I-129f June 2017 filers (merged)

[MCL 33]

1 hour ago, Estibaliz said:

With the new i129F form, the G325 (no G325A) is not needed anymore, so you should be fine.

So you are saying the G325 or the G325A is not needed at all since they updated the I29F?

[Estibaliz 3,037]

1 hour ago, MCL said:

So you are saying the G325 or the G325A is not needed at all since they updated the I29F?

Ooops, sorry! My mistake. It IS the G325A, but no, it's not needed anymore, because they added all the biographical information to the new i-129F form now. There's threads about the topic on VJ if you want to double check.

[MCL 33]

4 hours ago, Estibaliz said:

Ooops, sorry! My mistake. It IS the G325A, but no, it's not needed anymore, because they added all the biographical information to the new i-129F form now. There's threads about the topic on VJ if you want to double check.

Thanks so much 

[MCL 33]

On 6/23/2017 at 2:42 AM, Stemar said:

Oh yes, we Need the good luck, and a lot of Patience

Does anyone know which service center seems to get the most cases now? Turn around same, less or more for CA vs TX?

[vocaledge 3,340]

10 minutes ago, MCL said:

Does anyone know which service center seems to get the most cases now? Turn around same, less or more for CA vs TX?

CSC is the only service center which is given new K-1 cases... anyone marking it as TX is confused by the lockbox address.

Rare cases are transferred to another center, but its 99% CSC these days.

[MCL 33]

2 hours ago, vocaledge said:

CSC is the only service center which is given new K-1 cases... anyone marking it as TX is confused by the lockbox address.

Rare cases are transferred to another center, but its 99% CSC these days.

Thank You!! It looks like processing times are 4-6 months based on other threads? 

[Grant & Bri 93]

USPS say it's been delivered but to a different post code than the Texas lockbox (75260) did anyone else get this? When can I expect to receive my NOA1? Do they let you know if anything is wrong with the forms or if I'm missing anything (don't think there is but just wanna know) ? 

[GarryAndMarie 147]

Since we all have such a long wait to the NOA2 stage at this point, here's a "little light reading" to pass the time -> a GAO audit report on USCIS's $3 billion computer system upgrade: https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/678461.pdf

 

For those not interested in reading the 130+ page report, here are a few excerpts:

 

Quote

USCIS’ mission is to provide accurate and useful information to its applicants, adjudicate immigration and U.S. citizenship benefits, promote an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensure the integrity

of the immigration system. According to DHS, on an average day, USCIS completes 23,000 applications for various immigration benefits; welcomes 3,200 new citizens; answers 44,000 phone calls to its toll-free customer service line; serves 9,500 custo mers at 84 local offices; fingerprints and photographs 15,000 applicants at 136 application support centers; conducts 148,000 national security background checks; and processes 2,040 petitions filed by employers to bring foreign national workers to the United States.

Quote

In 2006, USCIS embarked on a major initiative — the Transformation Program — to enable electronic adjudication and case management tools that would allow applicants to apply and track the progress of their application online. USCIS planned to complete this initial effort no later than June 2014 at a cost of up to $2.1 billion. In May 2015, we reported that USCIS expected the program to cost up to $3.1 billion and be fully operational no later than March 2019.

 

The program reported expenditures of nearly $1.2 billion (in then- year dollars) through the end of fiscal year 2014. Since that time, the program’s monthly performance reports to DHS reported additional expenditures of $192 million through February 2016. According to USCIS, as of April 2016, the program had deployed functionality to support the processing of approximately 2.3 of the 7.3 million applications processed by USCIS each year, or about 31% of the total workload. The USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USC IS ELIS) is the main component of the Transformation Program. You asked us to examine USCIS’s effort to modernize its paper-based application, case management, and adjudication systems and processes. Our objective was to assess the extent to which the USCIS Transformation Program is using information technology (IT) program management leading practices. To do so, we assessed the extent to which USCIS is implementing Agile software development for USCIS ELIS; adhering to leading practices and agency guidance in system integration and testing; following leading practices in monitoring the largest Transformation Program contractors; and developing a life cycle cost estimate for the Transformation Program consistent with our cost estimating guidance.

Quote

The goals of the Transformation Program are to modernize the paper-based immigration benefits process, enhance national security and system integrity, and improve customer service and operational efficiency. Established in 2006, the program comprises many systems,

each of which provides a service to facilitate operations, such as identity management and risk and fraud analytics. The objectives of the Transformation Program are to allow

• applicants to establish an account with USCIS to file and track the status of the application, petition, or request online;
• USCIS ELIS to apply risk-based rules automatically to incoming applications, petitions, and requests to identify potentially fraudulent applications and national security risks;
• adjudicators to have electronic access to applications, petitions, and requests, relevant policies and procedures, and external databases;
• USCIS to have management information to track and allocate workload; and
• USCIS ELIS to have electronic linkages to other agencies, such as the Departments of Justice and State, for data sharing and securitypurposes.

