Ako & Rich

thanks. actually they sent me both receipt numbers.  i hadn’t noticed since the difference is one number 

Not yet. I received word on Nov 10th that they received the case. I'm waiting a few more days before I email and ask again.
 
Sept 27th: Approved by USCIS
Oct 7th: Sent AskNVC form to update emails
Oct 30th: Emailed NVCResearch asking for case number
Nov 2nd: NVCResearch responded saying the NVC has not recieved the case
Nov 3rd: Recieved responce from AskNVC that they have not recieved it and it can take up to six weeks, and to email i797 to NVCResearch
Nov 6th: Sent email to NVC research with attatched i797
Nov 7th: Called USCIS, they told me I was approved on the 26th (a day earlier than I thought) but had no info on if or when they sent the case to the NVC
Nov 7th: Emailed Italian Embassy - auto responce no russians
Nov 7th: Emailed Jerusalem Embassy
Nov 9th: Emailed San Salvador Embassy
Nov 9th: Recieved Responce from Jerusalem - accepting transfer
Nov 9th: Emailed Tbilisi Embassy
Nov 9th: Emailed Almaty Embassy
Nov 10th: Received email from NVCResearch case is received, will send a welcome letter when it is processed.
Nov 10th: Accepted Transfer to Jerusalem
Nov 13th: Almaty Embassy emailed and rejected the case transfer
Nov 15th: Tbilisi Embassy emailed and rejected the case transfer

NOA2 at Aug 26th, my case is in transit to local consulate general today 😭 Finally!!!

okay to whoever told us to contact the Congress man. thank you so much. we contacted him yesterday and today he got in contact with NVC and gave us our Case number and the date when our case was received.  atleast we know our case is being processed .  it’s been 88days since approval. i advice to please contact your congress man and get help. 

I just got my case number today! 🥳
I want to offer some advice to everyone here still waiting, even if it may already be know. My NOA2 was Aug 30th, so most here are likely before me. If you're still waiting on your case number, DO NOT DELAY. Contact your local Congress person. I did on Oct 27th and even though my case wasn't ready yet, they did provide a response and my receive date in a matter of days. I submitted an inquiry directly to NVC myself on Oct 25th and according to their estimates I shouldn't have received a response yet, but today I received my case number from them! I honestly think they reply sooner when your case is complete because I've heard of others receiving responses much faster then the posted timeframes. Take all avenues and stay on top. I wish everyone the best and hope all August NOA2s get their case numbers soon!

I'm sorry 😔
 
Rarely sent on Wednesdays as well, so I was told in a K1 group chat on WhatsApp. 

Just fill their forms and mention your WAC. Usually there's a blank space to briefly comment what's the problem you're facing with a federal agency.
Congratulations! Me too! So excited, the wait is almost over!

I've got my number today. 63 days since Noa2, Belgrade embassy. 

Not yet, hoping it will happen today.

In some cases the NVC simply doesn't contact the couple when the case arrives or leaves there. Email your embassy to make sure, maybe your case is already there? 

My American fiancé called USCIS twice (10/18 and 10/25) and got the same answers. An officer (I guess a tier one officer) said that the system didn’t indicate when the application had been forwarded to the NVC.
 
And the midnight of 10/25, he got a reply from NVC public inquiry (he sent an online inquiry form about our email addresses on 9/21) that NVC received our approved case recently. But no case number attached.
 
I sent an inquiry to NVCResearch@state.gov on Oct 16 and got a reply on Oct 20 that they hadn’t received our approval case from USCIS yet. 
 
NVC seems to be more reliable or less disorganised than USCIS. But unless I get an email/instruction from the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, I can’t be sure if our case is in NVC or not. 
 
 
 
 

It's been a few years since @missads wrote a very helpful post about getting ACA insurance for immigrants over the age of 65.  The original post (linked below) is still a good read for anyone going through this process.  
 
I recently helped a relative apply for insurance through the ACA.  There is a lot of confusion regarding whether immigrants can use the ACA, is this a public charge, do they get medicaid or medicare, etc?  If you are over 65, many will assume that you simply get Medicare (as indicated by @missads's post).  Similarly, if you have lower income, people assume you will get Medicaid.  For new immigrants to the US, neither would apply (with few exceptions).  I will try to provide some information regarding this based on our own experience. 
 
