apyetmez's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Annie Beneficiary's Name: Mehmet VJ Member: apyetmez Country: Turkey Last Updated: 2013-12-21 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Annie & Mehmet:

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 : Texas Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Guangzhou, China Marriage (if applicable): 2002-07-31 I-130 Sent : 2012-03-22 I-130 NOA1 : 2012-03-22 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2012-05-26 NVC Received : Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : Submit DS-261 : Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : NVC Left : Consulate Received : 2012-05-26 Packet 3 Received : 2012-05-12 Packet 3 Sent : 2012-05-31 Packet 4 Received : 2012-06-22 Interview Date : 2012-07-02 Interview Result : Second Interview (If Required): 2012-09-19 Second Interview Result: Approved Visa Received : 2012-10-26 US Entry : 2012-11-11 Comments : Our original interview date was cancelled when the medical exam revealed scarring on my husband's lungs, and further tests were required to rule out TB. After 2 months of waiting for those results, the all-clear came with a new Packet 4 letter emailed to us on August 28th. The new interview was scheduled for Sept. 19. Interview was a little harrowing as my husband is a non-chinese citizen, applying from China, and they were not familiar with his documents...fortunately one of the officers there (not his interviewer) happened to see his docs and could verify that they were real (he had seen such docs before). Also, for anyone applying in Guangzhou, you should know that although spouses are not allowed to attend the interview, if you have problems like we did, and your US citizen spouse is there in Guangzhou, they can enter the cit . services section after 1pm and walk from there into the interview area (the two are connected by an open, unmonitored corridor with common toilets in between.) Fortunately I was there, and when there were questions about our forms (we had filled them in correctly, as it turned out, but the interviewer was not understanding where our address was) my husband was able to temporarily leave the interview area, get his bag back from security and give me a call to come over there quick. I went into the citizen services section at 1pm and then crossed over to the interview area, and then went together with my husband to the window where he had had his interview, and we were able to ask questions together. They had no problem with me being there and were very helpful, and we got the visa approval that day after waiting for a couple of hours and talking with a few different people. I am so glad I was there...otherwise we'd still be mailing forms back and forth and trying to get it all ironed out. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 65 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 102 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Seattle POE Date : 2012-11-11 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Yes Harassment Level : 5 Comments : Weirdly enough, after 10+ visits over the years, this was the easiest entry ever, with absolutely no harrasment...my husband was told to fill out a form with an address for where he wanted his green card sent. The one hitch was, they wouldn't accept a PO Box (????!!!) which of course, is what we have. The officer insisted that the post office will deliver to any physical address in the U.S. (NOT true, if there is no approved mail receptacle, they just stamp it "UNDELIVERABLE" and send it back, I've had this happen many a time) and would not accept even our usual trick (for when ordering from places that don't deliver to PO boxes, of putting both the physical and PO box addresses. The man would not believe that the post office wouldn't deliver to a physical address, resulting in a frantic rush to contact someone who gets their mail at home, not a PO box...good thing my husband's phone (with his China telecom service) was working, otherwise we'd have been in for a huge paperwork hassle. Had to put "some" for harassment level because either the officer was incompetent, or was just a real asshole about the whole PO Box thing. GC arrived in the mail approx. 1 month later.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Guangzhou, China Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : December 21, 2013 Embassy Review : Original interview appt was cancelled due to suspicions of TB in medical exam; we waited 2 months for those to be cleared, then got a September 20 2012 interview. Husband was told in interview that my folks (signing on as additional financial sponsors) had filled out the wrong papers (which was incorrect); he exited the area, got his phone and called me. GOOD TO KNOW: There is a corridor that connects the American Citizen Services section with the visa section in Guangzhou, because they share a bathroom (yay cheap construction!) If you find yourself in such a situation, get your USC spouse to hightail it to the ACS section (you don't need an appointment, make up a reason) and then come through the corridor to meet you in the interview section. I did this and was able to talk to the interviewer (though spouses are officially not allowed in interviews) and we were able to get the issue resolved. Took a couple of hours and a couple of trips through the line, but SO much less expensive & time consuming than another interview appt. Rating : Good

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

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