misshepburn

Hey guys -- I filed back in September, but I wanted to pass along some info to help you prep for the next steps while you wait for your NOA2. I originally posted this in the September I-130 group, but the info hasn't changed  
 
Ok September filers! Since September is drawing to a close, and most of us have received our NOA1’s – I thought I’d create a short guide to get folks thinking about what they’ll need to prep for the next stages at the NVC. I welcome your additions/edits to make this better!!  
NOTE: This is NOT a comprehensive NVC guide – there are other parts of this site dedicated to that topic and I’d encourage you to check out those boards too. The focus here is on what you can do to prep for the NVC while you wait for your NOA2.
As you know the wait time between your NOA1 and NOA2 at the USCIS is typically the longest part of the process. It helps to get things ready and familiarized with what comes next while you have plenty of time.  
 
misshepburn’s Waiting for your NOA2 Guide 
1. Double check to make sure your duplicate copy of your recently mailed i-130 package is in order. You will want to have copies of everything you sent to USCIS (in case they lose anything) plus the originals. Remember this file is part of what the non-USC spouse will be taking to their interview.
2. Create a profile with USCIS and add your case to it.
Link is here: https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/showSplash.do
3. If you have a smart phone, you may want to download the “USCIS Case Tracker” app from Apple app store or Android store – this will help you easily track your case. A popular Apple version is by Stephen Aldous.
4. If you and your spouse live apart, and/or haven’t been married very long, keep maintaining your Skype/Whatsapp/Facetime/call etc. logs that you sent with your i-130. In the interview the case officer may ask the non-USC spouse for additional documentation to prove an ongoing relationship. Its good to have this info ready to go if needed.
5. The USC and joint sponsor (if you are using one) can go ahead and request tax transcripts from the IRS. They take about 1-2 weeks to get in the mail. The USC can also collect an employment letter; pay stubs, and fill the i-864.
6. See how long it will take to get police certificates (and what your country-specific expiration date might be) in the non-USC’s country. A lot of folks recommend waiting to request these until your application has spent a few months in the processing center, or once you get your NOA2. It doesn't hurt to check into this early though, find out what documents you need to request and how long it will take to get them.
7. Have the non-USC spouse check to see what vaccines they have documentation for and what they might be missing. It’s easier to get these done ahead of time rather than at the last minute during your medical evaluation – some vaccines need multiple doses over several months, which could also waste more time when you are almost at the end of the process!
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/vaccinations.html
8. Read the NVC process guide on VJ at least 3 times! Read it, print it out, read it again, and again! There are many good tips.
http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process
 
Read/review: “James’ shortcuts” and/or “LingChe Shortcuts” both are older VJ documents, but still good.
 
http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/James%27s_Shortcuts
http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/LingChe_NVC_ShortCut
 
9. Preview the DS-260 here: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260%20Exemplar.pdf
This will be filled out from the perspective of the non-USC spouse. Make sure you have all of this info ready to fill in when you reach the NVC.
10. Familiarize yourself with the supporting document guidelines from the State Department:
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html
Please let me know if you have any suggestions for edits/additions!! Thanks guys!  

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I've logged on here, but I just wanted to say hello and update everyone that we received my husband's physical (plastic) green card in the mail about 2 weeks ago. It looks very "official" and has lots of cool security features (like tiny silhouettes of all the US presidents on the back). 
 
I know lots of folks are still waiting at NVC or going through interviews...keep supporting each other, you got this!
 
Good luck to everyone and have a nice summer!  

ok... about 15 calls to NVC later... and 20 minutes on hold, I finally got through!! and I got amazing news, they scheduled my husband's interview for March 8th in Frankfurt!  
 
super excited!!!

Hi September crew -- Happy belated Easter to those celebrating!

I've been slammed with work, but wanted to give the group a quick update. My husband got his passport with his visa inside several weeks ago (issued March 22).
 
He arrives this Friday - April 21st!! POE will be Philadelphia - I'm hoping he has a smooth experience coming in as an immigrant there. I will let you all know how it goes. 
 
