Firstenburg

Sorry WH, I wasn't trying to be a smarty. I'm trying to be helpful too, it may have come across wrong. I think this service is great if it truly can call landlines and cell phones. They say that about skype, but skype is only free if you call computer to computer. If you call a landline or cell phone you get charged.

Take care.

It's just another video chat system.... like msn or skype. This isn't new. Plus it ties both of you to a computer.

If you truly want your spouse to be able to call you for free, goto JustVoip and download the app. You have to buy 10 euros of credit, but then your spouse will be able to call you on your cell or landline for free. It's great! They will need a computer with a broadband connection and a microphone.

You can read about what I call my Communications Techno Stew. It's got some great tips.

I've been hearing horror stories about port of entry interviews, in some cases taking up to 10 hours!! I thought the Consular interview was the last big hurdle before entering the US. But I also heard that the immigration officer at the airport has the power to revoke the visa??!

Is this true? We only have 2 hours in our port-of-entry airport before our connection. If they interview us and we lose our connection, do they put us on another flight? It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that they don't hold themselves responsible for that.

Speaking of which I've heard that it's best to get in line together in the line for "US Citizens" at the immigration port of entry, and play dumb. That going through the line as spouses and with me being an american citizen, my wife will have less troubles.

Does anyone know if THAT is true?

Our interview is scheduled for June 20th - Woot!!

After the interview, assuming all goes well and our visa is approved, can my wife come to the US immediately? Or are there other things we have to wait for before she is clear to enter the US?

My boss went through the process with her fiance and after the interview he had to wait for docs to get FedExed to the US and back. Not sure if the same applies to K3 applicants...

BTW, did I mention my wife's interview is scheduled for June 20th - WOOT!!!!!

On the other hand, K3 is a multiple entry visa good for two years after the first entry. As such, there's no hurry to file AOS. You could wait until you find a new job if you want.

Thanks for the info. That's right, we may just wait to file the AOS. I've read though that USCIS expects you to make a good faith effort to file asap or they might deny you a work permit.

I read your reply to mean changing employment AFTER the AOS interview. Is that a correct interpretation? I'm concerned that my unemployment and my AOS process/interview may overlap. Will that cause us problems?

My company is laying me off as of Aug 30, 2008. Our K3 application is at the consulate and they informed us that we could expect an interview in July (*sigh* wish it was sooner but oh well....) If I apply for AOS immediately after my wife arrives, I am guessing that the AOS process will still be on-going when the lay-off happens. I am concerned about what affect my employment status would have if I have not found new work at the time that we are called in for the AOS interveiw.

Does anyone know if that would have an impact?

I have the option of leaving my current employer pre-emptively and getting a new job now. But I wanted to take advantage of the severence pay I would receive after Aug 30, and spend an extended "paid vacation" if you will, with my wife. We desperately need it after the long wait that USCIS has put us through!

I appreciate any insight you have that would help me out in this weird situation.

Welcome to the world of USCIS, where everything is plausibly deniable! Get used to that. I'm not trying to be a smartie pants, just telling you to brace yourself for LOTS of that. The dates will never correlate to reality, because they are only updated 1 time per month. And in January of this year they didn't get updated at all!! Also, you should be aware that their processing dates are there to both inform you, AND protect them. If you call up when you are still inside the processing dates, they will tell you not to bother them until you are outside the processing dates. When you are finally outside the processing dates and you call, they will tell you to wait until you are 30 days outside the processing dates. When you are 30 days outside the processing dates and you call, they will tell you that the dates are merely "guidelines" and not hard fast rules. And to call back in 30 days. Meanwhile, you will see lots of people on VJ getting approved before you, that submitted their applications after you. However none of this information will get you help from USCIS, and no one there will care.

There are other inconsistencies with the USCIS processing dates to note, for example, sometimes the I-130 dates say a date, and other times it says "6 months". You'll also notice that there are no processing times posted for K3 visas. This all adds up to a complete lack of credibility for the processing dates that USCIS gives us.

VJ timelines are reality, because these timelines, and the processing times available here, are comprised of statistical data gathered from real petitioners. Generally you should look at the timelines posted here, and guage your progress accordingly. Don't worry about the processing dates posted by USCIS. That information is outdated, incorrect the second it is posted, and buys you nothing when talking to USCIS representatives.

