intothelight2021

54 minutes ago, mapi said:

Well, I got Documentarily Qualified today!

 

Submitted October 17th, Qualified on the 25th!

 

Our case made use of a joint sponsor and household member(married filed jointly)

wow, thats great news!!! Congrats!!!! you are reaching the end of this long journey...!!!

4 minutes ago, Kayl&Natch said:

Just an addition - they showed as having processed August 30th cases on September 11th. I don't know how you can backtrack like that when October 10th it was showing through processed through October 3rd.

Exactly. It is illogical...unless they found an unopened batch from August in the basement somewhere and are now processing that batch lol 

On 10/18/2023 at 10:39 AM, usa_resident_2023 said:

So I confirmed with multiple post updates, it seems like NVC document processing time is still 7-10 days Max. 

That would be great. Could you let us know how/with whom you were able to confirm that or what your sources are? Thanks.

13 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

For us, the documents I submitted for AoS were: 

1) The signed form I-864

2) My federal tax return transcript

3) All my 1099s (I labeled each upload as #1 of 2 and #2 of 2)

4) All my W2s (I only had one and labeled it as #1 of 1)

5) My entire federal income tax return

6) A letter from my employer as proof of current employment with salary noted and with a wet signature from my HR director

7) 6 months of my most recent bank statements

8. 6 months of my most recent paystubs

9) Affidavit of self-employment

10) My EIN letter from my state Department of Revenue (probably unnecessary but in case there are questions about my solo private practice)

11) My LLC registration and my annual renewal from my state's Department of Financial Institutions (again, probably unnecessary but in case there are any questions about whether my private practice income is legitimate even though it's noted in my tax return transcript and my income tax schedules)

 

I submitted my entire federal return, not just my self-employment schedules, hoping to avoid accidentally missing anything they would ask for later on. 

 

I sent every original document to my wife to take with her to her interview. 

 

I have a subscription to Adobe, and I used that to compress the larger PDF files (like the 6 months of bank statements, etc), because they were over the 4 MB limit. There are some good free online compression tools out there, but I wouldn't want my financial information compressed on a free website.... 

 

I hope this helps! 

 

Jason 
 

WOW, thanks so much, this is super helpful!!!

You are last point about the free online compression websites made me laugh, I have been tempted many times but have always ended up using a paid service for the same reason...!

I'll definitely follow your lead. Only thing I am not sure about yet is the full tax return. But if I can compress it enough I may do it. 

Thanks man, really appreciate your help!

On 8/19/2023 at 9:45 AM, Jason and May said:

This is probably common knowledge to so many folks who have petitioned, but.... In the event you are about to make the mistake I did, here you go: 

 

I filed MFJ for 2022. When we hit the NVC stage, we were prepared, man. Ready to rock CEAC. I uploaded my tax return transcript and other required documents. We uploaded my wife's civil docs. 

 

10 days later, we get a message that says to please upload my W2(s) and any 1099s. 

 

Okay. We uploaded that. 

 

10 days later we get another message to please upload my tax schedules. 

 

I started getting irritated. If you provide your tax return transcript, you are not required to provide your tax returns or schedules. Right? Sort of. (I can see CCat, Mike E, etc., laughing about right now.)

 

Because I'm so busy during the week, I generally don't have time to make personal phone calls during the day. So, today, I was going to pop an inquiry off to NVC to ask some questions about why they keep asking for more documents, which is delaying the process for us. 

 

As I was looking up the exact USCIS language to quote, I realized.... Oops. My mistake.

 

AoS instructions state: "If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns.  Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income." ....Which is our exact situation. 

 

Read. Everything. Carefully. And then maybe read it again. I read those I864 instructions a dozen times, but I glazed right over that last part. So far, due to my error, we will have wasted at least a month's time in this process. At least it's not COVID timeframes each time we get bumped back to the beginning of the queue, but it's frustrating nonetheless. 

 

I hope this helps someone else avoid this mistake.

 

 

This is great info! Thanks so much, it is greatly appreciated!

