ATTENTION JULY FILERS!

[Courtney 1]

Okay so I filed end of July and ran into a problem!!

I sent my package on July 27th and it reached TSC on July 30th (I had a return receipt). After more than a month of waiting, I received a notice w/my complete package returned in the mail that said it reached USCIS on or after July 30th and the fee that I sent in ($170) was outdated and I should send the correct fee IE $455 and resubmit my package.

Did this happen to anyone else???

Courtney - your application reached VSC on july 30th -no problems w/ fee??

The other thing that I am worried about now is that my fiance and I met LAST on 28th august 2005. So if resubmit my application now, will they raise a problem about not having met in the past two years since it is now september??? Will I have to travel to see him and file the petition again?

I am just totally freaked out! Any experiences?? Anything???

No problems yet, as far as I can tell, but there's still time

[its me dave 0]

I mailed my I-129F, w/ $170 check, to the NSC (from Wash state) on Saturday 7/28/07 at approx 4 PM Via the US Postal Service, just prior to the last mail pickup.

My packet was signed for in Nebraska around noon on Monday 7/30/07.

I have my NAO1 in front of me.

As someone who always waits till the last minute to do anything. I read the notice on the USCIS site and understood that If I got it postmarked prior to 7/30 then the $170 fee would be sufficient.

I disagree with Chris's interpretation on the deadline. I would take "otherwise filed" to mean hand delivered (or placed in a drop box).

For example your 'filing deadline' for the IRS is 4/15. A postmark on 4/15 11:59 PM is considered 'filed' on that date no matter when the IRS receives it or physically handles it.

I know I am not the only on whose petition was received on or after 7/30 with the old fee accepted.

I wonder if maybe some of the people who had their petitions returned might have unwittingly missed the postmark cutoff. Placed in a drop box on Friday or Saturday that was not picked up until Monday ? Does a Fed-ex timestamp/receipt qualify as a 'postmark' ?

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds the public that its

new fee schedule is effective today, July 30, 2007. Applications or petitions postmarked or

otherwise filed on or after today must include the new fee. USCIS will reject applications or

petitions containing an incorrect fee.

P.S. The odd thing about my NOA1 is the 'RECEIVED DATE' is marked as 7/28, the day I mailed it. 'NOTICE DATE' is 8/23. I believe I saw 'Theerak' (username) experienced the same.

Good luck to those of you who are having to deal with this. If you have a postmark prior to 7/30 I would call the USCIS for an explanation.

Dave

Edited September 13, 2007 by its me dave

[kaush 0]

I mailed my I-129F, w/ $170 check, to the NSC (from Wash state) on Saturday 7/28/07 at approx 4 PM Via the US Postal Service, just prior to the last mail pickup.

My packet was signed for in Nebraska around noon on Monday 7/30/07.

I have my NAO1 in front of me.

As someone who always waits till the last minute to do anything. I read the notice on the USCIS site and understood that If I got it postmarked prior to 7/30 then the $170 fee would be sufficient.

I disagree with Chris's interpretation on the deadline. I would take "otherwise filed" to mean hand delivered (or placed in a drop box).

For example your 'filing deadline' for the IRS is 4/15. A postmark on 4/15 11:59 PM is considered 'filed' on that date no matter when the IRS receives it or physically handles it.

I know I am not the only on whose petition was received on or after 7/30 with the old fee accepted.

I wonder if maybe some of the people who had their petitions returned might have unwittingly missed the postmark cutoff. Placed in a drop box on Friday or Saturday that was not picked up until Monday ? Does a Fed-ex timestamp/receipt qualify as a 'postmark' ?

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds the public that its

new fee schedule is effective today, July 30, 2007. Applications or petitions postmarked or

otherwise filed on or after today must include the new fee. USCIS will reject applications or

petitions containing an incorrect fee.

P.S. The odd thing about my NOA1 is the 'RECEIVED DATE' is marked as 7/28, the day I mailed it. 'NOTICE DATE' is 8/23. I believe I saw 'Theerak' (username) experienced the same.

