At the End of My Rope

[SonofBaraka 1]

On March 28^th, I submitted a I-130 petition, with a request for DCF, which was acknowledged, and clearly met all the checkmarks requested, including my last 3 IRS returns(all over the poverty level plus 25%),my citizenship(U.S.citizen, with current passport, U.S.drivers license, proof of voting, ownership of U.S. Condo, holding a current U.S.bank checking account with lots of cash, my validated Thai marriage to my filipina wife, a notarized statement that she has lived with me at my Thai condo since 2013. If USCIS had found discrepancies, had questions or needed additional information, you would think they would have contacted me after two months. Yet I have heard nothing and received no I-797c. I have called Bangkok, checked all the appropriate web sites, writtenthem requesting an update, but only received rote letters or phone conversations which either ignored, misled or claimed ignorance. How much longer will we have to wait? Is there a phone number or address we missed? In my naivete, I thought DCF was a fast track to her CR-1 visa. Apparently, I was wrong.

 

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, SonofBaraka said:

On March 28^th, I submitted a I-130 petition, with a request for DCF, which was acknowledged, and clearly met all the checkmarks requested, including my last 3 IRS returns(all over the poverty level plus 25%),my citizenship(U.S.citizen, with current passport, U.S.drivers license, proof of voting, ownership of U.S. Condo, holding a current U.S.bank checking account with lots of cash, my validated Thai marriage to my filipina wife, a notarized statement that she has lived with me at my Thai condo since 2013. If USCIS had found discrepancies, had questions or needed additional information, you would think they would have contacted me after two months. Yet I have heard nothing and received no I-797c. I have called Bangkok, checked all the appropriate web sites, writtenthem requesting an update, but only received rote letters or phone conversations which either ignored, misled or claimed ignorance. How much longer will we have to wait? Is there a phone number or address we missed? In my naivete, I thought DCF was a fast track to her CR-1 visa. Apparently, I was wrong.

 

Where did you submit the petition?  Directly to the USCIS office in Bangkok?

Edited May 27, 2019 by payxibka

[payxibka 10,044]

13 minutes ago, payxibka said:

 

Just go to the office,  no appointment needed

[SonofBaraka 1]

2 hours ago, payxibka said:

Where did you submit the petition?  Directly to the USCIS office in Bangkok?

Yes.

[SonofBaraka 1]

2 hours ago, payxibka said:

Just go to the office,  no appointment needed

Unfortunately, it ain't possible, since I'm in the U.S. and am not planning to fly back for 11 months.

 

[payxibka 10,044]

1 minute ago, SonofBaraka said:

Unfortunately, it ain't possible, since I'm in the U.S. and am not planning to fly back for 11 months.

 

When did you return? 

[SonofBaraka 1]

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

When did you return? 

April 11th

[givionte 138]

You contacted USCIS at the embassy/consulate, right?

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/contact-us-uscis-bangkok-field-office

 

Give their email and phone number a try, they allow walk-ins so they most certainly will answer your calls on hours they are in office.

 

The rest of the embassy would have no idea of the status, USCIS must approve it before they hand it over to the Department of State.  2 months doesn't sound correct at all to hear literally nothing.

[carmel34 3,531]

7 hours ago, SonofBaraka said:

Unfortunately, it ain't possible, since I'm in the U.S. and am not planning to fly back for 11 months.

 

I thought to file DCF in Bangkok, you had to be a resident of Thailand?  11 months sounds like you reside in the US.  From the Bangkok Embassy website, for DCF:

 

Residents of Thailand filing with USCIS Bangkok must submit the petition and supporting evidence in person.

Evidence of residency must be submitted with the petition.  The evidence you submit must support a determination that you are a resident in Thailand.

[SonofBaraka 1]

I believe I'm a resident of Thailand. I own and have lived in the same  condo  in Pattaya for the past 7 years . I have a Bangkok Bank savings account with more than 800,000 baht in that account continuously for the past 9 years and can demonstrate, through my U.S passport that I spend 10 months a year  in Thailand and two months in the U.S. every year. This year may prove to be an exception, depending on whether my wife gets her CR-1 visa.

.

