Hello all, these questions are in regards to my curiosity - actually, my utter confusion.

So WHERE do all these forms get filed or processed? This would help me understand where to look to see the status of the processing cases.

Since I was filing for my wife's AOS, we filed the I-130, the I-485, and the I-131 and shipped it all to Chicago, IL where both USCIS agents and members on this board told us to send it. We later e-filed for an I-765.

We are based in Baltimore, MD and so my initial understanding is that those things are filed eventually in Baltimore, MD. However, I wanted to know the status of the processing dates, and just called and was told that the I-485s are ALWAYS processed in the local district office (for us, Baltimore) but that since my receipt numbers all have "MSC" on them, that the other forms -- the I-130, the I-131, and I-765 -- are filed at the "National Benefits Center" in Missouri.

However, when I looked for the National Benefits Center, it has NO processing date for any such I-130 -- it doesn't even exist as a row! Is the form I-130 looked at w/ the I-485 because they were filed concurrently?

Basically, which center should I look at for the processing dates and for what form?

In addition, for those who are "in the know", what's the difference betw. the District Office and Service Center? According to the website, only CA and VT process the I-130s but not the other 2 Service Centers. Why is that?

Thanks for easing my headaches =).

It works like this:

I-130 and I-485 are processed at the NBC, then passed onto your DO for final appraisal and interview. You can look at your local office for processing times, but they are inaccurate most often. I-130 is adjudicated at the same time as I-485 if filed concurrently, so the date for processing is the same as the I-485 one.

I-765 and I-131 are processed from start to finish at the NBC.

EDIT: VSC and CSC process I-130s that are not filed concurrently with I-485.

Hi,

We are in Baltimore and are in a similar situation. However, my wife absolutely has to be back in Korea in October for business reasons. Extrapolation of processing dates seems to indicate that it is likely her I-131 will not be complete by then.

Is it possible to request a rush on the paperwork? Some way to throw money at the problem to get it fixed faster? Should I get a lawyer involved?

If she leaves the country prior to completion of the I-131 what are our recourses? Can we finish processing it in country? Is it something I can just mail to her when it is done?

Thanks,
Mario

You can apply for an emergency AP, however usually emergency APs are only granted for "death or near death relative" situations. Business trips will most likely be denied. Feel free to consult a lawyer, but I don't think it will help sadly.

If she leaves the country without I-131, she will have abandoned her AOS filing, and will have to apply for K-3 I believe to return to the country.

You need to ask yourself how pressing a need that business trip really is because leaving the US without AP will cause a world of pain and most likely separation in terms of getting the green card.

Not to get into gritty details, but this involves real estate and a possible loss of a sizable chunk of money if she is not there to close out the sale of some property. There are family complications involved too that I don't want to go into here.

Our long term planning was thrown off when USCIS "misplaced" the 129-F. A tracer had to be submitted, but it was found and expedited. The I-129F took approximately 8 months to complete when we had expected 3.

Our fault for assuming that USCIS would complete the paperwork within the published limits.

If a sizeable chunk of money is involved, then its probably worthwhile asking a lawyer. They may know a way of expediting that is beyond my knowledge.

If you don't want to do that, make an Infopass at your DO for an emergency AP and try to pursuade them that your case is urgent. Just don't be surprised if they turn you away as although your case sounds very urgent, I don't think they give out emergency APs for business. Have a read of this:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/Emergency/index.htm

Understood. Thanks for your advice!