mx5john

Oh my goodness! Just got 6 text messages from USCIS to check case status... Approved! It has been 233 days since NOA1, and 9 days since they acknowledged the RFE response.. (forgot a checkbox) I wept...

After 212 days, we finally got a text and an email for an RFE. It's not an approval, but we are still relieved...

Now that we are at 212 days since our NOA1, I was thinking... If we got our NOA2 tomorrow, that will mean that this whole process will take about 280 days for us. That is very close to the current average times for K3 visas (currently at 300 days on average). Additionally, if a person earns an average wage of $31k per year... (median income based on the 2016 U.S. census) Single, will pay about $2000 in taxes. Married, they will pay about $200. Even if the sponsor does not claim their spouse, it will still only be about $600 if they are married. A married couple can use the extra cash for another visit to see each other. In our case, we filed for the K1 visa because the average, at the time, was about 100 days sooner than the K3. We have also gotten to see, first hand, how the USCIS handles cases. The transparency could be a lot better: Filers: can fill out a G-1145 form for electronic notifications get USPS correspondence notifications can check the status of their receipt online can sign up for an online account with email/text notifications can sign up for Informed Delivery (scans of postal correspondence to email and online) can call tier 1 and tier 2 for information can open a case to check the status of cases that take much longer than the current average Since we all share our experiences here, we see: some cases will take 100 days less than others (at the extremes, some 30 days ahead of the average while others 70 days after the average) a person will call to check the status and either be told to wait or discover a case update for the first time online and electronic notifications are delayed and sometimes never update at all some callers are left with the impression that they are penalized for "checking the status" of their case I personally am afraid to call/bother them again or open a case in the future for fear that I might be "moved to the bottom of the stack". With the clarity of hindsight, I wonder if we would not mind this process so much if we were already married and we were able to console ourselves with more visits while we waited. I am thinking that K3 visas may become more popular in the future. In any case, I am very grateful for all of the camaraderie and support here. I am very anxious to be with my fiancé, but in the meantime I feel that progress is actually being made as each of us post our approvals and RFE's along with our thoughts and struggles. Going through this process together is a lot easier than alone.

According to the USCIS website scan - there are 4 approved and 15 RFE's for August 31 already. (see Naes post/scan)

Naes scans are from the USCIS website, so those should be the ones that still say "My Case Was Received"... I see some people posting that they call to find that they are approved or getting an RFE. ...and still others say they got a letter in the mail and in both cases the website still says "Recieved". I get that they may be behind in updating their website, but seeing 946 June cases that still show "Received" makes me wonder.

According to Naes last scan... 1907 August filers still waiting.

I was starting to really drive myself crazy over this... ...then I looked at Naes post in June thread with all the people there still waiting. Helped me a lot. (at the end of this last week, 946 June Filers still waiting to be touched) http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/659677-june-2017-i-129f-filers-part-iii/?page=291&tab=comments#comment-9064130

I wouldn't be surprised if my case was put in the back when I called and asked for a Tier 2 and basically was told to check back in 30/45 days.. (currently at 211 days)

I was looking for this, but couldn't find it. Maybe it will be useful to someone else here too... How to tell an NOA2 from an RFE via Informed Delivery.