HelsinkiFi

Hi forum! I just wanted to share an update in our case to see if anyone else had this update on the USCIS website. We submitted the N-400 back in August 25th and the status changed to “USCIS is actively reviewing your case” at the end of September. After that, there’s been no change at all and I’ve seen so many people get their interviews way faster that I started to get worried even though I’m obviously happy for those who did get their interviews 🎉
 

Anyway, two days ago the time estimate on the website went down to 2 months (from 3) and then one day later to 31 days but still no change in status or interview date.
Has anyone else had this happen? Does anyone know if this means that someone is actually working on the case or is the tracker completely arbitrary? I don’t want to get my hopes up if it doesn’t mean anything🥹 thanks again for your input! 

On 8/27/2023 at 4:36 PM, Maria P. said:

 

Hi @HelsinkiFi & everybody  joining the party... 

 

I also have used the lawyer and she also said something along the line of 'not trusting online filing because of history of unreliability"... although plenty of people file online and don't have any issues (my friend including - already got approved, filed online), I am not sure if lawyers are just a bit of old school / they have some bad experience with online or they have some industry insider info...

 

Anyway - we mailed the application this week -> it was delivered by FEDEX to USCIS Elgin Lockbox on Wednesday, August 23rd.  On Friday (i.e. 2 business days after delivery) - I got a text message "USCIS: Your case was received. RECEIPT # IOExxxxxxxxxx. Official Receipt Notice ( Form I-797C) to follow in mail. Msg & Data rates may apply. DO NOT REPLY". Although it was mailed (paper form application), it appears they have digitalized it (scanned it into the system), based on 'IOE' receipt abbreviation. So I agree with @VJ0617 - 8-9 weeks seems definitely too long.  I am still waiting for the mail notice and will give an update when I get it.

 

Since I got the receipt # in text, I could already go check USCIS online tool -> and on Friday Aug 23 ~ showed "case was received and a receipt notice was sent" and now on Sunday (Aug 27) ~ it shows "case is being actively reviewed by USCIS" . Hope it helps) 

Hi Maria, I’m so happy you got your receipt number so fast! That’s awesome! And yeah, you’re probably right about lawyers being a little bit old school with this stuff!
I haven’t heard anything so far, and since I don’t have the receipt number I can’t check the status yet! The suspense is killing me haha. Hopefully I’ll get a letter in the mail soon so I could start tracking the application!

Best of luck to you that everything goes really fast and you will soon get a date for the interview 🤩

On 8/25/2023 at 10:14 PM, JenIE said:

Yeah I'm curious about the glitchy comment -- there are definitely other forms that clearly haven't had the code updated since the late 90s but this one was very straightforward and easy and modern feeling. I would bet most people filed online as well.

 Hi, yeah I have no idea either because it seems like everyone but us submits these things online without any issue 😄 but here we are, and since my lawyer decided to do it via mail, I was just curious if anyone else has done this in a while! 

Hi everyone!

Fellow August filer here! Our earliest filing day was Aug 23rd (90 days before the 3 year anniversary of me becoming a permanent resident). Anyway, our attorney decided to file our N-400 by mailing it to a USCIS lockbox in Tempe, AZ. Apparently she thinks it’s safer to file it by mail because the website is famously glitchy. My question is, does anyone know how long it takes to scan the mailed application into the system after it’s in the lockbox? I would love to have a receipt number so that I could check the status of the application. Google said it may take 8 to 9 weeks for them to get it in the system! That seems like an insanely long time! Has anyone else done this by mail in a long time? 
 

I appreciate any input! Let’s hope everyone’s N-400 keep moving fast! 

Now the site just tells me “your search did not return any data”... case number is definitely correct. So weird. Hopefully the consulate can clarify this. 

2 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

Probably nothing to worry about / CEAC site is not always relibale

but i would send message to them / not many Finns coming to US so they should reply quickly

HelsinkiNIV@state.gov

 

you can also call 

• In Finland: +358 942 451 555 (11am-3pm, Mon-Fri)
• In the U.S.: +1 703-520-2571

 

from another Helsinki Finn family name was Niemi

Thanks so much for the advice! I will email the embassy ASAP! 
Still hoping that everything is normal and the status will soon be changed to “issued”! 

