jaffandliz

On 1/6/2021 at 10:53 AM, Lucky Cat said:

Some offices are also months and months behind scheduling interviews, too.  We filed my wife's I-751 in March 2019.  The status has been "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview" since May 2019....that's right....2019.

I am in a similar boat, did you have to get an extension on your i797? I have to organize an info pass appointment next week to get stamped or I cannot drive because the DMV will not renew my license due to the extension about to expire. 

I filed in May 2019, it was accepted on July 13. I have still been waiting. My extension is due to expire come the end of February- I have to make an urgent appointment to have to extension applied for another year. 

My case is sitting with Potomac (YSC), they are saying the average processing time is 18-20.5 months. Has anyone else been in this situation?

I did not follow up earlier because I knew the centers had been furloughed with Covid on going plus I’ve been extremely busy with work. 

Our packet is also on the way to the embassy in Sydney. Do we pay for the MRV after packet 3 arrives? Or before so we can schedule an appointment? I'm a little confused about the next few steps since so many country specific things have been thrown around, haha. Thanks!

i have responded to your question in June filers but, i am fairly sure you pay on the day of the interview which is $371 AUD.

Our packet is in transit to Sydney. My fiancé scheduled his medical for next Tuesday, do we wait for packet 3 or can we book an interview date? Confused about the order. Thanks!!

Yesterday we received and email that it landed this is what the email says, you need to wait for this. on the day they receive it they will more than likely email you within 24 hours. i was told by the medical examiners to wait till about 3 weeks out from the interview to schedule appoinment. i also called the Consulate to ask where we pay our fee's and they said wait for packet 3 to come via email i guess.

*** AUTOMATED MESSAGE ***

*** DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ***

Dear K Visa Petitioner,

The U.S. Consulate General in Sydney has received your approved petition. Please have your fiancée create a profile via USTravelDocs and email our office at support-australia@ustraveldocs.com. In the email they must advise the following information:

Name:

Case number (ie: SYD2014000000):

Email address:

Phone number:

Passport Number:

DS-160 confirmation number:

Thank you

Visa Unit (BC)

U.S. Consulate General, Sydney

General: http://canberra.usembassy.gov Visas: www.ustraveldocs.com Email: support-australia@ustraveldocs.com

Note: You should never pay for travel arrangements (e.g., airfare, hotels) without having a visa in your possession. The U.S. Consulate General accepts no responsibility if you do so. You risk significant financial losses if you ignore this advice.

Firstly, Congratulations guys !

Furthermore, we called after 5 days of receiving NOA2 and nothing, i would wait 10 days to call NVC, i called twice and one of those times were just before 12 midnight EST, i went straight through to a representative, the second time was around 8 pm EST on a Friday night and only waited 5 minutes, be careful as to what times you call them as i have read that there are long waits in busy times.

I am not sure about your fee's but we pay ours at the embassy in Sydney Australia at the time of interview , don't take my word as gospel though. our file was in the nvc for about 7 days and is in Transit to Australia right now, they say it will take 2 to 3 weeks to land and then the packet 3 gets sent out to us here in Australia.

I have some steps and documentation/check lists that you'll need so just PM Me and i will send through if you like. you'll also need your Case number and also invoice number which you can get when you call the NVC.

Good Luck !!!

Jeff

Hi Guys,

Here is the checklist that a lady recently sent me , her fiance has just gone through the interview stage. It seems it is Australian Embassy specific by the looks of things , but i thought it would help, especially the other Aussies on this page.

STEP-2-K1-Checklist.docStep-2-Required-Documents American consulate.pdf

In regards to calling the NVC for the case number:

At that stage, I'm guessing it will depend on the embassy you'll be working with. For instance, if we call the NVC for a case number 2 weeks after receiving our NOA2, and we're able to get that case number, then my fiance can call to schedule his medical exam. Once he has the medical exam scheduled, he can fill out the forms online (DS-160 I believe), pay the K1 Visa fee, and schedule the interview.

Potentially we could have the interview scheduled only 6 weeks out from the date we receive our NOA2, according to the Timelines filtered for UK folks only. Other embassies may have a longer wait in general, so it's a good idea to research the time frames and Embassy information to get an idea. If we were to wait until the NVC sends our application to the embassy and then for the embassy to send us Packet 3 before he scheduled his medical and interview, it may be 8 to 9 weeks out from our NOA2 date.

