Stand alone I-130 for stepchild(ren)

[beejay 123]

I think it was sent to the Chicago lockbox. The receipt code starts with EAC. Ive never gotten any notification of it being moved.

Ok, that's the Vermont Service Center. Their processing times were quite different than CSC and I don't believe they have been processing at 4 months this year.

Checking the USCIS page for processing times it looks like VSC is processing I-130 petitions from May of this year, although it hasn't been updated since Oct. 30th. https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do

Those times should be taken with a grain of salt, especially since it hasn't been updated recently but the vj timelines seem to concur that VSC is processing petitions filed in May and that it is taking 200 days for NOA2 from VSC. http://www.visajourney.com/content/ir1cr1historical

If I had to guess I would think you should probably hear something in the next month or two.

[lucy4 11]

Ok, that's the Vermont Service Center. Their processing times were quite different than CSC and I don't believe they have been processing at 4 months this year.

Checking the USCIS page for processing times it looks like VSC is processing I-130 petitions from May of this year, although it hasn't been updated since Oct. 30th. https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do

Those times should be taken with a grain of salt, especially since it hasn't been updated recently but the vj timelines seem to concur that VSC is processing petitions filed in May and that it is taking 200 days for NOA2 from VSC. http://www.visajourney.com/content/ir1cr1historical

If I had to guess I would think you should probably hear something in the next month or two.

I absolutely hate waiting...

[beejay 123]

I absolutely hate waiting...

I know

This stage can be hard because there isn't really anything to do but wait. You will get to NVC which will be a more active process. It does look like VSC should be close to adjudicating your petition. What was your time frame? Was it this summer? You should have plenty of time to meet that goal.

[SerenityNOW 11]

Hi All! I think this is the group that most fits my situation. I used VJ extensively for every other part of my husband's immigration process - I130/CR-1 POE/ROC/Naturalization - and now we have applied to bring his son to the US and I am not finding much info on that topic.... my husband is now a US citizen, so he applied to bring his son/my stepson. I don't know if the timelines or process for US Citizens to apply for bringing their biological children vs. stepchildren is different - but it seems to be the same from what I can tell.

The paperwork was sent Nov 15th, the NOA1 came dated Nov 20th, so we are not even a month in yet. The odd thing is that the receipt is from MSC - the letter came from the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, MO. Also when I went to check the status online, it is not in the system.... ahhhh I just did a search and apparently this has been happening to applications for the last month or so, getting sent to MSC and not being able to check status online. Fun.

Anyway, it seems like it was taking folks ~5 months to get to the NOA2. Does that sound about right? I hope this will be efficient. We would love to get him here during the summer. We applied for a tourist visa for him last summer and of course were denied. Should have saved our money...

I can't even imagine what it is going to be like to have my stepson living with us. I don't have any kids of my own, though I LOVE them (just waited too long to have my own...). Though my hubby's son is not exactly a "kid" - he's 16!!! Luckily, he is such a great guy.

Good luck to all of you through this emotional process!!

[Kazulie 132]

That is fantastic news. I hope u you'll all be home for the holidays.

What questions did they ask the children. We didn't get a DNA test but the hubby is listed on the birth certificate.

Hi Ebun,

The kids didn't have their interviews yet. I had I-130 interviews for them. Now we are off to NVC.

What part are you at? You said you weren't asked for a DNA test, but havens your kid had their interview yet? That's when they would ask for one. If you did have an interview and didn't get asked for a DNA test, what other proof besides their dad on the birth certificate did you have? Pictures? Anything?

Thanks.

[Ebun12 2]

Hi Ebun,

The kids didn't have their interviews yet. I had I-130 interviews for them. Now we are off to NVC.

What part are you at? You said you weren't asked for a DNA test, but havens your kid had their interview yet? That's when they would ask for one. If you did have an interview and didn't get asked for a DNA test, what other proof besides their dad on the birth certificate did you have? Pictures? Anything?

Thanks.

Their interview is this coming Thursday and I am about to pass out!

As far as what we put together I did an identical package for them as I did the hubby with a couple additions:

Pictures of us all together

Essays from them saying why they want to come to America

Notarized Letter from their mother and a copy if her ID

School records from both schools that have their dad listed as the parent

That's it.Their father is in Lagos to prep them and attend the interview with them. Now back to

[lucy4 11]

I know

This stage can be hard because there isn't really anything to do but wait. You will get to NVC which will be a more active process. It does look like VSC should be close to adjudicating your petition. What was your time frame? Was it this summer? You should have plenty of time to meet that goal.

Yea I know beejay. And yea, I wouldnt want to pull her out of school, so the summer should be fine. Its just that like you said, with nothing to do but wait... it gets hard. I felt so good about being patient til December, and now Im getting antsy. I think I have ADD. I dont like to spend too much time on any one project, Im already ready to move on to the next thing.

[Ebun12 2]

The Children had their interview today and no visa was issued.

