Updated Flowchart and Wikis

Over the weekend, I finally got around to updating the flowchart and both my wikis to the new process NVC released back in September.

Links to updated information:

NVC Process Wiki

Wiki for Canadian Spouses for NVC (EP and Online Forms)

Flowchart

Wiki

So, after some discussion on this thread on VJ, I wrote an updated wiki on the NVC process, incorporating links and an FAQ I wrote from previous posts. It's now being used as an NVC guide on VisaJourney, so woohoo :)

You can find the wiki here. Took me more than 3 hours to put together, so hope everyone likes it ^_^

~Lindsay

Screenshots

I created a new album on Photobucket called immigration. I then moved the DS-261 screenshots album into that album, so the link will be different. The new link is: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p174/smurf47/Immigration/DS-261%20screenshots/

I also created another sub-album called Payment Portal screenshots which you can find here: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p174/smurf47/Immigration/Payment%20portal%20screenshots/ So far I have two screenshots, one showing where you see and pay bills, the other showing where you can see and fill out the online forms. I'll most likely add another one to show what it looks like when a bill is looked at in a few minutes.

If you want to just see the general Immigration album, it's here: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p174/smurf47/Immigration/ From there, you can choose the sub-albums.

I'm planning on uploading a copy of the correspondence I got from NVC as well soon, so keep an eye open for that too.

If there's anything else you want a screenshot of, please leave a comment and I'll do it.

~Lindsay

EDIT: I uploaded the screenshots of the receipt page in the payment portal sub-album. I also uploaded the 4 page document I received last Friday. You can view this at the sub-album NVC information email here: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p174/smurf47/Immigration/NVC%20information%20email/

Mail and AVR update

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

So, sometime yesterday night, both Ben and I received mail from NVC. Attached was a 4-page document giving information about NVC and had our case number, IIN, and beneficiary ID number. The last two pages was the DS-3032 form (expired by the way). Sorry, NVC, but we're way ahead of you, thanks though :P

Also, about half an hour ago, I decided to call up the AVR. I was expecting the same message that it had before: "Your case was entered into NVC's computer system on February 1st, 2011. The case number assigned by the NVC for this case is XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Please allow 6-8 weeks from this date for: the beneficiary to receive notification." But when I called, that's not the message I heard!

Instead, it talked about the DS-3032. I had to repeat the message since I didn't hear it the first time from excitement. The message: "NVC received the DS-3032 Choice of Agent and Address form on February 5th, 2011. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing before you will be notified by the NVC." So looks like they received the DS-261 that I sent in on February 3rd.

They should now invoice us for the IV bill on Monday or Tuesday. If only they could do it on the weekend...

~Lindsay

Email addresses, ID number, and optin email

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

So, I got off the phone awhile ago with another operator (Brooke). I was able to give her our email addresses. Took her a little longer on mine since she mis-heard some letters. After that was done, I requested for the beneficiary ID number that's needed for the online forms and she gave that to me after searching for it for a bit.

After that, I sent off an email to opt-in for electronic processing. Now to wait for an acceptance from NVC which can take up to 10 business days (according to the auto response email).

Also hoping the payment portal updates so we can pay the AoS fee. I'm sure this is one bill Ben is excited to pay for. I'm also keeping an eye out for when the site updates so I can submit the DS-261. It's still saying this case is not eligible for further processing at NVC as it said this early afternoon when we first got our case number and IIN. It better update by tomorrow or I'm going to call another operator to complain.

~Lindsay

Case number and IIN assigned!

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

So, a few minutes before 12pm, I decided to call up NVC to see if there was a case number assigned to us. It took nearly 90 attempts over 10 minutes just to get through to the phone line. I decided not to call the AVR just to have to wait again to talk to an operator, so I went directly to an operator.

