*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*
Just to start off, Happy New Year!
I had a great Christmas with Ben. He flew in Wednesday night and left less than four days later. I'm so glad we got to spend our first Christmas together.
Also, as of January 2nd, it's been 4 months since our NOA1. And as of today, I've known Ben for exactly a year ^_^
Anyways, on to the good news. So, on VJ, I came across a thread indicating that the DS-260 is now mandatory for all visa applicants going through the Montreal Consulate. At first, I was kind of disappointed since I already have the DS-230 filed out, but soon realised how amazing this DS-260 is.
*Reference link to post about the DS-261/DS-260*
I just found out today some very uplifting news which I am so grateful for. This new DS-260 is getting rid of the mail backlog at the Montreal Consulate. As soon as a case is complete at NVC, the DS-260 is sent electronically to the consulate. An interview date is then assigned. How fast are interviews getting assigned now? In this other thread I'm following about the DS-260, there were two members that got case completes this week, and got their interview dates this week as well. This has never happened before. NEVER. (Unless it was expedited, but these are non-expedited cases). Usually, for Montreal, after a case complete, one waits about 4 months, gets assigned an interview date, and then has the interview one month later.
Plus, I haven't gotten to the best news of all. Sure, getting an interview date assigned fast is nice, but WHEN the interview date is important. Instead of being 5 months from a case complete, these two members have interview dates TWO months after case complete. TWO MONTHS. When I saw this, I broke out in a smile. Like, a very large smile. :D :D
If this get-an-interview-two-months-from-case-complete remains, then to get to South Dakota for our first anniversary on May 21, I'd have to have the interview at the beginning of May, which means I need to get a case complete around the end of February/beginning of March. And since NVC only takes a few weeks, this is all possible once we get our NOA2 in the next upcoming weeks. So happy and thankful.
~Lindsay
Showing posts with label NOA1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NOA1. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
Police check and two updates
*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*
So, on Monday I headed to downtown Montreal to get a police record check. Found a cheaper place than my local police station. Someone on VJ linked this site and since it was $20 cheaper, decided to go for it. It's supposed to take 7-10 days, so I should get it sometime next week. I don't know if those "7-10 days" are business days are not, but either way, should get it by next Friday, latest the Monday after.
Still no news on our NOA2, but I have faith that it will be coming very soon. So many people have been getting approved with NOA1 dates in September. Looking on this site of VJ, there's already 12 people that were approved at the end of November, beginning of December.
Oh, and other good news, Ben booked a flight the other day to come visit me for Christmas! He'll be leaving Wednesday afternoon (the 22nd) after work and fly back Sunday (the 26th) evening. He won't be taking any days off since Thursday and Friday are holidays, so he'll have two vacation days (if I remember correctly) to carry over to next year. Oh, and I had much fun tracking his flight in real time at Flight Stats. You put in some info about the flight, and you can watch on a Google map where the plane is exactly. It even gives info on the plane's altitude, its bearing, how fast it's going, and much more. From now on, whenever Ben flies I'll be using that website. It keeps me entertained as I wait down the hours for him to arrive in Montreal. ^_^
~Lindsay
So, on Monday I headed to downtown Montreal to get a police record check. Found a cheaper place than my local police station. Someone on VJ linked this site and since it was $20 cheaper, decided to go for it. It's supposed to take 7-10 days, so I should get it sometime next week. I don't know if those "7-10 days" are business days are not, but either way, should get it by next Friday, latest the Monday after.
Still no news on our NOA2, but I have faith that it will be coming very soon. So many people have been getting approved with NOA1 dates in September. Looking on this site of VJ, there's already 12 people that were approved at the end of November, beginning of December.
Oh, and other good news, Ben booked a flight the other day to come visit me for Christmas! He'll be leaving Wednesday afternoon (the 22nd) after work and fly back Sunday (the 26th) evening. He won't be taking any days off since Thursday and Friday are holidays, so he'll have two vacation days (if I remember correctly) to carry over to next year. Oh, and I had much fun tracking his flight in real time at Flight Stats. You put in some info about the flight, and you can watch on a Google map where the plane is exactly. It even gives info on the plane's altitude, its bearing, how fast it's going, and much more. From now on, whenever Ben flies I'll be using that website. It keeps me entertained as I wait down the hours for him to arrive in Montreal. ^_^
~Lindsay
Thursday, December 2, 2010
3 months...
*Reference link to abbreviations/term post*
So, it's been exactly three months now that USCIS has received our I-130 package.
Some good news! Someone I became friends with on VJ (and later, Facebook) informed me she got approved Tuesday evening! She has the exact same NOA1 date as me, so it looks like CSC is working on September petitions. I also found out on Tuesday that someone with a September 3rd NOA1 date got approved as well. And just today, I found two more people with approvals (one with the same NOA1 date as ours and the other with a September 10th NOA1 date). So far, that's 4 people with September NOA1 dates that have been approved at CSC. Really good news! I believe the mass transfer of petitions from CSC to TSC really did help the load at CSC.
