UKHusband's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Robin
Beneficiary's Name: Steve
VJ Member: UKHusband
Country: United Kingdom
Last Updated: 2013-10-28
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Immigration Checklist for Robin & Steve:
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USCIS DCF 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 : |
Texas Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
London, United Kingdom |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2006-08-25 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2013-07-09 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2013-07-11 |
| I-130 RFE : |
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| I-130 RFE Sent : |
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| I-130 Approved : |
2013-07-19 |
| NVC Received : |
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| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
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| Pay AOS Bill : |
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| Receive I-864 Package : |
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| Send AOS Package : |
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| Submit DS-261 : |
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| Receive IV Bill : |
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| Pay IV Bill : |
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| Send IV Package : |
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| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
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| Case Completed at NVC : |
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| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
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| Packet 3 Received : |
2013-08-16 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2013-09-24 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2013-10-11 |
| Interview Date : |
2013-10-22 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2013-10-25 |
| US Entry : |
2013-12-23 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 8 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 103 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 24, 2013 |
| Embassy Review : |
Interview was scheduled for 9am.
We had a late checkout organised at our hotel (Holiday Inn, Mayfair - highly recommended) so had no worries about storing electronics etc and had printed out walking directions from the hotel to the embassy - neither of us would be able to survive without Google/Apple maps on phones these days so this was essential - so we got to the embassy with no problems just before 8am. It was raining, which made things a bit miserable, but general apprehension overwhelmed the feeling.
When we got there no one was attending the little desk thing, and there were no signs saying what to do so we just joined the back of the queue. My wife was attending with me, and we had contacted them to get her on the list. While we were queuing a lady appeared and sat at the desk and most people began to check in with her on arrival, which made us wonder whether we were supposed to have done that too. And of course when we got to the first checkpoint the guy said 'have you not checked in at the desk?' and informed us that we'd need to do that and then rejoin the back of the queue. In the rain. Oh well. Luckily the lady on the desk was really nice and said just go back to the front of the queue once she'd written +1 and my wife's name on the interview letter.
Went painlessly through security and in to wait. Our number was called at around 9.20am. Got to the window, the guy went to get our forms and when he opened the file there was a post-it note stuck on the front of the first page that said 'unable to locate forms!!!'. Heart sank a bit but he quickly explained that this meant when they had received the forms someone hadn't logged them and they had now disappeared! Asked if we had copies with us, which we didn't. I joked that they were saved on my SkyDrive account and if they'd let me bring my phone in I could have emailed them to him.
He said at that point we had three options: 1) Leave the Embassy, go to an internet cafe to print the forms then return. 2) Complete the missing forms again now. 3) Give him the password to my SkyDrive account so he could print them. I chose option 3) but we were foiled again as the embassy's security blocked him from even opening the SkyDrive website.
He then suggested we re-fill in the forms as we'd have to pay at an internet cafe (do they even still have those?) and that we should just return to the window when done and stand where he could see us if he was with someone. He was really nice and very apologetic.
So we took the forms and went back to the waiting room to complete them. Only took about ten minutes, the trickiest part being the form where you list every entry and exit into America. Must admit to not exactly taking the greatest care with them - certainly less than the first time I filled them in!!
Went back to the window and he wasn't seeing anyone so we were straight back. From there it was plain sailing. After the ID stuff (fingerprints, photos, birth, police and marriage certificates) he moved on to financial.
Gave him my wife's I-864 with 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax returns, 2011 and 2010 were returned to me immediately. Had a quick chat about football and whether I was a City or United fan, took my wife's parents I-864 and I-864a again with 3 years tax returns and returned everything to me except the I-864 and one tax return, said we didn't need the I-864a. He literally just glanced at everything, ticked a few boxes/made a couple of notes on a form and said we should return to the waiting room and watch out for our number again.
This popped up after 10 minutes or so. I had relaxed by this point, as I was more concerned about the first visit than the second, but my wife was the reverse (she didn't have the comfort of having read read reviews on Visa Journey!). She needn't have worried!
Second interview only lasted a couple of minutes with another really friendly guy. Took the oath then he asked 'what sparked the move to America', I explained that we had always intended to move back there but I had been caring for my parents who were both ill at various times since the wedding. My dad died a couple of years ago, and my mum in April. He asked what we both did for a living and that was it - said the visa was approved and congratulations, I'd get my passport back within ten days and not to book a short connecting flight as POE is 'a long process'. I said that we were sailing not flying and he said he'd heard great things about the Queen Mary Experience. And we were done.
So, a couple of hiccups for us but they were all sorted out expertly with undue fuss so I'm still rating this experience as 5/5. Exceptionally nice people, really helpful, professional and for me a very pleasant first experience with the American system, which is more than I can say for the experience with a surly Brit when my wife was getting her UK Visa in New York a few years back lol.
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| 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