Hi! Just wondering if anyone has had this happen before - had my interview exactly a week ago. CO gave verbal approval and said to wait a week for an email from the embassy with instructions to retrieve my passport. 
So far the CEAC status has been “ready” even after the interview and I’ve had two date changes but the status has stayed the same (no “issued” status unfortunately). Today however, I keep getting an error message “could not find application”. 
Should I be worried? I’ve checked multiple times and the case number is definitely correctly entered. Should I call the embassy or just be patient? 
 

This might be a silly question to ask but do you guys know if the NVC acknowledges that they have received an expedite request? And furthermore, do they always approve or deny it? I haven’t heard anything about the expedite: no approval nor denial or any kind of “receipt”. I’m just wondering if there’s any way to know if they have gotten it. 

I’d appreciate any insight! And thanks to all the kind and knowledgeable people who answer questions here. You guys make it a lot easier on us! 

14 hours ago, Ophoriwaa said:

Anyone else's case stuck at NVC after DQ due to embassy not opened for visa services? Our was DQ'd on August 11 and is still at NVC. The embassy is yet to resume visa interviews so we don't know how much longer we need to wait

Hi, we got DQ’d the same day, August 11th but status still says at NVC.
I know that some people with CR-1 visas whose interviews got cancelled in the early summer have had their interviews at the local embassy In September which is good news. So eventually they have to get to our case but I have no idea when that will happen. I feel very discouraged because I was hoping to be done with the process before Christmas but who knows at this point 😕 

Anyway, let’s hope we both get interviews very soon! Good luck 😊

3 hours ago, CS_Bradshaw said:

i see... i actually just got an email from NVC after i wrote you. so i got the interview date for next month. hopefully you will hear soon about your interview date

Congratulations! That’s great news! Did you expedite your case, if you don’t mind me asking? 

4 hours ago, CS_Bradshaw said:

@HelsinkiFi, did you get any update about your case and interview date?

No unfortunately not yet 😕 we’re thinking about expediting our case because this process has had a major impact on our mental wellbeing. Apparently no one has gotten interview at the Helsinki Embassy since they reopened even though the customer service representative told me that they are processing “certain immigrant visas”. 

20 hours ago, S & C said:

@HelsinkiFi thank you for sharing the information. which i understand DQ means that the NVC done reviewing all the documents that submitted to the site. next step the NVC will contact amd transfer the case to the embassy, thats what make me curious how long it will take. yeahh, the embassy in Tokyo is only open for IR1/CR1 interview, so i think it wont take that long if they dont have a lot of backlog

I also contacted NVC because I was curious about my status “at NVC” on CEAC even after getting the DQ email and they just replied that my case is now in line at the embassy overseas. Status never changed though: still says “at NVC”. So either the status only changes after the interview is actually scheduled or the site just doesn’t update very often.

Anyway, nothing to do but to wait a guess... Hopefully both the embassies will schedule the interviews very soon! Good luck to you  

Hi! We’re in the same boat with you. CR-1 and waiting for interview at the U.S Embassy in Helsinki (Finland). Our DQ date was August 11th.
 

After that I emailed the embassy asking if they are doing the CR1/IR1 interviews as they were declared mission critical. They sent back a very nice email saying that they will schedule certain mission critical immigrant visa interviews but they haven’t received my package from NVC. I found this message to be somewhat confusing as I thought that DQ literally means that the NVC asks the embassy to schedule an interview and it’s up to them from that point on but a guess it takes more time before my case ends up in the local embassy still. But looking at the bright side, at least they sent me a nice email  

Hi y’all! 
 

I’ve been doing a lot of googling and I’m finding some pretty contradictory information online. Is getting DQ’d the same as case complete? 

We got DQ message from NVC last week but when I contacted the local embassy they told me that the case is still at NVC even though the DQ email says that NVC will now work with the local embassy to schedule an interview. 

We’re CR1 and husband is USC. Embassy told me that they are going to schedule an interview but they haven’t received the package yet. Status on CEAC still says “at NVC”. 

Some sources online claim that if your CEAC status says ”at NVC”, that means that they haven’t looked at the DS260 form yet but that would seem odd since we already got the DQ email and surely the DS260 is also reviewed with the rest of the documents. I can’t seem to find concrete answer whether DQ means that everything is truly ready or is the more waiting before the case is sent to local embassy. 

