contacted Mr. Neufeld, director of CSC

[CharliesAngel13 7]

Ok thank u... I really was hoping for success stories lol... Our case is very simple n basic, no kids, no criminal history, no drug or alcohol issues... All documents clear n consice.. I was hoping that meant something positive lol i just wanna get married on the date we planned wen we started this process...

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I am very confused about these processing times... I was given a time frame of 2-4 months by my attorney, but the website indicates 6 months and the customer service line told me the California SC is 8 months behind!! I want to keep our wedding date as planned for August but im so scared he wont b home for that and everything i hear or see is so controversial... Im wondering and hoping to meet ppl on here that have had approved K-1 visa apps in the last year and can give me a time frame...

The first part, the petition approval is taking 6+ months. Then he needs to get his stuff together (medical, police check) and have his visa interview. Being Nigeria I believe there is AP there. So you could be looking at many more months on top of that.

Nigeria is high fraud so a denial is very likely as well. If a denial happens they send the file back to USCIS. A few months later you'll hear that they plan to revoke and you need to send in evidence. You do and they approve it, great. If they deny it then your best chance is to go over, get married, and file a CR-1 and start the waiting all over again.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

i am aware it probably won't get me anywhere, but it certainly can't have any negative impact on my case. so, as you said, in the worst case scenario, he deletes my mail.

maybe i only did it for the sake of feeling like having done something. can't hurt for them to know how many people they harm with this slowdown.

and this situation has to be in somebody's control, and that somebody needs to get organised.

the problem with the approximate time frame is that it keeps moving, almost at will. and if they don't speed up, it will likely only move in one direction, which is away from today.

One e-mail might not make a difference, but if all VJs (and not just talking about the ones awaiting K-1; but ALL here) send messages, I'd think it would call some attention.

I'd bet that he would be more than just surprised come April 2nd and he comes back to office to find awaiting messages.....

Edited March 31, 2013 by Gosia & Tito

[Kazulie 132]

I am very confused about these processing times... I was given a time frame of 2-4 months by my attorney, but the website indicates 6 months and the customer service line told me the California SC is 8 months behind!! I want to keep our wedding date as planned for August but im so scared he wont b home for that and everything i hear or see is so controversial... Im wondering and hoping to meet ppl on here that have had approved K-1 visa apps in the last year and can give me a time frame...

Your attorney lied to you or doesn't know what he's talking about. Both are very much a probable option. I've been in the immigration game for almost 2 years now, and only about this time last year was CSC processing at 3 months....since about August of last year, it's been more like 6, 7, 8, etc. months. Unless you get EXTREMELY lucky, you're looking at at least double the timeframe you were quoted. Don't rely on what your lawyer tells you (why do you even have a lawyer?!?!) and research, research, research. You can start by filling in your timeline. That will give you a better estimate on when your case will be complete. I don't know when you filed because you didn't fill in your timeline, but if it's any time recently, you can pretty much forget August.

[Bayareaguy 156]

But the petition approval is just the beginning. For some people that will be the shortest part... that's hardly fair.

The main point I have is for all these other steps, my fiancee and children will be here with me...not 6000 miles away while I wait for the paperwork to be processed. The situations are barely comparable IMO.

[pachacuti 154]

I said no such thing.

I am well aware of his plight. I know many people who waited months, years even. My AOS took months. A friends file was "lost" and he had to contact people to get it located. My K1 actually took longer than people after me and people before me. I felt it took forever at the time (and of course now it's a drop in the bucket).

And yes, i have every belief that emailing someone you shouldn't could result in an unexpected slow-down. OR they could move your file out to get you to back off. I didn't call NVC, I didn't nag anyone. I just waited. That said, I spent the time working to save up money because I knew it would be months before I could work. As it turned out I didn't work for a couple of years and had to return to Australia for 2 months because my dad was sick and we had to put him in a nursing home.

ROC took 6 months for me, used to take 3. For VSC it was 9 months. Citizenship for my local office says it's taking 5 months, some take only 3.

The K1 petition approval takes months, but then the rest depends on your country. Australia used to be quick but now it's taking a while to get the interview letter (and there's only 1 office to interview), Canada it can take months to get an interview, other countries get months/years of Administrative Processing after the interview.

I would not have emailed that person. I would have contacted my congressperson/senator. I would contact newspapers about the slow-down (and WHY it's slowed down). But the petition approval is just the beginning. For some people that will be the shortest part... that's hardly fair.

Sorry about the accusation. I am guilty of conflating issues at times. That was wrong on my part.

Now, if you really think that the director of an agency is going to take time out of his schedule to have your file tracked down so he can take some type of retribution, you have no understanding of how government agencies work. This simply does not happen. Now, if you repeatedly contact him. And you are rude and offensive. Well, in that case, maybe. But that is not what we are talking about at all.

[Kazulie 132]

The first part, the petition approval is taking 6+ months. Then he needs to get his stuff together (medical, police check) and have his visa interview. Being Nigeria I believe there is AP there. So you could be looking at many more months on top of that.

Nigeria is high fraud so a denial is very likely as well. If a denial happens they send the file back to USCIS. A few months later you'll hear that they plan to revoke and you need to send in evidence. You do and they approve it, great. If they deny it then your best chance is to go over, get married, and file a CR-1 and start the waiting all over again.

There is no automatic AP in Nigeria. And many K1s DO get approved out of Nigeria. Good luck Charles, but consider moving that wedding date. Not supposed to make plans until Visa is in hand!

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

Ok thank u... I really was hoping for success stories lol... Our case is very simple n basic, no kids, no criminal history, no drug or alcohol issues... All documents clear n consice.. I was hoping that meant something positive lol i just wanna get married on the date we planned wen we started this process...

