"Extensive Background Checks" at USCIS

[elya 17]

i posted this in USCIS service centers forums as well but maybe there will be someone here who has experience with this?

In response to my recent service request to CSC about my pending I-129F (after dutifully waiting for 5 months and a week), I received an e-mail notice that my petition is undergoing "extensive background checks" and that I should receive a Notice of Action within six months. Obviously not what I was hoping to hear since others either get their approval or are notified that their case is with an adjudicator and that they will get a response within 45 days!

Anyway, hoping to hear from anyone else who got the same "extensive background checks" as to what the actual timeline is - about that? less? a lot less? more?? depends completely on and varies significantly by the case?

Thanks for any info you can provide...

[Inky 1,111]

Why was your first petition canceled/returned? Could that have anything to do with the extensive background checks?

[elya 17]

they never told us the reason. after consultation with two other lawyers we did find a mistake in our petition that may have caused it, which we've corrected in the current filing. We've also both been married before and he had been denied a different visa before we ever even applied for the first K-1. At this point I've resigned myself to the fact that we're cursed and there's nothing we can do except wait to get through these additional checks and processing... just hoping for a better idea of the actual timeline.

Edited April 29, 2011 by elya

[Inky 1,111]

That really sucks, hopefully the USCIS background checks wont be as long as AP from an embassy can be. AP at the embassy stage can be as low as a few weeks or high as a year or more.

[elya 17]

yeah we already had our 7 months of AP at the embassy :-( before they decided to return our petition. the worst waiting times are the ones with no real timeline or designated end date... it would just be nice to know if this "six months" actually means six months or if it is different in reality.

Edited April 29, 2011 by elya

[C Med 14]

Unfortunately, each case is different and no one can really offer you a response of any value in regard to a timeframe. I can however, tell you that I have seen posts from several VJ'ers in the past who have posted that they received an NOA2 shortly after being given information similar to yours (meaning, they were told to wait six months, and received an NOA2 in as little as a few days to a few weeks). So, you never can tell. I wish you lots of luck!

Edited April 29, 2011 by C Med

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

i posted this in USCIS service centers forums as well but maybe there will be someone here who has experience with this?

In response to my recent service request to CSC about my pending I-129F (after dutifully waiting for 5 months and a week), I received an e-mail notice that my petition is undergoing "extensive background checks" and that I should receive a Notice of Action within six months. Obviously not what I was hoping to hear since others either get their approval or are notified that their case is with an adjudicator and that they will get a response within 45 days!

Anyway, hoping to hear from anyone else who got the same "extensive background checks" as to what the actual timeline is - about that? less? a lot less? more?? depends completely on and varies significantly by the case?

Thanks for any info you can provide...

Depends completely on and varies significantly by case.

Depends a lot on who they are checking with, on whom they are checking and how quickly other agencies get back to them.

yeah we already had our 7 months of AP at the embassy :-( before they decided to return our petition. the worst waiting times are the ones with no real timeline or designated end date... it would just be nice to know if this "six months" actually means six months or if it is different in reality.

Did you ever find the reason it was returned? Did you rectify the reason? If not, you will likely run into the same issue after a long delay.

[elya 17]

Did you ever find the reason it was returned? Did you rectify the reason? If not, you will likely run into the same issue after a long delay.

After consultation with other lawyers we did find a mistake in our petition that may have caused it, which we've corrected in the current filing. Details in Milushka's thread about registration address on the G-325A in the RUB forum.

I got some bad news very recently related to my mother's health. I will be upset beyond belief if this results in my Mom not being able to be there for my wedding. I've already lost 2 grandparents since our original filing who will never be able to meet us as husband and wife. She's not dying, but my Mom's condition would make it difficult for her to travel once the next stage sets in. She's a U.S. citizen living abroad so us going to her for our marriage is not an option on the K-1.

My question is - would an expedite be useful at this point? I don't want to drag her through the process of getting all this documentation to me if they're just going to tell us these background checks can't be expedited.

[cgroves 0]

Why not just go abroad and hold a ceremony already for your Mom? It may not be a legal ceremony if you're doing the K-1, but the experience and memories will still be strong. I don't think an expedite would be possible - just money lost.