GoodbyeGirl's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Alli Beneficiary's Name: Not Prince Charming VJ Member: GoodbyeGirl Country: United Kingdom Last Updated: 2019-08-29 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Alli & Not Prince Charming:

USCIS I-129F Petition:       Dept of State K1 Visa:     USCIS I-485 Petition:   USCIS I-765 Petition:       USCIS I-131 Petition:       USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

K1 Visa Event Date Service Center : California Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : London, United Kingdom I-129F Sent : 2015-02-24 I-129F NOA1 : 2015-03-04 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2015-03-24 NVC Received : 2015-04-16 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : 2015-04-27 NVC Left : Consulate Received : 2015-04-30 Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2015-07-21 Submit Review Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2015-07-30 US Entry : 2015-08-11 Marriage : 2015-08-25 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 20 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 139 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : Wichita KS Date Filed : 2015-09-29 NOA Date : 2015-10-10 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2015-10-30 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : Approval / Denial Date : 2016-01-22 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : Greencard Received: 2016-01-30 Comments :

Employment Authorization Document Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method : Mail Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2015-09-29 NOA Date : 2015-10-10 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : Approved Date : 2015-12-14 Date Card Received : 2015-12-19 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your EAD was approved in 76 days.

Advance Parole Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method :   Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2015-09-29 NOA Date : 2015-10-10 RFE(s) : Date Received : 2015-12-19 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your AP was approved in 76 days.

Lifting Conditions Event Date CIS Office : California Service Center Date Filed : 2017-10-24 NOA Date : 2017-10-30 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : Interview Date : 2019-03-12 Approval / Denial Date : 2019-03-12 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Green Card Received : Comments : Biometrics not required (waived by USCIS)

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Wichita KS Date Filed : 2018-10-24 NOA Date : 2018-10-24 Bio. Appt. : 2018-11-13 Interview Date : 2019-03-12 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2019-04-19 Comments : It was my oath ceremony yesterday, in Wichita Kansas. Everyone was invited to arrive at 12pm, so we (me and my husband) got there at 11:15pm only to discover it didn’t start until 1:30pm. I was expecting a lot of people as it was held in a theatre, and there were around 150 immigrants, plus lots of family and friends. The place was packed. About 12pm, we were organised into lines by the local director of USCIS – 2 lines of immigrants with family and friends quickly separated from us. I stood in line for over an hour before I got to the check-in desk where for the first of numerous times that day, I had to show my appointment letter. That became the document the IO officers wanted to see the most. I also had to hand in my 2-year and 10-year green card. Then we had to line up again to get into the theatre. There were two guys dressed in colonial outfits who gave us a pamphlet on the American flag and a program for the ceremony. We were led onto the stage and had to show the invitation letter again, and then go to a table to sign our naturalisation certificate which the IO took back straight away. We were also given a large white envelope with a certificate holder and various booklets on being an American citizen. By this point friends and family had been seated at the back and we were directed to sit in the first five rows. They were very clear that we couldn’t sit anywhere else. A senior IO took to the stage to announce what would be happening – a judge would be preceding over the ceremony, and when she arrived the theatre would become a federal court, and all the doors would be locked. Then we got a short bathroom break before the ceremony got underway. We were told we had to say the oath out loud unless you’d been given permission (on religious grounds) not to, and the IOs dotted around the theatre would be watching us – if they suspected anyone wasn’t saying it, you’d be asked to stay behind and your certificate may not be issued. Around 1:30pm the ceremony started, and the judge welcomed us – she was friendly. Some kids in guard uniform from a local school marched out and put up the flag, and we stood to sing the anthem. Then a local attorney gave an emotional speech about what she went through to adopt her daughter from Vietnam (her kid was on stage looking embarrassed) and then another attorney led us through the oath and then the pledge. Another IO took the stage and called out each of the 39 countries in attendance. When your country was called you had to stand up for a second then sit down. Everyone got a generous round of applause. I was the only person from the UK. Some people had dressed in ballgowns and black tie, one guy from Cambodia wore his national dress, some went down the ripped jeans and t-shirt route, but most were smart-casual. Now it was the turn of another attorney, who had a guitar and explained he wanted to sign a song about being American that wasn’t about battle, and invited us to join in with John Cougar Mellencamp’s ‘Ain't That America’. Everyone was clapping along and singing the chorus. The judge closed proceedings by thanking everyone who’d made the ceremony possible. The senior IO said we would be called row-by-row onto the stage to get our certificates (again had to show the invitation letter) and said we could have our picture taken with the local USCIS director after. On the way out there were voting registration stations (just one easy to fill out form) and a lot of people (including me) stopped to do that. We were out by 3pm, so it took nearly 4 hours in total. Much longer than I’d expected. I raced to the local Post Office, stood in line, only to be told passports were by appointment. LOL. I’ll do it Monday. So my passport and social security update to do, and then I’ll be done. Yesterday marked the end of my immigration journey – four years in total. Visa Journey was a massively important part of my story, and I’m very grateful for all the support, help and great advice. Good luck to everyone still on this ride and many thanks. You guys rock. 😊

