Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
China	China Tourist Visa	The last time I applied for a visitor visa last year, all I had to show was a hotel reservation email confirmation.  I then promptly cancelled that reservation and booked a hotel my wife wanted to book instead, lol.	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-06-19 16:07:00
China	Few Questions on Interview and Medical Exam	Thanks...didn't know anything about bringing the Appointment Letter. Thanks for pointing that out. Glad I'm asking these questions and we have experienced people to help out.  Thanks.   Best of luck!	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-07-14 09:50:00
China	Few Questions on Interview and Medical Exam	We went the day before the interview first thing in the morning for medical and had the results after lunch in the sealed envelope.  She'll need the rest of the shot series when she gets to the US for AOS, but she can get the first dose of MMR/Tdap/etc during the medical. Also, bring the appointment letter to the medical exam that states the actual appointment time for the interview, NOT the "interview letter" as they say in the P4.  Don't make the same mistake I did...	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-07-11 18:29:00
China	Good news	Congrats! On another note, that Starbucks is becoming quite popular waiting for your SO after your interview.  I was there as well last July.   The view of my wife running down the street with a big smile with the heavy bag I'll never forget.	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-07-23 14:57:00
China	Who here did NOT frontload their I-129F?	Indeed!  Send as much as you can to USCIS with the initial filing and it will make its way to the consulate too which will limit the grilling of questions that your SO will receive during the interview.  Make an EXACT copy of whatever you send for the initial filing so you know what you sent as they might "lose" something but they will never admit to it and just tell you that you "never submitted it."	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-08-26 19:55:00
China	Who here did NOT frontload their I-129F?	Don't even question it.  Just do it, and you'll be glad you did.  Less is definately NOT more with USCIS.	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-08-26 16:36:00
China	sponsor questions	Read the instructions document for the I-864 to make sure you have the required financial documents to be a co-sponsor.  Not sure if Tax returns are all that you need to be sufficent.  Better overprepared than delayed by months....	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-07-18 13:32:00
China	Please review my packet for filing	Exit and Entry pages should suffice.  I scanned mine and my wife's in and in photoshop added lines showing the same stamps to make it clear that we were there together. Good luck, looks very similar to ours minus the passport thing!	Daveykins	Male	China	2014-09-24 14:20:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Johannesburg Interview Forms	WOOOHOOOO!!!!  So excited for you.  I am chewing my fingers off, nails are gone, waiting for NVC to even get it to send to Joburg. HAs been 5 weeks so should be soon.   Will you let us know when you receive your packet 3?  I am interested to know if you'll be asked to fill out the new forms or the old since the process is changing a bit.  I hope they send it soon!	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-10-03 17:09:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Johannesburg Interview Forms	John just messaged me and he has the Ireland Police Clearance Certificate in hand!! I contacted Bunny Hop and his birth certificate is 90 percent complete, and should be mailed out this week! Overjoyed doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling!!! Medical and Interview here we come!!! WOOT WOOT!!!   congrats!  One step closer.  Keep us posted.  I'd be interested in knowing how long it takes to get an interview after submitting packet 3.	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-09-30 12:11:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Johannesburg Interview Forms	Well, we received the South African Police Clearance Certificate today, the one from Ireland is in the mail, and we're waiting for his birth certificate, then we can wrap it up!! I cannot wait!!!   Yay- one step closer for you!  Keep us posted.	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-09-27 12:52:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Johannesburg Interview Forms	From what I understand they can do blood tests to see what vaccinations he needs.  They will probably consider that a complicated case, which will take longer than the 2 days it normally takes, but that's just a guess on my part.    Thanks.  I will be patient and wait for the email packet from the embassy and email the civil surgeon.	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-09-23 01:11:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Johannesburg Interview Forms	Hi everyone- thank you all for the great information and insight!     I'm jumping the gun a bit because I just received our NOA2 via email, but I am trying to get a head start on everything.  My fiance is from Congo, so sometimes there's a bit of a language gap and I really want to make sure he gets everything done right.  My concern right now is the vaccination record.  He doesn't have a copy of this, everything was lost when he had to leave his home in Congo and take refuge in S. Africa.  