V5712

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Just wanted to share an update. I received the “outside of normal processing time” inquiry response on 1/4 and just received my NOA2 approval on 1/18. So exactly 2 weeks turnaround (they gave me a 45 day timeframe).

Just wanted to share an update. I received the “outside of normal processing time” inquiry response on 1/4 and just received my NOA2 approval on 1/18. So exactly 2 weeks turnaround (they gave me a 45 day timeframe).

Means a lot to me! I try to make them fun, and hey, in a way it is. March filers built up such a strong community through this, so every approval we see is another friend we made along the way getting good news.
 
Before-noon report is looking good! I would estimate over 30 approvals/RFEs thus far. Clear, clear movement into mid-March. 9 approvals in the 610x group, already beating out the 600x. We also have some in the 615x. 3 in the 620x. 620x is our last "big" group until the 645x filers, though the ones in-between have probably an average of 120 people waiting each. Let's keep the faith going everyone!

Just wanted to share an update. I received the “outside of normal processing time” inquiry response on 1/4 and just received my NOA2 approval on 1/18. So exactly 2 weeks turnaround (they gave me a 45 day timeframe).

Yes, sent the inquiry 12/30 and received the response today. The confirmation did not state when I would hear back by:
"Thank you for your request:
USCIS will review and process the request.
Your request ID number is SR1X"

Hello Everybody, March 5, 2021 NOA1 here.
 
Dec. 19, 2021, I filed the 1st inquiry for "Outside Normal Processing Times", and got back:
"Thank you for your request:
USCIS will review and process the request.
Your request ID number is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
 
Jan. 3, 2022, I received the inquiry response:
"The status of this service request is:

On 12/19/2021, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your I-129F to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved:

We regret we are unable to provide you with a specific completion date at this time.  Your case is currently with an officer for adjudication. You should receive a notice of action* within 45 business days. 

*A notice of action may be in the form of an Approval Notice, Denial Notice, Transfer Notice, Request for Evidence, or Notice of Intent to Deny.

We hope this information is helpful and appreciate your continued patience."
 
So at least they gave me a range of 45 business days for notice of action?
45 business days takes it to Mar. 8, 2022, including MLK Day and President's Day holidays, which will be over 1 year wait for NOA2? Don't know if this helps anyone with expectations?

Somehow on a slow day today, we finally got our approval and let me tell you the feeling is unreal after such a long wait!😄 It will be so worth it when every one of you sees the good news and hopefully it will be soon! 

We are good over here in our relationship. Thank you for your concern. 

I could not have said this better myself. I am happy for everyone who gets to reunite with their loved ones but I also would like to reunite with mine. If my fiancé was here, we would be married already PERIOD. This is evil. They pretend they’re processing K1s but when you look at the numbers for K1 visas processed, it’s abysmal. Nobody deserves this. I cry every single day. My fiancé cries too probably not as much but this is terrible. I don’t know why they have so much power. At this point, it’s not about the pandemic because they clearly have the capacity to process 100s to 1000s of visas. Man I’m so angry and frustrated 

I also gave three kids and our K1 wasn't approved either. I'm in the same situation where going to his country would be an undue burden financially to get married. You either give up or you wait and visit more or you just accept the burden and realize that love is worth any cost. We will find a way to get married no matter the cost. 
 
If you dont think you can then you just have to re evaluate what is right for you. You can apply for a visitor visa for him to come to the US or maybe Canada where it would be easier to meet him. It doesn't look like there are any good options for you so you just have to decide which is the one you can live with. 

In 2010, the latest year that could be examined, the top 10 countries for cases referred to fraud prevention units for closer scrutiny were China, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, India, Brazil, Ghana, Cambodia, Jamaica, Peru, and Ukraine. Most cases involve applications for non-immigrant visas. About 74,000 cases were referred worldwide, and 22 percent were confirmed to be fraudulent.
http://cis.org/vaughan/gao-report-state-dept-has-good-tools-lacks-coordinated-approach-address-rampant-visa-fraud

