Pat&Ana

For self employed they look at the income after all you deductions for expenses. They want to know the net income or how much you are actually making. Say I have a simple business selling things. I make $100k (gross income) but spend $60k (deductions) on what i sell. I really only made $40k (income after deductions). The $40k is what USCIS considers income. 

Could you throw the script up on GitHub?  The problem I see (basically with the IP lockout problem) is having to scrape all of the data to identify the I-129 portions.  The regular expression to grep the specific case status (and then further down for the date) should be trivial.  If you do place it into a git repository, you can use the built in versioning to identify the case status changes as well.
 
Benefits:  You get open source credit, you can cross collaborate on the I-129 records (eliminating all the rest), the built-in diffs, and can really open up what you've done. 

What's the difference with sharing it before marriage and sharing it after?
 
Do you not trust that she will keep your information safe from others? How else was she suppose to show proof that she won't become a public charge if you don't provide the info to her?

If you can't trust her, then why you want to marry her. Sorry, if it sounds rude.

I used to work for the Gov't ...
 
-- P

Not to be cynical about the process, but if I were trying to game the system as a Gov't employee... 
 
I'd go through my "box" of cases and organize them by ease/difficulty.  On good days, I'd tackle all of the ones that would take more than an hour to go through.  This would be the immigration and employment applications, in addition to the expedited ones.
 
For the ones that are easier (e.g. K1's that supposedly take <15 min to process, including the RFE's) I'd place them onto a pile on the side. 
 
By doing so, I could manage 8-12 a day.  If I wanted to skip out early on a Friday (or right before a long weekend) I'd process my "quick" pile and keep the same number of cases that I was averaging before.
 
As a supervisor, how would I catch this?  I'd have to look at the percentages of K1's (easy / quick) versus harder ones (DACA, H1B, etc.) and see if there is a trend that falls outside of the normal distribution.  E.g. Bob does more H1B's on Mon-Wed, and most of his K1's processed fall on a Friday.
 
Why would this matter?  It would mean that all of the easy cases would be backlogged until right before a 150 day (or whatever) limit.  And that my employees would be able to handle more work, but were simply sand bagging. 
 
One day, code up a script to see if the distribution of cases (and approvals) rise or falls during different times of the week, and if somehow "productivity" increases right before the weekend.
 
Sigh.  I just back from a 5 day vacay with my SO and I'm already missing spending time together
 
-- P
 
/gripe off
 
 

Not to be cynical about the process, but if I were trying to game the system as a Gov't employee... 
 
I'd go through my "box" of cases and organize them by ease/difficulty.  On good days, I'd tackle all of the ones that would take more than an hour to go through.  This would be the immigration and employment applications, in addition to the expedited ones.
 
For the ones that are easier (e.g. K1's that supposedly take <15 min to process, including the RFE's) I'd place them onto a pile on the side. 
 
By doing so, I could manage 8-12 a day.  If I wanted to skip out early on a Friday (or right before a long weekend) I'd process my "quick" pile and keep the same number of cases that I was averaging before.
 
As a supervisor, how would I catch this?  I'd have to look at the percentages of K1's (easy / quick) versus harder ones (DACA, H1B, etc.) and see if there is a trend that falls outside of the normal distribution.  E.g. Bob does more H1B's on Mon-Wed, and most of his K1's processed fall on a Friday.
 
Why would this matter?  It would mean that all of the easy cases would be backlogged until right before a 150 day (or whatever) limit.  And that my employees would be able to handle more work, but were simply sand bagging. 
 
One day, code up a script to see if the distribution of cases (and approvals) rise or falls during different times of the week, and if somehow "productivity" increases right before the weekend.
 
Sigh.  I just back from a 5 day vacay with my SO and I'm already missing spending time together
 
-- P
 
/gripe off
 
 

I used to work for the Gov't ...
 
-- P

Not to be cynical about the process, but if I were trying to game the system as a Gov't employee... 
 
I'd go through my "box" of cases and organize them by ease/difficulty.  On good days, I'd tackle all of the ones that would take more than an hour to go through.  This would be the immigration and employment applications, in addition to the expedited ones.
 
For the ones that are easier (e.g. K1's that supposedly take <15 min to process, including the RFE's) I'd place them onto a pile on the side. 
 
By doing so, I could manage 8-12 a day.  If I wanted to skip out early on a Friday (or right before a long weekend) I'd process my "quick" pile and keep the same number of cases that I was averaging before.
 
As a supervisor, how would I catch this?  I'd have to look at the percentages of K1's (easy / quick) versus harder ones (DACA, H1B, etc.) and see if there is a trend that falls outside of the normal distribution.  E.g. Bob does more H1B's on Mon-Wed, and most of his K1's processed fall on a Friday.
 
Why would this matter?  It would mean that all of the easy cases would be backlogged until right before a 150 day (or whatever) limit.  And that my employees would be able to handle more work, but were simply sand bagging. 
 
