The mystifying K-1 wait time for Packet 3

[FeelingYoung66 14]

We filed our 129f for a K-1 Visa last June and were approved by the USCIS in September. The NVC assigned our petition a case number on 10-22, and on 10-24 my attorney sent in the DS-160 info and received a confirmation and barcode number.

On 11/12, the NVC sent me (the petitioner) an email letter saying that they were forwarding it on to the Consulate in Montreal. My fiance (the beneficiary) did not receive any notification of this despite the wordage in the emailed letter actually being addressed to her. (Kind of odd.)

The Montreal Consulate received it on 11/14, and on 11/15 our CEAC status changed from "In-transit" to "Ready".  It also said..

 

"Your case is ready for you to schedule an interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal. If you have already scheduled an interview appointment, please prepare your documents as directed in your appointment letter and appear at the Consulate on the appointed date and time. Otherwise, please wait until you have been notified of your interview appointment. Additional information about how Immigrant Visa interview appointments are scheduled can be found at: http://nvc.state.gov/interview"

 

I excitedly let my immigration attorney in the U.S. know this and suggested that we send in our packet 3 ASAP so as to trigger P4. She said that the above message was simply a generic one sent to everyone, and that we must wait for an official Packet 3 notification in the mail (or email) before sending in our Packet 3 info. She cited the many DOS website pages related to K-1 Visa's that specifically give that instruction. The Montreal Consulate's own website does not specifically say one way or another. In fact, they don't seem to address the issue it at all for K-1 Visa applicants, saying only that the majority of interview appointments will be scheduled by the NVC. They never specifically mention what K-1 applicants are supposed to do.

 

So 11 days have now gone by since we got the "Ready" status and the quoted message above stating "Your case is ready for you to schedule an interview.." . No P3 request has arrived either by email or mailed letter. Our attorney continues to say we must wait for that before sending our P3 response. Our "Ready" status is still dated Nov 15th. There has never been any change to that. Some mention a "2nd Ready".. that hasn't happened so far. We seem to be dead in the water. Nothing is happening.

 

So.. any comments or suggestions? Should I overrule my immigration attorney and ask her to send in my P3 response now? She adamantly maintains that it would be the wrong course of action, though she admits in the same breath that the DOS websites that she relies on for instruction are frequently not kept updated to how things are actually done and are happening now.

 

Thanks for any response.

 

 

 

 

[JP John 65]

I was exactly where you are 1 year ago.  I sent in Package 3 before I had received it in the mail and they rejected it.  So I waited more and finally just sent it again when I saw others in their timelines had received Packet 3 in the mail.  FYI I never did receive the packet from them.  Check others on their timelines that are similar to you and see where they are at is all I can tell you.

[cherrypeanut 8]

I am in the same situation as you! NVC sent on 11/12 and MTL received on 11/14. I have not received any sort of email or letter for Packet 3 yet.

 

I actually did not figure out how to check my status on CEAC until today (I didn't know I had to choose the immigrant visa option). My case status is "Ready" and it was last updated 11/26. I don't know if it is the first or second ready. I might just take the plunge and send my Packet 3 anyway.

[wingman23 140]

there's no harm in sending your packet 3 checklist, ds160 confirmation page and bio-page of your passport to them while waiting for packet3. in our case, we sent the p3 docs twice, first after a few days of the first ready then the second one after a day of the second ready (almost a week apart). they sent the p4 the day after the second email. received the p3 in the regular mail after a wk or two of receiving the p4.

 

note that i included my immigration docs (canadian cit card) when i sent my p3 to avoid back and forth communication with the consulate.

[Anthony446 51]

I sent in my P3 after getting the 2nd ready and Packet 4 arrived the day after! I would give it a try

[FeelingYoung66 14]

3 minutes ago, Anthony446 said:

I sent in my P3 after getting the 2nd ready and Packet 4 arrived the day after! I would give it a try

Anthony446.. we have the same Consulate received date. How long was it between your first "ready" and the second one? And did you eventually receive a Packet 3?

[Anthony446 51]

2 weeks. I took the chance and sent in the Packet 3 since everyone before me said they did after the 2nd ready! Havent received the actually packet 3 yet but I am sure its on the way through snail mail.

 

hope that helps you!

