SaAa's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: S
Beneficiary's Name: A
VJ Member: SaAa
Country: India
Last Updated: 2023-06-28
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Immigration Checklist for S & A:
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USCIS I-129F Petition:
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Dept of State K1 Visa:
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USCIS I-485 Petition:
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USCIS I-765 Petition:
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USCIS I-131 Petition:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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K1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Mumbai, India |
| I-129F Sent : |
2018-11-09 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2018-11-16 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2019-03-09 |
| NVC Received : |
2019-04-03 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
2019-04-04 |
| NVC Left : |
2019-04-16 |
| Consulate Received : |
2019-04-18 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2019-05-03 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
2019-06-28  Submit Review |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2019-07-11 |
| US Entry : |
2019-11-26 |
| Marriage : |
2019-11-27 |
| Comments : |
My fiance received a letter from Mumbai consulate on May 3rd (dated April 25th) with some steps on how to download packet4 from their website. This is what we are calling packet3 above. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 113 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 224 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
San Francisco |
| POE Date : |
2019-11-26 Submit Review |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
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| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
When my fiancé and I entered US, they told us to go to the non-immigrant line for POE (which was a long line). After reaching the counter, the officer took her to a different room for ‘further processing’. Luckily, he allowed me to stay with her. We waited for more than an hour in that room before the officer called her name. Once her name was called, the officer just took the sealed envelope from her and asked her some basic questions (like have you ever been to US, have you married before, etc). Within 5 mins, he said everything is good and we were out :) |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
San Jose CA |
| Date Filed : |
2020-01-09 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-01-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2020-02-03 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2021-07-21 Submit Review |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2021-07-29 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2021-08-02 |
| Comments : |
Dec 24th, 2020 update -- My wife got her biometrics done on Feb 3rd, 2020. She got her combo card in June 2020 which is great. But her AOS (I-485) status has been showing "Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview" since Mar 4th 2020.
June 18th, 2021 -- Got text from USCIS regarding the interview has been scheduled, so we called customer service and got the interview date.
June 24th, 2021 -- We finally received the interview letter in mail with July 21st interview date!
July 21st, 2021 -- Interview went great. Our interviewing officer was a lady (acronym JK ...don't remember her name). We sat down and went straight down to business. The first order of business was cross-checking the info she had with the original documents...so she asked for both of our passports, followed by my wife's birth certificate, our marriage certificate, etc. Then she started to go over each of the line items on our I-485 form and asking questions to my wife like her birth place, DOB, father's name, mother's name, nationality, port of entry, date of entry, date of marriage, current and past addresses, any children, any prior marriage, etc. Our address had changed compared to what was in the I-485 paperwork so she just updated that on her side. She then asked my wife a bunch of Yes/No questions from the 'General Eligibility and Inadmissibility Grounds' questionnaire from the I-485 form.
The officer also asked her when we first meet and how did we meet (and some more follow-up questions around that topic). She then asked for my updated financial info so I gave her my recent W2, my recent paystubs and my recent tax return (she also took my employment verification letter which I got just in case).
Then the officer asked for our proof of relationship so we gave her our photos since we got married 1.5 years ago (showing our big trips and family get-together photos). We started with showing her our court marriage photos and she asked who were all the different folks in the picture. Then we quickly flipped thru the photos from our trips (about ~35 photos on ~22 pages...probably more than needed!). I also voluntarily gave her the Airbnb receipts for all our vacation stays...and she took it (again, probably wasn't absolutely necessary). I also showed her my bank statements which had my wife as a joint account holder. We showed her our recent utility bill which had both our names on it. She was also interested in seeing the documents which showed my wife as a beneficiary so I showed her my recent 401k statement and my brokerage accounts. I also showed her our house's deed of trust which had both of our names on it. We also presented our tax return transcript (where we married filed jointly) as proof of relationship.
We had also prepared an updated I-693 packet (from civil surgeon here in US)...since my wife finished the 2nd dose of her vaccine only after she came to US...so we thought an updated I-693 package might be needed. Eventually she took the I-693 package anyways (after some confusion on whether it was even needed).
