Artemis ...... K1.............Brazil........NSC.........4/20..............5/5
No package received, no calls, no e-mails. No interview date. Starting to get very concerned. I don´t even know if the Embassy in Rio has my case...I´m calling them tomorrow and I´ll let you know what info they will give me. Hope this helps. It´s very disturbing for all of us with our lives on hold. I have to give notice at work (I´m a College professor here) and winter vacation starts in July, ends in August. We were hoping I would be in the US BEFORE August starts... Not to mention the longing... terrible.
Anybody from Brazil who would like to share the experience, feel free to PM me.
Thank you for the amazing work you all do here.

I got quite a start when I saw your message. You have here a NOA1 of April 20 and a NOA2 of May5 from Nebraska. If that were true you would be the only one from Nebraska with a NOA2 after March 6. But then I looked at your timeline and saw that your NOA1 is in Feb and your RFE is in april.

I am so sorry Gary, I still get very confused with these dates! What is an RFE? The docs that I have here state the following:
I-797, Notice of Action
Receipt Date: Feb, 2 2006
Notice Date: April, 17

Then Rog got another one, with the RDJ Case Number, dated May 5.
Does that make more sense now?! I´m so sorry for being so lame with documents! I HATE IT!!! HATE IT!

Did you get an approval notice? A paper that said your case has been approved?
You can go to https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp and put your LIN number in there to see if your case has been approved and the date it was approved.

Here´s what I got from the link you´ve sent me:
"On April 21, 2006, this approved or re-affirmed case was shipped to the Department of State for visa processing. If you have any additional questions, please contact the Department of State."
The paper dated May 5 goes like this: " The SDNVC has recently received an approved I-29F petition filed on behalf of your fiancé.This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where your visa interview will take place"
Thanks Gary!

quote name='GaryC' date='May 21 2006, 09:33 PM' post='209185']
[quote name='Artemis' post='209176' date='May 21 2006, 09:20 PM']
I am so sorry Gary, I still get very confused with these dates! What is an RFE? The docs that I have here state the following:
I-797, Notice of Action
Receipt Date: Feb, 2 2006
Notice Date: April, 17

Then Rog got another one, with the RDJ Case Number, dated May 5.
Does that make more sense now?! I´m so sorry for being so lame with documents! I HATE IT!!! HATE IT!

[quote name='GaryC' post='209169' date='May 21 2006, 09:11 PM']
[quote name='Artemis' post='209167' date='May 21 2006, 09:02 PM']
Artemis ...... K1.............Brazil........NSC.........4/20..............5/5
No package received, no calls, no e-mails. No interview date. Starting to get very concerned. I don´t even know if the Embassy in Rio has my case...I´m calling them tomorrow and I´ll let you know what info they will give me. Hope this helps. It´s very disturbing for all of us with our lives on hold. I have to give notice at work (I´m a College professor here) and winter vacation starts in July, ends in August. We were hoping I would be in the US BEFORE August starts... Not to mention the longing... terrible.
Anybody from Brazil who would like to share the experience, feel free to PM me.
Thank you for the amazing work you all do here.
[/quote]
I got quite a start when I saw your message. You have here a NOA1 of April 20 and a NOA2 of May5 from Nebraska. If that were true you would be the only one from Nebraska with a NOA2 after March 6. But then I looked at your timeline and saw that your NOA1 is in Feb and your RFE is in april.
[/quote]
[/quote]
Did you get an approval notice? A paper that said your case has been approved?
You can go to https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp and put your LIN number in there to see if your case has been approved and the date it was approved.
[/quote]

Ok, that clears things up now. You need to update your timeline. Put April 20 as your NOA2 date and May 5 as the date the NVC got your petition. You can call the NVC to get a new case number and the date it was sent to your embassy. Don't know that number but I am sure there are people here that do.

Dang! I had not looked into this thread to see what you all are up too! Lot of work going on here...............

For whatever it's worth, IMBRA doesn't just include couples who have met by virtue of a marriage broker. Or those petitioners with a criminal past. It also speaks to multiple petition filings. SO.....USCIS is going to have to check EVERY petitioner to see if they have filed a K1 in the recent past....

I'm sure as hell no expert on this but I firmly believe that the check for multiple filings is why petitions are being recalled.

And I would like to further add that there is a little trend in AOS that I see.....there are several of us who interviewed recently that have no green cards yet because of background checks that are not complete. I have no idea if this is IMBRA related but I would not be terribly surprised to learn that.

