AdamAndDana

Excellent reply! The key is that we remain passionate about changing the system, long after we are reunited with our fiance' and married. I never paid attention to immigration laws or issues, until now.

I submitted an inquiry to Cornyn's office and they received the same generic USCIS reply as my local
US Congressman's office: "Case is within normal processing limits and file is currently with an Adjudicating Officer. Please allow 30-60 days for processing." My NOA1 date is Nov 9th and there is nothing unusual about our case. I feel your pain. I stopped looking at the CSC dates because it breaks my heart to see they are in February and March.
What I don't understand is that the infamous October 15th processing date is as of the March 31st USCIS update. That update was over two months ago... clearly they have moved well beyond October 15th.
I have learned that unless people go through this process, they aren't passionate about changing the system. My friends and colleagues are appalled when I tell them our nightmare with immigration.

I submitted an inquiry to Cornyn's office and they received the same generic USCIS reply as my local
US Congressman's office: "Case is within normal processing limits and file is currently with an Adjudicating Officer. Please allow 30-60 days for processing." My NOA1 date is Nov 9th and there is nothing unusual about our case. I feel your pain. I stopped looking at the CSC dates because it breaks my heart to see they are in February and March.
What I don't understand is that the infamous October 15th processing date is as of the March 31st USCIS update. That update was over two months ago... clearly they have moved well beyond October 15th.
I have learned that unless people go through this process, they aren't passionate about changing the system. My friends and colleagues are appalled when I tell them our nightmare with immigration.

A delay in all cases is understandable in that situation. But to put, for example, September filers on a shelf so that these other cases can be worked on, but January filers still get processed like normal with no delay? That shouldn't happen.

Harsh - you and I have both been here long enough to know that it's not just the individual case specifications which slow down the order if processing. Sometimes it seems like huge boxes of petitions are forgotten about on shelves when there are backlogs or other problems.
It happens every now and again and is very frustrating for those who get caught up in it.
There's the weeks and month or so out of order which I think can be explained by differences in cases, or say one slow officer having a box of petitions on his desk while the super speedy guy next to him is whizzing through the petitions in his boxes.
And then there are the times when the petitions are months and months out of order.
Back in 2007 when we filed we were in exactly this situation. We filed in Oct and waited for a long time, everyone was waiting. Then suddenly in about March the petitions from Jan onwards started getting approvals - all the Oct, Nov and Dec people were left waiting. It was as though our files had been stuck in a room somewhere lost. So we were just waiting while people who had filed five months after us were being approved.
At around 9 and a half months after filing we were suddenly all sent a note saying that our petitions were being sent to California to be processed. And we were approved 2 weeks later.
It was incredibly unfair. And a great example of how disorganised and flawed the system can be. Maybe FIFO is too much to ask for with such a huge number of cases but it could be a lot better than it is now.

You're right it is very emotional. The process is a long and draining one. But I disagree that emotion is a bad thing in this process. Things aren't going to change until people get emotional enough to demand something change. To sit back and just take what they hand you when you're dealing with an inefficient system isn't something I'm capable of doing. I am active with local immigration groups; I will continue to write my representatives regarding the faults with the current system.
As far as processing times, I don't expect anything to be done until it's past them. I really am not looking for someone to push me to the front of the line. But they aim for a 5 month turn around and right now if we're going from October it's over 7 months. That's a bit ridiculous. There has to be a better solution to this broken system, but until enough people speak up about their experiences with it, it won't change.
I don't think you're attacking me at all. And even if my pursuits are fruitless I feel better utilizing my rights as a citizen to be active in my government and push for change.
Thanks for your insight, it's much appreciated!

I feel hurt and annoyed as it might just be paperwork for these people but to US its our life's there messing with

I am completely fed up with this process. It's understandable people are frustrated. You pay your taxes, become a constructive member of society, even make a difference in many other lives. You fall in love with someone in another country and all of a sudden no one wants to know you... What happened to your pursuit of happiness? Why is it being hindered by your own government? You can say budget cuts, not enough staff, work overload, so what, there's no solution?
Senators have been contacted, and still only generic responses are provided. In my home country there are checks to ensure government agencies are held accountable. I thought the US was better than this...
1 approval today VSC? You suck.

I am completely fed up with this process. It's understandable people are frustrated. You pay your taxes, become a constructive member of society, even make a difference in many other lives. You fall in love with someone in another country and all of a sudden no one wants to know you... What happened to your pursuit of happiness? Why is it being hindered by your own government? You can say budget cuts, not enough staff, work overload, so what, there's no solution?
Senators have been contacted, and still only generic responses are provided. In my home country there are checks to ensure government agencies are held accountable. I thought the US was better than this...
1 approval today VSC? You suck.

I am completely fed up with this process. It's understandable people are frustrated. You pay your taxes, become a constructive member of society, even make a difference in many other lives. You fall in love with someone in another country and all of a sudden no one wants to know you... What happened to your pursuit of happiness? Why is it being hindered by your own government? You can say budget cuts, not enough staff, work overload, so what, there's no solution?
Senators have been contacted, and still only generic responses are provided. In my home country there are checks to ensure government agencies are held accountable. I thought the US was better than this...
1 approval today VSC? You suck.

I call almost daily since our case is not viewable online. When the recording answers, press 1, 1, 2, 2 and rep will come on right away. Ask to speak to a Tier 2 Officer after they go through their script. They will give you the option to leave a message (call back in FIVE days!) or hold for an Officer. Once you are transferred, you immediately have the option to leave your callback number, rather than waiting 80+ minutes for the next available representative. They ALWAYS call me back within the wait time. Good luck!

