I finally got my Green Card after more than 2 years – Here is what I learned in the process
When I went to check the mailbox today, I couldn’t have been more excited. I finally received the little Green Card that identifies me as Permanent Resident of the United States. And looking back, I wish I had found more Green Card application tips that would’ve ensured a faster
process.Why? Because it’s been over two years that we initiated the process.
Is it normal that it takes so long? It depends. Mainly on what type of visa category you’re in and where you are filing the application from. Oh, and Covid had an impact, too.
In our case, it took longer than it should have. We filed from abroad as we lived in Germany at the time and went to the visa interview in Frankfurt.
As my husband is an American citizen and we have been married for more than two years, our case was filed as an IR-1 visa.
This is one of the categories with the highest priority and presumably should have the shortest wait time. Nevertheless, we did encounter a few difficulties and made some mistakes along the way which eventually caused a delay.
Looking back at our journey, we summarized the six most important Green Card application tips to help others have a smoother process.
1. Read the instructions
One of the best resources when filling out a visa application is to actually use the guidelines and instructions that the US Department of State provides.
We had to learn this the hard way. After our initial I-130 petition was approved, we went right ahead and started filling out the DS-260 and financial sponsorship form.
The forms themselves do require some time and detail to fill out. There are not really any difficult or tricky questions or any of that sort.
But our biggest mistakes that led to a delay in the process was to not read the instructions beforehand.
The financial sponsorship form requires a signature of the sponsor. No problem, we thought.
The form was set up to be filled in online and submitted electronically through the portal.Therefore, my husband used the touchpad on his laptop to sign the document. He does this with all documents that need to be signed and submitted electronically.
However, this signature led to our document being rejected. The NVC asks specifically for the document to be signed by hand, in ink.
The NVC wait times to check the documents was about three months at the time. Hence, we waited for almost three months for the NVC to check our documents – only to be rejected due to this small mistake in formality.
We had to resubmit the document and wait another almost three months. Then, the NVC finally approved the updated document.
Therefore, we highly recommend reading in detail through the instructions when filling out any of the documents. This can save you from making some small mistake that could delay the process by a lot.
2. Prepare your documents ahead of time and make sure there are no errors
While gathering the documents to submit to the NVC, I noticed an error in my passport.
For some reason the field reserved for the maiden name was left blank. I am not sure how I missed this before. I traveled quite a bit using this passport already and never noticed this.
Once I caught the mistake, I was unsure what to do. We had already submitted our documents to the NVC a month prior.
I did end up getting a new passport and luckily, this did not delay the visa process. We were able to upload a copy of the new passport as additional document without it leading to us being pushed back to the end of the line.
I also highly recommend including an explanation in the comments when uploading additional documents. This gives you the option to point out the reason you’re submitting a new document and avoids any confusion.
3. Check if the requested documents are really needed
On another note, I highly encourage you to check whether all the documents that the NVC asks you to submit are definitely needed. This is because they might not always be required.
In my case, I was asked to submit a Spanish police certificate.
This was due to the fact that when listing all my previous addresses since the age of 16, I included an address in Spain. I lived there for six months while completing a semester abroad during my BA program.
However, according to the NVC’s FAQs, I did not need to include this as I am not a Spanish citizen and lived there for less than a year.
After reviewing the process of acquiring a Spanish police certificate while living Germany, not speaking fluent Spanish, during a pandemic where travel is more than limited – I was desperate to find out if this was truly a required document.
And believe me, I could not have been more relieved to find out it was not a requirement in my case.
I uploaded a letter instead explaining why I am not submitting this document, referring to their FAQs and how it does not apply to my case.
And it worked – the NVC did approve my documents without the Spanish police certificate. This saved me the huge hassle to acquire this document otherwise.
4. Check the I-130 processing times
After filing an I-130 petition, you’ll receive a notification letting you know where your case will be processed. In our case, it was sent to Nebraska.
The USCIS website provides a link to check on current processing times. This gives you and indication on when you can expect to hear back from them.
Once we were within the processing time frame, I checked my emails vigorously multiple times a day. But we just did not hear back from them.
Once we were outside the processing time frame I submitted requests to check on our case using their online tool for “Outside Normal Processing Times”. It told me we were still within the processing time frame even though this was incorrect.
After a few frustrating weeks of not hearing back, we decided to contact the USCIS about our case. Luckily they responded quickly.
To our surprise, our case was being processed in Texas, which had much longer processing times, even though our notice said it would be sent to Nebraska.
In summary, it is worth it to check on the USCIS processing times and contact the USCIS if anything seems to be outside of the normal time frame. They might have sent your case to another service center.
5. Check the NVC’s processing timeline
Just like the USCIS, the NVC also provides resources to track which cases they are working on. This can help you predict when it will be your turn. On their website, they update which cases they are currently working on every Monday.
In our case, it was very accurate. We heard back from the NVC regarding our documents exactly when we were within the time frame that they were working on.
A second website I found quite helpful to follow the development of the NVC wait times is VisaWhen.
While the NVC updates its processing times each week, this website tracks the NVC data and gives you an overview of the change in processing times.
This means you can see whether there is e.g. a backlog and wait times are increasing or if the opposite is the case.
6. The VisaJourney.com community
One of the best resources in the whole process that I unfortunately discovered way too late is the VisaJourney.com community.
Here, fellow visa applicants share their experiences, you can ask questions in forums, and pretty much find ALL the information you need.
My favorite feature is the timeline feature.
Visa applicants can add their own timeline. This can list e.g. when they filed their I-130 petition, when the NVC approved their documents and scheduled their interview, and much more.
Looking at the timelines of other applicants that attended their visa interview in Frankfurt helped me predict exactly when my interview should be held.
I only found this website a couple of weeks before I received my interview invitation letter. It would have saved me a lot headaches if I would have found it before then and could have better predicted the process timeline.
Conclusion
Getting your Green Card requires lots of patience.
And I hope these Green Card application tips help you get through the process fast and efficient.
To be well prepared for the journey, it pays off to have all documents ready and prepared, and to read the instructions properly.
And once you get the green light, don’t forget to prepare yourself for your move to the USA!
With a little bit of preparation and the right set of expectations, you are ready to start your new life abroad!