Jaz & JP

Yes call USCIS right away and also send inquiries.
 
They been making mistakes like that. USICS sent me the I-797 NOC for the I-130 application.  The NOA states that the "beneficiary is in the United States and wishes to adjust status" which in incorrect.  My husband lives in Mexico and the application (filled out by our attorney) was done correctly.  USCIS made that error in March 2020 and I'm still getting to get it fixed.  Since they said my husband is in the US they didn't transfer the file to NVC, so the file has been sitting somewhere for more than 6 months.  Im soo frustrated.
 
Good Luck!

This is some advice from Laural Scott ( Immigration Attorney who specializes in I-601 waivers) for writing your own hardship letter. I have copied it from www.immigrate2us.net
DO NOT OVERWHELM THE ADJUDICATOR WITH LOTS OF WEAK ARGUMENTS.
You want to give the adjudicator your strongest three to five arguments for hardship and PROVE your hardship with documentation. Don't 'bury' your stronger arguments among lots of weaker ones. Start with the strongest arguments first and include weaker ones later in the brief. Same thing with supporting documents. Support your points, but don't overwhelm. If you have a doctor's letter explaining your medical condition, you don't need 20 pages of lab reports.
SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENTS WITH EVIDENCE
If you say your mom has a medical condition, supply a doctor's note. If you say you have unusual job skills specific to the US, get a letter from your employer. If you say your ex-wife would not allow you to take your mutual child abroad, get a letter from her if you can. Getting supporting documents can be a pain in the ###, but DO IT! If you ask the doctor for your records and he doesn't return your call, CALL AGAIN! If your mom's psychiatrist says he needs a release form from your mom, get her to sign one! If you're embarrased to tell your boss that the reason your performance has been slipping is because your wife was deported, bite the bullet and tell him and ask for a letter. Note: if you have a very strong argument, but you absolutely cannot get evidence - e.g. your spouse was the victim of a hate crime in her home country, but never reported it - include the argument anyway and give LOTS OF DETAILS. Telling a very detailed story with names and dates can sometimes substitute for lack of evidence if it is credible that no evidence would exist (e.g. you had a surgery ten years ago relavant to your current state of health, but the hopital has purged the records).
KNOW YOUR STRONGEST ARGUMENTS
Below are just examples of various arguments on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the strongest and 5 the weakest. It is not an exhaustive list.
Level 1 arguments:
(a) you have a MAJOR medical condition (e.g. brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy) which makes you unable to move abroad and for which you really need your spouse in the US to help take care of you,
(B) you are caring for an elderly, chronically ill, or disabled relative who needs constant care and whose condition is bad enough that you either MUST live with the relative or you MUST spend at least an hour a day assisting the relative with things like hygiene or physical therapy, and this makes you unable to move abroad and makes you really need your spouse in the US to help you care for your relative and manage your other responsibilities, or
© your spouse's country is in a state of war or major political upheaval (e.g. Liberia).
Level 2 arguments include:
(a) you are the primary caregiver for your child(ren) from a prior relationship and the child(ren)'s other parent will not allow you to take the children out of the country AND the child(ren) have formed an emotional attachment to your new spouse or fiance(e),
(B) you have a serious medical condition that makes it very difficult for you to move abroad and you need your spouse to come help you (e.g. you need to have major surgery sometime in the next year, with an expected recovery time of several months),
© you are caring for a moderately disabled relative who normally can care for him/herself but occasionaly has episodes in which he/she needs a lot of help from you and during those time you, in turn, need help from your spouse,
(d) a relative is unusually financially dependent on you (e.g. your mother has just gone through a nasty divorce with your father in which she got nothing and because she has never worked, she doesn't qualify for social security, so you are supporting her in the entirety for the rest of her life),
(e) you have a child that you are putting through college or are about to put through college, or
your spouse's country is on the verge of major political unrest (e.g. Boliva) or negative political change (e.g. Iran) or the country is known for oppression of one sort or another (e.g. you are a Christian woman and your husband is from Saudi Arabia), or it is in the infant stages of post-war recovery (e.g. Afghanistan).
Level 3 arguments include:
(a) you are the non-custodial parent of a child from a prior relationship and you have an actual relationship with that child and the child's other parent will not allow you to take the child out of the country but your spouse or fiance(e) does not have a relationship with the child at this time,
(B) you have a significant condition that makes it inconvenient for you to move out of the country (e.g. severe asthma and your spouse lives in Mexico City),
© you have been diagnosed by a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist with clinical depression due to your spouse's immigration problems (I've argued to the Administrative Appeals Unit that this condition should be taken more seriously by adjudications officers, but at this time I am listing it as a 'moderate' argument),
(d) you and your spouse have young children together or you have full custody of your child and can bring him/her abroad and your spouse's home country has bad public health conditions and bad public education,
(e) your job requires a license in both the US and abroad and it will be very difficult to get licensed abroad (e.g. attorney),
you have job skills that are very specific to the US (e.g. a tax accountant with extensive familiarity with US tax law),
(g) your spouse's country has a very bad economy (e.g. Chad),
(h) you have a close relative who is partially dependent on you financially (e.g. your mom gets social security but needs your extra $500 per month to stay in her present apartment) or physically (e.g. your mom pretty much gets around ok, but her health has been declining and you expect her to need more of your help in the near future).
Level 4 arguments include:
(a) you have debts you wouldn't be able to pay if you moved abroad,
(B) your spouse's country has a high unemployment rate,
© your spouse's country has a high crime rate,
(d) you've been depondent since your spouse left the country, but haven't sought professional help,
(e) your parents are getting old.
Level 5 arguments include:
(a) you got a high score on the Holmes-Rahe scale,
(B) you and your spouse want to have children in the future (but are not currently pregnant) and either the wife is getting older or the foreign country has a high infant mortality rate.
Don't get discouraged if all you have is two Level 3 arguments and a couple of Level 4 arguments. While one Level 3 argument by itself might not make a strong case, a few put together can be very strong in the aggregate. Just present your case in the strongest possible light. If all you can think of is a couple of Level 4 and Level 5 arguments, I recommend that you pay for a consultation with an attorney to at least see if you can brainstorm some stronger arguments.
Note: whenever you claim that a relative is dependent on you either for direct care or for money, you must explain why no other relative such as one of your siblings can provide the same care or support.
_________________

