My US Spouse Visa Journey

After almost 10 months of waiting, I finally got my US Spouse Visa (CR 1) last August 2017. I got a CR1 visa because my husband and I were married for less than two years when he filed the petition. In this post, I am going to share my experience, some tips as well as the timeline from filling the petition up to getting my actual visa. So lets get started!

TIP: Under normal circumstances, you won't usually need to use an agency or hire a lawyer. You can do it by yourselves! You just need to be pro-active, follow directions / guidelines and do your research. It's going to be a TEAMWORK between you and your spouse.

PART 1: Filling a Petition for Alien Relative

The first step is for the sponsor (must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident) must file Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In my case, my sponsor was my husband. Below are the documents that need to be submitted:

● A COMPLETED and SIGNED Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative. Please note, it must be completed and signed.

● A COMPLETED and SIGNED Form I-130A: Supplementary Information for Spouse Beneficiary. If you reside overseas, you must still complete Form I-130A but you do not need t sign it.

TIP: Form I-130 and Form1-130A information and instructions can be found at https://www.uscis.gov/i-130.

● Filling Fee of $535 (as of June 2018). My husband paid it through money order.

● Proof of US Citizenship. My husband sent a photocopy of his passport and birth certificate.

● A copy of marriage certificate.

●A copy of divorce decree if either you were or your spouse was previously married.

If you want to received e-notifications via email or text when USCIS accepts your immigration application, you can also submit a completed Form G-1145: E-notification of Application/Petition Acceptance.

TIP: All forms that were mentioned in this step can be downloaded at https://www.uscis.gov/i-130. I recommend printing the instructions pages and taking time to read it. I also advice keeping a personal copy of the forms for future reference.

We sent our application to

USCIS ATTN: I-130 PO Box 21700 Phoenix, AZ 85036

TIP: Where to file your application depends on where you live. You can find the direct filling addresses for Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative at https://www.uscis.gov/i-130-addresses.

For further information about where to file, you can also visit https://www.uscis.gov/i-130.

Timeline:

11/17/2016 We sent our application to USCIS.

11/29/2016 We received e-notification via email that our case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days, we received our Official Receipt Notice NOA1 (Form I-797).

1/19/2017 Our petition was approved by USCIS. We also received our NOA2 via standard mail after a couple of days.

TIP: You can track your case status at https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do using your receipt number on your NOA1 / NOA2. I suggest waiting until you have received your NOA1 before checking your case status. It will take some time depending on how fast USCIS updates their system. This appeared when we checked our status after receiving NOA2.

PART 2: National Visa Center (NVC) Processing, Fees, Collecting and Submitting Forms and Documents

So our petition was approved! We go now to the NVC part. From our experience, this part took the longest time! So patience, patience, patience. Again, being proactive and teamwork with your spouse is the key! I am going to divide PART TWO into two (2) sections:

Section A: Step 1: Choose an Agent

Step 2:Pay Fees

On February 22, 2017, we received the NVC welcome letter via email with our case number and invoice number. The letter also contains instructions for the whole NVC processing steps so everything that I will state here is included in the letter. It will also tell you how long you should wait before moving to the next step.

Step 1: Choose an Agent

Go to http://nvc.state.gov. and you can find the detailed instructions on Section A: Choosing an agent. Your agent will receive communication from NVC about your case. You may act as your own agent or you may choose your petitioner/sponsor, friend, immigration professional or any other person you trust. I assigned myself as our agent.

Step 2:Pay Fees

After choosing your agent, you should allow up to three (3) weeks before moving on to step 2. In our case, it took six (6) days before we received an email from NVC regarding the instructions for the next steps.

So there are two (2) processing fees.

● Immigrant Visa Processing Fee $325.

●Affidavit of Support Fee $120

Log in to http://nvc.state.gov/fee. You will need your Case number and Invoice number which is in your NVC Welcome letter. Please note that you cannot pay these two fees simultaneously. It took us almost two weeks before we paid the Affidavit of Support Fee.

Timeline:

1/19/2017 Our petition was approved by USCIS. We also received our NOA2 via standard mail after a couple of days.

2/22/2017 We received NVC Welcome letter with our NVC case number via email.

3/22/2017 Paid processing fees

Section B: Step 3: Submit Visa Application Form

Step 4: Collect Financial and Supporting Documents

Step 5: Submit Documents to the NVC

After paying the processing fees, we received a notification email from NVC and the Document Cover Sheet. You will attached it to the front of the documents when you submit it to NVC.

Step 3: Submit Visa Application Form

After paying the processing fees, I completed Form DS-260: Application for Immigrant Visa at https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx. You need to pay the processing fees before you can access Form DS-160.

Step 4: Collect Financial and Supporting Documents

Financial Documents

● Affidavit of Support (Form I-864EZ) You can download and see instructions for Form I-864EZ at https://www.uscis.gov/i-864ez

● IRS Tax Transcript for the most recent tax year. Since we filed an extension for the most recent tax year, we submitted IRS Form 4868.

●Form W2

● Evidence of Income My husband submitted his pay stub.

●Proof of Relationship We sent a photocopy of our marriage certificate, insurance policy stating I am his beneficiary.

●Proof of U.S. status My husband's passport and birth certificate.

Supporting Documents:

● Photocopy of my birth certificate

●Photocopy of my Passport Biographic Data page

● Police Certificate I sent a photocopy of my valid NBI clearance.

Send a photocopy of each civil documents to NVC. You will need the original copies during your visa interview.