Member Reviews:

Local US CIS Office Review: Wichita KS Review Topic: cis_topic Event Description Review Date : March 14, 2019 Embassy Review : 12 March 2019: i-751 + N400 interview and civics test I was really lucky today and had a good combi interview experience. Here’s my story, I hope it helps anyone looking for a detailed account. Warning… it’s long! It was lousy weather, we (me and my husband) set off for our 8:30am appointment in a torrential downpour. I was a little worried about looking like a drowned rat on arrival. 😊 At the front desk, security asked for my appointment letters and we both had to show ID. We then had to empty our pockets and put our items in a container (like at the airport) and go through the body scanner. We were then told to sit in the waiting room. It wasn’t full, just a few people. There was one officer sitting behind a glass window who had the patience of a saint. I was struck by how many visitors needed an awful lot of help and didn’t arrive with receipt numbers or much in the way of documentation. She seemed to spend most of her time directing people to which form to fill out and explaining that this office didn’t provide visas or a form filling in service. We got called by an Immigration Officer (about 10 minutes after our scheduled appointment time), and were led to a private office. On the way, he asked for my 2-year Green Card and my 18-month extension letter (both were given back to me at the end of the interview). The IO seemed to have a lot on his plate, was a bit grouchy at first, but was friendly and clear in his instructions. I had to stand on the left, my husband on the right and we raised our right hands and promised to tell the truth. The IO explained that we’d be interviewed together for my 10 year Green Card and then my husband could leave, and I’d take the citizenship test and interview alone. He had my application on his desk and went through some basic questions from the i-751 – like name, address, telephone number, job – which I confirmed. We’d moved last summer and though our new address was confirmed by Homeland Security, and letters from service centres have been arriving to the right place, he had our old address and updated it during the interview. He asked if we had a joint bank account, but didn’t ask to see any of the mountain of evidence I’d brought along. Before I knew it, that was the Green Card part done, and my husband was dismissed. Another nice and friendly IO came and escorted him back to the waiting room. The IO then explained we’d start the citizenship interview with the civics test. I was asked these 6 questions which I got right so didn’t have to answer the full 10: When was the Declaration of Independence adopted? How many US Senators are there? Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now? What is the capital of the United States? Where is the Statue of Liberty? Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? Then I had to read out a statement which flashed up on a screen in front of me, ‘Who elects Congress?’ I used a stylus to write the answer that the IO kept repeating, ‘the people elect Congress.’ Luckily it was legible though it did look like I was kindergarten age. Those things are hard to write with! After that there was a long list of mostly ‘no’ questions like ‘have you ever committed some horrible act?’ The last 3 or 4 were ‘yes’ questions like agreeing to accept and obey the laws of the States. He then told me I could relax while he updated the system. He said he was approving me for both Green Card and citizenship and I may or may not get a physical Green Card in the post. He said as my extension letter was good till July-2019, I could hold onto them and not worry about getting a stamp in my passport. My name and basic details flashed up on screen which I had to check and sign, as this is how they’ll appear on my naturalisation certificate. He said there was some spaces left on the 19 April oath ceremony so if the system updates in time, I should get an invite in the mail. He then handed me an N-652 confirming that I’d passed the N400 tests and that my application has been recommended for approval. The entire thing took around 30 minutes. Within an hour of leaving, my case status online had changed to: N400: Oath Ceremony Notice Was Mailed i-751: New Card Is Being Produced Hopefully I’ll get confirmation in my online documents of the oath ceremony date in a few days. Some stray observations: The IO seemed time-crunched, and said he gets a set amount of time for each interview. You can get a deferred result if you go over time, bring too much evidence (like all the societies/clubs/organisations) you belong to, as the IO has to type it all in during the allocated interview time slot Similarly, the IO types up all you say in response to answers, so keep it brief I was surprised we didn’t get interrogated a bit more, but apparently we are quite boring. The IO said i-751 interviews are typically held if there’s something they want to review in more detail, but in straight forward combi cases, it’s more of an adjudication of the application done with the applicant in attendance. That kind of explains the lack of interrogation. Anyway, thank God that’s over! Sorry for the long post, I hope it helps someone. I’m really looking forward to getting my oath ceremony date. Good luck everyone! Harassment Level : Very Good

Timeline Comments: 14



*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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