faso's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Fabian Beneficiary's Name: Gisella VJ Member: faso Country: Ecuador Last Updated: 2008-11-01 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Fabian & Gisella:

USCIS DCF 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 : Texas Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Peru Marriage (if applicable): 2000-05-10 I-130 Sent : 2008-09-30 I-130 NOA1 : 2008-09-30 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2008-10-01 NVC Received : 2008-10-01 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : Submit DS-261 : Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : NVC Left : 2008-10-01 Consulate Received : 2008-10-01 Packet 3 Received : 2008-10-06 Packet 3 Sent : 2008-10-06 Packet 4 Received : 2008-10-22 Interview Date : 2008-10-31 Interview Result : Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2008-10-31 US Entry : Comments : Filed DCF at the Peruvian Embassy for my wife. Only 31 days from date of filing to Visa in hand. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 1 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 31 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Peru Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing Event Description Review Date : November 1, 2008 Embassy Review : The interview was a breeze. We were scheduled for 8:45 am and we arrived around 8:35 at the Embassy gate. There were about 5 people ahead of us in line and we were inside the Embassy complex in less than 5 minutes. We went to the Visa section and one of the girls working there (they call them promotoras) took our interview letter and told us to have a seat that we would be called by name. We sat at the Immigrant Visa section which is located towards the back of the room with about another 20 people awaiting interviews. Within 5 or 10 minutes of arrival we were called in to window #14 to submit my wife's passport, passport photos, DS-230 Application and payment of $400 fee. We were told to have a seat once again. My wife and I made bets regarding what window we were going to be called into next, I was betting on window number #10 and my wife was betting on window #12. It took about another 20 to 30 minutes and I saw the lady behind window #10 working on my wife's documents. I told my wife she was about to be called to window #10 because I had seen her picture pasted on the documents being reviewed behind that window. Within seconds, my wife was called to window #10, we both approached the window and I was asked to have a seat, the lady only wanted to talk to my wife. She was asked for additional documents, Police Certificate, Birth and Marriage Certificates, I-864, etc. They never asked for pictures or any other proof of relationship but this was expected because we have been married for 8 years and have US citizen children together. My wife was asked several questions such as when the marriage took place, if we had children, if she had been to the U.S. before, if she had lived in another country more than six months, if she had been denied a visa before, etc. The lady was very nice and started talking to my wife about her family and how she has sisters who are twins (my wife and I have twin sons). I could hear my wife chatting with the lady behind the window in a very friendly way, and this helped relax my wife who was still a bit nervous about the interview. After about 5-10 minutes at window #10 my wife came back and sat down. She brought back some of the supporting documents I had submitted with my I-864 such as bank statements, etc. Also a printed statement about domicile, basically explaining the issue of domicile as it relates to a petition by a sponsor who is not currently living in the U.S. and how to resolve any issues regarding domicile that could be brought up during the final interview with the consul. My wife was a bit nervous about this but I had done my homework at Visa Journey and other sites and I knew I had all the proof I needed to satisfy the domicile requirement. At about 9:30 we got called to window #15, which is the only window inside a small room with a door. We walked in and behind the window there was a very young consul, maybe in his late twenties or very early thirties. He spoke in spanish the whole time. First order of business was fingerprinting and then the interview started. I was expecting questions about domicile but the issue never came up. He asked my wife where she was from (Ecuador). He asked me if I was Peruvian and I said no, I said my family is mostly from Ecuador as well but I had been born in the U.S.. He then asked what we were doing there and I asked him to clarify whether he meant what we were doing at the embassy or why were were requesting a visa in Peru instead of Ecuador. He said he meant the latter so I told him I had been working in Lima for the past couple of years. He asked me what I did. He then asked when and where we were married and my wife said we had different dates for the civil and religious wedding and the consul said that was ok. The consul once again asked if we had children (this had been asked of my wife before at window #10), but he posed the question as a negative, he said something like "so you don;t have any children right?" So we said we did have children and he asked so why are they not here? Are they not immigrating with you? And then he corrected himself at the same time as we answered that they are U.S. Citizens and do not need an IV. I asked the consul if he wanted to see any pictures of our wedding, honeymoon, children, etc and he said that was not necessary. I had told my wife I did not think they would look at the pictures but that we should bring them along anyhow just in case. The consul was very nice the whole time. He mentioned that he was married and we asked if his wife was Peruvian to which he replied in spanish "no, gringuita nomas" and we all laughed. The consul then typed a few things in his computer and did not say anything about the visa being approved but proceeded to paste the bright pink slip to my wife's passport and so I told my wife that is it, I knew because of VisaJourney that that meant the visa was approved. He handed us the pink slip but we told him if there was any way we could get the passport back the same day. he asked if we had already purchased tickets and we said no, but our kids were staying with their grandparents in Ecuador and my wife was due back the next day and needed her passport to get back to Ecuador. The consul then took back the pink slip and gave us instead a red one that said to come back between 3-4pm. My wife asked if that was it, and he said yes. Being that today is Halloween, I had joked to my wife in the waiting room that we should have worn costumes to the interview and whether that would have been grounds for denial...At this point at the end of the interview my wife asked the consul what he would have done if we had walked into the interview room wearing costumes and he said laughing that unfortunately he would not have had any candy to give us. At this point we thanked the consul and left. We came bak at 3PM and the guards did not seem to know what to do with the red claim ticket. They asked if this was a pass for a protocol session (???). After a few minutes they let us in and 5 minutes later we were walking out of the consulate with a visa in hand the the sealed envelope with the documents for the POE. That is our story, hope this helps other couples interviewing in Lima, Peru. Best of luck to everyone... Rating : Very Good

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*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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