Hi All,
Was woken at 7:15 by an email alert from USCIS to say our petition had been APPROVED!!!!! Only time in my life I will not complain about being woken that early on a Saturday!
For those tracking info we had no RFE's but we did contact our Senators about two weeks ago when in the 'black hole'.
I also got the exact same reply from him. I think we all should think as positive as possible because thinking negatively just leads everyone to frustration, sadness, and pain. As glenmar said, the last time he responded to us he said that they would be realigning resources to work on I-129F visa petitions, and look, they actually did! Even though the cases were from the wrong months, the amount of approvals we have seen since April 8th is the most we have seen in a very very long time, which is a great sign that they are actually moving again. Now we can wait to see if he is right in his news that they should be "back on track starting today (April 16th)." And as a side note, after seeing how negative and pessimistic everyone has been on here because of these issues, I hope to see a whole lot of happiness and celebration once we do receive our NOA2's!
I actually believe them. The first email response I got from the ombudsman said that resources were being moved to work on the CSC K1's . One week later we see evidence that more resources are working on K1's. We know its a fact that there was a plumbing issue and we know its a fact a boat load of November/December filers have been approved. In my opinion as much as I feel it's grossly unfair, others who filed 4 months after me are getting approved ahead of me, I would much rather see the resources free up and be applied to working some CSC K1's now than let everybody wait until they can get it together with the July/August files. Once they gave us the resources it might be harder to withdraw them than if they never gave us the resources to begin with. Not having enough resources is one excuse they don't have anymore.
It remains to be seen how fast approvals of July/August will pick up....
Guys am sooooo happy to finally have the hope of having my baby girl in my arms. :D Our visa got approved today at the naples embassy,italy.
the IO ceased our skype conversations and email cus there were too many dirty talk in it :rofl: ....lol....all in all i thank God for this,and my bday is
in 12 days from now,the best gift ever...to everyone out there,i say keep hope alive,it will be over before u know it. :dance:
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!
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to tell your Congressman or Senator exactly how many days you can expect your petition to be delayed according to the USCIS's own published figures on the CSC slowdown? Well, now you can!
In part of my never ending quest to get to analyze the USCIS's published data and interpret it in meaningful ways, I have created a spreadsheet that can calculate one's expected NOA2 date based on seven different hypothetical scenarios. I believe this is a very useful tool for those who are working with congressional offices, as I recommended in my previous post. Though the hypothetical scenarios are somewhat crude, they should give you a sense of why we need to fight to get the CSC back-on-track in terms of processing I-129Fs.
Directions:
1. Download the excel spreadsheet I have prepared here. (Note: this spreadsheet also includes all the data I prepared for my CSC data analysis thread)
2. Make sure it is open to the "projected delays" tab.
3. Enter the date of your NOA1 in the yellow box at the top. (Note: this will only work through NOA1s issued through December, 2012)
4. Look in awe at the potentially catastrophic effects on our petitions if this slowdown continues.
How It Works:
I've left all of my calculations plainly visible for those who are interested. But for those who do not want to reverse engineer it, the spreadsheet works as follows: It simply takes the date you input and assumes that your petition submitted on that date will be completed once all other applications still pending at the time of your submission have been completed. For each of the seven scenarios provided, it then counts down completions per day (using the USCIS's published rates through January, 2013 and then my hypothetical rates thereafter) until the app has been completed and then reports the completion dates to the top grid for your viewing pleasure.
Limitations:
1. This spreadsheet assumes that, on average, petitions will be processed serially in the order they are received. Obviously that assumption still leaves room for error with any individual petition, so the date provided is a rough estimate.
2. For simplicity's sake, this spreadsheet does not distinguish between weekends and weekdays as far as the service center's completions per day is concerned. This shouldn't drastically effect the estimated completion date, but it may slightly (+/- 2-3 days) in certain cases.
3. The estimated completion scenarios are deliberately crude. They start by assuming that the 537 completions per month rate of January 2013 continued through February and March (in truth, I suspect the February and March rates were likely even lower based on Igor's list data, but I'm using only published data for the spreadsheet). They then assume a flat rate (either the median or fast rate) begins at the specified month and continues indefinitely without change. For now, they do not try to capture the undulating nature of the processing rates over time (though I will have an updated version that does so in the near future); rather, they just provide baselines for worst-case, best-case, and middle-ground scenarios.
