Henry&Vilma

Hello everyone and congrats to everyone whose VISA was approved..........This is a long drawn out process and I just can't take it anymore. How can ppl decide when you to be with the one you love.... Anyway here is my dilema, oh I have to update my timeline..........

I130 filed oct 2007

I129F filed June 27

i129f approved on Oct 21, 2008

i 130 Approved on Oct 28, 2008

NVC received info and sent out pkt 3 to lawyer on Nov 4, 2008

Now, I had a lawyer who have I guess basically filled out the paperwork for me and sent to USCIS.....

Now that everything is approved from USCIS and I was inquiring with him about the next step because I absolutely is lost to this immigration process and wanted to know how the process goes and the next step (after all I thought this is why I am paying him to help me through this process) He tells me yesterday (in short) that he never seen a person that emails so much back and forth and ask so many questions and he feels as though I need to find another lawyer... How about that..It really hurt my feelings because that's what I thought that's their job. We are almost done and now this. I don't know what to do. We got a lawyer in the first place because my husband got detained in Dec 2006 for attempt to enter US on fraudlet docs. he incarcirated for a few months and deported back to Jamaica.

I am stuck .....The lawyer has the pkt the NVC sent rqst the AOS and etc. I know we need waivers and so on I don't know which ones we need, perhaps the i601 and ? . But do I need to recruit another lawyer or do you do think I can do it on my own.... Or should I continue with the i129f then do adjustment of status.... I thought it would only take weeks after NVC received the info for an interview, however, the lawyer tells me months and that was the arguement..........I asked how is it months...............pls help...

Wow, sounds familiar to my ugly lawyer issue. I fired my lawyer, and notified NVC of that. I emailed them, wrote them, and phoned them...plus, I got my congressman involved at that point. You may have special circumstances and I dont know the particulars, but I went on by myself, and my wife now has an interview DEC 16th.

We did everything ourselves with only a few small problems.

Dont panic first of all. Contact NVC and tell them your situation. They are not the enemy, even though they are painfully slow.

You can decide to either hire a new attorney ( I spoke with 3 after I fired the first one) or take a deep breath and go it alone. Its not hard, just the comfort level of thinking that an attorney is there for you isnt there. Once you pay the AOS, and you see things start to happen and you did it by yourselves, your confidence will increase. We were in your shoes only 3 months ago, and now we are 3 weeks from being a couple again...

Hope this helped you

Henry

I called NVC automated line friday and the message said they already reviewed my mother's case and they found missing information or incomplete. I received their letter today and they wanted three documents from me...BIRTH CERTIFICATE (mother), PETITIONER's MARRIAGE CONTRACT, and PETITIONER's BIRTH CERTIFICATE. My mother is 63 years old and her birth was never officially recorded. She went to Manila City Hall (registry office,she was born in Manila) and they gave her a certificate saying NO RECORD of her birth. Next she went to National Statistics Office and they issued her a certificate saying they do not have record of her birth. According to the NVC website if BC is not obtainable to get a certificate from the appropriate government authority and submit secondary evidence. I submitted the two certificates and joint affidavit from her sister and her aunt as the secondary evidence. I was confused when I received RFE letter because I already included those documents when I mailed my DS230 packet. I decided to give them a call and spoke to an operator this time. I told the operator that I don't understand why they are asking me to submit the documents that I already submitted. I explained the situation to her and she said that I have to submit certificate saying her BC is not obtainable and asked me if my mother has a baptismal record and I said no then she said you have to submit affidavit, and I told her I did. She said you have to submit affidavit from two different people, so I repeated myself again. Finally, the lady operator said that she will ask her supervisor to review the case again and it will take 10-15 business days. I also asked her why I have to send in my marriage contract and birth certificate because nowhere on their website that they said I have to include those in the DS-230. She said that it is a new procedure and probably the website is not updated yet.

I am not happy but there's nothing I can do but send my marriage contract and birth certificate and because of their mistake the process will be delayed. Anybody here who went through the same problem? This is very frustrating.