I don't know how well they keep records in DR Congo, I assume not very well, so I don't know if he'll be able to get a copy of his vaccination record.  I have read that the doctor can pull a blood sample and know what vaccinations he has and still needs.  Does anyone know if this is true?  Will it be okay if we can't get a copy of his vaccination record?   He has to go to Petoria to get his passport (after he receives his birth certificate from the Congolese embassy), so I think it would be a good time or him to get his police clearance done at the same time.  Any suggestions?     Thanks!	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-09-21 18:51:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Packet 4 received and Interview date set!!!	Congrats!!!	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-10-25 12:02:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Packet 4 received and Interview date set!!!	Tuesday is the big day!!! So nervous and so excited. Monday I get to Skype with him at his sister's house. It's been a long 7 months. We will recheck his binder and all forms making sure everything is in order. So nervous we will overlook. So three eyes are better than one.   Getting down to the wire.  I'm so excited for you guys!  Keep us updated on how the interview goes (although I'm sure he'll pass with flying colors).  Good luck!	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-10-20 03:08:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Packet 4 received and Interview date set!!!	All emailed super excited. Been 7 very long months without seeing him.   Congrats, am really excited for you guys.  I'm sure you both are walking on cloud 9 right about now   Wedding plans all set?	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-10-10 02:17:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Packet 4 received and Interview date set!!!	You and me both. But he will take $350.00 and extra for courier service of visa just in case. Will be thrilled when it's all done. Ours took 5 days. They emailed him the appointment letter.   5 days- wow!  That's so exciting!!!!   I forget- did you say your fiance emailed back packet 3 or snail mail?  Everything really should be done by email these days..	meuy99	Female	South Africa	2013-10-10 01:49:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Need advice with Mexican fiancée	Congratulations! You have many of the same questions and wonderings I had a year and half ago. You could have a Catholic wedding in Mexico, which is not legally recognized in Mexico, then pursue a K-1 fiancee visa. Only civil weddings are legally recognized in Mexico. However, you will have to be careful with USCIS. You don't want to be applying for a K-1 visa if you're already married. So, if you pursue this route, don't show any photos or evidence from your Catholic wedding. The K-3 is also an option, which is what we pursued because it seemed easier to me (at the time) then pursuing a K-1 visa. It took us 8 months to get it, whereas K-1's take about 6 months. It would have been quicker for us had we turned in the I-129F sooner. The CR-1/IR-1 immigrant visas take over a year to get. You will need to get permission to marry from the Mexican government. You'll apply for permission at the immigration office closest to where you'll get married. It typically takes a month to get permission. We were lucky because my suegro went to law school with the director of the immigration office located in my husband's hometown, so we were able to pick up our permission letter the next day. It costs about a $100 dollars to get permission. I tried to contact the Mexican consulate in San Francisco to see if they could help me start this process from here in the U.S., but I didn't have any luck doing so. Another question... have you had your baptism, first communion, and confirmation with the Catholic church? The priest at my husband's church said I needed to have all of these sacraments before getting married in the Catholic church. So, I'm taking class for my confirmation before we have our big wedding. Good luck!	PMRS	Female	Mexico	2007-10-28 12:33:00
USCIS Service Centers	What happens after a Service Request?	I just went through a service request because after my NOA2, they never sent the petition to NVC. They should have given you a target date for the SR.  I received a notice exactly on the target date, they researched my file, found it was located in NRC (obviously they wont accept fault and say that, they'll say something like "were requesting your file from the repository"). They then had the petition sent to NVC.   Also try to send a request to Ombudsman and they can at least keep tabs on this well oiled agency to finish the job you had paid for. For me, Ombudsman told me the exact date my petition left USCIS to NVC.    Best of luck. Edited by fsaeed81, 25 July 2013 - 02:09 PM.	macpaf	Male	Pakistan	2013-07-25 14:07:00
USCIS Service Centers	case mistakenly sent to NRC instead of NVC. How long to get back to VT?	Yup. Same thing happened to me only difference was mine center was csc. Expect it to be back within a week after the letter date. Then you'll have to wait a couple of days for them to mail it. Email cisombudsman@HQ.DHS.GOV, but their response might come back late. They gave me the correct date my partition was actually mailed out. It was on a Saturday and NVC started processing on wed. It sucks when this happens but this is a great thing they found it. Just know this, the process will actually speed up from this point further ( barring any other screw ups). I got help from my elected official with this so if you did the same keep on calling them to find out updates. They get information you and I can only dream of with those script reading computer monkies they have answering the phone calls at uscis. Best of luck.	macpaf	Male	Pakistan	2013-08-13 09:23:00
