kokosunny

Hi everyone . I recieved the noa1 for my fiance's visa on 5-12-08 and have been waiting and waiting and seeing everyone else geting approved , most people approved who filed after me . I have not goten an RFE which is great , but i just dont understand why everyone else is getting approved before me . My case is at Cali.Svc. center , i hired an attorney to help me with submiting all the papers so i know it was done right , my case is very simple both me and my fiance have never been married . i have called the USNIS ofice twice , but still nothing. i miss my Fiance and im worried when we are finnally gonna be together again. has anyone else waited this long for a responce ? should i just keep waiting? thankyou.

You are VERY patient! Call the service center every day, even when they tell you not to call for a few weeks. Try to get to the actual service center and not the call center which only has pre-packaged put-off answers. Also, contact your US Senator or Congresssman (hopefully incumbent) and ask for their assistance. Experienced Senators and Congressmen have departments set up just to assist in Immigration cases. Once they file a Congressioanl Inquiry USCIS will find your file wherever they have lost it and get it moving quickly.

I think calling the USEM at 011 63 2 3012000 loc 5184 or 5185 is better than sending them emails or fax. Goodluck and God bless you! Be ready with her case number.

Well I just called the number and spoke with Grace who was very polite and sympathetic.

Good news: The NSO request was issued 2 days after the interview.

Bad news: The NSO response can typically take 2-4 weeks to complete.

Worse news: There is no expediting available except in life or death emergencies.

I wish I had been better prepared for this outcome. I tried to dot all my T's and cross all my I's but still got it wrong. By the way VJ's K-1 flowchart includes the following:

13. Beneficiary has Interview at U.S. Embassy

Beneficiary has interview at U.S. Embassy for K-1 visa. All being well case is approved.

*K-1 visa will be issued either the same day or within the next week depending on the embassy with some exceptions

Sadly this statement is misleading. When ppl see this they are encouraged to make the reservations without sufficient lead time. I have no doubts that there are warnings scattered about the VJ site that caution against making premature plans and airline tickets. But the above note is apparently the one that stuck in my mind. I hope VJ will update that.

<rant deleted>

DJ

We were able to get NSO to move quickly by me (US) calling the Director of the DOC Verification unit and asking very nicely if they could expedite. Only took them about 4 days to get it back to the Embassy. Now waiting on the Embassy.

I scheduled my fiances right after I found out the nvc forwarded it. The day after the nvc forwarded it I got an interview date. It was about a month after.

I just tried getting an appointment from the call center after I found NVC forwarded and they told me I had to wait 2 weeks to make an appointment. How did you get an appointment so fast??

Here I am again, I have been hearing a lot about California Service Center to being so slow, my fiance is from Michigan, would it be possible to file in Vermont Service Center instead.

We are now starting to regret hiring a lawyer for some reasons that everything seems to me much slower because we have to send the documents to the lawyer before the lawyer can send our documents to USCIS, and so far the lawyer have not received yet the priority envelop we sent to them with our documents last April 15, 2008...

Since that is our situation now, we are thinking of requesting to file in Vermont Service Center, I want to know if that is possible.

Thank you so much.

God bless us all.

Cloe&Jeff

Hmmmm, now if you were to become a resident of an east coast state just long enough to file with VSC and then after it hits NVC change your residence back to Michigan. You know Americans move a lot. Not suggesting anything of course????

In all fairness, these delays seem to be only hitting people approved mid-end March. It doesn't appear to be normal behavior for people who were approved before this time.

My guess is something has happened. We've seen in other posts the following:

- CSC just took on a new contractor for handling their mail which was delaying NOA1's for up to a month

- H1B Visa's got dumped on the CSC April 1.

- We know there's a big push to take care of the back log of name checks, some of which go back 3 years.

So my guess is either one or a combination of those is what's causing this nightmare (Or maybe something else we haven't heard of). We were just "lucky" enough that our paperwork got approved at just the wrong time.

You may be on to something. Maybe there is a misplaced shipment of March approvals??? Seems there are a lot. Did a pallet of March approvals get stuck in the back somewhere and is gathering dust? Given the exceptional time I think it is time for someone to get pushy. We are not in that group and were approved in mid-April so I can't push. There is obviously something all messed up (worse than normal) with CSC right now. Be good to get some more input and chatty conversations with CSC officers (not call center agents in New Mexico) may give us some leads. (There is an April 2 USCIS memo on the name check business)

Congratz

I'm curious what kind of deals everyone is getting on the 1 way plane tickets on short notice out of Manila also.

