Sharing good news

[JeanLouis1]

Hi everybody,
This PM, my fiancee called me on skype and I thought she was going to hit her head on the ceiling, she was so happy...
I hope that this news will be an encouragement to all of you who have been waiting and asking:WHEN...?
She got the news through an email that our fiancee's petition has been accepted!

The details:
11 15 07: I129F sent.
11 24 07: Ist NOA receipt notice received.
3 11 08: 2nd NOA notice in the mail. USCIS from Vermont Center Email confirming petition has been approved. Total duration: 108 days. Roughly 3 months and 1/2. In retrospect, time went by fast, because we didn't focus on it so much and were busy doing other things. In fact, just last night, I was telling her to be realistic and expect at minimum an answer end of May-June. So what a great surprise we had today!

We are not out of the woods yet, but we can see the light...
My fiancee is from Brazil and she told me that barring an exceptionally difficult agent at the Rio de Janeiro consulate, the interview is easy and can be done in Portuguese as well as English and if approved, the visa can be stamped the same day or one day later.
While very happy with our situation, I understand that for some of you things are not looking so well and I empathize.
For me, this is the 4th time around in 40 years that I have to go through the process with the INS/USCIS since I immigrated to this beautiful and great country of ours. Back then, everything was much slower due to the lack of available technology we enjoy today. So I understand about waiting and administrative screw ups.
I wish all of you good success and patience.
God bless you!
Jean-Louis.

[casims2000]

Congratulations

Congratulations on your approval!!!! I'm very happy for the both of you. Thanks for the information and help you have already given me and I hope to see more posts from you as you continue through this process. I can only hope that ours get approved just as quickly.

I wish you two all the best and hope that you're together soon.


Carol

[bethy21]

Congradulations!!!!!!!!!!!

Congradulations!!!!!!!!!!!! My K3 petition is at Vermont also. I pray my husband and myself will be approved that quickly.

I wish you both the very best of luck and long and happy life together.
It is so nice to see Positive / good things posted on forum, keep it up!!!
Beth Messaili

[JeanLouis1]

Thanks

Merci Bethy et Obrigado Carol!
Good things come to those who wait and hope.
The most important thing to me was to do the best research I could. It took me a long time to gather all the documents and present the petition in the most efficient, most attractive and most practical way according to the given instructions to insure that the agents would have an easy time to leaf through it and find everything they needed without difficulty.

I don't know if that helped, but I wanted to give my 100% and do my part to show that it was very important to us to garantee success. I think that people respond in a positive manner when we try to do our best to help make the process easier for them. It seems to work as a principle for life and has given me good results most of the time.

It is also a way to show that I respect the work they do and to show appreciation although I don't know the names of the persons who handled our petition.

I am just passing on the little things that didn't cost me anymore. I shows that usually if you take the time, if the English language is not a barrier and the situation is straight forward, it can be done without the help of a lawyer. In fact I went to ask the help of a para legal specialist in Immigration, but when he saw that I was familiar with the process, he told me that I didn't need help although he charges quite a bit for filing a petition.

I want to thank the help from Immmihelp staff and the other members for their helpful posts and the great service that the site provides with all the clear explanations, samples and instructions for filling all the documents. It has been an invaluable resource to us.

I will keep you posted on any more upcoming news, good or bad!
J-L.

[Blue93gt]

...the visa can be stamped the same day or one day later.

Is this true? Can the American consulate in Rio issue the visa within 2 days of a successful interview?

[JeanLouis1]

Visa in Rio

Yes, it is.
I have read testimonies of people who walk out with their visa stamped the very same day if everything is OK with the interview. Or sometimes they send it to you through express mail if you don't want to wait for another day.
JL.

[JeanLouis1]

Timeline update

Hi everybody,

The saga continues:

11/15/07: I129F sent.
11/2/07: Ist NOA receipt notice received.
3/11/08: 2nd NOA notice in the mail. USCIS from Vermont Center Email confirming petition has been approved. Email notice was sent to my fiancee who phoned me the good news and later on I checked on the USCIS site to find same.
TODAY: 3/17/08: NOA 2 I-797 approval notice in my mailbox.

Total duration: 4 months and 2 days.
The notice states: petition approved and forwarded to the consulate in Rio.
No mention of NVC. We have to contact Rio directly.

