Ashley y Diego's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Ashley
Beneficiary's Name: Diego
VJ Member: Ashley y Diego
Country: Argentina
Last Updated: 2011-01-05
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Immigration Checklist for Ashley & Diego:
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USCIS I-129F Petition:
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Dept of State K1 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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K1 Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| Service Center : |
Vermont Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Argentina |
| I-129F Sent : |
2009-12-04 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2009-12-08 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2010-04-05 |
| NVC Received : |
2010-04-19 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2010-04-21 |
| Consulate Received : |
2010-04-24 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2010-05-17 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2010-05-18 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
2010-07-27 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2010-08-05 |
| US Entry : |
2010-08-07 |
| Marriage : |
2010-08-12 |
| Comments : |
Consulate very slow to give us interview, took much longer than I expected. We did everything "right" but they asked for several things we were not notified we needed. Frustrating! I am documenting what I've learned on the Buenos Aires consulate page. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 118 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 231 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Dallas |
| POE Date : |
2010-08-07 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
San Francisco CA |
| Date Filed : |
2010-08-25 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-09-01 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-11-01 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2011-01-04 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2011-01-04 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
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| Comments : |
Went for biometrics without appointment- no problem. Had to change interview offices (was originally scheduled for 12/16/10). |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2010-08-26 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-09-01 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-09-24 |
| Approved Date : |
2010-10-06 |
| Date Card Received : |
2010-10-16 |
| Comments : |
We requested an expedite over the phone, and provided evidence of financial hardship through my US Representative. The expedite was approved and we got the EAD right away (although AP apparently was also expedited and came much faster than EAD card in the mail). |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 41 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2010-08-26 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-09-01 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2010-10-12 |
| Comments : |
AP Expedite appears to have been granted under EAD Expedite Request (although that was not asked for). |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 41 days. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Argentina
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
July 30, 2010 |
| Embassy Review : |
We had interview at 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon. We had visited the embassy before and not had too much trouble with parking, but this time there were a lot of people at La Rural, right next to the embassy, so the car and pedestrian traffic in the whole area was just crazy!! We still arrived 15 minutes early, the guard had us check in with window #1 in the booth outside and we went right in. There's no need to wait in any lines where the tourist visa applicants are, although by this time of day there wasn't a huge crowd for that either (mostly in the morning). No problem at all with both fiances going through for interview. [NOTE: if you don't have an interview appt, USC will be able to enter embassy to ask questions/etc, but fiance will not be able to go in.]
After going through airport-type security (no electronics- leave your phone in the car!) we walked through an outdoor corridor to the consulate office. When you first enter, you check in at a desk and will receive a number (two identical pieces of paper with a number to be called up to a window to talk to someone). Then you enter the room. There are windows all along the back wall. The immigrant visa window, #5, is all the way to the left, and unlike those for the tourist visa interviews which are open, it is a little room with a door so you can sit and talk to the interviewer with more privacy. The first time you are called it will be by the number you received at the door. The employee will take one of the papers with the number and you will keep one with you (souvenir!). The first thing to do is give them all the paperwork they ask you to bring [please search for my post regarding what they will ask you for]. You'll hand each item to them through a slot at the bottom of the window. In our case, they took all the paperwork, told us to go back out to wait, called us back to clarify if we needed to pay more fees (it had changed from $131 to $350 while we were waiting so we had to pay the difference), then sent us to the cashier's window (#12) to pay it and keep waiting. After the first time, we were called to the window by name rather than number. We waited.. and waited. All the tourist visa interviews had finished and by 4:00 it was just us and one other lady in the room. She told us her immigrant visa appointment was at 1:00, she was finally called to interview at 4 and we followed at 4:30. It went pretty quickly once we were there. Beneficiary was asked to raise right hand and repeat a promise that everything is true and blah blah, then took digital fingerprints. First she asked us when we planned to get married, then about how we met and when we met each of our families. Then, after it was pretty clear there were no questions about it being a valid relationship, she said "all your documents are in order, so you'll be getting the visa". We were smiling and all excited.. but then came the bad news: it will take them 2 weeks to put the stamp on beneficiary's passport, seal our papers in an envelope and put it in the mail. Since we had said we plan to get married in about 2 weeks, she said she would try to rush it through, but no guarantees.  .
She gave us back the original documents we had submitted for their review, and we went out with a ticket from her to give to DHL (outside on the corridor) to pay for the mailing of the passport back to us. It was 55 pesos and they said they would deliver it the day after the embassy gives it to them.
We left so happy to finally have the visa approved, but sad we still cannot make flight reservations and get back to the US quickly! Speed is just not a characteristic of this embassy.
Please search for my post detailing what documents exactly must be submitted and how to do everything right the first time so you won't get RFEs because you didn't send them what they didn't ask for  . |
| Rating : |
Good |
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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
