tamago

Same here.  We had our Bio appointment yesterday.  I live in Chicago but this place was on the south side and took 1.5 hours each way.  The place was absolutely empty.  There appeared to only be 3-4 people working there and no other customers.  We checked in at the front, turned off our phones, and immediately had a picture and fingerprints taken.  Like you, only around 5 mins to take care of all that.  I'm just glad that it was done quickly and we didn't have to wait around like you do with most federal government facilities.
 
 
 

We received our NOA1 today with an 18 month extension.  Finally!
 
We did the normal call on the day that the status page mentioned (Jan 3) because we hadn't received it yet (originally submitted on Dec 4, 2018).  Although I didn't escalate to a tier 2 person, she put in a service request like others have spoken about and on Jan 15, we received an email saying they had processed the request (it also said this on the status page).  So not bad that we received it on Jan 22.  
 
 

We received our NOA1 today with an 18 month extension.  Finally!
 
We did the normal call on the day that the status page mentioned (Jan 3) because we hadn't received it yet (originally submitted on Dec 4, 2018).  Although I didn't escalate to a tier 2 person, she put in a service request like others have spoken about and on Jan 15, we received an email saying they had processed the request (it also said this on the status page).  So not bad that we received it on Jan 22.  
 
 

We received our NOA1 today with an 18 month extension.  Finally!
 
We did the normal call on the day that the status page mentioned (Jan 3) because we hadn't received it yet (originally submitted on Dec 4, 2018).  Although I didn't escalate to a tier 2 person, she put in a service request like others have spoken about and on Jan 15, we received an email saying they had processed the request (it also said this on the status page).  So not bad that we received it on Jan 22.  
 
 

So, we received a very interesting email today.
 
They receive our package on Dec 4, 2018 and we called them on Jan 3, 2018 because we hadn't received our NOA1. They told us they filled out a service request to get us the NOA1, so we waited.  The status page also said that the request was in, but nobody was assigned to it.  Today, they sent us an email (and the status page said the service request was "completed").  The email said the following. I just don't understand how only this one letter from USCIS was somehow undeliverable out of the 100's that we've received in the last 2 years I've been at this address (and we never had anything undeliverable from USPS).  It's a letter that they would put in our mailbox, I would assume .  It's the same address that we used when we filed and we haven't moved.  Good times...
 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
P.O. BOX 82521
NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER
LINCOLN,NE 68501

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Emailed to xxx@xxx.com

Dear (Applicant):

On 01/03/2019, you or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case.  Some of the key information given to us at that time was the following:

Person who contacted us:
 -- Petitioner/US citizen (aka me, but we were both on the line)

Caller indicated they are:
 -- Translator for Applicant or Petitioner

Attorney Name:
 -- Information not available

Case type:
 -- I751

Filing date:
 -- 12/04/2018

Receipt #:
 -- LIN-xx-xxx-xxxxxx

Referral ID:
T1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Beneficiary (if you filed for someone else):
 -- Information not available

Your USCIS Account Number (A-number):
 -- Information not available

Type of service requested:
 -- Non-Delivery of Other Notice


The status of this service request is:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records indicate your Receipt Notice was mailed to the address on file and the notice was returned as undeliverable by the United States Postal Service (USPS).  We have requested the notice be resent to the address listed in our systems. You should receive it within 10-14 business days.

NOTE: Please be sure you are registered to receive mail at the address listed in our systems.  Your name must be physically placed on the mailbox.  Keep the USPS informed as to who resides at your address, especially when individuals with different last names receive mail at a specified address.  This and failure to submit address changes are the two main reasons mail is returned to us as undeliverable.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

-----------------------------------
Online Services
We offer many online services and tools to help you find the information you need.
Please visit our Web site at www.uscis.gov for information about:
*Using our Case Status Online tool;
*Signing up for case status updates;
*Checking processing times;
*Submitting and e-Request to inquire about certain applications and petitions;
*Using our Office Locator;
*Using InfoPass to schedule an appointment; and
*Downloading forms.

Address Changes
If you move, please provide us with an updated address. For more information about address changes, please visit our Web site at www.uscis.gov/ar-11, and click on Change Your Address Online.

For More Information
If you do not find the information you need through our online services and need further assistance, you may contact our USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TDD for the hearing impaired).  
 
 
 

I just called them too and it was very much not useful.  She (G11603304) played dumb and seemed confused that we didn't receive our NOA1.  She was also very rude and not helpful at all and it almost felt like she was intentionally trying to slow our process down.  I can imagine that many many calls they receive is about this very thing.  There was also tons of confusion because my wife didn't have all the answers and heaven forbid that I help answer the questions.  I had to "certify" to be a translator for my wife.  So I translated from English to English while we were both on the phone.  Insane.  I thought this was a JOINT petition but I guess not.. and would have thought that I had some rights given that I'm the US citizen who started this entire process with "my" government.  And when we went through the CR-1 #######, they had no problem talking to me alone and giving me answers to my questions.  
 
Anyway, they didn't say that we could go to get her passport stamped.  The person we talked to filled out some service request to have the NOA1 sent to us and gave us a 16-digit number for the request.  I asked her why it wasn't sent in the first place and how can I be assured that this process would allow us to receive the NOA1.  She had absolutely no answers and again, was very rude.  Then she said that we had to wait 30 days for the NOA1 to be sent out with this process.  That puts us way too close to her expiration date which is not cool and very unacceptable
 
Anyways , very frustrating for sure.
 
 
 

Sorry all.. doing too many renewals.  I sent my packet to Phoenix... not Texas... my passport renewal went to Texas.  🙂
 
 
 

I finally saw 3 N/A's on Friday and talked to someone who said my case was complete, so they definitely worked on Friday!! Here are the details of my "fun" at the NVC:
July 18 - Received welcome letter from the NVC
July 20 - Paid AOS and IV fees
July 23 - Submitted DS-260
Aug 2 - Scan date for the initial submission
Sept 9 - NVC sent a checklist - 5 weeks + 2 days from scan
Sept 20 - Our case was sent to Supervisor review at 7 weeks after scan.. not sure why they did that given they were waiting on a checklist
Sept 28 - Scan date from our response to checklist
Nov 10 - Put on Supervisor review - 6 weeks + 1 day from scan (I called them to ask them to put me in Supervisor review)
Nov 25 - Saw 3 N/As so called the NVC. They said case complete and to wait for the email with directions for the interview, etc - 2 weeks + 1 day after supervisor review which is 8 weeks + 2 days after checklist scan date
18 weeks + 4 days from welcome letter to case complete... wow... 4+ months.
Hope everyone gets a CC soon too!!