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Laure&Colin

USC petitioner living abroad

By Laure&Colin in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures

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Lukadia Apprentice

Lukadia   3

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: France
 Timeline
Posted

Dear Moderators,

How do I find the post that was just split from this topic? I wanted to reply to that. Could we maybe get a link or something when a post is split?

Thanks.

Hi Wingnutfish...found it:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/487602-anyone-receive-hard-copy-letters-from-uscis-when-filing-from-abroad-split-topic/

Legal Marriage: 10/10/13

Ceremony in Japan: 10/13/13

mailed I-130 from Japan: 11/05/13

Received NOA1 e-mail: 11/15/13

Received NOA1 hard copy: 11/21/2013

**case sent to Nebraska Service Center**

Received NOA2 from website: 05/08/14

Received NOA2 hard copy to foreign address 5/12/14

**177 days from NOA1 to NOA2**

NVC received case 5/21/14

Called to get case number and they couldn't assign it yet: 6/12/2014

Called and talked to supervisor to get assigned case# and IIN (after calling 2x and having trouble with one particular representative saying my case number could not be given yet: 6/24/14

Email from NVC and completed AOS fee payment: 6/27/14

DS-261 completed: 6/27/2014

Mailed AOS package 6/30/14

E-mailed change of embassy request (this is a major setback, they said this was the reason we couldn't pay IV bill): 7/20/2014

Change of embassy request accepted: 10/7/2014 *49 days to get approved embassy change*

**Was told 2x to call back in two weeks to see if IV is available to pay**

AOS Checklist via email, 2 mistakes to fix: 10/7/2014

AOS Corrections mailed: 10/10/2014

IV bill became available and paid: 10/24/2014

IV bill showed as paid in NVC system: 10/27/2014

IV package mailed by husband in France: 10/30/2014

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N-o-l-a
N-o-l-a

Are you on this BS again? I have an email from the field office directorate that plainly states otherwise. Foreign field offices do not touch I-130s that were filed at the Chicago Lockbox. I real

Lyra07
Lyra07

Wow.. 5days from NOA1 to NOA2: 1. Country USC resides in: Singapore 2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No 3. When did you file the I-130: May 2011 (Routed to

NikLR
NikLR

Capri you are making assumptions based on information which is not concrete. On the message it says "local Field Office" Offices which are located not in the USA are considered International Field

Wingnutfish Enthusiast

Wingnutfish   18

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted

Thanks!

Removal of Conditions:

2016-09-27: I-751 removal of conditions petition sent (with fee waiver request)

2016-09-30: I-751 petition delivered to California Service Center

2016-11-01: Informed in USCIS customer service call that they had no record of receiving our petition, but that it might still be languishing somewhere in fee waiver limbo

2016-11-01: Filed I-751 again, this time with payment check instead of fee waiver request (sent Priority Express)

2016-11-03: Date on I-797 Notice of Action (received 11/7)

2016-11-09: USCIS mailed out denial of our original fee waiver request, with denial letter dated 2016-11-02

2016-11-19: Biometrics appointment notice issued, for 2016-12-07 appointment

2016-11-26: Second biometrics appointment notice issue, for 2016-12-16 appointment (see this thread)

2016-12-07: Biometrics appointment. Allowed to complete biometrics despite mix-up on their end (again see this thread), but some people had to come back for second appointment date.

2018-05-01: Notice that our case was transferred to National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, MO

2018-06-11: Approved after N-400 interview in Portland, OR (they seemed to be waiting for that before bothering with it)

 

Citizenship:

2017-12-11: N-400 Application for Naturalization submitted online while still waiting to hear back on I-751, received same day

2017-12-15: Biometrics notice

2018-01-04: Biometrics completed, on appointment date (Portland, OR)

2018-02-28: Interview scheduled for April 12 in Portland, OR

2018-03-01 (approximate): We sent in a letter requesting that the interview be rescheduled to after June 8, due to combination of work and family travel plans

2018-03-07: Notice that our April 12 interviewed had been "canceled" (pending rescheduling, but the letter didn't actually say that; officer at InfoPass later explained that interviews aren't scheduled until five or six weeks before the interview date, so they were waiting until closer to our requested rescheduling window)

2018-05-03: New interview scheduled for June 11.

