acidrain

I just emailed Mr. Neufeld after sending a letter via Xpress Post to USCIS headquarters. The more messages USCIS receives about Nebraska the better chance they will fix the problem. Thank you Longingfor for emailing this morning too. When I worked for the Government often things would not change because nobody complained. I noticed back in 2013 when people wrote into USCIS they corrected the problem. Ironically it was a problem with processing times with the NSC.

16 hours ago, Dianalorena said:

I'll join in and contact as many people as possible. Maybe we can add the e-mails we find in here, encourage other Nebraska filers from November to March to do the same. it might not do anything, but we sure as hell are not going to keep sitting down without doing anything!

 

@acidrain I've been thinking the same, how worrisome it is that they just keep increasing the waiting time over other centers without addressing it, without transferring cases or hiring new people, as it is just normal to them to assume we will wait 4-5 months extra compared to other centers, without saying a word. First I hoped they were working on the backlog from November, but that would mean that they should've  picked up some speed by now, but no.

I have the same PD as you Dianalorena (Feb 8) and the situation has gotten completely out of hand. I think if enough correspondence is sent to USCIS they will do something. I noticed this strategy has worked in the past. I'm giving USCIS until mid Oct to respond. Then I will be sending my letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees Immigration and Border Security. I refuse to sit quietly anymore. My family has already spent tens of thousands waiting this process out. I realize there are still a few people from other service centers that are waiting for their NOA2. However, the vast majority with a PD before Feb 8 have overwhelmingly been approved. Had any of us been sent to Vermont, Potomac or Texas our applications would already be done. There is something deeply flawed with a system that approves i130's at one service center in 5 months and 10 months in another.

These were the two people I contacted at USCIS:
1) Donald Neufeld - Associate Director, Service Center Operations Directorate
Email: Donald.W.Neufeld@uscis.dhs.gov
2) James McCament - Deputy Associate Director, Service Center Operations
UCSIS Headquarters
111 Massachusetts Ave
Washington, DC 20529-2140

Just now, EDurevic said:

Thank you so much. I wrote an email to my congresswomen last night so will see if she can help. I did a month ago to my Senator but he couldnt do anything since they told him that my case was in the processing time. Almost 7 months to approve something thats horrible. If other places take normal time to approve then Nebraska should do the same. Even when you call the customer service they are rude, they act like that you are requesting a payment from them. 

When I google Donald Neufeld - Associate Director USCIS his email comes up as follows: Donald.W.Neufeld@uscis.dhs.gov

The more people contact USCIS and our elected officials the more prone they are going to be to fix the problem. I am in the process of contacting the Senator in my spouse's jurisdiction. Usually political offices refer your case to someone who works in their office. They make an inquiry and it doesn't really go anywhere. I do think if people make enough inquiries, Nebraska will be forced to confront the problem. If I don't hear anything back in the next few weeks from USCIS I am considering contacting the Chairman for both political parties for the Senate Judiciary Committee for Immigration and Border Security.

It's getting scary to see so many people in Nebraska reaching 10 months for an approval. I'd hate to see what another 2 months looks like if they don't do anything.

8 minutes ago, EDurevic said:

Where did you get their information so I can also write them? I know every where else is 4-5-6 months, Nebraska takes their  precious time. 

These were the two people I contacted at USCIS:

1) Donald Neufeld - Associate Director, Service Center Operations Directorate

2) James McCament - Deputy Associate Director, Service Center Operations

UCSIS Headquarters

111 Massachusetts Ave

Washington, DC 20529-2140

I know there is an email address for Donald Neufeld if you google it but thought it would be more effective to write a real letter to him personally.

Donald Neufeld's bio via website: Donald Neufeld is the associate director for Service Center Operations. In his current role, Neufeld oversees all activities at the five USCIS service centers located in Dallas, Texas (Texas Service Center); Laguna Nigel, California (California Service Center); Lincoln, Nebraska (Nebraska Service Center); Burlington, Vermont  (Vermont Service Center); and Arlington, Virginia (Potomac Service Center).

James McCament bio via website: Since August 2015, McCament has served in the capacity of deputy associate director, Service Center Operations, overseeing the work of the five USCIS service centers in their processing of more than four million applications annually. He previously served as the chief of the USCIS Office of Legislative Affairs beginning in January 2009.