NOT much for good fares and I book a lot of flights and know the routes. EVA air through Taiwan is sometimes not bad. China Air isn't too bad. There is competition on the Manila LA route so those fares can stay down. You are almost always best booking a RT even if you only use half of it. Be careful going through Guam on Continental unless you book flight 1 as if you take the island hopper you will be entering Guam and then entering again at Honolulu and the K1 will already be used up. Guam is a good POE though. Good luck!

I followed Tbone's thread on "how to shake noa2 out of csc". I almost choked when the lady answered, because I wasn't expecting any body to answer. She was nice, and I was super nice to her; she put me on hold for a a minute, then told me the case was sent on the 17th. I was shocked to find that out, because, like most of you, I had a touch a day after approval (approved March 26) and I assumed that was when they shipped it to NVC. But, nope, it was still languishing at CSC untill the 17th

I hope mine doesn't languish at CSC for another month...they've had it almost 6 months already....aghhhh when will this nonsense end!!!! I will give it a couple of weeks then I will begin to call daily to see if it's been sent to NVC!

congrats Mariel & Joseph...guess yours and mine were the 2 lone VJ approvals from CSC last week!

Congrats! Let's see if we can stir them out of their slumber long enough to get our 2 - 129Fs to the mailbox. Wonder if they can do it with the hundreds of new employees they have hired.....

Sorry to hear about your kitty. One of the unfortunate things about pets is that we get so close to them and then, since they will not live as long as us, we have to face the death of our "children" Sometimes it is 20 years, sometimes only 7 or less.

The good thing is the love and affection we get from them during their short stay with us -and that will be with you always.

Re the cause of death, it sounds like it was the kidney failure which will inevitably be fatal, just a question of when - unless you want to get a kidney transplant - and yes they are available but expensive. The high blood glucose could be from a stressful blood draw (likely), other stress or it could indeed be from Diabetes mellitus(unlikely). If your kitty was so far along and had seen an emergency vet, it is unlikely anything could have been done to save her at that point (and she had been dealing with kidney failure for 3 years), Kidney failure is probably the leading cause of death in cats but they are usually much older.

Shed your tears, accept the grief as real and necessary, and then go find a new bundle of joy. Nothing like a new kitten's antics to get you over the pain of the loss!

I am sorry I have bad news. We were just approved from CSC with NOA2. Bad news - how? It failed to relieve the symptoms of Visa waiting syndrome. After a complete emotional breakdown, we were immediately approved, so I highly recommend this action - it seems to get results even if the breakdown is communicated to no one but your fiance. The real problem is that VJ and USCIS website addiction remains unabated after so many months of reinforcement. With current approval stats on Igor's list and a January filing date I would recommend that you use alcohol or drugs to conquer your addiction since reinforcing the addiction through Igor stat reloading every few minutes will only make it incurable. After finally getting all the approvals and your visa and getting married, you will be condemned to a life in America, together, checking VJ every 10 minutes. Start going crazy now, the sooner the better. Don't waste time trying to hold onto your sanity.

Sorry I have missed this. How do we get verification of NVC arrival? Is a phone call or snail mail the only way?

You all are too patient with the hibernating bears! Now that I managed to squeek into the tiny group of April approvals, I am one of you waiting for NVC to receive. By Igor's list of approvals, it is pretty obvious CSC is in some sort of major shutdown/diversion of effort. Best thing I have seen to explain is the diversion to FBI namecheck memo, or the H1 flood. The more people we get calling asking for when the approved NOA2s got shipped or where they are, the better the chance that someone will wake momentarily from their slumber and actually move over to pick up the missing pile of files and send them to NVC. I think our congressional inquiry is what got someone out of their sleep to actually move our file to get the NOA2. Use your Senator/Congressman - hopefully they are as "pro-immigration/foreigner " as McCain is! One thing about bureaucrats is they don't want to do anything wrong that might interrupt their hibernation before they momentarily wake up for their retirement party and then return to their hibernation/death. The best way to do nothing wrong is to do nothing, then if and only if asked, take care of that and then go back to sleep. With a changeover in their leadership, there is great opportunity to do something wrong by doing something (might not agree with the new boss - so even more important to do nothing.) We need to make the wheels squeek so they get some grease. For those that think that calls to the Service Center slow things down, think again. They have agents dedicated to taking the calls and distributing canned replies/lies about where the files are. (I know how canned responses work - I ran a call center). Occasionally you might get someone to tell the truth and do something. It does NOT take any time away from the Adjudication Officer's sleep so don't worry about that. You won't get anywhere being nasty but be pleasant and try to get some info from them and share it with all or more important, get them to get up and move your file.

