mojoblue

Hello Everyone!

First of all I'd like to say that this is such a great forum, it's helped answer so many questions that have arised during my process. Here's my story/timeline

I went to Pakistan last year (My parents hometown) and fell in love with a girl there. 10 months later (December 2011) I went back to get married. I am a US born citizen that's only been out of the country twice and I have absolutely NO clue what I have to do! I have been researching online about different things I can do and here's what I got. What I need from everyone here is just some simple guidance! Thanks in advance

I have 325A forms one for me and one for my wife

130 form that is almost filled out

English translated copies of the marriage certificate

Her birth certificate

Our marriage certificate

Hope I'm off to a good start, I've heard average wait times are 6-8 months, can someone back this up? Thanks again

Don't waste time and effort with K3. Just apply for IR1/CR1.

Vjers,

The interview date is set for 02/07/2012. My wife hasn't recived any letter from the emabssy. Do we wait for their packet to schedule the medical exam? What to expect from them and how they send the packet?

thx

You are running very late on time! DO NOT wait for anything to come in the mail. It is very likely that you will never receive it, and you DO NOT need anything more in the mail. All you need is the interview letter. Just go to the website where the panel doctors are listed for whichever city you are in and call them to make an appointment. Tell them you need an appointment for a medical exam for US immigration. You have to the bring the fee, 2 passport size photos on white background (might be 4), any medical records you have (childhood vaccination records if any), the interview letter, your passport, copy of your passport, CNIC card and a copy of it. They might ask you to come and get the blood drawn (lab test) and chest xray a few days prior to the actual appointment with the doctor. After the doctor's exam, you will be given a sealed packet with medical report to bring to Islamabad with you. Another sealed envelope will be given with the xray to bring to the USA port of entry upon arrival.

When you go to islamabad for interview, the printed out interview letter which you received via email is what you need. Just check the Islamabad US Embassy website for more information.

I recently turned submitted the I-130, and despite double and triple checking it, I overlooked something.

On the I-130, I inadvertently provided an older address for my wife (the address she was living at prior to getting married). This address appears correctly on the G-325 though indicating that she lived there up until she got married, but is not living at a different address. I called USCIS to ask them how to handle the correction, and was advised to send in a letter indicating what the correct address should be, and provide proof.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation where they wanted to have a correction made to the I-130? If so, how was it handled? Thanks!

Don't worry. I think this can be easily fixed. You can update the address in the I130 by simply saying that since filing of the I130 your wife now has a new address. Submit that address. They ask the last 5 years addresses on the actual NVC DS-230 form anyway and you will fill that out eventually when you get to the NVC stage. Just write the letter to USCIS that the address has changed. As far as "give proof" I dont know what that is. I mean, what is there to "prove."; it's just an address. Just mail them a signed letter to the address written on the bottom of the NOA-1.

Throughout our entire case, my wife NEVER received one thing in the mail from USCIS or NVC. My wife lives in a "good area" of Karachi so I dont know whether the problem was with the karachi post office, letter carrier, or whether USCIS and NVC never mailed her anything. The great thing however is that it doesnt matter at all because anything you need is automatically emailed to you and her once you provide your email addresses via the DS-3230 at the NVC stage. We sent the DS-3230 in the form of an email as per visajourney recommendation but also by regular postal mail. After that, all correspondence came via both email and regular mail to me in USA. Everything is really done by email. My wife never even received an interview letter in the mail but again, this interview letter was emailed to us as a pdf so she just printed it out.

If needed, the embassy will correspond with the address you write on your future DS-230 which is the actual immigration visa application that you complete at NVC stage after AOS (affidavit of support) and DS-230 fees have both been paid. The fee bill for both of these also comes via email (and postal mail hard copy).

Just mail a letter to USCIS but I wouldn't lose any sleep over this.

The process with USCIS should take 6 to 9 months. However once your case gets to the embassy expect it to take up to 21 months.

With all due respect, Sabian, your estimate is not correct. USCIS processing will take 3 months and once it gets to the embassy, interview will be scheduled in 1 week for an interview date which will be 6 weeks from that time. If you get administrative processing then, yes, it can take 6-12 months after reaching embassy. Otherwise, it will only take 6 weeks after reaching embassy.

If you are a US Citizen applying for a spouse, then IR1/CR1 is the way to go. No need for K3 etc. Just follow the instructions closely, fill everything about properly, triple check all names, dates, spelling, provide clearly legible copies, etc.

We also requested expedite via email due to civil strife. Expedite was denied but I130 was approved in a little less than 30 days anyway (vermont service center was/is moving fast).

Assuming all goes well and you get no RFE (request for evidence) and do not end up in AP (administrative processing), the whole thing would be done in 6-8 months with visa in hand. You are correct. Dont worry about the estimated time line. Just start the paper work and make every effort to do things right. Type all applications rather than hand print, provide all required documents (for example, give either certified copies or originals when they ask for certified copies or originals. remember that certified copy means that if it is a birth certificate then the issuing department has to stamp it, not just a notary public, provide all English translations, do things like neatly paper clip the papers rather than staple them, send tax transcripts from IRS which are available by simply ordering them from website or via touch tone phone rather than your own copies of 1040s, make sure to give 3 years of tax data even though 1 year is required, make sure the affidavit of support is in good order with sufficient income, when in doubt about anything then google it or ask on visajourney forum rather than do it wrong and learn the hard way, etc).

If you keep these sorts of things in mind, and are fortunate enough not to get AP, then in 6 months visa will be in hand.

I checked my case online and I also received an email.

I am semi-ready for NVC in terms of having easy access to the required documents but I need to collect them in one place, so some FedEx'ing needs to be done. Also, wife is not able to get a police certificate until she has something formal in hand from uscis/nvc, I guess like an noa-2 or ds-230 or something else like that.....but no rush because plan is for her not to come until after New Year's so she can finish her degree etc.

Approved ! Had a touch on friday, and then today found that i 130 is approved.

______________________

1/2010 married

3/4/2010 I 130 mailed

3/11/2010 NOA 1

7/6/ 2010 approved

finally got a touch on 7/2/2010.......

_________________________________________-

1/2010 married

3/4/2010 i 130 mailed

3/11/2010 NOA 1 (california)

Hi.

Regarding the police certificate or "character certificate" as it is called, do you have to have some specific paperwork requesting this from the NVC or can a person just go to the local police station and request a character certificat?

I would like to get the necessary paperwork all in hand by the time the NOA-2 comes but someone suggested that maybe the police station will require some official notification from NVC before they will issue the police certificate.

Thanks.

They have changed the processing time on the USCIS website for IR1/CR1 to 6 months (up from 5 months) and the approvals are slow. I think it unfortunately means that the wait will be longer for March filers than it was for those who filed even in the 3-4 months preceding March.

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1/2010 married

3/4/2010 I130 mailed

3/11/2010 NOA-1 (CA center)