Firstenburg

Congrats gogo! I know it's been a looooong and frustrating road for you. I remember how pumped you were for this interview and that it was "all or nothing". Looks like you got what you were hoping for.

So I don't know your full history, but was it your idea or USCIS that you have a local interview? Why did the local office have the power to approve you? Could the same happen for others who schedule a local interview?

You're not alone, as Mary says above. There are many of us in the same boat. We feel your pain, and of course the worst in all this is the lack of information and the poor treatment from USCIS officers. I have been working with my congressman, and even though his liason has called me and we've talked more than once, it hasn't resulted in any action on my application. I'm on his list, and according to him there are over 100 June filers in Oregon still with no approval. I know that doesn't offer much comfort, but perhaps you'll feel better knowing there are more of us out here waiting with you.

Patience is a virtue. Your approval will come. It's just a matter of time.

Yes Malarie, I totally agree with you!!

Thanks for posting your opinion.

hornswaggle...

How so???

You may wish to remember that most of us that are almost at the end of this visa journey have been where you are right now.... we all had to learn patience and yes some find it easier than others..... but to call a number that is not a general enquiry number and then be angry because they dont help you is just silly..... the number is there for people who have received a RFE not for everyone to use to chase up their case as and when they feel the need....

Sure if you feel your case is taking too long write to everyone you can think of.... make an infopass appointment at your local office and talk to a immigration officer about it.... but dont use a dedicated line as a general info line and then complain when it does not get you what you want....

Kez

My post seems to have turned us VJ'ers against each other. That's sad...

To Kez, and everyone else who is critical on this thread: Please remember that I posted this thread NOT to get angry that calling the RFE line got me no where, but to complain that a CSC representative LIED TO ME about my app being on HOLD (reread the original post if you need to). You can say what you want about my use of the RFE line (and by the way it won't change the fact that when I call again I WILL USE THE RFE LINE), but PAH-leeeze don't tell me you defend the actions of Becky?? THAT is what this post was about, folks. You've taken it in the wrong direction. I didn't say, "Gee, I'm really upset that I'm not getting my way down there at the CSC." I didn't even post to complain that I have to be patient. I merely posted about the LIE, and about the rude treatment I got from Becky. You have taken this into areas that I did not mean for it to go.

As a representative of 1) USCIS, 2) our gov't, and 3) us (you and me petitioners), no CSC officer should stoop to that level. That's the bottom line on this post for me.

Why are ppl calling 'using' the RFE line as if this is some standard procedure? I see others asking for "instructions" on how to "do the RFE trick"...

I understand the frustration, of not hearing anything for months....but calling the service center's RFE dedicated line only to ask them to check the status of your case, is in effect trying to "jump ahead of the line". Then to call every single day....well there's some selfishness there. It just so happens that the OP got someone on the "RFE line" who called him on being selfish....and now she's the rude one?!

We don't liken USCIS to a "black hole" for nothing.

-P

If repetitive calling because it's been 8 months since my marriage and my wife is still not here makes me selfish, then I'm guilty as charged. I am not, however, rude when I call the RFE line.

Thanks for the uplifting comments pcana and Suzie. Sometimes that is what is needed. I do sometimes lose hope, and encouragement from VJ'ers like you keep me going another day.

Dustin-

In my defense folks, let me point you back to my original post, where I said that I have not called since. Lesson learned. You guys are correct with your comments. At no time before this rude woman was I told to wait for 30 days before calling back though. THAT part was never said to me until her.

Also my appologies if I came across snippety in follow-up comments. I'm very much on edge because of exactly what you guys are saying here: I have no control, squeeky wheels DON'T get any grease, I've been chastised for something that I shouldn't be chastized for, and now I feel I may have put my processing timeline at risk. None of this is fair to petitioners, yet because this is a government agency, there is nothing to do but put our lives on hold for several months while we wait for what amounts to a an hour or so of work. And now I'm seeing Virginia filers from August post their approvals. I hope you all can understand where I'm coming from.

I didn't post this story to get ridiculed or snapped at. I already get enough of that from USCIS. I posted it for your benefit to learn from.

Have you ever thought that if you call every day then all you are doing is making them spend more time on the phone thn processing applications..... the outcome could end up being that the RFE phoneline is abandoned as other have been in the past... because some people abuse the line and call every day!!!!!

Oh well...

Kez

You make 2 claims I'm going to call you on:

First, you're saying that the CSC people who answer the phones are the adjudicators?? I don't think that is correct. When I speak to CSC via the RFE line, they refer to the adjudicators as a separate group. I have never heard anything that supports that adjudicators are answering phones. Of course if they are, then ALL OF US should back off and NEVER call. But I don't think that is the case. I could be wrong about this though. Does anyone know if adjudicators are the ones manning the phone lines at CSC?

