Pitaya's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: B Beneficiary's Name: A VJ Member: Pitaya Country: China Last Updated: 2019-10-03 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for B & A:

USCIS I-129F Petition:       Dept of State K1 Visa:     USCIS I-485 Petition:   USCIS I-765 Petition:       USCIS I-131 Petition:       USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

K1 Visa Event Date Service Center : California Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Guangzhou, China I-129F Sent : 2011-10-24 I-129F NOA1 : 2011-10-31 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2012-03-26 NVC Received : 2012-04-02 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : NVC Left : 2012-04-13 Consulate Received : 2012-04-20 Packet 3 Received : 2012-05-06 Packet 3 Sent : 2012-04-29 Packet 4 Received : 2012-05-18 Interview Date : 2012-06-13 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2012-06-22 US Entry : 2012-07-26 Marriage : 2012-07-30 Comments : We give our thanks to the Lord for all of the blessings that have been bestowed on us ! On 30 July 2012, at 4:30pm, at the Seattle Justice Center, my fiancee and I were married. It was a small and private affair. There were six people in attendance, the judge, us, her son, and our two witnesses. Afterwords, our limousine dropped the five of us off at the the Seattle Space Needle for a delightful celebratory dinner. On the elevator up, we met a couple that were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They now live in San Diego, but were married 50 years ago today at the Space Needle. It only tended to add to the special feeling of our recent nuptials. What a wonderful commentary to a wonderful day! We feel so blessed to have been able to start with a dream of her coming to America, and now it has come to fruition. To all of my fellow VJ travelers trudging the immigration trail, this wonderful, sweet beginning together makes all of the loneliness, the toil and hard work of our visa journey pale by comparison, and worth every second of that protracted effort. Hang in there, and support your future partner. Work together as a team, the results may astound you! Our best wishes to all of you as we all continue on our immigration journey. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 147 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 226 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Seattle POE Date : 2012-07-26 Got EAD Stamp : No Biometrics Taken : Yes Harassment Level : 5 Comments : My fiancee's (K-1) and her son's (K-2) Seattle POE encounter with CBP took two hours. It seems that there were numerous POEs at the same time. Initially, they couldn't find her file in the DHS computer. After a bit of coaxing, all went smoothly, no issues. The CBP personnel were cordial and professional. We are so happy to finally have them in the good old USA! We just made it to the courthouse to obtain the marriage license (3-day wait period in WA state). Our marriage took place on 30 July 2012 at the Seattle Justice Center. It took the Customs and "Burro" Patrol over six weeks to input my wife and stepson's info into their I-94 database. The "Burro" patrol could use some prickly-pear cactus paddles appropriately placed to get them off of their collective duffs.

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : Seattle WA Date Filed : 2012-08-17 NOA Date : 2012-08-31 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2012-10-02 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : 2012-11-19 Approval / Denial Date : 2012-11-19 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Greencard Received: 2012-11-30 Comments : AOS petitions submitted for wife (K1) and stepson (K2).

Employment Authorization Document Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method : Mail Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2012-08-17 NOA Date : 2012-08-31 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2012-10-02 Approved Date : 2012-10-25 Date Card Received : 2012-11-01 Comments : Combo cards received for wife (K1) and stepson (K2), quick and relatively painless. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your EAD was approved in 69 days.

Advance Parole Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method :   Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2012-08-17 NOA Date : 2012-08-31 RFE(s) : Date Received : 2012-11-01 Comments : Combo cards received for wife (K1) and stepson (K2), quick and relatively painless. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your AP was approved in 69 days.

