How much does it take?

[A & Y 15]

Aoa to all,

My wife is in Houston, TX while I am in Pakistan.. she sent I-130 on October 11, 2013... NOA was received after a week.. Just need to ask what's the procedure and how much will it take to complete all it's formalities...

Thanks

[h13rma 35]

Difficult to say there. it is going to take longer because he's from a high fraud country, there are some who have waited years.

[Cathi 5,748]

study the guides at the top of the page and find your Pakistan forum, you will find many members applying through Islamabad who can help.

[JayJayH 546]

There is currently a fairly massive backlog of I-130 petitions, and the current wait time is roughly 7 - 8 months. However, these timelines fluctuate all the time, and I'd expect the backlog to be cleared some time this spring. The "normal" processing time for an I-130 petition is roughly 5 months.

Once the I-130 has been approved, it is sent from the USCIS service center that processed it, to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire. This can take anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks.

Once the petition arrives at the NVC, the NVC readies the package before it is sent to the embassy in Islamabad. "Readying" the package means that when the approved petition reaches the NVC, you will pay for and submit your immigrant visa application, and your wife will pay for and submit the affidavit of support. Once these have been accepted and added to your file, the NVC will forward the entire file to Islamabad, and schedule a visa interview for you there. The time it takes from the petition arrives at the NVC, until it leaves the NVC is largely dependent on how fast you can send in your visa application, and how soon your wife can ready the affidavit of support. If done promptly, the NVC stages roughly 4 - 6 weeks.

Interview scheduling is largely dependent on the embassy in question. Some embassies are busier than others. Most applicants get their interview within 1 - 2 months of the case leaving the NVC.

In total, expect up to one year from the date of your NOA1 until your visa interview.

In addition, young males in Pakistan are frequently subject to administrative processing (AP). This is additional processing done by the embassy in Islamabad, after the visa interview. No timeline can be given for AP.

There is a regional forum on this website which deals specifically with cases going through Islamabad.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Yang-Ja

[Hypnos 6,576]

The median wait time for standalone I-130s is around a year, plus AP at the end of that as stated above.

[FZSA 23]

Current Approval time for I-130 is 7.4 month + 3 to 4 month time at NVC + 1 month interview time line + 3 to 9 month for AP ( specially for Pakistani )

Total Avg = 7+3.5+1+1=1 year

If AP is short like just 1 month or 2 month

[A & Y 15]

Thanks for your consideration, but why they are taking so long for AP than other countries...?

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Thanks for your consideration, but why they are taking so long for AP than other countries...?

I believe it is due to national security checks.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Some countries have more terrorists than others.

[A & Y 15]

I heard there is some changing in the policies, what's new? now they are taking more time or less to process?

[JayJayH 546]

Thanks for your consideration, but why they are taking so long for AP than other countries...?

The US Dept. of State considers citizens of certain countries a bigger risk than others. Yes, because of terrorism concerns, but also because some countries have much more reliable government agencies than others. For example, it is a lot easier to verify the true identity of a Dutch citizen, than an Afghan citizen.

[A & Y 15]

eagerly waiting to meet my wife...

[A & Y 15]

Is that necessary to call USCIS every month to know the current status?

[Hypnos 6,576]

No.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Is that necessary to call USCIS every month to know the current status?

You can do that if you want to, but it's tons easier to just check online: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do

Type in the receipt number from your NOA1 and it will most likely show you that you're in the "Initial Review" stage. This won't change until an adjudicator finally gets their hands on your case file and either approves/denies the petition, or sends out a Request For Evidence (which basically means you forgot something in the file or they want to see more proof you are a real couple).

As said above, it will most likely sit at Initial Review for about 5 - 7 months. If not longer. Or maybe shorter you never know.