PNWUnited

Not sure what country you’re from but for Canada they need a long form birth certificate so that it shows the parental information (not typically found on the short form).

Our EAD Combo card was approved yesterday. The I-485 has had a 3 month estimate on it over the last couple weeks or so, but seems like it’s been going down pretty quick! Hopefully it’ll also be approved soon

(Packet received 3/17) Saw on the website that we got an RFE for the I-485 for a birth certificate for the beneficiary. Apparently they need the long form version for Canadian citizens, which we have arriving tomorrow. EAD has yet to be approved, which is quite annoying, but at least there’s finally some sign of life from USCIS. We will upload the birth certificate to the website tomorrow and continue to wait.

Is pretty much everyone getting an RFE for I-693? My husband had the biometrics 4/5 in Seattle and still stuck in actively reviewed.. Hard to believe the “actively” part since it’s been over 3 months already.

Congratulations!!! Hopefully it’s a good sign for all of us waiting were you adjusting from the K1 visa?

Technically we submitted out packet end of Feb but had to resend it so I figured I would post these here as well for those following: AOS packet submitted 2/24 Notice in the mail with packet returned 3/17 (silly mistake on check, just needed to mail a new one) New check and packet arrived at lockbox 3/19 (Sunday) Text Notices 3/21 Check cashed 3/23 Notices in mail 3/27 Access code 3/29 (Appt scheduled for 4/12) Biometrics appointment letter in mail 4/4 Biometrics appt early walk-in 4/5 (Seattle, WA 7:30am - they were super nice!) Case status currently at actively reviewing

Actually nevermind! Here is our process so far: AOS packet submitted 2/24 Notice in the mail with packet returned 3/17 (silly mistake on check, just needed to mail a new one) New check and packet arrived at lockbox 3/19 (Sunday) Text Notices 3/21 Check cashed 3/23 Notices in mail 3/27 Access code 3/29 (Appt scheduled for 4/12) Biometrics appointment letter 4/4 Biometrics appt early walk-in 4/5 (Seattle, WA 7:30am without issues) Case status currently at actively reviewed

Woohoo! Congrats!!! 🎉 Was the RFE tax info for 2022 taxes? I was how it was going to play out for all those that just filed their 2022 taxes after submitting the packet.

How long did it take everyone to get the biometrics letter in the mail after receiving the 797C notices and access code? We got the notices on 3/27 and the access code on 3/29, but did not get a biometrics letter in the mail yet. Due to a job offer my husband was going to try to go in early, but wasn’t sure if it would be accepted if we just print the form.

Has anyone tried to go in for their biometrics appointment early with a printed version of the appointment letter from the USCIS account, or do they need the original letter?

CONGRATULATIONS!!! What an awesome way to kick off the new year

My fiancés visa had the same thing! He received the visa and crossed to the US yesterday. His expiration date was March 13, even though visa changed to issued on Dec 8th. I totally agree that they must be using the medical for the expiration date! They drag their feet on the process and then visa holders get rushed because of that lol what a strange system..

Ahh, ours was a K1 so that’s probably why it had the extra step. Ours got issued on Dec8th and we received tracking that same day, with the visa arriving yesterday. Fingers crossed yours will be showing up any day!!!

Just figured I’d put my timeline update in here for any that are silently tracking timelines: -interview date for K1 visa on October 6, 2022 - PO verbally said approved but needed to submit a certified doc. 221g issued ONLY. - doc arrived at third party document facility Oct 7th. *** Doc was shipped from the US so I used FedEx hoping to get it in their hands before Thanksgiving on Oct 10th. Later I learned the facility only picks up on Mondays and Thursday’s anyways, so keep that in mind in case you are ever debating if you need to spend more on faster delivery (if using a different courier) - Oct 13th: sent them email to inform them they it should have arrived. - Oct 21st: reply from Montreal saying it takes a few days to reach them after it’s shipped and a generic reply saying once docs are received and review is complete, I’ll get further details. *** they also said using a different courier may cause longer mail processing delays (it just didn’t make sense for us to use their courier unfortunately) -Oct 27: emailed Montreal to see if they could at least confirm they have my document and that it’s not lost somewhere - Nov 7: reply from consulate with a generic reply, and the same closing statement that I’ll receive more info once complete. The shot answer is no, they cannot. - Nov 22: googled the address of the third party mail site and it came up as Clippers. We called them and had confirmation that the document was passed on to the embassy and in fact picked up. - Nov 24: emailed them asking if I should just send another document with their courier and if they would be easier to process. - Nov 29: status changed to application received - Dec 5: sorta ignored my question BUT the closing statement now changed to “your passport and sealed visa packet will be returned to you as soon as the visa is issued” instead of the regular “we cannot predict when the processing of your visa will be compete blah blah blah.. we will contact you as soon as it’s complete”. This made me think it should be any day now.. -Dec 7th: status changed to application approved - Dec 8th: status changed to issued in the morning - tracking emailed on Dec 8th (few hours after status changed) and updated on the courier website. - Dec 12 visa arrived in Vancouver BC literally as soon as the post office opened. Received an email that it was ready for pick up by 9:30am. - Fiancé crossed at Blaine/Peace arch border and the border agents were SUPER nice. Went inside for 30 minutes while they went through the paperwork, didn’t even need to look through all the stuff in the cars (Canadian vehicle was not being imported at the time). Total 9 weeks and 4 days until visa in hand (this included 2 holidays - Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day). Glad to not be dealing with Montreal anymore and I’m wishing the best of luck to anyone else waiting on them!!! Hopefully this helps some other soul looking for a timeline, cause I was surely was!

