bandi77

Thought I'd drop by with an update on our case. As a recap, we're August 15 filers through the CSC with a NOA2 date of October 2, and to date, the NVC has not yet received our petition.

I've contacted the USCIS numerous times. I've been repeatedly denied to speak to a tier 2 official or to put in a service request for it to be sent again to the NVC, with the tier 1 agents saying I had to wait 90 days before I could do so.

I called the NVC over and over, emailed asknvc and nvc research, and even contacted 2 different email addresses for the CSC to try and get some action, all to no avail. The emails I finally got back from the CSC and from asknvc after 6-8 weeks of waiting were completely useless, basically saying "we've received your request for information and will email when we have some information for you". Several weeks ago, I finally heard back from nvc research and they just said they would contact the USCIS on my behalf and would email me with more info, and that's as far as it's gone.

Today, I received a new NOA2 approval dated 1/7/15 with a new expiration date for April 7th (yippie?) I called USCIS again today. Finally, after my second call today and waiting 101 days since receiving my first NOA2, I was allowed to speak to an officer. He was surprised the tier 1 people had told me I had to wait 90 days to speak to an officer, but then he tried to quickly turn the conversation away from the wait we've had to go through. He refused to tell me what happened to my petition all these months and said it's best not to look back at this point and just concentrate on the fact I have a new NOA2 with a new expiration date. I asked how I can know if the petition is really being sent to the NVC this time and that I can't wait another 90 days to go through this whole process again. He just said I have to follow the instructions on the new NOA2 and call if I haven't heard from the NVC in 30 days.

So, I'm a little encouraged something new has happened finally but it still feels like I'm right back where I was 101 days ago. My immigration experience so far has been a nightmare. Please forgive my super long post but I hope this information could help some of you facing the same thing. I hope the rest of you who have been waiting as long (or longer) than we have are getting better results than we have and are well on your way to being reunited with your fiancees. Stay strong!

So happy for you both Alicia! Praying we all get an answer soon...

Bebekins, did you call the nvc by the way or just email before you contacted the embassy? Because I keep calling and emailing nvc and calling uscis and am getting nowhere. Uscis won't even let me speak to a tier 2 person and I've tried repeatedly. The nvc tells me every time that they have no record of my uscis receipt number in their system.

Yes, you're with the CSC. The Texas address is the lockbox. They process the payment and then route your petition to the service center that corresponds with your geographical location. In your case, and mine, that's the CSC.

Now, if only the CSC would mail petitions to the NVC as quickly as they received them from the lockbox office, we'd all be happy.

So, for all of you who are still waiting for an NVC case number, how many days are you past your NOA-2 at this point? We're at 70 days. Still no word.

Just curious. I know several of you have been waiting a significantly longer time than we have. Best of luck to all of you!

Lol! My kind of people, Have a safe trip and wonderful time, bfulton71!

Wow thatangela and bfulton71, amazing you guys know where Colville is! It's a small world after all... lol best of luck to both of you for a speedy reunion with your loved ones!

Usmbow, I hope you have a magical time with your fiancee and are reunited in the states very quickly!

I spoke to another tier 1 guy at uscis today but he actually seemed genuinely empathetic and honest with me. He didn't give me the canned 90 day line and seemed to try to find info on my case for me.

He told me that they switched to a new system for their computers a few weeks ago and that it has been, in his words, a complete nightmare. He said much of the information on people's cases disappeared when being transferred over to the new system and that the information they have in the computers is incomplete and varies from case to case.

He said the computer shows my case is approved but still active and that nothing negative has been applied. But he said beyond that, the information just isn't in the system and he apologized.

He said the tier 2 representative doesn't have any access to information beyond their computer system so he said there's nothing we can do to find out more until additional information is logged into the system. He said that should happen over the next couple weeks but he doesn't know specifically.

So, I think I'm not going to bother with the uscis helpline anymore and just go directly to emailing the csc for info. Hopefully they're on a different computer system and can track it better.

Thank you for the encouragement! I'll keep trying. I consistently get the feeling from the uscis that they would make up a story on the spot to make me go away. It feels like a game of wills to see just how much of a thorn in their side I'm willing to be until they take notice and do something. How tiresome.

I called the NVC again this morning and finally spoke to someone who at least seemed honest and sympathetic.

He said it can take nearly 70 days for the NVC to get the petition from the USCIS, log it into their systems, and begin to process it. But, he said they ought to have record of having received it by half that time at the latest.

