Just checked the update...

As of October 5, 2007, USCIS has completed initial data entry and issued receipt notices for applications and petitions received on or before the dates indicated:
California Service Center

Form Number Date Received

I-130 8/30/2007
N-400 7/31/2007
All Other Forms 7/30/2007

Looks like we went backwards 2 weeks!

That's weird. I hope it's a data entry error.

I'm starting to believe the rumor that I-129F's are being lumped in with the I-130's is true though. Some late August filers are starting to report that they're receiving their NOA1's from CSC, which jives with the 8/30 date for I-130's. So Eric, you and I should be seeing our NOA1's in about 2 weeks if this trend holds.

I can't wait. After a full month of waiting, we will finally be out of the "waiting to wait" line, and get to stand in the "waiting" line!

We filed in September. See my signature for details. Now the wait...

Feel free to modify this letter and email/mail to your Senator/Congressman.... I already have gotten initial responses.
Its reasonable, rationale, and makes a case, without whining....


YOUR NAME
ADDRESS

October 5, 2007
Dear Senator <<NAME>,

I am one of a countless number of United States Citizens who has applied for an I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé, for my fiancé who is at this time a citizen of <<COUNTRY>>. I filed this petition on her behalf on <DATE>, and the petition was received by the Vermont Service Center on the <<DATE>>.

I have seen press releases regarding how backlogs were supposed to be cleared by certain dates, and thus the processing of these petitions should return to more desirable waiting times. However, it appears that with each passing day, the waiting gets longer and longer.

• Net/Net: If I was on a H1B work visa, and got married, the visa processing would take 24 hours. However, as a US Citizen, I have to wait for almost 8 months to 10 months to get my wife/fiancé to the U.S. Where is the justice here???

The crux of the issue is far less about processing times, but about the lack of transparency that is being displayed by United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). At one point, the web site for USCIS displayed receipt dates that had been processed, but at this time simply displays a blanket date of “6 months.”

I wish to share some specific concerns with you so as to offer insight into how the petition process is currently affecting citizens.


• Net/Net: If I was on a H1B work visa, and got married, the visa processing would take 24 hours. However, as a US Citizen, I have to wait for almost 8 months to 10 months to get my wife/fiancé to the U.S. Where is the justice here???


• Significant delays in the processing of petitions. Many of us who filed
in May through the date of this letter are noticing that an extremely small
number of petitions have been processed/approved.
• A strong opinion that the prioritization of visas from applicants to work is inappropriate compared to the processing of family and marriage based immigration.
• A lack of accountability on the part of USCIS. No matter who we speak to, no matter what we are told, it seems impossible to gain any true information.
• Extremely poor customer service. Petitioners often get the run around from those working USCIS call centers or service centers, and are often read form statements that only regurgitate the blanket information on processing times from the various web sites of USCIS. One member has had a representative tell him his case was with an officer and was to be adjudicated within a short time frame, only to still be left in the dark two weeks later.
• Continued press releases from USCIS stressing the “importance” of processing employment-based Visas, or the Adjustment of Status petitions from others who already have their visas, yet leaving any K1 or K3 petitioners in the dark on their status.

I recognize that immigration benefits for my spouses is a privilege and not a right, however, being a United States Citizen, feel I deserve accurate information and the opportunity to have my concern addressed by knowledgeable officials who can give me facts (not inaccurate time estimates and scripted misinformation designed to appease nervous and sad callers). I also understand the need for security checks, as I am aware of our national security issues, but I do not believe this is the source of the most recent delays. Only the truth and some swift action on the part of USCIS can alleviate some of the stress associated with this process. My life, along with my loved ones abroad, are on hold and we have no idea when this first part of the immigration process will conclude. It is difficult to plan weddings, coordinate other family members, or plan essentially anything until this process resolves itself.

The wait for a petition to reach National Visa Center, then the appropriate Embassy and, finally, the attendance of the beneficiary at scheduled interview can add an additional 3 – 12 months to an already excruciatingly slow process. The USCIS needs to set a reasonable goal of 90 days and/or have expedited processing available for K1/K3 VISA applicants. Currently, we are completely and utterly at the mercy of the system.

I am not trying to make ‘demands’ as such. I am beyond frustrated with the process and feel that the process should be better run, and information should be much easier to come by. As a Citizen of the country, I feel that my requests for information and action are not unreasonable. I am simply devoted Americans lost in a sea of bureaucracy and red tape. While this is a generally accepted part of American life, these petitions and visas are dealing with our hearts and souls in our significant others. I love my country, and only want to share that dream with those that we love as soon as possible.

