KelleFat2020

21 hours ago, smpcole said:

Hi all! New here.  I'm a US citizen and my fiancé lives in Latin America.  We are going to get married as soon as COVID allows, then start the spousal visa application process.  We're trying to decide whether to lawyer up or use a service like Boundless, SimpleCitizen, etc. Based on what I've read, it seems like the general consensus is that it's better to lawyer up if you can afford it, but I am wondering what the SPECIFIC advantages of an attorney over these services are, especially since Boundless and SimpleCitizen provide you with an immigration attorney as part of their services. I would certainly feel more comfortable with a lawyer (and we consulted with one who seems really good), but our case is pretty straightforward (no previous marriages, kids, crimes, etc.), so maybe it's completely unnecessary?

Anyone out there have experience with Boundless, SimpleCitizen, etc.?  If so, how was your experience? Did they actually connect you with an immigration attorney? If so, how available were they? Were you able to consult with them as much as needed?  Did they seem competent and trustworthy?

Thanks for all your input!

My spouse and I used Rapid Visa because we didn’t want to go DIY and we couldn’t afford a lawyer. When he goes for citizenship, we will use a lawyer, but Rapid Visa did a good job for us. We’re stuck at NVC waiting for an interview to be scheduled but we did not have a single RFE or other delay. They helped us through the process and I’m sure we could not have done it ourselves without delays. Rapid Visa was affordable and very helpful throughout the process. I admire people who DIY. 

6 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Hi,

 

There are many ways to approach this...challenging?..patience wearing?..frustrating?...nerve wracking?...process.

 

One of the ways to spend your time is to drive yourself bonkers worrying about every rumor, every half news, hearsay, tweet, FB post, etc. 

 

Another way is to keep up with actual news and proclamations, keep in touch with your significant other, send him/her photos of your dog getting her nose stuck in a peanut butter jar (only temporarily, she's fine)...

 

About the impact of these times on the spouse visa...I believe we have benefited actually.  Unfortunately at the expense of other family visas, NVC is prioritizing spouse visas, and embassies that are partially open are only doing spouse visas.  That is the current reality.

 

 

Agreed. Our documents were DQd when NVC said they were only reviewing up to March 28 at the time we submitted. I believe we were moved to the front of the line or at the very least spared an even longer wait than would have had. 

1 minute ago, emma24 said:

What time are the briefings usually?

I'm not exactly sure, but I went back and read some more of the thread. There have been articles with more info. I'm sure there'll be more information, but here's an article stating that family based/employment based should not be affected:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-21/trump-says-he-ll-suspend-immigration-to-u-s-over-virus-concerns

17 hours ago, Montrealy said:

Why isn’t this whole site exploding? Any details on this-spousal vs. work visas, whether people currently mid process are affected, etc.? Can’t seem to find anything...

I think because he hasn't done it as yet, no one knows what is going to happen. He tweeted without any details and if anything during the press briefing it will be addressed. I can't imagine what difference it would make to Covid cases in the US at this point. Don't ban immigration, increase screening procedures. They already have banned several countries and could ensure that it's not being brought in by travel (which is already in place, so wth???) or immigration bans. I say wait until the press briefing. I only see things on Twitter about his tweet, but nothing about the details, who's going to be impacted, or for how long it will be or what it will look like. 

34 minutes ago, Michael&Karen said:

So today I got a new update on my uscis account. The first one was on March 16th 2020 and again today April 21st 2020. Am I getting closer? How many times do y’all got an update before tour approval? God bless.

We got two updates. Transferred 2/28, then again on 4/7, then our approval came through today. 

49 minutes ago, kwijibo123 said:

PD 05/10/2019

Just found out today that the file was transferred to Vermont on March 9th. They are still processing.... Anyone in similar boat (May filer?). Looking at processing times, isn’t Vermont worse than Nebraska?

Mine was transferred from Nebraska to Vermont 2/28, on 4/7 it was moved to Texas, and we just got an approval today. We filed 5/6/19. Vermont is slower than Nebraska. I never got a notice so I inquired about a notice on a phone call and a chat and about a week after I did that, it got transferred to Texas and the next day the notice came in the mail. Hang in there!

4 hours ago, hscoots said:

hang in there, doubt it will take the full 20 months. It sucks we got transferred to VT and not cali or texas, but it is what it is. 

Thanks. It's really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Especially when there's no real rhyme or reason to the system if people who applied in July are claiming they got their approvals. 

My case was transferred from Nebraska to Vermont. The wait time is longer. I’m super discouraged. We were almost to the outside normal processing times for Nebraska. Now we have to wait a potential more ten months just for an approval? My heart just sank. Why would they send it to a center with a longer processing time? Doesn’t that increase the workload at that one place? To make matters worse, it seems Nebraska cases AFTER ours are getting approved and we are still in that dark abyss.