What Next? (I-130 for Wife)

[LostAndConfused]

I filed an I-130 for my wife, who is currently working and living in Korea, and our priority date is September 8th. I have not received any word from anyone since I received the I-797 and have called a couple times to check the status and make sure things are still moving forward. Unfortunately, the lady who answered the phone was not able to tell me anything other than I need to just wait. I am an active duty military member and will be leaving my current duty station around August of 2015 and I really want to be able to take my wife with me. Looking at the processing times on the USCIS website I am looking at about 5 months for the I-130, which is around February 2015. Once the I-130 is processed and complete and we go to all of our appointments etc, will my wife be able to join me in the US? About how long should I expect to wait until I hear from USCIS again about the next step? I have all the paperwork ready (Affidavit of Support, sealed medical documents, more evidence) I am just waiting to be told where to send it. When I check my case on the USCIS website all it says it "Case was Received". Are there any more level of processing beyond that because I get the impression that my case is just sitting on a desk somewhere. I was hoping for a status like "Background check being conducted" or "Case being reviewed" etc, something to tell me that someone is moving my case forward.

My wife has a tourist visa she obtained before we got married. Can she still enter the US using that visa while we wait for her I-130 to process?

Thank you!

[rayb]

During the I-130 processing, no "level of processing detail" can be expected from USCIS.

Since an I-130 petition is in process, your wife might be denied entry when using her visitor visa, but not always.

Your next processing step, if wife is not in the U.S. for Stateside processing, will be the National Visa Center, for which you will pay two fees, $120 and $325, and submit sponsorship and civil documents (the later might be only photocopies if a new rule is implemented for civil document originals to be taken to the Embassy interview). There is no medical exam requriement for the next step, but your wife will eventually need an immigrant medical exam before her Embassy interview.

--Ray B

I filed an I-130 for my wife, who is currently working and living in Korea, and our priority date is September 8th. I have not received any word from anyone since I received the I-797 and have called a couple times to check the status and make sure things are still moving forward. Unfortunately, the lady who answered the phone was not able to tell me anything other than I need to just wait. I am an active duty military member and will be leaving my current duty station around August of 2015 and I really want to be able to take my wife with me. Looking at the processing times on the USCIS website I am looking at about 5 months for the I-130, which is around February 2015. Once the I-130 is processed and complete and we go to all of our appointments etc, will my wife be able to join me in the US? About how long should I expect to wait until I hear from USCIS again about the next step? I have all the paperwork ready (Affidavit of Support, sealed medical documents, more evidence) I am just waiting to be told where to send it. When I check my case on the USCIS website all it says it "Case was Received". Are there any more level of processing beyond that because I get the impression that my case is just sitting on a desk somewhere. I was hoping for a status like "Background check being conducted" or "Case being reviewed" etc, something to tell me that someone is moving my case forward.

My wife has a tourist visa she obtained before we got married. Can she still enter the US using that visa while we wait for her I-130 to process?

Thank you!