damienandelyse

Well i guess we should've gone with james' shortcuts a month ago and made a barcode because it is taking freekin forever for our I-864 and DS-230 to arrive so we can fill them out. Bills are all paid, just waiting. How can it take so long for them to send these forms? Luckily i live in Canada and can visit Colorado a lot or this would suck

Has anyone else waited this long for them?

Oh and one question, the DS-230 does go to the choice of agent right?

wooo hooo! about time, our I-130 and I-129F both approved today, 6 months and 1 week.

When both the I129F and I130 are approved they are sent to NVC. I129F doesn't make a full stop at NVC and is forwarded to the embassy. It doesn't even get a case #. Once it reaches the embassy they will send packet 3/4 and setup date. Just ignore all correspondence. The I130 on the other hand will make a full stop at NVC and get case # and AOS and DS3032 will be generated and mailed. Once here just continue with all the remaining items at NVC. All you have to then do is follow lingche's and james shortcut guides and you'll will be done before you know it. Goodluck

Thanks robbyrob! exactly what i needed to know.

I want to clarify this:

It seems that those who have filed the i129f and the i130 for K3 are able to "ignore" the K3 (i129f) approval route somehow and continue on with the i130 through NVC and get the cr-1. For me this would be ideal if this is possible, i wish i never sent the i129f.

But what exactly happens once the i129f is approved as well as the i130? is the 129f package just sent straight from USCIS to NVC and on to your embassy without much input and they just give you an interview date for the K3? Will or do i need to do anything to stop the K3 so that i can pursue the CR1-NVC route?

Any info or first hand experiences to clarify this for me would be very helpful. Thanks.

It also seems those that filed for CR-1 are getting their NOA2s months sooner than those that filed for K3. I dont get that (its supposed to be the other way around).

I dont understand how people in this thread got their noa1s in may-july and have been getting noa2s not until dec-jan, whilst I-130 CR-1 filers in Dec have been getting NOA2s now (feb+march), i saw one that only took 30 days! What ever USCIS are doing makes no sense at all.

I filed the i129f and the i130 and i am wondering if somehow having them both pending slows down the process some how. All i care for now is that the I-130 gets approved so we can move on with the CR-1 rather than K3.

Are others following this thread still waiting for an NOA2 ...and feeling frustrated that ALOT of oct-nov-dec-jan filers are getting their NOA2s already?

wow , activity in this thread has taken a dive!

Am i the only one still following this thread that still hasn't got the i-130 noa2 yet? Whats going on in Cali!? There are January filers getting their Noa2 in 30 days! This is rediculous.

grrrrr

ditto,

yes you can do i94w, but be prepared for a grillin'

and again you really do need to convince them youre leaving the US, customs put people back on their return flight all the time so just dont think that its a given.

Chris & Mara,

Thats rough getting your application lost, geeze thats the worst

I am a NZer living and working (on a 2 weeks on weeks off rotation) in Canada and my US wife lives in Colorado, subsequently i pass through MSP customs once a month on an I-94w (which once got me well interrogated out the back) but over the last two years of this frequency i have got to know them well enough that they're not so concerned with me anymore.

During a discussion once the supervisor at the US customs he told me that when i pass through I must declare our NOA1s for I-130/I129F to the agent and that if i didn't then i risk getting denied entry and sent back to Canada. Therefore i do, especially since the know who i am. As usual they always ask for proof of return flight now and last time the agent recommended i keep my old boarding stubs on me for proof of departure. The agents always ask the same questions, where are you going? who are you visiting?, why? and how long? where do you work? what do you do? to get the ball rolling.

What I am getting at is that sure you could probably pass through without declaring your application and who youre really visiting but when they find out (pretty quickly because you will be nervous ) that youre visiting your fiance they will start asking a lot more questions because their #1 concern is that you might not leave. Personally, i really think you should be completely open about everything that youre doing and why and put it all on the table straight up like you have nothing to hide. You have good reason to be visiting the US (your file got lost!) , just make sure you have all your USCIS letters, proof they lost your file, proof that you have a place to go back to in Oz (job?) would help hugely, take proof that you visited once before and left prior to 90 days also, proof of major savings if you're going for 90 days...all in case you need it. You really need to make them feel assured that youre only visiting. If you have a really weak case then perhaps it best to plan to answer the questions when they arrive and hope for an easy agent.

