Schildkrote5

We got the same thing, even though it was included in the original packet and can even see that they uploaded it to their database. I think they are having an audit and had to send out blanket RFEs to make our life hell for no reason. Just my guess.

On 8/5/2021 at 6:20 PM, Crtcl Rice Theory said:

I don't want to fly with a tube full of unvaccinated people, but to each their own.

 

Then drive

I should probably clarify the wedding is about 14 months away. However we won’t be filing for AOS until August.

Hello all,

I am wondering if anyone has recently filed for advanced parole (AP) I-131 and an employment authorization document (EAD) I-765 combo card. From my understanding it is filed with the Chicago office and the most up to date information I can find is documents that were filed in October last year.

I am trying to figure out the most current processing times for these documents. The reason I am asking is we are trying to have a wedding in the home country of Germany, but unsure if the advanced parole document will be returned in time. It would be a disaster to cancel the wedding last minute when people have purchased plane tickets.

Appreciate any input,

Thanks.

3 hours ago, R2021AD said:

Hello all,

 

I received the NOA2 notice back in May, but never received the NVC case number. (My timeline link is up to date) 

 

I followed the guidance in the PDF guide by asking to "update the email addresses" so that's now in place as of yesterday. I asked in the contact form now for the actual NVC case number. I may try calling again at opening or closing of the phone hours to get the NVC number if I don't hear anything. Would be nice to get the NVC number but I guess no point yet if still nothing is processing.

 

 

I had to call to get the number. You won’t be able to do much with it, but you can check the case status with the case number. Make sure you get the invoice number as well as you’ll need it later. It should say “At NVC” and then move to “In Transit” when it finally gets sent to the embassy, then you can expect it to be ready to schedule an interview a few weeks after that. 

I appreciate members of this forum taking the time to post responses in this topic and I am definitely open to other opinions. I can see how the lawsuits can open up other paths for the rest, however I just don't think it is the proper answer and believe it could quickly snowball into a pay your way into the country with lawyers which is not how the process was intended to function. On another note, if we are going to keep this conversation going I would really appreciate not receiving the classic VJ "It's a long process" lecture.

16 minutes ago, MorganandMichael said:

Great news! You ALSO have the option and right to bring a suit against the US Government! You can do this too! I work in the civil division of the US Attorneys Office so I can say I have personally seen people do it ALL THE TIME!

 

Opinions are fine and all to have, but a lot of your assumptions and statements here are completely false in the face of how things actually work. The fact that other people put in the time, money, and effort to sue the government from a position that you would benefit from (starting up the processing of K-1 visas) is a positive thing, and their success in such suits can and likely will help others in these situations by creating pressure and citable precedent.

 

You’re clearly also impatient if you were moved enough to complain about what is a relatively small drop of cases getting approved in a bucket that’s otherwise overflowing. Even if we ignore any of the real benefits these suits could have for you, I highly doubt it has any sizable impact on your individual processing time.

 

I’m not sure if your fiancé plans on applying for citizenship eventually, but if so she will be quizzed on civics and how the government works. Maybe a fun thing for both of you to study and learn more about!

I've already been through this process if you had read the previous posts above. I was naturalized as a citizen and the interview was actually quite simple if you study at all which she is very capable of doing if she chooses to become a citizen later down the road. But to address your comment, it may or may not have a positive impact on the rest of us. Yes it could get the process moving, but what if people just keep paying lawyers to jump the place in line. There is already a second lawsuit in process and talk of a third. So my case could potentially be delayed months while others jump ahead of me. Is this the answer to an already broken immigration system? I think not. 

3 hours ago, werdna said:

We're talking about a handful of people at each embassy or consulate.  Not significant.  Redirect your anger to the trump administration that created this problem and thank those of us that put time and money into the lawsuit that is providing benefit to others as well, even if not as quickly as us plaintiffs.

 I'm not directing anger, I'm expressing frustration in the process and how people are handling their business carelessly.

7 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Before passing judgement on the people involved in the lawsuit, why don't you check the facts about visa issuance first?  Here is the link on the issuance statistics for you -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

 

Prior to the ruling on the lawsuit, embassies/consulates in the Schengen area, UK, and Ireland were hardly processing K1 visa cases.  Interviews were NOT being scheduled, contrary to what you claim.  Now, after the ruling, embassies are starting to process K1 again.  The lawsuit may not be the direct cause for this change but it seems to have served as motivation for the embassies to not use the presidential proclamations as their excuse to suspend the issuance of K1 visas.

 

Rather than being spiteful, maybe you should consider being grateful to those involved in the lawsuit for blazing the trail for you?

