immigrant visa questions ("weird" letter received)

[caliorbust]

hi everyone,

 

here's the thread to the last post i made for reference purposes: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=33973&hl=

 

i (US citizen) intend to permanently move back to the US with my wife (chin national) sometime next yr. about a month ago, i filed form i-130, form gs-325a, along with my supporting docs directly to the US embassy in beijing. a few days ago i received a letter in the mail from the US dept of homeland security, from their US citizen and immigration services.

 

the letter's title is called: Approval Notice of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition

 

on the lower left section of the letter, it says: "FORM I-171 (REV.3/4/82)Y" note: it does NOT say: FORM I-171H (there's no 'H')

 

in the top section of the letter, in the bold boxed area, there are 5 smaller boxes. one box is titled Name of Beneficiary (in which it has my wife's name). another box is titled Classification (in which it says: 201 (b) Spouse - CR-1). another box is called File No. (in which it says 'A', and no actual file number is listed). the last 2 boxes are "date petition filed" and "date of approval of petition."

 

the top of the letter reads as follows: The visa petition you filed has been approved. The beneficiary for whom you filed has been given the appropriate classification. Note the approval gives no assurance that the beneficiary will automatically be found eligible for visa issuance, admission to the United States or adjusted of lawful permanent resident status. Whether the beneficiary gets a visa is decided only when an application is made to a consular officer; whether the beneficiary is admitted or adjusts status in the United States is decided only when an application is made to an immigration officer.

 

below the above paragraph/statement, there are 8 blank check-mark boxes with various statements. in the letter i received, the 1st checkmark box is checked, and it says: Your petition to classify the beneficiary as an immediate relative of a United States citizen has been forwarded to the United States Consulate in Guangzhou. This completes all action by this service on the petition. The United States Consulate, which is part of the Department of State, will contact the beneficiary and give instructions about getting a visa. Questions about getting a visa should be made to the United States Consul.

 

 

my questions are:

1. is this "Approval Notice of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition", the same thing as the NOA1, aka Form I-797 or I797C?

 

2. why was the File No. box, left blank? how come no File number has yet been assigned to my wife's visa case?

 

3. what now? just wait for them to send us the next packet of documents? what is the average wait time from this point until i should receive the next set of documents? it is about 1 month's time, or closer to 4-6 months from now?

 

4. in my i-130/gs-325a/supporting docs packet, i also included a copy of the receipt that shows i have already paid for my wife's immigrant visa fee (~$400 USD if i recall). will she need to bring the original receipt with her when she travels to guangzhou for her face-to-face interview?

[Randy W]

This is known as NOA2, petition approval. In most cases, the petition would then go to the NVC, which would collect your paperwork and send it on to Guangzhou. In your case, however, it will be forwarded directly to Guangzhou. You will need to file an I-864, DS-3032, etc. They will mail these forms to you, so watch your mailbox. You also want to look for any notices about electronic processing, but this may not be possible for a DCF filing

 

The A# comes later. I'm not sure when for CR-1, but watch for it and make sure to ALWAYS use that number when corresponding with USCIS or GUZ.

 

Congratulations - other CR-1's will be able to help you more than I can

[Kyle]

If you're filing DCF, I'm impressed that you actually received an NOA2. We never did. In fact a lot of people who file directly through the consulate, do not receive it as it usually gets mailed through the local snail mail - thus getting lost. The consulate begins mailing packets via EMS starting with Packet 3.

Edited October 12, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[caliorbust]

If you're filing DCF, I'm impressed that you actually received an NOA2. We never did. In fact a lot of people who file directly through the consulate, do not receive it as it usually gets mailed through the local snail mail - thus getting lost. The consulate begins mailing packets via EMS starting with Packet 3.

kjj,

 

going by your sig file, it seems like u only waited about 1 month from the time u submitted i-130 until u got the packet 3 docs. is 1 month the typical wait time for this step?

 

also, does anyone have an answer to my question #4? thx for the replies thus far.

[Kyle]

When dealing with the consulate, it's hard to say what's typical. Look at the timelines to get a general idea of what people have gone through. Several things can contribute to the length of wait: background check issues, filing issues, etc.

 

We front loaded a ton of information with our I-130. Who knows why some people move quickly through, and why others lag.

 

http://www.candleforlove.com/FAQ/Timelines/Ne...L_Timeline2.htm

 

Kitchen Sink - http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23235

Edited October 12, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[Kyle]

in my i-130/gs-325a/supporting docs packet, i also included a copy of the receipt that shows i have already paid for my wife's immigrant visa fee (~$400 USD if i recall). will she need to bring the original receipt with her when she travels to guangzhou for her face-to-face interview?

Yes, I would. I'd bring copies of everything they sent you, as well as everything you sent them. The kitchen sink link I gave you in the last post, should give enough information to get you started.

[xiaofeizhu]

If you're filing DCF, I'm impressed that you actually received an NOA2. We never did. In fact a lot of people who file directly through the consulate, do not receive it as it usually gets mailed through the local snail mail - thus getting lost. The consulate begins mailing packets via EMS starting with Packet 3.

 

 

I was confused at first, too. We did not receive the NOA2 either. We just got the P3. I don't think they even botherd with an NOA2 to Inner Mongolia, haha.

 

You also mentioned about bringing things to the interview. I made 3 copies of everything sent, recieved, and taken to the interview. My hubby had 5 clear folders that contained different pieces of evidence. One folder was the "everything" folder, that had a copy of everything, the other was the tax and co-sponsor folder, the proof of relationship folder, the documents necessary to get into his interview folder, and an "other" folder. It worked well for him, and we had copies of everything even though he did not need it, but it would have been there if he did.

 

You never know what they will ask for or what they will want to know. Having everything on hand makes it easier if they are willing to accept it then and there.

