Mr. Borkström's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Melissa Beneficiary's Name: Magnus VJ Member: Mr. Borkström Country: Sweden Last Updated: 2015-10-30 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Melissa & Magnus:

USCIS I-130 Petition:       Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:     USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Date Service Center : California Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Sweden Marriage (if applicable): 2011-06-30 I-130 Sent : 2011-11-26 I-130 NOA1 : 2011-12-02 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2012-05-02 NVC Received : 2012-05-14 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : 2012-06-01 Pay AOS Bill : 2012-06-05 Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : Submit DS-261 : 2012-06-01 Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : 2012-06-07 Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : 2012-07-02 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2012-09-28 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2012-10-03 US Entry : 2012-12-23 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 152 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 301 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Newark POE Date : 2012-12-23 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Harassment Level : Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Sweden Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : September 30, 2012 Embassy Review : If memory serves me right, the embassy website says they open at 8: AM. My appointment was at 9:00 AM. I got off the bus at maybe 8:30. The bus stop was right across the street from the US embassy, so that was very convenient. There was a security checkpoint and I was asked to wait outside (it was raining, of course) and stand in line. There were two lines and I obviously went to stand in the wrong one.On the plus side, next to me was an older couple, turned out they were from El Salvador and had lived in Sweden for 25ish years. They were very chatty, so that was nice. Behind me there was a whole bunch of middle aged guys, the members of an orchestra as it turned out. After a while I noticed I was in the wrong line, though, so I went over to the correct line. There was one person ahead of me in the much shorter immigrant visa applicants line. When it was my turn, a security guard took my passport, ask me to wait behind the line right outside the entrance and show him the soles of my shoes. I was let in and a second guard took over. It was funny cause I thought he sounded Australian. "Just like at the airport" he said. I scanned all my belongings and turned in all electronic devices (cell phone, iPod, memory card for the camera etc). I was then asked to proceed outside, follow the yellow line and into the main building and a waiting room. I got a receipt so I could get my stuff back once I was done. I got in the main building and the waiting room. It was probably around 9:25 when I got in. Another security guard told me (in Swedish) to go to Window F. Another Swedish guy asked to see my passport, looked at a list and then asked me to go to Window G (for immigrant visas). A third Swedish guy took my passport, looked through my documents (forms and such) and gave me a large envelope to write my address on and put the stamps on it. When we were done he asked me to sit down and wait and they would call my name later. It was hard to tell how quickly time passed cause there was no clock, only a television set and a vending machine. I passed the time by starring at the vending machine and eaves dropping on the old dudes in the orchestra. After an unknown period of time had passed, a speaker voice told me to go to Window something-or-other (I forget). It was an American woman, probably in her early 40's or so. She started looking through all the papers and forms that my wife and I have sent in the the US authorities since we started this process back in November. I had to swear an oath that all the information I had given and was about to give was true. I left my finger prints in a little scanner they had. She then started asking me questions. How long have you known your wife? Where did you meet? When was she born? Has she lived her whole life in Pittsburgh? Have you ever applied for an immigrant visa before? What are her parents' names? Have you met her parents? Do you have children? Has she been to Sweden? Oh you got married here in Sweden? Why did you decide to get married in Sweden? Were her children there for the marriage? They were not? Why not? Did any of your friends and family attend? There may have been more questions but those are the ones I can remember for now. The whole thing didn't take very long. I'd say between five and ten minutes. At that point, she said: "Your visa application has been approved. Congratulations. You will have your passport back in the mail within two weeks." It felt like it came at an unexpected time. I was stunned. Everything turned hazy. I started tearing up. I wasn't sure I heard her right, I almost wanted to go back and ask her "Approved? Are you sure?" But I thought to myself that she wouldn't have congratulated me if she'd denied the application. So I gathered all my things, went back outside, claimed my electronics at the guard station and went on my merry way. I was outside again by maybe 10:10 in the morning. After giving it some serious thought, I decided to rate my experience at the embassy a 5. The reason why I had to think it over is because it took an unusually long time for me to get an interview date after the NVC had completed our case. My wife called the NVC and was told the NVC completed our case on July 2nd, 2012. We had to wait until September 17 before we got an interview date. Waiting for 2 months and 15 days when our case was complete was very depressing. Once we got the interview date everything went very quickly and smoothly, but it's still very hard to gloss over the long wait. They even re-scheduled my interview: it was originally scheduled for October 9, but "due to unforeseen circumstances" I was told they needed to re-schedule and I was asked if I wanted a new date before October 5 or after October 12. So, like I said, after that everything has gone very quickly and very smoothly (I completed the medical examination by the panel physician in Stockholm on September 21). With all that said, I give the embassy a 5 because that long wait doesn't have anything to do with my experience at the interview. But if I'd written this review at a different time, I may have given the embassy a 4. But oh well. All's well that ends well. Rating : Very Good

