Erichu

I am having a problem updating our avatar photo. The file is jpg and less than 100 x 100 pixels. I do the upload and it says "replaced" but I see my original picture. I also tried disabling the avatar (worked fine), then uploading the new jpg file and I get the original image. Logging out and back in do not help either.

So I'm out of ideas and workarounds - Help!!!

Oh by the way, Mari and I are so grateful for this site and all the work assembling and updating tracking information. You guys have provided a GREAT service here.

Thanks!

Hey, great job here. I have been reading a few of the threads in this new forum and it is VERY eye opening to say the least.

These FAQs are going to move into that thread as a sticky post right?

Thanks for the great contributions!!!

I spoke with several clerks in the IV dept at Manila Embassy. My wife and I have an Oct 12 receipt date at the embassy for our approved K3 spousal visa petition. She told me today that with some luck we should expect to be scheduled for a Feb or March 2007 interview.

Having compared info here in VJ with what the government agencies say, I trust what I see here far more. The USCIS, NCV, and USE will always provide the WORST possible timelines. It's strictly CYA communication.

The PatientlyWaiting embassy tracking thread is your best bet to see the reality. It does look like the expected wait time from arrival at USE to interview may have recently jumped from 3 months to almost 4. We'll know when the January slots are assigned.

Good luck to all of us!!! B) B) B) B) B) B) B) B) B)

We will be interested to hear what the embassy says about picking up a VISA.

Mari called the USE and, no surprise, they will not commit to anything regarding Visa pick-up. As always, VJ is my best source of information. Here, I have read and heard from a number of sources that, as long as the USC is there for the interview, they almost always will permit a Visa pick-up. I'm comfortable now that we will be able to obtain this. So it sounds like the plan is going to be workable provided I look at a little longer period in Manila after the interview, maybe 7 to 9 days.

Yes, there is a small risk of the whole thing being held up and if it happens, I will have to fly home and Mari will make the trip herself to the USA when the Visa comes through. For our situation it's a risk worth taking in order to be together as soon as possible after this very long wait for us.

Thanks again for the responses and advice!!!

Maybe the NVC uses Priority Date to organize their own work. I wouldn't bet on it though!

An explanation on how the NVC processes approved petitions

http://usembassy.state.gov/manila/wwwh3225.html

Forgive me for my skeptical attitude. The CSC official policy is also first-come-first-served. The question is how well these government agencies actually do in following their standards.

OK, so maybe I'm getting overly anxious. According to the post office, my packet was received by CSC on mon. and they still have not cashed my check. I know it takes about a week for NOA1, but how long does it take them usually to cash a check. I just want proof that they've actually opened the envelope.

This may not be helpful to your mood but you are going to have to get used to a few months of total uncertainty. Read our timeline and notice first how we waited over three weeks before the CSC even opened our envelope and cashed our check. Two more months went by before anything happened at all.

If you call the USCIS Help line they will have nothing useful to tell you and will always provide the WORST possible timeline. They will tell you now how they are currently processing April petitions which untrue.

So you are in a process that the USCIS has deliberately designed to block you from watching or tracking. A daily check of the mail, and after NOA1, the USCIS website for touches is all you can do for the next couple of months.

The good news is that you should also disregard the NOA2 timeline because it is completely skewed by the IMBRA stuff which you have avoided. Best to look at individual cases to get a feel for time to approval. The best action you can take now is to browse this website because there is a WEALTH of great info in a variety of areas. This is a good time to educate yourself about the process. Good luck!!

Congrats guys!! You deserve smooth sailing from here.

I guess it would be more accurate to say that they go by the MNL case number assignment which is closely tied to their receipt at the consulate (NVC assigns the case number then forwards them in batches to the consulate). It is not based on NOA2 or priority date.

At any rate, when I called the IV section at the Manila consulate and asked them, they said it was by receipt at the consulate.

I took a look at the embassy interview list and I think you are right that the MNL case number is used to sort the received petitions when doing the monthly assignment of interview dates. That ID is usually assigned based on date received by the NVC although there are exceptions. The USE is definitely not assigning interview slots based purely on date received by the embassy no matter what they say.

Maybe the NVC uses Priority Date to organize their own work. I wouldn't bet on it though!

Thanks for answering our question!!

We were NOA2 approved on Sept 20, 2006. I too was worried because we had seen some quick CSC to NVC that where in our NOA2 approval. Be patient is all I heard from others. Well they were right. I finally found out that our petition was reveived at NVC via an Email to NVCInquiry@State.gov

The Email said they had received. When I got the letter from NVC, it stated they received on Oct 17. Just about 4 weeks.

With so many approvals lately, I think this is now an average time for CSC to get to NVC. Please be grateful that CSC is soon to be a lost memory

CSC treatment is a testament to incompetence, indifference and mismanagement. You're right, we can only celebrate when we are finally free of them. NVC is much better, which is not to say that they are good.

