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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline
Posted
3 minutes ago, Ben & Katy said:

We just crossed back into Arizona by land from Mexico last week and the agents never asked for proof of negative test/or vaccine.  We took our vaccine cards just in case.  This was all with the expired Green Card/18 month extension letter.  I am not sure if airports and land ports are doing different things or the same things.  They were supposed to ask tourists crossing from Mexico for the proof of vaccine but so far the agents are not enforcing it for the Mexican tourists.

I've heard it's not being enforced for any tourists coming from Mexico, this is why Russians (who have no access to any FDA approved vaccine) are considering land crossings via Mexico into the US. Rather strange, I wonder how long it will last.

🇷🇺 CR-1 via DCF (Dec 2016-Jun 2017) & I-751 ROC (Apr 2019-Oct 2019)🌹

Spoiler

Info about my DCF Moscow* experience here and here

26-Jul-2016: Married abroad in Russia 👩‍❤️‍👨 See guide here
21-Dec-2016: I-130 filed at Moscow USCIS field office*
29-Dec-2016: I-130 approved! Yay! 🎊 

17-Jan-2017: Case number received

21-Mar-2017: Medical Exam completed

24-Mar-2017: Interview at Embassy - approved! 🎉

29-Mar-2017: CR-1 Visa received (via mail)

02-Apr-2017: USCIS Immigrant (GC) Fee paid

28-Jun-2017: Port of Entry @ PDX 🛩️

21-Jul-2017: No SSN after three weeks; applied in person at the SSA

22-Jul-2017: GC arrived in the mail 📬

31-Jul-2017: SSN arrived via mail, hurrah!

 

*NOTE: The USCIS Field Office in Moscow is now CLOSED as of February 28th, 2019.

 

Removal of Conditions - MSC Service Center

 28-Jun-2019: Conditional GC expires

30-Mar-2019: Eligible to apply for ROC

01-Apr-2019: ROC in the mail to Phoenix AZ lockbox! 📫

03-Apr-2019: ROC packet delivered to lockbox

09-Apr-2019: USCIS cashed check

09-Apr-2019: Case number received via text - MSC 📲

12-Apr-2019: Extension letter arrives via mail

19-Apr-2019: Biometrics letter arrives via mail

30-Apr-2019: Biometrics appointment at local office

26-Jun-2019: Case ready to be scheduled for interview 

04-Sep-2019: Interview was scheduled - letter to arrive in mail

09-Sep-2019: Interview letter arrived in the mail! ✉️

17-Oct-2019: Interview scheduled @ local USCIS  

18-Oct-2019: Interview cancelled & notice ordered*

18-Oct-2019: Case was approved! 🎉

22-Oct-2019: Card was mailed to me 📨

23-Oct-2019: Card was picked by USPS 

25-Oct-2019: 10 year GC Card received in mail 📬

 

*I don't understand this status because we DID have an interview!

 

🇺🇸 N-400 Application for Naturalization (Apr 2020-Jun 2021) 🛂

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Filed during Covid-19 & moved states 1 month after filing

30-Mar-2020: N-400 early filing window opens!

01-Apr-2020: Filed N-400 online 💻 

02-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received online 📃

07-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received via mail

05-May-2020: Moved to another state, filed AR-11 online

05-May-2020: Application transferred to another USCIS field office for review ➡️

15-May-2020: AR-11 request to change address completed

16-Jul-2020: Filed non-receipt inquiry due to never getting confirmation that case was transferred to new field office

15-Oct-2020: Received generic response to non-receipt inquiry, see full response here

10-Feb-2021: Contacted senator's office for help with USCIS

12-Feb-2021: Received canned response from senator's office that case is within processing time 😡

16-Feb-2021: Contacted other senator's office for help with USCIS - still no biometrics

19-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice - canned response from other senator's office 🌐

23-Feb-2021: Interview scheduled - notice to come in the mail

25-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice arrives via mail

01-Mar-2021: Interview notice letter arrives via mail  ✉️ 

29-Mar-2021: Passed interview at local office! Oath Ceremony to be scheduled

13-Apr-2021: Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

04-May-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 Unable to attend due to illness

04-May-2021: Mailed request to reschedule Oath to local office

05-May-2021: "You did not attend your Oath Ceremony" - notice to come in the mail

06-May-2021: Oath Ceremony will be scheduled, date TBA

12-May-2021: Oath Ceremony re-scheduled for June 3rd, then de-scheduled same day 😡 

25-May-2021: New Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Mexico
Timeline
Posted
10 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I've heard it's not being enforced for any tourists coming from Mexico, this is why Russians (who have no access to any FDA approved vaccine) are considering land crossings via Mexico into the US. Rather strange, I wonder how long it will last.

