Shumai84's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Steve Beneficiary's Name: Junichi VJ Member: Shumai84 Country: Japan Last Updated: 2021-08-11 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Steve & Junichi:

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 : Nebraska Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Montreal, Canada Marriage (if applicable): 2017-06-24 I-130 Sent : 2019-08-03 I-130 NOA1 : 2019-08-19 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2020-05-10 NVC Received : 2020-09-09 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 : 2020-09-30 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2021-08-11 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : US Entry : Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 265 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 723 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : August 11, 2021 Embassy Review : My experience was pretty consistent with other reviews of VJ members, and it took a little over 2 hours from entering the building to the finish. My interview was set at 9:15am on Aug 11th. I arrived in Montreal a day before and checked out the location in the evening. I was so nervous and barely slept that night. On the interview date, I arrived 10 mins early and found a line of people already forming at the entrance. I joined the line and waited till a security started bringing people in. I noticed people are just bringing a binder of documents without a bag/purse. I imagined many of them are VJ members. 9:15 - A security asks a standard sets of covid screening questions and let me inside the building. I proceed to the security check with the x-ray machine like the one you see at the airport security. After that screening, I was instructed to store a cell phone in the small locker behind the reception desk and told to go up to window 6 on the 1st floor. Window 6 was hard to see from the elevator, but a security pointed to the direction to find it. 9:25 - There were a few people ahead of me at window 6 so I waited for about 10 mins. The lady at the window took my passport and gave me a ticket and told me to wait till I see my number on the screen. There were lots of people in the waiting area, and I also noticed that notorious broken clock on the wall besides the washroom. It's still broken. I waited there for about 45 mins till I saw my number on the screen. In the office, staff looked sparse and they seem to be understaffed. 10:15 - My number shows up on the screen, instructing to go to window 7. The lady at the window was nice and helped me feel relaxed. She took my finger prints and asked for my passport, my original birth certificate along with a certified translation, a Canadian PR card, original police certificates, original marriage certificate, and two photos. She scanned a photo and returned them to me saying "we no longer need to keep them because the process is now electronic now for your visa category." She also confirmed that they received the medical results electronically. She told me to wait again in the waiting area till I see my number shows up on the screen again for an interview. She also gave me a pamphlet of domestic violence and told me to read while I wait. 11:10 - My number shows up on the screen, and I went to Window 2 for an interview. The male officer (looked fairly young.. around 30ish?) took my oath that all info is truthful, and took my fingerprints again. He asked the following questions: - Who is your petitioner? - Where and how did you meet? - When did you get married? - Where do you intend to live when you move to the US? - What are the countries you visited other than the US over the past 5 years? - What do you do for living? - What does your spouse do for living? - What do you and spouse plan to do for living when you move to the US? After answering all these questions, he started reviewing more information on the screen, and it took another several minutes, which made me nervous. He said there are so many documents uploaded and he's just trying to find the ones he needs for the proof of domicile and financial resource. Apparently, We overprepared and uploaded TONS of supporting documents to CEAC, which caused him to struggle to find the relevant documents. Because we are both in Canada and will leave our current jobs, we needed to prove our financial wellbeing by a proof of assets, and he said the old version I uploaded last year doesn't show sufficient fund. I bought a hard copy of the latest statement of the US bank account where we transferred more money to this year, so I gave it to him along with a copy of my job offer from the US employer. He kept those documents along with the passport and returned the original birth certificate and the marriage certificate. He asked me to confirmed if I read the domestic violence pamphlet and understood the content, which I said yes. Finally, he gave me a welcome to the USA letter and said he's going to approve my visa. I thought I would jump up and down with joy, but it was more of a sense of relief that I felt after such an agonizingly painful, long journey. Like many said there seem to be only two officers interviewing spousal visas, and given how understaffed they looked, it's not surprising how slow they are going through the backlog. Rating : Good

Timeline Comments: 1



*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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