Texasav8r

Some of us have written to the powers-that-be. Maybe that might make some difference. But we must keep the pressure up. Maybe write to the TSC Director and flood her office with our grievance. This discrepancy is simply unacceptable, and it depresses me to think I should temper my plight with feeling good for the CSC filers. Frankly, I don't feel good for them -- I don't really have the time; I am too busy being appalled at the discrepancy!

Valid point.

It's not a Russian thing at all. Dishsoap is used in Russia by almost everybody, so if somebody from Russia thinks that dishsoap is bad for you, it's just a personal thing, nothing about being Russian.

I was hoping that was the case. I was referring to the automatic dish soap for washing machines by the way. I have heard a few cases of thinking it was poison but was hoping it was isolated cases . Fortunately, Tanya does not think so. I always hand wash my dishes and place them in the dishwasher to dry...how is that for reverse engineering?

Spasibo Viktor

I'm guessing the point is that these days a photo can be manipulated any way you desired. I can put myself with John Lennon and Bruce Lee at Disneyland if I really care enough to. What they consider as primary evidence leaves an audit paper trail that can be independently verified if they wished.

Yeah I agree with that. I guess my point was, without photos at all, I could easily say I met someone with all that I listed above but never met and just toured Peterhof, Red Square and other sites in Russia or Rome or (fill in the blank). Both, of course would be ideal.

Btw, I would love to see you with John Lennon lol...it is easy to photoshop, but it is also pretty easy to spot a fake...but I do get your point

Are people at TSC getting Alien Registration Number Changed? I didn't get any notification about ARN, though my submission was in late April and NOA1 in early May.

What kind of notification? I don't think they send notice via mail but if you check status online, it should be there. If not, give it some time and it may update or you may get a notice that they need something else. Did they cash the check?

I got approval letter in 20 days

CSC. That's nice, but the OP asked about TSC fast approvals. Trying to avoid possible false hope for the OP's sake but CSC and TSC are not even on the same page...not even remotely close. Although Philippines may still be getting expedited, the expectation for TSC should be 5 months. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but the facts are what they are. Good luck OP and congrats Haitra.

I have to admit though...even though I am prepared for a lengthy wait for our visa and am trying hard to be patient, seeing more and more 20-30 day approvals from CSC is really really starting to annoy me. I know I know, don't read them, but that doesn't mean they aren't still happening. It just boggles the mind to think that there can be such a huge disparity between the two centers. What genius decided to send all VSC petitions to Texas rather than splitting them up between the two? How can they not see the huge difference between the two or choose not to do something about it?

I also understand there are those that waited 5-8 months for their NOA2, and they should really feel worse than us, but why should we accept that? I don't want to wait that long just because they did...not when there are so many getting approved in freakin May already. Yes it has only been 3 months...BUT, it will be 6, if not more, when all is said in done probably...I am looking ahead..lol.

Some folks say, what's a few months when we are going to spend the rest of our lives together...ok, I agree...but what's a few months when it could be a few weeks instead?

They say we are all in this together...no we aren't. We are in two different worlds. I don't care if TSC may be 2 weeks 3 years from now...doesn't affect me or any of you. CSC is on another planet.

One other thing then I will step down and back up and breathe:

I mentioned value in another thread and have been thinking of some analogies that fall in line with that statement...food for thought

1. You live in New York and others live in California. Everyone from those two states orders a product from Amazon (same item) and pays $15.00 for shipping which is 5-7 days (disclaimer says to expect 7). Everyone in California receives theirs in 2-3 days while everyone in New York receives theirs in 7-10 days and all products are shipped from St. Louis.

2. Same scenario but this time everyone buys a DVD from an Ebay seller in the same city. Everyone pays 25.00 for the DVD (I know, expensive but bear with me). Everyone in CA receives the unedited, full length directors cut Blu Ray and everyone in New York receives the made for TV version with commercials.

3. Everyone on your street buys a fridge from Best Buy and pays $50.00 delivery fee. Everyone on the other side of the street gets the fridge delivered next business day while everyone on your side of the block has to wit 2 weeks due to back orders.