Good luck to all, and help the wheels squeek!

I wanna be touched!

Ask for it and you'll get it!

Touch mine touch mine!!!! Hahahaha!

I like touches! Makes me know my file is not buried or lost which I think most of the files are, most of the time. Good luck all. Here is a story of good luck. Hope it comes your way. (Maybe it helps that my Angel lost it yesterday and broke down. Maybe that is the solution to bring the luck your way. Got to us just before she would need psychiatric help. I am now treating an ulcer. Practice Zen!!!

Re:wow, Apr 18 2008, 09:40 PM

Newbie

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Group: Members

Joined: 2-January 08

QUOTE

Are your timelines correct? If so congratulations and let me know what you did so right! We have been waiting about 150 days now.....

Rest assured, we are as surprised as you. Visa Journey has been a wonderful resource for us, and we've referenced it constantly. We've read a lot from other users about processing times with the CSC, and anticipated it taking 4-5 months for the CSC to process our file. I submitted the I-129 in March (CSC notes a receival date of March 21st), and have been checking status online occasionally only to read "pending and in process." I checked my mailbox yesterday, something I don't do daily, and was shocked to find an I-797 NOA Notice of Approval. I have read it over and over again to confirm that it is, in fact, a notice of approval. That notice date is April 11.

So all that to say, I don't know why our I-129 went through so quickly -- in literally less than one month. That seems to be unheard of, particularly with the CSC. I'm not sure we did anything different than anyone else. We were sure to use the sample cover letter that Visa Journey provides, and also ensured that all attachments were included. We documented very well the history of our relationship using photos, photocopies of plane ticket stubs (we have a lot), and phone records; that may have helped.

I do wonder if the finace's country of residence has anything to do with how quickly processing goes. My fiance is a Cuban citizen, so we expected an even LONGER wait, but he has been a resident of Spain for the past few years. I am wondering to what extent filers with beneficiaries in Europe might have a quicker process. I did notice early on that filers from the UK, for example, seemed to have fast processing timelines.

We do recognize that we are very fortunate. 150 days is a long time to wait for an answer; I do hope you hear something soon. If I can answer any specific questions, do let me know. In the meantime, good luck to you!

Does anyone know if there is a problem applying for a B1/B2 in the middle of a 129F K1 Application? With the long and unpredictable times coming out of CSC, I would like to try to get her a B1/B2 out of the Manila Embassy to visit for a while while waiting for the K1. What is the process for processing a B1/B2? Does it still have to go through the same channels??? Time for a B1/B2?? ANy help would be appreciated!

Our lawyer filed my paper in CSC, but i found out that Michigan is under the Nebraska SC, is it ok even if our lawyer filed it in CSC? just confused.....CSC is really slow..................

Be patient and don't expect good things out of CSC. The agents tell you different things even if you call on the same day. Plan on the worst, then if good things happen you wont be disappointed. Plan on the long wait, then if it is short you can be joyful. They really seem to have gone into hibernation lately... If I were to do it again I would move to a VSC venue, file and then move again.

Has anybody seen any scientific studies done on the hibernation habits of CSC Adjudication Officers? Seems they seem to spend most of their life in a Koala like eucalyptus induced trance but enter serious hibernation typical of the larger bears during late March and early April. Do they hibernate in jello or foam baths? Be good to get some money allocated out of the new high fees for hibernation research, could help with overall planning. Maybe if we sent them extra special eucalyptus leaves we could bypass the large bear hibernation habits.........

I got touched yesterday and today . SOmeone at least knows I am there

Good Luck with your approval. Seems like we are in the same boat. I called Mar 13 and was told it was moving - but no touch. Then I called April 7 and was told it was still sitting in the file room and shouldn't be. Got touched that day and the next day. Called again April 14 and was told it was out waiting for Security Approval with FBI. Anybody know anything about that? I have heard there was a backlog at the FBI. Damn where to find the patience when they seem to have passed you by! Moved from 43 to 44 on Igor's list in the last week. Very encouraging - urrrrghhhh!

lol yup is a good thing and with ur time line who knows u might get ur noa2 soon at least i hope for u that is what it means

mine was touched too many times 3 weeks ago and until now its still pending.