I tried the email route too with NVC. Two problems with it: First, they are slow to answer - two day turnaround on my simple request for status. Second, their email didn't provide the date the petition was sent to the embassy even though I asked for it.

I'm tired of being patient and prefer to get all the info I can. The method to track shipment of the petition to the embassies works great if you know the ship date. To be sure you get that, you have to call.

How cool to be posting in this topic rather than "where's my RFE?" B) B)

We're still celebrating freedom from CSC and the recent delivery of our petition to the embassy in Manlia.

OK, here's the question. I just received an email from the NVC in response to my status inquiry. In part it reads:

Dear Sir or Madam,

The visa petition you mentioned in your inquiry has recently been forwarded to the US Embassy. Please allow 10-15 business days for the Embassy to receive the petition.

Case Number: MNL2006******

Beneficiary's Name: *******

Preference Category: K1

Your Priority Date: 12Jun2006

Foreign State Chargeability: PHILIPPINES

I'm curious about the Priority Date. That's the date our petition first arrived at the CSC (where it sat unopened for over 3 weeks). Does this date factor into assigned interview slots? I thought that the date of arrival to the USE sets your place in line but the PatientlyWaiting Master List shows that it is not the sole determining factor. Does anyone know if the Priority Date matters? Or is it another one of those unfathomable mysteries?

ucla_cutie26, Steve-n-Ana, The dip Sticks, joone745, Peter Miami and Luis and Laura

Thank you guys for all the sweet words. Its really a relief when youre in this waiting thing and finding sweet words from people like you. Wish us all a smooth journey!

Just keep thinking happy thoughts and somehow it will get a lil easier.

Hi PW,

Just called the US Embassy Manila and knew that our case arrived already last October 23, 2006.

Please update our timeline. Thanks a lot and this thread is really really realllyyyy appreciated. God bless and stay pretty as always!

OK so to keep your sanity follow the simple rule... Trust only paper documents from USCIS.

Electronic emails, touches, and status changes or lack thereof cannot be trusted.

You just need to wait now and see what letter shows up in your mailbox. Good luck!!

Im curious about picking up the visa at the USE Manila after approval. i see that a few posts show picking it up 2 days after approval but the embassy info seems to suggest that it takes a week. Can anyone shed some light on this ?

Visa pick up is at the discretion of consul and is allowed on a case-to-case basis and almost always, only when the US citizen is present and personally requested it.

I was scanning through the embassy interview thread and saw this useful tidbit. PatientlyWaiting is a very reliable source and so this part of the plan would likely be OK. We're still going to call the embassy and hear what they say. On the whole, the info I find in VJ is MORE reliable and realistic than the official sources who never want to commit to anything.

So here's a dance for every month we had to wait:

OMG!!! Its about G-D time!!

You guys have been the poster child of getting shafted in this unfair process. We're very very happy that you are finally getting free of the CSC black hole.

Call the NVC at 603-334-0700 first thing in the morning and choose option 5 to speak to a person. You MUST speak to a live human! Maybe you will be luckier in the next step!

We wish you many celebrations and happy dances in the future!

Thanks all of you!!! These are very helpful responses. Mari is planning to fly up on a separate trip to do the medical well before the interview. Gary, she is arranging to do this with another VJ member once we have received the embassy packet. If your fiance wants to coordinate times as well, that might make it easier for her not to be alone for those two days.

It sounds like we should allow at least a week between the interview date and flight to USA so the CFO interview would be easily fit in and we will be sure to tell the interviewer of our flight plans so they will try to turn things around in reasonable speed.

Any more relevant info would be great!! Please keep this thread alive as I'm happy to know we are not alone in trying to fly back together shortly after the interview. Mari could make the trip alone but we both prefer to go back together and make it ASAP after the interview.

Look at our timeline and you can see the arbitrary nature of the process. Our petition sat for over three weeks before CSC opened the envelope and issued the NOA1, another loooong wait for the RFE, an average wait for the NOA2 approval after receiving the RFE, and then a lightning fast process of sending the petition to NVC and forwarding to the embassy. I called NVC the morning after I received the NOA2 letter and they told me they had already received our petition and sent it to the embassy in Manila on the 18th. You can be sure I was shocked and very happy.

So, if you are holding a NOA2 notice, by all means call NVC and get through to a human being who can tell you if your petition has arrived, the NVC case number, and the date it is sent to your embassy. I still haven't received a NVC letter confirming that our petition was sent out or when.

I also posted a separate thread that explains how you can track shipment of NVC petitions on any given date to any embassy so you can know when your petition arrives at your embassy. Now that's cool!

Guys, I share this to give you hope that things sometimes can move fast even from the CSC. Just don't count on it!!

I just called waited 5 minutes. No luck.

