Cixelsyd

Quick question. My husband just received his CR1 visa and entered the country last week. He has a job interview this week and we are wondering if he is okay to apply for or accept the position if he has not received his social security card yet? Also, is there any additional documentation that a CR1 visa holder needs in order to be employed?

I had the same question not too long ago and got a good answer.

Here's what Darnell said:

Minimum -

I-551 stamp in the passport and

SSN

usually, the current version of the I-9 form has the latest and greatest 'documentation' requirements.

Thanks again to Darnell.

Edit: You guys answered faster than I could

We seem to be running into a similar issue. On one of the interview papers handed to my wife at the consulate, it said she would receive her social security card within 3 weeks after arriving. It also said we're supposed to call if she doesn't receive it within 3 weeks. So we'll probably be making a trip down the local SSA office here shortly to see what the heck is up.

Of course we checked the option to be sent a card etc...

So maybe the SSA offices are having problems lately?

Anyway Somewhat of a follow up question:

What documents/document does my wife need to be able to start working?

I'm not sure if she has to wait for her green card, or if she can just use the stamp on her passport in the mean time.

I'm sure she'll need a valid SSA card, but I'm not sure what else will be required.

Edit: I need to update my time line - my bad.

Finally back from my trip to Russia.

Short Story on the Interview:

So I wasn't able to go in for the actual interview. It's some sort of strange rule they have in Russia, where only the applicant can enter and no one else; not even a lawyer or translator if you had one.

The long and short story is the CO said she was approved pending receiving the original marriage certificate and her original birth certificate, which is a load of ####### for a couple reasons. My wife did say the CO was real nice and seemed really sorry that he couldn't approve her visa right away. It was obvious by his questions and her answers that we're not hiding/pulling and anything.

The main problem about them asking for these documents is this: It was NOT listed on the interview letter from the NVC. In fact, the interview letter had the code of "Y" which states "The Required Document has Been Received". Furthermore, I brought a certified copy of the marriage license just in case, and they said it had to be the original. Now, I don't know how long they've been doing their jobs, but the state of Florida absolutely refuses to give up the original. I'm guessing other states will say the same thing; how else would they have a record of someone being married at all.

Really I would be half fine with the outcome if it was a mistake we made. The fact that it was either someone at the NVC or the Embassy that screwed up and now they're making us pay for it is unacceptable and further proves our immigration laws/procedures are broken.

So I guess the moral of the story is pretend the letter codes on the invitation letter say "Needs to bring to interview" for absolutely everything. Because either the NVC doesn't know what the embassy wants, or the embassy makes up its own rules.

As for Us:

Well, fortunately I was able to have one of my family members start the process trying to get the marriage certificate before I returned. I tried to call and request it from Russia (super expensive to call) and basically sat the entire time on hold. But now we've got some sort of other copy which is going through some certification process which is required to be acceptable under the Warsaw pact (I have -no- idea what the hell that's about) and correspondence to the embassy has already informed them and asked them if this is acceptable or what would be.

Of course a response hasn't been sent yet... since they're lost in the sauce.

I'm putting my money on the embassy screwed up. They're so used to doing K-1 visa's that they probably forgot how to do a CR-1 or thought the same requirements apply. Images of someone blowing dust off a book titled "How to process a CR-1 in Russia" come to mind when picturing the CO right before my wifes interview.

It's really tempting to start throwing phone calls at various government agencies, but it's probably better to rock the boat after she has her visa. Of course then again, after that I won't care because she'll have her visa. It's really a chicken and the egg problem now.

Ah well... the bastards.

Been a little quiet lately. I'm hoping in this case no news means good news.

Would be nice to see how things are going. It's always nice to have the positive momentum going in.

I'm leaving in a couple days to Russia and won't get back until later in the month, so I may not be able to post the results asap. If not I'll do it when -> we <- get back.

I'll look to drop a line before I take off.

Good luck to everyone this week. And congratulations to all those who have the best gift possible.

Drive by hi:

Trying to get ready for a crazy trip to Russia, but I wanted to drop a line to Ally and say GLAD to see you got your interview finally. Was wondering if you did.

Anyway, good luck with planning for the fun.

Everyone else,

Good luck dealing with NVC.

No real wise words, just don't lose hope if you find yourself frustrated; we've all been there, made it through and you will too.

Anyone else hearing the theme music to Rocky III?

Can't believe July is just around the corner.

So close to July.

Feels like waiting for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I'm almost expecting a lot of fireworks and someone to light something on fire.

Only this time I'll actually care if my 'team' wins or loses.

Hi guys,

Was wondering how long it might take for the case to arrive to Moscow? What was the longest span from your experience?

