NVC Filers - July 2017

[chamma 382]

1 minute ago, NihalV said:

Thanks.. even if they dont fill ds261 over the phone.. ( I know my luck )  can we immediately fill it with CASE# and IIN ? 

 

 

Yes 

[larnar1309 101]

3 hours ago, NihalV said:

Thanks.. even if they dont fill ds261 over the phone.. ( I know my luck )  can we immediately fill it with CASE# and IIN ? 

 

 

Yup! Mine was available to fill out a few hours after getting my case number and IIN ! But some people seem to be able to do it even quicker !  

[larnar1309 101]

4 hours ago, JOL said:

Unless I missed something (touch wood) only the applicants residences since age 16 are required.  

 

My in the moment suggestion is to not repeat my mistake of thinking you must wait until the DS-260 is submitted before starting the AoS, lest you also repeat my error of still scrambling to assemble all the documentary evidence and figure out Form I-864 two weeks after submitting DS-260.  The DS-260 seemed pretty straight forward and much simpler than the I-864 to me, but I 1) only filled out the first page before handing off to my wife (since I do not know things like her passport number) and 2) do not believe the NVC has begun reviewing our DS-260 yet, so cannot know what their assessment of it will be (touch all wood in reach.)

 

Yea my husband has already completely assembled the I-864 and everything else for his package and i have done the same with mine. Main thing now is paying the fees and completeing the ds-260! 

 

I can start that as soon as both fees are paid right? 

 

touch wood for ya! But I feel like you guys have your stuff in order so no need to worry !  

[Lumeyer 4]

I have a question regarding sending in all of our packages for the AOS and IV documentation. Do you know if they will send a checklist or refuse the paperwork if it is not printed on 8.5x11 paper? I live in Switzerland and only have access to A4 paper here which is a different size and I don't think it would look good to individually cut the sheets (even if we use a paper cutter). Has anyone else had experience sending in their documentation on paper that is not 8.5x11?

[chamma 382]

26 minutes ago, Lumeyer said:

I have a question regarding sending in all of our packages for the AOS and IV documentation. Do you know if they will send a checklist or refuse the paperwork if it is not printed on 8.5x11 paper? I live in Switzerland and only have access to A4 paper here which is a different size and I don't think it would look good to individually cut the sheets (even if we use a paper cutter). Has anyone else had experience sending in their documentation on paper that is not 8.5x11?

Well,  I have not been in the same situation as you. But I don't think it would be much of an issue - unless the information on them is correct. If you need a confirmation, you can try call the NVC and explain them your situation. Also you can send in a note explaining your situation to them.

 

Unfortunately - I did not find anybody on this spreadsheet from Switzerland. 

 

NVC Case Status Spread Sheet -  2017 

[krysten.danis 9]

8 hours ago, cleon86 said:

Do you know what you received the checklist for? 

Yes! The guy I spoke to on the phone told me last night and then the letter came through my e-mail this morning.

[uufarouk 7]

no news yet from nvc 

[spinkycow 34]

Our expedite request was approved!!!! We requested based on the USC having job starting in the US in August, our USC kids have to start school in August, and and we live in Namibia and have no home in south africa where I am from, so having to stay there indefinably would be a financial strain. There is a medical reason too. Good luck everyone!

[chamma 382]

20 minutes ago, spinkycow said:

Our expedite request was approved!!!! We requested based on the USC having job starting in the US in August, our USC kids have to start school in August, and and we live in Namibia and have no home in south africa where I am from, so having to stay there indefinably would be a financial strain. There is a medical reason too. Good luck everyone!

Congratulations and good luck 😉!!!

[spinkycow 34]

1 hour ago, chamma said:

Congratulations and good luck 😉!!!

thanks!

[JOL 19]

14 hours ago, NihalV said:

thanks... I regularly call NVC to see of they have CASE number in system... 

Once case is in system will they share the IIN number over phone ? because as per my understanding if I have my case# and IIN, I will be good to fill DS-261 and pay fees for AOSand IV ( which normaly takes 7 days ) .. regarding welcome letter.

someone suggested we should ask NVC to update the Email ID in case so they will send the Email of Welcome letter while sending snail mail.... please share your comment

Disclaimer:  I am fallible, and can only speak to how the process has gone so far in our case; "your mileage may vary."

 

On arriving at the CEAC site, clicking any immigrant visa link immediately goes to a page almost wholly blank except for a field prompting for case number; no further progress is possible without the case number.  After entering a case number and clicking "continue" it adds fields prompting for an IIN, the users relationship to the case, and the standard "re-type these displayed characters" security field; again, further progress is impossible without the IIN.  I did not realize emailing the welcome letter was an option, nor could I get the case number nor IIN over the phone, even after the NVC finished inputting our case:  They told me to wait for the physical welcome letter to arrive through the US Postal Service.  But yes, entering both the case number and IIN, then hitting "continue," should immediately lead to the page with links for both DSes and fee payment options.  However, the payment links will not unlock until the DS-261 is submitted AND THE NVC FINISHES REVIEWING IT, and the DS-260 IV application will not unlock until the status of BOTH the AoS and IV fee payments show as "PAID."  Our process went in this order:

 

1) USCIS notice of I-130 approval and forwarding to the NVC arrived through the US Postal Service.

