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.
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