One day, code up a script to see if the distribution of cases (and approvals) rise or falls during different times of the week, and if somehow "productivity" increases right before the weekend.
 
Sigh.  I just back from a 5 day vacay with my SO and I'm already missing spending time together
 
-- P
 
/gripe off
 
 

Not to be cynical about the process, but if I were trying to game the system as a Gov't employee... 
 
I'd go through my "box" of cases and organize them by ease/difficulty.  On good days, I'd tackle all of the ones that would take more than an hour to go through.  This would be the immigration and employment applications, in addition to the expedited ones.
 
For the ones that are easier (e.g. K1's that supposedly take <15 min to process, including the RFE's) I'd place them onto a pile on the side. 
 
By doing so, I could manage 8-12 a day.  If I wanted to skip out early on a Friday (or right before a long weekend) I'd process my "quick" pile and keep the same number of cases that I was averaging before.
 
As a supervisor, how would I catch this?  I'd have to look at the percentages of K1's (easy / quick) versus harder ones (DACA, H1B, etc.) and see if there is a trend that falls outside of the normal distribution.  E.g. Bob does more H1B's on Mon-Wed, and most of his K1's processed fall on a Friday.
 
Why would this matter?  It would mean that all of the easy cases would be backlogged until right before a 150 day (or whatever) limit.  And that my employees would be able to handle more work, but were simply sand bagging. 
 
One day, code up a script to see if the distribution of cases (and approvals) rise or falls during different times of the week, and if somehow "productivity" increases right before the weekend.
 
Sigh.  I just back from a 5 day vacay with my SO and I'm already missing spending time together
 
-- P
 
/gripe off
 
 

In the US, there was a shooting in San Bernadino which included the spouse and wife who came to the US under a K1 Visa.
 
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-k1-visas-20151208-story.html
 
The CSC that many wonder about is located in Laguna Niguel which is 60mi / 100km from San Bernardino.  A very close distance!  As such, there have been many calls since then to increase the scrutiny of those applying (petitioner and beneficiary) to bring people from certain countries / backgrounds under those types of Visas.  
 
https://www.us-immigration.com/blog/fiancee-visa-program-under-scrutiny-after-san-bernardino-shooting
 
In addition, imagine being the employee who approved that Visa.  No doubt that individual would be double checking whatever they legally could, and as would their nearby co-workers.  The supervisor would be under additional pressures and there would be a shift of resources to further "check" the work being done. 
 
This means more work, more processing and longer times for Visas such as this.  This doesn't even begin to talk about the increased scrutiny going into the H1B (and associated Visas) process!
 
The US Government may not work quickly, but they do ultimately respond to situations such as this.

Leaving the politics aside...  Let's start
 
Pt 1.  Basic Civics
 
The US Government is formed of three co-equal branches of Government, with the foundation being a Constitution.  Many think that the US is a Democracy, but at the Federal level that is very far from the truth.  The people of the US get the ability to cast a vote for a representative and as such, we can call the US a "Constitutional Republic" which means the Constitution serves as the foundation, and the Representation of the people creates the Republic.
 
The third branch of Government is the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States).  This branch of Government, along with lesser courts (Federal appeals courts) rule in the matters of law pertaining to Federal laws, and the Constitution.  If a law is passed by, it can be challenged because it directly contradicts that which is in the Constitution.  The same can be said of Executive actions by the first branch.
 
The second branch of the Government is the COTUS (Congress of the United States).  This branch has two bodies, the Senate and the House.  Both need to agree in order to create legislation, and both are drawn from representatives sent to Washington DC (the US seat of power).  When both bodies agree to create a law, that law is sent to the President for ratification, and that ratification can be challenged (veto by the President) and subsequently over ruled by the COTUS.  In the case of Immigration, laws were passed in the 1950's called the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) which limits immigration and grants the President powers to further restrict immigration as well.
 
The first branch of Government, the POTUS (President of the United States) is changed every 4 years, but a President can serve two terms.  The election of the President isn't by the people (hence the failure to understand the US isn't a Democracy) but by the Electoral College.  One of the responsibilities of the President is the "dutifully and faithfully execute the laws of the land"
 
Knowing that, the INA was passed by the COTUS and affirmed by the POTUS.  The POTUS has a constitutional duty to enforce the law, and deferment of the enforcement of the law is a violation of the duties and responsibilities of the POTUS.  The SCOTUS could have as easily been asked to challenged DACA, or the actions of the POTUS, but they haven't - meaning that the actions by the POTUS are still legal.
 
Pt 2.  Contributory Belief in why the President was Elected
 
Many in the US believe that the Federal Government is far too large, and the current administration froze hiring at the beginning of the year across the board.  This was changed in April.  This included areas such as DHS which includes USCIS as well.  This would cause a problem with applications, time off, and back filling individuals - for if you don't have enough personnel coming in to replace people, or to deal with the ever increasing demand to immigrate to the US, then the backlog will continue to increase. 
 
