Ptitchou

14 hours ago, ayestaci said:

Someone on FB with an NOA1 date of July 16th at Potomac called USCIS and were told they were approved already, the system just hadn't updated.

 

With an NOA1 date of July 18th at the same SC, think I'll ask my husband to call towards the end of the week and chance our luck to see what they say, haha. 

 

 

We just tried calling. PD July 24/Potomac. They gave no information and said it was "within normal processing times". Sigh. 

I knew this would be hard, but there really are days this is so much harder than others. 

It seems like the only Potomac approvals lately have all been transferred cases? 

I'm also confused by this. You need to prove you are getting it within 30 days of entry and to show the plan and start date, but if you don't know when your visa will be approved, how can you purchase insurance?

A lot of Nebraska cases have been transferred to Potomac, so that likely explains why Potomac has slowed down while we're seeing more Nebraska approvals. Congrats to those who've gotten them. 

59 minutes ago, Tesco said:

We listed ALL subjects passed into the 'High School' field. As for 'Occupational Skills'/'Certification', we put down ALL relevant skills and certifications. Remember part 8 is your friend here, use it wisely to capture items that won't fit. Now, we didn't list things like ballroom dancing classes, BUT you would if you're a professional or semi Pro. Our part 8 is fairly lengthy, as no one really knows the answers, as there are to my knowledge; no instructions. We decided to take a more structured approach and explain items that are open to interpretation, or where the question is unclear. We're a ways from this step, but just getting the ducks in a row for now.

Oh, that's a very good point. I hadn't considered that Part 8 for Additional Information could be used for this. 

Does anyone know when this form would be used for consular filers? There doesn't seem to be any updated information on the USCIS site yet, and the guides have multiple broken links while I assume they're working on updating things at the last minute. 

On the form I see a section asking if the applicant has a high school diploma and then following that is:

"Do you have any occupational skills?"

"Certification/License Type/Occupational Skill"

If I've graduated college and have been working in my field for x number of years, but do not have a license or certification that was required for my particular career, how would one answer this? Would college degrees go in this field? Do they even consider professional skills that don't have a specific certification? 

I know this is all new for all of us, but perhaps someone's done this part already. 

Noticing a bunch of filers here don't have timelines set up. It really helps us all if you set your timeline up so we can see the latest approvals and the algorithm gets adjusted. 

4 hours ago, ayestaci said:

My PD is the 15th (recently adjusted my timeline as I had the dates mixed up) and still nothing. I feel like filing the I-129 would be a waste of my time since we're SO close but BOY I wish we'd done it when we first filed. Or that we'd gotten Texas, to think I was so excited when we got Potomac. 😂

I'm definitely wishing I filed it ages ago, but I honestly expected we'd have been approved months ago already. Knowing my consulate has a 6 month backlog for interviews doesn't help either. Almost wishing we'd gone the AoS route but I wanted to be able to keep working. :(

Any new Potomac approvals? The list shows there hasn't been much movement. I'm staring to wonder if I should've filed the I-129 after all. Has anyone noticed it's sped things up? 

I guess still no Potomac updates? 

We are going away for the month of February and hoped we'd have our approval by now, but well, we all see what's (not) happening with Potomac. PD is July 24. 

Was thinking we should at least get all the paperwork together for NVC stage have keep it on file to be ready whenever we finally hear from them, but I also know at this rate, NVC isn't likely to receive our case until we're back from our trip. How long are police records valid for? 

Looking at Igor's List, there have still only been two Potomac approvals (that VJ members have updated) in December. I suspect there won't be much more for the rest of the year as people go on holiday. Hopefully it picks up quickly in January! 

1 hour ago, Elivi said:

I am so sad seeing Potomac falling behind, my priority date is July 1st and I still see June approvals going on. Texas is catching up quickly, I am glad for those at Texas. 

Yeah, I'm feeling a bit bummed out about it, to be honest. Yes, it could absolutely be worse and I am sorry for all those stuck at Nebraska, but when we see that estimate inching further and further away it can be disheartening. I was really hoping to be able to start the NVC process before the spring. 

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

My advice would be to simultaneously try for an expedite but prepare and immediately implement austerity measures in the assumption the expedite will be denied.  Your rent, need not stay the same.  Austerity is the solution.  In a lease?  Break it.  Landlords tend to understand hardship better than USCIS or NVC.  With no job, you are not required to live in the big city.  Use your imagination.  Be flexible.

Thank you. I'm actually looking at applying for remote tech jobs so that I can move to a smaller town. Austerity measures already being implemented. Gotta make sure I get a jump on this. 

