devblt

What are these James' shortcuts and where can I find them?

Thank you very much

Henia,

James' shortcuts are for people applying for CR1/IR1 visas only. If you are applying for anything other than that.. it will not apply to you. You can find James' shortcuts pinned at the top of the NVC discussion forum.

I just received my I-797, Notice of Action Notice type Receipt Notice. Is this my NOA1? and when can I send my I-129?

So I assume you sent of the I-130 correct and that wat the NOA1 is for?

From my understanding, you can file the I-129 anytime after the NOA1. The question you want to ask yourself is do you really want to file for a K3 visa? It seems to be taking as much time to get a K3 as opposed to a CR1/IR1.. and you'd be saving some money at the same time.

good luck with what ever you decide.

I sent all the documents the two fees for AOS and Immigrant Visa fees and the actual forms by overnight delivery so I was able to track when they were delivered. The NVC telephone number also provides updated messages as well once your documents have been loaded into their system.. but normally takes 4-5 days after it is delivered to the NVC before it's been loaded into their system and acknowledged on the phone system. You should also be able to talk directly to an operator if needs be...

You've got a long way to go before you get to NVC.. probably about 3 months I reckon.. don't worry yourslef too much right now...

The ausssiewench post about shortcuts was super dooper and I can actually understand it...

My commiserations to her that her brain works like mine or vice versa

I am a bit apprehensive of using the full thing with bar codes etc as we have nobody in the states we can easily ask to do any of it......

I will certainly try and get the DS 3032 (name that agent form ) done by email which should save at least 10 days mail time each way and perhaps a few days preparation time at NVC too...

Question, if I wait for the I-230 and do it the slow way, what is the time cost >>>

A: from the time they say it is being sent on the answer line , to actual dispatch day - I guess at a week ?

B: mail time to UK - how long is their snail mail ? I guess at 10 days ?

I guess A+B + 10 days for royal mail to send back to new hampshire from UK is the total time and if I deduct time from relative sending in the form from somewhere in the US to new Hampshire (1 day fast mail) then that is the total saving for the James' short cut on the I-230....

are the guesses for A and B realistic ?

thanks alan

The only thing you would be waiting for with the DS230 packet is going to be the bar code cover sheet. What I did was make a photocopy of the AOS cover sheet before sending it.. dowloaded the bar code cover sheet from the shortcut you referenced and deleted the bar code and the case number and printed that off. Then I cut the bar code cover sheet from the AOS and overlayed it on to the DS230 coversheet and photocopied that.. to have a final DS230 barcode cover sheet.. with that I sent of the DS230 packet before it arrived.. by the way, I still have not received my offical DS230 packet from the NVC yet and I'm in the USA.

good luck

Nikki

Is your question regarding the location of the physical form that you can download from the USCIS website, or are you asking why the I-130 application does not show up on the processing dates it's because all the I-130's are being processed at Calafornia.

When they say coice of agent what does that mean?

Thanks.

Tonyt,

I'm assuming you are refering to the Choice of Agent form that you need to fill out af part of the CR1/IR1 visa is that correct?

If it is, than what the choice of agent is asking the beneficary to do is nominate someone who will act on the beneficary's behalf during the processing of your application at the NVC. The choice of agent can be the beneficary or the petitioner. Issentially who ever you assign as the choice of agent will get corrospendence from the NVC in terms of paying the Immigration Visa bill ($380) and then sending the DS230 application form itself.

I would highly recommend that the Choice of Agent be the petitioner who is residing in the states.. it'll save a lot of time since the NVC will be sending mail within the USA rather than to the UK.

Check out Jame's shortcuts that are pinned at the top of the NVC forum for more information.

Dear all,

Need your advice

My fiance and I planed to apply for Fiance visa, but now we decided to get married in my home country and as soon as he will back to US after our wedding he will submit I-130 petition for CR-1 visa (Immediate relative). Any ideas how long we will need to wait till Texas Service Centre will issue the approval?

Thank you !

Even though you'll be sending the petition to the Texas service center, it will be transfered to the Calafornia Service Center, as all CR1 applications are being reviewd and approved there. Please note that you'll still have to send your application to the service center for your region.. it will automatically get sent on to Calafornia. Typically the USCIS says it can take upto 6 months to approve an I-130 application.. the average based on other VJ members timelines is about 3 months.. ofcourse it can be much longer or shorter depending on if you get lucky or not. After that you'll spend about 4 months at the NVC in New Hampshire.. My case is still there.. probably until end of Feb before it goes to the consulate. Check out my time line below for more information.

