you were like me and who got the A# change alert deep into the waiting process (8 months in my case) then it's a sign that your NOA2 is on the way. We got our NOA2 notification a couple of days after receiving the A# change alert. That said, USCIS is highly unpredictable so take this post with a grain of salt. Good luck!

Thank you! I didn't see any activity, so I always assumed that was normal until I saw people posting about it. I'm glad that's cleared up now though!

Hello all! I'm an April filer as well.

My "receipt date" on my NOA-1 was April 11th.

As you can see in my signature not much for progress, but I check every day!

I made sure that some of the pictures I took with my fiance had a timestamp on them, if you get a chance go up this weekend or next and take some pictures with a time stamp. If that's not feasible, dated receipts like many people said may help, any documents you got when crossing the boarder, any EZPass logs of you crossing the border.

Good Luck!

Unfortunately that's how the Government works. Anyone who's had the pleasure of being in the military can tell you that.

Just keep your head up, and keep plowing forward. None of us like the wait, and we all want to be with our lovers yesterday... but I think in a lot of ways having to put this much effort into being together makes the relationship more valuable and stable in the long run once you're together.

If you can make it through this, you can make it through anything!

They likely put in a request to expedite. USCIS won't expedite your case without due reason though, I looked it up a while back, but I don't recall what they are exactly.

Some of the examples I pulled off of this site that were listed are:

• The applicant has urgent and critical medical needs that cannot be addressed in the applicant’s country;

• An applicant’s family member in the United States has a serious medical condition and has urgent and critical medical needs related to that condition that require the applicant to assist the family member in the United States;

• The applicant is faced with urgent circumstances related to the death or serious illness of a family member;

• The applicant or qualifying family member is a particularly vulnerable individual due to age, serious medical condition, or disability and this vulnerability is exacerbated by the applicant’s presence outside the United States;

• The applicant is at risk of serious harm due to personal circumstances distinct from the general safety conditions of those living in the applicant’s country;

• It would be in the national interest of the United States to have the applicant in the United States (for example, the applicant’s presence in the United States is urgently required for work with a U.S. government entity); or

• As described in a request from or for a member of the Armed Forces of the United States

• The applicant’s qualifying family member is a member of the military who is deployed or will soon be deployed; and
• The applicant demonstrates that, in light of the deployment there are compelling reasons to expedite the request due to the impact of the applicant’s absence from the United States on the applicant, the qualifying family member, or their children, if any.

I'm not sure HOW accurate that is, so you'd have to check with a more seasoned VJ'er. There seems to be a lot of BAD information out there.

My priority date is 2013-04-11

I got the same notification about the ARN on 2013-04-19 and my status is still in "initial review":

Is it normal for petitioners to get that response right away?

Let us hope they're not, especially being that they aren't normally processing I-129f petitions. Then again many of us are in the hole there, asking for our trucker magazine, as buffalo bob (USCIS) tells us to put the lotion on the skin or we'll get the hose again.

Good luck to those still at VSC and keep a torch lit for us that were transferred out.

Maybe if you mail your senator and tell him he's pretty he'll help push your application along. I heard good things from people who reached out to their senators!

This is a constant yo-yo. in April when I applied VT was the awesome one (processing K1 in less than 5 months), and Cali was the horrid one Processing K1 in 8+ months).

It seems like one of them gets overloaded and passes their backup over to the other, then the other one gets overloaded and rinse, repeat.

I don't think they quite figured out that "Balance" yet.

for us we got transfered we are waiting the 2nd coming of Jesus.

This made me giggle.

If you get transferred does that put you at the bottom of that Service Center's queue? That would be royally effed up. .__.

Well damn! I'm SO adding that to my file. That's ridiculous!

How would the Argentine Embassy approve you for a United States visa?

You CANNOT be approved for a K-1 while in the US. The beneficiary must apply at the US consulate in their country. There are no US embassies in the US. You do not/cannot apply at a local USCIS office for a K-1. The USCIS does not process the visa applications. That would be DoS.

