brvids2020

3 minutes ago, metuchen said:

Is the lockbox office even working anymore? 

I don't think they are. They're using every excuse in the book and exploiting the covid virus as a reason for their slow down. 

10 hours ago, ryvfader said:

Looks like no I-129F's for today though. I feel that we are very quickly approaching a situation where we should begin urging people to reach out to their congressman or congresswoman and ask for assistance or to hold additional accountability to USCIS for at least more transparency in this process. 

I did and my congressman also got the run around. I'm hiring an attorney now. I hope more of you will do the same. If they get sued by enough people something will happen.

Yeah this whole thing is ridiculous. They're using every excuse in the book. I'm done with their s**t. I've contacted an attorney. Perhaps a lawsuit will get something done once and for all.

33 minutes ago, Funk said:

Just curious how did you get passed the automation to talk to a representative? I have tried many times and eventually the automated system just says "We can't help you thanks for calling" and hangs up on me. I haven't been able to talk to anyone since September.  

 

 

This whole thing is such a joke. But I'll save my disdain of our Government in general for another day. I got through that God awful system one time. I can't remember what I said exactly but it was something like "I-129f application was not received after 30 days" and surprisingly it put me through.

2 minutes ago, Fenice said:

I don't think they have a good system and they are overwhelmed. But based on the lawyers advice and my experience with immigration for many years (with the help of lawyers), there is really no way other than to wait. I tried everything in the past and it had no impact on the timeline of adjudication. It's frustrating I know

Yeah, I think the holidays are over and perhaps it will start moving a little quicker. Let's hope.

2 hours ago, Fenice said:

I submitted a question on avvo.com so all of us can benefit from different lawyers opinion. Hope this is helpful

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/k1-visa-came-to-a-halt--is-suing-the-government-is-5074793.html

Makes you wonder what the heck they are doing at the lockbox? Do they throw it all in one big fat pile and pull everything randomly? It would seem most of us are in the same situation, but yet I've seen a few on here who filed in mid November and got their NOA1.

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

You can thank all the people who have misused tourist visas in the past to jump the immigrant lines for the difficulty your fiancé would face to get a visa. “There are things the government could do”, actually no, once a person has married a citizen they are forgiven just about any immigration law transgression. That’s what makes the incentive to misuse tourist visas so high in the first place. 

Sure but marriage is quite different than just coming here illegally and staying. Yes, I agree about the tourist visas being misused, but there's always a fix, they just need to actually fix it.

15 hours ago, ryvfader said:

I'll also share this here as my package was received by the lockbox facility at the start of November and I'm still without charge or any receipt. So same situation as most everyone (if not all) in this thread. 

 

Contacted USCIS today, the representative said current wait time for receipts they are seeing is about 2 months due to a large influx of applications sent to the lockboxes, with some outliers reaching out to 3 months. I was assured that this is a normal timeframe currently due to the number of applications they have coming in. Though he/she did note that they are not the lockbox facility so they don't have access to more specific details they were able to confirm my package had not been input to the system yet. If I havn't heard anything by the end of the month to follow back up with USCIS support as well, they opened a ticket under my name and date of birth and additionally placed a notification that I had called inquiring about my application status. 

 

 

I got my Congressman's office to look at it. If enough people do this, it might prompt them to fix a clearly broken system. Even with Covid this is ridiculous. I mean wth? Did they just stop working completely?

Well thanks for all the responses. I've come to the conclusion the $160 would be a complete waste of time and money unless she has money, job, house etc. It's really ridiculous when you think about it that with a K1 visa application there is no way of your fiance being able to at least visit in this time. I get the concern, but there are things the Government could do to ensure the person doesn't overstay or if the visa gets denied ensure the person goes back. But hey come over the Southern border illegally and NO PROBLEM!!! Come on in. Welcome! What a crock.

7 hours ago, JeffDR said:

Hello everyone - I had my first consultation with the attorney today and it’s seems like Mandamus is applicable to us considering that the government is failing to process your application and in my case not even replying to my e-mail sent more than a month ago and no reply from the Ombudsman. If you have USD 4K+ I suggest you sue the government - it will expedite your case and will also help others because I truly hope the new administration will be a little bit smarter and avoid being sued by US Citizens. 
 

I will have another chat with the attorney tomorrow and after that I will actually provide you all with his contact information in case you want (and can) do the right thing and sue the government 
 

meanwhile I suggest you file a complaint with the Ombudsman following this link:

 

https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

 

 

Hey thanks for the update. Great information! Sounds like an attorney may be the way to go. My state representatives office agreed to look into it for me. If this fails and gets me nowhere, I also will hire an attorney. I have a feeling suing them is unfortunately the way I'll have to go also, but we'll see.

Anybody have a lot of experience with the tourist visa? I'm curious if there's any chance whatsoever of my fiance from Ukraine getting one with my affidavit of support? She is unemployed on purpose for her daughter etc. My financial situation is quite good so does the affidavit of support help at all? Thanks

Btw sorry, I just realized I likely posted this in the wrong place.

On 12/21/2020 at 9:51 AM, JeffDR said:

Not a word - nothing - I am in contact with my attorney once I have all the info I will share it with you. Only suing I guess things can get going.

So anything new from your attorney? I finally contacted and submitted a case with the ombudsman. We'll see if that gets me anywhere.

6 hours ago, Arsalan111 said:

Thank you, at least it’s relieving that I am not alone 

October 27th, I still have nothing.

45 minutes ago, MichMash said:

Don't think it will comfort anyone but we are in the same situation as some others with our application.  I most likely belong in the November filers but this thread is more active and @JeffDR  has the same dates as me.  Application was sent 11/2 and received 11/5.  No charges have been made to my account and no notifications.   I waited the full 6 weeks and will be emailing the lockbox address tonight.  

Thanks for the update. This is good to know. I hope everyone here will keep us all up to date. I hate jumping to conclusions, but it does seem after this much time something should have happened. Mine got there Saturday October 31st so I'm assuming 11/2 before it actually was received. Still nothing here.

40 minutes ago, JeffDR said:

Not a word - nothing - I am in contact with my attorney once I have all the info I will share it with you. Only suing I guess things can get going.

Hey good for you! I'm going to start looking at doing the same. But here's to hoping it won't be necessary after this week.

1 minute ago, PatLuvO said:

If you tracked it and it says delivered then it's not lost they are just backedup. I believe there is an inquiry you can submit to the lockbox.

I've done that. No response to my inquiry weeks ago. That is the problem with mine, the post office screwed up my receipt and I have no way to track it. There's no reason to think it wouldn't have gotten there, but still very irritated about that as well. 

10 hours ago, JeffDR said:

If you already sent an e-mail inquiry to the USCIS lockbox and still have not received any information then I would suggest you send a letter to the USCIS Ombudsman (second step)  (send copies of your letter to your Congressman and Senator). I am waiting a few days (for the holidays to be over) to bring all this evidence to an attorney for a consultation - I believe that showing them I followed the instructions and exhausted all my options to obtain information will give an immigration attorney what they need. What is happening to us is shameful and I can’t believe some people on Visa journey consider this normal ! 

Yeah this is getting ridiculous now! October 27th is when I sent it. You're telling me more than 7 weeks and this is normal because of Covid? BS! Thanks for the suggestion, I'm sending a letter to them tomorrow or Wednesday. Figure I'll give it a couple more days. Have you received anything? Would love to hear from others on here.

On 12/18/2020 at 12:43 PM, PatLuvO said:

It can take awhile due to the current situation. I know someone who sent their petition the end of October and received their NOA1 last week. As long as you tracked your package and it says delivered you don't have anything to worry about. 

I sent mine end of October and am still waiting. this is ridiculous! At what point do I consider it lost?

45 minutes ago, JeffDR said:

Some people on this site rationalize saying the delays are “normal” but I disagree. My K1 application was received by USCIS on Nov5th but I have not received any status leading me to believe it is stuck in the pile. I am waiting a few more days to reach an 8 week timeline and after that I am seeking an attorney through my legal insurance (comes in handy nowadays). If anyone here is an attorney and believe there are grounds for a class action lawsuit - I am in! LOL

Hey this is seriously a broken process. If you do hire an attorney, please let me know what he says or does. Would love to know if it would do any good. I'd write to my congressman but honestly I think it's worthless. They don't give a rip about the K1. Probably not enough people do it for them to even pay attention.

