ninjarocket

Typically a couple of months.

Some consulates (e.g. Manila) allow you to book the interview appointment on the day of your choosing by phone.

If you already have a k3 interview date in October there is little time to process I-130/CR through NVC. If your spouse is ready to come to the US immediately and doesn't need to work immediately then the k3 is a good option.

If you have already done the I-130/CR processing at NVC, it's worth having it expedited to the embassy to have a CR visa interview. Sometimes this can catch up with the k3 interview date enabling you to obtain an earlier interview appointment than would normally have been obtained.

With a bit of trickery and juggling, I managed to get my spouse an interview for a CR visa in two months after date of approval of I-130.I-129F.

I have been applied for I-130 and K-3 for my spouse. I got approval letter for both at the same time(Sept.8,2008).I got an interview date for k-3 visa from chennai for October also. Which route do i take?Can I go for an interview for K-3 and proceed with I-130 to process. Can i continue both or I have to abandon one? Please help meeee wi th your suggestions and inputs?????

You can continue with both. CR-1 is MUCH< MUCH better tho.

By the way, it's faster by about a week to send the DS3032 by express mail. They take a long time to scan through emails as they are given a lower priority. I tested both. I was able to get both the AOS and IV paid and submitted before the email DS3032 was finally accepted. As proof of this, my case was complete in less than a month: please see my timeline below. Recommending email is therefore not the best advice. I recall others have had a similar experience.

timeline

July 14: I-130 and I29F approved

July 26: NVC acknowledges receipt of both I-130 and I-129F

July 28: DS-3032 and AOS fee bill generated (although dated 2 days earlier when I received the snail mail)

July 29: mailed off $70 AOS fee

July 29: email forwarded DS-3032 from wife (snail mail got there first!)

July 30: spouse mailed off DS-3032 by express mail (UPS) from Philippines

August 4: DS-3032 hard copy received at NVC from Philippines

August 4: AOS fee bill received by NVC (although wrong date was on James' short cut generated bill!)

August 6: AOS generated

August 6: IV bill generated

August 6: send off AOS (I-864EZ) lets hope they accept a non-notarized version with IRS tax transcripts for last 3 years rather than actual tax returns! (there's not even any space to notarize an I-864EZ, so it makes no sense to me)

August 6: paid IV bill online with invoice # obtained from NVC operator (who also told me the online system doesn't work, so I'll just have to see what happens)

August 7: IV bill status is now "paid" and deducted from my bank account

August 7: mail off DS-230 + pile of documents + IV payment receipt + bank statement showing deduction

August 8: AVR says IV bill generated? (online status changed to "unpaid" although paid receipt is right there online. duh!)

August 11: finally they accepted email DS-3032 (hard copy got there one week earlier)

August 13: IV received at NVC (they need to be informed again to reconcile online payment with visa application, grrrrrr)

August 13: online payment system status changed back to "paid" yippee!!!

August 13: receive snail mail IV bill

August 14: AVR says IV payment received August 6

August 14: AOS instructions received by email

August 19: medical appointment (using k3-visa # already at consulate)

August 22: case complete according to operator several days later

August 27: k3-visa interview scheduled for September 16

August 27: expedite request emailed to send I-130 docs to k3-visa interview so that it can be changed to a CR-visa interview

August 27: also mail in expedite request

September 3: still no news on expedite request so ask to speak to supervisor who then has email tracked down and worked on within a couple of hours

September 3: request sent from NVC to embassy to find whether k3 interview can be changed to CR

September 9: MNL accepts expedite request and I-130 package mailed to embassy

September 16: k3/CR interview date: pink slip

many thanks everyone at VJ

Congratulations!!!

I was in the same situation as you until about two and a half months ago. I tried service requests on three different occasions and was told the same as you although I never heard anything back from any of them.

I did manage to get a response via my congressman, but it was far from comforting at the time.

You should definitely try the latter, even if just to find whether your case is still alive. You can also try an infopass appointment.

