Theory: Where is my file located? (NBC or Local Field Office).

[KP & SP 9]

I think I have a theory about the location of I-130; this is solely based on my infopass appointment.

When i asked the IO during my infopass appointmnet if my file would be transferred to the locaol office, i was told twice that only if the petition is behind the goal then it would be transferred to local office.

So, if any application that does not get adjudicated within 5 months gets transferred to local office becasue technically the petition is flagged as being behind.

USCIS goal = 5 months.

National average = 13.8 months, recently dropped to ~8 months.

Thoughts?

[scholozy 8]

My thoughts, based on igors list and the uscis dashboard...I believe the uscis stopped transferring applications to local field offices for people who's noa1 was around the end of February. If you look at igors list, early February and before saw applications being processed in about 1-3 months. Now that they have the new division to process in the works they stopped sending to let the local field offices get caught back up and will begin processing in a pretty steady rate once that new center for I-130s open in september. Again its just my theory but its the only logical explanation as to why we went from 1-3 month turn arounds to ???

[A&K_2013 16]

This is my opinion, I dont know if this is actually going on but this is what I think. I read on another thread that NBC will start adjucating i-130's in house starting end of september instead of sending them to the local office. For March 2013 there have been only 12 approvals according to igors list and it seems like all of those approvals were filed by petitioners that are overseas also with their spouses. Also the field offices are slammed too so if they send the case to the field office, it still will miss the 5 month goal and may take a lot longer. Example I was reading recently some one whose file was sent to atlanta got approved after 10 months. Also I read in some threads people who called USCIS from March and April and were told their files were still at NBC. Why would NBC hold them for soo long before sending them over to the local offices? I think what's going on is that the last month to get sent to the local field office was February and March onwards are being held at NBC until the end of september when NBC starts to process in house. This is what I think

Edited August 21, 2013 by Atrain01

[KP & SP 9]

Both of your observations make sense.

[you & i 16]

i am march 02 filer and whenever i call the uscis i be told that my petition still at the NBC so i really dont know i have talked with alot of tier 2 and all of them seemed to tell me the same no new update and the case still held by the NBC hopefully they would hurry up

[NikLR 13,220]

***moved to progress reports from process and procedures***

[BOS_LHR 829]

For most of this year I was operating under the assumption that the USCIS site correctly described procedure, which was that all I-130s would start at NBC-Missouri and then be forwarded on to field offices. Anecdotal evidence on VJ suggested the transfer would occur after a month or two. Then the news about NBC-Kansas being fully functional by end of September swept around here, and I figured the transfer of files is/was bound to stop soon. So when June data for field office volumes & trends was released, I checked stats for my local office (Boston). The receipts for June were pretty consistent with those for May, which says to me that as of June, NBC -Missouri was still forwarding files. It's tough to say which months of petitioners might be affected by that, and I'm very interested to see if July's data will be any different. I'm hoping to see a sharp drop-off of petition receipts at my field office in the next month or two. That being said, I haven't checked data for other offices, so things may be different elsewhere.

I'm a June filer, and realized last night that my I-797 lists NBC-Kansas as the address for my center (something I overlooked because I have an MSC receipt number). A quick browse through the May filer thread shows most of those posters stating they're also in Kansas, but I don't see the same for April and earlier threads. My tentative conclusion is that petitions through April and maybe May have been forwarded to local offices, and subsequent petitions are going directly to NBC-Kansas instead, where they will likely remain for processing when the center is up and running next month. We'll see!

[LoveMyTico 999]

I'm an April filer.. and of course April is one of the months that is caught right in the middle of this mess. I think what is posted above makes sense. I just hope they get a move on and process their little asses off in September.

How annoying !

[NikLR 13,220]

For most of this year I was operating under the assumption that the USCIS site correctly described procedure, which was that all I-130s would start at NBC-Missouri and then be forwarded on to field offices. Anecdotal evidence on VJ suggested the transfer would occur after a month or two. Then the news about NBC-Kansas being fully functional by end of September swept around here, and I figured the transfer of files is/was bound to stop soon. So when June data for field office volumes & trends was released, I checked stats for my local office (Boston). The receipts for June were pretty consistent with those for May, which says to me that as of June, NBC -Missouri was still forwarding files. It's tough to say which months of petitioners might be affected by that, and I'm very interested to see if July's data will be any different. I'm hoping to see a sharp drop-off of petition receipts at my field office in the next month or two. That being said, I haven't checked data for other offices, so things may be different elsewhere.