We initially contacted a licensed insurance agent to go through this process.  The agent was familiar with the ACA, but was as unfortunately not familiar with immigrants applying for insurance through the ACA (mostly confusion regarding the public charge rule, which I guess is confusing by design).  The agent also said that a social security number and green card were required, but these documents are not required (as indicated in other posts in this forum as well).  Initially, we got short term insurance for the first few months, which was okay for medications, but had high deductibles, was subject to preexisting condition rules, had poor hospitalization coverage, and had higher premiums.  Thankfully, we did not need to use this insurance, but the lack of coverage and acceptance at most hospitals was something that was hanging over our heads. 
 
We then started looking into applying for insurance through the ACA.  We actually called the ACA help line and were told that we could apply, but that we would not get a subsidy since the applicant was an immigrant with no income (they thought that the subsidy could not be calculated since there was no income to base the subsidy off of)
 
At this point we figured we had nothing to lose, so we then applied for insurance through the ACA website, and were successful.  We received a decent subsidy as well.  This made both HMO and PPO plans very affordable (all were less than $300 a month, and many of the HMOs were less than $100 a month). 
 
In the Healthcare marketplace, plan availability and pricing varies state to state, and even zip code to zip code.  One plan may be $500 a month in one state/zip code, and the same plan may be $300 a month in another state/zip code, so your pricing may vary. 
 
1. What immigration statuses qualify for insurance through the ACA?
See link here: https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/
Note that this also includes applicants to certain statuses as well.
 
2. I am going through the adjustment of status/AOS process, am I eligible?
Yes: https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/
Applicants for any of these statuses qualify to use the Marketplace:
- Temporary Protected Status with Employment Authorization
- Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
- Victim of Trafficking Visa
- Adjustment to LPR Status
- Asylum (see note below)
- Withholding of Deportation, or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT) (see note)
 
This would include those who entered in on a K1/K2/K3 visa, as these are categories that will go through the adjustment of status (AOS) process.
 
3. What documentation do I need to prove immigration status?
The ACA application provides a list of acceptable immigration documents.
 
4. I have not received my physical green card, how can I prove my immigration status?
The ACA application list of acceptable immigration documents includes "Immigrant Visa with I-551 language" and "Temporary I-551 stamp".  It also includes"I-797 Notice of Action"
 
5. I am going through Adjustment of Status/AOS via K1 or via marriage in the US, how can I prove my immigration status?
The ACA application list of acceptable immigration documents includes "I-797 Notice of Action"
 
6. I am one of the handful of people who has a K3 visa, and will be going through Adjustment of Status/AOS process as well, how can I prove my immigration status?
The ACA application list of acceptable immigration documents includes "I-797 Notice of Action"
 
7. Why not just get Medicaid or Medicare?
Most new immigrants do not qualify for medicaid and/or medicare.  Medicare is a system that one must pay into (by working a certain amount of time in the US, if I am not mistaken).  Immigrants with less than five years of presence in the US are not eligible for Medicaid except for certain situations (See Medicaid website for more information)
 
8.  So I can't get medicaid, can I at least qualify for an ACA subsidy?
This is probably the most confusing part of the application and the ACA in general, but the answer is Yes, you may qualify for a subsidy based on your income. 
Reference: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8962
Alien lawfully present in the United States.
Certain aliens with household income below 100% of the federal poverty line are not eligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status.
You may qualify for the PTC if your household income is less than 100% of the federal poverty line if you meet all of the following requirements.
- You or an individual in your tax family enrolled in a qualified health plan through a Marketplace.
- The enrolled individual is lawfully present in the United States and is not eligible for Medicaid because of immigration status.
- You otherwise qualify as an applicable taxpayer (except for the federal poverty line percentage).
 
Since we met these requirements (enrolled in an ACA plan, will file taxes on our own/not as a dependent, and are not eligible for Medicaid), we qualified for a subsidy, subject to the calculations. 
 
9. How do I qualify for a subsidy? 
The ACA application will ask you for information regarding your estimated income for the year. There are many threads and forums that discuss how to estimate your income, so I won't go through that here.  It is understood that if you underestimate or overestimate your income, everything will get adjusted during when federal income taxes are filed.
 