As a citizen, I am writing to you on behalf of myself because I feel that I am at wit’s end. We want information, we want answers, and the government is failing to give us any. We are requesting that you use your connections and power to help us make this issue known. It is slowly reaching a crisis status for all of us who are awaiting these visas to be approved. Our hearts are heavy, and breaking, because we cannot do anything within the letter of the law to speed the process along and bring our loved ones into our arms. We are not asking for special treatment, we are simply asking for transparency and for answers. We hope that with your help, we can get the government to give us some answers, and maybe the situation may become more bearable.

I respectfully request a response to this letter, so that I may know that my concerns have been heard. Even if it is not feasible for something to be done immediately or at all, the knowledge that someone else knows about my personal plight and the plight of thousands of other Americans will help put my mind at ease, even if only slightly.

• Net/Net: If I was on a H1B work visa, and got married, the visa processing would take 24 hours. However, as a US Citizen, I have to wait for almost 8 months to 10 months to get my wife/fiancé to the U.S. Where is the justice here???



Respectfully,
<<NAME>>
United States Citizen

Not to be a wet blanket, but I feel it's a bit early for September filers to start contacting their representatives. Putting myself in the shoes of my representative, I'd be a little annoyed if someone who'd only filed in September was "beyond frustrated." Don't get me wrong, I'm all about pulling out the big guns when they're needed, but as a September filer...well, there's a lot of people in front of me who deserve my representative's time more than I do right now. I'd only be clogging up a pipeline that should be kept open for those who need it the most.

Also, regarding the quoted passage, which is mentioned 3 times in the letter: "Where is the justice?" seems a little strange to me. "Justice" implies criminal or civil wrongs. I don't see that as pertinent. It's also rhetorical, which is a poor way to strengthen an argument.

That would be your choice, but you dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing, and right now, it is going to be a long long long time before we see any movement. Your representative does not need to know that you are a Sept filer. Your rep should know that you are part of the process. This letter does not mention that the writer wants specific info about their case (or if I missed it, it shouldnt) only that the lack of transparency from USCIS. That is the problem here. Right now, with the way things are going, it will be a little over two years before you see your NOA2 based on the backlog and the amount of thruput. Granted, its not going to take that long, but it wouldnt surprise me to see the USCIS change the 6 month timeline to 8 months or 10 months before my petition is approved. If you are prepared to wait that long, more power to you, but I am not. This process is already very expensive and very long and heartbreaking. If I can get some help from my reps, simply because they are making a few calls to find out what the deal is, and that prompts USCIS to start working on all the people ahead of me, it only means I move up the list.

Edited to add:

We all know how the government works, and if you dont start talking to people before you need help, by the time you need help it is too late to get any help. It is unfortunate that this is the way that it works and everybody is slow, but if you dont start now, it will be too late.

Anyone have any speculation as to why NOA1's are being issued so much faster through VSC as opposed to CSC? Shouldn't they be roughly the same? One would think so.

No speculation, but I did do a little number crunching on the August CSC filers to try and figure out when we can expect NOA1.

The average time between filing and NOA1 for August CSC filers who have received NOA1 is 32 days. The median time is 44 days. If you drop the 3 low turn-around times (8, 8, and 9 days) then the average goes to about 39 days, with a median of about 43 days.

So if the August filers are any indication, September filers can expect NOA1 in about 32 days on average, although 44 days would not be unusual. What I'm hoping to see are NOA1 dates under these numbers, which would indicate that CSC is starting to process petitions faster.

Edit: BTW, this indicates that some CSC September filers should have received NOA1 by now, so please drop a line and update your timelines if you filed through CSC and received NOA1.

Yes I have too much time on my hands.

Oh boy! 44 days is NOT what I wanted to hear, or even think about but I guess we do what we have to don't we?

I wouldn't say you have too much time on your hands mox! I think that you're like the rest of us, waiting. At least you're productive and I appreciate it! Thanks. It helps to at least see the numbers and know roughly what to expect. That way I know that I don't need to freak out, YET!

HI folks; I hope this is good news for those of us at Vermont. I just received my NOA1, my packet was received on Oct 2 and my NOA1 is dated October 3. I hope this indicates a staff increase at VSC and faster processing for all of us.

Good for you! Did you get it via email or snail mail?

snail mail because my check has not been cashed so did not know my number

I just signed up for email notifications and noticed I was "touched" on October 7; most likely this is because of my request for waiver for filing a second K1 Visa application; whatever the reason, I am excited.

We sent ours on Sept. 26, received by CSC on Sept. 28. Still waiting on check to be cashed and NO1A. Seems like there is a long wait recently for those 2 things to happen. I suppose everything is a long wait. Good Luck to all.
Visit My Website

33 days and still waiting for any sign of movement from CSC....I never thought that my biggest wish for my birthday would be that the government would deposit a check worth $455....and yet that is how I spent most of the day! Who would have thunk it? wanting the government to take money from me.....what a silly worl we live in!