Maybe they’re trying to play catch up by the end of the year or something, ha. It can’t be much longer for you! I’m sending good vibes your way and truly hope you get some amazing news soon! Seems like once they finally get to a case, things start moving quickly. :)

Thank you! The same day the status went to issued we received the tracking information by email. You can also check the website they give in the status too - the AIS website where you update your courier information. It also had the tracking updated on there as soon as it shipped and had a link in there to track the passport also. Ours was a K1 visa- not sure if that changed how they mail it out. Congratulations on the approval as well!! Sounds like it should be any day now :)

Congratulations!!! Should only be a matter of days now Ours changed to issued on the 8th and will be arriving today (all the way to Vancouver B.C) so looks like your mom should have a visa in hand in no time. So happy to hear you got that Christmas miracle!!

Congratulations!!! I think my fiancé's visa may be processed in a similar batch as yours, although his changed to "approved" not "issued" this morning. It reads "Your visa is in final processing. If you have not received it in more than 10 working days, please see the webpage for contact information of the embassy or consulate where you submitted your application" and we have not received tracking. Did yours go through an "approved" stage too? Just trying to figure out how much longer to expect... This process is utterly ridiculous.

Thank you!! So close yet still so far, haha. Oh WOW! I was under the impression that once it finally switches to "approved" it just takes a few days. It seems like it still need to change to "issued" though from what I read. Oof... well this may throw a wrench in the Christmas plans lol

Oh my goodness they took FOREVER, but the status just changed to approved today!! How long did it take you guys to receive the visa once the status changed? We did not get the tracking info quite yet.

When the documents arrive to the mail processing location, they only get picked up on Mondays and Thursdays- so depending on the time they arrive, it may add a few extra days to actually get picked up. My document arrived at the facility on the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving, so it unfortunately added an additional week before it even got picked up. Even after that, it took 6 weeks and 5 days for the status to change to "application received" (so 7.5 weeks from the time it arrived at the mail facility), which I assume is when they finally manage to look at the document. The process is certainly painfully slow

After additional documents were submitted (more specifically after receiving a 221g only post interview), when the status changes from "refused" to "Application Received- Your case is open and ready for your interview, fingerprints, and required documents. If you already had your interview, please check your status after two business days", can the application linger in this stage for a while just like every other step does? The status changed on the 29th but surprise, surprise, there are no updates today yet. It also has the "application received" status now when I look it up under nonimmigrant visa. From previous posts it seemed like this status is supposed to be quite brief, but nothing seems to be straightforward. Anyone have any recent experience on this?

After my fiancé received the 221g, we had paperwork arrive to the processing center on Oct 7th and we are still waiting for a response. However, another VJ member that had docs arrive on Oct 3rd just had their visa processed on Nov 10th, and another member that had their docs arrive Sept 13th had their visa issued Oct 20th. It appears that they do not typically get processed sooner than 5-6 weeks, although like everyone else stated- they can be quite unpredictable! I can let you know when if I get an update on mine just to give you more of an idea on their current processing times!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! No news on our end yet but it looks like your paperwork was received by them few days prior to ours, so hopefully that means we will get some news next week! *fingers crossed* Sadly they were closed today for holiday, so that was an extra day of delay.. I’ll post in here as soon an I get news to hopefully help others with 221g timeline processing questions too. SO happy for you both!! Thanks for the update!

I wouldn't stress that status, mine says the same. The status will always say "refused" if they are requesting additional paperwork. It's not a denial or a final decision, it's more like a hold on the case. Once they actually go through and review the document, it should change. Based on a couple other replies in another thread, it's possible it can be as early as 5-6 weeks after the document was received. Seems like they have a very slow process to actually get the document in their hands. Looks like we are on a similar timeline though since our document arrived on Oct 7th to the processing facility. Hopefully not too much longer now! I'll definitely keep you posted if our status changes at any point