When filling out the application, we indicated "No, I have not been denied medicaid" (because we never applied), but then answered "Yes" to "Were you found ineligible for Medicaid based on immigration status".  It is a bit confusing since we did not apply for Medicaid, but this seemed the closest since we knew that we were not eligible for Medicaid based on immigration status.  This is the key sequence of questions that will force the system to evaluate your application and calculate a subsidy based on being an immigrant who does not qualify for medicaid (as indicated on IRS form I-8962).  If you select "No" for "Were you found ineligible for Medicaid based on immigration status", your application will be forwarded to Medicaid, which can be problematic for a number of reasons, namely - delays (Medicaid takes a lot of time), you will likely be denied anyways (immigration status), potential issues related to being a public charge (still being litigated, but better to not deal with that if at all possible), and the system will show that you applied for Medicaid.
 
10.  I just came to the US, how do I prove my income (or lack thereof)?
If you arrived during the previous year (for example, you arrived in December 2019, and are applying for ACA insurance in 2020), you should file a tax return even if your income is $0.00.  This was also mentioned by @missads.  Make sure that the ACA applicant is not claimed as a dependent on someone else's taxes.  If they are claimed as a dependent, then the TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME will be used in the ACA subsidy calculations.
 
If you haven't filed taxes yet, the ACA has an "income worksheet" that can be used to prove income.  Since we had no income at the time of application, we write "$0.00" for the value, and then write an explanation below (where the form asks for any additional information).  We explained that the applicant was a new immigrant and did not have any income, and that they would file taxes at the appropriate time.  We also attached a copy of the visa and I-551 stamp indicate the date of entry.  Moving forward, you should file taxes each year (even if your income is $0.00), as this will be the standard way of proving income (or lack thereof). 
 
11.  I did not receive my SSN/SS card, how can I apply?
The ACA application does not require a social security number (the field is optional)
 
12.  When should I apply?
ASAP!  You have 60 days within a given "life event" to apply for insurance.  "Gaining lawful immigrant status" or "Gaining LPR status" (I don't recall exactly what the wording was) is an applicable life event.  If you apply before the 15th of the month, you will get insurance beginning the next month.  If you apply after the 15th, your insurance will be active after an additional month. 
For example:
If you apply on November 12, your insurance will be active December 1. 
If you apply on November 16, your insurance will be active January 1.
 
13. I just arrived to the US, and open enrollment is over, how do I apply?
See #11 above.  "Gaining lawful immigrant status" is a life event, so you can apply.  It is best to apply as soon as possible, as the clock begins the day you enter the US. 
 
14.  What about the public charge rule?
The public charge rule was in court when we went through this process.  However, many posts have indicated that taking ACA subsidies does not make one a public charge.  This also appears to be indicated here: https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/
Enrollment in a Marketplace plan (with or without premium tax credits) is not a public benefit under the public charge final rule.
Previously, this was also inferred to at this link as well: https://www.uscis.gov/news/public-charge-fact-sheet
 
15.  I want to get my SSN to make things simpler
There are many posts on VJ about SSNs not being sent in a timely manner, and SS office closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Please refer to these posts for guidance on obtaining a SS number.  The general theme, at the time of this writing, is that you can call the local SS office and plead your case.
 
16. People on VJ, among other places, say "why don't you just work?"
Many immigrants with LPR status are retired, so they have worked, but have incomes that are low enough to qualify for a subsidy.  Others may be looking for work, but still need coverage in case something happens. 
 
17.  Can I really file taxes even if my income is $0.00
Yes, the IRS allows you to file taxes even if your income is $0.00
 
Hopefully this helps.  Best of luck!
 

The wait times are far beyond anything I ever expected. At this point I'm thinking I should have just tried to stay in Turkey and did the marriage route. A complete waste of people's life is what it is. Now we have a daughter who is 5 months old and still hasn't met her dad. Plane tickets are outrageous to add to this complete nonsense. ABSURD!

I visited him twice (May and December 2021) with ESTA. We applied for a K1 visa after my first visit to him.
 