Cutting out 2 to 3 weeks may not sound like a lot to some people, but to us it will be great Now if we can only receive our NOA2.

Firstly, Congratulations guys !

Furthermore, we called after 5 days of receiving NOA2 and nothing, i would wait 10 days to call NVC, i called twice and one of those times were just before 12 midnight EST, i went straight through to a representative, the second time was around 8 pm EST on a Friday night and only waited 5 minutes, be careful as to what times you call them as i have read that there are long waits in busy times.

I am not sure about your fee's but we pay ours at the embassy in Sydney Australia at the time of interview , don't take my word as gospel though. our file was in the nvc for about 7 days and is in Transit to Australia right now, they say it will take 2 to 3 weeks to land and then the packet 3 gets sent out to us here in Australia.

I have some steps and documentation/check lists that you'll need so just PM Me and i will send through if you like. you'll also need your Case number and also invoice number which you can get when you call the NVC.

Good Luck !!!

Jeff

Does anyone know of the forms and procedures that need to be filled out and done before the interview ? We haven't received our letter from the consulate yet as our case is in the NVC still. Just wanting to get things in order!

I have a question for the Aussie filers who have already received their NOA2... Have any of you got your case number yet? And have you looked at available interview dates? I'm just curious how long the wait time is between the embassy receiving your case and actually having an interview. I've seen a few posts on the June forum about certain countries having a much longer wait than others and interview dates not being available until nov-dec....

We Got Approved on the 26th, We emailed the NVC around the 30th of August and they said they hadn't received it. I called them today Aussie Time 1.45 PM and they had received it. They'll ask you some details and either one of you can call. They, gave mke the case ID and the Invoice number. i logged onot the account and it really just shows that the Petition was at the NVC. The operator also said he would take my email and then email me when the visa petition leaves the embassy to go to the SYD consulate.

The way I see it is that the time goes fast anyway, most people need that time to get their affairs in order before they leave their home country. Yes is does suck a bit not having your loved one near you but 5 -6 months out of our lives is a blip on the radar screen.

I've been with my fiancé for 5.5 years now and we started our relationship as long distance, back and forth for around 10 a 11 months before her committing to come to Australia.

We had originally thought we were in for a long wait with this visa and set our minds to that. But we were of the ones that were first out of the gate so to speak. I wish I could have swapped our approval for someone that desperately needed to get home to their significant other. As Liz and I are already together

Hang in their guys and gals ! The time will pass and when you have you K1 visa- AOS and the green card it won't matter anyway.

The way I see it is that the time goes fast anyway, most people need that time to get their affairs in order before they leave their home country. Yes is does suck a bit not having your loved one near you but 5 -6 months out of our lives is a blip on the radar screen.

I've been with my fiancé for 5.5 years now and we started our relationship as long distance, back and forth for around 10 a 11 months before her committing to come to Australia.

We had originally thought we were in for a long wait with this visa and set our minds to that. But we were going me of the ones that were first out of the gate so to speak. I wish I could have swapped our approval for someone that desperately needed to get home to their significant other.

I have a question,

Does anyone know how long after NOA2 that the NVC receive an approved petition ? We emailed them about 7 days after approval,yet they said they hadn't received our file.

I don't want to call or email (NVC) only to get told they haven't received petition. Waste of time in my view. Also, can a relative from the US call on behalf of us ? We don't want to get up during night time to make an international call.

Thanks in advance

I would wait till she is at her new address, i have read many people on here that they have sent very large files which is quite o.k. we sent the bare minimum and only what they requested. That said, we have a child together, we live in the same country at one address and so it was evident that we were already in living together and our bio metrics correlated as well with living address's abroad.

If it is a case of where y'all are living in separate countries then you will need to provide solid evidence, things like Air tickets, passport stamps of you or her going to meet in each others country , Photo's together, facebook messages, skype conversations, and if you have been into the US to meet then a cop of your Visa or visa waiver number is great to add in.

