Halai&Tim

Quick question. For those of you whose spouses are already in the US..how long did it take for you to get your greencard and social security card. My husbands almost been here a month and we havent received anything where as a friend I've made thru this site was here less than a week and received both her green card and social security card. Could it possibly have something to do with the hiccup in June/July at NVC with the online payments? My husband is getting frustrated because he wants to do things that require your soical security number, and he doesnt even have one yet *sigh* any help/advice would be very much appreciated!

Mahalo, Hala'i

GUYS...

We were approved just NOW!!! just NOOOOOOWWWW!

I can't believe it... I am not even crying.. I.. I just can't believe it but I checked, double checked and triple checked and it IS our form.. our number..

Thank you for all your support in this difficult wait!

UnaMexicana

SOOOOOO HAPPY FOR THE BOTH OF YOU!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

we are FINALLY at the end of or long journey...my husband called the Embassy and they told him they have our file and to get his medical done BY MONDAY so i'm assuming he will have an interview next week Thank you GOD!!! :D so happy

Congrats! That is great news!! So happy for you both

First off, CONGRATULATIONS!

From what i've read on this site, the fee at POE is a $165USD payment that you make for your spouses green card. (I've also read that you can pay for it before your spouse arrives, but I'm not sure how to do that) I'm sure you could also call the Australia US Embassy and ask what happens next as well.

I've also read that when you get your spouses visa/passport, you will receive your packet at that time too.

I'm happy that you finally payed your IV fees, I am trying to be patient. But the waiting sucks. I hope the process goes quickly for you now.

I'm angry because I been calling all past month to check on the status of the form, and they kept telling me all month that it takes "45 days to check it". I hope a real person checks my choice of agent form soon, i wonder how long it takes??

anywhoo, I'm glad you got a date for you interview on the phone!! Good luck!

Thanks for the support ChristinaG & Halai&Tim

When I was calling the NVC to follow up on our case, I was calling about once a week. I was also keeping in mind that our case probably wouldnt get assigned an interview until July or August. I had hardly any expectation of an earlier interview date, and I think that helped a bit as I was surprised we got assigned a May date! I also think that the processing definitely depends on where your spouse is from. I'm assuming that the case workers are assigned per their specialized country. I dont think that the South Pacific countrys have a lot of applicants and thats probably why our case was processed so quickly.

Keep you chin up! 45 days is better than the original 60 days they initially told us it would take.

Take care,

Hala'i

We got a 'false checklist' too! After confirming that our case was complete, I get an email from NVC saying that we got a checklist for not including my husbands police certificate (for Fiji, the police certificate is sent directly to the US Embassy, and doesnt get sent with the packet thats delivered to NVC). I got out my highlighter, printed out the statement and was ready to send it overnight to the NVC. But for some reason, I decided to try and call the NVC again. After being on hold for over an hour, I finally got to talk to a real person and asked why we got the checklist. She told me that it was just to make sure that we have my husbands police certificate sent to the US Embassy in Suva. Then she gave me my husbands interview date and time over the phone!! :) :)

My blood pressure was definitely going up and down that day!

Thank you for all of this! If we go this route, I would love to talk with you. We are just now starting out.

Yes, please feel free to reach out to us should you have any questions. I'll try my best to help you or steer you in the right direction! Good luck!

Hey Halai..Congratulation ....You are very near to end of biggest hurdle...lols...I'm very happy for you. By the way, I have noticed in your posting that you have mentioned about arranging/collecting 3x original of civil documents...if I'm right....if so, then I'm wondering why? As far as I know, only NVC used to demand for the original...which is only one original copy of these documents...but they have recently stopped...Now photocopies are accepted...And since your case got completed at NVC just now then I'm wondering where all these preparation for original documents came in?....I know, people need at the time of interview but no more with USCIS and NVC....Am I right or am I missing something out here?? You see, things do change time and time again...so do the process...So, people could learn a lot from your experiences too...

I collected a few originals of our documents just incase we lost or misplaced one of them. I rather be over prepared than under prepared. That's the only reasoning behind that piece. Also I had been sending these original documents to my husband thru the mail. So I wanted to have back up in case they letter got lost in the mail or something unexpected happened. That's just me though hahaha.

Thank you for the congratulations! I'm pretty stoked! hahaha

Just wanted to share our experience so far with the USCIS as well as the NVC in hopes that this information will be useful to another couple out there going through the same thing. We were just notified today that my husbands interview date was scheduled.

