I am so jealous but very happy for you two. I am new here but find it very comforting to see so many in my shoes. What a trip all of this is.

Best wishes


NOA! 9/21/07

My guess is (and this is only a guess) is that CSC is experiencing the same type of slow down that VSC had a few months ago. Back in September, VSC only cranked out something like 9 VJ petitions and October was much the same. November was when they picked up the pace along with December. Near as we can figure, they got tasked with other types of petitions. CSC might have taken a different approach and instead of sitting on the K1s they decided to push a bunch thru to clear room to work the other types of petition. Now, they are working the other stuff for a while. VSC did the opposite, they stopped working K1s and immediately processed other stuff.

Like I said, this is only a guess, but both service centers have "about" the same workload now, and most of the types of petitions they deal in is much the same. But, that is all I got as to hazarding a guess as to why CSC is slow now.

Congrats!!

I think Bobalouie is pretty close to the mark... I think '5 months to do a 5 minute job' is, unfortunately, over-simplifying matters; even trying to draw a direct correlation between higher fees and speedier service could be a bit too simplistic
the fact is, this is a government department, and whichever way you cut it, they have far far FAR more work than they can handle
and we can all have opinions over what should be prioritised, and we may well be right; hell, I reckon I could get things sorted out within two weeks if they'd just let me... but that's also over-simplifying matters; I'm sure we've all had days or weeks at work or at home when we simply COULD NOT COPE with the sheer volume of what we had to deal with, and this is what's happening at the service centres
add in increasing paranoia over terrorists, and (from what I've heard) increasing prevalence of actual visa fraud, and the strictures and hurdles are only going to become worse... it sucks, but like many things in this life, we all suffer because the system is broken, and because some people do the wrong thing

I'm not trying to make a point with any of the above, by the way, just answer thegreatgate's question... I don't think it's right, but then I don't think almost half the world STILL living without clean water is right either, and that doesn't change either

I have said the same thing to myself over and over!!!

As for one service centre outperforming the other... I must say I think it is disgusting - not because I begrudge Vermont but because they are demonstrating a relatively decent service while CSC lags behind and fails to demonstrate any level of service. It used to be that the monthly threads for filers were a way to compare notes but I can understand how many Sept CSC-ers could get increasingly p*ssed off that they seem to be so far behind...

*hugs to fellow CSC-ers*

Trust me - you *will* get there - it is disheartening to see others getting approved but remember that it isn't because you have been forgotten, just because CSC is lame. You might fancy setting up something like this It's a way of keeping track of how you are doing against your fellow Sept filers but it is also sorted by service centre so you can see how things really stand with you

Why does it take them five months to do a five minute job? I can only guess. Personally I think that the fee increase created a huge number of applicants and backlog. VSC and CSC were both lame - things took longer because they had more petitions to process. Now VSC seems to have sorted itself out. CSC however had the K visa petitions from TSC and... NSC? (I can't even remember - another two service centres anyway) lumped onto them - effectively (and again - an estimation based on theory) tripling their workload while VSC merely had to catch up...

Just my two penn'orth

i just took a good look at the K-1 visa timelines at CSC and it really looks like they should be getting to september soon. I know that maybe I am just trying to be optimistic (been reading the Secret), if you take into consideration that at least a few of the poeple from june and july and maybe august as well got their NOA2 and never updated their time lines then we could be getting their sooner then we think.

Thanks for all the congratulations guys. Good luck to everyone who's waiting for their approvals

And there was a time 2 months ago when the VSC crowd was saying the same thing because CSC was still cranking out K1s and VSC had stopped almost completely (9 approvals in Sept with similar results for October).

After the change by the USCIS, CSC got the Nebraska workload and VSC got the Texas workload. There were only 4 service centers before, CSC, VSC, TSC, and NSC. Now, the division is pretty much equal between VSC and CSC. VSC and CSC were both overloaded with the extra workload AND the rush to beat the increase.

I'm back after a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks with my fiancee. I'm a bit disappointed to see that CSC did nothing while I was away though. VSC is even working on October now, while CSC hasn't touched an august yet.