Frustration is a normal feeling when you are dealing with NVC. We sent the DS230 with no docs because I got 2 letters from my congressman saying that they are waiting for it. I was reluctant to send it to them, because I THOUGHT they wanted the docs at the same time. A NVC person said it didnt matter. So, we send the DS230, and 2 weeks later we get the RFE for all the missing docs. I did it their way, and they still wanted more. You have to be patient, as hard as it is, I know.

Good luck with this mess of a system we have. Luckily, we are almost done with it. My wife has an interview Dec 16th. in London. ( she is a Filipina )

I get the only thing I could ever want for Christmas!!!

Henry

I havent touched my husband in 267 days. We also have good and bad times coping.

We talk everyday on the phone, send millions of texts. And we talk on cam 2-4 times a week.

Its rough

This week has been one of my "bad times"

Lisa

Remember it's the end we are waiting for, and once it's done it will all be a distant memory.

Exactly RR! Let's all keep keeping on!

Thanks! Thats what we look forward to. The days we are sitting doing boring family stuff and appreciating every single second together.

Wow, 2 plus years is inspiring, and also depressing at the same time. All "normal" relationships should try this test of time and see how they do.

This club we all joined makes us exclusive I guess. Hopefully, my wife will be my Christmas present this year. I will suggest to those with long wait times to get in touch with your congressman. Mine ( his secretary actually) has become our best advocate, and calls me or emails me every few weeks since I got him involved. Patience is hard to keep sometimes, but the rewards I am convinced will be worth it all.

Sracastillo, are you a K3 or CR1? I cant see any K3 who are transfered to CSC, or? I think its only apllications I130. I had have 3 touches in July and no RFE, and I am a april/may filler. Oh, sooo long time its take..

We " HAD " a K-3 application pending for over 3 months after my I 130 was approved ( for my wife )

I went to an info pass meeting and discovered that the K-3 was in fact administratively canceled back in May. They never notified me or anything, so we waisted 3 months waiting on something that wasnt going to happen. We fired our attorney, notified NVC of that, and we are proceeding with the CR1 app.

The guy at the info pass asked me why I waited so long. I could have hit him. Anyway, if you think your k 3 is a bit delayed, call someone and specifically ask if it has been cancelled by them. You are entitled to specific answers.

GOOD LUCK and I hope this helps someone,

Henry

Welcome to the Journey.

In my personal opinion a lawyer isn't really necessary unless there is something really out of the ordinary like a crimianl record or other issues that might arise. If you take a look at the guides section above and look at the K3 part that can really help. I found the hardest part was finding this website, once I was here it got a lot easier. If you do have a problem with anything you can always ask and somebody has usually been through that before and will help you.

As I said, thats my opinion, it's probably best if you look at the guide and give it a try. You haven't wasted any money by doing that. A lawyer won't help to speed the process up or guarantee a visa, they can only really help by filling out papers with you.

Also the USCIS isn't trying to catch people out, if you do fill out something incorrectly they will get in contact with you let you know. Sometimes they don't even do that and everything gets processed, I'm not sure how many mistakes were on ours but I'm sure there were a few

Hope this helps and good luck on your Journey

Bob

Well, considering I just fired my attorney, I would say save your money. USCIS is not the enemy. Just fill in the blanks, answer the questions, file the paperwork, or do whatever is asked, and you will be fine. Thats just my opinion, but I am proof that an attny is a waste of money.

Henry

Will do. Please except mine.

DONE....

Everyone please accept my apologies.

Henry

ut oh.

very nice Don't listen to Henry&Vilma.

AP is typical and hopefully you'll be out soon. It is a good idea to get a Senator or Congressman involved.

Did I mention that I DID involve my congressman, that is when I fired my attny...

Hi VJ community ,

we have called DOS to check on our visa status ,they just said that they can’t give me a status of the AP process, just that it is still in the AP process and that it is required by law that anyone traveling to the US get a “background check” and that is what this AP process is, a background/security check, that all persons must have one before they can travel to the US. She said if you don’t hear from consulate in a couple weeks, call back check again but she couldn’t give me any other info’s right now, she seen that you had your interview on the 28th July and that it is in AP processing, that’s what she could give us,I hope we hear some news very soon ,we have decided we wait another week then we contact DOS and Consulate again and also maybe get our Senat involved .