WOW!

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
Timeline
Posted

I haven't seen any official word yet.......I'm waiting on pins and needles...LOL

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In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Posted (edited)
41 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I haven't seen any official word yet.......I'm waiting on pins and needles...LOL

There are news sources now reporting the 1 day testing requirement.  What people get wrong in this thread though is from the CDC perspective, 1 day does not equal 24 hours.  This is explained in the CDC FAQ section on international travel.  For example, if you do a test at 8am Tuesday, that test is valid until 1159pm on Wednesday.  Also, its time of departure not time of arrival.  Ive been the sole person in a 95,000 employee organization tracking travel restrictions and moving all of our international travelers for the past 20 months so these details are ingrained in my head.  Also its a Covid test which means both PCR and rapid antigen tests are OK.  The news just came out a few hours ago but these are the preliminary details.  

 

Also, labs generally put the date and time as when the test was taken and not when the results were received.  Some labs will put both times.

 

Also, it appears the new testing requirements may not apply for border crossings.  All this information is very new and subject to slightly change.

 

If people need a fast Covid test, just check the airport website that you would fly in or out.  Many now offer antigen and PCR tests on site with some having 15-30 minute turnarounds..............for a fee of course. :) 

 

Also, just to add, if you ever read any sources quoting 24 hours or 72 hours, they are wrong.  Even now some sources are mentioning that the US has a 1 day Covid test requirement which was lowered from the 72 hours.  The US has never had a 72 hour testing requirement, it was always a 3 day requirement and the same rules applied to my example above for 1 day testing.

Edited by flicks1998

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance.  Americans are proud of not knowing things.  They have reached a point where ignorance, is an actual virtue.  To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they're wrong about anything.  It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that arent true.  All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.  The fundamental knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of "uninformed", passed "misinformed", on the way down, and now plummeting to "aggressively wrong."

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted

This all ridiculous and out of hand.  Yes, there are going to be mutations of the spike protein.  But we don't even find the mutations until they've already happened (duh) and someone is looking for them (also duh).  Meanwhile, people carrying the mutation have already travelled and spread it before it's discovered.  Lock downs are an exercise in futility.  

 

I've given up on international travel, too.  I really wanted to go home and see my grandparents before they age out, but this is too much.  

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Posted (edited)

@flicks1998 I understood the previous CDC guidance that 1 day =/= 24 hours. I planned my last COVID test using the CDC guidelines found here.

 

My concern is that the new rules coming out soon may become much stricter and the requirement does become a PCR test done 1 day (=24 hours) for all travellers regardless of vaccination status. The airport we will be using does have an on-site testing facility... but it's annoying to have to anticipate redoing our travel plans just to get a test on time. Part of why I quit my previous job handling international travel too :)

 

Nothing to do until the CDC website is updated with the latest restrictions, I guess.

Edited by Adventine
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 I understood the previous CDC guidance that 1 day =/= 24 hours. I planned my last COVID test using the CDC guidelines found here.

 

My concern is that the new rules coming out soon may become much stricter and the requirement does become a PCR test done 1 day (=24 hours) for all travellers regardless of vaccination status.

 

Nothing to do until the CDC website is updated with the latest restrictions, I guess.

Hello Adventine,  its never been that way.  Since the beginning of the pandemic.  That link you quoted is the correct link.  Scroll down to the FAQ section on test timing.

 

The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure and the 3-day period is the 3 days before the flight’s departure. The Order uses 1-day and 3-day time frames instead of 24 hours and 72 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a 1-day and 3-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.

For example, if you are fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Tuesday or after. If you are not fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.

Edited by flicks1998

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance.  Americans are proud of not knowing things.  They have reached a point where ignorance, is an actual virtue.  To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they're wrong about anything.  It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that arent true.  All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.  The fundamental knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of "uninformed", passed "misinformed", on the way down, and now plummeting to "aggressively wrong."

Posted

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted
10 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Hello Adventine,  its never been that way.  Since the beginning of the pandemic.  That link you quoted is the correct link.  Scroll down to the FAQ section on test timing.

 

The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure and the 3-day period is the 3 days before the flight’s departure. The Order uses 1-day and 3-day time frames instead of 24 hours and 72 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a 1-day and 3-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.

For example, if you are fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Tuesday or after. If you are not fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.

The only problem with this and it has caught travelers out is, if you have a connecting flight and your covid test expires, you will not be permitted to jump on the next flight without a new, negative covid test. This can be challenging with unexpected reroutings or missed flights.  