Everyone, thank you for sharing. Like a lot of people here, this has been very hard for us. Hopefully, this week we will find some answers. Let's keep asking questions to our Service Centers and supporting each ohter through this. Like some others who have posted today, I too feel that I can't take not knowing what the next steps are or what the timeline is.

This is so hard, everything else in my life I have worked hard and was able to get what I wanted. But now it doesn't matter what I do. I am at the mercy of a system that seems hard to make a dent in. Anway . .. hoping for good news for everyone this week.

Rhonda

Yeah, your right. I wonder if someone that has had say, 3 prior filings before this law went into effect, would they be denied? Doesn't seem fair if they do since it would have happend before this law was made. I had one prior k1 visa petition but that was more than 2 years ago and I withdrew it before the visa was issued. I will prolly end up on the multi filing list but since it was more than 2 years ago it will not affect this petition.

I would just like to add.....that I have no more TO add. I 've been reading the posts all along, but I think I am completely helpless at this point. I called, and I called, I contacted my congressman, and now all I can do is wait. The system sucks
If I hear anything soon I will for sure let you guys know. I really hope that once they receive my petition back and notice that I should not be affected by this new law they will return it quickly to the embassy for a new interview date. I can only hope I will however be calling my congressmans office tomorrow and asking if they had a chance to look into my case yet, since I've signed the waiver and allowed them to inquire on my behalf end of last week.
I wish the best of luck to all of you who are waiting in complete and utter disbelief and confusion

Marina

Well Gary I can't and won't quote how the law is written regarding the multi filings - you know how I feel about that - LOL!

I only broght it up to remind everyone here - who are rightfully concerned about the slowdown - that this is the one aspect of IMBRA which IMHO will add an additional step to the process. I know that's probably no consolation, but I think it takes the mystery out of it for those who did not meet through a marriage broker or who don't have a record.

Hehe, Your right there. I will only wonder and guess but will no longer try to interpet the law! Don't want this thread nuked!!!!!

I will try to update the list a little later on, I'm at work now and it may be a few hours till I get a chance to get to it.

Nebraska Service Center
Name............K1/K3...Country..........SC......NOA1......NOA2...Returned..Interview...Canceled?....rescheduled

StellaR...........K1.....Australia.......NSC.....12/5......4/11
rusty_ash.........K1.....Philippines.....NSC.....1/12......3/7
Artemis...........K1.....Brazil..........NSC.....2/02......4/17
MrMrsKnight.......K1.....Brazil..........NSC.....3/07
Iceyspots.........K1.....Algeria.........NSC.....3/10
GaryC.............K1.....Philippines.....NSC.....3/14
wileastmot........K1.....Netherlands.....NSC.....3/23
Carldecolorado....K1.....Colombia........NSC.....3/24
Michela...........K1.....Peru............NSC.....3/24
kitkat1...........K1.....Mexico..........NSC.....3/24
LuvaLimey.........K1.....UK..............NSC.....3/27
lt&gh.............K1.....Ecuador.........NSC.....4/18
Bluesurf..........K1.....Ukraine.........NSC.....4/21
jen&darcy.........K1.....Canada..........NSC.....4/21
Neya..............K1.....Nigeria.........NSC.....5/02
USMA..............K1.....Morocco.........NSC.....5/8

California Service Center
Name............K1/K3...Country..........SC......NOA1......NOA2...Returned..Interview...Canceled?....rescheduled

Palak126..........K1.....UK..............CSC.....1/05......3/23..............5/11.........Yes..........5/17
Daphne2109........K1.....Italy...........CSC.....1/17......4/07
kimlbs............K1.....Jamaica.........CSC.....2/08
sarah and hicham..K1.....Morocco.........CSC.....2/27......5/8
Larry and Maria...K1.....Russia..........CSC.....3/01......5/08
Fixer.............K1.....Croatia.........CSC.....3/01......5/12
bwaaderant........K1.....Russia..........CSC.....3/03......5/08
Pnd629............K1.....UK..............CSC.....3/02......5/08
Derek & Yun.......K1.....China...........CSC.....3/13
jozlee............K1.....Belgium.........CSC.....3/26

Vermont Service Center
Name............K1/K3...Country..........SC......NOA1......NOA2...Returned..Interview...Canceled?....rescheduled