Good luck to those of you who are having to deal with this. If you have a postmark prior to 7/30 I would call the USCIS for an explanation.

Dave

Thats great!!! I wonder if it just depends on who was handling the petition in the initial processing stages. I sent it via US Postal Service - priority and paid for at the post-office counter that evening.

USCIS even sent back the priority mail envelope with my package. The envelope has a postmark on it that clearly shows the date on it. I am waiting on a reply from the immigration lawyers at this point. Will keep you all updated on what happens.

If you have received your NOA1, I would think you would be fine. I would think that issuance of an NOA1 would mean your fee has been accepted and that your application was complete and now ready to be processed.

[weedebz 0]

Going to throw my hat in the ring....I work as part-time event and services organiser for a law firm...now it's a scottish law firm that doesn't deal in immigration but I let one of the partners read the postmark argument. They say the wording goes along billy's description. "otherwise filed" means delivered by means other than postal service. So if they are being returned witha postmark before 30th, someone in their mailroom either has a serious grudge against immigration or they didn't get the memo!

[bakofoil 27]

If there is so much disagreement between us over the definition of the wording it is no wonder that USCIS staff are dealing with applications differently. Those who are getting petitions returned need clarification on this, nonetheless, so thanks to those of you who are providing advice on how to interpret this.

I personally don't see the ambiguity in the wording at all although 'otherwise' should perhaps have been made more transparent. It has to be postmarked by US Mail or proof provided of an alternative delivery method before the 30th July. Delivery on the 30th July or later should not discount an application from the old fee schedule provided there is proof that the petition was submitted to an official intermediate body before that date.

It would be useful to hear firsthand from anyone submitting under the old fee schedule who has experience of this, i.e. had an application returned or received NOA1 or had their check cashed with a delivery date on or after the 30th July.

[evangelina 0]

After 50 days from July 23 my chesk still has not been cashed by VSC.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Going to throw my hat in the ring....I work as part-time event and services organiser for a law firm...now it's a scottish law firm that doesn't deal in immigration but I let one of the partners read the postmark argument. They say the wording goes along billy's description. "otherwise filed" means delivered by means other than postal service. So if they are being returned witha postmark before 30th, someone in their mailroom either has a serious grudge against immigration or they didn't get the memo!

Always good to find a way to get a free legal opinion.

I just checked the July Filer's spread sheet for the first time in a long time. Looks great but it seems the participation rate is low. There are 210 K1 petitions that were mailed in July and we only have about 57 petitions on the spread sheet. In order to make this spreadsheet as valuable as possible we need to try to maximize the participation rate. One of the reasons that the CSC & VSC threads by bszoom are so popular is that people know they can go there and instantly see how their progress compares with everyone else.

I have a couple of suggestions for the group to consider.

1. Freeze the frames so that the heading line is always showing. I know each user can do it themselves but I'm not sure if everyone will realize this. It gets a little confusing when the heading line srolls off the screen. I think if the editor freezes the heading rows that will be the default view for all users, but I'm not positive about that.

2. Add a column for date sent. It would be interesting to see how long some people had to wait for their NOA1's. By the way, VSC is currently projecting adjudication dates based on date sent I think.

3. Delete some of the columns that are not being used yet to make the width of the spreadsheet as narrow as possible. This will allow users to see the data at one glance which is always nice. We can add the other columns back in when they are needed.

4. "Allow" access to anyone who mailed / shipped their petition during July. That was the original intent when the thread (not the spreadsheet) was started because at that time getting the package in the mail was the step we were all focussing on. If we wind up with some people on the spread sheet who received NOA1's in August I do not see the harm. It will be helpful for those that filed toward the end of the month to see what is happening to others who did the same.

5. Make the spread sheet open access. I know there is a risk of someone messing things up, but it should be fairly easy for the moderators to repair things if necessary. I think the advantage of more entries and greater participation outweigh the risk. It may also be possible to keep the design elements locked but allow users to enter data. My guess is that a lot of users who hesitate to send you a PM would go ahead and enter their data in the spreadsheet if they could. You could make a copy of the spreadsheet before you made it open access so you could restore the old one if the experiment was a total disaster.

