Maliajannah's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Malia
Beneficiary's Name: Patricio
VJ Member: Maliajannah
Country: Ecuador
Last Updated: 2011-05-03
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Immigration Checklist for Malia & Patricio:
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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 : |
Guayaquil, Ecuador |
| I-129F Sent : |
2010-07-07 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2010-07-16 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2010-11-30 |
| NVC Received : |
2010-12-15 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2010-12-17 |
| Consulate Received : |
2010-12-23 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
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| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
2010-12-27 |
| Interview Date : |
2011-01-24 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2011-01-29 |
| US Entry : |
2011-02-02 |
| Marriage : |
2011-05-02 |
| Comments : |
Interview and POE went smoothly, we have had no problems at all! Thank you visajourney!! |
Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 137 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 192 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
Houston |
| POE Date : |
2011-02-02 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
February 8, 2011 |
| Embassy Review : |
Our appointment was scheduled for 8:30am on Monday Jan 24th 2011. We arrived at 8:02am with our documents and jackets (as per recommendation). The man at the gate checked for my fiance's name on the list, once verified he directed us into the Immigration Visas line, which was muuuch shorter than the Non-immigrant Visas line. We waited about 5 minutes to go through the security check. They made Patricio throw out tissue he had in his pocket for his cold. After the security check we went through the door, we had to verify our documents again and then the directed us upstairs to wait. It seemed like they were calling people randomly because some people who came after us got called before us, and some people who were there before we arrived were still waiting when we finally got called at 10:10am. While we were still waiting a guard came upstairs and spoke to us in Spanish about where and when we would get called and how the US citizen couldn't accompany their partner a la ventanilla. He seemed like he thought himself to be very important, when in fact he didn't really know what he was talking about.
Once Patricio's name was called we went together to the window where the women (American who spoke Spanish pretty well) asked for all of our documents. She then asked questions about where and how we met and how long we had known each other. Some of the questions were repetitive, but I think she was looking for inconsistencies. She asked who had introduced us and smiled when she heard that we had found each other walking down the street... over all we spent about 10 minutes at the window at which point she directed us to get the digital fingerprints done (included in the fee) and then to sit and wait to be called again. I was standing with Patricio at the fingerprint window when the self-important guard came by and told me to sit down and wait. I found two seats together downstairs (which is much warmer than upstairs) and waited for Patricio. It took him only about 5 minutes, at which point we waited again.
I luckily had chosen seats where we could see the woman (another American woman) reviewing our evidence. She did not read any of the letters or emails which I had included, she mostly looked at our letters of intent and the pictures. After waiting about another 15 minutes (during which 2 other people got approved) we got called to the window. She wanted to know if we communicated entirely in Spanish (yes), and if he had any other family in the US (no) and all the same questions the other lady had asked. She then told Patricio that she was going to ask me a question in English. She asked if I had any problems in our relationship that I thought we wouldn't be able to work out. I answered in Spanish, "no, every relationship has things to work out but I am confident that we'll be able to work them out."
She told us we had been approved and directed us to DHL at 11:15am. (YAY!!!) No one ever asked us questions about life in the US, about my financial documents, about work, or anything else. They wanted to know about our relationship, how we had met, how we communicate (how I learned Spanish) and how much time we had already spent together. All of the questions they asked had been answered in the paperwork but they wanted to hear it from us. I DO NOT THINK WE WOULD HAVE BEEN APPROVED IF I HAD NOT BEEN THERE. After going through the process I am convinced that the US citizen should always accompany their Ecuadorian partner to the interview.
Also, I had been recommended here on visajourney to include as much evidence as possible in the original I-129F packet. I included pictures, emails, passport stamps, etc. When I was compiling the evidence for the interview I wasn't sure if that evidence would be available so I made duplicates of all the evidence I had already included. That was NOT necessary. They returned to us all of the evidence we submitted, included all the duplicates. They did NOT return any of the forms, certificates, or I-134 documents. When we picked up the passport with the visa there is a sealed envelope that you must present at POE- it is possible those documents were in the envelope, but I did not get to see when it was opened so I don't know.
Overall, the interview was smooth, we did not have ant problems (except for the self-important guard) and we didn't have to wait too long. They told us it would take 10 business days for the passport to be available with the visa but it only took 5. We had our interview on Monday and it was available for pick up on Friday. We picked it up in Guayaquil because we didn't want it to get lost in transport (and because there wasn't a local DHL office). DHL charges you $7 to pick it up at a DHL office and $9 to have in delivered to an address. The consulate will tell you it costs $8. Truthfully, Ecuador is full of mis-information... always be prepared to defend your information and try to get what you want, no matter what they're trying to tell you. Good Luck! |
| Rating : |
Very 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
