TraciB

Call USCIS and speak to a 2nd tier representative, see if they can tell you if the file has been sent. Keep calling the NVC Info line, you can call daily, I called about every other day and when they receive the file, it will be in the system as received but then it takes time to get it entered.

I filed for a I-130 so don't know if the process is different, but I found that the NVC operators are way more helpful than anyone at USCIS.

Did your approval letter from USCIS state it was being forwarded to NVC?

Good luck!

I wasn't sure if this was covered, but I need to vent (or cry) and need some help from veterans of this process if anyone has had this happen to them. I got my NOA2 saying my I-129 F was approved, dated May 11, 2012. So, I am trying to be patient and working on critical work deadlines and trusting the process but finally I cannot take the suspense of waiting any longer so I sent an email to the NVC and they have no record of my file. So, I am hoping that perhaps they just mailed it on to Amsterdam for review so I contact them, and they have not received it either. It has been over a month and now I am concerned that the files may have been lost and I cannot tell you how depressed that makes me other than to say I just feel like curling up in a ball and crying.

Has anyone had this experience? I sent my I-134 and everything to support the I-129 F to my fiance' in anticipation of his receiving packet 3 - so we could proceed as fast a possible. My last visit was at Christmas and New Year and we aren't wealthy so we were waiting to move forward since that made better economical sense and the price of airfare has skyrocketed so a visit didn't seem a good idea if we are going to need the funds for moving expenses.

Now, I don't know what to do other than wait for a response from the NVC who stated they would follow up by contacting USCIS. I hate being stymied though. Waiting is hard enough as it is, without the added emotional burden of this.

Ok, question for anyone who has any experience in expedite request approvals. Due to USCIS error, I fell into the category of being able to request to expedite. I called NVC yesterday and was told that they had heard from the embassy in Belgium and that our request for expedite has been approved.

Now, I understand that NVC sends our file directly to Belgium and the rest is handled from there, does anyone have any experience or information on what to expect timewise or is there steps we can take to try and hurry this along???

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated...

Calling the IRS for tax advice is like calling USCIS for immigration advice

In other words...worthless? That's been my experience with both!

If you file a joint return, you are supposed to include your worldwide income, where ever it was earned.

And I did, but then it was excluded, but it still lists on the return.

I worried and worried over this, I just filed taxes and this is how I did it:

I filed married filing jointly, we filled out a W-7 for an ITIN Number, my husband's income was listed on the return but then it was excluded for not being in the USA. We sent the W7 that was filled out by my husband to the tax return and sent it to Austin, Texas.

I haven't received my refund yet so not sure it worked but it made sense to me and a professional did it.

Good Luck!

Do not send it to chicago

do not send it without permission and a NAME to send it to at the NVC or USCIS. Get it in writing from your congressman or email to you for the tier 2 person.

And yes after it is fixed then ask for the expedite

When you call again speak to the tier two person and offer a new packet to see if that will HELP THEM. lol

The hoops we have to jump through are incredible!

I just spoke with a supervisor at USCIS (the operator really didn't want to transfer me though). The supervisor said that she can see in the system that an email came through on March 9 stating that my file needed to be sent to the NVC. They can't do anything more for another 2 weeks. If the NVC does not have it by April 9, I need to call back and go to the next step. On Monday, I am going to email the NVC and have them open up a research case for it.

Yes, we jump through hoops and I am fine with that. My packet was clean and error free, I am willing to wait for them to do what they need to but the rest of these errors are just ridiculous. If I wasn't doing my job right, I wouldn't have my job...

Thanks again!

I have good news-- i found one person who said it only took 2 weeks to fix it

Bad news-I found 2 people who said that since the file was sent to NRC they lost all the paperwork

So if I were you I would start preparing an entire new packet (hopefully you have a couple copies lying around) and just have it ready in case they say they lost it

Or maybe just offer to send in a whole new packet to a specific person so it will not take a month or more to fix their error

I am sorry this has happened.

Oh I have everything and would be more than happy to send them a new copy but I want it expedited. Would I send it back to the Chicago Lockbox and start from scratch with my approval letter? I will overnight it today if you think that is the right way to go.. thanks again!!!

I think you are in for a long wait

Call a tier two and firmly tell them the file needs to be sent to NVC and not NRC

Also call your congressman again and ask them to please send a firm letter telling them to send the petition to NVC which is the correct place it should be

Good Luck

This will take 1-2 months to fix

Type in the search button for NRC and you will see many people went thru this LOST FILE thing and how long it takes to get your file back to USCIS so they can again forward it to the right place (NVC)

So infuriating! Thanks for your input! My congressman is following up making it very clear it needs to go to the NVC. It is unbelievable how poorly these people do their jobs and that there is no recourse.