4. Want to board early on your next flight? Pay for first class. You get to board before everyone else...but you paid extra for it....we all paid the same but because we are wearing Hawaiian shirts, we have to wait for others to board first

Yes there are exceptions and I realize some in CSC are waiting a while too but I suggest that maybe there are problems with the petitions (country, security checks, etc.) or they simply fell through the cracks.

Just with those 4 scenarios, how would you feel or react? Wouldn't think you were receiving much value for what you paid for would you? Yeah yeah, I know...they say 5 months but they say that for everyone...yet it only applies to half of us hence the examples above. There are many more I thought of but did not want to drag it out more than I already have.

I truly love my state of Texas but they are a serious disappointment regarding this process.

Ok I am done...back to waiting. BTW, is there a way to block threads? I know I should just avoid them but it is difficult to as there may be something of value in them but then, bam, another one mentioning their 20 day approval...I would rather block them so I can avoid more salt in the wounds

I have always been curious as to why photos together would be considered secondary. I can visit a country (have dozens of stamps in the passport) without meeting anyone so how is that actually considered proof that we met someone? I have restaurant receipts, ATM receipts, boarding passes, hotel receipts, etc. without meeting anyone. Hard to argue photos together with that person though. Always made me wonder.

Hey May filers, the room has been very quite. I'm glad every one has settled in nicely. I'm about to post my application tomorrow for AOS and I want to know if it's ok if we send just 2013,2012 and 2010 tax return as my wife couldn't find the 2011 and secondly how do I put all these documents in one package? How do I separate them in the big envelope before posting it? I will be glad to hear from you guys.

Go online to the IRS website and download your transcripts from each year. They are more reliable than the returns anyway. This is why many banks will only accept transcripts when applying for mortgages.

I like everything here except...I have to hugs males. In my country, friends with opposite sex just shaking hands without touching bodies. Women are hugging and kiss on cheeks. But not for men. One time, I went to military party and one of my husband's friends came to us.

As usual, I gave my hands and suddenly he said, " hey, it is not how people are greeting each other here". He then hugged me and I was astonished and freeze. I don't hug strangers especially if they are males. That's all my complain and my husband understood my unpleasant feeling.

Yeah...um, no. That is not how we greet people here. After becoming friends or familiar with each other, sometimes. I will hug only if the woman offers to hug first so as not to embarrass her. It is interesting how cultures vary around the world and it is a joy to travel and learn them.

P.S. One of the differences...if that guy had done that in Russia, her boyfriend or husband would probably have punched him in the face. I am not saying that is cool..but it is reflective of the differences.

Here's my last 15 minutes. I just washed the dinner dishes and got bitched out. I Cleaned the crockpot. I'm not allowed to use dish soap , because its poison. She don't like the way I wash dishes, clean the floor, wash clothes, what Tupperware I use, anything. I'm literally not joking . She wanted to know what I was putting in the food. She came out on the porch to tell me a Tupperware was cracked and I shouldn't of used it. To put the food away. But a few weeks ago I said to trash it and she said no. I was told I'm lazy, dirty and messy. I stepped in a spot of water and will dirty the whole house. I cant figure out how she uses the sink. Half the dishes in each side and if they get mixed she washes them and boils some silverware. The housing thing is about her apartment in China. There's no maintenance , painting, walls or wood, or anything because there's no yards to cut, or wood, or heat, or trees, or underground pipes for water and heat, Or snow to tear things up. So no maintenance. So she don't like the housing here. The weather. Or that we have to drive everywhere. But she liked the indoor heat and hot showers all winter!!

And we are in the city. On a very nice street. But she hates it. But she just figured out that leaving the cities in the States is better. Verses staying in the city centers in China. I don't complain about anything Chinese. I married a Chinese woman. And I like her the way she is. But its not working for her.

Ha..I thought that was just a Russian thing.

Time is key here I think. Like someone mentioned earlier, it takes a long time to adjust. On another forum, several couples mentioned 2 - 3 years in fact. If your love is strong, you can make it work.Be gentle yet firm. Just because she doesn't like the way you do things does not mean you are wrong. Let her know that it is ok to do things the way you do them in this country. Water is cleaner, soaps are approved by strict government oversight, etc. Explain it in terms she will understand and make it understood that it is ok. Compromise on some things of course.

