VeeNDee's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Derrick
Beneficiary's Name: Vickie
VJ Member: VeeNDee
Country: Canada
Last Updated: 2016-05-12
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Immigration Checklist for Derrick & Vickie:
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USCIS I-129F Petition:
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Dept of State K1 Visa:
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USCIS I-485 Petition:
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USCIS I-765 Petition:
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USCIS I-131 Petition:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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K1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Vancouver, Canada |
| I-129F Sent : |
2012-05-07 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2012-05-11 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2012-08-03 |
| NVC Received : |
2012-08-14 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2012-08-16 |
| Consulate Received : |
2012-08-22 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2012-08-27 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2012-09-07 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2012-09-12 |
| Interview Date : |
2012-10-26 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2012-11-05 |
| US Entry : |
2012-12-09 |
| Marriage : |
2013-01-05 |
| Comments : |
Hooray! Approved! |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 84 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 168 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
CDN-USA Border |
| POE Date : |
2012-12-09 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
5 |
| Comments : |
We used Blaine as our POE (Pacific Highway Truck Crossing in southern BC). We were in line about 40 minutes. Behind us my fiance's parents were using their truck to pull a Uhaul with all my possessions in it. We told the officer we were using the K1 visa and that the vehicle behind us was my fiance's parents. He sent us to secondary, and his parents were also sent to secondary after he asked them a few questions. We had a 'multiple inspection referral' since it involved two vehicles I guess.
The frustration started when we went inside and were called to a counter. When we said it was for a K1 visa the officer looked annoyed and at the clock saying he may not have time to process a visa himself. He apparently decided to do it anyway while being annoyed the whole time.
First thing he said when we told him what visa it was:
Him: "A K1 visa? I thought they didn't give this out anymore!"
Us: "Yes they do and here it is"
Him: "Are you sure? When did you GET this?"
Us: "Uhh... in October this year?"
Him: "Are you sure it's a real K1 visa?"
Us: (mild panic ensuing) "Yes...?!?!"
Anyway, the officer beside him overheard and told him they did still issue K1 visas. He then started rambling about how it wasn't fair that people could get a visa for being engaged but had to wait while being married and basically making us feel bad for having an engagement visa. He told us to sit down while he processed the visa.
My fiance's parents came in and headed to the counter and he waved them away in annoyance telling them to talk to someone else. So they went back in line and the officer that did talk to them sent them back to the officer processing our visa. We told him he had to process them and he just reached for the paper and stamped it and pushed it away.
I heard him asking the other officer about whether it was an immigrant or non immigrant visa and all I could think was, "Oh please please process it correctly and don't lose my paperwork!"
Long story short: Once we were inside secondary it took under an hour to process the visa. They didn't inspect the Uhaul or vehicles at all from what we could tell even though I had a list just in case. He gave us an I94 for $6 thankfully... since I was worried he didn't know about that part! |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Seattle WA |
| Date Filed : |
2013-01-29 |
| NOA Date : |
2013-02-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2013-03-08 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2013-04-23 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2013-04-23 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2013-05-01 |
| Comments : |
Bring everything you have with you just in case. He wanted to know the exact dates we met in real life over a year ago which I admit to not having all memorized. Thankfully we had a copy of the K1 package which listed our meetings :) |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2013-01-29 |
| NOA Date : |
2013-02-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2013-03-08 |
| Approved Date : |
2013-04-01 |
| Date Card Received : |
2013-04-06 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 62 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2013-01-29 |
| NOA Date : |
2013-02-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2013-04-06 |
| Comments : |
My AP still shows as initial review status on USCIS but it arrived as a combo card on the EAD. I guess I don't really have an approval date, just a received date as a result. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 62 days. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2015-01-26 |
| NOA Date : |
2015-01-28 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2015-02-27 |
| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
2015-06-22 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Green Card Received : |
2015-06-30 |
| Comments : |
I had to use the extension letter for traveling with my greencard since it expired while they were processing but I was able to travel to Canada without any issues using the extension letter with the expired greencard (and updated through Nexus in person). |
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Citizenship
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Phoenix AZ Lockbox |
| CIS Office : |
Seattle WA |
| Date Filed : |
2016-01-25 |
| NOA Date : |
2016-02-01 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2016-02-26 |
| Interview Date : |
2016-05-11 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2016-05-11 |
| Comments : |
For those wondering about the Seattle office, at the end of the interview after I was approved, the officer asked if I could stay for the oath ceremony that afternoon. I said yes but I imagine if I had said no he would have just scheduled me for a later one. It started at 1:15. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Vancouver, Canada
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
November 2, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
We had our visa interview this past Friday and thought I'd write you some information about what to expect especially since there are not as many people going through the Vancouver Consulate.
