buckeyestud

My wife's interview is Thursday but when she attended the medical they informed her they do not have gonorrhea test in stock and thus could not provide the sealed package with full results.

What should we do now?  What happens if the medical documents are not included for the interview?  Should we contact the embassy?

29 minutes ago, mms0811 said:

Does it show on the website?

Yes, it shows.  The website stated yesterday 'At NVC' and now after receiving my email it shows as 'In Transit'.

6 minutes ago, Vj USerr said:

Thanks and congratulations. Hopefully we all waiting for interview will hear something back today as well,its good to know that they officially started distributing interview dates for may.

I was pleased to see my notice and wanted to share.  Good luck to all.

4 minutes ago, Vj USerr said:

Did you got the email or they told you on the phone?

I received an email.

13 minutes ago, Jay and Hime said:

Nice one! Where are you interviewing? 

Qatar.  Surprised it wasn't scheduled for sooner.

Same exact circumstance for me.  I hit 8 weeks middle of last week.  Called and they put it to supervisor.  Called again Monday and was reassured it would be out in next day or two.  This AM I received the email and am moving forward with next step (chose an agent quickly, now waiting up to 2 weeks for the invoice).

Okay, so I called NVC to follow up and they confirmed they received on APR 11, however, no case number has assigned as of yet.  Standard could be (but doesn't have to be) up to 8 weeks from date of receipt.  That said I am just shy of 2 weeks so will continue to follow up until case number is assigned.  I suppose the note I received from USCIS on the 19th of April was a glitch since NVC confirmed they had received on the 11th.

33 minutes ago, buckeyestud said:

So they received my case 27 SEP at Potomac (NOA1).  April 3rd I received notification they approved my case (NOA2) and on April 5th I received notification it was sent to State Dept.

 

I also received an email update that they were still 'reviewing' my case however they already said the last action was that they sent it to DOS so how is it that they are still reviewing?  It is conflicting because it states last update is 5 April but by stating they are still reviewing (as opposed to sending it to DOS) which contradicts the previous step.

 

 

 

September 27, 2017

We received your case

Read the notice we mailed you for more information about how we will process your case

We will begin processing your case and will review it to make sure you have submitted all of the required information and documents. We will let you know if we need anything else from you.

If you do not receive your notice by October 27, 2017, send us a case inquiry and select that you did not receive your notice by mail.

If your mailing address changes, update your address with us.

 

April 3, 2018We approved your case

April 3, 2018

We approved your case

Read the notice we mailed you for more information

If you do not receive your notice by May 03, 2018, send us a case inquiry and select that you did not receive your notice by mail.

If your mailing address changes, update your address with us.

 

April 5, 2018We sent your case to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for visa processing

April 5, 2018

We sent your case to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for visa processing

You do not need to do anything at this time

After 6 weeks, you can check the status of your case on the National Visa Center website.

Learn more about consular processing, including what to do next, who to contact, and how to inform us of any changes in your situation or address.

 

So they received my case 27 SEP at Potomac (NOA1).  April 3rd I received notification they approved my case (NOA2) and on April 5th I received notification it was sent to State Dept.

I also received an email update that they were still 'reviewing' my case however they already said the last action was that they sent it to DOS so how is it that they are still reviewing?  It is conflicting because it states last update is 5 April but by stating they are still reviewing (as opposed to sending it to DOS) which contradicts the previous step.

September 27, 2017

We received your case

Read the notice we mailed you for more information about how we will process your case

We will begin processing your case and will review it to make sure you have submitted all of the required information and documents. We will let you know if we need anything else from you.

If you do not receive your notice by October 27, 2017, send us a case inquiry and select that you did not receive your notice by mail.

If your mailing address changes, update your address with us.

April 3, 2018We approved your case

April 5, 2018We sent your case to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for visa processing

Just got email notification of change in status and when I checked it showed as approved.

PD 28 SEP. POTOMAC.

3 minutes ago, The-Journey said:

Just got an alert on my phone that my status was changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is there anyway to check before getting the mail.... PD 9/13!!!

Same happened to me a couple hours ago.. PD 9/28 at Potomac. 

Didn't look like the verbiage changed but it did send a notice.

For those of you who have received your NOA2, did you receive it by email first?  Or mail?

I just received email notification and confirmation.  I had requested that my case be expedited on the grounds of my mother being diagnosed with stage III lymphoma and that she has guardianship of my medically disabled brother and my case was forwarded to Potomac service center which I can't find on processing times.

Does this mean they are expediting my application??

Submitted through Aramex today from overseas (Qatar).  They said it will take 7-10 business days to arrive (fastest they could send).

Let the journey begin..

On 8/16/2017 at 0:48 PM, NicoleA said:

Have you decided if you will use your Doha or US address for the cover letter?

I cannot seem to find an answer on which I should use. 

I am going to state that  I live overseas in the cover letter but use the US address in application to send all documents to a relative for faster (and more reliable) mail services.

Thanks for the feedback, Ryan.

14 hours ago, Ryan H said:

My answers in bold and red:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31 minutes ago, NicoleA said:

Hello, 

I'm happy to see this.  I am also in Doha and currently am finishing up my packet for my husband to hopefully send by the end of the week.  I didn't realize you could expedite things - Doha is a bit shaky at the moment which is why we are applying now.  

 

In general, this looks like all of the same info I have in my packet (but I have the same question regarding the passport copies)

 

What are you putting down as residence of beneficiary in the US?  It gets complicated when you are both residing outside of the US, not to mention the fact that we don't really have legit home addresses out here! 

As I understand it, simply having both petitioner and beneficiary living abroad in Doha won't really qualify for having the case expedited even with the current circumstances, but I figured it was worth a try.  At least if it puts me into one of the 'quicker' processing centers that would be ideal.

