UGH! 167 days in from NOA1 no word! What's up???

[YamenWaad 45]

it's something driving us crazy, it's really insane

it's been 176 days for us and all the cases around our case got approvals or RFEs, the only case who got ERROR every time we tried to check is our case.

we called USCIS tens of times, we've spoken with tier 2 many times in the end we've got nothing. and every new day there will be new cases have been approved except us, I don't know what to say but I'm sure they're driving us crazy.

[mebinkle 3]

I completely understand where you are coming from. I filed in February 2014 and our NOA2 finaly came through in September 2014. I got in touch with my senator and congressman after getting tired of the robotic responses from the USCIS telling me it's normal and everyone is moving at the same pace, which is clearly not true when you look at TSC compared to CSC timelines. The senator wasn't too much help but the congressman was. I don't know if they really sped anything up but they let me know step by step where my application was in the process, which just knowing that it's making some progress did help. So I would recomend getting in touch with your congressman. Good luck! I know the waiting is awful.

Edited December 2, 2014 by mebinkle

[Coach217 0]

This is HORRIBLE waiting for any word whatsoever. And the USCIS website is pathetic and rarely updated.

I've been watching here as well as on their website, and I'm infuriated to see people who filed WAY after we did (at the same service center) are already either at NOA2 and/or already approved! ("In the order that they are received" my a$$.) Meanwhile, we're 167 days and counting, and the NCSC is as worthless as the website.

I'm a federal employee, so a background check on me should not take any time at all - I've already had one!

WHY are we stuck in this void with no word, nothing but sitting here waiting?

I'm happy for the crowdsourced data here that gives a little encouragement that some people are getting through the process, but I'm also angry all the time that we're over all the averages already, and that our Embassy (Pakistan!) is notoriously slow to do their part as well.

It's "a few months for a lifetime together", but my God, we've already been apart 8 months. How much longer???

Thanks for "listening".

Christine

I called today they say they are only in May...told me maybe 2 more months to hear something. We are at 139 days

[usmsbow 795]

FYI, USCIS is totally self-funded. Sequestration didn't impact it at all. And the processing fees that illegal immigrants have to pay will fund additional positions to process their documents. It isn't like they'll be getting a free service (just like all of us aren't).

As we all know, USCIS sucks big time, but it isn't due to a lack of funding or Obama's recent actions. It is due to a lack of accountabiity and it doesn't help that DHS in general is one of the worst federal agencies in the government. Just google the rankings of government agency employment and you'll see DHS is near or at the bottom. It is a mess and morale sucks. It's even worse in immigration-related agencies (CBP, USCIS, etc) and that's been the case since they were all "created" post-9/11.

[Marco&Bettina 502]

It'll be interesting to see how Obama's immigration plan will affect legal immigration. My guess is it won't be good. Those 5 million illegals will need paperwork- and guess who process all that paperwork--pushing our AOS's and legal petitions back even more. I hope I'm wrong but we will see!

^This. People say Obama is passing immigration reform. That's about as far from the truth as you can get. Nothing about immigration is being reformed. The system is broken. The process is slow & inefficient. No digital forms means everything is redundant, thus increasing processing speeds. Waiting on snail mail, etc. All that Obama is passing is a way to add 5 million more applications into a broken system. 100% guaranteed that this will inevitably slow down all of our processes, regardless of where we are at individually in the pipeline. I'm all for helping people who have been in the country, working & living, but not paying any taxes to be able to be taxed. What I absolutely quintessentially am not in favor of is leaving the current handling processes alone. That is where the reform is needed. Fix that & then offer the whole world American citizenship for all I care.

[YamenWaad 45]

^This. People say Obama is passing immigration reform. That's about as far from the truth as you can get. Nothing about immigration is being reformed. The system is broken. The process is slow & inefficient. No digital forms means everything is redundant, thus increasing processing speeds. Waiting on snail mail, etc. All that Obama is passing is a way to add 5 million more applications into a broken system. 100% guaranteed that this will inevitably slow down all of our processes, regardless of where we are at individually in the pipeline. I'm all for helping people who have been in the country, working & living, but not paying any taxes to be able to be taxed. What I absolutely quintessentially am not in favor of is leaving the current handling processes alone. That is where the reform is needed. Fix that & then offer the whole world American citizenship for all I care.

so for these reason we obliged to be more patient, it's not fair at all

[Ckmciver70 31]

FYI, USCIS is totally self-funded. Sequestration didn't impact it at all. And the processing fees that illegal immigrants have to pay will fund additional positions to process their documents. It isn't like they'll be getting a free service (just like all of us aren't).

