fyzah

Hello to my vj family,

It has been a long time since i came on here, I was thinking I would come back to update everyone. Me and the kids went to visit my husband in the US several months back. We decided to get a lawyer, and he recommended we file for an adjustment of status. Well within a month of filing our i-130 was approved and everything else fell into place. Our lawyer helped our case immensely, he is awesome! So happy to have my family back together. We have a beautiful home and my husband has a great job. My immigration journey was a very difficult process, but I feel blessed to have finally reached the end point. Trying to raise three kids under 7 on my own was no fun at all. Every cloud has a silver lining, praying that you all get yours soon.

Hi Greenberry,

We have very similar timelines our NOA1 = 12/03/2013

There were many of us December filers who were delayed apparently our background checks had not completed. The past few weeks saw approvals for most of the remainder except for a few like myself. We filed three service requests and one through a congressman. The response for the first two said that security checks had yet to be completed. The last one said the same thing as yours:

"Our records show that your case is currently pending adjudication. We regret that we are unable to provide you with a completion date. We apologize for the delay."

We called the congressman's office and they apparently spoke to the service center, they said background checks had completed and we should have a decision within 30 days. Unfortunately about two weeks later we received a notice saying that our petition had been transferred to our local office for further processing:

"we transferred this case to your USCIS local field office for additional processing. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you."

This was the last thing we were expecting. I pray that this does not happen to you. Contact your congressman, and senator. My husband is in the Worcester area, very close to you and we found congressman neal's office to be very helpful, senator Warren's office sucked, don't waste your time. If you want the contact details for the lady that handles the immigration stuff PM me.

I don't know why this happened, we have been married almost 8 years, living together overseas the whole time, we have three kids. I have travelled to the US several times on vwp, never overstaying, never had any immigration issues, or criminal records so we were disheartened but now we just want to get to the bottom of this and have our family back together asap. We will be making an infopass appointment immediately with the local office to find out what is going on.

Thank you mrs thb,

I emailed our congressman and senator who we had both been in touch with before this, to inquire exactly where it was sent to and if possible why. As soon as we know, my husband will make an infopass appointment with the office, and see if he can get some clarity.

After 10 months of waiting this was not what I was expecting, but like you said there is not a whole lot I can do but to be patient. My mood is a lot better today as I realize how much I love my husband,kids, and how thankful I am for all the blessings I have. Although we are currently apart , I am lucky to have the ability to visit my husband with the kids during this process, a privileged that many others aren't afforded.

I will definitely be following you, and pray that you get an approval notice soon.

I guess we are in the same boat mrs thb, today we receive this :

"On September 26, 2014, we transferred this case to your USCIS local field office for additional processing. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283."

Praying that this is some sort of mistake that can be fixed, as this is normally not a good thing from my quick research. It seems like shortly after this an interview is requested. I don't know why the heck we would receive this transfer, I am not filing aos, we have never had any immigration issues, no criminal records, we have a genuine marriage with plenty of proof including 8 years living together and 3 kids.

I feel like USCIS is screwing with us, but that's okay I somehow don't feel like despairing. Time to get in touch with our congressman and senator!

Omg am I the only one left?

I got a response to my service request today and it states mine hasn't cleared all security checks required, which is the same answer from my 2nd service request in early July. I dont understand how my friend who filed in March is already approved and we are all from Indonesia but his wife had never lived here. My husband lived here for nine years with a proper visa and he has a social security number. We dont have any security issues and i dont know what kind of security checks theyre running on us.

You are not the only one. I think at this point I have been waiting the longest NOA1 : 12/03/2013

no rfe, security checks are done. At this point the only thing I can think of is that my file has been lost, or misplaced. I am close to just giving up. My husband is a dual citizen of US and Canada and although he has never lived in Canada I am seriously considering giving it a try, I'm sure their immigration system can't be worse than dealing with USCIS.

On another note I am delighted that so many from my December family have been approved. Praying for the remainder of us.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!

Congratulations I am so, so, soooo happy for you and your family.

I talk to tier 2 officer .They ask to wait 29 sept.

faisal you have to realize that often the agents that you talk to on the phone will say all sorts of things. My sincere advice is to contact a senator or congressman, though sometimes I do question how helpful they are. It is worth a try, some are more helpful than others. Unfortunately we found that after the last service request saying that security checks were done and pending adjudication, then the email from the service center, we contacted the congressman, and believe it or not a few days later we got a response from the congressman that security checks were pending and to wait 90 days!!

