abfar's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: FA Beneficiary's Name: AB VJ Member: abfar Country: Pakistan Last Updated: 2022-03-29 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for FA & AB:

USCIS I-130 Petition:       Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:     USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Date Service Center : Potomac Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Islamabad, Pakistan Marriage (if applicable): 2014 I-130 Sent : 2016-01-25 I-130 NOA1 : I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2016-04-28 NVC Received : Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : 2017-01-24 Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : 2017-03-20 Submit DS-261 : Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : 2017-03-20 Send IV Package : 2017-03-30 Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : 2017-06-06 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : 2017-06-14 Interview Date : 2017-07-25 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2017-07-26 US Entry : Comments : Reached the embassy by 7.30 I was the second in line for immigration interview. I was out of the embassy by 8.15am and back at shuttle station by 8.30am. Lots of people at US embassy. Over 50 for the 7am appointment while I was there. Approved. CO said I should receive my Passport within 2 weeks. I got a call to pick up my passport/visa the very next day. wow. Love you US EMBASSY islamabad ❤️ Processing Estimates/Stats :

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : JFK POE Date : 2017-08-01 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Harassment Level : 0 Comments : I POE'd via JFK on Aug 1st. It was a smooth entry as the immigration officer just opened my sealed envelop and asked me if I was carrying more than $10,000 Then I was taken to a room where a few officers were sitting on computers checking everybody's visas/passports. In my case the officer was mentioning certain code numbers to another officer like '363 is clear, 464 is clear (numbers made up)' and in the end they called me up, stamped my passport and said I could go. I just picked up my checked bags from the outside and left the airport building to be welcomed by my wife and baby. <3 The carry-ons were checked thoroughly at two airports where we stopped before JFK so I believe thats why it wasn't checked again at NYC. The ~24 hrs flights were terrible though. If anyone else is flying yet, I'd recommend stopping a day or two in some city in the middle to reduce the pain. Its not fun flying it in one go. I interacted with 5 immigration officers at JFK. 2 were kind of rude. 2 were friendly and one was neutral. In general I found JFK officers to be rude compared to the other airports on the way. I applied for my Social Security card in NYC a few days after POE and had paid my Green Card fee before the flight. The green card status still shows as 'in process' so I believe it'll be a few days.  I love how organised the traffic and systems in general are in the US. The Social Security Cards office was organized well. I was able to fill up the form in a few minutes and after a few minutes of waiting, I was called to a window. The officer checked my passport/visa, took the form and gave me a receipt saying I'll receive my Social Security card within 7-10 days. I've yet to pick up an apartment to move to.