Then she gave us a letter which said that 'your case is being held for review....final decision will be mailed once your case is complete'. We were both relieved that the toughest part is done and we didn't miss any documents. Now we just had to patiently wait for that approval email :)
July 27th, 2021 -- After waiting for a week, we finally got an email & text from USCIS that 'We have taken an action on your case' and went the USCIS website and saw the status: "New Card Is Being Produced"! Now we just have to wait for that greencard in our mail :)
July 29th, 2021 - Got a email & text from USCIS saying that our I-485 case was approved :)
July 30th, 2021 - Got a email & text from USCIS saying that our GreenCard was mailed to us.
July 31st, 2021 - Got letter (NOA) from USCIS saying that our I-485 (AOS) has been approved.
Aug 2nd, 2021 - Finally got the greencard in mail (via USPS priority mail)!!! |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2020-01-09 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-01-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2020-02-03 |
| Approved Date : |
2020-06-08 |
| Date Card Received : |
2020-06-12 |
| Comments : |
Our initial EAD was filed together with the I-485.
We also ended up filling for an EAD renewal since our EAD was set to expire on June 7th, 2021. So we filed another I-765 form (with supporting evidence: I-485 NOA and copy of the current EAD card) which got delivered to USCIS on May 14th, 2021. After a few weeks, we got the new I-765 NOA with May 30th, 2021 notice date. We showed this to my wife's employer and she got the 180-days auto-extension just in the nick of time before the her EAD expired!
On July 28th, 2021, we got a notification saying that our I-765 extension case was closed (because our greencard application was approved). |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 151 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2020-01-09 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-01-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2020-06-12 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 151 days. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2023-06-01 |
| NOA Date : |
2023-06-09 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
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| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
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| Approved : |
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| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
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| Comments : |
June 01, 2023 - Mailed I-751 to USCIS via FedEx overnight
June 02, 2023 - Case received by USCIS (Case Status: "Case Was Received and A Receipt Notice Was Sent")
June 07, 2023 - Got text message from USCIS with the receipt number telling us that our case was received and NOA has been mailed.
June 09, 2023 - USCIS case status changed to "Case is being Actively Reviewed by USCIS" (when we checked on June 12th)
June 15, 2023 - Got the I-797 (NOA) in the mailbox (with a notice date of 6/9/23) informing us that our I-551 (permanent resident card) validity has been extended by 48 months.
June 16, 2023 - Got another I-797C (NOA) in the mailbox (with a notice date of 6/9/23) telling us that biometrics appointment has been waived. |
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Member Reviews: None FoundTo enter a review please select one of the following:
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Consulate Reviews--o
US Port of Entry Reviews--o
US CIS Local Office ReviewsTimeline Comments: 28Congrats! Please let me know when you get your case number. Next batch of Files should be shipped April 2nd. I got mine shipped on the 19th March and paid the fees and everything and got an appointment date of MAY 9 (so sad) wanted it earlier. I'll be checking everyday to see if early date is available. But congrats on the fast NOA 2! :)
SaAa on 2019-03-24 said: Thanks so much! :) Good to know next batch of files are suppoose to ship on April 2nd. I did call NVC last week and they said they haven’t received my case yet :/ I will call them again next week to see if they got it. Once I receive my NVC case number, can I schedule the interview date at the Mumbai consulate?
KP2 on 2019-04-22 said:Hi Swapnil, How to check whether the consulate received the case? thank you
SaAa on 2019-04-22 said: Hi KP2, you can go to the below URL and enter your NVC case# (which you get by calling NVC). Once the status changes from ‘At NVC’ to ‘Ready’ means that you case reached the overseas consulate.
ttps://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=o/iS8zDpeAKjMWCuebHqOw==
SaAa on 2019-04-22 said: Hi KP2, you can go to the below URL and enter your NVC case# (which you get by calling NVC). Once the status changes from ‘At NVC’ to ‘Ready’ means that you case reached the overseas consulate.
ttps://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=o/iS8zDpeAKjMWCuebHqOw==
SaAa on 2019-04-22 said: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=o/iS8zDpeAKjMWCuebHqOw==
KP2 on 2019-04-23 said: thank you Swapnil+Anshuma. Good Luck!
