UNCLASSIFIED STATE 00077044
P 121528Z MAY 06
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

SUBJECT: FIANCÉ(E) I-129F PETITONS RECALLED BY DHS

1. Summary: The International Marriage Broker Regulation
(IMBRA) was signed by the President January 5th of this
year. A 60-day deadline, March 5, 2006, was established
for DHS to begin asking K-1 fiancé(e) petitioners for
their criminal background information. DHS did not meet
the deadline for collecting additional information. Some
petitions filed after the deadline were approved in error
under the old procedures and sent through the National
Visa Center (NVC) to posts for processing. Approximately
1100 cases went to 95 IV-issuing posts. Posts are
preparing to return these cases as quickly as possible to
NVC. End Summary.

2. While most K-1 cases under the new IMBRA requirements
were held at the service centers pending development of a
new form I-129F, some cases were processed after March 5
using the old forms and procedures and sent to posts for
processing. The DHS Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Unit of USCIS, Status/Family Branch requested that posts
return to NVC all K1 I-129F petitions with priority dates
(date received at the DHS office) on or after March 6,
2006.

3. NVC was able to run a data base list of all petitions
meeting these criteria. We have notified those
posts that have received these cases and given them the
case numbers and further instructions. All cases on this
list, even those with firm appointments or in 221(g)
status, are to be delayed while the petition is returned
for further information. No cases in issued status will
be recalled. If posts have any question about the correct
priority date of the K1 case, they should use the priority
date (receipt date) written or stamped on the original
petition. DHS has not requested return of K3 or K4 I-129F
petitions.

4. The Department presently has no information about the
extent of delay for these cases. In the meantime DHS will
send additional questionnaires to the petitioners
inquiring about their possible criminal backgrounds. When
the petition is compliant with the IMBRA, it will be
returned to post from USCIS through NVC for processing.

5. The Department understands the additional workload of
this process and the public relations demands of
responding to disappointed petitioners and beneficiaries.
We recommend that questions be addressed directly to USCIS. The USCIS customer service number is: 800 375 5283.

Um, this is from 2006

is not this the coz of delaying the petitions this days?
or maybe i am wrong

Hi, welcome to last year!

IMBRA was enacted in March of 2006 and halted processing of I-129F petitions because the old I-129F form did not address the required IMBRA questions. Once the forms were updated and all petitioners had provided the missing information, processing resume.

If there is a slowdown in current processing, it has nothing to do with a law that was passed a year ago.

thanks so much

Phew! I almost had a heart attack!

Yeah, me, KitKat and our SO's (and many others) got to experience the delays from this last year (luckily we weren't some of the ones who got their files returned from the consulates) Ahh memories.....

Good reason to have this thread deleted - it might scare the crap out of people filing now!

"Memories . . . light the corners of my mind
misty, water-color, memories
of the way we weerrrrrrre........."

I was grabbing the Nitro tablets, myself. Whew !