How to Shake Your NOA2 Loose from the CSC

[TBoneTX 47,494]

As for calling - I know that T-Bone had a lot of issues in that there were many July filers being approved while he (who filed in June) was still nowhere near getting a NOA2. Every time he called he would get someone telling him they were processing in order received and generally fob him off so he generated a strategy (here) that enabled him to get some answers. I don't think he is endorsing the harassment of USCIS employees as soon as people have been waiting 1/2/3 months - just that if they appear to have been waiting an abnormally long time then there are ways and means of speaking to someone who may be a little better informed.

This is completely accurate. If I have rebeccajo's permission to embellish upon what someone else says, it can be added to the above that one front-line screener flatly refused to escalate my call to an Officer, even though she was required to when requested. On the next call, when the screener began to refuse, I stood my ground and insisted. It was then that I spoke with the Officer and asked her for a way to bypass the outright rude obstruction, and that was the Officer who provided the two strings of phone-prompts, one of which was the one that worked and which was initially reported in this thread.

Guys I see some personal jabs startng. Lets keep them out of this thread please.

OK!

[rebeccajo 14]

[...] I'd like to point out some evidence we can see from your thread.

Two of the individuals who have used your method now find themselves in Administrative Processing.

Coincidence?

Call USCIS and find out, rj. They will probably not respond to you with bellicose speculation.

TBone, you are the one who put your 'method' out here, encouraging others to try it.

You maintain the thread for the gathering of anecdotal evidence as to what has occurred with the cases of people who have tried the method.

You have two people who have used your method who find themselves in Administrative Review.

That is evidence, not speculation.

You cannot change the facts just because you don't like them.

[snowfrostedlashes 0]

Well, I don't know whether it's a good idea to call using this method or not - I'm thinking it will help in some cases and do diddly squat in others - but I do know that if my case has still made ZERO progress by June and if the front line staff are of no help I will be asking Mark to try this on the basis that it might possibly be of some help to us. I don't see how it can harm your application provided that you are polite and reasonable when speaking to the officer. And I think it likely (until informed otherwise) that cases which are overdue are already headed for administrative review rather than being put there just because you telephone. I don't see that there can be any problem with a polite enquiry regarding a case that has gone over six months.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well, I don't know whether it's a good idea to call using this method or not - I'm thinking it will help in some cases and do diddly squat in others - but I do know that if my case has still made ZERO progress by June and if the front line staff are of no help I will be asking Mark to try this on the basis that it might possibly be of some help to us. I don't see how it can harm your application provided that you are polite and reasonable when speaking to the officer. And I think it likely (until informed otherwise) that cases which are overdue are already headed for administrative review rather than being put there just because you telephone. I don't see that there can be any problem with a polite enquiry regarding a case that has gone over six months.

I guess that depends firstly on your definition of 'overdue'. Overdue as to what? The published timelines of USCIS aren't really a timeline at all. All the stated date tells you is that any cases filed within that date are not considered overdue by them. But timelines here or other sites can clearly indicate the particular service center to be moving along much more quickly than the stated dates.

I've never seen a pattern to the Admin Review cases. Anecdotally they are few and seem to be very random.

[BigCityDave 0]

Any "Trick" is not needed to get your case accepted. If you put together a good petition and double checked all your information to eliminate errors then you should be fine and not have to worry.

Patience is the key to this whole process.

[Jeraly 4]

Patience is the key to this whole process.

Wise words. It is hard and I can understand how people can get impatient - especially when VSC seems to be churning out the approvals in around a month or so at the moment (obviously there are exceptions before someone yells at me!). I know us July filers were very frustrated seeing VSC moving marginally quicker (four months instead of five!?) a few months back and so waiting 4-5 months plus still and seeing VSCers being approved in one... well... I know it would make me want to call and give hell to anyone through sheer frustration and bad luck.

Unfortunately though it is just bad luck -short of moving to a different state to ensure you can go through VSC, it appears that if you filed through CSC you are going to just have to do what Dave suggested and be patient. Of course - if it gets to 5/6/7/8 months and you haven't heard anything then sure - why not pull out all the stops and do whatever you can to get answers? I know at five months I would have been happy to get an RFE just to know that my file was still there Luckily that didn't happen for me but as I am in no rush to move just yet I would have gladly taken an RFE in place of one of my peers

Then prolly got impatient again

[sara..... 371]

Patience is the key to this whole process.

Wise words. It is hard and I can understand how people can get impatient - especially when VSC seems to be churning out the approvals in around a month or so at the moment (obviously there are exceptions before someone yells at me!). I know us July filers were very frustrated seeing VSC moving marginally quicker (four months instead of five!?) a few months back and so waiting 4-5 months plus still and seeing VSCers being approved in one... well... I know it would make me want to call and give hell to anyone through sheer frustration and bad luck.