It's possible that is the case, but highly unlikely. I'm entitled to my opinion just as you are. My opinion is that yes this may have sped the process up, but now we are in a situation where it pays to play. I can easily afford to pay a lawyer $3000 to put my name on a list, but is that really the precedent we want to set in the immigration process. Now I need to sue to get what I want, in the very classical American way? No I will not do this, I was originally a Canadian citizen, and I went through the correct immigration process to become a citizen, now I will bring my fiancé to the United States in the proper manner  and not screw other people ahead of me in the process.

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

How are they selfish if they paid the extra money and put in the extra effort to join a lawsuit which didn't have any guarantees of success?

 

They took a risk and it paid off. Moreover, they have set a precedent for others whose cases are also taking way too long. 

 

It will be good to do some self-reflection, to examine the roots of your hostility and frustration, and ask yourself why you feel this way towards people who, before joining the lawsuit, were in the exact same situation as you.

This is exactly the point I'm making...these people may not be in the same situation as me. I've been waiting well over a year for my case to move to the embassy and now potentially someone who hasn't even waited 3 months can jump me in the line. This is not how this is supposed to work. 

Because the embassies are not idle right now, cases are being moved to "in transit" and people are scheduling interviews. So no, it is not shortening the process for us, you are incorrect in that assumption.

1 hour ago, A&C NJ, USA said:

We have been on this site for a few months waiting, and its with the support of everyone on here and great info from @Greenbaum that has kept our hopes alive. 

Logged into the CEAC visa site today to see that our petition is now 'In Transit' super excited. 

We will keep you posted as to the interview etc. 

Keep your hopes up everyone. 

Thanks, yes keep us updated, our Case number was assigned May 23rd so I’m hoping ours will be in transit soon as well.

On 9/4/2020 at 10:10 PM, Hannah&Nick said:

Sorry about the bad news. I also met my fiancé while I was an active duty "hubschrauber" pilot in Germany, but I left AD before we submitted an I-129F. It looks as though it wouldn't have mattered even if we had. Keep faith, it looks like we are about on the same timeline (NOA2 in April).

 

You can see here what Visas have been processed. I would guess some of these are special case scenarios.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

My fiancé told me that she has previously seen K-1s issued in Rwanda and South Korea from posts on a different forum.

My fiancé is from Germany and did a 14 day quarantine in Mexico before coming to the USA. It’s not ideal but it worked with no problems. I joined her down there for about 9 of the 14 days.

I just got back to the USA today from a visit to my fiancé in Germany, if anyone has any questions of how this process worked feel free to PM. We also previously did a 14 day quarantine in Mexico to get her into the USA back in August.

So, I understand as the petitioner the next steps after the NOA2 is to receive a welcome letter from the NVC, then fill out the affidavit of support form, pay fees, and provide financial documents. However, I’m looking for any information on anyone who may be further ahead in the process than me. I received the NOA2 in early March, never received a welcome letter though. I ended up calling the NVC in May to get my case number and it’s been crickets ever since. 

Basically I’m wondering if I should have received this welcome letter already and if I should have already sent in the support form and financial documents. Anyone have current experience with this? Did they just quit sending these welcome letters out when Covid hit? A bit confused because the website says they are now processing applications for August 18th. What in the world does processing applications mean if they aren’t forwarding anything to the embassies? Thanks in advance.

15 hours ago, EricLT said:

Yes call the other number. I think they assigned a case number but maybe haven't mailed out to the embassy yet. 

Just called the number, had to wait on hold for about 30 min, but I was able to get a case number. Thanks and at least I have something to track it from even if it doesn't move from the NVC. A bit of peace of mind knowing they have it.

11 hours ago, Hannah&Nick said:

We are in the same boat. Also from Germany.

You can call 603-334-0700 and ask for your case number and invoice number. Once you have that you can track that in the CEAC Tracker. It will sit at the NVC until the embassy in Frankfurt opens again. It would be awesome if youd share your timeline on visa journey

Thank you! We will share our journey, looks like we may be close to the same timeline.

1 hour ago, Portuguese91 said:

My fiancée and I are in the same exact situation. We received our NOA2 on March 31st and haven't been assigned a case number by NVC either.

 

I'm from Portugal and she lives in Virginia. Haven't seen her in about 6 months as well.

 

I absolutely share your frustration... It's very hard to just sit down and wait for NVC to take some action

 

I'll try to call them and try my luck. I mean, at this point what can I lose?

 

Good luck with your process!

 

Edit:

 

I forgot to mention that in my NOA2 they set an expiration date for July 30th 2020... Doesn't seem like I'm going to an interview anywhere before that, but I also understand they may extend that "expiration date". What is your expiration date?

