Julia & Aaron's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Julia Beneficiary's Name: Aaron VJ Member: Julia & Aaron Country: United Kingdom Last Updated: 2023-09-02 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Julia & Aaron:

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 : 2022-02-22 I-129F NOA1 : 2022-03-01 I-129F RFE(s) : RFE Reply(s) : I-129F NOA2 : 2023-05-02 NVC Received : Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : NVC Left : 2023-07-18 Consulate Received : 2023-07-20 Packet 3 Received : 2023-07-28 Packet 3 Sent : 2023-07-28 Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2023-08-22 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2023-08-29 US Entry : 2023-09-05 Marriage : Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-129f was approved in 427 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 539 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom Review Topic: K1 Visa Event Description Review Date : August 23, 2023 Embassy Review : My interview was at 10:00 on the 22nd of August, a little over 2 weeks after my medical. My friend came with me for the day for support! We arrived at Vauxhall just after 9am. It didn't take long to see the embassy via the riverside walk. You can also see Battersea power station and the super cool swimming pool suspended between two buildings. We did have issue figuring out how to get to the South Pavillion Consular entrance, we circled the building via Ponton Rd and then saw the queue. There are also armed guards, is there anything more American? When we arrived there was a small queue of around 10 people leading up to a podium outside the building. I joined the queue, which skirted the wall. Every bit of advice you see that says 'ignore this and join the queue on the left' is correct. A lady asked me if I had checked in, and sent me straight up to the podium's left hand side (there was no queue). The lady at the podium asked for my passport and DS-160, which was signed with 'K-1 10:00'. I was sent straight up to the security building's door and said goodbye to my bestie over the barrier. A guard asked me to open an app on my phone and asked if I had anything sharp etc and sent me through for airport style screening. Belt, phone, wallet, paperwork and walk through the scanner. Nothing major. Once you're through, you will see a long queue up to the main building. The lady at the podium told me I needed to ignore this queue and head straight to the main reception via the US Citizens line (even though I'm not). There was one family ahead of me and then I was called forward and gave over my passport, DS-160. She popped some stickers on there with a number (I-XXX) and told me to take the lift to the 1st floor, go left and left again. It's very obvious once you're out of the lift where you need to go. You bypass the room full of people and go to a quieter area. There was a small amount of chairs and about 10 windows. Your DS-160 has a sticker which says what windows to sit by. They have screens above the windows and screens opposite each row of seats. They do also read the numbers aloud if you miss it (but the microphone is painfully quiet). Once my number came up, a friendly American guy asked me how I was. Naturally, I said nervous and he reassured me not to be. He asked if I was engaged, I said yes. He then went to get my file so I started to take out the documents listed online. He took my passport, DS-160, confirmation email, birth certificate, deed poll (changed my name many years ago), one US size photograph and our I-134 form. (For context, I bought my gender recongition certificate, my original name birth certificate and a renewed letter of intent form Julia which were not taken) My partner had compiled the I-134 form along with a huge bundle of evidence. From this he only took the form itself, a tax return and the letter from her employer. I let him know I also had my financial evidence (we put my savings on the form) a joint sponsor, if needed (he politely refused). We did this as Julia only earnt about $50 more than the 100% poverty guideline in the last tax year. It doesn't hurt to take more than necessary but it did help to have an index page and have it paperclipped into smaller bundles for the officer to sift through. He took my fingerprints, asked when I intended to travel and then gave me a sheet regarding domestic violence and my rights as an immigrant in the US to read. This was the longest I had to wait during the visit, about 20 minutes to be called to the next window. The next officer was an even friendlier American guy, who I described to Julia as the human embodiment of a cat. They must put their nicest staff on these windows. He asked me how I was, had me raise my right hand and swear that the information I have given was the truth and took the fingerprints on my right hand. He asked me some basic questions like when did we get engaged, how did we meet/what year, why does Julia live in her current city, how come we didn't do this process sooner (as we've been together a decade this year) and if I understood the document given to me at the other window. After that, he said I was approved and to expect my passport back in 1-2 weeks and I was good to go! It's a lovely place and everyone was friendly and easy going. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. Just come prepared, read the information about what documents to bring. It's better to overprepare than underprepare. Just make sure it's easy to get to what you need so you're not fumbling around for things. From queuing outside to leaving, it was about an hour Rating : Very Good

POE Review: Chicago Event Description Entry Date : 2023-09-05 Embassy Review : Unfortunately not the best port of entry I've ever had for the US, especially with something as big as entering on a K-1 *but* I'm officially in! Which means I can't grumble. When I arrived at Chicago, customs was busy. All non-US citizens were sent down the far end in a big snaking queue. Three separate flights had all arrived at the same time (2pm on a Tuesday) It moved most of the time but overall took about an hour to see the officer. I gave him my passport and envelope (which I had enclosed in cardboard and was carrying in a tote bag) He didn't mention the two bits of clear tape on the small rips (only a couple cm's) as per embassy instructions. He opened it, read through some stuff. Took my picture and stamped my passport. He did make a joke about being sure about getting married (of course, we're very sure) Then he hesitated for a second and asked his colleague a question. He then asked me to take a seat as I was having to be taken aside. I was walked through baggage claim with a grumpy border officer and into a non distinct white room with some benches and a lot of unhappy people. I was expecting to be called in for an interview but after another hour, the guard at the exit called my name and gave my back my passport and an orange slip to give over on my way out of the baggage area (where you'd normally give your blue questionnaire) No one gave me any grief, it was just boring and a little stressful knowing my connection was coming up fast. Thankfully my bags and my beloved bass were still at baggage claim on the ground. Rushed my way to terminal 3 and finally have time to relax and write this with the knowledge I'm almost with my favourite person Harassment Level : Low

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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