mckwong

in the lower left hand corner of each page of your interview letter,

there is a publication date.

what's the publication date?

I ask, because the P3 supplemental has not been used in a LONG LONG LONG TIME,

the thing replacing it is

the document delivery coversheet that you or the applicant generates inside of the CGI/Stanley web portal.

----

Did you guys do EP at NVC or no ?

I wrote to the US Visa Service Desk at support@ustraveldocs.com about the issue registration issue on the CGI web portal, and they replied with instruction. I followed it and finally got my document delivery coversheet! Here is the instruction for those who has the same problems I had:

Please note that for selecting your delivery address for receiving your documents from the Consulate, please follow the steps given below:

1. Log in to your profile on www.ustraveldocs.com web site;

2. Select “Schedule New Application” option;

3. Select “Immigrant Visa - NVC Applicants only - Registration ”;

4. Select your visa category and enter the CITIC branch pick up location convenient for you or choose Premium Delivery service (chargeable)

NOTE: In case you want to track your current passport status which was submitted to the Embassy, please, send an email to passportstatus@ustraveldocs.com and in the subject and/or body enter a valid passport number exactly as it was entered at the time the appointment was scheduled, and you will receive an automatic response with the status.

in the lower left hand corner of each page of your interview letter,

there is a publication date.

what's the publication date?

I ask, because the P3 supplemental has not been used in a LONG LONG LONG TIME,

the thing replacing it is

the document delivery coversheet that you or the applicant generates inside of the CGI/Stanley web portal.

----

Did you guys do EP at NVC or no ?

Sorry for the long delay of reply. I was out of the country and didn't check email...

It was a paper filing. I initially paper filed with Hong Kong embassy and NVC transferred my case to Guangzhou since my wife does not have Hong Kong residency.

The P4 letter has a header "my case number - std p4 app (15oct2014)". I am not sure what P3 supplement is, as it is not mentioned anywhere in NVC or Guangzhou embassy web site. I went to the CGI/Stanley web portal, and I chose China region, and then it asked me if it was for an immigrant visa, once I chose immigrant visa, it gave me this screen in my attachment. It direct me back to the immigrant visa info page:

http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/cn-iv-visaapplyinfo.asp

If I ignore it and just go back to GCI web site and log in (I previously registered), it will let me enter the info up to the point it asks for my case number, and then it says it can't find it. The interview date is on 2/18/2016, so it is a bit strange it still does not find my case number on 2/1/2016. Do we still need to do the online registration thing with CGI web portal?

My P4 Interview Letter (with Guangzhou embassy) asks for GUZ P3 SUPPLEMENT. However, the State Department download link of Post 2 no longer works. Anyone has an updated link? Thanks.

When NVC finish reviewing your documents, you would get an email that says an interview would be scheduled. On the online portal, the AOS fee, AOS package, and IV package will show N/A before the email goes out. This is an indirect way for you to check online.

The processing time depends on your luck. I got my case completed in less than 30 days, while my friend waited for over 60 days and still not completed.

Your case seems to be in the worst situation. If you marry your wife before your green card, she can get her green card with your green card application. If you have not married yet, you can apply for fiancee visa and get married in the US. In your case, you holds a green card and got married, which means you can only apply for CR-1, which has an annual quota for green card holders. If you do not physically live in the US, it is quite hard to establish the domicile. Maybe you want to talk to an immigration lawyer to see what he suggests. It is likely you need to move to US first before you can apply for your wife, and expect 3+ years for processing. And Arsian12 is right that if you leave US for over 6 months, the immigration may take away your green card when you return to the US.

Just to give an idea of how long it takes NVC to process the civil and financial documents. NVC received my AOS and IV package (paper filing) on 7/27 and I got an email on 8/21 that all documentation were received and an interview would be scheduled. It took approx 20 working days for NVC to review my documents. I didn't do the online DS-260 until early August. My embassy is Hong Kong, but I don't think it matters for the NVC processing. I think my case is sitting on NVC queue now waiting to go out to the embassy.

Absolutely no responses on the GUZ casefile transfer nor EP for Guangzhou from NVC. The supervisor did not call back as expected. I am tired of trying to get NVC to do what they supposed to do. At this point, I think I would just wait and let my HNK casefile to go to HK and hopefully it won't get rejected there. I will write a letter explaining the situation for my wife to bring to the HK consulate if they question why the case was sent to HK.

ya, it'll be fun if HKG IV gets the casefile. And actually processes it without them deciding to do a case transfer into Guangzhou IV.

So, after a case complete, the casefile is shifted to the next queue, and it'll sit there for a bit.

The good news? You have a different casefile number for Guangzhou IV, right? That'll be the stuff yer cranking on now. Different Casefile #, Different calendar.

