ZaakirahM's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Zaakirah
Beneficiary's Name: Bunja
VJ Member: ZaakirahM
Country: Gambia
Last Updated: 2021-01-03
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Immigration Checklist for Zaakirah & Bunja:
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USCIS 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 : |
Nebraska Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Senegal |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2014-07-16 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2015-03-12 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2015-03-18 |
| I-130 RFE : |
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| I-130 RFE Sent : |
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| I-130 Approved : |
2015-08-10 |
| NVC Received : |
2015-08-31 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
2015-09-02 |
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2015-09-02 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
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| Send AOS Package : |
2015-09-22 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2015-09-02 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
2015-09-23 |
| Pay IV Bill : |
2015-10-02 |
| Send IV Package : |
2015-09-22 |
| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
2015-10-30 |
| Case Completed at NVC : |
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| NVC Left : |
2015-10-09 |
| Consulate Received : |
2015-10-14 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2015-10-30 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2015-10-27 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2015-10-30 |
| Interview Date : |
2015-11-18 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2015-11-24 |
| US Entry : |
2015-12-01 |
| Comments : |
My case was expedited at the NVC stage.
For the Dakar Medical Exam:
Hubby waited about 2 hours to be seen by Dr. Awa Kane on Weds Nov 11. A nurse simply examined him (full body exam).
The next day he went for his x-ray and blood test at two different locations. Got the x-ray results the same day.
Friday the 13th, he returns to get blood results.
November 16: He returned to Dr. Kane's office to turn in x-ray and blood results, and finally finished with the medical exam. He received the medical results in a sealed envelope the same day he delivered the blood and x-ray results. He had to go get the vaccine needed (he does not have a vaccine record) from another location. He paid 10,000 CFA for the vaccine. Altogether it took about 4 hours that day.
So my suggestion for you (if Embassy is Dakar) is to schedule the medical exam a minimum of 5 working days before the interview. It is literally a 4-day process. Call to make an appointment first with Dr. Kane before calling any of the others.
If you choose to make an appointment with Dr. Kane, be patient on the phone as English is not their first language. The menu is in French, the first receptionist you speak to is speaking in French. I googled how to say English please in French, and just repeated myself until I heard "hello". It doesn't matter who makes the call (you or your spouse). When I called (thru Google Voice or Rebtel), I waited a couple of minutes and got thru to an English speaking person.
So, excluding accommodations and transportation to and from each location, he paid 70,000 CFA for the entire medical exam. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 145 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 245 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Washington DC |
| POE Date : |
2015-12-01 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
Yes,Passport Stamp |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2017-08-31 |
| NOA Date : |
2017-09-05 |
| RFE(s) : |
2018-10-01 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2017-09-27 |
| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
2018-10-24 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
2018-10-26 |
| Comments : |
Received 18 Month Extension Letter in August 2018 | RFE Included the need for medical power of attorney |
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Citizenship
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Online |
| CIS Office : |
Nashville TN |
| Date Filed : |
2018-09-12 |
| NOA Date : |
2018-09-14 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2018-10-04 |
| Interview Date : |
2019-06-25 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2019-08-16 |
| Comments : |
Divorced March 17, 2020 |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Senegal
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
November 18, 2015 |
| Embassy Review : |
Based off of my notes from hubby's phone call:
Because Dakar is so understaffed, he actually had to help to translate other Gambians who spoke Mandinka (local language) better than English.
So he does not remember many of the questions that he was asked specifically, however he did say they asked a lot of questions about me, and they were looking at the pictures and evidence I submitted thru USCIS. Here are some of the questions he did remember:
How did you meet your wife?
Where does your wife live?
What does your wife do for a living?
Was asked about the mutual friend of ours who also filled out an affidavit for us and is also our joint sponsor.
He arrived about 7am for his appointment at 8am and had to write down name as a sign in process at the gate and waited in line until about 10am or 11am.
Once he entered, It was a man who called him to window who gave him back a big USCIS package of documents(everything I frontloaded) and only took his passport/passport photos, original documents, and the sealed medical envelope. They gave him the medical results back in the end.
He said it was easy and difficult at the same time and he would rather forget about it. LOL
He got a little nervous because they were giving him all the papers I frontloaded and just told him to sit down, with ticket number, and did not even ask for the copies of documents he brought. He waited for about 2 hours and he was the last person to be interviewed.
His ticket number was 108 (Ironically our special number because it took me 8 months to get a job and save the money for filing fees and then it took us 8 months to make it thru the process plus our NOA1 date was March 18th and interview date was November 18th), not to mention his appointment was at 8am.
It was a woman who interviewed him in a small room. It is the same woman who he helped to translate for others.
They did not look at the pictures even though he mentioned more than once that he brought wedding pictures; they only looked at the pictures I previously sent and took his passport and gave him a green ticket/piece of paper that says come back Tuesday at 2pm to pick up your visa.
He did not get originals back, but he did have copies and received back the other copies of the documents I sent previously to NVC and/or USCIS. He will provide them with the copies when he goes to pick up his visa.
So my advice is to definitely frontload and be patient!
(updated on November 19, 2015) |
| Rating : |
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
