I-130 Sent in Italy, what now??? noa1???

[lmh 1]

Hello all,

I recently sent our I-130 to the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy. Does anyone have any idea as to how long it will take to receive a Notice of Approval? Also, will this notice be sent to the petitioner or the beneficiary? Since after I sent the I-130 in Italy, I came back to the U.S. to resume my prior job, I am a bit concerned about where they will send this notice. I do not want anything to get lost in translation. What are the next steps from here on out? Your help is much appreciated. Thanks all.

Sincerely,

Lindsey

[GeorgiaPeach 2]

NOA1 should be pretty fast, as its just a receipt of receiving the petition. Our NOA2 took about 6 weeks, but we also had to send additional documents they requested, so that took a little longer. We flied in London, so the time could be shorter/longer than in Rome. I would think the letter would go to the beneficiary, but not sure, as my hubby & I both reside together in the UK, so that wasn't an issue for us. Hopefully someone else can comment on that!

Now you need to be getting all docs ready to support your application- I864, proof of bonafide marriage, medical records, police checks, etc. There's a wealth of info online that should be useful to you in terms of specific things to gather. It can be a lot & some things take time, so you're best to start now, especially as you'll need to send it to Italy!

[lmh 1]

Thank you, Georgia!

Your response is much appreciated. The unknowns can be a bit frustrating as I'm sure you know!

[graziani.df 0]

Hi, Would love a little help. My husband and I reside in Italy and have been here together for over a year (married more then 2 years). I am the US citizen; we would like to return to the states and are using direct cosular from Rome as well. We have been working hard to put things together for proof of bona fide marriage and prior relationship to each other for the years before we married. I had assumed we had to send in the initial app with this proof already. Do we send this now or after the NOA1 and how much is needed? It took quite a long time and different application attempts to finalize my residency here (paperwork missing steps, misinformation, etc). We own a home here but records with my name included are scarce due to not having my fiscal code until recently. I am on only school papers for my daughters here along with my husband's name (teenagers) and also some mail. However there are many pics, videos (many with my daughters as we are all living here as a family and have been) as well as thousands of emails before marriage. Do we have to include a ton of emails and would home videos over the past years since marriage work? All include our family. We had always intended to stay in Italy so we didn't prepare for any of this. Any help would be appreciated. First step, if we don't have to include the photos and records we have been tirelessly catagorizing at this moment, is to send this in? This could be kind of a relief while preparing for the next step. Thank you.

[farmer john 0]

I just filed in Athens and we showed them one picture from our wedding and one with our friends. We needed divorce decree's, a copy of the marriage registration our apartment lease and my temporary residency. Along with passports and photo's. I think that was all. Don't sweat having to prove a relationship by collecting more than a handful of pic's or e mails. You'll have a chance to overwhelm them at your interview.

Make sure everything is translated too.

Edited August 21, 2013 by farmer john

[bellavita38 1]

Imh,

Did you ever hear back from the Embassy? I'll be filing there soon. Would love some insight. Thanks!

[Je e Gi 1]

Imh,

Did you ever hear back from the Embassy? I'll be filing there soon. Would love some insight. Thanks!

We filed yesterday in person and the lady at the embassy in Rome said that they do not send NOA1 notices, just a NOA2 letter once approved and sent to Naples.

[bellavita38 1]

We filed yesterday in person and the lady at the embassy in Rome said that they do not send NOA1 notices, just a NOA2 letter once approved and sent to Naples.

Je and Gi,

Can you provide any information regarding what you submitted and how the USCIS officer was? What questions did they ask? What extra items did they want? What was required for residency? DCF Italy does not have much information so any tips will help us all. Once I submit I'll be sure to update. I have to wait 2 more weeks!!

[Je e Gi 1]

Je and Gi,

Can you provide any information regarding what you submitted and how the USCIS officer was? What questions did they ask? What extra items did they want? What was required for residency? DCF Italy does not have much information so any tips will help us all. Once I submit I'll be sure to update. I have to wait 2 more weeks!!

Hi Bellavita38

The first forms (I-130) you submit is quite easy and basically we submitted everything that was on the checklist that we could: http://italy.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/services/i-130.html

For residency, I had my carta di soggiornio that I have had since we got married in 2010.

We made an infopass appointment and the officer just took the forms to make sure that we filled out everything correctly and that we had everything. The only thing that I had translated was my husbands Italian birth certificate. For the birth certificate, it was just the normal ones without parents names. I had emailed before to make sure this was okay and they said that it was acceptable for the I-130 but later in Naples I would need the other one.

I asked about my Carta di Soggiornio as even though the form (Name, Surname, etc.) is also in English, the answers on there are only in Italian but she said it would be no problem so just left that as is.

Also, if you don´t have pictures, you can take them at a machine inside the Embassy right next to the office. It is 5 euros.

She gave us a form to pay, we went upstairs to pay by credit card and gave her the receipt. That was it. No questions. You can also everything in if you would like.

She said the timeline was about 4-6 months but it seems like there are people that get theirs faster so we will see. I have always had fast responses to emails from Rome but they will only answer questions involving the I-130 process and not anything after.

[bellavita38 1]

We filed yesterday in person and the lady at the embassy in Rome said that they do not send NOA1 notices, just a NOA2 letter once approved and sent to Naples.

Hi Je & Gi,

Was your NOA 2 received via mail or email by Naples?

Thanks!

[Je e Gi 1]

Hi Je & Gi,

Was your NOA 2 received via mail or email by Naples?

Thanks!

The NOA2 was received by mail from the US embassy in Rome. After, once Naples has it in their system, they will email the packet information. We are still waiting for that.

[agem 0]

I, too, have basically the same timeline. Received Sept. 18th and filed in Rome, approval letter received Oct. 18th from Rome, waiting on email from Naples. They told me wait patiently and they will send...I imagine they wait to receive a bunch before sending the information packet. Hope so!

[bellavita38 1]

Thanks for the update!! I file on Monday. Can't wait!

Hope you guys get the email soon as well!!! Please do remember to keep us posted!

[aynom 0]

I absolutely agree with everyone here; thanks so much for posting the process and what is needed in Italy. Thanks Farmer John for the help on the initial filing info and assurance. Please keep us up to date on your processes for Italy. Really helpful.

[bellavita38 1]

Hi all, does Embassy Rome accept USA credit card as a form of payment (Visa/Mastercard) for the I-130?