Joy is in the air!

J-L.

[bethy21]

Happy Dance

Time to do Happy Dance!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im so happy for you and your lady!!!!!!!
Its so nice to see something positive listed on forum.

Once last hurdle and your finished, this last hurdle will be a breeze.

Contgrats,
Beth

[JeanLouis1]

Thanks

Thanks Beth,
there is still some ways to go in gathering more documents, photos, affidavit, etc, but we are hoping for 2 months max.
I hope and wish you the best. and I will pray for you.
PTL.
J-L.

[bethy21]

Merci!!

Merci remercier mon ami de forum.

Beth

[JeanLouis1]

Pas de quoi!

Beth,
Je vous en prie! C'est la moindre des choses!
J-L.

[JeanLouis1]

Time Update Correction

Hi everybody,

from the earlier update post: The saga continues:

11/15/07: I129F sent.
11/2/07: Ist NOA receipt notice received.
3/11/08: 2nd NOA notice in the mail. USCIS from Vermont Center Email confirming petition has been approved. Email notice was sent to my fiancee who phoned me the good news and later on I checked on the USCIS site to find same.
TODAY: 3/17/08: NOA 2 I-797 approval notice in my mailbox.

Total duration: 4 months and 2 days.

The notice states: petition approved and forwarded to the consulate in Rio.
No mention of NVC. We have to contact Rio directly.

Here is the correction:
Today's mail: Letter from State Dept. dated 3/17/08 stating that within a week my approved petition will be sent to the Consulate in Rio.
My fiancee will soon receive packet with instructions on how to apply for the K1 visa and what documents are required for interview.

Just yesterday, my fiancee expressed some concern because she heard some stories of fiancees who were given an interview date on a very short notice without having received their packet of instructions from Rio. Everything turned out alright in the end but they had to scramble and dish out a lot of extra money in the express mailing of medical exams results and official documents, etc in order to meet the deadline.
So far everything is following the normal process.
I wish the same to all of you and to those who are experiencing setbacks, a prompt resolution of the difficulties.

Jean-Louis.

[Blue93gt]

...My fiancee will soon receive packet with instructions on how to apply for the K1 visa and what documents are required for interview.

1. I'm getting conflicting information on this subject. My notice from NVC states that the "packet with instructions" will be sent to my Fiancée, who resides in Brazil. The U.S. Consulate General Rio de Janeiro are informing my attorney that the "packet with instructions" will be sent to my attorney in the USA? Does someone have experience in this matter? I can see a lot of potential problems attempting to deliver to my Fiancée in Brazil.

2. Is there anyone that can provide information from experience on how long after a successful K-1 visa approval in Rio was the visa presented?

The website states, "ATTENTION: All passports will be returned by courier service (TNT Express), except in emergency situations requiring immediate travel. Generally, passports will arrive within two (2) to seven (7) working days after your interview, unless you were informed that additional processing will be necessary. Passports will be returned to the address you provide to the courier service for a fee."

A 2 to 7 day window makes it difficult to reserve a flight.

[JeanLouis1]

Conflicting Info.

1. I have never heard this before about the packet transferred back to the US. The latest thing I heard from my fiancee who keeps in touch with other beneficiaries is that former Packet 3 with instructions has been replaced with a packet containing both instructions and interview date. We do not have an attorney. It seems that we have more control because we research a lot ourselves and our communication channel is more direct by not having to go through the attorneys here and Brail as you have indicated in your case.

2. From the experiences I hear, some people receive their interview date without having received the instructions packet. There is the official version on the consulate website of the chronology and times of processing but the reality seems to be somewhat different according to different personal accounts.
So I cannot tell exactly the timing for each steps.
I received the last notice from the State department on March 17th. today is the 29th and we have not received any news. I assume that our petition is in Rio and my fiancee is waiting to receive her packet and interview date. I anticipate waiting 2 or 3 more weeks, may be less.
At this point it is better for us if they do not rush it because she still has a lot to do gathering all her documents and forms.
But the good thing is I don't have to fly down for the interview because she teaches English .

I hope this will help you.
As soon as we have something new, I will post it on this thread.

Jean-Louis.

