needing help so confused

[Ginabreecebalm 0]

I am praying anyone can help me and answer questions that are very much confusing to me. My husband is from The Netherlands, I am an American....

We applied for I-130 on March 11, 2013 and received our first NOA March 13, 2013. Months have been passing and we hear nothing, then we got a

letter stating our case has been transferred to Nebraska office, yet we find nothing on VisaJourney about the Nebraska timeline this whole process is

taking so so long with no word about if we are closer or further from being able to see each other. Now we really need to see each other but we are not

sure if he will be allowed past customs to come and see me. Can anyone help me with any information? Congrats to the ones that have gotten their second

NOA I know how hard this process is!!

Thank you

Gina Breece-Balm

[Cathi 5,849]

You left out details. Does he have a visitor visa, or VWP? Ultimately it will be up to cbp officer. With a pending I130 you always take the chance of being refused because of immigration intent.

[Sukie 1,503]

Gina,

Your transfer notice is actually a good thing. It means that your I-130 has left the "black hole" of the NBC and is headed to a place that will actually adjudicate it.

Your partner MAY be allowed to come visit you - especially if the Netherlands is on the Visa Waiver Program, but he needs to be very careful about showing he is returning to the Netherlands. I have an I-130 pending for my partner, and she came to visit, but for only ONE month - not for the full 90 days. She also traveled with her twin sister, so it really did appear she was here to be a tourist.

Just be sure he has a return ticket, and, for example, if he is working, perhaps a letter from his employer saying that he has a xxx-week-long vacation, but is due back at work on xx/xx/xx.

Best of luck. Hopefully you will be hearing some good news soon.

Sukie

[Avery Cates 1,141]

I am praying anyone can help me and answer questions that are very much confusing to me. My husband is from The Netherlands, I am an American....

We applied for I-130 on March 11, 2013 and received our first NOA March 13, 2013. Months have been passing and we hear nothing, then we got a

letter stating our case has been transferred to Nebraska office, yet we find nothing on VisaJourney about the Nebraska timeline this whole process is

taking so so long with no word about if we are closer or further from being able to see each other. Now we really need to see each other but we are not

sure if he will be allowed past customs to come and see me. Can anyone help me with any information? Congrats to the ones that have gotten their second

NOA I know how hard this process is!!

Thank you

Gina Breece-Balm

The transfer may be a good thing. They're transferring to try and balance caseloads to start getting some of these March petitions adjudicated. I know it worked relatively well for the I-129fs.

Good luck!

[Ginabreecebalm 0]

Thank you for the advice and help, it is great to know we are not in a black hole! Yet I feel like we are But why can we not see anything about the Nebraska center on here? And Thijs use to have a Visa Waiver and is not sure if it is expired or not. He got it 09-2011.

[NikLR 13,234]

You don't see anything about it because it's relatively new. However in the progress sub-forum you can look at the monthly I-130 threads and find information regarding the transfers. I suggest looking at your month (March filers) to see if there is information in there regarding the transfer of others.

[Sukie 1,503]

Thank you for the advice and help, it is great to know we are not in a black hole! Yet I feel like we are But why can we not see anything about the Nebraska center on here? And Thijs use to have a Visa Waiver and is not sure if it is expired or not. He got it 09-2011.

OK - let's try to straighten something out here. The Visa Waiver Program requires the person to register and get ESTA authorization (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). The ESTA authorization is good for two years - it's a "preclearance" for entry to the US. It used to be free - now it costs about $15USD. So Thijs probably needs to sign up for an ESTA authorization again. THEN he is (technically) allowed to travel to the US for a maximum of 90 days. It is up to the USCIS officer to either grant or deny him entry at the US border.

Once he makes his travel plans, he has to go back to the ESTA site and detail his arrival/departure information so that it is pre-loaded into the system.

The data on the websites is at least 2 months behind reality. They've only started to transfer I-130s to the other centers, so that is why you cannot see anything yet from the Nebraska center.

Sukie

[Ryan H 3,903]

It is up to the USCIS officer to either grant or deny him entry at the US border.

Wrong agency, USCIS has nothing to do with border control. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the agency you are dealing with there.

[Ginabreecebalm 0]

Thank you so so much!

[Sukie 1,503]

Wrong agency, USCIS has nothing to do with border control. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the agency you are dealing with there.

I stand corrected.