Now, I may take some heat for this next one but it is based on cultural experience with Russia and may be true in China as well...I dunno. Russian women, in general, like a man to be decisive and in control...they do not like weakness. I am not suggesting you be some redneck and treat her like dirt and be mean...NOT AT ALL. Just be a reasonable man who is familiar with his surroundings, his culture and his life and happily introduce her to it....as a team. Respect goes both ways and it sounds like she has little to no respect for you my friend.

Give it time and be patient...and stand on your own two feet too. She may actually appreciate more than you think.

Fellow March filers, here. Well, technically, we're February filers (February 27th) but NOA1 was issued on March 5th. Just a few days from the start of month four for us.

It's very depressing seeing both California Service Center petitions and Philippines petitions in both service centers get approved in such short order, when the rest of us here at the TSC are sitting with no end in sight. Something is broken at TSC and nobody is being given the answer. It's pathetic. We pay for this service, we deserve to know what the problem is and how it's being remedied. Instead, all we get is boilerplate responses. Unacceptable, but what can we do?

Boo and I were planning on Christmas together. That's not looking likely, now.

We have almost identical timelines and being the agreeable sort that I am...I will go off script this once. I hope you are wrong concerning Christmas

Let's hope for October or so.

Done dear. Thanks

And I'm glad you coloured east coast blue!

My logic was actually related to how hot (red) CSC was quickly processing petitions and how cold (blue) or painfully slow (like an iceberg moving through the water) TSC was. I like blue too though and that is where I fit in this map.

Vermont is not currently processing I-129F petitions. All those that would have been sent to Vermont are now sent to Texas, since July 2013.

Last time this was posted about, some people responded that where their petitions ended up did not fit neatly into the chart > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/423921-which-service-center-handles-which-states-i-129f-petitions/

Ooops, I missed that. Oh well, knowing how the natural tendency of humans is to be lazy, perhaps a nice color map will get more attention lol.

Oh sweeet! The process would be faster then. Thanks Alics!

Please correct your timeline to reflect CSC. Thanks.

Thank you very much!!! This site is so helpful. Also if I may ask.she has no shot records is that an issue or will that be handled at the medical exam? I asked in another section but no answer...thank you very much.

They can be handled at the medical exam. Even though there is no requirement to have the shots current to be issued a visa, they will be needed to file for AOS, so best to have them taken care of at that time rather than wait. I am guessing they will be more expensive for you to get them in the states without insurance coverage. There is a list of required (age appropriate) immunizations on the USCIS website and also on this board. Make sure the medical examiner does not insist on any that are not required to make some extra coin. They can also be given at other clinics prior to the exam (like right now) but make sure the immunization record is accurate, certified and official (not sure about PI) as I do not think a letter from the doctor will be acceptable,

Ever wonder where your petition will go? CSC? TSC? Well, this question is asked by many new members here, and there are many mistakes made while filling out timelines. I decided to throw together a map that will help answer this question. Now, as with everything, there are exceptions to every rule and nothing is perfect (especially when dealing with the government), but after the research I have conducted and after comparing my data with a list recently provided from a immigration attorney's website, I believe the data is very accurate.

The map has two colors and applies to the home state that the petitioner lives in when the petition is filed. A red state will be processed at the CSC and a blue state will be processed at the TSC.

*** - Please understand that each petition is mailed to Texas. This is NOT NOT NOT the TSC. Understand? The lock box in Texas (NOT the TSC) will then screen the application for errors and ensure the payment is there and then "accept" the petition. They will then route (NOT TRANSFER) the petition to the service center that applies to the state you are a resident in. You will then receive a NOA1 which will include a file number which begins with 3 letters and has several numbers after them:

WAC = CSC

SRC = TSC

The NOA1 will also include a Notice Date and that is the date you begin counting from.

NOTE - This only applies to I-129F petitions for K-1 Visas. This also applies to NORMAL petitions and not expedites as far as I know. There may be a different process for determining where those are processed but I do not have any data to accurately support that.

I hope this helps clear up the where's and why's and if your particular situation is different, please don't kill the messenger. Like I said above, there are exceptions to every rule and only the USCIS (maybe) knows why.

