SanjaAlex's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Alex Beneficiary's Name: Sanja VJ Member: SanjaAlex Country: Serbia Last Updated: 2023-02-01 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Alex & Sanja:

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 : Serbia I-129F Sent : 2018-11-19 I-129F NOA1 : 2018-11-27 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2019-03-22 NVC Received : 2019-04-18 Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : 2019-04-22 NVC Left : 2019-04-30 Consulate Received : 2019-05-03 Packet 3 Received : 2019-05-15 Packet 3 Sent : 2019-05-15 Packet 4 Received : 2019-05-24 Interview Date : 2019-06-27 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2019-07-01 US Entry : 2019-07-05 Marriage : 2019-08-09 Comments : Medical 05/24/2019 Visa issued 06/28/2019 Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 115 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 212 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : Miami POE Date : 2019-07-05 Got EAD Stamp : No Biometrics Taken : Yes Harassment Level : 0 Comments : Afternoon arrival at MIA. First impression - immense heat and long lines. Was it because it was a busy day or they were understaffed after 4th of July celebrations but the lines were huge. Even US citizens were waiting in those lines with the rest of us to go thru passport check. After 2 and a half hours (yup, just to go thru passports) it was my turn. Came to the counter, gave my passport and envelope, left my fingerprints and they took a picture of me. Got a yellow note on my passport and my envelope back and was sent to secondary. On my way there I got my baggage. In secondary I was the only immigrant, rest were people with tourist visas. They took my papers, asked me to sit down for a little bit. After 10 minutes another officer called my name, asked me to write down my US address on a piece of paper and sit back down. 10-15 minutes after he called me again, told me to bring my luggage and gave me my passport, piece of paper with informations and told me I need to get married till October 2nd. He wished me all the best in my life and marriage and I was on my way finally. Around 3 hrs in total but processing K1 took 25minutes. All in all, good experience just the wait could be shorter.

Adjustment of Status Event Date CIS Office : Kendall FL Date Filed : 2019-09-07 NOA Date : 2019-09-16 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2019-10-07 AOS Transfer** : Interview Date : 2020-01-08 Approval / Denial Date : 2020-02-04 Approved : Yes Got I551 Stamp : No Greencard Received: 2020-02-10 Comments :

Employment Authorization Document Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method : Mail Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2019-09-07 NOA Date : 2019-09-16 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2019-10-07 Approved Date : 2019-12-26 Date Card Received : 2019-12-31 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your EAD was approved in 110 days.

Advance Parole Event Date CIS Office : Chicago National Office Filing Method :   Filing Instance : First Date Filed : 2019-09-07 NOA Date : 2019-09-16 RFE(s) : Date Received : 2019-12-31 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your AP was approved in 110 days.

Lifting Conditions Event Date CIS Office : Potomac Service Center Date Filed : 2021-11-09 NOA Date : 2021-11-22 RFE(s) : Bio. Appt. : 2022-01-25 Interview Date : Approval / Denial Date : Approved : Got I551 Stamp : Green Card Received : Comments : Biometrics appointment was waived and I received a letter saying that they were able to use my fingerprints from last time and biometrics fee won't be refunded.

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Kendall FL Date Filed : 2023-01-10 NOA Date : 2023-01-10 Bio. Appt. : 2023-01-10 Interview Date : 2023-03-08 Approved : Oath Ceremony : Comments : Received a notice on 01/17 that my old biometrics will be reused, so no biometric appointment. Also received NOA letter dated to 01/10. On 02/01 received the interview letter.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Belgrade, Yugoslavia Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : June 28, 2019 Embassy Review : My interview was scheduled at 10:15am. From other VJ member I've heard it's ok to come early so that's what I did. Was in front of the consulate at 9am with my fiance (sent an email day earlier to the embassy that he'll be accompanying me). We were greeted by the first employee who checked our names on the list, looked at our passports and did a quick security check. Then we've been sent to the first building where we went thru second security and then escorted outside to enter the main building. There was an embassy employee on every step to direct us further on. In the main building we were greeted by the nice lady who checked our names on the list and gave us our number. We sat in the waiting area and chatted with another VJ members for a bit until we were called to the counter 9. Gentleman that worked there was really nice and polite, he asked for my number and passport, he then stepped back for a minute and returned to tell us they gave us the wrong number and to go back to get a new one. As soon as we turned around first lady that greeted us had a new number. We sat back and waited some more. Again counter 9,we went back, he took my passport, opened my medical and took all the papers that were stated in P4 letter. He casually chatted with us while doing that, asking couple of questions and told us to sit back and we'll be called to pay the fee. After some time we were called to counter 1 where we paid $265 fee (payable in RSD, USD and credit cards) and we were told we'll get the receipt later. Sat back for 2 minutes and we were called to counter 7, again, wonderful lady greeted us, told us she'll take my fingerprints and that's all. Back to waiting area again. After 20-30 minutes we were called to counter 3 for the actual interview. CO asked me do I prefer to have the interview on Serbian or English (I've chosen English), gave me the oath to read and took my fingerprints and she started asking. She was very chatty, questions she asked were all just to get us to talk more and boy did we talk 😁 we laughed at each other, we were getting mushy talking about the proposal, we were telling details about our trips and how my fiance saw snow for the first time when he came here. She was smiling all the time and encouraged us to talk more by asking something as "And then what happened?" It was far from what I've imagined the interview will look like and it lasted ~20 minutes but it was as pleasant as it could be. In that chat of ours she got our whole relationship timeline, from the moment we first met, details about our trips and plans. As specific questions there was how we met, what do we do for living, plans for the wedding...but mostly it was a chat. She kept taking notes as we talked as well. At the end she told us that everything seems well and asked us to sit back and wait. She also gave me the receipt for the fee. My VJ friend was done in 3 minutes on the counter next to us vs. our 20 and she was told she's approved and she was given imbra pamphlet. She was as well asked to sit and wait. After 20 minutes we were called to counter 9 where I was given my original documents back and I was told they'll give me a call when my visa is ready for pickup next week. Summary... Very pleasant experience, everyone is very polite, helpful and smiling. Took us little over 2 hours to finish but the wait wasn't as bad. Rating : Very Good

Timeline Comments: 7



*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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