Mailed out I-130s last week - A few questions

[jg121783 3,915]

As the title says I finally mailed out the I-130 petitions for my wife and step son last week. I sent it certified mail with return reciept and the tracking says the package was picked up last Friday. How soon can I expect an email and/or text message based on the information on form G-1145? Will this not happen until around the same time as NOA1 or will it happen sooner? Does it matter that I wasn't thinking and I put my cover letter on top of form G-1145? What is a rough estimate on the amount of time I will be waiting for NOA1?

I am trying to plan ahead for the next steps of the process so there are no unneeded delays and I have a few questions related to that. First of all what documents should I be gathering and what forms will I need to prepare? Secondly can someone give me a beakdown of all the fees that I will have to pay and when they will be due? I am trying to save money for these fees and a trip to the Philippines in October and this would help me figure out if I have to live at work for the next few months lol. My wife did her CFO a few weeks ago and has an appointment next month for my step son and her passports. So I can cross those steps off the list at least. Funny thing is almost everyone my wife did her CFO with either already had their visa or were about to get it or have their interview. My wife made a couple friends there who just got to the US and live close to where I live.

I know I probably have about a year or so to wait but I am already trying to plan ahead to the day my wife and step son are able to come to the US. I have a few random things I have been thinking about related to that. What is the best way to get my wife and step son's belongings to the US? Should we just stick to what can be taken in our luggage? I was also wondering if anyone has a step child around the age of 9 who was just starting to learn English and what options there are to help them learn quicker. My wife and I are thinking about getting a private tutor in the Philippines for my step son to help him with his English. He is already making progress and I was able to communicate with him when I was in the Philippines but he has a ways to go and I want to do whatever I can to help him learn. Any advice on this?

I know that is a lot of questions so answer whatever you can. I will say it feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I finally mailed in the I-130s and got the process started. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of everyone here so I have to say thank you to all of you.This website is a lot better than hiring an attoney for thousands of dollars who doesn't care about my case like people here do.

[Hank_ 9,174]

You might get a text the package was received (we never did), we got the I-797 NOA that it was received almost two weeks after mailing it out. We were K-1 but I doubt that matter too much at the petition phase. Processing time at USCIS is upwards of 5 months.

As for what is to come this link should answer most all of your questions : https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved.html

In regards to CFO, make sure your wife keeps the certificates from attending safe as she will need it to get the sticker later after the visa is in her passport.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Hank_

[teddy k 35]

Hi JG I'm currently working on my stepdaughters petition. After you mail out the i-130 it takes roughly 10 days to get a response of any kind. Start getting All of your proofs and documents ready how long this process is going to take is about a year so you have alot of time to plan your journey out. About your step-son Isent my stepdaughter to private school for her to learn English and it's really cheap. When it's time for their interview take a 2 weeks vacation so you can be there a big help for them too

Edited June 7, 2016 by teddy k

[jg121783 3,915]

Well I just recieved the following email:

Your case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number ************. With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your case using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.

This confirmation provides notification of the date USCIS received your case. This notice does NOT grant any immigration status or benefit. You MAY NOT present this notice as evidence that you have been granted any immigration status or benefit. Further, this notice does NOT constitute evidence that your case remains pending with USCIS. The current status of your case must be verified with USCIS.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE

So is form I-797 the same as NOA1? When I recieve this does it mean they are starting to look at the petitions or simply that they have them and they are sitting somewhere waiting to be looked at? Also I only recieved one email with one reciept number. I sent my wife and step son's I-130s in seperate envelopes which were placed together in the same envelope for shipping. Is this reciept number for both of them or should I have two reciept numbers? I hope the petitions didn't get seperated from each other. I put in my cover letters I would like them to be processed together.

Edit: I just checked my case status on the USCIS website with the reciept number I was given and the only information there was this message:

On June 3, 2016, we received your Form I-130, Immigrant Petition for Relative, Fiance(E), or Orphan, Receipt Number **********, and sent you the receipt notice that describes how we will process your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you do not receive your receipt notice by July 3, 2016, please call Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

It says nothing about who the reciept number is for or if it is for both my wife and step son or just one of them. Anyone know how this works?