USCIS Service Centers	It seems like K1's have slowed down again @ CSC	???	Mhret	Not Telling	Ethiopia	2013-08-01 17:22:00
USCIS Service Centers	Any CSC february filers left out there?	Put in a service request almost a month ago! Received a generic email, and the wait bs from customer service.	Mhret	Not Telling	Ethiopia	2013-08-12 20:50:00
USCIS Service Centers	Has CSC just shut down at this point?	CSC seems to have processed essentially no I129-Fs over the course of the past six weeks or so. What's going on with CSC? Just slow time? Holidays? From the looks of it, they are working on mid-July applications now, as those are the folks now getting their NOA2s....but they are just dribbling in... We got our NOA1 on August 6th, so we are just around the corner....so close, yet so far away! Any info would be much appreciated! Thanks and good luck to all!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2012-12-18 23:48:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC is comatose in comparison to VSC.	I know that it's not scientific because there are different groups and numbers of people applying to CSC vs. VSC, many VSC people have waited very long periods of time, and that not everyone reports their info on VJ, but for what it's worth... Since December 13th (one month ago), CSC has approved just 9 NOA2 cases (as per the information available on VJ). VSC has approved 94. Just sayin'. I'm a CSC-er waiting since August 6th. 23 weeks. 161 days. I know that this is "average." And I know that CSC is now working on mid-July apps. But I just wonder if they are going to kick it into gear here or just sit on those July apps for another....what...month or two? Edited by Lovecouple, 14 January 2013 - 05:26 PM.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-01-14 17:24:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC AUGUST FILERS	ChristianZane, 210 days to NOA2 processing at CSC?! Where are you getting this information from? Just curious....we're at 178 days as of today...	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-01-31 13:30:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC AUGUST FILERS	Yes, we are waiting for Godot here....us CSC August filers. We're August 6th, so we're so close, yet still so far away....Hope to hear good news from everyone soon!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-01-23 13:40:00
USCIS Service Centers	Updates on CSC	Sahs...so you can call back and inquire another 120 days? Gee, what a relief! But in all seriousness, I hope you get it soon. Our NOA1 came 20 days after yours, so we are at 171 over here...CSC as well...keep us all posted and I'll do the same. Hang in there. You'll be with your baby soon!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-01-24 19:50:00
USCIS Service Centers	Updates on CSC	This is a helpful tool, no doubt, but it's like looking for needles in a haystack. It's the best we've got and it can give you some idea, but good luck finding the I-129F cases...as you'll see, they make up a small % of the overall visa applications.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-01-23 13:43:00
USCIS Service Centers	K1-CSC, AUG-2012	Sahs, On one other thread (which I can't find at the moment), one July filer allegedly got through to their Senator, whose people called CSC and were given the answer that "the petitioner's application is going to the adjudicator's table shortly, expect to hear back by March/April." But that's just hearsay. And if it is true, that's one case and that's CSC probably giving the longest timeframe possible to cover their own butts. I mean, the official day is now "July 18th," but we can see very clearly that other people past that date are being approved. Let's hope for something in February here. It's clear to me that the late July and early August people from CSC are really starting to gripe (like me and you and rightfully so!), so CSC probably brushes off the gripe for awhile and then addresses it, when people are ready to start revolting. We're at 27 weeks today (189 days), so the wait continues...	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-11 14:52:00
USCIS Service Centers	K1-CSC, AUG-2012	ChristianZane et al., Thanks for all of this info. Needless to say, the situation really sucks for us all. 90 days last year compared to 200+ days in the present. Horrible. What's really making me uncomfortable are the discussions that are starting to arise on this thread (and a few others) of the possibility of waits until March and April for folks that filed in July and August. Those are waits of 8-9 months just for the NOA 2, and then you could tack on another 2-3 to the interview, not including the time that it would take for the fiancé(e) to get to the US. As we are all experiencing, none of us can plan anything without the interview having gone through successfully. Forget about the weddings...I'm taking about plan tickets, jobs, summer, travel, etc...basically our lives! I'm hoping that CSC kicks it up here...because the idea that late July and early August people are going to have to wait another 1-2 months (or more!) for NOA2 when the center has been virtually comatose for the last two months is just horrifying to think about. Many of us are hovering just under (or are over) 200 days at this point...there's no reason it should be going much longer than that...it's just getting obscene at this point. Edited by Lovecouple, 11 February 2013 - 01:14 PM.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-11 13:06:00
