Billious

Liddy, that is correct.

An update: just heard back from Senator Baldwin's caseworker. She said she spoke with the supervisor of the CSC's congressional inquiries department. He noted there was a severe uptick in Congressional inquiries over the past few weeks.

He insisted no adjudicators we're diverted to DACA and that delays were due to increased volume (I think we can all collectively call BS but one way or another...)

He also said hundreds of new adjudicators were hired and are in training right now, and that most of them are due to go to the CSC. He told our caseworker that no files were water damaged (it would be interesting to find out whether the Ombudsman was full of it?) and most interestingly: anyone with files within a 3 week range of the current processing date is eligible to have their file pulled and reviewed by a "senior adjudicator" by Congressional request.

Take with as many grains of salt as required....

The idea that they are spitting out RFE's just to bolster their numbers probably doesn't hold water. It takes more time to spit out an RFE than it does an approval, and the same adjudicator then holds on to the file until the RFE evidence comes back, so they don't even get rid of it. And they can't spit out an RFE without looking at the file in the first place.

Looking at an old thread written by someone who used to be an adjudicator, they don't like doing RFE's. They only do them because the cases are randomly reviewed for quality, and if a file gets approved that should have had an RFE, the adjudicator gets dinged on their performance stats (which are linked to pay raises). So they truly have no motivation to spit out useless RFE's.

Sorry that there's been a delay in processing, but at least you know the interminable wait is over and now you're finally on the road!

Just got off the phone with my senator's liaison (Senator Ron Johnson Wisconsin). I had called and emailed about 10 days ago and they said they would call and inquire on our behalf. We are a October 11th filer btw. The liaison said that she had inquired about our file and she was assured that our file was not destroyed in the plumbing incident a few weeks ago and that the DACA files were not affecting the K1 processing time. And apparently they told her that they are currently working on September filers. I asked her when she thought we would get our NOA2 and she said she was pretty sure in the next few weeks they would get to us.

You know, after my initial phone conversation with Ginger over at Sen. Johnson's office, I sent all the materials she said she needed, but never heard back from her. So having read this post, I decided to call her up. She told me the same things: DACA didn't cause a slow down, CSC is working on August and September filers, no files were damaged by water. She assured me she would put in a call about my case ASAP, so hopefully one way or another we'll have a NOA2 soon!

As a Sept 7th CSC filer, this has me incredibly pumped!!

Retemad, everyone here has one thing is common - they are all separated from someone they love. On either side of the CSC black hole, emotions are running high. Can you try to be empathetic? I don't think there's a single person here who wouldn't choose to be reunited - in or out of order.

Let's keep this community supportive.

That's why I attended a fundraiser... cynical though it may be, you tend to get more than lip service when you're forking over $$$

I'm an August 2012 filer (NOA1 September 11), and I've been working with Senator Baldwin's office to see what can be done about the current slowdown at CSC. Her staffer for Immigration matters has been excellent and very responsive, but I wanted to push for more than my personal case. We need our representatives putting pressure on USCIS to realign it's priorities, not just pull individual files and get them pushed through.

Tonight Senator Baldwin (Wisconsin) had a fundraiser here in Madison, so I showed up, waited patiently, and when I had the time, spent a few minutes bending her ear about what's going on. I got the impression that she was already familiar with the problems at CSC, and that she was putting her weight behind the issue. Baldwin's a pretty cool Senator in that she has a long record (as a US Representative and in our State legislature) of really fighting the good fight for her Constituents.

So here's hoping we can get some results out of USCIS and see all of our petitions move forward! Good luck to all of you out there missing your loved ones.

It sucks to be waiting around when all we want to do is be together just like everybody else. If the process is taking longer than 6 months is it advisable to have my fiance sign another contract, he's a seafarer and their next route will be U.S.

I have to ask, which cruise line is he on? My wife and I met working on Holland America Line...

Thank you for the effort on this! When it's finished, I will definitely be sharing it.

You know, I'll never say I'm "thankful" for the waiting and the delay and all... but I have to say, it's incredibly cool to see the creativity displayed here to calculate what little information we're given. This community is awesome!

