Long wait on approval of I-130, I think something may be wrong, please help

[abezyo 35]

Hello, I'm an American citizen and I married my wife who is a Canadian citizen on June 30, 2012. We submitted our I-130 and got the NOA1 on Oct 1st 2012, it is now March 14th 2013 and I still have not heard anything back about my case. I have checked other people's timelines and several people who filed after us have already received their NOA2s and many have even progressed to the interview while I am still here waiting for my NOA2. I have had no RFe's or contact from them of any kind (will they be contacting me or her with a response?). The service center that I believe to be handling my petition is MSC (so it says on my NOA1). If anyone can provide any insight or explanation as to what is going on I would really appreicate it as I start graduate school in August and was intending to have my wife move in with me then, is this still feasible? Any help or advice will be greatly appreicated, thank you.

Additionally, if it is unlikely that my wife will be approved before August 2013 what can I do to allow her to move then and wait out the rest of the process there with me as she has scheduled a number of things to coincide to allow her to move then and if it is any later then moving will become much more difficult for us. Thanks again for any and all help.

You should call the Customer Call Center and speak to a tier 2 to find out what local office (assuming you dont live abroad) your petition is at. After that, make a infopass appointment. My NOA1 date is August 21 2012 and I havnt been approved or anything. Im also at the worse local office possible, Atlanta, and they just now have started processing all transferred petitions, so we have been told. Dont stress or go into panic mode you have plenty of time till August to get the approval and finish the visa process. Its still 5 months away

[Edit: I just read the rest of the posts and I see people have said the same thing I've said lol. I feel dumb...Make an infopass appointment and check it out. And dont stress!]

Edited March 15, 2013 by abezyo

[Kehinde 45]

Yes, I called them about a month ago, the first guy I talked to said he couldn't help me then transferred me to someone higher up the chain of command, I waited an hour on hold, then when I got the guy all he could tell me was that it was "being processed". And I call the number that is listed on my NOA1 (1-800-375-5283), I'm not sure which is my local field office but I live in Tampa, FL if that helps?

I live in Tampa Fl. too. The local office is Homeland Security on Lois Ave...Meanwhile just wait cos its really too soon for an NOA2. Ours took 6 months after we received the NOA1

Edited March 15, 2013 by Olami

[lunaboriken 2]

It is frustrating. This is a real waiting game. My husband and I never thought to really suffer the wait but we did in our own skin.

On December 13th 2011, we submitted our I-130 with I-485 AOS. After biometrics (February) they transferred the docs to California and then we heard nothing until... like I mean it... nothing. We did 2 services for request. Nothing helped. They sent us a letter in October letting us know they had to transfer our docs to Vermont. Then nothing until November that it was transferred to Missouri. Then at the end of November we got Interview notice. December 3rd 2012 we went to the interview and got verbal RFE but... then later that night we received the approval by email.

We waited a 'almost' a whole year. It is hard. Hold on my friend. Life has a real crazy stop with this wait but that is how the system is working now.

Edited March 15, 2013 by lunaboriken

[Dallas47 2]

I am in the same exact situation, except i filed on june 7th. if your case starts with EAC that meams it's at vermont service center, same as me. I know just the frustration your feeling. all we can do is wait. good luck

[removed-2014-0501 9]

Yep Orlando, Tampa and Miami is slow as a snail

[nonee1229 1]

I have almost the same problem, I live in Tampa, but idk if they transferred my case to a local office, I mean I knw their normal range time is 5 months but ppl have been getting approved a lot faster and im almost hitting the 5 months rank, I don't understand and that is what I was told its still in the NBC being processed, just curious do they categorize the cases by if the petitioner is a born citizn or a naturalized citizen???

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

I have almost the same problem, I live in Tampa, but idk if they transferred my case to a local office, I mean I knw their normal range time is 5 months but ppl have been getting approved a lot faster and im almost hitting the 5 months rank, I don't understand and that is what I was told its still in the NBC being processed, just curious do they categorize the cases by if the petitioner is a born citizn or a naturalized citizen???

It isn't still at NBC. Don't believe that for a second.

There is no difference between natural born and naturalized citizens for this purpose.

[Necraa 10]

Hmm, I called the USCIS and asked them about the delay and they said that's just how long things were taking to get processed and that I should be receiving an answer within two weeks, sigh. Researched K-3 more and realized it probably takes just as long as the I-130 to process and so there is probably no point at this stage in submitting one, so I guess I just have to hope that I can fly through the NVC and consulate stuff, I just hope there isn't a huge wait to get the interview as from what I've been reading people are getting anywhere from 2-4 months waits on their interviews Also, I called the state department trying to get some clarification on information on the next stage and spoke to the rudest woman who essentially told me I was wasting her time and hung up on me, which was upsetting after waiting on hold for 45 minutes to speak with them. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has responded here and shared your advice and stories, it's nice to know I'm not the only one going through this.

