A&L2017

We asked our Congress Woman to open an inquiry last week on the 28th, and I had an Infopass appointment scheduled for tomorrow. Low and behold,  we received an approval letter in the mail today (decision date was 9/28/2017). We're VSC. 

We called the USCIS support line 4 times now, and they all refuse to connect us to a Tier 2 agent, and simply tell us the case is still being processed and to follow the processing timelines posted. We are September filers, and this is beyond frustrating for us. Especially seeing others having luck with getting responses. 

12 hours ago, shell20 said:

i think there maybe a few things that might have delayed the decision.  Firstly if you filed late September then you are more likely to hear in a couple of weeks. Secondly, I read an article a couple of months ago and it said that sending to much information or to little information can end up in an interview. If its very large they look at it and send it to a field office as they feel they don't have the time to go through all the information.   If the file is light then they will also send it to a field office which I suspect happened to an October filer. I don't have definite proof just a hunch and because I read an article about how the USCIS process files for ROC. The applicant was from the UK.

 

 I have also noticed another case whom like your wife, was originally an F1 case and later married. It was quite a recent post and I did suspect that they might have been called for interview due to initially being on a F1 visa. Again just a hunch, cannot remember which country they originated from.

 

Also,  https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-to-expand-in-person-interview-requirements-for-certain-permanent-residency-applicants They are starting to interview more people, admittedly for AOS,  however they do intend to expand this other visas. I'll welcome an interview, like most people, any kind of action is better than not hearing anything. Do people expect the processing timelines to be updated end of this month? It would be end of quarter. 

Thanks for that information, really interesting to see how they may be processing applicants. My wife was F1, but also had an H1B1 for a while before starting her PhD program (which she finished). Everyone is unique it seems, 

3 minutes ago, br9k said:

I suspect that sending that much stuff may be part of the issue. Once officer at USCIS receives your case, it seems logical that s/he must actually read every document you supplied (and, potentially, look for discrepancies). Doing otherwise (i.e. ignoring documents provided by the petitioner) seems both procedurally incorrect, and potentially against the law.

 

If case documentation is vast, time to process it may be proportionate. I.e. - there may be a "golden middle" past which point additional documentation may hurt, not help. Pure speculation on my part, of course

That's actually an interesting perspective, it may be the case. I guess none of us are really sure what their process is. They may just read enough, up-to satisfaction, or do try and find discrepancies. Who knows, figuring out the "golden middle" sounds like a tough exercise. May be case agent specific too...

3 hours ago, jptl85 said:

to chime in on the conversation... I really do not think there is rhyme or reason why people are approved in a certain way. I assume if the adjudicating officer feels they cannot approve easily / quickly based on what they see, they probably throw it into 'come back to that' pile!

 

I really do think that all Sept VSC filers will hear soon! Best of luck to those waiting.

 

If you live in an area where Informed Delivery from USPS is available, I highly recommend you sign up. You will know the mail is coming before it hits your mailbox; that is how I found out. Also, you can then track your green card delivery without having to call USCIS, because as soon as USPS receive priority mail piece for your address it is synced with your USPS account and you know it is on the way; way before USCIS update the site I imagine!

Who knows, but I cannot imagine how we would not be in the approve easily pile... We have had co-mingling of fund (joint account) for over 5 years, we actually printed all 5 years of accounts, with the bank issuing a verified statement, shared utility bills for more than 7 (printed out), even our home-owners insurance. We've been together for 14 years. We are both gainfully employed, graduate school degrees, letters of endorsements from new people, as well as those that wrote letters during the original application. We have photos spanning all 14 years, including her family visiting us in the States, families co-mingling, and vacations with friends and family, us traveling abroad and to her home country, our wedding, and numerous wedding parties we did afterwards, we even have 7-8 years worth of holiday cards, wedding invites, baby showers, etc. letters addressed to both of us since 2010 (we only got married in 2015). No criminal records at all. We are beneficiaries on each others benefits, and I co-signed on her student loans from over a decade ago.  My wife would've received a green card sponsorship through her work, since she is highly skilled labor, and already was on a visa. 

Look everyone on this message board are clearly good actors in loving relationships, so we wish everyone best of luck with the process. I suspect it has to do with country of origin and/or nationality of sponsored spouse. I can't think of what else it can be. Maybe some of us just got unlucky and have a slower agent processing us, one with a grudge, or simply a less experienced person...

