jcruzazucar

Hello VJ,

Our interview was approve February 23. On the I-130 petition prior attorney has chosen for ssn to be mailed. The $165 for green card was paid March 2 and my husband enter US on March 6. Does any one know how long before we get green card and should we wait for ssn in mail or go to office?? I'm afraid they mail ssn and then we go and are given 2 different numbers. Pls help if anyone knows the part to this process.

Have you guys seen any update on the ELIS website after POE? Mine is still showing last updated date March 5 (the day I paid the fee). I did POE on March 16.

It's probably too early for me but I guess I expected to see some sort of case update when my envelope gets to TSC for green card production.

I might go to the Social Security office by the end of next week though, since I need the SSN.

Hello, here's some info i know:

The green card takes time, from 3-6 months after POE and after US Immigrant Fee is paid. That is why the stamp on the passport (I-551) lasts up to 1 year from POE date.

I needed the SSN asap in order to apply for an apartment so we went to the SSN office and they informed us the SSN card was already mailed BUT since we were there we were able to get the number on the spot!

Good luck!!

Soloenta, I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. I have no words other than I hope God sees your pain and helps you and your husband with this situation. I firmly believe God's timing is always perfect and I hope that is the case in this matter as well. My heart goes out to you and your husband.

If there is anything we can help with, please let us know. You have been an extremely helpful and kind person to everyone here. I think everyone just wants to return the favor right now and be there for you. It is ok to let others take care of you when you always take care of others.

Best of luck dear!

My husband's visa was approved today! Thanks to JesusChrist for this blessing, we are super happy. Also thanks to dhweels and Saylin, all of the moderators and everyone else on here who helped me along the way. I am so relieved this is finally complete

Hi, I've been following along because we have the same situation--living in Tijuana but needed to know if we could do POE and have him return to Mexico to finish up a few things before we move permanently to the U.S. We are currently waiting for our case complete.

How much is the immigrant fee that we have to pay online after the interview? Is there any fee we need to pay at the consulate itself? Thanks!

If you paid the IV fee and AOS fee with the NVC via online payment, there is no fee to pay at the consulate.

The USCIS fee is $165.00, payable through ELIS on the USCIS website.

You are welcome. Good luck on your husband's interview on 2/25. Don't forget to pay immigrant fee online after his visa is issued on his passport so he can get his green card via mail at your US address.

Thank you!!

CR-1 and IR-1 visas are valid for 6 months. He can enter US anytime before his visa expires. After he arrives in USA on his CR-1 or IR-1 visa, an officer at the port/border will stamp an I-551 annotation on his stamp. According to this forum, his I-551 annotation in his passport is proof of Permanent Resident status for ONE YEAR, pending receipt of his Green Card. It will allow him to reenter the U.S. after travelling abroad.

You will need US address so he will receive his green card via mail.

How long will he stay at his medical school in Mexico? I mean.. when will he graduate? In this forum, I don't see any issues with traveling out of US and re-entering US after I-551 is stamped on passport while waiting for acutal Green Card via mail, but if he is on IR-1, he must mantain permanent residence until he applies for naturalization or abandon his green card. If he is on CR-1, he must produce lots of evidences to prove that his marriage is in a good faith before he applies to remove his conditions -- it means lots of evidences has to be in US like you and he lives together in US for 2 years, joint bank accounts at US bank, neighbors in US or any relative/friends in US know you and him together for 2 years, joint tax returns, vacation trips together, etc. After conditions are removed, he still has to maintain permanent residence until he applies for naturalization or abandon his green card.

Thank you for your response. He will be getting the IR1 since we have been married for more than 2 years; no need to remove conditions. We plan to move to US in end of March 2015. He will definitely maintain his residency since we plan to live in U.S. He'll just need to go into Mexico each morning for class and back to the USA in the evening to go home which shouldn't be an issue. He'll be done with medical school in about 4 years.

I didn't know the I-551 stamp was good for one year, that helps a lot! Thanks for that information.

You will need a US address but otherwise I do not see a problem.

Thank you. I do have a U.S. address but I want to move from there asap. Thanks!

I wanted to see if people could give me their opinions regarding a plan I have. My husband has his interview next week 2/25. We plan to cross the border in Tijuana as soon as he receives his visa/passport. However, we both live in Tijuana at the moment and won't be ready to move to the U.S. for about a month (end of March). Do you guys think this will be a problem?

The reason for crossing before actually moving: I read that the SSN and green card are not mailed until after he does POE. Because the green card can take months for him to receive by mail and he will need to cross into mexico everyday because he is in medical school there, I don't want to wait any days before he does POE to make sure the count starts immediately and he receives his card before his visa expires.

