answers from USCIS director

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Q. Some people have adopted a practice called "front loading" of petitions for certain difficult consulates or consulates in countries with elaborate traditions of engagement ceremonies, Viet Nam and Thailand for example.  It is well known this is not needed for USCIS for the petition and it is also well known that all this gets forwarded to the consulate where they cannot "refuse" to consider it as evidence of relationship.  Some consulates have a habit of refusing to look at evidence and then denying the visa for "lack of evidence". 

 

Does adding additional documents to a petition slow the petition approval process?

No, it does not slow anything at USCIS. We are now getting into the realm of DOS. CIS tends to treat the engagement ceremonies with a grain of salt. Give us some decorations and you and I can be engaged. They are sort of like Chinese notorial birth certificates. They go into an office and give some bongo bucks and say, yeah I was born in this town or province on such and such day and those people over there are my parents. If the money is good, the certificate is written and notarized. The best thing to do is provide the evidence as stipulated in the I-129F instructions. A good way of proving the 2 year meeting rule is to have a picture taken that is easily identifiable as to date taken. Holding today's newspaper with the date and headline visible is good. Vietnam, China and India (Indian sub-continent) is rife with fraud so those consulates are a bit more difficult to work with.

Q. What percentage, would you say, of USCIS work is reviewing returned petitions (returned from consulates with no visa issued)?

We really don't get a lot of returned 129Fs. There is a time limitation placed on them so it really isn't conducive to having a second look taken. Best thing to do with a denied 129F is to either re-file taking into account the outcome of the last interview. The consular officer will normally explain the deficiencies and what needs to be done to overcome them. The other options are go back and marry or (not to sound cruel) find a new fiance. Once again, the main area of denial is the countries and areas mentioned above. There are other things the consulate looks at - marriage customs in the country and social strata.

 

Q. The Department of State seems to have a similar call center to USCIS (maybe it is the same one!) Where no one can seem to get a relevent answer, particularly regarding the NVC.  I know this is not your area of responsibility but...

 

Is there a number people can call and get a knowledgeable human to speak to?  Would this regard actions at consulates as well as NVC?  A particular person or department?

4. Hate to say it but the public is at the whim of some idiot contractor. I don't think some of them walk upright. Best thing is to read the instructions and follow them to the letter. If they give some attorney lots of blank checks he is going to do just that, read the instructions. The web group you are with is another great source of knowledge and sturdy shoulders.

I am reciewing an application for a supervisory position at work so I will get back to that and will try to finish this tomorrow or Friday.

if any of this babble leaves you scratching your head and saying "what the hell is he trying to tell me" just pick up the phone and we can try the fallback plan

Edited October 14, 2009 by Gary and Alla

[Hell0W0rld 10]

cool...

[jimnlena 8]

Almost scary answers are pretty much what I expected so far!!

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Almost scary answers are pretty much what I expected so far!!

I think something very important to remember is that he speaks from the USCIS standpoint. Frontloading things such as engagement ceremonies is important for some consulates and you should definitely consider it, however it will make no difference (good or bad) to USCIS for the petition or for the AOS process. At the request of several VJ members I did ask him some things regarding conculates, NVC etc. However it is not his department and I was afraid I may not receive any deep answers on these matters.

I was also a bit surprised by his answer regarding photos with newspapers, etc. Seems very conservative. Personally I did no such thing and the photos we submitted had no date stamp even. But he is giving us some inside information on what they like to see.

[jimnlena 8]

Almost scary answers are pretty much what I expected so far!!

We did not send anything dated except copies of entrance visa stamps. Though we may have been lucky we have 10 hours of ideos of Odessa, kids, Izamail, each other seperate, but probably only 10 photos together!! Advice to others make sure pics include you and SO!!!

[thongd4me 69]

Almost scary answers are pretty much what I expected so far!!

...

I was also a bit surprised by his answer regarding photos with newspapers, etc. Seems very conservative. Personally I did no such thing and the photos we submitted had no date stamp even. But he is giving us some inside information on what they like to see.

Since I'm in Thailand now the newspaper photos will be the next item to do.

I had been thinking about that in the back of my attic-brain but was concentrating

on other things. In any case we should be well prepared.