I’m wondering whether I should do something and make sure that everything is in order or just wait patiently. My apologies for a very long post! 

26 minutes ago, Katelyn_Wray said:

We just got DQ'd! Hopefully that means you guys have been DQ'd as well, or will very soon!

That’s amazing, us too! The waiting game continues but this is still one step closer. Congratulations! Hopefully we both get interviews scheduled fast  

On 8/5/2020 at 1:56 AM, Ophoriwaa said:

It's the same in my case. My husband had to call NVC and it was confirmed that they had received our documents and it was under review. So you don't have anything to worry about.

Oh cool, that’s good to hear! Hopefully your husband will be approved soon! 

On 8/3/2020 at 8:39 PM, Katelyn_Wray said:

Hey, I wouldn't worry about it, my case still shows the same thing and I've run into folks with the same issue. It seems they just don't update the status check tool, but you could always call to make sure they got everything. 

 

We still haven't gotten DQ'd yet either even though it seems tons of people are getting DQ'd well under a week after submissions. I submitted everything July 13th, then got an RFE July 23rd and submitted it that day, but haven't heard anything since then, although I understand that is still well under normal wait times.

 

Best of luck to you

Thanks for the reply! That’s a relief to hear  so we submitted our stuff on the same date. We’ve had no updates so far! Hopefully we both get DQ’d soon! 

Hi, I have a question about the NVC status check: when I use the status check tool (the one where you only type in your case number and nothing else), I get a notification that “action is required, please submit the following documents” and then a whole list of all the documents that NVC asks for. The weird thing is that we’ve already submitted all of them and paid fees three weeks ago. Is this a glitch or should I be calling NVC to make sure that they have received our stuff?
 

I’m also wondering why we haven’t gotten DQ’d yet, even though we’re CR1 and those usually get DQ pretty fast, or at least it seems that way lately.

Thanks in advance for help!  

I’m so happy to announce that our I-130 was approved today, June 4th! 🤩
PD October 31st 2019

SC Nebraska, no transfer, no RFE.

Date changes: 04/06, 05/18, 05/21, 06/04 and then later approved on the same day! 
I129-f still hasn’t been touched. 
 

Hoping that all y’all will get approved very soon as well ☺️

7 hours ago, rexy10 said:

Got approved today!!!

 

PD October 19.

 

2 date changes last week, and today, we got the NVC mail! So exciting!

SC of the NOA2 is Nebraska.

 😄😄

 

 

Hope your approvals come soon!!!!

Omg so exciting! Congrats! 🥳 You didn’t have any more date changes before approval? Does your USCIS account say approved already? I’m asking because it seems that the site doesn’t always get updated immediately. 

Our PD is October 31st! Really hoping we’re gonna get approved soon as well 😄

3 hours ago, rexy10 said:

Are you applying CR1/ IR1??

Yes, husband is US citizen and we also did I129f but we’ve had no movement with that at all. 

12 hours ago, rexy10 said:

2 date changes this week, May 18 and 21, I hope it means something!

PD October 2019

We’re definitely on the same boat because we got a date change on the 21st too! Two  changes so close together gotta mean that things are moving along! Fingers crossed 😎

21 hours ago, rexy10 said:

Date change today  May 18!!, 2 months from the last one, anyone else got one??

Us too! Had one date change 6 weeks ago and today second one! Our PD is October 31st. I hope this is positive development for the both of us  🤩

On 5/6/2020 at 8:56 AM, WilliamSmith said:

Our case was originally in TSC and like many, we were transferred on Feb 23 to NSC. I noticed a date change on Apr 27 and got very excited but no NOA2. Someone suggested downloading an app called 'Visa Tracker' and the app is able to show you where your case it. When I checked it said CSC. I sent a message to Emma to verify so I will see what that response says.

 

Anyone else here who got transferred a second time? 

Hi, I have that app downloaded as well but I’m not convinced that it knows where your case is because you can change the service center by clicking on it (where you had circled the SC on the screenshot). I assume it says California as default because I see California with our case as well even though when we asked USCIS they said our case was still in Nebraska.

I might be wrong obviously but I’m pretty sure that it’s only the default view everyone sees first and by selecting different SC it shows the specific timelines for that centre