Timeframe:

Time spent at USCIS: 5 months, 2 weeks

Time spent at NVC: 2 months, 1 week

Time from NVC to Embassy/Interview: 1 month, 2 weeks

Total time spent from USCIS to Embassy/Interview: 9 months, 1 week

We initially started this journey in August of 2014. First off, while I was 'google-ing' which visa to apply for, I found this website. I then used this website to figure out what needed to be submitted and how to assemble the I-130 packet. .(I apologize for not having that link saved, but the order should be easily found if searched for in the search field box) I submitted the form I-130 for my husband (see below for specifics) and was notified with in a week that our packet had been received. The wait from there to the NOA2 was the longest wait. Our receipt number didnt access our online status until about a month after we received it in the mail. But once I was able to follow up using our receipt number online, our status hardly changed over the 5 months that it took for processing.

From there, we were notified in February 2015 (by email) that our case had been approved and was being sent to the NVC. At this time I began getting all the documents ready for the Affidavit of Support packet as well as obtaining original documents we didnt have (such as my husbands birth certificate, divorce certificate, marriage certitificate originals (3x just in case)). I also had my husband get all the information he would need to fill out the IV application. What took the longest to obtain was the contact information for his previous employers since he only had his Employer/job title/job description on his most current CV. (there's an exemplar DS-260 available on the NVC website).

The tricky parts associated with our paperwork at the NVC included researching what specific processes needed to be followed for his country (Fiji). There were a few exceptions as well minor things that we either needed to include with our supporting documents, or didnt need until the time of the actual interview. During the time that our case was at the NVC, I called multiple times for updates. The estimated processing timees that were given to us in writing, were usually a lot longer than it actually took to review and process our papers at the NVC. If you go look below, you'll be able to see the details of what happened and how often I called the NVC. We just received our interview assignment this morning. I did not expect it to happen so quickly. But I can only assume it did happen as fast as it did because his US Embassy is not as busy as other countrys.

If anyone has questions that I can try and help with, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I was soooo grateful for all the tips and advice I received while using this website and I only wish to be able to help another couple (even just a little bit).

Take care & wishing the best of luck to all of you! and remember...stay positive!

- Hala'i

also, the amount you enter is the ADJUSTED gross income. its really easy to get your tax transcripts via the IRS website. http://www.irs.gov.

i submitted the EZ for my husband and just to be safe i included my tax transcripts from 2012, 2013, & 2014.

Hi,

I would get in touch with the acceptable Dr on the NVC's list for your area and tell him/her that you will need the medical exam AND immunization shots. my husband was able to do everything in one day. and get his results the next week. the results are good for up to a year. (but that may differ depending on the country)

best of luck!

Hi,

in our case, we went ahead and did my husbands medical exam while we were waiting for our documents to be reviewed. The medical exam results are good from 6-12 months (depends on the country).

Best of luck!

Hi,

I would recommend getting all your documents ready for the AOS and IV. the NVC received our case about a month after we got our approval. From there it took a few weeks for our case to be entered into the system, and I got our Case number and invoice number over the phone. it took about a week after i called NVC for us to receive the letter in the mail with our case number and invoice number. I paid our AOS fee the same day that i go our invoice number over the phone ($120). I also mailed out our AOS/IV documents around the same time since I had the checklist of documents in the letter we received from the NVC. Also, be sure to call the NVC (if you can) and go ahead and reivew the DS-261 over the phone with them (thats the electronic form you fill out designated an agent, in our case, I designated myself as the agent). Once thats done you can go ahead and pay the IV fee online ($325) and then you wait until its been reviewed. Recently the processing has been rather quick. I have a friend who filed the same time as us and for the same area. Her documents ended up getting reviewed in just 2 weeks!! She just told me today. So now shes waiting for the interview date to be assigned.

Hope I was able to help some, and wishing you the best of luck!!

Another update. A friend that I've made thru this site (also from Fiji), submitted their AOS/IV package (for herself and her daughter) on March 20th and she just got notice that her case was approved. They still have to wait for her daugthers, but that means that her case was only in review for 2 weeks!! Praying that this means all of our cases will take a shorter amount of time. She didnt have them expedited either, this was just regular processing!

I just called the NVC yesterday and they said that our case was still in review But I keep checking our case online and hoping that the next time i check it, our Fee columns will change from "PAID" to "N/A".

Wishing you all the very best! Take care - Hala'i

_{So next week? Thats wonderful that you'll be hearing something by next week! Just have to remain optimistic and positive. Take things as they come. So happy thats there's been some sort of progress on your case!!}

thank you for clarifying that for me!

also, there will be a point of entry fee of $165 that will need to be paid when your spouse comes to the US.