November 9th VSC filer.... Patiently waiting for our noa2.

Your timing is tight, so you need to make sure you have everthing ready to go, PRIOR to receiving the requests.
As NOA2 -> Packet 3 received by you is 2 to 3 weeks, you may be able to schedule your medical now.
In Melbourne I was not required to have the "Alien (Case) Number" (SYD 2013 NNN NNN) to schedule the appointment, but you need to know it at the actual medical to fill out forms. The NVC assign this, and your fiancee may be able to get it off them by phone, prior to the consulate receiving the packet (ie about now). That number was the ONLY thing they required from the visa process at the Medical.
I was told the results of the medical then take 7-10 working days to arrive (mine took 12 - there was an option to pick up, but I declined), and as the Doctor told me - the consulate's part consisted of a sealed packet to carry to the interview in Sydney - so I did NOT mail mine in with packet 3 response.
As you say your NOA2 date was 15May, you can expect (well your fiancee actually) to receive the packet 3 email by early June.
Packet 3 response to interview currently looks to be 1 month (from last couple of updates on VisaJourney for Australia), so interview possibly early July, assuming you have EVERYTHING ready to go in your response, as soon as you receive the Packet 3.
So mid July for your visa is possible (again assuming all goes well at the interview and it takes a week to arrive)
The link to packet 3 response for Australia is: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/fiance_niv_appl.html
For me that resulted in docs:
1) DS-230, Immigrant Visa Application Part I, Biographic Data (signed at ONE spot, not at end)
2) Correspondence details form to accompany DS-230
3) DS-156, Non-immigrant Visa Application (2 copies)
4) DS-156K, Non-immigrant Fiancé Visa Application (unsigned)
5) Evidence of engagement required for DS-156K. (recent captioned photos of us together wearing her ring)
6) DS-157, Supplemental Non-immigrant Visa Application (2 copies)
7) DSL-1076, Ready to be interviewed (page 6)
8) DSL-1076, Checklist (page 7)
9) Birth Certificate (original + copy)
10) Police Certificates (original + copy) (for each of the 3 countries I'd lived in)
11) Photocopy of Passport biographic page
12) 2 passport size photographs
13) I-134, Affidavit of Support from my Fiancée
a) Letter affirming her continued intent to marry me (mutual I assure you)
b) Employment letter from her employer
c) Her 2012 Income Tax Return Transcript
d) Her 2012 W-2 Form
e) 2 recent Pay Stubs
Good luck. Your timeframe has very little leeway.

So happy for those who are getting approved but highly annoyed that most are way after our dates! Hurry up Mr. Visa man!!
In other news I just booked my flight to England July 11th-22nd. Can't wait to see him its been almost a year!!

My view is that the current status quo merely represents an especially bad time for a system that is woefully inadequate at its best. I commend those who are willing to wait patiently out of a desire to not cause a fuss for others, but I think the reality is that K-1 filers need to be much more vocal about their displeasure with a service that almost everyone agrees is absurd and unaccountable, even if their current petition is not especially delayed by the USCIS's own arbitrary standards.
The US government is huge and complex. I'm not cynical enough to think that our elected officials or agencies deliberately do a poor job at oversight, but, given limited resources and knowledge within layers of bureaucracy, it makes sense that services will inevitably fall short of citizens' expectations if citizens just sit quietly on their disappointment and do not let their reps know when things aren't working right. The USCIS is supposed to be run for the benefit of citizens, not to make citizens' lives more difficult. The reality of administering such an agency through relatively low fees (guaranteeing access) and concerns about fraud and national security that will affect non-petitioners is always going to delay processing to an extent, but that does not mean petitioners should just throw up their hands and accept that 6-7 months, or even 5 months, is a reasonable waiting period. We need to make it clear to elected officials that we want them to pay more attention to and improve this particular service.
Why do people think the DACA filings are getting priority at CSC, anyway? It's certainly not because those petitioners were content to accept their current lot and vote for politicians who were complacent about it; it's because those beneficiaries and their friends made a huge stink about the status quo and made it clear to elected representatives that their votes depended on changes. K-1 petitioners will perhaps always lack the unity and lobbying power of hispanic groups, but that does not mean we cannot make any difference.
To answer the OP more directly, I'm right at the 5 month mark and by no means currently delayed to a point where I meet the USCIS's own arbitrary standards for expedition or review. But I can see the writing on the wall and I'm not just going to sit back and wait a few more months to start a series of inquiries that itself may take several weeks and months. So I wrote one of my senators a very thorough letter that dealt both with the USCIS's systemic problems (opaqueness, lack of accountability, manipulation of the processing time frame, operation under seemingly purely political--not statutory--priorities, etc.) and with the hardship that being delayed several more months would cause me and my spouse. I received a very thoughtful and concerned response from a staffer less than 48 hours later and have since had my complaint forwarded to the USCIS legislative liaison, who I am waiting to hear back from.
I know that I may not get my file looked at any sooner than I would have if I had not written anything. But I may. And, more importantly, I know that there is someone in a serious position at the USCIS who is receiving complaints from a senator's office. If the senator's office receives and passes on enough complaints, I'm sure the senator himself will get wind of it. And all it will take is one or two congressmen or senators who seriously look into the issue to get something changed, if not now, then when immigration reform is drafted over the summer. It might not happen because of my letter or yours. It might not happen at all. But I can guarantee you it will never happen if we don't raise a fuss, and that'd be a shame for both current and future K-1 petitioners.