Appeal to expedite I-130 for 4 children (minors under 21) APPROVED, what's next?

[RedPepper 9]

Our appeal/request to expedite the I-130 petition of all our four children (all under age 21) has just been approved! Yey!

I am a legal permanent resident, and my husband is a USC

A few questions will appreciate an answer for:

1) Can anyone please give us a rough estimate on how long our children's papers will be ready and approved by USCIS? 2) How long it would take for NVC to process everything?

3) Will our papers still pass through NVC? I read from here once that a case skipped NVC for some reason. I could find that particular post anymore.

4) What are the possibilities that we can skip the NVC process and have our papers go directly to the local US Consulate in the Philippines?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!

This is the notice we received from USCIS for your reference:

The status of this service request is:

Recently, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your I-130 to request expedited adjudication of your petition. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

Your request for expeditious processing is approved.

Upon receipt of your letter requesting expeditious handling, this matter was reviewed and a determination was made that it met the criteria for special handling.

The petition or application will be reviewed and you should be receiving notification from this office very shortly.

Edited February 22, 2014 by RedPepper

[li_09 40]

1. They say it could take up to 30-45 days but if you read the timelines for people who have had their petitions expedited it varies by case. (Mine took 3 weeks) The waiting with USCIS is not done yet, you still need your noa2 which is your golden ticket

2. A couple of months. Could be more could be less. There involves a bit of waiting here as well. It's always good to have everything all ready now though

3 & 4. It only skips NVC if you request to expedite it there as well. Your expedite DOES NOT carry over from USCIS

[JbTin 51]

We were told that we will receive a decision within 30 days, and on the 24th day we got our I-130 approval. We then requested for an expedite through NVC and it was approved in a week or 2. I have noticed though that there are two kinds of expedite processing with nvc (i guess it depends on the consulate's decision): 1st is the super expedite (just my own terminology hihi) wherein the case is sent directly to the embassy, and applicant doesnt have to deal with nvc anymore. 2nd one is the semi-expedite (own term again), where nvc asks you to pay AOS And IV fees first through CEAC and submit all documents to them, then once they have everything your case will undergo expedite review again and will be sent asap to the embassy when case has been completed. We went through semi expedite processing and was able to finish the nvc stage in 1 month. But for regular nvc processing, it usually takes 2-4 months.

Edited February 22, 2014 by krispykreme

[RedPepper 9]

1. They say it could take up to 30-45 days but if you read the timelines for people who have had their petitions expedited it varies by case. (Mine took 3 weeks) The waiting with USCIS is not done yet, you still need your noa2 which is your golden ticket

2. A couple of months. Could be more could be less. There involves a bit of waiting here as well. It's always good to have everything all ready now though

3 & 4. It only skips NVC if you request to expedite it there as well. Your expedite DOES NOT carry over from USCIS

We were told that we will receive a decision within 30 days, and on the 24th day we got our I-130 approval. We then requested for an expedite through NVC and it was approved in a week or 2. I have noticed though that there are two kinds of expedite processing with nvc (i guess it depends on the consulate's decision): 1st is the super expedite (just my own terminology hihi) wherein the case is sent directly to the embassy, and applicant doesnt have to deal with nvc anymore. 2nd one is the semi-expedite (own term again), where nvc asks you to pay AOS And IV fees first through CEAC and submit all documents to them, then once they have everything your case will undergo expedite review again and will be sent asap to the embassy when case has been completed. We went through semi expedite processing and was able to finish the nvc stage in 1 month. But for regular nvc processing, it usually takes 2-4 months.

Dear krispykreme and li_09, Wow! thank you for the feedback! I am now formulating an expedite request for NVC as what your responses are pointing us to do. Hehehe! As soon as we get the approval for our I-130 and as soon as our papers get to NVC we should be ready to take off!!!

We are not much on a rush, but we are hoping to get the kids over here by next school term 2014-2015.

Fingers crossed. Thank you again for your feedback! We now have at least a rough timeline budgetwise.

[li_09 40]

Dear krispykreme and li_09, Wow! thank you for the feedback! I am now formulating an expedite request for NVC as what your responses are pointing us to do. Hehehe! As soon as we get the approval for our I-130 and as soon as our papers get to NVC we should be ready to take off!!!

We are not much on a rush, but we are hoping to get the kids over here by next school term 2014-2015.

Fingers crossed. Thank you again for your feedback! We now have at least a rough timeline budgetwise.

Let me know how it goes with NVC please. I'm still contemplating whether I should expedite with them as well. I'm really in no rush though. My main concern was getting my petition out of USCIS since the wait times there were through the roof.

[RedPepper 9]

Let me know how it goes with NVC please. I'm still contemplating whether I should expedite with them as well. I'm really in no rush though. My main concern was getting my petition out of USCIS since the wait times there were through the roof.

We got our appeal for expedite a few days ago--APPROVED! YEY! Only now that i am updating you guys.

We got a text message that ALL OUR 4 PETITIONS have been updated--however when I got to their webage, our case is still a questionable "INITIAL REVIEW." Was a little disappointed. It didn't seem and feel like it was being expedited. LOL

Fingers crossed, we receive a NOA1 very soon! Will be back to update you all!