Stating that you might be mistaken while posting misinformation is still bad and unhelpful. Confusing things for people and giving blatantly incorrect information helps no one, but it can hurt. Saying your 'answer in regards to visiting and being forced to leave still stands' is just silly nonsense when you have posted plain and utterly wrong information.

Listening to the call center employees at the USCIS misinformation line will not help you any either.

Do they really give you a lot of bad information at the call center? o.o

That seems a bit counter-productive. =/ This is a gov't operation though, I don't think I'd be all that surprised.

Sorry for the confusion. I posted this in the K1 Forum, so I didn't think to specify!

It would be hard to make a list like that. For instance, not everyone that goes through Juarez is even asked if the USC petitioner is there. Many are approved just fine when going alone. Yet, some are asked, even though the petitioner is not even allowed to go in with the foreign fiance(e). I always suggest to those going through Juarez that while it is not mandatory to be in Juarez too, if you are able, then do so. I think with most things at all consulates, it depends on the CO you get. Ecuador has been known to insist the petitioner be present, as was the case for TBone. Some have been approved there without the petitioner present as well. Not only with this issue, but with most things having to do with the K-1 interview, nothing is set in stone across the board.

I have said quite a few times that it would make things so much easier if there were consistent rules, processes and requirements for ALL K-1 applicants, no matter which consulate they interview at.

Yes, yes it would be easier. I love government processes... this is JUST like the military... follow our protocol, but we'll change it when it suits us, and not tell you so you have to scramble like ants to get your sh!t in order. .__.

I'll still try and get a list of the ones that will often require the petitioner to be present for the interview, so the user can at least prepare to show up even if it's not needed. As far as I can tell the Buenos Aires embassy does not... but I'll do some personal digging on that one and see if anyone has been "required" to be present for my own peace of mind.

Does it have to be a petitioner who has to accompany the beneficiary to the interview (which I understand is not a requirement but it adds some kind of credibility) or can it be beneficiary's own sibling who is a US citizen and who happens to be petitioner's son?

Petitioner is the father, beneficiary is the daughter (who is well over the age limit) but the petitioner is in the US while the daughter is outside of the US awaiting her interview, petitioner's son or beneficiary's brother (who is a US citizen) happens to be with her..

Hope this makes sense.

I'm referring to a K1 or Fiance(e) visa, which I doubt applies to this situation.

But from my understanding of your scenario, the Petitioner is a US Citizen who is applying for a IR2/CR2 visa for their foreign national child. You're asking if the US Citizen that is petitioning for the Foreign Beneficiary, has to be present during the interview or if the Petitioner's other child (a US Citizen), may be present for their sibling's interview as a surrogate. Is this correct?

unsure if you've seen this yet -> http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Argentina&cty=Buenos%20Aires

but there is a page here at VJ for each consulate. instead of calling , using a telephone, you might want to read each consulate page, glean the differences between each consulate .

many people get here -> http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Argentina&cty=Buenos%20Aires by clicking on their flag - that's a straight jump to their country's portal page and the click-through, that link, is there.

Thank you! I'll check that out for my fiance's country.

I want to actually compile a list of the countries that require it though, to add it to my little help guide. If I can help one person avoid frustration or even worse, denial because of something in my guide I'll be happy.

I will give that a shot, thank you. It might be more accurate. Those poor people, man. I would be crushed.

I've been trying to slowly put together a help guide for those who are just starting their journey. It's supposed to be informative, but also cover the most common scenarios.

Someone informed me that their foreign beneficiary's consulate required the US Citizen to go to the interview, even though the USCIS/Immigration does not require it, and a seasoned VJ'er confirmed it happens with certain consulates.

Who else has this happened to, what consulate did you go through and in what country? I'm going to try to put together a list of these to help save someone else the agony and frustration in the future.

Thanks in advance.

Black ink will not be an issue. Some have signed with blue ink to make it known it was an original and not a copy. However, with so many people owning color scanner/printers now, signing in blue would not prove the signature was original. The best tip I read about years ago was to sign with your paper on top of a magazine. The softer service area would leave more of an indent in the paper where you sign.

Thank you, that's a really useful tip! I'll add that to the guide!