Second, you claim that calling every day is an abuse. Please point me to a published limit that says how often I can call. Keep in mind I'm going on 7 months without my wife. I'm sure I'm just as hungry for information as everyone else, perhaps more. And I think I have a right to information. You should be pointing that finger of yours at USCIS for not making information more readily available.

One thing you should note: If you phone up the RFE line then your case will generally be touched, they are fake touches generated by your calls, not by an adjudicator actually working on your file. Each time you phoned and got a touch either the same or the next day, it was call related. It is a very false hope, which is why people limit the number of times they will try that trick (if they even try it at all). It is not worth getting your hopes up to have them dashed again.

I called the RFE line a few times before this series of touches. Those calls didn't generate touches, and since I had heard that calls do cause touches, I asked the CSC officer about it. She said she was able to view my case status in their system without causing a change to the update date. So not all calls cause touches. But you are probably right that in my case that week, the touches were a result of my calls.

What you have said about the approval going by the I129F date is nothing new. Unfortunately, it has always been the case but it is made worse in the times we have now where the delay to send an I129F just gets bigger and bigger. USCISs (old) logic is that you chose to file the I129F and therefore you want to follow that route, therefore all work is based around the I129F. I wonder how this will change with all the administerative closures on the I129Fs lately

I seriously hope NOT. I hope they have the good sense to process according to the I-130 date. Haha! Did I just say "hope they have the good sense"?......

I called the RFE line last week to talk to someone in the CSC, and got Becky. Becky, an asian woman with an accent so heavy that I had trouble understanding her english, told me that my application was ON HOLD because I called too much!! I asked what she was talking about, and she started reading me all the dates that I had previously called the CSC. Basically, I had called almost every day of the week, the week prior. A week before I talked to Becky, another CSC officer told me that he would personally assign my case to an adjudicator, and to call back in a few days. Every day after that, my case was touched , including on Sunday (see my timeline). I called every day there was a touch to see if the man followed through and did what he said he would do.

He didn't.

And now, Becky was telling me I had called too much and my case was ON HOLD. I got upset and demanded her name and ID. Becky would only give her first name, no ID. Even when I told Becky that the Ombudsmans office said she was required to give me both (see what weight the Omb office carries with USCIS??) I asked Becky what the limit was for calling, and where the limit was published for the public to know about. Becky said it was published in their internal system. I asked what the limit was. She wouldn't tell me, she would only repeat that I had called "too much!".

Then I asked to talk to her supervisor. Becky said he was at lunch. Then Becky started backing off her story. She said there was no real limit, but that I called too much. She added that when I make a phone inquiry, I should know better than to call back again before 30 days have passed to make another inquiry.

I finally got Becky to check the status of my case. She said it was "sitting on the shelf". Not yet assigned as I had been promised. I told Becky about my conversation with the other officer, and what he told me about assigning my case. She figured out from the dates of my calls who I had talked to. She said she knew him and would remind him of our conversation. Becky wouldn't give me his name though.

I haven't had any touches since then, haven't received any NOA2 in the mail, and, for the record, haven't dared to called back. But obviously Becky didn't follow through either.

I don't know what I expect to accomplish by posting this, just want to tell what happened. Want you all to know what happened.

PS (For the record, I didn't ask for special treatment for my case from the officer I mentioned above. He had told me that my case was being processed according to the I-129F date, not the I-130 date. I told him I felt that was unfair and that it should be processed according to the I-130 date. He responded by agreeing with me, and offering to personally assign the case to an adjudicator. Of course I wasn't going to turn this down. But I didn't ask for special treatment. I blogged about the experience, and you can read about it here.)

So i called CSC today and was told by a rather rude lady that I am only allowed to call every 30 days.

I still made her check my petition only to find out that it was still not assigned.

Then she finished the call by saying try next week.