I decided to list my official mailing address in the States, which is a relative's home, and that is also my intended relocation address as well.  Since it likely will not matter in terms of expediting I decided to keep the US mailing address as I have had other items lost on their way here so I would rather have any important mail sent in the US then have a family member ship it via DHL or UPS.

Hi All,

I am nearly ready to submit our package so I have put together a cover letter outlining the documents I am submitting but I have a few documents that I am worried may be considered 'outdated' since I had acquired them last year at various times so I wanted to know if it is advised to obtain new, refreshed documents instead.

Also, does it look like I am missing anything?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  

Cover letter details:

Petitioner name

Foreign address or US address..TBD??

Doha, Qatar  (no DCF)

United States Department of Homeland Security

USCIS

Attn: I-130

131 South Dearborn-3^rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60603-5517

August 12, 2017

Nature of the Submission:  I-130 Original submission

Dear Sir/Madam:

I, [Petitioner name], a citizen of the United States, would like to file a petition I-130 on an urgent basis for my spouse, [Beneficiary name].  Please find enclosed the following required and supporting documents:

1.      Completed form G-1145

2.      Completed and signed USCIS form I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative  (Signed and dated in June 2017)

3.      Completed and signed USCIS form I-130A – Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary  (Signed and dated in June 2017)

4.      Personal check in the amount of $535.00 for I-130 filing fee

5.      Copy of front and back of birth certificate (Petitioner)

6.      Copy of biographical page of US Passport (Petitioner)

7.      Copy of biographical page of South African Passport(s) (Beneficiary – current and maiden name)  [Do I need to include the full passport copies?]

8.      Proof of a bona fide relationship:

o   Copy of our unabridged marriage certificate

o   Two passport style photos each for Petitioner and Beneficiary

o   A short summary of our relationship history

o   Photos evidencing our relationship from its start in April 2011 to the present

o   Letter from employer verifying joint tenancy since 2013 in housing provided by company  (NOTE: This document is dated more than 1 year ago.. do I need to get a new one?)

o   Sworn affidavit by brother in law as witness to legitimate and loving relationship of beneficiary and I  (NOTE: This document is approximately 1 year old.. should I get an updated one?)

o   Letter of verification from credit card company for joint usage of credit card account  (NOTE: This document is 1.5 years old.. should I get a new one?)

o   Verification from bank regarding jointly held checking and savings accounts in the U.S.  (NOTE: This document is 1.5 year old.. should I get a new one?)

o   Confirmation of beneficiary status in Money Market and IRA accounts in Spouses name

Copies of the documents submitted are exact photocopies of unaltered documents and I understand that my wife or I may be required to submit original documents to an immigration or consular officer at a later date.

I kindly request that you expedite the attached petition and provide the receipt notice as soon as possible given that my spouse and I currently reside in Qatar with its unstable political climate and are waiting for visa approval to relocate back to the U.S.

Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

[Petitioner name]

Good morning,

I am about to file the I-130 for my spouse and we are currently living together overseas.  She is a South African national and I am a US Citizen and we have been married for more than 5 years but are planning an eventual permanent return to the States.

We both live in Qatar (7+ years for me and 10+ years for her) which is not eligible for DCF.  I would like to know the pros to filing the package from here (I would use express shipping like DHL) but the normal snail mail here is not good (I have had items that were mailed to me delivered 8+ months late, and in some cases returned to sender but after a considerable delay) so I was considering using a relative's address in the States to receive the documents (I have all my US mail sent there) and just having them send back via DHL.

Is there any benefit in using an overseas mailing address, such as a chance at faster processing or should I just use a US mailing address and have my family member express mail documents back to me overseas?  I would imagine the trade off is I might get processed quicker but it could be offset by delays in receiving documents thus negating any potential benefit.

I thought before I have seen this mentioned elsewhere before in case tracking but I wanted to make sure since I live abroad and was hoping to have the process move along a bit faster given that we have been married more than 5 years and both live abroad.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 - B

6 hours ago, Ryan H said:

***Posts split into separate threads as poster is asking their own question and not replying to the OP of the other thread.  Please start your own thread with your own questions instead of hijacking threads started by other members.***

No intent of 'hijacking'.  I didn't realize that it required a separate thread.  I was under the impression that having a discussion and asking related questions on the same topic (processing times and submission while living abroad) made sense instead of starting another thread entirely.  It gets difficult trying to track down multiple threads on the same topic.

Filing I-130 - usual time to completion when petitioner and beneficiary live together abroad

OP - "However, some peoples timelines seem to show that the visa process only takes a few months.  Which do i believe?  I am saving for my medical fees and flights etc and will need to hold off from filing if its only going to take 6 months or less to get my visa.

Can someone help as to current times?  I know it will be sent to Chicago but apart from that, I cant make head nor tail of how to figure out the processing times."

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Roughly the same processing time as everybody else....~12-14 months. It might be very slightly longer due to having to deal with international mail, but nothing significant.

 

In some circumstances, an expedite is available (see https://www.uscis.gov/forms/expedite-criteria). However, I'm unaware of any such expedite approved due only to political turmoil.

Ah bummer.  I had thought that my living abroad would help the process go quicker vs. my living in the states.  Appreciate the response and reference.

What about the scenario in which the Petitioner and Beneficiary are both living abroad but are not eligible for DCF - does anyone have a rough idea if these cases are processing quicker than the 10-14 months?

I live in Qatar with my wife and we have been married nearly  5.5 years and was hoping that if we are filing now, given the current political turmoil in the country we reside, we may have a shorter timeline but I was not able to locate details on that.