Jenny and Ryan

I think online inquiry works better than calling them from my experience. We've got approval response 2 weeks after sending online case inquiry. 

Well, I don't know which part of California you are located. I renewed mine Sep last year at Culver City, LA DMV with the extension letter. They gave me a 8 years one with no trouble. Also I don't think mailing really works, I've never heard anything back from them. I renewed it at the local DMV office with walk-in

we filed our I751 on May 20, 2016 CSC and new card was ordered on March 30, 2017. We submitted case requests online and over the phone, also went to infopasses couple of times. I guess it may helped.

I want to say thanks for everyone on VJ. It's been a long rough journey for us since K-1 visa. I don't know how can we went through the whole immigration process without VJ. Again thanks for everyone who made posts and left comments here. Anytime if I have questions, I always come to this website for answers which saved us thousands dollars lawyer fees. I really would like to make some donation to VJ website. Could someone tell me how to contribute to this website? thanks for making this website so great!

P.S: I decided not to file for N-400 naturalization and just keep renew my green card every 10 years. Wish everyone's application go as smoothly as possible. 

Hi there, we submited our AOS package at the end of last month. We put in the form for email and text message. I didn't receive any email, but i've got the text message says our package was accepted.

Here is mine input

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Add your info alphabetically
City - Date - Reason - Successful
Take out the top and bottom "quote" tags so your edit is not in a box.
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ALABAMA
Birmingham, AL - The guard told us it was not our date. I told him that I had to work that date, but was off today. He give us a hard time, but finally agreed to let us through. Funny because there was only one other customer there. Successfu

CALIFORNIA
Buena Park - No reason, just gave security guard my appt letter. YES
Chula Vista - 2 Walk-ins, first was 10 days early and the second was 23 days before the appointment. Successful.
El Monte - 13 days early. Work conflict. Sup wasn't nice about it, but biometrics got done!
Gardena - 5/24/12
Los Angeles - (USCIS Fairfax on W. Pico). Successful with no questions asked.
Los Angeles - (downtown) July 2012. NO

Los Angeles - San Fernando valley (Chatsworth) division: successful walk-in, no questions asked, short wait. 6/11/13.
Oakland - Oct 2013 successful
Pomona - long wait. Successful

San Francisco - 05/19/2014 - No question asked for three weeks early walk-in. Just showed security guard the letter. Get it done in half hour. Friendly staffs
Santa Ana - Walked in 2 times in June 2012. No questions asked. The friendly security guards even told me I could go inside to fill out the form for my wife but will have to wait outside afterwards.
Santa Ana - early walk-in successful, the day after I recieved the biometrics letter (original appointment date: 03/11)! Really nice staff and security guards.

Santa Rosa - Walked in right after lunch. very few people. They were not happy and pointed out the scheduled date many times, but didn't send us away. I'm glad we were in the area and busy on our actual day.
San Marcos - Walked in at a little after 2pm and we're 2nd in line. Showed Appointment Notice and passport. Entire process only took 15 minutes and didn't have to pay parking fee (inside a small shopping center)
San Marcos - Walked in right after I got apt letter, went 20 min before closing, was the only one there, didn't give any reason, was in and out in 7 min, free ample parking space.
San Jose - 4/29/14 - Successful. Appointment for 5/14/14. Did a walk-in at 11.20am. Staff was pleasant and polite. In and out in 10 minutes.

West Sacramento - 4/28/14 - Unsuccessful

COLORADO
Aurora - Went 10 days early. Reason: I was in the area and had lots of meetings on appointment day. Successful. I arrived at 8 am and saw that lots of people were waiting. Left, did some chores, and came back at 9:15. Finished biometrics in 10 minutes.
Denver - went in 2 days early because I couldn't get the day off of work to take hubby on exact date and we had no issues

FLORIDA
Jacksonville - May 2013- Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, successful in 25 minutes.
Miami - June 2012 - Gave no reason. Showed up 2 weeks before - was in and out in 5 minutes.
Oakland Park - Feb 2013 - Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, succsessful in 10 minutes.

GEORGIA
Atlanta - No reason Officer had us wait outside until the earliest appts went in (about 15 minutes). Yes.
Atlanta - Our appt was for 6/13 went in 5/25 and we were successful with no questions. The office just wrote on our form Walk-in.
Atlanta - Appointment for 04/26/13. Did a walk-in at 3PM 04/17/13 successfully. Reason was husband is working on appointment day. No question of reason though.
Atlanta - Appointment for 10/18/13. Did a walk-in at 3PM 10/01/13 as we are on vacation on appointment day. No problems, the place was deserted. Successful - in and out in 10 minutes.