Unfortunately though it is just bad luck -short of moving to a different state to ensure you can go through VSC, it appears that if you filed through CSC you are going to just have to do what Dave suggested and be patient. Of course - if it gets to 5/6/7/8 months and you haven't heard anything then sure - why not pull out all the stops and do whatever you can to get answers? I know at five months I would have been happy to get an RFE just to know that my file was still there Luckily that didn't happen for me but as I am in no rush to move just yet I would have gladly taken an RFE in place of one of my peers

Then prolly got impatient again

lol well said..........but im sorry i have days that i simply do not have any patience left at all......and nope im not feeling sorry for myself.....well maybe i am just a little lol but it is very difficult to have patience when ur left in a black hole that nobody can answer any questions or tell u even how long it has been in that black hole........so i have to disagree about patience being the key im more inclined to say that keeping busy is the key so that u dont become a lunatic.........and honestly at this point if someone told me anything to get it done i would try it........i know that there are few others that are on here that have been waiting even longer than i have .......and i have to give them a lot of credit........ even my perviz mr patience himself was in a poor me mood yesterday and it is the very first time in all the three years i have known him that i can honestly say that he has ever showed that he was having a hard time dealing with the inconsistency's of this process......or a hard time dealing with anything to be honest... so our roll was reversed yesterday i was the one that had to be the coherent one and i was wanting to pull all my hair out cuz i sure was not feeling too good about it myself......the people that go thru this process and stay together to realize the end of it and start their life together my hats are off to them........it takes a lot of love and being able to give each other support on the couples side to make it thru.......and it does help so much to have a place to come to that everyone is going thru the same thing u r........it is unbelievable to have a place that makes u understand are not alone in this process..... may God bless us all with the ability to have what ever it takes to make it thru...........

anyway i hope that all of us that have not made it thru make it and to all of those that have made it thru u deserve a MEDIAL......

[Jeraly 4]

But what is so great is that you can change roles like that when either of you is feeling low - Jeremy and I did/do the same - if he is having a nightmare time, I become the level-headed one and vice versa

Just think of it as character-building

Sorry - I developed a terrible (worse) sense of humour during my wait... I don't mean any offense by it - I just learned that if I was feeling cr@ppy about the whole thing then the best thing I could do was look on the bright side of everything and try and find laughter whereever I looked

Of course that means that sometimes people think I am being insensitive

[sara..... 371]

lol i know what u mean.......

[rebeccajo 14]

But what is so great is that you can change roles like that when either of you is feeling low - Jeremy and I did/do the same - if he is having a nightmare time, I become the level-headed one and vice versa

Just think of it as character-building

Sorry - I developed a terrible (worse) sense of humour during my wait... I don't mean any offense by it - I just learned that if I was feeling cr@ppy about the whole thing then the best thing I could do was look on the bright side of everything and try and find laughter whereever I looked

Of course that means that sometimes people think I am being insensitive

I don't think you're being insensitive at all. In fact I think you're being rather smart about it.

Look....here's the deal (IMO). This is US immigration. There's only one way in - and one way out. It's a monopoly; they make the rules; you either play along or you don't play at all. It's a branch of government services (which are sometimes slow and oftentimes impersonal) but it's a different branch in that it's not funded by taxes. So we don't have a 'right' to biyatch about how our tax dollars are being wasted. We are paying fees and some folks look at that as they aren't getting the timely service they pay for. That's not an invalid argument - personally I don't look at it that way because I don't equate the movement of people between nations as something akin to making a purchase.

And (this is the part nobody likes) it's a game our government doesn't have to play. They could close the door if they liked. Really.

This might sound maudlin or like overthinking, but I've never ever taken my husbands admission and continued presence in this country lightly. And that's probably why I still remain in these forums; if there is something I can do to legitimately ease the burden of others then I will do it. I don't think the business of our national security; of the journey of persons from their homeland to a new life; of the building of international families and the joyous blending of cultures that occurs from that - I don't think that's something we accomplish by 'tricks' or by flim-flamming our way through the service.

I've been in the 'blackhole' of USCIS - where NO ONE, not even the most Senior United States Senator, not even a former US Attorney - could help me or my husband. It was frustrating and maddening. We paid for a second EAD so my husband could keep working. He went on job interviews where the employers were perplexed with an EAD when expecting a greencard. We were stonewalled by mortgage lenders who refused to make a loan to someone who wasn't a permanent resident.

But you know what that was? It was just - the system. A system bogged down in archaic technology; inadequate manpower; cumbersome laws that criss cross each other; and the mandate of a President who created the Beast called Homeland Security - a department of our government barely six years old yet second only in national spending to the Defense Department.

And you think you can arm-wrestle that with an RFE trick? Personally, I'd rather not. My husband and me - we just 'lay low' through the waters of immigration and try not to make waves. We use the legal avenues and proven methods to get what we've paid for. But we are always aware that if our government ever decides to 'turn' on immigrants, it won't be the 'illegal' ones they will choose to make an example of.

After all - they don't have their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. But they do have ours.

