FEBRUARY 2019 K-1 NOA2 ----> NVC

[Swafford 67]

13 minutes ago, Nafisa Zaripova said:

good luck!🍀

I just finished calling myself, I dialed at exact 9 am EST chose option 1 and my call was immediately answered.  I was stunned.  But still, they hadn't received our 2/1 NOA2 petition.

 

Let us all know how yours turns out!

[emeline29 167]

1 minute ago, Swafford said:

I just finished calling myself, I dialed at exact 9 am EST chose option 1 and my call was immediately answered.  I was stunned.  But still, they hadn't received our 2/1 NOA2 petition.

 

Let us all know how yours turns out!

You must have been lucky! I dialled at 9am too, still on hold! Oh well. I have nothing else to do today

[Nafis8 115]

I filled out Ask NVC on 15th and they replied me on 22nd saying they don't have our case yet..

So trying to be patient  

[JMEngland 438]

2 minutes ago, Swafford said:

As we all sit and wait.... I've just finished what is probably my 10th call to the NVC to find out they still haven't received my approved petition (WAC approved 2/1).  My confidence level throughout the process has been very low.  We submitted the petition in July and have had no requests for additional information but it still took until 2/1/19 to receive NOA2.  We have had everything completed since October other than the medical visit and payment for the visa processing ($265).  At first we were worried that the police certificate would "time out" but we later learned it was good for 12 months.  Now I'm just hoping that the 134 doesn't have a "time out" period as well.  I have updated a letter of intent dated 2/19 because I saw where that might be an issue.

 

I do have a few things I'm still unsure of:

 

1. As soon as the NVC generates a case number, can we go ahead and schedule the medical visit?  Can we go ahead and schedule the embassy visit?  I've walked through the steps for the medical exam via email with the second option for locations and it seemed as though it would go very quickly.  They were ready to schedule the next day but needed the case number.  I also went on the website to schedule the embassy visit and noticed where the first available slot was only two days away.  This was encouraging but it made me wonder if I should schedule as soon as I received the case number or if I should wait?  NVC advises to wait until you've received a hard copy notification from the embassy but it seems all of their advice is ultra conservative as far as timelines etc. so I'm not sure if I put a lot of confidence in that requirement. Please give advice.  

 

2. It seems an unusually long time 2/1 -2/25 for the NVC to have still not received our case.  Last week NVC suggested I call USCIS back to check.  My first attendant said the system showed it had not been sent out yet and transferred me to a supervisor.  The supervisor said that this was unusual but not uncommon and put in a service request to check to see why it was not showing as having been sent to the NVC.  That afternoon I received an email back essentially just stating that it was "in transit".  As you can imagine, my confidence level is not very high as far as knowing that my petition isn't sitting in some dusty corner somewhere at the California service center, with my uncertainty growing each time I call the NVC only to hear they haven't received...

 

3.  Vaccinations - Iryna has one vaccination that she still needs.  Obviously we have several options here, one is to get before the medical exam, one is to get at the medical exam, and the last to get once in the US.  Does anyone have any advice here?

Give it a few days and your packet will probably be there. Could even arrive today, who knows. Seems like they update for the day around noon. I've seen people call in the morning, nothing, call after work and it's there 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ as for the i134, just make sure it's using this year's taxes and you should be good. 

 

1. yep, as soon as you have your case number she can schedule. 

2. ignore just about anything both nvc and uscis say during the transit. 

3. either get them done at the exam or here,your choice, but I'd advise not to use some random clinic that might not even get accepted during the exam. 

[emeline29 167]

SUCCESS! Case number received! 

 

 

Also - handy hint for those waiting on hold for a long time. Go to the bathroom. As soon as you sit on the toilet, they'll answer! 

[Nafis8 115]

1 minute ago, emeline29 said:

SUCCESS! Case number received! 

 

 

Also - handy hint for those waiting on hold for a long time. Go to the bathroom. As soon as you sit on the toilet, they'll answer! 

Yay!!! congrats!

 

[Swafford 67]

7 minutes ago, JMEngland said:

Give it a few days and your packet will probably be there. Could even arrive today, who knows. Seems like they update for the day around noon. I've seen people call in the morning, nothing, call after work and it's there 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ as for the i134, just make sure it's using this year's taxes and you should be good. 

 

1. yep, as soon as you have your case number she can schedule. 

2. ignore just about anything both nvc and uscis say during the transit. 

3. either get them done at the exam or here,your choice, but I'd advise not to use some random clinic that might not even get accepted during the exam. 

Excellent information, she thinks there's only one vaccination that she lacks but I'm not sure if her doctor has the updated US list or bases this on standards for Ukraine.  I see your bride to be is UA as well, Kiev?  This suddenly becomes very excited to think of scheduling the embassy visit as soon as we get the NVC case number!

[JMEngland 438]

15 minutes ago, Swafford said:

Excellent information, she thinks there's only one vaccination that she lacks but I'm not sure if her doctor has the updated US list or bases this on standards for Ukraine.  I see your bride to be is UA as well, Kiev?  This suddenly becomes very excited to think of scheduling the embassy visit as soon as we get the NVC case number!