I believe after paying fees and submitting all documents to NVC it can take 3-4 months to receive confirmation that you submitted all your correct documents and 1-2 months after that your interview will be scheduled. The whole process starting from the date you submitted the petition can take 1yr to 1yr and 6 months (if everything is submitted in a timely manner). Please keep me updated I am currently in the same processes as you

That IS crazy. Did you talk to your congress ppl?? Ombudsman?? I am really praying for you that someone will push  on your case ASAP.  My daughter's visa was issued last week. so we are finally moving to the US.
Like I said, we ended up applying for B2 visa while we were waiting for I 130 and when we went to the interview for B2, the interviewer at embassy was shocked that we were waiting for I 130 for 14months and they said they would talk to USCIS for us. Even B2 was denied everything went so smooth after that. I am really really praying for you that they would work on your case earlier than 02/2020.  I know your pain, I am praying for you. 

To all... we finally got approved today!!  The funny thing is, we applied for B2 visa for my daughter last week.
At the embassy they denied her  B2 since her I 130 is pending. however, the interviewer says it is very strange I 130 is taking 14months. and they said they would contact them for us.  We got approved next day! Very happy!!  Thank you for all your support and help. Especially you @inneedofmyhb !! Hope everyone hear something very soon. 

Nothing for me either.  Still waiting

Mine will be a year old in 5 days too. Congress ppl contacted NBC twice. Same answer for both. They will work on it as soon as they can.  I feel hopeless but trying to stay positive. I don’t check the status everyday now cause makes me insane. I will check once a week. I will keep you posted as soon as I hear anything. Thank you for the spreadsheet. I am praying for you!!!

What was the RFE for? We got two RFE ‘a. The first one came from TSC for another certified divorce decree for husbands previous marriage and then after our response, I heard nothing for 3 months and then found out our case was transferred to nbc and then local office. I involved congress at that point. 1 week later, Received another RFE from local for evidence of bonafide marriage, submitted response and received approval in a little over 2 weeks. So if it’s something simple, most RFE responses are within 2-3 weeks. Good luck! 

Talk about congress making them move faster. I just got an update that I am getting another RFE. I am so confused. I am assuming because it’s a different office and they want to see more. My last RFE was for a divorce decree for my husbands previous marriage. What we had originally sent them wasn’t enough for them. So now I have to wait for snail mail to know what they want. 

This is my 10th month too and still waiting for a NOA2 from NBC

My husband and I just finished the CR-1 process, and it was 11 months from filing to visa issuance, I just wanted to post our experience for the benefit of others.  This site has been so useful in the last year, I read relevant threads almost every day and the experiences of others were very informative in our process so I feel like it's time to post what we learned and our experience in getting approved.  I am the USC, older by 27 years, with other big differences like culture, language, education, income, many "red flags," so based on everything we read here we got married in Brazil and filed for a CR-1 spousal visa in July of 2018.  My husband wanted to work right away on arrival without the long wait for EAD which would have driven him crazy.  The entire process went smoothly, with no RFEs or other delays, we got assigned to TSC and the petition was approved after 7 months, then another 4 months to visa issuance for NVC and consulate stages.  Because of the big age gap we front-loaded with evidence of four visits and financial co-mingling, also a sample of our daily communications, email log, Facebook friendship, receipts, boarding passes, a few visit and wedding photos...  Then at the NVC stage we side-loaded more evidence of our three additional trips together since filing the petition.  I was concerned that because of the age gap, we would get more questions at the visa interview (I traveled to Brazil to be with my husband for his interview), but it was clear from the quick interview and very basic questions (when did you meet, how many visits to spend time together) that the CO had made a decision to approve his visa before the interview based on all the evidence submitted at both USCIS and NVC stages.  So the lesson learned that I would like to pass on to others who have concerns about an age gap or red flags in general, is to front-load and side-load lots of evidence of visits in person--we had a total of nine visits in an 18-month period, an average of one visit of about a week long every two months.  I was also concerned that the CO might ask about our language difference--I have learned a lot of Portuguese since we first met in November of 2017 but I'm far from fluent.  My husband's English is not good at all.  This was not even an issue at the interview.  The CO asked my husband questions in Portuguese and me in English, but the questions were not difficult, very easy.  So good luck to all of the other couples here on VJ who have a big age gap like ours--you can do it with no unusual delays and get approved in less than a year with evidence of visits to spend time together, at least it worked for us.  I'm not sure if Brazil is considered a high-fraud country like some are, but our experience overall was very positive.  The hardest part was the 7 month wait for the petition to be approved, and we made it work with visits to be together every two months.  Good luck everyone--whatever your situation I hope you will be together soon.  All the best to the Visa Journey family!  Reading your threads has been very very helpful.