2018-06-11: Citizenship interview - approved!

 

  • 3 weeks later...
Abby&Mario Enthusiast

Abby&Mario   100

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Colombia
 Timeline
Posted

1. Country USC resides in: Have residence in Colombia but we moved to Buenos Aires this week for Mario's job. Filed with Bogotá address.
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No, not in either
3. When did you file the I-130: NOA1 April 3, 2014
4. How long had you been living abroad: Since August 28, 2013
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: TP-10 spouse visa (Colombia)
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? No. Thought it was obvious enough.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Just got the NOA2 e-mail minutes ago. Official date of approval April 17. Fourteen days. Going to call to make sure it's real and not a mistake.

USCIS (Priority date April 1, Approval April 17, no RFEs)

March 28, 2014: I-130 sent via FedEx from Bogotá to Chicago Lockbox

April 1, 2014: Delivered to Chicago Lockbox at 10:29 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by J. CHYBA (date confirmed by My Case Status)

April 4, 2014: NOA1 e-mail received at 12:17 a.m.; case accepted and routed to CSC for processing. Check cashed.

April 17, 2014: Changed mailing address with USCIS Tier 2 representative. He also confirmed that our case had arrived to the CSC and that our NOA1 date is April 3.

April 18, 2014: NOA2 e-mail received at 12:30 a.m. Case status online changed to post-decision activity; date of "last updated" changed to April 17. Change of address e-mail received at 3 a.m. Status changed back to initial review on e-mail and online. Date of "last updated" now April 18. Called and spoke to two Tier 2 reps; both were useless.

April 21, 2014: Approval confirmed verbally by Tier 2 rep. Order put in to send second NOA2 hard copy to new address. Instructed to ignore online case status.

April 25 or 26, 2014: NOA1 hard copy arrives to old apartment in Bogotá. Priority date actually April 1. (April 3 was the notice date.)

May 16: USCIS change of address e-mail received

May 19: USCIS e-mail received saying a duplicate notice was mailed on this date. Case status now set to "Acceptance."

May 22: NOA2 duplicate hard copy arrives to U.S. address

NVC

April 29, 2014: Case received

​May 22, 2014: Case number and IIN assigned. Asked operator about our move from Colombia to Argentina and received instructions.

May 24, 2014: E-mails about embassy change/address change sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov at 4:36 p.m. NVC time

​June 3, 2014: Payment portal message "This case is in the process of termination" appears. DS-261 appears, submitted. E-mails received from NVC concerning case number and AOS bill.

June 4, 2014: AOS payment invoiced, paid; DS-261 received by NVC

June 6, 2014: AOS payment shows as PAID in payment portal

June 17, 2014: Response received from nvcinquiry@state.gov. "The correspondence submitted is currently under review. An appropriate action will be taken once this review is completed."

June 24, 2014: AOS package sent via FedEx overnight shipping from Houston to NVC

June 25, 2014: AOS package delivered at 9:43 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by F.FNU

July 1, 2014: AOS package scanned

July 18, 2014: Checked payment portal and saw: "CASE NUMBER CHANGE: The applicant's case number, [bGT#], has been changed to [bNS#]." Called and confirmed. Also said today marked 30 business days since NVC received DS-261; operator said she would have that reviewed and make IV payment available ASAP.

August 5: E-mail sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov concerning changing our embassy BACK to Bogotá at 6:41 p.m. NVC time

August 6: IV invoice e-mail FINALLY received at 2:13 a.m. NVC time

August 7: IV payment made available on payment portal; paid

August 8: IV payment shows as PAID in payment portal; DS-260 becomes available

August 14: Checklist received; errors on sponsor's I-864 form and on joint sponsor's I-864A

August 15: DS-260 submitted

August 29: Checklist response and IV package sent via FedEx ground from Houston to NVC

September 4: Checklist response and IV package delivered at 11:21 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by GPETERS

September 8: Checklist response and IV package scanned

September 10: DS-260 accepted; false checklist received

September 17: E-mail response received from asknvc@state.gov (30 business days/43 calendar days later): Correspondence under review

September 26: Embassy change approved; new case number assigned

October 30: CASE COMPLETE

Embassy

Interview scheduled: Nov. 10 -- Medical: Nov. 25 -- Interview: Dec. 1, 9:30 a.m. APPROVED! -- Visa in hand: Dec. 5 -- POE: Dec. 29 in Houston

AngelaMatthew Newbie

AngelaMatthew   1

Posted
Filed: Timeline
Posted (edited)

1. Country USC resides in: the Netherlands
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: April 7th 2014 (NOA 1)
4. How long had you been living abroad: USC living in Netherlands for 6 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/ work visa
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes. Send copy of residency permit and copy extract household registration.
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, mentioned that we've been living abroad and that my husband will start new employment in US in May.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 14 days.