4. I'm not perfect and there may be errors somewhere in there. I didn't test every date myself. Please report any errors you find.
5. Note that some July filers may see that they should have been processed by now according to the worst-case scenario data. Yes, I know. That's not an error. It just means that February and March completion rates were likely much worse than we know as of yet and that even the worst case scenarios here are optimistic in a sense.
My next project will be to make some graphs that extrapolate these calculations to truly show the devastating effect of the slowdown on the expected completion dates of those who filed in the fall. So if you find any mistakes in this version, please let me know before I build upon it further.
Great work. I've been working on something similar with the projections but I have largely been stumped on how to move forward. The problem is that, if you really get into the dashboard data, it doesn't add up.
Specifically, you would think that the number of apps pending in one month would be a simple function of how many apps were pending in the previous month plus the previous month's receipts and minus its completions. But that's not the case at all. There is a huge, inexplicable divergence in what that number of pending would be and the number actually reported. Over the two years of dashboard data I have, i calculate there is an average discrepancy of 1700 pending apps per month. I cannot explain it, and, since I cannot explain it, I cannot figure out the actual relationship between pending and completions from month to month and project a consistent estimate based on it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you dealt with this. It drove me crazy all last weekend and I'm gearing up to have another go at the problem this weekend.
Hello everyone,
Okay to clear some confusion. I contacted my SENATOR 10 days before I received the email stating that my file was in transit to an adjudicator. Three hours after my Senator rep. emailed me, I received the USCIS approval notification. This was not a coincidence. Our Senator rep. stated that she was fed the same line of BS that the USCIS tries to sell everyone. Thankfully, our rep did not accept these answers. She was prepared, she was informed and she did not accept anything short of action, as it pertained to our petition.
I would suggest that everyone, who is around 7 months or more, to contact their state's US SENATOR. I have been asked to share the email that I had sent to my Senator. Unfortunately, the email I sent was on the online form I had to fill out. I don't have a copy but, I will try to paraphrase. I basically told the Senator what was going on with CSC. I told him that I believed the work load influx from DACA was affecting the process as pertained to our petition. I asked them why it was taking 4 months to complete one days worth of petitions. Most importantly, I introduced VJ to our rep. Thankfully, she looked around, became more informed and was ready for the return phone call from USCIS. I am also fortunate to have had a rep who would not take BS excuses.
Listen, I wish you all the best of luck. The main reason I post my original post was to inform those who were before me in line on how I was able to be approved. I feel badly that we received approval before many in front of us. To those who fall into this category, I am sorry to have jumped ahead, it was not my intention. Mostly, I was writing to complain about the process. It worked out for us and I hope it will work out for all of you. Again, my suggestion is to contact your prospective state's US Senator and inform, educate and plead your individual feelings as it pertains to the process. Make it personal, thank them for the service they give to our country and implore them to help fix this process. I did not ask to be put ahead of anyone. Nor, did I ask to be expedited. My rep did this on her own accord.
I am sorry if this is not specific enough for some but, I think it best for all of us to submit original, personalized requests to our Congressional representatives. Form letters and similarly outlined emails will not allow for personalized experiences and will negate the efforts taken.
Again, I thank you and wish you all the best.
Chris
I chose to email our form letter to the Ombudsman office and I sent a personal letter to the Director. I sent the email out Sunday and received a response this morning. I would like to copy the exact response here but there was a big warning at the bottom of the email response that said I need to get permission to forward the email.
Here is the content of the email:
The CSC processing time has slipped due to competeing agency priorities. CSC is currently shifting resources to address the I-129F. As resources are assigned the CSC expects the processing time for the I-129F to be reduced.
Guys,
Keep up the emails, keep up the letters, keep on writting your senators and congressmen. We are faced with a huge political battle and we are "David" in this battle.. Pressure,,Pressure,,Pressure is the only mechanism that will help us prevail. I beleive CSC is feeling that pressure now.
So I requested help from my congressman a few weeks ago to inquire about my case. Today the aide called me with an update.
Apparently the USCIS congressional liason at CSC told him that 48,000 files were damaged when the pipe broke a couple of weeks ago. (Remember CSC was closed for two days for a plumbing problem??) They are saying that my case, July 26, was included in that pile. However, they haven't reviewed my file to see if it was damaged and if I will need to send in everything again or not. According to my congressman's aide, that is what is causing a delay now. When I asked if I needed to send a copy of my entire I-129f, he said no, wait until CSC gets to my case.
