buddhabeans's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Ken
Beneficiary's Name: Riza
VJ Member: buddhabeans
Country: Philippines
Last Updated: 2009-12-07
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Immigration Checklist for Ken & Riza:
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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 : |
Manila, Philippines |
| I-129F Sent : |
2008-01-23 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2008-01-24 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2008-05-29 |
| NVC Received : |
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| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2008-06-05 |
| Consulate Received : |
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| Packet 3 Received : |
2008-06-12 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
2008-07-07 |
| Interview Date : |
2008-08-11 |
| Interview Result : |
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2008-08-13 |
| US Entry : |
2008-08-17 |
| Marriage : |
2008-08-25 |
| Comments : |
except for the wait between filing and NOA1...total piece of cake and went VERY quickly! when i called to schedule the interview appt. they were taking appts. 2 weeks from when i called. the actual interview (if you want to call it that??) was absolute breeze! we talke to the screener (filipina) for 5 min or less. the Riza talked with the consular officer for less than 8 minutes...she said about 5 questions...and that was it! approved...and we asked to pick it up at the embassy, and it was ready in 2 days for pickup. WOW!!!! a whole lot of worrying and stressing out over the interview for nothing...but thats ok...better to be way overprepared, than to have problems. i think we skated thru so smoothly in part because of my EXTENSIVE proof of relationship in our I129F filing and the fact that i had been back to see her 5 TIMES in 18 months since we met in manila in March of 07. THANKS TO EVERYONE ON VISAJOURNEY FOR POSTING!!!! i learned a whole lot by reading this site...and that's why i feel compelled to contribute and tell our story... |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 126 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 200 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
San Francisco |
| POE Date : |
2008-08-17 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
No |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
no problems...i was standing there with her..."you have to marry in 90 days or leave, you have to marry your sponsor, you cannot re-enter, etc." BTW--you do NOT need your chest x-ray at entry... |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chula Vista CA |
| Date Filed : |
2009-01-13 |
| NOA Date : |
2009-01-20 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-02-12 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2009-04-16 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2009-04-16 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
Yes |
| Greencard Received: |
2009-05-26 |
| Comments : |
once again, total breeze...my wife was very stressed out about this one, but i knew this interview was mostly just a formality (been thru it once before), went in with a lot of evidence, but she only looked at a few things. the wait, as usual, was the worst part...had a 10:00 interview and we didn't get seen till 13:00; said there was a bunch of people that didn't show up for work that day...oh well |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Manila, Philippines
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
August 26, 2008 |
| Embassy Review : |
the interview was a total nothing...what interview??? so we get there at 0630 and are inside by 0650. dont know about all the times inbetween, but we were out of there at 1050...would have been 1020, but we waited for extra 30 minutes to arrange to pick up the visa at the embassy.
as a side note...i was somewhat concerned because EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT that riza had for this process was created in the last 9 months! EVERYTHING!! she had no birth record...and in researching her record, she found out that she (and all her siblings) have been using the incorrect middle name their entire lives (this was discovered on her parent's marriage license). so she had nothing...no school records, no nothing with her true name on it. so over the last 9 months everything was created...birth record, baptismal, school, NBI, CENOMAR, blah, blah, blah...all new docs! THIS HAD ME WORRIED TO SAY THE LEAST! as well, she did not get the NBI and CENOMAR (even though i reminded her about this many times) in her previous name...and they talk about needing this in the prep paperwork.
the first interview with the Filipino: asked how we met...and riza was SO NERVOUS that she couldn't say it...but i said "relax...this is not a test...just calm down and tell her how we met"...so she tells her how we met. then she asks for supporting relationship docs and the I134 with supporting docs...we hand them over.
WARNING: DO NOT GO TO THE INTERVIEW WITHOUT YOUR MOST RECENT 1040 AND YOUR W2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they want to see them and they were NOT INTERESTED in seeing any of the other financial stuff that i brought with me!
continuing: a few more questions about my trips to meet the parents...more small-talk than anything...and then she asks about my previous marriage, as she is looking right at Riza to make sure that she knows about the previous marriage! of course she did know already...so that was it...go sit and wait to talk to the consular officer.
consular officer: i was not allowed in for this...but she said there were probably only about 5 or 6 questions...same stuff, how did you meet, how many times has he been back to see you...but most of the time she is looking thru the paperwork...not really asking much...and that's it!
so we get called to window 34...this is a good sign, because this is the visa distribution window...says pay the delbros and expect your visa in about 5 to 7 days...so then i ask, because riza did not know for sure, "did the consular officer APPROVE her visa???...yes it was approved"
so with making the request to pick up the visa (interview is on monday and our flight out is on sunday)we had to wait 30 minutes for the consular officer to come back from a break and approve the pick-up. no problem...we'll call you when it's ready...
that was it!!! we left monday morning, and they called on tuesday afternoon saying we could pick it up anytime wednesday. went wednesday morning and had it in about 45 minutes.
i have heard so many horror stories about this embassy...either they have changed their ways, or we got lucky, or they really liked my I129F submission...i dont know...but total piece of cake!!! of course, the 5 trips back to see Riza since we met in March of 07 surely helped the situation...no doubt about that...
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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