My case was approved on March 2, 2012. USCIS made an error and didn't immediatly forward to NVC. I spoke with a Tier-2 operator on March 2, 2012 and she stated that an oversight had been made and she was emailing the CSC to forward my application to the NVC. Well, here we are 3 weeks later and I have heard nothing. The NVC said that after tomorrow, I can scan my approval notice and they would research it.

I have spoken with my Congressman, he inquired on my file and received word back today that my I-130 is in transit to the NRC. I said wait, what is the NRC and he said the National Records Center. Now, why exactly would my file be going to the NRC? This is just crazy.

Does anyone out there have any ideas as to what I can do to get it where it needs to be? Every couple days, I call the NVC to check (they are the nicest and most informative) and then I call USCIS and they are just worthless. This is a USCIS error and its costing me valuable time.

Any ideas out there???

Thanks in advance.

Traci

You seem to not understand a very crucial point here.

In order to "get" your husband "here," he requires an IR/CR-1 SPOUSAL VISA stamped on his passport. This visa is not just "given out" by the American Embassy just because someone accidentally screwed up your application and your NOA2.

Do not think this is a good thing, because it's not. This is a grievous error that can delay your application by months or more. Because your husband is not in the US, and he obviously cannot magically appear here, because he needs a Visa. The only way he can get a Visa is if your case is forwarded to the NVC. But, due to USCIS' error, they will not forward your application to NVC. As it stands today, your husband will never be able to get a Visa, unless you correct this problem.

Call USCIS, escalate the issue, ask to speak with a senior officer and explain your condition in detail. Request that they immediately fix their paperwork and forward your application to the NVC.

Good luck.

The problem or "oversight" is corrected. Your tone really isn't appreciated. I asked a question, is that not what this forum is for? No need to respond so rudely.

OP, I agree with sulhaq. This is an error by USCIS that unfortunately, you will have to get them to correct.

I spoke with a Supervisor at USCIS yesterday, she said it was an oversight and that she was emailing CSC to forward my petition to NVC. She said it was no big deal since it was caught right away.

Thsnks! I will do so now.

I just got off the phone with USCIS and am now even more confused than before. If my notice is indicating that the relative is in the USA then my application will not be forwarded to the NVC and I need to file a I-824 blah blah blah. Isn't it just easier to get him here and have him file for an AOS??

Does he have the spouse visa--accidently placed in his passport?

I think you had better call uscis

Thsnks! I will do so now.

Is it your receipt number?

Call USCIS. There is an error

Yes, it is my receipt number. It may be an error but is it an error I can use to my advantage? AOS from here would be great instead of wating longer for him to be able to come here.

I received my NOA2 Hardcopy in the mail today and am a little confused as to what it says:

"The above petition has been approved. The petition indicates that the person for whom you are petitioning is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status. He or she should contact the local USCIS office to obtain Form I-485 Application for permanent residence. A copy of this notice should be submitted with the application..."

Here is what I am confused about, my husband is not in the states. Does this mean we could get him here and just file Adjustment of Status from here?

Is this what they all say??

Thanks!

My husband and I contacted our congressman about 2 weeks ago. They been in contact with us twice. The last call was yesterday. They informed us that CSC said our case was not with anyone and had not been pulled as yet :(

Now that I see people with my priority date are now being approved..I am getting worried!!!!!

Keep following up with your Congressman's Immigration Liaison, I stayed in touch with mine about every two weeks, by phone. He was very helpful and very kind. Always better with human contact.

I dunno - you talked with someone at DHS?

Please call back into USCIS National Call Center (# in the NOA-1 letter)

and ask for an ISO - EXPLAIN ALL TO THE ISO.

It may be the ISO, once it's explained to him/her, will press on, making a note to the adjudicator that SC marriage certificates are not handled in this manner,

then the adjudicator will read the note, and the RFE will get closed on it's own - no further postal mail trail from you.

It's worth a try, today.

Good Luck !

Oh really?? I will definately try that. In the meantime, Charleston called me and has my letter ready and is sending out to me today! Yay! But I will follow your suggestion and see if that works, if not, I will fed ex the letter when i receive it next week. Thanks!!!

Sounds like you did everything the right way. As I tell my wife, do not get nervous about something until it is time to get nervous. Wait a bit and see what happens first. Just follow up with them. Your request seems very straight forward and simple.