Edited June 7, 2016 by jg121783

[teddy k 35]

Hi JG now you have your NOI1 which only means that they received your case.now you wait to have it reviewed and then approved. You might get a notification for your son just have to wait and see

[Brassballs 47]

As the title says I finally mailed out the I-130 petitions for my wife and step son last week. I sent it certified mail with return reciept and the tracking says the package was picked up last Friday. How soon can I expect an email and/or text message based on the information on form G-1145? G-1145 generated a response in about 2 weeks.

Will this not happen until around the same time as NOA1 or will it happen sooner? Sooner.

Does it matter that I wasn't thinking and I put my cover letter on top of form G-1145? Not an issue to be concerned about.

What is a rough estimate on the amount of time I will be waiting for NOA1? 6 weeks or so.

I am trying to plan ahead for the next steps of the process so there are no unneeded delays and I have a few questions related to that. First of all what documents should I be gathering and what forms will I need to prepare? Secondly can someone give me a beakdown of all the fees that I will have to pay and when they will be due? Best place to start about the fees that will have to pay after your package finally gets to the NVC: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/fees/nvc-fee-payment-faqs.html. IF your package is processed as 1 NVC filing you will only need to pay 1 AOS fee for both.

I am trying to save money for these fees and a trip to the Philippines in October and this would help me figure out if I have to live at work for the next few months lol. Re airfare... I've seen jumps from mid $800 to over $1800 over the past 3 months for travel through August. Same airlines, same route. Go figure. Create some searches and jump when you think the price is best.

My wife did her CFO a few weeks ago and has an appointment next month for my step son and her passports. So I can cross those steps off the list at least. Funny thing is almost everyone my wife did her CFO with either already had their visa or were about to get it or have their interview. My wife made a couple friends there who just got to the US and live close to where I live. Make sure Lisa keeps the attendance certificate in a safe place. After she has passport with visa, getting the CFO stamp will only require another trip to Manila. Have Lisa maintain contact with her new friends. They may be an invaluable resource for her especially if they were CR1 and not K1.

I know I probably have about a year or so to wait but I am already trying to plan ahead to the day my wife and step son are able to come to the US. I have a few random things I have been thinking about related to that. What is the best way to get my wife and step son's belongings to the US? Buy 6 LARGE suitcases at SM. Stuff them full. Remember they will only be bringing Wisconsin summer clothes. You should be underweight even when full. You may also want to consider 'growth' clothes for your son.I moved everything by luggage except the damn 7th case of Emperador which I had to pay extra for, haha. But well worth it. Buy the 'Deluxe'. It's smoother.

Should we just stick to what can be taken in our luggage? Yeah. You'll be surprised how much will fit. When you go for the pickup, pack minimally for yourself.

I was also wondering if anyone has a step child around the age of 9 who was just starting to learn English and what options there are to help them learn quicker. My wife and I are thinking about getting a private tutor in the Philippines for my step son to help him with his English. Wouldn't hurt and have Lisa do some English conversations with him daily. Even if only phases.

He is already making progress and I was able to communicate with him when I was in the Philippines but he has a ways to go and I want to do whatever I can to help him learn. Any advice on this? Don't know about 9. My step daughter came over at 4, started parochial pre-k about a month later and with healthy doses of Nickelodeon now carries on fluid conversations with Mom and me only six months later. She even talks to Lola in English now instead of Tagalog. I have no idea where the vocabulary is coming from and sentence structure is entirely correct unlike some American kids I listen to. Home environment???? My biggest concern is that there will be girl-girl Tagalog secrets in the future, haha.

I know that is a lot of questions so answer whatever you can. I will say it feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I finally mailed in the I-130s and got the process started. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of everyone here so I have to say thank you to all of you.This website is a lot better than hiring an attoney for thousands of dollars who doesn't care about my case like people here do. Best thing now is to roll with the punches and don't get high blood along the way. Nothing you can do other than satisfy USCIS and NVC inane requests. Have fun on the journey and hope you experience limited if ant detours.

[jg121783 3,915]

Well I guess I should have been a little more paitient. I just got another email with a second reciept number. Also I got 2 text messages with the reciept numbers. I guess it's safe to say they found the G-1145 forms under the cover letters.