No, NVC has not assigned a new case number, so I believe they did not do anything on re-assigning my case to Guangzhou yet. The letter that says my documentation are completed still references the old HNK case number.

Just an update on my case. The fun never stops at NVC. Today I received a letter saying all documentation necessary to complete the case at NVC are received and an interview will be scheduled. That is normally a good news BUT I thought I was waiting for my case to transfer to Guangzhou since Hong Kong will not process it, and now all my documentations were sent to HK? I called NVC, and the CS understood my concern, but could not answer my questions. She said she requested a supervisor to call me back. I will see if I ever get a call back. I probably need to call them again on Tue.

Sometimes I just wonder if I could just play dumb and let my case to go to HK? HK technically didn't say it couldn't be processed there, they just said "For your information, visa applicants (except K-3 and K-4 visa applicants) should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country or in the area where they live and work with legal permit. "

Whe I tried to fill out DS260 form I got

Welcome to the Consular Electronic Application Center Immigrant/Diversity Visa portal. To access your case, please enter your case number below.

The selected Case Number and Invoice Identification Number combination you entered does not match our records. Please try again or contact the National Visa Center for further assistance.

I don't know what do :-(

Need help plz

After you received the email from NVC with your case number, it takes 1-2 weeks for NVC to enter it into portal, so it is normal for this to happen. You can call NVC to verify it. I would just go back and check the portal every day to see if it opens up.

you could certainly try it ! you wouldn't be the first to switch over after complete submittal, so that's a plus.

talk with a NVC supervisor on the telephone today, tell supervisor you want to switch over to EP.

it'll mean you send scans of everything you sent off so far- i hope you made copies or scans already.

and it'll be another 60 to 90 days on intake. maybe longer, as they will have to rehome the payments to the new casefile number.

I called NVC, the customer service did not have a clue as she told me Guangzhou did not have EP. I then requested to talk to the supervisor, and she was very helpful. She said that NVC will send me a new Guangzhou case number, and then at that time I could choose to submit my documents electronically. Once I started the EP, I cannot back out. My previously submitted paper documents under the HNK Hong Kong case number would be discarded.

I appreciate your help, Darnell. You probably have saved me 4 months wait time for getting an interview. Now I just need to wait for my case to be re-assigned to Guangzhou.

well poo - that's gonna suck a bit,

as now you are a paper casefile headed to China, Guangzhou IV.

Expect a 4 to 6 month wait for the casefile to get opened by Guangzhou IV,

as

per treaty with China

all USA Consular documents sit in a bonded China Warehouse for a 2 to 5 month duration.

Sorry.

Can I switch over to the electronic submission now to avoid having the casefile sitting at China warehouse for 5 months? I already submitted all financial and civil documents and got the NVC 30 days to review letter, but apparently NVC has not reviewed my documents yet.

damn, if that is the case, it really sucks. That is crazily long!

Update: I called NVC again and apparently the first customer service was wrong. They need to re-assign my case to China U.S. Consulate.

I am a US citizen applying IR-1 for my wife, who physically lives in Hong Kong with my baby. Hong Kong is my home town, and I lived there with my wife and baby until I decided to move back to the US in 2014. My wife is a China citizen, and she does not have permanent Hong Kong residency. She does live there legally on a family visiting visa (a form of visitor visa) from China since I am also a HK citizen. Her visa is valid for one year (and renewable) and she needs to leave HK every 90 days, but Hong Kong is right next to China, so she can go shopping in Shenzhen and come back to Hong Kong to get another 90 day stay in HK. She has been living in Hong Kong for 3 years and gave birth to my baby in Hong Kong.

When my I-130 was approved, NVC assigned a HNK case number for the Hong Kong US Consulate, probably because I had my wife's address in Hong Kong. I was concerned, so I called NVC, and the customer service told me as long as my wife stays in Hong Kong legally, even if she is a visitor, she can get her case processed at the Hong Kong US Consulate. With that information, I proceeded and paid the AOS and IV fee, submitted all financial and civil documents, and filled out the IV application. I am now waiting for NVC to review my documents and transfer my case to the Hong Kong US Consulate for the interview.

However, my wife became concerned when she saw this case online: A China citizen had her case assigned to Hong Kong US Consulate, proceeded all the way to have the physical exam and vaccination done, only was told on her interview day that Hong Kong US Consulate could not process her case because she was not a HK resident. Her case is slightly different than mine as she and her spouse have no ties to Hong Kong. I try to confirm my case can be processed by the Hong Kong US Consulate by emailing them, and here is the reply I got:

"Thank you for your inquiry. Your file is still maintained by the National Visa Center (NVC) in the United States for administrative processing before forwarding it to Hong Kong. You may wish to contact the NVC directly about your case. Tel: (603) 334-0700. E-mail: nvcinquiry@state.gov. Information about NVC can be found on the Department of State’s website at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/nvc.html.