Was on hold again for about 30 minutes when I finally got through. Gave the operator our CIS receipt number and she put me on hold. The guy last night hadn't put me on hold, so I was wondering what was happening. I thought she might have hung up on me or something, but after two minutes she came back. And then told me wonderful news. Our case had just been entered into the system. I asked for the case number and she gave it to me. I then asked if the IIN was available and she said yes and I got that as well. Woot!

Unfortunately, I was so happy about finally getting a case number, I completely forgot to give the operator our email addresses. I realised this only like 20 minutes later. D'oh! I decided to eat and then call back up.

This time, only took once to get through to NVC and then another 20 minutes or so on hold. I gave the operator this time our new NVC case number (you can either give your CIS number or NVC case number). She asked what she could do for me, I told her I wanted to give the email addresses of the petitioner and beneficiary. She then asked me who Ben was, I replied the petitioner. She asked me who Lindsay was, I replied the beneficiary. She then asked if I was one of those people, and I'm like yes, I'm Lindsay. She then asked for my birth date and then asked for Ben. She said alright, and asked again what she could do for me. (Do operators forget that quickly?!) I repeated I wanted to give our email addresses. She then told me that she couldn't input anything into the system at the moment since someone in another department was putting our information literally at that same moment. She suggested I call back either tomorrow or later on today. I told her thank you, and she apologized she couldn't help me.

So, I've been calling up the AVR every hour or so to see if they have a record of our case, either with our CIS number or our new NVC case number. Still nothing yet. I'm going to call an operator later tonight, probably right after supper. Thank goodness they're available until 12 midnight.

I'll update later with what happens tonight after I call again!

~Lindsay

EDIT: After getting our case number and IIN, tried going on to the payment portal site, but the AoS fee isn't invoiced yet, so we still have to wait. Hopefully by tomorrow the fee is invoiced so it might possibly appear as PAID by Friday to already send in our I-864 package!

First day with NVC Operator

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

Well, I decided to call an  operator today. Around 5:30pm, I called NVC up. Took me 3 times to finally get in. Chose the option to speak with an operator and then found myself on hold for about 20 minutes. I finally got through and spoke with a nice guy, didn't catch his first name. He asked for my CIS receipt number and then told me that there was no case number yet for my case and that I should wait till next week. I told him thank you and hung up.

Definitely not waiting till next week as per the operator's suggestion. Going to call up the operators again twice tomorrow, along with calling the AVR.

~Lindsay

Plan of action

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

So, here's what needs to be done in the following few weeks.

I'm going to continue calling NVC's AVR to see if a case number has been assigned. I think starting this Tuesday (one week after our approval), if no case number has been assigned, I'll start calling up an operator about twice daily to find out if it's been assigned yet, as well as continuing to call the AVR.

As soon as I find out our case number, I'm going to call up an operator immediately and give our email addresses and ask for our IIN which is required for the payment portal.

As soon as that's done, I'll send an opt-in email to opt-in for electronic processing. I'll then sign onto the payment portal and fill out the online form DS-261 (similar to the DS-3032, but online).

If we get this done early in the week, the AoS bill might appear by the end of the week. If Ben can pay that immediately, it'll show up as PAID most likely early next week or end of this week. It all depends when we get a case number. Once it shows up as PAID, we print the coversheet out, attach it with all the I-864 forms and documents, and email it off.

Sometime next week or the week after, the IV bill should appear, we pay that and wait for it to appear as PAID. I fill out the online form DS-260 (similar to the DS-230, but online). I submit that once done and then email off the supporting documents.

And then the waiting! If all goes well, we should be done at the end of February or sometime in March.

Also, this week, Ben needs to print out the employment letter and get his boss to sign it. We have to go over the I-864 and make sure everything is correct. He then needs to scan everything and send it to me. I'll then put it together into a PDF. A cover letter also has to be written up.

Next week, I'll work on the DS-260 documents, scanning everything in and putting it all together as a PDF. I've still got a photocopy of my birth certificate and passport from August on my computer, so I don't need to scan those again. I need Ben to scan a copy of the marriage certificate and send it to me. Then I just have to scan my police certificate and 2 passport-style pictures of myself. A cover letter also has to be written up.

