Approved

[TheWitch 0]

Hello!

Our petition was finally approved after waiting since September 2022. 

My fiance is the USC and received the I-797 today. I had a question regarding the validity date, it says Valid from 05/17/2024 to 09/16/2024. Does that mean I should be moving to the US by that date?

I'm curious to know how fast the next steps are going to go. I had planned a trip to go back the US on July 25th until October 20th, will I receive the NVC letter and interview date by then or is it most likely to be after? I'm not sure if I should cancel the trip based on that. The trip was booked at the beginning of the month. I'd love some help and to be enlightened. Really excited!

[MalloryCat 178]

It does not mean you should be moving by that date. The validity date is just how long your petition is approved for.

But most of the time the embassy the petition is going to can extend that date if you can't schedule the interview within that time frame.

 

The time solely depends on the embassy now. It can take a few weeks for the NVC to transfer your petition to the embassy. And most embassies now you schedule your own interview, they don't do it for you. But that also depends on the embassy.

Receiving the letter from the NVC in a timely matter isn't always guaranteed. If you haven't received the letter from the NVC within a month of USCIS transferring it to them, you should submit an inquiry to them to get your case number.

 

Once you get that case number from the NVC, you can track your case on the CEAC site. And once the embassy receives your petition from the NVC they will send you a letter (typically called packet 3) on the next steps for how to schedule your medical, get the required documents, and scheduling your interview.

 

Your time frame for when you have to move to the US starts once you have your medical. From the time of your medical you need to move to the US within 6 months. So when it comes to scheduling that, make sure it is pretty close to your interview date (for example, my finances medical is 2 weeks before his interview)

 

But you absolutely can still take your trip while waiting for all of this. Cause unfortunately you still have a bit of waiting to do lol

 

If you do take your trip, I would just have someone check your mail for you while you're gone. In case you get anything from the NVC or embassy in the time you're not there

 

[TBoneTX 45,031]

Congratulations!

[hplusj 131]

2 hours ago, TheWitch said:

I had planned a trip to go back the US on July 25th until October 20th

You'd do well to review similar timelines on this site for Canada, just to hone expectations to what time you have left after receiving the NOA2.  If the turnaround for you to begin scheduling your medical and visa appointment does occur in the initial four month window for most people, you wouldn't necessarily have to cancel this trip, but I personally would shorten it for many reasons, such as saving money for the upcoming visa expenses, closing out any asset sales/work obligations, and not eliciting any red flags for travel into the US that could be perceived as circumventing the wait process. I think if you were only to visit for a week or two, with the understanding that you needed to return to Canada to complete the K1 process, you are more likely to be granted entry. 

 

But this is all just gut speculation.  Perhaps poke the regional forums for advice from Canadians on anyone who traveled to visit during this stage, and what their experiences were.