IR-1/CR-1 Visa
|
| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Nebraska Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Bogota, Colombia |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2012-11-09 |
| I-130 Sent : |
|
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2014-03-21 |
| I-130 RFE : |
|
| I-130 RFE Sent : |
|
| I-130 Approved : |
2014-09-04 |
| NVC Received : |
2014-10-02 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
2014-10-21 |
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2014-10-23 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
|
| Send AOS Package : |
2014-10-24 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2014-11-05 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
2014-10-30 |
| Pay IV Bill : |
2014-10-31 |
| Send IV Package : |
2014-11-05 |
| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
2015-01-14 |
| Case Completed at NVC : |
2015-01-02 |
| NVC Left : |
|
| Consulate Received : |
|
| Packet 3 Received : |
|
| Packet 3 Sent : |
|
| Packet 4 Received : |
|
| Interview Date : |
2015-02-19 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
|
Second Interview
(If Required): |
|
| Second Interview Result: |
|
| Visa Received : |
2015-02-27 |
| US Entry : |
2015-02-27 |
| Comments : |
Nov. 1, 2014: We filed our petition in March 2014 when we were living in Australia, but then we moved in August 2014, before USCIS approved the petition. I do NOT recommend doing that. We moved in August, me to the U.S. and my husband to his native Colombia. We have repeatedly notified USCIS and the NVC of our new addresses, but they assigned us an Australia case number and indicated the interview would be in Australia. We have been unable to get a new case number so far.
Update, Dec. 31, 2014: We finally got a new case number to allow our case to be processed in Colombia, more than four months after we notified USCIS and NVC of our new addresses.
Update: Jan. 13, 2015, Called NVC and was told that yesterday they set our interview date for February 19!!! Supposedly we will receive an email soon with the instructions for the interview. But you really need to call all the time to find out what's happening. Very annoying.
Update Feb. 19, 2015 We had our interview today. We don't live in Bogota, so we stayed at the Tryp hotel across the street from the embassy. The interview was for 8:30 am but we arrived by 7:30.
After we got through security, we were given number 26. The numbers are for a preliminary interview by a Colombian employee of the embassy. They were on 14 when we arrived so maybe it took an hour for them to get to 26. The waiting area is outside. There is a roof, but you get sun and the cold. At the preliminary interview, they asked a couple of questions about my husband's previous visits to the US. Then we waited for a couple of hours.
Around 10:20 am we got called up by name, and the state department employee, an American diplomat, asked us a couple of questions: when did you get married? have either of you been married before? how did you meet? The guy was friendly, and then he told us we were approved. He said it will take about ten days to get the passport with the visa back. We were done around 10:30 am.
There are signs outside that say no camera phones, but it must be an old sign because they let your bring in cell phones. They didn't let me bring in my kindle, though, which is weird. They put it in a little cubby and gave me a number to claim it when we exited.
This process has been very nerve wracking and stressful, and this visajourneys website has been so helpful, making the process a little easier to handle. I am so glad that it is available as a resource, otherwise we would have had no idea what to expect. Thank you to whoever is in charge of this website. I urge anyone reading this to put as many details about your case as you can on this website because it really does help other people to know how the system works.
Update Feb. 20, 2015 This is the day after our interview. This morning, the CEAC website said our case was in processing, but some time today it changed to "Issued." It says "your visa has been printed. Depending on local procedures at the location where you were interviewed, your visa will be mailed or available for pickup soon. If there are further questions, or if we need updated contact information, you will be contacted." At the interview they told us up to 10 days, so we are hoping it will be ready soon.
At the interview, after they said we were approved, they gave us some paperwork about domestic violence. It has a space for my husband's "A" number on it, which is the number you need to pay the greencard fee. We tried to pay the fee online, but the A number on the form we received at the interview is incorrect. The number has to start with A0 followed by eight digits, so A plus nine digits total, with the first digit being zero. The number on this form has ten digits. The online fee payment system does not allow you to enter a ten digit number. We are hoping the correct number will be on the visa when he gets it.
Update Feb. 25, 2015 We got an email saying our "documents" (I assume this means the passport with the visa) are ready to be picked up and we have to log in to schedule a pick up appointment. We couldn't log into the system right away but eventually we were able to log in. However, it just said the documents are ready to be picked up, it didn't allow us to schedule an appointment. Eventually after about an hour or so it allowed us to schedule appointment, but the earliest we could get is the day after tomorrow (We got this email Wednesday morning, the earliest appointment is for Friday at 7:30 am) Still, this means hopefully my husband will be home Friday night!!!
Update Feb. 27, 2015: My husband's appointment to pick up his passport with the visa was for 7:30 am this morning. He arrived just before 7 am and was the 8th person in line. He had the passport by 7:30 am and headed straight for the airport. Should be home tonight!!!!!!!!!! The A number on the passport has the correct number of digits, it looks like the form we received at the interview had a typo.
Feb. 27: My husband came home tonight!!! :) He entered through Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, he said everything was easy, they didn't give him any trouble.
Update April 7: We paid the immigrant visa fee through ELIS on February 27, with the A number listed on the visa. Our case showed as "optimized" for a long time in the ELIS system. On April 7, it changed to "closed" and it now says "card produced." Hopefully we will receive the plastic greencard soon. My husband has been going in and out of the U.S. with the passport stamp, and it has been fine, but they did ask him yesterday when he entered in Chicago why he didn't have the plastic greencard yet.
Update: The ELIS system gives you a number that starts with IOE. You can then take that number to uscis.gov and enter that IOE number where it says "Check your case status." Once the card has been mailed to you, this will show a tracking number.
April 9: We received the plastic greencard in the mail today! Yay! We paid the fee Feb. 17 and received it April 9, so it took about six weeks. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 167 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 335 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
|
ver 5.0