MLK2016's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Michael
Beneficiary's Name: Tien
VJ Member: MLK2016
Country: Vietnam
Last Updated: 2021-04-21
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Immigration Checklist for Michael & Tien:
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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 : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2016-12-22 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2017-01-03 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2017-01-16 |
| I-130 RFE : |
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| I-130 RFE Sent : |
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| I-130 Approved : |
2017-02-09 |
| NVC Received : |
2017-02-20 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
2017-03-04 |
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2017-03-04 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
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| Send AOS Package : |
2017-03-23 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2017-03-04 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
2017-03-08 |
| Pay IV Bill : |
2017-03-10 |
| Send IV Package : |
2017-03-23 |
| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
2017-06-15 |
| Case Completed at NVC : |
2017-06-01 |
| NVC Left : |
2017-06-07 |
| Consulate Received : |
2017-06-14 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2017-06-15 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
2017-06-15 |
| Interview Date : |
2017-06-23 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2017-06-28 |
| US Entry : |
2017-07-20 |
| Comments : |
Green Card received 8/11/2017 |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 24 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 158 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
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| Date Filed : |
2019-04-22 |
| NOA Date : |
2019-04-25 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2019-05-23 |
| Interview Date : |
2019-10-31 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2019-10-31 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
2019-11-07 |
| Comments : |
7/24/2019 ready to be scheduled for interview |
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Citizenship
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Online |
| CIS Office : |
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| Date Filed : |
2020-04-21 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-04-21 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
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| Interview Date : |
2021-04-15 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2021-05-21 |
| Comments : |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
June 24, 2017 |
| Embassy Review : |
This review outlines our experience from our case complete through our interview with the United States Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Following the submission of our documents to NVC we requested an expedite. Our expedite request was based upon the desire of my wife to visit an elderly, ill relative of mine in the United States who was celebrating an important birthday. Included with our request were a physician’s letter and photographs The expedite request was submitted to the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Several days after submitting the request they agreed that they would expedite our case for the interview after our case was completed by NVC.
Once we received our case complete from NVC, it took them 13 long days for them to send the file to the consulate. During that period of time we wondered if having an expedite would be any faster than not having one as others with case completes similar to ours were receiving interview dates. I spoke to a supervisor at NVC who explained that although we had been granted an expedited interview, there were thousands of cases with expedites. She said it therefore was not instantaneous from a case complete that our file would be sent to the consulate. We also learned that the NVC files are not physically mailed to the consulates. They are electronically sent by NVC to the consulates.
Once our file was sent electronically to the consulate, our status on the NVC website changed to “completedâ€. When I learned that the file had been sent to the Ho Chi Minh consulate, I filled out an inquiry form on their website asking how we would receive our interview date. Two days later we received an email from the consulate on a Thursday morning stating our interview to our amazement had been scheduled for 8 days later on a Friday morning at 9:30AM.
The next 8 days became frantic for my wife and me. I had to book last minute airline tickets and rearrange my work schedule as I wanted to be present for the interview. My wife had to schedule her medical examination and vaccinations. She was lucky to obtain last minute appointments for that Monday morning explaining that her interview had just been scheduled. After completing her medical examinations and vaccinations, she received her medical reports in a sealed envelope on Wednesday to bring to the interview that Friday.
On Wednesday I left the United States on a 22 hour trip,
arriving in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, one day prior to the interview. Even though my wife and I had not seen each other for 4 long months there was no time to celebrate or for me to adjust my jet lag. That evening we had scheduled an appointment with an English language teacher who had been helping my wife with her English pronunciations. The purpose of this meeting was to review answers to possible questions of the consulate. We obtained sample questions from visa journey. Even though my wife could speak English and there would be an interpreter at the interview, we felt it best at the interview for her to answer the questions in English. This we thought would show the interviewer we were able to communicate with each other. In addition we were deeply concerned that we could be denied at the interview as my wife in a previous tourist visa application at the bad advice of an agent in Vietnam indicated she was married when she was in fact single. Her desire had been to visit her sister who was dying from cancer and the agent told her the best way to obtain the tourist visa was to say she was married. By saying she was married the agent explained it would show her ties to return to Vietnam. That tourist visa was denied. We disclosed this information on the DS-260. We felt it best to indicate this rather than possibly be confronted at the interview as to why we did not detail the prior application We were extremely worried that she would be asked at the interview as to why she lied on the tourist visa application. We were concerned as to whether the consulate would approve our application.