The only positive thing about my case taking so long at USCIS was that I had visited my wife so many times while waiting that we had an exceptionally strong case at the embassy. They never asked to see any of the evidence and everything went very smoothly. Some get processed through USCIS very fast only to get denied at the embassy. Hope you're hanging in there with your wife and supporting each other during these frustrating times.

There is often little in the way of consistency. I once filed an I-140 based I-485 for myself some years ago and it was approved in about a month. Two years before others that filed at the same time as me!

Hello all,

I have sent I-130 application to VSC, Recevied date (Sept 12th 2007) and NOA1 is received Jan 23rd 2008. Last time my file was touched on Feb 7th 2008, I called USCIS and put an enquiry. Looks like they take about 45 days to respond but so far it has been 4 weeks but my file has not been touched and I didn't received any mail.

I am kind of worried about the situation, is there anyone in the same situation? Please share your views.

Thanks in advance

Raj

hope the delivery doesn't take too long!

connected links:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153809

You can pursue either one or both in parallel. Ignore correspondence from whichever visa you don't want to pursue.

Hi All,

Really confused on how to go about this. Both our petitions were approved on the 19th and sent to NVC. NVC forwaded the I-129F to Islamabad consulate yesterday! We want to just follow the CR1 route now since it was approved. What should we be doing? What are the options?

Can I ignore any coressponence that we receive for the k3? like the packet 3 which we are supposed to be receiving? If i ignore this for the CR1 route will it just cancel everything all together?

Or, do i need to just follow the k3 too and hope that the CR1 interview is before the k3 interview?

please help!!

If he sent it in July and they still don't have it, it must be genuinely lost. It should only take a few days for it to be entered into their system. It's a good time to send in another one. Make sure the bar codes and other details on the cover form are correct.

i just called NVC right now and the operator said that they are reviewing my paper and that they sent a letter to my husband i think its a checklist letter coz they dont have my AOS and that theyre just waiting for it... but my hubby already sent it in July and i know myself that they have it... do u think guys they really dont have it or theyre just doing this to delay the process? is t really an RFE or just a false RFE? pls help me guys... its killing me now.. arrgggggrrr...

FYI, here's a copy of my email with sensitive info. removed. Please send this then ask to speak to a supervisor (e.g. Layla). The ordinary NVC phone operators can't and won't help you:

From: ******@****.***

Subject: MNL2008****** attention supervisor

Date: August 27, 2008 8:05:32 AM MDT

To: NVCINQUIRY@state.gov

case: MNL2008******

petitioner: **** ****, 1/8/1968

beneficiary: **** ****** ******, 11/17/1988

phone: 505 *******

reference: expedite request attention supervisor

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently learnt that my case was completed at the NVC as a of 8/22/08. However, my wife (Nova Balili Maligro) has a k3-visa interview scheduled for 9/16/08. Would it be possible for the forwarding of the CR-visa/I130 file to the MNL consulate to be expedited so that the interview can be changed from a k3-visa to a CR-visa?

I have already spoken to a lady at the MNL consulate who informed me that this can be done provided the documents reach MNL before the interview date. My wife has already completed the medical examination and the case number for the k3-visa is MNL2008******.

yours sincerely

**** ********

**** ******** **** #***

Santa Fe

NM 875**

Send in an expedite request to NVC by email explaining your situation and request. Then call NVC and ask to speak to a supervisor for it to get immediate attention. A lady by the name of Layla handled mine for me. NVC needs agreement from the consulate before they will forward the I-130 for the purpose of catching up with the k3.

Our I-130 case was completed at NVC but is waiting for a Nov interview date. Chennai consulate has assigned a K3 interview date in Oct already. They are willing to convert that to a CR1 interview if they receive the docs. But NVC won't send the docs until they schedule an interview and consulate won't request the docs!