Since you are new there's something of critical importance you should know when waiting on an immigration process: NEVER make plans in advance. You never set a single thing in stone until you have the visa IN HAND. You're only going to end up with an emptier wallet and a massive headache.

Also the particulars of your case don't matter a single bit. The reason it takes so long for petitions to get approved is because they receive so many of them and the cases sit in piles for months before one of the adjudicators finally picks it up. Once in their hands it takes maybe 20 minutes to approve or send an RFE. They have too many cases and not enough staff. Could they be handling it better? For sure. Will they? Likely not.

Your attorney is a moron. I suggest you find a new one or just do it yourself.

[Boggy1974 124]

It is ludicrous to assume that someone would take such retribution because they received an email. Do you really think this way? I can only say "wow"

Officials in the government are not going to try and take retribution because you are a pain in the butt. They don't have the time or the inclination. And the fallout if it were revealed is not worth the risk. The worst case scenario is that you will be ignored. Period.

When I worked constituent relations, we knew who the real pains were. They called all the time, about everything. We rolled our eyes when they contacted us, but took care of them and answered their questions immediately. Aside from the instant contact from my team, they were given no other preferential treatment. Their cases were not expedited. They were simply told what the process was, and where their cases were in that process. We only did this because we knew they had to be dealt with. But there was no retribution.

Our biggest problem with USCIS is not that we are being singled out. Our problem is that we are just some faceless case number among millions of others. That and they are a big black box that refuses to be responsive to us about anything.

Wow! Wow was my sentiments exactly :thumbs:

Some of these people are out of control on this site. Now, they're telling others what repercussions they'll be facing or what 'dark fate' awaits them because s/he dared send an email to a USCIS director about their personal case and processing delays generally?. Unbelievable!

[odellmar 6]

Where did you get his contact information?

I personally would NEVER have done this. Best case scenario he ignores your email. Worst case scenario he moves your file to the black abyss...

The slowdown is ridiculous, I see you filed 6-7 months ago now and that's awful, but as a professional person I would not action your email. My case load is big enough without people emailing me implying they're more important than the other people ahead of them in line. Basically blaming me for something that isn't in my control.

There's a reason for the wait. They're not sitting on their hands. they need more staff, or more hours or whatever. He can talk to his bosses but he personally can't do anything to speed it up.

You are however near the approximate timeframe for approvals so you should get an approval soon.

There's no waiting line. Someone sits and tosses a Lawn Dart. There's no rhyme or reason to the insanity. If you know of a pecking order theory, please do enlightem me....

[CharliesAngel13 7]

Thank u everone for your comments.. I am new to this.. Im actually Heather not Charles.. Im in the US and i hired an attorney that specializes in this specific petition for Nigeria.. They have never had a denial and my attorney did say the CSC is behind.. He didnt promise me 2-4 months that was just an estimate.. I think i got hopeful too soon.. Also, i dont kno all of the abbreviations being used.. What is an AP? That nigeria may or may not have? I kno many many Nigerians over here on a K-1 or at least i kno of them..i guess i will not plan my wedding til Charles is home.. N they cant visit from Nigeria n its so costly to fly over there so im just missing him n wondering how much longer til my baby comes home

[glenmar 34]

Where did you get his contact information?

I personally would NEVER have done this. Best case scenario he ignores your email. Worst case scenario he moves your file to the black abyss...

There's a reason for the wait. They're not sitting on their hands. they need more staff, or more hours or whatever. He can talk to his bosses but he personally can't do anything to speed it up.

You are however near the approximate timeframe for approvals so you should get an approval soon.

No the worst case is the status quo continues and those of us who currently at 8 months processing time become 12 months or more...Those of us currently at 7,6,5..... months processing time also become 12 months or more. So how many months did it take you to get your NOA2? How would you like to trade places with us?

I also don't buy that this is purely a staffing issue. The USCIS national processing volume, currently 1,500,000 has been far below what it was in March 2012 (2,000,000)despite the DACA applications. All the CSC had to do was equitably shift the available resources around so that all types of cases share the pain. I beieve this is in the directors realm of responsibility. What, you dont believe the director had to approve transferring some DACA cases to Nebraska and Texas? The director is responsible for operations at all service centers. Apparantly there no slow downn of K1's at VSC now. So staff or no staff somethings going right at that service center. I beleive the director must have approved how VSC (his own service center) is now operating....

[Ryan H 3,791]

Moved from Process & Procedures to Progress Reports.

[Kazulie 132]

Thank u everone for your comments.. I am new to this.. Im actually Heather not Charles.. Im in the US and i hired an attorney that specializes in this specific petition for Nigeria.. They have never had a denial and my attorney did say the CSC is behind.. He didnt promise me 2-4 months that was just an estimate.. I think i got hopeful too soon.. Also, i dont kno all of the abbreviations being used.. What is an AP? That nigeria may or may not have? I kno many many Nigerians over here on a K-1 or at least i kno of them..i guess i will not plan my wedding til Charles is home.. N they cant visit from Nigeria n its so costly to fly over there so im just missing him n wondering how much longer til my baby comes home

AP is Additional Processing. Some countries get automatically put into Additional Processing (extra wait time after the visa interview or at other parts of the journey). Nigeria is NOT one of those countries, so don't freak out.

[CharliesAngel13 7]

Ok thank u so much.. I did know that Nigeria is not a country that needs additional processing times.. I didnt kno AP meant that.. So im not freaking lol my understanding is his interview will take about 5-10 mins n as long as its all in order and approved he will leave with his visa in his passport.. I pray im correct lol