Hopefully, the mail service people can cetch up during this time, and reduce the delay from NOA2 to NVC. If so, then we won't see much real delay while CSC takes a break.

Brian

Welcome back Brian! How was the trip?

Yeah, CSC have been quite the little sleepy-heads over the last couple weeks. Not sure why, when I called the customer service guy insisted they were working at full speed on K-1's. Yeaeeeeh.

I'm sure you're not happy to be back, but we're glad you are. Misery loves company!

We need approval more approvale here in Sept. filers



Darn!!I guess i really don't know how to type

Thanks! The trip couldn't have been better, but as always not long enough.

I really hope CSC can get moving again soon. We'll still have a long wait once it is approved because china seems to take a bit longer than some of the other embassys.

Brian

Welcome back Brian. As you already noticed, you didn't miss much here. I am almost at the point where I don't want to check the USCIS website 2 or 3 times per day in hope that I will randomly check e-mail and the approval will be there. Unreal how I've become addicted to checking; cringing and obsessed for just a touch. I wonder if we need to start a 12 step program to get past our addiction. Damn government got us hooked.

How do you get the NVC Case Number? Is it the same as the USCIS Receipt Number?

You call the NVC a couple of days after your NOA2. You can reach them at (603) 334-0700 press 1,5 OR (202) 663-1225 press 1,0. You must talk to a live person because K1s are not entered into the automated system. Those button presses above will get you to the live person. When you talk with them, you will ask you for your case number and you give them the USCIS # and then they will look you up and give you your new NVC case #. This is the number you will have for the rest of the process.

Bobalouie..i got notice approval on Jan.15 by email then i called NVC this morning and give my receipt number..nothing show up yet on my case after two days of my receipt apporval..the lady from NVC told me that im too early calling for that ..well at least i found out that it is pretty easy calling and talking someone at NVC rather than the service center..i will try calling them again on Monday..

Can someone give me an example of what a "touch" looks like when you check your online status?

I was looking at my online case status and it said 'last updated' 11/16/2007. Did I get a touch that day and is that what the whole 'touch' thing means?

P.S. My time line now shows a March 17th approval date!?!?!? When I first entered my time line data back in September it had me for an estimated approval date as early as mid January!?!?!?

If the date changed then it was a touch.

My timeline had an estimated adjudication date of February 25th, all the way up to the day we were approved (January 11). Obviously it don't mean much.

Okay, I know I need to breathe and calm down, but man alive! It is SO frustrating to see my timeline move further and further away! It was at the very beginning of March at one point, almost in February and today it says April 1, 2008! What an April Fool's gift! I was thinking about it yesterday, realizing that the end of March will have been six months waiting to get our NOA2. It's so ridiculous considering VSC is already approving October! ARRRGHHH!

Okay, rant over. Sorry about that. I know I'm only saying things that has already been said but today I'm just frustrated! I really wanted to be home by the beginning of March for my sweetheart's birthday!

From the Washington Post:

The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said yesterday that it will take the federal government three years to clear a huge surge of citizenship applications filed last summer and return processing times to a six-month standard.

USCIS received 3 million applications for naturalization, green cards and other immigration benefits last summer, compared with 1.8 million in 2006. Officials attributed the influx to immigrants seeking to apply before a well-publicized fee increase took effect July 30, concern over the harsh tone of the nation's debate over illegal immigration and interest in the 2008 elections.

As a result, USCIS announced it will take 18 months to process applications filed after June 1, 2007, up from about seven months.

Testifying to a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee, USCIS Director Emilio T. Gonzalez said that the agency has detailed 84 workers to regional service centers, and beefed up its contract staff. It has hired 274 of a projected 723 new adjudicators using new revenue from fee increases and identified 469 retired adjudicators that the Office of Personnel Management has given USCIS permission to rehire.

"Our two year response plan will help us accomplish reducing processing times to six months by the third quarter of Fiscal 2010," which ends June 30, Gonzalez said in his written testimony.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the immigration subcommittee, said in an interview that she believes that Gonzalez "cares about this, but I also think that timeline is unacceptable. This was an entirely foreseeable surge. . . . We're going to do our best to get them the resources they need to properly process applications."