As we all know, USCIS sucks big time, but it isn't due to a lack of funding or Obama's recent actions. It is due to a lack of accountabiity and it doesn't help that DHS in general is one of the worst federal agencies in the government. Just google the rankings of government agency employment and you'll see DHS is near or at the bottom. It is a mess and morale sucks. It's even worse in immigration-related agencies (CBP, USCIS, etc) and that's been the case since they were all "created" post-9/11.

Yes, DHS sucks as a place to work, can't keep their employees, is a well-known pit of despair in the federal workforce. However, that is "normal" for any agency that's as "young" as DHS is. NO agency was a good place to work from the start, and DHS has very little budget as compared to the mountain of critical responsibilities that they handle. I'm not making excuses, it's reality.

Meanwhile, we're all still sitting here with our applications stalled. Which sucks.

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

I waited 181 days for my NOA2 and a lot of people waited around same time for applications sent in January.

[YamenWaad 45]

I waited 181 days for my NOA2 and a lot of people waited around same time for applications sent in January.

soon I'm going to break your record

today is 176

[lizascissors 65]

Hang in there. We waited around 180 days from NOA1 to NOA2.

[Ckmciver70 31]

Okey doke...we'll see what the Congressmen can do with this. I sent a letter to both the Senator and the Representative. I encourage anyone else who's stuck (over 150 days) to do the same. I mean, that's kind of what they're there for after all.

Thanks to everyone who's provided words of encouragement. It's sad, but true that misery loves company, and to know that at least my application is right around the timeframe of when others got their NOA2s. Insha'Allah (God willing), ours will also come soon. And then it's on to the colossally slow US Embassy in Pakistan, where wait times tend to be averaging 200+ days. :/

But I'll worry about that one when we get to that point.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

(I forgot to quote who was saying this) but since when was this Republican vs Democrat? Just because someone doesn't agree with something that Obama is doing doesn't mean that you can just assume their political party. Totally not necessary. People from both parties have problems with that reform because it CAN, and I personally think it will, result poorly.

I personally think everyone on here has every right to be angry about these new reforms. Everyone has the right to express that in relation to the fact that the whole system is unfair (hence why some still haven't gotten NOA2s)- which is in relation to this post. I'm sure most people want to see something being done to help illegals, but giving a free ride is certainly not the way. It's a huge slap in the face to people like us who are going through hell and back to just get married to the person we love, while others get rewarded for breaking the law. Sorry, but that's not okay in my book.. Republican or not.

Anyway, now that we've drifted off the original topic... I hope that you guys get your NOA2s soon. That is far too long to wait. I think 180 days is the breaking point. I'm not sure many people get past 180 days. From the data another user gave, it looks like at 180 days everyone is transferred. They may have slowed down from the holidays and all, too.

[Ckmciver70 31]

ok, since most people seem much more interested in drifting off the topic despite my requests not to, I'm done here. Thanks to those who were nice enough to respond with comments that were related. No thanks to those that refuse to respect my requests to quit with the rest.

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

soon I'm going to break your record

today is 176

Hang in there, your time will come. I felt the same way and it was horrible, now I have to wait possibly a lot more. It is not easy and draining, but somehow we must deal with it the best possible way. Try to keep your mind occupied and just think of bright future ahead of you

[YamenWaad 45]

Hang in there, your time will come. I felt the same way and it was horrible, now I have to wait possibly a lot more. It is not easy and draining, but somehow we must deal with it the best possible way. Try to keep your mind occupied and just think of bright future ahead of you

thanks for supporting

yesterday at night we received our approval, yes after 176 days we received our NOA2

I'm so happy and wish all the good luck for all