For your information, visa applicants (except K-3 and K-4 visa applicants) should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country or in the area where they live and work with legal permit. "

The answer is a bit vague, but it seems to imply my case should be processed at the China US Consulate as my wife does not have a work permit in Hong Kong. If so, it contradicts what NVC told me. I am a bit confused now. Which information is correct?

The online IV fee is still not payable, but today I received an email from NVC with an IV fee invoice. The invoice is a page with my case number and barcode. It points me to http://nvc.state.gov/feeand follow the pay by mail instructions. However, the page also says paying it by mail will cause delay in the case. I think I will wait a couple weeks to see if the online payment option will become available to me.

Thanks but any idea when it ll get fixed... is there someone who go got this working

I see a lot of people posting that they can't fill out DS-260 because the status online is showing as not paid for their AOS and IV feeds. However I'm having a different problem.

I go to:

https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx

On that page when I try to enter our case and invoice #, I get this error:

"The selected Case Number and Invoice Identification Number combination you entered does not match our records. Please try again or contact the National Visa Center for further assistance.

"

So I'm not able to even log in to see the DS-260 or know that our case is set to paid or not paid status.

Does anyone have this problem or know what I should do? Am I going to the correct web site to try to fill out the DS-260? I can't even get as far as everyone else seems to get - which is seeing whether the status is paid or not paid.

(FYI the IV and AOS fees were both paid by mail and I have email from NVC showing that they were both paid already. That email says I'm at the step "step 3: submit visa application form" which I assume is DS-260.)

Thanks

Your link is correct. Unfortunately it is the technical difficulty we are all experiencing right now. Supposedly the online DS-260 will open up for you to fill out once the system recognized the IV fee is paid. I could log in but am unable to pay the IV fee online, so I got stuck at the visa application.

Thats not true at all , i have seen many cases where they sent the AOS & IV docs once they pay the AOS fees and they already got approved in their interviews , what he was experiencing is most likely the NVC is entering his info ( AOS & IV Docs ) into the system , it could also be the technical issues that the website has been experiencing . i know its totally a mess but what can we do ?? ( Just waiting )

This may not be the only way to work, but I am just sharing a successful experience from my friend who just went through the NVC process in mid May. If this helps others to get through the system technical issues, then why not give it a try?

Me too, after I submitted the ds-261 and PAID AOS fees, the website shown as AOS PAID and ds-261 Completed. I mailed over the whole AOS Package with IV Supporting Documents - then after that, I started to get an error: Please be advised that the case that you have attempted to access is not eligible for further processing by the National Visa Center at this time…"

And then I started to get error: "This case is in the process of termination. Fee payments and online forms can no longer be accepted…"

NOW I'm able to access my case but it shown my AOS Fee PAY NOW - what's up with that??? and when I click on PAY NOW it takes me to pay the fees?? which I already have paid and have all kind of receipts of it and everything to proven that, even my bank statement shown I paid it.

Of course, I still cannot pay the IV fee online and there is no DS-260 form available online to fill it out. it just frustrated the whole screwie website thing.

Anyone has experienced this?

Thank you

I think you may have sent in the documents in the wrong order. My friend did it last month and she did it in the following order:

1. Once the AOS fee is shown paid, you can send in your AOS package with the financial documents (employment letter, tax transcripts, last year 1040, and signed AOS form)

2. NVC will take 2-4 weeks to review your AOS package, and when it is done, they will unlock the IV fee for you to pay online.

3. The IV fee will show Paid, and the DS-260 will open up for you to fill online. And then you can send in your IV Supporting documents.

4. If the documents have no issues, NVC will forward the whole package to Oversea Embassy for scheduling an interview.

My friend has completed the NVC part and is waiting for Embassy notification for interview now.

You probably want to call NVC to sort it out and see where your case is.

I could log in today, filled out the DS-261, and paid the AOS fee. My case number was assigned on 14-May-2015, so you can get a feel of where your case may be at.

Just an update on my case, as of today 4-June-2015, I still cannot pay the IV fee online and there was no DS-260 form available online. The IV fee entry is there online, but at $0 amount. I have not sent in any civil documents yet.

I could log in today, filled out the DS-261, and paid the AOS fee. My case number was assigned on 14-May-2015, so you can get a feel of where your case may be at.

I received my NVC welcome letter email yesterday. I tried today (5/20/2015) to log in to do DS-261 but get the same error every one gets here. It is still not fixed yet.