BlackBee

Just now, Allaboutwaiting said:

The priority service guarantees a decision in 5 working days while normal processing gives a decision within 3 weeks. 

 

Regardless of a normal application or a priority service, you must apply first via the UK government website right?

I know this is a forum for those seeking information on a US tourist visa, but maybe someone here can help point me in the right direction for a UK Tourist Visa.

My wife is a US Green Card Holder, so she will need a UK Visa to visit London.  Her friends here in the US all have their citizenship, but we have been dragging our feet on that.  They are planning a trip to London for sometime in the next month, and my wife really wants to join. 

I know you can apply online, and there are rush options available, but I was curious what the difference was between applying online (normal) or applying at a VFS Premium Application Centre (PAC)?

Does anyone have advice on what to do to get a tourist visa ASAP?

Thanks!

Biden announced today that he is ending the Covid Emergency Declaration on May 11th, 2023.  Does that mean a Vaccine will no longer be required to enter the US as a non-resident/citizen?

I am a US Citizen here in the USA and my in-laws are Russian citizens in Russia.  They have had (2) US visa's in the past when they came to visit us, with the most recent being a multi-entry 3 year visa.  It expires in December and we want to renew it.  I saw there are ways to renew it without an appointment in the embassy if certain criteria are met (obviously embassy appointment in Russia is non-existent due to geo political circumstances/staffing).  Does anyone have any insight into how this works?  I've tried asking USTravelDocs in the past, but their responses can take weeks and never really answer the question.

The alternative of going to another country isn't possible, as the ones that don't require another visa are either not accepting NIV applicants, or the wait is excessive (1 year).  Also, the process of trying to obtain a Schengen visa and going to Europe is a bit much.  They are older and on a limited budget, so realistically, some way of renewing it would be ideal!  

Thanks!

I am a US Citizen, but my in-laws are from Russia.  They have had (2) US Visa's in the past to come visit us, and the most recent was a 3 year multi-entry visa.  Due to the ongoing political nature of visa applications/processing in their country, I saw there was an option for "renewal" without an interview if certain requirements are met.  Does anyone know how this works and where to go from here?  This is literally the only option, because it is impossible to travel to a US Embassy in another country, as it either requires a visa to get to the country, or the wait can be 1+ year long.

Thanks!

Just got the NOA 2 for our k1 visa. It took 9 months to get from NOA-1 to NOA-2. I would start now if i was you. You never know what bottlenecks will come up.

I agree with the above posters. Try to keep your mind off it. We are 9 months into the process after receiving our NOA-1 and anxiously awaiting the NOA-2. Get ready for a very long process.

We are early January filers at TSC and still don't have approval yet =(

I am beyond lost with what i can do now... I am an early January TSC filer and have been stuck in background checks forever. I don't get how these people who applied in February and March are already approved with NOA2? My background is spotless and my partners is as well.

I have asked for any help possible. Senators, Congressman, Tier 2 Officer, etc. Every response is "in background checks".

Again... HOW.... We saw how quick CSC was pumping out Visa approvals. Why can they get past background checks in a week (months ago), and how are these filers after me breezing through background checks?

It has been over 9 months now.... i never in a million years thought it would take this long. Watching the date on VJ hit almost 2 months past our date leaves me so angry, sad, and upset.

Does anyone have ANY knowledge about these background checks? Or is that just their bs reason for having files take forever?

Also, as a warning to anyone. I had 2 people advise me against filing a service request. They said if you do this, a person must physically remove your file from the adjucators pile, review it elsewhere, then bring it back. Who knows where your file will go. Bottom of the pile? By doing this, i was told your file will go untouched for about 2 weeks or more. So avoid it if possible.

I love how the rep at USCIS told me the other day "you just need to chill out". I was being very friendly and nice with him, but wanted to scream through the phone. "chill out"... "chill out"... After 9 months of waiting and you tell me to chill out!!!! Anyways, i am done ranting. Thanks!

There is no contact number for the texas service center. Your only option is to call the 800 number for USCIS listed on the bottom of their website.