He seemed concerned that they don't have record of it since our NOA2 was dated Oct 2. He said it definitely needs to be researched. I did email them on Nov 16 and sent a scan of my NOA2 on Nov 21, but unfortunately, I sent it to nvc Inquiry instead of nvc Research. I remedied that this morning.

The NVC representative told me that he can't give an idea of how long the research could take as they're processed in the order received and some can be researched in ten minutes while others can take a researcher several days to figure out what happened. He said if it truly can't be found, the NVC will request the USCIS send it again.

Ok, part 2... I called the USCIS again and spoke to another unhelpful person who gave me the 90 day story again. When I asked for a tier 2 person, he said I can't put in a service request to resend my petition to the NVC or speak to a tier 2 person until the 90 days are up.

I asked him what will happen if my NOA2 expires before the NVC receives it. (90 days + service request processing time + up to 90 more days?) He didn't seem to understand what I meant and said my fiance will have to contact the consulate or the state department with a request for an extension if we feel there was a legitimate reason for them to grant us one.

So... that's where we stand right now I guess. 60 days out from the approved NOA2, no one knows where our petition is and the USCIS won't lift a finger until January. Where's my vodka?

At least my brother was an intern for our congresswoman years ago, so she knows my family. I hope that may help. God knows, I need something to go right.

Well, I'm with you wanting to cry my eyes out. I called USCIS today and was told to wait 90 days from the date of the NOA2 before calling the NVC or asking the USCIS for further action. Well, I will keep calling and contact my congressional office too but this is unbelievably discouraging. I had hoped just a month ago that he could be here by January. Now they're saying to wait that long just for the NVC to receive it. And then if it's lost, to wait another 90 days for it to be resent to the NVC, or maybe longer if we get stuck at the USCIS when they start processing immigration reform applicants? what a nightmare.

I really appreciate your response and advice! It's given me some hope. It's still very discouraging to think how much of a set back this will cause but there's a relief in knowing there's something I can do. I'll keep you all posted. Best of luck to you all, especially those going through this particular bureaucratic nightmare. -Heather (bandi)

So my NOA2 was dated 10/2/14 and I still haven't heard a word from the NVC with a case number or processing status... I finally emailed them last week and still nothing. Well, it's been nearly 7 weeks now with no word. So, I called last night, and after 45 minutes on hold I got through to someone who told me they have no record with my USCIS receipt #. They asked me to scan a copy of my NOA2 and email it to them with my USCIS receipt number in the subject line and "we will contact you when we have information on your petition." WHAT??!! That sounds an awful lot like "we have no idea where your application is and don't know what else to tell you, so goodbye." We're absolutely crushed and I have no idea how to proceed except to keep calling everyday. But if it was lost, I can't imagine I'm going to get a different answer from them. I'm devastated to think we might have to start the whole process over from the beginning... feeling just sick.

Terrific ideas everyone! I really appreciate you taking the time to share them.

I live in Washington state and am from southern California originally and there are definitely lots of lovely places here in the Pacific northwest and all along the west coast worth considering. We're weighing all the options right now.

I've considered that he might like to explore areas closer to his new home but on the other hand, I'd kind of like to see something new. Never been east of Colorado or the southern states (although I've been around the southwest a fair bit). My mom suggested maybe Santa Fe or Taos might be nice with good weather. But the suggestion to delay the honeymoon until we get AP is worth considering too.

Great food for thought! Any other ideas? I know it's a topic we all think about at some point in this process and maybe it will help give other couples some ideas too.

Hi, my fiancee will hopefully be here around the beginning of the year so we're thinking of a Spring wedding. We've been tossing a couple of ideas around for our honeymoon destination but haven't really settled on anything yet. March or April can be tricky months in a lot of areas.

I'd love to hear where any of our members honeymooned and if they'd recommend it, or if they have any ideas or know of cool things happening in their part of the country that might do. I'm open to all kinds of ideas. Thanks!

Sorry I used the wrong word. Didn't mean to open a can of worms but thanks for the clarification. I fixed the timeline.

I just went through the same thing. In fact, I had already sent our I-129F to Texas and then read about the wait time there and so I managed to stop the delivery. While I waited for it to be sent back to me, I discovered it has to be sent to the Texas lockbox because they process the fee and then decide to transfer it or not. So, a week and a half after I had originally sent it to Texas, I had to send it right back to the same address. Luckily, I received notice from them today that they transferred our petition to California! So happy! Best of luck!