[TBoneTX 48,449]

Very interesting, si man, especially the wisdom of being conservative (reading instructions, covering all bases in the beginning for CIS and the eventual consulate). I'm not the only one lapping all this stuff up like a tomcat in a creamery, no man -- thanks for keeping it coming.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Good information Gary, as usual . Always interesting when information falls into the "it can't hurt you" category, given that some consular offices seem easier than others.

[Chris_Жанна 11]

Almost scary answers are pretty much what I expected so far!!

I think something very important to remember is that he speaks from the USCIS standpoint. Frontloading things such as engagement ceremonies is important for some consulates and you should definitely consider it, however it will make no difference (good or bad) to USCIS for the petition or for the AOS process. At the request of several VJ members I did ask him some things regarding conculates, NVC etc. However it is not his department and I was afraid I may not receive any deep answers on these matters.

I was also a bit surprised by his answer regarding photos with newspapers, etc. Seems very conservative. Personally I did no such thing and the photos we submitted had no date stamp even. But he is giving us some inside information on what they like to see.

Excellent job. I would just like to say to Gary, It is because of your help and a lot of your posts I have read on VJ that has helped me be prepared and have success thus far in my journey. Thank you.

When I submitted my petition I included photos of me and my S/O holding a news paper. A lot of ppl told me I shouldn't have done that and that it will look "Staged". I still did it because I knew that this is a valid way of making claims for insurance companies or is accepted evidence in some court cases. Why would the USCIS be that much different?

I submitted one picture holding a news paper. I thought anymore would look staged and a bit overkill. The other photos I sent was Zhanna and I with my friends, family. Photos I thought showed a true and sincere relationship.

When me and my S/O got engaged we were in NYC so what ever pics I had (like us on the Empire State Building ) I put the date on the back of the photo as well as the tickets I bought to show " Here we are on the Empire State Building, here is the date on the photo and the ticket for admission with the same date on it".

I know that the copies of Zhanna's I-94 and boarding passes were most important but I thought it was also import to show to USCIS that besides her just being in the USA that we were together and had tickets and photos that placed us in the same time frame to her corresponding I-94 and boarding passes.

Thanks again Gary!

[jpcanon 0]

Q. Some people have adopted a practice called "front loading" of petitions for certain difficult consulates or consulates in countries with elaborate traditions of engagement ceremonies, Viet Nam and Thailand for example.  It is well known this is not needed for USCIS for the petition and it is also well known that all this gets forwarded to the consulate where they cannot "refuse" to consider it as evidence of relationship.  Some consulates have a habit of refusing to look at evidence and then denying the visa for "lack of evidence". 

 

Does adding additional documents to a petition slow the petition approval process?

No, it does not slow anything at USCIS. We are now getting into the realm of DOS. CIS tends to treat the engagement ceremonies with a grain of salt. Give us some decorations and you and I can be engaged. They are sort of like Chinese notorial birth certificates. They go into an office and give some bongo bucks and say, yeah I was born in this town or province on such and such day and those people over there are my parents. If the money is good, the certificate is written and notarized. The best thing to do is provide the evidence as stipulated in the I-129F instructions. A good way of proving the 2 year meeting rule is to have a picture taken that is easily identifiable as to date taken. Holding today's newspaper with the date and headline visible is good. Vietnam, China and India (Indian sub-continent) is rife with fraud so those consulates are a bit more difficult to work with.

Q. What percentage, would you say, of USCIS work is reviewing returned petitions (returned from consulates with no visa issued)?

We really don't get a lot of returned 129Fs. There is a time limitation placed on them so it really isn't conducive to having a second look taken. Best thing to do with a denied 129F is to either re-file taking into account the outcome of the last interview. The consular officer will normally explain the deficiencies and what needs to be done to overcome them. The other options are go back and marry or (not to sound cruel) find a new fiance. Once again, the main area of denial is the countries and areas mentioned above. There are other things the consulate looks at - marriage customs in the country and social strata.

 

Q. The Department of State seems to have a similar call center to USCIS (maybe it is the same one!) Where no one can seem to get a relevent answer, particularly regarding the NVC.  I know this is not your area of responsibility but...