Yea just remember that for k1, vaccinations are not actually required. they are required for AoS once she's here. give you options, cause if she can get them for free through your insurance, awesome, if not, just get them at the medical exam. they are cheap in UA. 

 

And yea, she's in the Oblast, around an hour from Kyiv city. We met while I was assigned to the Embassy there. Yea it's really exciting, because the UA embassy has no real backlog, so p3 comes in about 6 days and then you can have your appointment days later. 

[Swafford 67]

1 minute ago, JMEngland said:

Yea just remember that for k1, vaccinations are not actually required. they are required for AoS once she's here. give you options, cause if she can get them for free through your insurance, awesome, if not, just get them at the medical exam. they are cheap in UA. 

 

And yea, she's in the Oblast, around an hour from Kyiv city. We met while I was assigned to the Embassy there. Yea it's really exciting, because the UA embassy has no real backlog, so p3 comes in about 6 days and then you can have your appointment days later. 

Iryna's from Bila Tserkva about 45 minutes SW from Kyiv.  So you say that we do need to await receipt of the P3 (which I assume comes from the embassy)  before scheduling the embassy visit?  

 

I see other information that implies something about a 683 form that comes later in the process that may require more effort than a standard vaccination at Walgreens.... I don't know.  We were told that most vaccinations ran about 1500 UAH at the medical exam.  It seems the failsafe approach is to have at the exam.

[Catherine6 118]

I called NVC at 927 EST, I chose option 2 for Spanish, including wait, the entire call lasted exactly 21 minutes...havent received case though. Rep quoted me 'up to 8 weeks to receive.'

[Swafford 67]

3 minutes ago, Catherine6 said:

I called NVC at 927 EST, I chose option 2 for Spanish, including wait, the entire call lasted exactly 21 minutes...havent received case though. Rep quoted me 'up to 8 weeks to receive.'

That's their standard response.... it's always very discouraging to hear it although the timelines suggest it's much quicker.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Swafford

[JMEngland 438]

4 minutes ago, Swafford said:

Iryna's from Bila Tserkva about 45 minutes SW from Kyiv.  So you say that we do need to await receipt of the P3 (which I assume comes from the embassy)  before scheduling the embassy visit?  

 

I see other information that implies something about a 683 form that comes later in the process that may require more effort than a standard vaccination at Walgreens.... I don't know.  We were told that most vaccinations ran about 1500 UAH at the medical exam.  It seems the failsafe approach is to have at the exam.

Small world, so is Kris. She's pretty much lived her entire life there. It's a small town, so they've probably actually ran into each other at one point. 

 

Yea, the vaccination thing is pretty complicated. I'm not having Kris do hers, but I am in the military and have access to government clinics, completely free, so I don't think I'll have an issue getting what we need. It really comes down to insurance and access to the proper clinics. 

[Swafford 67]

2 minutes ago, JMEngland said:

Small world, so is Kris. She's pretty much lived her entire life there. It's a small town, so they've probably actually ran into each other at one point. 

 

Yea, the vaccination thing is pretty complicated. I'm not having Kris do hers, but I am in the military and have access to government clinics, completely free, so I don't think I'll have an issue getting what we need. It really comes down to insurance and access to the proper clinics. 

Wow, that's incredible.  How ironic. A small world indeed.  We visited BT together back in Nov/Dec although she lives and works in Kyiv as a HR director for a large cosmetology company there.  Iryna turns 29 in April so we're hoping to have everything approved and her in the US before her birthday! She grew up in BT and her family still lives there.  I've always enjoyed my times in Ukraine and look forward to additional visits in the future assuming it doesn't become Western Russia.  

[JMEngland 438]

Just now, Swafford said:

Wow, that's incredible.  How ironic. A small world indeed.  We visited BT together back in Nov/Dec although she lives and works in Kyiv as a HR director for a large cosmetology company there.  Iryna turns 29 in April so we're hoping to have everything approved and her in the US before her birthday! She grew up in BT and her family still lives there.  I've always enjoyed my times in Ukraine and look forward to additional visits in the future assuming it doesn't become Western Russia.  

Valid concern 😂😂 they seem to making decent progress. I worked there in 2017 and then again in 2018, and I could definitely see a difference. they are making progress and their military has grown significantly stronger. 

[Swafford 67]

4 minutes ago, JMEngland said:

Valid concern 😂😂 they seem to making decent progress. I worked there in 2017 and then again in 2018, and I could definitely see a difference. they are making progress and their military has grown significantly stronger. 

I would love to get everything approved and be able to be back in Kyiv during the election but my timeline may be a bit optimistic.  I have to share my favorite restaurant in BT, a place called "Tractor" as I spell it or "Trackteer" or "Trateer" as Iryna spells.  We went there in December when it was snowing out.  Each party has it's own small "log cabin" type dining area and the wait and entertainment staff visit your personal dining room.  It was a wonderfully unique place that was far different than my experiences in Kyiv.  The food was magnificent, mostly grilled, and it's not everywhere that you can have a tray of grilled quail brought out in the US.  It was a great experience we shared with her sister and brother in law who owns a roofing, doors, and windows, business there in BT.