IR1 question: Got our i130 approved. Next steps?

[Springrain22 427]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm a USC bringing my wife to the US. Our petition i130 has been approved a few days ago, what's next?

 

I've read this http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1 guide, but it seems outdated, as far as I know there's no more OF-169 or OF-230, etc. Could someone please list all steps I should take with the NVC now prior our interview and some time frames for all this? What documents should I send, when should I pay all fees and when and what my wife should do (filling ds-230 online, medical tests, civil documents, etc)?

 

Thanks for all replies!

 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Springrain22

[ASMS 86]

You can start reading this:

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

[JessieABC 159]

First of all, congrats!  I just recently got approved in late March as well so was just as confused as you!

 

Your next steps are:

1. Call NVC weekly after approval to confirm they have received your case file.  (603) 334-0700, Option 1 for English, then 4 to verify that they received your mail.
2. Once they have received your case, it usually takes 2-3 weeks for them to assign a Case # and Invoice Identification Number (IIN); the phone rep may state 6 weeks but just keep calling
3. After 2 weeks, call daily to confirm your Case # and IIN
4. Once you get the Case #/IIN, log in to https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx
5. Complete DS 261, Pay AOS Fee
6. Pay IV Fee
7. Gather Documents
8. Send them off

You can check the NVC Process guide in my signature for details.  It mostly applies to my case but you might find it useful.

Another guide that helped me tremendously: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

 

 

Hope that helps!

Edited April 4, 2017 by JessieABC

[mallafri76 1,012]

If you go into NVC's website, they have a really great flow chart with step by step instructions. That's what we used when we did my visa 

[bcking 3,157]

4 minutes ago, mallafri76 said:

If you go into NVC's website, they have a really great flow chart with step by step instructions. That's what we used when we did my visa 

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved/contact.html

 

This is the website. We also used it and it works well.

 

Make sure though you click into the website and look up requirements specific for your country. The "general" requirements for paperwork may not be specific enough (For us we were burned on my wife's birth certificate).

 

For Belarus the list would be here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country/BO.html

 

You can start gathering all the supporting documents now. You can also start filling out the I-864 (the financial form). Your wife should look into the police certificate, as that can sometimes take some time.

 

By the time the NVC had given us an ID number we had all of our paperwork ready. Then we just had to wait through each step to do the online stuff (Pay feeds, fill out the DS-260 online) and we had it all ready to send. Of course the birth certificate issue delayed us 11 weeks so that more than cancelled out how prepared we were but still, doesn't hurt to be prepared.