OMG!!!!!! The power went out of our office park right as I walked in the door this morning and didn't come back on until lunch...once we rebooted servers and such...there it was...an email from the Rome Consulate!

Here is what it says:


Please be advised that we have received the I-601 application for your husband and we have requested today his file from the United States.

The current processing time for these applications is approximately 90 – 180 days from the date this office received the file from the United States.

If additional information is required from you or your qualifying relative, this office will send you a separate request by mail. We ask that you please refrain from contacting us for status checks while your application is pending. Your cooperation will help ensure that we maintain our processing time.


Regards, USCIS Rome


AGH!!!! My heart is about to explode!!! I'm a little bummed that the clock doesn't start until AFTER the file from the U.S. is received. And seeing as how I have no idea how long THAT is going to take, I guess we will just hope for the best. Even if it's moving slowly, at least it's moving.

My hubbie doesn't even know yet. He is traveling home from Malaysia and won't call me until Wednesday.

PLEASE, all of my VJ buddies, PLEASE keep your paws crossed and lift up those prayers that this all happens quickly and they look favorably upon our application and my husband gets to come home after 4 long years to be with me and his son!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to get this news....just had to share!!!!

Charles and MBP....you're going to have to find me the happiest emoticon you can!!!!!!

That is great!!! I wonder if your letter to the senator is what sparked this???

What on earth would they need from the US that they don't already have? I'll definitely be sending bigtime prayers for you today!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAY
what a releif to get some information finally!
We'll be sending tons of MOJO from our end

That's great news! I know you've been waiting a long time for this news. I'm happy for you.

Its a long journey but at least you know its going somewhere! Good news!

Great news. Good luck with the rest of the process....

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful news...we will be praying for you

great news!Your on your way now that you know that they are actually processing your waiver!!!!! Hope its resolved efficently!!!!=0)

Does this mean teh trip to rome is off?


This one is called "way too happy" and i can kinda see you doing this dance when getting the e-mail

The letter was sent out Friday afternoon, so our rep doesn't even have it yet. But maybe, just maybe, there is something she can do to accelerate it. Don't hurt to cover all of the bases? Seeing as how I haven't gotten any response from them for the last year, I will be surprised if I do this time. Although, I pulled out all the stops on my creative writing and wrote one heck of letter. So, we'll see!!!!

Right after I got that email, I turned around and emailed our attorney about why they were needing a file from the U.S. I was like, what the he-ll has been traveling around the earth for the last couple of years. He said that the U.S. file has his
complete immigration history. But we have so much of that in his I-601 application file, I don't see what they could possibly need that isn't already in there!!! Duplicates of duplicates????? But, then again, we all know the archaic, idiotic system that we're dealing with.

AGH!!!!!! That is EXACTLY what I looked like! I KNOW that I looked like some prarie dog popping it's head above the cube farm! I started jumping up and down. My friends in the cubes next to me, where like "What is it? What's going on?" I was too excited to tell them at first. When I did, we all did a happy dance!!!!

Then of course, I had to call my family and then email all of our friends. Hicham tells me I shouldn't tell anybody whenever we get good news...you know the whole "evil eye" thing. But my God, I would have just burst today if I wouldn't have told half the world!!!!!!!

congrats
now at least you know what is going on..hung in there you will be with your husband soon inchaALLAH

Thank you ALL for the warm well wishes!!!

You VJers are the warmest people!! Thank you!!!

Fantastic news !!



-MK

Congrats

yay!!!! hopefully the time frame will be closer to 90 days rather than 180. best wishes!!!

I think we should still go to make sure ROME doesn't gum up the works, and while we're there we can taste all that food we talked about last week...just because we paid so much to get there in the first place.

I think allousa is picking up te tab for the trip

I'm think'in....hmmm....HE-LL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe we could ride around in the pope mobile! And eat some cannoli!

oh that calzone is going to taste soooo much better now!! Ok rows 10-20 belong to MENA...look out flight crew!

