Traveler6A's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: M Beneficiary's Name: K VJ Member: Traveler6A Country: India Last Updated: 2023-05-14 |
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Immigration Checklist for M & K:
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Timeline Comments: 13
S1ngh on 2019-08-29 said:Congrats. How was the experience?
BKS on 2019-11-19 said:Congrats!!! It took one month to get the visa??
Traveler6A on 2019-11-19 said:Thank you!
Yeah, it took a month from the time we submitted the passport at the virtual consulate in Bangalore to the time it was ready for pickup in Kochi. The consulate officer in Mumbai gave conditional approval at the interview (Friday) and we submitted the passport the following Tuesday as there was a problem with the copy of one of our documents. Definitely stressful, especially with CEAC having website problems, but in the end everything worked out. :)
BKS on 2019-11-20 said:It is stressful indeed!! Would you mind telling what document was missing? My interview is on 5th December.....
Traveler6A on 2019-11-20 said:Best wishes, that’s just around the corner! Most K-1 applicants we saw at the consulate were alone. As the petitioner is a US citizen, we’re allowed to accompany to the interview. It felt like it really helped show the authenticity of the relationship and the consulate officer seemed surprised to see me there.
The document issue was that the form of the birth certificate wasn’t what the consulate expected. So the original and a copy was procured from home. The virtual consulate verified the copy against the original and submitted only the copy.
We also had issues with the passport photos not being US style. They gave us a 90 minute gate pass to acquire new ones (2â€x2â€) but as most K-1 interviews are super early in the morning, no photo shops were open in the BKC area and our hotel (Sofitel) helped print them from a soft copy we had. We were able to reenter the consulate just in the nick of time before the pass expired.
So, my advice is to be sure and take extra copies of things like photos, passport copies, etc. Also, as the petitioner, attend the interview if you can!
BKS on 2019-11-29 said:@Thank you so much for the inputs...Could you please tell me if you submitted the original tax returns along with I-134 and what other documents of financial support you submitted?
SaAa on 2021-06-09 said:Hi guys, did you get any update on your AOS interview date?
Traveler6A on 2021-06-09 said:Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for it to be scheduled. San Jose is supposedly one of the slowest in the nation for these types of interviews.
S1ngh on 2021-06-09 said:We haven't heard anything yet for AOS.
Traveler6A on 2021-06-16 said:Our AOS interview has finally been scheduled!
SaAa on 2021-06-17 said:that's great! congrats guys! Hope ours comes soon since our NOA date is just a month from yours and we're at San Jose field office too.
SaAa on 2021-07-16 said:congrats on your GC approval u guys!! how was it? did you get approval decision on the same day? any tips u might have for us? our interview is coming next week :)
Traveler6A on 2021-07-16 said:Thanks!
The interviewing officer was fairly friendly and saw we were nervous, so he lightened the mood a little, definitely appreciated. Since it was so long since we filed, there was a lot of data correction. The standard list of questions were already asked that are on the I-485 form, like “have you ever been convicted of a crime?†But luckily no weird questions like “what color of bathroom tile do you have?†Maybe we seemed genuine to the interviewing officer early on.
We explained where we’ve traveled since she’s arrived in the US and we went through our photo album. How we’ve traveled to see family in the US, vacations, etc. We brought like a foot of paperwork with us, just to cover all the bases. I explained every grouping of papers I brought and he took the ones from it that were relevant—health insurance, lease agreements, job offer letters, pay stubs, etc.
We got a continuance because he had a few things to review—probably to see if the info we gave matched the AR-11 filed. By mid afternoon, the texts came in that there was an update to the case saying card is produced!
Just be friendly, answer questions precisely, don’t volunteer data unless you want to explain (it may or may not help with the story showing you’re bonafide) “We’re living in a temporary rental until…†“oh, do you have a rental agreement?†that sort of thing. If you brought documents to support everything, feel free to chat away! Since these interviews are in an office, you can bring larger photo albums, unlike our experience at the consulate in Mumbai.
We were a little worried about what to wear, especially since dress code varies wildly in the Bay Area, including business casual. Everyone there seemed to be dressed as if they were going to court, if that makes sense. Slacks, shirts, dresses, skirts. Nobody was wearing tshirts nor jeans.
COVID protocols are still in place, including masking. Some brought their lawyers, ours didn’t show because of the COVID protocols. The waiting area, you won’t be allowed to sit with your spouse, because seats are marked off for social distancing.
I’m sure if you’re prepared, look prepared and act prepared, you’ll be fine! Feel free to directly message me if you have other questions!
*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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