At what point do we start becoming stressed out

[andreamo 1]

Hi Everyone,

My husband's I-130 application was received on Sept. 5 in Chicago and my check was cashed on Sept. 10. (We live abroad in the UAE.) It is now Sept. 21 and I have not received an email. We've been married for 7.5 years and have two children, both of whom are American (as am I, of course). I assumed our case was black and white - and we were told as much by an immigration lawyer in the U.S. one month ago.

I know it's still early as it's only been 11 days since they cashed my check but I am wondering when I should start worrying? We are on a time crunch here. My job ends on Feb. 4 and I must leave the country with my children within 30 days after this date. It was a quick decision to leave the UAE and move to the U.S. as I found out that my dad has cancer this past July and handed in my resignation soon after.

Anyways, I'm not really sure how one follows up if nothing seems to be happening. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can be prepared.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered...

Andrea

[reese1 68]

I never received an email either. Have you called uscis to see what your receipt number is so you can check your status online?

[bsd058 296]

Hi Everyone,

My husband's I-130 application was received on Sept. 5 in Chicago and my check was cashed on Sept. 10. (We live abroad in the UAE.) It is now Sept. 21 and I have not received an email. We've been married for 7.5 years and have two children, both of whom are American (as am I, of course). I assumed our case was black and white - and we were told as much by an immigration lawyer in the U.S. one month ago.

I know it's still early as it's only been 11 days since they cashed my check but I am wondering when I should start worrying? We are on a time crunch here. My job ends on Feb. 4 and I must leave the country with my children within 30 days after this date. It was a quick decision to leave the UAE and move to the U.S. as I found out that my dad has cancer this past July and handed in my resignation soon after.

Anyways, I'm not really sure how one follows up if nothing seems to be happening. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can be prepared.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered...

Andrea

Where was your petition sent to? Vermont, California, Texas? We would need to know this. Are you applying for his green card as his sponsor? If you update your timeline properly, it would be easier to answer your question. Your status shows that you are applying for an I-1 visa? You probably didn't fill out your profile correctly if you're sponsoring him. I'm just assuming this.

You can call into USCIS to get the application number and that will tell you where it was sent. Please see "Processing Times" in the blue menu bar above. If you are actually applying for your husband's green card, then your visa type is IR-1, not I-1. If you go to the right hand side of the page at the bottom, then you should be able to find the time frames according to Visa Journey. Click on the link and it will show you all of the stages and how long it takes for each service center. If you are wanting official time frames from USCIS (usually not as accurate as VJ), the top left of that page will show "USCIS Service Centers" and a drop down box which you can use to select the service center your I-130 petition was sent to. I sent my petition June, 2012 to Chicago and it was sent to Vermont, so I'm not expecting to be able to leave Canada until February, 2013 at the earliest since Vermont takes a while to process. California is fairly quick. They could get you to NVC a couple of months earlier or even auto-expedite you if you put your foreign address on all paper work. For more info on auto expedite queue, see here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/357465-usc-petitioner-living-abroad/page__st__255 .

After the service center stage, your application goes to NVC where it usually takes an additional 1-2 months to process different forms that you will be asked to provide.

After this, your paperwork is usually sent to your consulate to set up an appointment for his immigration interview. This can take another month to set up depending on the consulate. It could be quicker for a UAE consulate.

Please update your timeline and your profile correctly so that VJ can determine processing date accurately. It wouldn't be fair that you use this forum and then not give back to it by inputting your data. Plus it helps you to determine how far along you are in the process.

If your case is auto-expedited, you could definitely be in the US by February; if not, you might have to wait an additional month or two depending on the processing times of NVC and your consulate. March or April, 2013 might be more accurate if no auto-expedite is given. It's possible you might qualify for an expedite if you send in a request. They might let you based upon dire circumstances. I don't know though. I've also heard that unless it's a life or death situation or unless USCIS makes a mistake, usually they won't expedite per a request. I hope your case goes quickly, though. I really don't mean to put a damper on your hopes. I hope to be as realistic as possible. Also, I hope you get sent to CSC and/or auto-expedited.

Edited September 21, 2012 by bsd058

[andreamo 1]

Where was your petition sent to? Vermont, California, Texas? We would need to know this. Are you applying for his green card as his sponsor? If you update your timeline properly, it would be easier to answer your question. Your status shows that you are applying for an I-1 visa? You probably didn't fill out your profile correctly if you're sponsoring him. I'm just assuming this.