Aquelunya.........K1.....Israel..........VSC.....3/08......3/22.....5/11.....5/15.........Yes
expatrica.........K1.....UK..............VSC.....3/08......3/22.....5/20
Nannygirl82.......K1.....Jamaica.........VSC.....3/10......3/20..............6/23
Mike1972e.........K1.....Vietnam.........VSC.....3/13......3/27
shayrene..........K1.....Togo............VSC.....3/13......4/17.....5/6
Dowd001...........K1.....Russia..........VSC.....3/20......3/24..............6/13
Razor.............K1.....Armenia.........VSC.....3/22
react.............K1.....New Zealand.....VCS.....3/23......4/11.....5/10.....6/13.........Yes
rlt...............K1.....Brazil..........VSC.....3/29......4/17.....????.....6/06.........Yes
elizaxyz..........K1.....UK..............VSC.....4/10......4/18.....5/19
vera77............K1.....Italy...........VSC.....4/18
cdngirl06.........K1.....Canada..........VSC.....4/18......4/24.....5/12
Luis&Laura........K1.....Brasil..........VSC.....4/19
billsgirl.........K1.....Canada..........VSC.....4/29
Igor Brukker......K1.....Ukraine.........VSC.....4/29

Texas Service Center
Name............K1/K3...Country..........SC......NOA1......NOA2...Returned..Interview...Canceled?....rescheduled

JamesT............K1.....Russia..........TSC.....12/07.....3/07..............6/05
PorknBeanz........K1.....Ukraine.........TSC.....12/12.....3/14..............5/31
papatel...........K1.....India...........TSC.....12/15.....4/13
ILovenalina4eva...K1.....India...........TSC.....2/24......5/01
globetrotter......K1.....UK..............TSC.....3/10......5/11
Sacha.............K1.....UK..............TSC.....3/13
MyheartsinCanada..K1.....Canada..........TSC.....3/14
KAA...............K1.....UK..............TSC.....4/05

Missouri Sevice Center
Name............K1/K3...Country..........SC......NOA1......NOA2...Returned..Interview...Canceled?....rescheduled

hafiz30...........K3.....PAKISTAN........MSC.....3/13
terri o'neale.....K3.....UK..............MSC.....3/31

wow becca - I hadnt considered the knock-on effect on AOS - that's probably a can of worms I don't need to open right now tho eh?
Hopefully it wont take them all long - or TOO long at least - to catch up on the backgrounds checks they need to do and move forward.

Thanks for all the work you're putting into these stats, gary!

Ok.
If what we need is time, let´s remember it´s been already 12 days since the first person got a phone called saying their interview had been canceled.
I think that is enough time.

Today is a business day, after a very frustrating weekend.

We have to call them, we have to call evryone, arrange appointments, do whatever it takes.

I mean, they didn´t decide do recall the petitions and did it on the same day. So they are talking about this situation for at least 2 weeks. They should be able to give us information today.

My USC fiancée was gonna schedule an appointment with the Service Center (you can easily do that on the USCIS website by clicking on INFOPASS APPOINTMENT). It´s a free service.
Unfortunately because we decided that she is coming to my country (so we can be together for 5 days because of this turnaround) she will work for 12 a day this week and won´t be able to make it.

Please, if any of you petitioners could schedule an appointment, that would be great and I think it would be easier to find out more.

Anyways, I´m calling the brazilian Consulate within 2 hours.
I´ll post here whatever they say.

Can someone please call the USCIS now?

I call my consular today, they told me they are getting ready to send my case back to USCIS today.... if not latest by tomorrow via Fedex...

I wonder if is no an option and my case have to be send back to USCIS... why they need to take so long to send the case back... they have infrom me about the recall since last wednesday.... loosing up 3 working days now!!!!

Still feel very depress and sad....


Wendy

I'm a little confused.

Is everyone saying that those people whose petitions reccalled either met through a IMB, have a record, or have filed multiple petitions? Absolutely none of those apply to my fiance or myself and ours was recalled!!!

I don't mean to scare people but I just want you to know that some of this seems totally arbitrary!

Am on hold now with USCIS. Their hold music is SO irritating. You would think they would change it up a bit. ARGH!

I'm so frustrated.

E

Honetly, I would be relieved.

I doubt that the Consulate in Rio will send it via FedEx.

When I was waiting for packet 3 they told me they sent it by regular mail.

As the waiting is long and we don´t hear anything, I´m now worried that it will take about a month for my petition to arrive there.