6. Consider splitting the K1 page into VSC K1 & CSC K1 pages. This will eliminate the need for users to add rows etc. They could just add their data on the bottom row and then you could sort the spreadsheet periodically if it will not do it automatically. You could also go ahead and copy your formulas in the entire column so that they are there ready to go if someone enters data on the line. In excel one can make the formula invisible until there is data for the formula to use. I'm not sure if that works with edit grid or not.

7. Make a periodic announcement with a link in the forum about updates, current number of petitions etc to prompt people to go take a look at the spreadsheet. I noticed that since we put the spreadsheet on another site there have been very few comments about it. The links in our signatures are not as effective at driving traffic as an actual post.

My guess is that to certain extent the spreadsheet has been forgotten about. I know that I very seldom look at it anymore. I thought there was tremendous interest in the spreadsheet when it was shown within the thread. It was great to have the data and the opportunity to interact all in one place. The only problem was that people kept adding data to old versions and that was a real pain. I think that having it on editgrid and having open access might be the best solution. If you like, I would be glad to help with the cleanup and maintenance.

Thanks for listening!

[bakofoil 27]

Going to throw my hat in the ring....I work as part-time event and services organiser for a law firm...now it's a scottish law firm that doesn't deal in immigration but I let one of the partners read the postmark argument. They say the wording goes along billy's description. "otherwise filed" means delivered by means other than postal service. So if they are being returned witha postmark before 30th, someone in their mailroom either has a serious grudge against immigration or they didn't get the memo!

Always good to find a way to get a free legal opinion.

I just checked the July Filer's spread sheet for the first time in a long time. Looks great but it seems the participation rate is low. There are 210 K1 petitions that were mailed in July and we only have about 57 petitions on the spread sheet. In order to make this spreadsheet as valuable as possible we need to try to maximize the participation rate. One of the reasons that the CSC & VSC threads by bszoom are so popular is that people know they can go there and instantly see how their progress compares with everyone else.

I have a couple of suggestions for the group to consider.

1. Freeze the frames so that the heading line is always showing. I know each user can do it themselves but I'm not sure if everyone will realize this. It gets a little confusing when the heading line srolls off the screen. I think if the editor freezes the heading rows that will be the default view for all users, but I'm not positive about that.

2. Add a column for date sent. It would be interesting to see how long some people had to wait for their NOA1's. By the way, VSC is currently projecting adjudication dates based on date sent I think.

3. Delete some of the columns that are not being used yet to make the width of the spreadsheet as narrow as possible. This will allow users to see the data at one glance which is always nice. We can add the other columns back in when they are needed.

4. "Allow" access to anyone who mailed / shipped their petition during July. That was the original intent when the thread (not the spreadsheet) was started because at that time getting the package in the mail was the step we were all focussing on. If we wind up with some people on the spread sheet who received NOA1's in August I do not see the harm. It will be helpful for those that filed toward the end of the month to see what is happening to others who did the same.

5. Make the spread sheet open access. I know there is a risk of someone messing things up, but it should be fairly easy for the moderators to repair things if necessary. I think the advantage of more entries and greater participation outweigh the risk. It may also be possible to keep the design elements locked but allow users to enter data. My guess is that a lot of users who hesitate to send you a PM would go ahead and enter their data in the spreadsheet if they could. You could make a copy of the spreadsheet before you made it open access so you could restore the old one if the experiment was a total disaster.

6. Consider splitting the K1 page into VSC K1 & CSC K1 pages. This will eliminate the need for users to add rows etc. They could just add their data on the bottom row and then you could sort the spreadsheet periodically if it will not do it automatically. You could also go ahead and copy your formulas in the entire column so that they are there ready to go if someone enters data on the line. In excel one can make the formula invisible until there is data for the formula to use. I'm not sure if that works with edit grid or not.