Edited by Mangela
philly2015 Apprentice

philly2015   2

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Australia
 Timeline
Posted

1. Country USC resides in: Australia

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: NOA1 March 30 2014

4. How long had you been living abroad: more than 10 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence? Met in Australia and been here ever since!

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes. We included our mortgage documents for our house here in Australia.

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? No

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 20 days

Olives24 Explorer

Olives24   9

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Australia
 Timeline
Posted

1. Country USC resides in: Australia
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: NOA1 April 7th
4. How long had you been living abroad: 2 1/2 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence? Met in USA then moved to be with then bf now husband.
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes. We included our lease agreement.
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? No
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 18 days

USCIS

03/28/2014 - I-130 mailed to Chicago Lockbox

04/07/2014 - USCIS Received I-130 form

04/08/2014 - I-130 NOA1 and transferred to California Service Center (email) (11 days)

04/17/2014 - Received NOA1 in the mail from California Service Center (hardcopy) (8 days)

04/24/2014 - I-130 Approved NOA2 (case number updated on the website 4:50pm) (17 days)

05/20/2014 - Received NOA2 in the mail from California Service Center (hardcopy) (27 days)

NVC

06/09/2014 - Case number, INN, BNN Received (21 days)

06/09/2014 - DS-261 available and completed (21 days)

06/09/2014 - AOS fee invoice and paid (21 days)

08/13/2014 - IV fee invoice and paid (65 days)

08/28/2014 - AOS Package sent to NVC

09/03/2014 - DS-260 online form completed

09/08/2014 - AOS Package delivered to NVC

09/08/2014 - AOS Package Scanned

09/10/2014 - IV Package sent to NVC

09/15/2014 - IV Package Scanned

11/17/2014 - Called NVC was told a supervisor is reviewing my case and it could take up to 42 days :(

11/19/2014 - Called NVC and was informed that expedite request was approved. Waiting for NVC to review and send paperwork to Sydney.

11/20/2014 - Website shows AOS N/A N/A which means it's possibly accepted. (Unconfirmed)

11/20/2014 - Called NVC and was informed of Case Complete!!

Medical - Scheduled for Dec 16th 2014

Interview

12/3/2014 - Email received with interview appointment for December 9th 2014

12/9/2014 - Interview went well but not approved because of birth certificate name change. Approval after fingerprint police form.

12/30/2014 - Medical and police check sent to embassy

Visa issued Jan 5th 2015 :D

5.5 months in NVC

8.5 months total

Wingnutfish Enthusiast

Wingnutfish   18

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted

Wow! If I had filed a few months earlier or 10 months later, I could have skipped all this waiting! Waiting until this month to file would have gotten me into NVC almost as early as my filing last June did! :ranting:

Congratulations, everyone!

Removal of Conditions:

2016-09-27: I-751 removal of conditions petition sent (with fee waiver request)

2016-09-30: I-751 petition delivered to California Service Center

2016-11-01: Informed in USCIS customer service call that they had no record of receiving our petition, but that it might still be languishing somewhere in fee waiver limbo

2016-11-01: Filed I-751 again, this time with payment check instead of fee waiver request (sent Priority Express)

2016-11-03: Date on I-797 Notice of Action (received 11/7)

2016-11-09: USCIS mailed out denial of our original fee waiver request, with denial letter dated 2016-11-02

2016-11-19: Biometrics appointment notice issued, for 2016-12-07 appointment

2016-11-26: Second biometrics appointment notice issue, for 2016-12-16 appointment (see this thread)

2016-12-07: Biometrics appointment. Allowed to complete biometrics despite mix-up on their end (again see this thread), but some people had to come back for second appointment date.