My concern is that I work in the USA so I have to cross everyday in the morning and I don't want to get him in trouble because we have not moved yet but he did POE already.

Is this concern valid or should we simply wait until we have a new apartment in the USA and then do POE? This is not my favorite option but will do if the other option will get him in trouble.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

Hi! It's been a while since I've been on VJ - sorry, I will update all my info/timeline soon. It's been a weird month, but I have my interview next week (!) and I have a few questions. I'm really sorry if this gets asked a lot, I'm a little lost right now.

Question 1: My case was expedited at the NVC stage and sent to the embassy... I assume this is why I don't have a P4/Interview letter? Is this normal for expedites? What I do have is an email reply from the embassy telling me my interview date (I had emailed them before to ask if they received my case). The email points out that the "only things I'm missing" are previous passports, medical exam results, DHL confirmation and police certificates if I've lived anywhere that's not the US or Argentina (which I haven't). It doesn't go into specifics of what I've already submitted, but I suppose since it says the "only things I'm missing are" it means everything else is good. I'm assuming this email is my P4. I'll check with the embassy, but if any of you have any experience with this I'd really appreciate it.

Question 2: I have read the first post, but I keep hearing so many different things. What do I *actually* need to bring to the interview, aside from "new" stuff (2x2 pictures, passport, medical results and DHL sheet)? Most importantly - do people bring more evidence of the relationship or does the embassy already have it from the USCIS/NVC stage? Are we supposed to bring evidence from the time we sent off the I-130 (a year ago...) until now? I suppose I'll print out pictures/plane tickets. I also of course have scans of everything we've ever submitted to USCIS/NVC but I don't suppose I need to print all of this out? I know better safe than sorry but I would also like to avoid showing up with 500 pieces of paper if possible.

So, the situation is:

- I submitted my documents to NVC before the change, so they have all of my originals + copies

- I have the sealed envelope with my medical results, which I will bring

- I will bring the 2x2 pictures

- I will bring my valid passport and previous passports as requested

- I will bring the DHL confirmation

- My police certificate is not expired

- I suppose I will print out evidence of relationship for this past year? And lots of pictures?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance!

WOOHOOO!!!! I am soooo happy for you!!!! Congratulations

I am planning to take copies of everything I submitted to NVC just in case they misplaced something and new pictures, plus the other docs you mentioned above.

Have you heard anything from mofatsd?

Im approveeeeeeeddddd!!! finally after all this time, i can sleep now haha!! waiting time was awful, interview itself took like 20 min but IM APPRRRRROOOVVEEED its all that matters now!!

Ill post my reviews when i get back to my hometown, thanks all for the supportt!!!

:goofy:

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!! This is great news

Congrats! Did you schedule your interview or nvc?

NVC scheduled it about a month ago. Interview set for 2/25

Case now shows ready! So happy....one month exactly until we leave for Juarez

Here is my interview experience:

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=16023

I typed it up while my wife was sleeping. She was exhausted from not sleeping the night before. I feel better now that I have vented about that nasty CO at the embassy. Now the family and I are getting ready to head out to dinner to celebrate!!!

I just read your review. Wow. That is crazy and maybe it was a tactic. So glad it's over and your wife will soon be with you in the U.S. I wish I could go in with my husband to his interview but I will be praying from the hotel or waiting area hoping he has a nice CO. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Guys!! I had my biometrics today in Hermosillo, Mexico. My appoiment was at 8am and i got there around 15 min before, everything went perfect, it was really quick and they were really nice. Funny thing there was somebody else there with an appoiment for Ciudad Juarez next wed 28 same time as me so ill have a friend to talk while i wait lol!!

Woo-hoo! So glad you are one step closer. It's almost here!

Great thank you!

Also, do you know if I will be able to schedule that biometrics appointment like a day before the interview?

Also - For you all that wen to Juarez, what hotel do you recommend? About how much per night?

and my last question is, do they mail the Visa or can we choose to wait for it there?

I haven't had my interview yet It's until 2/25 but I can let you know what I know so far:

(1) It all depends on the dates they have openings but when I did the appointment, it would allow me to choose up to 2/24, the day before the interview. I didn't choose that because I am doing biometrics in Tijuana, not Juarez.

(2) I don't know about hotels, but I needed a room with two rooms so I chose La Quinta Inn & Suites. My friend is staying at Quality Inn and another stayed at the Wyndham.

(3) When you set up biometrics, you also have to set up where you want to receive your visa via DHL. If you want to get it in Juarez, choose the DHL in Juarez. However, be aware that it can take a day or two or longer. We don't have time frames because each case is different and it all depends on them at that point, not us. I cannot stay in Juarez past the 26th so we chose the DHL in Tijuana.

