lemayz's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Leana Beneficiary's Name: Alfonso VJ Member: lemayz Country: Chile Last Updated: 2012-10-19 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Leana & Alfonso:

USCIS DCF 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 : Chile Marriage (if applicable): 2011-12-17 I-130 Sent : 2012-02-20 I-130 NOA1 : 2012-03-02 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2012-03-14 NVC Received : 2012-03-21 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : 2012-06-11 Submit DS-261 : 2012-06-11 Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : 2012-07-18 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2012-09-26 Interview Result : Administrative Review Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2012-10-18 US Entry : Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 12 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 208 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Chile Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : October 5, 2012 Embassy Review : Our interview was scheduled for 2pm on Sept. 26th, more than a month and a half after our case was closed at NVC. We arrived at 1:30, by which time there were already about 20 people lined up outside. By the time we went in, at least another 30 people got in line behind us. However, most of those people were getting tourist visas. At 2pm, they started letting in groups of people, asking them why they were there and asking to see papers. When it was our turn, we were asked what visa we were there for, and we said that my husband was the beneficiary for a CR1. The guard was a real SOB, and would not let me go in with my husband! I explained to him multiple times that it was an immigration visa, that I was the applicant and he was defiant. Luckily, some other guard that was his boss came over, we explained the situation, and he let both of us in. We got our number and sat down. We were the 3rd number for the immigration part. We waited a bit over an hour and were called up to window 8. Both of us went up, and the woman (Chilean) basically just sorted some papers in our file and typed things into her computer. She asked some really basic questions like "Who is the sponsor?" and "When did you get married?" but it was only like 2-3 questions and nothing difficult. She then sent us to sit back down and wait to be called up again. After another half hour wait, we were called up to the other window, where a young American guy had our file. He did the same thing as the other woman; opened the file and typed stuff into the computer. He asked slightly more questions, like "What do you like about your wife?" and "How did you meet?" but again, it was only 3-4 questions and very very basic. He chit chatted with me a bit about why I was in Chile, why I was here, etc., but it was more like talking like fellow Americans and not really questioning me for the visa. After about 5 minutes at the window, he told us that all of our papers were perfectly in order, that we were approved. BUT, there was a printing problem and some administrative issues so we wouldn't get our visa for about 5 weeks. We both tried asking for more details, what kind of confirmation we could have, etc. but he would tell us nothing and just basically pushed us out. He also asked if we wanted to take the passport with us (in case we had to travel) and bring it back when they tell us the visa is ready or if we wanted to leave it there. We decided to leave it there. Finally, he gave us a piece of paper which he said demonstrated that we had gone to the interview and been approved. Unfortunately, we were so anxious, stressed, and sad that we didn't read the paper. We left the embassy very upset and distraught, and a few hours later we read the paper. The paper said that we we did not qualify for the visa under section 221g, and that they could not give us a visa until we brought the "following" documents, NONE of which were marked. None of this made sense because because the consular officer told us everything was in order. As a follow up (even though this doesn't have to do with the interview directly), we emailed the embassy to ask about why they gave us that paper, when we could expect the visa, etc. and they told us that we had been put into Administrative Processing :-( They said our case was complete, they had all the papers they needed, but that we would have to wait some time to get the visa (they did not want to specify how long). So now we just have to wait... If anyone is interested, I posted about my situation here and also linked to scanned copies of the papers they gave us: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/391244-post-interview-problem-five-weeks-to-get-a-visa/ Rating : Poor

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*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.

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