It has been 8+ long months since receiving our NOA1 for the I-129F. I was lucky to receive some help from a congressman who told me that our file was sent into background checks about 2 months ago. I was pretty excited to hear this, as it was at least some update of where our file was at in the black hole of texas.

What is entailed in the background check? Is this solely a check on me the petitioner, or both the beneficiary and petitioner?

How long does this process take? Is there anything that can speed it up?

How long have other background checks taken? I have a clean history with only 2 small speeding tickets.

Thanks. I wish i knew how they processed cases. I see other files from her country filed after us at TSC getting approval and it bothers the heck out of me. Our file is very clean. I have a stable job and owned my home for many years. She has a good job in her country and the file was very clean. Lots of evidence of our relationship, etc... My attorney(s) who reviewed our file even commented that it was so nicely put together and organized the way USCIS wants it... Ugh!!!

I am a January Filer for the I-129F (K1) Visa through the TSC.

Today i was browsing the "amazing" (sarcastic) USCIS site and found the "outside normal processing case inquiry" page. It says on the page:

NOTE: We are actively processing your case if, in the past 60 days, you:

• Received a notice from us about your case,
• Responded to a request for evidence, OR
• Received an online update to your case status.

If your application type is not listed in the processing time table on our website, our goal is to make a decision on your application within 6 months of filing. Please wait six months before submitting an inquiry

Well.... based on the first part, it has been WAY more than 60 days since we have received notice about our case, and/or an online update to our case status. This means in my mind that it is "not" actively processing based on the verbiage used by USCIS.

Also, the bottom paragraph states "our goal is to make a decision within 6 months of filing. Please wait six months before submitting an inquiry". Well, as of today, it is almost 7 months since we filed, which means that we should be able to file an inquiry.

I called the ever so helpful folk at USCIS to see if i could make a case inquiry since i met ALL the above criteria, as the website wouldn't allow me. The guy on the phone at USCIS said that we are still in the normal processing timeframe. I read the above items to him, and he agreed, but he said the only way to submit an inquiry is when the page updates to reflect a "working on file date of XX/XX/XXXX" and our file is before that date.

I was so angry! That date hasn't been updated in 2.5 months!!! I hate when they say "oh they are working on files from November 10th". I just want to scream and say "no you aren't!! there are so many applicants from January and now February from TSC seeing approvals".

I don't understand why we can't file an inquiry now having met the criteria on their website. What if the dates update and ours is the day after "files being worked on". Does that mean we need to wait another 2-3 months before submitting an inquiry??

This is all so frustrating. I'm sorry all... What makes me even angrier is a post i saw on here yesterday about a guy wanting to slow his visa process down since it moved so fast. I would give everything i have to be in that guys shoes. Some people are so lucky that they were sent to CSC and didn't have to endure all these heartaches and hardships. It has been 9 months since i proposed and 7 months since we files the I-129F. I just want to start life together with my love =(

Anyone else a January filer in TSC? Any thoughts? Thanks!

If you visit www.USCIS.gov and contact them at their 800 phone number, there is an option that says "if you have moved and need to notify us, chose this option". So i would do that... Good luck!

The sad part about this is all is that i had a sit down with a local congressman some time ago. He had many complaints from other constituents about these delays and made this comment to me. He said "I am not telling you to do this, but if you want to be with your fiancee right away, have her travel to mexico as no visa is needed for her, and then sneak across the border. No only will you be together much sooner, but she will receive benefits by being an illegal immigrant". He also followed up with his comments about these delays stemming all the way up to the office of President Osama, excuse me, Obama. If he didn't have all this amnesty and special treatment of illegal immigrants, more money and funding would be available for those of us that WANT to do things the legal way. Each day it seems more and more attractive to simply sneak across the border of Texas or Arizona.

I religiously login to the USCIS website almost daily to check if the files in process date has moved or budged, which is the equivalent of watching paint dry or grass grow.

I decided to make a phone call this morning to get some clarification on the dates.