Hello,

My fiancée and I met while working together on a cruise ship. We are now stuck working on two different cruise ships, and trying very hard to juggle contracts and vacation times to spend time with each other while waiting for her K1 approval. Because of that, I am particularly interested in the "estimated approval dates" and when we can reasonably expect to receive the NOA2. (Of course we are well aware of the variables at play here). My question is this: when looking at the charts for the estimated approval date, which Servicing Center do we look at. Initially we indicated Texas, because that's where we sent the petition, but the NOA1 came from California.

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

Don't have any advice for you, but my fiancee (Indonesian) and I met working on a Holland-America Line ship! We're 25 days away from seeing each other again as my next contract starts then We're hoping things time out for her consular interview in Indonesia when our contract ends!

Good luck! What line are you with?

Equity in a family/ primary home also rarely counts, so that leaves 2 of your three cars (as it is assumed you need one to live/ drive) plus the $4000 from the regular job, which would not be enough. I think to be on the safe side, I'd get a co-sponsor.

So I did a little research, and I thought I'd document it here for anyone else who's looking into this...

Instructions for i-864

If you check page 8, bottom right:

"You may include the net value of your home as an asset. The net value of the home is the appraised value of the home minus the sum of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home." ... "You may not include the net value of an automobile unless you show that you have more than one automobile, and at least one automobile is not included as an asset."

This is good news for me - the appraised value of my home minus mortgages is about $50,000 alone... and if all I have to do is not include one of my automobiles as a disposable asset, that gives me another $25,000.

Further good news: reading through this, my fiancee's income CAN be counted towards this... she works on the cruise ships with me as well, and although we are on a contract basis, my read of these instructions shows that all we need to do is provide evidence that it is a continuing income source - and by the time we are ready to adjust status, we will have our contract letters for our next season.

Feeling some serious relief here.

I think alot will depend on your specific embassy. Many would not count the contract employment unless you can get a letter saying you will be hired back, and if you show a loss in your businesses that won;t count either. Equity in a family/ primary home also rarely counts, so that leaves 2 of your three cars (as it is assumed you need one to live/ drive) plus the $4000 from the regular job, which would not be enough. I think to be on the safe side, I'd get a co-sponsor.

I understand regarding the contract employment - but can probably get a letter from them showing that I'm rehired every season. Do you have any source regarding equity in the person home not being counted - I haven't seen anything regarding that anywhere?

As for the businesses - there were 3 - I lost one of them in 2011, which caused a one-time loss there. My other two businesses have been profitable all the way though. On my taxes, they all end up aggregated on Line 22 - which is what people say "counts". If I can demonstrate all years beforehand I had plenty of income, and that the loss in last year all came from one business that I no longer have a stake in - along with Profit and Loss reports from the other businesses showing current profit, would there not be any consideration of those circumstances?

I'd love to have a co-sponsor, but I don't have close family...

I'm not positive, but I think for the K1 visa, affidavit of support requirements don't really intensify until you're filing for adjustment of status after the marriage. Prior to that, they're kind of general, I thought. Either way, I believe that your assets should more than cover any deficiency that may be perceived in terms of the actual income.

Thank you for your response! Perhaps this isn't the right forum, but does anyone want to venture a guess whether I'm facing any landmines when it comes to AOS?

I don't have anything of substance to add other than it's a blessing you discovered this about him now. The best of luck to you, and sometimes the prairie has to burn for flowers to grow

So I'm waiting on NOA2 right now, and trying to get my ducks in a row for the next step. As my fiancee and I work together on a cruise ship (and I will be reunited with her in 41 days, not that I'm counting ) - I need to have all my paperwork set now, as I'll be at sea for 5 months when the NOA2 shows up.

I'm trying to assess whether I need a co-sponsor for the I-134/I-864 forms, as my financial situation is a little unique. I make plenty of money, but...

+/- $12k a year comes from contract employment (cruise ship). I get hired back on every year, but it's not "permanent".

