100JH

This place trips me out. Seriously. i was reading posts this morning. And then I left. Did laundry, went grocery shopping, went to the gym for two hours, cleaned the house and just sat down with a glass of wine. It is ironic how moods and speculation swing and differ so much on this board. Does anyone really know what goes on? Nope! For some reason, it made me think of this INXS song. Take the 2 minutes and 38 seconds...

Especially the ending..."To liberate, liberate, liberate, liberate"

Have a great night (or day) people, wherever you may be.

Here's the FB link he posted earlier: https://www.facebook...t=group_comment

Dead link

don't think they will be taking 60 days it's just to cover their behind if they take longer.

I agree. I think that this "60 day letter" is more of a CYA, just in case they do go past the 30 business day mark. It gives them a few more weeks. I totally believe that CC's will come between the "30 business day" date and the "60 day total" date.

Another thing? I think that NVC has some advantage in being the "second stage" of this process. USCIS can not see the wave of applications coming. The reason that I think NVC has some advantage is that I am sure (don't quote me here) that they get trending reports coming from USCIS so they can adjust to some degree.

GUESSING HERE: Based on my fair amount of experience working with the Federal Government here in DC, I do believe that NVC is working overtime. Why? I am sure that DoS/NVC has experienced this before. I wouldn't doubt that the contractor has a "performance clause" in their contract. That the contractor working for NVC provides XX "base" staff to process XX amounts of applications per month. Any additional staff required to process additional applications beyond the base rate, probably results in additional income for the contractor (more bodies). So the contractor has motivation to process more applications and probably has some staff "in the wings" (or other manner to meet the increased workload) to accommodate DoS when this happens. Because USCIS can provide trend reports in regards to quantity of incoming applications, DoS/NVC can inform the contractor ahead of time that they will need to gear up because an increased wave of applications is coming.

OR NOT?

This is total conjecture and guessing on my part, so please do not quote me. But I do know that DoS is more organized, to some degree, than some of the other Dept's here in DC. Definitely better than DHS (look at the Overland Park fiasco).

Just my two cents and a wild stab in the dark on a Sunday morning....maybe I am just being hopeful and am totally wrong! (I hope not!!!)

FYI people...if you haven't read the earlier posts regarding "the letter". NVC stated yesterday that it was 60 total days, not 60 business days. We are not going from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. That adds about 2 to 3 weeks onto the original "30 business days" end date.

For example; I called this past Monday and they told me my original "30 business days" was 26 August. Yesterday, after receiving "the letter" they told me that my case should be reviewed by 14 September. I believe it will fall in between these two dates. This is just what was conveyed to me by an operator when I called yesterday. Of course we will wait and see.

You have a number of options at this point:

I had no idea you said this earlier. Oops. Oh well, these threads get so big it only helps to have this information repeated.

no worries dude...just slightly different answers

Just spoke with a supervisor (Octavio) and he clarified that it is 60 day NOT 60 business days. He also said that this is for them to REACH you mail. This does not mean that this is the day it is REVIEWED by.

Hope that helps.

I reported the same thing (60 days not 60 business days) about 10 pages back. But I was told that it would be reviewed by then. Like others, I think they are buying time and will probably have CC's between the 30 business day date and the 60 day date. I also believe they are working overtime. On a call I had this past Monday, she mentioned something to the effect of "if they approve our proposal to work overtime and hire more staff" or something to that effect. It's like a restaurant at lunch time. Too many orders come in all at once and the kitchen can't keep up. But it is only for an hour or two. There is only so much food they can make at a time.

Back to the regularly scheduled comedy hour...

Rumor has it that NVC has been working on Saturdays.

Do I believe it since they're now saying it'll take 60 days to review documents?

It used to take 2 weeks for them to review documents not a long time ago.

2 weeks -> 3 weeks -> 30 days -> 30 business days (45 days) -> 60 days -> What's next? 60 business days (90 days)?

I was told that the 60 days is normal days, not business days.

Funny on Monday they told me August 26 is my 30 business days. Today after I got the email, they said my 60 day date is 14 September. I will be in Colombia from the 28th through the 14th so at least I will be with my wife during that time. I think it will fall in between those two dates.

NVC is not working OT. If they were, the time frame would be getting shorter not longer. The Agents aren't exactly known for being honest, either.

Not necessarily...it is a simple input/output equation. If the input increases 100% (now 200%) and the output only increases 17% (one day) the pipe gets is still overflowing.

Thanks for the response! I wonder why only some of us are getting this rando email?

Please do let us know if they say 60 business or 60 days. Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that it is 60 business days...

My guess is... they picked a date when "the wave" began and they are sending letters to all people past that date. My guess is that they are saying 60 business days to CYA, but will probably be resolved before that. It is extending their "window"...on the line with NVC now.

EDIT: They said 60 days total (non business). So I went from 26Aug2014 to 14 Sep2014. Waiting on a supervisor to "call me back" Hmmmm lets see how long that takes.

Was this email in response to a message you sent? Or did they just send it to you out of nowhere?

Also does this mean 60 business days or 60 days?

Random email out of nowhere. On the line with NVC now. I dont know if that is 60 days or business days. My guess is business days, so it goes from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. I think it is more of a CYA email. I will report what I find out after I speak to a supervisor.

