irina_frank

Hey guys I just wanted to let those who have arrived in the US a piece of advice. We are getting married this Friday and started to get the AOS paper work ready. Yesterday we went to get his SS card but noticed that the electronic I-94 only had my fiance's first name and 1 last name, not his complete name.
At the SS office, they wouldn't allow us to get a card because of this mistake. We were able to get it fixed by calling CBP, deferred action.
Guys, make sure the electronic I-94 has your complete name, or else your SS card will be incorrect and it will be a hassle later for the AOS. Just an advice.

I'm actually hoping NOT to be transferred. I'm a late Jan filer so I'm behind Aug/Sept/Oct/Dec. If they transfer all the 2014 petitions, I move up as the oldest case still at TSC! Of course, one can never apply any kind of logic, reason or even pattern behind USCIS,

You need to find out why you were denied. Marrying without knowing the reason as to why your first petition was denied may still give you another denial.

You posted before that you had an RFE. What was the RFE for and did you respond in the allotted time-frame for this? If you didn't provide what they were asking for or past the posted time, then this could be the reason for the denial. Once you receive the denial you can go from there to determine what your next steps are.

Hi all I'm a Canadian just waiting to get my case number from the NVC to book my medical for the K1. I'm looking for info from fellow Canadians...I've handled the immigration process myself as my US fiancé is very busy at work and I'm also a bit of a control freak. Just want to make sure everything is done correctly.
I would love to hear from other VJers that have immigrated to the U.S. with their children. I'm very foggy on the next steps of this process and hoping someone might shed a little clarity on it for me.
Thanks so much in advance

Hi everyone. I don’t imagine this thread will last long but just wanted to send everyone a note. I don’t always post on here, but I am reading the forums on a daily basis. If you know me personally I’m not always a ray of sunshine and I definitely don’t shoot rainbows out of my a** (although that would be interesting), but looking at people’s responses to the transfer has made me sad.

Since December I along with some pretty awesome people, have been busting their butts trying to get this to happen. I don’t think that we’re the reason it did but I like to think that the community effort on VJ made a difference.

It makes me upset when that community isn’t happy for each other. Will this transfer help all of us? Most likely not. Do we know what will really happen? Absolutely not. But, that being said, even if this does not help my situation, I hope that it helps the people that have been stuck for months and the people that came after me that won’t have as long of a wait to be with their loved ones.

Seeing people bicker and point fingers is not what VJ is for, we are here to support each other. So today is a good day. Let’s see what happens. And if you are one of the lucky ones, I wish you the best. If you are still stuck, there are thousands of people on here supporting you and that know what you are going through. Don’t use them as a punching bag but as a means of letting some steam off together.

Thanks to everyone that helped us and worked with us and supported us. Hopefully the next few weeks with bring you the news that you’ve been waiting for.

xxxxx,

Kristin

Well unless we see more of this type of thing happening, then I suspect that this was an anomaly. TabeaK is correct: one data point isn't enough to really know anything at this point. I tend to think that some newbie at the TSC simply made a mistake and so nancyandissam basically just won the lottery.
As for news of the transfers, yeah I suspect that the notices won't come until later today, perhaps the evening timeframe.
Also, a couple of folk have asked why I and a few others seem to think that it will be the November/December filers who will be transferred. The answer is that we don't know that obviously, and it is in large part based on what happened last year in the August transfer. That said, it also makes some sense if you view the situation from a certain perspective. That perspective being that those of us who are "close" to having our petitions adjudicated in the TSC are considered to be "next in line" and therefore this perspective would assert that a transfer for us would only delay our adjudications even further. This assumes that whoever is transferred will spent some time in-transit and then be placed "at the back of the line" in the CSC, which is something that an actual USCIS rep told one VJer not too long ago when they inquired over the phone about a transfer to CSC.
But there are a couple of holes in all of that. The first being that those of us who will remain in the TSC because we "are next in line" will have our petitions adjudicated in a timeframe that would be less than what we would receive if our petitions were transferred. That isn't at all clear based on past performance within the TSC. Last August's transfer did almost nothing to increase the TSC's I-129F processing speed; and there's little indication that another one-time transfer (if that's what it ends up being) will be any different. So who knows which route would help those of us who've been waiting the longest.
The next hole is with that "back of the line" theory. It's not at all clear that the pending TSC transfers would be placed at the back of the line. That might be the case but we won't know for a while. And it's not clear just how busy the CSC will become with all of the petitions it will soon be receiving, which are as we all know not limited to the I-129F.
All of that said, for me personally at this point I'm just too far along in the game. I've waited far too long, suffered too much (our son is due late next month or early May and will need to be born abroad) and just don't feel comfortable with a transfer. At the moment it does seem like a transfer would only delay the receipt of my NOA2. Naturally however we don't get that choice, so like everyone else I can only sit back and see what happens. If I was to make a prediction though, I would say that those of us who have been waiting the longest won't be transferred. I'm sticking to November/December as an "experienced guess." LOL
We'll see. I'm very interested to see who actually receives their notice of a transfer, so please post as soon as you know! Thanks!

If it makes you feel any better I have been waiting 195 days and I still don't have my NOA2. Yep, TSC.

191 days at TSC finally approved thank the sweet Lord and God bless each and every one of you who has supported me and bless all couples still waiting at any point in this process.
Our journey is not over!
Love,
Tai

Disclaimer: 2 weeks isn't guaranteed, the process officially takes 5 months. CSC, however, is crazy fast right now and approves in less than an month, whereas the other Service Center, where I have been stuck, takes 7 months+.
Good luck in your journey, you should hear something soon-ish!

I just saw a November approval!!

No problem! And yeah that would be interesting, but not gonna happen. Uscis cannot admit in public documents the gross discrepancy in processing time between the two service centers.

The report is (especially the response letter) is interesting. DAPA goes to Crystal City, but for DACA they estimate an additional 400 Staff at USCIS Service Centers. Hence, once DACA extends the I-129F filers are doubly screwed - again - as they are no priority. I really hope DACA gets delayed at least 6 more months.

on the danger of sounding selfish I am totally with you on that! :-D

It's been a week since I came back from visiting my fiance and somehow today the 6+ months wait we have ahead seems unbearable again. 78d...not even halfway there...
God, there are people who filed at CSC after me and have their effing visa already! I just wanna scream!

Hey guys,
Just a little update, very pleased to inform that our visa got approved today at Kiev Embassy. We now await for visa to be ready for pick-up. I'll be posting the interview and consular review tomorrow.
Good luck to you guys))
Jose

My math is looking at the numbers and is saying many TSC February filers will get NOA2's in July 2015. Numbers don't lie. The number of cases drop after the September filers are through the system..

Called the President at (202) 456-1111 and left a comment about TSC backlog with a nice lady at the other end. She promised that she would 'definitely' relay the message to our President. I hope she does as promised. I know, i'm optimistic but it's worth a try.
Next up, i'm planning on writing a letter too. Chances that i might be read are slim but..it's worth a try. I hope everyone who is going thru this does this and rattle some cages so we are heard and maybe..just maybe, some one will take action.

Use to get really worked up on the wait time, but I have learned to go with the flow and appreciate the time given to prepare for marriage. I actually see it as a blessing and not a hindrance. Waiting stinks for sure, but in the end it will all be worth the wait as it test your perseverance and patience. Allow yourselves to grow toward each other more even though it hurts to be away. I am in the same boat as the rest on here--waiting--been over 3 months, but that is okay. The wait has allowed my fiancee and I to get to know each other more, appreciate each other more, and love each other more. It has allowed us to learn commitment better and trust much more than we have before. Waiting allows you to grow your friendship, the long talks over skype and facebook, the exchange of love letters and notes between each other, surprising each other, fasting, and so much more-all of these things are priceless and beautiful in every way. I may not like the wait, but thankful for the time spent to grow stronger and closer to one another. These are things that each and everyone of us that wait can take advantage of and appreciate during our wait for approval.

After one month you can call USCIS to get them to resend. I'd call them now and see if you can talk them into resending early. Make sure you double check the address with them they are supposed to mail to.