(Background: I am Nigerian-American, born and raised here in the states. I\'ve traveled back and forth to Nigeria to see my dad\'s family several times. My fiance is Nigerian).
Our first Lagos experience was awful. My fiancé arrived for his interview yesterday, February 13th, 2012 with 3lbs of documentation: his K-1 visa forms, evidence of financial support, and most importantly, a large and bulky folder filled with evidence proving the authenticity of our relationship. Bulky yes, but neatly arranged and ordered too.
However, the officer refused to view the entire contents of our Evidence of Personal Relationship folder during the extremely short interview and, after requesting that my fiancé only pass her our photos together (Sept. 2009-March 2010; August 2011-September 2011) and extensive phone records detailing calls made several times a day, every day from May 2010-February 2012, she denied him a visa due to “lack of evidence.” She didn\'t ask him anything about me! I can understand if she made her decision after allowing him to pass the remaining contents of our evidence in smaller portions (to fit through the glass slot). It’s unfortunate, but it would mean that despite our preparation, something of significance was missing. Yet, when she requested the photographs and phone records my fiancé immediately asked if he could pass her the remaining documents. The officer refused, saying “That’s not necessary,” before proceeding to print the 221(g) letter. Also, her dismissive behavior—she never made eye contact with my fiancé, she simply flipped haphazardly through documents, not appearing to even read our new evidence—suggests she had already made up her mind to dismiss us before he got there.
My plane tickets from my most recent trip, August 22nd-September 11th, 2012, were in the evidence she refused to see. Explanation of why we chose to marry in the U.S. as opposed to Nigeria (which we could have easily done this past August during my 3 week stay with his family) was there too. Phone records, photographs, proof of marriage preparation, copies of passport visa stamps, ticket stubs, 70+ pages of email/facebook correspondence screenshots (it would have been 300 pages otherwise), etc—this is the evidence listed on the U.S. consulate website. This is what he carried with him. But we were denied, with a recommendation for revocation.
Immediately, that same morning my fiance gave me the horrible news, we sprang into action. I called my state\'s congressman and was sent back and forth until I finally got an answer. I also called all the gov\'t agencies: NVC, USCIS, the Lagos Consulate, and I emailed them to respectfully demand a full explanation as to what why we were denied. If we lacked evidence, then what was it? Our congressman was freaking amazing. He was constantly trying to get consular officials to tell us in writing how/why they made their decision. And it worked I copied the letter from a high up consular official down below. It\'ll definitely help those of you who are still preparing.
Amazingly, 2 wks later, my fiance got a call from the embassy. They asked him to bring his passport and return to the embassy. He asked if he should prepare more documents and was told no. But we were wary. According to our congressman, it looked like the adjudicating officer for our case was being reviewed...and because she couldn\'t exactly demonstrate without a doubt that my fiance deserved a denial, her superiors were calling us back! Even though the calling officer said to only bring the passport, my fiance and I prepared our documents/evidence again. Indeed, it was another interview; if we had not have prepared our evidence again, we would have looked so suspiciously unprepared. With another officer, my fiance joked and shared stories about our relationship and my friends, where I worked, what I did, what I hoped to do, what we did together during our visits, our marriage plans, etc. And he was immediately approved!!
Also, it\'s obvious that a lot of consular officers have made up their minds BEFORE you even walk in the door. Our problem was that the first officer only saw our original submission from May 2011 and consequently, did not see our new evidence from June 2011 through February 2012, including my 3 wk trip to Ibadan to see him. I was going to mail the new evidence to the NVC or consulate, but was told by a USCIS official that my fiance should just bring it to the interview. Yeah...that didn\'t work too good. But our nightmare\'s over! I\'m just waiting to be reunited with the most amazing husband to be!

Consulate Letter To Congressman
Dear Mr. M-----,
My apologies for the delay in responding to you. I asked our Immigrant Visa unit to review Mr. A--- case and was unfortunately out of the office when the reply came in. To address your questions, we find that applicants are sometimes under the impression that qualifying for an immigrant visa is simply a matter of submitting documents, but obviously there is also an analytical component to the process. For example (and without reference to this case in particular), our officers often review phone records, photos and correspondence as part of their efforts to determine whether a genuine relationship exists between the petitioner and beneficiary. There are many cases where phone records show a plausible volume of phone calls, but the calls are all of only one or two minutes’ duration. With photos, if they are evidence of only a single visit or if they appear posed or altered, that would understandably be something the officer would need to consider. A large volume of correspondence would in general be consistent with a genuine relationship, but there may be a concern in instances where it appears to be primarily focused, as it sometimes is, on immigration and the visa process.
With respect to this case, the adjudicating officer reviewed the case notes and agreed to offer Mr. A---- another interview. Our staff contacted Mr. A---- on February 28 and scheduled him for April 4, 2012 at 1:00 PM. Mr. A---- should come prepared to answer questions about his relationship with Ms. O-----. He should present documentation that demonstrates substantive communication over the course of the relationship; however please bear in mind that documentation alone is not satisfactory to demonstrate the validity of the relationship to the Consular officer. The applicant must also demonstrate such through his ability to speak about the petitioner’s life and interests.
I hope this information is helpful in responding to the concerns of your constituent. Please feel free to contact us again if you require further assistance.
Regards,
Consular Officer
:kicking: