SantyAndAllie

That's only if you're going the route where you allow USCIS to give you a wedding date! lol. You don't HAVE to do that! You don't have to make your civil ceremony your actual wedding celebration. I know it may seem silly to get legally married then have a wedding later, but it is the easiest (and best money-saving!) way if you want a big celebration and a big deal wedding! Trying to plan a wedding in 3 months or less is really not easy. Possible- but stressful!
We've had ours booked for September since before we even knew about the fiance visa (and I mean everything! venue, photographer, videographer, etc.), but it's not likely that we'll be waiting longer than June for the visa to be in Santy's hands (unless USCIS does something absolutely crazy). So you can look at what's going on right now and hopefully expect that the NOA2 will be here before June. Then it takes at the most another month for the NVC then consulate, which depends completely on your consulate. You can give yourself some kind of estimate based on history and what's going on right now and then give it another month or two just in case. I'd say, for me & Santy, it'll be NOA2 by May, interview in May, hopefully visa by June... hopefully Even still, that gives us enough time for September
If all else fails, you can technically have a wedding celebration (non-legally, I think, lol) on the VWP, then the beneficiary goes back and waits again for the visa!
Also- to mena28, yes, I'm Allie! and I think I'm feeling more optimistic these days because of the fact that I've been blessed enough to have Santy be able to come here until the NOA2 (we hope!). After he goes back to Ecuador, it'll be a really short wait before he's back again! Although I'm still pretty annoyed that we all have to wait at least 6 months, at this point I'm not as upset as before because I got to visit him in December and then he'll get to be here with me for a few months before (hopefully) the visa!
I do feel terrible for those who can't see their loved ones either on the VWP or they just work and can't take off. Santy & I are blessed with flexible jobs that allow us to leave and come back when we need to. That has made the process much easier, though we wish we could just get married already and not have to worry about all this ####### anymore.

We just passed three months since NOA 1 as well :-)
Looking back it hasnt been too bad, but when I was in them they seemed really long!
I booked a flight for Easter (I am the beneficiary) and am hoping for an easy entry :-)
Just said to my fiance, that its "only" 10 more weeks, but he thinks there is nothing "only" about it...
I love your optimism, lovecometruex! (what was your name again? was it Allie? or something else?) I am more of a realist, but reading some optimistic posts makes me feel better too :-), so thank you!

US Customs and Border Protection has information and the list of airports supporting the Automated Passport Control here: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/automated-passport-control-apc

But if it gets to 8 then they'll have a hole to dig out of to get it back to 5 and from the history of the past year, TSC has not been able to dig itself out of a hole yet. From igors list, it looks like June is still only about 60% complete. I'm mentally preparing for 7-8 months.
Anyway, this is getting to me. I need a break from the forums I think. My pms and this thread might be the only things I look at for a little while.
I'm gonna focus on work, getting back into a workout routine (which I dropped right around when I sent the petition), my family and count down the days til March 20th when Daniel flies in again for another visit.

Thank you! Everything went great. I'm sure I'll talk more about it tomorrow LOL.
That's true. Makes sense LOL.

What's going on is they're backlogged and had a GOOOOOD holiday season, hahaha. According to a researcher on here's conclusion, it may start to pick up and get to 5.5 month processing again. Hopefully soon!

Not sure how you expect us to know what's going on with your petition? Good luck calling uscis. Hope you can get some answers out of them.

At this point you can REALLY start trying to wedge yourself in there. Even with the holidays, they DO sometimes lose files. I get that this is a slower time right now, but if it gets to be 7 months you are way over the time. Many people I saw that were at 6 months (specifically June filers, I think!) called and called until something was done for their case. Of course USCIS won't necessarily jump to approve you if you do, but doing an info pass or calling people- even congressmen in some cases- can actually do SOMETHING in some cases.
And yes, they are finishing up June right now. Some July filers have received approval, but not many. Just remember, everyone, that VJ doesn't represent all filers. And not everyone updates their timeline right away. So don't get too disheartened. Just because Igor's list hasn't changed since you last refreshed doesn't mean there haven't been any approvals.
The last few months USCIS seems to have been honoring - FOR THE MOST PART - around the 6 month mark, which is why I said if you pass that, you should really be getting an Info pass appointment and calling a lot. So a good majority of people at this point have gotten their NOA2 around the 6 month point. Of course the holidays slowed them down, so the rest of their cases that were about to hit that mark got delayed even further. But hopefully it'll start picking up, as some people who track their progress have predicted.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Amen to that.
I cannot believe people are complaining about OUR being upset over the unbalance of TSC & CSC. A lot of you are missing the point about 'what the OP is wishing for'. It's not about expedites or waiting behind someone with long background checks. This is about TSC & CSC's total lack of balance. Right now TSC is taking over 6 months to process K-1 visas, while CSC has taken as little as a WEEK. And I cannot even imagine being in the situation of the OP with her CR1 visa. I'm so sorry that you have to wait so much longer than a lot of us. I do feel blessed that it's 6 months rather than much longer, as I'm sure it could be. Either way, it's unfair for everyone.
We have every right to be upset that CSC filers get processed months and months quicker than TSC filers. It's simply not fair. I get that maybe a petition online won't help, but seriously? Telling us not to "belly ache" because some of us have to wait for a longer period of time while others who filed after us get in right away, is just ridiculous and rude. I get that we shouldn't be expecting anything from USCIS. We shouldn't expect to wait less than 6 months or anything like that, but the problem is- is that we get more hurt about the wait while we watch CSC approvals happen so quickly. We wouldn't be upset if there wasnt such a big difference. I've seen that the centers vary in processing time, but TSC, in history, seems to be on the map as the slowest. So why is it fair that what state you live in determines how quickly you get to see your loved one? Not right, in my opinion.
If you have/had the patience and don't/didn't complain about not being with your loved one quickly, then props to you. But those of us literally feeling so much heartache over this aren't just going to 'stop belly aching' because 'this is how it is'. Sure, it's how it is, but we're allowed to think that's not okay and want to do something about it.
I don't have much of an opinion on the petition, but it frustrates me reading posts with people telling us to 'just deal with it'. Of course there's not much we can do about it and generally have to accept it, but we have every right to be upset that it's unfair.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Amen to that.
I cannot believe people are complaining about OUR being upset over the unbalance of TSC & CSC. A lot of you are missing the point about 'what the OP is wishing for'. It's not about expedites or waiting behind someone with long background checks. This is about TSC & CSC's total lack of balance. Right now TSC is taking over 6 months to process K-1 visas, while CSC has taken as little as a WEEK. And I cannot even imagine being in the situation of the OP with her CR1 visa. I'm so sorry that you have to wait so much longer than a lot of us. I do feel blessed that it's 6 months rather than much longer, as I'm sure it could be. Either way, it's unfair for everyone.
We have every right to be upset that CSC filers get processed months and months quicker than TSC filers. It's simply not fair. I get that maybe a petition online won't help, but seriously? Telling us not to "belly ache" because some of us have to wait for a longer period of time while others who filed after us get in right away, is just ridiculous and rude. I get that we shouldn't be expecting anything from USCIS. We shouldn't expect to wait less than 6 months or anything like that, but the problem is- is that we get more hurt about the wait while we watch CSC approvals happen so quickly. We wouldn't be upset if there wasnt such a big difference. I've seen that the centers vary in processing time, but TSC, in history, seems to be on the map as the slowest. So why is it fair that what state you live in determines how quickly you get to see your loved one? Not right, in my opinion.
If you have/had the patience and don't/didn't complain about not being with your loved one quickly, then props to you. But those of us literally feeling so much heartache over this aren't just going to 'stop belly aching' because 'this is how it is'. Sure, it's how it is, but we're allowed to think that's not okay and want to do something about it.
I don't have much of an opinion on the petition, but it frustrates me reading posts with people telling us to 'just deal with it'. Of course there's not much we can do about it and generally have to accept it, but we have every right to be upset that it's unfair.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Amen to that.
I cannot believe people are complaining about OUR being upset over the unbalance of TSC & CSC. A lot of you are missing the point about 'what the OP is wishing for'. It's not about expedites or waiting behind someone with long background checks. This is about TSC & CSC's total lack of balance. Right now TSC is taking over 6 months to process K-1 visas, while CSC has taken as little as a WEEK. And I cannot even imagine being in the situation of the OP with her CR1 visa. I'm so sorry that you have to wait so much longer than a lot of us. I do feel blessed that it's 6 months rather than much longer, as I'm sure it could be. Either way, it's unfair for everyone.
We have every right to be upset that CSC filers get processed months and months quicker than TSC filers. It's simply not fair. I get that maybe a petition online won't help, but seriously? Telling us not to "belly ache" because some of us have to wait for a longer period of time while others who filed after us get in right away, is just ridiculous and rude. I get that we shouldn't be expecting anything from USCIS. We shouldn't expect to wait less than 6 months or anything like that, but the problem is- is that we get more hurt about the wait while we watch CSC approvals happen so quickly. We wouldn't be upset if there wasnt such a big difference. I've seen that the centers vary in processing time, but TSC, in history, seems to be on the map as the slowest. So why is it fair that what state you live in determines how quickly you get to see your loved one? Not right, in my opinion.
If you have/had the patience and don't/didn't complain about not being with your loved one quickly, then props to you. But those of us literally feeling so much heartache over this aren't just going to 'stop belly aching' because 'this is how it is'. Sure, it's how it is, but we're allowed to think that's not okay and want to do something about it.
I don't have much of an opinion on the petition, but it frustrates me reading posts with people telling us to 'just deal with it'. Of course there's not much we can do about it and generally have to accept it, but we have every right to be upset that it's unfair.

Fair enough, I totally get what you mean! I just meant to say that I think you'll be alright best of luck!

Yeah, and ... ? I've been around VJ for 5 years longer than you. And I'm sure there are folk who've been around longer than me too. I was not "bellyache"-ing about the current processing times only. That's NOT the point.
When I wrote to my federal representatives, I complained about the system AS A WHOLE. I made specific mention that the times fluctuate between centers and THAT RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT, the TSC is slower. I made mention that this phenomenon CHANGES OVER TIME. And I pointed out that this is even further evidence that the process is unfair and not nearly as transparent as it should be. Finally I made it clear to them that not much has changed in the 10 years I've known something about the process. I concluded that this was indeed a horrible result.
Anyway. Ok enough. I'm done with this subject. It doesn't do much good to complain anyway, but what the heck....I don't like folk who do complain but who do nothing so I try not to be one of those folk.
End rant.

I signed the petition. It's not about the times for different petition types or waiting behind clearances, etc. It's about the unfair times between processing centers for the same petition type, given the same set of circumstances. And right now if anyone was to attempt to tell me that given the same exact identical I-129F petition that the TSC would process it in the same amount of time as the CSC I'd tell 'em to jump off of something very, very high, 'cause it just ain't so. And I don't want to hear anything about how "it happens sometimes" or "deal with it" because it shouldn't and I (and other folk) shouldn't have to. I've been a federal employee and know that change usually only comes with enough public outcry.
I doubt such petitions will do much good in this situation because yes, the USCIS is like the IRS of old ... no accountability. I've written to all three of my federal representatives (local congressman and two senators) and made them aware of the situation. But like signing this petition not much will come of it, unfortunately. But it somehow makes me feel just a little better that I am at least doing SOMETHING rather than simply sitting back and complaining, like most folk do.
Anyway. End of rant. For now. lol

I'm and American citizen and I know better than that. Before I even chose to marry, I studied the subject. I don't expect the red carpet treatment, I expected a long wait. What I didn't expect was to see was the unbalance between the different service centers and the questionable order in which cases are accepted.

I personally don't think anyone applications should be placed over another for any reason. I think all applications should be processed in the order they are received, period. I understand that some countries have had some issues and people may or may not being living on the streets, thats an issue in every country for one reason or another. I still think that no application should be processed any faster.

Allie, check with the airline he'll be flying with to find out their policy for changing flights and go from there. $75 or something similar would be well worth it to give you some peace of mind that his poe might be easier with a shorter stay and you'll have more time with him in the end. Seems like a win-win to me.
Happy new year to all my new friends from Daniel and me in Vegas!!! Don't worry, we are not getting married and starting all over with the cr-1!!!

Just to clarify here, and I mean no offense by asking. You say you ''weren't really drunk'', this statement can be construed to the fact you were drinking but don't feel you were drunk perhaps. So the question I ask is, had you been drinking at the time of the accident or prior to in any way, shape or form?
I can certainly understand feeling mistreated by the police especially after having harrowingly escaped a scary situation, and I do think you have a good case that must be fought with a very good lawyer *if* you did not consume any alcohol at all. Alabama's laws are rather unforgiving to the point of abuse about refusing such a test. You will have a battle here, but it's not impossible to fight it.