For those still waiting -- hang in there! You will make it - lot's of September and October people are getting approved now - even the transfers! 

Fees are automatically unlocked based on certain updates they make in the system (e.g., when your ds 261 is reviewed or when the bank processes your payment and updates the fee).  Typically, you receive the welcome letter when it unlocks which is why the welcome letter probably didn't get sent yet.
 
the steps we are providing inthe forum helps to save time where possible and therefore won't go exactly in the same order as what you're hearing on the phone.
 
ds 261 will unlock first. Few days later the aos fee will unlock. Once the ds 261 is reviewed + a week or once your aos fee reflects paid + 2,3 days (whichever is furthest out), your IV fee will unlock. For this reason, the earlier you call to review your ds 261, the earlier your IV fee will unlock. Otherwise the ds 261 may sit there until someone decides they have availability to review it which can be several weeks. 
 
The nvc folks will never  give you an actual timeline . They will only give you the maximum amount it will take per standard process so I wouldn't bother asking them when. However, calling them to get your case information early and to review your ds 261 is something you can do. Only thing aside from case/iin you would need (both of which you already have)  from the welcome letter is the nvc checklist page and by the time you're ready to submit your documents, they probably would have sent it. If not, you can always ask them to email it to you.
 
hope that helps to clarify everything a bit better!
 
 

Hey guys.... a couple things
1) Please know that Potomac (in general) is processing early September cases right now -- yes, there are exceptions -- however, people in my group with PD's from the first week or two of September have JUST been approved this past week. We also have September filers reporting that they were transferred from Potomac or Nebraska to Texas who have recently been approved OR are still waiting....
take away --> USCIS is BEHIND
 
2) Also know that many of these same people that were recently APPROVED got their NOA2 in the mail before anything was updated online. I think something is going on with their computer system because people have been checking it religiously, with no updates, and then they get the NOA2 in the mail!! Others have gotten approval texts from USCIS... and the computer system was still not updated. 
take away --> USCIS computer system is all over the place (yes, this is disheartening)
 
3) It's true that some people go faster through this process and others go slower -- it's just something you have to accept. There is no rhyme or reason for it though, just because you are from a certain country or because you have "done this before" does not matter to them. I know people from Germany (like my husband) who are still waiting at a USCIS service center (for over 6 months). Then you have people like my husband who are completely done with their interview and visa in hand in 6 months. I have no explanation for you except that USCIS is an imperfect system run by regular people. 
 
My advice is to hope for the best, but prepare for a long wait. The averages right now are pretty long, waits are 5-6 months for USCIS and 3 months at NVC. That means most people are waiting a year or more before they are reunited with their spouse in the US. Yes, you might be a lucky one and get through faster, but don't assume this will be the case. I advise a monthly check-in with your status on USCIS and use the wait time to familiarize yourself with the NVC process and prep necessary documents. Also, keep maintaining your call/chat logs and save any related travel documents from trips to see one another. You're going to drive yourself crazy trying to see if they've "touched" your documents based on whether the USCIS computer system has been updated. 
 
I wish you all the best --- good luck!

A constant question on VisaJourney. And the real answer is: nobody knows! More seriously, there are a whole host of reasons why some applications get processed faster than others, my lawyer (who used to work at one of these service centers) told me the following:
Your application required additional security checks, which will slow down your application. The service centers aren't some kind of assembly line. Applications don't move in a single straight line, rather there are different distinct groups within each service center and incoming applications are spread amongst the groups. Some groups will work faster than others. The country you're beneficiary is from. Although the official policy of USCIS is that the country doesn't matter, documents from certain countries are scrutinized more thoroughly and of course some countries are prone to additional security checks (see point 1 above).  The length of your marriage; more recent marriages are given slightly more scrutiny. These are only some of the reasons why you might have been "skipped" over.

The co-sponsor can be retired, but they have to prove a sustained income (like from a pension or social security, or interest from investments). 
 