1 hour ago, EDurevic said:

I just looked at it to!!!! Thats  weird. I just seen a post 

 

I sent a letter to my Senator like a month ago and they did contact the USCIS and was told the same” normal processing time”. So last night I emailed my congresswomen, hopefully she can do something about it. We are going on 7 months. This is horrible and nooo help.

I took it a step further in stating the problem is not with the normal processing times but over the distribution of work at USCIS offices. If all processing centers were taking 9-10 months to approve i130's it would at least be fair all around. But there is something seriously flawed when people are approved in 5 months in Potomac and others are approved in 10 months at Nebraska. We aren't talking about 5 days or even 5 weeks but rather 5 MONTHS. That's almost half a year or twice as long! I can't believe USCIS has allowed things to get this out of hand. The published timelines on the USCIS page is deeply flawed. There is no way Texas is behind Nebraska, in fact they are about 2 1/2 months ahead.

I said that I want to be treated the same as I would if I got any other service center. The fact is my i130 would be approved by now. I didn't want the same run around if I made a generic case inquiry with the Senator so I wrote to USCIS headquarters and targeted the executives who run these offices. We shall wait and see if they continue to ignore me and the problem.

28 minutes ago, Jujubsweet said:

Oh hun i am so sorry! Its crazy!!! I been married since march 2013 we have a son as well who will be 4 and he has not gotten the chance to meet him yet!

That is so sad! I can't even imagine what you must be going through. As hard as it is for us we have been fortunate to be able to travel every 7 weeks or so to visit. I will continue to write letters and do what I can to spread awareness on what is going on in Nebraska. Two letters went to USCIS headquarters today one through registered Xpresspost!

As mentioned in the Nebraska thread I sent a letter off to my spouse's local Senator as well as 2 executives that oversee the USCIS offices. My situation is like quite a few others. I have been married for almost 10 years, together for 12 and cannot believe what they put us through. When we were able to do DCF abroad the process including NVC took TWO MONTHS. I spelt it all out in my letter stating that it is completely unfair that people who get Potomac or Vermont are being processed in 5 months while Nebraska is hitting 10 months. Add insult to injury I am seeing people from high fraud countries blow past me in line. The system they have come up with was probably set up to create jobs. However, it is not practical in any sense. My husband has missed out on my son's preschool graduation, his first day of Kindergarten, will miss my son's 5th birthday and will likely miss our 10 year wedding anniversary. I pointed out that it is beyond ridiculous that if my spouse was just some boyfriend I just met I could be given a 90 day K-1 Visa and we wouldn't be separated from that point forward. I am seeing some people get approved for K-1 Visa's in two months! How much sense is it to break up families who clearly have been together for a long time but hand out visas to people who might not even be together in 6 months? I will keep everyone posted and hope that others will start sending in correspondence too. The more people complain the more they can't ignore us. If I don't hear anything in the next couple of weeks I am considering contacting the US Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees immigration and border security. This process is costing our family a fortune and a lot of unnecessary grief. I feel for everyone else too!

I just mailed a letter to the Senator where my spouse lives along with 2 USCIS executives that oversee all the field offices. It's almost 8 months with no end in sight. I won't post my letter as it is specific to my case but I did point out how Potomac & Vermont is taking 5 months while Nebraksa is taking 10 months. Why should it take twice as long for people in one service center compared to another? I also pointed out how people dating US citizens get to go into the US for 90 days to figure out whether they want to be together while we are having to pay for two residences while I'm lucky if I get to visit for 10 days. If I don't hear back anything within the next 2 weeks I am escalating this situation and contacting the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees Immigration and Border Security. This is just ridiculous and I cannot find another time in history where a service center has taken so long to process i130 petitions. I also pointed out when I got to file DCF directly it took only 2 months. I encourage everyone else to start contacting their political offices because something needs to be done.

My question would be did you have Permanent Residence, Canadian citizenship or any type of Visa while you were in Canada? What your status in Canada was could determine whether you could move back.

I'm very sorry to hear you are having such difficulty. I would imagine that to be very hard and stressful.