So I asked him, "Ok, that is the reason they are giving for the delay now What about before that? What was causing the delay before two weeks ago?" The aide got kind of huffy with me and said, "Well I'm sorry you don't like my answer but that is what CSC said." He didn't give me an answer.
He said that they are currently processing July 18. I told him that they have been quoting that for four months now, though they are clearly not on that date. I told him how I have been to many websites and monitored other people's cases, and there are a good chunk of people in August that have been approved. He said, "If you choose to believe that, that is fine. But I believe CSC." I said, "Ok, so thousands of individual people are all lying about their individual cases?" Again he said that he was choosing to believe CSC because he talked to the liason and blah blah blah. I asked if he knew when they expected to move passed the July 18 date. He said that was not a question he had asked.
Has anyone else heard anything like this? At first I was devastated to hear that my file was possibly destroyed and about the delay it would cause having to send everything in again. However, this is starting to sound like a BS excuse for CSC to buy some time considering they haven't made an official announcement.
A Guide to Writing Your Elected Representative about the Current Backlog in K-1 Petition Processing at the USCIS’s California Service Center
Disclaimer: The following will most likely not get your case expedited. I cannot even guarantee it will help you get a response from your elected representatives. But I do believe it will provide some valuable basic information and “best practices” that will help get your complaint to the right pair of eyes and perhaps even get some extra attention there. Most importantly, I truly believe that if more people took the time to follow these guidelines and highlight the current problem at the CSC to their representatives, then we all stand a much better chance of there being meaningful pressure on the USCIS to get their act together. That may not mean your case itself will be explicitly expedited in some way, but it could mean that the K-1 backlog starts getting processed sooner, which has the same effect.
1. Who Are My Representatives?
Since the USCIS is a federal agency, state-level representatives will be of little or no help. Instead, you should identify who your congressperson and senators are. Everyone in the US has two senators for their state and one congressman for their district. It doesn’t matter if you voted for them or even knew they existed; they are your representatives and they work for you.
You can find who your congressperson here.
You can find who your senators are here.
2. Which Representative Should I Contact?
A. Political Party
I’ve seen some conflicting reports about whether Republicans or Democrats tend to be more responsive to constituent complaints. These reports, however, have to be discounted by the fact that we do not know exactly what has been written in each individual case. Elected representatives receive dozens and dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) of complaints each day and rely on their staffers to sort through and prioritize them. In my experience, these people (staffers and elected representatives) tend to want to help. That’s why they took the line of work they did. (Cynics may disagree.) But they have limited time and resources and cannot help everyone equally, so you can expect them to discount complaints that come across as rants or screeds, or complaints that are just poorly written and thought out. They might not do so consciously, but they are only human. In any case, I doubt very much that there is a significant correlation between political party and overall responsiveness. There are doubtlessly bad apples in both parties and there is, of course, always the possibility that the staffer screening your complaint has had a bad day. But don’t let that deter you!
The only caveat to that has to do with how you go about talking about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in your complaint. This program is likely the cause of the recent backlog (see Part X below) and talking about it will be an important part of your complaint. But it was a program enacted through an executive order by President Obama—a Democrat, so Democratic representatives and their staffs may be more reluctant to vigorously pursue your case if they believe doing so would amount to an attack on that program. Republicans, on the other hand, will likely be more receptive to pursuing your case if they believe you have been wronged by a policy enacted by a Democratic president. Overall, I don’t believe this should give you pause about contacted representatives of either party, but you should keep it in the back of your mind as you consider how exactly to phrase your complaint. You may want to emphasize the DACA program’s role in your woes to Republicans and deemphasize it to Democrats.