Yours will be there this week!!! And I think you should keep checking the status of your case online again...

Anyways, did your Cnsular Officer tell you where did they ship to? If to your Service Center or to NVC?



Expatrica.
No, all petitions were recalled.
We THINK they are looking for people who met online or have applied for multiple k1s.

But they recalled all petitions that had left the Service Center.

Please tell us what USCIS told you!

No, I think what they're saying is that the *checks* to see if you have filed multiple petitions is likely what's holding everything up (regardless of how the couple met).

From waht I have learned they are recalling ALL K type visas regardles of how you met or if you have a criminal record.

They have issued the recall to do additional background checks on the petitioner.

Yes, which is essentially what I said.

My Consular told me they will send back my case to the USCIS, I will double check again with him tomorrow.

Me and my fiance meet through work, I have been visited US for more than 8 to 10 times within the last 3 years... They have canceled my B1/B2 VISA which valid for multiple entries for 10 years when they approved my K1 VISA during the interview... I'm stuck and going no way now...

And this is the one and the only K1 VISA my USC fiance file for me.


Wendy

In my case, the petitioner is her!
And we met in Brazil when she was on vacations.

No multiple petitions, no criminal records.

I just hope they receive our aplication soon.

I´m calling the brazilian consulate in 1 hour.
Has anyone called USCIS today?
Also, what is that other phone number they have with (TTY) ? What´s that?

TTY is for the hearing impaired.

Bah. I just tried calling USCIS, but after spending ten minutes navigating their various menu options, I was told that since hold time was projected to be half an hour or more, I should call back later. And was then politely but firmly disconnected by the automated system.

It means there must be A LOT of people calling USCIS. My fiance will also try to call them today.

I´m waiting for their reply for the e-mail I sent.

Laura,
are we trying to call the Consulate today?



I will and then, will call USCIS as well.

If the Consulate sent the petitions back via Fedex I will be happy.

Yeah, I figured everybody and their dog would be calling this morning. Hopefully someone here will get through soon and get some good info to share.

I was just on the phone with USCIS for 50 mins and spoke to two people who had no idea what I was talking about. I was then transfered to the "supervisor" and got her voicemail.

SERIOUSLY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

I just want to cry.

We are going through with our wedding but it just won't be a legal ceremony. That's not the prob - the problem is that this means L will have to return to the UK for god knows how long. :-(

Gary! Thanks for doing this.
Could you please add my info
Regards
Andy

heel_curve5
K1
Russia
CSC
NOA1:03-29-06

Also . . .

What they did tell me was that he couldn't really give me any information since he KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT. He also said that the length of time it will take to check each person depends on how common their name is. For example if your name is ann smith it might take a while because they want to be absolutely certain they have the right person.

L and I did kind of meet online but not through a MB or dating service. We've been dating since 2001 and I lived with him in the UK from 2003-2005.* I have never filed a previous K-1 application. I am so livid. I hope our case goes through fairly quickly but can't find the copy of my original app and i don't remember what I wrote in the "how we met section." :-(



*I'm a US-German citizen so I could do so legally through my EU citizenship.

Guys, it seems like USCIS is getting bothered by all the calls concerning this new IMBRA thing and all the recalled petitions.

That´s good. I think they will inform us something soon.
I don´t care. I´m calling them from Brazil today.

OK !!!

JUST CALLED THE CONSULATE IN RIO AND GOT SOME NEWS:

The Consullar Officer sounded really calm and like she knew what she was talking about.

First: She said they returned it via FEDEX, and that they have probably received it by now.

Second: SHE SAID THEY SENT IT TO NVC! She told me the NVC won´t be forwarding this to USCIS. That might explain why USCIS has no clue about what´s goin on.

Third: The reason why his is happening is simple: They didn´t security check the american citizen. That´s the only reason why they recalled the petitions. She said they (the consulate in Rio) thought they could do it just by checking their names, without requesting the petition back, but NVC wanted they returned.

Fourth: When I said "yeah, I think they are looking for people who met uinder a IMB or filled multiple petitions" she said she doesn´t think so. They just need to check the american citizen and that´s it.

Fifth: She said the Consulate will contact me as soon as they get te petition back, which should not take long.

Sixth: I know this doesn´t explain why Vermont is working so slow right now. But for the first time I hope this won´t be a snow ball.

I hope it helps you too.
And yes, of course I´m calling the NVC today.

