Jamie and Shirley

So, no way of knowing?

Welcome to the pack. I think most of us figure out that attorneys were never needed.

Hi, I think most are familiar with my case, but I will summerize it - simply so others do not make the same mistake.

We received our NOA2 on Dec 30th and NVC gave us a case number on Jan 12th. They noticed that I missed checking the box that says I was never convicted of a felony (the lady at NVC told me this information) and sent it back to CIS Vermont. Vermont received it on the 18th of Jan.... and there it has sat. Nothing I have done has made any difference.

The ladies at my local New Orleans office have been very nice and have submitted service requests along with memos stating that Shirley is pregnant hoping that someone would simply go ahead and resend me the I129f so that I could correct it and send it back. I just got back to the U.S. today from another visit with her (4 in the last 1.5 yrs) and visited the office just before I left. They placed a call to Vermont and all they did was verify that they had the paperwork and that they were very behind (which I expected, but I cannot stand to sit around and do nothing but wait).

Also, while in Malaysia, I visited the consulate to see what could be done. The answer was nothing (which I thought would be the case, but I had to try). I was nice to go in an see the place and meet the people though. It wasn't nearly as menacing as I thought and everyone seemed very nice

So let this be a lesson to you.... DO NOT MAKE A MISTAKE ON YOUR FORMS or you will suffer my dilema for sure. Also, learn this lesson... DO NOT HIRE AN ATTORNEY unless you have an extra special case. My attorney was expensive and has accomplished NOTHING for me. I know that the mistake was mine, but i paid him a large sum of money to ensure that the papers did not go out with mistakes. The ONLY thing he did was send them out with a notice that we had representation. Save the big money for something else, like your AOS. You can make a mistake all by yourself and it will not cost you a stupid amount of money.

So my original question is: Can I track the progress of returned cases like mine some place? Is the something like an expected processing date, such as with the NOA2?

Hi all, our paperwork was returned to CIS Vermont after NOA2 in January by NVC because of a minor mistake (missed checking a box) and we haven't heard anything from them. The lady at my local CIS office called Vermont because it has been so long since my service request and they acknowleged that they had my case, but that they were very behind. Is there any way to track or know approximately how long it is taking these returned cases to process? Is it listed any place? It has been over sixty days since the return. This is worse than waiting for the NOA2 because we are completely in the dark

Your calculations make a lot of assumptions. In some areas, you couldn't rent a tiny studio for $600/month. A lot of areas don't have public transportation. And I don't know anyone whose utilities are $100, even if some are included in rent. $6000 for food, shopping, etc. is $500 a month. Does that really seem realistic to you? Maybe people with tremendous self-control and the time/inclination to clip coupons and shop around could make that work, but it seems awfully optimistic if you are expecting that money to cover all other needs.

This is the absolute truth. I live in an area where the cost of living is very low and I could never dream of the numbers that were mentioned there. There seems to be a lack of reality in the numbers.

I also see no reason why the work done in Vermont and California could not be outsourced to a private company. Doing so would surely cut the process time by 75%. They should also add a service for expedited applications at a premium, say double the normal fee.

Truer words were never written....

Some of you know my story - here is a shortened version:

Shirley and I have been in the K1 process since June of last year. We had our application approved by USCIS Vermont on Dec 30 and sent to NVC. NVC promptly sent it back to USCIS because I forgot to check the box that states I had never been convicted of a crime and my attorney also missed it. On the Jan 16th, I went to my local USCIS office in New Orleans and told them what had happened and that my fiancé is pregnant to see if they could get me the paperwork any faster so I could check off the box and send it back to them ASAP. They filed a service request for me, noted that Shirley was pregnant and asked for expedition, and I received acknowledgement from USCIS of the request four days later with a service target date of Feb 7th. That time has long come and gone and I have written my State Senator and local Congressman pleading for a "nudge" of the paperwork so we can go ahead and get our interview. Shirley will not be able to travel in a couple of more months due to her pregnancy.

Now that you are caught up, my question is simple: Is there any thing else that I can possibly do to help things along? It is ridiculous to have to wait so long to correct something so very simple. has anyone done anything, other from what I have done, to help move their paperwork along? I am not the type to just sit around and do nothing. Plus, Shirley is losing her sanity and I feel like such a failure for messing things up in the first place.

FYI - save your money on an attorney. They do nothing but send your paperwork in and take your money. Mine didn't even proof the information. So basically, I have paid him $2000 to send in my paperwork. I could have sent in faulty paperwork on my own for free.