I have +/- $4k a year of employment income from another source (standard job).

A good deal of my income comes from two businesses I run - yet a 3rd business I ran went WAY south last year, causing a huge loss on my taxes last year. Further, some of that loss will carry over into 2012, which will essentially show two years of "negative" income... even though the loss was just an investment... I made money.

In addition, I have around $25-$45k in equity in my home (depending on whether you go by assessment or appraisal). I own outright (no loans) 3 vehicles with a combined value of about $30k.

I've completely struck out with family trying to get a co-sponsor. Skepticism and all... for what it's worth, the years preceding the business loss last year showed healthy income, and I can provide Profit and Loss summaries for this year and last that show my current businesses generating decent profit...

Am I being completely paranoid, or might I have a problem? Fiancee is coming from Indonesia..

Hi, I also met my Fiance while working on Cruise Ships...I decided to take the K-1 Route, only because we were not assigned to the same ship so I resigned and went home to wait the process out. If we had been together, we would have gotten married and filed the CR1, definitely!

I think the big question is, after she gets the Visa...do you plan on returning to ships? If not, I would definitely get married as you were planning and then file the CR1...if the interview can coordinate with her next vacation, great...but if not, she can just go home when its inerview time.

The thing to remember is, once you get your second notice of approval, you do have a certain amount of time to work with in which to schedule your interview...so even if you plan on staying on ships, you may be able to schedule the interview within a vacation. As long as you will be together during the process, might as well go the less expensive route that allows her to work right away after entering the country!

One more thing, I researched it alot before making our decision...its definitely not possible to adjust status from a C1D Visa.

Good luck!!

Congrats to you guys, dare I ask which line you work(ed) for?

I'm leaning towards the K1 right now... my contract is only 4 months, and we'd be a month into it before we could even file for the CR-1. Even given best-case processing, it would mean 6 months after the end of our contracts where we're separated.

If I file K1 right now, when I join her on the ship in November, that'll be right around the time of NOA2... I'll be with her to help her get her end of things organized (and she brought pretty much everything she's going to need for NOA2 onboard with her). We can then work to time it out so that her medical and consular interview will happen back in Indonesia in late March or early April, leaving us apart only for about a month... Sure, then we'll have to do the AOS and all of that, but it realistically shouldn't cramp our style too much... if we go back to ship, it wouldn't be until the next winter anyhow - plenty of time to get the AOS taken care of.

Anything sound unrealistic or uninformed there? I'm looking for people to punch holes in my (admittedly weak) understanding of the process.

I did think of a possible problem with the K1, however... we are intent on having our wedding this Winter while together on ship for reasons well outside of visa considerations - it has significance to us. If we're in the middle of the K1 approval process (say, we're at the stage where we're waiting for the consular appointment), and we get married - do we have to start over for the CR-1 track, or is there a way for them to roll with it? I suppose ultimately we can always do a ceremony together on ship, and do the "legal" wedding after she enters the US as a workaround.

Scratch that, answered my own question in the FAQ... no legal wedding during the K1 process

Approval for the K-1 should take around 6 months, which would be around November if you applied now. She would need to be available to get a medical and have an interview at the embassy in the country she resides in after November. Would this be possible?

First off, your avatar is awesome. Awesome-O in fact.

No, she wouldn't be able to do the medical or the consular appointment until March of 2013, but am I wrong in assuming that while we can't speed things up, we certainly can slow them down? Like, if she's offered an appointment in January, we can ask them to postpone to March?

I did think of a possible problem with the K1, however... we are intent on having our wedding this Winter while together on ship for reasons well outside of visa considerations - it has significance to us. If we're in the middle of the K1 approval process (say, we're at the stage where we're waiting for the consular appointment), and we get married - do we have to start over for the CR-1 track, or is there a way for them to roll with it? I suppose ultimately we can always do a ceremony together on ship, and do the "legal" wedding after she enters the US as a workaround.

You people are the best.

I am assuming she has C1/D visa for working on onboard, that's what most of the crew members have.

With that visa she CANNOT adjust status in USA, so that is not an option for you.