I'm a June filer, and realized last night that my I-797 lists NBC-Kansas as the address for my center (something I overlooked because I have an MSC receipt number). A quick browse through the May filer thread shows most of those posters stating they're also in Kansas, but I don't see the same for April and earlier threads. My tentative conclusion is that petitions through April and maybe May have been forwarded to local offices, and subsequent petitions are going directly to NBC-Kansas instead, where they will likely remain for processing when the center is up and running next month. We'll see!

Makes sense to me. Good deductions.

[BOS_LHR 829]

I'm an April filer.. and of course April is one of the months that is caught right in the middle of this mess. I think what is posted above makes sense. I just hope they get a move on and process their little asses off in September.

How annoying !

Do you get the impression from April filers that they're at NBC-Missouri? Has anyone reported a move to a field office on that thread? I'm pretty curious, because you're right, we Q3 (April-June) filers are really up in the air. It feels like we could end up anywhere, which is awful. I'm hoping hard that my letter from Kansas means Boston will never touch my case, because I'm sure it's a bottomless pit there. It is absolutely crazy to me that they can't offer this most basic level of transparency in telling us where our files are located. As a USC I'm actually ashamed of my government, and I can't help but think what a fantastic impression it must be making on my husband, who is changing his life to be here with me. Is this really the best our country can do? I can't believe we have any immigrants left after they see what kind of bureaucratic nightmare the process is.

[NikLR 13,220]

The entire process is very frustrating, the lack of transparency with it is the most frustrating of all.

I found the easiest thing to do, for me, was understand I have no control. You cannot do anything. Calling does not speed your file up or really give you a lot of information. If you send what you need to, then the best thing to do is wait and do something else. Is it frustrating? Heck ya! The hardest thing to do as a human being is to give up control. But it's beneficial to learn when you have none.

It would actually be great, imho, if all the stand alone I-130s from USC went to one service center. Then people could get the sense of order they used to have about when they may get an approval. Everything would actually follow date times instead of being this local office is fast, and this one over here is so slow a snail would beat it.

[BOS_LHR 829]

The entire process is very frustrating, the lack of transparency with it is the most frustrating of all.

I found the easiest thing to do, for me, was understand I have no control. You cannot do anything. Calling does not speed your file up or really give you a lot of information. If you send what you need to, then the best thing to do is wait and do something else. Is it frustrating? Heck ya! The hardest thing to do as a human being is to give up control. But it's beneficial to learn when you have none.

It would actually be great, imho, if all the stand alone I-130s from USC went to one service center. Then people could get the sense of order they used to have about when they may get an approval. Everything would actually follow date times instead of being this local office is fast, and this one over here is so slow a snail would beat it.

I completely agree. The only thing we have control over is executing our paperwork flawlessly so that we don't have any preventable delays, but there are bound to be delays in the system that we have no power to resolve -- or even awareness of to begin with. It truly is a black box.

I think this new center in Kansas is meant to be that single point of processing, but I expect it'll take a while for that to become reality. I'm glad they're making an effort to streamline things and have a universal procedure, but I can't help being a little envious of those future filers who will actually have some expectations set. I feel like we're all on a roller coaster in the dark these days. Still, even a year is a small price to pay for the rest of our lives together. Perspective, right?

[LoveMyTico 999]

my only saving grace at this point is that I am an April filer. Maybe ..... hopefully the first to be processed at the new center. ( at least one of the first) March, April and May. although I think the newer files are already being transferred to Kansas..

The system is so broken

Do you get the impression from April filers that they're at NBC-Missouri? Has anyone reported a move to a field office on that thread? I'm pretty curious, because you're right, we Q3 (April-June) filers are really up in the air. It feels like we could end up anywhere, which is awful. I'm hoping hard that my letter from Kansas means Boston will never touch my case, because I'm sure it's a bottomless pit there. It is absolutely crazy to me that they can't offer this most basic level of transparency in telling us where our files are located. As a USC I'm actually ashamed of my government, and I can't help but think what a fantastic impression it must be making on my husband, who is changing his life to be here with me. Is this really the best our country can do? I can't believe we have any immigrants left after they see what kind of bureaucratic nightmare the process is.