I did read in a couple instances they requested original signatures sent when it was filled out and signed in black ink, I'm going to do another search because I recall someone stating that they did this with black ink and it still got kicked back (I might be mixing the info up in my brain though). Mine was filled out using a computer (RapidVisa uses an online form that asks you questions and you fill out, and it generates a PDF, it's much easier to understand). It was recommended to sign in blue ink. They said black ink was fine as well, but occasionally gets kicked back because the person processing the application thinks it's not the original signature.

He is saying that while there might not be any instruction that it is mandatory that the USC petitioner attend, at some consulates it most certainly is anyway. The CO will not care how much it cost you to make the trip there. My husband was almost denied because I was not in Juarez with him. We got lucky that the CO went ahead and approved him anyway.

This is what VJ is for, to learn from others that have been through the actual process and can tell you what it is really like and what is really required. Researching is good, but blindly following only hearsay and vague USCIS/DoS directions may not get you the approval you are seeking.

After the I-129F is approved, all the consulates have different procedures and requirements. Learning what the requirements for your consulate are and listening to the personal experiences of those that went through that same consulate successfully before you is much better than following only a generalized, not quite correct guide compilation.

Well damn. That is rather disheartening. Is there anyway to check that's faster than contacting all the consulates? Maybe I can compile a list of consulates/embassies that "unofficially require" the US Citizen to go to the beneficiary's interview. That would save a LOT of people some grief.

Hi! Congrats on your engagement!

I wanted to toss in my 2 cents, for what they're worth, which isn't much on here.

My fiance and I set up a joint Gmail account with a Google Drive. I scan EVERYTHING to do with the visa process and application and put it in the folder so we all have access to the digital copies and we can print it out if necessary. We also have all the email notifications from USCIS going there, and since we both access it, we both see it! It's really nice to have because we're both kept up to speed and everything we need is available to both of us as we need it.

You can apply for a K1 visa, and you're still able to visit while your K1 application is being reviewed. If you do it'll take a while (right now I believe it's between 5-8 months). The visa is one-time entry visa, and it's valid for 6 months. You'll have to marry within 90 days of your entry or you're sent back. My fiance and I decided that when he comes here on his K1, we'll just elope to get legally married, and plan out our "big wedding" once the immigration stuff was settled.

You can get married in the US or Canada, return to your homes and apply for a CR-1 visa. If you go this route (which is cheaper fees wise), I believe you can visit while this is pending as well, but you should check with a more seasoned person on the forum to be 100% sure. The plus to this (which was mentioned previously) is that you don't have to wait for your Adjustment of Status (AoS) to be approved to work, because you're considered a permanent resident as soon as you enter.

Side note is that you still stand a chance at being denied entry at the border on a visitor visa while your K-1/CR-1 visa is in processing. This will not effect your K-1/CR-1 however, so don't worry too much if it happens, a thread here has people who are coming from Canada on a CR-1 who visited multiple times.

As far as I am aware both take around the same amount of time. But which one is shorter varies depending on the queue.

You most definitely do not want to enter the US on a visitor visa with the intent to get married, stay and apply for an AoS, this is considered visa fraud. This can get you banned from ever entering the US again! BIG red flag to immigration.

We used a service to prepare our paperwork, and there are several available RapidVisa, Easy Fiance Visa, etc. They are NOT lawyers but offer services such as answering questions, checking over your application to make sure there are no major mistakes (You'll have to verify that all the information is correct, however). The supporting evidence needed is all there, documents are together, etc. I used RapidVisa myself and I'm SO thankful for their knowledge an help. You might not need or want a service, but I don't speak lawyer and I don't have enough time (I work 60+ hours a week) to be calling USCIS all the time to get answers.

mpheonix, please read up on the procedures for the various petitions and visas. The reason you're getting a lot of feedback from other VJ-ers is because you're doling out so much misinformation, which could cause someone to incur issues down the road if they follow your "tips." The K-1 visa involves a number of steps that have to be done in the beneficiary's home country, including the medical exam, obtaining a police certificate, and attending the interview at the U.S. embassy/consulate.