7. Make a periodic announcement with a link in the forum about updates, current number of petitions etc to prompt people to go take a look at the spreadsheet. I noticed that since we put the spreadsheet on another site there have been very few comments about it. The links in our signatures are not as effective at driving traffic as an actual post.

My guess is that to certain extent the spreadsheet has been forgotten about. I know that I very seldom look at it anymore. I thought there was tremendous interest in the spreadsheet when it was shown within the thread. It was great to have the data and the opportunity to interact all in one place. The only problem was that people kept adding data to old versions and that was a real pain. I think that having it on editgrid and having open access might be the best solution. If you like, I would be glad to help with the cleanup and maintenance.

Thanks for listening!

All of this sounds great if it is practically possible. It would definitely be useful to highlight the issue of submission and receipt dates and see some progress on check processing/NOA1s and then see how that affects NOA2's as time progresses. The spreadsheet will be incredibly useful in time. I am willing to help in any way I can.

Also, those who end up with returned packages can have some basis for comparison along with advice on how to deal with that issue should it occur.

I wonder whether receipt of NOA1 makes people rest for a while on these forums since they are not expecting contact on their application for a couple of months or so after.

it might also be a good idea to subforum a couple of issues, then the traffic is not so heavy on one forum that pages of useful info are not lost within a more generalised forum. There are 73 pages on this forum and I wonder whether those who may only check the forums weekly would bother to read maybe a dozen pages of posts since their last visit. Perhaps, missing a request for information that may be of use to all of us.

Just an idea

[chris4gretchen 1]

While i hope i am clearly wrong and the returned petitions get accepted, my final debate is this...

i dont see how using fedex or UPS or the postal service or hand delivery "files" a petition. the wording says otherwise "filed". my giving my petition to Fedex doesnt file it with USICS or any service center. they can lose the petition, deliver it to the wrong address, even return it to me etc. It doesnt mean USCIS will look at my Fedex receipt and give me expedited service because fedex filed it. Otherwise filed on means USICS or the service center filed it . And i dont think them signing and checking it for errors files it into the system. the ones that were return i bet arent in the system yet since they dont have a case number yet.

i do agree that the statement itself can be interpreted a few ways. it will be interesting to see how the returned petitions fare and if USCIS accepts they made a mistake.

Good luck to all that got returned because of the date.

Chris

Edited September 13, 2007 by chris4gretchen

[Jeraly 4]

It pays to check the internet frequently - sometimes you can get some great deals. When we planned ahead, I got a round trip flight from Chicago to London for $1,300 and on the spur of the moment he got a ticket from London to Chicago round trip for $600 - go figure!

Agreed, last minute deals can be wonderful, and are often how I visit my SO. A lot of airlines put out a list every week on a certain day (Continental on Tuesdays, American also on Tuesday, others, usually mid-week.) American Airlines has a roundtrip for next weekend from New York to London for those of you there for $330 + tax. You can sign up on most sites to have their lists emailed to you or you can just check them every week. A roundtrip from Toronto (where my SO lives) to NY is often around $350 if you book in advance, and about $160 on Continental's last minute deal. They are definitely worth checking.

Only problem with this is being able to get time off work at the last minute or risk not being able to visit at all - I know sometimes it can be cheaper to get the last minute deals but I am a worry-wart as it is anyway and like to book asap

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

If there is so much disagreement between us over the definition of the wording it is no wonder that USCIS staff are dealing with applications differently. Those who are getting petitions returned need clarification on this, nonetheless, so thanks to those of you who are providing advice on how to interpret this.

I find it interesting that it can cause so much debate - we're all intelligent people and are interpreting it in different ways which in spite of what anyone thinks, means that the wording is unclear. I might think it says A, but if someone else things it says B then it's not clear. It's the same in university when writing essays and things - it doesn't matter what you are trying to say, if the person reading it interprets it differently to how you intended it to be meant then your marks will reflect that

I just checked the July Filer's spread sheet for the first time in a long time. Looks great but it seems the participation rate is low. There are 210 K1 petitions that were mailed in July and we only have about 57 petitions on the spread sheet. In order to make this spreadsheet as valuable as possible we need to try to maximize the participation rate. One of the reasons that the CSC & VSC threads by bszoom are so popular is that people know they can go there and instantly see how their progress compares with everyone else.