We got some very good news after our mortgage broker went above and beyond to find a solution. There is a program for Canadians for a US conventional mortgage but we had to go through an extremely extensive process. We had to submit not only US information such as pay stubs, tax returns, proof of citizenship, etc. But we also had to submit CDN documents showing employment history, credit history and all of our taxes here too. To close on this mortgage takes up to 60 days because of all the work that goes into it.

We pre-qualified for a mortgage but was told we will be given a variable rate. Fortunately we will qualify for a fixed rate in about a years time and will be able to renegotiate the loan. One of the only areas of contention was my spouse's employment gap from the time we left Canada to when he relocated to the US. We were able to provide proof of the reasons for the gap so the underwriter was satisfied with that.

It was no surprise as a person with no status, I am not able to be put on the loan. Mortgages are heavily regulated and one of the terms is that a person must prove they are legal residents. Once I am able to get a green card I should be able to get added.

I wanted to share our story in case anyone else goes through a similar experience.

From what I understand legislation was passed around 2011 to mandate all US citizens living abroad to be tax compliant with the IRS. In Canada this has created so many headaches as banks are now forced to report anyone they suspect are not being tax compliant.

As my spouse had never filed taxes in his life we were advised the Offshore Procedures method was best. We had to submit 6 years of FBAR statements that reported all of our foreign bank accounts. Then file 3 years of tax returns for the past 3 years. Most income from abroad is exempt (depending on tax treaties between countries so I'm not sure about Chile) so in our case the total for the income tax part only came to something like $6.

Where it is expensive is to find an accountant who is able to put together the package and submit it. It cost us $2,500 plus courier fees and taxes. We did this in order to be tax compliant for when we moved to the US as well as be able to submit tax information for our IR1 petition. Generally you are supposed to have 3 years of US tax returns to show but have heard of people only being asked for 1 year.

Recently we were asked for our tax returns for a mortgage application. So there are many areas in which showing US tax returns are useful.

We use Mark Schiffer who is based out of Vancouver, BC. We did everything remotely because we don't live on the coast. I'd highly, highly recommend Mark. He's transparent about his fees and if you need to talk to him about anything he's a great resource to talk to. I first used him to do the Offshore procedures as my spouse had never filed US taxes before. He was by far cheaper than anybody else I looked into and he did a fantastic job.

However he only does US taxes and not Canadian.

His website is: http://www.us-taxprofessionals.com/mark-schiffer.php

Straight out of the movie Die Hard "welcome to the party pal"!!!

It all depends what service center you have been sent to. I noticed the person from Potomac was processed in 5 months because they got Potomac. Vermont is also extremely fast. Texas as others have mentioned is taking 8 months. Be thankful you aren't with the rest of us in slowbraska (Nebraska). I'm at 7 1/2 months and am not even confident I am going to get approved in 9 months.

I'm very sorry to hear what you are going through. I can't even imagine what that experience must be like. Breakups are hard enough and I'm sure the idea of relocating back to Canada creates a lot of anxiety.

I will give this piece of advice. Someone I know was in the same predicament. She established a life down in the US along with her kids. She's still very good friends with her ex to this day. But sometimes relationships don't work out. She came back to Canada and set up shop again. I can't speak for her but believe she was homesick from all the years being away from Canada. Like you she had a 10 year PR card. I always wondered what would've happened if she had removed conditions and gotten her citizenship. If she had she could've moved anywhere in the US. Now she's finding it difficult to live in Canada because housing where we are is ridiculously expensive.

I find it interesting a good portion of her social media posts reflect on her time living in the US. Once she turned in her PR that was it. Unless she found another USC spouse she would never get the opportunity to live there again. The same goes for her kids. I think it's really good you are thinking about the bigger picture and end game to all this. Another option is a 751 in which your spouse is removed as your sponsor on your green card. You'd retain your green card but of course you'd have to plan on staying in the US for the long term.

If you are going through a separation I would keep the explanation short with the border. You honestly don't know. General rule of thumb is when you live in either the US or Canada for more than 6 months you are considered a resident of that country. I believe after 1 year you have to give up your US green card. I saw this happen on the show Border Security to a Ukrainian woman. It might be best to consult with an attorney to figure out a good strategy. Don't be a fool like us and assume anything when it comes to immigration.

