Kiwi_Bdan

For the CR1/IR1 Visa: I got Documentarily Qualified on the 19/05/2023, received NVC email on the 31/08/2023, for an interview set for the 13/10/2023. It took exactly 1 week after this interview to receive my visa in my passport from the courier. It took 3 months to receive an interview date after I was qualified. so unsure how this relates to K1, but they do take a while to give out interviews.

For future reference for anyone, I can confirm that despite stamping my passport as CR1 at the border when entering, the physical Greencard that arrived two months later was changed to IR1. So if you were wrongly confirmed as CR1 in your passport, don't fret! They do change them (at least in my anecdotal experience )

No, I received no confirmation. First I knew they had it was at the consulate on interview day where they confirmed my details right before the wait before the interview and the dude had it in his hand.

When you receive your stamped passport you have to go to USCIS and pay the fee before you enter the States (I think its technically possible to enter and then pay, but advised against). You receive an email from "ELISdonotreply@uscis.dhs.gov" as a receipt and in that email is the following: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Application Name: USCIS Immigrant Fee Pay.Gov Tracking ID: ************* Agency Tracking ID: ****************** Transaction Type: Credit Card Transaction Amount: $220.00 Payment Date: Oct 24, 2023 Transaction Date: Oct 24, 2023 03:42:16 AM Your payment was applied to the following case(s): #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The number you use in https://egov.uscis.gov/ for tracking is the #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# number that Ive redacted here. For the last two months when I used that site It just told me the date of payment. However it recently changed and said they had processed it. 1 and a half weeks later and its changed again to: "On January 23, 2024, we mailed your new card for your Form OS155A, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Receipt Number #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#, to the address you gave us. If you do not receive your card by February 7, 2024, please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request that we send your new card to you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address."

I'm unsure what visa @KK_Shanks is applying for, or if perhaps the process has changed since I had my interview in Mid October 2023. But for the IR1/CR1 visa I had to drop off documents two weeks prior. I attach a list of what documents I included. You can also post this in to the Embassy, rather than physically dropping off, if that Is what @KK_Shanks is referring to. As to questions: How we met how long have we been married when did we get married where is your partner now Just really generic things really that any bonafide couple would just know. If its a legit application this process is smooth as. They also checked my marriage photos. All of the documents listed in the .doc below I also had to upload to the CEAC website where you did your DS-260 and other civil documents. PS. Don't bother with the physical passport photos. They don't use them now that everything is digital. TableOfContents_ONLINE.doc

I was processed as a CR1/IR1 spousal visa. Included doctors interview, bloods, vaccines, urine sample, chest x-rays. Took just over 1 hr 30mins. So yeh, bus from city surely cant take more than an hour. The old Skybus was 40 mins from Queen street when it used to run. I would say you're good to go!

Thanks, I had read either this or a similar case on here as well. I don't actually have my physical greencard yet, and from what I can tell there's a significant chance that USCIS corrects the CR1 to an IR1 when they issue the card anyway, despite what the stamped visa says in my passport. If not then yeh, I-90 it is!

Yeh, especially since the documentation that comes back with the passport visa tells you explicitly to sign up with USCIS, but then has no OAN (Online access Number) to do so. Ive heard you can call them and they can sort it out and get it linked, but I've not tried. The link, https://egov.uscis.gov, that @appleblossom posted above works and it can find your case. But the info I get is just wait 90 days. So not particularly informative. I wouldn't care otherwise, and Id be happy to wait, but they wrongly gave me a 2 year rather than the 10 year greencard and so I don't know if the process to renew the greencard involves this USCIS account or not 2 years down the line?

Thanks! How does this part work? I signed up to USCIS after paying the fee, but I have no online access code to link my account. Or was I meant to use my petitioners USCIS account that they made when starting this entire process?

outline of how it went down: TLDR: Yes you can check and correct the mailing address at the border when entering. Arrive States, go to the normal immigration line you would go to as NZ citizen. The border patrol agent noted straight away that I was coming through on a greencard visa, but maybe you have to mention it if not? They take you to a special room where they hand your passport to another agent. You wait and sit till your name is called. ~20mins and they called my name. The person had been processing it the whole time. They asked me one question: "Is this address correct?" followed by my submitted address. You say yay/nay and correct it if need be, they give your passport back and you exit through to baggage claim. Easy as pie.

Yeh July/August. Im glad its sorted I completely get it. The whole process is miserably beurocratic and completely lacking sufficient communication. But this blog post has been great! Once I got my interview date, everything moved fast. The medical and interview are fairly easy presuming you're all good and the application is legitimate. Entering the States was a breeze. standard US immigration took 10x longer than it took the office guys at immigration to process the green card. I'm now sitting here waiting for my actual physical greencard and social security number to arrive in the mail (3 to 6 weeks after arriving in the States apparently)

I received my documentarily qualified email (19/05/2023) titled: Notice regarding your Immigrant Visa Case becoming Documentarily Qualified then 3 months later I got my interview date email (31/08/2023) titled: Immigrant Visa Interview Appointment That was it, nothing in between the two and no extra information. Both were from the NVC. The Auckland consulate then emailed a week after the interview date email with interview info. Also, your case is probably quicker than this. I was held up by the no interviews for the FIFA cup in NZ. Ive no idea how much quicker they will be.

