Immigration Forum / USA Marriage Base / August 2005

Hi Herby,

To my recollection, most files don't stay long at NVC.  Perhaps a couple
of weeks at the most, then your file will be sent to Germany.  I'd guess
that going from the service center to the consulate in Germany might
take a few weeks or so.  Unless you have a hold up in security checks
which are done at NVC.

Rene

Hi Herby...
Waiting without knowing is the worst! I'll disagree with Rene; I-130-
type cases do stay a bit longer at the NVC/National Visa Center.

Your wife will receive:
DS-3032 or whatever the 'choice of agent' notice is, and return it.

DS-230, which is your visa application. You can prepare and sign this
ahead of time, get it to her, and have her return it as soon as possible

I-864 which is her Affidavit of Support. She can prepare this now so it
is ready to send when they ask for it back.

All 3 of these are separate mailings and seem to slow things down a bit.
This process can take 2-5 months.

After the NVC, your file will be forwarded to your Consulate and you
will get a further packet of info (the documents you need to collect..
you can get these as soon as possible). As soon as you notifiy the
Consulate that you are ready to interview, they will set a date for you
and *then* you'll be nearly done.

If your wife is a US citizen, there will be no visa numerical limit for
you to worry about. The visa you are applying for is not a visa waiver,
but an Immigrant Visa, class CR-1 or IR-1 depending on how long you've
been married.
HTH, meauxna

What visa waiver?  Are you waiting for a nonimmigration/tourist visa or
a spousal visa?  And a visa waiver is available to all Germans who wish
to travel to the US for pleasure unless they have a criminal history.

You will not receive the package quite yet.  Your wife has to hear from
them first with a request for the I-864 affidavit of support and to
designate who is to receive the package.  That will not be sent until
her I-864 is approved and she pays the bill for the immigration visa and
the I-864 processing.

Figure at least another month or so for that end of it to be
activated/completed.

Hi:

Sigh.  A few years back the State Department abolished the venerable
"Packet" system.

It used to be that pretty much the entire process was done at the
Consulate starting with the preliminary "Packet 3" and when case was
ready for completion, you received the "Packet 4" for the visa
interview.

Later with the creationg TIVPC and later NVC, the "Packet 3 " processing
first started stateside and was then done entirely stateside.

When the preliminary processing is done, the equivalent of the old
Packet 4 is done and that is when the consulate comes into the picture.

On "waiver" -- if you are talking about I-601 -- you have to have your
interview, be denied and then file the waiver.  I've always thought this
ridiculous, but the procedure seems to be cast in stone -- go figue.