queentobe

To those all the October filers out there - my application was received on October 5th and on March 15 (yesterday) my case was approved!! No interview or anything!

Hoping the rest of you get the same happy news soon!

americanirish87, my filing date and NOA1 date is the exact same as yours!! I'm hoping we will know something soon. Let me know if you receive your approval anytime soon. I'm so anxious.

Whoops, you're actually a couple days ahead of me! Either way, I will be waiting for your approval.

and if you're anything like me feeling very discouraged ... remember those dates are for your NOA1 date... not filing date. I filed 9/30 but didn't receive NOA1 until 10/5 ... so technically I'm not behind the timeline yet as I was thinking I was this whole time!

americanirish87, my filing date and NOA1 date is the exact same as yours!! I'm hoping we will know something soon. Let me know if you receive your approval anytime soon. I'm so anxious.

My husband was a walk in for his biometrics and we live in Boston. He said that at first the person that was checking the appointment letters gave him a little hard time but he was polite and kinda sweet talked his way in. Once he was in he had no trouble at all and had his biometrics taken. The lady at the counter changed the appointment date on his letter and signed it. I think you just have to try and see what happens...

Got it! I guess I'll just wait and see.

Thanks!

Hi all,

Has anybody here had a successful biometrics appointment walk-in in New York? If so, I'm curious to know what your experience was, as I am hoping to do just that when I receive my appointment letter.

Thanks!

Just made it into this forum, filed September 30! Received all notices via text and email today thank god... I was starting to worry that it was lost!

Looking forward to everybody's progress reports here. Wishing everyone all the best, we're finally in the home stretch.

Quick question RE: Form G-325A - does my husband (USC Spouse) have to complete this form as well? I have seen it listed on some peoples AOS Checklists, but not all.

Any help on this is appreciated.

Thanks!

I am glad you managed to get yours. Congrats on that

I have been following the DHL tracking and if that was yours, it arrived at Johannesburg on Friday. So you should be getting your packet 3 today or tomorrow.

I was actually hoping that would be mine, but I checked DHL and no other packages have gone out. so that means mine has yet to leave NVC. So I doubt that we even have a case number yet. But thank you for the encouragement

Wow, I didn't even know you could track the shipments through DHL - thank you for the heads up.

Fingers crossed your case get processed and sent to Johannesburg soon!

Yeah. frustrating does not even cover it.

My NOA2 date is the same as yours, NewKid. I just called the NVC and after 45mins of waiting, I received my case number and found out that my petition was sent to the US Consulate in Johannesburg on June 2nd. Give the NVC a call, I'm sure our processing times are very similar.

Good luck!

Just received packet 3 from the Paris embassy. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, guys! Almost done!

Jealous! Good luck with everything!

We have similar timelines. I called this morning. They gave me a case number. When I Checked it on CEAC it says ready. I'm not sure if it means sent or received by the embassy. yours might be the same. Try calling at 7am. Good luck.

Oh, that sounds hopeful! I'll try calling again. Thank you for the response and good luck to you too.

- T

4 days away from a month since NOA2, still no case number.

Ugh, I'm in the same boat as you and our notice dates are very similar. I've been getting my unabridged birth certificate and police clearance in order in the meantime.

Anyways, let me know if you hear anything. Would love to know how a fellow South African is getting on with all of this.

Thanks!

- T

Hi April Filers,

I'm new here. Timeline as follows:

K-1 VISA

I-129F Sent: April 6, 2015

I-129F NOA1: April 9, 2015

I-129F NOA2: May 11, 2015 (32 days)

Would love to know how long it took some of you to get case #'s from the NVC etc/how long it took for your petitions to get there. I've heard horror stories of them ending up in the wrong place and I am getting slightly anxious about our petition. The first time we called (and actually got through) they had still not received it and this was a little after the two week mark. I know it's still not 30 days, but should I be worried?

Any advice/thoughts would be great.

Good luck to all of you!

Thanks

- T

It is a losing proposition, your EAD is tied to the authorized stay and it is the 90 day period that your K1 is valid for , even if someone paid the money to get the EAD the period of employment that it would authorize would also be that initial 90 days. IF you were lucky enough to get it in a month after filing you would have 60 days that you could work then you would have to stop. No company of any decent size is going to hire a 60 day employee. Most people here aren't so flush with disposable money that they would throw it away filing for this EAD.

Thank you so much for sharing your insight regarding the EAD! As someone who freelances and works as a sub-contractor, I would like to correct your statement that "no company of a decent size is going to hire a 60 day employee". That is not true at all. Companies of all sizes in my industry hire people on a daily, weekly and monthly basis all the time, so please don't make such gross generalizations if you are not familiar with the world of freelancing.

If you applied for your EAD the day you arrive on your K-1 visa, you just might be allowed to work a week or 2 before it expires. You cannot file for an extension of the K-1 EAD because it is non-renewable. You need to apply for a NEW EAD after your AOS and wait another 60 to 90 days for it to arrive.

EAD based on K-1:

• $380
• Valid only until your I-94 expires
• Non-renewable

EAD based on AOS:

• Fee waived
• Valid for one year after issue
• Renewable

Thanks for calling that out Zedayn! I just re-read the instructions on the USCIS site and saw that. I don't know how I came to the conclusion that you could file for an extension, but I was obviously mistaken.

Thanks everyone for your input. I think the decision is obviously an easy one now.

Your EAD which does take 30-90 days to process would only be valid for the duration of your 90 days stay.

A k1 is a one time entry, it's not like other visas.

You'd be wasting your time.

Just apply with AOS.

What Cody & Daisy said. The type of EAD you are referring to takes up to 90 days to be processed but is only valid for 90 days after entering the U.S., which practically makes it obsolete. At best, you would be able to use it for a couple of weeks or days. I suggest you wait and apply for an EAD concurrently with your AOS. It will be free of charge then and valid for a year (or until you get your Green Card).

Thanks guys! The insight is greatly appreciated. I

If anybody took the chance and applied pre-AOS, I would still love to hear about it.

I understand, my post wasn't directed to you, it was in general.

I have also seen people who take many months or even years to file for AOS due to various reasons.

I would like to know the ease or success of filing for EAD and AP before applying for AOS also.

Got it!

Interesting. That would be a great plan for someone who didn't want to adjust status and wanted to work to earn some money.

Just to be clear, I WOULD like to file for adjustment of status. The only reason I am asking this is because my fiance and I plan to marry in the third month and plan to file for AOS immediately thereafter. I was just hoping to get work authorization out of the way first, to optimize our time and then file for an extension when we submit my AOS. Aside from it being more expensive, I am curious to know if/how this worked out for anyone.

Hi all,

I'm new to Visa Journey and am hoping somebody out there with personal experience can help answer my question.

I was wondering if anybody has applied for their work authorization directly after entering the states on a K-1 visa? I know it is generally ill advised as you apply with your AOS anyways, but I would love to hear from anybody who did it. The last time I applied for an EAD was on my F-1 and it was processed within a month, so I was thinking of paying the additional $380 to process it right away as I would like to get back to working sooner than later.

If you have any experience with this, I would love to get a sense of your timeline and find out what your experience was doing it this way, as opposed to filing with your AOS.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks.

- T