[hoosier 0]

But what is so great is that you can change roles like that when either of you is feeling low - Jeremy and I did/do the same - if he is having a nightmare time, I become the level-headed one and vice versa

Just think of it as character-building

Sorry - I developed a terrible (worse) sense of humour during my wait... I don't mean any offense by it - I just learned that if I was feeling cr@ppy about the whole thing then the best thing I could do was look on the bright side of everything and try and find laughter whereever I looked

Of course that means that sometimes people think I am being insensitive

I don't think you're being insensitive at all. In fact I think you're being rather smart about it.

Look....here's the deal (IMO). This is US immigration. There's only one way in - and one way out. It's a monopoly; they make the rules; you either play along or you don't play at all. It's a branch of government services (which are sometimes slow and oftentimes impersonal) but it's a different branch in that it's not funded by taxes. So we don't have a 'right' to biyatch about how our tax dollars are being wasted. We are paying fees and some folks look at that as they aren't getting the timely service they pay for. That's not an invalid argument - personally I don't look at it that way because I don't equate the movement of people between nations as something akin to making a purchase.

And (this is the part nobody likes) it's a game our government doesn't have to play. They could close the door if they liked. Really.

This might sound maudlin or like overthinking, but I've never ever taken my husbands admission and continued presence in this country lightly. And that's probably why I still remain in these forums; if there is something I can do to legitimately ease the burden of others then I will do it. I don't think the business of our national security; of the journey of persons from their homeland to a new life; of the building of international families and the joyous blending of cultures that occurs from that - I don't think that's something we accomplish by 'tricks' or by flim-flamming our way through the service.

I've been in the 'blackhole' of USCIS - where NO ONE, not even the most Senior United States Senator, not even a former US Attorney - could help me or my husband. It was frustrating and maddening. We paid for a second EAD so my husband could keep working. He went on job interviews where the employers were perplexed with an EAD when expecting a greencard. We were stonewalled by mortgage lenders who refused to make a loan to someone who wasn't a permanent resident.

But you know what that was? It was just - the system. A system bogged down in archaic technology; inadequate manpower; cumbersome laws that criss cross each other; and the mandate of a President who created the Beast called Homeland Security - a department of our government barely six years old yet second only in national spending to the Defense Department.

And you think you can arm-wrestle that with an RFE trick? Personally, I'd rather not. My husband and me - we just 'lay low' through the waters of immigration and try not to make waves. We use the legal avenues and proven methods to get what we've paid for. But we are always aware that if our government ever decides to 'turn' on immigrants, it won't be the 'illegal' ones they will choose to make an example of.

After all - they don't have their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. But they do have ours.

That's my biggest gripe with this whole process. We spend alot of money for this process. Untold hours tracking down documents and jumping through legal hoops, we get no real answers or information about our cases. We choose to do this process by the correct and legal way. But our leaders and this is both parties do not have the balls to enforce the current immigration laws on the books and deal with the illegals that are here. . Any politician that supports anything other than enforcing our immigration laws and in any way supports giving a free pass to those who chose not to follow the legal process the way us at this site are doing will not ever get a vote from me.

I happen to live in a neighborhood that is primarily immigrants many of whom I know are illegals. I sometimes feel they are just looking at me and laughing. Wondering why anyone would actually pay all that money and go through all that trouble to do it the right way. When all you have to do is sneak across the border or overstay a tourist or student visa and no one will really care.

Any of us that have gone through this process should take this as a direct and personal insult and should be looking to vote for some leaders with guts to address this issue.

[Jeraly 4]

Rebecca - I feel much the same and I think it is why I have allowed my patience to develop. I'm not a patient person by nature. I've always been able to work hard and get things done. I think the lack of control and the fact that your life and future are in someone else's hands is the most frustrating thing because you *can't* do anything about it but wait.

Like you said - we have two choices - to either play the game by the government's rules or to not play at all. At the end of the ady, no matter how long it takes, how much we have to pay, how much cr@p we have to go through, eventually if we want something enough we can figure it out. And we're looking at total worst case scenario here. Let's say you're stuck in AP for three years, you get denied the visa and your appeal is rejected. Ok - so India/China/Nigeria/wherever might not have a great economy or standard of living. But is that what it is about? If you love someone enough to want to spend your life with them then you will find a way.

Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. It doesn't mean suddenly with this knowledge that we all have the patience of saints. But it does give us a common goal and the foresight to see what we are working towards which is the most important thing Sure, we all get our "down" days - we all feel sorry for ourselves and miserable that things are costing so much/taking so long/answers aren't being given. That is natural and part of the reason many of us take solace in this forum - for sympathy, a shoulder and people who can truly empathise - not just turn to for advice and information

And I still maintain that laughter is the way forward. Time goes much faster when you are happy It's hard to be happy for others when you feel so hard done by (it happens - I felt the same ). Sometimes you have to grit your teeth while smiling and saying a hearty "congratulations". But people do remember it and appreciate it and it will get to your turn eventually

Oh dear... this is a very long post for being in work

And for the record I am impatient to get my interview date now - I am *so* nervous and I know it is right around the corner but because I don't *know* it is really frustrating. And I am nervous as hell