I agree that a higher participation rate would be good but I think as Debz is entering all the info by hand this would be an arduous task... bszoom I think runs a programme he wrote to extract the information and have it laid out like that so if we have a July computer whiz who can make a spreadsheet as beautiful as Debz's then put your hands up!!!

I have a couple of suggestions for the group to consider.

Freeze the frames so that the heading line is always showing. I know each user can do it themselves but I'm not sure if everyone will realize this. It gets a little confusing when the heading line srolls off the screen. I think if the editor freezes the heading rows that will be the default view for all users, but I'm not positive about that.

This would be cool I must say although I have never figured out how to do it even in excel

"Allow" access to anyone who mailed / shipped their petition during July. That was the original intent when the thread (not the spreadsheet) was started because at that time getting the package in the mail was the step we were all focussing on. If we wind up with some people on the spread sheet who received NOA1's in August I do not see the harm. It will be helpful for those that filed toward the end of the month to see what is happening to others who did the same.

Agreed

5. Make the spread sheet open access. I know there is a risk of someone messing things up, but it should be fairly easy for the moderators to repair things if necessary. I think the advantage of more entries and greater participation outweigh the risk. It may also be possible to keep the design elements locked but allow users to enter data. My guess is that a lot of users who hesitate to send you a PM would go ahead and enter their data in the spreadsheet if they could. You could make a copy of the spreadsheet before you made it open access so you could restore the old one if the experiment was a total disaster.

Worth a try - I know when I was trying to moderate the maps it turned into a bit of a nightmare - I even put formatting instructions in a really obvious place which some people managed to totally delete and put their names in - I'm not sure how anyone accidently does that!!!

6. Consider splitting the K1 page into VSC K1 & CSC K1 pages. This will eliminate the need for users to add rows etc. They could just add their data on the bottom row and then you could sort the spreadsheet periodically if it will not do it automatically. You could also go ahead and copy your formulas in the entire column so that they are there ready to go if someone enters data on the line. In excel one can make the formula invisible until there is data for the formula to use. I'm not sure if that works with edit grid or not.

Kinda like the idea of the different sheets but when we start moving onto AOS etc then it might get a bit more awkward... I guess we could cross that bridge when we came to it though..?

7. Make a periodic announcement with a link in the forum about updates, current number of petitions etc to prompt people to go take a look at the spreadsheet. I noticed that since we put the spreadsheet on another site there have been very few comments about it. The links in our signatures are not as effective at driving traffic as an actual post.

Good point but won't that get kinda annoying having loads of threads about one thing all the time? Or maybe it could just get mentioned here periodically - is that what you mean?

[weedebz 0]

if people send me their info I have no problems adding it in. Takes my mind off other stuff like waiting and wedding plans. going to play around with formulas later or tomorrow and maybe make some changes. I think the seperate pages for CSC and VSC could get confusing once we get to AOS as there will be so many pages to go through. Might play around with layout too.

Edited September 13, 2007 by weedebz

[Jeraly 4]

OMG!!!

"Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated as early as September 5, 2007*"

Not that it will really happen as it'll prolly move back to December again in a few hours but still!!! I should have my NOA2 now!!!

Edited September 13, 2007 by Jeraly

[chris4gretchen 1]

does anyone else find it strange that there isnt a september filers thread and we're halfway thru the month?

is no one filing in september on VJ? does that mean its a slow month and the service centers can catch up some? I know when i filed i couldnt wait to get on here and have a thread. There are several threads for may, june, july, and august but not one for September. Are they maybe just a quiet bunch?

Chris

[bakofoil 27]

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

In that case I'm not a July filer. Not even a September filer at this stage

[weedebz 0]

my estimated date gone back to 10th november.....it's only one day earlier but hey it's one day in right direction!!!

I WANT IT NOW NOW NOW NOW *stamps foot like angry 3yr old*