ILLINOIS
Naperville (abut 30 miles west of Chicago) - My appt was 8/13. Went on 8/30 at 2pm but was unsuccessful - only one technician on duty. I asked if there was any point in trying again and was told 'I can't tell you not to try again but to try earlier in the day'. I went on 8/1 at 11am and was seen after the 11am appts. I was in and out in about 25 minutes. I was told that I shouldn't really be doing this and not to do it again but at least they saw me. I didn't give any reason for wanting an earlier appt. I just said that I had been waiting so long during the whole K1 process, I would like to get a head start on AOS!

INDIANA
Michigan City - January 2012 - No reason needed - Yes to successful walk-in(asked about it, I was there the same day as appointment)

IOWA
Des Moines - April 2010 - Husbands erratic work schedule meant rescheduling wouldn't help because there was still no guarantee the new date would work - Successful
Des Moines - March 2011 - To get it over with - Successful (advised they were being more strict but letting them proceed due to no-one else being there)

LOUISIANA
Metairie - Unsuccessful. You must arrive on the correct day at the exact time of your appointment, or they will not see you. Tried for AOS, ROC and N-400. Two friends have also tried it and been refused.

MARYLAND
Baltimore - April/2013, told guard I will have oral surgery couple days before appointment & will be very swollen/bruised, she asked for supporting documents which I provided. Denied walk in. Was told I could come the day of if I was feeling well enough or after appointment date but not before.
Wheaton - told Security guard I was not going to be in State on the day. Yes
Wheaton - July 2012, asked why could not make appointment, said attending wedding. Successful(out in 10 minutes).
Wheaton - Dec 27, 2013 - Told guard we had an 01/07/14 appointment in Baltimore but had a dr. appointment the same day. He passed us on through. The gentleman who we talked to gave us a lecture about going to the wrong place, that people would be waiting for us on the appointed day, that it wasn't fair to them, etc, etc. - but then said he would allow it this time but to do all other appointments on the scheduled date at the right office.

MINNESOTA
Duluth - successful
Minneapolis - May 2012- NO because one of the computers was down
St Paul - No reason asked or given. Successful
St Paul - April 14th, 2014. Guard noted we were kind of early but I can let you in, as we're not busy. We mentioned we had a trip planned on the appointment day, after his comment. Successful

MISSOURI
St. Louis - No problems, no questions asked, Successful

MONTANA
Helena - family had appts on different days. Did all the same day. Friendly office.

NEBRASKA
Omaha - 3/22/2012- appointment was for Apr 5. No questions. Successful

Where are you locate? I did mine a month ago in San Jose only cost me $25.00 for translation. I can give you the doctor's contact info if you need it.

YAAAYY congrats!!! I fly to Vancouver in the morning!!! Have my medical on Wednesday and my interview on Friday....Im nervous/ excited! Thankyou for sharing your experience!

Thanks! Wish you have a nice trip. The weather was pretty good here

Your fiance and I are in the similar situation. I was born in south China a very small town and immigrated to Canada with my parents when I was little. China doesn't issue official birth certificate until recent. Only thing I have is a yellow piece of paper about my palm size. I bring it to the interview also with notarized report my parents did when immigrate to Canada in 1999. The notarized report have Chinese and English version states my birthday, birth place, and both of my parents name. The consular office exam it carefully and took it.

Maybe you could ask the lawyer to see if you could get a notary report from Birth country. From what I understand, where to do the interview depends on his nationality not birth place. Hope it helps.

First of all big thanks for everyone on VJ. K-1 Visa is a very stressful process. We couldn't make it without everyone's help. I want to write my visa experience to share. Hopefully it will be useful for someone.

There is some background info. I born in mainland China and immigrated to Vancouver Canada with my parents when I was 17. My finance lives in San Francisco California.

Start from beginning, we have been preparing I-129 package for several months to get all forms and evidences. Until we were ready to send out, one of our form was expired. We didn't realized it until USCIS returned our whole package. Then we resend it by express mail, takes 20 days to get NOA1. When we were preparing for interview, we noticed that affidavit of Support form was expired Dec 2013, but they haven't posted the new one yet. Just double check it to make sure use the updated one.