B. Committee Member?
Both chambers have a role in the oversight of the immigration process. But those roles are, by-and-large, confined to smaller committees. If one of your three representatives is a member of one of these committees, then that means they should probably be your first choice. A member of one of these committees would be most tied into the agencies involved in immigration and have the most influence over those agencies.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Sub-Committee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security:
Democratic Members
Chuck Schumer, New York (Chairman)
Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont
Dianne Feinstein, California
####### Durbin, Illinois
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii
Republican Members
John Cornyn, Texas (Ranking Member)
Chuck Grassley, Iowa
Orrin G. Hatch, Utah
Jeff Sessions, Alabama
Jeff Flake, Arizona
Ted Cruz, Texas
Members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Border Security:
Democratic Members
Zoe Lofgren, California (Ranking Member)
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Luis Guiterrez, Illinois
Joe Garcia, Florida
Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico
John Conyers, Jr., Michigan
Republican Members
Trey Gowdy, South Carolina (Chairman)
Ted Poe, Texas, Vice Chair
Lamar S. Smith, Texas
Steve King, Iowa
Jim Jordan, Ohio
Mark Amodei, Nevada
Raul Labrador, Idaho
George Holding, North Carolina
Bob Goodlatte, Virginia
You may also give similar priority to your senator if he or she is a member of the so-called “Group of Eight,” a group of senators who are currently publicly working on immigration reform legislation.
The Group of Eight:
John McCain, AZ
Marco Rudio, FL
Lindsey Graham, SC
Jeff Flake, AL
Charles Schumer, NY
Richard Durbin, IL
Robert Menendez, NJ
Micheael Bennet, CO
C. Senator or Congressman
If none of your representatives serves on one of these committees, then consider the following. In general, senators wield more influence within and without Washington than do congressmen and congresswomen. They tend to stick around longer and have deeper ties to various federal agencies. Congressmen and congresswomen, on the hand, can come and go every two years and may or more may not be plugged into the system or know how to get anything done. Moreover, The Senate is inherently more powerful than the House of Representatives when it comes to oversight and drafting new laws.
On the flip side, however, congressmen and congresswomen usually have fewer constituents (there are exceptions for states that have only one or two congresspersons, such as Wyoming), meaning they may be more responsive in general to constituent complaints and that your complaint stands a better chance of actually being seen by your congressperson (and not just staff).
I believe the balance leans in favor of contacting senators; however, there are other considerations that may tip the scale.
D. Other Considerations
First, you should do a wikipedia search of your representative to see how long he or she has been in office. A congressman who has been in office for 20 years and who thus has an experienced staff that knows the ins and outs of the USCIS may be better than a first term senator. You may also want to google the representative’s name along with terms like “immigration reform,” “deferred action for childhood arrivals,” and the like to see if you can find them making a statement that shows they may have a personal interest in immigration issues.
E. Contacting More Than One Representative at Once
My inclination about this is that it’s best to give one representative’s office some time to become invested in your case and make inquiries before you get others involved. But your mileage may vary. My whole underlying principle in this is to act towards my representatives and the USCIS in a professional and courteous—but stern—manner. I suggest you use your best judgment as, at the end of the day, all of this is going to be driven by how invested we can get representatives in our cases.
3. How Should I Contact My Chosen Representative(s)?
Once you have decided who you will contact, the best way to contact them is to submit a written copy of your complaint electronically. For most representatives (perhaps all?) you can find complaint submission portals on their congressional website. Simply go to their website, find the contact section, and follow the directions to submit your complaint.
After submitting, you should give the staff a few days to get back to you. Typically, however, you should expect to hear something back in 4-5 days, if not earlier. If you have not heard back in that time, you should call the office and leave a polite message that references your complaint and the date you submitted it. Be sure to leave your phone number and email address with anyone you speak to and ask that they get back to you as soon as possible.
4. What Should I Include in My Complaint?
NOTE: Do NOT copy anything written here verbatim. All complaints should be personalized. If you copy the language that I or someone else used, then you risk having your complaint ignored as a form letter.
A. Overview/Premise
Remember, the purpose of USCIS is to resolve immigration issue for the benefit of US citizens. It is supposed to work to bring them together, not serve as an impediment to their reconciliation. It is limited in providing super-efficient service in that (1) it accepts relatively low fees (which guarantee universal service access for even poor citizens) and (2) fee-based services must also cover the expenses of free services, such as the adjudication of refugee claims. But those two caveats in no way mean US citizens have to simply accept 8-9 month delays in processing. They don’t even mean we should be accepting 5 months.
