fletchvann

I'm looking for suggestions on how my fiance can contact me in the airport once he lands and clears immigration. His POE will likely be in New York, but he'll have to take a connecting flight to Atlanta before I see him. I don't believe his cell phone will work in the US, and my biggest fear is that he'll be either detained or denied entry upon arrival (no reason for fear other than being a worry wart) and will not have any way of notifying me until he's gone. Any suggestions for brief communication to confirm landing and approved entry?

I ended up putting everything into a packed with a table of contents (see below). I did it primarily for my benefit and for my fiance to ensure that he kept everything in order after I mailed it to him. He said that they were very pleased at receiving such an organized packet. I don't know if it makes any difference, but a happy visa officer is a nice visa officer.

I-129F petition includes:

• Cover letter

• Form G-1145

• Form I-129F and continuation sheet for I-129F

• G-325A and continuation sheet with passport style photo (petitioner)

• G-325A and continuation sheet with passport style photo (beneficiary)

• Copy of birth certificate (petitioner)

• Letters certifying intent to marry (from both petitioner and beneficiary)

• Proof of having met in person in the past two years and of an ongoing relationship

• 5 chat transcripts

• 2 Lion Air receipts and accompanying tickets

• 8 photos

DS-156 application includes:

• Form DS-156K

• Form DS-230

I-134 application includes:

• Form I-134 and continuation sheet for I-134

• Tax Form W-2

• Tax Form 1040

• Original letter from my bank (2 copies)

• Bank statements for August 2011 - June 2012

• Original letter from my employer (2 copies)

Proof of Continuing Relationship includes:

• Letter of intent to marry

• Five chat transcripts

• Skype call history

NOA2

Receipt confirmation from Jakarta Embassy

Our interview is on 3/13/13. I know my fiance' in Ghana has to complete his paperwork, medical exams, and police report. But how do I put together this packet of evidence? I have our NVC petition package, tax transcripts, w2's, paystubs, emails, im's, phone records, photos from my 2009 and 2011 trips, and cards. Is there any special way to put these together or just label them neatly. I'm so nervous because they denied us for lack of evidence so I may be over thinking things.

Ps. I will be attending the interview with my fiance' this time.

The wait is impossible. We were approved for the visa at the interview on Aug. 9, and then they called back to say we were being moved into administrative processing. Not a word since then. I had to call my senator's office for help for the NOA2 and am working with them now to wrap up the administrative processing, and they have been tremendously helpful. If you've already called USCIS and filed a formal inquiry, the only thing left to do is to appeal to your senator's constituent services office. Mine was very helpful, and I'm sure yours will be too.

It has been 206 days now since our last NOA-1. Anybody out there in the same boat? Why the delay and why some received their approval faster than anyone else. Why are applications not handled in proper order? I have so many Whys!

Did they tell you why you were denied entry?

I was denied entry last April in Toronto. I went to the ticketing counter and they got me on the earliest flight back at no charge. However, I was not reimbursed for my return flight scheduled a week later.

Thanks for the advice. I emailed the embassy this morning.

The embassy didn't give any indication of a completion date other than saying that AP can take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months, but we decided to hope for the two-week window because the thought of longer was too heartbreaking at the time. They did not request any additional documentation or evidence for the AP so we're assuming it's just additional background checks.

Now that we're down to the wire, it doesn't look like we'll get the visa before he returns to Bangladesh. I spoke with a USCIS official at their customer service center about forwarding, and she was the one who suggested form I-824 and said it could take anywhere from one to several months to process.

Everyone I've spoken to at each level of the process has been very confused by our situation and not quite sure how to proceed. If anyone on this forum has a similar situation, I would be very interested to hear your story.

We have a bit of a unique situation. My fiance is a citizen of Bangladesh but a legal resident of Indonesia. We applied for the K-1 visa through the Jakarta embassy. We've been approved in every avenue. He had his interview three weeks ago and was approved, but they put our case into administrative processing. His residency expires on August 31 at which time he will return to Bangladesh.

I have contacted one of my senator's offices and requested their help, and they have been contacting various agencies on our behalf. The embassy is aware that his residency expires on Friday, and we're hopeful that they will be able to complete the administrative processing and issue the visa in time. However, just in case, I am looking for some information on our options.

I understand that, if they do not complete the administrative processing in time, we can file form I-824 and pay a fee of $405 to have our case forwarded to the Dhaka embassy in Bangladesh. Seeing as this is expensive and will probably add several additional months to our waiting period, I'm looking for any other options we may have. Does anyone know if perhaps we can keep the case in Indonesia and then, after his AP is complete, he can just fly back to Indonesia to get the visa? This would be significantly cheaper than the I-824 fee. Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks for the tip. I contacted my representative and hope that will help. Congrats on your NOA2!

I got my NOA1 on 12/12 and got my NOA2 on 05/02. I took us 142 days in VSC to get approved. Maybe you can get your local representative to make an inquiry on your behalf, that helps sometimes.

We filed our I-129F petition on 12/8/2012 with the VSC. i called USCIS on 5/8/2012 at the five-month mark to check that status of our case, and they told me to wait to file a request for inquiry until the processing times had been updated on the website. The representative I spoke with on 5/8/2012 did tell me that on that date, the VSC was currently processing petitions filed on 12/4/2012 so that we probably wouldn't have long to wait. On 5/16/2012, the processing times were updated and were still listed as five months, so I filed a request for inquiry into why our case was outside the normal processing times.

I just received a response on 5/24/12 stating that our petition is currently under review and we should hear a response within two months of receipt of this letter. Did anyone else file on or around the same time with the VSC? If so, what's your status? Does a delay like this mean anything or is it just a slow service center?

Thanks,

You're at the mercy of the system. We filed our I-129F on December 8, 2011 with the VSC. There still haven't been any touches on our case. I called on May 8 on the 5-month mark to check the status, and they said to wait until the processing times were updated on the website before inquiring. The rep I spoke with on May 8 did tell me that at that time, the VSC was processing cases filed on December 4.

They updated the processing times on May 16, so I called back and filed a request for inquiry. Received an answer today (5/24/12) saying that our request for inquiry had been processed and our petition is currently under review and should be processed within 60 days from today. The request for inquiry doesn't really do much - they don't tell you what the holdup is - but for me it's something that I can do, even if it's just pushing paper.

Some people I know who've gone through a lot with immigration for different visas have strongly recommended a lawyer. Supposedly immigration lawyers can bypass the USCIS customer service maze and get real answers about cases, so if you get very nervous that might be an option. It's a draining, gut-wrenching, emotionally tumultuous experience waiting for news and not knowing for certain if you're going to get your happy ending. Even though you haven't hit the five-month mark yet since your NOA1, call the customer service line if it makes you feel better. The hardest part is not being able to do anything.