2018-05-01: Notice that our case was transferred to National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, MO

2018-06-11: Approved after N-400 interview in Portland, OR (they seemed to be waiting for that before bothering with it)

 

Citizenship:

2017-12-11: N-400 Application for Naturalization submitted online while still waiting to hear back on I-751, received same day

2017-12-15: Biometrics notice

2018-01-04: Biometrics completed, on appointment date (Portland, OR)

2018-02-28: Interview scheduled for April 12 in Portland, OR

2018-03-01 (approximate): We sent in a letter requesting that the interview be rescheduled to after June 8, due to combination of work and family travel plans

2018-03-07: Notice that our April 12 interviewed had been "canceled" (pending rescheduling, but the letter didn't actually say that; officer at InfoPass later explained that interviews aren't scheduled until five or six weeks before the interview date, so they were waiting until closer to our requested rescheduling window)

2018-05-03: New interview scheduled for June 11.

2018-06-11: Citizenship interview - approved!

 

california_luv Collaborator

california_luv   56

Posted
Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
 Timeline
Posted

It looks like all service centers BUT Nebraska are back on the auto-expedited track for USCs living abroad.

 

I am the beneficiary.
USCIS
12/20/2013 ... I-130 sent from France to Chicago lockbox
12/23/2013 ... I-130 received
12/27/2013 ... NOA1 email received
01/07/2014 ... I-797C receipt received: Nebraska Service Center, Priority Date: December 23, 2013
06/06/2014 ... "Alien Registration Number Change" email received
07/23/2014 ... e-Request filed. 7 months since NOA1!!!
08/07/2014 ... e-Request response: Security checks still pending
09/15/2014 ... After various requests NSC email received stating that petition is "assigned to an officer" ... Going on 9 months since NOA1
09/24/2014 ... I-130 FINALLY APPROVED!!! ... After 9 months and 1 day
10/15/2014 ... Case shipped to NVC, three weeks after NOA2

NVC
10/28/2014 ... NVC received
11/18/2014 ... Case # and IIN assigned
12/02/2014 ... NVC welcome email received
12/31/2014 ... AOS and IV packages received at NVC - Scan Date
03/05/2015 ... 3 N/As - CASE COMPLETE!!!
03/11/2015 ... P4 email received

Consulate
04/15/2015 ... Interview - APPROVED!!!

POE

06/21/2015 ... Brooklyn Red Hook Terminal. Unbelievable feeling.

 

N-400

11/07/2020 ... Filed online

11/07/2020 ... Priority Date on paper NOA

06/05/2021 ... Biometrics appointment scheduled for 07/02/2021

07/02/2021 ... Biometrics done

09/15/2021 ... Interview .. APPROVED!!! Same day oath!

maksimov Contributor

maksimov   15

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: South Korea
 Timeline
Posted

Wow! If I had filed a few months earlier or 10 months later, I could have skipped all this waiting! Waiting until this month to file would have gotten me into NVC almost as early as my filing last June did! :ranting:

Congratulations, everyone!

Ditto. I will assume that the new auto-expedites are the result of all the complaining I did to my congressman's office :protest:

Abby&Mario Enthusiast

Abby&Mario   100

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Colombia
 Timeline
Posted

It looks like all service centers BUT Nebraska are back on the auto-expedited track for USCs living abroad.

From what I can tell, the petitions from abroad are being transferred from the Chicago Lockbox to CSC immediately, where they are currently getting approved very quickly. I haven't seen anyone get a quick approval from any of the other service centers. Olives 24 has TSC in his/her timeline but CSC in his/her signature. I'm trying to direct anyone I see on the forum with a quick approval to this thread so they can add their case and we can keep track of the resurgence of this trend.

USCIS (Priority date April 1, Approval April 17, no RFEs)

March 28, 2014: I-130 sent via FedEx from Bogotá to Chicago Lockbox

April 1, 2014: Delivered to Chicago Lockbox at 10:29 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by J. CHYBA (date confirmed by My Case Status)

April 4, 2014: NOA1 e-mail received at 12:17 a.m.; case accepted and routed to CSC for processing. Check cashed.

April 17, 2014: Changed mailing address with USCIS Tier 2 representative. He also confirmed that our case had arrived to the CSC and that our NOA1 date is April 3.

