Jeniafrench

1 hour ago, Lil bear said:

There is nothing which specifically excludes a tourist  visa being granted when an I130 is either in process or approved .. but.. she has declared immigrant intention and it may be very likely that she is refused as she can easily apply for AOS when she is in the US .. and the circumstances for her with the conflict in the Russian region would make AOS possibly very appealing. Nothing to lose by attending the interview.. but i wouldn't expect a positive outcome 😓

We want to try anyway.. She has had multiple US visas in the past, always really short trips. And some ties to home still.

Hi, I filed a i-130 for my mother back in March. The case is currently being actively reviewed and no decision on the petition yet.

My mom has a tourist visa interview appointment on Oct 12 scheduled probably about a year ago (she is from Russia, so things are complicated). She intends to go to the interview, as she would like to visit me in December for a couple of weeks (no intention to stay), prior to officially moving after the immigrant visa is eventually approved and issued. 

I understand that it is allowed to apply for a tourist visa and travel with a pending i-130, BUT is it allowed with an approved i-130? I'm looking at the immigration timelines, and I understand that hypothetically we may get an approval any day now.

Any clarification will be appreciated.

Has anyone gotten their decisions yet? Mine is being actively reviewed for over 2 months now.

On 4/3/2022 at 11:43 AM, Stefi said:

 Filed for both parents 03/12/22, both applications are in Potomac Service Center. Same day got notification applications are actively reviewed.  

Oh wow...  I wonder if it's because of the different Service Center or something else.

8 hours ago, chinkee28 said:

I sent my application for my parents 5/2021 and was approved 3/2022. It's now in the NVC. 

Thanks! How soon did they start actively reviewing it?

And which service center?

28 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

That is just the USCIS part of the process

18 to 24 months to interview is more likely

read the guidelines above to see the process /what happens next

Oh wow...

I've gone through the IR-1 process myself twice in the past, and it's never been nearly as long. Is this due to covid backlog?

Anyone else in the same boat?

Filed for my mom on 3/20. Case is currently received. Does anyone know how long it takes to get to the next point? 

Looks like the case went to Texas and I checked the processing times here:

Processing Times (uscis.gov)

It says 11-14.5 months. Is that he whole process from filing to interview, or is this to approve i-130?

TIA!

Hello All,

My estimated case completion used to say June 2020. A couple days ago a did the biometrics, and then got a message on my profile that they have reviewed my biometrics.

At the same time, the estimated case completion is now gone completely.

Is this normal? Has anyone else seen this?

TIA

1 hour ago, WeGuyGal said:

Can apply for any visa.. B unlikely to be cancelled unless there's some sort of misrep or CO believes he no longer qualifies for B. 

Thank you very much!

Hi All,

My brother is a college student in Russia and would like to visit the US next summer for the Work and Travel program. As I understand this is done through a J1 visa.

He currently has an open tourist visa (B) valid for another 2.5 years.

Is it possible for him to apply for J1 without losing the B visa? Or alternatively can he somehow get seasonal jobs while having the B visa alone?

His only intention is literally to work and travel and hang out in summer, leaving after 2-3 months.

Thanks in advance.

Jenia

9 hours ago, millefleur said:

It's free and you just need to fill out this form and take to your local SSN office:

 

https://faq.ssa.gov/link/portal/34011/34019/Article/3749/How-do-I-change-or-correct-my-name-on-my-Social-Security-number-card

 

It says that you can also do it via mail but I think doing it in person would be faster and more secure, from my viewpoint.

Thanks! Went to the social security office, spent 50 min(!!!) talking to the guy who had no idea how to handle this. Realized that my green card also has my patronymic - отчество (OMG WHYYYY????), so now my SS card needs to match the green card with the patronymic. The problem is that their SS system doesn't have enough space to put first name + patronymic (ends up being Evgeniia Olegovn instead of Evgeniia Olegovna LOL), so my case now needs to go through USCIS before I can get a new SS card... Bureaucratic mess... Could potentially take weeks.

45 minutes ago, millefleur said:

The Russian name spelling changes are such an annoyance...I really don't understand why they had to 'fix' something that wasn't even broken!

 

It shouldn't be a big deal to get your SSN card updated. I would just request a new one with the correct spelling to avoid any issues. Since your GC and passport match up, it makes sense to sync the SSN card to match those two as well.

Tell me about it...

And Thank you!

Do you know, who do I contact regarding the SS card update?

Hi Guys!

My first name is spelt differently on my green card and my social security card. The difference is just one letter. It's not a mistake or a typo. I got the social security card a few years ago, since then the government in my country of citizenship (Russia) changed the translation spelling rules, so my name is now spelt differently in my new passport. And the green card name matches the passport.

Basically, I don't think it's a big deal, but I'm not sure which name to use for employment/ background checks/ banks etc. I'm actively seeking employment, and don't want my potential employer to think I'm hiding something.. I was just thinking to use the SSN name, but I'm not sure. Anyone had this problem before?

Thanks.

Jenia

9 minutes ago, Yilees said:

not sure about JFK, but I made my initial entry at Chicago. Pretty bad. My layover at Chicago was 4 hours and I tightly made it.