Good luck to everyone! Much love

You're right in the ballpark with regards to the average Mo. Don't hold your breath, but if the CSC averages hold you should be getting your NOA1 any day now.

I submitted my petition and my check was cashed in a matter of days and my paper noa1 was in my mailbox in about a week. But I don't think the check cashing and noa1 are big factors. This is a long wait, no matter what way u look at it.However, i know its difficult just to see them take so long to cash the check and do the initial data entry. I am surprised they don't at least cash the checks a lot sooner...

If you notice, you had your check cashed and your NOA1 four days after you filed. That's because Vermont is SO much faster than California. The average wait time for an NOA1 from California is 33 days. Craziness I tell you! I know that the whole process is a long wait, but if I at least had my NOA1 then I think I'd feel a bit better knowing that I was waiting for a good reason! Does that make sense? I guess I just won't feel like we've actually started without at least having the check cashed.

Your feelings are exactly the same as mine, I am thankful I filed in VSC although in the end the wait will be almost the same. I am glad to see some movement of a NOA1 even though it will not affect the process one day

The ridiculous thing is after waiting for your NOA1 you must wait again for your NOA2!
Wait, wait and more wait!!

I'm still pretty surprised we haven't had any September CSC filers step forward with a NOA1. At least 4 people who have filled in their timelines should have received one by now.

Yea, VSC is fast with the NOA1 but we have only had one K1/K3 NOA2 since Sept 18th. I think you guys in CSC have had 12 this week alone. So, while you might have to wait for your NOA1 at least your service center is still working on petitions. So, even though I am in line, I probably have to wait the full 6 months now.

I am not bashing the CSC, in fact, I would trade my quick NOA1 to be at CSC now where at least I know they are working the petitions.

Of course, it will probably all balance out, because I think until they issue your NOA1, they dont officially have your petition in the line of stuff to work on. Does anyone know if that is true?

I don't know if anyone knows for sure, but what SEEMS to happen is that they go by their own 'received date' (which they put on most NOA1s along with the notice date)... you might remember a few people expressing relief because their received date was relatively accurate (ie a day or two after they sent it) even though the notice date (ie the date the service centre was finally able to issue a receipt) was a month or six weeks later... most of us think they go by received date, so you ARE in the system, and roughly in order; they just take their time to tell you

my received date is the day after it was sent, which I still find pretty amazing... and even the notice date isn't too bad, considering it got transferred from VSC to CSC

Well we never received the original NOA1...after 90 days of waiting for it we placed a service request and that´s why we got a replacement NOA1 hardcopy in the mail. So if we didn´t place the request, we would have never received the hardcopy. I think they go by their received date.

Okay - this went up 5 days overnight!?!?!? ARGH!!

Thought I would join in and share the wait.

I received the NOA1 fairly quickly - now for the longer wait...

Hey welcome and congrats on the NOA1. Your timeline says you filed on 9/8, and received NOA1...er...tomorrow?

In any case, glad to see a September CSC filer finally get an NOA1. Looks like I'm only 4 days behind you. Why oh why does there have to be a weekend NOW?

I got my NOA1 pretty fast. I'm expecting to wait apprx 5 months for the NOA2--provided that there's no RFE.

No news yet? Anyone? Anything? I'd be happy just to see someone else with an NOA1, or even with their check cashed!

I'd especially like to hear from any CSC filers. Someone in the October thread just reported having their check cashed at CSC, so...like...wtf?

If you want to see CSC filers who have their checks cashed and NOA1, just take a glimpse in the October Filers forum. I've seen 2 or 3 people who have sent their I129F early October and have checks cashed and NOA1's.

Yeah, I saw that. I'm really happy for the people who had their checks cashed, but I'm seeing red that many September filers have waited 4-6 weeks and gotten nothing but crickets.

Yeah, I'm tired of waiting for my check to be cashed. Over a month now

Hi..i'm new here, though it has been months that i've been reading your posts.

Fiance sent I-129f package to NSC-July 30
Returned asking the exact fee- Sept. 4
Sent Again now to CSC- Sept. 5
Received- Sept. 10
NOA1- Sept. 10
NOA1 hardcopy- Sept. 18

Now waiting...

I finally found the September filers thread. No NAO1 yet!

The petition was recieved on Sept. 26th. It's been 3 weeks as of today and we are still waiting for them to cash the check and send NAO1.

Makes me kinda nervous that some October filers have already received NAO1.

Tell me about it! I can't believe that October filers have waited like less than two weeks and most of us September filers don't have our NOA1's yet. What's up with that? I thought it went in the order that they received them?! Now I'm freaking out a little. I sure hope they have our petition. I would hate to have to start all over again! What a waste of a month that would be!

Welcome Brian&Kathy and Honey_me!

I'm kinda nervous too. Mine was received 9/12 and haven't heard a peep.

