By Victoria
We received the approval notice from USCIS (known as the Notice of Approval 1 [NOA1]) for our K-1 petition application! The letter is even printed on official watermarked paper, unlike other notices we've received in the past. Fancy.
The letter is dated October 16, and we received it early this week. (I'm a bit late posting this -- we've been busy!) It reads in part:
The above petition has been approved. We have sent the original visa petition to the Department of State National Visa Center (NVC), 32 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth, NH 03801-2909. The USCIS has completed all action; further inquiries should be directed to the NVC.
The NVC now processes all approved fiance(e) petition [sic]. The NVC processing should be complete within two to four weeks after receiving the petition from USCIS. The NVC will create a case record with your petition information. NVC will then send the petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where your fiance(e) will be interviewed for his or her visa.
You will receive notification by mail when NVC has sent your petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The notification letter will provide you with a unique number for your case and the name and address of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where your petition has been sent.
Based on that information, I suspect Colin will receive his official visa around January. A maximum of 4 weeks for NVC processing puts us at the end of November already, and I imagine it'll take some time through December to go through the Consulate interview process (Colin will need to arrange a medical exam, obtain various records to present, etc.).
In any case, things should go a little speedier now! Woohoo!
Total USCIS process length
Application Receipt Date: May 14, 2014
Approval Notice Date: October 16, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
October Visit: Border Security Experience
By Colin
Since the application for my visa had been submitted, I wasn't sure if I should try to visit Victoria. I did some research on a forum dedicated to visa procedures and discovered that there were a large number of posts from people who had successfully visited America with a visa application in progress. I took the chance and booked my tickets.
Before I left, I asked one of my supervisors at work to provide me with a letter to say that I had a full-time contract and that I intended to return to work after my holiday. It thankfully turned out that I didn't need it.
I left Belfast International Airport on Saturday 18th October. The flight to Newark went well.
I handed over my passport at border control, expecting quite a few questions. It turned out that the process was fast and straightforward. I was asked why I was visiting America. I replied that I was visiting my fiancee. I was then asked:
Three weeks of fun ahoy.
Since the application for my visa had been submitted, I wasn't sure if I should try to visit Victoria. I did some research on a forum dedicated to visa procedures and discovered that there were a large number of posts from people who had successfully visited America with a visa application in progress. I took the chance and booked my tickets.
Before I left, I asked one of my supervisors at work to provide me with a letter to say that I had a full-time contract and that I intended to return to work after my holiday. It thankfully turned out that I didn't need it.
I left Belfast International Airport on Saturday 18th October. The flight to Newark went well.
I handed over my passport at border control, expecting quite a few questions. It turned out that the process was fast and straightforward. I was asked why I was visiting America. I replied that I was visiting my fiancee. I was then asked:
- What my job is
- What Victoria's job is
- How did we meet
- How long were we engaged
- How long did we know each other
- How long I planned to stay
- When did I last visit
- How long did I stay then
Three weeks of fun ahoy.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Request for Evidence from USCIS
By Victoria
Today in the mail I received a I-797E Notice of Action form (dated September 19) with a Request for Evidence from USCIS.
It seems that the proof of citizenship documents I provided in our original application packet didn't fit the bill. I included a copy of my birth certificate as issued by my hospital in South Carolina, as well as a birth certificate card from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The note I received back from USCIS explains, "If the petitioner was born in the U.S. and will be submitting a birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship, such must be a civilly registered long-form certificate. Abstracts of Birth and birth documents issued by hospitals are not sufficient."
In hindsight, I suppose I should've realized that I needed a full DHEC document (not the card) or looked into it more...but at the same time, it would've been nice if the I-129F Petition form instructions would've clearly stated that they needed the long-form birth certificate issued by a civil authority (i.e., my birth state government). The only thing the original instructions say is: "If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate."
So I feel kind of dumb, and also ticked that I may have delayed our process a little bit longer. Since I imagine I would have to wait a while to receive my long-form DHEC birth certificate if I put in a request, I've decided I'll go the route of submitting a copy of my U.S. passport for proof of citizenship instead. I've already made the copies and will be putting the new evidence in the mail tomorrow (Friday). Hopefully approval won't be long after that.
UPDATE: Our online case status shows that the USCIS California Service Center received our response to the Request for Evidence on September 29, 2014.
Today in the mail I received a I-797E Notice of Action form (dated September 19) with a Request for Evidence from USCIS.
It seems that the proof of citizenship documents I provided in our original application packet didn't fit the bill. I included a copy of my birth certificate as issued by my hospital in South Carolina, as well as a birth certificate card from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The note I received back from USCIS explains, "If the petitioner was born in the U.S. and will be submitting a birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship, such must be a civilly registered long-form certificate. Abstracts of Birth and birth documents issued by hospitals are not sufficient."
In hindsight, I suppose I should've realized that I needed a full DHEC document (not the card) or looked into it more...but at the same time, it would've been nice if the I-129F Petition form instructions would've clearly stated that they needed the long-form birth certificate issued by a civil authority (i.e., my birth state government). The only thing the original instructions say is: "If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate."
So I feel kind of dumb, and also ticked that I may have delayed our process a little bit longer. Since I imagine I would have to wait a while to receive my long-form DHEC birth certificate if I put in a request, I've decided I'll go the route of submitting a copy of my U.S. passport for proof of citizenship instead. I've already made the copies and will be putting the new evidence in the mail tomorrow (Friday). Hopefully approval won't be long after that.
UPDATE: Our online case status shows that the USCIS California Service Center received our response to the Request for Evidence on September 29, 2014.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
He can Visit the U.S. Again!