Good luck to you too! On the expiration date.. I was worried about that too because our NOA2 expires in August. I asked an immigration lawyer on a live stream the other day and he explained that the consulate will just extend the date, so I'm not sure why there is even an expiration date on there honestly. I wouldn't worry about it since it's not your fault the embassies are closed.

I just received my case and invoice number by calling the NVC. Tried logging in, but there isn't anything to see. I'm guessing this means the NVC isn't ready for any documents or fee payments from me. It appears I will have to wait for my "welcome letter" after all before I can go any further. If anyone has any conflicting information please correct me.

17 minutes ago, EricLT said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center/nvc-contact-information.html

 

They probably sent you the case number through email already. 

It appears there is no phone number for non immigrant VISA inquiries, which is what the K-1 VISA is. Are you guys just calling the immigrant VISA number?

13 hours ago, BC97 said:

 It isn’t lost. Everyone’s cases are being held at NVC until your respective embassy reopens.

 

My fiancée called them and asked, and it’s the same thing everyone on here is getting told.

 

You can get your case number by calling NVC. It was probably assigned about two months ago.

Well that’s good to know other people got their case number and it’s probably not lost. That was my main concern, I would have thought they would at least send me an acknowledgement they received it like USCIS did with the original petition.

I also didn’t know you could call them, I could only find an email inquiry. Do you know the phone number?
 

9 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

This process from you submitting your application and it being processed in TX then sent to CSC for adjudication then upon approval it's sent to NVC for case number assignment thusly runs the way it was intended. Rarely do we see a record lost so you should be assured that yours is not either. Trust the process! 

 

Can I share somethings with you that I learned long ago about this process?

    • "the man with the gold makes the rules"
    • it will take as long as it will take 
    • no one with any certainty can tell you when some process will be completed
    • Your sense of urgency will never be equaled to what USCIS, NVC or your embassy demonstrates
    • Your journey is not going to mirror someone else's experience - yours and theirs are not the same
    • They only promised you a YES or NO answer. Never an exact time that their decision would be completed
    • Lowering your expectations will make you a much more relaxed individual

Good luck on your journey 
 

I have been living away from my fiancé for over 2 years now and I haven’t seen her in 6 months thanks to the border closings, so to say I’m tired of waiting is an understatement, but I get it, it’s part of the process. I agree with being more relaxed  and going with the flow, but that’s not really the type of people we are and I personally refuse to lower my expectations, we’ll eagerly await the letter and border openings everyday. One day we’ll look back on this process and be thankful that it made our relationship stronger.
 

That’s good that things don’t normally get lost, but I don’t want to leave our futures strictly up to a government bureaucracy so I’ll do whatever I can do to help the system move along instead of just blind trust.

Thank you for the good vibes Greenbaum

43 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

 

I have read posts reporting on this kind of evidence being requested at the embassy/consulate, but not by the USCIS. In general, the intent to marry letters are enough. 

 

What do you think was the issue with your petition that could have triggered the request for intent to marry evidence? 

For me I have no idea. We sent 2 separate letter of intents stating that we wanted to get married within 90 days and a brief history of how we met and our decision to get married. Once I we got the RFE we decided to write an updated “joint” letter signed by both of us on top of our parents and friends writing letters as well. The only thing I can think of is we didn’t mention anything about an engagement in the first letter. But I thought that would be kind of self explanatory. What I’ve learned through this process is nothing is ever self explanatory, give  then more than they need and then some more.

Lecht, her family wrote it in German, then she translated it to English (they speak A little English, but not enough to write a letter like that) and then gave it to them to sign. And in case you were wondering, a digital signature was enough for this purpose as well since I didn’t want to wait for mail to get here due to COVID slowdown. Get those letters of intent done and that should be sufficient to get the NOA2.

Hello guys new to the forum,

Our I-129F petition was approved and supposedly sent to the NVC about 3 months ago. Sent an inquiry and they basically told me to piss off and they’ll send me a notification when they get to it. I realize things have slowed down for covid and I explained that in my request... I really just wanted to know if they had our file but I couldn’t get that information...Just wondering what other people’s processing times have been from time Petition was forwarded to the time you received a case number or welcome letter. It’s advertised as taking 2 weeks and it’s been about 12 for us now. A little worried that maybe the paperwork got lost at this point and frustrating because there’s no way to track anything without a case number being assigned. This has been the most nerve racking part of the process thus far. Thanks in advance.

This happened to us also, we originally sent two separate letters of intent and that was not enough. So for the RFE we sent a joint letter of intent and named a date we were trying to get married pending visa approval. Also had both families (parents) write a letter of their knowledge of Intent to marry as well as I had one set of friends write a letter as well. It seems like a pain but just give them what they want. The turn around for the RFE was pretty fast (within 2 weeks) although now we’ve been waiting to get a case number from the NVC for about 3 months.