I know exactly how you feel because we have the same timeline..and we both are canadian...loll I am extremely frustrated that we have to go through this ( as canadian) since 1991 due to the fact theres some "stupid" peoples out there trying to 'visa fraud' United States....Before that we were able to get married without a %^$%^&& permission from goverment. Man that stink.....Plus I dont know in which embassy you suppose to have your interview but Montreal is experiencing a 2 months delay...Like if we are not waiting long enough grrrr..

And btw...(I need to vent here)

I dont think theres any point of being "harass" from VSC fillers...because those 2 centers obviously dont work the same way...I am truly happy for each one of you guys that been approved but i dont feel like I need some sacartisc comments from some of you.

Everytime I go here now it depress me even more

Big congrats to June filers Hermily & Ken who were approved yesterday. It's really great to see a May and now a June filer finally see an approval. Congrats to you both and best of luck to you!!

Thanks for these extenstions you shared. My fiance said that he tried calling NVC too many times but they don't put your on hold over there but asking to call back which is not that convinient, I guess. I don't know, may be he didn't try hard enough:) He got a letter from NVC in mail though. It's dated Jan14 and says that the've recently received the approved NO2 and the paperwork will be forwarded to the Embassy within a week (I really that they've sent it out already; the letter has my new case number on it, too.) I even didn't know thay issue real hard-copy letters like that.
Thanks again, and good luck !
masha

I just have one question if you don't mind, so if any body didn't get the marriage permission from goverment, he still can get married in US (civil marriage) though, right?!!

Man oh man! I just want to cry now <----- so pissed off

Are you canadian?? ....well let me say this : If you havent send all your paperwork for a k-1 right now..you still can go in US as a visitor and get married and then ask for a transfer of status... Which means you dont move from US ..you stay there and in worse case you get a immigration lawyer...However you may have to proove you never had any intention of getting married....WT%^ ( which can be the hardest part to do...and i will suggest to not get married in Vegas loll)

Before 1991 (year that US been experiencing alot of "visa fraud" from other countries) canadians were able to get married in us without any visa or other permission...without experiencing any problem and all that crap.... Oh well...

Me and my fiance decided we would do it 'legally' to avoid any risk of painful situations....But somehow we still think we should have get married the same day he proposed loll

Well best of luck to you

I've already sent my K1 paperwork, I was thinking to get married in vegas too (btw, would that be a problem!) . but what i don't understad is why would I still need the marriage permission if I don't care whither my country recognized my marriage or not as long as it's gonna be recognized in US. and what's the deal now?!!

I'm having a hard time following this. Who says you have to get "permission" to marry? As someone else pointed out, entering the US on a non-immigrant visa with the intention of immigrating is fraud. Entering the US with a non-immigration visa with the intention of marrying is not illegal, you just can't stay. It may be hard to convince an immigration officer that you intend to marry and then return to your country, but entering the US and marrying on any kind of visa is not illegal. And you do not need permission from anyone (unless one or both partners require parental consent) to marry in the US at all.

I think what she's referring to is the fact that if you have no intention of marrying your SO when you visit in the States and then spontaneously decide to marry while you're there, that you can just adjust status after you marry and not have to bother with a K1 or K3.

I think she's also stating that it's possible that a lot of couples, especially when one partner is from Canada, did this prior to 1991, even if it wasn't totally above board. (Ie/ The couple had intent to marry but made it look as though it was spontaneous in order to skip this step) I'm sure that happens now too, just a lot less I would wager. I'm sure that the regulations have become a lot more strict now than they were before.

Ok gotcha. you guys were talking about the "fiancee-visa-type-of-permission" I somehow thought you mean the "permission to marry a foreign person" that some countries required to marry someone from US or any other country that different than urs, and that USCIS won't approve the K1 and won't let you marry the US citizen without your coutry permission for that. oh that would be the hell it self! so basicaly we were talking about different thing and Mox, sorry to confus you but that's not what i meant. and I know it's stupid to do this and get married before i get my k1 approval, that will make things even worst. thank you all for responding and I'm just being frustrated. I need to hear some good news to cheer me up oh plz god plz!!!!!!!!!

