MARCH 2023 K1 to NOA2 to NVC to EMBASSY

[Pangoleen 66]

2 hours ago, TannerH said:

When I found out my case had been sent back to USCIS I did a few things:

- Spoke to a tier 1 agent. They just told me it will take 180 days for the case to be looked at again.

- Joined a queue for a tier 2 agent. He said we don't have the details yet and I probably would have to wait 30 days. I think he kind of agreed with me when I said "from what I've seen if it's an USCIS filing error it's 30 days, if it's something serious it's 180 days." I confirmed with him that he was saying I should have an update in 30 days. Then he checked their official guidance I guess or something and repeated the 180 days line and basically wrapped up the call. I don't know how to interpret that call.

- Wrote an email to NVC. No response yet.

- Began the process of having my senator look into this case. We'll see if anything comes out of that.

 

Like I said, 180 days would be a deal breaker and we would just start the next phase of our life in Germany, so I'm hoping this gets resolved soon. The shitty part is that I guess at best we are in the dark until the end of the month?

 

But hey, the dark is a familiar place for all of us trapped in this process.

I sincerely hope it's just a filing error and that it's resolved quickly. Maybe you could try contacting the CIS Ombudsman as well?

[Bloomingdale 18]

 

Update, day 104 since NOA2 and multiple pokes and inquiries to USCIS, NVC, and my congressman, NVC emailed me this.

 

Crosses fingers

[Want_Serenity 36]

2 hours ago, Bloomingdale said:

 

Update, day 104 since NOA2 and multiple pokes and inquiries to USCIS, NVC, and my congressman, NVC emailed me this.

 

Crosses fingers

How exasperating… glad you’ve had some progress! Many blessings for the future 🥳

[Silky 41]

3 hours ago, Bloomingdale said:

 

Update, day 104 since NOA2 and multiple pokes and inquiries to USCIS, NVC, and my congressman, NVC emailed me this.

 

Crosses fingers

Congrats!  Great to see progress for you.

[Sha-Lee88 26]

A live agent via Ask Emma confirmed that my petition was shipped to NVC on 5/22.  My NOA2 date was 3/14.  I have not yet gotten an email notification from NVC.  Does anyone have an idea how long it takes from when the USCIS ships the petition to when the NVC sends the welcome email?

[PakistaniRussian 83]

6 minutes ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

A live agent via Ask Emma confirmed that my petition was shipped to NVC on 5/22.  My NOA2 date was 3/14.  I have not yet gotten an email notification from NVC.  Does anyone have an idea how long it takes from when the USCIS ships the petition to when the NVC sends the welcome email?

I never got a welcome e-mail at all from NVC. It took weeks from receiving date to get a case number. I expect you'll get a case number next week (be sure to send an inquiry next week). Good luck  

[Sha-Lee88 26]

9 minutes ago, PakistaniRussian said:

I never got a welcome e-mail at all from NVC. It took weeks from receiving date to get a case number. I expect you'll get a case number next week (be sure to send an inquiry next week). Good luck  

Thank you so much.  I will continue my weekly NVC Public Inquiry until I get a case number.

 

Once that is generated, it takes a few more weeks for the case to be sent to the Embassy, correct?

 

Also, I have read that once I have a case number from NVC, I can check the status with CEAC.  Once that status changes to READY, I can then have my fiancée fill out the DS-160, pay the MRV fee, and schedule the interview, correct?

[PakistaniRussian 83]

4 minutes ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

Thank you so much.  I will continue my weekly NVC Public Inquiry until I get a case number.

 

Once that is generated, it takes a few more weeks for the case to be sent to the Embassy, correct?

 

Also, I have read that once I have a case number from NVC, I can check the status with CEAC.  Once that status changes to READY, I can then have my fiancée fill out the DS-160, pay the MRV fee, and schedule the interview, correct?

In regards to being sent to the Embassy, they ship every Tuesday/Wednesday (twice a month). (see attachment on shipping dates). Although, some embassies can take longer, so your mileage may vary.

 

When you have a case number, you can check your case with CEAC (be sure to select Immigrant VISA when checking the status). 

 

Once its in READY status, you can schedule the interview and pay the MRV fee. 

