Penny&Lee's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Lee Beneficiary's Name: Penny VJ Member: Penny&Lee Country: United Kingdom Last Updated: 2019-08-01 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Lee & Penny:

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 : 2017-08-26 I-129F NOA1 : 2017-08-31 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2018-03-29 NVC Received : 2018-04-30 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : 2018-05-03 NVC Left : 2018-05-04 Consulate Received : 2018-05-08 Packet 3 Received : 2018-05-02 Packet 3 Sent : 2018-05-02 Packet 4 Received : 2018-06-19 Interview Date : 2018-06-07 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2018-06-19 US Entry : 2018-07-19 Marriage : 2018-08-31 Comments : Medical Examination: 2018-05-11 Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 210 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 280 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : New York City NY Date Filed : 2018-11-06 NOA Date : 2018-11-09 RFE(s) : 2019-04-16 Bio. Appt. : 2018-12-10 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : 2019-07-25 Approval / Denial Date : 2019-07-25 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Greencard Received: 2019-08-01 Comments : Sent back RFIE request on 2019-05-09 USCIS updated case to “received RFIE” on 2019-05-13 Case changed to “Ready to be scheduled for interview” on 2019-06-05 “Interview scheduled” 2019-06-11

Employment Authorization Document Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method : Mail Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2018-11-06 NOA Date : 2018-11-09 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : Approved Date : 2019-07-25 Date Card Received : Comments : No EAD received as I got GC approval first Processing Estimates/Stats : Your EAD was approved in 261 days.

Advance Parole Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method :   Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2018-11-06 NOA Date : 2018-11-09 RFE(s) : Date Received : Comments : No AP received as I got GC approval first Processing Estimates/Stats : Your AP was approved in 261 days.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : June 7, 2018 Embassy Review : So.... I had my interview at the US London embassy this morning. I arrived at Vauxhall station at 10:20am, and my appointment was at 11:30. I walked over and since I was a little early, I went to Waitrose for a drink. at 10:50, I made my way to the south pavilion entrance, where there was a booth with a nice lady sat outside. She asked for my interview confirmation letter, as well as my passport. She then stuck a note to it with my number on and asked me to go into the scanning room. I had a small cabin sized luggage with me as I stayed in London overnight, but was unable to take that inside. So be aware of that! I entered the room, asked to put my bag on the xray machine, walked through the body scanner and all was ok. (i had a bottle of water with me, which an officer asked me to take a drink of (to make sure it wasn't poisoned or contaminated i suppose)). I then made my way to the actual embassy, which was a 30 sec walk from there. (time, about 11:03 at this stage) I walked to the reception which a woman asked for my last name, then she repeated my first name to me. I confirmed, and she asked for my interview confirmation letter again. She then told me to go to floor 1, turn left, then left again. (i assume this area was for k-1 visa applicants only, however i'm not sure) Seconds after i arrived (i hadn't even sat down yet) my number was called. I went to the desk, and the man asked to see my confirmation letter, birth certificate (original), passport, acro police certificate, affidavit of support, and any other evidence i could supply. I handed him a 1099-misc, a letter from my fiancés employer stating he was employed and for how long, and his work contract. I asked if he wanted to see my ds-160, he said no! (wow, no one at all requested to see it) he then took my fingerprints. After all this, i went to sit down, and was sitting for less than 5 minutes before my number was called again. (time now, approx 11:10) I got to the interview desk, and the lady asked me to say an oath, and then asked: how did you and your fiancé meet? how often do you see each other? did he have a place of his own? have either of you been previously married? have you ever lived somewhere other than the UK for more than 6 months? after the questions, she said "everything seems to be in order. i'm going to issue this visa. you're approved - congratulations! it will take between 1-2 weeks for you to receive your visa. (time now, 11:15) i was in the embassy for no more than 15-20 minutes! Rating : Very Good