OP, please read the VJ guides starting here, http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=compare, to get an idea of what's involved in each process and weigh the pros and cons for each. Right now, it seems you're still trying to decide which path to take. Once you decide on the path, you can ask more detailed questions to get the answers needed.

I'm very sorry if I misrepresented facts. I did state that I may be mistaken multiple times.

I asked a few immigration lawyers this as well as called the USCIS customer service line, as my fiance was planning on visiting the US for business and they told me it can be done whilst in the US but it can be complicated, as you would have to be in contact with the beneficiary's local embassy/consulate, and you'd have to show up at the US local office to file additional paperwork. I was also informed that the beneficiary would have to leave the US and re-enter on their K1 (if it's in hand and they're not sent back to their country). We decided not to risk it and he didn't come over for business.

I stated that she could get approved whilst in the US. I also stated she may have to leave.

The approval of the K1 does require subsequent processes, such as the interview and medical exam, but I was informed these can be provided to the beneficiary whilst in the US, as long as it's done at the Argentine Embassy (in my case), closest to my home -- I believe that's in Washington DC. I don't know if there's more than one.

If she cannot do the interview and medical exam whilst in the US; my answer in regards to visiting and being forced to leave, still stands.

You are allowed to visit each other while applying for a K1, but you run the risk of being turned away at the border.

Just remember, it's considered illegal to enter the US on a visitor visa with the intent to immigrate. If you do so, you run the risk of being banned from ever entering the US again.

Right now, the visa processing time is 5-8 months on average. I wrote a help guide, which is in progress, and I posted in the forum here. It might help you understand the process some.

A-ha!

I now understand why the K1 is easier. It makes much more sense in my situation too. Say we did the same, got legally married in the U.S, could we then have a wedding ceremony in the U.K. do you think?

I was planning on going to the U.S in December for 2 months to spend Xmas and New year with him. If I applied for the K1 now and received it whilst I was there, would that mean I would have to get married within 90 days from then do you think? Or does it usually take longer than that to be processed? (if that made any sense)

I'm not sure how the UK works, but the destination wedding ceremony would be more of a formality than an officially binding ceremony since you'll already be technically married. If you apply now and get approved for when you go there (which isn't guaranteed, by the way, the processing times vary wildly), you could easily get your K1 visa approved, get married while you're there and stay (while still following immigration laws of course). You also can get approved while you're in the US on a visitor visa, but if I'm not mistaken you'll be required to leave the country and enter on your K1 visa. This can be done on the Canadian/Mexican border though. You would still have to marry within the 90 days of entering the US on your K1 visa. If you stayed in the US on your Visitor Visa for the entire two months, and then proceeded to leave and re-enter on your K1, you would have to marry within 90 days of your re-entry.

It's a little more complicated to do that while you're in the US visiting, but if you plan your wedding for that time, you can send a request to expedite (which won't hurt) and state that you were not aware the process would take longer and that you would lose money on not getting your visa by then because you paid for services and facilities for your wedding. You'll need to provide proof though.

SO. Long story short:

You can get your visa while visiting in the US. I would make sure that you inform the USCIS and the Embassies that you're in the country visiting, so they don't send all your paperwork to your UK address, and you can set up an appointment in the US for your interview.

You may have to leave the country and re-enter on your K1 visa, if I am not mistaken, you will have to be married within 90 days of the re-entry.

You may not get your K1 visa approval while you're in the US on your visitor visa, there's not guarantee. There's no guarantee that the US will even grant you, your K1 visa to begin with!

Someone else might be able to give a bit more insight. Gabriel and I planned on just eloping once he's here on his K1 and having the formal (unofficial) ceremony on our 1 year anniversary.

It varies depending on a lot of circumstances.

You can check out the processing times on the USCIS website for your processing center, this varies and is bound to change while your petition is being processed.

There also this thread which breaks down the factors that can effect your processing times.

There's this general thread, which will help you get an understanding of the process.

There's this nifty tool which will allow you to look up the history of users who submitted a timeline. You can search by processing center, visa type, beneficiary's country of origin, etc. I love this tool!