sandakan2017

Hi woodpecker,

Please do yourself a favor and call NVC again.  Ask to speak to a supervisor and explain your situation.  I went through the same thing.  My I-864W was rejected.  I called NVC twice and I was told the same thing that I will have to fill in I-864.  I decided to try the third time and I asked to speak with a supervisor.  Fortunately, he understood my situation and my case was routed for an interview appointment the next day.  I think former H-1B visa holders who filled out I-864W are not that common.  Many first level analysts at NVC have never handled cases like ours.  Good luck!

I had the same problem since I have a 2009 Toyota Camry from Canada that does not have TPMS.  I tried to import it over the weekend with just an Ontario registration at the border and I was told that I needed a compliance letter from Toyota Canada even though they allowed me to drive the car into the US that night.  The border officer was very nice and asked me to return to the same CBP once I have received the compliance letter from Toyota Canada.  I requested  the compliance letter from Toyota Canada on Monday and received the letter in an email 2 days later that says:

#############################################

This vehicle, being substantially similar to the same model sold in the United States, complies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (“FMVSS”), save and except the following:
1) Certain minor labeling requirements contained in FMVSS101 (Controls and Displays) pertaining to the instrument panel;
2) FMVSS138 (Tire pressure monitoring system) as the model sold in Canada was not equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system;

#############################################

Initially, I didn't know what FMVSS 138 means and when I googled it, I found out that I can't import a Canadian car without TPMS into the US.  I was pretty dejected because my car was paid off and I just cannot afford to get a new car in the US.  I thought about selling it but I was told that I am lucky if I can get 6500 CAD for it.  Since I was definitely going to lose the car if I don't try to import it, I decided to take my chances and head to the same CBP again.  My gamble paid off as the custom officer did not even mention anything about TPMS after reading through the compliance letter from Toyota Canada.  I got the car imported duty-free and registered the next day.  

If you run into the TPMS issue while trying to import a Canadian car into the US, I think it doesn't hurt to give it a try at the border.  A few other people in other forums succeeded in bringing their cars into the US without TPMS and I'm glad I tried.

18 hours ago, acidrain said:

Every time I check the estimation to when my i130 gets approved it gets pushed back a week. First it was Sept, then it got pushed to Oct and now it's starting to look like Nov. I've been fortunate I have been able to visit my spouse twice in the past few months. But it's frustrating to see all other service centers get Feb approvals. Even the people I spoke to at the border were shaking their heads on how it could take this long to validate a birth certificate. Seriously 9 months if I'm lucky??? I said I still have the NVC process and Consulate process to go through. I've been married nearly 10 years and have a 4 year old son so there isn't much to verify with my relationship.

 

The thing I'm most worried about is if Nebraska starts doing mass transfers. From what I've read it can mean an additional 60 days if a case gets transferred from one service center to another. If that happens it would be closer to an entire year for my i130 to get approved. I keep shaking my head over how any of this is possible.

Your situation is kinda similar to my husband's except that my husband is with me in Canada.  We have been married for 11 years and I am the USC.  He used to have greencard that he surrendered in 2011 as he was not able to meet the US residency requirement after having settled down in Canada.  Now that our 2 kids are older, we are thinking about going back.  I thought the I-130 should be approved in 5 months but I was wrong.  It seems like my petition won't be looked at until the end of October if I am lucky.  It's difficult to plan for anything such as the kids' school, housing, etc. without having an approval.  It's just frustrating but at least our family is together.  I hope you will see a happy ending to your long wait.