Alanaloria's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Alana
Beneficiary's Name: Jose
VJ Member: Alanaloria
Country: Belize
Last Updated: 2016-02-26
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Immigration Checklist for Alana & Jose:
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USCIS I-129F Petition:
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Dept of State K1 Visa:
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USCIS I-485 Petition:
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USCIS I-765 Petition:
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USCIS I-131 Petition:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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K1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Belmopan |
| I-129F Sent : |
2011-09-06 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2011-09-12 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2012-01-31 |
| NVC Received : |
2012-02-09 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2012-02-21 |
| Consulate Received : |
2012-02-23 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2012-03-15 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2012-04-17 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2012-03-15 |
| Interview Date : |
2012-04-17 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2012-05-16 |
| US Entry : |
2012-05-23 |
| Marriage : |
2012-06-05 |
| Comments : |
We would have received the visa a week after the interview, but my fiance was invited to travel to the Dominican Republic to a literature convention, which required transiting through the US and would not be okay on the single entry k1 visa! They were really nice and they let him keep his passport with his valid B1/B2 visa until after the trip, then he went back to the embassy and they put the K1 visa in his passport. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 141 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 218 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
San Francisco |
| POE Date : |
2012-05-23 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
I got in line, it was really long because there were 3 other flights that got in at the same time, but eventually I got to the immigration officer. She was really nice. She asked me if I had ever been escorted by police at the airport (not sure why) but I said no and it wasn't a problem. Then she gave me back all the paperwork that the embassy had given me and told me to go down a hallway to another room for processing. In the room, there were a bunch of other people, and we were all waiting there to be processed. It seemed like a questioning room for people who they thought were suspicious. But when it was my turn, the guy was very nice. He asked me some standard questions like where I met my fiance, if I was sure we wanted to get married, etc. He was pretty light hearted and he joked around a bit, which was reassuring. Then he gave me back my passport and let me go. Overall it was about an hour and 15 minutes before I got through. |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
San Francisco CA |
| Date Filed : |
2012-06-07 |
| NOA Date : |
2012-06-13 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2012-09-05 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2012-10-24 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2012-10-24 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2012-11-05 |
| Comments : |
They screwed up and sent our biometrics appointment letter to the wrong address so we never got it. We had to call and get a new appointment scheduled, which set everything back a month or two.
Our AOS interview in San Francisco was a piece of cake - the guy was really friendly and joking with us the whole time. He spent about 15-20 minutes shuffling papers and organizing our file while chitchatting with us and asking us about how we met, what we did for our wedding and honeymoon, etc. He looked at our wedding photos for a couple of minutes, but didn't even look at any of the other documents (bank statements, our lease, etc etc etc) and said it was okay if I didn't bring them but since I did he added it to our file. Approved!!! |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2012-06-07 |
| NOA Date : |
2012-06-13 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2012-09-05 |
| Approved Date : |
2012-09-05 |
| Date Card Received : |
2012-09-14 |
| Comments : |
They screwed up and sent our biometrics appointment letter to the wrong address so we never got it. We had to call and get a new appointment scheduled, which set everything back a month or two.
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 90 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2012-06-07 |
| NOA Date : |
2012-06-13 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2012-09-14 |
| Comments : |
AP was a line at the bottom of the work authorization card. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 70 days. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2014-08-09 |
| NOA Date : |
2014-08-15 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2014-09-04 |
| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
2014-11-13 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
2014-11-21 |
| Comments : |
Super fast and easy, no interview! |
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Citizenship
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Phoenix AZ Lockbox |
| CIS Office : |
San Francisco CA |
| Date Filed : |
2015-08-01 |
| NOA Date : |
2015-08-03 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2015-08-24 |
| Interview Date : |
2015-12-01 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2016-02-10 |
| Comments : |
After the interview, the application was neither approved nor denied, but they gave us an RFE. We had to send more info in the mail, and soon after we got the oath ceremony notice :) |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Belmopan, Belize
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
April 19, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
Things were a little different than what we were expecting from reading reviews about the K1 process in other countries, and there's not a lot of information out there on Belize, so I'll give the best summary I can 
First of all, my fiance had to go to the US embassy in Belmopan to pick up his instruction/interview packet (it was all part of that same package). At that time, they told him to fill out all the forms and get the medical exam, and bring them back for his interview which they scheduled for about a month later. He had to get the medical exam in Belize City (visiting 3 different doctors for the blood tests, chest x-ray, etc) and it was about $150 US including the taxi. He also had to go to Belize city to get the new version of his birth certificate, so I recommend doing that at the same time if you live far away. Other than that, he needed typical things like his police record (from Belmopan - he didn't need one for the US even though he lived there for a few years), passport photos, old passports to prove he had a student visa when he was studying in the US a few years ago, the I-134, and most of the other typical forms - I think they were the DS-156, DS-156k, DS-157, and DS-230 part 1. We also had to go to Atlantic bank to pay the visa fee, which luckily for us was reduced from $350 US to $240 US just 4 days before our interview!
The interview itself was not bad at all. I went with him to the embassy, and they let me in with my passport. You have to leave everything at the security checkpoint when you go in - no cell phones, food, water, etc, but they did seem to allow books and extra jackets (it'd cold in there!) We had to wait 20 or 30 minutes in the waiting room with all the other visa applicants, and then a lady called us up to the window to review all the forms and make sure they were complete. Then we waited about another hour before we were called up to the window for the interview. The interview itself was in the same waiting room with everyone else, we just had to stand up at the window and talk to the lady through the glass. She was pretty nice and asked about 10 or 15 typical questions like how did you meet, what do you like about her, what DON'T you like about her, why do you want to move to the states together instead of having her more here, what are your plans for the wedding, etc. She also asked us about some of the pictures we'd given them as evidence and where they were taken. Overall it was not too stressful and only took about 15 or 20 minutes. Then she told us we were approved!
My fiance had a sort of complicated situation, because he was going on a trip to the Dominican Republic in a week, and you need to go through the US in order to get there, so we knew he couldn't do that with the K-1 visa since it's a one-time entry visa. We told them about the situation, and they were very nice and said that he could keep his passport with his B1/B2 visa after our interview, go on his trip, and then come back and drop off his passport when he got back. After that they said it would take about a week for them to print the visa and the package, and then he would have to come pick them up again. |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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Local US CIS Office Review: San Francisco CA
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 24, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
We had to wait maybe half an hour past our scheduled time, but that's to be expected.
Our AOS interview in San Francisco was a piece of cake - the guy was really friendly and joking with us the whole time. He spent about 15-20 minutes shuffling papers and organizing our file while chitchatting with us and asking us about how we met, what we did for our wedding and honeymoon, etc. He looked at our wedding photos for a couple of minutes, but didn't even look at any of the other documents (bank statements, our lease, etc etc etc) and said it was okay if I didn't bring them but since I did he added it to our file. Approved!!! |
| Harassment Level : |
Very Good |
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Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!
*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the
USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.
** Not all cases are transfered
ver 5.0