God Bless all of us that are going thru this terrible process.

Congrats to you!

I noticed that the receipt from the service request stated that it has a "Target Date" of 02/07/2012. Does that mean that it is assumed there would be action on it by this time? Or is it more of a marker of when USCIS will try to begin a review and there is no telling how long after that?

I can only speak from experience... I forgot ONE CHECKMARK on my I-129F. It went thru USCIS with no problem. But when it was sent to NVC they sent it back to USCIS for review. Now I am stuck in a loop. I would venture to think that, at some point, you will be getting this back.

there is a good chance you will hear something within the next couple of weeks now... hopefully

I certainly hope... I will keep it updated as usual.

Awesome for you! Good luck!

When making an account on the CSC Visa Information Services will I be filling out the information of my fiancé (foreigner) to attend interview or will this be in my name (US Citizen)?

Also can I create an account and look at what dates I can choose from to attend interview before choosing so I can have an idea of time frame? Or once I see the dates I must pick one?

I would also like to know the answer to this...

*UPDATE*

On Thursday of last week, I received and email from USCIS that they had received the service request (four days after my local office put it in on Monday). That was all, there was nothing else included in the email.

I'm very bummed. It looks like I will be forced down a long road....

Thanks! I hope so as well. I will keep everyone posted.

*UPDATED*

1. I hate attorneys. Mine has not earned a single penny of the the $2000 that Shirley and I paid him. The ONLY thing he has done was send out our paperwork. I wish I had started reading this forum before I retained him to represent our case. HE should have been the one to say "Oh no! Let me call the Dpartment of State and find out what's going on" or "Let me run over to the USCIS office and see what can be done".... GRRRRR. And he flat out lied to me when he said everything was filled out on the I-129F - which brings me to...

2. This weekend I dug my paperwork out of the box it was in (I just moved to a larger home for Shirley, our soon to be baby, and I) and looked at my original copy of the I-129F and Section C was NOT filled out. I somehow MISSED checking off the box that indicates that I was never convicted of a crime. I was so angry with myself for overlooking that!!! But just as angry with my attorney for not double checking the work he is representing and for lying to me about it being marked off. Sooooo...

3. I attended my CIS appointment Monday morning and the ladies that I spoke to were very nice to me and tried to be very helpful so we shall soon see if their efforts on my behalf pay off for me in a positive way. They put in a service request for me stating exactly what is wrong with the I-129F (a check mark was left off of Section C) and also asked if there was any possibility of expedition because Shirley is pregnant. She told me not to get my hopes up about any expediting, but that I should hear something from the office in about 5 days and we could hopefully resolve the matter quickly. I went so far as to ask if someone in the vermont office could be called and I would give them verbal consent to check the NO box of Section C because it just seems so rediculous that we would have to go through such trouble for such a thing - but of course they can't do things like that.

4. Let my folly be a lesson to you new guys. Don't hire a lawyer if you don't have to and check your paperwork a hundred times! It is easy to miss something like a checkbox when you are so concentrated on getting all the information on the other forms correct. The I-129F is easy to fill out when compared to the other information sheets that you have to fill out and something like that could be taken for granted.

I will update you guys when I hear something back from Vermont.

Oh yeah, sorry for such a long post

*UPDATED*

1. I hate attorneys. Mine has not earned a single penny of the the $2000 that Shirley and I paid him. The ONLY thing he has done was send out our paperwork. I wish I had started reading this forum before I retained him to represent our case. HE should have been the one to say "Oh no! Let me call the Dpartment of State and find out what's going on" or "Let me run over to the USCIS office and see what can be done".... GRRRRR. And he flat out lied to me when he said everything was filled out on the I-129F - which brings me to...

2. This weekend I dug my paperwork out of the box it was in (I just moved to a larger home for Shirley, our soon to be baby, and I) and looked at my original copy of the I-129F and Section C was NOT filled out. I somehow MISSED checking off the box that indicates that I was never convicted of a crime. I was so angry with myself for overlooking that!!! But just as angry with my attorney for not double checking the work he is representing and for lying to me about it being marked off. Sooooo...

3. I attended my CIS appointment Monday morning and the ladies that I spoke to were very nice to me and tried to be very helpful so we shall soon see if their efforts on my behalf pay off for me in a positive way. They put in a service request for me stating exactly what is wrong with the I-129F (a check mark was left off of Section C) and also asked if there was any possibility of expedition because Shirley is pregnant. She told me not to get my hopes up about any expediting, but that I should hear something from the office in about 5 days and we could hopefully resolve the matter quickly. I went so far as to ask if someone in the vermont office could be called and I would give them verbal consent to check the NO box of Section C because it just seems so rediculous that we would have to go through such trouble for such a thing - but of course they can't do things like that.