[JannaDavey 1]

I'm in the same boat as you RED PEPPER. My usc husband filed an i-130 for my two minor kids. We went to our congressman to help them expedite my petition since we where hit by flooding and it says that they will expedite the petition but i checked the status it is still initial review. Files received at nvc on feb12,march 21 congressman received the correspondence from nvc that they will expedite my request. And i am just waiting for the days ...I AM GOING HOME IN THE PHILIPPINES ON MARCH 26 to see them and assess the damage since the house was affected. I am hoping during my stay i can bring my kids with me since i am only a greencard holder... I will be reading your updates. Best of luck for all of us

[RedPepper 9]

I'm in the same boat as you RED PEPPER. My usc husband filed an i-130 for my two minor kids. We went to our congressman to help them expedite my petition since we where hit by flooding and it says that they will expedite the petition but i checked the status it is still initial review. Files received at nvc on feb12,march 21 congressman received the correspondence from nvc that they will expedite my request. And i am just waiting for the days ...I AM GOING HOME IN THE PHILIPPINES ON MARCH 26 to see them and assess the damage since the house was affected. I am hoping during my stay i can bring my kids with me since i am only a greencard holder... I will be reading your updates. Best of luck for all of us

My dear Janna, I am sorry to hear about the flooding in your place back home. I hope despite the damages and the losses you may have incurred, I do pray that your family and everybody you care about are safe!

We sent in our petition for our kids and together with a letter appealing for an expedite. We got the USCIS approval in March 20, 2014--which is a total of only 41 days since after USCIS received our application. For now, we are awaiting for our children's papers to be confirmed "received" by NVC and be given a case status. What my husband and I will do now is to write NVC for a request for an expedite.

I understand that there will be a need for us to wait for our children's NVC Case Numbers before we can request for an expedite, but we sure will write NVC now hoping that they will accept and are given a heads up on our children's case. Will be worth the try.

Fingers crossed.

Will keep all of you updated! best regards!

[RedPepper 9]

Let me know how it goes with NVC please. I'm still contemplating whether I should expedite with them as well. I'm really in no rush though. My main concern was getting my petition out of USCIS since the wait times there were through the roof.

Our children's petition took a total of 41 days. They received it February 5, and we got the approval in March 20, 2014. NVC should be quick--I have learned so much here on VJ on how to do the shortcuts and had a first hand experience of how "effective" it was...NVC will just a breeze!

Will also appreciate updates on your children's petition.

Will keep you updated still! You take care and best regards!

[JannaDavey 1]

My dear Janna, I am sorry to hear about the flooding in your place back home. I hope despite the damages and the losses you may have incurred, I do pray that your family and everybody you care about are safe!

We sent in our petition for our kids and together with a letter appealing for an expedite. We got the USCIS approval in March 20, 2014--which is a total of only 41 days since after USCIS received our application. For now, we are awaiting for our children's papers to be confirmed "received" by NVC and be given a case status. What my husband and I will do now is to write NVC for a request for an expedite.

I understand that there will be a need for us to wait for our children's NVC Case Numbers before we can request for an expedite, but we sure will write NVC now hoping that they will accept and are given a heads up on our children's case. Will be worth the try.

Fingers crossed.

Will keep all of you updated! best regards!

[JannaDavey 1]

Ok so i just got an email from USCIS that they have approved my I-130 for my two kids and follow the instructions on the noa.. And i will do the same thing you are doing REDPEPPER.. I hope you dont mind me posting my updates on your post. Anyway goodluck on the both of us.

[JannaDavey 1]

Hi red pepper, was wondering how your case is doing?

i finally got my kids NVC case number... Fingers crossed

[RedPepper 9]

Yes, we did, too! just 2 days ago. We have made payments on our affidavit of support and all set with the civil papers.

We hope everything falls into place smoothly and quickly.

once our papers are all complete, NVC says they will immediately send the case to our local Embassy in Manila for processing and for interview. If my estimation is right, the children will be here in 2-3 months. Yehey!

Good luck to you too!

[JannaDavey 1]

I just sent an expedite email to NVC. Was wondering how soon they contact you that they expedite the case. Should i call NVC again and tell them to have my case expedited. Anyway i hope we both get our children asap. I am just getting anxious since it gonna be wet season again and we might have another incident of flashflooding. Happy mothers day everyone

[RedPepper 9]

Right before we got our children's case numbers, I have been contacting NVC through email using my children's USCIS number. They responded after two weeks. They said they were going to process the expedite, ONLY IF, we have already paid all necessary fees, and sent ALL the necessary documents. Seems to me, we are already approved because we were told that once everything is complete, they will send out the documents to Manila immediately. That will save us a lot of time from all the normal waiting for an NOA2. instead of 6 months... it will just be a month or 2.

1) I just email both departments: NVCExpedite@state.gov and NVCinquiry@state.gov

2) Provide them the following information:

NVC Case Number:

Principal Applicant Full Name and Birthdate:
Petitioner's Full Name And Birthdate:
Names And E-Mail Addresses To Receive Correspondence From NVC:

Inquiry Request By:

3) In the body of your email to them

a) explain the reason why you are asking for an expedite

b) provide your contact number

c) provide your children's contact number/s, who their guardian is, whose phone it is.

Good luck!