What milestones should F1 records track? Priority Date, Visa Bulletin and important steps

F1 profile is a visa for single children 21 years of age or older of US citizens.

Because they belong to the family preference group with a limited number of visas, F1 applications not only need to monitor the petition status at USCIS but also must monitor Priority Date and Visa Bulletin throughout the waiting process.

This is what makes F1 case management different from just checking a Receipt Number on USCIS.

PRIORITY DATE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MARK OF F1 RECORDS

Priority Date is the date that determines the position of the application in the visa queue of the preference group.

Once the I-130 is filed, the sponsor should save the exact Priority Date and not just remember the year.

For example:

Priority Date: March 15, 2019

Category: F1

Country of Chargeability: Vietnam

This information needs to be saved accurately so it can be compared with Visa Bulletin.

USCIS APPROVED DOES NOT MEAN AN IMMEDIATE INTERVIEW IS POSSIBLE

One of the most common misunderstandings is:

I-130 Approved = profile about to interview.

This is not always true.

USCIS Approval only indicates that the petition has been approved by USCIS.

For F1 category, beneficiaries still have to continue waiting for visa availability according to regulations applicable to family-sponsored preference category.

So, after Approval, we still need to follow up:

Priority Date.

Visa Bulletin.

NVC.

CEAC.

Paper records.

Interview schedule.

VISA BULLETIN DECIDES WHERE THE APPLICATION IS IN THE WAITING QUEUE

Visa Bulletin is published periodically by the Department of State.

For F1, users need to pay attention to at least two tables:

Final Action Dates.

Dates for Filing.

These two tables have different purposes and should not be considered one and the same.

Final Action Date relates to the possibility of granting a visa when the applicable conditions are met.

Dates for Filing relate to when visa applicants can proceed with the steps to submit documents according to NVC's applicable instructions and conditions.

So don't just look at a single F1 day.

F1 MAY HAVE TO WAIT MANY YEARS

F1 belongs to the family-sponsored preference category and the number of visas is limited.

This means waiting times can be long.

The actual time should not be understood simply by taking:

Current year minus Priority Date.

The Visa Bulletin can move forward, stay still, or in some cases retrogress.

Therefore, a good application tracking tool should be based on actual Visa Bulletin data instead of giving a fixed deadline.

IS RETROGRESSION ERROROUS?

Are not.

Retrogression is a situation where the cut-off date in the Visa Bulletin is pushed back.

This may occur due to changes in visa demand and visa allocation capacity.

For example:

Last month:

F1: 01 January 2019

Next month:

F1: 01 October 2018

The date being pushed back does not mean the I-130 will be canceled or denied by USCIS.

It shows that the visa availability status has changed.

This is why people with F1 records should save the Visa Bulletin history instead of just looking at the current month.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE MONITORED AFTER I-130 IS APPROVED?

After Approval, the beneficiary should not put the application in "waiting" status.

You should continue to follow:

I-130 Approval.

Priority Date.

Visa Bulletin.

NVC Case Number.

Fee status.

DS-260.

Affidavit of Support.

Civil Documents.

Documentarily Qualified if applicable.

CEAC.

Interview.

Medical Examination.

Visa issuance.

Each milestone has a different meaning.

Do not combine everything into one "waiting" status.

NVC IS A DIFFERENT STAGE FROM USCIS

USCIS and NVC are not the same system.

USCIS processes petitions and documents under USCIS jurisdiction.

After the eligible application is transferred to the consular process, NVC will handle the steps related to the immigrant visa according to the applicable process.

Therefore, people with F1 records should save both:

USCIS Receipt Number.

USCIS Approval Date.

NVC Case Number.

Invoice ID if available.

CEAC information.

This helps avoid the situation of only tracking USCIS but forgetting the NVC stage.

CEAC ALSO NEEDS TO BE MONITORED

Once the application enters the consular process, CEAC becomes an important source of information.

However, CEAC status must be understood in the context of the entire application.

For example:

Documents have been approved by USCIS