Penguin_ie's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Silja Beneficiary's Name: Will VJ Member: Penguin_ie Country: Ireland Last Updated: 2011-11-04 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Silja & Will:

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 : Ireland Marriage (if applicable): 2005-07-04 I-130 Sent : 2008-06-11 I-130 NOA1 : I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2008-06-27 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 : 2008-06-26 Packet 3 Sent : 2008-07-07 Packet 4 Received : 2008-07-18 Interview Date : 2008-07-24 Interview Result : Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2008-07-29 US Entry : 2008-10-13 Comments : Very easy if you follow the steps on this site. Irish embassy staff are friendly and helpful, but picky with documents. Processing Estimates/Stats :

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Newark POE Date : 2008-10-13 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Yes Harassment Level : 0 Comments :

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Dallas/Lewisville TX Lockbox CIS Office : Fort Smith AR Date Filed : 2011-08-15 NOA Date : 2011-08-18 Bio. Appt. : 2011-09-08 Interview Date : 2011-10-25 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2011-11-04 Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Dublin, Ireland Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing Event Description Review Date : July 29, 2008 Embassy Review : The visa interview appointment was a bit of a non-event. You know when you prepare for all eventualities, double check everything, hold your breath and then... it is much less difficult than you thought! My appointment was at 1pm, so I arrived at 12.30pm, and was told to come back at 1pm, they wouldn't let me in beforehand. An old lady was there at the same time and they wouldn't let her in either, not even to the benches inside the security hut, so I walked her to the bus stop bench 50 yards away. Turns out she is 98 and wants to visit the US one last time (she used to be a green card holder). I hope I am that fit mentally and physically at that age! Went back at 1pm, handed over my mobile (cell) phone for them to keep in the security hut, and went to the visa section. There was only myself, an Indian man who I think was there for a work visa, and another gentleman applying for a spousal visa who had to return because he needed to file a waiver. When I went in I handed in my docs, they seemed surprised how well I was prepared (had a file with dividers for everything as recommended on here), and didn't even ask for all of our proof of assets and income (I have some income from writing which will continue when I am in the US). Unfortunately my Irish police cert has me listed as being born in 1976 instead of 74, so they could not accept it. Then I went to pay the visa fee and sat back down. Only a few minutes later I get called by the consular officer, who asks me when we got married- I said 1995 instead of 2005, doh! But he said "are you sure?", and I corrected myself. He asked why we are moving to Arkansas (I said due to better house prices, to which he smiled), and whether the address we gave as our US address (my husband's sisters address)- is near Little Rock, to which I said no, it is in the NW. Not sure if that was a test or just conversation. He asked if I had any kids from my previous marriage (no), and if the twins from this marriage had been registered with the embassy yet (yes), and then said I was all set, just to call them when I had the corrected Irish police cert, and I could come in right away and get the stamp for my passport. So after all this, all the prep and worry that they wouldn't take assets only (a rumour I heard from other Irish applicants), it was actually really easy, they didn't look at any of the bonafide evidence I brought, and I was out of there within the hour. I got my amended Irish police cert the next Monday, rang the embassy and got an appointment for the next day, 1pm again. I knew better than to arrive early this time! Was second in line when I arrived at 12.55pm, and there were 7 of us by the time we were let in. Handed in my police cert and passport, told to sit down. And sat while everyone else got called up... and sat... and sat... I started to think there was something wrong with my application! But then they called me, gave me back my passport (ow with visa) and the Mysterious Brown Envelope, told me to have a good day and that was it. Tips: - don't fret- embassy staff are friendly and helpful. - do make sure you have everything in order (labeled file is great idea!), so you don't need to root around when they ask for a particular document. - Make sure you have everything, and ideally copies to give them too (puts them in a good mood if they don't have to do photocopies themselves). They are not kidding when they say "bring everything and the kitchen sink". - Double check you have everything- out of the two times I was there, and met 9 other visa applicants, no-one got their visa right away, everyone forgot something or didn't have something complete, or only had copies of something they wanted the original of. Preparing to move now and so won;t be online as much, but feel free to PM me anytime with questions about the Irish embassy and I'll do my best to answer asap. Rating : Very Good

POE Review: Newark Event Description Entry Date : 2008-10-13 Embassy Review : Very easy PoE- the longest part was walking from the plane to passport control! Got to passport control and went in the USC line with my USC husband and twin babies. The officer looked at our passports briefly, stamped the three USC ones, took my passport and the Mysterious Brown Envelope, then escorted us to the lift at the end of the row of desks. On the way I mentioned that we had a connecting flight in 2 hours 20 minutes, and he said catching that won't be any problem. Got off the elevator and got met by another officer who took my envelope and was briefly confused why there was only one envelope but four people, then said we could all go to the waiting room, the process should take about 20 minutes. Went there- it is just a few rows of chairs with a couple of desks at the front and a glass wall with view of the bagage claim at the back. Sat down, there was only one other person waiting, who was escorted to a private room. Saw the officer at the desk opening my MBE. Got called to the desk, where they took my index finger prints with ink rather than digitally, the way they did it at the embassy. Signed some form front and back. Got given my passport back with a stamp over the visa and told to expect my SSN and physical green card within a month in the mail. That was it! Less than 8 minutes from getting to passport control to getting to bagage claim; it was all so fast that my husband thought that was only passport control and secondary screening was yet to come Harassment Level : Low

Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!



*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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