Do not miss anything on the form and answer everything you need to as you don't want a request for further evidence (RFE). be sure to go to the official website of the USCIS or i think there is a part here in Visa Journey that will help you out, if not, then the members will gladly help you. HAHA, ive over answered your question :-0

No she cannot lose citizenship by divorce, maybe she thought that she was a USC by marriage and got it confused ?

or, maybe she had lost her permanent residency because she breached a rule and there fore had to re-apply for her green card and then US Citizen ship ?

It doesn't sound right to me and it seems some detail is missing. A permanent resident cannot bring a spouse or alien into the USA. that is only a right that US Citizens have.

We got approved!!! Thank you for your support and I look forward to congratulating those waiting SOON! Xoxo

NOA1: 07/21

NOA2: 09/02

Congratulations guys !

Go Australia !!! Hoping everyone else has a speedy turnaround this week !

Hi guys,

So, we were approved on the 26th (I found out via app) and today I received the hardcopy in the mail. The weird thing is that I also received a somewhat confusing email about an hour ago that states:

"On August 26, 2016, we approved your Form I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E), Receipt Number WAC1690518508. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations. "

What does this mean exactly? Does this mean that they are just now sending my approval to the NVC? Or does it mean that the NVC now knows that I've been approved? I assumed that they sent out my approval to the NVC on the 26th, so that's why I'm confused..

Hey Sue&Moe,

We were approved on the 26th Aug as well and so we waited 4-5 days before we emailed the NVC, i didn't want to call because i heard you could be waiting on the phone for hours - which, i might say is not my favorite thing to do LOL. Moving forward, the NVC emailed us back within the last 24 hours and they said they haven't received our file yet , maybe this will help you with a time frame. I have a feeling they send a whole batch out at once from the USCIS to the NVC, again i could be speculating.

We only received our email from the USCIS today with our approval, the same saying what your letter said. i just assume that it will go to the NVC and it should be there at some stage in the next week.

I am sorry to hear a lot of you are still waiting and truly hope next week is your week !

For those who have been approved around 26th August, we have emailed the NVC and they have told us that they're yet to receive our files. Please by all means call but we are thinking by September 10 we should be fine to call or email back.

Yes, true and it's better to have the SSN

We both have regally high credit scores in Australia and it's disappointing to me (Jeff) that I couldn't transfer it over. But for someone with bad credit it is a good thing I guess, as you get to rebuild up to a good credit score. I am also looking at possibly setting up an account with a credit Union as they seem to have better relations with their clients. I am lucky my fiancé has a good credit score so we have options to go one way or the other.

What email did you use and can you give me an idea what you put in the subject line and email? Should I try to email them and send them my NOA 2 date, my fiances name, dob, my name dob, our WAC #?

Go to the NVC website and there is a contact us section you then fill out a form with your information and below it asks if you would like to also send a message.

We did this 2 days ago and are waiting on a response still, it also says when you message them that emails will be responded to in order they receive them (God help us) lol

This is something I've been trying to figure out! What if you have bad credit? Would that have brought his score down?

When we were in the US recently we asked about building credit, with Wells Fargo you can get what they call a secured credit card with $500 put on it of your own money and if you use it say even $2 a month and repay it for I think a year then it will build your credit rating. My partner has good credit so it is advised that if you go down the route of putting your partner on as a user then make sure your credit rating is good. Otherwise a secured credit card and say a car loan for a cheap car will also help build credit scores.

Since alot of us just got our NOA 2 approval... has anyone called the NVC to find out if their case has been received yet?

Heres the number for K1 just in case.... 603-334-0888 and for immigrant visa its 603-334-0700. Our k1 NOA 2 date was a week ago 8/24 but its still not at the NVC just yet

We haven't called yet as I believe that a lot of people get told to wait 2 weeks before calling.

That said, we did email them and at least it saves a long wait on the phone at nighttime for us.

Our NOA2 was on the 26th of August so we will wait till the 10th of September to call. I'd be interested to hear others responses if they call in earlier with similar dates to ours.

I'm glad it could ease a few nerves!

I also sent my file on July 15. They received it July 18.

Our packets sound pretty similar! I had 2 months worth of FaceTime logs (only 3 pages).

Hopefully you will be hearing soon!

I checked last night at 9:38 and it was approved.. I received a text at 10:04 that said that there was an update on my case (but I already knew that hehe)

We sent ours in on the 13 or 14 Th July - got an NOA1 19th - NOA2 on August 26. We also sent just the required amounts nothing more nothing less.