I've been reading several posts and trying to gather information about what to expect on the rest of our journey. My wife's I-129F (K3) petition is on its way to the consolate in Rio and should arrive between Monday and Wed. I don't know what to expect in the P3 and P4. Can someone tell me, generally, what to expect in these two packets?

Here are some other questions I have:

1) Can we get the police report in advance of receiving her P3? Is it just a normal police report? What does it need to include? Is there someplace on the web that talks about this?

2) Since her papers are being sent to the US Consulate in Rio, will our paper exchanges and interview be taking place there? Or will the consulate send her stuff to an embassy? I've read on some posts that things have to be moved to an Embassy. If so, does anyone know why?

3) Is there anything I can do (other than prompt responses to paperwork, forms, exams, etc) to ensure a sooner-rather-than-later interview date?

If your consulate is an appointment post, NVC assigns the interview dates based on what dates the consulate has available. They have to get available dates from the consulate in order to assign a date to applicants.

So NVC gets the date FROM the consulate to assign FOR the consulate? That makes as much sense as everything else I have encountered with immigration. *sigh*.

So how do I know if my consulate is an "appointment post"? I've never heard of that term.

Our Visa application (the K3) is on its way to Brazil, but hasn't arrived there yet. So my wife called the US consulate in Rio de Janeiro today to ask some general questions, one of which was how they pick the date for her interview. They told her that NVC sends the case to them with the date already marked. Can anyone verify this? I haven't heard this before. I thought the consulate decided the date.

Of course I could call NVC but their lines are jammed usually till after 11pm EST so looking for some help now from VJers.

04/23/08 Meryll's flight to US - making 400 days since I last saw my wife.

To edp333:

HOLY ####### what a long wait! Congratulations and I wish you a wonderful reunion!!

I would advise against cancelling any approved petition unless your relationship has ended. If they actually send both petitions through to NVC and onward, you may have the opportunity to use the K3 interview date for a CR1 visa. Cancelling the I-129F may cause you all kinds of problems and gain you absolutely nothing.

Okay that is good info. I'll keep the K3 in play. But can you clarify what you said about the K3 interview date? I don't understand what you mean by that.

thanks for your post! Made me feel a bit better!!

I just need to find something to do for the next 2 months that keeps me away from checking everyday for an approval that will not come any time soon! When we start seeing the first January filers' approvals, I think I'll get very very fidgety even if I am only early March...

Charisma1, I really liked LvivLovers comments, it hits the nail on the head. I would add to her comments, that if you are feeling a lot of anxiety, which is understandable, you should consider taking a break from VJ. I went through a period of extreme bitterness over the long wait, and checking this site only made me more anxious because I saw many people getting approval before me that filed after me. It only made the wait harder on me. Many of my posts on here reflected that. In fact many of my posts were ANTI-K3. And very negative. This wait is going to take as long as it takes. And no amount of anxiety or calling USCIS is going to change it. Trust me. My congressman was calling every Monday on my behalf, I opened an inquiry through DHS. I got mad a LOT. None of it made anything move faster. It only made me a bad person to be around. So just take a break from this site for a few weeks if you need to, because honestly, it can be harmful to your optimism. Just know that eventually you will get your approval. I feel your pain I really do. I just got my approval today for both the I-130 and the K3. And I filed in JULY 2007!

Good luck!

Before you call NVC to have your I-129F petition cancelled, I'd make very sure that you know the consequences, since abandoning the K-3 route, might likely mean that your wife will have to wait a few months extra before receiving her immigrant visa and be able to come to the US. It would avoid AOS hassle lateron but would mean you'd have to be apart longer. Is that what you want?

Take care

Good point I'll look into that. I'd choose AOS hassle over MORE WAITING any day!!! But if I can avoid AOS and still have the petitions processed in the same timeframe, I want to cancel. I need to ask NVC about this now, since USCIS has forwarded this on to them.

Yes, it does. Neither the I-130 or I-129F are visa applications. Both are petitions. Most likely the I-130 petition will be held and the I-129F will be sent on to NVC and the Consulate abroad. Does the NOA2 for the I-130 indicate your relative is in the USA (means something different) or does it say the petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center?