I would try a few more times today and unless they hang up on you, stay on the line as long as necessary. It is not hard to get through first thing in the morning so there's always tomorrow. Don't give up!!

Hi guys,

Mari and I have come up with a plan for handling the interview and travel back from Manila to the USA and I would appreciate any information on whether it is a reasonable one.

We are quite confident that we will be approved at the interview. I know nothing is 100% certain but we have a very simple case and Mari and I are very careful and thorough in preparing the required information.

Our plan is that I will meet her in Davao a few dasy before the interview, help her finish packing for the big move, fly to Manila together with all her stuff and check in at a hotel, go to the interview together, remain in Manila, a few days later go to the embassy to pick up the Visa, and then fly to the USA together. So we would book our flight to the USA for five to seven days after the interview date.

Are you aware of anyone who has done this or planning to do this? Is this plan just too risky?

Thanks!!!!

We Get Touched yesterday Get Email From USCIS And I Attached Here Below The Contents of Email And On My Profilio And Today They Send Back The RFE Notice They Send From Last Month!!! We Got Update Yesterday And Send Us Email Saying:

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The following is the latest information on your case status

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status:

On October 23, 2006, we responded to your request for more information

concerning your case. If you have not received our response within 30 days from

this date, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status

results listed above, or if you have not received a decision or advice from

USCIS within the projected processing time frame*, please contact the National

Customer Service Center.

National Customer Service Center (800) 375-5283.

*The projected processing time frame can be found on the receipt notice that you

received from the USCIS.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

And Today

| | | | | Inbox

It's helpful that you showed the contents of your email because it is clearly not a duplicate of their original RFE email notification. You are saying they sent you this one AND the RFE notification right? It MAY be that in your RFE response, they need something more from you. There may be a RFE letter on its way to you.

Just watch your mail and expect RFE or NOA2. If it is a RFE, read it several times. Don't rush and double check to make sure you have provided everything they ask for.

Good luck!!!

I just got off the phone with the NVC on their 603-334-0700 number. Their automated phone system did NOT recognize our NVC Case number or the CSC Receipt Number. I have a NVC letter that lists both these numbers so they are good. Their agent on the phone told me that it it quite common for K1 visas to not get into their automated systems because most of them are in the NVC such a short time.

So you MUST talk to a live agent (option 5) to get good information. Do NOT assume that they haven't received your case if the automated system doesn't recognize your CSC Receipt Number. I also was only able to get through to a live person during the morning hours.

I just got off the phone with the NVC on their 603-334-0700 number. My problem was that when I tried to use the automated phone system to confirm their processing of our petition, it did NOT recognize the NVC Case number or the CSC Receipt Number. I have a NVC letter that lists both these numbers so they are good. Their agent on the phone told me that it it quite common for K1 visas to not get into the automated systems because most of them are in the NVC such a short time.

So you MUST talk to a live agent (option 5) to get good information. Do NOT assume that they haven't received your case if the automated system doesn't recognize your CSC Receipt Number. I also was only able to get through to a live person during the morning hours.

You never know for sure with CSC, but it seems very likely that this is just a system error and not a new RFE. In the past couple of weeks, their notification systems have been very unreliable and so your paper documents are your only solid information. Our petition was approved the week before last and we still haven't been notified by email, the online status is not approved either, BUT we received the NOA2 letter and a letter from NVC saying that they received our petition. Many others also didn't get emails. In your case, there's a repeat of an earlier email and this has also happened.

Those recent touches are a very good sign (they still SEEM to still mean something!) but you may need to wait a week and see if a NOA2 appears in the mail. As always, be patient and don't expect the USCIS to be able to help you when errors like this occur. Paper is everything so be happy that your RFE letter has FOR SURE been received and so your NOA2 will be coming. With some luck, coming soon!!

Good luck!!!!!

Congratulations!!!

Hope your next step to NVC is super fast!!

Good morning,

We received NVC letter dated October 18th (hooray) and now I guess we are waiting for "package3" (I guess)

I have completed the notarized evidence of being able to financially support her, I-134 and all the supporting documentation, made all the copies and am ready to send it to my fiance.

So what forms will she fill out next, and will the I-134 go with that package, or will she hand carry the I-134 to the interview?

Thanks for your help.

Congratulations!! Our petition was processed at the NVC at the same time. I saw on the NVC Page in VJ the following info to track shipment of petitions from NVC to the various embassies.

I "tracked" the package using the information below:

GO to DHL Worldwide Express website http://www.dhl.com

Select USA

A new page will open

At the top highlight tracking and click on TRACK BY REFERENCE

In the Reference field type CORRESPONDENCE

For the Shipment date you should select a day before and after the date NVC said they sent your file.

Customer number leave blank

Origin Postal code should be 03801

Then Click Track (thanks to YuAndDan and to Randy)

If your petition went out to Manila on the 18th, it arrived at the embassy Monday morning.

Good luck!!