LoloBrinny

Almost a year later, we finally have my wife's card in hand:
 
Oct 21 (2019): Paid fee
Nov 2 (2019): POE
March 2: 120 days, called and opened SR with USCIS
April 3: SR was never assigned to agent, so called again. Agent opened a higher priority SR
April 6: Case assigned to agent for response
April 15: Received an email saying they need more time, and if we don't hear back in 90 days to call again.
June 2: Called again, they just told us to keep waiting
June 9: Received letter from USCIS saying they lost the packet (never received it from POE). Called number and waiting for an in-person appointment to be scheduled to re-create packet.
August 17: Appointment with local USCIS office. Originally this wasn't allowed since we weren't an 'emergency' (due to COVID), but we needed an extension due to a mortgage application. Therefore, USCIS gave my wife a new stamp and recreated her GC packet at the same time.
Oct 23: Card in production
Oct 26: Card mailed
Oct 30: Card received.
 
Thanks to everyone on this forum for their help through the process!

I found this thread interesting while I was waiting for my GC, so I thought I'd add my timeline as well.

Immigrant fee paid: April 6, 2020
POE (Boston): July 18, 2020
Sent to be printed: October 3, 2020
Card mailed: October 6, 2020
Card received: October 9, 2020

Interesting, how these green card timelines vary. Good luck to all of you who are still waiting.

My husband had a successful interview today in Paris. We thought that the interview would get canceled when France went back into lockdown last week, but made it through. He had a very positive experience with a very nice officer. He asked how we met, if petitioner(me) is a naturalized citizen, who the joint sponsor is and asked for photos. The officer was apparently quite interested in our love story since I'm Colombian and he is Indian...you know the cultural differences. This process although faster than expected.. has been a roller-coaster and I am just happy to know that every effort is eventually worth it. Very grateful for this community. My best wishes to all!

Its impact on immigration is also political, it's impossible to talk about policies without going into politics because they're inherently political. It feels more like what people mean is "don't criticize bad policy" but since we're on an immigration forum where we all share the goal of immigrating to a country, I don't really see what's wrong with doing that, everyone currently still going through the system is experiencing the same frustrations and it just feels wrong to pretend that we're not. VJ portrays itself as a community for and of immigrants, I really don't see why we can't talk about this like adults. Clearly we all have the goal of moving to the US, I don't see why we can't criticize a country we clearly all like enough to move to.

I believe the enforcement falls on the local level. Every state gets a certain amount of federal funds and are required to use said funds in a specific way.  From my understanding they are not required to enforce the recovering- and yes, many states choose not to enforce due to the bad publicity it can bring. I believe CA is the only state that has publicly said they are not currently enforcing recovery nor ever plan to. All the other states are just silent on the matter. 
 
Im just struggling with the idea that it is some how 'cruel' to require people to honor a contract they signed willingly. Does the same apply to auto loans or mortgages? Should I be able to call up my car loan place and say - hey you know I am poor right? I am poor and disabled. How dare you ask me to give you money I promised to pay you! Its cruel to ask me to pay my debts.
 
Children are taught not to make promises they cant keep so they dont grow up into adults that sign contracts they cant honor.

@USAjune2016 I understand what you are trying to say but there are parts you are overlooking... The welfare system (meaning snap/food, medicaid, tanf, etc) is funded by money collected through taxes. It can use both federal funds and local funds. Its a huge ordeal where they have budget meetings and decide how much $ goes to each program. Taxes are also used for roads, schools, etc. So somewhere someone has to decide how much money goes to each. Like when you get your paycheck and have to divide it to your bills and expenses each month. The government does that. They take all the taxes collected and divide it up to go to various programs based on where its needed and what they prioritize. They look at the population and the expected population growth. Population growth (for the upcoming year) does not include those currently immigrating as those people are prohibited from receiving benefits for the first 5 years but it can include those who immigrated 5 yrs ago as they now are eligible to receive benefits. Does that all make sense?
 