It's understandable if you don't feel comfortable sharing details of your relationship. But some of it might come down to how your spouse feels about the separation and what his role to play in everything will be.

If you forfeited your green card and are a Canadian citizen the rules you were subjected to before apply (can visit up to 180 days a year).

I guess that's the issue in question is the fact neither one of us have any credit history in the US. It was explained to me almost all mortgages are given by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders. Each underwriter has to do a risk analysis which is where the 2 year residency, 2 year credit history and 2 year work history comes in. It's another issue I was completely naive in. I thought because we are from Canada whatever my spouse has been doing the past 2 years in Canada counts. Apparently it doesn't with US lenders.

I'm hoping a Canadian bank with US lending rights will be able to come through. The underwriting process for our particular case is extensive and was told that is why everything takes longer. There is this huge manual they have to go through to make sure they are following new guidelines. It doesn't matter a T4 is pretty much the same as a W2. It doesn't matter I can download our excellent credit history on Credit Karma Canada. It doesn't matter the fact we've owned multiple properties in Canada. It doesn't matter what my spouses Canadian employment history is, only how long he's worked in the US.

I must say the experience to move the US has been quite frankly unbelievable. My spouse never lived in the US as an adult which is why he has no history of anything. Our experience trying to get him a social security number was nothing short of a nightmare. I had to call the Canadian embassy and get the Washington State Senators office involved. The assigned office simply would not give my spouse a SSN even despite submitting evidence of every year he lived in Canada (since birth) from a Government agency. Imagine coming up with 168 separate documents proving without a doubt where he lived. The Senators office was in disbelief (after I broke their fax machine sending them all our evidence) and once the complaint got to head office in Baltimore they were equally in disbelief. Eventually we got an apology but at one point I wondered if he'd even get it. Our accountant said for some people who are in the same predicament it can take years to sort out.

With the property being a principal residence it is a bit of an usual situation. Canadians banks do not do loans on US primary residences. Some of their US branches do. If anyone has any experience with this please share.

Yes, my USC spouse is residing in the US and has been for several months now.

This residency/work rule has been verified by TD, RBC, HSBC, US Bank and 2 very reputable US mortgage brokers on top of our real estate agent. I find it impossible to believe all these different places are wrong if they are consistent in their message.

As a result of not being able to meet the residency requirement (2 years) for a federal mortgage, we've been told we would have to apply for a foreign loan. A foreign loan (aka International loan) requires anywhere from 20-30% down, higher interest rate, tighter qualifications.

The collective message I am receiving is because of the housing crash there are new lending regulations that prevent giving mortgages to new residents. Even if they are USC's. I am uncertain when these were put in place and if this applies solely to the Nevada area. I was told by TD the reason they only have east coast mortgages is because they don't have lending rights in every state.

Through my discussions so far with RBC they seem like our only good option that has reasonable rates. Hopefully they will be able to get us through the process. With a foreign loan it also takes a minimum of 45 days to close which took us by surprise. There are so many financial regulations the underwriters have to go through. I was told to take a variable rate mortgage for a short time, build up credit and after 2 years any US lender will be give us a traditional mortgage. The whole thing has been a real hassle.

I was surprised to learn the requirement for all US conventional mortgages the applicant must have: lived in the US for the past 2 years, worked in the US for the past 2 years and have 2 years of credit history.

Does anyone have experience applying for a foreign loan? I contacted TD but they only have lending rights on the east coast. US mortgage brokers are sticky on employment history (my spouse only started his job a few months ago) and their borrowing costs are 1-2% higher.

I reached out to RBC bank and filled out an application to be pre-approved but was told it took 5-7 business days to complete. I don't want to add more hits to our credit report so wanted to reach out if anyone can share their experience. Does anyone know if any other Canadian banks offer US mortgages to Canadians for their primary residence? Do you just keep shopping around until someone gives you a loan?

What is particularly intriguing is that it doesn't matter if a person is a US citizen but rather what they've been doing for the last 2 years. It doesn't matter we could provide all the same information from Canada. At first I was skeptical about this rule but after talking to more than a dozen people it is illegal for a US bank to offer a conventional mortgage to new residents.

