JL & ML's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Mary
Beneficiary's Name: Jules
VJ Member: JL & ML
Country: Canada
Last Updated: 2022-08-04
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Immigration Checklist for Mary & Jules:
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USCIS I-129F Petition:
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Dept of State K1 Visa:
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USCIS I-485 Petition:
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USCIS I-765 Petition:
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USCIS I-131 Petition:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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K1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Montreal, Canada |
| I-129F Sent : |
2019-05-06 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2019-05-13 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2019-08-07 |
| NVC Received : |
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| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
2019-09-03 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2019-09-24 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2019-09-25 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
2019-11-27 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2019-12-12 |
| US Entry : |
2020-03-16 |
| Marriage : |
2020-04-11 |
| Comments : |
K-1 visa package: BE VERY CAREFUL OPENING IT. Without thinking, I opened the letter-mail package with a pair of scissors and inadvertently cut open the yellow envelope inside, only to see immediately after a set of big letters on the front of that envelope: DO NOT OPEN. MUST BE OPENED BY A U.S. CUSTOMS AGENT ONLY. They send you the envelope with its precious contents inside another envelope; open the outside envelope only, and very carefully! Fortunately, I was able to request a new, sealed envelope from the consulate in Montreal, but it took a few extra weeks, and the mistake shook us up a little bit. I want to spare you that if possible!
Entered the U.S. on March 16, 2020, at the Sarnia-Port Huron border post. Border guard tried to trip me up on coronavirus issue (wanted to see if I was sick and hiding it), but it did not work. I was not sick, just a bit nervous on account of a high-stakes crossing earlier than planned, to make it over before the border closed. Interview itself at the border went off without a hitch; very few questions; they didn't even open my package; I just gave them my destination address and they sent me off kindly. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 86 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 198 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
CDN-USA Border |
| POE Date : |
2020-03-16 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
No |
| Harassment Level : |
5 |
| Comments : |
Entered at Sarnia-Port Huron POE. Border guard looked very angry and tried to trip me up on coronavirus issue (wanted to see if I was sick and hiding it), but it did not work. I was just a bit nervous on account of a high-stakes crossing earlier than planned, to make it over before the border closed (it closed four days later; still closed at time of writing, 7 December 2020). No other questions asked; everything went fine.
Interview itself at the border went off without a hitch; very few questions; they didn't even open my package; I just gave them my destination address and they sent me off kindly. |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Detroit MI |
| Date Filed : |
2020-04-25 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-05-06 |
| RFE(s) : |
2020-05-29 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2021-02-12 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2022-05-05 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2022-07-28 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2022-08-03 |
| Comments : |
Sent in the basic form of my Canadian (Ontario) birth certificate; got an RFE requesting the long form, which indicates the name of both my parents. I didn't know such a thing existed, but I asked my father and he said indeed it does. I called the Ontario government and asked for a certified copy of the long-form birth certificate (cost around $60 if I remember). Sent that in, and USCIS received the evidence on June 19, 2020. Our case is once more being processed.
--Biometrics was scheduled for December 24, 2020, at 3 p.m. The President decreed a Christmas Eve federal holiday shortly after we got the notice, and the biometrics appointment was bumped to January 20, 2021.
--Biometrics was rescheduled a second time; January 20th was Inauguration Day, and USCIS alleged "safety concerns" for cancelling all in-person appointments that day.
-- Biometrics appointment successfully completed on February 12, 2021.
-- March 25, 2022: interview ready to be scheduled (USCIS online)
-- April 4, 2022: interview scheduled. A notice is to be sent to our address.
-- July 27, 2022: Went back for a second interview to clear up a few issues with the application form. Sought legal counsel, which turned out to be hugely helpful. Approved the following day. |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago IL |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2020-04-25 |
| NOA Date : |
2020-05-06 |
| RFE(s) : |
2020-05-29 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2021-02-12 |
| Approved Date : |
2021-04-15 |
| Date Card Received : |
2021-04-22 |
| Comments : |
Sent in the basic form of my Canadian (Ontario) birth certificate; got an RFE requesting the long form, which indicates the name of both my parents. I didn't know such a thing existed, but I asked my father and he said indeed it does. I called the Ontario government and asked for a certified copy of the long-form birth certificate (cost around $60 if I remember). Sent that in, and USCIS received the evidence on June 19, 2020. Our case is once more being processed.