I'm not sure how much this will impact the visa processing,
but if you were my family member, I would think
the more important question is are you OK with his recurring DUIs?
If he's caught 3 times, likely he's been driving many times more drunk.
Alcoholism is a hard to break dependency
and can seriously challenge happy marriage.
Talk to him about how much and how often he drinks,
and find out how far back he's had these issues.
Recurring DUI is a pretty serious issue to the entire family.
He can lose his driver's license, impact his drive to work
and worse yet seriously hurt or kill people.
If you still want to go through with the visa processing,
then at least try to encourage him to get some treatment
and perhaps participate in local AA (alcoholics anonymous) group

Yep.. you're all liars !
Oh. Wait. That includes me, too!
I was lucky enough to have gone through CSC, and we only had a delay because
of the CADA stuff.. that kicked in a week before they "got" to our NOA1 date, and,
sure enough, right after they picked up where they left, our number was up. So,
CSC seems to be doing a good job, unlike TSC.
Keep lying in the timelines all, just so we know what the timeframes REALLY are !!

We could rent an apartment in Ohio, Indiana or Michigan. Would be closer for both of us and have the same result. Nice scam to try. Imaging 15 K-1's from the same addresss. I am sure they get that with some DACA applications

Believe me, you are not alone in your frustrations over TSC. My fiance and I filed back on July 2, 2014. A month later we were elated to see that a lot of the March and April filers had been transferred in August to CSC. We wrongfully assumed that it would speed things along because TSC was already into processing February by then. We thought heck, how can it take them ages to finish one or two months of petitions? Well, almost 8 months later we received our NOA2 - On January 23. This was after numerous phone calls to USCIS, complaints via the Director's frequent conference calls, letters to my Senators and an official Omsbudsman complaint.
Since you're only a few months in, and with no sign at the minute of transfers coming for anyone at TSC, let me give you some advice that helped us. Don't get me wrong - the months between NOA1 and NOA2 will test your patience and make you extremely angry.
1. Acknowledge that you may have another 3-4 months wait ahead of you. Don't get excited when you see a random late filer be approved. These are most likely expedites or incorrectly listed service center in their timeline. Prepare for a 7-8 month wait for NOA2.
2. Start preparing. Read up on the next steps in the process. After your NOA2 things move VERY fast. Within a month our case had left NVC, arrived at NVC, shipped off to the consulate, my fiance had his medical and filed all of his forms. We now just await an interview date. Start gathering the documents you will need. Read up on the embassy website where your fiance will have the interview and see what the specific steps are for that consulate. Some embassies allow you to schedule the medical ahead of time, others allow police certificates to be good for up to a year. You can start gathering everything possible early on while you wait for TSC.
3. Do not read threads about CSC vs. TSC. It always ends badly, especially with the HUGE discrepancy in processing times right now.You may end up doing what we did and avoid any CSC talk at all - including approval/congratulations posts. Harsh I know.. but it really wears you down eventually and there is nothing you can do about it.
4. Start preparing letters to your Senator so you can ship them off at your 5 months. Get involved (if you want to) in speaking out about the discrepancy. It hardly ever goes anywhere, but who knows.
5. Plan your future. If you two will be moving into a brand new place, plan it out and look at finances. Save money and start thinking about the wedding day and what you will do the first day you and your fiance are together here. Shop online for things you two will want to buy.
6. If you receive an RFE (request for evidence) respond to it as soon as possible with what's been asked of you. Usually receiving an RFE signals that an officer has touched your case and once they receive an acceptable response they seem to adjudicate within 30-60 days (even slow TSC).
These next months will go by very slowly but at some point you will also say to yourself "Wow has it been x months already?". It's a very frustrating position to be in and this process is ANYTHING but romantic. We make the best of it that we can.
So sorry this post went longer than I wanted. Just know you have a lot of company at TSC - both current, former and future filers. Hopefully someone who can balance out these workloads stands up and says something that levels out the playing field. In the meantime you will gain a whole new perspective on patience You're about halfway with the current trend at TSC!
Good luck!