The first visit was at the height of Covid-19, so there were a handful of foreign travellers at the immigration. When I told an immigration officer at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport about a visit to my boyfriend/would-be fiancé who lived in NYC, the officer immediately asked me to come to the office. They asked me many questions about our relationship, and then one of the officers asked for my phone. They checked my WhatsApp chat with him. The officer called and asked him the same questions they had me. After they inspected my two suitcases and backpack, they finally gave me an "admitted" stamp on my passport. I had been there for more than one hour.
 
The second visit was more manageable. I brought our copied NOA 1 (I-797C), our attorney's letter, the letter from my workplace (university) and the bank statement to the immigration. The attorney told me if I showed the immigration my strong ties, which meant my job and money in the bank, with Japan (so I had to get back to), they wouldn’t deny my entry. However, I was asked (again) to come to the office where my all documents were scrutinised by the officer. After 30 or 40 minutes later I was free from the office.

I visited him twice (May and December 2021) with ESTA. We applied for a K1 visa after my first visit to him.
 
The first visit was at the height of Covid-19, so there were a handful of foreign travellers at the immigration. When I told an immigration officer at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport about a visit to my boyfriend/would-be fiancé who lived in NYC, the officer immediately asked me to come to the office. They asked me many questions about our relationship, and then one of the officers asked for my phone. They checked my WhatsApp chat with him. The officer called and asked him the same questions they had me. After they inspected my two suitcases and backpack, they finally gave me an "admitted" stamp on my passport. I had been there for more than one hour.
 
The second visit was more manageable. I brought our copied NOA 1 (I-797C), our attorney's letter, the letter from my workplace (university) and the bank statement to the immigration. The attorney told me if I showed the immigration my strong ties, which meant my job and money in the bank, with Japan (so I had to get back to), they wouldn’t deny my entry. However, I was asked (again) to come to the office where my all documents were scrutinised by the officer. After 30 or 40 minutes later I was free from the office.

Since the new I-134 is so new (Edition Date: 4/25/2022), not much has been mentioned, and I've tried to make others aware it is different from the from the old I134.
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/758635-march-2021-k1-i-129f-filers/page/158/?tab=comments#comment-10668221
The old I-134 (Expires: 2/28/21) Question 38, and the new I-134 (Edition Date: 4/25/2022) Question 17 may be remnants from some old forms?
 
With that said, each consulate/embassy may interpret how you answer Question 17 (or Item 17) differently, so I personally will NOT ignore it. The purpose of the I134 (new and old) is for the petitioner to show financial support to the beneficiary AND to show that both the petitioner and beneficiary will NOT depend on the government for financial assistance in the future.
 
Therefore, answering Questions 17 (I believe) gives the beneficiary the best chances for approval like that you can show income that is above the HHS poverty guidelines, etc. and you are willing to list specific income contributions to your beneficiary (and dependents). 
https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines
If you do not earn enough, then find a joint sponsor, etc.
 
Technically, you could ignore Question 17, but then again, the embassy/consulate could also technically deny the K1 applicant. So good luck!

Yes, the new I-134 (Edition Date: 4/25/2022) is confusing and you are not the only one confused. As another thread suggests, you could theoretically not answer Question17 (or Item Number 17), but if I was using the new I134 for upcoming interview, I certainly would fill it out.
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/783115-k1-i-134-beneficiary-income/?tab=comments#comment-10668287
 
I think the source of the confusion is that the new I-134 can be filled out by either the petitioner or the beneficiary as selected in Part1, Question1. Depending on who fills out the I134, the answers may be very different, as opposed to the old I-134, the petitioner was the one who filled it out. But IN MY OPINION AS I AM NO K1 LEGAL EXPERT, I think the new tables Question17 (Item Number 17) and Question22 (Item Number 22) are to provide extra data for the embassy/consulate to do some quick math to see if the petitioner can financially support the beneficiary, or if mathematically the petitioner and beneficiary is trending towards government assistance like another data to red flag.
 