--Biometrics was scheduled for December 24, 2020, at 3 p.m. The President decreed a Christmas Eve federal holiday shortly after we got the notice, and the biometrics appointment was bumped to January 20, 2021.
--Biometrics was rescheduled a second time; January 20th was Inauguration Day, and USCIS alleged "safety concerns" for cancelling all in-person appointments that day.
-- Biometrics appointment successfully completed on February 12, 2021.
---EAD renewal application mailed in to Chicago Lockbox on November 26, 2021.
---EAD renewal approved; new card ordered to be issued by USCIS on February 23, 2022. If I don't get the AOS interview in a month and a half, my wife and I will have passed the two-year window, and the green card granted, whenever it may be, will be the ten-year one, not the two-year one. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 355 days. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
May 20, 2020 |
| Embassy Review : |
Hello everyone,
Putting up this review for anyone's reference. Had I know this info section on VisaJourney existed back then, I would surely have benefited from it.
My fiancée and I made the trip together to Montreal for the interview (November 26, 2019). She waited in the Second Cup at the street corner while I went in. Different sources said "show up a half hour early for your interview" or "come exactly at the time indicated." We decided to show up a half hour early, but sure enough the security guards at the entrance sent me away. They told me to come exactly at the appointed time. I had initially thought that the security guards worked for the U.S. government, but later I noticed they worked for (I believe) Garda, a private security firm used regularly in various places around Montreal. Maybe it was another firm; I lived in Montreal for ten years and remember seeing their logo everywhere. The Consulate proper was actually on a floor of the building, and not on the ground floor; the doors from outside lead merely into the screening area and security checkpoint.
My interview was slated for 8:30 a.m.; I went back to the Consulate's doors from the Second Cup around 8:27 a.m. and noticed a rather big line (five or six people) had formed outside. I jumped the line just to ask the attendant/guard if we were all to be let in at 8:30, and he said yes. So I went to the back of the line. By 8:31 a.m., since no one in the line was going in and no one was coming out, my impatience got the better of me, and I jumped the line again. I was greeted by a courteous guard at the entrance who bid me remove my backpack and jacket and pass through the security check. I guess the guards had been waiting for the first person in line to move up, while the first person in line had been waiting for someone to come and fetch us.
After the security checkpoint, I was led to an elevator and went up one or two floors. The elevator doors opened to an open waiting room with a series of windowed interview booths to the left. A smiling guard was walking toward the elevator as the doors opened, and upon seeing me he invited me to take a number and wait. Several people were already in the waiting room; I imagined they were in a different immigrant category (from what it seemed, all the people in line with me outside were applicants to family-based visas). I had had a head start to the rest of the applicants, but my nerves (as though I were being watched) didn't allow me to seek to remedy my brashness with the rest of the applicants. I did apologize to one of the ladies afterward for jumping ahead. "But what could I do?" I told myself. We were all sitting outside like sheep, and I didn't want to miss my interview nor give the Consulate any excuse for saying I was late for the interview.
About ten minutes after taking my number I was called to one of the booths. The man asked for a series of documents, including the affidavit of support. I remember my dear fiancée (now wife) spending so many hours, based on guides we had read, preparing records of employment, financial statements, copies of her passport and birth certificate, and more. They didn't ask for any of those. All in all it seemed they asked for only about half of the documents we expected they'd ask for and that we had prepared for them. I only wish I had prepared this review earlier, before I forgot about the specifics.
I thought the man taking the documents would interview me, but he sent me back to my seat and told me I'd be called back up. I waited a little under an hour. When I was called back up, a very nice lady interviewed me.
The interview went off without a hitch. The questions were very simple and easy to answer. I was asked about an incident that occurred when I was sixteen - I got arrested for getting into a fight with someone - and I answered truthfully on my application, since I figured they understood everyone has slip-ups at times, and as long as you're up front with them they're okay. And so I explained to the nice lady what happened, and in under thirty seconds that bit was cleared up. After about five minutes, she smiled and told me, "Well, congratulations, we're granting you the visa." She explained the terms and conditions (including the visa's expiration date, slightly less than six months from the interview date), handed me a pink sheet of paper with a welcome message, and everything was very straightforward. I was told I'd receive the visa package in about two weeks, and that sounded about right.
I walked out of the Consulate on cloud nine, crossed the street back to the Second Cup, and gave my fiancée a big hug. |
| Rating : |
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