All I can say do is to make a >>BIG SIGH!! (oh that makes me feel better

I am glad you guys all got approved, just wish we were with you. Getting pretty frustrating what with Igor's list showing a drastic decline in approvals out of CSC/week. Good luck at speeding thorough the Embassy!

I was hoping the email system was what was keeping us from NOA2 and was being patient after being told our file was with an adjudicator on March 13. I finally lost my patience and called on April 7 and was told the file was still in the file room and he would go get it since it was within the time frame being processed (November). This resulted in an immediate touch. Don't wait - call and make sure they lay their hands on it and that it is not holding up a table leg somewhere.

I disagree about a touch being worthless. It at least means someone was looking (and entered it in the database?). At least I think it means our file is no longer on the short table leg in the file room keeping it from wobbling.

NOA1 sent date November 10. I called on March 13 and was told our file was with an adjudicator since March 11 and action is usually within 10 days. I called about April 1 and the agent didn't go beyond his basic computer screen. I called again on April 7 and after hanging up on an agent who was adamant about RFE and who I was actually tempted to ask if she was a voice prompt answering machine, I reached a nice man and was told the file was in the file room and hadn't been to an adjudicator yet. He said he would walk over and get the file out. This stimulated a touch - the first in almost 4 months. Other phone calls did not stimulate a touch. Do you only get a touch when the A file moves? Now what?????????

I will not wait so long in the future. If there is no action after the average 135 days, call often to make sure you get some action. The file has probably been misplaced.

Anybody with any idea what is happening at CSC? Notice their approvals for last week? ONE!!!????

I called last week and got a scripted response from (I believe) a human stating exactly what I can find by checking on the computer -nothing. I was able to dig out of him that they just got the H1Bs (about 150,000) dumped on their desks, but then he told me they wouldn't slow things down. What with a now headless, long heartless bureaucracy what are we to expect? One thing that may be of some help is when you do call, get chatty and try to dig out some tidbits of information and share them so we can better understand what happens inside those closed doors. How many agents are working at the center? What hours? etc etc. Interesting that a major US bureacracy is immune even to congressional inquiry............

Hi, guys:

Just wanted to mention that when I called the USCIS yesterday they told me the new estimate for processing a I-129 application is 8 -- count 'em -- 8 months instead of 6. Or perhaps this is just mine? The boyfriend is Muslim, from Kenya, so they may be giving us extra scrutiny because of post 9/11 paranoia. But it may be that the agency has been thrown into even more disarray by the resignation of Emilio Gonzalez, the Bush appointee who has caused this nightmare. Here's what I'm putting out there for as many people as I can reach on this site.

Hi, Everyone:

This website is a useful tool for obtaining information but it seems to me that we're still operating as individuals rather than a group. With some targeted political activism, it seems to me we'd have a better chance of getting results.

I was spurred to try to stir up some action by an April 3 call to the USCIS - apparently the wait has now increased from six months to eight months for action on an I-129 application at the California Service Center. This despite the reported increases in personnel.

I'm also concerned about the apparent violation of statute when it comes to allowing fiances to work. An official with the Ameican Immigration Lawyers Association told me categorically that the K-1 visa allows the fiance to work the minute he or she sets foot on American soil. Yet the USCIS is requiring yet another fee and application, which delays the fiance's ability to work for another 3-4 months, while he or she waits for the agency to issue the permit. There are additional cost factors related to poor planning for this process, but you get the picture.

I'm sure those of you who are applying for other kinds of visas have similar issues.

The point is that, if my last phone call is any indication, things seem to be getting worse rather than better, despite the resignation of Emilio Gonzalez, the Bush appointee who has been responsible for many of the bad decisions that are affecting us.

I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest some kind of concerted political action. Can folks get me up to date on what's been done so far? Here are the ideas that spring to mind for me:

1. Letter writing campaign.

2. Demonstrations in several cities, with media outreach.

3. Website designed specifically to inform public about these issues.

Have these already gotten underway? If not, are people willing to volunteer a few hours to work on this? Does anyone have political organizing experience? Can we coordinate with immigrant rights groups?

Let me know!

Susan Zakin