4. Let my folly be a lesson to you new guys. Don't hire a lawyer if you don't have to and check your paperwork a hundred times! It is easy to miss something like a checkbox when you are so concentrated on getting all the information on the other forms correct. The I-129F is easy to fill out when compared to the other information sheets that you have to fill out and something like that could be taken for granted.

I will update you guys when I hear something back from Vermont.

Your name might have come up in a background check for a DV case or something similar, and they might want to know why you didn't declare it for the IMBRA requirements. I saw something similar happen to someone else. They'd had a big blow-up fight during their prior divorce. DV charges were filed, but were later dismissed for lack of evidence. USCIS found out that charges had been filed, but didn't know the disposition of the case, so they wanted court documents in order to determine if an IMBRA disclosure requirement needed to be met.

You'll know more when you get the hardcopy RFE.

I can't imagine that would be the issue - I've never been a part of any kind of domestic violence in my life. I have barely ever had any blow up type of arguments. I'm just not that type of guy You never know what people can do to you these days though and I appreciate the ideas you are sharing

have you tried connecting your phone to your petition using a "phone to petition adapter cable"???

Yes, but unfortunately I bought the cable at Walmart and the quality was so poor that it wouldn't convey data.

On a more serious note, I'm going to the USCIS office today at lunch to see what they can tell me (if anything) about what in the world may be producing issues in Section C of the petition. Like I said, I have never served in the military and I have never been convicted of a crime of any sort. Hopefully, there is a person there that the Universe will direct me to that has a sweet and caring personality and feels like being as helpful as possible on a Friday afternoon

Jamie

Adam had his medical today and London has logged packet 3. They have said he is eligible for the interview and we are just waiting for them to set the date. Embassy should have medical results next week, and fingers crossed for an interview date soon. After the long wait for NOA2, it is nice to see progress! Friends are happy for me but they don't really know what it is like or what it all means. Thanks all for always being here to answer questions and give support. It is nice having a place to turn where people really understand.

Yes, this is such a dreadful process... it's nice to have people around that understand what it's like and can be supportive.

Congrats!

Why are you asking your attorney about this? Don't you have a copy of the petition that was sent to USCIS?

Yes, but it is at home and I am at work today. My petition wouldn't pick up the phone when I called my house to speak to it, so I called the attorney for verification.

You say assume I say conclude. Either way, until you get it in writing you have nothing and are merely speculating.

I have new information from the NVC regarding this case that is even more confusing... the lady told me this morning that she didn't have the specifics, but it was noted that the petition was returned due to something with Section C. Which is so weird because I have NEVER been in the military and I have NEVER been convicted of a crime of ANY kind - much less the ones they are describing on the form.

Called my attorney today and he verified that we checked off the "No" box.

What in the world is going on??? Geez.

How does one talk to an actual person at the USCIS? I called this morning and nothing in the menu gave me an option to speak to an actual person.

"He got an NOA2

The petition was denied and sent back due to some error in the I-129f, or so they said to him. We do not KNOW why and we will not know why until USCIS reviews it and issues a decision.

The OP is jumping to coclusions without solid information."

Yes, you are somewhat correct. I'm not actually jumping to a conclusion, just making an assumption as to what could be missing after speaking with my attorney. No conclusions were drawn though

It had not occurred to me that maybe someone at CIS could have not filled in some information. I will call tomorrow and see if I can get some more conclusive information. Murphy's Law is real and in affect lol.

You aren't even supposed to put anything there if the language uses English characters. I thinking somebody goofed something up. Seems as though it was sent back for nothing and it will have wasted more of the time for nothing. I assure you that there is nothing else on the form that can be filled out.

So I get a notification today from USCIS that the State Department has sent back our petition for review! So I called the NVC and they said it was sent back because there was a section of the I129F that wasn't filled out. I said "What??". My attorney and I both looked over that form. I called my attorney and he said "I'm looking at it right now and everything is filled out as it should be. Nothing is missing. The only thing missing is the area where you have to put in the characters that used if the country doesn't use English lettering. Since Malaysia uses English lettering characters, that is obviously not the problem. I have no idea what is going on."

I just want to roll over and cry. My fiance' is expecting our child and we were planning for her to be here in March. Delays over stupidness is disheartening.

Anyone else ever deal with this?