B&ANZ

Whelp. Here we are. Back on this site after nearly 2 years! Let the waiting games begin. 

It took us 7 months from start to finish in an extremely low fraud country and NVC expedite.

5 hours ago, Jammin19 said:

Well that’s what I’m saying I’m already just about at 7.5 months, so now I have to wait possibly another 2 months or so to get an approval. Sending a RFE at 7mths for missing pages?? 
it’s so hard waiting especially now school starts and home school, and working without my husband

Frustrating indeed, but you are nearly there! I'd start preparing for the NVC stage such as getting background reports (make sure they are valid for at least a few months after getting them), filling out the I-864, getting tax transcripts, etc. The That way once you get access to NVC, all you have to do is upload everything and it is a good use of waiting for your RFE response. Just look at the timeline of others. Some VJ members got their NVC letter the same day as approval, others had to wait a couple of months. We had everything prepared to upload to NVC prior to getting our letter aside from a Canadian background report which stalled us. 

6 hours ago, Jammin19 said:

Yes, I sent the entire I-130A. Crazy how after 7 months they sent RFE for missing pages, so I’m wondering were they not processing the case all this time? TSC processing time is 7.5 mths. Just wondering how much longer Now I have to wait now for an approval.

You should be hearing soon. Processing time is 7.5 months meaning that is when they will get to your case and provide you with an approval. It doesn't mean they are working on your case for 7.5 months straight. On the bright side, not much longer for you! We were bummed when we got an RFE saying we never submitted the I-130 when it was done online. Turned out, they wanted a wet signature and it took them nearly two months to finally approve us after the RFE and we had overnight a hand-filled I-130 the day we got the RFE!

On 9/29/2020 at 6:49 PM, Jammin19 said:

I saw a RFE on my online account today, do I have to wait for the actual RFE  to come in the mail to attached that original to my response?

or can I just respond online without attaching the mailed copy of the RFE?

 

RFE says pages 4 thru 6 of I-130A is missing 

Our RFE was saying they did not get the I-130 which did not make sense as it was online. Your RFE letter will say whether they need an original. If they specifically ask for an original, then you need to may it in. I'd also send the entire I-130A, not just pages 4-6 just to be on the safe side since you only have one chance.

We are a February 2020 filer, have our visa, and in the US! See my signature for our timeline   Wishing everyone a speedy approval!

I went throught the LAX POE reviews and there are only a few recent reviews. Has anyone else recently had a POE experience in Los Angeles? How was the process? Did it take long to go through customs? 

31 minutes ago, nahida said:

I've been approved!!!😁 I just happened to check my case online this morning, and I saw an approval notice had been sent on September 16th. Does anyone know how long it will take for it to get sent to NVC, and for me to get notified?

You can hear as early as tomorrow or as much as a couple months out. VJ'ers have been reporting this kind of range. 

4 hours ago, Ophoriwaa said:

Congrats!!! Could you explain how the expediting process works? We were DQ'd in August and awaiting an interview date since our embassy has not yet resumed visa services.

Thanks! We sent our expedite using help from this website (http://www.lovevisalife.com/2017/09/nvc-expedite-request-us-spouse-visa/). You send a request for expedite to NVC. Since you are already DQ'd, NVC forwards your request to the embassy. They will review it which can take days to weeks (you will get an email when it is in review) and then they will respond back with whether they accept your expedite or not. The length of this all depends on your embassy so finding others who expedited in your embassy can help give you a range of how the long process is. If the embassy accepts your expedite, then they will schedule your interview. Again, when they schedule it will be dependent on embassy and how many others are in queue who also have been accepted to to get an interview date scheduled. 

From our research prior to sending an expedite, some embassies are easier to get expedites than others. As long as you have a compelling reason with evidence to back it up (i.e. eviction letter if you are doing a financial hardship, a pathology report if you've been diagnosed with something serious), then it is worth a shot. The worse that can happen is that they say no. For those who will try to expedite based on financial hardship, becareful as it can backfire on you at the interview. A joint sponsor will most likely be needed. 

Just now, T&S_MTL said:

Thanks! 🙂 Do you know on average how much time it takes to get DQed ? I have 2 months in mind but lately things changed a lot...got our I130 approval from Nebraska pretty quickly.

We got our I130 approval much much sooner than expected as well! Our DQ took less than 24 hours and the same for a few other VJ members. 2 months is a good solid estimate. NVC has been working really fast this year so you might here sooner than that. If you have any kind of reason for expedite, go for it as it does not hurt to try.