You can call into USCIS to get the application number and that will tell you where it was sent. Please see "Processing Times" in the blue menu bar above. If you are actually applying for your husband's green card, then your visa type is IR-1, not I-1. If you go to the right hand side of the page at the bottom, then you should be able to find the time frames according to Visa Journey. Click on the link and it will show you all of the stages and how long it takes for each service center. If you are wanting official time frames from USCIS (usually not as accurate as VJ), the top left of that page will show "USCIS Service Centers" and a drop down box which you can use to select the service center your I-130 petition was sent to. I sent my petition June, 2012 to Chicago and it was sent to Vermont, so I'm not expecting to be able to leave Canada until February, 2013 at the earliest since Vermont takes a while to process. California is fairly quick. They could get you to NVC a couple of months earlier or even auto-expedite you if you put your foreign address on all paper work. For more info on auto expedite queue, see here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/357465-usc-petitioner-living-abroad/page__st__255 .

After the service center stage, your application goes to NVC where it usually takes an additional 1-2 months to process different forms that you will be asked to provide.

After this, your paperwork is usually sent to your consulate to set up an appointment for his immigration interview. This can take another month to set up depending on the consulate. It could be quicker for a UAE consulate.

Please update your timeline and your profile correctly so that VJ can determine processing date accurately. It wouldn't be fair that you use this forum and then not give back to it by inputting your data. Plus it helps you to determine how far along you are in the process.

If your case is auto-expedited, you could definitely be in the US by February; if not, you might have to wait an additional month or two depending on the processing times of NVC and your consulate. March or April, 2013 might be more accurate if no auto-expedite is given. It's possible you might qualify for an expedite if you send in a request. They might let you based upon dire circumstances. I don't know though. I've also heard that unless it's a life or death situation or unless USCIS makes a mistake, usually they won't expedite per a request. I hope your case goes quickly, though. I really don't mean to put a damper on your hopes. I hope to be as realistic as possible. Also, I hope you get sent to CSC and/or auto-expedited.

Thank you very much for your reply.

I apologize for not setting up my account properly. I wasn't really sure how to add the timeline feature and I don't know where my husband's application was sent to. Honestly, I didn't realize it would be sent out somewhere else. I swear I have read numerous websites on the immigration process as well as the USCIS website and the Abu Dhabi Embassy website. I didn't come across that info on any of the webpages I found. I guess I must call USCIS to find this out...?

Yes, we are applying for an IR-1 visa. I am applying for him.

I hope that this doesn't take the 8-12 months it seems to take for other folks on this forum. If he isn't approved by March 3, I will have to leave the UAE by myself with our children and wait for him in the U.S., which would cause a number of problems for us. I know I haven't left much time but obviously, I didn't know my father was going to become sick. Where can I get forms to expedite his case? Or who can I talk to about this?

[andreamo 1]

I never received an email either. Have you called uscis to see what your receipt number is so you can check your status online?

I'm sorry, I didn't see this reply. I haven't called yet. I wasn't aware that I could and I have to google the phone number. Gosh, I thought I was prepared but I'm feeling like I'm totally in the dark here...

[andreamo 1]

I just looked online and it seems that you can't call about your application until 30 days have passed. Would this be 30 days from the day the check was cashed? Or maybe I'm incorrect?

[bsd058 296]

Thank you very much for your reply.

I apologize for not setting up my account properly. I wasn't really sure how to add the timeline feature and I don't know where my husband's application was sent to. Honestly, I didn't realize it would be sent out somewhere else. I swear I have read numerous websites on the immigration process as well as the USCIS website and the Abu Dhabi Embassy website. I didn't come across that info on any of the webpages I found. I guess I must call USCIS to find this out...?

It's cool. If you click on "timeline" where you replied to my post, you can set it up that way.

Yes, we are applying for an IR-1 visa. I am applying for him.

I hope that this doesn't take the 8-12 months it seems to take for other folks on this forum. If he isn't approved by March 3, I will have to leave the UAE by myself with our children and wait for him in the U.S., which would cause a number of problems for us. I know I haven't left much time but obviously, I didn't know my father was going to become sick. Where can I get forms to expedite his case? Or who can I talk to about this?

It might not. I wouldn't expect it to take 8 months. That would be April or May, 2013. I mean, I would still plan for the worst and hope for the best, though.

I see you just updated your timeline to Texas. So Texas is going by pretty quickly. They are presently at around 90 days on average to approved the I-130, then add 2 months (probably) for NVC and another 2 months (probably) for your consulate in Syria. Your hubby could be in the US by March, 2012. IF you are auto-expedited (which is possible) you could be looking at January, 2012. I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up. It's possible (if you are auto-expedited), but highly unlikely that he will be in the US by Feb, 2012 with his green card.