Edited June 7, 2016 by jg121783

[Hank_ 9,174]

Well I just recieved the following email:

So is form I-797 the same as NOA1? When I recieve this does it mean they are starting to look at the petitions or simply that they have them and they are sitting somewhere waiting to be looked at? Also I only recieved one email with one reciept number. I sent my wife and step son's I-130s in seperate envelopes which were placed together in the same envelope for shipping. Is this reciept number for both of them or should I have two reciept numbers? I hope the petitions didn't get seperated from each other. I put in my cover letters I would like them to be processed together.

Edit: I just checked my case status on the USCIS website with the reciept number I was given and the only information there was this message:

It says nothing about who the reciept number is for or if it is for both my wife and step son or just one of them. Anyone know how this works?

Yes the I-797 Notice Of Action (NOA ) is what you are looking for it will have your received date at USCIS on it. I see you got two text. Actual I-797 will follow in the mail.

[jg121783 3,915]

G-1145 generated a response in about 2 weeks.

I guess mine was quicker. It was a matter of days after my package was recieved.

What is a rough estimate on the amount of time I will be waiting for NOA1? 6 weeks or so.

Again maybe things are going quicker for me. The emails I got said I would recieve NOA1 in 7-10 days.

Best place to start about the fees that will have to pay after your package finally gets to the NVC: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/fees/nvc-fee-payment-faqs.html. IF your package is processed as 1 NVC filing you will only need to pay 1 AOS fee for both.

I guess mine will be processed as two NVC filings because I have two seperate reciept numbers. Maybe I am wrong.

Re airfare... I've seen jumps from mid $800 to over $1800 over the past 3 months for travel through August. Same airlines, same route. Go figure. Create some searches and jump when you think the price is best.

I have noticed this also. I have been looking at Cathay Pacific recently which I used on my other two trips and the price has gone from $700-$800 round trip to $1500+ round trip. I did notice other airlines that had round trip tickets for $600-$700 so maybe I will have to look at other options.

Make sure Lisa keeps the attendance certificate in a safe place. After she has passport with visa, getting the CFO stamp will only require another trip to Manila. Have Lisa maintain contact with her new friends. They may be an invaluable resource for her especially if they were CR1 and not K1.

One of her friends just arrived in the US a couple weeks ago on a CR1 visa and has given her some advice already. Her friend lives in Illinois and I am in Wisconsin so Lisa is excited that she will be able to visit her when she gets here.

Buy 6 LARGE suitcases at SM. Stuff them full. Remember they will only be bringing Wisconsin summer clothes. You should be underweight even when full. You may also want to consider 'growth' clothes for your son.I moved everything by luggage except the damn 7th case of Emperador which I had to pay extra for, haha. But well worth it. Buy the 'Deluxe'. It's smoother.

Should we just stick to what can be taken in our luggage? Yeah. You'll be surprised how much will fit. When you go for the pickup, pack minimally for yourself.

I was thinking along those lines myself. I was even thinking about how to sneak a case of Emperador in with the rest of the luggage lol. I gave bottles of it to friends and family for Christmas and everyone is asking me for more.

Don't know about 9. My step daughter came over at 4, started parochial pre-k about a month later and with healthy doses of Nickelodeon now carries on fluid conversations with Mom and me only six months later. She even talks to Lola in English now instead of Tagalog. I have no idea where the vocabulary is coming from and sentence structure is entirely correct unlike some American kids I listen to. Home environment???? My biggest concern is that there will be girl-girl Tagalog secrets in the future, haha.

My step son does have cartoon network in the Philippines which I noticed is in English and I think that is helping him.

[Brassballs 47]

Well I guess I should have been a little more paitient. I just got another email with a second reciept number. Also I got 2 text messages with the reciept numbers. I guess it's safe to say they found the G-1145 forms under the cover letters.

Remember patience will be a virtue during your 1 year journey!!!!!

[Brassballs 47]

Where the joint processing REALLY counts is when your filings get to the NVC. Of course that won't happen unless USCIS does what you requested. When you receive notice from USCIS that they have forwarded your petition to the NVC begin to keep a close tab and make sure that the NVC is processing them jointly.

[CheDan 4]

what county are you in Wisconsin?

[jg121783 3,915]

what county are you in Wisconsin?

Fond Du Lac

[Hank_ 9,174]

Been there!

[CheDan 4]

Fond Du Lac

you are just near oshkosh.. just bring your wife in manila resto its a filipino restaurant we sometimes dine there. Im sure she will love krispy pata and lechon kawali and their sushi is good too..