ralyse's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: Ramon
Beneficiary's Name: Laura
VJ Member: ralyse
Country: Canada
Last Updated: 2014-05-22
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Immigration Checklist for Ramon & Laura:
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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 : |
Montreal, Canada |
| I-129F Sent : |
2010-10-27 |
| I-129F NOA1 : |
2010-11-03 |
| I-129F RFE(s) : |
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| RFE Reply(s) : |
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| I-129F NOA2 : |
2011-04-06 |
| NVC Received : |
2011-04-13 |
| Date Case #, IIN, and BIN assigned : |
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| NVC Left : |
2011-04-15 |
| Consulate Received : |
2011-04-29 |
| Packet 3 Received : |
2011-05-11 |
| Packet 3 Sent : |
2011-05-02 |
| Packet 4 Received : |
2011-05-16 |
| Interview Date : |
2011-08-03 |
| Interview Result : |
Approved
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
2011-08-12 |
| US Entry : |
2011-08-12 |
| Marriage : |
2011-09-17 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your I-129f was approved in 154 days from your NOA1 date.
Your interview took 273 days from your I-129F NOA1 date. |
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Port of Entry Review
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| Event |
Date |
| Port of Entry : |
CDN-USA Border |
| POE Date : |
2011-08-12 |
| Got EAD Stamp : |
No |
| Biometrics Taken : |
Yes |
| Harassment Level : |
0 |
| Comments : |
Bluewater Bridge - Sarnia/Port Huron
We arrived at the bridge at 9:15pm and it was really dead. When we pulled up to the first inspection, before we even said anything the officer grinned and said "You guys have to go inside!" We were confused for a minute but I realized the "do not open" packet was on the dashboard of the car, so he could clearly see it as we drove up. So he had my fiance put the hazards on, joked with him a bit about getting himself a wife and sent us over to secondary.
We got the standard reminder not to bring in anything but our paperwork and to leave purses in the car. The officer also reminded us to bring cash to pay the visa fee. We went in with the packet and my XRay (since the instructions say they might ask for it at POE) and were called right up since there was only one other group in there at the time.
The officer asked what my XRay was, I told him, he said he wouldn't need it and opened the packet. Right on top was a big yellow post-it with "You must have applicant sign page 2 of the DS-230" and I realized they'd never asked me to sign it at my interview, whoops! At least Montreal didn't delay me over that, just had me sign it at POE. So I did that and the agent started silently going through the packet. After a few minutes he asked when the wedding would be and how we met, then asked what was in the car.
He had us fill out customs declarations and started to question me on the process for AOS/EAD/AP. He said he was glad I knew the process, but told me I was allowed to come and go from Canada as much as I wanted *until* the wedding. I'd never heard that, but I didn't question it and have no plans on testing it out. He took my fingerprints and picture and issued the stamps/stapled the piece into my passport.
He handed us back the keys and wished us luck. We were about to go when I realized he's never had us pay the 6$ visa fee, so I asked him about it. He just shrugged and said not to worry about it this time.
We were out in about 20 minutes |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
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| Date Filed : |
2011-11-02 |
| NOA Date : |
2011-11-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
2011-12-06 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2011-12-09 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2012-01-30 |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2012-02-03 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
No |
| Greencard Received: |
2012-02-08 |
| Comments : |
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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 : |
2011-11-02 |
| NOA Date : |
2011-11-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
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| Approved Date : |
2012-01-02 |
| Date Card Received : |
2012-01-11 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 61 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 : |
2011-11-02 |
| NOA Date : |
2011-11-14 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2012-01-11 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 61 days. |
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Lifting Conditions
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
California Service Center |
| Date Filed : |
2013-11-22 |
| NOA Date : |
2013-11-27 |
| RFE(s) : |
2014-04-01 |
| Bio. Appt. : |
2013-12-18 |
| Interview Date : |
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| Approval / Denial Date : |
2014-05-22 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
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| Green Card Received : |
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| Comments : |
RFE received 4-1-2014, Returned 5-16-2014. |
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Member Reviews:
Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
August 3, 2011 |
| Embassy Review : |
Left Brampton at 8am the day before, with only a few stops at rest stations for gas/food we made it to Montreal by just after 2pm. Stayed at Hotel la Tour Centre-Ville, which is by no means fancy (really outdated, not the most comfortable bed, weird room layout) but was relatively inexpensive and we were on the 15th floor and had a really nice view out the huge windows! There's also free wifi if you ask for an access code, but it is slower than dial up. The best part though, it's literally across the street and around a corner from the consulate. Unless you have to wait for the light to change, less than a minute walk! The parking lot for the hotel is much further away than the consulate is, even! We checked in, I went over all my documents and then we headed out with a friend of ours that lives in Montreal (friend from the site where Ramon and I met even, it felt fitting.) We had some dinner and saw some of the downtown area since it was a beautiful evening for walking and then headed back to the hotel. I checked documents again, took a shower and tried to relax and get some sleep.
