jessjess

Hey guys,
 
You might have seen me posting and complaining here before. My case took a really really LOOOOONG time. Finally today it was approved. I wanted to share my timeline here, because I've received lots of informations and supports from many of you here, even though we've never met anyone in person. I wish you all good luck and stay calm and healthy during these covid-19 times.
 

 
For the USCIS part:
1/15/2020, USCIS issued the I-797 notice of my case;
1/24/2020, "Name Was Updated" (I'm not sure what this mean. My case didn't move forward for a long time from here);
3/27/2020, "Case Was Approved".
 
I'm still waiting for the physical mail notice. 
 
It seems that most people's cases get approved within 2 weeks once it gets to the USCIS. Some other cases have taken slight longer. But for mine, it was more than 10 weeks. I really don't understand why it took so long. During this time, I've called the USCIS and they couldn't give me any useful info. If you've been waiting for your case for a long time, be patient, it'll come. Good luck to everyone. 

I finally got my USCIS I797 "approval notice" today (although the online system still shows the case as pending). So, it took almost 3 weeks from DOS favorable recommendation to receipt of  USCIS approval letter. Hope this information is useful for the community.

Hi, I’ve had a similar situation. It should be alright. The DOS updated everything to the case number I received for advisory opinion. I also emailed them to confirm while I was in the panic mode before they updated anything on the website. Just keep checking both numbers if you’re not sure. You can email them about your situation and give them both numbers to get a confirmation. It usually takes 14 work days for them to get back to you. 

Got my I-797C notice from USCIS, and I am waiting for the final approval notice from USCIS. The forum really helps me a lot and share my timeline here: 
 
Background: J-1 post-doc since 2017, programs with no government funding 
Reason to apply for waiver: change status to H1B (approved, consular processing)
 
Home Embassy: 
2019-07-17: filed petition for no objection statement
2019-10-02: embassy sent out no objection letter to DOS
 
DOS: 
2019-07-17: sent out application documents via USPS Priority Express (overnight)
2019-07-18: package arrived at DOS office via tracking number 
2019-07-22: checked being cashed
2019-07-31: DOS status updated received fee, DS2019, DS3035, passport page, statement of reason
2019-10-28: DOS status updated received No Objection Statement — 4 weeks after home embassy sent the letter
2019-10-31: DOS status updated recommendation letter sent
2019-11-08: received recommendation letter copy in my mail box -- normal stamp 
 
USCIS:
2019-11-12 morning: call USCIS at 800-375-5283 to check receipt number -- give your full name, A-number/SSN, date of birth, current address, mention filed I-612 form. The agent suggested to call them between 8 am to 11 am ET and asked for tier 2 officer for help. Call them one week after DOS sent out the FR. 
2019-11-12 afternoon: received the I-797C in my mail box. case was received on 2019-11-07 and process at another office in USCIS.
 
Good luck to everyone ! 

Hey guys,
 
I am new here (1st post), but I have been reading through the posts for quite a while. This group has helped me a lot in a moment that I was literally freaking out (the waiting time of this process)... but thank God, i got my approval from USCIS today. I am still waiting for the approval notice though.
 
So here is my timeline in chronological order (from bottom to the top):
 
October 25 (today) - Status changes from "Case was received by another USCIS office" to "CASE WAS APPROVED" 🤗. However, myaccount.uscis does not have the update, just egov.uscis.gov website and USCIS case tracker app have the update.
October 22 - Call USCIS to correct my first name (they misspelled my name) - I haven't received any notification stating that my first name was fixed in their system.
October 21 - i received a Notice of Action (I-797) with my case number.
October 17 - Case was received by another USCIS office 
October 16 - Case accepted by USCIS lockbox
Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation
Item
Action
Date
Recommendation
Sent
October, 08 2019
No Objection Statement
Received
July, 25 2019
Fee
Received
July, 12 2019
Form DS-3035
Received
July, 12 2019
Form DS-2019
Received
July, 12 2019
Passport Data Page
Received
July, 12 2019
Statement Of Reason
Received
July, 12 2019
Other
Received
July, 12 2019
June 25 - FedEx delivered my documents
June 24 - Documents sent to DOS
June 21 - Embassy sent my NOS to DOS
 
By the way, I didnt received the hard copy of the Favorable Recommendation letter from DOS by mail yet. Good luck to you all!!! 😊
 

I'm in the similar boat here in terms of funding situation. Here's my timeline.