January 2010 I129F filers

[Jason&Lina 0]

What's NOA1?

Hi,

NOA stands for Notice Of Action. The NOA1 is the first NOA (hence, NOA1) you get that says USCIS received your packet petition and will process it (whenever they get around to it). The NOA2 is the second notice you get that says your petition was approved and forwarded to the embassy/consulate in the beneficiary's home country.

In short,

NOA1 = "Yeah, we got it. Give us 6 months to make copies of everything."

NOA2 = "Yeah, okay, your fiance's not a freeloader or terrorist. Approved. NEXT!"

[visa222 0]

I think you should check your case online on the citizenship and immigration website. You can put the location on where your process is at the moment. Its really easy that way you could know how long it should take. Usually the process takes from 6 to 9 months.

I checked the wait times for the California for I-129F, and it was last updated Nov. 30, 2009, which said 5 months... do you think that is accurate? I am submitting this week so I can't check online yet. I am trying to book a tahoe wedding so I need to be reserving asap!

[Amy and Michael 21]

I checked the wait times for the California for I-129F, and it was last updated Nov. 30, 2009, which said 5 months... do you think that is accurate? I am submitting this week so I can't check online yet. I am trying to book a tahoe wedding so I need to be reserving asap!

Visa222 - I am new here too, just sent my packet to the CSC on 1/11/10. From what I understand that 5 months is an average for the CSC processing times (but most are getting through in about 90 days. I would not book anything that you can not change later, nor would I book anything you can't get your deposit back. Most people are taking right around 6-7 months from what I can tell (from the UK which is where my fiance will have his interview). You could easily see delays due to processing slowing down (or see a faster return due to processing speeding up). Then, there could be a slow down for scheduling the medical or interview (I've read cases where it can take a few months like right now in Montreal).

So, basically, I would think a July wedding is a possibility - but I think you are looking at a 50/50 chance of everything getting done in time. It's definitely not a "for sure" thing.

This is just my opinion from all the reading/researching I've done.

[Jason&Lina 0]

I checked the wait times for the California for I-129F, and it was last updated Nov. 30, 2009, which said 5 months... do you think that is accurate? I am submitting this week so I can't check online yet. I am trying to book a tahoe wedding so I need to be reserving asap!

That sounds about right. USCIS received our 129F packet on Mar 4 2009 and approved it on July 20 2009, which is about 5 months. The Canadian consulate approved in late Oct and my fiance had her interview on Nov 13.

Be VERY careful...you're booking the wedding already? Keep the date very loose....VERY loose. USCIS won't speed up if they creep up on your wedding date. They tell you not to make firm plans until the Visa is approved (which leaves you rusing like hell to get married since the Visa is only good for 90 days.) Remember, there's also the consulate/embassy that has to approve, so you have to factor that in, too.

[mikichia 0]

All,

I plan to send mind next week. Quick question about the G-325A. Some say I will need 4 copies/some say 1 copy is enough. How many copy exactly do I really need to send?

Thanks,

Miki

[visa222 0]

Visa222 - I am new here too, just sent my packet to the CSC on 1/11/10. From what I understand that 5 months is an average for the CSC processing times (but most are getting through in about 90 days. I would not book anything that you can not change later, nor would I book anything you can't get your deposit back. Most people are taking right around 6-7 months from what I can tell (from the UK which is where my fiance will have his interview). You could easily see delays due to processing slowing down (or see a faster return due to processing speeding up). Then, there could be a slow down for scheduling the medical or interview (I've read cases where it can take a few months like right now in Montreal).

So, basically, I would think a July wedding is a possibility - but I think you are looking at a 50/50 chance of everything getting done in time. It's definitely not a "for sure" thing.

This is just my opinion from all the reading/researching I've done.

Thanks for the information. My fiance is Australian and I am not sure about their processing times, once the actually petition is approved. We have until August in the summer for a wedding, because I return to medical school then, which is why I am wanting to make reservations.