I'm sure I'll be writing a lot these next two weeks with plenty of updates!

~Lindsay

EDIT: I was bored and just did the two cover letters for the I-864 and the DS-260. I just have to update the date on them before we send them and the case number once we get it.

8 month anniversary, NVC, and California

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

Happy 8 month anniversary to Ben and I! ^_^

Still no news on our NOA2.

I've been calling NVC's AVR each night just to see if a case number has been assigned. I've heard of a few cases where some people hadn't received their NOA2 in the mail or had any updates on the USCIS website, but found that their case had been approved by finding a case number had been assigned to them at NVC. I now have the NVC number committed to memory: (603) 334-0700. I know which numbers to press as soon as I hear the automated voice (1, 1, 1, 4, 1, receipt number, 1). Once I hear: "There is no record of your case on file..." I hang up. Can't wait to hear: "This case was entered in the NVC computer system on..."

Anyways, in other news, Ben's in California. He's been there since Sunday. No, not to go to the CSC, but for work. Advanced SQL training (he's a programmer). All expenses paid for by his work (flight, hotel, food, and training). He flew Sunday afternoon and his training was Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Yesterday he visited Apple headquarters and bought me an Apple shirt! Just have to wait for him to come and visit me now to get it. He's currently in an IMAX theater watching the Green Hornet in 3D. He flies back on Sunday and I know he's going to visit a long-time friend that he's never actually met in person. He might also go see the Googleplex (Google headquarters), but I don't know when.

Not much else to report on. Come on NOA2!! :D

~Lindsay

DS-261 and DS-260

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

A few weeks ago, I came across the terms DS-261 and DS-260 on VJ. I had never heard of them before.

Apparently, the DS-260 is a new online form of the DS-230 that is required at the NVC stage. And the DS-261 is the online version of the DS-3032.

As far as I know, this is how the new process works:

Once a case has reached NVC and the beneficiary and petitioner get their NVC case number, they fill out the online DS-261 form to choose the "agent" where all future correspondence is sent to. This is similar to emailing/mailing the DS-3032.

The rest of the process is the same (payment portal, sending in the I-864 package). Once the IV bill is paid, the DS-260 can then be filled out online. Once the form is filled out online, the rest of the package still has to be mailed in (passport pictures, birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc).

At this time though, the DS-260 is only open to a few consulates: Amman (Jordan), Athens (Greece), Baghdad (Iraq), Ciudad Juarez (Mexico), Lima (Peru), and Montreal (Canada). NVC eventually wants this online form to be available to every country, but this process just started in October 2010 and they're currently doing testing of this new method.

This is different from EP since you still have to mail in the I-864 package and part of the DS-230 package. You don't scan anything and email it in.

Personally, I wouldn't want to do the DS-260. I'd prefer to do EP. I've seen screenshots of the online form and it's spread across many, many pages. It's the same information that's on the DS-230, but just seems way longer. In the long run, for those unable to participate in EP, I would do the regular DS-230 just because you can pre-fill it out. The DS-260, I believe, you can only fill out once the IV bill appears as PAID. With the regular DS-230, as soon as the bill appears as PAID, you can mail off the DS-230 package instead of filling out the DS-260.

Anyways, just wanted to write up a post about these new online forms.

~Lindsay

P.S. Less than 10 days till Ben is here! ^_^

DS-230 explained

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

Time to explain the DS-230! This form is the application for an immigration visa and filled out by the beneficiary (me!). It asks basic info about the beneficiary, their parents, locations lived, employment, education, etc.

This form is sent in at the NVC stage along with the I-864 that I explained last week. Before sending in the DS-230 though, the IV bill has to appear in the payment portal, then be paid, then appear as 'PAID'. Once that's done, then the DS-230 can be sent in.

