USCIS Processing (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
- 6/28/13- (Friday) - I-129F sent priority mail with tracking
- 7/1/13 (Monday) - Delivery confirmation of I-129F (checked via USPS website)
- 7/8/13 (Monday) - Getting worried that I hadn't received my NOA1 (Notice of Application 1) after a week. I checked my bank account and noticed that my check was cashed that morning. This made me even more worried; Then I received NOA1 via text and e-mail in the afternoon. Yay!
- 7/11/13 (Thursday) - Received a case status update via text message/e-mail; Changed alien registration number.
- 7/13/13 (Saturday) - Received official NOA1 letter in the mail from the Vermont Service Center, about 10 days after they accepted the application.
- 8/9/13 (Friday) - Received a status update via text/e-mail. I-129F was transferred to local USCIS office for further processing.
- 8/15/13 (Thursday) - E-mail/Text notification that I-129F is now being processed at local office; Later notification via USPS indicated that the I-129F was transferred to the Texas Service Center from Vermont.
- 9/24/13 (Tuesday @ 4:45 PM EST) Received text and e-mail notification of NOA2. This is what the e-mail said: (see below). It's kind of confusing, but it means that our I-129F had been approved. *See below (11/21/13) for official NOA2.
Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity
On September 24, 2013, we shipped this approved or re-affirmed case to the Department of State for visa processing. For more information, please contact them directly.
For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.
On September 24, 2013, we shipped this approved or re-affirmed case to the Department of State for visa processing. For more information, please contact them directly.
For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.
- 11/15/13 (Friday) I received a text/e-mail today stating the following:
On November 15, 2013, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I-129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice.
- I'm somewhat confused. My case was already sent to the NVC and processed there. Then, it was sent to the Juárez Consulate. Why are they sending me this now. I never received an official NOA2 letter from USCIS. I'm wondering if they were really behind on their paperwork. I guess I will wait and see what receive in the mail.
- UPDATE: Received official NOA2 via post. Phew! That took a while.
NVC Processing (National Visa Center)
- 10/7/13 (Monday) - (NVC LEFT) After waiting for 2 weeks, I decided to e-mail NVC on Sunday; I did not receive an answer by Monday. So, I called NVC Monday evening. I waited on the line for about 20 minutes. The representative informed me that my I-129F had been sent to the Mexican consulate today. She said that I would receive a letter via the postal service from the NVC. She said that Roberto would receive a packet from the Mexican consulate via postal service and e-mail.
- 10/16/13 (Wednesday) - I still have not received any hard copy letters from NVC. I called them again this evening. I waited another 25 minutes on the phone just to get my case number. The case number contains an abbreviation of the consulate in the beneficiary's country, the year, and 6 additional numbers. Ours looks like this CDJ2013xxxxxx. The CDJ stands for Ciudad Juárez, the consulate in México where the visa where be processed. You can check the status on this website. As of yesterday, our status is "READY." It says the Case Creation Date is: October 1, 2013 (NVC RECEIVE) and the Status Update Date is: October 16, 2013 (RECEIVED BY CONSULATE). I'm assuming that we will be scheduling the interview soon. Cross my fingers.
- 10/21/13 (Monday) - Received official copy of letter from NVC. The letter is dated October 10, 2013. It states that the I-129F has been forwarded to the Juárez consulate. It provides the NVC case #, the USCIS receipt #, names, etc. It states that Form DS-160 should be completed while we wait for news from the Mexican consulate.
Ciudad Juárez Consulate Processing
- 10/25/13 (Friday) - (PKT 3 RCV'D) I (petitioner) received a letter from the American Consulate General in Texas dated October 16, 2013. I'm assuming that this date corresponds with the "Ready" Date I saw on the CEAC (Consular Electronic Application Center) website. It states that the visa case is now ready for processing. It tells us what steps to take next and how to schedule an appointment at the Applicant Service Center (ASC) and the consular interview! Yay!
- 10/27/13 (Sunday) - Completed form DS-160. It took us about 1.5-2 hours to complete and check over.
- 10/30/13 (Wednesday) - Scheduled an appointment at the Applicant Service Center (12/20) and an interview at the consulate (12/30 INTERVIEW DATE). We were able to do all of this by ourselves over the internet. In addition, we can change the dates of either of these appointments up until the day before.
- 11/2/13 (Saturday) - We changed our Applicant Service Center appointment and consulate interview so that they would correspond. Our new ASC appointment is on 12/19 @ 7:20 AM and our new consulate interview is on 12/20 @ 7:15 AM (INTERVIEW DATE). It was very easy to change. We didn't have any problems.