Both the NOA2's state that they are being forwarded on to NVC. As I understand it, my wife will now come here on a K3 and this only means MORE IMMIGRATION PROCESSING FOR ME!!!! Arg!! I will now have to go through an AOS when my wife gets here. I don't know why my K3 wasn't closed like all the others have been lately. I just called immigration and the lady told me that I could call NVC and have the I129 cancelled. Does that jive with what you have heard?

Actually, no, you didn't. You received the NOA2 for your I-129F petition. This approval will allow your spouse to make application for a K3 visa abroad.

Well, I just went back through my mail again and found that I also received the NOA2 for our I-130, so both of my applications were approved. So does that change what you said above?

Thanks for the help!

I just received our NOA2 for our K3 visa application!!!! WHOOOT!!!! Funny thing is that our USCIS page still says "processing". Oh well, I'm so freaking excited I couldn't care less.

ANYHOO I have tons of questions about what comes next. Does the K3 preclude the Consolate interview? Or does my wife still have to go through that process?

So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here is a thought, and a question at the same time...

Isn't it better that the K3 get cancelled, if they are taking approx the same time to process? The K3 may shave a few weeks off getting your spouse here, but doesn't the K3 require that you jump through a bunch of administrative hoops (AOS, etc) that are taken care of with the I-130? I may not understand the K3 correctly. But for those who are wanting USCIS to reopen the K3, I think you might not like it if they did. It seems you would only be prolonging your USCIS-suffering.

If I'm wrong, please clarify for me.

Calling your congressman yet?

Yes, I am on his list, along with 100+ other Oregon petitioners. He called yesterday and made an inquiry on my behalf, again. My hands are now officially tied. Congressman isn't helping. Being outside the timelines isn't helping. And I was told this call not to call back for another 30 days.

*uhg*

Thanks for the info.

So here's an interesting FYI.....

The I-130 processing date updated today to July 26, 2007. If this puts you outside the processing times, and you think it will help you get renewed attention on your case, it might not.

I called about my case today because the updated processing date puts me officially outside the processing time, by about a week. All this time I've been told that I'm still within processing times and to call back after that has changed.

Called them this morning and was told that because my case has been assigned to an adjudicator, the processing dates no longer apply to my case. That sure feels like a load of bunk. But basically what it means is that processing dates only help you if you haven't been assigned to an adjudicator. So even though I haven't been "processed", or seen any action on my case since long before it was assigned, I get no help for being outside the processing times. I know from interviews I've read that adjudicators are assigned many cases at a time. Some adjudicators are contractors that take many boxes of cases at a time to their home to work on. And there is evidence in those interviews to suggest that the adjudicators don't always work on those cases in the order of receipt date. In fact, we see here on VJ many MANY instances of people getting approved before others who applied earlier. So in that respect FIFO (first in first out) is not completely enforced.

I would think, then, that even though I'm assigned to an adjudicator, that once I'm outside of the processing time, USCIS should be willing to "nudge" the adjudicating officer to make sure that, at a minimum, my case is processed in the correct order.. But that is not the case.

We're at 216 days for our I-130, and 190 days for our I-129F.

Good news though, last week when I called, I was told that our app had been assigned to an adjudicator on Feb 13.

Bad news, today when I called I was told that even though our app is now officially outside the processing dates (They updated the date today - it now says July 26, 2007), it doesn't help me, because I've been assigned to an adjudicator, and after that happens the processing dates don't apply...

*uhg*

Sometimes I swear they make this stuff up as they go!

I hope we all see approvals soon. Stay patient, and remember..... this is the government we're working with. AI AI AI

I see folks posting NVC processing times. Most recently here. It says:

NVC for K3 : 30 days

NVC for CR1: 120 days

Where can I go to see these processing times/dates? Are they available on the state dept or uscis website somewhere? Googled and couldn't find anything... And is there a number to call, to talk to a live human about these processing times?

Thanks!

I'm sure you've all noticed that the processing date for the I-130 hasn't changed since January 15. It still shows "July 15". I'm willing to bet that USCIS is intentionally not updating their site because they know it would put many MANY of us outside the processing time, and would cause an onslaught of support calls.

I called their support number yesterday to ask about this, and was told there is nothing I or anyone in the support organization can do about it. Oh, and to WAIT. SOME MORE....

Does anyone know if there is a way to NUDGE uscis on this?