Both your husband and the joint sponsor will fill out I-864's. If your father in-law is going to be the joint sponsor and he files taxes jointly with his wife, your mother in law will also need to fill out an I-864A -- mostly to show that she is aware of the decision to joint sponsor you.
 
You can PM me if you have more specific questions.

I've received my NOA 2 and I've been doing a lot of research on the NVC process and documents required.
I put together an entire checklist and instructional while waiting for a case # to be assigned so thought I would share for others who might have experienced the same questions I did about the process.
 
It's geared towards London consulate and the petitioner as the sole sponsor but hope this helps others going through the painful waiting process!
Personal Checklist.pdf

Congratulations @GheC!! You are now moving onto the NVC. There are a lot of great resources on this site that will give you all the information you need about what documents to collect and how to submit them. I recommend reading this -- http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process
and this ---http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/James's_Shortcuts
 
and from the State Department, this -- https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved/contact.html
 
Lastly, the NOA2 looks a lot like the NOA1, it's just printed on nicer paper. It basically says your case was approved.  You want to hold onto it, but its not really asked for/needed later on in the process. Your next step is assembling your financial documents for AOS and your supporting documents for the IV application. You should be prepared to call the NVC in about 1 week -- to see if they have received your case yet. Sometimes service centers are a little slow forwarding on cases, so don't be surprised if they say they haven't gotten it yet. Once they (NVC) have your case, they take up to 2 weeks to assign you a new NVC case number. For the rest of the steps, please read the guides. 
 
**Also** NVC call center is a bit of a mess.... sometimes you will have to call 10-15 times in one day to get through. You will then likely be on hold for 20 minutes or more. Just know that if you can't get through, to keep trying in 5-10 minutes.

a week or more. Take a look at the NVC process document in my signature for approximate timelines and details.  Start calling a week after the approval date.
 
From the forums, looks like NVC process can take about 3-6 months right now.  People who have already paid the fees and sent in their documents in December/January are still waiting for a Case Complete. This past Monday, they even changed their document review duration from 8 weeks to 11 weeks (the step to review your AOS and IV documentation).
 
You can go through the following list to check other peoples' timelines and statuses: 
http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?cfl=0&op1=i&op2=d&op3=5&op4=6&op5=5,6,8,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,21,22,25,26,27,28,108,110,111,208,210,211&op6=All&op66=All&op7=All&dfile=No&adv=1

Hi all -- I know that I'm further along than a bunch of folks here, but I just wanted to update everyone -- my husband received his passport back from the consulate today with his visa inside!!! He received an email from them a couple days ago when it was being mailed out. I can't believe how much money, time and effort that little sticker cost!
 
He also received the sealed envelope with the other documents that he will need to submit when he crosses the border for the first time. He just bought plane tickets for end of April arrival date. I will let everyone know how his POE experience goes!  
 
Unfortunately, due to work contract and needing to tie up loose ends, he won't be joining me until June for good. We went through the process a bit faster than we were expecting... either way, I'm very relieved to be towards the end, until we have to remove conditions in 1.5 years.. hehehe 
 
Hang in there everyone -- you will make it!!!

Hi all -- I know that I'm further along than a bunch of folks here, but I just wanted to update everyone -- my husband received his passport back from the consulate today with his visa inside!!! He received an email from them a couple days ago when it was being mailed out. I can't believe how much money, time and effort that little sticker cost!
 
He also received the sealed envelope with the other documents that he will need to submit when he crosses the border for the first time. He just bought plane tickets for end of April arrival date. I will let everyone know how his POE experience goes!  
 
Unfortunately, due to work contract and needing to tie up loose ends, he won't be joining me until June for good. We went through the process a bit faster than we were expecting... either way, I'm very relieved to be towards the end, until we have to remove conditions in 1.5 years.. hehehe 
 
Hang in there everyone -- you will make it!!!

Congrats! Good luck with the next steps  

Hey guys! I'm happy to report we were approved!!! 
 
I still haven't talked to my husband because of the time difference & the fact that he's been traveling all day -- we've just texted. But it went well and they only asked him a few questions.
 