POE Review: JFK Event Description Entry Date : 2018-07-19 Embassy Review : My flight was with Thomas Cook - from Manchester, UK, to NY, JFK. It took off at 10:30am local time, and I arrived at JFK at 12:40pm local time. As I was sat in premier seating, I departed the plane first and was first in the queues at customs. JFK was beyond hectic, I had never seen the airport that busy before. Our flight was made to stand in 1 queue as other passengers from other aircrafts were filtered into the lines first before us. I was standing in the line for US residents (and that’s because I had no idea where I had to go.) I asked 4 members of staff, the first 3 were clueless and told me to stay where I was. The last (lovely) gentleman directed me to the first time US esta line (zzzzzzzz the longest line). The time now had easily passed 1:30pm local time. So I joined the back of the humungous queue, and stayed in that line until 2:30pm local time, then I was directed to kiosk #23. I stood there for 20~ or so minutes; and I was then the next person to be seen. I had my unopened packet 4 as well as my visa in hand. But then the CBP officer decided to close his kiosk and myself and the line of people behind me were then directed to different kiosks (yep.. ugh... here we go...) I moved to kiosk #24, which seemed to be a pleasant man from what I could tell by how he was interacting with other people. Another 20 minutes go by, and finally I’m up. By this stage it’s almost 3 or so hours since my plane landed. So at this point I’m flustered, annoyed, tired, and the excitement of seeing my fiancé was slowly wearing off from the hassle. So I tell the officer I have a K-1 visa, which he then proceeded to HUFF as if it was a massive problem. He took my packet 4 and visa. Scanned my visa, ripped open the packet, pulled out the papers & said “do you have any proof of a relationship or meeting?” I said.. “what? That’s not a requirement?” And he said “you should have been told at your interview at the embassy that you are required to show this paperwork”, (luckily for me, I came super prepared and carried all of this paperwork in my hand luggage with me). So I opened my luggage and presented all paperwork from the visa process, pictures of us and our engagement, proof of meeting, my arrival departure record, and a few other bits like movie tickets and train tickets etc. So the man took all of this paperwork from me and was browsing through it. When I say “browsing” I mean, he was looking at it, but not paying attention. He was the most lazy, arrogant, rude CBP officer I had ever encountered. After he’s done with that paperwork, he hands me it back and I pack my bag back up, and then he proceeds to say “there’s pages missing from the paperwork in this packet” (packet 4)... and I’m stood there in shock.. because you’re not allowed to open packet 4, so whatever was in that envelope, I had never seen, never touched. It was all up to the Embassy to fill that packet with the correct paperwork. After that and me telling him that I can’t do anything if there’s “missing pages”, he rolls his eyes and stamps my passport and my visa. Telling me I have 90 days to get married. I think “phew.... finally I’m done.” Hahahahahahaha. Nope.... The officer flicks a switch at his kiosk which makes a big red light flash, and another officer comes over, takes all my paperwork and takes me to the immigration office section of JFK. Puts all my papers in a red folder, and tells me to take a seat. (I had been in this place once before, in 2017, after I was interrogated at Manchester airport because of too many frequent visits to the US), so I knew the process. By now it was about 3 and a half hours since my plane landed. Around 4pm. Now I’m extremely worried about my luggage, I’m antsy, I’m emotional, I’m tired, and REALLY annoyed. I sat in the immigration section for 30-40 minutes before I saw an officer pick up my file & call my name. After he did so, he said “WHY are officers referring k-1 visas??? I haven’t referred a k-1 visa in 5 years!!”. So I stand in front of his desk, and he says “honestly I’m so sorry. I don’t know why you’re in here. You shouldn’t of been referred here.” He stamps my passport once again and I’m escorted out of the room. (WOOOHOOOOO I’m free!!) 😩 I walk to luggage claim and there are my 3 suitcases sitting right in the middle of the carousels. Thank god. I stopped and had a good cry before packing them onto a trolley and leaving to see my love standing there with a big bouquet of red white & blue flowers to symbolize my move to the US. It made all the stress and tears worth it 😭 (long story short, JFK POE in my opinion, literally sucked.) I didn’t get out of baggage claim till 5pm. 4 and a half hours after my plane landed........ Harassment Level : High

Local US CIS Office Review: New York City NY Review Topic: cis_topic Event Description Review Date : July 25, 2019 Embassy Review : Let me start by saying that my interview was conducted at the LONG ISLAND field office located in Holtsville. For some reason the drop down bar doesn't have it as an option; I had my interview on 07/25/2019, it was scheduled for 10:30am, we arrived at 10:15am. We were required to go through airport styled security, then told to check in at the desk. We did so and were told to sit between doors A and B. We were sitting there for at least 45 minutes before being called in. The waiting room was surprisingly very busy! A lady escorted us to the interview room, and we were asked to remain standing and give the oath, swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. She asked me (the applicant) to sit on the left side as she needed to take my photo again and take my fingerprints, after doing this she took my wedding album that was on the desk and started flicking through the pictures. Myself and my husband decided to "not speak unless spoken to" so there was silence for a good 1 minute while she browsed the photos. She then asked my husband how we met, and stated that we were young and asked why we decided to get married. He answered, in which she kept responding that we were sweet together. After this she asked for any kind of joint assets we had together, and at that time all we had was our lease, joint bank account and phone bills together. We handed those over and she noticed the bank statements had a big "METS" symbol on it, and said "oh, you're NYM fans?? My husband said unfortunately, yes, and she laughed. Him and the IO spoke about the team for a good 5 minutes before her asking why we didn't have a car insurance together and I explained that my local DMVs wouldn't accept any other documents than a US provided piece (so EAD) for a driving license. She said ok, and then asked us if we had any more loose photos - I pulled out a big pile of 100 photos that I wrote on the back with the date they were taken and who was in the photo - she flicked through the entire stack before handing them back to us and asked us to provide her with a couple for her records. I did so and handed them back. She then was asking me yes/no questions from the I-485, "are you a part of a gang, ever committed any crime, ever been arrested" etc. One thing my husband pointed out after we left the interview was that she asked me THREE times if I had ever been involved with drugs (which I haven't, I've never touched drugs in my entire life) Last thing she said was that she hopes we stay together. We did not receive a verbal approval at the interview and was given a slip that said "case held for further review". Around 4 hours later, I got a text message saying a new card was being produced. Overall a very good experience, the lady was reassuring, always smiling etc. Harassment Level : Very Good

Timeline Comments: 1



*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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