I have a chronic punctuality problem, so we left the hotel at 6am. We weren't in line more than 5 minutes before there were two more people behind us, so I'm glad we were that early. The line grew and grew, I heard some others talking about VJ behind us which was nice! (Hi!)
They opened the doors at 7:30, asked for my appointment confirmation and both of our passports (as my fiance was with me). They then sent us up the stairs and asked for our belts and everything from our pockets. We went through the scanner and then were sent down the stairs to the basement where we sat right by the elevator. We talked to a couple other VJers and then we were all herded to the elevator, where any order we had arrived in got completely torn apart, which sucked. We were crammed in there pretty tight (all the smart VJ people at the back of the elevator, facing the doors) and when we arrived on the 19th floor is was a bit of a stampede to get out and get put in line for numbers.
I ended up with number C2. Very wuickly they started calling us by putting the ticket number and a booth number on a screen. I went up and was asked for my passport, my medical, my passport photos and they took fingerprints. He also wanted my appointment confirmation since it showed I had paid. I'd accidentally left that in the shopping bag I'd been carrying so I had to hop back to the waiting room to get it from my fiance, but the officer didn't seem to mind. He then told me they'd call me again when they were processing my file.
I sat back down and they kept calling numbers on the screen. Then a very fuzzy announcement said what SOUNDED like "C2 to window 11" but I wasn't entirely sure. Huge thanks to the fellow VJer who confirmed to me that's what they had said! So I went up and spoke with a nice lady who asked for my birth certificate and a copy, my police check, my fiance's letter of intent, a photocopy of my passport's biographic page, and the affidavits of support + supporting info. I confirmed that all she wanted for my fiance was the form and a letter of enrollment for school and from his mother the form, her 2010 tax transcript and statements from her retirement (since that's the bulk of her income).
She looked over everything and told me to take a seat, they'd call me shortly, but as I was turning away said "Oh, I forgot! Are you registered for DHL?" I told her I was.
I wasn't sitting very long before my number was called again, I went to a both where a nice woman with long dreadlocks did my interview. She swore me in and confirmed my fingerprints and asked a few questions:
-How did we meet?
-What book series the website we met on is about?
-Confirmed what year we met. (She said 2006, I confirmed it was 2004 online and 2008 in person)
-Asked where Ramon goes to school and what his major is
-Asked how he proposed.
She was very soft spoken, so I had to ask her to repeat herself a few times which made me feel awful (I'm half deaf in one ear, so it may have just been me). Then she flipped through the file and frowned at her computer in silence for a couple of minutes. I was starting to worry, but she confirmed that she'd taken my fingerprint. I said she had then she laughed and said the computer was just being silly. She then congratulated me and said she could approve my fiance visa and gave me the welcome to the US letter and the K1 FAQ sheet and said she hoped my wedding went well.
All told, we were back at the hotel by 9am :D
It really is the easiest part of this entire process. |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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POE Review: CDN-USA Border
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| Event |
Description |
| Entry Date : |
2011-08-12 |
| Embassy Review : |
Bluewater Bridge - Sarnia/Port Huron
We arrived at the bridge at 9:15pm and it was really dead. When we pulled up to the first inspection, before we even said anything the officer grinned and said "You guys have to go inside!" We were confused for a minute but I realized the "do not open" packet was on the dashboard of the car, so he could clearly see it as we drove up. So he had my fiance put the hazards on, joked with him a bit about getting himself a wife and sent us over to secondary.
We got the standard reminder not to bring in anything but our paperwork and to leave purses in the car. The officer also reminded us to bring cash to pay the visa fee. We went in with the packet and my XRay (since the instructions say they might ask for it at POE) and were called right up since there was only one other group in there at the time.
The officer asked what my XRay was, I told him, he said he wouldn't need it and opened the packet. Right on top was a big yellow post-it with "You must have applicant sign page 2 of the DS-230" and I realized they'd never asked me to sign it at my interview, whoops! At least Montreal didn't delay me over that, just had me sign it at POE. So I did that and the agent started silently going through the packet. After a few minutes he asked when the wedding would be and how we met, then asked what was in the car.
He had us fill out customs declarations and started to question me on the process for AOS/EAD/AP. He said he was glad I knew the process, but told me I was allowed to come and go from Canada as much as I wanted *until* the wedding. I'd never heard that, but I didn't question it and have no plans on testing it out. He took my fingerprints and picture and issued the stamps/stapled the piece into my passport.
He handed us back the keys and wished us luck. We were about to go when I realized he's never had us pay the 6$ visa fee, so I asked him about it. He just shrugged and said not to worry about it this time.
We were out in about 20 minutes  |
| 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