We were shocked and my husband phoned them, and called them out on it, sent them the emails. They apparently called back an hour later saying they had spoken to the service center and we should hear back in 30 days. Makes me wonder if they did anything in the first place.

We have all waited long enough and if security checks are done, our petitions should go to the top of the pile and be adjudicated asap without any delay.

It is getting ridiculous, I hit 10 months next week since NOA1.

I think lovemytico is probably right, but we should all stay hopeful, how cool would it be if we saw a wave of approvals next week? It is odd how we have one good week then no approvals for the rest of the month. It is almost like they have a pile of older petitions which they pick a few from every so often while they push through the new petitions.

DandF, hang in there, it won't be too much longer now.

DandF, hang in there, it won't be too much longer now.

We love you too and pray that next week will be your week.

Love you guys. I want all of us to move to stage 2 asap!

California_luv, we received a similar notification and like you I am skeptical, but on the bright side at least security checks are over and done with because that is the worst part. DandF, CBO, California_luv and anyone else still waiting I'm hopeful that they stick to their word and within a month we can all whizz through NVC together.

I have a question, is it possible to request a change of embassy once the I-130 has been approved, but before you even have a case number from NVC. I'm a British national that was living overseas when the petition was originally filed. However I am now back home in London and will go through the London Embassy. Do I have to wait till they assign me a case number then request for that to be changed to a London case number or can I avoid that?

Thanks all

You are not the only one. There are a few November and several December filers whose petitions have been thrown into the black hole, in order to meet their average target time of 5 months. Many of us have filed 2 or three service requests, contacted congressmen, and keep getting answers like;

Pending security checks, you should hear back in 90 days.

Case is in additional review, you'll hear within 90 days.

Background checks aren't complete and we don't know how long it will take.

It would be one thing if it were just a few of us but just a quick check with numbers of petitions that are close to ours, shows that many others are still waiting approval. We filed Dec, NOA1; Dec 3rd. I have been married to my husband for eight year s with three kids together. We were living overseas when we sent in i-130 but our residency cards expired as my husband graduated so we both had to go home. I had to go back to London with our kids,where I have nothing anymore and my husband went back to the US. The financial strain has been immense, but apparently we don't meet requirements for expedite. We have filed 2 service requests ourselves and one through a congressman, same bs answers. We requested case assistance from the ombudsman. We wrote to several figures at USCIS, still waiting.

I don't think being a same sex couple has any effect on your petition nor your entry refusal. Since I married my husband I have visited several times, never having a problem. Likewise just as you we have no criminal records. I suggest you exhaust all available tools, senator, congressman, ombudsman. In some cases it helps and in others it doesn't. You have nothing to lose, and at least you will know that you tried everything. I wish you all the best.

I am praying that we all hear good news soon. It is so hard to stay positive.

I just can't believe they are doing this to us. It is so heartbreaking to have my family torn apart like this. Thanks to USCIS I have to be a single mother to three kids.

hi all !!

we have been approved today !!!!! YAY

I am travelling right now and my husband called me with this great news !!

I hope you are all going to join me soon !!! I an waiting for you

congrats nanana, I am thrilled for you. Your USCIS nightmare has finally come to an end.

I hope your time at NVC is a lot smoother and that you can be with your husband for Christmas.

Today I am nervous and anxious because I am just about to leave to go to the airport to see my husband for the first time in over 350 days… I can't help but feel that it shouldn't be this way. That we should already be living together and starting our life together by now and not that I should be nervous about seeing him because so much time has passed.

I cannot believe you have not seen your husband in almost a year. But i do believe this process will make your love stronger. If you can get through this, you can overcome anything together.

Wishing you all the best.

The word needed here is consecutively. None of your visits were longer than 12 months long in a country not of your nationality, you do not need a police certificate.

Actually it's 12 months.

Thank you so much for that, definitely will make my life much easier.

Did you do it via e form ?

My husband tried several times and no luck with opening it :/ it didn't even let him to download the paper version. and he did use the IE.

