Receipt of NOA1 (First Notice of Action)

 

About 7 - 10 working days from sending the I-129F packet, you'll receive the first notice of action commonly refered to as NOA1.  This will be your first form of communication you will receive during the whole process. It is basically a letter addressed to the USC (US citizen) petitioner that tells you that your application has been received by USCIS. All I-129F packets are sent to the Texas office; but depending on their processing capacity and also your petitioner’s place of residence, they may forward your case to another service center (as they did with this example - note the address in the bottom left hand corner of the NOA1) which can be any of the below (so don't freak out):

 

• California Service Center

• Nebraska Service Center

• Texas Service Center

• Vermont Service Center

 

USCIS will send you an email or text when the Dallas Lockbox facility accepts your Form I-129F, but only if you clip a completed Form G-1145, Notification of Acceptance of Application/Petition to the front of your petition. This highly recommened step.

 

Go to the next page after receiving the NOA1 and register at myUSCIS for updates and other options that you may need while working through the process.

 

NOA1 basically looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Priority Date

 

Take note of your Notice Date as this will also serve as your Priority Date.

 

Checking Your Case Status Online

 

Also, you can check the status of your I-129F from time to time through the USCIS website by using the Receipt Number indicated in your NOA1. It will tell you at which step your case is currently.

 

RFE (Request for Evidence)

 

You may at some point receive a Request for Evidence (RFE), which can be anything such as, request for more proof, missing document(s), correction on submitted document, etc. In case you do receive one, do not panic. Simply read the instructions provided in the letter and follow them faithfully. Delays caused by an RFE can take from days to weeks, depending on the nature of the RFE and the speed to which you respond.

 

Be Very Patient

 

Since the next NOA, which is the NOA2, is the notice of the actual approval of your petition, try to be patient – which can be quite a feat. Let me let you in on a secret: the entire process will be the most trying time of your life and will require patience, And MORE patience, And even MORE patience. Just a warning.