The good thing about this visa process is we can check our status for each step on website. After NVC processing, CEAC website shows "Ready", we could email Vancouver Consulate immediately and ask them to send Packet 3 and Packet 4 by email. They would be happy to do it. Canada post was quite slow even within the city which took me 4 days to receive Packet 3 by mail. Vancouver Consulate is very efficient for replying their email within 2 days. If we haven't heard from them after 2 business days, resending them a reminder email attached with the original email. They will reply within an hour or two. Contacting them by email could finish Packet 3 and 4 within 2 - 3 days.

After we got green light to book the interview, go ahead create account and book the interview date right the way. Just save a spot, even the earliest interview date was 2 months away. Like others posting, we were checking interview schedule 3 times a day to see if there was an early date available. Make sure check it every morning first thing, more likely they will have spot open in the morning. We didn't book the medical exam until we got satisfy interview date.

When we got an earlier interview date, we tried to contact Dr Cheema. We sent them several emails in a day, but no reply. So start calling, after voice message, press "0". Waited for 15 mins, we were able to talk to their reception live. At that time, their office seems very slow. They added me in for an appointment in next 2 days. Their reception is pretty easy to talk with. Just tell her which date you want to come, more likely she can add you in. Their staff told me the best time to call is after 4:00 western time.

Medical exam - I was driving there on first day to do the medical exam and taking skytrain and bus to get the result. The clinic is in Surrey. If someone from out of town and stay in Downtown Vancouver close to Consulate. It could be a long trip for them. I say good traffic about an hour and rush hour about an hour and half or two driving. Skytrain won't take u there directly, need to get off at 22nd street skytrain station and take bus for half hour after get off skytrain. The blood test and X ray are not in the same build as clinic. It's about 10 mins driving distance.

For Vaccine record, I did blood test prior to the medical exam which took us 2 to 3 weeks to get result in BC Lab. I printed off the list of vaccine needs for medical exam on Dr Cheema's website and bring it to my family doctor. There is one thing to be aware of MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella). My family doctor said 3 vaccines in one shoots, So he only marked Measles and Rubella for blood test. He thinks if I had 2 of 3, I must had all of them. However, Dr Cheema office needs to see all 3 vaccines listed on blood test result. I have to take MMR shoot again at Dr Cheema office since I don't have time to take another blood test. Dr Cheema is very nice and easy going, but he gave me the most hurt shoot I've ever had. I almost jump off the chair.

Interview - I went for interview by myself except all document I only bring a non digital watch. There is no clock and no bathroom on 20th floor. For the documents, I bring everything listed on VJ postings. I won't listed here again. Just for Affidavit of support, I bring my fiance current statement from employer, current bank statement, 4 payroll stubs, W2 for last year(haven't filled tax for 2013 yet), and past 3 years tax transcripts which can print off from IRS website. We thought we were over prepared, but they collected all of them. The interview was just a breeze, only 6 basic questions.

The only thing I mess up is police certificate from China. When I was 17 moved here with my parents, they did a criminal record check in China for me back in 1999. I thought since I left china in 1999 and never stay there more than 2 weeks after moving to Canada, it should be okay to use it for k-1 interview. Also on the Packet 3, they didn't say there was a time limit on police certificate. The consular staff was very detailed and thorough. She pointed out police certificate from china was dated in 99 which is too old and need an updated one. After getting an updated one, I went to consular office again to drop it (no need for second interview). They issued my visa last Friday. Happy ending~

Looking back the K-1 process, it was much faster than we expected. We were pretty careful with all documents and evidence, no RFE. The only thing we mess up is date. First out of date form in I-129 package, second out of date police certificate from China for interview. I just want to share my experience. Hopefully nobody makes same mistake like us. Also it's my way to say thanks to VJ.

I just did my medical exam with Dr Cheema at the end of last month. At that time they were very slow. They added me in early morning at 8:15. First I try to book it by email no reply. When I called it always goes to voicemail. So after finish play the voicemail, I press "0". Then waited for 15 mins, you can talk to their reception. The best time to call is after 4:00 that's the only time their staff work on medical exam.

For how to get there, I think the best way is driving on the exam date and taking skytrain to pick it up the result next day. The reason is the blood test and X ray are quite far from clinic about 10 mins driving. If you take skytrain, get off at 22nd street skytrain station, and then take bus for 20 mins to half hour. It will take you right in front of the clinic.