Ive got a bunch of posts on the previous page, and on this one. But essentially: I got Documentarily Qualified on the 19/05/2023, received NVC email on the 31/08/2023, for an interview set for the 13/10/2023. It took exactly 1 week after this interview to receive my visa in my passport from the courier. It took 3 months to receive an interview date after I was qualified. the 31/08 was the last Thursday of the month (there were 5 Wednesdays in August before this) So I don't think the "3rd Wednesday" info holds any water.

Yes, anything extra that the consulate desires that isn't already in CEAC, you need to upload (including relationship evidence). They wont confirm submission or anything, but it needs to be there. My partner and I were advised by our immigration lawyer to add ~50 - 70 photos post wedding/post intial NVC application to show that the relationship has been ongoing since applying for the visa and since the wedding (as the two were almost at the same time for us). Photos preferrably show applicant and US petitioner together and with both sets of family and friends of each partner, in order to prove that you were a couple not only just together but in "public" and in the eyes of family/friends. Official consulate/NVC state information says these can also be messages and/or emails etc, but lawyer said photos are best. During my interview the interviewer did actually check the photos we had printed and submitted two weeks prior (these were both in the package I dropped off and I had submitted online to CEAC) . PS: The photos we uploaded were a more recent different set than the evidence we submitted for the I130. So I guess, no we didnt upload the I130 relationship evidence, although i cant see it hurting to do so, especially if your evidence for I130 was post marriage. In our case the marriage and I130 were almost at the same time, and so it made more sense to have post I130 evidence as it also showed that the marriage was ongoing and genuine.

Notes: I lived in Australia for over 6 months, hence the extra police reports. My partner and I do not currently meet the "125% of HHS Poverty Guidelines" hence the joint sponsor, so not all applicants will need a joint sponsor. My partner was in NZ on a work/holiday visa. The NVC specifically requested documents to state that they were permanently residing in the US and not NZ, hence the documents showing return flights, expiring nZ work/holiday visa, and credit union statements for ongoing US financial activity.

packet that you brought to the interview -------> No. Medical sends their results to the consulate, medical give you some receipts and bits and bobs for your personal use, but the interview requested none of them. documents be delivered two weeks in advance -------> This is the official consulate advice, when I emailed them they said even a week out is fine. In saying that I also did my medical and delivered documents by hand to the consulate two weeks out. include your I-864 and evidence of relationship -------> The required documents is a hot mess. I ended up making an excel spreadsheet accross all the various sources of what you should bring and including anything I could find a reference for, with the idea in mind that it's better to have something they dont need than to not have something they need. Yes I included my I-864 and I used about ~50 photos since marriage (and including marriage photos) as evidence of relationship. There were a few people at the interviews that failed or had conditional approvals because they were missing documents. So if in doubt, just chuck it in. Also I was part of a group that are being processed electronically and so any extra evidence I brought to the consulate that I hadnt given the NVC via CEAC I had to also upload to CEAC. I attach a copy of my "table of contents" describing all the documents I submitted to the consulate in a sealed courier bag two weeks before my interview. TableOfContents_ONLINE.doc

Replying to my own post for future reference. Further research on the medical - it seems Citymed Auckland charge standard rates for vaccines. Might as well just let them do it. Traveling to the US - Yes, it is possible. Immigrant lawyer said no worries. I went and US immigration didn't care at all. Currently coming back 1 week before my medical in NZ. So I got Documentarily Qualified on the 19/05/2023, received NVC email on the 31/08/2023, for an interview set for the 13/10/2023. Good luck to everyone.

Hi all, I got DQ'd on the 19th May 2023. Still waiting for an interview date as the others above. A prior post stated that every 3rd Wednesday of the month they issue dates to the NVC who then assign them. Worrying to see people pass by this date with no news - seems the consulte has a backlog perhaps, or has stopped issuing given the FIFA world cup? I have a question about the medical if anyone can help. At the moment i'm going to leave any extra jabs up to them to do rather than get them earlier. Probably flu, covid booster and a tetanus booster. Any ideas as to what they charge for these? Is it more cost worthy to get before hand or is it ok to let CityMed Auck do it? Also - has anyone travelled to the US on a normal ESTA close to the interview date? Considering going for a month or two with family up till a few weeks before probable interview date. Will US immigration be ok with this? Have emailed immigration lawyer this as well, but interested to hear from anyone with experience on this. Cheers - and great thread, this has been an amazing source of information for the battle weary 😭