Clive&Karina's US Immigration Timeline
Immigration Checklist for Karina & Clive:
|
USCIS I-130 Petition:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USCIS I-751 Petition:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USCIS N-400 Petition:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IR-1/CR-1 Visa
|
| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
London, United Kingdom |
| Marriage (if applicable): |
2007-09-22 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2008-01-24 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2008-02-13 |
| I-130 RFE : |
|
| I-130 RFE Sent : |
|
| I-130 Approved : |
2008-05-14 |
| NVC Received : |
2008-06-02 |
| Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : |
2008-06-16 |
| Pay AOS Bill : |
2008-06-24 |
| Receive I-864 Package : |
2008-07-22 |
| Send AOS Package : |
2009-07-22 |
| Submit DS-261 : |
2008-06-16 |
| Receive IV Bill : |
2008-07-14 |
| Pay IV Bill : |
2008-07-16 |
| Send IV Package : |
|
| Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : |
2008-07-16 |
| Case Completed at NVC : |
2008-09-08 |
| NVC Left : |
|
| Consulate Received : |
|
| Packet 3 Received : |
2008-07-16 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2008-07-24 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2008-09-27 |
| Interview Date : |
2008-10-02 |
| Interview Result : |
|
Second Interview
(If Required): |
|
| Second Interview Result: |
|
| Visa Received : |
2008-12-08 |
| US Entry : |
2009-01-28 |
| Comments : |
The NVC routed their interview notification letter through Frankfurt, Germany instead of mailing it directly to the UK, and it took 16 days to reach us. We didn't find out about the interview until five days before it was scheduled! |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-130 was approved in 91 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 232 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
|
Port of Entry Review
|
| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Los Angeles |
| POE Date : |
2009-01-28 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
|
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
5 |
| Comments : |
The POE process was confusing. There was one security guard who was rude to me when I asked him for information, but the person who actually processed my husband's paperwork was very nice. |
|
Lifting Conditions
|
| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2010-11-15 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-12-17 |
| RFE(s) : |
|
| Bio. Appt. : |
2011-01-14 |
| Interview Date : |
|
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2011-3-4 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
|
| Green Card Received : |
2011-3-8 |
| Comments : |
My husband's biometric appointment was at the Portland, Oregon Field Office. We arrived an hour early and they processed him early before his scheduled appointment time. This was our quickest and most stress-free appointment to date. The staff at the Portland Field Office were friendly and polite, which was quite a pleasant change from our earlier experiences at LAX and the London Embassy. Save all your household utility bills for at least a year before you file your petition to remove conditions of permanent residency and provide USCIS with above and beyond what they ask for, (pet adoption papers and vet bills, for example) and you shouldn't have any trouble sailing through. |
|
Citizenship
|
| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Phoenix AZ Lockbox |
| CIS Office : |
Portland OR |
| Date Filed : |
2012-04-10 |
| NOA Date : |
2012-06-02 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2012-06-20 |
| Interview Date : |
2012-08-28 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2012-08-28 |
| Comments : |
The biometrics portion of this process took about 15 minutes, and another 15 minutes before that to pass through security and wait for the processing room to open. (Our appointment was at 8am.) Be sure to bring change with you for the parking meter. My husband was given a number and a brief form to fill out. When his number was called, a woman led him to the biometrics machine and fingerprinted him. **Second trip up to Portland for the naturalization interview a month later. We brought along all the required documents -- originals and copies -- and they didn't ask to see any of them! All they looked at was my husband's green card and his appointment letter. His appointment was at 10:05, and he was called into his interview at about 10:20. His entire interview lasted about 15 minutes. He was asked six of the simplest questions from the test (Where is the Statue of Liberty located?, for example) and asked to read the sentence: Where does the President live? Then, his interviewer asked him to write: The President lives in the White House. (Not even 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, mind!) That was all there was to it, and he was given a brief form to fill out before attending the oath ceremony at 1:40 the very same day. At the oath ceremony, there were between 30-40 people, representing 19 different countries. After a short welcoming address, the USCIS officer asked us to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and to sing The Star Spangled Banner. We also watched a short film with photos of early immigrants, another short film in which President Obama extended his welcome and then a film montage of American landscapes accompanied by the song, "God Bless the USA". Finally, the new citizens were asked to stand to recite the oath and receive their certificates of citizenship. The entire process lasted approximately 30 minutes and it was quite touching. Those taking part in the ceremony were called down first from the waiting room upstairs and given an information packet and a small American Flag to hold during the ceremony. Family members were called down about 10 minutes later and were invited to take photographs. Everyone at the Portland office was very nice. Oh -- one last bit: the attendants were encouraged to stay briefly after dismissal to fill out voter registration cards. After all the snags and endless (and repetitious) paperwork along the way, the final step went smooth as silk. Best of luck to you all! |
|
Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
|
| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 2, 2008 |
| Embassy Review : |
My husband's interview was at 8:00 a.m. The outside queue moved fairly quickly, but once we were inside, we waited nearly two hours for our number to be called. We spent about ten minutes answering questions at the first window while the clerk looked over our document file. She seemed a bit confused, but perhaps she was having an off day. From there, we were instructed to take a seat and wait for our number to be called for the interview. After a brief wait of no more than 10-15 minutes, my husband had his interview with a very personable young woman who asked him a few routine questions before approving his application. The only glitch was that the woman at the first window forgot to give him the pink slip to fill out for the courier service, but the woman at window 2 tracked it down. The last step was to wait in the queue to pay the courier service fee, and that took approximately 10-15 minutes. The entire process lasted about three hours, and boy, are we glad it's over and done with! |
| Rating : |
Good |
|
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