Sent emails to consulate, spoken to an operator at the consulate...but they say they can't request it. NVC can't do anything about it nor can the state dept. Tried to get an email from NVC stating that the consulate could do it but no replies from NVC. I guess we are just stuck waiting for a Nov interview date now.

How have people been able to get the consulate to request documents from NVC? Has it worked with the Chennai consulate?

If your situation is urgent or needs a timely response, ask to speak to a supervisor. They have the option of looking up your email and giving it immediate attention if warranted.

At least that worked with me with my expedite request which was sent by email.

Did you try to call NVC to ask them if they have received anything or if they are having issues with online system? I don't know what else to tell you. Good luck.

Thanks, I will try calling tommorow. Not sure what else to do either other than that.

It just occurred to me that since she already had her interview, fixing the NBI clearance by changing the text with a bribe will not solve the problem. It will expose an inconsistency in the NBI clearances which the USEM will spot and cause AR or an investigation. Ultimately this will cause NBI clearances to be considered unreliable by USEM, leading to AR and extra DV for everyone. This is already the case with other civil documents, as most of us have found out with long DV delays!

Best just to get the proper legally required explanation.

I just spoke to my Philippine Fiance. She went through the interview process. She was told her NBI needed more of an explanation as too why it says she has no criminal record. She went to the NBI and offered the man money to fix it so he can add an explanation. She says she has to pay the person 20000 pesos to fix the NBI. Any advice as to what I should do since this is a bribe. I do not want to pay the fee, but I am told that this is the way it is in the philippines.

Robert

Just proof that the document verification was paid. It seems that they were convinced enough, however, not to wait for the document verification to be completed because surely it hadn't.

I just want to know if what was the DELBROS RECEIPT t.hat the Lady aHis you to show with your NBi Clearance, birt, marriage cert and ITR.Thank You in advance .

"No record on file" is indeed what it says for most applicants. This was the case with my wife and the NBI documents were accepted at both NVC and the USEm with no questions.

I'm a bit confused by the responses here. I had Joy look at her NBI and it says "No record on File" is this what it is supposed to say?

Is she going to need some sort of letter of explanation? Her interview is May 20 so I just want to be clear on this.

In direct reference to the OP 20k Php is a bit on the high side for a *cough* "expedite fee" generally 3 or 4 thousand will get what you need done.

Personally I would call directly to Manila or go talk to the director at that location. I would not even mention about the bribe unless pushed.

The ones I submitted were not notarized or signed in front of anybody including a CO.

We didn't notarize our form, but my husband was with me in the interview, and he signed the form in front of the consul, so clearly the signature was his (duh), and therefore there was no need for notarization.

It worked, as I am in the US now.

There is no space on the I-864 for it to be notarized unlike the I-134

Recently I had a I-864 processed at NVC and embassy. No one asked for it to be notarized.

I submitted an I-864 with an I-485 many years ago and, again, it wasn't required to be notarized.

However, it does no harm to notarize it if that's what you want to do.

Hi everyone Me and my husband has another question about the Affidavit of Support. Are the Affidavit of Support forms required to be notarized? We read from USCIS that it does not need to be notarized but it says here in VJ that it should be notarized... Im confused which is which?

Thanks for your answers in advance

yes it need to be notarized, someone i know sent it not notarized and they returned back to be notarized . save your time and notarized it . it dosen't take a minute to do it in any lawer office or accountant office.

Only the CO can make that decision, so you will need to contact Lorraine at the USEM as soon as possible for her to enquire whether they will agree to a change. The k3 interview, AR, DV, medical, etc.. should then carry over to the CR. Bear in mind however that the beneficiary will need to go to the USEM to sign the DS-230 in front of a CO should they agree to that route.

If they disagree, the AR, DV and medical should still apply to the CR visa were they to require another interview.

The fact that they've already interviewed you implies that they must have already made a decision on the legitimacy of your case, even though it's stuck in AR.

glad to be of help

ninjarocket,

Congratulations on the CR1 approval!

