redmen99's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Danielle Beneficiary's Name: Wayne VJ Member: redmen99 Country: Canada Last Updated: 2010-03-09 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Danielle & Wayne:

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 : Montreal, Canada Marriage (if applicable): 2009-06-27 I-130 Sent : 2009-08-05 I-130 NOA1 : 2009-08-12 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2009-09-11 NVC Received : 2009-09-28 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : 2009-10-02 Pay AOS Bill : 2009-10-05 Receive I-864 Package : 2009-10-07 Send AOS Package : 2009-10-09 Submit DS-261 : 2009-10-06 Receive IV Bill : 2009-10-20 Pay IV Bill : 2009-10-22 Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : 2009-11-09 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2010-03-01 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : US Entry : 2010-03-08 Comments : Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 30 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 201 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : March 3, 2010 Embassy Review : We arrived at the Consulate around 6:45ish and we were 4th in line. As it got closer to 7 - 7:15 more and more people lined up. The guard started to let us in around 7:30. At the security check we had to empty our pockets, take off any belts, coats, etc. Any electronic devices had to be checked in. The guard made a comment about hubby's car.. Mazda 3...good car... LOL We were given letter D. We got through security and waited downstairs for the elevator. A few minutes later a security guard came and took us to the 19th floor. The elevator feels like it doesn't move at all and then you end up on the 19th floor. We were told to wait in the area to the right. After a few minutes more people came up, but they were for the other side and whatever they do over there. That side was extremely busy and they used the same people that you have to go to for your CR-1 Visa. We were the only ones that electronically filed out of the group of 5 cases that was there for the day. We were the last ones called back for the document review at about 9:00 or so. They asked us for the original and copies of: birth certificate (long form)and I gave them the translation we had since his birth cert is in French, his divorce certificate, our marriage certificate, the DS-230, the financial documentation, the police report, the medical results, and the pictures. They reviewed the DS-230 with him and made sure all the info was correct. They changed what was needed like his age since his birthday was last week and little stuff here and there. They fingerprinted him and that was it. It felt like it took forever because I was so nervous that I couldn't find anything that she asked us for even though it was all in good order. My hubby just kept saying relax, breathe, you have the info in there, just take your time and find it. We didn't have the expresspost envelope (long story - but something to note the pharmacy that has a Canada Post in it does not open until 8am.) but it was not a problem. I told the woman that was taking our info that we didn't have the envelope, she said no problem, you can get it after the interview and bring it back. We made it back to the waiting room and by 10:00 am everyone was interviewed and approved except for us. We kept an eye on interview room 7 as that was where everyone was called for their interview. It seemed like they did a CR-1 visa, then next in line was whatever they were doing on the other side and down the line. We waited about an hour before we were called back for our interview. We walked into Room 7 and the woman asked if my hubby was ok with this pretty lady with him and he said of course. She swore us in and asked us: When we met. How we met. When we got engaged. If I had insurance in the States. She asked for updated financials, so I gave her my info for 2009. And that was about it. She said she needed to go copy my updated financials, but before she went she said she was satisfied with the info we gave them and gave us the Welcome to the US letter. She then gave me back my originals that I a few seconds later forgot she gave us so when I asked her for them she said I gave them to you a little forcefully, but I deserved it for saying no you didn't. Whoops! She then gave me a sheet of paper with the info on what window to go back to and where to go for the envelope, she also gave me a card to get back into the consulate. She said to read it in the waiting area, and I said but it doesn't say where I need to go, she said yes it does, read it! Yep, I deserved that snippyness too. The guy behind the Canadian Post counter was a great help, he must see this all the time. He made sure you kept a sticker of the tracking info and made sure you filled it out properly. SO, back to the consulate we go. He went to the car to grab our cell phones and things and I ran back up to the 19th floor. I had a wait a bit before someone saw me at the window, they asked me to sit down then someone finally came to take the envelope. By the time we got out of there for the day it was close to 11:45. I'm guessing because we were Electronic Processing that it took longer then mailing everything in and because the other side was busy we had to wait our place in line. All in all a good experience and we were approved so now we just wait for the big move! ***all times approximate as I didn't have a watch*** Rating : Very Good

POE Review: CDN-USA Border Event Description Entry Date : 2010-03-08 Embassy Review : Thousand Islands Review Our day yesterday started with loading the U-Haul moving truck. We called to book it and got a 40% discount on the truck and a 30% discount on the car hauler so the total rental one way from Oshawa, Ontario to Lansdale, PA was under $400 including mileage and we got a free storage unit for a month which we needed, so that was a great deal! So we picked up the truck around 10 am and started unloading his storage unit and loading up the truck. We finished loading around 1. Had to go back to the Uhaul dealer to put the car hauler on, so we finally started on the road about 2. My goal was to make it across the border by 4, yep, that didn't happen. We finally pulled up to the border around 5:30. My hubby told them he was activating his CR-1 Visa and that he needed to import his car. So we were asked to move the truck to secondary and go in. We went in and sat down and he was called up a few minutes later by Office Barkley who asked the hubby some questions (where do you live, what's in the truck, any alcohol, tobacco, firearms), had him read and sign a form about how to get the 10 year greencard, then asked for me to come up and read and sign the form. He asked us to take a seat, then he process more paperwork. Asked the hubbs to come back up about 10 minutes later, asked the hubbs to sign a paper that will be his signature on his green card, took his fingerprint with ink, then told him he could go use the washroom if he wanted to wash his hands. Had him sit back down. Called us both up again, asked a few more questions, he gave me a copy of the I-485 along with instructions and told me to hold onto it. He said we were done and we could go. I asked what about importing the car? Officer Barkley said "Well you could have told me THAT 45 minutes ago!" We apologized and said that we told the guy outside and thought he told you. So we started the import process, and he asked if the car had an EPA Compliant sticker or if we had a letter from the manufacturer. I told him we requested the letter, but that it didn't come in yet. He said well, you can come back and import it later if you want and said we could go to any border entry to do it and then he asked if the car had the sticker and we were not sure. He said, well I'm not going to go look for it, but if you want to go ahead and look and come right back, I'll do the paperwork. So we looked and found it under the hood (thankfully) and a guard outside confirmed that is what they needed to see, so Office Barkley went ahead and did the paperwork to import the car. He needed to see the title and asked questions about the car when he was looking up the value on Kelly Blue Book. He asked us if there was duty on importing a car, and I told them not in this case. He is allowed to import a car fee of duty with an immigration visa. After the paperwork was done, he told us that he still needs the letter from the manufacturer and when we receive it, we should mail the original to him. The total process took about an hour and a half and was fairly painless. My hubby was extremely grateful that he got his car imported and didn't have to worry about a 6 hour drive at another time to import it. And don't you know, the email came over with the letter from Mazda at 5:45 pm lastnight... right when we were in Secondary! We even said that to the Officer when he asked why we didn't get it yet when we requested it almost 3 weeks ago. What a fiasco! We finally made it home around 1 am... What a long day it was, about 12 hours on the road! Its pretty bad when you are driving on the highway up a hill and you are getting passed by all kinds of tractor trailers cause the darn thing won't go faster then 45 up a major hill with all that weight in it! Now comes the real fun part. Co-mingling of the belongings! Wish us luck! Harassment Level : Low

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

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