[nonee1229 1]

It isn't still at NBC. Don't believe that for a second.

There is no difference between natural born and naturalized citizens for this purpose.

what do I do?? I want to know what is happening with my case, are they even looking at it or is it just hangin under some employee's McDonalds bag chillin till he or she feels like working on it????? I mean what is happening, how do I find out something or anything??????

[Robinhood 13]

I have almost the same problem, I live in Tampa, but idk if they transferred my case to a local office, I mean I knw their normal range time is 5 months but ppl have been getting approved a lot faster and im almost hitting the 5 months rank, I don't understand and that is what I was told its still in the NBC being processed, just curious do they categorize the cases by if the petitioner is a born citizn or a naturalized citizen???

Do not believe what they tell you over the phone. If you can, please try to find out by going to your local office and ask them if they have your case.

I called them earlier in FEB and had a talk with T2 officer who told me that my case is still at NBC, but after 2 weeks when I called USCIS, T2 officer said my case was transfer to local office on JAN 9. So the point is DO NOT TRUST what you hear on the phone.

[Robinhood 13]

what do I do?? I want to know what is happening with my case, are they even looking at it or is it just hangin under some employee's McDonalds bag chillin till he or she feels like working on it????? I mean what is happening, how do I find out something or anything??????

Go to your local field office and find out. You do not have any other choice besides waiting. I understand your situation as I am in the same boat. Keep your self busy, don't think about it much and try to get all your documents ready for NVC process.

[hikergirl 277]

The first two threads of the Mar NVC thread will give you reading material for what to do for NVC.

Necraa: There is a link to the Canadian Montreal NVC Wiki in the first post I believe. Saylin tells you how to get through as fast as possible.

Good luck and hopefully speedy NOA2s everyone!

[Mina90 134]

Hello, I'm an American citizen and I married my wife who is a Canadian citizen on June 30, 2012. We submitted our I-130 and got the NOA1 on Oct 1st 2012, it is now March 14th 2013 and I still have not heard anything back about my case. I have checked other people's timelines and several people who filed after us have already received their NOA2s and many have even progressed to the interview while I am still here waiting for my NOA2. I have had no RFe's or contact from them of any kind (will they be contacting me or her with a response?). The service center that I believe to be handling my petition is MSC (so it says on my NOA1). If anyone can provide any insight or explanation as to what is going on I would really appreicate it as I start graduate school in August and was intending to have my wife move in with me then, is this still feasible? Any help or advice will be greatly appreicated, thank you.

Additionally, if it is unlikely that my wife will be approved before August 2013 what can I do to allow her to move then and wait out the rest of the process there with me as she has scheduled a number of things to coincide to allow her to move then and if it is any later then moving will become much more difficult for us. Thanks again for any and all help.

As other members have told you, you can contact USCIS to check on your case status (Tier 2, Tier 1 are useless), but it will most likely not help you either since you'll probably get a scripted reply. All you can really do as of right now is wait, unfortunately. USCIS sporadically adjudicates cases, so it is difficult to exactly pinpoint when you can expect to see them work on your case. You cannot bring your wife to the US without the visa (the one you are currently waiting for). Theoretically, there may be a chance that you can be done with the case by August if you are approved soon and you are PREPARED to go through NVC quickly (another member suggested you visit the NVC filers thread-if you want to get a head start gathering documentations to not waste time). However, there is no guarantee that this will be the case.

I have almost the same problem, I live in Tampa, but idk if they transferred my case to a local office, I mean I knw their normal range time is 5 months but ppl have been getting approved a lot faster and im almost hitting the 5 months rank, I don't understand and that is what I was told its still in the NBC being processed, just curious do they categorize the cases by if the petitioner is a born citizn or a naturalized citizen???

As I said to the OP, no one really knows why and how USCIS adjudicates cases-they seem to do them sporadically and out of order. You can try to figure out a trend or correlation by looking at previous and current timelines. There is no categorization of that sort, the USCIS works on their own accord on cases.

[Sidiqi09232011 0]

you most certainly are in good company here. . . this is a very supportive forum for a difficult process. . . patience is the key and knowing that what happens in one case may not be the same in another . . . Best of Luck to you always

Hmm, I called the USCIS and asked them about the delay and they said that's just how long things were taking to get processed and that I should be receiving an answer within two weeks, sigh. Researched K-3 more and realized it probably takes just as long as the I-130 to process and so there is probably no point at this stage in submitting one, so I guess I just have to hope that I can fly through the NVC and consulate stuff, I just hope there isn't a huge wait to get the interview as from what I've been reading people are getting anywhere from 2-4 months waits on their interviews Also, I called the state department trying to get some clarification on information on the next stage and spoke to the rudest woman who essentially told me I was wasting her time and hung up on me, which was upsetting after waiting on hold for 45 minutes to speak with them. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has responded here and shared your advice and stories, it's nice to know I'm not the only one going through this.