Thanks a lot for answering all of my questions.

Good luck!

yeye

indeed, that's why she was unreachable by phone for 4 hours

response:

0. What kind of limbo are we talking of? If it's just DV then there might not be enough time before approval.

1. The CR has to be processed through NVC. Then has to be expedited to catch up with your k3 awaiting approval. If the k3 is approved before the I-130 gets there then it is too late, unless you are willing to redo the interview etc...

2.+3. The medical and DV are valid for any visa going through the embassy at the same time.

4. Of course you would have to pay for the IV visa fee at NVC plus the I-864 fee, which come to $470

5. The I-130 can only expedited to the embassy to catch up with the k3 visa processing by mutual consent of the embassy and NVC.

All this is likely to take at least 5-8 weeks if your I-130 is already at the NVC but you have to rush it through using shortcuts. If you have already started the NVC I-130 processing, then it may take less time.

My husband and I were thinking of switching to CR1 since our K3 application seems to be in limbo. I've read your story and I would like to ask you some questions. I've basically gone through all the K3 process, medical, interview, etc. My question or rather questions are these:

1. Will there be additional requirements for me to go through if we chose to do CR1?

2. Since the CR1 and K3 applications will have differing case numbers will I need to do another DV processing or will the K3 dv be taken into account?

3. Could I use my K3 medical for the CR1 or redo it?

4. Will there be additional fees, like another visa delivery fee, etc?

5. My passport and some documents were left at the embassy, will they automatically transfer those to be used for the CR1 interview? Or will I have to go get them myself?

Much obliged,

BellaMarie

At least you managed to cut it down to four months. You need to get your husband to contact the embassy to arrange the next appointment and make sure that he times his vacation with your interview. Make sure the application doesn't get sent back to USCIS!

Sounds like you really need to drown them in an abundance of evidence. Your husband should help to provide that.

Also, ask him to get a congressman involved, as the 4 months sounds rather arbitrary.

we arrived in juarez on sept. 1 2008, we went to the medical the next day on the 2nd around 9 in the morning, picked up our results that same day around 4 p.m. Everything went really well and smooth until our interview day which was on thursday the 4th at 6:45 a.m, we arrived at 6:20 and the guard let my wife in around that time. so I went across the street and waited for her luckily for me I didnt have to pay for a chair I just got there and sat down on one of the chairs cause the women who was sitting there suddenly left and didnt notify the owners who rented them out. I waited for like five hours and around 11 am. my wife came out but when I saw her she was sad and she nodde her head from across the street. I knew something wasnt right, when We met up I asked her what happened she sayd, kinda crying I didnt get the visa, So we went back to the hotel and talked, She told me"" everything went ok when They reviewed my paperwork then they told me to wait for my name to be called for my interview. then my name was called the first thing I noticed on that particular window on building "B" was that allot of applicants kept leaving early from that window, so when I went up to that window I noticed that the C.O looked mad and STRICT, so she called me and she interviewed me, She asked me how did we meet I sayd we met Online, cause thats the truth I cant lie to her, she sayd how long have we been in a relationship I sayd almost 2 years, she sayd how often did he visit me I sayd 3 times a year, because he lives in california and he works allot. she sayd that was a little bit, she asked for photos I only brought 8 photos, she sayd thats a little bit she asked me do I have more I sayd yes we have tons of more photos, she sayd you should of brought more, she reviewed other evidence like phone bills which I only took 2bills from june and july, she sayd thats not enough I want to see more bills from more months in the past, I showed her a paper which showed a resume of the money my husband sent me but It was a fast resume He printed out which only showed the dates and who received it and the transffer ammount, ( I didnt printout page by page only the yearly resume) she sayd she wanted to see who sent it and who received it page by page month by month. she asked where are your marriage rings I told her I couldnt bring them because I didnt feel safe bringing them to this CITY, they are 18k really expensive rings. she sayd your should of brought them and hid them outside. I showed her letters that my husband jose sent me but they didnt have the envelope with the seal of the post office, she sayd she wanted to see the envelope with seal. well as you know my interview went very very very bad, she sayd she want Convinced, and told me I needed to come back in 1 year I asked thats a long time I have more evidence you asked for, I can bring that right of way, she she sayd ok then 4 months. She gave me a white sheet stating on the comments section"Need strong proof of Relatiionship, Come back in aprox. 4 months from sept. 4 2008" but Im confused she didnt tell me If I need to make another appointment or If I just need to come back in aprox four months and bring the page she Gave me along with the evidence she asked for. What do I do. we already have all the phone bills collected since june 2007 when we met. and also I printed out the text message bills since june 2007 ((thats allof of pages 600 pages worth of calls and text mesages) and We Printed out every moneygram moneytransffer invoice month by month since june 2007, emails also were printed out since june j2007, I started to write letters to her. I bought her a very beautiful Ring gold with diamonds as a birthday gift and sent it to her by mail, I kept the Receipt and save it also and also I found the two receipts of our Wedding Rings and her Gold Diamond Necklace I gave her, I took 138 photos when I was with her for 3 weeks, and On every day we changed clothes like 3 times to take as many photos as possible with different clothes and different places like her room, plaza, her moms room and places we traveled to like Zamora, guadalajara ect..... so we put all the photos together from past visits and we have like 213 photos all together. I cant visit her that offten cause of my work , im only allowed a month of vacations a year so I visit her like 3 times a year. for 3 weeks each time.My questions is for those of you who went through this in the past. When we go back to Juarez, are we gonna see that same consul that denied us. or another one.