DAMN JUST GOT THIS EMAIL FROM NVC

Where did you see that at? Is the National Visa Center operated through tax payers' dollars? I thought that section of the DoS was fee based funded.

nonchalant conversation, pretty much quoted. The point I was trying to make is that she was conveying to me that they were slammed and trying to get some help in.

Called the NVC this morning to check in, yeah i know its early and anticipated the answer I got...too early, wait my 6 weeks until Aug 26...which is 5 days before our first anniversary

...but I did catch this...

"unless they approve the proposal to hire more workers or authorize for additional overtime"

NVC is slammed. Not sure if DoS will have the funding for above, but it would be nice. The new hires won't help for some time due to training and such, but OT could help in the short term and move some things forward a bit. Probably just wishful thinking on my part. The funny thing is (after having worked for many Federal Agencies in DC) that around the end of August/September time frame they see the have money that has to be spent because if they have any leftover at the end of fiscal year, they get less the following year. So everyone runs around getting quotes and writing contracts before the end of October to make sure all of their budget for that years is utilized/spent.

Well POOP! I just got the following email from nvc electronic...

We are unable to review your attached forms and documents because they

are password protected. Please resubmit the attached forms and documents

without password protection so we may review and process the documents.

I had read about this issue before submitting, so I checked the files on 2 macs and 1 PC before sending them in. Now I get this. Any ideas why this could be? There were a total of 33 attachments, 8.5 mb in size. How can I check which one they think is password protected? Any ideas?

were they PDF's? did you check the security properties (Advanced/Security/Show Security Properties) prior to sending? You can not protect a MS Word document, but you can lock the editing....they would need to "enable editing" which should pop up at the top of the page (but is often missed).

Not sure what type of docs were sent so it is hard to say.

Good to see everyone is moving forward and the thread is back on track!

Please think before you hit the enter button. Many people come here for a reason which is to learn more. Please add fact, value, insight and experience. Measure twice and cut once. It is getting to be overwhelming and unbearable. If you want social commentary? That is what the PM function is for. Chat all you like via PM. Do we really need to read every thought that enters your mind?

Every single day is counted. Google does the calculation for me. In the '# of Days' column, I just do =(click CC date box)-(click case # assigned date box), then hit enter. It does all the magic. I'm thinking there isn't a calculation that does just business days (unless I count manually, which I don't want to do, as my current method is much faster).

Thanks, just curious. I could send you an excel formula to calculate #BizDays, but no need. KISS...keep it simple!

PS - Maybe I should create a Wiki to teach people how to use the multiquote feature and reduce the amount of posts in this thread by 50%. hahahahaha

It seems that the average for the last 100 Case Completes has been 64.59 days...I bet that goes up by 50% on the next 100 CC's to about 100 days.

Saylin...is that calculated on 7 day weeks? or 5 day work weeks ("business days")?

AoS AND IV packets scanned on Tuesday, 15 July..."your case is in review now!"

She could not provide any estimated time for the Bogota Embassy

MOVING FORWARD!

Our AoS and IV docs were delivered to the NVC on Friday!!!! We will probably will get a scan date later this coming week! Moving forward!

@Dwipal...thanks. Will do.

Ok stupid question. I have searched/read and can't find the answer.

My AoS and IV fees were available at the same time (using a lawyer). I paid them. My AoS/IV packages were sent out this week (DS260 completed also) and the packages are due to arrive tomorrow. How do I find out when the two packages are "scanned"? Via email? By calling the NVC? I assume I should give them a few days to scan them or are they scanned upon delivery?

Thanks...

Our lawyer just submitted our AOS and IV docs and is finishing the completion of the DS260 today!

Does anyone have rough insight on processing times? I am seeing 4 to 6 weeks? Is that about right? Then about another 4 to 6 weeks after that for the scheduled interview (Bogota)?

I have tried to read and deduct as much as feasible, but it is so hard to gauge, We are getting excited!

I am ex-military, served our government in a strong capacity after 9/11 and have paid taxes since I was 12. For everyone one of you that are going through the immigration process you have my respect, both you and your spouse. You are doing the right thing. Once your spouse arrives they deserve the respect of any American. This country was built on immigration (mostly legal) and it is part of our history and heritage. Unless you are Native American, you came from somewhere else. That is part of what makes our country so great. Avoid the negative comments, as well as the temptation of a quick reward. Thank you for being patient, for wanting to live here and for eventually contributing to our society.

IMO people that choose citizenship are special. People born here did not have a choice, and you did. To me? That is as good, if not better, than natural born. Because you made a conscious decision and chose. And once you do pass your citizenship test? You deserve the same respect just like any other natural born American. I have seen a lot of bigotry and racism (especially toward immigrants) in my life and I can't stand it. Even more so, now that I have a Latina wife. If you came here legally and are contributing to our society? You are good with me.

ok, thanks, I will call them again on Monday (I called last week and only got a busy signal)

Call right when they open in the morning. I usually get through on a few redials. Have to wait about 20 minutes once you do. If you call later in the day it is damn near impossible. I have heard of people redialing over 100 times to get through in the afternoon.