The embassy is requesting a DNA test for each child. So much for home for the holidays.

Does anyone know the steps needed for getting a DNA test overseas.

Geesh does this ever end?

[beejay 123]

The Children had their interview today and no visa was issued.

The embassy is requesting a DNA test for each child. So much for home for the holidays.

Does anyone know the steps needed for getting a DNA test overseas.

Geesh does this ever end?

Sorry to hear about the delay Ebun12.

Did the embassy give you a letter requesting the DNA in addition to the 221g form? That letter should have instructions on how to order the DNA tests. It is also what you will need to give to the DNA testing facility.

Typically (this is what we had to do and is what is on the NVC website) the DNA kit will need to be ordered from an accredited AABB facility in the states https://www.aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages/RTestAccrFac.aspx and then sent to the embassy or authorized medical collection site.

When the kit arrives then the embassy will schedule the collection. After the collection the swabs will then be sent back to the AABB facility you chose in the states to be processed. If your husband is stateside then I believe he can go and get his collection done at the AABB facility. They will be able to tell you when to do this. Then the results will be sent back to the embassy and then the visas can be issued.

I don't know if Nigeria prefers phone calls or emails but I was able to sped up our DNA by calling the Immigrant Visa line at our embassy and asking to be transferred to the Fraud Prevention Unit and then asking for the person in charge of scheduling DNA. When I called I already had the kit ordered and had the tracking number to reference when talking to the supervisor. Embassies are different but our timeline was DNA collection 2 weeks after interview and then results delivered to embassy approx. 2 weeks later. We are now waiting for the visas to be issued. If you have to email I would put Expedite in the subject line so that you can get an immediate response.

I suggest you look up a few posts in this thread to what meblue posted. Her experience is with Manila but I think still has a lot of useful information in it.

Good luck - one last hurdle and then you will be done with process

Yea I know beejay. And yea, I wouldnt want to pull her out of school, so the summer should be fine. Its just that like you said, with nothing to do but wait... it gets hard. I felt so good about being patient til December, and now Im getting antsy. I think I have ADD. I dont like to spend too much time on any one project, Im already ready to move on to the next thing.

I think the waiting gets harder the closer you get to a milestone. Do you have everything ready for NVC? Passport photos of your daughter?

[dancehallquana 5]

For those of you that are still waiting on NOA2.. stay encouraged..

i think CSC has DEFINATELY slowed down..

i got my original decision from them in the averge 4 months, however it was a RFE..

so i turned in my RFE and what usually should have taken a few weeks MAYBE 30 days, took about 80 days. So i think they are really delayed right now.. My husband's friend who is also applying for his children is having the same slow process.

sorry bout the DNA testing Ebun but we have some good help on this board with ppl that have been thru it.. We have expected a DNA test for our boys since day one just because of the frequency its done in Jamaica.. i would be delightfuly surprised if we didnt get it.. blessings with the rest of the process your almost there

[dancehallquana 5]

Hi All! I think this is the group that most fits my situation. I used VJ extensively for every other part of my husband's immigration process - I130/CR-1 POE/ROC/Naturalization - and now we have applied to bring his son to the US and I am not finding much info on that topic.... my husband is now a US citizen, so he applied to bring his son/my stepson. I don't know if the timelines or process for US Citizens to apply for bringing their biological children vs. stepchildren is different - but it seems to be the same from what I can tell.

The paperwork was sent Nov 15th, the NOA1 came dated Nov 20th, so we are not even a month in yet. The odd thing is that the receipt is from MSC - the letter came from the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, MO. Also when I went to check the status online, it is not in the system.... ahhhh I just did a search and apparently this has been happening to applications for the last month or so, getting sent to MSC and not being able to check status online. Fun.

Anyway, it seems like it was taking folks ~5 months to get to the NOA2. Does that sound about right? I hope this will be efficient. We would love to get him here during the summer. We applied for a tourist visa for him last summer and of course were denied. Should have saved our money...

I can't even imagine what it is going to be like to have my stepson living with us. I don't have any kids of my own, though I LOVE them (just waited too long to have my own...). Though my hubby's son is not exactly a "kid" - he's 16!!! Luckily, he is such a great guy.

Good luck to all of you through this emotional process!!

thanks and i hope the best for you as well.. yes 4-5 mnths is (or was) the average.. maybe it will speed back up here soon for you guys.. i really dont mind that i hit the slow curve because we need to prepare big time.. my step sons are 9 and 11, not really kids either.. haha.. is he excited to come?

[Ebun12 2]

Sorry to hear about the delay Ebun12.

Did the embassy give you a letter requesting the DNA in addition to the 221g form? That letter should have instructions on how to order the DNA tests. It is also what you will need to give to the DNA testing facility.

Typically (this is what we had to do and is what is on the NVC website) the DNA kit will need to be ordered from an accredited AABB facility in the states https://www.aabb.org...estAccrFac.aspx and then sent to the embassy or authorized medical collection site.