I suppose it doesn't actually cost anything to attempt an expedite while not expecting anything to come of it. I appreciate the reply.

Thanks all. I figured this would likely be the case. My company is still standing, but given that our investors are being difficult, we don't know for how long. It is, of course easier to find something when you're still employed, but I'm in a bit of panic mode looking ahead, so I'm just looking at all my options here.

Good luck to everyone else still going through the process!

Wasn't sure if it counted as financial hardship if the petitioner has to support two households but figured it was worth a shot to ask if anyone had tried. Thanks.

To preface, I have been reading a lot of the previous threads on the expedite topic, but I'm not finding much on this particular situation. I'm sure I'll get a few flames in here too, but it's still worth a try to just ask...

I am the beneficiary and our PD is July 24, 2019 for the i-130 at Potomac. It seems that the processing times have been going up, but we're hoping to get NOA2 in January? Being in Canada, I know the wait times from CC to interview in Montreal can be up to 6 months now.

We were fully prepared to wait it out while I stayed here working for my company, but now it turns out I'm about to be out of a job. I'm looking for a new one, but it's looking grim and if my company fully goes under, I can say goodbye to any cushion of severence. Unemployment isn't enough to cover my rent and bills alone in my city, plus we already have a 3 week honeymoon booked that's non-refundable in February. (Please don't judge about booking non-refundable, it's what we could afford.) Not all of it is paid for yet, and of course there are the expenditures once there. My husband still wants us to go, but I will lose any unemployment pay for any days I am out of the country. This also means I have to cancel my Christmas visit. My husband could help pay for things, but it would be really hard given that my rent is higher than his mortgage (yay Urban life). Ultimately I'm far more worried about paying my bills alone than I am about our honeymoon (though losing those thousands we already put down does really hurt.)

I have friends in his state who have job leads for me once I'm settled, but that doesn't help me now.

So the TL;DR is, do we have any possibility of applying for an expedite? Most posts seem to say the financial hardship reason would only apply to the petitioner, not the beneficiary. But the USCIS list of reasons doesn't seem to state this? 

If we do attempt it, would we wait until we get the NOA2 and apply to NVC for expedite? I know we're almost through the USCIS stage (I hope), but that insane backlog at Montreal is brutal. I'm just grasping at straws here, but hoping to find something that might help us if I'm not able to find work in the next few months. 

8 hours ago, Prime said:

Hi everyone , 

I am also a Potomac filler with IOE receipt #. PD is July 11th. VJ approximation is getting further every week 😞💔. As of now mine shows around christmas time. I have seen three people get approved for June 21/22 past weekend. I hope they start working on July sooner. Eagerly waiting ... 

Good luck to all🤗

Mine is July 24 and I've also noticed it keeps going up. So much for Potomac being the fast one.

I'm stressing more now after seeing what a massive backlog Montreal has for interviews too. Feels like I will never get there. 

5 hours ago, Elivi said:

I thought IOE numbers were faster, but now I see it's taking a while for Potomac to start prossecing July cases. July 1st and no news

Yeah, it's unfortunately looking like Potomac times have been increasing lately.  

Most hotels are able to store your luggage for the day when you check out if you ask them. If you're concerned about it, try calling ahead to the hotel you're staying with and ask the concierge. 

"bunch of yes or no health related questions"  -- Can you elaborate as to what kinds of questions these were? Anything stand out? 

Got another date change when I checked recently: October 23. Still "in progress". 

They still haven't uploaded any more document scans. There's only the one thing they uploaded back in July. I guess we're still a ways off...

Thanks all! He came up this weekend, said "I'm visiting my wife for the weekend" and there were zero further questions. I guess they can see with all his past visits that he never stays long. We'll still have him carry proof of ties to the US juuuust in case, but I'm glad it was hassle-free for him.

Does anyone have experience with their American citizen spouse visiting Canada while the i-130 is pending? Most posts are regarding trying to visit the US.

My husband visits every few weeks for a weekend on his Nexus card, buy he usually said visiting friends or girlfriend if asked but now we're married and filed the petition. He's self-employed so wouldn't have an employer's letter to show. He's bringing a copy of the NOA1 to show Canadian customs if they ask so he can show we've applied for my immigration there, not the other way around. 

Anyone in a similar relationship that has border crossing experience to share? We may be overthinking it but sometimes our border guards can be just as gruff as the US side. 

42 minutes ago, Godknowsus said:

Thank you!

I sent in my application on Aug 12. Ups delivered on 14th.

I'm waiting for my NOA1

I filed from Pennsylvania. I wonder which service center my petition will go to.. any ideas? Anyone?

 

We filed from PA as well and ended up at Potomac.