POE Review: Newark Event Description Entry Date : 2012-12-23 Embassy Review : Once we’d landed, ahead of schedule actually, and after I’d collected my carry-on bag, I walked through a bunch of long halls and corridors. After a while I got to these big steps and "Welcome to the United States of America" was printed in huge letters above the steps. I walked up the steps and came out in a huge waiting hall. Tons of people were waiting in line to go through passport control. There were a lot of border officers though, so it went fairly quickly. Once it was my turn, an officer took my fingerprints and (I think) scanned my eyes. He looked through my passport with the immigrant visa, held it up in the air and hollered ”Escort!” An armed guard escorted me to a side room and above the doorway it said something about Secondary Inspection. I gave my passport and the big brown envelope I got from the embassy to a woman behind a computer, and I was asked to take a seat. There was maybe six people in the waiting room, and there was a bench, sort of like in a courtroom, where three CBP officers sitting behind computers, were questioning intending immigrants. The crowd consisted of literally people from all over the world. There was a man who looked to be in his 50′s, he looked and sounded like he was Italian. A young guy must have been from the Philippines or some such place. There was a young woman from some South American country. There was also an Indian couple with two loud, annoying twins in a baby stroller. There was also a woman in her 30′s, holding a little boy in her arms. Something that felt kinda awkward to me was the fact that everyone in the room could hear what the CBP officers were asking the immigrants. One guy was called up to one of the officers, he was probably about my age, maybe a couple years younger, of normal height, perhaps a tad on the skinny side, and he had a rather thick German accent. He went up and talked to the officer for a while and was then asked to sit down and wait again. He returned to a seat in the row behind me. While he was sitting down the officer dialed a number and started talking to someone on the phone. – Do you know a Tobias something something? Are you his sponsor? Are you aware that he has a battery conviction?” I could feel every muscle in my body scream at me ”Move to a seat across the room, man!” – Oh nice, I thought to myself, the first thing that happens to me in my new life in America is I’m going to be strangled in a stinking waiting room by a crazy German person. Welcome to America indeed! Luckily though the German was called up again, he was approved and disappeared out the door. Another man, who had an accent that I can’t remember right now, was asked if he had ever been denied a visa. I got the impression that he had. He was carefully warned by the officer that if he lies about it again in the future, the CBP officer will send him back to his home country. Immigration is definitely serious business in America. I am not sure how long I sat there waiting. When there’s no clock it’s always hard to tell how fast time passes. A man came in after me, he looked like he was from the Middle East. He was taken to a private room for further questioning almost right away. People came in after me, and got out before me. I was starting to lose my confidence, maybe especially since I’d just gotten off a very tiring flight. Finally it was my turn, though. I walked up, expecting a full on interrogation, but all I basically had to do was sign my name and leave my fingerprint. That was it. – You can wash your hands in the lavatory over in the corner, the officer said. He gave me my passport back, I washed my hands and went out the door to pick up my luggage. Harassment Level : Low

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