redvelvetjake's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Jake
Beneficiary's Name: Andrea
VJ Member: redvelvetjake
Country: Ecuador
Last Updated: 2014-08-13
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Immigration Checklist for Jake & Andrea:
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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 : |
Quito, Ecuador |
| I-129F Sent : |
2014-04-21 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2014-05-05 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2014-05-19 |
| NVC Received : |
2014-06-03 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
2014-06-16 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
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| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
2014-08-11 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
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| US Entry : |
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| Marriage : |
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| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 14 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 98 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
August 14, 2014 |
| Embassy Review : |
We got approved!!!!!
I accompanied my fiancee, Andrea, to our interview.
Our interview for the K1 visa was on August 11th, 2014. It was at 1:30PM at the Guayaquil Consulate. The location is relatively new, as of October 2013, and is located at Calle Santa Ana y Av. José Rodriguez Bonin. It is located about 20 minutes outside of the center of Guayaquil where the airport is and old consulate was located. It should be a $5-$10 20-30 minute cab ride, depending on traffic and which cab you get into.
Outside of the Consulate there is a small kiosk where you can get copies made or passport photos taken, if necessary. We had to get passport photos taken because the ones we had were rejected due to being too small. The 2 5cm by 5cm passport photos cost $5 and were taken and printed in less than 5 minutes.
Outside of the embassy you will be asked to show your ID and paperwork confirming your appointment. Then you will be asked to empty all of your pockets for an initial screening before entering the consulate. It is very thorough. YOU CANNOT BRING ANY CELLPHONES, USB DRIVES, ELECTRONICS, ETC. INTO THE CONSULATE as it poses a risk for hacking and viruses. Andrea had to take out her lipstick and apply it to her lips to prove it was real and not a harmful substance. After the first screening, we were allowed to enter the outer perimeter of the consulate where we went through a metal detector. We then walked into a courtyard where there was a line of people waiting to have their paperwork checked. We waited in this line for about two minutes when one of the employees said that resident visas did not have to wait in this line, only tourist visa applicants, so we headed towards the door into the actual consulate building. Here we went through a SECOND metal detector and were told to wait in line for the resident visas.
It was a line of two people. Both were young Ecuadorian women who were the beneficiaries applying for the fiancee visa. Their US citizen fiances were not with them, they both said they could not get off work. Both women went through about a five minute interview at a window. We were not sure if they were approved or not, but their interviews were shorter than ours and they both left looking frustrated.
We waited about 15 minutes before we were called up to the window. Both Andrea and I were allowed to speak with the consulate employee. She was very matter of fact and asked us for Andrea's original birth certificate. She said Andrea's passport photos were too small, so we were sent out of the consulate to the kiosk outside to take the $5 photos. We were given passes so that we would not have to wait in line for re-entry, although we did have to go through BOTH security screenings again.
We handed the consulate employee the photos and she asked us both if we had kids or any previous marriages, we said no. She told us to sit down. We were discouraged, and felt as if things were not going well. We waited about 25-30 minutes until we were called to a different window and greeted by an older gentleman. Again, I, the US citizen, was allowed to be by the side of my fiancee during the whole second interview. We were both told to raise our right hands and swear to tell the truth.
The whole interview was conducted in Spanish, as was the first interview. None of the questions were specifically directed to one of us, we both had the opportunity to answer if we wanted. We were asked:
How do you meet?
What do you do for a living?
Why did you travel to Ecuador in 2012 (this is when we first met)?
How many times have you been back to Ecuador?
Have you met Andrea's family?
Has Andrea met your family?
Do you have a date and location set for the wedding?
Where did you learn Spanish? Do you speak English as well?
Where do you plan on living in the US?
After this round of questioning, I handed the interviewer the packet of supporting evidence I had brought. It was a large packet of emails, photos, letters of intent to marry, Skype call logs, tickets to Ecuador, and affidavit of support with all of the supporting evidence. He only looked at the photos.
Then he handed us a yellow and green sheet of paper and said...CONGRATULATIONS you have been approved, the visa will be sent to the DHL office you selected before the interview in 10 business days. We were overjoyed, Andrea was in tears of joy. We profusely thanked him and walked out of the consulate floating 10 feet above the ground.
What I learned:
1. Having the petitioner attend is invaluable. It was expensive and tough to get off work, but it was 100% worth it. I believe it showed the interviewer how serious we were, but also calmed down Andrea, my fiancee, so much.
2. The petitioner can be in the interview. I was led to believe that I could not enter the consulate unless asked upon by the interviewer. But this was not the case. I was allowed to be by Andrea's side through the entire process.
3. Having family meet the beneficiary helps. My parents and sister had made the trip down to Ecuador in 2013 to meet Andrea and her family. We brought photos of us all together in Ecuador. After seeing these photos of us all together, the interviewer did not look at any more evidence and approved us.
4. Be confident and truthful.
5. Frontload the evidence of your relationship. Along with my I-129F, I attached tons of supporting evidence (emails, travel receipts to Ecuador, skype logs, 30 photos, western union receipts). I believe this helped the process move along quickly.
Good luck to you all! DM me if you have any questions.
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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
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