If the mods determine this is accurate enough to sticky..please do. Thanks all and good luck on your journeys

Illinois belongs to California Service Center

source: http://www.visaearth.com/k1_faq.html

GAH!! I wish I had seen that before I started doing a few weeks of research to figure out that information. Oh well, at least I see mine matches what is listed and it did fill in a couple of blanks that I was not sure of I can now finish my color coded map at least.

I have a Nov 26 date. I called 1 week after the 5 months and was told they were working on Nov16th. I though great... should be any time now... I called today... guess what day they are working on???? that's right Nov 16th. I am assuming that this about as accurate as the 5 month estimate.... but even if it is stale, it says that after a month or maybe more they have not moved the 10 calendar days to my date. What is even more interesting is... if you look at the average times posted here for Texas, it is 79 days.

If you search the internet you will find a lot of discussion about the lead times of I130 and how the petitions have been pushed back to the regional centers to process them and get the time down to 5 months. If you look at the NCIS statistics you see that in March the number of I129F petitions processed dropped noticeably. I would imagine that the drop has continued in April and May. All pointing to... that resources have been deployed elsewhere. Doesn't change the fact that all we can do is sit and wait without any indication of what to expect. I had planned for the worst case scenario and now I have plan for the much worse case scenario.

It would be nice if that was even remotely accurate but many of those petitions were actually processed at CSC so it screwed up the numbers for TSC. 149 days would probably be more accurate as an average unfortunately.

You and the OP both are beyond the time required to file a service request. Have you done so? That would be my next step at 6 months and one second .

I think it is safe to say that you were expedited as 36 days is far below the norm for the TSC. I have seen several others say they were not affected by the typhoon yet they were still expedited. I don't know that there is any rhyme or reason to the methods guiding USCIS in the expedite process. I would guess that there are procedures to follow, but I would also guess they are not being followed by some of the agents involved in the screening process. In other words, if they see Philippines, they automatically expedite it rather than if it was location X, Y or Z in the Philippines as the memorandum stated.

Count your blessings and enjoy the rest of the ride.

OP...if you would provide the state where your petitioner lives, it would give us a pretty good idea as to where you will be processed. Transfers are very rare even though you see many in the timelines here. Those are incorrect as they misunderstood the difference between being routed to a service center and being transferred from one that was already processing to another. A completely different situation. Whether you will be expedited or not...who knows?

May 23: package sent

May 30: case received SRC

Is the process still th same at TSC, 5 months for noa 2? And should we starting counting from the date our case was received or upon approval of noa1? I don't know if i got it right.

As much as I hate to say it, it may actually be getting longer as the backlog is increasing significantly. However, with that said, you are from the Philippines so all bets are off. Most, not all, petitions for that region are still being expedited due to the typhoon, so your wait may not be as long as the typical TSC filer. I do not want to give you false hope so I emphasize "may not be." Good luck.

Start counting from the notice date which will be on the hard copy.

I snuck in to the TSC and snapped a photo so now I have the answer and thought I would share it with the rest of you....

Now we know

I hope for the best for you all. Whenever that day comes, it will be an amazing one....

I hope you guys are flying in October, cuz hopefully that'll mean my fiancé will be here for my birthday in December (April filier here)

Thanks. Me too. Tanya's birthday is in the middle of October and I would love to celebrate it together.

Ok did it says my petition is still in normal pressing times

Then call 5 times a day. We pay them to work for us and you are not pleased with their service. Call 5 times a day until you get what you want. There is absolutely no reason we should wait 6 months because thy "say so". Be polite but be firm and insist they open one for you. Maybe you can also mention value for service? We pay the same amount as those being approved in weeks at CSC and that is value? We should get 70% of our money refunded to us or charge CSC filers 3 times the amount for rushed service. Fedex and UPS does .

I know they say 5 months is standard processing time, but that is not true and we all know it. It is true for only one center and you paid the same amount as others...demand service...you deserve it.

One last point. If we all sat around and waited on the government because they told us to, can you imagine where this country would be today? Think about it.

Good luck.

Now I need to take cover from the rocks that will be heading my way from CSC filers...lol