Good luck

Hi, my case was completed at NVC and they have sent it to Mumbai, what is the next step? Will they send the packet 3 next? Can I just mail them the packet 3 since it is downloadable from the internet? If anyone has gone thru this, can they plz help. Thanks so much.

Hi this is tani,

If my memory serves me well. the NVC sends package 3 to Bombay and then Bombay sends it to you.

This is the website: http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/uploads/imag...eQ/packeta1.pdf

You do step 1 and send it to them

And then step 2 is done after you send them step one or even before you get the package 3 from them. You need all those stuff by the interview.

you wait for package 4 which is the interview letter. telling you what date it is, usually 4-6 weeks after they get step 1 from you.

Good luck

Waaaiiiiitttttttt a minute..!! I am very confuse..!!

First of all thanks tani for the website. Now that the question I have is, in my case, based on the steps that website discribe, I have done everything. My spouse's file went to Mumbai embassay after they finished my case. But niether my spouse or me have received any letter from embassay saying that they recieve our file. Is that mean something is wrong..?????? Please help..!!

When was your file sent to Mumbai? I would call or e-mail the mumabi office to get clarification on what the next steps are. I would imagine when the mumbai office schedules your interview, they'll send you the appointment letter with instructions on what to do.

Hi all,

I am trying to find out that how long the category of IR1/CR1 is taking for india. My friend has filed for it and need to know the probable time line.

Thanks

Patdev,

Check out my timeline in the signature below.. it is very detailed. Highlevel, my time at CSC with USCIS was about 80 days or so, during which time the I-130 was approved. Then it went to the NVC in November. I think I'll still be at the NVC for another 4 weeks.. before final approval and the file being sent to Mumbai... so I'm looking at approx 6 months in total for USCIS and NVC. After it gets to Mumbai from what I gather the interview will be scheduled at Mumbai for approx 2 months after it gets to Mumbai.. so in my case about May. So in all I'm looking at about 8-9 months. And I think it's save to say that 8-9 months is going to be the average for most people. Ofcourse the time could take longer if you have issues with your case or shorter if you get very lucky.

By the way, do not have your friend do a DCF.. a Direct Consular Filing.. apparently a new law went into effect in the last couple of days and is causing major issues for people who did DCF.. check out the DCF forum from the home page for more information.

Good luck to your friend.

I think the best option would be for the USC to go visit thier SO in he/her country. Does it really matter which country you ultimately meet in? Does it really make sense to take a risk and have your SO come to the US and get denied regardless of how low that risk is? The SO will ultimately be coming to the US *hopefully* when the visa is approved anyway..

This actually happend to a friend of mine. His wife came to visit while going through the process. They denied her entry. No one came out to tell him what was going on. Luckly, his wife was able to call him and talk to him for a couple of minutes while she was being questioned to let him know what was going on. If it wasn't for the cell phone communication between the two of them, he would not have known what was going on.

In the end, she was refused entry and had to fly back to the U.K on the next flight out. When she finally had her interview she had to declare the fact that she was denied entry and she was asked question about why and what happend... thankfully the CO at the embassy in London approved her CR1 visa, and she was able to come to the states in october of last year.

just got a quote for a parcel from fedex (they don't distinguish parcel/letter)

8 inches by 11 inches by 1 inch weighing 1 pound max is £56 cheapest and £75 quick

I don't want to pay more than £20 for a letter so i guess I am stuck with 'airsure' from royal mail which drifts across on a large red balloon with a label which says 'if found, please send to USCIS Nebraska' as far as I can tell

oh well back to my book on defeating defeatism and how to think more positively

Do you have any family or friends here in the USA? If so, perhaps you can send the documents ahead of time to the USA, and then when the time comes for the paper work to be sent to NVC your family/friend can send it from here. It costs me $14 to send my paperwork to NVC by the US postal services for next day delivery... just a thought..

Fedex must do letters as well as parcels. Check to see if there is a local Fedex store where you live. When I sent my letter to india it was weighted.. and there were a number of options for delivery 3 day 5-7 day etc..

DHL/UPS/FEDEX.. may cost you more but you'll be able to track your package on thier website.. I think they may also have some sort of grantuee that it'll reach there by a give day or your money back.

I sent a package to India from the US by Fedex.. it was a grantueed 3 day delivery.. cost me about $40 but it got there on the 3rd day.

Good luck.

Not sure what the process is, but try calling the NVC at 603-3340700 talk to a live person and ask them. You may also want to consider getting your address changed at USCIS. I read on the USCIS website, that you can do the change of address on-line through their website. Though I don't think that will update your records at NVC.

Please post on here what you find out.

