Min & Mark

4 hours ago, eydarwish said:

Right! Mine finally "reset". 

I'm so glad for you eydarwish! I wish you good luck

39 minutes ago, eydarwish said:

Again, I'm there along with you. I received the IV invoice after midnight, I went in this morning and it was unlocked and ready for me to pay. I too went ahead and paid it using internet explorer and had no issues. AOS fee still processing since Saturday. 

This really sucks. None of this journey is easy. I never thought I would have a problem with this simple payment stage. I hope mine also gets unlocked soon. Let's keep it up!

10 minutes ago, AlviNY said:

I found out the hard way as well, once you get that error it takes about 1 week for it to reset back so you can attempt to pay again, make sure to use Internet explorer, be sure it's not Windows 10's edge browser, it has to be internet explorer. 

Thank you AlviNY..!

It would have been better if NVC advised it on a welcome letter in advance since it is known issue, however, I understand NVC can never be nice to do that.

I'll wait until next Tuesday and see if it resets. Thank you so much for your advise. 

If anyone who experienced this issue, please keep it updated ...

31 minutes ago, Min & Mark said:

@Jnicole, I had the same error on Google Chrome browser (When I clicked "make a payment", it appears as an error but payment status shows "In Process") and I heard the representative said Google Chrome browser has been troublesome. 

 

Could you please tell me what happened to them afterwards if you heard anything about it?

The representative said if the payment didn't go through it will show up as "Rejected" but I haven't had any new change on its status after 2 days of payment. 

I am following the case on October filers' forum.

Yet, it is very weird that your payment is been held more than 2 days when your payment went trough without any error happened. 

What is your case exactly? Was the payment withdrawn from your bank account? If yes, is it just about the payment status didn't change to "PAID"?

On 5/31/2017 at 8:12 AM, Djodrey said:

Good morning,

 

I submitted my AOS payment on Saturday and when I submitted it gave me an error message but still put the payment to In Process. I called today to ask about the error message and see if everything is still ok and I was told that i cannot use Google Chrome and that now it will take up to a week to have it "reset" itself and then I can try again. Did anyone else have issues with this? Is there anything else I can do?

 

Thanks

Hello,

@Djodrey it happened to me too. I paid mine on Tuesday afternoon this week and when I clicked "make a payment", it gave me an error message. But when I went back to the main menu, it says "In Process". I heard about Google Chrome problem from a representative too. Did your payment status reset and are you able to make a payment again by now? 

44 minutes ago, Jnicole said:

I just called the NVC to see what the holdup was on accepting my payments (people on the Oct. filers board were saying that there was a error in the system when using Google Chrome browser) and the woman said that we were not even in the system as being sent from USCIS! I told her that I had received my case number by email last Thursday and had already paid and she basically said she couldn't help me. Has anybody else gotten this response when calling them?

 

 

@Jnicole, I had the same error on Google Chrome browser (When I clicked "make a payment", it appears as an error but payment status shows "In Process") and I heard the representative said Google Chrome browser has been troublesome. 

Could you please tell me what happened to them afterwards if you heard anything about it?

The representative said if the payment didn't go through it will show up as "Rejected" but I haven't had any new change on its status after 2 days of payment. 

I have a good news today

I finally got my case number today after a month since my petition arrived at NVC!!

Maybe, some of you heard to press option 5 instead of 2 because that's the place where the new system is dealt.

However, according to a supervisor, there are VERY few agents who were trained for the new system AND if none of them are available, your call will be automatically transferred to a regular representative who doesn't have an access to the new system.

So, if a representative tells you he/she will transfer you to a right agent for your case, just ask him/her you want to talk to a supervisor. 

I wish a good luck for those of you who just entered to a NVC step.

and I'll pay AOS and IV fees today and upload all the documents asap. 

 @Finayyy,  I assume you will have an interview in Montreal too..?

I wonder how long it will take for the consulate to book an appointment for us.

Do you have any idea?

Thanks!

Yesterday, I asked an agent to put me through to a supervisor.

A supervisor whose name is Sean explained my situation with more details.

The 'new' system that the agent previously talked about was the new CEAC upload system.

And since I am eligible for the new system,  my case was dealt differently when it came to assignment of a case number. So even though my case arrived there on May 3, the 'new' system recognized my file was scanned on May 15. Hence, I am still in the right time frame as Sean explained over the phone.