Pt 3.  Funding Sources
 
Funding for the USCIS comes from application fees (e.g. K1) and from the Federal Government itself (to pay for the DHS employees, background checks, computer systems, and coffee).  The US has increased it's national debt to $20T which causes many concern, as a larger percentage of what the Federal Government pays for isn't operational cost of the Government, but interest on the debt and social service programs. 
 
Pt 4.  Additional demands for resources
 
In addition, there is more demand for the US to take immigrants.  These can be refugees from Haiti, Australia, or even Syria.  These are life changing and potentially time-based changes that need to be looked at ... quickly.  Someone of a certain religious group in Syria can be at risk, as can someone in Iraq who helped US troops.  If they don't get their application looked at quickly - there may not be someone there to come to the US.
 
More and more people want to the come the US.  In the past, it was much easier to overstay a Visa, reducing pressures, but by some accounts there are now over 20M illegal immigrants to the US.  This increases demand on enforcement (DHS) to identify and apprehend those who are here, but also to prioritize deportation procedures against those who commit felonious crimes with victims (e.g. Kate Steinle). 
 
Summary
 
After all is said and done, it's not the diktat of one man, but the problems of past which have compounded into the current situation.
 
-- P
 
PS.  Of course this may be off base, I only took like 10 min to write it
 
PPS.  And unless people want to see a lot more of my writing ... can we leave politics aside? 
 
Let's focus on status, updates, prayers, drinking and plans for what we will do when they get here!!!!

I wonder if I made the trip to CSC, bought lunch for the office if that would help speed things along...  still makes me ponder about a quick flight down there (need more hours) to see if I could shake things up...
 
-- P

I wonder if I made the trip to CSC, bought lunch for the office if that would help speed things along...  still makes me ponder about a quick flight down there (need more hours) to see if I could shake things up...
 
-- P

I'm a former Fed worker and I would have to disagree immensely at least the Agency I worked for (Non- DOD) most of the employees took their job very seriously and did outstanding work with limited budget and resources. The folks working our petitions and the people answering the USCIS hotline are all NON-Government employees. They are contract workers and they are held accountable for number of cases that they work.
Another member posted a day to day activity log of what goes on as a contracted case adjudicator . As you can imagine it is a literal mountain of papers they have to deal with and that is part of the reason they are insulated from the call center folks otherwise they would spend all their time on the phones and none working cases. I just mentioned that they have Zumba Wednesday's as a light hearted joke. I imagine they are doing the best they can. They are directed by the USCIS which types of cases to focus on at any given time. The fee increases also added to the surge of case work plus the change in political climate all resulted in the perfect storm for a massive back-log which has nearly doubled the past average yearly wait times of 90 days for I-129F approval.
 
On the plus side I highly doubt they read this forum as probably the last thing they want to think about when they get home haha

Stay positive!
 
Most service centers can require their employees to work up to 35 hours of overtime, which can be why we do often see notices and updates coming in over the weekend and over holidays!
 
The CSC isn't in the path of the hurricane bearing down on the United States, it's obviously in CA and the biggest event of the past few weeks has been a rather large fire.
 
This means that if your adjudicator wanted to pick up a few hours by coming in over the weekend, it's entirely possible for them to knock out a box or two of cases!
 
California does have a very high number of illegal aliens (exceeding 1M) and IIRC, 200,000 of those were DACA filers.  The current administration is stating that DACA is on the way out with only a 6 month reprieve.  If those folks who are benefiting from DACA have an option, it would behoove them to apply for some sort of Visa - which would increase the work load of the adjudicators in the future.
 
But for May filers, I would anticipate no impact.

When I got my Visa from SF, it was through ILS.  It may take a longer to get it, but you should still be able to get Visa's to travel to Russia!

Met about a month before I filed - I flew to Russia for a five day vacation.
 
Then we went to Vietnam.  Then we went to Cabo (twice).  We then have a trip scheduled for China next week.
 
The way I looked at it is that a US citizen is asking permission of his Government to allow a woman to apply for a Visa to come to the US.
 
Unless there is some ulterior motive, and when it comes time for her to apply for a Visa, we should be fine as proof if an ongoing relationship should be easy enough to prove
 
-- P

Successful POE. Toto and Minky together again. Today starts day two of forever 
 

 
I will post some real wedding pictures of us in a couple weeks if they turn out ok. My fiancee made the image above and I thought it was cute. 
 
Good luck to those still waiting. I am rooting for you.

Hi Everyone, This is my first post but I have appreciated all the information everyone has been sharing about their journey. We got our NOA2 on June 9th in the mail but it was dated June 6th.
 
Be WARNED! I called USCIS on June 7th to check in on our case and the woman said that they were still working on December cases and to wait another 2 months before calling again. THEY have no information and are a totally BS service. The approval was obviously in the mail.
 
Oh well, all good now. Saol fada agus breac-shláinte chugat!