According to NVC our case was mailed from them to the Embassy on June 4th, my interview is scheduled for July 7 (!). So far the embassy hasn't received the case. How long can it take for them to get it? I mean, it's shipped by DHL and I have sent 3 e-mails to the Embassy and their response is always the same - as of today we don't have your case. The latest info is from June 11th. Of course, I sent another e-mail and am waiting for yet another response.

My problem is that I need to reschedule my interview for a later date, but they refuse to do so until they have the case. I am worried that I will just miss the interview and that will cause some trouble.

So frustrated!

Thanks!

I've heard quotes that it takes somewhere around 2 weeks. I believe some individuals in the CR-1 forums know how to figure out the shipping number, or ways to see when packages are arriving. I don't have any information on how to do this; but again, check with the people in the CR-1 forums.

Everyone else,

CR-1 does not work like K-1. Vopilka is right about having the appointment date before the package arrives at the embassy. The appointment is also assigned roughly one month after the case is complete.

If you're still confused, look at the CR-1 process; we spend a lot more time in document processing at the NVC.

You've got to be next Ally, we're all hoping for you. I keep checking back here thinking they have to give you an interview date soon.

Also, they really need to give Aneudy a date as well. He's been camped out in NVC for a long time.

Alright. Who dropped me off the list?

This is the updated list below:

Here is the updated list of July, please check and add yourself to it.

July interviews:

Week One

(07/01/2010 ?? Armenia) RyannTanya

(07/01/2010 06:30 am Manilla) mrs.a

(07/01/2010 07:30 am Mumbai, India) soza

(07/02/2010 ?? Juarez, Mexico) bila-n-javi

(07/02/2010 ?? England) englandusa18

Week Two

(07/06/2010 ?? Colombo, Sri Lanka) hasson

(07/06/2010 12:30 PM Costa Rica) meant2b2009

(07/08/2010 Afghanistan) kfameri

(07/08/2010 1:00 PM Argentina ) schopap

Week Three

(07/11/2010 9:00 am Egypt) *****S*D*****

(07/12/2010 8:30 am Hong KOng) danjoan

(07/12/2010 7:30 am Germany) jonswifey

(07/12/2010 Tokyo, Japan) kjon

(07/13/2010 Mumbai, India) deepdawg

(07/13/2010 7:30 am Montreal Married2009

(07/13/2010 7:30 am Jamaica D & G

(07/13/2010 8:30am Philippines) mrs.B.

(07/14/2010 Armenia, Honduras) lilianasmama1

(07/14/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) kj007

(07/14/2010 Naples, Italy) RPS

(07/15/2010 Romania) Raluca805

(07/15/2010 8:00 am Islamabad, Pakistan carolynhotstuff

(07/15/2010 8:00 am Moscow) Cixelsyd

(07/16/2010 7:30 am Mumbai) gujjugirl

(07/16/2010 8:00 AM Islamabad) at09

Week Four

(07/18/2010 9:00 am London) AngelBlu

(07/19/2010 10:15 AM New Dehli) TheMatrix

(07/19/2010 ?? ??) gina_raluca

(07/19/2010 7:30 am Jamaica) MaryLan

(07/20/2010 9:00 AM Sydney) AUS2USA

(07/20/2010 Nigeria) deepblue

(07/20/2010 10:45 PM Delhi) Deep2009

(07/21/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) In_AR_From_TX

Week Five

(07/26/2010 Montreal) FireRay

(07/26/2010 11:40 AM Nigeria) AmaJosh

(07/27/2010 Montreal ) Bwoo

(07/27/2010 Montreal ) Zenaxe

(07/27/2010 8:00 am Italy ) sandra&mladen

(07/28/2010 Honduras) Catracho

(07/28/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) maabish

(07/29/2010 7:30 AM Mumbai) MitalJinal

(07/29/2010 8:00 am Chennai) RGinu

(07/29/2010 8:00 am Islamabad) RabRiz

(07/29/2010 ?? India) utahdesi

(07/29/2010 ?? Bangladesh) rosco_qa

I'm with you--come on NVC! They've had alot of action this weekend but some of us are still waiting. I have a feeling I'll be waiting until next round though because of my embassy...

Since we didn't hear anything all week until Friday, I'm guessing today and the next couple days should be chalk full of interviews and even CC.

Updated list so far. Congrats to everyone who got their dates last week.