I called NVC just the other day and was told that cases are now being reviewed in 45 days instead of 60! Usually you will be scheduled for your interview once your documents are transferred to the embassy in your home country. I'm not sure what the time frame will be like because it differs from country to country.

in our case, I filed out the DS-261 and assigned myself as the 'agent'. The agent is the person given permission to call the NVC and follow up on the case.

I also assisted my husband in filling out his DS-260 online.

You will be able to fill out the DS-261 first, pay your AOS fee. Then a few weeks later, you should be able to pay your IV Fee and then fill out and submit the DS-260 online form.

After speaking with the NVC after my AOS fee was deducted from my bank account, I was advised to go ahead and mail in my I-864EZ form and civil documents. If you havent done so already, I would advise get all the documents needed for these submitions.

Hope that helped clarify some.

_{Hi everyone, called NVC today to find out if there were any updates on our case (even though its only been 2 weeks since our scan date). They said there was nothing in the system yet, but to allow 45 days for review. So not too bad! 2 weeks shorter than the '60 days review period until case complete' that I was told initially. Whoo hoo!! my husband did his medical exam today as well and was told it would take about a week until the results would be ready for pick up. Also submitted the police certificate request to the police headquarters (since the protocol for Fiji is to have the police certificate sent straight from the police headquarters to the US embassy) today, and was told it could take up to 3 weeks. So fingers crossed everything will be done at just the right time so my husband will have all necessary documents by the time of his interview. Fingers crossed Suva US embassy has few applications processing and he'll have his interview next month!! (or is that too much wishful thinking? hahaha)}

Hi about to send in our AOS & IV package. Could someone let me know if the below documents should do? We are over the poverty line but thought we'll submit all the below just in case.

Also my husband (petitioner/ applicant) was divorced earlier so do I need to also send in a copy of his divorce decree (which was already submitted to USCIS)?

AOS Package (applicant documents)

Document cover sheet

Form 864ez

IRS tax transcripts- 2014,2013,2012

Form W2

Employer letter

Pay Stubs- Feb & March

IV Package (beneficiary documents)

Document cover sheet

02 Photographs

Birth certificate -original & translation

Marriage certificate- original & translation

Passport copy

Police clearence certificate copy

I also make above the 125% poverty guideline, but i turned in 6 months worth of paystubs from my jobs, my W2s for 2014, as well as my IRS transcripts for 2012-2014.

They only ask for originals at the time of the interview, so I sent all copies of our documents (birth, marriage, divorce). They will need to see his original divorce certificate though. We had to order ours through Australia and it took about a month to do so (since he only had a copy on him). Just something to keep in mind.

But just make sure that the checklist you recieved and will be submitting with your IV/AOS Package is completely checked off for what ever is applicable to your case.

Thank u God!!! We have a case complete after 33 days!!! So happy right now!

Thank u God!!!

whoo hooo!!!! yay! first 21 days, now 33 days?!! things are looking good at NVC processing!

My case just got completed this morning at NVC. It took 21 days from my scan date....I still can't believe it . I am keeping everyone in my prayers. Sending good vibes to you all.

So happy for you!! Hoping thats the same for the rest of us too!! Congrats

hi,

if you need to work immediately and LEGALLY, I would opt for the CR-1 visa. That's why we chose the route we did. my husband cannot just sit around and do nothing while waiting for his green card, so with the CR-1visa, you get the visa and then you get your green card right away. Although, I must tell you that I had a friend who didn't have a green card and she worked as a nanny for a family while she was in the US. They paid her cash and I guess that's why it worked out for her. So if you believe you can find something that pays cash while you are waiting for your green card, that could be an option as well.

If you go the K-1 route, you will eventually have to pay for an adjustment of status (AOS) and assuming money is tight, that might be a bit difficult as well. The CR-1 visa fees (+postage costs) add up to about $1,100US. That doesn't include my husbands flight from Fiji back to the US.

Also keep in mind that your husband/a joint sponsor will need to submit an Affidavit of support at some time stating that he/they will be financially responsible for you and you wont become a financial burden to the government (i.e. need food stamps, subsidies for housing, government assistant program, what have you). This step will include him/the joint sponsor submitting tax transcripts and proof of income as well. The joint sponsor must be living he US.

I hope I was able to help some...

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

you can visit her. I've only gone to visit him twice (due to money issues/time off from work), but if you have a job where you can work from home, or if you're able to visit for 6 months at a time (like other couples I've seen on here), you can do that as well..

it is tough, don't get me wrong. but whats been getting me through it all is knowing that we will be together some day and it will be worth the long wait. We have to do what we have to do. That's just the way it is. So regardless of what visa you two decide to apply for, have hope, keep positive, and double/triple check all your forms so you don't get an RFE/checklist!!