 

For the DS-160, you can fill that out anytime between getting your case number and your interview date. (Make sure your take your time and fill it out as accurately as possible, it takes about 90 minutes or so. Also be sure to save the the application regularly in case of a session time out). 

 

 

 

 

[TannerH 3]

16 hours ago, Pangoleen said:

I sincerely hope it's just a filing error and that it's resolved quickly. Maybe you could try contacting the CIS Ombudsman as well?

This is a really interesting option, I wasn't aware of this. Maybe I should wait for the results of the Senator's office enquiry? Or should I just submit a request to the Ombudsman as well?

 

Also semi related question: does USCIS make a note if you call too often and can it have negative effects on your case?

[Pangoleen 66]

14 minutes ago, TannerH said:

This is a really interesting option, I wasn't aware of this. Maybe I should wait for the results of the Senator's office enquiry? Or should I just submit a request to the Ombudsman as well?

 

Also semi related question: does USCIS make a note if you call too often and can it have negative effects on your case?

The Ombudsman needs at least 30 days to pick up your request, so it wouldn't hurt to get it out now in my opinion.

 

As for your second question, nobody knows. In theory they shouldn't. I've seen some people worrying that their persistence may have actually hurt the progression of their case, while others insist it was the only way they were able to nudge USCIS towards action. Personally, I don't think it has much bearing either way, but don't quote me on this.

[Pangoleen 66]

1 hour ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

A live agent via Ask Emma confirmed that my petition was shipped to NVC on 5/22.  My NOA2 date was 3/14.  I have not yet gotten an email notification from NVC.  Does anyone have an idea how long it takes from when the USCIS ships the petition to when the NVC sends the welcome email?

Congratulations! Funny how we have the exact same dates and were fed the same misinformation post NVC transfer lol

[Kristina582 41]

2 hours ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

A live agent via Ask Emma confirmed that my petition was shipped to NVC on 5/22.  My NOA2 date was 3/14.  I have not yet gotten an email notification from NVC.  Does anyone have an idea how long it takes from when the USCIS ships the petition to when the NVC sends the welcome email?

I never got a Welcome letter, not even the case number despite multiple inquires. The only email I got from NVC was the notification that they sent the case to the embassy. 

[Sha-Lee88 26]

4 hours ago, PakistaniRussian said:

In regards to being sent to the Embassy, they ship every Tuesday/Wednesday (twice a month). (see attachment on shipping dates). Although, some embassies can take longer, so your mileage may vary.

 

When you have a case number, you can check your case with CEAC (be sure to select Immigrant VISA when checking the status). 

 

Once its in READY status, you can schedule the interview and pay the MRV fee. 

 

For the DS-160, you can fill that out anytime between getting your case number and your interview date. (Make sure your take your time and fill it out as accurately as possible, it takes about 90 minutes or so. Also be sure to save the the application regularly in case of a session time out). 

Thank you.

 

So, we can do the DS-160 as soon as we know the case number?  We don't need to wait for the READY status from CEAC?  Can we submit it and complete it before the READY status as well?

 

Is it best to do the DS-160 and pay the MRV fee after the READY status all at once?

1 hour ago, Kristina582 said:

I never got a Welcome letter, not even the case number despite multiple inquires. The only email I got from NVC was the notification that they sent the case to the embassy. 

So how did you eventually get your case number if no NVC inquiry had it?

[PakistaniRussian 83]

18 minutes ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

Thank you.

 

So, we can do the DS-160 as soon as we know the case number?  We don't need to wait for the READY status from CEAC?  Can we submit it and complete it before the READY status as well?

 

Is it best to do the DS-160 and pay the MRV fee after the READY status all at once?

So how did you eventually get your case number if no NVC inquiry had it?

The DS-160 can be filled out anytime. CEAC doesn't have to be in READY status. Not sure about MRV fee.

 

Also, finally got some luck on our end. Our case just got shipped out to the Embassy and we got a "In TRANSIT" status on the CEAC website. 

[Kristina582 41]

26 minutes ago, Sha-Lee88 said:

So how did you eventually get your case number if no NVC inquiry had it?

The case number was in the email which notified me that my petition was sent to the embassy.