Jeff & Laila

I got just as frustrated as you did. I called USCIS, which didn't help. I filed in February and saw filers from May and June get approved quick from the same service center. Again, hang in there! You will get approved soon! I wish you all the best in your journey! If I can answer any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you for your reply, Rell22. It is definitely nice to get a little moral support. A couple of things though; with regard to other cases having gone ahead of mine because possibly they went to a different service center: in the searches that I do, I only look at the Potomac Service Center. Therefore, all of the cases from April, May June and July that I am seeing go ahead of me were cases that also went to the Potomac. I find that particularly frustrating. 
 
I am convinced that something in my case is holding things up. That is why I mentioned my ex-wife. I couldn't imagine that would be an issue. Again, that marriage is from 1988 and we were married for over twenty years. But, who knows what causes a red flag with USCIS. 
 
You know, I was in the U.S. Army for seven years, so I am certainly familiar with government employment. Something I don't understand is where the accountability lies with USCIS. In the Army, you have a chain of command, and Inspector General; several layers of culpability. I'm sure USCIS has the same, but I have no idea what that looks like. My sense is that I am going to get my I-130 approval with no explanation as to why all of these others, who sent their I-130s months after mine, received theirs ahead of me. I wish I had an explanation.
 
Again, thank you for your reply.  

Thank you for your reply, Rell22. It is definitely nice to get a little moral support. A couple of things though; with regard to other cases having gone ahead of mine because possibly they went to a different service center: in the searches that I do, I only look at the Potomac Service Center. Therefore, all of the cases from April, May June and July that I am seeing go ahead of me were cases that also went to the Potomac. I find that particularly frustrating. 
 
I am convinced that something in my case is holding things up. That is why I mentioned my ex-wife. I couldn't imagine that would be an issue. Again, that marriage is from 1988 and we were married for over twenty years. But, who knows what causes a red flag with USCIS. 
 
You know, I was in the U.S. Army for seven years, so I am certainly familiar with government employment. Something I don't understand is where the accountability lies with USCIS. In the Army, you have a chain of command, and Inspector General; several layers of culpability. I'm sure USCIS has the same, but I have no idea what that looks like. My sense is that I am going to get my I-130 approval with no explanation as to why all of these others, who sent their I-130s months after mine, received theirs ahead of me. I wish I had an explanation.
 
Again, thank you for your reply.  

As I look at the immigration timeline, it appears that my wife and I are among the very few I-130 submissions from March of this year that have not received a response. It is hard for me to believe that this is normal. I called USCIS on Friday but got the same old response: that we are still within the normal processing time of 9.5 to 12.5 months for the Potomac Service Center, which is what they are showing on their website. Never mind that here I can see that the majority of cases have been processed not only for March, but also for April, May, June and now there are even some people hearing back who filed in July. What is wrong with our case? I feel something must be holding us up. The sad thing is, it doesn't look like there is any way to find out what that might be. I was married once before, and my ex-wife was also a non-US citizen. However, we were married for over 20 years, she long since got her citizenship, and is now a very successful business woman. I can't believe that could be influencing the process with my current wife, could it? My wife and I originally filed for a fiance visa with the plan to get married here in August of 2017. That visa was approved but, because of a number of issues, we changed our plans and decided to get married in Denmark in March of this year. Again, could the fact that we changed our plans be somehow affecting our processing time now? Maybe these aren't questions that are answerable on this forum but I really long for some information. 

We have actually been in a relationship for over a half a dozen years, traveling back and forth, spending long summer vacations together; it just seems excruciating to finally have reached the point where we will now be together only to have this process not only drag on, but seemingly drag on beyond what is the normal already-snail's-pace that it is.
 
This is likely just an exercise in me expressing my frustration, but if anyone has any thoughts that they would like to share, I would appreciate the input. Thank you in advance.  

As I look at the immigration timeline, it appears that my wife and I are among the very few I-130 submissions from March of this year that have not received a response. It is hard for me to believe that this is normal. I called USCIS on Friday but got the same old response: that we are still within the normal processing time of 9.5 to 12.5 months for the Potomac Service Center, which is what they are showing on their website. Never mind that here I can see that the majority of cases have been processed not only for March, but also for April, May, June and now there are even some people hearing back who filed in July. What is wrong with our case? I feel something must be holding us up. The sad thing is, it doesn't look like there is any way to find out what that might be. I was married once before, and my ex-wife was also a non-US citizen. However, we were married for over 20 years, she long since got her citizenship, and is now a very successful business woman. I can't believe that could be influencing the process with my current wife, could it? My wife and I originally filed for a fiance visa with the plan to get married here in August of 2017. That visa was approved but, because of a number of issues, we changed our plans and decided to get married in Denmark in March of this year. Again, could the fact that we changed our plans be somehow affecting our processing time now? Maybe these aren't questions that are answerable on this forum but I really long for some information. 

We have actually been in a relationship for over a half a dozen years, traveling back and forth, spending long summer vacations together; it just seems excruciating to finally have reached the point where we will now be together only to have this process not only drag on, but seemingly drag on beyond what is the normal already-snail's-pace that it is.
 
This is likely just an exercise in me expressing my frustration, but if anyone has any thoughts that they would like to share, I would appreciate the input. Thank you in advance.  

Hey Jeff, maybe I can help. You are correct, USCIS does a very poor job updating your case on their website. For example, my case was accepted on November 20th and I received my I-797 in the mail on November 24th. It is now November 29th and the website has yet to update my case pass “Case was received”.  So yes, the website is not 100% trustworthy. I just viewed your timeline, and saw you sent your I-130 in March. Potomac currently has a 9.5 - 12.5 months wait time. They are currently doing case inquiries for December. You have another 4 months before you can inquire about your case. Even if you contact them, they will tell you the same. I would say, still send a case inquiry and see what they say back. Maybe that would push them to make efforts on your case. Anything to help the situation I always say. I’m sorry brother, this waiting game is horrible. Hang in there, and keep fighting.

The old website updated to "case was approved" on 11/28 (noa1 5/22). I got a notification on my tracker app the same day then two days later I got the approval letter in the mail also dated 11/28.  It seems to differ from case to case. Some people won't hear until they get the letter in the mail, some see an update on the new site, the old site, both, or neither. 

Your case might be taking longer with Background Checks and that's why people after you have been worked on before you.