nessieness

Hi everyone, we qualified for DCF on humanitarian grounds and now need to withdraw our I130 from USCIS. We've received 4-5 email updates that our file has been transferred, but only one paper notice in the mail. Should we write to the service center listed on that notice, or should we try to call USCIS?

Thanks for your help!

We got a transfer notice today by email today too. We're actually being processed at the consulate in Auckland for humanitarian reasons, and it's been a dream dealing with them, so hopefully our file being out of the way in the US will speed someone else up a tiny bit.

Yes. They say specifically on their website not to call them to ask, so I fear the wrath of the German office administrator.

That link actually doesn't say. The German embassy in Kazakhstan says 5 business days, other links online say 1-2 weeks, others 3-4 weeks, that's why I'm confused.

Do they send them via surface mail? In that case, being in NZ, I'm screwed.

Has anyone on here recently gotten a police clearance from Germany? I'm wondering how long the processing times were. There doesn't appear to be any reliable information on the website of the Bundesamt fuer Justiz.

Has anyone on here recently gotten a police clearance from Germany? I'm wondering how long the processing times were. There doesn't appear to be any reliable information on the website of the Bundesamt fuer Justiz.

Just wanted to mention that at the beginning of the week, we contacted the US consulate in Auckland if they could help in any way. They were extremely nice, and due to my son's medical condition, they were able to get permission from the regional office in Bagkok to process our case at the consulate, which is officially supposed to take 2-3 months. I've also heard that a consulate may be able request a file once it reaches NVC, so that can speed up processing too. So if you're a USC residing abroad, it may help to get in touch with the local US consulate to see what they can do.

Lisa called USCIS yesterday and was told they are currently processing Sept 2012 applications.

I am waiting in New Zealand to join my wife (married 23 years), so I called the US Consulate here in Auckland. They are very friendly, but are unable to do anything until the file moves from NBC to NVC. They said once that happens and I pay the next lot of fees, they can try to get the file sent to Auckland to at least expedite the next phase.

They did also say the following:

"

I meant to tell you too, that we just heard that NVC has received four times the usual number of approved petitions this month, and that Posts abroad should expect increases in cases being sent out – apparently USCIS have worked hard on their backlog! So hopefully your case will be among that number. "

Thank you so much for mentioning this! I finally contacted them too, and due to my son's medical condition, they were able to get special permission from the regional office in Bangkok to have our case processed in Auckland, which will be oh-so-much-faster.

Thank you!!!

My USC husband has to move back to the US in mid-Jan to start the job he accepted back in April. If he informs USCIS of a change of his address to a US address, would that also trigger a transfer of our file to a different service center (ours is at NBC, presumably because he filed from abroad)?

No offense meant but this is perhaps the most ridiculous idea I've ever read on here. And there's been several.

None taken. Was just trying to think outside the (lock-)box ;-)

I'm a May filer (well DH is). Have received NOA1 but case hasn't been touched since.

So what if your case hasn't been touched at all since you filed?

I'm getting pretty fed up with this whole process, and was wondering if anyone had an idea what USCIS's reaction would be if my USC husband and I got divorced (we're both currently living abroad) and then got (re-)engaged and filed an I129F for me, seeing as those are being processed much faster. Obviously it'd be money down the drain for the I130 we currently have in the system, but I kinda like the idea of beating them at their own game...

Hi nessieness,

My intent is not to complain about why other processing timeline is faster than the other; the only intent is to bring attention to how the USCIS mismanagement is impacting the I-130 application of the spouses of US Citizens. Just like you said, I do not want to get into the K1 vs K3 debate in a letter, the letter needs to be precise and focused on only 1 issue; then I am hoping (big hope) that they know what is the real problem.

Well said

I completely agree. But when I've talked to other people about this situation, they assumed that everyone was affected by the slowdown and then were surprised to hear the disrepancy between different types of family petitions. I'm not sure if the people on the commitee would have a similar reaction without being told specific comparisons. Long processing times are awful no matter what, but in this case, they're much more awful for some of us. That's all I was trying to say.

I've no idea. You'd have to ask USCIS. They are the ones that stopped it, question them.

We have. They're not saying. So maybe the House Judiciary Committe should ask them.

Really. These are two totally different types of petition,. K1's undergo a heck of a lot less processing, have to do AOS AND ROC once they arrive, they don't arrive with the right to work, immediately, or the instant green card. So no.

But heck, knock yourselves out. Like Washington gives a toss, given the ####### going on there atm.

Ok, then let's compare red apples and green apples. K3s have to do what K1s have to do. So then why is the K3 is dead?

How about mentioning that K1 visas are getting approved at lightning speed? I generally don't think it's good to pit people against each other, but in this case, I think the difference in processing times is stunning.

I found this website

http://lawandborder.com/abysmal-uscis-processing-times-130-immediate-relative-immigrant-petitions/

In the comments on the post, the author also recommends the following actions

(a) complaints to the USCIS ombudsman,
(b) meetings with Congressional reps to demand oversight hearings,
© Congressional call-in campaign or lobby day,
(d) media campaign,
(e) mandamus actions in federal court against USCIS for failure to perform a non-discretionary duty within a reasonable period, and/or
“We the People” petitions to the White House (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/).

Seems like some of these have been/are being tried, but what about e) mandamus actions? I have 0 legal training, but what if we filed some kind of class-action lawsuit?

We've also made a few enquiries and have consistently been told that they're current processing Oct 2012.

But if that's the case, why did they make the statement to the AILA meeting in April that there was no backlog? And why are March filers getting prroved before October filers?

My stepmother-in-law in the US insisted on contacting her senator about our case. I didn't think it was going to help, but also didn't think it would hurt (she likes to feel like she's being helpful).

The senator's office forwarded USCIS's reply, which stated that they were currently processing I-130s from October 2012. I don't think that is any more believable than any of the other answers people have gotten, but wanted to throw it into the mix...

Fine, they can take as long as they want/need with the I-130s, but then why is the K3 route dead? I'm not the US citizen, but I'd be mighty pissed about my constitutional rights being infringed upon by this administrative blackhole that's keeping me separated from my legal spouse indefinitely.

Hi all

Sticking my face in here. Our priority date is May 10, 2013. Heard nothing so far.

I'm a kiwi , we filed from NZ, my husband is Texan and we bought a house already over there and sold lots of our stuff in NZ so that we can sit here and regret it and feel foolish in this forced limbo.

Hi from a fellow (well, sort of) kiwi! Where in NZ are you if you don't mind me asking? Maybe we'll meet up at the Auckland consulate for our interviews ;-)

^ that might be something nirav325 should check from the embassy.

As for the lawyer's advice, I obviously don't have a legal background. But, I think it's fair to say that your changes of getting the spousal visa by January are pretty low. Maybe you should make a backup plan with her university, in case she won't get the visa by then? Can she postpone her studies for a semester?

Just out of curiosity, do you have any red flags on why she wouldn't have gotten the student visa? Or would she not have gotten it because she was already married to a U.S citizen?

I was able to get a student visa being married to a US citizen but when I applied, our domicile was outside of the US and we owned a home there, so we were able to prove our intention to return after I finished my studies in the US (and the visa was just for 6 months while I finished off some degree requirements)

DH floated the idea last night that the slow processing times are caused by furloughs for federal employees due to the current budget problems (his father is a federal employee and is working at 80% currently). Has this idea been discussed already?

^ If she needs to be there by January, perhaps you need to apply for a student visa? I got my student visa within two months.

I'm not 100% sure, I don't think you can get approved for a non-immigrant student visa if you already have an immigrant visa application pending