I think they are all insane

Wo are you serious??! Did you get her name? Was it, by any chance, Becky? And was she asian with a really really strong accent? That's who told me the same thing: I call too much (See my timeline). She told me that I should know better than to call within 30 days after making a phone inquiry.

hi everybody, i am a new user...i visited the uscis website and followed the instructions to file a k-3...i already sent I-130 last month january to chicago lockbox.

i read on vj website that k-3 is no longer accepted..is that true? i visit uscic site frequently but didnt find any note about canceling k-3 visa.

my last question is , the check that i send, they will clear it immediatly after they receive my petition? how do i know if they got my petition.

thank you

The K3 is still accepted. However it is currently taking LONGER to process than the I-130. There is not a processing time posted on the USCIS website for the K3, the I-129F times posted there are for fiancés (K1). You will have to "guess" the K3 processing times according to the timelines here on VJ. What is happening at CSC right now with all K3s is that they are being grouped with their corresponding I-130. When the I-130 is processed, the K3 application is being "administratively closed". Some of us on here have been told that our application will be processed according to the date we submitted the K3, not the date that we submitted the I-130. So, for example, if you followed the USCIS instructions for the K3 and waited until you received the NOA1 for your I-130 to send in your K3, your K3 date is 1-2 months AFTER your I-130 date. You can now see why this hurts and does not help, those who filed the K3.

really they can put your case ON HOLD because you call too much? How much were you calling??

I call like once a week now because I am getting desperate!!!!

Nita

I got touches every day last week, and called 3 of those days to see if the touches meant that my case had been assigned to an adjudicator. Then this week, I got a touch on SUNDAY (see my timeline). I figured good things were happening. Called again on Monday, and the lady I talked to told me that my case was on hold because I call too much. When I asked what is "too much", she said there is no fixed amount, but that I called "too much". I got upset and asked for her name and ID, she would only give her name. I asked to talk to her supervisor, she said he was gone for the day. Then she backed off her statement, and said that my case wasn't really on hold, but that "I call too much!". She also told me that that when I call USCIS and make an inquiry, I should "know better" than to call back before 30 days have passed.

!!!!!!

I can't tell you how mad that made me!

Nita,

Not to add to your confusion, but I need to add my own perspective on this, which is that YOU SHOULD AVOID THE K3. Currently the K3 is processing LONGER than the I-130, and does nothing to help your spouse get here faster. This is a FACT. Many of us K3-ers are seeing our K3 application get "administratively closed" after our I-130 gets approved. And in the 2007 annual report from the ombudsmans office (http://www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman) page 57, they back this up by stating that when the K3 takes as long or longer than the I-130, it is meaningless.

I would say you should not bother with the K3. I don't know all the details of your case, but I would be surprised if it helped you out. It hasn't helped me out.

Congrats! Enjoy the short turn-around you had. I applied in July, and still no approval. But as you said, good news could be just around the corner.

I would first call your congressman's office. They will likely have a liason that works specifically with visa issues. The person can help direct you in what to say and where to send, etc. I called my congressman's office and that is how I got in touch with the right people.

Just to note, that if you are still within six months, it's probably too soon for congressman-type action. I know it feels like a long time. But I'm going on 7 months, and there are many others who have been waiting longer. When I talked to my congressman's office, the liason told me that he had over 100 petitioners he was working with who submitted in June and May 07, who haven't gotten any word. (That was about 2 weeks ago).

Not trying to deflate you. I think we ALL feel what you're feeling. I'm just bracing you for the fact that you may not get much help if you're still under 6 months. I know, that sucks! But hey, it will come to an end soon.

I should clarify that my wife didn't move far. If it's a huge hassle, not notifying NVC is an option for us.

Your I-129F has full instructions on what to include. It asks for the same evidence you supplied in your I-130. If your marriage cert is not in english, you will need to provide a certified translation of the document along with the document.

Something you should consider: NOT FILING THE I-129F. There have been many posts and threads about this lately. The K3 visa is taking LONGER than the I-130 to process. So it won't do you any good. It gets grouped with your I-130, and when your I-130 is approved, the K3 is "administratively closed". This closure can cause delays. Also, some couples on VJ report that their applications are being processed according to the date they submitted their I-129F. Since you have to wait until you have the NOA1 from your I-130 before you can submit the I-129F, your I129F date will be about 1 month behind. Basically, some who submitted the K3 are being penalized for it.

At the K3 teleconference on Thursday, Wendy, the moderator, pointed out that in their 2007 annual report, the Ombudsmans office said that with the current processing backlog, the K3 is meaningless. Here's the snippet from the annual report:

However, until the Ombudsman brought this issue to USCIS’ attention, the I-129F was processed in 2-3 months, while the I-130 remained pending for many additional months. During the reporting period, it appears that USCIS responded to the Ombudsman’s concerns by slowing down processing of the I-129F. The May 18, 2007 processing time for the I-129F at the National Benefits Center (NBC), the only service center that processes these petitions for the K-3, is six months. As of May 18, 2007, the processing time for the I-130 was six months at the California Service Center and fourteen months at the Vermont Service Center. The Ombudsman points out that the NBC processes I-129F petitions for the K-3 and the VSC and CSC process the I-130 petitions. If the processing times for I-129Fs and I-130s are the same, as at the CSC, the LIFE Act provision providing for the fiancé(e) visa as a faster alternative to the I-130 process is meaningless.

