chiblosom

Yes Yes Yes!! I finally got an approval for my I-130 yesterday April 26 which also happens to be my birthday. This is the best birthday gift ever. Phew off to the next stage!  
PD July 25, 2018.
RFE Sent April 15

Yes Yes Yes!! I finally got an approval for my I-130 yesterday April 26 which also happens to be my birthday. This is the best birthday gift ever. Phew off to the next stage!  
PD July 25, 2018.
RFE Sent April 15

I haven’t received it yet. They mailed it yesterday. I will let you when I get it. I heard they approve pretty fast afterwards but then again I saw someone yesterday that waited 3 months after they sent back RFE response. Brought me down a bit. 

Aug filer...PD 8/8/18 TSC. Received same notification today. From what I’m seeing, TSC is blasting people with RFE’s. 

You're right, it sucks indeed!

Thanks Trena!

Dont give up keep the faith we are wait too.  At least it seems like Texas is on task. .I'm still waiting for Nebraska 

Howdy. We filed on July 17/18 and we were approved last Thursday. However they are having problems with their system so it still hasn’t been updated online. We had to call USCIS and speak to an agent directly to get the update. And the approval notice came in the mail today. 

I received a call today, my husband who lived in africa has passed away.  Everyone please pray for me😭😭😭

here's the timeline based on 8 months of research by following many many cases of real couples here on VJ:
1. NOA2 arrives, file is sent to NVC and takes 3 weeks to arrive there
2. NVC because of the backlog takes 8 weeks to assign a case number
3. once you get the case number you can upload forms, documents, pay fees, this may take days or weeks depending on how ready you are with everything, so estimate at least 1 week
4. NVC then takes 3 weeks to process your documents, schedule your interview at the consulate/embassy, and sends the file to the consulate/embassy
5. depending on the country, the interview could be as early as 4 weeks from that time or much later, I've seen in some countries because of the backlog, up to 6 months
6. medical and biometrics are dome before the interview in the 4 or more weeks while waiting
7. if there are no issues like further documents needed, administrative processing (1 week to more than a year), or problems with the interview leading to a denial, which could all add weeks to the process, very unpredictably, the visa is ready for pick up or delivery to the beneficiary, this also depends on the country, and takes from a few days to a few weeks
 
So the total is very different for each country.  I'm estimating for Brazil the time from NOA2 to visa in hand, assuming no delays, and we have all our documents ready to upload now, will be about 21 weeks, or 5 months, from receipt of your NOA2, to visa in hand, but it could be longer as there are many possible bumps in the road.  And we are not going to buy any tickets for travel until visa in hand so a month later to get a reasonable fare, we are hoping that six months from now (we just received NOA2 a week ago) he can travel to the US.
 
Good luck to you with the NVC and interview phase of this crazy process!

I wrote a blog post on my site after doing a few months of research on obtaining a CR1 or IR1 visa. I did it from the standpoint of obtaining one for a Romanian spouse, but it applies to any foreign spouse as the steps are the same.
 
I went over the complete process that will be required at the NVC stage, such as financial of support affidavits, and obtaining civil documents. You can check it out if you want it might help. http://roamingromania.com/blog/obtain-cr1-ir1-spouse-visa/#step5-nvc
 

Thanks!  It does feel good despite the long wait ahead.  It feels like we're going downhill now!  We are being conservative with the 7 month estimate, but we would rather be surprised if the NVC stage and consulate abroad stage go faster, maybe 5 or 6 months total.  So many people underestimate how long it takes from NOA2 to visa in hand.  For example, many do not realize that it takes about 3 months just for the NVC to receive the file and to assign a case number.  Not to mention all the horror stories of Administrative Processing at the consulates....

Congratulations crossing this part! Didn't realize its 7 more months after the approval, it sucks really!

Congratulations to you! I can't wait to have the feeling you have now.

Congratulations to you! I can't wait to have the feeling you have now.

Texas Service Center
 
Estimated Time Range
Permanent resident filing for a spouse or child under 21         -        5 Months to 7 Months
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse, parent, or child under 21          -        6.5 Months to 8.5 Months
 
Not sure what's going on, but something's not right.

You totally get my point, frustration is an understatement in this process. Am past 6 months now with PD of July 25th and when I call USCIS the rep tells me to wait till August. How much patience do we have to have? The NCV takes about 6 months which means if not approved in the next month or so, we might not be able to unite with our loved ones this year. Again, knowing what I know now, I should have filed with my PR.

Hello everyone. Got my I-130 approval in mail today  USCIS website got updated too. 
Texas service center
PD: 7/12/2018
NOA2: 1/30/2019
 

I just had my nightly video call with my husband (he's in Brazil) and we reviewed Igor's list to check on trends for I-130 approvals.  It didn't look good.  For our Texas Service Center co-filers, there are many, many couples still waiting to get approved from February, March, April, May, and June.  We filed in July and most of the VJ couples (22) from July are still waiting.  I couldn't believe there are still so many who have been waiting almost 12 months and not yet approved, while at the same time, same service center, a few (7) who filed in July have been approved.  It just seems unfair to me that they operate this way.  Why not review files in sequence based on the NOA1 date?  Would that be too much to ask?  I can understand differences between service centers in processing times (not sure why Nebraska is so much slower), but within the same center it should be easier to do them in batches by month of NOA1.  The random nature of this process, like rolling the dice, is what makes it so crazy!  Hang in there everyone, eventually someone will look at our petitions!

Congrats to you! Good luck with NVC. Am with Texas Service Center, NOA1: July 25th. Am hoping mine will be next soon. Its really our time now!
 

Big Congrats to you!! Am so scared of getting denied for this  process after waiting so long NOA1 July 25th. God help me

Big congrats to you!! Good luck with NVC. NOA1 July 25, am expecting soon, God willing IJN.

Big congrats to you!! Good luck with NVC. NOA1 July 25, am expecting soon, God willing IJN.

I’m sure it will be! Maybe give them a call next week. I called the automated line and it just gave me exactly what the website said...word for word, that my petition was received on July 11th and that was it. I called back immediately and got a live person who then told me the petition was approved!! 

Big congrats to you!! Good luck with NVC. NOA1 July 25, am expecting soon, God willing IJN.