When to expect a green card

[Hans Martin 2]

Hi,

 

Just wondering. In my timeline it says this:

 

"Based on timeline data, your I130 may be adjudicated between December 23, 2017 and December 28, 2017*."

 

When should i expect my green card to be ready so that I can move to America? 

I know these are just estimates, but I still need to make a plan for our future.

[pushbrk 12,883]

3 hours ago, Hans Martin said:

Hi,

 

Just wondering. In my timeline it says this:

 

"Based on timeline data, your I130 may be adjudicated between December 23, 2017 and December 28, 2017*."

 

When should i expect my green card to be ready so that I can move to America? 

I know these are just estimates, but I still need to make a plan for our future.

Your green card will not be ready until a few weeks AFTER you move to the USA.  Once the I-130 is adjudicated "approved" you will apply for a visa that allows you to move to the USA within six months of issue.  Paying the new immigrant fee AND entering the USA is what triggers the green card.

 

The timing will depend on how efficiently you and your spouse manage the process through the National Visa Center, but think in terms of 3 to 5 months, so between April and June, in your case.

[Hans Martin 2]

38 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Your green card will not be ready until a few weeks AFTER you move to the USA.  Once the I-130 is adjudicated "approved" you will apply for a visa that allows you to move to the USA within six months of issue.  Paying the new immigrant fee AND entering the USA is what triggers the green card.

 

The timing will depend on how efficiently you and your spouse manage the process through the National Visa Center, but think in terms of 3 to 5 months, so between April and June, in your case.

Thank you for the great answer! So in other words, what you are saying;

 

If everything goes according to plan, and we are doing our job, the visa can be approved between april and June next year? And does that give us 6 months after that, so we can plan the move and apply for jobs etc? So let's say we got our visa approved in May 2018, we would get 6 months from may to make the move to the US?

 

Thanks you so much!

[Hans Martin 2]

5 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

You have to enter the US with both the visa and medical current. These two documents have a 6 month validity date. As you will need to have the medical before the interview, that is the one which will give you the entry window parameters... for example.. if you have your medical on May 24th and the sucessful interview on June 1st, you will need to enter the US by  November 23rd. 

So a succesful interview will grant access to America right away? Isn't there some kind of processing time between the interview and the visa approval?

[Hans Martin 2]

42 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

Yes,, a successful interview means the visa is approved . Sometimes there can be a wait for what is called Administrative Processing, if there are some checks etc they want to redo or complete... and there is no set time for these to take.  Instructions are pretty clear to NOT make any unchangeable plans like flights, resigning,, selling etc until you have the visa in your passport and back in your possession. This can take 2 weeks or...... cant tell you the usual for Norway I am afraid, but I would think it would be a low risk counrty like Australia and I have the passport in hand in a week.  You could try searching on this site for those who have been processed through the same embassy as you, and see what the time lag is between Interview and visa in hand. 

Great! Thank you so much for very helpful information. This means we will have some time to sell our apartment, quit our jobs etc. next year.

[pushbrk 12,883]

3 hours ago, Hans Martin said:

Thank you for the great answer! So in other words, what you are saying;

 

If everything goes according to plan, and we are doing our job, the visa can be approved between april and June next year? And does that give us 6 months after that, so we can plan the move and apply for jobs etc? So let's say we got our visa approved in May 2018, we would get 6 months from may to make the move to the US?

 

Thanks you so much!

Yes, that's what I'm saying.  You have until the expiration date of the visa, to enter the US.

[pushbrk 12,883]

3 hours ago, Dee elle said:

You have to enter the US with both the visa and medical current. These two documents have a 6 month validity date. As you will need to have the medical before the interview, that is the one which will give you the entry window parameters... for example.. if you have your medical on May 24th and the sucessful interview on June 1st, you will need to enter the US by  November 23rd. 

I'm not sure where you got this idea that the medical must be "current" or that the medical has a six month validity date.  The immigrant or K visa holder must enter the US before the visa expiration date.  There are some instances, like Manila, where the K or immigrant visa expiration date is tied to the medical exam, but that is not generally the case.  It is NOT going ever happen, that you enter the US the day before the visa expires, present your package and have the CBP officer say, "Your medical was done 7 days before the visa was issued, so, you may not enter the US."  It just doesn't work that way.

 

If, like the Philippines, certain diseases, like TB are common, the Immigrant Visa unit will simply adjust the visa expiration date, so that it is six months after the medical exam.  This does not apply to Norway, or Australia or the vast majority of countries.