Well I can't give you good news per se, but the CSC work slowdown can't last forever. As an August filer, your approval could very well be just around the corner. I doubt it will be long now.

Yeah had i been aware of the changes in timing I think I would have tried the "um well we woke up in bed together with massive hangovers and a marriage certificate on the night stand.........don't remember how we got married when or why but we are" routine.

I have a good feeling about this next week. I'm rooting for ONE CSC September NOA2 approval. Does anyone else feel optimistic?

Sooner or later, we will be begin to see an abundance of approvals and forget all about this mess and aggravation we have experienced. Hopefully more sooner than later.

Not to put a damper on but I highly doubt it. I'll put 10 bucks on the first CSC september approval occuring the week of February 25th. Anyone care to match my wager?

Queen Jenn called on Friday and the CS person indicated (but it sounds like did not come right out and say) that CSC have been tasked with other visa caseloads. If this is true, then once that load has been lifted we'll see CSC pick up again.

The bad news is that when this happened to VSC in November, it took an entire month for them to get back on track. During that time VSC had an approval rating that makes CSC's current situation look downright speedy. So if I were a betting man, I probably wouldn't take that bet because if the slow-down at CSC continues for another 2 weeks then that sounds about dead on.

On the other hand, this is USCIS. I wouldn't be surprised to see an October CSC approval tomorrow morning. It's that freaking random.

But as I said before, September filers should not be too concerned at this point. We are all still on track for a 6-month approval, which is all we can really ask for. Earlier is frosting on the cake, but we all went into this knowing that processing times were 6 months. It doesn't seem so grim when you think about it that way.

Hmm well i'd say its about 2:1 odds. So I should have at least 2 people betting against me me thinks.... of course if four or five bet against me you might as well back me mox. Is gambling illegal on VJ?

I received my receipt NOA2 notice from the mail today..It is said on the letter " The above petition has been approved, and forwarded to the listed consulate. Please contact the consulate with any question about visa issuance...etc...Which consulate they are talking about?Is that the NVC?Is somebody here got the same letter that I got?Wondering

Congrats on the NOA2! In about a week give NVC a call to see if they got your package. Call them at least weekly after that. Eventually they'll send your package to the consulate, and you should have an interview date issued by NVC.

Good luck!

Thanks mox...I notice they are been touching you ..Probably, that tickle you!Hope your's on the way.. Goodluck!

I will bet you that during the week of February 25th we will see our first CSC OCTOBER filer!!!!

Thanks you too!

I'm refering to the fact that WE (canadians) DIDNT NEED A VISA to get married with a US citizen. It was just as easy than crossing the borders... Like I said ...I DO recommand you to NOT get married in Vegas if you decide to do it without a k-1 because they are then getting really nervous about it... and can send ou back in your country for 2-3 years loll.....ITS RIDICULOUS !!! Can you imagine now if on top of getting a k-1 we would need our country permission ?? ..no comment on what that would be lolll

Anyway, I know how you feel because we are just as frustrated as you are.

But patience will one day paid off keep smiling

Is that a bet thegreatgate? if so your on!

btw anyone who hasn't read The Castle by Kafka should get the novel as soon as possible, you'll feel like the main character

Yea, mine got over there on Friday the 11th, but I called on Monday the 14th, and they said they didnt have it, and on the 15th they told me they got it on the 14th and I should call 1 or 2x per month to check status and that it would take up to 2 months to leave to the consulate. 2 days later, the 16th, they shipped it to Moscow. So, they give WAY over inflated timelines. Call back every day until it shows up. Should only take a couple of days.

Yea its a pain because if the wait times are longer than 10 minutes, they just kick you out of the system and hang up on you. After about 10 or 15 minutes of trying you can ususally get thru.

Hi Everyone, according to the website my file hasn't been touched since 11/01/2007, does this mean I am well and truelly stuffed? Its a long old wait, but I guess I have to be patient. Angela x

no, you're not stuffed... unfortunately that's a pretty standard story

personally, my last 'touched' date sat at August 2 for months... only changed once, to December 5, and on December 6 I got the CRIS email telling me we were approved
so that's what? four months of nothing