Then I asked why other eligible people such as you guys still received the case number without any problem. He said "every case is different."

Alright.

So, I do not trust everything that NVC said to me about this issue. Maybe they found my file that was floating around in their office on May 15. However, I asked myself what else I could do if I don't believe it. I'll wait a week more until it hits 2 weeks from May 15. 

Wish me luck  

Have a great day guys.  

40 minutes ago, Finayyy said:

 

I feel like they are lying to you. 

 

Call back and ask to speak with a supervisor. 

 

Can I speak to supervisor? I didn't know I can request that. I'll do it today. Thank you for the suggestion Finayy. 

SIGH

I still didn't get my case number yet. 

My petition arrived at NVC May 3 and it has been 3 weeks now. 

I talked to a lot of representatives and all of them just said they will pass the case to a supervisor every single day. And finally, yesterday I pushed the representative a little bit harder and she gave me a crucial information about my case. 

"According to our "old" system, your case was entered into the system on May 3. However, our "new" system says it was entered on May 15. There has been a difference between our old and new system but you can wait a week more to get your case number."

I don't know if their "old" and "new" system are about their own case entering system or CEAC upload system that we are in now. (But why do I have this weird feeling like she was lying about new and old system thing to take more time to investigate where my file is? Well, who knows.) 

If my file did get forgotten or even lost, the agent said it takes upto 6 weeks for a supervisor to investigate the case. I never thought I would experience the delay in the step of getting a case number. 

What a mess. 

1 hour ago, JessieABC said:

Assuming your interview will take black in Canada, it might be because you'll be filing via email.  Typically most cases would be assigned a case number within the first week. Since they recently updated their processes and portal, that might be causing a delay for certain cases.  You never know with NVC.

 

2 weeks after NVC received your file is definitely not normal.  I would suggest calling them every day to ask for a case and IIN number.  If you are going to be filing via Canada, you should rejoice. Seems like most email processing has taken anywhere from 1 day to a few weeks to receive a case complete.

 

Please fill out the form with your email so we can track each others' progress since you have a scan date in May 

 

TRACKING FORMS & SPREADSHEETS

• FORM *:                 Click to fill & submit form to be added to Scan Date to CC list
• TRACKER:         Click to access May Scan Date to CC Spreadsheet

@JessieABC I just filled out the form you created to track the cases. I haven't sent my AOS and IV package yet because my case number hasn't been generated. And most likely I will be eligible to proceed with the new system (Upload scanned copies to CEAC website directly) but this can be confirmed when I have my case number. 

Even the agent said she never saw a case that took more than 2 weeks to get case number but she still suggested me to wait couple of days or until next week. If I still don't get one by then, they will start to investigate it. (* waiting couple of days or a week sounded so easy to her that it irritated me.)

I hope it is taking too long to get a case number because I'm with the new system, not because my file has been lost or forgotten.

Thank you for your reply...

*Btw, I filled out the form and didn't get an option to enter my address or get any confirmation email. And I don't see my case in the spread sheet. Just to let you know.. (I filled it out twice to see if I missed a page where I should enter my email address but nothing was up.)

Hello! 

I need some advice...

My petition arrived at NVC on May 3rd. 

All the representatives that I spoke to said it takes upto 2 weeks. 

2 weeks have passed yesterday and still a case number has not been assigned.

The agent told me to wait a week more but I wonder why I still didn't get a case number yet when the petitions that arrived at NVC a lot later than mine already got one. 

How can I request them to look into my file? Can I just ask a representative to do that for my case?

Thank you for your advice in advance..

I was expecting to have my case number and invoice ID number yesterday since it was exactly 14th day since my petition arrived at NVC. 

However, They haven't generated it yet until this morning (today is 15th day.)

Representatives said they have been experiencing high volume of work (as a common excuse) so it takes longer than 2 weeks now. 

My petition arrived at NVC on May 3, a week later from the date you guys' petition arrived (April 26) and I guess NVC received a lot of petition during that one week.

Well, I hope I can get it soon

1 minute ago, Finayyy said:

Once you hit submit, the status will change to submitted. Once they've approved it, it will automatically become Approved.

 

See the attached:

Thank you Finayyy. I appreciated it. 