We have a large down payment, excellent credit, good employment history, history of owning a home.

As someone else has already mentioned I wire transfer from a Canadian bank account to an American one. It depends on the time of day you transfer funds as to when the other party receives it. It might be same day or next day. I was told the transaction goes out east and the people doing the transaction might have gone home for the day. I don't remember what the fee was but felt the transaction was secure. Due to money laundering the bank manager will ask what the transaction is for and who you are sending it to.

3 hours ago, missileman said:

I'm surprised they haven't transferred you to Texas or some other service center.

Me and everyone else at NSC hopes to get out of there! At this point every other service center is ahead 2-3 months. I haven't seen any transfers at all.

Welcome to the black hole service center of Nebraska. We applied at the start of Feb and are still waiting for an i130 approval (7 months). If we were at any other service center we more than likely would've been approved by now. Currently it's taking about 9 months to get approved. The situation doesn't seem to be getting any better. When I first started the process it was 5 months, then 6, then 7, then 8 and now they predict 9 months. Not sure why this service center does not transfer their workload to other service centers who are 3 months ahead.

If you fill out your timeline in your profile it will give you an estimation as to when your i130 will be approved. However, since I've done that the date keeps getting pushed back every week. They are not able to process enough applications to keep up with the demand. So they are falling further and further behind. At times I have wondered if they have one Government worker in Nebraska approving a few files every other day because I calculated in 30 days them only doing about 10 days work. It's ridiculous.

After your i130 gets approved if there are no RFE's (request for information) you still have the NVC and Consulate process to go through. Normally it takes 12-14 months to complete.

18 hours ago, sandakan2017 said:

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.

That must be extremely frustrating to know your husband had to go through this process before, was issued a greencard and now has to start all over again. Like you I was optimistic the i-130 would be issued within 6 months and after 7 months there is no end in sight. ONLY for those stuck in Nebraska of course. We had our i130 approved before but decided to wait to move as the economy in Vegas had not stabilized until the last year or two. As you know any sort of prior approval does not get you to the front of the line and what surprised me is how Montreal shreds all past files. They are apparently one of the slowest consulates in the world, one of the busiest with so many applications but make people like us start all over again. They really should have a K3 option or temporary Visa. Why is it that people such as us who have been married so long have to wait longer than people who are dating an American? I couldn't believe it when I was told your given a visa within a few months to enter the US if you are either dating or engaged.

What I really don't understand (this is me venting) and I got into a lengthy discussion with the front line border agent at YVR is why people who have applied for a IR1 aren't allowed to stay in the US for 6 months. Even he did not understand why there would be a need to do this. This part has made everyone I talk to shake their heads. If I was a snowbird or was not planning on moving to the US there is a very high probability the border would grant me a 6 month stay. But when you intend on immigrating I've been told it is against the rules to spend more than 1-2 weeks at a time visiting my spouse. The logic is you are not allowed to live in the US while the application is being processed. Not only is this requirement cruel but I was told if you get caught spending more time in the US than your home country it could be grounds to terminate your green card application. If we were allowed to spend the last 6 months together that would've saved us a half a year in living expenses.

As my spouse had not spent one year as an adult in the US we were advised to have him move down before the i864 is completed. I'm not sure if you are aware but just a few years ago i130's used to be processed at consulates. In 2011 we just had to drive 4 hours to Vancouver and it was completed in 2 months! Now as you know all i130's are processed within the US. It's ridiculous the price has skyrocketed and it's probably going to take FIVE TIMES longer! How's that for efficiency. To think our fees pay the wages of USCIS workers at all these process centers. They really should go back to DCF process because clearly there is a problem when it takes three quarters of a year to verify a birth certificate.

16 hours ago, Dianalorena said:

The absolutely ludicrous thing is that expediting should lead to faster approvals not slower ones. I'm already completely shocked that it just went from 5, to 7, to 10 months to the posibility of a full year just for approval. So more than twice as long. And nothing we can do about it

 

everyone I talk to is shocked by this. They keep asking "so how is the process going" and my poor husband has to be like: well... it isn't" 

 

I'm surprised they haven't yet, considering how they're the only damn center still processing 2016 cases. I even read that some October fillers and many November ones are still waiting and that is simply not okay. 

