John and Sarah's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Sarah
Beneficiary's Name: John
VJ Member: John and Sarah
Country: Australia
Last Updated: 2012-07-23
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Immigration Checklist for Sarah & John:
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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 : |
California Service Center |
| Transferred? |
No |
| Consulate : |
Sydney, Australia |
| I-129F Sent : |
2010-01-20 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2010-01-23 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2010-03-01 |
| NVC Received : |
2010-03-23 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2010-03-23 |
| Consulate Received : |
2010-04-01 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2010-04-01 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2010-05-06 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2010-05-11 |
| Interview Date : |
2010-05-25 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2010-05-27 |
| US Entry : |
2010-06-02 |
| Marriage : |
2010-06-14 |
| Comments : |
Packet 3 received by email.
Mailed DS230 Part I on April 6, 2010.
Packet 4 received by email. |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 37 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 122 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Los Angeles |
| POE Date : |
2010-06-02 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
As friendly as those guys/gals get. |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Denver CO |
| Date Filed : |
2010-06-28 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-07-02 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-09-03 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2010-10-21 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2010-10-21 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Greencard Received: |
2010-11-17 |
| Comments : |
I-485 Mailed 06-26-2010
NOA 1 Email Received 07-02-2010
NOA 1 Hard Copy Received 07-07-2010
Interview date/papers received 09-16-2010 |
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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 : |
2010-06-28 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-07-02 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2010-09-03 |
| Approved Date : |
2010-09-09 |
| Date Card Received : |
2010-09-14 |
| Comments : |
I-765 Mailed 06-26-2010
NOA 1 Email Received 07-02-2010
NOA 1 Hard Copy Received 07-07-2010 |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 73 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 : |
2010-06-28 |
| NOA Date : |
2010-07-02 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2010-08-26 |
| Comments : |
I-131 Mailed 06-26-2010
NOA 1 Email Received 07-02-2010
NOA 1 Hard Copy Received 07-07-2010 |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 54 days. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2012-07-23 |
| NOA Date : |
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| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
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| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
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| Approved : |
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| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
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| Comments : |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Sydney, Australia
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
May 26, 2010 |
| Embassy Review : |
My journey began in Brisbane. I decided fly to and stay over the night before in Sydney to ensure I was there the morning of the interview. I stayed in the Travelodge in Phillip St, I can recommended that, good price (for Sydney CBD!) and courteous enough. It is 2mins walk from St James train stop which has trains directly from the airport for $15 (expensive!) and 3mins walk from the MLC centre. (The MLC centre (center) is actually the corner of Castlereigh St and King St, NOT Martin Pl as the address would have you think)
I ended up waiting in the downstairs foyer of the MLC centre until at least 10:30am (appointment was 11:00am) before going up, I feel like you could actually come to the 10th floor much earlier than that, as the 10th floor is just security and a holding room. After you pass through security (no mobile phones people) they direct you to the 59th floor (which has an awesome view of the harbor bridge and opera house!) where the nice lady's behind the bullet proof glass check your passport before directing you into the interview waiting area. You take a ticket (for K-1 visa's the ticket is actually for Immigrant Visa) then in my case I waited at least an hour before I was called. The first items they take are your passport, confirmation email (printed out), visa fee receipt and your express post 3kg satchel, interestingly they recommended that you get a platinum express post (although that definitely isn't mentioned on the Packet 4 email). They ask that you sit down while they check the paper work, that takes about 10mins, then you return to the same lady. And she tells you that everything seems to be in order, she takes your fingerprints, then explains she will now put you in the queue to see the interviewing officer (wait I thought this was the interview!) which for me was another 30mins.
The interview officer was just as nice if not nicer than the first lady. First you sign paperwork that affirms you swear to tell the truth. Then come the questions, which like previous petitioners have stated, seems like a formality as I can see the paperwork in front of me saying approved. Questions were; When did you meet, How many times have you visited her in the US, How many times has she visited you in OZ, Has she met your parents, Have you met her parents, When do you plan to get married (for this I told her we were getting a court marriage initially then renewing that later in the future at a time when families can get together, that was perfectly okay), and lastly when do you intend to travel to the states (I planned to travel within 7 days which to that they warned me the passport/visa could take up to 5-7 days, but she added 'it usually only takes 3 days').
Once she is satisfied she informs you that the visa is approved and hands you a congratulations letter, which also contains a bit of info on preparing for arrival in the US. Such as making sure to bring the yellow sealed envelope (that will come in my express post satchel) with me on board my carry-on luggage to give to the immigration officer in the US. DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE or so they strictly inform me!
Otherwise I found the process very straight forward and the staff above and beyond friendly. Just follow the instructions in the Packet 4 email. Interestingly I had with me more evidence of our relationship beyond the initial petition date, however they didn't ask for any more supporting evidence. Too easy! javascript:emoticon(' ') |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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Local US CIS Office Review: Denver CO
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 21, 2010 |
| Embassy Review : |
We arrived 45 minutes early and got into the nearly empty, but huge, waiting room easily enough. We watched the news on TV while we waited, which ended up taking the full 45 minutes we got there early (appointment time was 12:30pm, so maybe they were having lunch?). Anyway, our IO gave us his name, swore us in, and then began asking for our paperwork. Initially he asked for our identification and immigration paperwork, though he didn't look at anything other than our passports. Never even looked at our birth certificates we brought (though he had them in his packet already) or our marriage license! Then he asked for any additional supporting information we wanted to show him to prove our relationship was legit. This is where things got a bit scary for us.
We had printed out our joint bank account statements, health insurance coverage, auto insurance joint coverage, and even a joint credit card statement. However, we had blacked out our bank account numbers and balances for privacy and protection (we had recently been victims of credit card fraud so we were being extra cautious), but it was clear the accounts were in both names still. Anyway, those were the first documents he saw and he did not like them having some details like that blacked out. Thus, DO NOT black things out even for protection or privacy I guess! He asked us to log into our bank accounts online using his computer to help him see the balances and so forth. He told us for all he knew we could just have opened a joint account with $5 in it to act as a joint account. He wanted to see joint banking activity not just know the account existed. Anyway, I think our joint credit card statement was more helpful to him, along with our insurance proof. But it made us sweat a bit as he critiqued us for having done that. 
He then asked to see our photos, and wanted to know if we had any wedding photos, and asked about our wedding. He also asked about why we only have one car, and what we each do for a living. He asked me the I-485 standard questions, and then verified my parents names and my DOB, which was backwards on his form (it had been entered dd/mm/yy, and he interpreted it as mm/dd/yy), so he told me I need to get used to the way we do dates here! He also asked me when we got married and about my trips to the US that I've taken before.
The questions were overall quite fair. When he was done asking us questions, he told us we could put all of our id back, but he kept the new documentation we had brought and added it into our packet. After entering some info in his computer and scanning and stamping our packet, he told us we were approved, and about the details of it being a conditional green card (need to file paperwork to lift conditions 90 days before the 2 year mark). He also said the green card would be in the mail in 2-4 weeks. All in all, we were out of there in about 45 minutes after our interview started. And although we don't think it went as smoothly as it could have..in the end it's done, and was approved! javascript:emoticon('')
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| Harassment Level : |
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