If you have other questions, please feel free to ask. We are all here to support one another.

Please help!!

The Immigrant Visa case number provided is not ready to schedule an appointment. If you have not received an appointment letter from the National Visa Center (NVC), you can check the status of your IV case at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/nvc.html.

I still cannot register at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/iv/

This is the next step correct? I have already received our interview appointment (P4)

This has happened to all of us at the Juarez embassy. Don't stress, it's an easy fix. In the message that says that your case is not ready for scheduling, send an email to the email address provided. Put "Case not ready for scheduling" on the subject line just like it says on the instructions. Follow the instructions that it says on there: To put applicant's name and date of birth. Attach a copy of your P4 letter and send it. It takes them usually 4 business days exactly to get back to you and their response will let you know that your case is now ready for scheduling.

If you send today, you should get a response by Wednesday of next week so try to do this today. Once you get their response, choose the first option that says "I want to register my immigrant visa appointment" in the drop-down menu and just fill in the info again. You'll be done in like 5 minutes scheduling everything, it's quite easy once you are able to access the system. Good luck!

two more weeks till my interview!! CANT WAITTTT!!!

Today is my hubby bday and i am not there hopefully soon we can celebrate!! Dwheels, wish your daughter a happy happy bday

Woohooo!!!! I am so excited for you I am going to need a detailed review after your interview lol

Hello thank you! Well the interview was very easy and simple. If you did all the paperwork and everything went well you shouldn't have any difficulty in te interview. They just asked me for my wife's address and how we met and then just said welcome to the US! He was very nice as well. As for the medical, if you already have your appointment it's also very easy. You are probably in there for about 20 minutes, and the vaccines well they just put whatever is missing in your vaccine record book. I had all my Vaccines Mexico requested so I had to get 3 for the visa because the U.S. request you to have extra ones. The vaccines are only for the person getting the visa. You also get the results the same day. The other spouse doesn't have to do anything at all. My wife was in the hotel room when I did everything from the biometrics, medical, and the interview. Hope this helps a little and hope all goes well for you guys! Good luck!

That's great info, thank you! Very helpful.

I just got my interview date (via email) - February 9th at 9.30am. I am in shock and so thankful as I was expecting a March interview. All things going well, this would mean a smoother school transition for my daughter

Looks like London is still scheduling - I got CC on Jan 7th. Now I need to hurry up and go get my medical!!

That is awesome, congrats!

I got an email too !

February 3rd !

Woo-hoo nanana!!! Sooo happy for you! You definitely deserve an early date. Hope everything goes well and you have a quick POE as well!

Thanks everyone! Interview went great! My husband got approved and they didn't ask for anything!

Hi, congratulations! When you have a moment, can you please let us know how the interview went? What questions did they ask? Also, for the medical, how many vaccinations they gave you/your spouse? We have interview in February 25!

No that's not true. It's not sent immediately. Mind was sent 2 weeks later. It all depends. But immediately usually not. And they usually go out Fridays and Mondays..

Thanks for all of the information dwheels!

Hi dwheels, is it at all abnormal that I received CC on 12/15, Interview letter on 1/03 and my case still appears "AT NVC"? My interview is set for February 25th and I'm just wondering because I read on another thread that it should be shipped out a few days after the interview is scheduled.

Thank you!

Hi everyone as of January 5 I got case complete and just received case complete e-mail but no interview date yet can someone please tell me how long it's take to find out the interview date please please please many thanks in advance!!!!!!

I believe most embassies are done with February scheduling. March scheduling should start the last two business days of January and the first week of February.

APPROVED!!!!

Thank you all my dear VJ family!

Soloenta, dwheels, Saylin, aaaaalll of you!!!!!

I'll post more about it later, but it was SOOOOOO easy!!

I'm so happy!

YAYAYAYAYAY!!! Congratulations!!

Same thing happened to me, Scheduled ASC Feb. 09. Interview Feb. 10. woot!

4 days on the mark to respond. Thanks for the help!

Great news! Happy for you guys. Please let me know what vaccinations they give your wife so I can have an idea of what my husband should expect. Thank you!!

I was finally able to schedule my husband's ASC appointment in Mexico for February 18! I wanted an earlier date but they only allowed slots right before his consular interview. Chose DHL courier too. Tip for my Mexico peeps:

If you try to log in to Immigrant Visa in ais.us....wesbite and it says your case is not available for scheduling, email the email address that appears on that warning. They took exactly 4 business days to respond and I was able to schedule right after I received their email saying the case was now ready. Best of luck to everyone!

dwheels, is it ok to schedule the biometrics appt. about 1 month in advance of interview? It should be right?