 

2) Next week the NVC registered receipt of our case.

 

3) Next week the NVC finished entering our case into its system and sent the welcome letter by snail mail.

 

4) Next week the NVC welcome packet arrived with

   a) Welcome letter, containing case number and IIN

   b) AoS invoice

   c) AoS document cover sheet

   d) NVC coversheet/checklist 

 

5) We then went to the CEAC and submitted the DS-261 online Choice of Agent form.

 

6) A week after calling the NVC every other day, an operator said our DS-261 was in the system awaiting review, which would take another week for them to do independently, or he could do it right then over the phone; naturally, I chose the second option.

 

7) A few days later the IV application fee unlocked (as I recall, the AoS fee was unlocked from the start, presumably because they included an AoS invoice with our welcome letter, but I do not know if that is true in all cases.)

 

8) A few days after the fees were submitted (which actually took a few weeks, due to internal problems the NVC was having with its servers) their statuses changed to "PAID" and the DS-260 IV application unlocked, at which time my wife completed, we both reviewed, and she finally submitted it.

 

One nice thing is that the CEAC offers copious documentation of both fee submissions:  Each one has its own receipt, invoice, document cover sheet and tracking page, which can be emailed and/or printed out from the site.  For peace of mind, I recommend "printing" each document to your hard drive as a PDF, printing out physical copies, and emailing copies to all concerned parties, all of which can be done directly from the CEAC site.  The rule I have always heard from lawyers (et al.) is that "If you didn't document it, IT NEVER HAPPENED."

Edited July 4, 2017 by JOL

[NihalV 26]

29 minutes ago, JOL said:

Disclaimer:  I am fallible, and can only speak to how the process has gone so far in our case; "your mileage may vary."

 

On arriving at the CEAC site, clicking any immigrant visa link immediately goes to a page almost wholly blank except for a field prompting for case number; no further progress is possible without the case number.  After entering a case number and clicking "continue" it adds fields prompting for an IIN, the users relationship to the case, and the standard "re-type these displayed characters" security field; again, further progress is impossible without the IIN.  I did not realize emailing the welcome letter was an option, nor could I get the case number nor IIN over the phone, even after the NVC finished inputting our case:  They told me to wait for the physical welcome letter to arrive through the US Postal Service.  But yes, entering both the case number and IIN, then hitting "continue," should immediately lead to the page with links for both DSes and fee payment options.  However, the payment links will not unlock until the DS-261 is submitted AND THE NVC FINISHES REVIEWING IT, and the DS-260 IV application will not unlock until the status of BOTH the AoS and IV fee payments show as "PAID."  Our process went in this order:

 

1) USCIS notice of I-130 approval and forwarding to the NVC arrived through the US Postal Service.

 

2) Next week the NVC registered receipt of our case.

 

3) Next week the NVC finished entering our case into its system and sent the welcome letter by snail mail.

 

4) Next week the NVC welcome packet arrived with

   a) Welcome letter, containing case number and IIN

   b) AoS invoice

   c) AoS document cover sheet

   d) NVC coversheet/checklist 

 

5) We then went to the CEAC and submitted the DS-261 online Choice of Agent form.

 

6) A week after calling the NVC every other day, an operator said our DS-261 was in the system awaiting review, which would take another week for them to do independently, or he could do it right then over the phone; naturally, I chose the second option.

 

7) A few days later the IV application fee unlocked (as I recall, the AoS fee was unlocked from the start, presumably because they included an AoS invoice with our welcome letter, but I do not know if that is true in all cases.)

 

8) A few days after the fees were submitted (which actually took a few weeks, due to internal problems the NVC was having with its servers) their statuses changed to "PAID" and the DS-260 IV application unlocked, at which time my wife completed, we both reviewed, and she finally submitted it.

 

One nice thing is that the CEAC offers copious documentation of both fee submissions:  Each one has its own receipt, invoice, document cover sheet and tracking page, which can be emailed and/or printed out from the site.  For peace of mind, I recommend "printing" each document to your hard drive as a PDF, printing out physical copies, and emailing copies to all concerned parties, all of which can be done directly from the CEAC site.  The rule I have always heard from lawyers (et al.) is that "If you didn't document it, IT NEVER HAPPENED."

Wow... Thanks for sharing... (Y)

[cleon86 244]

For some reason there are a lot of entries on the spreadsheet showing dates for 2018 when it should be 2017? Not sure if this can be corrected.

[synthrian 28]

I have a question for the upcoming DS-260. I see from the exemplar that there is a section on mailing and permanent address. In my case, hubby will be leaving his job in Illinois, coming over to Singapore for our reception and just waiting with me till the visa is done, then we will be going straight to Colorado. Once there, we will stay with my aunt and uncle (who is also my joint sponsor), until we get our own place. In this case, do I put both addresses as my aunt's place? Am I correct in thinking that for any address changes both the beneficiary and the sponsor will have to file an i-865? So in this case we will both file once for our residence at my aunt and uncle's house, and then again when we get our own place? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[April Mora 91]

Case is in review, SD 4/28. I pray for a CC and August interview!