So if I was filling the new I-134 as the beneficiary, I would certainly work with the petitioner to come up with the math to fill out Question17. For example if the petitioner's income is 125% of the HHS guidelines for a family of 4, I would work backwards from the income 34,687.5 = 1.25*27,750, and determine how much annually to support each household member like maybe 15,000 = 4*3750, and put down 3750 for "Income contribution to the beneficiary annually" for each "Individual".
https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines
 
Question22 lists the assets that the beneficiary brings into the relationship. So any beneficiary assets are positives for the relationship (even for foreign assets). Item Numbers 18-19 asks if any income source are illegal similar to how the DS-160 asks for illegal or extremist activities? Question20-21 asks if the beneficiary income comes from "mean-tested public benefits" like was the beneficiary on public assistance in the foreign country? These new Items or Questions on the I-134 (Edition Date: 4/25/2022) provide extra data so the consulate can determine the risks of the petitioner and beneficiary becoming dependent on government assistance. Good Luck!!!

Did you send an inquiry to NVC? I got a reply from NVC within two days. I attached the screenshot of the reply here. 
The address is
NVCResearch@state.gov

Yes I did and nothing yet..😢 but thanks for your attention 🙏🏼

Called the USCIS today and begged them to give me more info and finally got some info.
After our case was approved on August 3rd, they sent the case to NVC on August 29th, a whole 26 days after approval. 
Given a month to net the case and another 2 weeks to make the case number, they should be sending our case to Mumbai in the next batch (I’m hoping). Extremely disappointed they waited so long to send the case to NVC. Time is precious and these people seem to think we have tons of it.
 
Does anyone have any guesses on how much lead time is from being sent to NVC to embassy? I would assume 45 days or less?

Yes, I believe the number is what you have there (800) 375 5283.
I have tried calling through that number. Didn't quite understand how to get to live agent. You might want to try out @Mbfernandes's suggestion if you want to go this route. 'Tricking' the system by saying infopass to be put through to an agent.
 
Ganbatte!

Sorry for the late reply.  I called USCIS at (800) 375 5283, which is the same number you listed above.

Thank you! We’ll call USCIS next week. Also, we’ll try Emma like you did. Maybe we’ll be able to reach a real agent through Emma🤞🏻

@TTCJ, sure. To be clear, I reached out to USCIS, was trying to confirm whether or not my petition had been sent to NVC by USCIS. It is my understanding that you want to call NVC not USCIS to inquire NVC case number. So I need to confirm beforehand that NVC has my case before I contact them for case number. 
 
First things first, you want to make sure that you're reaching them out during normal business hours, Mon thru Fri 8 am to 8pm EST. I chatted at around 9 am. I went to USCIS website. There's little chat box that says ..Need Help? Ask Emma. I clicked it and typed in Has my case been sent to NVC?
 
Emma (bot) then would list some suggestions but at the end of the list there's an option for Live Chat with representative. I chose that option. It asked for my case number and less than a minute later I was connected to a live agent.
 
Usual drill, she asked for name, address, phone, email to verify. I explained what I was looking for. At first she gave me generic answer saying that on 9/26/2022 my petition has been approved and that I should expect to get the approval letter by 10/14/2022 etc etc. Basically the same information we got from the approval letter. But then I reiterated that I already had that information and that I was reaching out to get confirmation from her (USCIS) that my petition had indeed been sent to NVC and on what date. I also explained to her that she should be able to look it up in the system as many people did manage to get this information from USCIS. About 3 mins later she confirmed that my case had not yet been sent to NVC. I asked whether there's a time frame we could expect it to be sent to NVC. She answered that there's no timeframe that she knew of unfortunately, she could only say that it may take 90 days for me to receive something from NVC.
 
My plan is to reach them out weekly. I will most likely do it in chat since to me it seems to be more intuitive to get to a live rep than calling, it's more convenient and faster too. Again, my own personal opinion. I do get that some people are more comfortable talking directly with customer service.
 
G'luck!

I called them again this morning and spoke to a different tier 1 agent. He sounded more confident and told me my case hasn't been sent yet (I haven't reached 30 days since NOA2 yet but I'm traveling internationally this weekend so I won't have access to call them for a few weeks). He said it can take 30-60 days to send the case to the NVC, and that they can see on their end when it is sent (that's of course assuming the system gets updated, so who knows). Hope this helps someone and thank you all for the advice!