 

I know it's been a while since I DCFed, but let me know if there are any questions I can help you with!

[caliorbust]

thanks everyone for their replies. i have a few follow-up questions just so i'm perfectly clear with all of this:

 

1. what's the difference between dcf and "regular/normal" cr-1 filing? more importantly, what route did i use? all i know is that i mailed in my i130, g325a, and supporting docs, from shanghai (where i live and work), directly the US embassy in beijing. does that mean i did the direct consular filing method?

 

2. on this page: www.candleforlove.com/FAQ/Timelines/New_Timeline/CFL_Timeline2.htm

under the DCF visa section, under the "results" column, what's the difference between blue vs blue/pink?

also, for user Jordan J., why is this person's result, not in bold, and why does it not have a bold underline (like all the other results)? what does the blue underline represent?

 

3. after my wife does her face-to-face interview in guangzhou, how many days until she receives her immigrant visa? i ask this because i just want a rough idea how many days she needs to stay in guangzhou while waiting for her passport and immigrant visa to be handed back to her. i remember earlier this yr when we went on vacation with me to the states (she applied for a tourist-visa), it took about 3-4 after her interview before she could pickup her passport from the china post office. does the immigrant visa process take longer than 3-4 days?

[Kyle]

A1 - You filed DCF - Direct Consular Filing - as opposed to filing Stateside and going through the NVC (National Visa Center). Both processes can be used to apply for a CR-1 (Conditional Relative-1 = married less than two years. IR-1 Immediate relative = married more than two years).

 

Basically DCF means that everything gets processed by the consulate directly, and it is a lot quicker. Those that have filed DCF have had, in general, a high success rate.

 

A2 - Blue - means the result is still pending based on additional documents required by the consulate.

 

Pink - visa/GC granted

 

white - visa/GC denied

 

Blue slips can usually be easily resolved by simply providing the documents requested by the consulate. Note some of the pink lines (on the time line table) have actually Blue/Pink, meaning they were initially given a blue slip, and later they overcame it. Click the results on the time table (pink, blue, blue/pink, and white) to follow where the OP gave an account of their experience. Jordan never did this.

 

A3 - Usually 2 days, but I've read accounts of people having to wait 10 days or more. Her passport will be mailed to the China Post using EMS, which you will be able to track using their website.

Edited October 12, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[caliorbust]

another question i just happened to stumble upon:

 

in this thread: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=37290&hl=

 

1. the OP says there are in fact 2, separate, immigrant visa fees u need to eventually pay. the 2 fees are $355 USD and $400 USD. is this true?

 

2. i've already paid the $355 fee, and i sent them a copy of the receipt for this as part of my i130/g325a/supporting-docs packet. when is the earliest i can pay the $400 fee that the above thread alludes to?

 

3. must we pay the $400 fee to the guangzhou consulate, on the day of my wife's interview, or can i pay it to the shanghai consulate (SH is where i live/work) months in advance?

 

4. for the $355 fee i've already paid, i didn't get a rectangular slip of paper printed by citic bank. i mention this because when my wife applied for a tourist visa (to the US), when she paid for the app fee (note: you can only pay for it at a CITIC bank), they give you a receipt on a piece of paper printed using CITIC bank background/letterhead, having the dimensions of about 3 inches x 9 inches (similar dimensions as a personal/corporate check).

 

all i got from the shanghai consulate was your standard receipt printed out from a cash register. is this normal?

[squirty]

We received the NOA2 like yourself. Pretty much just as you listed. Also, you can look at our timeline for another recent DCF. We also filed from Shanghai --> Beijing --> Guangzhou.

 

Start researching / writing your EOR letter if you haven't already done so. You can do a search on this website for more info. Or KJJ can provide you a link, he's got plenty of 'em.

[Kyle]

A1 - Yes - Actually you'll pay 445 USD in GZ: Application fee for immigrant visa is 400 USD. + a 45 USD surcharge everyone has to pay on their appointment date. Check out the OF-169 for more info

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/up..._169-May.09.pdf

 

 

A2 - At the interview

 

A3 - At the interview - Guangzhou consulate - More information will be made available in the P3 information. If you just can't wait, you can get an early peek at the information by visiting

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/fo...and_packets.htm

 

A4 - It is normal

Edited October 12, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[Kyle]

EOR - http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29818

 

[caliorbust]

We received the NOA2 like yourself. Pretty much just as you listed. Also, you can look at our timeline for another recent DCF. We also filed from Shanghai --> Beijing --> Guangzhou.

 

Start researching / writing your EOR letter if you haven't already done so. You can do a search on this website for more info. Or KJJ can provide you a link, he's got plenty of 'em.

squirty,

 

i'm a bit confused, what's P2 in your sig file (for 9/14/09)? i thought after the i130/g325a/supporting-docs packet, the next packet is packet 3 (i.e. there's no packet 2)?

 

 

also (question open to anyone): if i want to delay the visa filing process, is it true i can simply delay sending the packet 3 docs to guangzhou? or is there a deadline between the time i receive the packet 3, and when guangzhou must have my packet 3 docs in their possession?

[Kyle]

The GUZ consulate will not process your case any further until they receive your completed DS-230 and OF-169. I have never heard of a deadline for sending back packets. Did you look at the OF-169 link above. It'll have more information.

 

Since Squirty isn't online, I can try to answer this as well. Actually this has already be discussed in this thread.

 

Your "weird" letter is Packet 2 (NOA2)

If you're filing DCF, I'm impressed that you actually received an NOA2. We never did. In fact a lot of people who file directly through the consulate, do not receive it as it usually gets mailed through the local snail mail - thus getting lost. The consulate begins mailing packets via EMS starting with Packet 3.

Edited October 12, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)