[SonofBaraka 1]

18 hours ago, givionte said:

You contacted USCIS at the embassy/consulate, right?

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/contact-us-uscis-bangkok-field-office

 

Give their email and phone number a try, they allow walk-ins so they most certainly will answer your calls on hours they are in office.

 

The rest of the embassy would have no idea of the status, USCIS must approve it before they hand it over to the Department of State.  2 months doesn't sound correct at all to hear literally nothing.

I wrote them last at the above address on May 25th and received the following(in part) reply:

Thank you for contacting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Office located in Bangkok, Thailand. This automated response is to acknowledge receipt of your inquiry.

Our goal is to provide a response to your inquiry within 5 business days or sooner if it is particularly urgent. As each case is different, some inquiries may take longer than others to process. If this is the case, we will notify you in writing as to when to expect a response to your inquiry and the reason for the delay.

I'll let you know if and when I get a non-canned reply

 

[SonofBaraka 1]

20 hours ago, givionte said:

You contacted USCIS at the embassy/consulate, right?

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/contact-us-uscis-bangkok-field-office

 

Give their email and phone number a try, they allow walk-ins so they most certainly will answer your calls on hours they are in office.

 

The rest of the embassy would have no idea of the status, USCIS must approve it before they hand it over to the Department of State.  2 months doesn't sound correct at all to hear literally nothing.

You are correct in stating that a normal CR-1 visa does go to the Department of State, but when you file for a DCF(only available in certain countries, including Thailand) the documents go to the consulates of those countries and never leave those consulates. In the case of Thailand, the U.S. consulate is located across the street from USCIS.

[givionte 138]

The CR-1 does not go to the DOS until the USCIS office has approved it.  The embassy/consulate side may have assisted collecting the documents, but only the USCIS can approve the petition before they hand it back over to the embassy.  This is also why the DCF method is ending this year, because USCIS are closing all their offices outside of the US.  So yes, await their email, or call them during business hours, whatever theirs may be.  I've usually found 2 to 3 days for a reply to be the norm.

[SonofBaraka 1]

On 5/27/2019 at 1:34 PM, SonofBaraka said:

On March 28^th, I submitted a I-130 petition, with a request for DCF, which was acknowledged, and clearly met all the checkmarks requested, including my last 3 IRS returns(all over the poverty level plus 25%),my citizenship(U.S.citizen, with current passport, U.S.drivers license, proof of voting, ownership of U.S. Condo, holding a current U.S.bank checking account with lots of cash, my validated Thai marriage to my filipina wife, a notarized statement that she has lived with me at my Thai condo since 2013. If USCIS had found discrepancies, had questions or needed additional information, you would think they would have contacted me after two months. Yet I have heard nothing and received no I-797c. I have called Bangkok, checked all the appropriate web sites, writtenthem requesting an update, but only received rote letters or phone conversations which either ignored, misled or claimed ignorance. How much longer will we have to wait? Is there a phone number or address we missed? In my naivete, I thought DCF was a fast track to her CR-1 visa. Apparently, I was wrong.

 

End of Story

 

I just received the following e-mail from USCIS in Bangkok:

Please note that USCIS international offices do not issue receipt numbers for pending I-130 petitions, and the case may not be tracked online. Once approved, the Consular Section’s Immigrant Visa Unit will assign a case number and notify the petitioner by email.  The processing time in our office for Form I-130 can be up to 90 days. Please feel free to follow up with our office if you have not received a decision on your case within 90 days of filing. 

(I have 30 days before the 90 days are up)

 

 

[SonofBaraka 1]

On 5/28/2019 at 7:11 PM, givionte said:

The CR-1 does not go to the DOS until the USCIS office has approved it.  The embassy/consulate side may have assisted collecting the documents, but only the USCIS can approve the petition before they hand it back over to the embassy.  This is also why the DCF method is ending this year, because USCIS are closing all their offices outside of the US.  So yes, await their email, or call them during business hours, whatever theirs may be.  I've usually found 2 to 3 days for a reply to be the norm.

Since you know much more about developments in USCIS than I do, I'm very interested in whether you think pending CR-1/DCF visa applications(including mine) are in danger of being rejected, frozen or otherwise stopped i n their tracks.