I am so very happy that atleast you know that it is not lost and something is happening. Glory to God! May things more fast now that the ball is rolling and you and your family will be reunited very soon. You will continue to be in my prayers.

Mabrook!

May you have a speedy processing from here on out!

Don't forget to eat many flavors of gelato in Rome

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so glad to see this as my first post of the day!

so happy for you girl! xoxo!

Congratulations!!!

What? You're not coming with us?

Man...if I have to foot the bill for all the MENA crew to go to Rome...who is going to pay for hubby to come home??????

I'll tell ya what...next weekend I will host a Rome slumber party! Everyone will need to bring a dish to attend. K?




I thought of you when I was posting the original message. I was like...I can't wait for her to see this!!!!!

That is wonderful news!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! to you both.



AJ1

i bought a lotto ticket. if i win, we're all going to rome to pay off that guy to process it faster! lol (and eat gelato) (*** i wish!)

Yayyyyy allousa!!!!!!!

Got a letter from Rome yesterday in the mail. Just an official letter stating about the same that the email did...just that they had received the application.

What WAS different is that the email from Rome said the 90-180 days didn't START until they received the file from the U.S.

The letter states that the 90-180 days BEGINS from the date that they received the application. Oh God, if that were true. That could mean that my habibi could be home before the end of the year. THE END OF THE YEAR PEOPLE!

Inshallah, the day will be soon that I can post on this site that Hicham is coming home and I'm going to the airport to pick him up.

I am a little nervous as I have been reading on the 601 forum on VJ that there have been alot of denials lately. None of them from Rome. We are so close to the end of our journey. It does make me very queasy to think that after 3 1/2 years of going through this nightmare, he could be denied. But can't think like that. My love is coming home. I know in my heart that he is coming home!!!!

Thanks MK!!!! You are the queen of the MOJO!!!!

I hope your husband gets here real soon!!

first i have to say I know very little about the wavier process, but i do know its important not to compare your cases to the others ones you see here on VJ. (yes i have seen some of the denial postings lately and thought of you). Each case id different.

I know this is just speculation, but I wonder if the fact that your husband's wavier is covering a situation in which he ws pending legal status when he left will work to your advantage over say someone who had accumluated years of overstay? I don;t know if circumstances com ein to play in making these deicisons.

I so hope you are right, MBP.

The one difference that I have noticed with the denials, is that those people did not have attorneys. I hired an attorney right off. He spent alot of time on our actual written request that proves hardship. We also have about 10-12 affidavits from our friends and my family and his family that also talk about what a hardship it would be for us to not be reunited, especially now that our son has been born. I think it also helped to prove the validity of our marriage, but they approved our I-130 literally years ago!

When Hicham had his interview in Casa, he had the blonde demon and she was actually super nice to him. He said that he felt like she really believed we were a family. From what I understand, the Consulate of the applicant's country does carry some weight in the decision to approve, but not all.

What a roller coaster ride this whole process has been.

Just a wee little update....

I've let you know that Rome has received the file. So I wasn't completely surprised today when I checked the "Waiver" list for Rome, and I saw his file number ON THE LIST!!! It did make my heart jump just to see it on the list!!! It's hard to believe after all this time...we are almost there.

There are 3 stages to the list...
a) Pending - which means waiting for documentation or security checks
Ready for Adjudication - Ready for case officer to review
c) Approved/Denied - Case has been completed and sent back to respective applicant's Consulate

As you know, we are in the pending stage, awaiting his file from the U.S. to arrive in Rome.

Just thought I would update you all.

I don't know, but some of the advice given to 601 filers often tells them to include evidence of rehabilitation in the case of crimes, and it makes sense that they'd worry less about someone who only overstayed because of being in a grey status during a pending application than someone who overstayed a tourist visa. Whether sense applies is hard to say, and the standard is still 'extreme hardship to the USC.'