July interviews:

Week One

(07/01/2010 ?? Armenia) RyannTanya

(07/01/2010 06:30 am Manilla) mrs.a

(07/01/2010 07:30 am Mumbai, India) soza

(07/02/2010 ?? Juarez, Mexico) bila-n-javi

(07/02/2010 ?? England) englandusa18

Week Two

(07/08/2010 Afghanistan) kfameri

Week Three

(07/11/2010 9:00 am Egypt) *****S*D*****

(07/12/2010 8:30 am Hong KOng) danjoan

(07/12/2010 7:30 am Germany) jonswifey

(07/13/2010 Mumbai, India) deepdawg

(07/13/2010 7:30 am Montreal Married2009

(07/13/2010 7:30 am Jamaica D & G

(07/13/2010 8:30am Philippines) mrs.B.

(07/14/2010 Armenia, Honduras) lilianasmama1

(07/14/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) kj007

(07/15/2010 Romania) Raluca805

(07/15/2010 8:00 am Islamabad, Pakistan carolynhotstuff

(07/15/2010 8:00 am Moscow) Cixelsyd

(07/16/2010 7:30 am Mumbai) gujjugirl

(07/16/2010 8:00 AM Islamabad) at09

Week Four

(07/18/2010 9:00 am London) AngelBlu

(07/19/2010 10:15 AM New Dehli) TheMatrix

(07/19/2010 ?? ??) gina_raluca

(07/19/2010 7:30 am Jamaica) MaryLan

(07/20/2010 9:00 AM Sydney) AUS2USA

(07/20/2010 Nigeria) deepblue

(07/21/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) In_AR_From_TX

Week Five

(07/26/2010 Montreal) FireRay

(07/26/2010 11:40 AM Nigeria) AmaJosh

(07/27/2010 Montreal ) Bwoo

(07/27/2010 Montreal ) Zenaxe

(07/27/2010 8:00 am Italy ) sandra&mladen

(07/28/2010 Honduras) Catracho

(07/28/2010 Islamabad, Pakistan) maabish

(07/29/2010 7:30 AM Mumbai) MitalJinal

(07/29/2010 8:00 am Chennai) RGinu

(07/29/2010 8:00 am Islamabad) RabRiz

(07/29/2010 ?? Colombo, SriLanka) hasson

(07/29/2010 ?? India) utahdesi

(07/29/2010 ?? Bangladesh) rosco_qa

You poor bastards. You're stuck with me in the July interviews

It's FINALLY here.

Interview July 15th

Oh wow I just called NVC my interview date is July 15th at 8:00am she said I would get the email later today or Monday.

Just had to prove me wrong, didn't you.

Well, at least now we know they are doing interviews. They're just being very cloak-n-dagger about it.

Congratulations though.

I pray I am included in the July interviews! But i doubt I am. So it's going to be another longggg wait for me.

Right now it appears nobody is included in the July interviews.

Hi people, I just wanted to share my experience with the NVC´s prime and top of the line customer service , we called on Jun 1st to find out about our documents(AOS/DS-230), the agents were CLEAR in letting us know that they received both packages on Jun 1st, we called yesterday and it came to our attention when we were speaking to a supervisor that the AOS is not in the system, that is located in Neverland(mailroom) and that they are waiting for it still, guys, we are so pissed at this people :angry: :angry: , believe me, my wife is doing all the talking now, cause I can´t do it anymore, I don´t have any more patience, our papers were received in the mailroom on May 25th, they told me that they process mail when it comes in, so they are actually way behind their schedules, they can´t even go to the mailroom and look for it( how big is it, we don´t know), I am crossing my fingers so they get those forms this week, I am sooooo dissapointed. :angry:

Not sure if this applies to you. Sometimes the documents are being worked through the system. They just haven't shown up in the computers yet.

EX: if you don't put a cover page on something, it'll get worked through the system for roughly 3 weeks. And if you talk to an operator, they'll leave you believing they lost it, because they have no idea where it is and are unwilling to send a search party.

Some operators will just tell you they'll have a supervisor look into it.

Some operators will actually try and provide some help.

I had the bad one first who said he doesn't even see they received it in the mail and a supervisor will get back to me in 10-15 days. The first operator was lost in the sauce. The second one was very helpful and she was able to figure out what was going on just by asking me a few questions. She figured out I didn't attach a cover page and explained what's probably going on; turns out she was right on.

I remember reading at least one if not more cases where people got off the phone with an operator and had the impression they had lost their documents. Then a week or two later they get a CC or something like that. Given they acknowledge they've received the documents, I'm fairly sure it's just in processing somewhere.

Does that mean I probably will not recieve one until I cross the border with my immigrant visa?

Because that would explain a lot.

The only reason I was worried is that the Affidavid of Support asks for the A number of the person my husband is filing for.

We were just going to leave it blank but then started being afraid of an RFE.

I was in similar situation. Wife previously had a J-1, so I wasn't sure if we needed an "A" number. I couldn't really find it, so I just left it blank or checked "Not Known" wherever that applied and I didn't have any problems.