April 18, 2014: NOA2 e-mail received at 12:30 a.m. Case status online changed to post-decision activity; date of "last updated" changed to April 17. Change of address e-mail received at 3 a.m. Status changed back to initial review on e-mail and online. Date of "last updated" now April 18. Called and spoke to two Tier 2 reps; both were useless.

April 21, 2014: Approval confirmed verbally by Tier 2 rep. Order put in to send second NOA2 hard copy to new address. Instructed to ignore online case status.

April 25 or 26, 2014: NOA1 hard copy arrives to old apartment in Bogotá. Priority date actually April 1. (April 3 was the notice date.)

May 16: USCIS change of address e-mail received

May 19: USCIS e-mail received saying a duplicate notice was mailed on this date. Case status now set to "Acceptance."

May 22: NOA2 duplicate hard copy arrives to U.S. address

NVC

April 29, 2014: Case received

​May 22, 2014: Case number and IIN assigned. Asked operator about our move from Colombia to Argentina and received instructions.

May 24, 2014: E-mails about embassy change/address change sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov at 4:36 p.m. NVC time

​June 3, 2014: Payment portal message "This case is in the process of termination" appears. DS-261 appears, submitted. E-mails received from NVC concerning case number and AOS bill.

June 4, 2014: AOS payment invoiced, paid; DS-261 received by NVC

June 6, 2014: AOS payment shows as PAID in payment portal

June 17, 2014: Response received from nvcinquiry@state.gov. "The correspondence submitted is currently under review. An appropriate action will be taken once this review is completed."

June 24, 2014: AOS package sent via FedEx overnight shipping from Houston to NVC

June 25, 2014: AOS package delivered at 9:43 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by F.FNU

July 1, 2014: AOS package scanned

July 18, 2014: Checked payment portal and saw: "CASE NUMBER CHANGE: The applicant's case number, [bGT#], has been changed to [bNS#]." Called and confirmed. Also said today marked 30 business days since NVC received DS-261; operator said she would have that reviewed and make IV payment available ASAP.

August 5: E-mail sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov concerning changing our embassy BACK to Bogotá at 6:41 p.m. NVC time

August 6: IV invoice e-mail FINALLY received at 2:13 a.m. NVC time

August 7: IV payment made available on payment portal; paid

August 8: IV payment shows as PAID in payment portal; DS-260 becomes available

August 14: Checklist received; errors on sponsor's I-864 form and on joint sponsor's I-864A

August 15: DS-260 submitted

August 29: Checklist response and IV package sent via FedEx ground from Houston to NVC

September 4: Checklist response and IV package delivered at 11:21 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by GPETERS

September 8: Checklist response and IV package scanned

September 10: DS-260 accepted; false checklist received

September 17: E-mail response received from asknvc@state.gov (30 business days/43 calendar days later): Correspondence under review

September 26: Embassy change approved; new case number assigned

October 30: CASE COMPLETE

Embassy

Interview scheduled: Nov. 10 -- Medical: Nov. 25 -- Interview: Dec. 1, 9:30 a.m. APPROVED! -- Visa in hand: Dec. 5 -- POE: Dec. 29 in Houston

TeaCup Collaborator

TeaCup   65

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ireland
 Timeline
Posted

It looks like all service centers BUT Nebraska are back on the auto-expedited track for USCs living abroad.

Just my luck! :(

Met Online - July, 2009
To see our full timeline see "Spolier"

 

USCIS
Service Center : Nebraska Service Center
Consulate : Dublin, Ireland
Marriage : September, 12th 2012
I-130 Sent : November, 11th 2013
I-130 NOA1: November, 20th 2013
I-130 NOA2 : April, 28th 2014

 

NVC
Shipped to NVC: May 1st, 2014
Case Received: May 13th, 2014
Case Number Assigned: June 6th, 2014
AOS Bill Paid: June 22nd, 2014
AOS Packet sent Express: June 27th, 2014
AOS Packet Received and signed for by "NVISA*: June 30th, 2014
AOS Packet scanned into system: July 3rd, 2014
IV Bill invoiced and paid: August 7th, 2014
DS260 completed: August 8th, 2014
IV Packet sent Express: August 9th, 2014
ATTEMPTED DELIVERY UNITED STATES 16-Aug-14
11:58 NO ANSWER AT ADDRESS (tried to deliver on a saturday) :lol:

