KK85

They do!

I am yet to start the second part of the process, so can't speak to you from personal experience, but this wiki is very helpful for giving a base idea of what to expect - CR-1 : British Expat Wiki - and I also find it very helpful to keep to this forum regularly and read about other peoples' experiences and timelines.

From my understanding, once our petition (I-130) has been approved, our case gets transferred to the NVC, at which point we are invited to apply for our visa. We need to complete the affidavit of support (I-864, or I-864EZ, depending upon your circumstances) and the immigrant visa application (DS-260) at this stage; we also need to pay the various fees that accompany these forms, and can then book our medical and interview. I am certain there is a lot more to it than this, and of course every case is different! There are so many people on these forums who are far more knowledgeable than me, and I'm sure they'll be around to assist you. Until then, this is a very base idea, and sometimes it's good to see it simplified a bit. Definitely have a read of that wiki!

At some point, your husband will need to apply for an ACRO (police report) and also make sure he at least has a copy of his vaccination records (I applied and paid for my full medical records to be on the safe side as I have past health issues). I made the mistake of ordering my ACRO a bit too early in the process, as although they're valid for a year for immigration purposes, they ought to be no more than six months old at the time of the medical (though some on this forum who made the same mistake as me have said this wasn't an issue for them). I recommend your husband applies for his ACRO once you've received your NOA2. But you can at least organise the medical records at this stage, and that's one thing ticked off the list. It's good to feel like you're doing something!

I am equally apprehensive and will no doubt have a ton of questions once the day arrives for my husband and I to start this second part of the process! We are due our NOA2 any day/week now, so we are slightly ahead of you - I will be updating my timeline thread with details of our journey, so please do feel free to follow that as I'm sure there will be kind, knowledgeable people offering sound advice all over it when I start panicking about what comes next. http://britishexpats.com/forum/marri...ourney-886824/

Good luck! And definitely stay active on this forum - read everything posted in the Marriage Based Visas group, especially, because even if the specifics of a particular thread don't apply to you, they are always very informative and often open our eyes up to something we've missed that might very well affect us.

AndyMan74

Everything KK85 said. A very well written and informative post (-:

Our I-130 was just filed last week in London so we have about 75-90 days to wait for NOA2. Role on May/June

notaclue

Just out of curiosity where in Scotland is he from? I'm from Glasgow!

Rete

If you filed in the UK then you are not doing the same process as KK85 or Shrinky. They are doing the CR-1 through the US service center filing. So their process at this point until it reaches London is different than yours.

shrinkydinkydoo

Notaclue - hubby is from Perth. His dad is from Glasgow though.

Does anyone know if there is a website that you can login to and check the status of I-130 and the rest of the paperwork as it processes?

Rete

You really need to make this your to-go first place each day. The first indication that your paperwork is being processed is when your check is cashed or you receive your first NOA. There isn't a site that I'm aware of for tracking the process, at least not until the paperwork goes to the NVC.

All these things are talked about often so by reading the many posts from people in your situation, you will learn more of the ins and outs than you thought possible.

I know you are anxious but please put that aside. Just because you are now married and apart doesn't mean that the relationship is not valid and that either one of you will stop loving the other. You will not die from heartbreak of separation. Rene and her husband have never lived together and they have been married for close to or more than 15 years now. I have lived apart from my husband with only occasional visits twice a year for 5 years. The marriages survived as did the feelings for each other. Yours will as well. Just get on with your life. You have so much to do to prepare for your husband to make his home with you. Concentrate on that and you will be fine.

KK85

Comments deleted. Edit: my apologies, I have just realised Rete's comment was directed to AndyMan74, not Shrinky, so the information I provided was incorrect.

I agree with Rete, that this forum ought to be your first port of call for any questions, and definitely for your reading and research. There is a platform on the USCIS website (here: https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do) on which you can view the status of your case, but you can't use this until you've received your receipt number (it'll be on your NOA1), and the general advice is to take everything you read there with a pinch of salt anyway, as it is not always updated and the information it does get updated with is minimal. Besides which, the status of my case hasn't budged for over five months, so repeatedly refreshing and hoping for a change can be quite soul-destroying!

Keep your eye out on the mail for your NOAs and for your future instructions, and become a regular on this forum.

shrinkydinkydoo

Thank you KK.

They cashed our check. I hope this means they approved I-130.

KK85

You're very welcome!

It means they've received your petition, but not that they've approved it. The approval is the bit that takes 4-6 months to process, on average. Soon you will receive your NOA1 (notice of action) in the mail, which serves to inform you that they've received your case and it's been forwarded to a service centre, where it will be added to the pile of I-130s to be worked on.

They'll notify you when they've approved your petition with an NOA2, which will be several months from now, and at which point your husband will be invited to begin proceedings to apply for the visa. Until then, you just sit back and wait!

shrinkydinkydoo

4-6 MONTHS? I thought it was 3-6 weeks to approve the petition and then the longest bit was everything after that. And so he cannot visit during this time....glad to know this.

Noorah101

If the I-130 was filed in the USA, then yes, it's months until the next step.

He IS allowed to visit during the process.

Rene

KK85

He can come to visit you at any time in this process.

This first part (the I-130 petition) is actually the longest part, usually. The advice commonly given in this forum is to expect the I-130 petition to take 4-6 months, and allow 3-5 months for what comes next. At the moment, the general consensus is that the entire process takes between 8-10 months, start to finish.

shrinkydinkydoo

I keep getting confused on the visitation thing. I've heard everything from he cannot visit here at all during the process to he can visit, but only AFTER the I-130 is approved. So he can visit while waiting for the I-130 approval?

KK85

He can. I am in precisely your husband's position (five months wait, so far!), and went to visit my husband in February. All the usual rules apply for the VWP - he can come to visit you and stay for up to 90 days.

tom169

Yes! Like Rene said: visiting is allowed.