By Victoria
Great news! Before I left Northern Ireland from my August visit, Colin kept thinking about it and saying there had to be a way for him to visit me in the U.S. again even with our K-1 application pending...so he did some more digging online and found a forum with a community of people going through U.S. immigration. One of the discussion threads is very helpfully called "Yes, you can visit!"
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/page-65
It's focused pretty specifically on people going through K-2/K-2 and IR-1/CR-1 visas. The last few pages of the thread have a lot of recent anecdotes (as recent as this August) regarding foreign fiances entering the U.S. to visit their citizen fiances. People seem to have been able to successfully enter the States at all stages of their K-1 application process -- from pre-Service Center approval, post-Service Center approval, National Visa Center stage, and even up to the U.S. Embassy interview stage. According to others' experiences, the key is to make sure the foreign fiance has the evidence to assure the border official that they intend to return to their home nation and NOT get married or attempt to stay in the U.S. without the official visa. Such evidence can include a booked return flight, a lease agreement to show there's a home and financial obligation to return to, and a message or note from work regarding when the person is expected back at work.
There are still a few horror stories scattered throughout the pages of people being pulled into interview rooms and grilled (although often eventually allowed to enter) or even being turned away with some kind of probation term attached (eek!), which certainly sets off my anxiety mode. However, so many more of the personal anecdotes in the thread indicate that it will be okay. In fact, there are quite a lot of people who had/have foreign fiances from the UK coming for a visit during K-1, and I don't think I saw a single anecdote about a UK fiance being turned away.
Colin already went through the tourist/visitor visa waiver process a few days ago, since his previous 2-year one had already expired, and was approved by the online system. And now...he has also officially booked his flights! He arrives on October 18, so we won't have long to wait between visits this time.
There is still a little concern (mostly on my end, since I'm the major worrier), but we're both optimistic and excited about it! The countdown has started!
Great news! Before I left Northern Ireland from my August visit, Colin kept thinking about it and saying there had to be a way for him to visit me in the U.S. again even with our K-1 application pending...so he did some more digging online and found a forum with a community of people going through U.S. immigration. One of the discussion threads is very helpfully called "Yes, you can visit!"
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/page-65
It's focused pretty specifically on people going through K-2/K-2 and IR-1/CR-1 visas. The last few pages of the thread have a lot of recent anecdotes (as recent as this August) regarding foreign fiances entering the U.S. to visit their citizen fiances. People seem to have been able to successfully enter the States at all stages of their K-1 application process -- from pre-Service Center approval, post-Service Center approval, National Visa Center stage, and even up to the U.S. Embassy interview stage. According to others' experiences, the key is to make sure the foreign fiance has the evidence to assure the border official that they intend to return to their home nation and NOT get married or attempt to stay in the U.S. without the official visa. Such evidence can include a booked return flight, a lease agreement to show there's a home and financial obligation to return to, and a message or note from work regarding when the person is expected back at work.
There are still a few horror stories scattered throughout the pages of people being pulled into interview rooms and grilled (although often eventually allowed to enter) or even being turned away with some kind of probation term attached (eek!), which certainly sets off my anxiety mode. However, so many more of the personal anecdotes in the thread indicate that it will be okay. In fact, there are quite a lot of people who had/have foreign fiances from the UK coming for a visit during K-1, and I don't think I saw a single anecdote about a UK fiance being turned away.
Colin already went through the tourist/visitor visa waiver process a few days ago, since his previous 2-year one had already expired, and was approved by the online system. And now...he has also officially booked his flights! He arrives on October 18, so we won't have long to wait between visits this time.
There is still a little concern (mostly on my end, since I'm the major worrier), but we're both optimistic and excited about it! The countdown has started!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Back from Visiting
By Victoria
I just returned on Monday from a visit with Colin in Northern Ireland. I was only able to go for 10 days (arrived on August 23 and left on September 1), but we packed in a lot of adventuring! That included a 3-day road trip through County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, staying at Bed & Breakfast places for the 2 nights. We did a lot of things and visited a lot of places all throughout the week that were new experiences for both of us.
We had a really amazing time. And we might have an update soon about Colin making an additional visit to the U.S., so stay tuned...
I just returned on Monday from a visit with Colin in Northern Ireland. I was only able to go for 10 days (arrived on August 23 and left on September 1), but we packed in a lot of adventuring! That included a 3-day road trip through County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, staying at Bed & Breakfast places for the 2 nights. We did a lot of things and visited a lot of places all throughout the week that were new experiences for both of us.
We had a really amazing time. And we might have an update soon about Colin making an additional visit to the U.S., so stay tuned...
Monday, August 18, 2014
Transferred to California
By Victoria
I received a mailed notice today from USCIS. It simply states that the Texas Service Center has transferred our case over to the California Service Center. Verbatim:
"This is to advise you that in order to speed up processing we have transferred the above case to the following USCIS office for processing:
I received a mailed notice today from USCIS. It simply states that the Texas Service Center has transferred our case over to the California Service Center. Verbatim:
"This is to advise you that in order to speed up processing we have transferred the above case to the following USCIS office for processing:
California Service Center, 2nd Flr, 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0111
That office will notify you of the decision made on the application or petition."
Then there's some language basically saying not to bother them unless we really have to, but otherwise, that's all it says.
I'm cautious to not read too much into the "speed up processing" part -- I think they just mean that the Dallas office didn't have the time or resources to deal with our case, so they basically outsourced it to the California office.
I certainly hope our case can now be approved sooner than expected, but again, I'm not going to read too much into it. If it stays on schedule to be approved 5 months after submission, then we're aiming for an approval in October (we submitted in May). Then again, it took them 3 months just to realize they needed to send it somewhere else, so my optimism isn't all that high...
PS: The letter is dated August 8, so when people call regular USPS post "snail mail," they aren't joking. Sheesh.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
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