The thing that frustrates me isn't so much the waiting. It's the lack of consistency. I'm an engineer, and I like to figure out how things work. I've looked at trends, collected statistics, and tried to make *some* sense of what could possibly be going on over there at CSC, but nothing makes sense. It's not truly random, but there's just so much variation in the data that it's hard to see any consistent patterns either. Now it could be that there's some kind of external influence that occasionally swoops in, creates some chaos, and then swoops back out. Like perhaps additional workload being imposed that stops some processing but not others. Unfortunately USCIS doesn't see fit to provide us with any degree of clarity, and refuses to talk to us until we sit in the dark for 3 months. It's enough to make a fella start to get a little twitchy.

Thanks,

Yup, I'm with you! I'm a Mechanical drafter, and I've completed 3 of 4 years of engineering school. One could go crazy trying to predict NAO1 and NAO2 times, because the data is truely all over the place. When the petitions arrive, they must get randomly sorted into 5 or more piles, and each pile is for a different person or group to be processed. Kinda like choosing lines at the grocery store. You choose a line and hopefully you didn't choose the slow lane, or you watch others pass you by in other lines. That's the only way I can explain how you can always 'be in line', but still have others pass you by.

Hi Everyone...
Well we are also september fliers... and I think that the waiting game is the absolute worst part of all of this ... so I hear you all, I suppose the only thing going in our favor, is that eventually they will get through the pile of applications...and regardless of which line I end up in at the grocery store .... it is ALWAYS the slow one .... but wouldn't it be GREAT if they did it in reverse (dealt with all of us who put our applications in at the higher fee) first... My congratulations go out to those who are getting touches, NOA's and their checks cashed (sheesh you would think the govt. department would JUMP on the checks first and be at least depositing them) imagine all of the interest that they could be earning...
Have a GREAT day and keep on thinking that if we can all deal patiently with this process, then we will be able to deal with anything that the future will bring with it.
Tracy

Thanks, moxcamel!

We lost a month of waiting already . It took a month for us to know we have to pay $455 and not $170.

Good Luck to us all!

Hello Guys, I am an August filer myself. My advise is for everyone who hasn't received an NOA1 is to be patient. I was a little worried myself because I filed for the K-1 petition on Aug 22rd. This was right after they increased the fees.

But I did received my NOA1 on October 3rd. Took over 40 days, but it did show up. Yea, when you worry, you think of all the scenarios that maybe your petitions got lost or stolen. Trust me, I was worried myself.

I was so worried and even called USCIS, but they assured me that I will get a letter/notice one way or the other and they told me they are delayed because of the load of applications.



Remember when you sent your petitions in, make sure you keep your delivery confirmations.

Also, remember its always best to pay with a personal check so that you can track if the check was cashed.

I actually checked my online banking everyday until one day my check was cashed. My online banking has image viewer that you can check what checks are being cleared. I was able to see my CASE# on the back of the canceled check

After that I went online and check the status of my case. I received my NOA1 three days after my check was cashed.

Just be patient..... Good luck.

Good advice Mirage. I'm on day 36 without a check cashed or NOA1, and gotta admit my nerves are starting to get pretty frayed, especially after seeing October CSC filers getting NOA1 within a couple weeks or less of filing. (not that I'm bitter towards the filers, I'm always happy to see a fellow VJer make progress!) I have urged others to patience myself, and yet am having my own tried. I try to only check my online banking a couple times a day, but it's tough.

*sigh*

Just thought I'd drop by and wish you all a speedy journey. The waiting really sucks...I'm a july filer with a predicted date in december. Had to move wedding once already. Things moving well in CSC just now...jut hope they keep this up. There have been 17 K1 approvals this week from them up to wed evening.

My packet was received by CSC 9/13 and there are October filers (many) that have already received NAO1's. Now the sad thing is that they are automatically ahead of me in the wait........ Now I completely understand why some people get visa in hand in 4 to 4 and a half months and other people get visa in hand in 6-8 months!

This supposedly isn't true, according to USCIS. They claim that files are processed by received date, not by NOA1 date. But I do agree (and have ranted about it myself) that there seems to be no consistency at any point in the process, so it's just not possible to tell what the real story is.

This is interesting reading from the recent Ombudsman teleconference call last Friday:

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/gc_1192724755499.shtm

They make a point of saying that if you have not received your notice by the date stated on the receipting page, you can send an email to the Ombudsman. Not that he adjudicates cases, but hey, it can't hurt!

I'm just frustrated at this point. Why does it have to suck for August/September filers.

Sorry, but it is because I am a Sept. filer. This kinda crap always happens to me! So, you can blame it on me!

don't you think it sucks for everyone?
I'm a July filer, and not feeling massively privileged at this point

You know something Still? You make a very good point! Maybe it is not ALL my fault