So if I had a tiny country with 100 citizens I would collect taxes to provide welfare benefits to my 100 citizens + 25 potential newborns each year. I would look at how many of my 125 citizens would potentially need aid based on present income and set aside enough to cover what I anticipate will be needed. Of course some people will feel there is too much aid being given and others will feel not enough is being given. Putting more money towards welfare means less money goes to other things like roads and infrastructure. Again, not everyone will be happy with the way the taxes are being divided up and used but luckily they can advocate for changes by voting in officials that share their viewpoints on these topics. Now my welfare fund was created based on the 125 citizens who may be in need and if my calculations were correct I should have enough money in the fund. If an immigrant immigrates to my tiny country I now have 126 residents which is a problem because my calculations only account for having to provide for 125. So I make a law that any new immigrant can not use the welfare benefits. If they want to immigrate to my tiny island country they need to be able to support themselves -or- one of the current citizens can agree to pay their way if needed. This ensures the immigrant wont be suffering. I cant cover their needs with my program (because I only have enough in it for the 125). I dont want to let them in and have them living in the street. So it makes sense to allow them in as long as someone is going to assume responsibility for them. 
 
Your argument or what you are taking issue with is the fact that you are paying taxes and its going to the fund for the 125 citizens to use and you dont care about the other 124 citizens. You only care about #126 because they are your relative- so you want your taxes to also help them and cant understand why the program cant support 126. You dont think its fair if someone can not afford to sponsor the immigrant. You believe the fund does have enough to cover them and since there would be now be 126 contributing there should be enough to cover 126. Logically that make sense but thats not how it works. Im sure you are aware of the huge deficits that currently exist. So going back to my tiny country- I collect   taxes from each resident. I have 150,000$. It has to be divided to pay for a variety of things. The amount needed for my welfare fund is calculated on needing to provide for 125. The amount needed for my school fund is based on the number of students I have. The amount needed for roads is based on the number of drivers I anticipate using the roads. The amount needed for providing clean water is based on the number of people using the water etc etc. I add up all the expenses needed and it ends up I need  250,000$ to provide everything but I only have 150,000. Now I have a deficit. There is no way I can alter the welfare fund to accommodate more people with out collecting more taxes or cutting money from other areas. Very few of my citizens support paying more taxes to increase welfare funds. Many citizens already feel too much is going to the welfare system, many feel its not enough as it is. You cant make everyone happy.  So because my welfare fund cant support #126 I require someone to sign an 864 saying they will help support #126. If it ends up that #126 takes welfare then I need to go and enforce the 864 that was signed to recoup the money back. 
 
Thats what this program is trying to do. A lot of money has been paid out in benefits that people had promised they would be responsible for repaying. Theres nothing wrong with making people do what they agreed to do. 
 
 

I'm sarcastic because I used many public benefits growing up. I grew up in a single parent household and we didn't have very much money.
When I was in school I got free breakfast and lunch which is normally all I ate for the day. When my sisters became pregnant I got to eat at home because they were eligible for WIC.
Then after I graduated high school I received financial aid to go to college. Then I graduated with a degree in computer science and started work as a software engineer and since then I have paid more than enough taxes to pay back what I used.
 
So I don't mind helping people that need help as long as they do not abuse the system and I realize that  by helping someone that is down you might be able to help them rise above it and help make our country better.

The easiest thing in life is to say that this is the law Take it or leave it. We wouldn’t have the freedom we have today if everyone just accepted the laws blindly. The Patriots are the ones that fought for justice and freedom. Enforcing this law is separating loved ones and families from each others simply based on your income. A US citizen deserves to petition his spouse or parents with no fear if they had a lot of money or not. 

I personally don’t care about these “benefits” that I never collected even during the pandemic I chose to risk my life and do my essential duties and I’m still doing so. My problem is not the public means that I really don’t need but it’s how
many people are going to be scared now to petition someone! And how much this country going to lose amazing immigrants.

Life is about love and family not just money and taxes and it saddens me how many people are going be hurt by this and separated from their loved one.
I personally don’t need a sponsor and I also don’t want to bring my parents here because they prefer their home country but Thanks God my mind is so clear that I spoke up against this! I can go to bed relaxed with a big smile on my face. The power of love is amazing. Especially loving someone you don’t know. Try it! 

50 states,  50 different processes.   

If your financial situation is limit, they may ask for it.
 
But honestly, from what I have read, with all interview feedbacks, it seems the interview is mostly to check if your marriage is real, if you have ever worked in the US (unofficially), etc.
They are aware that you cannot have latest papers from IRS.
As for the other papers: they focuse on your civil documents (police certificates, birth/marriage/divorce certificates) + DS260 + your ID photos + your passport (of course) + your ITW email.
 
Even if the Consular officers make the ultimate decision (Port of Entry by the way), the NVC step is the biggest and the most important. So if it went well at NVC and you are set there, there are very few chances, it will go wrong at the Interview. So bring whatever W2s you have, you cannot force IRS administration to work faster.
 
