ggsacks

I'm definitely not an immigration expert. I am just a regular person who in 2012 entered the USA on 4 different occasions in six months on the VWP. People do this all the time.
There is no hard and fast rule about how many times you can enter within 12 months on the VWP. Yes, it is at the officer's discretion and if they think you are using the VWP to circumvent immigration law in an attempt to live here on a temporary or permanent basis, they will turn you away at the border. But there is definitely no set formula, and the explicit rules you stated simply don't exist. It is discretionary and situational.
Maybe it is risky for the OP to try and enter again soon after a 90 day stay, but implying that there are strict annual rules where no such rules actually exist is misleading.

This isn't even remotely true.

A service center and a field office are two different things.
This is completely normal, your case will be forwarded to your local field office if an interview is required.
You're good!

Respectfully, you're not "stuck at TSC", you are one month into a process with a current stated processing time of 5 months.
It may not hurt you any, but surely you have enough awareness outside yourself to realize that this is not only tying up the valuable time of a congressional staffer but also of the department at USCIS that deals with congressional enquiries.
The waiting is awful, sure. Most of us here have been through it and survived it. But attempting to circumvent that by involving a senator just over a month from filing... are you kidding me?
I am not at all of the school of thought that says "I waited 6 months and therefore so should you", but I strongly suggest you figure out a better way to deal with the times in this process that you have to wait patiently, because there are a hell of a lot of them. Wasting the time of senior elected officials for a matter as trivial as this is absolutely beyond ridiculous.

Respectfully, you're not "stuck at TSC", you are one month into a process with a current stated processing time of 5 months.
It may not hurt you any, but surely you have enough awareness outside yourself to realize that this is not only tying up the valuable time of a congressional staffer but also of the department at USCIS that deals with congressional enquiries.
The waiting is awful, sure. Most of us here have been through it and survived it. But attempting to circumvent that by involving a senator just over a month from filing... are you kidding me?
I am not at all of the school of thought that says "I waited 6 months and therefore so should you", but I strongly suggest you figure out a better way to deal with the times in this process that you have to wait patiently, because there are a hell of a lot of them. Wasting the time of senior elected officials for a matter as trivial as this is absolutely beyond ridiculous.

Pretty much none of this is true. Here is the correct information:
Social Security
You can apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) with your I-94 after entering with a K-1 visa and before filing AOS. This is best done 2 weeks after your arrival, to ensure your arrival information is correct in the SAVE database. You can apply for an SSN up until 2 weeks before your I-94 expires. When issued before you have your green card, your Social Security Card will have the condition "valid for work only with DHS authorization" which means that the card itself is not proof of employment authorization.
EAD
The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) allows you to work after you have filed for AOS and before you have received your green card. It is usually applied for at the same time as AOS. The processing time is generally 60-90 days.
Advanced Parole
Advanced Parole (AP) is usually applied for at the same time as AOS and EAD, and comes as a condition noted on your EAD card and for this reason is also generally processed in 60-90 days. AP is used to reenter the United States into a further period of authorized stay if you leave the United States while your AOS is pending. Without first being granted AP, leaving the United States before your AOS is approved will result in your green card application being abandoned.
Travel
You can safely leave and reenter the United States if you possess a valid AP or a green card. There is nothing preventing you from traveling for 2 years. Nothing at all.

Respectfully, you're not "stuck at TSC", you are one month into a process with a current stated processing time of 5 months.
It may not hurt you any, but surely you have enough awareness outside yourself to realize that this is not only tying up the valuable time of a congressional staffer but also of the department at USCIS that deals with congressional enquiries.
The waiting is awful, sure. Most of us here have been through it and survived it. But attempting to circumvent that by involving a senator just over a month from filing... are you kidding me?
I am not at all of the school of thought that says "I waited 6 months and therefore so should you", but I strongly suggest you figure out a better way to deal with the times in this process that you have to wait patiently, because there are a hell of a lot of them. Wasting the time of senior elected officials for a matter as trivial as this is absolutely beyond ridiculous.

The statistics on VJ are a very small sample of the petitions being processed by USCIS, and while they generate estimated dates than can be pretty accurate, they are not a totally dependable prediction of when things will happen.
My NOA2 came later than many other VJers who filed at the same time, to the point where it felt like they had forgotten about us. But then one day, voila, the status changed and everything moved ahead as normal, within normal processing times. There's just no way to know when this is going to be.
You are within normal processing times until the end of June, which is still more than 2 months away. Believe me, I know how hard it is, but the best thing you can do for now is not spend your time analyzing statistics and worrying yourself over them. It will happen! The good thing is, the wait between NOA1 and NOA2 at the petition stage is most likely the longest wait you'll have, and you're almost there!

Hi Avocado
Yes I believe the I-94 must have your name spelt correctly. Luckily, there is a process in place to deal with this exact scenario, and you'll find it here:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/818/~/i-94---what-to-do-if-your-i-94-is-lost,-has-incorrect-information,-or-was-not
I'm not sure what the implications will be on your pending AOS but I would imagine you'll either receive an RFE to explain this, or they will see the error for what it is and process anyway - perhaps someone else can clarify.