The documents needed for this package are:
-cover letter explaining what is included
-receipt that you paid the bill and it was approved
-part 1 of the form (completed and signed)
-part 2 of the form (completed and UNSIGNED*)
-2 passport pictures of the beneficiary (with the beneficiary's name, date of birth, and NVC case number written on the back)
-copy of passport bio page of beneficiary
-original birth certificate, plus a photocopy**
-original marriage certificate, plus a photocopy**
-original police certificate***, plus a photocopy**

*Part 2 of the DS-230 is signed at the interview after the information is reviewed

**A photocopy of the birth certificate, marriage certificate, and police certificate is needed because the originals will be handed back at the interview and USCIS needs a photocopy for their records.

***The police certificate can either be obtained from the local police station, or in my case also the RCMP.

Back in August I went to my local police station for more information. It would cost me $60 to obtain, be valid for 6 months, and if no problems, would only take a day or two to get. Because it's only valid for 6 months, I'm probably going to get it in December. I'd like it to be valid for the interview as well since I don't want to pay another $60 for another one. I don't want to wait till our I-130 is approved in case it takes a bit longer to get the police certificate. But I guess I'd rather pay a second $60 than be delayed awhile at NVC. So watch out for a post in December about the police certificate (unless I change my mind).

I also saw a few people on VJ getting RFE's for prior visas. They've all been about J1 visas, but even though I had a different visa, I'm still going to include an explanation of my previous visa, just to be on the safe side. I had an L2 (child of an L1 visa holder) back in 2005. My mother had an L1 (intra-company transfer) when her work moved from Quebec to Florida. I moved back to Quebec 2 years later when I finished high school. I'm going to try to get from my mother a photocopy of our notices of approvals and I'm going to include a photocopy of my old passport with the stamp in it from July, 2005 when we went through the border with our visas.

Also, not to forget that the case number must be written on all pages in the package at the top right corner except for the bar-coded receipt page.

If Ben and I opt in for electronic processing, the process is a little different. The DS-230 requires 2 passport pictures, so a photocopy of 2 pictures with different named files should be attached in the email (as silly as it sounds). Also, a scan of the original civil documents. At the interview then the original DS-230 forms and documents are handed in (minus the original civil documents). I forgot to mention this in the I-864 post, but it would be the same thing. Scan all the documents and attach it in the emails and bring in all originals at the interview to hand in (forms, employment letter, pay stubs, etc)

~Lindsay

I-864 explained

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*

Today I thought I'd explain everything about the I-864 form that's needed later on at the NVC stage (approximately 4 months from now, but hoping less than that). This form is essentially to show proof that the petitioner can financially support the beneficiary when they arrive in the USA.

Before sending in the form and supporting documents, you first have to wait for the AoS fee to appear on the payment portal. Once it is paid for and appears as 'PAID' on the site, then the I-864 documents can be sent in.

Ben and I will probably be using the I-864EZ form. It's essentially the same as the I-864, but if you don't have any assets, this is a shorter form to fill out. Since Ben doesn't have any assets, it would be better to use this form.

The documents needed are:
-cover letter explaining what is included in the package
-receipt that you paid for the bill and that it was approved
-the I-864/I-864EZ form
-last 3 years of tax transcripts (I've read on VJ that only one year is required, but just to be safe, send in 3)
-employment letter (signed by boss explaining what your job is, since when you have been employed, and your salary)
-pay stubs from last 6 months

On each page of the above documents, the case number must be written on the top right corner.

The I-864 is a pretty straight-forward package. If you're making more than 125% of the poverty level for your household size, then you're good to go. If you're not, then you will need a co-sponsor. At Ben's current job, he is making about $40k per year. As per the poverty guidelines, he is able to sponsor a household of 6. And since we're only two people, we'll definitely be good.

~Lindsay

DS-3032 explained

*Reference link to abbreviations/terms post*


I mentioned the DS-3032 in my post explaining the NVC process and today I'll go into more detail about it.

