tortuguita's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Linda Beneficiary's Name: Odilon VJ Member: tortuguita Country: Mexico Last Updated: 2012-10-16 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Linda & Odilon:

USCIS DCF I-130 Petition:       Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:     USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Date Service Center : Texas Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Mexico City, Mexico Marriage (if applicable): 2011-12-13 I-130 Sent : 2012-06-28 I-130 NOA1 : 2012-06-28 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2012-07-11 NVC Received : Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : Submit DS-261 : Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : 2012-07-19 Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : 2012-07-19 Interview Date : 2012-10-11 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2012-10-12 US Entry : Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 13 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 105 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Juarez, Mexico Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : October 14, 2012 Embassy Review : We flew via Vivaaerobus from Mexico City to Ciudad Juarez and arrived Oct 7, Sunday morning. Vivaaerobus seems to be the least expensive airline if you need to fly to Cd Juarez. It’s pretty much no frills, but the flight was good, no problems. From the airport, we took a taxi to the La Quinta Hotel near the Consulate. It was really cold that morning and we couldn’t figure out where the local bus stopped. You can take a bus to the hotels around “Consulate” area for 24 pesos (you have to change buses twice) or taxi for 250 pesos. We had made a reservation at La Quinta and although check in time is for 3pm, they were wonderful about getting us into our room by 10am and told us to help ourselves to some breakfast while we were waiting. Breakfast is free, and was great as far as we were concerned. They had fresh fruit, yogurt, cereals, hot foods, which consisted of fresh waffles, eggs, frijoles with another hot dish which varied from day to day, juices, coffee, tea, sweet breads, and more. We were very happy with the hotel price ($47/night) and accommodations, little gym, swimming pool and Jacuzzi, and washers/dryers if you have to wash clothes. The staff at the hotel was really nice and helpful. They also have a free shuttle bus to take you to the Consulate area if you don’t want to walk or take a taxi. Our room was really clean and comfortable and had a little refrigerator and coffee maker. There’s a nice grocery store (S Mart five minute walk) nearby and so we bought lots of stuff for sandwiches, etc. You can see the Consulate from the hotel (it’s only a ten minute walk). On Monday we got to the Medico Servicio (blue front) around 4:30am. We were told that the people there are really nice and it’s not so busy as the other Medical Clinic on the corner and they were right. The guards let us into the complex behind the gates to wait. Within the hour there were at least 30 people waiting and around 5:30am we were taken to the area where my husband went into the clinic. I’m glad we went early as by 7am there were more than a hundred people waiting in line. There is a waiting area/cafeteria behind the medical building where I went to wait for him to be done. My husband said that it was really organized and he had no problems at all. They looked at his DS-260 confirmation, invitation letter and passport, he waited a bit and then was called to have his picture taken. Then he waited until they called a group into the offices to start the medical exam. They separate the men and the women to different areas. They did the chest x-rays (took three), asked him some questions, did blood work, and then did the physical exam. He got 4 vaccinations which included an influenza shot, which surprised me. They said it was mandatory for the visa. I wonder about that. Total cost was $396. He was done a little after 9am. We went back at 2pm to pick up his medical stuff which consisted of a sealed black plastic envelope, a cd and paper. The doctor at the Clinic told him that he needed to bring only the plastic envelope to his interview and not to open it. On Tuesday we went to the ASC (CAS) which is near to the Consulate in a strip plaza for the fingerprinting. It was really fast and easy. He said they looked at his paperwork and passport (same stuff as at the Medical clinic). Then they did his fingerprints, asked him if everything is the truth and that was it. I think he was there no more than 20 minutes. Our appointment was at 12:50pm and there was hardly anyone there at that time. My husband’s appointment at the Consulate was for 7:15am on Thursday. We arrived at the Sala de Espera (on the street end of the strip plaza where the ASC office is) next to the Consulate just before 6am to have his paperwork checked before going to the Consulate building. There were already 30 or more people waiting. You have to have your papers stamped before getting in the line at the Consulate building. By 7am there were hundreds of people in line waiting to have their papers stamped at the Sala de Espera. It goes pretty quick, but seeing that many people there was overwhelming. My husband said that his time in the Consulate was really good and everyone was really nice. He said that the whole time everyone there spoke Spanish with him and not English. Once he entered the Consulate building, he got his number. He said the men have to wait in an outside area and women, children and elderly wait inside. He waited till he saw his number on the screen and then went to the correct window and gave all the paperwork to the woman there. He was then told to go back to sit again and wait till he saw his number again. He then went to the window for the interview. The man who interviewed him asked only two questions; 1) How did he meet his wife; and 2) How did he learn English so well. Then the interviewer said congratulations, you are approved. The interview only took a few minutes. He was done by 9am, Visa Approved! Yay. He couldn’t believe how friendly everyone was to him. I just checked the Visa Service Center website for the status on his DHL package and it arrived in San Juan on Friday. It took one day for the visa to arrive from Ciudad Juarez! The DHL with his visa left Ciudad Juarez the same day he got approved and it arrived here before we could even get home ourselves!! I’m really glad to be done. He’ll pick it up tomorrow and now it’s time to plan our trip to the USA! Thanks to everyone who helped us on VisaJourney. This site has been a godsend. I couldn’t have done it without all the encouragement and great information. Rating : Very Good

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*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.

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