 

Is there a number people can call and get a knowledgeable human to speak to?  Would this regard actions at consulates as well as NVC?  A particular person or department?

4. Hate to say it but the public is at the whim of some idiot contractor. I don't think some of them walk upright. Best thing is to read the instructions and follow them to the letter. If they give some attorney lots of blank checks he is going to do just that, read the instructions. The web group you are with is another great source of knowledge and sturdy shoulders.

I am reciewing an application for a supervisory position at work so I will get back to that and will try to finish this tomorrow or Friday.

if any of this babble leaves you scratching your head and saying "what the hell is he trying to tell me" just pick up the phone and we can try the fallback plan

Great info- thanks much for the post! I am stuck in Administarative Processing at the embassy in Bogota, going on 6 months, with no word at all...

Joe

[deer 1]

Thanks for the great info Gary!

[k.loveh 0]

Q. Some people have adopted a practice called "front loading" of petitions for certain difficult consulates or consulates in countries with elaborate traditions of engagement ceremonies, Viet Nam and Thailand for example.  It is well known this is not needed for USCIS for the petition and it is also well known that all this gets forwarded to the consulate where they cannot "refuse" to consider it as evidence of relationship.  Some consulates have a habit of refusing to look at evidence and then denying the visa for "lack of evidence". 

 

Does adding additional documents to a petition slow the petition approval process?

No, it does not slow anything at USCIS. We are now getting into the realm of DOS. CIS tends to treat the engagement ceremonies with a grain of salt. Give us some decorations and you and I can be engaged. They are sort of like Chinese notorial birth certificates. They go into an office and give some bongo bucks and say, yeah I was born in this town or province on such and such day and those people over there are my parents. If the money is good, the certificate is written and notarized. The best thing to do is provide the evidence as stipulated in the I-129F instructions. A good way of proving the 2 year meeting rule is to have a picture taken that is easily identifiable as to date taken. Holding today's newspaper with the date and headline visible is good. Vietnam, China and India (Indian sub-continent) is rife with fraud so those consulates are a bit more difficult to work with.

Q. What percentage, would you say, of USCIS work is reviewing returned petitions (returned from consulates with no visa issued)?

We really don't get a lot of returned 129Fs. There is a time limitation placed on them so it really isn't conducive to having a second look taken. Best thing to do with a denied 129F is to either re-file taking into account the outcome of the last interview. The consular officer will normally explain the deficiencies and what needs to be done to overcome them. The other options are go back and marry or (not to sound cruel) find a new fiance. Once again, the main area of denial is the countries and areas mentioned above. There are other things the consulate looks at - marriage customs in the country and social strata.

 

Q. The Department of State seems to have a similar call center to USCIS (maybe it is the same one!) Where no one can seem to get a relevent answer, particularly regarding the NVC.  I know this is not your area of responsibility but...

 

Is there a number people can call and get a knowledgeable human to speak to?  Would this regard actions at consulates as well as NVC?  A particular person or department?

4. Hate to say it but the public is at the whim of some idiot contractor. I don't think some of them walk upright. Best thing is to read the instructions and follow them to the letter. If they give some attorney lots of blank checks he is going to do just that, read the instructions. The web group you are with is another great source of knowledge and sturdy shoulders.

I am reciewing an application for a supervisory position at work so I will get back to that and will try to finish this tomorrow or Friday.

if any of this babble leaves you scratching your head and saying "what the hell is he trying to tell me" just pick up the phone and we can try the fallback plan

Thanks so much Gary for all your efforts on getting these questions answered. It sure is a blessing to have you here.

Edited October 15, 2009 by k.loveh

[thongd4me 69]

Gary, I'm currently in Thailand and all is well (just got NOA2).

When I go to USCIS to check case status & put in my "E" number, it gives my updated status.

However, when I have attempted to "sign into my account" it gives the following on the same PC:

500 Internal Server Error

This happens at certain locations only (usually hotels with anti-virus software).

Not a big worry, just a heads up to forward to VSC IT folks.

Again, many thanks.

[Darnell 8,480]

Gary - Thank you so much for this interview series. I think it was timely, and presented new info - totally wiping away the clouds of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

I can't thank you enough for doing this - I eagerly await the next installment !