Yas nanana we did do it via e form, we used this link: https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

If your husband is outside the US then he will not be able to. My husband had tried the link before while he was in London visiting and it did not work.

Hello to all my fellow December filers,

Well it looks like I have not missed too much unfortunately. At this point we have filed 3 service request all giving the same BS answer. One was over the phone, the other online and the most recent one was through our congressman. Two of them stated the usual 90 day #######, and one of them gave an unkown time frame, yay, don't you just love those .

We contacted the ombudsman for case assistance, and now my husband is contacting all the senators he can.

This process is breaking me. I just can't believe that after 8 years of marriage and three kids we have to go through this #######. I have never had any dealings with USCIS, I have visited the US with my husband several times, never had any problems. This separation is crushing my husband. He has already missed two of our childrens birthdays, the third is coming up. And then our wedding anniversary is in November and of course we will be in two different continents for that. This is what you get for trying to do things the legal way!

I read that for the IV package a police certificate is required from all countries the beneficiary resided in for more than 12 months after the age of 16. I went to Egypt 3 different times on a tourist visa over the course of 2/3 years. The three visits combined add up to more than 12 months but none of the individual visits added up to 12 months. Also technically speaking I was not a resident, just a tourist. Will I need to provide a police certificate from Egypt too or just from my home country?

Hey fyzah, did you write this letter? maybe we should pick one day this week to email it to people ?

Thanks for reminding me nanana, I have been really down and just not coping with the seperation, 3 kids and living with my parents very well.

I just put something together now, criticisms, suggestions are all very welcome.

Date______________

Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

United States Department of Homeland Security

Dear _______________________,

I am writing today to voice my concerns regarding the delayed processing of our i-130 petition, along with many others who filed in December 2013. After following the guidelines posted on the USCIS website, filling out all forms and paying the applicable fees, we have been waiting for the approval of our i-130 petition. At present, the given time frame for reviewing i-130 cases is five months. Despite these published announcements, many of us have been waiting for over seven months. We are waiting in suspense for an approval. Separated from our spouses and children for a painful amount of time, time which cannot be recovered. Such separations are quite detrimental---emotionally, mentally, financially, and psychologically to all directly affected, including young children, in many instances.

I understand that a small percentage of petitions from any given month have unresolved background check issues that can delay adjudication. However it appears that there are far too many petitions from December that have been left in limbo. USCIS approved some petitions from December, then moved on to adjudicate January and now February filers in order to meet their published processing time of five months. As a result we have been unable to move past this initial step. For many of us, the entire process thus far has proven to be quite discouraging. We have filed several service requests and have received the same generic answers:

1. "The status of this service request is:

You or your representative contacted USCIS to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

We have placed your case on a processing hold because the required security checks remain pending. Until we receive the results of these security checks, we cannot move forward on your case. We require the results of security checks before we make a decision on any pending case.

We cannot predict when we will receive the results of these security checks. Please be assured that we will make every effort to make a decision in your case as soon as the security checks are complete.

We hope this information is helpful to you. "

2. " According to USCIS records, your constituent’s I-130 case received an initial review by an officer at the NSC. However, a background check process was subsequently initiated in his I-130 case; and it is not yet complete. USCIS electronic records indicate that this case is currently pending background check clearance.

Please note that a small percentage of immigration applications and petitions have unresolved background check issues that can delay adjudication. Although USCIS makes every effort to resolve such cases promptly, USCIS is unable to determine when the background check process will be completed in your constituent’s I-130 case. If a background check reveals an issue that may impact eligibility for a requested immigration benefit, further inquiry is needed. The inquiry may include an interview and/or contact with another agency or USCIS office for updates or more comprehensive information. Upon gathering and assessing all available information, USCIS will adjudicate the application as quickly as possible. If your constituent does not receive a decision or other notice of action within 90 days, please contact us for an update.

We hope this information is helpful. "

3. "The status of this service request is:

Recently, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your Form I-130 to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

Based on your request we researched the status of this case. We are actively processing this case. However, we have to perform additional review on this case and this has caused a longer processing time. Your case is currently under review. You should receive a decision or notice of further action within 90 days."