If you use Google Chrome, download the extension Hola. Just google 'Hola better internet' and you'll find it.

I copied this from pg 26 of this thread. Follow it, I was able to follow the package and even see who signed for it. Good luck!
A note for everyone who received their case number from NVC/DOS, here's a way to figure out exactly* when your case left NVC.
By exactly, I mean given normal circumstances and your package was not lost or something to that effect.

First, let's take apart your case number from NVC/DOS. It should be in AAA########## format. For the purposes of this note, let's use MTL2013756004 as an example.
AAA - this is the three letter consulate code. MTL is for Montreal. #### - the first four numbers is the year, i.e. 2013. ### - the next three is the Julian day your case number was created. Subtract 500 from the number to determine the day of the year. 756-500=256. 256 is September 13 in Julian calendar of a non-leap year. ### - the last three is the total number of cases sent to the beneficiary's consulate with yours being the latest one processed as of that day. 004 is the fourth case they've processed, so far, for this particular consulate. Now that we have September 13, 2013 as the date when the case was created, let's check when the package left NVC. The shipping reference used by NVC to ship out packages is in EXP DD MMM YYYYA format, In this case, EXP 13 SEP 2013A.
Go to DHL to track the package using the shipping reference. Enter a date range for from and to. Normally, when you call NVC/DOS they tell you when your case left or forwarded to the consulate so use those dates. Look for your package from the list result! ***You might have to play around with the DD part of the shipping reference as well as the from and to date ranges. In my case, for example, I had to enter a DD three days prior as my case actually left on a Monday but the shipping reference was created the Friday before.

I used this to make sure that my case was picked up and actually delivered and signed for at my local consulate. I was also able to print a copy of the proof of delivery so that's a bonus.

Have fun!
Edited by djv-tco, 19 December 2013 - 05:09 PM.

1) If you attempt to enter the United States with the intent to marry and file for adjustment of status, you're committing immigration fraud. Yes this is a long and drawn out process, but we are all surviving through it too. As the poster above me said, they wouldn't be trying to figure out if you married for love or citizenship in this instance, they would be asking you to prove nonimmigrant intent, which would be very, very, very hard to do. And by the sounds of it, a lie. Rule number one: don't lie at any point in this process.
2) Your USC partner must make 125% of the poverty guideline for their household size in order to file an affidavit of support for you. Your money in the bank is irrelevant here and doesn't count toward this. Alternatively, if your partner doesn't make enough, you may use a co-sponsor (another US citizen who does meet the 125% of poverty guideline requirement).
3) Having met in the last 2 years is a requirement for even filing the I-129F and beginning the process toward a K-1 visa. No, you don't have a better chance as you only meet the requirements that everyone has to.
4) There's a few different things you could be asking here and I'm not sure which you mean. Have a read up on CR-1 and K-1 visas, which are the two options for foreigners with a USC partner. Neither of these is a "work visa" per se, but they are avenues to permanent residency in the United States. With permanent residency comes the right to work. If you enter the US on a K-1, after you have married, you can concurrently apply for work authorization when you file your adjustment of status. Like everything in this process, it's not fast, and you definitely wouldn't be working until at least a couple of months after stepping of the plane.
My best piece of advice for your first step to take: forget everything you've been told, as it seems you have been privy to a fair bit of misinformation, and start afresh by reading the guides on this site (see up top) which will explain fully how the fiance and spousal visa process works, step by step. This site is a wonderful resource, and the people are helpful and supportive. But, it's a confusing process at the best of times, and to survive it you alone also need to know exactly how it works, what to expect, what you can and can't, should and shouldn't do - so before you even begin asking these questions, read up and learn as much as you can - why don't you and your fiance read through the K-1 guides and research the forums here together? People will be able to help you much better here if you know the questions to ask. The search bar at the top right is a wealth of information. There are a lot of acronyms and confusing words and terms, but this site should really easily help you figure those out.
There is no easy way to do this. There's the long way, and then the longer way. It's a ####### process to go through, but it is what it is. Countless people have gone through it before you, are going through it with you, or will go through it in the months and years to come. And if you're in a genuine relationship with a USC, then it will likely work out well for you. It's true that the waiting seems forever, until you get what you are waiting for. And the crux of it is that if you can endure this process, the things you will gain fair outweigh the pain of waiting. Best of luck!