First off, the purpose of the DS-3032 is the 'Choice of Address and Agent' form. It basically informs NVC who you want to receive further correspondence. The beneficiary (for our case, that's me) sends the form out and, in most cases, elects the petitioner (Ben). People that use lawyers elect their lawyer for future correspondence.

It's a really simple, straight-forward one-page form. It just asks for the beneficiary's name and then the agent's name, telephone number, email address, and mail address. And then a signature at the bottom.

For electronic processing, when one sends the opt-in email, you also have to include the pdf version of the DS-3032 (signed, scanned, and then uploaded as an attachment). In the body of the email, include information such as the beneficiary and petitioner's names, dates of birth, and email addresses.

For those not doing electronic processing, there's two options. Either email in the DS-3032 using an email template. You don't attach the DS-3032 as a pdf, but write all needed information in the body of the email. Or the other option is to print out the form, sign it, and then send it off by snail mail to NVC.

In both cases, the NVC case number needs to be the subject of the email. The only difference with EP, is you include 'OPTIN' at the beginning of the subject line, followed then by the case number.

You email or mail this form out only after receiving your NVC case number and providing the beneficiary and petitioner's email addresses to an NVC operator. Afterwards, a DS-3032 kit will be emailed which includes the IIN information to continue on with the NVC process.

~Lindsay

NVC process explained

*Before I begin, a note: I edited the abbreviations entry to add a few terms that I'll be using today that I forgot to include before*

I thought today I'd give a general overview of the whole NVC process which Ben and I should get into in about 4 months (hoping for less though!).

To start, there are two options for NVC: regular snail mail or electronic processing. But to note, EP is mandatory in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and optional for those in Montreal, Canada and Guangzhou, China. All other countries are unable to opt-in for EP at this time and have to send in documents by snail mail. Unless there's a sudden slow-down or major problems with EP between now and when we get to NVC, I believe Ben and I will be opting in for EP as it will be cheaper (no sending packages overnight to NVC) and possibly faster.

The NVC process is as follows:

1. Receive NOA2 from USCIS
2. Petition is sent by USCIS to NVC
3. NVC receives file
4. NVC assigns case number (different from USCIS number)
5. Petitioner and beneficiary's email addresses given to NVC operator
6. Email DS-3032
7. Wait for DS-3032 kit and IIN info for payment portal
8. Pay AoS bill once it appears in payment portal
9. When the bill appears as 'paid', send in I-864 forms and documents
10. Pay IV bill once it appears in payment portal
11. When that bill appears as 'paid', send in DS-230 forms and documents
12. Send in additional documents if an RFE is sent [note: if no RFE, then this step is skipped]
13. Wait for SIF
14. Call an operator to confirm that case is complete at NVC
15. Once case is complete, case is sent off to the embassy in the beneficiary's country

If the petitioner and beneficiary are proactive at this process and don't have any problems with RFE's, then one can be out of NVC very quickly, an average of 1-2 months. I even saw on the VJ forums that one person finished with NVC as little as 19 days (and that wasn't electronic processing).

If you have all forms ready ahead of time, it can really speed things up. Ben and I have most of our documents already ready. Just a few things here and there, but I'll go more in depth about these when I write up entries about the I-864 and DS-230 in the coming weeks.

I don't think it's mandatory by NVC, but it's highly recommended by all VJ members that you write your NVC case number on ALL documents. So, as soon as we get our case number, I'm going to write it on all the documents then I can finally scan them all. Ben will do the same with his documents and then send me by email his photocopies. I'll then set up the emails with all attached forms and documents, ready to send them to NVC once we can. I would just have to include the barcode/receipts once the payment portal shows the bills as paid.

If one isn't proactive, this process can take months. You don't need to always wait for NVC to email/mail you things or otherwise contact you. You should be the one calling up NVC and asking if your petition has been received, or if your case number has been assigned, or giving in your email addresses. The only actual waiting you have to do is for your IIN, your bills to appear as paid, and the case complete at the end. Everything else is dependent on the petitioner and beneficiary.

~Lindsay