 

13 hours ago, lesly87 said:

@Dinosaur2013 @johndoe82 @ahillelt May I run a quick experiment? Since you are all three from NYC and filed within days of each other, perhaps the delay is caused by some differences in your applications. Do you mind me asking if any of you meet any of the red flags below per USCIS? Also, did you file with a lawyer or without? Did the petitioner (whoever came to the US) come on a fiance visa, or school (F-1) or work (H1-B), i.e. what was the person's initial immigration status. What I am getting at is trying to gauge how USCIS is assigning "risk" to each application (high, medium, low),  which can explain the delay in some applications and their more "thorough" review. 

• Large disparity in age among the couple;

• Inability of the petitioner and beneficiary to speak each other’s language;

• Vast difference in cultural and ethnic background;

• Family and/or friends unaware of the marriage;

• Marriage arranged by a third party;

• Marriage contracted immediately following the beneficiary’s apprehension or receipt of notification to depart the United States;

• Discrepancies in statements on questions for which a husband and wife should share common knowledge;

• No cohabitation since marriage;

• Beneficiary is a friend of the family; and

• Petitioner has filed previous petitions on behalf of aliens, especially prior alien spouses. 

Sure, happy to answer

• Large disparity in age among the couple; nope, one month apart

• Inability of the petitioner and beneficiary to speak each other’s language; no, not even close. We both were educated in the US 14 years ago. My wife even has her PhD and works in a hospital.  She publishes papers in academic journals in English. I suspect her language skills may be better than my own. 

• Vast difference in cultural and ethnic background; We are not the same ethnicity, this shouldn't matter. If that was a flag, they would be in a lot or trouble. 

• Family and/or friends unaware of the marriage; No

• Marriage arranged by a third party; No

• Marriage contracted immediately following the beneficiary’s apprehension or receipt of notification to depart the United States; No

• Discrepancies in statements on questions for which a husband and wife should share common knowledge; No, and we have signed affidavits from people who have known us for over 14 years, including those who are Armed Forces veterans.

• No cohabitation since marriage; We've been living together for years before getting married, already had joint accounts prior to marriage. 

• Beneficiary is a friend of the family; and No

• Petitioner has filed previous petitions on behalf of aliens, especially prior alien spouses. No

There are absolutely no red-flags we can think of. We are both employed, I am a US Citizen, and my spouse is not. She is very highly educated, and gainfully employed in an in-demand profession. 

The only thing I noticed, is that most people with early approvals seem to be from Western European countries, versus Central America, South America, and South East Asia, I didn't see too many Eastern European applicants. That would be more interesting to analyze and see if there is a correlation. USCIS may be more applying more scrutiny depending on nationality of applicant. 

34 minutes ago, Dinosaur2013 said:

Are you a New York City resident? I live in Manhattan. I filed my petition on Sep 19, 2016 and have not heard of USCIS decision on my case. It's been almost a year. I wonder if it takes this long for those who live in New York City.

Yes, NYC residents. Maybe it is a New York City thing?

We are September filers in VSC and still haven't heard anything....
Our dates below:

VSC

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
AHILLELT...........09/12/16..........09/19/16......10/17/16......--/--/--

Watching this intently, we're September filers too. 

Is there any reason the time lines aren't being updated here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/times/

We put all our data into the timelines, but just curious if there is a reason others aren't. 

Hello,

My fiance and I are getting married and have all our paperwork ready to submit (waiting for wedding ceremony and papers). I am a US citizen born abroad (with certificate report of birth), she is Honduran with an F1 visa (doing a Doctoral program). She currently has a CPT to do work at several hospitals in NYC. We have looked at all the forums, and cannot figure out what happens when we submit the paperwork, especially the I-765. Will she lose her ability to work (F1 CPT) while we wait for the EAD from the I-765 to come in? That could mean a solid 60-90 days of no work which is something we want to avoid.

Does anyone have any insight on this? We want to file paperwork, but prevent her being unable to work as CPT while she is in school (it can affect her Teaching Assistant jobs as well which she really needs for her resume).

Thanks everyone, this forum and site is incredible.