I'm checking the USCIS website even more often now. And I have my husband's email account open on my other monitor all day, so I know instantly when he gets an email. Keeping my eye out for one from USCIS about an approval.
In other news, Ben left Tuesday :( His flight in Montreal ended up getting delayed for an hour. We were both really worried since, with this delay, he wouldn't make his second flight. And neither would his luggage. But near the end of his first flight, thankfully, his second flight got delayed. He was able to make it (along with his checked bag). The plane ended up being delayed almost another hour on the runway since Chicago was backed up. He finally made it to Sioux Falls and got home around 3:30am my time.
I was sad to see him go, but I didn't cry as much since I know he's going to be back for Christmas. I had a great time while he was here. We saw Harry Potter together and went out to my favorite Japanese restaurant twice. We also had dinner with my grandparents and uncle and aunt. We also watched the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy over two days. He's never seen the movies before, so I was really glad we got to watch them. Plus, I haven't seen the movies in years and enjoyed watching them again. I can't wait to see him again in about a month! Hopefully we'll have our NOA2 by then.
~Lindsay
So, it's been exactly three months now that USCIS has received our I-130 package.
Some good news! Someone I became friends with on VJ (and later, Facebook) informed me she got approved Tuesday evening! She has the exact same NOA1 date as me, so it looks like CSC is working on September petitions. I also found out on Tuesday that someone with a September 3rd NOA1 date got approved as well. And just today, I found two more people with approvals (one with the same NOA1 date as ours and the other with a September 10th NOA1 date). So far, that's 4 people with September NOA1 dates that have been approved at CSC. Really good news! I believe the mass transfer of petitions from CSC to TSC really did help the load at CSC.
I'm checking the USCIS website even more often now. And I have my husband's email account open on my other monitor all day, so I know instantly when he gets an email. Keeping my eye out for one from USCIS about an approval.
In other news, Ben left Tuesday :( His flight in Montreal ended up getting delayed for an hour. We were both really worried since, with this delay, he wouldn't make his second flight. And neither would his luggage. But near the end of his first flight, thankfully, his second flight got delayed. He was able to make it (along with his checked bag). The plane ended up being delayed almost another hour on the runway since Chicago was backed up. He finally made it to Sioux Falls and got home around 3:30am my time.
I was sad to see him go, but I didn't cry as much since I know he's going to be back for Christmas. I had a great time while he was here. We saw Harry Potter together and went out to my favorite Japanese restaurant twice. We also had dinner with my grandparents and uncle and aunt. We also watched the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy over two days. He's never seen the movies before, so I was really glad we got to watch them. Plus, I haven't seen the movies in years and enjoyed watching them again. I can't wait to see him again in about a month! Hopefully we'll have our NOA2 by then.
~Lindsay
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Renewed hope!
So, I get notifications to my email on a few threads on VJ and I got one for an August 2010 filer thread that I'm a part of. Anyways, I checked out the new comments on the thread and was shocked. Apparently someone who has an NOA1 of August 10 (about a month before ours) got their NOA2 4 days ago! That's amazing that it was approved in less than 3 months. The average time now for CSC is 5-6 months. This has given me renewed hope that it's possible for our petition to be approved by Christmas. I'm hoping that our petition at CSC lands on the same desk that the person above got because it must have been one speedy officer!
~Lindsay
~Lindsay
Saturday, October 2, 2010
One month mark...
Really quick update:
So, it's been exactly one month from our NOA1 date. Processing times for CSC has roughly been 5 months, so I'm hoping there's only 4 more months to wait. Less than 4 months would be fantastic. I'm hoping to get a wonderful Christmas present from USCIS. Getting a birthday present would be even better, but that's unrealistic. I'm hoping CSC starts to speed up on processing times. I really, really want to be in South Dakota by our first year anniversary.
~Lindsay
So, it's been exactly one month from our NOA1 date. Processing times for CSC has roughly been 5 months, so I'm hoping there's only 4 more months to wait. Less than 4 months would be fantastic. I'm hoping to get a wonderful Christmas present from USCIS. Getting a birthday present would be even better, but that's unrealistic. I'm hoping CSC starts to speed up on processing times. I really, really want to be in South Dakota by our first year anniversary.
~Lindsay
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
NOA1 received!
The NOA1 came in the mail today!! The email said 7-10 days, but it arrived in 4 days, 3 if Monday (Labour Day) was considered a holiday. I'm happy ^_^
Ben also created an account on the USCIS website to check if our package is looked at or if our case is updated. I'll definitely be checking daily :D
~Lindsay
Ben also created an account on the USCIS website to check if our package is looked at or if our case is updated. I'll definitely be checking daily :D
~Lindsay
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