USCIS Service Centers	K1-CSC, AUG-2012	Sahs, Still trucking along 20 days behind you at 182 days as of today! Let's hope something happens here in the next week or two! My goodness.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-04 23:59:00
USCIS Service Centers	K1-CSC, AUG-2012	I am a CSC August 6th person, so I am hoping for the end of February....today is Day 180 for us. No NOA2 in sight, as far as I can tell...	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-02 14:31:00
USCIS Service Centers	Called USCIS, I-129Fs filed by July 18 have been processed...	Well, according to Igor's timeline, they have processed some of the August filers, but they are barely dribbling in. What we need is to send the CSC staff cases of Red Bull to get this baby in full motion! I'm an August 6th filer (20 days after Sahs, who's been waiting like a mofo!), and honestly, I feel like the August folks are right on the cusp here...but when it comes to the NOA2...being "on the cusp" ain't good enough! We're in waiting...	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-07 14:32:00
USCIS Service Centers	VSC churning out applications. CSC is absolutely comatose.	Punit and Dhruvi, Really sorry to hear about your wait as well. You're 11 days before us. It's just really hard when you see no sign of anything. It would be one thing if we were seeing an approval or two/day on Igor's list compared to the 8-10 from VSC, but I am seeing nothing. As if CSC has quite literally closed up shop. Thousands of people being affected, but I just can't help kicking myself over the fact that had we applied just a month or two earlier, we likely would have gone through the ringer in the "normal" amount of time. But it's like anyone who applied July 15th or after is really paying the price now. No indications here. Will we be approved next week? First half of March? Second half? April? No intel on this matter.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-28 14:48:00
USCIS Service Centers	VSC churning out applications. CSC is absolutely comatose.	Check the timeline today and you'll see that 9 or 10 more people were approved at VSC today, some with dates of early September! Not a single peep from anyone going through CSC on this forum. What's the plan here? CSC has barely moved in the past three months. Surely, the place is being flooded with thousands of applications in January, February, and March. We're right on the cusp here at CSC with a filing date of 8/6, but haven't seen life in 10-12 weeks. I thought it was going to pick up after the holidays, but here we are...2 months later...and virtually nothing. VSC to CSC approval rate for the past 2-3 months has easily gotta be 10 or 15 to 1,...at least on VJ.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-28 00:38:00
USCIS Service Centers	Such a loooooong wait!	Needless to say, it's great to have a forum like this where we can discuss our experiences and essentially support one another. As other people have reiterated, it's not to look at these posts and not feel like you are somehow being persecuted. The sad fact of the matter is that we're all just bits and pieces being processed through a gigantic bureaucratic machine. Having received NOA1 on 8/6, we were hoping for a NOA2 in December. Foolish us! We'll be lucky if we hear something in March. And NUFCFC, you are 100% right. We just want to live our lives here. Our applications are sitting collecting dust. Nothing takes this long to background check and look into. They sit for months and months and are likely churned out in a few days after the cobwebs are dusted off and our cases are considered. The worst part of it is being able to plan absolutely nothing. I laugh when I see people talking about planning weddings. I'm more worried about when my partner and I will even see each other. We can't even book a ticket yet. She can't even give her 30-day job notice. We are sitting around here, waiting endlessly here...just to see when we can start planning our lives...	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-24 13:08:00
USCIS Service Centers	Such a loooooong wait!	Today is 201 days for us. CSC is clearly way behind. I know that they've putt-putted out some August approvals, but several of you are mid-July peeps! We're August 6th...hoping,...praying,...wishing for something ASAP!!!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-23 13:22:00
USCIS Service Centers	Reasons for K1 slow down	Flaxen, We are 3 days before you and in the same exact boat. I keep telling myself "any day now," and here we are, about to join the "200 club." Let's hope for good news soon!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-20 22:13:00
USCIS Service Centers	NOA2 for CSC filers???	August 6th filer from CSC...still waiting.	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-03-08 22:41:00
USCIS Service Centers	The latest news about CSC K1's	Nola123, For the love of God, I hope that they pick it up soon. I can't even imagine being a Fall or Winter filer here, being 3-5 months in and seeing them approving people in July still. Meu deus!	Lovecouple	Female	Brazil	2013-02-25 19:50:00