After limited, restless sleep on Thursday night, we woke on Friday morning for the interview. My wife was extremely nervous. We arrived at the Ho Chi Minh Consulate at 8:30 for our 9:30 appointment. To our surprise there were only about 8 people ahead of us waiting to enter the building. After showing our interview appointment letter, we entered the building, went through a metal detector and left our cell phones with security who held them for us.
We were greeted by a host who immediately directed us to a window. With us, we had a 3 ring binder with approximately 100 photographs on plastic pages. We also had a plastic binder with removable plastic and labeled folders. In the labeled folders were our original and copies of the required documents, our paid receipts, copies of all of our documents filed through USCIS and NVC, copies of the supporting documents showing our bonafide relationship and additional documentation since our filings demonstrating our relationship.
The woman at the window asked for our documents. I took out the folders which contained original and copies of documents, the folder containing the relationship proof submitted to USCIS and the additional proof. She picked through the original documents taking them all. She did not take the copies of the documents. She did not take anything from the proof of our relationship submitted to USCIS. The only document she kept from our additional proof of our relationship was our joint 2016 US Tax Return which I decided to bring. (At the time of our filing with NVC the 2016 tax return was not due and was not needed). She asked me if we had a financial sponsor and I answered no. She asked for the paid NVC receipt which I provided. We were given a number and told to wait to be called at a different window for the interview.
In the waiting area, we were again surprised to see only about 20 people waiting. We thought that as our interview was expedited, perhaps Friday was not a regular business day for interviews.
During our wait we observed that all the other couples with spouses present were being approved. We noticed two women who were not present with their spouses (or fiancées) received blue denial slips. For one we heard the questions. Evidently she was in a relationship with a man since 2008. She was asked why he had not seen her for more than one year. She said he was working. Her application was denied.
There were approximately 4 windows open. Behind each window was an interviewer and an interpreter. After about 30 minutes an interviewer pointed to us and instead of calling our number. We went to the window. However, he had called us by mistake. He meant to call another person’s case. He apologized to us and asked us to sit back down. He then called the other case. After he finished that case, he asked us for our number and he called us up again within a few minutes. He told me to sit down saying he would call me up if I was needed. I sat down and was close enough to observe and hear everything. First, they took biometric fingerprints of my wife at a pad in front of the interview window. She was sworn in. He then asked her the following questions:
1. How did you meet?
2. Where did you first meet him in person?
3. Was he married before?
4. When and where were you married?
5. In the past you applied for a B2 tourist visa. Why were you denied? Here it was I started to think. Was he setting her for a question about lying on that application? My wife answered him in English explaining about wanting to visit her sister in the United States who was dying from cancer and how through bad advice which she was sorry about an agent said to say she was married. The agent then replied, “I am sorry about your sisterâ€
Then immediately after, he said the visa was approved. We were extremely happy and relieved. We were never asked to show our photographs. Except for the police report, all of our original documents were returned to us. I thanked the interviewer and we left the consulate all within about 1.5 hours.
Later that day we booked an airplane ticket for my wife to join me in the US in about 3 weeks. For now we are enjoying our holiday together for another week and can finally relax.
The visa process for us was shorter than most, but still a very anxious and at times, a very frustrating process. I definitely recommend that spouses and fiancées from the United States attend the interview. Utilizing the resources of visajourney was a tremendous help and following others’ journeys on the boards made the waiting less anxious. We hope you all achieve the positive result that we did.
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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
ver 5.0