Discovered this last night, so it looks like we're back to deciding between K1 and CR-1... As the consular interview is the last step in either process, I'm now starting to lean back towards K1 (even though is is more expensive), as we could get the ball rolling now, as opposed to having to wait until November.

Also on a side note, getting the 10 days vacation in USA is entirely in the hands of the immigration officer when she signs off. I never got more than 24 hours to get my butt to the airport and out of USA no matter how much I smiled to the immigration officers. Especially in the port of Miami they are tough!

Will the crew office schedule her a later flight out of USA?

Hmm, that's interesting... this will be at Port Everglades. We arrange this through our crew officer - we ask for a flight deviation, then they book the flights. I'm assuming they wouldn't allow us to do that if there was some question as to whether immigration would allow it, but it's good food for thought and I'll be sure to look into that. Thank you so much for your insight!

Unique situation...

So you don't go through customs at all?

If that is the case I don't see why you couldn't just AOS...

Yes and no. For example, when I joined my last ship, it was in Canada, so I went through customs up in Canada to get to the ship. From there, we hit up a number of countries, and in none of them did I ever need anything more than my ship ID to go out and explore. My passport is held by the ship's crew officer, as is my seaman's book. There's no stamps added to my passport (or I'd need new pages every month!), etc.

In her case, she needed to go to the US Embassy in Indonesia to get a work visa to come to the US and join the ship. She cleared customs in Miami, and joined the ship the next day. When her contract is done, she will leave the ship in the US, and will fly out of Miami to head back. I believe for the purposes of immigration, she's in the US on a visa. She's been told by our company that she has 10 days after the contract is done to return to Indonesia, so our initial plan was for her to come visit her new home (I never get sick of saying that!) before flying home. But from what I've read here, when doing an AOS, they ignore overstaying a visa so long as you came here on a legitimate visa, not for the purpose of getting married. She will have a very clearly documented work visa showing 10 months of employment. If we get married and file the AOS paperwork while on ship together, she should be able to come to our home and wait out the process so long as we have confirmation of receipt, correct?

I am not certain if this is directly applicable to your case, but there were a couple of people on here last year asking about the feasibility of a cruise ship crewmember entering the US on their "crewman's" visa. Basically speaking, if, when she is in the US between cruises, she has entered the US on a crewman's C-1/D visa, she cannot adjust status, even if she is married to a US resident. Crewman's transit visas are apparently very strict, and adjusting status to permanent residence from them simply won't work.

I'm waiting to hear back from her on the classification of her visa, but it becomes complicated given that our paperwork is held by a crew officer... Obviously as you pointed out, if her visa is a C-1/D visa, A.O.S. is not an option... But let's keep our fingers crossed!

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies!

If you file for K-1 you have to get married in USA so you wouldn't be able to get married in the Caribbean.

Luckily, one of our ports is St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands - and I believe that's where we'll be getting married.

i think if 'Adjustment of Status' path is available to you, you should take it.

I've been asking question over on the AOS board, and it's starting to look like that's actually a very feasible option - and would be precisely what we want... so unless I step on some large bureaucratic landmine, AOS is the path for me. Thanks everyone!

My fiancee and I work together on a cruise ship, with a US based company. She obtained a work visa to come to the US and join the ship. We work 10 and 11 day cruises through the Caribbean, but when you work on a ship, you're not really considered to be leaving and entering the country when traveling to different ports... we work through something known as a seaman's book.

The long and short of it is that she is technically "in the US" while working on ship, flew into a US airport at the beginning of her contract, etc. It's our intent to get married this Winter while both of us are on ship together, and while I was originally thinking of going the CR-1 route, I'm wondering if we can simply file for an adjustment of status after the wedding, and avoid her having to fly back to Indonesia as soon as our contract is done.

Can anyone advise as to whether this is a feasible route? Do we still file the I-130 in addition to the I-485, and are we responsible for the filing fees for both? (ouch!) Are we better off just having her go home at the end of the contract and going the traditional CR-1 route?

Thanks in advance!