Have a great day!

16 minutes ago, Finayyy said:

No problem.

 

We are lucky to be apart of this new system as things move quickly.

 

I made the stupid mistake of waiting to get the police clearance ( I found out yesterday that it available for pick up after May 23). Otherwise, I would have all my civic documents ready.

 

One thing I found out today was that you can submit documents individually into the system and have them approve it without having to wait til everything is ready. Example, my wife got all her AOS and joint sponsor paperwork together and submitted yesterday and got notification that it was accepted. Once I get my clearance and submit it, I believe I should be getting an interview date the following month or two.

I'm sorry to hear that you forgot to apply for police clearance in advance but as you said, we are really lucky to be in this system and saved a lot of time already.

It is really interesting that you found out we can actually upload files individually instead of all in once and get them approved first. 

and yes, I hope we all get an interview date in a month or two after uploading all the documents.

Thank you for the fast reply Finayyy. 

Once we upload civil and AOS documents, do we have to call NVC to check if the documents are approved or a status on the website will automatically change to "Approved" a few days later?

I just wanted to say thanks to @Cat_Dad and @Finayyy for sharing your process.

I am sorry that I have nothing to share with you guys but I am expecting to get my case number later today because it has been exactly 2 weeks now and join NVC process like you. 

It doesn't seem difficult until I pay fees and upload all the documents, however, what matters now is how long it will take for them to approve the case (as known as Case complete) and send it to a corresponding embassy. 

Thank you again!

12 hours ago, Cat_Dad said:

It seems the NVC used the email address we submitted to UCSIS on the G-1145 form "E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance" and the i130 form.

EXACTLY. This is what I wanted to confirm!

What I understood at first was that we need to give our email addresses over the phone to receive further notifications such as welcome letter.

and according to the information you provided, we no longer need to give our email addresses over the phone.

So, I was wondering how NVC could send welcome letter by email.

But it makes sense in that way.

Thank you a lot again. I could have just waited until I receive the letter too but this curiosity drives me crazy. 

I'll post my flow too as soon as I get my case number assigned. 

Thank you guys.!

1 hour ago, Cat_Dad said:

 

Here is my timeline:

Approved at USCIS: April 10th

Sent to NVC: April 20th

Received at NVC: April 25th

Assigned Case Number: May 9th

Received Welcome Email from NVC: May 9th

(This email told me I am required to use CEAC and gave me my case number and Invoice number)

Paid AOS/IV Bills: May 9th

AOS/IV Bills marked as Paid: May 11th

DS-260 and I864 submission becomes available: May 11th

 

Now that the bills are marked as paid, I am able to submit my DS-260 and I-864 and supporting AOS documents.

I am guessing once I complete my DS-260 I will be able to upload my Civil Documents and have it processed at NVC.

 

All in all a pretty fast process so far.

Here is a screenshot of the CEAC website. (I am currently in the process of finishing my DS-260)

 

 

 

Thank you so much for uploading a screenshot. It helps me a lot to understand a flow of the new system. 

I really appreciate your time. 

I am waiting with patient until I get my case number assigned  

Good luck with your process and I expect to hear a good news from you. 

Thank you again. 

3 hours ago, Finayyy said:

Our case was recieved by NVC on April 26, but it was assigned on May 9th. We just got a welcome email with our case number and Invoice number. 

 

I logged into the system and made the payments. Waiting now for the status to change from "In Progress" to "Paid".

 

When I check my Visa Case Status though, it says "Action required: Complete Form DS-260"

Thank you so much for the reply  

I thought welcome letter is sent a week later from the date case number is assigned but you got it in 2 days! That is really awesome! 

However, my question is that "how did NVC know our email address to send welcome email when you don't give the email address over the phone? Did they get it from our petition from USCIS? Did you give it to the agent when you asked your case number?" 

I'm just curious about it since Cat-Dad said we no londer need to give our email address over the phone but write it on our own in the system. 

As Cat-dad kindly uploaded the screenshot, you are not far away from

the finish line. I wish you good luck! 

3 hours ago, Finayyy said:

Hey folks,

 

Did any of you receive a phone call from NVC and have a person that they will be your dedicated assistant during the whole NVC process?

How many days did it take to receive the email from the date your case number was assigned?

and Did you give your email address over the phone to an agent? if not (as Cat_Dad described you can add the email address on the website), how could your wife receive the email from NVC?