Lifting Conditions Event Date CIS Office : California Service Center Date Filed : 2014-08-25 NOA Date : 2014-08-27 RFE(s) : 2015-04-14 Bio. Appt. : 2014-09-17 Interview Date : Approval / Denial Date : 2015-05-21 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Green Card Received : 2015-06-01 Comments : Joint ROC petition submitted for my family, my wife and my stepson. For us this approval was a tough one. Unfortunately, the adjudicator wasn't convinced by the initial six pounds of "marriage bona fides" evidence we had submitted. We got the infamous RFE after eight months of waiting, wanting more proof of the marriage. This was our first encounter with the RFE process during our entire immigration journey. It mobilized our family into realizing that we have to fight for our family, and that is what we did. So, after combing though almost three years of receipts, records and documents, our RFE response weighed in at three pounds, eleven ounces. We have no indication one way or the other, but we feel that including each of our recently prepared wills, living wills, and durable powers of attorney had to help as proof to USCIS that we have a real marriage. Believe me, it is a real marriage, sometimes we fight like cats and dogs, but that also makes the reconciliation even more sweeter. We truly feel that this entire immigration journey and dealing with the government bureaucracies on two continents has been instrumental in helping our family grow stronger together, very much a family-building experience. May the good Lord continue to bless our family and also our VJ family. Best wishes to all.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Guangzhou, China Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : June 15, 2012 Embassy Review : The medical exam for my fiancee and stepson was on 11 June 2012. Due to weather delay in Beijing, I arrived in GZ at midnight. Their scheduled document intake was at 12:30pm on 13 June 2012. By that time, there was quite a crowd outside the entrance to the building. Due to the number of other applicants, they were able to complete the document intake in about 3 hours. My fiancee was asked some rather off-putting questions by the Chinese woman accepting the documents, such as, "Why did she want to marry an American man?" However, my lady was at the top of her game, it was her birthday, so she felt like super-woman! Additionally, we had rehearsed numerous times appropriate responses to all manner of potential questions. They were given stamped instructions on the appointment form to show up the next day (14 June 2012) at 7:30am for their interview. (On the form there was placed a green circular sticker with the black line across the diameter. We were unable to determine any significance to the green sticker.) They arrived a little before 7:30 am on the 14th, there was another big crowd already assembled in front of the building housing the consulate. I hang out for awhile at the cafe and then went back to our hotel room around the corner from the consulate, due to a bad case of jet lag). They arrived back at the hotel around 11am, with the visa approval notice. My fiancee said the interview lasted about 10 minutes, the western male CO was professional, but friendly. She presented my un-notarized EOR letter, folded in my passport to the CO. She said that he scanned it and my passport, then returned my passport to her. He asked if she was a member of the CCP, asked about our trips together in China. My stepson noted that the CO seemed to type information slowly into his computer, but was carefully observing both my fiancee's and stepson's eye movements and facial expressions. The CO looked over our photographs (~30) that included the three of us, me with her family, and she and I on our trips together. His final question was if he could trust her statements. She emphatically replied, "Yes, you certainly can!" He then said that their visas were approved and happy birthday! Overall, the experience was quite nerve-racking (naturally), but in the end uneventful. All of us agreed that the hot and humid weather in Guangzhou was not to our liking. A few caveats: Come prepared to state your case. My fiancee took almost four inches of supporting documents and evidence to the interview. The CO asked for very little of it, but could see that we had done our homework. Be truthful and succinct in your answers. The old saying, "The truth will set you free," comes to mind. Work as a team and support your future partner. Thanks to all of the great people at this site, the information and advice was invaluable. Rating : Very Good

Local US CIS Office Review: Seattle WA Review Topic: cis_topic Event Description Review Date : November 21, 2012 Embassy Review : My wife, stepson and myself had our AOS interview on 19 No 2012. There were some strange moments at the interview. I was told by the IO that I had forgotten to fill out a G-325A for myself, and promptly complied with the IO request. My wife and I were interviewed first, then the IO brought my stepson in and interviewed him. The IO asked for, and I provided copies of my divorce decrees, a copy of all pages of each of our passports, and photos of our wedding and family photos of our lives since the wedding. The IO then said that since he had only received our file ten minutes before the interview, he would have to review the evidence that we had provided, and either contact us for more information, or we would get our approval in the mail in 10-14 days. I gave the IO a copy of my business card, asking him to please contact me if he had any other questions. Obviously we were somewhat disappointed. However, shortly after we got home, I got SMS text notifications that each of our I-485s case status had changed to \"Card/Document Production.\" Go figure….? Overall, it was a somewhat murky hour-long interview, with the outcome very much in doubt. I am assuming that we were approved after all. I was able to offload some of the eight inches of paperwork that I brought with us for the interview. The IO wanted a bunch of photos from our 3 premarital visits, copies of all pages of all of our passports, and copies of my divorce decrees. I was all too happy to comply with his request. Overall, the USCIS personnel at the Tukwila (Seattle) office were courteous and professional, the interview took place within 30 minutes of the appointed time. (updated on November 21, 2012) Harassment Level : Poor

Timeline Comments: 1



*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

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