Sincerly Michelle and Ahmed .

looks like you SH*t in your hat

Looks like yours is about to hit the fan...keep it up or STFU.

Dude, I have STFU for 90 days too long.... when you screw up, admit it and move one...thats what I did

Hi VJ community ,

we have called DOS to check on our visa status ,they just said that they can’t give me a status of the AP process, just that it is still in the AP process and that it is required by law that anyone traveling to the US get a “background check” and that is what this AP process is, a background/security check, that all persons must have one before they can travel to the US. She said if you don’t hear from consulate in a couple weeks, call back check again but she couldn’t give me any other info’s right now, she seen that you had your interview on the 28th July and that it is in AP processing, that’s what she could give us,I hope we hear some news very soon ,we have decided we wait another week then we contact DOS and Consulate again and also maybe get our Senat involved .

Sincerly Michelle and Ahmed .

looks like you SH*t in your hat

to get an estimate of where we all stand...it would b nice if we all share when our files were last touched...this way we cud also tell if VSC is even working or not...they always say that VSC has a lot of petitions, that doesnt mean anything...from a "lot" of those petitions, i am sure "lot" are getting approved if they are atleast working at a normal pace...many of them shud b on this forum...so this will b a good way to judge if and how things are moving at VSC...please respond...my touches can b viewed in my signature.

my I130 was touched on 4/27/08 (and approved)...My K-3 was last touched on 5/26 or so, and still pending.

Today i fired my attny and am persuing my I 130 alone. I give up on VSC.

ahaha you fired your attorney?

I filed everything on my own, maybe i should've gotten an attorney in the first place

It wasnt a smart move on my side.

Nah, you can do fine without one. Ours was terrible. Cost us 3 months of unnecessary delays.

Immigration is not necessarily the enemy. My (ex) attny, was the enemy.

I hate this process. By the way,,, you are a beautiful couple...nice pic.

Keep in touch

Henry

to get an estimate of where we all stand...it would b nice if we all share when our files were last touched...this way we cud also tell if VSC is even working or not...they always say that VSC has a lot of petitions, that doesnt mean anything...from a "lot" of those petitions, i am sure "lot" are getting approved if they are atleast working at a normal pace...many of them shud b on this forum...so this will b a good way to judge if and how things are moving at VSC...please respond...my touches can b viewed in my signature.

my I130 was touched on 4/27/08 (and approved)...My K-3 was last touched on 5/26 or so, and still pending.

Today i fired my attny and am persuing my I 130 alone. I give up on VSC.

We'll see. I really hope its not gonna be 2 months before i get a NOA

Well I'm going to make an appointment and try to get my passport stamped as soon as my GC is expired... (I'll try to think of a good excuse) if I don't get the stamp i'll at least want the officer to tell me the current status and (maybe) give me a tracking number i can actually use.

I figure if I can get the stamp, then from that point I won't care too much! if I then dont hear anything before next january then i'll be just filing for citizenship... and at that point they'll just have to dig my file out of whatever service center it's getting fossilized at and send it to my local office for ajudication.

Perfect approach if you ask me

thank you, im sure this has gotten so many spirits up, especially the many of us stuck at vsc. like you, i have also reached rock bottom this week. it has come to the point when i would feel nauseated each time i check uscis site and find my petition still " received and pending". what makes matters worst is that there have been some petitions filed after mine that have been approved already. theres even one petition filed in may that was approved in july, no expedite no nothing, just plain and simple approved. that made me lose my respect for this "oh so wonderful" office we call vsc. vsc is causing all of us sleepless nights, emotional pain, financial stress and so many other things. i do hope and pray that they are working on I130's/ k3's now...

