Flying through MEP for IR-1

[Amenspanglish 5]

Hola! My case was just received at the NVC - waiting for a case number so I can get this show on the road!

I have been planning this stage and reading and participating in VJ and IM2U and the Ciudad Juarez discussion forums for a month and a half. I'm SO GRATEFUL! Because I didn't even have a clue about the NVC and I was able to order my docs in advance and having the support has been awesome too! Now my goal is to FLY THROUGH THE NVC Of course, unexpected things can happen (ex. RFE) but I want to avoid that and do the best I can, so I was hoping I could get your support, feedback and corrections if you've been through this and also help others who have recent NOA2s.

So based on my research and forum reading (again, thanks for your help!) here's my "advice" to myself and those who will go through this:

First of all - don't stress! I have spent way too much time stressing out about all of this! And I probably still am A lot of people exaggerate on what evidence is really necessary for the interview or NVC process. Double check any advice with the State website. If you get things together in advance, that helps. That way every day waiting for the mail to come with your documents isn't the end of the world. And you can also calmly go over any details that might concern you or over-prepare yourself if that makes you feel more comfortable. Prayer has helped me through all of this too!

1. After 2 or 3 weeks of your NOA2, call the NVC every day until you get your case number and your invoice number.

2. When you have your case number and your invoice number, go to https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx and fill out the DS-261 choice of agent form and designate yourself or your spouse as the agent. (hint: the one who lives in the U.S.)

3. Go to https://ceac.state.gov/CTRAC/Invoice/signon.aspx to make your payment. You may pay both fees at the same time, but the Immigrant Visa fee will not process until after the NVC has accepted your Affidavit of Support.

4. After your choice of agent DS-261 form and AOS fee have been accepted, scan your completed and signed i-864 Affidavit of Support form

and the supporting tax return transcripts (only 2011 is required but you may provide others if you wish) and proof of current employment. Do the same for your joint sponsor if you have one. Scan all documents as PDF files. Go to http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3197.html for more information about the Affidavit of Support forms.

Then e-mail the scanned PDF documents as attachments to NVCElectronic@state.gov. Include your full name and date of birth, beneficiary's full name and date of birth, and the NVC case number in the body of all e-mails to the NVC.

Your Affidavit of Support will probably take a few days to process. You may receive a "false checklist" during this time. If you have sent everything on the checklist, ignore it. But if you're concerned, call an NVC operator to find out if something is really missing.

You can check the payment portal to see if your AOS has been accepted and you can pay the Immigrant Visa fee (unless you paid it already). Once the IV fee has been processed, send your civil documents as scanned PDFs to NVCElectronic@state.gov. You can send more than one e-mail if the attachments are large. Just make sure that in every e-mail to the NVC, you include the petitioner's name and date of birth, the beneficiary's name and date of birth and the NVC case number. http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html will tell you more about the required civil documents, but I also made a list of what I'm sending:

Beneficiary's Birth Certificate

Marriage Certificate

Beneficiary's Passport (only scan the first page)

The two 2" by 2" photographs - any advice on how to send these?

*If the beneficiary has entered the U.S. before, been previously married, will enter with children, been adopted, or has a criminal record, he or she will need more than this. Please see the detailed list on the State website.

Once you have sent the required civil documents, go to https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx to fill out the DS-260 form online. I downloaded the free .docstock app and looked for the snapshots of the DS-260 to see what information I needed (Per Saylin's help! Thanks!). It will definitely help the process go more quickly if you already have info like the beneficiary's previous addresses and dates of when he moved since age 16 and work information for the past 10 years.

After that, you wait until case closed/complete. You can find out by calling the NVC. Can you also find out on the portal? This can take as little as a week after submitting everything, or it could take a few weeks.

1-2 weeks later, you will receive your interview date. I've noticed that the interview usually a month and a half after the case closed date. Keep on calling the NVC. That is the fastest way to find out anything regarding your case.

Good luck! And thanks in advance for your feedback, experiences, and for reading!

Edited July 8, 2012 by Amenspanglish

[Dana and Divine 61]

Nice write up...I did a checklist "Nigeria specific" today as well. Putting it all in one place and getting some feedback really helps you focus and get concrete information based on your spouses Country of origin! God bless the rest of your journey!

[Amenspanglish 5]

Nice write up...I did a checklist "Nigeria specific" today as well. Putting it all in one place and getting some feedback really helps you focus and get concrete information based on your spouses Country of origin! God bless the rest of your journey!

Thanks Dana! Best of luck to you too!

[Amenspanglish 5]

Any MEP-ers out there?

[Ryan H 3,818]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Mexico, Latin & South America regional forum; topic is specific to Mexico.

[Amenspanglish 5]

Thanks, Ryan!

[Amenspanglish 5]

It won't let me edit it...it would be cool to update this a little bit.

[jhoena&victor 0]

any more hints on how to make this whole emailing faster

[jhoena&victor 0]

could you be a lil more specific on the affadavit of support wwith sponsor details ! please i need much help

[Brex 5]

This was really good info. Thanks.

[Amenspanglish 5]

You're welcome! I have more specifics from when I actually went through the NVC process in the following thread from immigrate2us.net:

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?111792-I-finally-got-my-case-number!-Read-about-MEP-at-NVC!-)/page4

[ROD ONE 0]

hello

I email my AOS 7 days ago but they still havnet recieved anything also I read somewhere that before you send any docs by email you need to OPTIN first is that true???

also when did oyu schedule your apointment do you have to wait for instructions or can you make apointmnet as soon as NVC completes case???

Thanks

[Amenspanglish 5]

Hello! Glad to help!

For electronic processing you don't need to optin. Don't worry, 7 days isn't too long to review packages. You should get your acceptance soon! But The only way I found that out was by calling the NVC. So I recommend calling them to see if the AOS package has been accepted.

The AOS and IV are two separate tracks, meaning that technically, you shouldn't have to worry about the AOS package being accepted before you can pay your IV fee. However, in almost every case I've seen, the IV bill was invoiced after the AOS package was accepted. The important thing is to check the billing portal and the document portal every day to see if you're allowed to make any further progress yet. For example, have you filled out the DS-261?

So don't worry, but call the NVC to find out about your AOS package and check the portal to see if you can advance any more on your case.

About the appointment, the NVC will notify you via e-mail when your appointment is scheduled. You don't have to do anything for that. But it took FOREVER for me to get my appointment, as you can see by my timeline. But I called the NVC, and all they said was, "we'll e-mail you." I believed them, but thought that maybe I would find out faster by calling. Well, last week I was out of the country and had no phone or e-mail, so when I got back, sure enough I got an e-mail from the NVC telling me the appointment date! And it is so soon! Other people have had more of a head's up about it, but don't get discouraged if you have to wait a few weeks after case complete to have an appointment date!

Anyway, I think I've covered all your questions, but let me know if you have more! And good luck!

Edited September 19, 2012 by Amenspanglish

[Amenspanglish 5]

This thread gives a step -by-step of my NVC process, similar to my signature but a bit more detailed if anyone's interested!

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?111792-I-finally-got-my-case-number!-Read-about-MEP-at-NVC!-)/page6

Saylin, it says you're reading my thread! That makes me happy, you should be proud of all the stuff I've learned from you!

[Saylin 1,605]

This thread gives a step -by-step of my NVC process, similar to my signature but a bit more detailed if anyone's interested!

http://immigrate2us....ut-MEP-at-NVC!-)/page6

Saylin, it says you're reading my thread! That makes me happy, you should be proud of all the stuff I've learned from you!

I signed up to follow this thread when you first started it! You've definitely learned a lot since first starting your journey. For that, you get 5 stars