Have you guys got a Interview date yet? Last i saw there were some Mid May available. but was curious. My fiancee's is on May 9th
SaAa on 2019-04-24 said: Actually there are no interview dates available at the moment :/. We saw an opening on June 28th 2 days back, but someone grabbed it before we even had a chance to think :/
Wow. That sucks. I hope they open some up in May or June! I started looking in March 19th and none were available in April, so took the next earliest appointment May 9th!
SaAa on 2019-04-24 said: Vjscorp, any idea how often the time slots open up? Should we be checking daily? Any tips?
I checked everyday until April 10th and few opened up for Mid May and end of May! So I would check once or twice daily! Just make sure you go to the screen until you see interview date and if you don't see an earlier date then just logout! With the fee that you paid you can change the interview date up to 5 times! But to see the availability of the appointments is capped at I think 4-5 times per day.
SaAa on 2019-04-24 said: I see...good to know...thx for the info :)
KP2 on 2019-04-24 said: We are one of the people who grabbed June 28th for appt. there were 3 openings when i booked on April 23rd.
I confirm that the system no longer show any more open dates. have been checking every few hours. Good Luck to Us! God help Us.
KP2 on 2019-04-26 said: Hi Swapnil+Anshuma,
Did you folks get any dates that could be scheduled for interview? I keep checking the website but nothing seems to be offered. Also i was reading some blogs where they are saying; sometimes no dates are offered for a period of time and one has to keep cheking. Good Luck
SaAa on 2019-04-26 said: Hey KP2, sorry for late reply. Actually, we were looking 2 days back and luckily a 7:30am slot opened up on June 28th again! So we grabbed it quickly :) We are still constantly looking at the website to find a better slot since 7:30am is a bit early haha. Lets see. We’re happy at least got a date now!
KP2 on 2019-04-26 said: Hi, No worries. I am happy you got the appointment at least. we have one on June 28th at 07:15 am. Also we have been checking to see if any earlier appointments were to open up but no luck so far. Have you folks received the interview packet or any email suggeting next steps from the Consulate/NVC? thank you
SaAa on 2019-04-26 said: We didn’t get the interview packet yet. But I read that if you bug the consulate, they should be able to send you the packet via email. We’re gonna do that next week. But I think all the packets are very standard. Below is a link I found for packet4 from one of the visa journey forums:
https://photos.state.gov/libraries/mumbai/1057584/senkx/BMB%20IV%20Packet%204%20for%20Ks%20Oct%202015.pdf
SaAa on 2019-04-26 said: https://photos.state.gov/libraries/mumbai/1057584/senkx/BMB%20IV%20Packet%204%20for%20Ks%20Oct%202015.pdf
KP2 on 2019-04-27 said: I called up my visa agent and they said we should not expect a visa packet. This is due to the confirmation letter from NVC that stated to visit the below link. The information is same when comparing the list on this website to what you shared.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html
KP2 on 2019-06-29 said: Congratulations Swapnil and Anshuma!
So happy to see your approval. Wishing you all the happiness and togetherness!
KP2 on 2019-06-29 said: May you please share your interview experience. How did it go? What questions did they ask? Did they check any documentation?
SaAa on 2019-06-29 said: Thank you soo much!! :). Interview itself was good and pretty normal. Yeah, they checked all the documentation as per the checklist (DS160 confirmation page, two photos, medical report, PCC, her birth certificate, I-134, proof of relationship, visa fee payment receipts).
Do I need to sent affidavit of support to NVC or to my fiance?
SaAa on 2019-07-26 said: Hi Passionate003, you need to send it to your fiancé. She will being it with her to the interview along with other supporting documents.
Siggy on 2020-04-22 said:Hi all,
Did they ask for original I-134 ( along with supporting documents ;wet signature)?
We finally got a message saying our case was approved! Thanks for checking in on us
*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
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