IV Packet Received and signed for by *NVISA CENTER*: August 18th, 2014
IV Packet scanned in: 19th August, 2014
AOS Checklist - August 21st, 2014 http://prntscr.com/4gsyod click link to see the checklist
Fixed AOS (I-864a) Sent to NVC - September 8th, 2014
Fixed AOS Received and signed for by *NVISA CENTER*: September 15th, 2014


CASE COMPLETE - 20th October 2014
Medical Scheduled: November 12th
Interview December 23rd (called October 30th)

Interview Changed to December 8th! (Embassy called me!!)

Interview Result: APRROVED! :dance:

Visa in hand: December 11th!


 

event.png event.png

Olives24 Explorer

Olives24   9

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Australia
 Timeline
Posted

From what I can tell, the petitions from abroad are being transferred from the Chicago Lockbox to CSC immediately, where they are currently getting approved very quickly. I haven't seen anyone get a quick approval from any of the other service centers. Olives 24 has TSC in his/her timeline but CSC in his/her signature. I'm trying to direct anyone I see on the forum with a quick approval to this thread so they can add their case and we can keep track of the resurgence of this trend.

Whoops! My mistake on the timeline. I've removed TSC since I (as you stated) was transferred from Chicago Lockbox to CSC. Fingers crossed for others on this journey. :)

USCIS

03/28/2014 - I-130 mailed to Chicago Lockbox

04/07/2014 - USCIS Received I-130 form

04/08/2014 - I-130 NOA1 and transferred to California Service Center (email) (11 days)

04/17/2014 - Received NOA1 in the mail from California Service Center (hardcopy) (8 days)

04/24/2014 - I-130 Approved NOA2 (case number updated on the website 4:50pm) (17 days)

05/20/2014 - Received NOA2 in the mail from California Service Center (hardcopy) (27 days)

NVC

06/09/2014 - Case number, INN, BNN Received (21 days)

06/09/2014 - DS-261 available and completed (21 days)

06/09/2014 - AOS fee invoice and paid (21 days)

08/13/2014 - IV fee invoice and paid (65 days)

08/28/2014 - AOS Package sent to NVC

09/03/2014 - DS-260 online form completed

09/08/2014 - AOS Package delivered to NVC

09/08/2014 - AOS Package Scanned

09/10/2014 - IV Package sent to NVC

09/15/2014 - IV Package Scanned

11/17/2014 - Called NVC was told a supervisor is reviewing my case and it could take up to 42 days :(

11/19/2014 - Called NVC and was informed that expedite request was approved. Waiting for NVC to review and send paperwork to Sydney.

11/20/2014 - Website shows AOS N/A N/A which means it's possibly accepted. (Unconfirmed)

11/20/2014 - Called NVC and was informed of Case Complete!!

Medical - Scheduled for Dec 16th 2014

Interview

12/3/2014 - Email received with interview appointment for December 9th 2014

12/9/2014 - Interview went well but not approved because of birth certificate name change. Approval after fingerprint police form.

12/30/2014 - Medical and police check sent to embassy

Visa issued Jan 5th 2015 :D

5.5 months in NVC

8.5 months total

razspaz13 Enthusiast

razspaz13   30

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Australia
 Timeline
Posted

not everyone who files from abroad gets sent to the California service center

nearing the 5 month stage in few days since NOA 1

congrats to those that got approved quickly, I see no clear reason why some are 9,15 days and others are 7 months plus

cheers

Abby&Mario Enthusiast

Abby&Mario   100

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Colombia
 Timeline
Posted

not everyone who files from abroad gets sent to the California service center

nearing the 5 month stage in few days since NOA 1

congrats to those that got approved quickly, I see no clear reason why some are 9,15 days and others are 7 months plus

cheers

No, of course not, historically. But filing from abroad and being immediately transferred to CSC seems to be a trend that's happening now, coupled with the resurgence of extremely fast approvals. You got your NOA1 five months ago, long before this started happening again, unfortunately.

I agree with you, there is no clear reason why it's happening again. But fair or not (definitely not), it does seem to be happening.