Edited December 4, 2019 by Anthony446

[FeelingYoung66 14]

Just now, Anthony446 said:

2 weeks. I took the chance and sent in the Packet 3 since everyone before me said they did after the 2nd ready!

 

hope that helps you!

Yes it does. Thanks!

[Em789 1]

I never knew about checking the ready status in CEAC before, just found out about it today with this website. 

 

Just sharing our timeline, maybe might help to figure out when your P3 might come.

 

USCIS sent us a letter Oct 10 that they will be sending the files to NVC. We will then receive another mail when NVC have sent the file to the consulate. We received a mail Dec 1st (its dated Nov 22 on the letter). My fiance (US) received it just this weekend and today I (Wpg, Canada) received the P3 in the mail with the approved I-129F form. 

 

[FeelingYoung66 14]

 

42 minutes ago, Em789 said:

Just sharing our timeline, maybe might help to figure out when your P3 might come.

Em789,

Thanks for sharing.. but I think your timeline needs a little work. You have a Consulate received date of 12-22-19(?). Also, you show a NOA2 date of 10-10-19, and a NVC received date only one day later. Normally those two dates are about a month apart. In addition, you have your country as Armenia, not Canada. Just sayin'. Please don't shoot the messenger.

 

So you received your P3 in the mail today in Winnipeg? That's great! Congrats! And it wasn't clear to me.. did both you and the Petitioner receive a letter from the NVC saying that they had forwarded your case to the Consulate.. and those were the letters that were dated the 22nd of November?

Edited December 4, 2019 by FeelingYoung66

[klgck 153]

I sent the checklist when I got my second ready on Sept 26 and got P4 the next day. I got the actual P3 Oct 7 (I have an in-depth description on my timeline). It just provides the link to the P3 checklist and the approved I-129F.

 

Edit: just looked at your TL and I see you booked your interview. Yay! 🙂 

Edited December 6, 2019 by klgck

[FeelingYoung66 14]

51 minutes ago, klgck said:

I sent the checklist when I got my second ready on Sept 26 and got P4 the next day. I got the actual P3 Oct 7 (I have an in-depth description on my timeline). It just provides the link to the P3 checklist and the approved I-129F.

 

Edit: just looked at your TL and I see you booked your interview. Yay! 🙂 

Yes klgck.. in my case it was 20 days between the first and second Ready, but interview is now set and all is good. Thank you for documenting your Canadian based K-1 Visa journey so well. It was a help to me and I'm sure to others as well.

 

I noticed from other posts you've made that you hung-around Montreal for a few days after your successful interview. Was there a reason for doing so that was related to the issuance of the Visa?

[:Sarah: 84]

13 hours ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

in my case it was 20 days between the first and second Ready

 

OMG that's such a long wait! I just got my 2nd ready and I am excited.

 

Did you actually get packet 3 at all or your fiance? I feel like some people never receive those.

 

Anyways Good luck on your interview!

[klgck 153]

20 hours ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

Yes klgck.. in my case it was 20 days between the first and second Ready, but interview is now set and all is good. Thank you for documenting your Canadian based K-1 Visa journey so well. It was a help to me and I'm sure to others as well.

 

I noticed from other posts you've made that you hung-around Montreal for a few days after your successful interview. Was there a reason for doing so that was related to the issuance of the Visa?

No problem! I found that knowing dates and days in between submitting/receiving things was important for me to understand and easily get through the process, so I hope my timeline can be useful to people who feel like they need to know the nitty gritty like me haha.

 

I arrived in Montreal the evening of 25th, had my interview the morning of the 27th and left the afternoon of the 27th. I went early to spend time with my fiance since he flew down to be with me for the week. I did want to stay for at least a few hours after my interview incase something went wrong/I needed more time (i.e., needed to print something, get more info., etc) and because I wasn't really sure how long the interview would take. My appointment was at 8:00a and I was out of there by 8:45a, meanwhile others have been there for up to two hours. I just wanted the buffer, I'm a worrier haha. 

[FeelingYoung66 14]

16 hours ago, klgck said:

had my interview the morning of the 27th and left the afternoon of the 27th.

Okay.. I had you confused with someone else then. Someone who remained in Montreal several days until they saw an "issued". I was trying to understand why.