I think we may be in the same boat. Do you mind listing all the 864 related documents you, as MFJ, had to submit to finally get the approval? 

1. Tax transcripts

2. All 1099s

3. All W2s

4. Tax schedules (which ones did you submit?)

5. Letter from employer/evidence of employment

6. Pay stubs

anything else? 

Just want to make sure we are not missing anything before we submit.

Thanks a million!

10 hours ago, tofulollipop said:

Sorry, forgot to come back and update. Had our interview in April, interview was fine, very simple. Mostly just asked me about my finances and if i had filed taxes correctly. For my immigrating spouse, they just asked her how we met and what she plans to do in the US. Instant approval on the spot, got our visa 3 days later.

10 hours ago, tofulollipop said:

Sorry, forgot to come back and update. Had our interview in April, interview was fine, very simple. Mostly just asked me about my finances and if i had filed taxes correctly. For my immigrating spouse, they just asked her how we met and what she plans to do in the US. Instant approval on the spot, got our visa 3 days later.

Thanks for the update! And congratulations!!!

one thing I would add: do check average wait times for CR1 interviews in Chile. In some countries, it takes 1 month to get an appointment (after being documentarily qualified by the NVC), in others 12 months or more. Knowing this will help you in scheduling your return, even if you do not have any time pressure. We are not based in Chile but also both overseas, so in the same boat. 

good luck

1 hour ago, AbelM said:

My spouse found out there is a CNS office nearby. 

http://www.cns.gob.mx/portalWebApp/wlp.c?__c=807

Av. Melchor Ocampo No. 171, colonia Tlaxpana, Delegación Miguel Hidalgo C.P. 011370, México, D.F.

Calzada de Tlalpan No. 2962, colonia Epartaco, Delegación Coyoacá C.P. 04870, México, D.F.

Teléfonos:

Conmutador
(55) 51 28 41 00
(55) 55 99 20 00

Atención Ciudadana
Ext. 18992, 18993, 18994 y 18733

Del Interior de la República
01 800 21 51 206
01 800 56 14 656

 

She called to make an appt that was about a week after. She brought the NOA1 and ID. the attendant was hesitant but accepted the letter. she left a photocopy of it and they made the certificate. The NVC accepted it.

It looks like when we get the appt at the Ciudad juarez consulate we would need to get the certificate again but appears to be easier to get it in that city, although not sure where. there are FB groups helping with this https://www.facebook.com/groups/cdjuarezevisaexperience

We did this before this new website appeared https://www.gob.mx/prevencionyreadaptacion/articulos/tramita-tu-constancia-de-antecedentes-penales

The description suggests it is valid at a federal level but I am unsure if NVC will accept this.

Hope this help.

Thanks a lot AbelM! This is very, very helpful!

Which one did they give your wife? The CDMX one (if there is one) or the federal one?

11 hours ago, tofulollipop said:

Yes, the document was accepted by NVC without issue. We're still awaiting the interview so I'll try to check back in after.

 

So, I had some documents apostilled and others that weren't. However, I didn't apostille them for US immigration purposes. As far as I'm aware, an apostille isn't required unless they explicitly ask you for it. We had a bunch of paperwork for our Spain visas while we were living in Spain, so already had some documents apostilled. For US immigration purposes, I turned in any documents that hadn't yet expired or that don't have expiration dates that we had already apostilled, and didn't bother getting any new documents apostilled. I only apostilled the original documents, and then I translated the document and the apostille to english myself. I'm not sure if we're technically allowed to or supposed to translate documents ourselves, but I haven't run into any issues thus far..

Great, thanks for this! I think we will then only apostille the birth certificate (since that is requested) and not the translation. Thanks and please let us know how it was at the interview.

Cheers

9 hours ago, tofulollipop said:

 

Hey, sorry I didn't reply sooner. We got the federal one a couple months ago which turned out to be pretty easy. There's a new online form to get it done. Not sure what is sufficient or not, but this one was simple enough to do and my spouse's original one was older than 1 year and we're still awaiting our interview so we went ahead and grabbed this one too.