Here's the annual report. Look on page 57 (Go by the page number at the bottom of the page, not Adobe Reader page numbers):

We filed in July, no activity or touches, then last week started getting daily touches. So I know an approval is around the corner. But my wife moved to a new address in Brazil. I'm concerned that if I submit a change of address with USCIS, it will interrupt or slow down the process. And I don't want to do ANYTHING that would slow them down. I would rather work with the state department via the NVC or the consulate. Does anyone know if it is easy/difficult to work with NVC to give them updated address info? Working with USCIS is a nightmare!! Is it any easier at the NVC? What's the best way to approach this?

well i maybe the exception to what your all talking about. i got my approval letter in the snail mail and as of today my uscis web page still say received and pending. there was no touches nothing just one day my noa-2 was in the mail. i had one touch the whole time i was in uscis and that was when i call one time. so calling them will create touches considered false touches. but if you had 4 touches before you called it means there working on it and it wont belong till approval so good luck in your journey

as you can see from my time line i am just waiting for interview date

also if your 129 f is approved calling nvc line wont give you any answers they are send right through nvc and on to embassy you wont get nvc case number unless you 130 is aproved first and that is transfered to nvc before 129 f is approved you will get case number

Thanks for the heads up vbtbmrt. I can't believe how fast you were processed. Your case illustrates that FIFO IS NOT WORKING!!! There are still lots of June filers who haven't been approved. There are July filers that were approved as early as November. One of my biggest complaints with the process is that FIFO is not enforced. But USCIS flatly denies it! I used a phone number I got from another post to talk to Greg Richardson, Chief of (I think) USCIS Operations, who wouldn't believe me when I told him that applications are not processed in FIFO order (First In, First Out). I told him that the facts are available for all the world to see on VJ and other forums. He said he had no way of knowing if the information is "credible"... (*uhg*). SEVERE DENIAL.

Hello Firstenburg,

I did not get an email about my approval 8 days ago. I got it through snail-mail. My case has been forwarded to NVC, but the case status on the website still says that it is pending. But the touches on the case were real. The last touch on the website was the day my case got approved. Hope this helps.

Dude! It does help, alot!! Thanks for the heads up.

Yep...I guess my husband's frecuent calls weren't good or it was bad luck we got a rude person on the phone. Today they told my husband that he's already called twice this month and to not call back till another 2 weeks. Then first they said that they couldn't give him information because the system was down, and then said that 'it was still pending'. My husband doesn't care about their 'warnings' and will call again next Wednesday if there isn't an approval or RFE...I'm worried that this could backfire!? Anyways, yeah, they seem to get pissed with frecuent calls (are 3 calls frecuent?!)

Well, I've called the RFE line every day for the last four days. So I'm like your hubby in that respect. I didn't call today, though, because I know they will say the same thing they've been saying: "Your case is pending and has not been assigned to an adjudicator yet". I know that's not correct, though. Why else would I get so many touches. It has to be because someone is working on it. Also, Friday when I called the RFE line, the officer told me that my app would be processed according to the I-129F (K3) date. I got mad and said that is unfair. His response totally surprised me. He said "Okay, I'll get your app right now and assign it to an officer." (You can read the whole post here) I couldn't believe my ears! That same day is when I started getting touches. But everyone I've talked to since then continues to tell me my case is sitting on the filing shelf.

Approval is coming that's all I know.

I have noticed that generally (notice the word generally) CSC officers are much more polite and helpful than the USCIS customer support people you get when you call the general 800 number. They also appear to be better trained, although I've gotten W-R-O-N-G information from them too. I think anyone you talk to within USCIS is likely going to give you wrong information. However, you are more likely to get right information from the CSC officers.

IMHO....

I just read the K3 Teleconference thread, and it says that rudeness/unhelpfullness from a USCIS rep on the phone is grounds to contact the Ombudsman. Also, they are SUPPOSED to tell you their name when they answer the phone, and their # when requested. You guys are so overdue for an approval!

I was on the teleconference and was the one who raised the issue of rudeness and told Wendy (the moderator) about getting hung up on last week. She said that is unnacceptable and that YES, we should contact the Ombudsman office with the date, time, name and ID of rep of the call. I don't know how much wieght the Ombudsman office carries with USCIS, but every bit helps.