The bigger problem with K-1 visa processing is that K-1 petitioners are not a distinct class with sustainable lobbying power. To the extent K-1 petitioners turn to the political system for a fix, it is usually just to seek an individual redress. And, once an individual’s case has been resolved (with or without help), the petitioner tends to move on and never raise the issue again, leaving the next group of poor saps to meet the same predicament. There is almost no incentive for the USCIS to fix the problem systematically and no incentive for politicians to devote their political capital to it. As long as they USCIS can generally report to congress that they are meeting their processing time frame goals, they will avoid a lot of scrutiny over their handling of non-political visas, such as the K-1.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Think back to before you applied for a K-1. Did you have any idea what a boondoggle you were in for? I didn’t. And I suspect very few do because it’s just not something that gets talked about. It’s a very particular area of policy that few have reason to think about. The silver lining to that, however, is that when people do find out how it works (or, god forbid, have to go through it like us) they quickly realize how absurd it is. The way the USCIS treats petitioners is like something out of an Orwellian satire. It’s something people can instantly understand to be wrong and in need of commonsense fixes.
Taking all that into account, I suggest generally framing your letter with four principles in mind:
(1) Show that you understand the problem
By carefully explaining the problems with the way the USCIS treats K-1 petitioners, you will go a long way to showing your representative and their staff that you are not merely some disgruntled crank (I’m sure they hear from their share of those). And the absurdity of the current paradigm is so self-apparent that it speaks for itself when carefully laid out. When staff can understand the system we are struggling against, they can better empathize with us. Moreover, they will better understand why you have chosen to escalate the problem to them and why they should further escalate your complaint through their channels.
(2) Be professional and avoid hyperbole
It’s easy to get carried away when you write about a problem that affects you so personally as this. Believe me, I know. But flying off the handle will likely only backfire in this context. Remember, you want your representatives and staff to become emotionally and intellectually invested in how badly the current system is affecting you. You aren’t fighting against the representative. The representative probably has no idea exactly how bad the current processing backlog is because I doubt anyone has taken the time to explain it. Treat them professionally and honestly. Try to make them your ally and arm them with the facts so they can better fight for you.
(3) Show that it’s not just about you, but about a systemic problem that is affecting tens of thousands
This point ties in with the first but deserves special emphasis. I’m sure many representatives still have no idea that there is such a widespread problem at the CSC. They are not experiencing it; we are. We have to educate them about it. It may not seem like it will help our individual cases, but, realistically, the best the possible thing for any of our cases would be for a senator or congressperson publicly rebuking the USCIS for their treatment of all cases.
(4) Make it clear that you expect your elected representatives to oversee such agencies on your behalf
Show that, while you are not naïve enough to expect your single representative to move heaven and earth on your behalf, you expect competent and diligent pursuit of an improved situation, both for yourself and other K-1 applicants. Give the representative’s office time to work, but make it clear you expect them to do more than just go through the motions.
B. The Content and Organization of Your Letter
The following are sections you should include in your letter, along with an overview of the content you should include in each. Again, DO NOT copy any of this verbatim. You should personalize your letters to the greatest extent possible.
(1) Introduction
Begin with a polite salutation such as “Dear Senator X”. Then include a brief paragraph that (1) notes you are a constituent, (2) explains that you are writing to seek help in regards to problems with your K-1 visa petition, and (3) provides the date and reference number of your NOA1.
(2) Content About the Scope of the Problem at the USCIS’s California Service Center
I suggest dedicating 2-3 paragraphs to describing the current problems that are apparent at the California Service Center. Many of the problems in processing can be found analyzed in great detail in my post about I-129F processing data. In a nutshell, those and other problems are as follows:
a. The Slow Down in I-129F Petition Processing Since August, 2012
Over all, the number of I-129F completions per receipts has dropped off drastically since August, 2012. When the ratio of completions to receipts falls, the backlog of apps grows, guaranteeing longer waiting times for petitioners. We only have published data through January, 2013, but, based on that data, we know that the completions per receipts of I-129F visas were 33% below their two year average from August, 2012 to January, 2013. Even worse, for the last two months of reported data—Decemeber and January—completions per receipts were down over 60% from their two year average, the lowest they’ve been on record. This has a substantial backlog of apps to build up very quickly, guaranteeing long delays for anyone who filed since the summer of 2012. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence from visajourney.com and Igor’s list suggest the trend is much worse because there have likely been no improvements to completions per receipts since January, making the current period of inattention to I-129Fs the longest on record in recent years.
b. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (I-821D, aka “DACA”) Applications Are Getting Priority at the Expense of I-129F Petitions
There have previously been slowdowns in application processing. So some delays are nothing new. In fact, it seems the USCIS operates by batch processing certain types of apps on cycles—focusing on a certain class of application for a few months and letting backlogs build for others, and then rotating to focus on the backlogs that have built up. But, after I conducted an extensive analysis of the data, I discovered that this time is different.