The date in the timeline box is just an estimate based on other VJ members time lines.. it does not mean anything as far as USCIS is concerned. Some approvals come earler or much later than the estimate you see here on VJ. There is no other number you can call to get more information other than the mis-information line at USCIS. I know if frustrating but unfortuntaly not much can be done to ease it.

Have you signed up for the electronic tracking at USCIS? You'll atlest be able to check when they last updated your case based on the date of the update. Typically USCIS will update thier website about your case before you get anything in the mail, or before the mis-information line know about it.

Go to https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp and create a new account for your case number. Once you finally get approved, they'll send you an e-mail as well.

Good luck and don't get to frustrated.

OH my GOSH! I am panicking right now. I had everything planned out and ready to go. I am supposed to get married in March and with the embassy I would have worked through, my husband would have had his visa within about a month. What am I going to do? Can we call our Senators/Representatives? I am so upset right now.

If this is true, you can still get married, and then apply when you get to the states.. you'll have to wait longer but I guess a lot of people are going to be in that situation. Don't stress out too much just yet and wait for something offical to be announced by USCIS. I just checked thier website and there was no press releases on their site. I also check the New Delhi embassy (India) and there was no announcement there either.. so hang in there.. don't stress it too much.. your palns shout remain the same.. get married.. have a great wedding day etc.. and don't let the fact that you may have to wait 8 months get you down.. many people have waited much longer to be with thier loved ones.

We may have to take the DCF board off VJ

Yes.. there is a National "Do not call" register. If you put your name on there you will not get sales calls to your house. Some organizations are exempt from this.. so you may still get a few calls.

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

Good luck

At this point your guess would be as good as anyones.. there is really no telling what happens behind those closed doors at USCIS. You just have wait it out unfortunately.

Typically if there are a couple of updates or touches to your case, it could mean they are close to approving it.. yet it could mean nothing at all. The only good thing about a touch is that at least you know that they are doing something with your file, and that it's not lost or sitting at the bottom of the pile in somebody in-box.

Good luck.

You do know that the majority of the $$ that fund the immigration department comes from people like us.. who pay these fees.. the government give little or no money to the immigration department

Yep.. they have your case on file... now it's just a matter of waiting until your case becomes current. At that time you or your brother should receive some sort of communication from the NVC to finish of the process. You may want to call the NVC and talk to a live operator and ask when your case is going to be "current"..

I don't think that should be an issue.. I sent tax transcripts for 03 04 and 05.. I didn't send them a W2 for 06 since I have not received my W2 just yet.. but did sent my last 3 months of pay stubs..

NVC has not finished reviewing it yet.. so I can't be certain that it won't be an issue..

In the end, from my understanding, when your spouse goes for the interview, you can submit the additional tax information for 2006 if needs be.

Also, just looking at your time line, it seems to me that it'll probably be about mid to late Feb before you need to send your AOS information to NVC.. I would suggest, if you can, to submit your tax's before that time, so you can submit that for your AOS and be confident that it will not be an issue.

Good luck

Yes, the USCIS case number is the approval number.. it should start with a three alpha chatacters with 10-12 digits thereafter i think.

I know you should receive an a letter from USCIS after your I-130 is approved.. but wheter the NVC sends you anything I'm not sure.. since I'm applying for my spouse.

Based on my expereince for my spouse.. once NVC received my case, they didn't send me a letter "acknowleding receipt of my case".. but since spouse visa's are deemed current, the NVC started processing my case straight away.. so in my case.. my wife received a letter to assign a choice of agent.. and then sent out the fee bills and applications as my timeline indicates below..

For your brother.. you or your brother may only receive communication from the NVC when your application becomes current.. again, I would just call the NVC to make sure they have your case on file to put your mind at ease

Your spouse can come to visit you during this process. Many people will tell you there is no issues, while others will tell you that a spouse coming to visit the states during this process will cause issues.

Essentially, the issue of concern is around whether the spouse will be allowed to enter the USA. If the immigration officer has any doubts about whether the spouse will return back to his/her country, they will refuse entry into the USA. If that happens, then during the interview he/she will have to explain why they were denied entry into the USA. Sometimes that leads to a immigrant visa denial.

Other people have been able to successfully entry the USA multiple times while going through the immigration process without any issues.

I would suggest that if at all possiable, that the USC go visit the spouse in thier home country rather than risk the non-usc getting denied entry at immigration. That is my person opionion..

If you decide on your spouse coming to visit here, make sure he/she bring along a lot of documents proving strong ties to thier home country, and that they intend to go back after the short visit.. it is upto the visitor to prove that he/she is not coming to the USA with the intention of not going back.