amysaid's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Amy
Beneficiary's Name: Ahmed
VJ Member: amysaid
Country: Egypt
Last Updated: 2014-09-13
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Immigration Checklist for Amy & Ahmed:
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USCIS I-130/I-129F Petitions:
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Dept of State K3 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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K3 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
California Service Center |
| Consulate : |
Egypt |
| Marriage : |
2008-12-20 |
| I-130 Sent : |
2009-01-22 |
| I-130 NOA1 : |
2009-02-14 |
| I-130 RFE : |
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| I-130 RFE Sent : |
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| I-129F Sent : |
2009-02-17 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2009-02-20 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2009-03-11 |
| NVC Received : |
2009-03-19 |
| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
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| Packet 3 Received : |
2009-03-28 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2009-05-24 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
2009-06-23 |
| Interview Result : |
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2009-08-10 |
| US Entry : |
2009-09-18 |
| I-130 Approval : |
2009-03-11 |
| Comments : |
POE Seattle, WA |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 19 days from your NOA1 date.
Your I-130 was approved in 25 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 129 days from your I-130 NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Seattle |
| POE Date : |
2009-09-18 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
The officer who processed the immigration papers seemed unfamiliar with K3 protocol.
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Portland OR |
| Date Filed : |
2010-12-03 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-12-10 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2011-01-25 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2011-04-14 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2011-04-14 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2011-04-23 |
| Comments : |
Did walk-in biometrics on 01/25/11 instead of appointment date of 02/09/11.
Received interview notice 3/4/2011.
the interview was not what I expected at all. We were in there about 40 minutes together, and the woman asked us a LOT of questions about how we met, our courtship, when and why we married, and spent about 15 minutes talking about why and how I converted to Islam, and why my husband was ok with marrying a new convert (I had converted about 3 months before we met.) Some questions about our families (to Ahmed: "Why was your family ok with you marrying an American? Wouldn't they rather you have married a born Muslim Egyptian woman?") Asking about how we deal with cultural differences, having been raised in different societies... She was really confused about the whole meeting online thing and asked us to explain Myspace, Yahoo chat and Skype. She asked questions about the dowry that was listed in our Egyptian marriage contract ("1001LE? Couldn't you just give her a cow or something?")The last five minutes I gave her our joint proof, she flipped through some photos, and she said okay, congratulations, you will receive your green card in 7-10 days.
04/18/2011 Card production ordered! |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
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| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2009-09-28 |
| NOA Date : |
2009-10-01 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2009-11-05 |
| Approved Date : |
2009-12-17 |
| Date Card Received : |
2009-12-23 |
| Comments : |
Mailed the package to USCIS at Laguna Niguel, CA.
Had a biometrics appointment set in Portland, OR on 11/19 but couldn't make that appointment date, so we tried a to walk-in for the biometrics and they allowed us to do so.
12/15/2009 Service Request made through USCIS. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 80 days. |
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Citizenship
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Phoenix AZ Lockbox |
| CIS Office : |
Portland OR |
| Date Filed : |
2014-02-03 |
| NOA Date : |
2014-02-15 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2014-03-06 |
| Interview Date : |
2014-09-08 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Oath Ceremony : |
2014-09-09 |
| Comments : |
The interview was quick, about 20 minutes, they asked just a few of the citizenship exam questions and had him read and write a sentence about Columbus Day, and that was it. He brought original documents with him that we had submitted previously but they didn't ask to look at them. In the interview there were two people, an interviewer and an "observer". He was approved and took the oath the following day. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Egypt
Review Topic: K3 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
June 23, 2009 |
| Embassy Review : |
He arrived at 7:15 and was finished by 10:15.
He did the usual order of things, called to the first window and an Egyptian woman asked him for his documents, asked if he had traveled outside Egypt (he had) and how long he had been out of the country. She then directed him to DHL.
He paid the DHL fee, waited, had his fingerprints taken by a lebanese woman at another window, then waited some more. After about an hour or hour and a half, he was called to the window for the interview.
He interviewed with a woman named Jenny, he said she was in her mid-20s, light brown hair. She smiled at him, appeared cheerful and he said she was very nice and was laughing a lot during the interview. She asked him if he wanted to do the interview in English or Arabic, he said English.
The questions she asked were:
How did we meet? (We met through a mutual friend, so she then asked how we both knew the friend.)
Was your wife married before?
Is this your first marriage?
Did your wife come to Egypt?
Did she meet your family?
What do they think of her?
When did you propose?
How did you propose?
Did we have a wedding?
He asked if she'd like to see pictures, she said yes, and she looked through the photo album of my recent visits, as well as photos I'd sent Ahmed of recent events in my life here. He was telling her who was in the pictures, told her about my daughter, and showed her a letter that my mom had written him. He says they were both smiling and having a good time with the interview, and that it was very comfortable.
At the end of the interview, she asked him if he wanted her to keep his passport, or if he wanted to take it home with him, and he told her to just keep it. He then told her that my daughter and I were going to be coming to visit this summer, and that we would be leaving in September, and asked if it would be possible to be able to leave with us when we left, if he was approved. She said that he was approved, but you are in AP and it usually takes about 2 months. She apologized for how long it takes, saying that she just collected the information and she had no control over the rest of the process. The interview portion took about 10 minutes, the whole process took about 3 hours.
All in all, he was really happy with the experience, he said it was very relaxed and everyone treated him nicely. He had no complaints.
I will have no complaints also if he actually receives his visa in a timely manner 
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| Rating : |
Good |
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POE Review: Seattle
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| Event |
Description |
| Entry Date : |
2009-09-18 |
| Embassy Review : |
My husband (non-USC), myself and my daughter flew home from Egypt together. The immigration officer accepted his brown packet and I-94 that we had filled out, and went through it to look things over. He called my husband up and I went with him, he asked who I was and I told him my name, that I was his wife. He asked some questions of both of us, then asked my husband to sit down and spoke with me alone, then had me sit down and we waited together. He called me back up again, asked a few more questions. He really didn't have much to say to my husband at all. Some questions he asked were: Had either of us been married before? Was my daughter my husband's child? Did my husband have any other kids "anywhere"? How long was my husband planning on staying? How long had we been married? Did my husband plan to work in the US?
The immigration officer seemed confused by the K-3 protocol, I heard him asking one of his colleagues some questions, I think related to the EAD. When he eventually called me back up for the last time, it was to tell me that he couldn't stamp my husband's I-94 for employment, which I told him I understood. He told me that my husband would have to file for adjustment of status within 2 years, I said that's fine.
Overall, our experience was just inconvenient, because it took a long time (the TSA almost confiscated our bags because we didn't pick them up quickly enough to take them through customs)... We didn't experience any obvious nastiness or suspiciousness, though. No trick questions, very cut and dry. |
| Harassment Level : |
Low |
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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