11 minutes ago, T&S_MTL said:

Hi everyone! We just submitted everything today. I was wondering if this is normal on CEAC, it shows "submitted" on both of the sections on the home page, and next to the documents in the different pages. However, I can still go on the pages (AOS and immigrant package) and the submit buttons are still available, is that normal?

 

I just want to make sure it is submitted for real, since we did not receive any email confirmation...thanks !

Yes, completely normal! Hoping for a quick DQ for you!

5 minutes ago, Transcom123 said:

Thanks for your help so both reciept and card are not right for the SC ?

You'd have to contact USCIS to see which service centre you have. None of us here can answer that because they are continually transferring cases. 

You are early in the process so I wouldn't stress which service centre you have at this point. USCIS transfers cases all the time to balance the processing times. You can always use the Ask Emma feature on the USCIS website. In the chat say you would like to "speak to an agent" and then they can give you your service centre, though the most reliable information is from speaking directly from a Tier 2 officer. A lot of 2020 cases are being processed quite quickly with their new transferring system they have going on (average around 6 months). 

4 hours ago, IsItLekker said:

I was afraid of that... we've been in AP for over 48 hours. The consulate did not have him on the list the day of his interview, they didn't take all of his documents, and the consular officer gave him a bit of a rough time before she gave verbal approval.

If it is approved, its approved. We had an interview scheduled last month and it got cancelled an hour prior to due NZ locking down, so I am assuming they didn't need much to review after his interview this week.

Just give them a few days. If they said you are approved, then your visa will come. The status will always say AP before issued. Issued means its done and printed and ready to be sent/picked up. 

8 hours ago, IsItLekker said:

Has anyone else gone into AP after receiving verbal approval at their interview? They kept the passport, but I am slightly concerned. 😕

We went into AP after verbal approval. That was time spent for them to print the visa and prepare the paperwork. A few hours later, our status said "Issued". A couple hours after that, our tracking number (we wrote it down prior to mailing them the envelope to send the passport back) said it was picked up by the post. You will get your passport in a couple of days!

Originally in Nebraska and transferred to Potomac for a CR-1. Interview was Wednesday. I tried to put as many details in my timeline/signature for reference.

I filed taxes 2019 March and was not able to file electronically since it was all income abroad. To date, I never heard back from the IRS about 2019 transcripts. I uploaded my tax return and the 1040, explained the situation, and stated we will provide 2019 transcripts at the interview IF the IRS supplies it by then. We got DQ'd but did get a CE note saying that the decision is on the officer and to have a joint sponsor lined up just in case. It all depends on each individual case and country. In our case, current income was all that they needed for approval since they did not ask for additional financial evidence at the time of the interview, they did not request a joint sponsor (which was great because we did not have one!), or even if we received the 2019 transcripts. My 2018 and 2017 tax transcripts were irrelevant because I was on a graduate stipend. 

February 2020 filer here. We got our visa!!! Goodluck to you all!

1 hour ago, GiggsMcGill said:

Congrats!! Hoping my husband's is as smooth  I'm sure you are absolutely so excited! Does he have to get an exemption to leave NZ or will he just be able to fly over?

He can fly right over

Approved!!!   

What a roller coaster! My husband got his interview canned an hour before his interview time due to the last minute lockdown of Auckland last month. We were finally rescheduled for today and my husband has been APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was in and out of the embassy in 20 minutes. We were worried about my income because I moved from NZ and have only been working for 4 months in the US and a co-sponsor was not an option for us. They did not ask to see any paperwork or more financial evidence. I get to see my husband for the first time since Janaury!!! Whoooo!!!

Husband's interview is suppose to be in in 8 hours but Auckland is going to Level Alert 3 and the embassy website says they are now closed  Have to wait until the morning to see what is going on. Level alert 3 isn't effective until noon and his interview is at 8:30 in the morning.

26 minutes ago, PTA petitioner said:

Do I have to print the I-130 and fill it out again? and again sign it? or is the signature enough? Oh man, I can't stand to look at it and fill it again..Thanks though!

* I already know that I am going to get an RFE due to another error on our document. 

Yes I would be safe than sorry and fill it out either using the fillable PDF version of handwrite it and sign it. Like I said, heaps of people have been fine without doing this, but a handful have gotten RFE's for no wet signature. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Just a heads up to new filers, make sure you print off and fill in the I-130 manually and provide a wet signature even though you certify a digital signature in the application. We had an RFE saying they never received our I-130 even though it was done online. After the runaround, they said it was not signed and they needed a wet signature. Would not hurt to fill it out, sign it, and upload on top of completing it online. It takes a few extra minutes, but saves a couple of months if you end up in our same situation.