- 12/2/13 (Monday) - We changed our Applicant Service Center appointment and consulate interview date to a later date due to work reasons. Our new ASC appointment is on Monday, 1/27 @ 7:20 AM and our new consulate interview is on Tuesday, 1/28 @ 7:15 (INTERVIEW DATE).
- 12/19/13 (Thursday) - We changed our appointment dates yet again. Why? The CAS appointment was on Monday which didn't leave enough time for the medical exam. So, our new (an hopefully final) Applicant Service Center appoint is on Monday, February 10th @ 7:10AM in Mexico City (couldn't find one in Juárez). Our new consulate INTERVIEW DATE is Thursday, February 13th @ 7:15AM in Ciudad Juárez.
Applicant Service Center (CAS) and Interview
- 2/9/14 (Sunday) - Roberto took at 3:30 bus from Poza Rica to Mexico City. He arrived around 8:30 PM. He stayed at the Hotel Fontan on Reforma. It is near the Torre del Caballito. It was near the Embassy, but the walking distance is about 30 minutes.
- 2/10/14 (Monday) - Roberto had a 7:20 AM appointment at the Embassy to complete his CAS appointment. He decided to do this in Mexico City because we were not able to coordinate an appointment at the CAS in Juarez a reasonable amount of time before his appointment. Roberto said this appointment took no more than 10 minutes. They took his fingerprints and stamped his form. Then he was on his way. He checked out of the hotel mid-morning and went to the airport. He had a 4:20 flight with AeroMexico to Juarez. You check a large suitcase on AeroMexico flights for free. His flight went smoothly and he arrived in Juarez at 6:00 PM. Juarez is actually one hour behind Mexico City. He took a taxi from the airport to the City Junior Hotel. The taxi cost about $230 Mexican pesos ($20 USD).
- 2/11/14 (Tuesday) - Roberto had an appointment scheduled at one of the medical clinics (the brown-colored one) at 9 AM. The clinics will try to sell you the vaccines, but K-1 visa applicants do not need vaccines. They made him strip down to his underwear. They checked for tattoos and piercings. They asked him if he had ever used drugs before. He also had to complete a urine test and talk with a psychologist. The medical exam cost $220 USD. For the rest of the day, Roberto hung out. He already has a tourist visa, so he decided to cross the border and check out El Paso.
- 2/12/14 (Wednesday) - Roberto had to pick up the results of his medical exam today. They were handed to him in a sealed black envelope. You are not allowed to open this envelope. Then, the rest of the day was a free day. He went to El Paso again to check out a different part of the city.
- 2/13/14 (Thursday) - Roberto had his interview today at 7:15 AM. He wore a suit and took a huge binder filled with evidence of our relationship and documents. He arrived about 30 minutes before the appointment. There were not too many people. He did not pass the security line at first because he took a stack of cards with him as proof of our correspondence. A few of the cards were "music" cards and the chips in the cards set off the alarm. He had to return to the hotel and leave the musical cards. Then, he went back to the consulate. Once he was allowed inside, he had to pass through a series of individuals and show them the necessary documents. Finally, he was interviewed by an American woman who spoke Spanish. These were her questions
Roberto: Si, juro. Yes, I swear.
Interviewer: ¿Cómo conoció a su novia? How did you meet your fiancée?
Interviewer: ¿Cuándo conoció a su novia? When did you meet your fiancée?
Interviewer: ¿Ha tenido problemas con la policía? Have you had problems with the police?
Interviewer: ¿En qué trabaja usted? What is your job?
Interviewer: ¿En qué trabaja su novia? What is your fiancée's job?
Interviewer: ¿Ella habla español? Does she speak Spanish?
Interviewer: Es todo. Su visa ha sido aprobada. That's it. Your visa has been approved.
Roberto: ¿No necesita más evidencia? Traje tarjetas, fotos, y demás. Don't I need more evidence? I brought cards, pictures, and other things.
Interviewer: No son necesarias. Su visa ha sido aprobada y será enviada al domicilio que escogió previamente. No, they are not necessary. Your visa has been approved and will be sent to the address that you previously chose.
- There you have it! Roberto stayed in Juarez for the rest of the day.
- 2/14/14 (Friday) - He took the 8:00 AM shuttle offered by the hotel to the airport. He had an 11:08 AM flight out of Juarez to Mexico City. He arrived in Mexico City around 2:45 PM. He made his way to la terminal Autobuses del Norte and took a 5:00 PM bus back to Poza Rica. He arrived in Poza Rica around 10 PM that evening. Yay!!!
- 2/21/14 (Friday) - Roberto's K-1 Visa arrived to the DHL in Poza Rica on 2/20/14 (Thursday). He picked it up today!!! Everything looks great.