TIP: Please note that the above documents were applicable in our case. Additional documents may be required by NVC depending on your case. You can visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc.html for additional information.

Step 5: Submit Documents to the NVC

We submitted the documents in ONE PACKAGE to NVC with the Document Cover Sheet attached to the front of the documents. It is important to submit all the required documents. Failing to do so may delay your visa processing.

TIP: Where to mail the document is stated in your Document Cover Sheet.

We sent the documents to:

National Visa Center

Attn: CMR

31 Rochester Avenue Suite 100

Portsmouth NH, 03801-2914

Timeline:

3/22/2017 Paid processing fees

4/04/2017 Completed Immigrant Visa Application (Form DS 260)

04/2017 Submitted financial and supporting documents to NVC. The longest wait starts!

07/07/2017 Received an email from NVC saying I am now in queue for interview.

PART 3: INTERVIEW: Preparation, Medical Examination, Actual Visa Interview.

Preparation

It's not over yet!

I made sure that I have all the original copies of the civil documents that we submitted to NVC. At this point, I just relaxed and waited for my actual immigrant visa interview. Until on July 18, 2017, I received an email from NVC. They already scheduled my immigrant visa interview!

TIP: Interview preparations, reminders and what to bring are all stated in the letter. I read it carefully and made a checklist of what to bring at the interview. So everything that I will discuss on this part is included in the letter so I suggest taking time to read and understand your Interview Letter.

Medical Examination

I hate cramming so after receiving my Interview Letter, I scheduled a medical exam with St. Lukes Medical Extension Clinic which is the only one that is approved / accredited by the US Embassy. Medical examinations from other physicians will not be accepted. You also need your medical examination result before your visa interview.

St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic

1177 J. Bocobo St. Ermita, Manila

Tel: (632) 521-0020 or (632) 521-8647

To schedule a medical exam, you need to register online at http://www.slec.ph/. You can also find the medical fees and required documents on that link. Just to give you a heads up, effective medical fees as of October 2017 is Php 17,025 for 15 years of age and older and Php 9583 for less than 15 years old. When I did my medical exam, it cost Php 16042. As far as I remember, I got the result in less than a week.

ACTUAL VISA INTERVIEW

Today is the day! August 24, 2017. After waiting for a couple of months, now I am finally here. I still remember how nervous and excited I am on that day. I was nervous not because I entered a fraud marriage. Of course not. Being in a long distance relationship with my husband for almost two years was very difficult. I am anxious about the emotional burden it will bring to us if I get denied. On the other hand, I was excited too! :)

So I brought these documents at the interview:

●Appointment Letter ( Interview letter L4)

●Unexpired Passport and a photocopy of the biographic page

●Two (2) color photographs size 2 inch by 2 inch

●Confirmation page from the DS-260 Application for an Immigrant Visa

●Original and photocopy of Marriage Certificate

●Original and photocopy of my Birth Certificate

●Medical examination result in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives you the result).

●Original Police Certificate. I submitted a valid NBI clearance since

●Affidavit of Support Form

●Most recent federal US income tax return

●Appropriate W2

●Proof of US petitioner's status and domicile. I brought a photocopy of my husband's passport and birth certificate.

●Evidence of relationship between the petitioner and applicant. I brought some of our photos and money transfers.

Please note that additional documents may be required based on your case. Those were the listed documents in my Appointment Letter.

So we go now to the actual interview process.

Step 1: Finger Scanning

Step 2: Initial Interview. A Filipina woman conducted the initial interview. I was asked to present the documents and a couple of questions like my husband's birth date, job and when we got married. She also asked if I have photos of us together. After that, she instructed me to proceed with the next step. It took me like 15-20 minutes from queue to interview.

Step 3: Consul Interview: I was interviewed by an American. She asked for the documents and then asked a few questions. She asked for my husband's birth date, where did we meet, when did we get married, my birthday and if I have been to another country. After that she looked at her computer screen and after a few seconds she said my visa is approved and will be delivered within two (2) weeks and I am good to go. She gave me a pamphlet about a guide to new immigrants and an instruction form on how the visa will be delivered.

I can still remember how happy I am. The feeling is incomparable. :)

TIP: BE HONEST and answer questions directly. Avoid making irrelevant comments. I was nervous and excited at the start but for whatever reason, I was very calm during the interview.

Visa Delivery

Finally! I received my Visa within two weeks after my interview via 2GO delivery

So here is a summary of the timeline from filling the petition up to getting my visa.

11/17/2016 We sent our application to USCIS.

11/29/2016 We received e-notification via email that our case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days, we received our Official Receipt Notice NOA1 (Form I-797).

1/19/2017 Our petition was approved by USCIS. We also received our NOA2 via standard mail after a couple of days.

2/22/2017 We received NVC Welcome letter with our NVC case number via email.

3/22/2017 Paid processing fees

4/04/2017 Completed Immigrant Visa Application (Form DS 260)

04/2017 Submitted financial and supporting documents to NVC. The longest wait starts!

07/07/2017 Received an email from NVC saying I am now in queue for interview.

07/18/2017 Received my Interview Appointment Letter

08/14/2018 Medical Examination

08/24/2017 Visa Immigrant Interview

08/30/2017 Received my US Visa

As of now, we are working on getting our minor son here in the US. I will be sharing our experience and some tips as well. I hope this post have helped you with your spouse visa journey in any ways. If you have any questions feel free to post on the comment box below. I would also love to hear your visa stories!