4. "The status of this service request is:

Recently, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your Form I-130 to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

Based on your request we researched the status of this case. We are actively processing this case. However, we have to perform additional review on this case and this has caused a longer processing time. We regret that we are unable to provide you with a completion date at this time. We apologize for the delay.

We hope this information is helpful and appreciate your continued patience."

5. "The status of this service request is:

Recently, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your Form I-130 to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

Based on your request we researched the status of this case. We are actively processing this case. However, we have to perform additional review on this case and this has caused a longer processing time. If you do not receive a decision or other notice of action from us within 6 months from this letter, please call customer service at the number provided below.

We hope this information is helpful and appreciate your continued patience."

There are many, many people impacted by this . Unfortunately we feel let down by USCIS as we cannot get accurate, specific responses to our inquiries, nor do we receive the “first in, first out” treatment we were promised. Hence, we need and request your assistance.

It is with great respect for your position that I, along with many others, request your inquiry into this matter. We Hope to receive approvals for our spouses and continue positively on the path of reunification with our family members.

Respectfully yours,

Name _________________________

Receipt Number for I-130 Petition _________________________

Contact Number _________________________

email address____________________________

Congratulations azim, very happy for you!

Yes that's what they do. Cases with Additional Review, Background Checks, Name hit or Any other thing that has to be verified by other party (Other than petition adjudicator).

Visa Adjudicator will put your file on hold (mainly your files resides on his/her desk) until they get back the response.

For example:

As a result of name hit, Name Hit department has to check why it happened. They will verify and search and if (mostly) Name hit was just because of common name and Name holder is clean, they will send their response to Visa Adjudicator.

During all that investigation your file will reside on Visa Adjudicator's desk and he will keep working on other case and approve. That's why we see other people getting approvals ahead of us.

Now that investigation time is not consistent. They can take few weeks or years, its depends. What we can do is only Wait and Pray.

Source: http://www.visajourney.com/content/adjudicator-q-and-a

sorry axs but that is BS only a small percentage of cases in any given month have this problem. We were told that our case was pending background checks, when that 'cleared' we were told that we were in additional review, it is just another excuse to buy more time. I have visited the US several times on my VWP since I married my husband 8 yrs ago, never been questioned about my stay, never had any problems.

Basically it is just a way for them to say hey, we do what we want when we want in the order that we want. There are several cases 3 to 4 numbers either side of mine that have still not gotten approval, do you really believe that we all have hits on our names, or that we all have something in our case that needs additional review.

NSC is so backlogged, they had to move on to January in order to help them meet their averages. A clear indication is the fact that they have started transferring cases to other centers.

They had this crazy backlog not too long ago, they did good for like two months and now they are in the same problem. Thank you f***ing DACA!!!!!!

have anyone tried to call them today?

I noticed that they have updated info on their website so maybe they moved from Dec 3rd to different BS date for instance 3rd of January? so if you are still waiting it should be possible to submit a SR or find out something more about your case than before...

We are still waiting for an answer for our e-R.

and I don't get it what is going on at NSC transfers? really ? again ?

I have not called them but I know they have moved on because I read it in the January thread, I believe they are claiming to be working on January 12. Some January filers are filing service requests now. It is so frustrating to see several approvals each day in the January thread and zero in ours: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/473392-filing-i-130-january-2014/page-35

I am glad you are all on board. I think we should try as many avenues as possible.

• contact the representatives for your state.

1. Use the following website to find your representative: http://m.house.gov/representatives/states.php
2. You will need to fill out a privacy release form, sign it, scan and email, which my husband has done before for another issue and they were fine with that. For those that are outside the US you need to give a US address, e.g. your parents.
3. attatch that to an email explaining your case.
4. Call them, find out who deals with the immigration stuff in your representative's office, and follow up.

• Contact the ombudsman

1. You will have to submit an e-form : https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx
2. For those trying to access it outside the US :https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/cisomb_dhsform7001.pdf print, sign, scan and email it to
3. Send the ombudsman a follow up email at cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov

I will work on writing up a letter but it will take me a few days, maybe by Saturday. I just moved back to the UK a couple of days ago with my kids. I am trying to enjoy the last few days I have with my husband before I see him again in another 6 months or so when this immigration stuff is all said and done.

By the way I read that Nebraska was now transferring people to other centres as they are apparently swamped. Does anyone know which month they are starting with transfers?