I submitted my petition and received my NOA-1 the end of January. Based on my calculations, we should be adjucated around July/August.

During our submission time, the dates in process were August 1st per their website.

As of today, it says "Information updated Feb 28th" and the files being worked on are August 23rd.

So, i called the VERY knowledgable and helpful people at USCIS for clarification (being sarcastic).

They said that actually Between my NOA-1 date end of January (until today), only 2 weeks of files were processed. The representative then told me that i would be looking at about 5-6 months from todays date, which means we are looking at September/October instead of July/August.

REALLY?!?!?!

I am beyond furious. How can they only process 2 weeks of files in a three month period of time.

I cannot stand the lack of consideration of others that USCIS has. They don't know, live, or see the struggle we all endure each day. This time apart from our better halves causes financial strain, problems, worries, and more.

I wish each of these cronies in the government or USCIS had to go through what we do. Maybe then they would pick things up and fix these bottlenecks.

Instead of adjucators working all different kinds of visa files, they should each only focus on one. For example, when i was younger, my job in banking required me to learn all sorts of loan products to process. When i only had to focus on 1-2 types, i processed with ease and closed a lot of deals. But when they through an odd loan or something new at me, it caused a huge bottleneck in the process. This is how USCIS is too. If they had a set group for I-129F, etc it would go so much smoother in my opinion.

I had coffee the other day with a congressman from my area. I discussed the headaches encountered by USCIS with their insanely long waiting periods, along with lack of information at times.

This process that we all go through for the K1/K3 visa is hard for most people to fully grasp. It's not just waiting for some government approval. It's the heart breaking pain of yet another day without your better half. It's trying to plan for the future blindly with no end in sight. Will we be together in 2 months? 4 months? 6 months? 1 year?

We are now 2.1 months from date of NOA-1 and in the TSC. I wish we had a way to more accurately track our case.

I know how government works, and that they could easily make the process more transparent, however, I also know that when you have massive backlogs and lack of support, the best solution is less transparency to leave you in the dark.

For example. The government knows how many case files are waiting in each service center. Would it be so hard to have more details on their site like "Your case XYZ12312312 is in queue with 1,429 other I-129f applications ahead. Your estimated review date is roughly XX/XX to XX/XX.

I just wish we had some metrics on how this worked. How many case files does someone approve per day? How many files are ahead of me in line. etc.

Being so far from your heart, clinging each day to the hope that some update might occur, we at least all have each other for support. Again, unless you are living through this process, no one can ever really understand the true headaches, heartaches, and stress it causes.

Best of luck to everyone! I hope you are all with your future spouses soon.

The beneficiary is the one with the health issue we are addressing.

The financial loss covers both of us as well.

Thanks everyone. My expedite request is due to extreme health situation, as well as financial loss.

For anyone that applied, were you given a chance to present your case for expedite? I am just confused as to why I never had the chance.

Yes, there is a legitimate reason. We meet two of the criteria on their website for an expedite.

Recently I filed the I-129F application with the Texas Lock Box. The file was sent to Texas for processing. Since Texas times are so long, we decided to request an expedite. We reviewed the criteria, and I inquired with USCIS about the request.

The day I filed the request on the phone, the agent confirmed a few of our personal details, then asked for a brief 1-2 sentence explanation. It was near impossible to explain the circumstances in 1-2 sentences, but that was it. I asked what the next step was, and she said "in 5-10 days someone from USCIS will contact you regarding documentation, etc". I was satisfied and began to prepare our case. I was excited for a chance to explain why we need this expedite. If they say no after reviewing everything, then the answer is no.

Anyways, the other day I received a "canned" generic email from USCIS saying they denied our request. I was so confused! I was never able to present our case to USCIS. They somehow made a decision based on 1-2 sentences taken by a less than helpful phone rep. I called USCIS and it did no good. I asked why I was told I would have a chance to present my case, yet no one has any answers.

What experience has anyone else had when applying for an expedite? I need to know what I can do to present my case, appeal, or re-file it

Thank you!