Hope it helps

When you send the packet 3 by email, you could ask them email you packet 4. It's much faster than waiting for the mail

I'm soooo happy to see someone already done the interview. Wish I could book mine soon~

How many copies you make for those doc?

Yes, it's for K1 visa. I emailed both Vancouver and Montreal Consulate to confirm where my case went to. Thanks everyone! I think CEAC made a mistake.

We spoke to NVC a week ago, and they said our case has been sent to Vancouver Consulate. However, when I checked on CEAC website this morning which shows our case is ready to schedule interview at Montreal Consulate. Since I'm living in Vancouver, I don't know why it shows our case is at Montreal. I'm not sure maybe it's a mistake on CEAC website. Also the case no. we got from NVC start with VAC. Is that mean Vancouver? Thanks in advance~

VJ timeline has a "consulate received" event...how do we know when the consulate receives our packets from NVC? Since that VJ timeline event is separate from "Packet 3 received", I'd assume there's a notification or way to track it was received by the consulate prior to receiving packet 3?

You can call NVC to get a new case no., then check it on DOS website.

https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

Mine left NVC and in transit to consulate

I don't think you need a "certified translator." What you need is for whomever does the translation to write up a letter certifying that they are fluent in both languages, and that this is a true translation.

This format is lifted off of the USCIS website.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing (the link where I found that information)

Thanks for your quick reply. Cheers!

Thanks for everyone's answer. I had same question.

Hi all,

Does anyone know where can I find translation service in Vancouver which certified by USCIS? I need to get a statement from them state the translation for my Chinese birth certificate and police certificate are correct. Thanks a million~

Ok good. See the requirement below for translations:

TRANSLATION of Birth Certificate: All documents not in English must be translated. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states, “I am competent to translate and the document is accurate”.

The key here is that your English translation MUST contain that statement by the translator. If it does not, then please have your Chinese birth certificate translated in Canada to USCIS standards.

I know cases where the consulate during k-1 interview has requested the birth certificate to be re-translated to English by someone who will put the above statement to it. To prevent any delays, I would get it re-translated if yours does not come with the statement above. If it already does, then you are good to go.

Thanks for the reminder. I sent an email to Vancouver consulate asking about birth certificate.

Ok good. See the requirement below for translations:

TRANSLATION of Birth Certificate: All documents not in English must be translated. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states, “I am competent to translate and the document is accurate”.

The key here is that your English translation MUST contain that statement by the translator. If it does not, then please have your Chinese birth certificate translated in Canada to USCIS standards.

I know cases where the consulate during k-1 interview has requested the birth certificate to be re-translated to English by someone who will put the above statement to it. To prevent any delays, I would get it re-translated if yours does not come with the statement above. If it already does, then you are good to go.

Okay, I'm not sure what I need to be translated. I have the notary report for my birth certificate in English done by Chinese Public Notary. Then I go to translation office in Canada ask them to translate to English again to get the statement by translator.

Please do not make any changes (like putting a notary stamp from Canada) to your original birth certificate in Chinese.

If you have not already done so, get your Chinese birth certificate translated to English by reputed translation firm. We used www.rev.com . It is all done online and their translation is done to USCIS standards. You can search for other services as well that are acceptable to USCIS.

No, I didn't make any change to my original birth certificate in Chinese. All we did is notarized it in China and they gave my parents a Chinese version and a English version notary report. My parents used it to bring me to Canada. They accepted it.

ohhh cali? very nice....im heading to Pennsylvania to be with my sweet heart

Happy for you~~ The waiting is almost over.

As long as I have an interview date set, I can put those visa things behind and focus on other things in my life.

i know! I'm sad its not sooner but in a way its ok cause then i can save up a bit more money before i move

Yup, I wish it could be sooner, but I don't mind to do interview in April. We are planning to drive my stuff to Cali. It's better to wait until the weather become warmer. I really don't want to get stuck in the snow mountain.

I wanted an interview in Feb but the earliest is end of march.... You cant look at the appointment dates until you have the packet 4 instruction....but once you make an appointment and pay the fee you can always log in and check to see if any spots open up.... Ive heard of others doing so...

Oh, no... I thought they are not busy since they don't do marriage visa in Vancouver.