Thanks for sharing. It probably depends on the airport and the time of day when you arrive.

6 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php?poe=JFK&dfilter=0

 

Theres the JFK reviews.

 

Yesterday there was a post about someone coming in for first time and having no issues and said people were friendly.

 

3:25 hours between flights should be okay.. Generally 3-4 hours works; but just depends how busy they are and if another flight arrives same time or something you know.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I'm not as much worried about having any issues. It's just the timing really. I had a CR-1 visa before and was crossing the border in LAX. It took something like 1,5 hours or more of just sitting in a room with some other people. That's not counting the line and other procedures. So I'm worried it might be the same this time.

Hi Everyone!

Visa is finally in hand and I am getting ready to move to the US.

I know that crossing the border for a new immigrant can take a couple hours or so.

Does anyone have experience crossing the border at JFK with an immigrant packet? I need to approximately plan how long it might take. My flight will arrive at 12.05 pm. I'm wondering if I can catch the next flight leaving at 3.30pm. Do you think this is enough time?

There is another flight at 5, but I don't want to sit in the airport for hours if i can avoid it.

Thanks in advance!

Jenia

I am pretty sure that you are still obligated to do an X-ray if you are pregnant. They will probably cover your stomach somehow.

If you file right now (while you are still in Europe) then the time you spend apart won't be as long, if I understood your situation correctly. Stay together until you have to move. You can start filling the petition while you are still in the Netherlands, you are not required to have a US domicile until later in the process. Try to plan it so by the time you need to submit the NVC documents you are already in the US (and established domicile there - it is a requirement for being a sponsor).

This way you can start your program in August, and hopefully soon after your bf can receive his visa and come to the US on a K-1. Or do the same with CR-1 but it will take longer.

He can come and visit you in the meantime as long as he can prove strong to ties to home. Being from a low-fraud country, I don't think it would be too difficult for you guys.

Best of luck.

Why are you only focused so much on the fact that you have kids together? There are so many ways to prove a bona fide marriage. And everything should be included.

Good luck!

6 minutes ago, Valex said:

hi @Jeniafrench

 

Sorry i know i can't help you with this. lol but i just wanna ask you, what do they mean with "requesting an updated police certificate with different dates"?

 

My interview is this coming 4th Apr. I just want to ask how did things go with your interview?

 

I hope everythings okay now with you!

 

Thank you!

Val

Hi!

I wouldn't worry about it as my situation is unique. I run a company in Singapore, I came to Singapore to open it back in April 2014 (just came on a short-term pass). Only much later I got the EP and actually moved to Singapore. So when I requested a COC, I put the dates when I actually started living here. However, at the interview they told me they need the COC starting on April 2014 which was crazy and not something I could have expected. Not only I didn't live here but I didn't even physically have the document to reside in Sing... I submitted the COC now and am still waiting for the visa.

I wrote a consulate review, you can read it if you are interested.

Good luck to you on the upcoming interview!!!

1 hour ago, H & H said:

Hey @Jeniafrench

dont worry all will be great, my hubby was put on ap for two days cuz we had missing documents and a day later his visa was issued. Just pray and all the best.

Thank you very much!! So it was 2 days in AP after he submitted the docs, right?

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

AP can take days, weeks, months, or years. However, if the only issue is a missing form then a 1-3 weeks sounds appropriate. Keep in mind there are processes after the papers are received, such as another background check, printing of the visa, etc. The fact that it's been touched so often is a good sign IMO.

Thank you! Glad to hear something positive!

11 minutes ago, BackWhereIBelong said:

We are at the NVC stage of the CR-1 process. We need Police Reports to proceed.

 

We lived in Singapore and spouse is back in Japan, I am in the US. 

 

Singapore Police require hard copy fingerprints from Japan in order to provide Singapore Police Certificate of Clearance.

 

Japan Police do not provide fingerprints on their stationery but will provide just fingerprints on paper. I fear that alone may not be acceptable.

 

Any suggestions? 

 

 

Call the police clearance certificate office in Singapore and ask. They are helpful.

http://www.police.gov.sg/e-services/apply/certificate-of-clearance

Hi,

I had an interview in Singapore on March 14. Was given a 221g at the end of the interview for missing document (needed a police certificate for a different period).

Sent the certificate together with the passport on March 23. Does anyone know how long it should take now?

CEAC has been showing "Ready" the whole time after the interview.

March 24 - ready, case updated

March 27 - AP, case updated

March 28 - AP, case updated

March 29 - AP, case updated

So they are looking at it every day, is that normal? How soon should I expect to get a visa? Thanks in advance.

6 minutes ago, gem04 said:

What will be awesome! If you can provide me with their contact information and/or webpage I will appreciate it.  I think, I have to translate document again and if you have used them before and NVC/embassy eccepted then I will use them to. Thank you!

Sent you a PM.

Let me know if you need a recommendation on a translation agency in Moscow. They do everything very fast, online, let you check it via email first and then deliver to your address. I used them a few times and NVC/ embassy accepted all the documents.