If someone asked me about doing a K1 in the future is say just send in what you need to send and do not over do it

Thank you, guys, love you all. I was very depressed, still I am for other reasons and I am very sensitive these days, which also my fault, it's the forum with different people and different opinion and reactions.

1 good thing I was researching and I got already from my navy Federal but I guess all banks offer it. Get this card, I guess visa place sells it too.

https://www.navyfederal.org/goprepaidcard/

I was researching and it says it's good for travels abroad as you reload it online as much as you need and don't risk all your credit limit, you spend and reload it again. Also, I was told, some people give it to the foreign fiance(e) and also it's good, we are helping but not up to the limit and troubles and he / she can use this visa card for ATM, you reload it as it needed.

It's also great to give to your fiance(e) even not physical card, just the all numbers and pin by email or on the phone, with this card the fiance(e) can pay visa fees online and we don't need to travel to pay for it

Tasha

Hey guys,

I wanted to share this piece of information with y'all that I found on VJ in case you hadn't seen it. Regarding credit ratings for your foreign partner.

This is what i got from a lady on a forum about setting up her foreign spouses credit rating;

I thought I'd share our success story, maybe it will help some couples to begin their new life in the US together.

I am a USC, my husband just moved 2 weeks ago on CR1, still waiting for SSN. Here is what I did to get his financial health started:

I am a member on a local credit union where I do most of my banking. Even before we were married, I added my husband as an authorized user to my credit card. I was told his name will be there, but they can't report it to the credit agencies until he has SSN, but when they do report, it will appear as he is a customer since the day I added him, NOT since the day he got SSN.

Later I was able to do the same with a major US bank just using his passport number.

When he moved, Credit Union told us he can't open an account without SSN with them, but a major bank may be able to help him. I recall I was able to open an account back when I was just a visitor on B1 visa, but we didn't want to complicate things right away.

Also we needed a second car ASAP, so again I went to the credit union, I wanted both of our names on the loan. Customer service said it wasn't possible at first, but then changed their mind since my husband already applied for SSN (DHS verification, 8 weeks to wait, blah-blah-blah generic response from SSA), he had his CR1 visa and passport. I think having a receipt from SSA was a big deal, it proved our intention to get his SSN.

When we went to get pre-approval for a loan,, they took his A-number as a SSN and passport number as ID. They also checked his visa. They were fine with him being unemployed at the moment. Again, we were told it will be reported to credit agencies once we add his SSN to the file.

Much to my surprise, when we finalized the loan, they gave us TWO credit reports with scores - one for me, one for my new immigrant husband! And his score was in high 700s! Not bad for 2 weeks in the country and no bank account! He signed car loan documents as a co-applicant with me being primary.

However, we couldn't register the car under both names because DMV required a DL, but we'll add him later. He is also now on my car insurance as a second "non-licensed" driver for the same reason, but a car dealership was OK with it and he is allowed to drive for 60 days in VA.

Funny thing: DMV only wanted his foreign DL, his visa, passport and proof of residence for DL, not SSN. I guess we'll get on that as soon as he's ready for a test.

Thanks for reading! I hope it was useful to some.

I won't post in this forum anymore, sorry. I was trying to help explaining how it works elections and fiscal year and somebody from here started to laugh at me, when I answered here explaining how it work elections and end of fiscal year, in private message I was accused being impolite. It was never my intention to offend anybody, I was just trying to help but it's OK, I better stop posting.

Wish you all very fast approval, visa and all happiness

Tasha

Don't worry about them, I agree with you that things get sped up coming into an election, home loans get approved quicker,visas and so on. It's like the worlds going to stop lol

Don't let someone else's opinion get in the way of your good thing plus many people in here want you to stay.

In Australia we say "it's like water on a ducks back"

Hoping you'll get your NOA2 very soon !

I won't post in this forum anymore, sorry. I was trying to help explaining how it works elections and fiscal year and somebody from here started to laugh at me, when I answered here explaining how it work elections and end of fiscal year, in private message I was accused being impolite. It was never my intention to offend anybody, I was just trying to help but it's OK, I better stop posting.

Wish you all very fast approval, visa and all happiness

Tasha