 

https://www.gob.mx/prevencionyreadaptacion/articulos/tramita-tu-constancia-de-antecedentes-penales

Thanks so much for coming back and providing an answer!

Has the document been accepted by the NVC? Could you let us know if all went well regarding the certificate after you had your interview?

One question, for foreigners, does the translation of the birth certificate you have to upload need to be apostilled too or just the birth certificate itself?

9 hours ago, Family said:

If the spouse is  in the US, Make a written request to your nearest Mexican Consulate . They then schedule you for fingerprinting and they obtain it. You can call them and they will walk you through it.

 

The “ no antecedente penales federales” ( scuse my crude typos) is sufficient. Listen only to the official source , see link for DOS

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Mexico.html

Document Name:  Carta or Certificado de No Antecedentes Penales

Issuing Authority: State Police (Fiscalía General del Estado)

Thank you! In my case, we are not in the US but would be able to go to the authorities in Mexico City.

One question of clarification. The DOS link states that they would like to see the "Certificado de No Antecedentes Penales" of the "State Police (Fiscalía General del Estado)". 

If further states that "If the state police record is unavailable, visa applicants must provide a federal record called a “Carta de No Antecedentes Penales”"

The way I understand that is that ONLY if there is no state police certificate can you provide the federal police certificate. 

Is that also your reading? Or do you think the federal one is acceptable even if a state police certificate exists?

I am still not clear if Mexico City (CDMX) even issues a state certificate or if one can only get the federal one if one lived in Mexico City. Does anyone know?

The link tofulollipop shared is for the federal constancia (I assume/hope that the constancia is the same as the carta). Has anyone used this and got DQ’ed by the NVC/got their visa approved?

Sorry for the many questions. I am trying to lower my level of confusion   🤣 
 

On 4/11/2022 at 1:51 PM, tofulollipop said:

Has anyone had any experience filing for a Mexican spouse and knows which police certificates we need? Mexico bureaucracy is crazy! What we have currently is the "constancia de antecedentes no penales federales". Would this be sufficient (I believe as long as it has been taken out in the last 2 years this is sufficient, yes?)? I've also read online that you need the "constancia de datos registrales". Can anyone shed some light on the difference and which one we actually need?

I would also be interested where and how you got your police certificate. I lived in CDMX so either need the CDMX-one or, in case that is not available, the federal one. 

Hi AbelM,

I am interested in the same thing. Which one did you end up getting and what was the process?

5 hours ago, IRFUN said:

Just got approved. It's been a long year. 

Filed: Jan. 29, 2022
AR1: June ??, 2022
AR2 + Approved: Feb. 15, 2023

It has been. Congrats IRFUN!!! 

All the best for you and your family!

43 minutes ago, Kyle6811 said:

thank you for the information. I think you may be confused on our situation. She lives in Mexico and is a citizen and resident of Mexico. I live in the USA. No one is overseas. I think my confusion was not knowing there was only one consulate for all of Mexico. 

Ah ok. Thanks for the clarification.

I did not think your spouse is a Mexican national (and would be residing in Mexico during the process). In that case, she will have to interview in Ciudad Juarez and nowhere else. And, unfortunately, there is a long waiting time.

The rest still applies. Overseas means not in the US and she is not living in the US.  

Good luck to you guys!

One thing you should know: the time it takes to get an interview appointment varies widely from country to country and can have a major impact on the length of the overall process.

To put the process (when the applicant is overseas, i.e. consular processing) in context, there are roughly 3 stages:

1) You file the I-130 with USCIS (can take anywhere between 3 and 24 months [or more])

2) Once the I-130 is approved, your documents are sent to the NVC; at that stage, both the applicant and the petitioner pay fees and fill out their respective forms (Appl.: DS-260; Petitioner: I-864) and submit them together with supporting documents. (probably takes between 1-8 months depending on whether you get an request for further evidence (RFE) or not.)