Wait a minute... Did I read you say "she may move in with us.. but she may not."??? Then, if you don't mind me asking, what IS the point of your marriage? That sounds concerning to ME, so I'm sure it would sound concerning to the government that you guys want to get married right away so that you can... not live together? Sorry if I misunderstood
And as I just read your recent post.. are you working ILLEGALLY? Because then yes, you do have to be truthful about that, and yes, you're going to have problems because of it. I wouldn't expect to get off easily when you're trying to marry a girl that you aren't sure you'll even be living with (or when you'll be living with) after marriage after you've been working illegally on a visa that blatantly states you are not permitted to work while on.
Edit- wait, you said you're on an e-2 visa, but you're not supposed to be working? I'm confused as to what visa you're in the US on. Is it a student visa or an e-2?

I was ready to be grilled, but as I mentioned the immigration bit was by far the easiest, dealing with AA was the worse.
I went up to the counter and he asked for my particulars, asked reason for travel, who I'll be staying with and when I'm going back. Asked what I do back home in Barbados; I answered honestly to all questions, staying in Fl. with my fiance and I'm visiting to spend the holidays. He gave me a finger wag about not work and getting married, stamped me and sent me off on my way.

Ah, the VWP (Visa Waiver Program), ok now it makes more sense. No, that program doesn't apply to our situation. She very much needs a tourist visa to travel to the USA. It helps that Russia and America have a reciprocal agreement, which makes getting the visa easier (well somewhat easier) but she still needs the visa nonetheless. And of course I need a visa too when I travel to Russia (like now for example). The longest Elena has stayed is one month and a couple of days. However all three times she was cleared to stay up to 6 months. I filed the I-129F just as soon as the first sonogram showed that we were expecting.
I still don't know what she was asked at the POE on any of the 3 times she came to tour TEXAS. I did ask how her trip went in general and each time her reply was "beez problema" (which means without problem) so I didn't go beyond that. It was simply great to see her in TEXAS!
I would think that your fiance wouldn't have a problem visiting for your sister's wedding really, at least based on my experiences, which are only similar, admittedly.

They did not ask to see any ties to the UK from Daniel. They never have and this was his 12th visit, I think. They usually do ask how long he will be visiting and who he's visiting. When they hear girlfriend (this was his first time back since we got engaged and they didn't ask this time), they usually joke with him that he must really love me to make so many trips. In fact I have a harder time going there than he has coming here through IAH.
I understand that you've been advised of the risk by several different sources and its a tough risk to take given the expense of the flight as well as how upsetting that would be, but from all I've read the vast majority get through no trouble. Especially if the visit is short. Visits that last almost the entire duration of the vwp seem to be scrutinized more from what I've read. If I were you, I'd risk it for your sisters wedding. Is your fiancé not working right now? I think I remember you mentioned that maybe he's working for a family business? If so, could they provide a letter? Daniel doesn't have rent or a mortgage either. He lives with his parents. All 12 times he's gotten through with zero questioning. I don't even think he's ever had to show proof of his return flight.
I do not believe the officers at the airport can see that there is a visa pending. Not sure how they would since currently all we have filed is the petition listing us as petitioner and them as beneficiary. The petition doesn't require we provide the beneficiaries passport numbers to identify them by. I could be totally wrong but I think the only way the officers would know about the visa is if our fiancé's told them at the airport. And I wouldn't volunteer that information unless asked by the officer.

Take Courage and wait for the lord to reveal his plan! There is always a reason God will test someone's patience and endurance!
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Good points yall. I've seen that thread, too. Wondering if CSC is moving so fast nvc can't keep up or if CSC is being told to hang onto approvals to try to push through the TSC approvals, which were filed months earlier than the CSC petitions??? I offer the second option because from that thread it seemed like CSC wasn't sending the petitions on rather than nvc losing them or holding them without processing.
Either way, I'd be lying if I said part of me didn't think this was a small piece of justice and fairness for us tsc'ers.

Do not get upset. People say that after Christmass and New Year USCIS works faster than in December. So, hope you guys will get your approval soon tambien =)
Monday has started...waiting for updates, people, fingers crossed. Good luck to everybody!