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : New York City NY Date Filed : 2020-05-08 NOA Date : 2020-05-11 Bio. Appt. : 2021-06-23 Interview Date : 2022-03-02 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2022-05-06 Comments : Wasn't approved on the spot. Was told I'll hear back soon. Received the 'we couldnt make a decision' paper slip. USCIS called me about a month later telling me my n400 applic was approved and oath is a month from that call.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Islamabad, Pakistan Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : July 25, 2017 Embassy Review : Approved.   Still can't believe this is real. I reached the diplomatic shuttle station in Islamabad around 5.30am. They don't let anybody in until 6 so you've to wait outside the station gate. It started raining so we were let in a bit early. The station staff was late but finally started issuing Bus/Car travel vouchers by 6.05am. I paid 1000 PKR for the car but you can also go in bus for 500 PKR (5 USD) Then 15 more mins wait on the mobile collection counter as the employee was yet to report for duty. I was given another receipt while they took my phone. The car voucher also lets you in the slightly better waiting area. That's where I waited. around 6.40am you can pass through the security check and can get into the Cars. 4 passengers per car.  Unlike the station's overall condition, the cars were comfortable and very clean. They travel in a Caravan of 5-10 cars. 2,3 mins drive to the outer gate of the Red Zone (fenced diplomatic area where all embassies are), there's another 5-10 mins of wait while the cars are checked for security and your travel voucher will be checked. Then another 5 minutes drive in the Red Zone and you're at the US embassy. There were over 50 people waiting outside the first security scanner just outside the embassy building. Too many people for such an early appointment. After a while, we were asked to form two lines and I was able to get through the checkpost as one of the first 5 people. They will check your appointment letter here. Then a walk next to embassy wall to the embassy gate. An airport like scanner. Once past, were were given our Tokens. Luckily I was the second person for interview token-wise. Inside, we were guided where to sit and how to proceed to each counter. Within 10 minutes the Counters were ready (around 7.30am) and I was called for Finger prints. They also gave us the domestic violence brochure. (I have rights! and I know it!) 5 minutes after that, called for documents collection. The pakistani lady who collected the documents was kind and friendly. She smiled over one of the mistakes we made in ds260.  Back to waiting, 5 minutes later, I was called as the first person for interview. The american CO was friendly. They asked: CO: Who is calling you? Me: ans CO: What does your wife do? Me: ans CO: What do you do? Me: ans CO: Name of the company? Me: ans CO: Was the marriage arranged or love marriage? Me: ans CO: Who arranged it. Me: ans CO: How many people were at your wedding? Me: ans CO: Do you have any photos of the wedding? *I gave them the whole album, which had all our photos in chronological order. They see the marriage, then our honey and finally our family pics with our child* CO: Do you have a child? Me: yes, she's x years old. CO: Do you have any proof documents? Me: Yes, I have the US birth certificate. * I hand it over * CO: *examines it thoroughly, matches my name from child's birth cert with my own birth cert* CO: *smiles* Mubarak Ho (Congratulations) *in urdu* *I'm not sure if its for saying congrats on having the child or for approval* Me: Thank you.  CO: You will receive your passport in 2 weeks Me: I also have a correction statement for a DS260 mistake. *I hand it over* I then left the embassy. I then walked to one of the waiting Cars, showed them my voucher and they took me back to the shuttle station. It was about 5-8 mins drive.  I was back at the shuttle station by 8.30am as I can see in chat logs thats when I called my wife and everyone also started calling me phone around that time. Gave my wife a mini heart attack when I told her they didn't keep my passport and asked me to wait 2 months. xD ONE THING I missed:  We got a checklist for 2016 W2. The CO never asked for it and I forgot to mention it. Is this going to be an issue? Should I contact the embassy for that? Thank you visa journey and all the couples who contribute. You've all been a tremendous help. Kudos to JBMG for the spreadsheet initiative. It was a ray of home back when waiting NVC 11 weeks felt like a lifetime of pain. Rating : Very Good

POE Review: JFK Event Description Entry Date : 2017-08-01 Embassy Review : I POE'd via JFK on Aug 1st. It was a smooth entry as the immigration officer just opened my sealed envelop and asked me if I was carrying more than $10,000 Then I was taken to a room where a few officers were sitting on computers checking everybody's visas/passports. In my case the officer was mentioning certain code numbers to another officer like '363 is clear, 464 is clear (numbers made up)' and in the end they called me up, stamped my passport and said I could go. I just picked up my checked bags from the outside and left the airport building to be welcomed by my wife and baby. <3 The carry-ons were checked thoroughly at two airports where we stopped before JFK so I believe thats why it wasn't checked again at NYC. The ~24 hrs flights were terrible though. If anyone else is flying yet, I'd recommend stopping a day or two in some city in the middle to reduce the pain. Its not fun flying it in one go. I interacted with 5 immigration officers at JFK. 2 were kind of rude. 2 were friendly and one was neutral. In general I found JFK officers to be rude compared to the other airports on the way. I applied for my Social Security card in NYC a few days after POE and had paid my Green Card fee before the flight. The green card status still shows as 'in process' so I believe it'll be a few days. I love how organised the traffic and systems in general are in the US. The Social Security Cards office was organized well. I was able to fill up the form in a few minutes and after a few minutes of waiting, I was called to a window. The officer checked my passport/visa, took the form and gave me a receipt saying I'll receive my Social Security card within 7-10 days. I've yet to pick up an apartment to move to. Harassment Level : Moderate

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.

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