For our interview at 10am, google maps suggested it was an hour drive from my place. From past experience I knew rush hour traffic would be terrible, so we thought to get there by 9:30 we should leave at 8am. In fact it took us an hour and 50 minutes to get to the consulate. It was indeed terrible traffic, so thankfully we had left extra early. We found parking easily enough (not cheap, but it was right across the road so very convenient), and walked over to the lineup at the front.
In the lineup the guards asked what we were there for and we said K1 visa. They took the paperwork and phoned upstairs (I guess to verify our appointment). They went through all our belongings very thoroughly (he even tried to take apart my comb to make sure nothing was inside the handle of the comb!). There was a long line of people outside, but he told the two of us to go stand by the wall and face the wall. We did... only to hear him say 'oh I was just kidding' - whew, anyway they were very nice and friendly.
My fiance asked if he could enter as a US citizen with an enhanced driver's license. They asked if he had proof of his identity of a US citizen and he said yes, so they got him to wait in line. (They never DID ask to see his ID and never asked us about his identity again). Not sure if he just looked extra trustworthy or if they forgot that step, but we were both glad since he had forgotten his passport in the US and only had his enhanced driver's license with him.
Because we were waiting by the door in our 'own' lineup we bypassed the line outside (I am guessing because we had an appointment) and were ushered inside to wait in a new line for more security up a stairwell. When it was our turn they went through everything again and Xrayed all our possessions, including watches, belts, etc and the sealed envelope from the medical. We then went to a new line and waited for the elevator - the lady took us up to level 20 and we were told to go to window B. It didn't seem like everyone had to go there, just us, another couple I saw who had a K visa ticket in their hand and one or two others. There was a small square waiting room and an aisle with chairs in it but it was packed full - there were always at least 5 to 10 people standing in the room with nowhere to sit. I am not sure if that is usual.
We went up to the counter B and flicked the light switch as instructed to alert someone we were there. A lady came and asked us to put our paperwork in a certain order and she would be right back. When she returned she collected all our paperwork and we sat down to wait for our names to be called. They called our number once along with a whole bunch of other numbers but when we got to the window unlike everyone else they said that since we were a K visa I didn't need to get my fingerprints taken at that time so we went to wait again.
Finally our number was called and we went to the indicated numbered window. A man was there going through paperwork and he asked us both several questions such as how we had met, what my fiance did for work, why we wanted to get married and things like that. My fiance and I both felt that the interview was helped by the fact he was there - not that we wouldn't have been approved if he couldn't make it, but it seemed like they were very friendly especially towards him and didn't ask as many questions as we thought they would. The interviewer actually asked us a question about something we had discussed in one of our emails we'd sent as proof of relationship from last year, which surprised us both since it was in the original i-129f package but apparently he had read our emails. He then took my fingerprints and When he was done asking questions told us we were approved and to go to window B.
We went to window B and the lady came back with our documents. She explained how the K1 visa worked (one-time entry, adjustment of status, etc etc) and the next step for us regarding picking up the passport with the visa. She was very helpful!
We then left the consulate and celebrated by getting a drink from the Starbucks on the ground floor  Overall I think it took about two hours in the consulate.
Hope this review was helpful for what you can expect! |
| 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
