pretendthisisfun's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Christopher Beneficiary's Name: Hazel VJ Member: pretendthisisfun Country: South Africa Last Updated: 2024-06-23 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Christopher & Hazel:

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 : South Africa I-129F Sent : 2018-04-25 I-129F NOA1 : 2018-05-01 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2018-10-17 NVC Received : 2018-11-14 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : 2018-23-11 NVC Left : 2018-12-11 Consulate Received : 2018-12-17 Packet 3 Received : 2018-12-27 Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2019-03-28 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2019-04-03 US Entry : 2019-04-11 Marriage : 2019-07-07 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 169 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 331 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Washington DC POE Date : 2019-04-12 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Harassment Level : Comments :

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : Louisville KY Date Filed : 2019-08-09 NOA Date : 2019-08-12 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2019-09-04 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : 2020-04-16 Approval / Denial Date : 2020-4-16 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : Greencard Received: Comments : Notified of Appt Cancellation by email 3/31/2020 due to COVID-19.

Employment Authorization Document Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method : Mail Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2019-08-09 NOA Date : 2019-08-12 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : Approved Date : 2019-12-06 Date Card Received : 2019-12-16 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your EAD was approved in 119 days.

Advance Parole Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method :   Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2019-08-09 NOA Date : 2019-08-12 RFE(s) : Date Received : 2019-12-16 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your AP was approved in 119 days.

Lifting Conditions Event Date CIS Office : Date Filed : 2022-08-02 NOA Date : 2022-08-11 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2024-06-18 Interview Date : Approval / Denial Date : 2024-06-21 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : Green Card Received : Comments : Finally!

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Louisville KY Date Filed : 2024-05-18 NOA Date : 2024-05-24 Bio. Appt. : Interview Date : Approved : Oath Ceremony : Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: South Africa Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : March 30, 2019 Embassy Review : So, we stayed at an AirBNB within walking distance from the consulate and Sandton City. For those traveling outside of Johannesburg, I recommend this because you will have everything you need right there. To the interview, you cannot park or drop off at the consulate. You must park at Sandton Ciry and cross the street. For us, it didn’t matter that we were one of the first in line and sitting on the bench. The lady came out at exactly one on and said...”if you are here as an immagrant form a que here...” which was on the other side of the rope from us, so the people who came in five minutes from one wound up at the front of the line. So if you do get there early enough to get a bench, be ready to move to the front of the line on the other side of the ropes. The side where the benches are is a que for citizen matters only Once we were lined up, they asked for names to verify we were in system. They took about five in the building at a time. Once inside, you go through security. Make sure your phones are turned off before you go inside and no laptops are allowed. You follow painted footsteps to a second building where there are snacks and drinks. The seats were full, so the gentleman had us sit on benches in the courtyard and called us in when space was available. We were given a card with a number in the second building. They called our number to a window. There was four or five windows where they verify you have documents and four or five windows where they interview. First window they verified the documents. I recommend being over prepared. I saw several people have to reschedule for missing documents. You waited a year to be at this window. It’s on you if you don’t know what documents you neeed and have them in hand at this point. It was a South African at the first window. She asked for our receipt, DS160 confirmation, I-135 with support, and any proof of relationship evidence to be added. And the photos. Then she did fingerprints and she joked about date we last seen each other being today since I was there with my fiancé. She said it looks like you have everything you need. All I can say is that you have all the documents you need. She gave a copy of the IMBRA forms and told my fiancé to memorize the numbers. We sat down and waited maybe 10-15 minutes before being called to the second window. We swore the oath, validated fingerprints, and she asked basic questions: When and how did you meet, where or what site did you meet on the Internet. Have you met families, how long has this been planned, did you receive a copy of the IMBRA forms, and said filing a domestic violence complaint does not affect your immigration status. She then said “Congratulations, I will be approving you later today. You should receive your visa in about a week.” And that was that. A year of stress and waiting and buildiup was over in less than an hour. As we walked out to get my phone, the guard at the first door said Congratulations, I can tell by your faces you were approved.” I said I’m sure you only see one of two reactions as people walk through here. So now the final wait starts. We had an excellent experience. But we also were extremely well prepared thanks to the information on this site. I feel really badly for people who invest so much time, money, and energy in this process to be turned away to reschedule due to not having the proper documents when resources like this are available. If you are reading this...you are already far ahead of everyone else. It was shocking to me how many of the people there seemed to not know what was expected of them and digging through files and still coming up short. Just know at this Consulate, if you have to reschedule, you’ll be waiting another three months at least. Be ready. And good luck! Rating : Very Good

POE Review: Washington DC Event Description Entry Date : 2019-04-12 Embassy Review : I waited two weeks before posting this review because I was so frustrated by our experience. Our experience here was much different than the previous posts. I don't know if we got there at a bad time, approximately 2:00pm EST, or it was just an off day. The first part, waiting in line, took about an hour. The agents were all friendly and the line moved quickly. The agent we spoke to congratulated us and said we have to pull you to secondary because there is a process for all K1 visas. We followed the yellow line to the secondary screening area. The yellow line ended at an empty desk. There was a sign that said stand at line until called. So we waited. Finally, a man walked over to the desk and gave us the worst looking expression I've had in years. He called us over and took her passport and said "you realize you have to get married in 90 days or leave?" We said yes, 'he said have a seat you'll be called.' Having read the prior reviews, I thought this would move quickly. Over the next four hours, the room kept filling. I heard this man speak rudely to almost everyone who came in and asking them could they not read when they proceeded to his desk rather than stand at the yellow line. There was four desks, labeled A, B, C, and D. The agents there were chatting, laughing, and looking at their phones while the room went from under 10 people waiting to approximately 100. I saw maybe four people pass through in the entire four hours we were waiting. There was no PA, so we went to a desk because we thought the agent called her name. The agent said "I didn't call you" and proceeded to call up someone who came in an hour after us. I'm sure they have a system, and they do everything from secondary screening of luggage, to visas, to who knows what. But it was the worst welcome you could ever imagine for people coming to America. Had the first person we spoke to in the room gave us any clue of what to expect, what was going on, or anything other than the impression that you don't want to ask him anything...it might not have felt like we were prisoners. At least in jail, they tell you what's next and they have an order and process that makes sense. Finally, we were called up after four hours sitting patiently. The lady reached her passport back to here and said "Do you know where you are going...you can go get your bags and go now..." That was it. No questions, nothing. We sat and waited four hours for that. There was no harassment, only one extremely rude dude, an attitude of not caring, and a four and half hour wait. I hope everyone else's experience is better. (updated on April 28, 2019) Harassment Level : High

Local US CIS Office Review: Louisville KY Review Topic: cis_topic Event Description Review Date : September 5, 2019 Embassy Review : We visited this office for the Biometrics appointment. As we live a couple of hours away, we were about an hour early for our appointment. The women at the window are so pleasant and you can tell they enjoy their jobs. They were super friendly and helpful and the entire process was over in 15 minutes. Hoping the interview is just as smooth. Harassment Level : Very Good

Timeline Comments: 13



*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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