I agree... Ashammed is being nice.. Embarrassed is more like it.. and THAT is even being nice. Have you checked out how fast the K-1's are getting approved? Wouldln't you think the married couples would have a priority? Its all so frustrating.

I have an immigration lawyer. When I asked him where my file might be, his answer was that they WERE sending files to the field offices if they needed more info or if they wanted an interview. He said I need to hold tight. He doesn't think my file is going to the field office. ( my guess is that we are already in 4.5 months) He insists that the USCIS will stay on track and he swears by the 6 month time frame. Now... if I didn't know about VJ I would have no choice but to agree and believe... BUT everyone here on this site knows that is a bunch of boloney.

[NikLR 13,220]

I completely agree. The only thing we have control over is executing our paperwork flawlessly so that we don't have any preventable delays, but there are bound to be delays in the system that we have no power to resolve -- or even awareness of to begin with. It truly is a black box.

I think this new center in Kansas is meant to be that single point of processing, but I expect it'll take a while for that to become reality. I'm glad they're making an effort to streamline things and have a universal procedure, but I can't help being a little envious of those future filers who will actually have some expectations set. I feel like we're all on a roller coaster in the dark these days. Still, even a year is a small price to pay for the rest of our lives together. Perspective, right?

The same sort of thing happened when my husband sent the I-130 in Oct 2012. In Aug 2012 is when they stopped sending the petitions to both the California and Vermont service centers. They also transferred any sent after the date to the NBC but anything that was received before Aug 15, 2012 stayed. We also had a heck of a time learning about local offices. It was even more confusing when a local office would send out a NOID over something that normally would be an RFE or for something like a beneficiary's birth certificate copy. OMG it was a mess. It was even harder on those who were still at CSC or VSC seeing someone approved in a month in Nov or Dec, when they filed in June 2012. Teague made me realize how harsh the system could be. Take a look at her timeline.

I fully expected my I-130 to take a year. I after seeing a few people being approved in a month or two, worrying about it, and then having my husband saying, "Let them do their work. If it takes over 6 months I'll inquire but until then, we have no control so stop worrying." while giving me a hug, made me realize that if I set the goal as far as possible, I would be happier with the result. So I did my research on the next stage and tried to get everything worked out. My husband delayed a bit, even said "you didn't say you needed this paperwork..." even though I had, a hundred times. But as a husband, he had already learned to tune me out until it was urgent, LOL. It hit him hardest when his friend, who married after us, brought his wife to live in the USA in a fraudulent manner because of a lawyer, and told him that his wife had her green card. But his friend doesn't seem to be as happily married as we are so maybe karma? Who knows.

I actually had a cousin write on a wedding card "what is a year in the rest of your lives?" just like you did. I kept that close to my heart when I worried.

[BOS_LHR 829]

LoveMyTico: definitely embarrassed too. If I were in my husband's position I can't imagine being excited to become a resident of a country with its governmental agencies in such disarray. I know it's not fair to judge the US in general based on this one experience, but you know what they say about first impressions. I try to keep my eyes off K1 folks because I'm pretty sure it would just upset me. I'm not about to say that those couples love each other any less, but I don't see why the commitment I've already made is not at least on par with the commitment they have only promised to make. It doesn't make sense to me that married filers have drawn the short stick. I'm sure the adjudication process is different, but then why not staff differently so that approvals are still evenly matched? Yeah... best not to think about it, haha. It would be nice if your attorney is correct. Did he give you any background as to why he's so convinced that USCIS is on track? Is your I-797 from NBC-Missouri?

NLR: I can't imagine the chaos of filing last August! And really, I can't imagine the chaos at USCIS. They've undergone two pretty huge changes in processing in the space of a year, so it's no wonder they're a mess. It'll be interesting to watch incoming filers and see if they all land (and stick) at NBC-Kansas. I'm hoping they will. I would love to see any small shred of method to the madness.