nspyraishn's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Justin Beneficiary's Name: Natali VJ Member: nspyraishn Country: Armenia Last Updated: 2023-06-09 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Justin & Natali:

USCIS I-129F Petition:       Dept of State K1 Visa:     USCIS I-485 Petition:   USCIS I-765 Petition:       USCIS I-131 Petition:       USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

K1 Visa Event Date Service Center : California Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Armenia I-129F Sent : 2015-04-16 I-129F NOA1 : 2015-04-22 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2015-05-20 NVC Received : 2015-07-01 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : 2015-07-01 NVC Left : 2015-07-01 Consulate Received : 2015-07-29 Packet 3 Received : 2015-07-29 Packet 3 Sent : 2015-08-03 Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2015-09-17 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2015-11-03 US Entry : 2015-11-30 Marriage : 2015-12-07 Comments : After being told she needed more photos to prove the relationship, my fiancee submitted more, for a total of 72. They said they would call her when her visa was approved and ready for pick up. After waiting for several weeks I called them on Skype, and was told that it would take 1-2 months, and sure enough the visa was ready for pickup two weeks later. My fiancee was not in Yerevan at the time so she picked it up on Friday, November 6th. Yay! ^_^ Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 28 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 148 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : San Francisco CA Date Filed : 2016-02-19 NOA Date : 2016-03-04 RFE(s) : 2016-04-21 Bio. Appt. : 2016-04-08 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : 2016-10-06 Approval / Denial Date : 2016-10-06 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Greencard Received: 2016-10-14 Comments : The I-485 interview was very short, and although we brought all the materials required, they didn't ask for almost any of them. They asked my wife the questions that they asked on the application, such as if she has been part of political organizations, affiliated with communists, planned to engage in prostitution or drug trade, had ever been arrested, etc. They then asked us both questions about birthdays, dates of marriage, how we met, if we had met each others' family, whether we got into fights and what about, what we don't like about each other, how many times she had entered the U.S., and if we had traveled outside the country. Overall, a very short interview. They said we would receive the decision in the mail, but according to the documents mailed, they made the decision to approve the same day as the interview.

Lifting Conditions Event Date CIS Office : California Service Center Date Filed : 2018-09-24 NOA Date : 2018-09-28 RFE(s) : 2020-01-14 Bio. Appt. : 2019-07-08 Interview Date : Approval / Denial Date : 2020-04-16 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Green Card Received : 2020-04-24 Comments : Received RFE on 1/14/20, mailed back requested documentation on 3/6/20. 1 month and 10 days later, the removal of conditions application was approved. New Green card mailed out on 4/20, received on 4/24.

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Sacramento CA Date Filed : 2023-05-13 NOA Date : 2023-05-13 Bio. Appt. : 2023-05-13 Interview Date : 2023-06-29 Approved : Oath Ceremony : Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Armenia Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : October 16, 2015 Embassy Review : My fiancee had her interview on September 17, 2015. They asked many questions related to our relationship, including 1. My career/education, 2. Her own education and career, 3. About my family and siblings, 4. How many months we spent together, 5. How long we have known each other, 6. When we met and under what circumstances, 7. What my parents think of her and her marriage, 8. What she loves about me, when we will have the wedding and 9. what are our plans for the wedding 10. What are our shared interests and beliefs Well, so many questions, but basically the kind of questions Visa Journey guides and resources prepare you for, so I definitely recommend VJ and give props to them for helping us to get through the interview smoothly. So after the interview was over, the consulate officer said that we had not submitted enough photos as proof of the relationship, and not enough sightseeing photos. I found this to be strange and insulting, considering we had submitted over 1 million Facebook messages, hundreds of Google Hangouts call logs, over $5,000 in moneygram receipts (about 7-8 different transactions total), and 25 photos in several different locations including the famous "singing springs" of Downtown Yerevan, the ancient historical site of the Surb Hovhannes cathedral, and the Shaki waterfalls, the highest in all of Armenia. We included several photos of us kissing, holding hands, embracing each other, and with her family. So not having enough proof of a relationship in the photos seemed ridiculous to both of us, especially considering how many people have gotten visas approved with only 4-5 photographs which are not even intimate. So they asked us to submit additional photos, and so she asked her family and friends and submitted 72 photos in total, from about 10 different locations. She turned them in to the embassy the next day in a sealed envelope with her passport as they instructed, and even though the K1 is classified as a non-immigrant visa, they told her that she should put in the immigrant visa folder. So she did as instructed. She was told that she would get a call from them when her visa was approved and processed, and we have been waiting for a response since then Today, after her not hearing anything from them for 4 weeks, I decided to Skype call them @usvisaarmenia. My call was received by a very helpful and friendly Armenian man named Arsen. He was very useful in answering all my questions: 1. Why is it that they said to put in the immigrant box instead of non-immigrant: answer: Armenia treats as immigrant even though it is technically non-immigrant because it is in-between and the purpose of the visa is to immigrate. 2. how long will it take for the visa approval to be processed? answer: The average wait time for visa approval processing is 1-2 months. If it takes longer the fiancee can request her visa back if she needs it for something (Projected approval date: from October 17- November 17, on average) 3. Why did they request more than 25 photos, and is 72 photos enough? answer: It is just standard procedure to sometimes ask for more photos before approval, nothing to worry about. It is extremely unlikely to be rejected for this reason, if that many photos were given 4. I asked for his name for reference, and he said "Arsen", but it was against policy to give last names. I am looking forward to the visa being approved, and hope the administrative processing time will not take longer than average. I hope this review helps K1 applications to know what to expect, particularly for the American Embassy of Armenia. Rating : Moderate

Timeline Comments: 2



*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.

** Not all cases are transfered

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