The main component of the program is USCIS ELIS, which is to provide c ase management for adjudicating immigration benefits. USCIS ELIS relies on and interfaces with other systems that provide additional capabilities, such as user authentication and scheduling, to deliver end-to-end processing. Applications are ingested into the system either through the Lockbox for paper applications, or an online interface for electronic applications. Figure 4 provides a simplified depiction of the steps involved in the filing and processing of immigration benefits and citizenship applications under the Transformation Program.

 

[stellamahoo 179]

Hey there everybody! Question, what are you guys doing while waiting on NOA2? Is there anything I (beneficiary) can prepare while waiting? What will be the next steps to do and forms to file?

[elwoodicious 57]

5 hours ago, Stemar said:

Hey there everybody! Question, what are you guys doing while waiting on NOA2? Is there anything I (beneficiary) can prepare while waiting? What will be the next steps to do and forms to file?

The waiting is the hardest part, mostly because once you've got all the forms you can only read them so many times before you go crazy.

 

We've been continuing to put together all the various forms we will need for this process, such as filling out and the I-134 and gathering the necessary documents for that, as well as continuing to document proof of our relationship to try and anticipate an RFE. My fiancée has been gathering all the documents about her and her son, like birth certificates and immunization records. We have both read over the DS-160 and DS-156 to be ready for when the embassy gives them to her to fill out.

 

To keep the bureaucratic madness in balance we also spend a lot of time planning our life together in the US. We talk about what to do in the first weeks (where to go out to eat, what to do on the weekends, etc), where she and her son would like to visit during that first year (New York, Nashville, LA, Las Vegas came out on top!). We are also starting the process of remodeling out home in the US so that it truly feels like hers too.

 

I am lucky that my job affords me an enormous amount of flexibility so in July my daughter and I will stay in Costa Rica for the month living with my fiancée and her son. We will both be taking spanish classes during the week and on the weekends the preparations for the big ceremonial wedding in October (non-legal, it's so that she can have a beautiful day with her family and friends) continue. 

[GarryAndMarie 147]

10 hours ago, Stemar said:

Hey there everybody! Question, what are you guys doing while waiting on NOA2? Is there anything I (beneficiary) can prepare while waiting? What will be the next steps to do and forms to file?

I've been digging through USCIS reports, manuals, & appeals cases - just to see what's tripped up other folks as well as to bide the time. There are a *lot* of people who forgot to include (or even sign) the statement that says they will get married within 90 days - or their beneficiaries didn't sign a statement. And a number of people who met in person *after* their filing date. All had their I-129f's rejected if they didn't send in the corrected docs with their appeal. One poor guy even had 4 kids with his beneficiary, finally decided to get married, but since he hadn't seen the mother of his kids in person for just over 2 years before the filing date, his I-129f was rejected.

Edited June 29, 2017 by GarryAndMarie

[MCL 33]

5 hours ago, elwoodicious said:

The waiting is the hardest part, mostly because once you've got all the forms you can only read them so many times before you go crazy.

 

We've been continuing to put together all the various forms we will need for this process, such as filling out and the I-134 and gathering the necessary documents for that, as well as continuing to document proof of our relationship to try and anticipate an RFE. My fiancée has been gathering all the documents about her and her son, like birth certificates and immunization records. We have both read over the DS-160 and DS-156 to be ready for when the embassy gives them to her to fill out.

 

To keep the bureaucratic madness in balance we also spend a lot of time planning our life together in the US. We talk about what to do in the first weeks (where to go out to eat, what to do on the weekends, etc), where she and her son would like to visit during that first year (New York, Nashville, LA, Las Vegas came out on top!). We are also starting the process of remodeling out home in the US so that it truly feels like hers too.

 

I am lucky that my job affords me an enormous amount of flexibility so in July my daughter and I will stay in Costa Rica for the month living with my fiancée and her son. We will both be taking spanish classes during the week and on the weekends the preparations for the big ceremonial wedding in October (non-legal, it's so that she can have a beautiful day with her family and friends) continue. 

Where can I find a list of the documents the beneficiary will need prior to going to the embassy?

[MCL 33]

On 6/28/2017 at 11:48 AM, MCL said:

Thanks so much 

Based on everything I have read after your reply it seems like the G325a isn't needed. I guess it's a good thing because I had to make corrections before and wait for his signatures. So now we don't need them to sign anything that will hold up the progress. 

[Bandt 87]

We are just trying to focus on each other and not worry about this process for the time being. We spent so much time talking about and learning about this process that we were both kind of tired of talking about it. 

[elwoodicious 57]

12 minutes ago, MCL said:

Where can I find a list of the documents the beneficiary will need prior to going to the embassy?

The K1 timeline and the K1 guide are both super helpful. We also bought a book on the process, NOLO Fiancé & Marriage Visas.