AFD's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: mike
Beneficiary's Name: andreea
VJ Member: AFD
Country: Romania
Last Updated: 2012-09-04
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Immigration Checklist for mike & andreea:
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USCIS I-130 Petition:
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Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Bucharest, Romania |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2010-03-11 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2012-03-01 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2012-03-05 |
| I-130 RFE : |
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| I-130 RFE Sent : |
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| I-130 Approved : |
2012-03-27 |
| NVC Received : |
2012-05-03 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
2012-05-03 |
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2012-06-01 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
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| Send AOS Package : |
2012-06-11 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2012-06-01 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
2012-06-08 |
| Pay IV Bill : |
2012-06-28 |
| Send IV Package : |
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| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
2012-07-06 |
| Case Completed at NVC : |
2012-07-26 |
| NVC Left : |
2012-07-26 |
| Consulate Received : |
2012-08-02 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2012-08-02 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2012-08-08 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2012-08-06 |
| Interview Date : |
2012-08-08 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2012-08-10 |
| US Entry : |
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| Comments : |
Our case was expedited during the consular portion of the process because of a special family circumstance. We received notice that the case was approved for expedited processing on July 26. Other than the consular portion, the rest of the visa processing took place under the regular calendar. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 22 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 156 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
JFK |
| POE Date : |
2012-08-26 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
Yes,Passport Stamp |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
No questions asked. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Bucharest, Romania
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
August 10, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
The Consulate staff (both American and Romanian) was very professional and friendly throughout the time my visa application was in their jurisdiction. My case was expedited just prior to it being transferred to the Consulate, because of special family circumstances. Only 10 business days passed between the NVC notifying me of the case being accepted for expedited processing by the Consulate and the visa being approved. The Consulate responded to my email message asking when I should be receiving their instructions very promptly and sent instructions via email, immediately. They scheduled my interview on the day of my medical examination and allowed me to come to the interview without my medical examination results and to bring those back immediately after the interview. They even allowed me to come in with the results a few minutes after the official close of business (with the public) because they had had many interviews that day and they only started my interview a half an hour before COB.
As for the interview, the process went very smoothly. I presented my passport and additional paperwork showing evidence of a continued relationship with my husband upon entry (I entered last because I tried to be polite to a family and an elderly lady, so I got called up last and interviewed last--still, it pays to be polite because the Consulate staff accommodated the extra time I needed to bring back the medical exam results a few minutes after 4PM). I was also fingerprinted promptly, then waited some two hours and fifteen minutes, as the other cases were being processed before me (luckily, I had brought a book to read  , which I took out of my bag when I left the bag at the security desk). The consular officer who interviewed me was very friendly and apologized for the long wait. He asked me to swear that all the information submitted with my immigration files was correct (I did so in Romanian because the question was asked in Romanian) and to sign a similar statement in front of him (I had already signed it when I filed, but he needed to certify that I had signed in front of him). Then he took my old passport in which I had a still valid US tourist visa and told me I would no longer be allowed to be a tourist and that it was his pleasure to cancel my tourist visa (indicating, indirectly, that my spouse visa would be approved). He asked me when and how I had met my husband, in which Washington, DC neighborhood we had lived (he had lived in DC as well) and what we had studied in grad school (which is where we had met). He said he had also studied international relations and we talked a bit about another one of our (my husband and I) classmates, who happens to have started working at the US Embassy in Bucharest this summer (I had not contacted him, but I was aware of his coming to Bucharest from a social network posting by his wife, also a graduate school classmate of mine). The officer then let me go pick up my medical exam results, as time was running by fast. When I returned a few minutes after 4PM, the Romanian officer who had first taken my passports filled out my courier form in my stead (after the American consular officer who had conducted the interview verified that the health forms were in order). Everyone was very graceful and professional, just like every other time I received a US visa (5 times, 4 types of visas processed in Bucharest and Amman, Jordan).
This brings me to a bit of background. I had spent many years in the US as a foreign exchange student, then an F1 student, then an H1B worker, then a tourist (when I moved to the Middle East with my husband and let my H1B visa expire without extending it, but wanted to visit my in-laws' and our common friends during winter holidays in 2010/2011). I had had a clean record in the US and I had never encountered any problems at visa interviews, which had typically lasted two-three minutes tops. My husband (whom I have known for eight years now, whom I started dating four years ago and married over two years ago) and I had given plenty proof of a solid, real relationship. I did not expect the Consulate to have any suspicions as to the validity of our marriage and it turned out to be right. I thank every US government officer (at USCIS, NVC and the Consulate in Bucharest) who has helped process this visa. |
| Rating : |
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