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Montreal IR-1/CR-1 Visa spreadsheet: follow directions at top of page for data to be added

Posted
8 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

Yes, the preliminary information I have seen will stay the same as to how the time is counted.  The people Im helping move are almost all doctors and other medical personnel who work closely with the CDC.  In our medical/hospital network, we cant get PCR results back before 48 hours, the only we can do it is if we put in a special requests to cut in line from others.  You are right though that anything could happen and anything could change at any moment, but I can tell you for sure, if the US is to go to a 24 hour period and only PCR testing, we will be in deep trouble as an organization. 

 

The problem I have seen is the media and news outlets, casually use 1 day and 24 hours or 3 days and 72 hours as if they are the same thing which they arent.  Most countries use a hour system to count their Covid testing requirements, whereas the US is one of very few countries, if not the only one that uses days.

 

If you are flying to Costa Rica next week, it looks like the San Jose airport has onsite testing as well.

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance.  Americans are proud of not knowing things.  They have reached a point where ignorance, is an actual virtue.  To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they're wrong about anything.  It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that arent true.  All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.  The fundamental knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of "uninformed", passed "misinformed", on the way down, and now plummeting to "aggressively wrong."

Posted
2 minutes ago, mam521 said:

The only problem with this and it has caught travelers out is, if you have a connecting flight and your covid test expires, you will not be permitted to jump on the next flight without a new, negative covid test. This can be challenging with unexpected reroutings or missed flights.  

Yes this is correct.  We have run into this issue with some of our travelers who had certain legs of their flights cancelled. 

 

Also, in the past when the requirements were 3 days, we would have employees test in Italy, fly to Ireland and then use the test to enter the US which has been accepted by the airline.  However, commercial airlines can be very inconsistent in how they apply the rules and since they can be penalized financially, they tend to err on the side of caution.  A few weeks ago we have an employee do a Covid test in Nur Sultan, used that Covid test to fly to Dubai, he took a car to Abu Dhabi to catch his flight the next day to the US and the airline denied his test although it was still within the 3 days.  He had to test at the airport again.  We also have travelers fly on a corporate jet and all of these rules are even more loosely enforced.  Many times our travelers are never even asked to show test results either in the destination country or getting on the flight back to the US.  Honestly, the travel rules are all over the place and dont really make much sense.  Italy has a testing exemption for business travelers who stay less than 120 hours. :)  What sense that makes I have no idea.

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance.  Americans are proud of not knowing things.  They have reached a point where ignorance, is an actual virtue.  To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they're wrong about anything.  It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that arent true.  All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.  The fundamental knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of "uninformed", passed "misinformed", on the way down, and now plummeting to "aggressively wrong."

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted

@flicks1998 all I hear is circus music in my head when I am exhausted thinking about all of this.  It's silliness! 

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 FAQ

 

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 Visa spreadsheet: follow directions at top of page for data to be added

Posted
1 hour ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

I was able to find the video of the speech by Biden today and what he mentioned in there was the requirements will change from 3 days to 1 day.  There were no further details as to testing type, etc.  However, I have a very strong feeling that both PCR and antigen tests will be accepted, but will need to wait for more details.  

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance.  Americans are proud of not knowing things.  They have reached a point where ignorance, is an actual virtue.  To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they're wrong about anything.  It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that arent true.  All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.  The fundamental knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of "uninformed", passed "misinformed", on the way down, and now plummeting to "aggressively wrong."

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted
21 hours ago, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

The fun self-quarantine in Canada was the Government periodically calling your cellphone to confirm you're at home. Seems that the Canadian feds haven't woken up to the possibility that a cellphone can be carried around. xD

That's the point though. In Canada you dont just take your photo with your camera, you take your photo with a special app that also tags your geo-location on the photo, so it has a GPS element that lets them know where you are and that it's actually you.  

 

If you take a photo of yourself and you are not at home, they will know because of the GPS data

 

If you leave your phone at home where the GPS data is correct, you risk when you leave the house that that will just happen to be the time they require you to check in.

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted
1 minute ago, MarJhi said:

That's the point though. In Canada you dont just take your photo with your camera, you take your photo with a special app that also tags your geo-location on the photo, so it has a GPS element that lets them know where you are and that it's actually you.  

 

If you take a photo of yourself and you are not at home, they will know because of the GPS data

 

If you leave your phone at home where the GPS data is correct, you risk when you leave the house that that will just happen to be the time they require you to check in.

Ahh I guess it's gotten more stringent. My husband was under self-isolation in Canada in August 2020 and they just called him..no deal with the app or anything.

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