indeed, that's why she was unreachable by phone for 4 hours

Look on the map to see which is most convenient for you.

We took a pedicab from the CFO office to PRISM, although I could have walked there faster! They will give you a certificate after you have attended the seminar plus counseling. You will need to go back to CFO with your visa plus certificate to have your passport stamped. They also have a CFO desk in terminal 2 (international part) at the airport.

i am planning to attend the counseling on october 23 at 1:30 pm since i have to fly in manila. which is better PRISM or ST. MARY's?

if so, can i get the registered sticker at CFO on the same day?

ty!

This is only for personal reference as the consulate already will have it's processed copy of the I-129F that your husband filed.

My husband got the NOA2 for both I-130 & I-129F. He will be sending me a copy of the entire I-129f and I-130 package (that he made when he sent the petition in), copy of RFE, Affidavit of Support and NOA2. But my question is, what will my husband send as NOA2 wil it be NOA2 for I-130 or I-129F? Or both?

Also, we were not able to make a copy of the RFE for our I-130, will that be a problem?

Thanks for your answers in advance

Only the I-134, which is required by the consulate for processing of a k1 or k3 visa, is required to be notarized. It's also best to print it on both sides of a single sheet of paper.

Hi everyone Me and my husband has another question about the Affidavit of Support. Are the Affidavit of Support forms required to be notarized? We read from USCIS that it does not need to be notarized but it says here in VJ that it should be notarized... Im confused which is which?

Thanks for your answers in advance

First I was too anxious to sleep, wondering why my wife had disappeared for 4 hours inside the embassy (out of phone range): now I'm too excited to sleep.

Mostly she was just waiting around, computer not able to open file problems, lunch in starbucks across the road, etc....

The good news is that she didn't have to redo the interview. The k3 interview counts towards the CR visa. However, she had to redo the fingerprints since the fingerprints are different for k3 and CR visas.

She did have to swear in front of a consul, however, which by chance happened to be the same guy as before in a different room, hehe. Really by chance I think because he was surprised to see her again also.

All the effort to rush the I-130 through NVC in under a month was worth it in the end. No need to worry about I-485.

Lets hope there are no post interview mess ups!

Here are my previous posts relating to topic:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153615

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=152923

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=152640

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=152599

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153358