Well sweetheart, I have lost faith in the "system" long ago. Unfortunately, its all we have. I am sure when I get older, I will be able to tackle Social Security, Medicare, and all those other Govt agencies with ease after this

Keep in touch

Henry

Thanks for sharing this. I am keeping my fingers cross.. Good luck to all of us.

Wow, just today I fired my attny, and notified NVS and VSC to process my I130 ( approved back in April). The K-3 was at a standstill, and not going to happen according to them. My (ex) attny kept holding out for the K-3...Watch my timeline for updates and to see if this was a smart decision or not. My wife and I have been married 2 1/2 years, and apart most of that.

I have taken matters into my ( our) own hands...God does provide.... He told me to do what I did and move on.

Best of luck with your journeys

Henry

Hi All,

I just found this forum after finding this website trying to research visa timelines. I have filed my I-130 and I-129F for my husband. This is my current timeline so far:

I-130:

Received NOA1 February 20, 2008

Case Updated May 5, 2008 (I think you guys call this a "touch")

I-129F:

Received NOA1 February 28, 2008

Case Updated March 13, 2008

Oh and my case is at the VSC.

I guess my question is, have any of you other February filers received an NOA2 yet for your I-129F or I-130? Maybe I'm being impatient but I thought maybe I would hear something by now.

Thanks in advance for your help!

It is with great concern and promise that I must report the following:

Today, I ( we) fired our attorney, and have decided to proceed without him.

We have had an approved I130 since 4/08 and he has refused to pursue it, insisting that the K-3 would be faster.

Our 129F (K3) was never approved. After much discussion with USCIS, various attorneys, and my congressman, I ( we ) have decided that for what ever reason, our attny wasn't in our best interest, so we fired him, and sent the papers to NVS stating that. We have lost 3 months and refuse to waste any more time with him. Pray for us...

Henry and Vilma

Has anybody tried calling USCIS on Monday and today and was told that they can assist you because of the technical difficulties they expirencing> meaning cant' access your file?

Thanks

I called and spoke with a live person earlier today...didnt like what I heard, but they are there

This thread is in response to a thread I saw requesting the Delicia add K3 filers to her spreadsheet. I understand the reasoning behind keeping CR1/IR1 and K3 separated. Therefore, I have started this spreadsheet for K3 filers, like myself, who are waiting for their NOA2. I am a numbers person and I like to see when people near my filing date are getting approved.

You can find the spreadsheet here.

So, thank you Delicia for showing us how Google Docs can be used. I have never tried this before but am always interested to learn new tools. So I figured I would give this one a shot...

1. For all the California filers, I plan to add those spreadsheets tomorrow.

2. Both California and Vermont filers can send me their updates/changes and I will be happy to update the spreadsheets.

3. Cells highlighted in GREEN refer to approvals that have occurred over the last month.

4. Cells highlighted in YELLOW refer to recent touches. (Disclaimer: We all have seen that approvals sometimes happen with or without previous touches. But this is just another indicator that I was curious to track.)

5. If anyone has any suggestions for changes to the layout of the spreadsheet or additional columns, averaging wait times, etc... I will gladly take those suggestions also.

5. Lastly, If anyone would like to volunteer to share the updating responsibility, you are always welcome to do that also.

Ok, Best of luck to everyone and wishing you all speedy approvals.

Thank you for this perfect spreadsheet. The % of approvals is amazing. You get extra credit for that effort. FYI...Me and Vilma are in fact still waiting for the NOA2 on the 129F....I am becoming obsessed with this journey until my wife gets here. Cant turn back now.....

Thanks again

Henry

I have created a very basic (generic) guide for IR1/CR1 visa.

Please review it and let me know your comments. I'll incorporate all your points and publish a FINAL version in couple of days time.

Thank you so much for your participation !!!

Loto

You have done a terrific service to many. THANK YOU

Can someone tell what is easy and fast way to get my future wife to the us? getting maaried here in the us or the philippines

Check my timeline...We got married in the Philippines, and my wife still isnt here. If we had it all to do over, we would have done the fiance visa route.

Good luck to you

Henry