Here is some info. from the Rio consulate site. Unfortunately the links from the instructions packet have been deactivated when I pasted. Still if you get on the URL indicated below, you should be able to get on the page where they have the next interviews dates once your petition had been accepted and sent to the consulate. I indicated in the threads below our timeline until now. We haven't been able to email the consulate because they closed the link temporarily due to their inability to process the volume of incoming emails.

ATTENTION:

As of January 2, 2008 all Consular sections will no longer accept visa application forms DS-156 filled out manually or typed. Applicants will be required to present the electronic form DS-156 (EVAF). The electronic form DS-156 (EVAF) is available on this website. On the interview day, the applicant will be required to present a printed copy of the electronic form DS-156 with the bar code printed. The form must also be completed and signed.

Fiance(e) Visas Instruction Packet for Immigrant Visa Interviews (formerly Packet Three):

Forms:

DS-156 *(English)

DS-156 *(Portuguese)

*Note: These forms will only be accepted in the electronic version

DS-156K

DS-157 (English)

DS-157 (Portuguese)

DS 230 (Fill out just part I)

FS-257A

I-134

I-129F

DS-2001 (English)

DS-2001 (Portuguese)

Instructions for Fiancée Applicants (English)

Instructions for Fiancée Applicants (Portuguese)

List of Documents required for Fiancée Visa

List of Doctors

Photos

Request for Police Certificate (State Police)

Request for Police Certificate (Residents and former residents of the State of RJ)

List of Secretarias de Segurança Pública (State Police)

Request for Police Certificate (Federal Police)

List of Delegacias da Polícia Federal (State Police)



You will need Acrobat Reader to open and print these forms.





NOTE

Immigrant Visa Fee Increase – January 1, 2008

Effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. immigrant visa

will increase from 335 USD to 355 USD. The fee accurately reflects the

cost of enhanced biometric security features which have been added to

the immigrant visa system.

Those applicants who paid the prior 335 USD application fee before

January 1, 2008 will be processed without further payment even if they

appear for an immigrant visa interview after January 1, 2008.

The total immigrant visa fee bill will therefore change from 380 USD

to 400 USD.

Most IV applicants pay their fees through the Department of State's

National Visa Center (NVC) in the United States. Fee bills sent by NVC

will reflect this change effective January 1, 2008. Applicants who make

their payment after January 1, 2008 will be required to pay the increase

even if their original fee bill sent prior to January 1, 2008 displays the fee

of 335 USD.

This fee increase also impacts Diversity Visa applicants, who pay this fee

at the time of interview at post.


(My note to my fiancee) This is where you will find your interview date if they post it. Usually the middle of the month. So April hasn’t been posted yet.

http://www.embaixadaamericana.org.br...hp&itemmenu=58


Immigrant Visa Unit

If you still have questions about the immigrant visa process after visiting our web site, please contact the appropriate consulate according to your jurisdiction. Please check the Contact Information and Working Hours page to find out the appropriate address and working hours. You may also send us an e-mail at [email protected] . A consular officer will reply as soon as possible. All Immigrant Visa interviews in Brazil are conducted at the Consulate in Rio de Janeiro only.

(all these below are links)

General Immigrant Visa Categories

Filing an Immigrant Visa Family-based Petition

Immigrant Visa Interviews

Filing a Fiancé(e) Petition

Instruction Package (List of Documents)

Immigrant Visa Interview Dates - March 2008

Immigrant Visa Interview Dates - February 2008



Prior to the interview, the beneficiary will receive the Instruction Packet for Immigrant Visa Interviews (formerly Packet Three). This packet provides detailed instructions on what documents you must present at the time of the interview. Please follow all instructions carefully, as missing documents will delay issuance of the visa. Two forms in the Instructions Packet for Immigrant Visa Applicants must be returned to the Consulate prior to the interview. These are the OF-230 Parts I and II autobiographical questionnaire, the DS-2001 “Notification of Applicants Readiness”, copy of your passport’s page that contains your biographical information and one frontal picture, the Consulate will inform you of your interview date once these documents are received.

[JeanLouis1]

Passport delivery

From the testimonials that my fiancee has heard, at the Consulate in Rio, if the interview has been successful some people have had their visa stamped on the same day and walk our with their passport ready to go.
For other they receive theirs on or two days later. I don't know the reason for the delay.
Jean-Louis.