When the kit arrives then the embassy will schedule the collection. After the collection the swabs will then be sent back to the AABB facility you chose in the states to be processed. If your husband is stateside then I believe he can go and get his collection done at the AABB facility. They will be able to tell you when to do this. Then the results will be sent back to the embassy and then the visas can be issued.

I don't know if Nigeria prefers phone calls or emails but I was able to sped up our DNA by calling the Immigrant Visa line at our embassy and asking to be transferred to the Fraud Prevention Unit and then asking for the person in charge of scheduling DNA. When I called I already had the kit ordered and had the tracking number to reference when talking to the supervisor. Embassies are different but our timeline was DNA collection 2 weeks after interview and then results delivered to embassy approx. 2 weeks later. We are now waiting for the visas to be issued. If you have to email I would put Expedite in the subject line so that you can get an immediate response.

I suggest you look up a few posts in this thread to what meblue posted. Her experience is with Manila but I think still has a lot of useful information in it.

Good luck - one last hurdle and then you will be done with process

I think the waiting gets harder the closer you get to a milestone. Do you have everything ready for NVC? Passport photos of your daughter?

Awesome information Thanks so much. I'm on that today!

[beejay 123]

Awesome information Thanks so much. I'm on that today!

I just reread your other post and saw that your husband is currently in Nigeria. That is exactly how we were able to sped up the process because we were all in the Philippines at the time and we requested to have the collection before we had to head back to the states. I hope you can get that to work for you as well.

Good luck!!

[SerenityNOW 11]

The Children had their interview today and no visa was issued.

The embassy is requesting a DNA test for each child. So much for home for the holidays.

Does anyone know the steps needed for getting a DNA test overseas.

Geesh does this ever end?

So sorry to hear that!!

I have a friend who was applying for citizenship for herself, her husband and her son, who she brought here when he was like 2, and they required a DNA test.

If they request this test so often, I wish they would just require it from the start so we didn't have to add this delay.

I hope it goes as fast as possible for you guys-

thanks and i hope the best for you as well.. yes 4-5 mnths is (or was) the average.. maybe it will speed back up here soon for you guys.. i really dont mind that i hit the slow curve because we need to prepare big time.. my step sons are 9 and 11, not really kids either.. haha.. is he excited to come?

Yes he is! He was heartbroken that we couldn't get him here to visit. He was denied a tourist visa to come here this summer. That is what changed all of our plans! Funny how things work out. At first his mother wouldn't even let him come visit, now she is ready to let him live here. He would just have 3 years of high school here, then college back in Bulgaria (I would imagine - but who knows!). He was 11 when I met him, like your older stepson. He was such a cute little guy. He learned English from watching cartoons and he was my translator the summer I lived there. I wish I had more time with him... I haven't even seen him since Jan 2011.

[lovejamaica 1]

Sorry to hear about the delay Ebun12.

Did the embassy give you a letter requesting the DNA in addition to the 221g form? That letter should have instructions on how to order the DNA tests. It is also what you will need to give to the DNA testing facility.

Typically (this is what we had to do and is what is on the NVC website) the DNA kit will need to be ordered from an accredited AABB facility in the states https://www.aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages/RTestAccrFac.aspx and then sent to the embassy or authorized medical collection site.

When the kit arrives then the embassy will schedule the collection. After the collection the swabs will then be sent back to the AABB facility you chose in the states to be processed. If your husband is stateside then I believe he can go and get his collection done at the AABB facility. They will be able to tell you when to do this. Then the results will be sent back to the embassy and then the visas can be issued.

I don't know if Nigeria prefers phone calls or emails but I was able to sped up our DNA by calling the Immigrant Visa line at our embassy and asking to be transferred to the Fraud Prevention Unit and then asking for the person in charge of scheduling DNA. When I called I already had the kit ordered and had the tracking number to reference when talking to the supervisor. Embassies are different but our timeline was DNA collection 2 weeks after interview and then results delivered to embassy approx. 2 weeks later. We are now waiting for the visas to be issued. If you have to email I would put Expedite in the subject line so that you can get an immediate response.

I suggest you look up a few posts in this thread to what meblue posted. Her experience is with Manila but I think still has a lot of useful information in it.

Good luck - one last hurdle and then you will be done with process

I think the waiting gets harder the closer you get to a milestone. Do you have everything ready for NVC? Passport photos of your daughter?

my kids had their first interview oct first, requested a dna test that day. i paid for the test and had it on it's way to jamaica that day. we are just now waiting for a follow up interview this next week to see if they can now be approved. little hope that the visa will be delivered in three days after the interview. so unless we get it in three days after the iinterview, which is possible, they will not be here by christmas. my case was accepted by uscis january 2012. the dna test was a pain and slowed us way down. but i acted as fast as I could on my part,