USCIS (Priority date April 1, Approval April 17, no RFEs)

March 28, 2014: I-130 sent via FedEx from Bogotá to Chicago Lockbox

April 1, 2014: Delivered to Chicago Lockbox at 10:29 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by J. CHYBA (date confirmed by My Case Status)

April 4, 2014: NOA1 e-mail received at 12:17 a.m.; case accepted and routed to CSC for processing. Check cashed.

April 17, 2014: Changed mailing address with USCIS Tier 2 representative. He also confirmed that our case had arrived to the CSC and that our NOA1 date is April 3.

April 18, 2014: NOA2 e-mail received at 12:30 a.m. Case status online changed to post-decision activity; date of "last updated" changed to April 17. Change of address e-mail received at 3 a.m. Status changed back to initial review on e-mail and online. Date of "last updated" now April 18. Called and spoke to two Tier 2 reps; both were useless.

April 21, 2014: Approval confirmed verbally by Tier 2 rep. Order put in to send second NOA2 hard copy to new address. Instructed to ignore online case status.

April 25 or 26, 2014: NOA1 hard copy arrives to old apartment in Bogotá. Priority date actually April 1. (April 3 was the notice date.)

May 16: USCIS change of address e-mail received

May 19: USCIS e-mail received saying a duplicate notice was mailed on this date. Case status now set to "Acceptance."

May 22: NOA2 duplicate hard copy arrives to U.S. address

NVC

April 29, 2014: Case received

​May 22, 2014: Case number and IIN assigned. Asked operator about our move from Colombia to Argentina and received instructions.

May 24, 2014: E-mails about embassy change/address change sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov at 4:36 p.m. NVC time

​June 3, 2014: Payment portal message "This case is in the process of termination" appears. DS-261 appears, submitted. E-mails received from NVC concerning case number and AOS bill.

June 4, 2014: AOS payment invoiced, paid; DS-261 received by NVC

June 6, 2014: AOS payment shows as PAID in payment portal

June 17, 2014: Response received from nvcinquiry@state.gov. "The correspondence submitted is currently under review. An appropriate action will be taken once this review is completed."

June 24, 2014: AOS package sent via FedEx overnight shipping from Houston to NVC

June 25, 2014: AOS package delivered at 9:43 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by F.FNU

July 1, 2014: AOS package scanned

July 18, 2014: Checked payment portal and saw: "CASE NUMBER CHANGE: The applicant's case number, [bGT#], has been changed to [bNS#]." Called and confirmed. Also said today marked 30 business days since NVC received DS-261; operator said she would have that reviewed and make IV payment available ASAP.

August 5: E-mail sent to nvcinquiry@state.gov concerning changing our embassy BACK to Bogotá at 6:41 p.m. NVC time

August 6: IV invoice e-mail FINALLY received at 2:13 a.m. NVC time

August 7: IV payment made available on payment portal; paid

August 8: IV payment shows as PAID in payment portal; DS-260 becomes available

August 14: Checklist received; errors on sponsor's I-864 form and on joint sponsor's I-864A

August 15: DS-260 submitted

August 29: Checklist response and IV package sent via FedEx ground from Houston to NVC

September 4: Checklist response and IV package delivered at 11:21 a.m. according to FedEx tracking; signed for by GPETERS

September 8: Checklist response and IV package scanned

September 10: DS-260 accepted; false checklist received

September 17: E-mail response received from asknvc@state.gov (30 business days/43 calendar days later): Correspondence under review

September 26: Embassy change approved; new case number assigned

October 30: CASE COMPLETE

Embassy

Interview scheduled: Nov. 10 -- Medical: Nov. 25 -- Interview: Dec. 1, 9:30 a.m. APPROVED! -- Visa in hand: Dec. 5 -- POE: Dec. 29 in Houston

MJGalante Newbie

MJGalante   0

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Brazil
 Timeline
Posted

1. Country USC resides in: Brazil
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: NOA1 April 9, 2014
4. How long had you been living abroad: Since February, 2012
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes. I am a US and Brazilian citizen.
6. What is the reason for your residence: I am a Brazilian citizen
7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes
8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? No. I asked someone to send from US
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes
10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes. And that I am plannig on moving back to US.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I got the NOA2 e-mail yesterday. Official date of approval April 29. 20 days!

 
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