I called the Embassy in Rio. They have my case there, not a word about recalls. She said they have already mailed Package 3. I told her I had already sent docs stating I am ready for the interview. She said I will be soon receiving a call from them scheduling the interview date, as soon as they match my case number with the forms I sent them.
Hope this helps.
Keeping fingers crossed for all of us!

Good info, rlt!!

I find it almost funny that this law goes into effect and they don't start doing these checks right away, and then have to recall people's petitions! DUH!!!!!!

I dunno about you all, but if I did my job this haphazardly, I wouldn't have a job anymore!

Exactly.

But I still wonder about things.

Last week I called NVC and they told me they shouldn´t receive anything back, since they don´t perform any security check. He said the only thing they do is to assign a case number. And if they receive something they will simply fwd it to the right Service Center.
Is that true?

That goes against the information I got from the Consulate. But I do believe them. When I called, first thing I said was "i´m one of the people whose petition was returned to the USA"
And she said "We did not receive it back yet" as if it wouldn´t take long.

Those info explain a lot, but not all, since some people said their case was recalled to Vermont, and Vermont is at a stop. That's what still needs to be answered.

I know!
I think so too. At some point we´ll have to choose who to believe.
I´m deciding today after I call the NVC. If they confirm what the Consulate told me, I think we´ll find out Vermont is not receiving any recalled aplications. They are only being submitted to the NVC.

Do they do security checks there?

As far as I know, not.

I still can't get through to Vermont. And the letter my fiance got specifically said the application was going back to USCIC-- the NVC wasn't mentioned at all.

<grinds teeth>

They must be or else Vermont wouldn't have stopped.

Can anyone from the US call USCIS nd ask if Vermont has stopped and if they are the ones performing the sec. checks on the recalled petitions?
It´s a toll free from calls within the US.

NVC is fast, I´m calling them in 10 minutes.

Ok.. I just got off the phone with the NVC officer.

She said the Consular Officer is wrong. The NVC won´t do anything with the returned petitions rather than forward them to the right Service Center.

Also, she said it´s impossible for them to know if my petition got to NVC yet. They don´t keep any record of returned petitions and they do not check any of them. They only keep records of when they receive it from USCIS and fwd them to the Consulate.

That means, my Consulate doesn´t know everything.
That also means, that might be the reason why you guys waiting for a NOA2 from Vermont are waiting longer than expected.

And, of course, that mean we should keep calling USCIS. They are the ones who recalled the petitions, who will perform this security check.

Could anyone from the US please call their toll free line asking for information?

1 800 375 52 83

Thanks.

The letter that my fiance got did not mention anything about NVC. It only mentioned USCIS as well. Hmpf.

I have looked and can't find a phone number for Vermont. In fact, when I spoke to the two morons (sorry, I'm angry!) earlier, I was told that I could not call Vermont but that I should write them a letter!!

Does anyone actually have a number for Vermont?

Just called NVC and, after going through all the menu options, was told to hang up and try again later.

*fumes*

RLT - read my earlier posts. I tried this morning and they acted like I was crazy and had absolutely no idea about the recall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone else been able to talk to someone at USCIS and actually get any info?

E

I´d like to call Vermont too.

I wonder if USCIS will update the status of my petition online when they receive it.
Is everybody checking that?

Also, if anyone find out VSC´s phone number plz post here. I´ll also call them.

Expatrica,

it depends on who answers the phone call.
I talked to this USCIS officer on friday who said he knew about the recalled petition but no one there told him about what will happen to them. And that I was his 6th phone call about the same subject that day.

He also said that in "military terms" he´s only a private there and doubted if USCIS will let them know what´s going on.

Anyways, we already know that USCIS is the one receiving the recalled petitions.
Should we call them and ask now about VSC? If they are processing I129F´s cases or not?

The Service Centers have no phone numbers, the only place to call is the NVC, if I knew Vermont's phone number I'd have called them already. So all this means they're still clueless about everything and can give us NO information at all?

No. NVC is not responsible for the recall.

We need to call USCIS and hope that at some point they will tell us what we wanna know.

To get connected with Vermont call 1-800-375-5283. Choose 1->2->6->1 and use your receipt number (EAC...) to get status on your case, after that select option 3->2 and you will be connected to Vermont.

Tried to call USCIS but the waiting time is aprox. 30min.
Can´t wait for that long since I´m calling from outside the United States.