Remember these guys are trained to try to pick out people that are not telling the truth or being completely honest and bombard you with quick questions and that is how they test you , but theyre mostly nice, and human- so they know when youre being honest (eg acinlove's experience). Word of advice...don't start off by saying youre going to visit a friend and then change to fiance, that could be a bad start.

Good luck and best wishes!

I wonder if the lack of NOA2 action could possibly be because we filed the I-129F a month later (which in retrospect we shouldnt have bothered with) which caused both forms to get touched on November 21st when the I-129F came in. Perhaps we're in the november filers bin now (?) ...guess we'll find out eventually.

man...so many approvals lately.

Still waiting here though, filed the I-130 ~20th Oct to CSC. Like emo4krisi says...don't try to find logic in their work flow, it doesnt really make a lot of sense.

How far in advance of NOA2 have most people been getting their police clearance certificates ready?

Does anyone know if NVC or consulates care if their police certificate happens to be a few months older than the NOA2 date? Because for me to get it it's a bit of a drama that takes some time so I want to get it now even though NOA2 might be 2-3 months away still.

thanks

d

Currently i am a New Zealander working in Canada with temporary permanent resident status, and i travel regularly over to Colorado on visa waiver to see my fiance.

After we marry in July in Colorado we intend to file for k-3 visa, i know the gov.state info says "your approved I-129F will then be forwarded to a consulate of your spouses nationality" i.e NZ.

A customs immigrations officer in MN said to me once that i will be able to get it sent to the US consulate in toronto and do my K-3 interview there, however i have not been able to find anything online about this possiblity. Does anyone know anything about this? Would it likely cause complications or be slower than flying to NZ for a month or so to do it there?

Thanks

and another point, working in canada as temp resident, then travelling over to USA for the wedding, which is legit, then filing for K-3 makes this statement on the travel.state.gov website somewhat confusing:

"Nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) - It is important to note that application for the nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) who married a U.S. citizen must be filed and the visa must be issued in the country where the marriage took place. After the visa process has been completed, and the visa is issued, the spouse can travel to the United States to wait for the processing of the immigrant visa case."

!? i've never heard of the K-3 being issued in the states! pretty sure that dont happen.

Haven't we already covered this in this thread. In the case of a marriage in the US, the interview is in the beneficiary's country of residence. All this time I thought you already married in NZ.

Now I see you're posting in another thread thinking of circumventing US immigration laws by coming to the US to marry and then adjust status based on that marriage. Intentionally attempting to circumvent US immigration laws can get you banned for life.

i said we plan to marry in july in the 1st post. The reason i posted the other thread, as i have said, is that both customs & immigration officials at MSP airport and the USCIS officer at an Infopass meeting have both stated that it is one of our options, which doesn't sound right, and you agree. I'm not saying that its what i definitely intend to do. The point of the post is to see if any others out there have had experience with that.

thanks

Currently i am a New Zealander working in Canada with temporary permanent resident status, and i travel regularly over to Colorado on visa waiver to see my fiance.

After we marry in July in Colorado we intend to file for k-3 visa, i know the gov.state info says "your approved I-129F will then be forwarded to a consulate of your spouses nationality" i.e NZ.

A customs immigrations officer in MN said to me once that i will be able to get it sent to the US consulate in toronto and do my K-3 interview there, however i have not been able to find anything online about this possiblity. Does anyone know anything about this? Would it likely cause complications or be slower than flying to NZ for a month or so to do it there?

Thanks

and another point, working in canada as temp resident, then travelling over to USA for the wedding, which is legit, then filing for K-3 makes this statement on the travel.state.gov website somewhat confusing:

"Nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) - It is important to note that application for the nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) who married a U.S. citizen must be filed and the visa must be issued in the country where the marriage took place. After the visa process has been completed, and the visa is issued, the spouse can travel to the United States to wait for the processing of the immigrant visa case."

