rolandlove1234

My NOA1 letter did not give an online access code, only a receipt number. Also it did not say which service center will be handling our case. I am assuming Nebraska since I am in Colorado. ETA: just checked receipt number online and we are definitely going through Nebraska SC.

Congratulations on the progress

Best advice:
1.  Know the income requirements and the US poverty level for the visa
2.  your May 2021 petitions will more than likely have interviews after 2021 tax returns (April 15th,  2022) are processed so do them ASAP and get the IRS transcripts to be ready for the I 864 and interview
3.  read the portal for your country paying attention to all posts and the embassy reviews and timelines of others before u
4.  make sure you have copies of all paperwork u sent and (will send to immigration)
5.  if any of you need to send further documents because of a RFE,  mark each and every page with your case #,  both your names and both DOB's in upper right and corner before you scan them / so many come thru on any given day that the papers do not necessarily come to the office in any order
6.  keep any further boarding tickets for proof of further visits
7.  keep this time romantic and forget immigration on a daily basis as the wait and USCIS  lack of communication during this time will drive you crazy
 
 
and best to  you all 
 
to OP Ghana is a difficult embassy same as moroocco so prepare your spouse with all personal information about u,  your family,  your job,  any past marriages and where you live so he can answer any and all questions the CO will ask
and its a good thing u can visit as much as you say (every 4 months )
 

Well I am jealous LOL!!! I’m over 5,000 miles away a 16 hours flight sheeeeeesh. I go every 4 months . All the best please keep updating so we can know where we are.

My NOA1 is 05/16/2021. I believe my SC is Nebraska. That's what they told me on my USCIS account, however, the NOA says it is from Texas. I'm petitioning for my husband. We've been married nearly 3 years now.

Creating this group so we can stay connected with our process.
 
PD: May 24,2021
SC: Nebraska as per NOA1
USC, Spouse, Ghana

When my wife and I started this journey, I didn't know it was going to be the roller coaster that it is. As a USC we tend to take for granted what we have and how difficult it is for those who are not to become one of us. Anyone who has seen some of my posts/rants know how much ups and downs I've gone through since November. I've thought about class action lawsuit against the government, I've thought about cancelling the application due to the difficulties my wife and I had, and certainly calling and checking regularly with USCIS and then NVC was at best a horrific experience.
At the end of the day, almost exactly 10 months to the day when I dropped the I-130 packet off, we had our POE and finalized this portion of the journey. Through it all I am most grateful to everyone on VJ for the support (and some not so supportive), the resources, the readings, the checklists, and most importantly the sharing of collective experience. In a lot of ways I feel very fortunate compared with others - when I first joined VJ I was told 13-15 months and we were able to do it in 9 months, 10 months if you count POE date, and there would have been no way for me to be able to accomplish this without the resources here and I will be forever grateful for what I've learned, and I hope to continue to contribute to others who are trying to enter this country by wading through the horrible maze that makes up our broken immigration system.
Thank you VJ and the fine people who make this community possible.

Big congratulation sir !

Nice post! Congrats to you and your wife! Now your real married life begins! Much love and happiness!

So glad to hear that you've reached the end of your visa journey and the start of the rest of your marriage, what a celebration!
I agree - we would not have been able to tolerate this process the way we have without the support and knowledge of everyone here and the VJ resources.
We wish you all the very best with your new life in the United States xx

finally got approved after 7 months of waiting, not in the best of mood but i am still grateful

I assumed they filed the I-129F for the K-3, not knowing that it is largely obsolete.

USCIS goal processing times are usually 5 months. It is highly unlikely you will receive a response from the i-129f. Since the i-130 is usually approved before or at the same time the i-130 is what moves forward to the NVC.
Once you receive an NOA 2 your case will be forwarded on to the National Visa Center (NVC). At the NVC you will submit an online visa application, and an AOS and IV package. You will need original documents such as a birth certificate, military record or exemption if applicable, marriage certificate, and a police certificate. Also, be advised you will need to provide certified translations of any documents not in English or at least most embassies I know of want that. So there's a quick snapshot of the next step for you. Best of luck.

Your immigration lawyer doesn't know what government department the NVC is under. Fire your lawyer.
Write all the letters you want. They never do any good. The immigration process for a CR1/IR1 takes 10-14 months; how you deal with this time is up to you......be positive. I knew the times when I started over a year ago. My process took 13 months and I planned accordingly.

Ok. I see. Now since you are doing AOS, you said your spouse is currently in Algeria. Does he have a work or some other visa in the US that allowed him to qualify for AOS? If not, did he get AP (advance parole) before leaving?

The I-485 is to adjust status if you are already in the US. At this point, you just need to wait for them to either approve you or send an REF . There is nothing to send in until they ask for it.

Hey VJers! So my husband had his interview about two weeks ago and he already picked up his package with his visa etc. While we were talking and making sure he had everything he mentioned that his CR-1 visa is only valid for a year. So I started to correct him thinking maybe he misunderstood something or was reading something wrong. He said no he was told in his interview that there are "new rules" and that his visa is only valid for one year. Has anyone heard about this?? I mean, i guess its a good thing because we can adjust his status after one year instead of two to remove conditions on his greencard. I told him i would look at everything when he gets here this week but i wanted to check here first to see if anyone had heard this before.
Thanks!

I think maybe there's a misunderstanding: the immigrant visa, once endorsed at the point of entry, acts as a temporary green card for a year from date of entry. After the arrival the immigrant receives the actual green card in mail and in case the marriage's been less than 2 years old on the date of entry it's a conditional gc for 2 years: quoting from the USCIS site: "You and your spouse must apply together to remove the conditions on your residence by filing Form I-751. You should apply during the 90 days before your second anniversary as a conditional resident." (Proof link)

hmm.. thats a new news ...I look forward to hear comments from other folks.

Great. Thanks Hollyday! I figured he misunderstood something they were saying to him. I guess the only thing that confused me was when he said they told him it was a "new rule". I will double check his papers when he gets here.

Immigrant visas, such as a CR-1, are valid for six months from either the date of approval or the date of the medical, whichever happens first (for 99% of people it's the medical).
There are no new rules.

Hypnos: Thanks. We knew they were valid as far as entering the U.S. for six months. My husband says he was told in his interview that his conditional resident status on his greencard was supposed to only be a year instead of the two but I am thinking he must have been told what Hollyday stated that the visa itself once stamped is valid for a year and within that time he should receive his greencard which will be valid for 2 and he just misunderstood them. I just wanted to double check and see if there was something floating around the VJ world that i wasn't aware of yet hahah.

No prob! Also, for me they put a reminder piece of paper into my passport when i was passing point of entry for the first time (this June). There it also mentions 90 days before 2nd anniversary of entering.
But also keep in mind what Hypnos said about entrance - 6 months from medical (the date till which visa is valid is printed on the visa itself, so it's easy to check).

Okay perfect! Yea we aren't waiting at all haha We are so anxious! He had his interview two weeks ago and he comes in 2 days!! I can't wait!

I was blessed to have my Senator intervene. I got checklisted 8/26 for the Russian police certificate. They received my checklist item on 8/29 and my case closed the same day. I did not have to wait.