Everyone who immigrates to the United States will need to go through all of these steps at some point:
Below are the steps that you will go through from start to finish.
Received an I-129F Approval letter also known as NOA2? Preparing for U.S. Embassy Interviews can be nerve-racking. There are two major components needed.
After your fiance is in the U.S.A. and the two of you have married within the first 90 days, they will need to adjust their status to become a Legal Permanent Residence.
If you’re holding a two-year conditional residence status, you must file to remove the condition 90 days before it expires. Too soon or to late could cause unwanted problems.
Depending on what country you are a citizen, will depend if you qualify or not? The requirements are strict and difficult to prove that you will return on your departure time?
Difference between a 10 year and 2 year green card? All K1 K3/CR1 Spouse including any arriving children must go through the two steps of permanent residency.
Becoming a U.S. Citizen may be one of the most gratifying events of your life? Many (LPR) immigrants apply within four to five years of their arrival to the U.S.
Since 2003 we have successfully assisted couples in getting their K1 and CR1 Spouse visa. Many couples are also posting testimonials on Facebook.
We are among the most competitive online service providing top-notch assistance year after year. Our fees don’t leave you broke, less stress less worry.
We give our couples assurance after we evaluate their case giving them a higher approval rating. But if for any reason we caused a denial we’ll refund you.
Lawyers have many uses that are helpful but oftentimes expensive. In many cases, a lawyer really isn’t required unless your visa process requires litigation?
There is a process that requires a U.S. sponsor to report newborns of the fiancee or Spouse to the nearest U.S. Consulate to register then a U.S. Citizen.
Undoubtedly there will be unfamiliar codes in the process in which you’re not familiar with? Many of these acronyms will be noticed along the way.
A Brief Summary About USCIS?
Excerpts of this article credits belong too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Citizenship_and_Immigration_Services
How long has USCIS been around: March 1st. 2003 was the official start date for this USCIS government agency as it replaced INS which was deemed as defunct from 1933 to 2003
Who is: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country’s naturalization and immigration system.
What they do: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. We are a component of the Department of Homeland Security.
Internet presence: USCIS official website is USCIS.gov. The site was redesigned in 2009 and unveiled on September 22, 2009.
This was also known to be the start of paper reduction as now millions every year are able to obtain free forms with several that actually allow online filing.
USCIS touches the fiance spouse visa applications first.
When the U.S. sponsor files either form I-129F or I-130 the first government agency who will handle it is USCIS. If it is approved it will then make it’s way to the U.S. Department of State.
If after they approve your petition then onward it goes to the U.S. Consulate abroad of the country where your fiance is a citizen. Once your fiance is approved at their U.S. Consulate interview it will then make its way into the hand of Customs and Border Patrol.
A more inclusive 4 – step guide is shown below:
So there are 4 U.S. government agencies that will touch the I-129F and other supporting documents.
1 USCIS – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
What’s actually takes place at this point is the U.S. Citizen is asking USCIS to recognize the foreign citizen known as the (fiancé or fiancée) by checking to make sure both truly are free to marry and intend to marry within 90 days of the fiancé fiancées admission into the United States?
USCIS will also verify that the couple indeed met one another within two years of filing the I-129F Petition. USCIS also performs adjudication by conducting background checks on each individual. If USCIS approves the Form I-129F, the approval means that USCIS recognizes there is an intended marriage. USCIS will notify the petitioner and send the approved petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC).
2 DOS – Department of State.
Since your case I-129F petition has now been approved it goes to the NVC National Visa Center which falls under USDS. From here a CASE NUMBER will be created on behalf of your (fiancé or fiancée) where from this point it will be forwarded to the US Embassy or Consulate where your alien fiance will have their interview.
The Couple needs to use this time to collect and prepare all of the required supporting documents, police records, medical records, and money that will be needed later on for the non-immigrant visa application fee and medical exam. On average there is about a six-week waiting time for the Case Number to be created.
3 The U.S. Embassy or Consulate of the Country your Alien Fiance is a Citizen of.
After approximately three weeks your I-129F petition and other supporting documents are received at the U.S. Embassy / Consulate where your (fiancé or fiancée) will undergo their interview.
Most of the time the alien fiance will be the one to create an online account where they schedule an interview by going to this page: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/SiteRegister?country=&language=
Once the interview is completed and your (fiancé or fiancée) receives their K1 Visa, they will be instructed to hand delivery case sensitive materials to their U.S. Port of entry where they must hand over the U.S. Embassy visa packet to the CBP – Customs and Border Patrol. from that point, the alien fiance hopefully will be cleared to go to their new home in America.
4 CBP – Customs and Border Patrol are the last government agency to collect your case sensitive paperwork.
At this point, the case sensitive U.S. Embassy envelope that you where instructed to hand carry the entire trip is handed over to the CBP officer where it is inspected and then later all information inside is logged in,
to the United States government system where your name, passport number, alien number, non-immigrant number, and nationality is recorded.
You will have a record showing your arrival, visa type and expiration date of the arrival which should be 90 days. A record of your I-94 Arrival/Departure can be found at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home
Also within two weeks, the Social Security Administration will have picked up on your information allowing them to issue your SS card and number for employment and health insurance.
The I-130 Spouse Visa process also has 4 steps.
1 First, it is received by USCIS: This is for IR1 – Immediate Relative and CR1 Conditional Residence. The Form is sent to a Lockbox facility for intake. The Lockbox facility does not adjudicate petitions, rather the lockbox determines whether the petitions meet the acceptance criteria?
2 If USCIS determines that your petition meets the acceptance criteria, it then will be forwarded to the DOS – Department of State, where it will undergo “Adjudication” From this point the DOS who also handles overseas processing will begin to communicate with both the sponsor and beneficiary through email.
75% of the overseas processing cases are handled from within the U.S. and done online. Certain undeveloped countries may be given a choice to further communicate and send required documents VIA postal mail, rather than through online methods?
What this means is both sponsor and beneficiary may have no choice but to attach zip files to their DOS assigned Account and pay all other required government fees online.
The DOS will be in communication with the sponsor and beneficiary VIA email and through an assigned online account they create for you.
Once everything has been finalized such as sponsors affidavit of support, financial records, police records, marriage certificate, pictures, birth certificates, passports, the DOS will be the ones to schedule the US Embassy interview.
3 Once the interview is completed and your spouse receives their C1/IR1 Visa, they will be instructed to hand delivery case sensitive materials to their U.S. Port of entry where they must hand over the U.S. Embassy visa packet to the CBP – Customs and Border Patrol. from that point, the alien spouse hopefully will be cleared to go to their new home in America.
Steps 3 and 4 are similar to that of the K1 Fiance
4 CBP – Customs and Border Patrol are the last government agency to collect your case sensitive paperwork.
At this point, the case sensitive U.S. Embassy envelope that you where instructed to hand carry the entire trip is handed over to the CBP officer where it is inspected and then later all information inside is logged in,
to the United States government system where your name, passport number, alien number, non-immigrant number, and nationality is recorded.
You will have a record showing your arrival, visa type and expiration date of the arrival, A record of your I-94 Arrival/Departure can be found at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home Also within two weeks, you should receive your Social Security card for employment and health insurance.
Within 2 to 3 weeks your 2-year conditional residence card for CR1 will arrive but for the IR1 you will receive your LPR – Green card good for 10 years.