 

Im traveling to distract myself but it isn't working as well as I hoped. I am at  a 12 time difference and wake up to my husband saying how much he misses me and it breaks my heart. 

My heart goes out to you because I know your situation with not wanting to travel to the US. I don't blame you either after my own experiences. Whenever I talk to Canadians or Americans about what kind of scrutiny I have to go through everybody is stunned. Imagine traveling to the border with a 4 year old and knowing for certain I have to report to secondary and not having a clue whether I will be sent home or allowed through. My layover is 4-5 hours because one of Canada's major airlines terminated the direct route to Vegas from where I live.

I've heard the term "reasonable" or "unreasonable" used to judge a situation. I believe it's reasonable to expect the process to take a few months while it takes people to process. What I do not believe is reasonable is taking a year to validate a bloody birth certificate. Especially when people from other service centers get processed in half that time!

I'm honestly at a loss on what to do. I considered mailing a letter to a number of executives at USCIS that are in charge of these service centers. But my fear is they will start transferring files which may in the end make the process longer. I don't understand why it would take an extra 60 days to process if a file is transferred?

In your case being separated from your spouse must be absolutely heart breaking. It makes me sick just thinking about it. For our family it is the cost of every month that goes by and having to pay for two separate households.

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.

Just to add on to my last message. You will know if you've been selected for secondary if you get an X across your name after you sign in at the kiosk (take your photo) after the xray screening.

Both times the front line workers were super friendly and I probably would've gotten waved through had it not been for our section 212 denial. I was told last time they are obligated to take someone to secondary once their file is flagged for immigration. I doubt most people will ever have to go through what we have. If anyone does have their file flagged, it's flagged for the entire duration of the IR1 process.

The official I got last time also said part of why they have to look at the file so closely is to help people get their green cards. So for instance if they see you are spending too much time in the US, it's their job to deny entry based on the fact it might interfere with with getting a green card.

If anyone does ever get selected to go to secondary don't panic! I couldn't believe how guilty people started to look when they got stressed out. The experience does feel like sitting in a high school principal's office. Make sure to give the officers respect and to not come across aggressive. The guy I wound up next to claimed he was part of some sort of conspiracy and that animals got treated better. It's not the way you want to start out a conversation.

I just wanted to chime in as I just traveled through YVR just days ago to visit my spouse. My case is unusual for the fact my family tried to cross the border back in Jan with a U-haul and was denied under section 212 (intent to immigrate). My passport is flagged so every time I cross the border I have to report to secondary and get permission to enter the US.

I've gone through the process twice and both times I was prepared to get on the next flight home. Both experiences were slightly different. The first officer seemed more interested in the proof of ties to Canada. The second officer seemed more interested in my IR-1 application and what my chances were in getting it. The interviews themselves were intense and was asked rapid questions. I had to go through every school and job I've had since I've been married (which is almost 10 years). From my experience these guys/girls know exactly what questions to ask and how to ask them. So make sure you have all your ducks in a row because they are looking for even the slightest indication something isn't right.

Both officers pretty much said the same thing in that every time you enter the application is viewed as brand new. So what happened in the past should not entirely dictate the outcome. Denials obviously raise huge flags of mistrust. But being completely transparent and honest in my experience is vital. Since I have the section 212 denial the border is on alert I am going to split Canada and not come back. I found the officials I dealt with completely reasonable but I had to prove my case beyond a reasonable doubt. Which meant collecting as much evidence as I could to prove I would go return and show my IR1 application. It is vital to show up with the official NOA1 receipt. Both times I was asked to explain how we applied for our IR1 and what our "plan" is. They asked if my spouse was working, how I'd support myself and what I was doing in the meantime.

If you go through secondary they will look at time spent in the US with heightened scrutiny. So for the past 12 months they will calculate the number of days entered. I was told it may come down to who you get and whether they believe your telling the truth. I have kept my visits short (11-12 days) which both times I was told is vital to allowing my entry. Be prepared for a long wait. The first time I barely made my flight. The second time was faster. The officer said it can get crazy busy where you may have to wait hours. Ensure if you have a connecting flight to allow yourself enough time. They will know as soon as you sit down how many bags you are traveling with so obviously don't lie or pack heavy.