Thank you so much for your reply in advance. 

On 5/9/2017 at 7:47 PM, Cat_Dad said:

Finally got my case number and my case is going through the new CEAC procedure!

 

After getting my case number and invoice number, I could log into the CEAC website and change my email addresses as well as pay both the IV and AOS fees. Looks like I don't need to call the NVC to give over my email addresses. Both of my fees are now in progress, after which it looks like I can do my AOS and IV Application.

On 5/9/2017 at 8:15 PM, Cat_Dad said:

I also just realised that I didn't have to submit a DS-261 choice of agent form. It seems I've skipped straight to paying both fees.

Wow, I am really surprised. 

My case arrived at NVC on May 3 and I haven't gotten the case number and Invoice ID number yet.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. You are like a pioneer to me in this new system.

So, I don't need to give email address over the phone to an agent.

and I get to pay both the IV and AOS fees right away at the same time. 

It is also very interesting that the new system skips DS-261. I assume 'setting an agent' step is terminated.

How about DS-260? Were you be able to fill out DS-260 at the point you paid the fees? 

if not, I guess it will be available after both fees appear PAID.

Please let us know how long it takes for it to turn "PAID" and if you are able to see DS-260 form.

Btw, How long did it take for you to get case number and Invoice ID number assigned after your petition arrived at NVC? And did you receive any hard copy letter or any notification that says you may start to proceed the further steps electronically?  

I read it on NVC website, you 

A letter from NVC saying “You May Begin Online Processing”
 Please note this method is required for visa applicants who received this letter from NVC. If you didn’t receive this letter, please use Method #2 above.

So, did you wait until you get the letter before paying the fees?

Thank you and I hope everything goes super well for everybody!!!

According to the official guideline for Method 3: Upload documents online using CEAC required, Please note this method is required for visa applicants who received this letter from NVC. If you didn’t receive this letter, please use Method #2 above.

I wonder how long I need to wait to receive the letter from NVC and after how long we wait and be able to decide to use Method #2 (email or mail option) .

confusing......

Does anyone know if there's any forum that I can refer to regarding to this matter? I don't know if this "upload file" is totally new thing from May 2017. 

 

So I just called back (I couldn't resist!) and I had case complete on May 2! One day(!) after they received it. Waiting for an interview to be scheduled!

Wow!! Congratulations!

I think I read you submitted your documents on April 28 if im not mistaken.

Today I learned about CEAC and EP thanks to @JBMG and it turned out I am eligible for CEAC since I live in Montreal. (I haven't gotten my case number yet but it will be MTL for sure. My petition arrived in NVC on May 3.)

If my case goes without any additional request of evidence, I may be able to expect to have my case complete within a week after I submit my documents.

I am so thrilled about the new system and worried at the same time since it is new and not much information.

I hope this is a good sign.

I wish you guys good luck. 

 

Honestly i'm not sure what you do in that case.... Have you received your welcome letter? If your case number starts off with MTL, then you'll process the paperwork in Canada.. If you put your current address on our i-130 in Korea, then yeah, I imagine they'll want you to process through Korea... But if it was in Canada, then i guess you'll process in Canada.. You'll need police records from everywhere you lived for over 6 months.. Starting from the age of 16.. 

Hello again!

Regardless of nationality, if your interview goes in Canada, then I think this EP is applied. I haven't gotten case number since my petition was delivered on May 3. However, I am very sure my embassy is going to be Montreal and I'm currently living in Montreal.

I don't know how i can thank you for letting me know about this new system CEAC. 

Since this is a new system, I'm worried and thrilled at the same time. I'll join the group you created and share ideas with other people who will do CEAC. 

Thank you again. 

 

I just realized you're from Canada. You'll be doing email processing/or even uploading.. so I don't think you need to write/print your case number on the top right hand side of each document.  Advice, make sure you send everything in one email to avoid any checklists. 

I do live in Canada but I am Korean. I wonder if that makes any difference...

Does email processing depend on nationality or place of currently living...?

-ADD :  I live in Montreal, Canada and I never realized I am eligible to do EP .... I realized it today thanks to you. I always thought that EP is depending on nationality. I still need to look into it a lot more but i can't believe that I am eligible...