In total it took us 168 days from the NOA1 to get to this point (thanks to my VJ timeline for calculating!)
Thank you to everyone here who has been supportive and helpful when there have been questions, concerns, etc. 
 
PS: I'm not dropping out of the forums... I will still be around... stay strong guys!

Just wanted to report -- my husband's interview was in Frankfurt today and he was approved!!! 
 
 

Just wanted to report -- my husband's interview was in Frankfurt today and he was approved!!! 
 
 

Hey guys! I'm happy to report we were approved!!! 
 
I still haven't talked to my husband because of the time difference & the fact that he's been traveling all day -- we've just texted. But it went well and they only asked him a few questions.
 
In total it took us 168 days from the NOA1 to get to this point (thanks to my VJ timeline for calculating!)
Thank you to everyone here who has been supportive and helpful when there have been questions, concerns, etc. 
 
PS: I'm not dropping out of the forums... I will still be around... stay strong guys!

@kackandnico - agreed! VJ in general is awesome, and September group is the best!! This would not work without people checking in, sharing their experiences and asking questions.
 
Thank you to everyone who is still keeping us all posted on your journey.  
 
For the people still waiting at USCIS -- keep the faith -- it seems like they're starting to move now! 
 
Congrats Elenie!!! 

RogJac is right. You need to prove that she has current income that exceeds the 125% poverty level. 
 
In addition to the 2016 tax records....Gather all 6 months of her pay stubs. Get a letter from her employer stating her salary, that her job is permanent (not temp), and that she is in good standing. You should be ok.
 
As a precaution: they might still come back and ask you for the past 3 years of tax info. I would presumptively file her missing 2015 return, just in case you need to produce it in the future. Even if she did not earn any money in 2015 (like if she was in school, for example) she still has to file with the IRS stating no earned income.

Stay strong Nyokie!!! You're doing everything right. They are just behind. You got this!  

email processing will shave 8 + weeks off your wait time....its literally like night and day. 
 
We got through NVC in 2 weeks (including a checklist) from the time we sent in our AOS/IV packets via email. 

I can understand both sides and where they are coming from, but I do think the newbies should read up a little bit before  start their introduction by posting negative comments expressing their frustrating and disappointment with the system here.
Everyone should positive knowing that each new day brings you closer to the approval day.
It's like riding a train which will take you to your destination.  Just have a little patience 

Texas is awesome!!! I got through in about 20 days. A lot of people from September made it through there fast as well, although a lot of people's cases from my group got transferred to Texas in January/early Feb because their service centers were going so slow. USCIS will periodically rebalance case load at different centers if some are multiple months ahead of others. 
 
100% agree with Mr Champloo! Read up on VJ and don't forget the State Department website
 
Most people on VJ will tell you to "front load" your application - meaning send lots of proof of relationship docs with your I-130 application. I know for certain high fraud countries (India is one) that you will need more proof than just a marriage certificate. I would check with the India (or other country-specific) forum for more tailored advice.
 
I'm happy to help when I can as well, guys! Good luck to everyone here. Prepare for a long wait, but hope for the best! 

Hey guys -- some info for those who have been transferred -- 
 
I like to float around on here and check out the other threads for various I-130 months...to see if I can answer questions and to see what's going on with other groups. I've recently been on the July 2016 filers and it looks like a number of them have had their cases "lost" if you will by USCIS.  
 
Some of their priority dates were in early July and they were transferred to TSC or other centers around mid-November. None of them have been approved yet and haven't gotten any definite answers from USCIS. I advised them to all get Congress involved and/or make InfoPass appointments if they were in the US, because they are way outside normal processing timelines.
 
My intent in posting this info is not to freak anyone out -- rather to caution against sitting back and waiting for USCIS to do their job. I pray that you all get approved before the 6 month mark, and you should stay hopeful, but be proactive and aware of your rights. As soon as you hit the 6 month mark, contact congress, and call USCIS!!! You will get through. Don't let your case languish like some of these folks did. It sounds like USCIS is royally messed up.
 
Good luck to everyone and stay strong. Keep encouraging each other on here!