Edited September 21, 2012 by bsd058

[andreamo 1]

It's cool. If you click on "timeline" where you replied to my post, you can set it up that way.

It might not. I wouldn't expect it to take 8 months. That would be April or May, 2013. I mean, I would still plan for the worst and hope for the best, though.

I see you just updated your timeline to Texas. So Texas is going by pretty quickly. They are presently at around 90 days on average to approved the I-130, then add 2 months (probably) for NVC and another 2 months (probably) for your consulate in Syria. Your hubby could be in the US by March, 2012. IF you are auto-expedited (which is possible) you could be looking at January, 2012. I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up. It's possible (if you are auto-expedited), but highly unlikely that he will be in the US by Feb, 2012 with his green card.

I made a timeline but I don't know how to add it to my signature. There isn't much on it right now, unfortunately, so I'm not sure how much help I will be to others until we find out what is happening next.

If I chose Texas, that is incorrect. I didn't choose anything for that field because I really don't know which office it went to. Maybe it defaulted to that choice?

I should add that my husband has been in the U.S. 6 times on 4 different visit visas since 2006 - he actually has one that is current now but he can't enter the U.S. on it again now that we have started the immigration visa process. The lawyer told us if he does enter on it, his application becomes void. (And we chose not to have him enter on it and then apply for change of status.) But he is in the U.S. system - fingerprints and all. I'm hoping all of this helps our case.

This past summer when we arrived in JFK airport for our annual visit home, the homeland security officer at passport control asked my husband why he wasn't a citizen yet. Ha!

[bsd058 296]

This past summer when we arrived in JFK airport for our annual visit home, the homeland security officer at passport control asked my husband why he wasn't a citizen yet. Ha!

Haha. I know the feeling. I practically lived there when I lived on the border. I used to cross the border so many times, I started recognizing the officers. They would always joke with me about whether America or Canada was better.

[Ivy. 113]

Whar kind of visa does your husband currently have? Entering the US while applying for IR1 does not void anything.

[andreamo 1]

Whar kind of visa does your husband currently have? Entering the US while applying for IR1 does not void anything.

I don't know what the type of visa is exactly. It's a visit visa. Because he's Syrian, they are valid for 2 years. The immigration lawyer told us this summer that he cannot enter the U.S. on that visa now that we have begun his immigration papers. I believe what he told me as he's trained in these matters...

[John and Ann 10]

Hi Everyone,

My husband's I-130 application was received on Sept. 5 in Chicago and my check was cashed on Sept. 10. (We live abroad in the UAE.) It is now Sept. 21 and I have not received an email. We've been married for 7.5 years and have two children, both of whom are American (as am I, of course). I assumed our case was black and white - and we were told as much by an immigration lawyer in the U.S. one month ago.

I know it's still early as it's only been 11 days since they cashed my check but I am wondering when I should start worrying? We are on a time crunch here. My job ends on Feb. 4 and I must leave the country with my children within 30 days after this date. It was a quick decision to leave the UAE and move to the U.S. as I found out that my dad has cancer this past July and handed in my resignation soon after.

Anyways, I'm not really sure how one follows up if nothing seems to be happening. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can be prepared.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered...

Andrea

If you are/were using an immigration attorney, he could/should have explained about getting your case expedited; using the fact your father is gravely ill; just make sure it isn't because of you not having a job any longer???? So you'll need a written letter from your fathers doctor stating the facts, and forward that to the USCIS office you sent/or your lawyer sent them to, and ask for it to be expedited.

[pushbrk 12,903]

Hi Everyone,

My husband's I-130 application was received on Sept. 5 in Chicago and my check was cashed on Sept. 10. (We live abroad in the UAE.) It is now Sept. 21 and I have not received an email. We've been married for 7.5 years and have two children, both of whom are American (as am I, of course). I assumed our case was black and white - and we were told as much by an immigration lawyer in the U.S. one month ago.

I know it's still early as it's only been 11 days since they cashed my check but I am wondering when I should start worrying? We are on a time crunch here. My job ends on Feb. 4 and I must leave the country with my children within 30 days after this date. It was a quick decision to leave the UAE and move to the U.S. as I found out that my dad has cancer this past July and handed in my resignation soon after.

Anyways, I'm not really sure how one follows up if nothing seems to be happening. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can be prepared.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered...

Andrea

You would only receive an email if you also included a G1145 E-Notification form. You don't mention whether you did that.