As I already pointed out, the resources devoted to I-129F processing is at record lows and likely has been for a record long period of time. But what I was surprised to discover is that it really is only I-129Fs that have been targeted for a slowdown these last few months. And it’s not because of an incredible flood of petitions over all, either; it’s because the CSC has been focusing on processing DACA applications at a pace that exceeds the two year average for completions per receipts of all application types. In other words, I-129F petitioners are being delayed not just so another application class can be processed—but so they can be processed quickly. This is patently unfair to I-129F petitioners and borderline outrageous from a political standpoint. Someone has got to start asking the USCIS tough questions about why they have put so much priority on a certain application class and then singled out another class so disproportionately to bear the cost.
c. The USCIS Has Blatantly Manipulated It’s “Processing Timeframe” Dates to Avoid Accountability
The USCIS will only accept service requests (i.e., will only actually look into a petitioner’s complaints) if the petitioner’s petition was filed prior to a set “processing time frame” date. This makes sense for preventing petitioners from bogging down the service center from calling every day and demanding special attention. But what doesn’t make sense is that the USCIS gets to set its own “processing time frame” dates without any apparent oversight or accountability. This means that, if they are running behind in processing a class of applications, they need not worry or respond to customer demands for better service; all they have to do is not update the “processing time frame” date and they will never have to even respond to customer complaints. Customers (i.e., US Citizens who have paid a fee and are relying on this government service), meanwhile, are left to turn to places like visajourney.com to guess about the true nature of their plight.
Well, that’s exactly what has happened with I-129Fs over the past several months. As the USCIS has deliberately shifted resources away from their processing, it has simply stopped updating the I-129F’s processing time frame date, meaning that even customers delayed up to 2-3 months longer than their “target” processing time cannot even demand and answer from the USCIS. In fact, the USCIS has not updated their “processing time frame” date for I-129Fs in over three months; it has been July 18, 2012 since December. And that is just absurd on its face. What that means is that the USCIS is claiming to the world that it has been processing applications filed on July 18, 2012 for over three straight months without finishing them. Does anyone think that’s even remotely close to what’s really been happening? No. No one could claim that with a straight face. What’s really happening is obvious: The USCIS is manipulating the processing time frame date to avoid accountability. And they are doing so in a way so blatant that it is nothing short of an insult to both their customers and to the elected representatives who should be overseeing their operation.
d. The USCIS Is Extremely Opaque In Its Operations To the Detriment of Petitoners’ Ability to Plan Their Affairs
How did I find out about the slowdowns, the priority given to DACA applications, or the processing time frame manipulation? True, I did technically learn those things from the USCIS, but only because I spent hours and hours combing through their data and past practices. Why should I have to waste my time and productive energy towards getting answers the USCIS has readily available? Why do they make it so difficult to find out what is going on? Why can’t they publish honest time frames so that people can plan their lives accordingly? These are all questions that need to be answered with changes at the USCIS. No government service should be run in a way where it is actively hiding its inner-workings from the very people who rely upon its services. The USCIS works for us but the only way they get away with such shenanigans is because they know we can’t fire them. Well, we need our representatives to get serious about firing somebody on our behalf if this continues. We deserve better.
(3) Content About Your Personal Situation
As frustrating as the USCIS’s processes and policies are themselves, do not forget to end your letter strongly by highlighting how the processing delays and lack of answers have hurt you, your fiance, and your families. Some general things to focus on are the economic hardship of supporting two households, the added costs of travel to see each other (if even possible), the emotional toll of being apart, and the effect the separation is having on any children in the custody of either parent. Talk further about how the uncertainty of the approval date makes it extremely difficult to plan for moving, for a wedding, and for arranging employment. Finally, be sure to highlight special hardships such as medical conditions, possibilities of domestic abuse or other danger for the beneficiary, or anything else that risks the well-being of you or your fiance.
(4) Closing and Signature Line
I suggest closing in a stern but optimistic tone, urging your representative to help you and assuming they will do so. Then close with “Sincerely, *Your Name*" and be sure to include an address block under your name that has the following information:
Your Address
Your Email Address
Your Personal Phone Number
5. What Happens Next?
After sending your complaint, you may have to wait a few days to hear back from the representative's office. That's normal. They will likely contact you and ask you to sign a privacy waiver so they can request info on your case. It should be ok to return this by email or fax so that their office can get right to work; be sure to ask if they don't say that explicitly, though.