!? i've never heard of the K-3 being issued in the states! pretty sure that dont happen.

ok, i have another question now...

firstly a quick run down...i work in canada on temp permanent resident visa working two weeks in two weeks out, fly to CO every break to see my fiance, customs have said they are fine with this (now that they know me so well!), and also fine with entering on visa waiver in july for our wedding and then returning to work. As long as i didnt try to file for AOS and try to leave and return again or theyll bounce me, they say...obviously breaking the rules.

So, we went to uscis infopass once, they also told us one of our options was for me to stay in USA sometime after we get married and then straight up file for AOS, skipping the K-3 step. However if i did this in say November after july wedding, knowingly entering USA on visa waiver to file AOS and stay put and not leave the US, is that legit? even if infopass and customs imply/say that it is? sounds sketchy. I'm sure they wouldn't let me in if i told them that was my intention at the crossing. And I wouldn't want to then get to my interview and be accused of visa fraud. Any others know much of, or have done this skipping the K-3 method?

And...to complete AOS takes almost for ever, but to get to the stage of an approved EAD by going this route and beginning work would be roughly how long after filing AOS...about 6 months? any other estimates? I'm guessing it would take a lot longer too without them having the pre-gathered info on me from the K-3 steps.

I probably will fly back to NZ for K-3 interview but i'm just finding out more about this option first.

cheers

damien

ps i think we need another trip back to infopass!

Right, country of residence. Does he qualify as a resident?

depends on the terms of the visa they have. Which at this point, the OP has not given us that information so we have no way of knowing other than it is temporary.

thanks for the replies and the help everyone. definitely not a clear cut answer. I think its probably safer just to do it back home in NZ, just more straight forward. It'll have been four years by then and well due for a trip back to the homeland, + my visa expires in late march 09 and may not request the employer to go through the procedure of renewing it.

cheers!

damien

There is no way to reset the 90 day clock..... if she came over on the VWP and was able to prove she had enough ties to her home country and was admitted she would have to leave before the 90 days were up..... if she then say went to canada or anywhere for a few days and then tried to re-enter the USA she would be denied entry and returned at her own expense to the UK....

AS for asking your congressman to help speed up your K1 application, it would be unlikely to make any diffrence as your case is within normal processing time frame....

Kez

On the gov.state website, resetting the clock is regarded as leaving the american continent, until then your 90 days is still ticking away, she would have to go back to europe or somewhere else beyond canada and central america before returning. She can get several 90 day visa waivers in a year but if she is spending the majority of her time in the USA and very short trips away then customs will see that and if they think she is trying to "live" in the USA then she will most likely be denied. Also, whatever she does, do not do anything illegal, as she may also experience some intense interrogation in customs upon numerous visa waivers with very short trips back to the UK, this interrogation (with tactics) will most likely cause you to admit to any use of illegal substances or illegal employment in the USA while she is there, if you admit that to customs officers then they give you a 5 yr ban and big headache. (thats from experience, but fortuntately i was and am clean)

Basically you just dont want to look like she is living there, I think if she made a 2 1/2 month trip to anchorage, then went back to UK for a month or more, worked a bit, then made one more trip then i dont think customs would have a problem with that, and by then your K-1 will probably be about ready.

I have heard numerous heartaching stories due to complications stemming from simply overstaying a visa, whatever you do dont let that happen.

An option for you maybe for her to get a canadian work visa under the WHP and live and work in canada, she will then be able to make frequent trips to alaska and use visa waivers with out having to leave the continent to get a new one, but the "are you effectively living in usa" still applies. but you could visit canada as well.

good luck

my last couple years has been a visa roller coaster!

Currently i am a New Zealander working in Canada with temporary permanent resident status, and i travel regularly over to Colorado on visa waiver to see my fiance.

After we marry in July in Colorado we intend to file for k-3 visa, i know the gov.state info says "your approved I-129F will then be forwarded to a consulate of your spouses nationality" i.e NZ.

A customs immigrations officer in MN said to me once that i will be able to get it sent to the US consulate in toronto and do my K-3 interview there, however i have not been able to find anything online about this possiblity. Does anyone know anything about this? Would it likely cause complications or be slower than flying to NZ for a month or so to do it there?

Thanks