lost_in_the_mail's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Thomas
Beneficiary's Name: Tricia
VJ Member: lost_in_the_mail
Country: Canada
Last Updated: 2014-09-01
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Immigration Checklist for Thomas & Tricia:
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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 : |
Texas Service Center |
| Transferred? |
California Service Center on 2013-02-13 |
| Consulate : |
Montreal, Canada |
| I-129F Sent : |
2013-02-04 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
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| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
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| NVC Received : |
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| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
2013-06-18 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2013-06-21 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2013-08-29 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2013-09-25 |
| Interview Date : |
2013-12-03 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2013-12-12 |
| US Entry : |
2014-01-30 |
| Marriage : |
2014-02-28 |
| Comments : |
Consulate says Packet 3 was mailed June 21. We never received it.
Consulate says Packet 4 was mailed September 9. We never received it either. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
 Enter your I-129F NOA1 time in your timeline to get an estimated approval (NOA2) date! |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Helena MT |
| Date Filed : |
2014-04-24 |
| NOA Date : |
2014-05-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2014-05-22 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
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| Approved : |
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| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Greencard Received: |
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| Comments : |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago IL |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2014-04-24 |
| NOA Date : |
2014-05-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
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| Approved Date : |
2014-07-17 |
| Date Card Received : |
2014-07-23 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 84 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago IL |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2014-04-24 |
| NOA Date : |
2014-05-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2014-07-23 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 84 days. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
December 6, 2013 |
| Embassy Review : |
We took VIA from Toronto to Montreal on Saturday November 30th. Our interview was on Tuesday, December 3rd and we wanted a few days in the city to spend together and to relax before the big day.
We exited the Central Station through the doors that lead out of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel at 900 Boul. René-Lévesque Ouest. It was about a 5 minute walk east to the Consulate (in the SNC Lavalin building) and then another 5 minutes past that to the Travelodge where we were staying at 50 Boul. René-Lévesque Ouest. We paid $80/night and while the room was pretty small, it was very clean and we got a free breakfast every morning. If you’re spending multiple days in the city and you don’t want to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend staying at the Travelodge.
We went to Tim Horton’s on the day of the interview and then over to the Consulate. We were in line at about 6:55am. As it turns out, we were WAY too early. No one else showed up until about 7:20. It was a family of 4 who stood directly in front of the doors (and us). When the security guard finally opened the doors at about 7:40, he made them move behind us. One more man got in line and that was it.
Security took about 2 minutes and then we went down the stairs to wait by the elevators. The woman who was supposed to check passports and Loomis hadn’t arrived when they let us in, so she came down to the elevator to check everyone’s papers afterwards.
By 8am another 3 couples had arrived and the security guard came to unlock the elevator. He told us to go to window 14 when we got upstairs.
Thankfully we had spent a LOT of time on VJ and knew where to stand in the elevator and where Window 14 was. If you haven't seen Saylin's entry with pictures of the consulate and a map of the floorplan, search for her profile and review it!!! I think the floorplan of the consulate is slightly different than when she drew her map, but basically all you really need to know is where Window 14 is, and her map is a HUGE help. Also, her pictures of the exterior of the building are key because if you don't know what you're looking for you could easily walk right past. When the elevator doors open, you have no way of knowing where to go. There are some yellow arrows on the floor which lead to the Window 14 but nothing telling you that’s what they’re for. We led the whole group over to the window (which was still covered). After a few minutes the woman appeared and we got A1! Throughout our time in the Consulate we had to tell multiple people to go over to the Window because they came up the elevator and then kind of just stood there looking lost. You’d think there would be better instructions for people.
We sat in the large group of chairs to wait for our number to be called. There’s another smaller group of chairs surrounded by ropes but it wasn’t 100% clear why. No one sat there.
After less than 5 minutes we were called to Window 1. I had all of the documents sorted into 2 small accordion files; 1 file with all the documents I knew they wanted and the other for 'just in case' documents. It made it so much easier because I was very nervous and knowing where every document was helped a lot.
The woman that helped us was extremely nice. She asked for my papers one at a time: Passport, medical, birth certificate, police checks, letter of intent, affidavit of support. I asked if she wanted the I-134 or the I-864 because Packet 3 asked for one and Packet 4 asked for the other. She only wanted I-134 and the supporting documents. She didn’t ask for any proof of our relationship or anything proving domicile even though my fiancé has been living with me in Canada for 3 years. I told her that he had taken up residence in the US again in September and she had me change the address on one of the forms we had sent in with Packet 3. She looked through what I gave her to make sure it was all there and then she took my fingerprints. She returned my chest x-ray and all of the copies I had given her of the birth certificate and police checks and kept the originals. We spent about 20 minutes at Window 1 and then went and sat back down and waited to be called for the interview.
After about 30 minutes we were called to Window 6 which is around the corner from Windows 1-5 and in a tiny little room.
The officer who interviewed us was incredibly friendly and as it turns out, used to date someone from Montana. We spent a good part of the interview discussing that. She gave me back my original birth certificate but kept the original police checks.
As she asked us questions, I got the definite impression that she hadn’t really read our file or knew any details about us.
We were asked how we met, how we stayed in contact, how we decided we were going to date, what he does for a living and what our wedding plans are.
She stopped us more than once during our responses to ask me to spell the names of the cities we were talking about (Guelph, ON and Kalispell, MT) and what country they were in. I don’t think it was a trick to see if we could keep our details straight. She honestly had no idea about the details in our file. She apologized and said that she isn’t normally in the Montreal office and was only there helping out because they were short-handed. As we spoke she typed what we were saying. I would say that we were in the room for about 5-7 minutes.
Then she said, “Well, you’ll get your Visa in 7 to 10 days. I hope you have a really nice life together.” And that was it!!! We didn’t get a Welcome to America letter that I’ve seen people talk about. She just told us to watch the website for our tracking number and to make sure we pay the Green Card processing fee before we get to the border. We were back at the hotel before 10am.
I was incredibly nervous in the days leading up to the interview – mostly I was worried about our Affidavit of Support because my fiancé is self-employed as of 2013 so we didn’t have any tax returns. We took his monthly invoices and matching bank deposits and a letter from the company he has a contract with stating what he does for them and how much they pay him per month. I guess that was enough! We took every document requested in Packet 4, all of our Packet 3 documents and our original petition. We basically only needed the documents on the Packet 3 checklist and everything from Packet 4, but it’s better to be over-prepared. Like so many other people have said on VJ, the interview seems like the scariest part but is actually SO easy as long as you’re prepared.
We saw at least 3 couples/families turned away because they were utterly unprepared. We saw someone who hadn’t gotten the medical and a family of four that was handed a huge stack of paperwork to fill out; the father kept leaving the consulate to go get more documents from somewhere. I'm not sure why anyone would show up to these interviews that take so long to get and then not come prepared!
Anyways, if you have an interview coming up, my advice would be to stay calm, be very prepared and everything will be fine!
As of today (December 6) my status on CEAC says Administrative Processing which I have read is normal when they are preparing the Visa. I will post again when we receive it!
UPDATE: 12/6/13 our status went from Ready, to Administrative Processing to Issued all on the same day. As of today, 12/9/13, it still says Issued and says we should get the Visa in 5 business days, but there is no WayBill number yet...
Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(updated on December 9, 2013) |
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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
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