Once you have signed the privacy waiver, they should hand your case off to their office's immigration liaison who will investigate. Just use your best judgment in working with this person as they can help you. Give them some time but don't feel bad about following up every few days or so if you don't hear back.
6. Final Thoughts
You may also want to consider contacting others beyond your elected representatives. If you have connections to local/regional media, it may be good to tell them your tale. Again, it’s not something many are aware is happening and I believe someone could make a very good investigative report about it. You may also want to send a copy of your complaint to the USCIS Ombudsman, though prepare yourself for a generic answer from his office.
In the end, it’s all about getting our applications back under active review as soon as possible. To do that I think we need to fully exhaust our influence in the political system. I hope this guide has been helpful to those looking to do just that. I will try my best to answer any individual questions people have, but I have to apologize in advance for not being able to read or edit everyone’s individual complaints. Just follow the guide and trust your story. Telling the truth is enough because the current truth is damning for the USCIS. We just need to get people to hear that truth. Thank you for your efforts; this can’t be done alone.
Hi everyone,
I am the UK beneficiary waiting on my NOA2 at this time. After contacting his congressman about the visa processing issues, my fiancé got a call yesterday from an apparently very pleasant and helpful representative who promised to help investigate the K1 visa processing times. Now I'm absolutely not jumping up and down saying that I should have my case processed before anyone else, but I DO hope that by speaking up we can help reform the system by some small degree, to the benefit of all. Particularly in times like this where government/public sector cuts are being made, if people don't make a bit of noise and make their representatives aware that this is a problem, the system is not likely to get better any time soon, rather the opposite.
Our thoughts were as follows:
My fiancee and I realise there are considerable waiting times involved when applying for a K1 Visa with USCIS. However, these processing times seem to be extremely erratic and are becoming longer all the time, at all the processing centres. The K1 visa was designed so that couples and families did not have to spend large spaces of time apart, but this system seems to be failing, and I would like to register my concern over this. It is hard for both my fiancee and I to plan our living arrangements, employment and personal life when the process is so hard to predict. I am registering this complaint with our case in mind, but also in the hopes that the visa system will be made more efficient and fair across the board. Our case is being processed by the Vermont Service Centre, and the receipt number is: Bla bla bla bla.
Aaaand suuuuure. I've seen other people being somewhat slated for this kind of call to action; 'it won't help', 'your case won't be processed any faster' etc..
Well, even if it doesn't help me, I hope that in whatever small way possible perhaps our one contribution will join many other voices in bringing attention to this matter. I encourage others to do the same.
Honestly, if I had enough doubts to consider hiring an investigator, I would just end things. Here's why: If I ever found out my husband had me followed while we were dating, I wouldn't be worried because I had nothing to be worried about, but I would feel extremely violated and untrusted. I would wonder why my word wasn't good enough. Why he didn't need to prove to ME that he wasn't cheating so why did he have to hire someone? That's a big step to take. I understand though how you won't want to end things without know "for sure" whether he is or whether you're being suspicious.
What does he say when you ask him about it? I know sometimes I would be late to call my husband (then fiance) because I got caught up at work, or my phone had died so the alarm didn't go off, or I was already on the phone, internet was out.. etc etc.
If you're committed to hiring one though, how much I would pay, as others said, depends on where he's from. It also depends on what service you need. As in, do you want him followed all day for a week? Just specific days? You would think you'd only want him followed after work, but maybe he's doing something with someone FROM work so you'd want maybe one entire day (but what if it's the wrong day and turns out its the next day?).
Also, what if they don't find anything and the behaviour continues? Are you going to assume that something IS going on but must have been when the investigator didn't follow him? Are you going to hire the investigator again? Are you going to blindly assume whatever he didn't find means you're not being cheated on?
LDR's are hard, and this process is long and hard. If you don't think you can do it, then don't. It doesn't make you less of a person. It's not easy. Trust is integral to a relationship. If he isn't making you feel secure and loved, he might not be cheating, he just might not be the right guy.
erin&fi got a reaction from Mar_Wil in Embassy Found Hong Kong Clearance, Issued Visa
erin&fi got a reaction from mounir412 in Well, well, well
erin&fi reacted to pachacuti in Well, well, well
erin&fi got a reaction from rohandlulu in good news is waiting for cases under CSC