Baklava

Hello VJ Fam.
I am not sure what is happening with our packet and hope that I can get some answers from someone.
I called the NVC this morning because our packet is still there. It arrived on Sept 11th (after taking 5 weeks for them to put in the system) and they gave me our visa case number and when I check on line it says it is still at NVC, so when I called I asked why has it not been sent on to the Embassy and she said it was in AP.... I asked her if it was normal and she said yes it was and I asked when would it be going to the Embassy and she said there is no time line for that, I asked will it be like a month, she said there is no time line!!!! I never heard of this and I am starting to wonder if something is wrong. Has anyone else had this happen and is this really normal? I was so excited that things were moving along and now I am freaking out!!!!! Please let me know if anyone of you have gone throught this and what it means.
Thanks for any information you can pass along

Congratulations to you both.Best wishes for your future together

I'm currently in the process of finishing up the last stages of the fiance visa and from my experience I would say to go ahead and get married due to the fact that the steps for the marriage process is a shorter route. When doing a fiance visa you have to do the process for the petition and if he is approved and comes here, you still have to get married and start the second phase of getting him is greencard, so I reccomend marriage. If I could do it all over I would have just gotten married. The fiance visa is a waste of time and money. I had to wait 8 months just to see if the application was approved and now he has to do an interview to see if they will approve him to come to the states... If things doesn't work out, we will have lost out on a lot of money because we paid $340 for the application fee, he has to pay for medical, $240 for the visa fee, and so much more... Good Luck

I must say, after joining VJ two days ago, I'm just blown away at all the support and care that comes from everyone! I really can't see how I made it through the last 5 months so easily (it seems). I guess I really wasn't thinking about it as much as I am now. I hope the service centers will really start moving for us soon! Everyone take care and be strong!!

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate both of your responses. Since I can't call them until Monday and Tuesday is the 15th day since they sent my RFE letter, I may just wait for that day to call them. Do you think that is OK to do?

It's evening in Istanbul but Monday morning in Calfornia. So I am envisioning that all the processors are on their way to work. And management decided to double ...... no quadruple the amount of processors today to work on July and August and finish them this week. And in the mean time they are training another 150 people to process .
Meanwhile the embassies are anxiously awaiting the approved files so the can schedule the interviews ASAP.
Positive thoughts

It's evening in Istanbul but Monday morning in Calfornia. So I am envisioning that all the processors are on their way to work. And management decided to double ...... no quadruple the amount of processors today to work on July and August and finish them this week. And in the mean time they are training another 150 people to process .
Meanwhile the embassies are anxiously awaiting the approved files so the can schedule the interviews ASAP.
Positive thoughts

It's called manipulating the data. Process some Oct, Dec, and change the average length of processing for their dashboards. Then all the politicians will see what a good job they are doing and won't have to help you when you contact them. A win win for everyone.......... Except the people who are waiting to be together.

Hello CSC filers,
I think we need to take some collective action to resolve this backlog. I propose calling and/or sending an email to your representatives today or Monday. If we can bring the issue to the attention of our representatives they can put some additional pressure on CSC to get moving.
Google " find your representative" ( for some reason I cannot post the link on here)
I called mine this morning (after emailing and hearing nothing), asked to speak with the person who handles immigration issues, explained the problem, gave him my name and case number, and he said he would get in touch with USCIS right away.
Another option is to get your family and friends to email their representatives. Since they cannot submit information for your specific case, I drafted a generalized email that I will be sending to people.
The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Name) House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear ___ ______:
Currently, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) requires assistance dealing with the large number of visa applications it received in the summer of 2012. It is experiencing a backlog of around 4 months processing K-1 visas, visa for a foreign fiance. This backlog is pushing the average wait time from 5 months to over 9 months for US Citizens who filed in July/ August/ September of 2012. While CSC says it is processing applications filed on July 18, the Vermont Service Center is processing applications filed in late September and October 2012.
I understand that wait times are estimates and are not always accurate. However, the official processing time for CSC has not changed in 4 months, sufficient enough time to find a solution and resolve the issue.
I request that you please inquire with USCIS about why the CSC office is experiencing such a heavy delay in processing visas from July/ August/ September and actively help them resolve the issue.
Sincerely,

I posted about the disparate treatment for different immigrations visas and also filing locations. Also about the manipulation of data denying democratic voice

i wrote an e-mail regarding the slowdown at CSC to Donald Neufeld, its director.
surprisingly, i got a response! but it was merely what i suspect to be an automatic reply stating, and i quote:
I am out of the office until April 2nd. Please forward any time sensitive messages to Susan Arroyo.
Thanks,
Don Neufeld
so i googled this Ms. Arroyo and found out she is chief of staff of service centre operations. and her office is in Washington DC.
i don't know if that will get me any further, but i forwarded my e-mail to her, adding Mr. Neufeld sent me her direction.
now i'm waiting for the next automatic response.
thought this might be interesting information to share.

Here's the situation: I am a French citizen and I live in France. My boyfriend is South African, lives and works in the U.S and has had his green card for 2 years (so not a US citizen yet). Our goal is for us to live together in the U.S and we are wondering what would be the best way to achieve that:
- get married in France and then once he gets his U.S citizenship file a petition for Alien Relative (and for a K-3 non immigrant visa in the meantime so I can stay and work there while awaiting the adjudication)
-wait for him to get his U.S citizenship and then apply for a K-1 fiancée visa; and then file I-765 for Application for Employment Authorization and I-485 for Application to Register Permanent Residence
Which one makes more sense and is the quickest or is there another way?
Thank you for your time and advice!
Audrey.