i was reading an article regarding the age gap... online, where this lawyer talks about the age gap and the red flags... it says that when a  woman is older than the fiance, immigration takes that seriously because it looks like the younger fiance is taking advantage of her... i mean you can go crazy reading so many things  

Remember that USCIS only verifies that you are eligible to file.  They do not look at anything else.  The actual visa is approved by Consular Services at the Embassy.  USCIS only approves the petition.  They do not look at any other information.  They don't care how long you were married.  That isn't what they are assigned to do.  That can certainly impact things at the Embassy but not at USCIS.
 
This is my second time around too.  My K-1 took 10 months to NOA2.  We filed in June of 2017.  There were November filers approved before we were.  It is what it is.  It is more random than we want to believe.  I am a CR-1 September filer and we got NOA2 in just 4 months (January).  There is no logical reason why.  We just got lucky.  It will happen for all of us.  Relax and focus on your spouse and the love.  The process $uks but we all know that already.

Thanks everyone who answered my questions. My interview was successful and I was approved. Waiting to collect my visa and finish making travel plans..

How your interview went on ? Share your experience please

Generally they do not do an interview for the I-130 alone. It is possible, but very uncommon unless there are unusual circumstances (certain severe crimes by the petitioner, if either party is a minor at the time of marriage, etc.).
Usually the only interview for a CR-1 or IR-1 process is at the consulate for the visa.

No, unfortunately we have not received anything yet but our lawyer told us that it was sent to NBC because they usually process interviews before they get sent to a local office. Our attorney told us we had to go through an interview at our local office prior to our application getting approved. I don’t know if that’s your case but My wife and I are hoping we hear from them soon. I’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear something. Good luck on your process! 

My husband contacted the Senator in his state and he said the Secretary replied to his email saying USCIS responded to their query and imformed them that June this year they will be starting to process the cases of August filers. I hope though that's true.  Nebraska isn't really moving, seems like they are still stuck while Potomac is now processing 2019 cases. 

I am not sure. However 6 months doesn’t sound realistic cause My daughter’s went to straight to NBC and has been 8 months and I still haven’t heard from them. Yes I really don’t understand the system of NBC. No processing time No details about this center. Have you made a call to USCIS and ask ??

Since nobody who filed an I-130 in the summer of 2018 has had an approval yet, it's impossible to answer your question.  A proper expectation is 6 to 9 months from filing to petition approval.  It's a black hole.

Can you believe another month gone. Congratulations to all the case completes and those who got interviews for March. Looks like Aril will start any minute now. Be sure to remember to update your timelines and update the form for the spreadsheet.
 
This thread is now closed so let's move on over to a new month. Happy New Month.
 
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/699645-case-complete-to-interview-april-2019/
 

Can you please make the April forum? Thank you

Wow congrats 

It's been 3 years since we sent in i-130, but we included the following:
 
* Notarized statement from petitioner describing how we met, relationship etc
* Years worth of phone call records from calling cards
* Facebook conversations and whatsapp conversations (not every single chat; more or less every other month or so to show continued communication)
* Pictures from all trips and, our engagement and our wedding.  Most pictures were with other people in them.  Pictures included family members and friends of both sides
* Flight itineraries and boarding passes of all trips to see each other, and hotel reservations/bills along with copies of both passports to show stamps matching up to trips
* Greeting cards to each other (Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day etc)
* Life insurance policy showing applicant as beneficiary (social security number was not required)
* Retirement (401K) statement showing applicant as beneficiary (social security number was not required)
* Receipts of gifts bought for each other
* Confirmation of delivery for flowers bought for birthdays and Valentine's day
* Copy of same credit card of both beneficiary and petitioner (spouse was added as an authorized user [social security number is not needed for this])
 
Good luck!

A joint bank account is not necessary because you need to be in the US to open one. The government wants to know if your marriage is authentic so if you have tickets, photos, chats, email is fine ... today I had my interview was fast they only asked me for photos ... good luck with your journey