This is interesting. Did this have an effect on K1 resuming?

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/11/23/ruling-k-1-visas-lawsuit-us-state-department-federal/

20 hours ago, Mackenzie Owens said:

The best way we were able to prove having met each other within the last 2 years was a trip we took about 2 years ago. The trip was from the 23rd of December 2018 and lasted until Jan. 3rd 2019. 

I have sent the application on Dec. 5th but so far have received no NOA1. I see that many people get a NOA1 around 10 days after sending their application and some get it after just a few day, should we be getting worried? The shipping was priority express and I sent everything correctly. The tracking said it was signed for and picked up on the 8th, so 7 business days ago.

Any tips?

I sent mine on October 27th and have received no NOA1!

5 hours ago, JeffDR said:

Yeah no kidding - incompetence is not even closer to define the work of USCIS - I am usually reasonable and don’t expect a disposition but the fact they don’t even initiate the process in the system shows the disservice to Americans. But immigration in every nation is a reflection of its government and we all know where we stand (not a world model for sure) when it comes to legal Immigration. Whoever is in charge should be ashamed and if fired should never be hired for a high level position in the private sector .... good luck trying to call the “ultra modern” phone system that takes you on a tour and does not give you any information unless you have a case number, which we don’t because the process is also useless and here we have the vicious cycle. Good luck to all of you sharing the same fate! And happy holidays - in my case we are both being forced to travel to another country where we can both go due to the restrictions to be together for a while - even on this the country loses money because I could be spending this money here in our country supporting local

businesses .... this is a broken system 

Yeah it is a broken system. Why on Earth they don't have a premium processing service, I will never understand. Do they not realize how much more money they could bring in? Oh right, it's our government I'm talking about, silly me. Haha anyway will update the minute I hear something. Hope you all will do the same.

14 hours ago, emily1elf said:

Hey just wanted to let you know I sent mine out 10/28 received 11/02 and haven't heard anything either. I was getting worried since it looks like a couple people who sent theirs AFTER me have got their NOA1 already   It's reassuring to know it's not just me who feels skipped over.

I sent a money order that I got from my bank. Does anybody know if I'm able to track that to check if they've cashed it??

Well for sure that is good to know we're in the same boat and sent ours about the same time. It's getting a little more than ridiculous now though. They need more transparency at this place. It's ridiculous to go this long and have absolutely no idea where you stand. If mine was lost and I have to resend only to lose another couple months, livid is not even close to how to describe what I feel. Anyway I promise to update here as soon as mine is cashed and here we are coming on 7 weeks and still not a damn word.

Just an update. Still nothing for me. Sent 10/27 received 10/31. 6 weeks 2 days.

34 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

If they have not removed the fee from your mode of payment, then you have not been officially accepted and a NOA1 would not have been generated. 1.5 months his pushing the limits of what we have seen. Next week if they have not removed the money then you should call customer service at USCIS. 

 

There is a service provided by the USPS (US Postal Service) whereby each morning USPS will scan your incoming mail (just the address side of the envelope) and email you an update. It's very convenient these days to have advance notice that an important piece of mail is being delivered.

 

The service is available to most communities, but some are still being rolled out so not all areas are available. Check the website with your zip code to verify your location is available for the service. A person in the USA can sign up for this free service here:

 

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action

 

You can also use the USPS Mobile app available in the Google play store.

Yeah same story for me as well. I'm at more than 6 weeks now and not a word. No money taken out of my account or anything. Maybe it's a good thing that it's apparently not only me, but this doesn't seem right. I sent mine October 27th and it would have been received October 31 which is a Saturday so presumably 11/2? I have another problem in that the local post office screwed up my receipt and so I've had no way of tracking mine although I have no reason to believe it didn't get there. At what point do I assume it's lost? I did call them and it was a complete waste of time.