Btw, if you've had a J-1, make sure you send in your 2019 (think it's 2019). It's the document that proves you don't have a two year home stay requirement (unless it has already expired of course). A couple people have been getting RFE's for that and I was one of them.

Sending in a scanned copy of the visa will not do either.

Nope, NVC is quiet as a freakin' mouse! I wish they were this quiet when handing out checklists!

That's the only part of the department that puts in the extra hours it seems.

Although, I wonder if they slow down a little on the second week of the month due to working on interviews. I thought I noticed last month where we heard little to nothing for almost the entire second week. Then at the end of the second week and beginning to mid third week, there were a ton of interview appointments assigned/notified.

I couldn't wait so I called NVC this morning so far no interview date scheduled for us. The operator said we should be given a date the second week of the month. I'm hoping she is wrong and we get one this week.

Sans one day, this is the second week of the month.

Aah ok well I just called and the operator couldn't help me since our number doesn't show up yet.

Oh well I'll try calling again tomorrow and "look it up" in the AVR again then.

Thanks for the help though.

Man... I hope everything works out so that I can move in September.

Just make sure you have all the papers you need to send in for the various stages and you'll be ahead of the game. Papers like Police Certificate etc... After that, it's just hoping to avoid the RFE. But it seems at least half of us or more get snagged for one.

If you have everything in line, it's possible to CC before the next round of interviews, though it would be a nail biter.

You'll probably CC just on or after the next round of interviews, but that still puts you in line for a September interview with ease; maybe if you're lucky, a late August.

Out for errands and work! Hope to see some July dates when I get in late tonight! Crossing my fingers for all of us waiting.....

Hoping for the same thing. I'll be standing guard next to the phone and e-mail all this week. You won't catch me sleeping on-ZZzzzzz.

Sometimes I think this visa process has turned my into a bi-polar narcoleptic.

Hehehh yeah I already know the NVC phone number and selections on the menu by heart. ^^

But are you guys saying I should request an operator for this? Because I thought I read somewhere to first try and get the NVC number via the automated system and then call for an operator to exchange email addys.

You don't need to use your NVC number, you can use your USCIS number to exchange e-mails. That's actually how I ended up getting my NVC number in the first place. But I called like 2 weeks after NOA-2, so I knew it was there.

Basically you just need to check the AVR to find out when your packet is in the computer system. And fair warning, that 1 phone line is busy as hell so far today.

Can anybody tell me how long it takes these days to get a NVC case number off the automated telephone system after getting approved?

I saw it's even under a week for those who got approved around march/april.

Le sigh.

I always thought it was just a little over a week. No idea exactly what it is now, but pinging the NVC AVR is about to be your new hobby, so may as well settle into it now.

It finally happened guys! I got my SIF! I got my SIF! I want to scream. Well, I did scream a little bit! LOL.

Many Congratulations Chey. Glad to see you finally made it through as well. Let's hope for an even better next week.

thanks! wow you got your sif 6 days after the NVC received your documents. I am hoping for the same!

Well no, not exactly. That's a little misleading.

If you look near the beginning of April, you'll see that's when I sent everything in.

We got an RFE, which I responded to on the 27th and they received on the 29th of April. The AVR didn't update that it received the RFE response until May 21st. So almost a month later.

However, the initial time I sent everything in, it took them 9 business days to respond. So I would expect around 8-10 business days from the day the package arrives (not when they say they received it).

Edit:

Just noticed you got the same RFE I got. I'm guessing they wanted proof there was no 2 year home stay requirement? It's fricken ridiculous that they RFE people for that. Especially when they are the National VISA Center and they have access to the information.

Question - When your case is complete what updates first the AVR or do you you get a SIF? AVR states that they received my documents on 5/28. I'm hoping for a SIF this Saturday (fingers crossed). I hope I am still in the running for a July interview.

SIF happens first.

At least mine did and I haven't heard anyone say the opposite yet.

Here is the updated list, please add your name to it and pass it along.

Recent case completes, updated by the date on which NVC received their last package. Now waiting for July interview appointments:

(03/03/2010) -- (03/10/2010) Aneudy Martinez

(04/26/2010) -- (05/11/2010) Ally and moh

(05/21/2010) -- (05/28/2010) Cixelsyd

List of VJers waiting for a SIF/CC. Updated by the date on which NVC received their last package. Please use the most current list, arranged chronologically:

05-10/2010 -- Mir&Naaz

05/17/2010 -- cheyemo

05/21/2010 -- antoneya

05/24/2010 -- Deep2009

05/24/2010 -- bextaz

05/24/2010 -- meant2b2009

Just trying to keep an updated list.

Aneudy ever get an appointment assigned?

Also, I feel like there should be more people on the waiting for appointment list.