Thanks. Makes me very nervous that this is all in someone elses hands. Of course I want to be able to submit the documentation and get it back to USCIS ASAP...and this is all going to slow it down. I will try and stay calm. You give sound advice.

I received the hard copy of my RFE yesterday, at first I thought it was an easy fix but after speaking with the courts in South Carolina and then speaking to the Department of Homeland Security, I am not sure how easy it is going to be. This is what the RFE said:

"The marriage certificate submitted does not show evidence of being civilly registered with the county clerk. The document must show the page and book numbers in which the event was recorded."

At first look, it seems to be an easy fix with a phone call to the Marriage License office in Charleston. Unfortunately, Charleston, SC does not record their marriages in this way. They are recorded in the computer and the signature of the judge on the certificate is their way of showing it registered.

I put in a call to the Department of Homeland Security to explain this situation, the very kind gentleman suggested I try to get it in writing from Charleston that this is their procedure and submit that with my RFE.

I have spoken with the Clerk in Charleston again, and she asked me to fax a letter explaining what I needed and she would have the judge look it over and see if he was willing to fulfill my request.

Now I am concerned, what if he isn't willing?? What if he takes forever to do so?? Does anyone out there have any ideas on ways around this or any experience with anything like this??

Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks.

AFTER 197 DAYS OUR NOA2 FINALLY CAME!!!!!!!!!! :dance: :dance: I RECEIVED A TEXT WITH THE GREAT NEWS!!!!!!! Im a July 26th filer. They are coming guys, slowly but steady. I really hope this is the longest wait of the whole process, almost 200 days

Congratulations and my my fingers are crossed. I am a July 26th filer too....come on approval!!!!

How do you get through to anyone there? Every time I call it's just automated and it won't let me speak with an operator. I would just love to hear a real person tell me that we weren't forgotten about.

I just start pressing other options until I get a line that has customer service reps on it, but just because you get to one of those lines, doesn't mean you get to talk to someone. If the CS reps are busy, it tells you to call back later. If you get a CS rep on the line, they really don't tell you much. I haven't tried to get in touch with a "Tier 2" person yet. Hope that helps you a bit.

"3-5 months"? Try closer to 7 months and you'll be better mentally prepared. We're at 6 months, 22 days and there have been no touches.

We are also over six months and the last supposed "touch" was Aug.4, 2011. Hopefully approval is right around the corner for all of us.

, I used to post here many years ago as we went through the torture of getting a visa through cairo. I am posting under an anonymous name as it would cause additional strife if I were voicing these problems in a forum. My husband is here now with me - we have built a nice life together - both have cars, bought a house, he got a decent job. But since day one it has been a struggle of views and culture. I am expected to do everything although he is not critical if things don't get done. His only responsibility he has excepted is to take out the garbage once a week and work 40 plus hours. I too work full time and take on additional work.

The main problem is communication if anything is discussed about politics or religion all hell breaks loose. We end up in huge fights/arguments. Its stupid @# %$^^$% #### o but I am to the point i don't want to talk about anything for fear it will start a battle. I feel he has depression since he came and have spoken to him about this. If he is not at work he is in bed on the computer - he has a hard time making friends and is critical of everyone as being not up to his moral standards. Its so hard to express this in a post as it comes off sounding so simplistic and there are two sides to every story.

I also am tired of carring all the weight of the household form cookin,laundry car care and the house repairs! I have to do everything he is unwilling and by this many years I dont see it changing.

The latest overcast on our relationship is he's a "faliure" compared to his friends in egypt and he ruined his life by marrying me - but it doesn't matter now cause its to late to go home as its to late to rebuild his career to where he left. Im sad I can't take it anymore there have been great times and horrible times but to me it feels like the final straw that I am the default result. I don't know what I am wanting by posting this perhaps others have had similar situations in there mena relationships and found away to improve the situation or how do you know when to part ways

I feel for you. Not sure anyone can tell you when the perfect time to "part ways" is, this is something that must come from your heart. I don't have any great words of advice other than I am sorry you are going through this. I would be happy to let you vent to me, as a stranger, would help me pass the USCIS process time.

Hi fellow vjers.

I hope I don't have to go into too much detail. But here is the summary. I got my naturalization in 2008. My 16 year old natural born son lives in Africa and I petitioned for him in August 2011. The California SC indicates that they process I-30s in 5 months. It was 5 months this January 29th. Does anyone know what I should expect going forward?

CSC is very behind....I am a July filer and still have heard nothing. I am well over six months now. They do seem to be moving along with K-1 applications especially but still many of us waiting.