1) If you attempt to enter the United States with the intent to marry and file for adjustment of status, you're committing immigration fraud. Yes this is a long and drawn out process, but we are all surviving through it too. As the poster above me said, they wouldn't be trying to figure out if you married for love or citizenship in this instance, they would be asking you to prove nonimmigrant intent, which would be very, very, very hard to do. And by the sounds of it, a lie. Rule number one: don't lie at any point in this process.
2) Your USC partner must make 125% of the poverty guideline for their household size in order to file an affidavit of support for you. Your money in the bank is irrelevant here and doesn't count toward this. Alternatively, if your partner doesn't make enough, you may use a co-sponsor (another US citizen who does meet the 125% of poverty guideline requirement).
3) Having met in the last 2 years is a requirement for even filing the I-129F and beginning the process toward a K-1 visa. No, you don't have a better chance as you only meet the requirements that everyone has to.
4) There's a few different things you could be asking here and I'm not sure which you mean. Have a read up on CR-1 and K-1 visas, which are the two options for foreigners with a USC partner. Neither of these is a "work visa" per se, but they are avenues to permanent residency in the United States. With permanent residency comes the right to work. If you enter the US on a K-1, after you have married, you can concurrently apply for work authorization when you file your adjustment of status. Like everything in this process, it's not fast, and you definitely wouldn't be working until at least a couple of months after stepping of the plane.
My best piece of advice for your first step to take: forget everything you've been told, as it seems you have been privy to a fair bit of misinformation, and start afresh by reading the guides on this site (see up top) which will explain fully how the fiance and spousal visa process works, step by step. This site is a wonderful resource, and the people are helpful and supportive. But, it's a confusing process at the best of times, and to survive it you alone also need to know exactly how it works, what to expect, what you can and can't, should and shouldn't do - so before you even begin asking these questions, read up and learn as much as you can - why don't you and your fiance read through the K-1 guides and research the forums here together? People will be able to help you much better here if you know the questions to ask. The search bar at the top right is a wealth of information. There are a lot of acronyms and confusing words and terms, but this site should really easily help you figure those out.
There is no easy way to do this. There's the long way, and then the longer way. It's a ####### process to go through, but it is what it is. Countless people have gone through it before you, are going through it with you, or will go through it in the months and years to come. And if you're in a genuine relationship with a USC, then it will likely work out well for you. It's true that the waiting seems forever, until you get what you are waiting for. And the crux of it is that if you can endure this process, the things you will gain fair outweigh the pain of waiting. Best of luck!

Congrats espared12! We filed ours a couple days before you and received NOA1 a week after the package was received. Now the fun part - the waiting - has begun!

I don't believe this to be correct. The states do not issue any visas (including K-1). USCIS is an arm of the DHS, which itself is a department of the federal government. The only current bar to allowing same-sex couples federal recognition and benefits is §3 of DOMA which currently states that marriage as defined federally is limited to one man and one woman. Once DOMA is struck down, same-sex spouses or fiancés will be recognised in the same way opposite-sex spouses and fiancés are right now, allowing them to receive the same federal benefits including immigration. No legislation actually needs to be passed to allow the federal recognition of same-sex relationships. Presumably, as long as the petitioner is resident of a state that performs federally recognised same-sex marriages, they will be treated equally for immigration.
The hazy area is §2 of DOMA which allows states without marriage equality to not recognise same-sex marriages performed in states with marriage equality. I'm not sure if this will limit immigration rights only to marriage equality states, but it will be interesting to see. Of course there is also the slim chance that SCOTUS could issue a nationwide ruling on the Prop 8 case, which would bring marriage equality to every state.

I don't believe this to be correct. The states do not issue any visas (including K-1). USCIS is an arm of the DHS, which itself is a department of the federal government. The only current bar to allowing same-sex couples federal recognition and benefits is §3 of DOMA which currently states that marriage as defined federally is limited to one man and one woman. Once DOMA is struck down, same-sex spouses or fiancés will be recognised in the same way opposite-sex spouses and fiancés are right now, allowing them to receive the same federal benefits including immigration. No legislation actually needs to be passed to allow the federal recognition of same-sex relationships. Presumably, as long as the petitioner is resident of a state that performs federally recognised same-sex marriages, they will be treated equally for immigration.
The hazy area is §2 of DOMA which allows states without marriage equality to not recognise same-sex marriages performed in states with marriage equality. I'm not sure if this will limit immigration rights only to marriage equality states, but it will be interesting to see. Of course there is also the slim chance that SCOTUS could issue a nationwide ruling on the Prop 8 case, which would bring marriage equality to every state.

I don't believe this to be correct. The states do not issue any visas (including K-1). USCIS is an arm of the DHS, which itself is a department of the federal government. The only current bar to allowing same-sex couples federal recognition and benefits is §3 of DOMA which currently states that marriage as defined federally is limited to one man and one woman. Once DOMA is struck down, same-sex spouses or fiancés will be recognised in the same way opposite-sex spouses and fiancés are right now, allowing them to receive the same federal benefits including immigration. No legislation actually needs to be passed to allow the federal recognition of same-sex relationships. Presumably, as long as the petitioner is resident of a state that performs federally recognised same-sex marriages, they will be treated equally for immigration.
The hazy area is §2 of DOMA which allows states without marriage equality to not recognise same-sex marriages performed in states with marriage equality. I'm not sure if this will limit immigration rights only to marriage equality states, but it will be interesting to see. Of course there is also the slim chance that SCOTUS could issue a nationwide ruling on the Prop 8 case, which would bring marriage equality to every state.

Congratulations Tim & Keno. We're in the same boat as you, waiting (terribly impatiently) to file for a K-1 visa as soon as DOMA is struck down.
I have all the faith in the world that this will be our year.