Take care.

We just did too. Same date at 8am

DQ July 9th

Just got back from my interview. I got APPROVED!! 
 
It was really quick, was in and out within 30 minutes and nobody else was there. CO was really friendly. He asked quite a few questions but it was more like general chit chat. He congratulated me on our anniversary today and told me to expect my passport back within 2 weeks.

I called my husband once I got out (at 05:30 his time 😂) and woke him up with the good news! I still can’t believe it’s finally happening and that I’ll be with my husband soon!

Hello everyone,
 
We just received our interview appointment in Buenos Aires, Argentina for September 17.
 
DQ was July 9

I'm pleased to update on our situation, our visa has been approved!

Had my interview today in Amsterdam and got approved! 🤩 Had to wait 2-2,5 hrs for an interview that barely lasted 5 minutes, but thank God we made it. 
 
Interview was very easy. Only questions were how I met my spouse and how our long distance relationship went. 
 

I'm so happy to share that I got my passport back with the IR-1 visa today!
 
My NOA1 was exactly 2 years ago today. 730 days! It took us a lot of patience while going through this process. Thanks to all VJ members for graciously sharing their experiences. I'm sending love and wishes to all those who are in the process. Stay hopeful and it'll be your turn soon!

Hi,
We got scheduled for our CR1 interview for August 19th
DQ was June 30th and we had a conditional expedite after DQ
 

We just got our interview appointment letter today for August 12th!! Nearly there!!🥳🥳🥳

Interview date secured 8/31 🤗🎉🙏🏾

Exciting news! We received our interview date. August 13th. London. 😁

Despite Covid and a swath of US consulate closings, 34 VJ'ers had their IR-1 Visas approved in July so far!  Good news and congrats!
 
https://www.visajourney.com/content/visa-approvals-this-month/
 
 

 

Hi David,
 
Thank you 😃.
 
Here is the review I posted for my experience at the embassy:
 
« My CR-1 interview at the Paris, France embassy took place on the 20th of July 2020 at 9:00 A.M.

I arrived at 8:45 A.M, but was only able to go through the security gate/screening at 9:00 A.M.

I had to wear a mask.

They check your bag and pockets, you cannot bring a laptop, food or drinks. You have to leave your cell phone turned off with the security staff.

Afterwards, I was asked to give my passport, my police certificate, my interview letter and my DS-260 confirmation. It was just so I could give those documents to the next person inside the embassy.

When I got in, I sat in a room with 20+ booths were you will get called to speak to the embassy staff.

I almost did not wait and was called by an employee of the embassy. The woman asked me for my passport, my police certificate, my interview letter and my DS-260 confirmation as well as my photograph, my birth certificate and my mariage certificate. She gave me some explanations about the next steps and my entry in the U.S. She also took my finger prints.

After that I was asked to sit down and wait for the Consular Officer. He called me and asked me to swear that I will say the truth. He asked me 5 or 6 questions:

- How did you meet?
- What kind of work to you plan on doing when arriving in the U.S?
- When and where did you get married?
- Where do you live right now?
- Where will you live in the U.S?

The interview lasted about 5 minutes. At the end he told me that I was approved and welcomed me in the U.S.
He also said that I will only receive my passport in the mail, the packet/enveloppe is not used anymore, the information are sent directly electronically to the POEs. The send the passports back on Thursdays through UPS, so I should get my passport back approximatively within 4 or 5 business days.

Then I exited the embassy and got my cell phone back.  

My whole visit lasted 45 minutes (9:00 A.M till 9:45 A.M). »
 
I hope that answers your questions !
 
Laurent 

You can pay it either before you enter the US or after you enter, but the plastic green card will not be produced until the new immigrant has entered the US AND the $220 fee has been paid. .......you must pay per the link I provided.  https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee/start-payment
 
Most people pay before entering the US.

Hi,
 
In my case, my doctor told me that I had to wait two weeks between each vaccine (Rougeole, Oreillons, and Rubéole and Tétanos, Coqueluche, Dipthérie and Polio).
 
Hope that helps.
 
Laurent

Hi,
 
In my case, my doctor told me that I had to wait two weeks between each vaccine (Rougeole, Oreillons, and Rubéole and Tétanos, Coqueluche, Dipthérie and Polio).
 
Hope that helps.
 
Laurent