3) Once documentarily qualified by the NVC, you will be given an appointment to interview (and have to undertake a medical exam).

That last step (3) can take 1-2 month if your spouse is interviewing in a consulate with no backlog or 1-2 years or even more if she interviews in a consulate with a huge backlog. 

I do not know the current numbers but Mexico used to have a HUGE backlog during COVID with average waiting times of 1-2 years. Please be aware of that. You cannot just choose/switch consulates, you have to interview in the country in which you are a resident or a citizen. Check how long it takes to get an interview appointment in Mexico (Ciudad Juarez) vs. in the country of origin of your spouse. It may make a huge difference. 

1 hour ago, nomanctg said:

My wife & daughter i130 case got approved today. Thanks God. PD was 26th of Jan 2022

Amazing! Congratulations!!! Very happy for you. 

Looks like they decided to make us JAN 2023 applicants wait 13 months and then approve all I-130s all within month lol. 

1 minute ago, nomanctg said:

So you think it might change to approve within day one or two 50/50? 

Really difficult to say. But there are many people on here that got their approval 1-3 days after getting reviewed for the second time. It is very common. That was also the case for us. I think you have a really good chance to get approved very soon. Wait 1-3 days and you will know more...

Never know 100% but usually yes, within a day or two. Crossing my fingers for you!

1 hour ago, Love1227 said:

CASE APPROVED 🎉🧿🙏🏻 

California service center 
PD jan 15 2022 

actively review jan 15 2022 

approval notice in documents feb 10 2023 

NICE! Congratulations!!! I told you 🤣🤪. Have fun celebrating!🎉🎊

1 hour ago, King•Adan said:

Based on my understanding, filing a form I130 for a spouse requires two interview. First interview is when the case is at the USCIS stage and that interview is for the petitioner. And the second interview is for the beneficiary and it’s when the case proceeds through the NVC stage and go to the US embassy. Right or wrong? 
 

I am doing AOS and my marriage is less than 2 years and we don’t have any kids yet! 

I don't know about AOS but with consular processing there is only one interview, which happens at the end of the process at the consulate (after the NVC stage). 

5 hours ago, Love1227 said:

Congratulations 🎉 my pd is Jan 15 at csc, seems like they forgot about us 😢 

You'll be next!

7 hours ago, G.jack said:

Ohhh my God finally the final day happened to me thank God!!!

Pd jan 16, 2022

Approved in Feb 8,23

California service center 

The aproval notice is in the document section.

I prayed and wish to have this relief to everyone in this group!!!🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

YES! Congrats!!! 

8 hours ago, Straya said:

Finally approved today too!!!

 

PD 13 Jan 22

NOA1 19 Jan 22

NOA2 6 Feb 23

California USC

🎉🎉🎉

 

Approval was in the documents tab, still shows second Actively reviewed. Case tracker and lawfully have not updated yet. 

 

Congrats to everyone who also got their approval. 

 

 

 

Nice!!! congrats!!! The approvals are pouring in now, I love it!

8 hours ago, Xnovia said:

Just got approved!

PD: Jan 20th 2022
AR1: Jan 21st 2022
AR2:  Feb 6th 2023
SC: Vermont Service Center
 

Just found the approval notice under the document tab, I know it's not the end of the process but we're so happy we can barely breathe right now!

Now the NVC phase! Good luck to you all! We hope you guys hear something soon!

Congrats to you too!!! Seems like 13/14 months is our lucky number. Good luck for the NVC stage

14 hours ago, D-j-b said:

I deleted the case tracker app a few months ago because I found myself counting the days as they increased daily. I read your post and thought, “okay must be beneficial to get it back”. As I added my case # I noticed it said last updated: TODAY. I couldn’t believe it! I signed into USCIS account and saw the updated review date and approval in document section dated today, a SATURDAY!!

To everyone waiting on approval, it’s around the corner! It’ll be when least expected, truly!

oh wow, crazy! Congratulations!!! Great way to start the weekend:)