Michael 007

Hello VJers! I have had many highs and lows over the last year with the whole immigration process and today was definitely a low.

I am left between wanting to kick a hole in the wall and scratching my head in complete bewilderment.

Here is my predicament, if anyone can clue me in as to what went wrong, please give me a buzz:

My wife (Filipina) and daughter (she is US citizen) entered the U.S. (P.O.E Atlanta with a K3 visa) the week prior to Thanksgiving 2008. I decided to put the AOS process off until after the holidays due to all the craziness that was going on back in December. Right after New Year's, I sat down and started the AOS packet.

I followed the directions verbatim and placed the I-485, I-765, and I-131 in the AOS packet respectively along with a check for $1010 made out to Department of Homeland Security and proceeded to mail it to the Chicago Lockbox. Much to my chagrin, I found in my mailbox today the AOS packet returned to me with a I-797 notice attached saying that the application was rejected due to an incorrect payment enclosed. The I-765 and I-131 also had notices attached stating the correct fees required.

Now this is where I am at complete loss: the instructions of the I-486 said that the $1010 fee was a blanket payment that could be submitted in one check and covered all 3 applications mentioned above. I do not get it, I followed the directions completely and they still returned it.

Should I...

1) return this packet again to the USCIS with another check for $1010?

2) omit the other two applications and just mail the I-485?

3) hire a lawyer?

Any input is appreciated.

thanks.

Hello everyone and happy thanksgiving. I am pleased to announce that after 10 dreadful months my wife was able to enter the US on a K3. This has been a dream of week to say the least.

I am at a crossroad of sorts and am not sure what to do next regarding my wife's status. She had both the I-129F and I-130 approved concurrently back in early August; however, due to a screw up at the embassy in Japan, she had her K3 visa interview delayed by about a month. During that same time in the Sept/Oct timeframe, I began to receive all of the CR1 paperwork, which I completed. I even got all the way down the list and paid the IV processing fee thinking that they would go ahead and process my wife's green card in Japan.

Yet, about a week after paying the IV fee she was called into the embassy for the K3 interview and was subsequently was issued a K3, which she entered the US on last week. Roughly 3 weeks ago, I also got a packet from the NVC stating that they needed police certificates, medical exam, etc. to complete the CR-1; however, all of that was already submitted for the K3 visa.

My question is this: Do I now have to proceed with an Adjustment of Status or will the consular packet taken from my wife at the POE go on to complete the requirements for the NVC? Furthermore, will the green card self-complete or is there something I must do to continue its adjudication?

We have a 4 month old, so my wife will not be actively seeking work for at least a year and I really do not want to fork over any more cash to the government as this whole process has damn near bankrupted me.

thanks.

Ok, so I got the NOA2 for both the I-130 and the K3 back on Aug 4. Since then I have been following all of the steps with the NVC while my wife has been moving in tandem with the Embassy in Tokyo since they have been processing the K3 at the same.

I have basically have hit a fork in the road now and need to know what my options are. My wife is has done the medical and all the paperwork for the K3 visa and the embassy just sent her a letter the other day requesting her to send the DS-2001 form in to request an interview. I have never heard of this form and have no idea where to get it. Meanwhile, back here in the States, it looks like the CR-1 is literally one step behind the K3. I saw on the NVC website roughly a week ago that the IV Application fee had already been processed. From my understanding the only thing left to do is to complete the DS-230 and then the case will be complete (I was named as the agent on the DS-3032 if that makes any difference).

Should I expect the DS-230 package soon? My wife is getting really upset with me and it is getting really hard for her to wait as we have a 3 month old baby. I really want her to enter on the CR-1 if the time frame is within reach (meaning we can have an interview set within the next 3-4 weeks) since I really do not want to have to go through the hassle and the expense that an AOS brings with the K3.

Your thoughts and inputs as to how much longer I can expect the CR-1 to reach the Embassy are appreciated. One more thing also... when my wife's case does reach the Embassy, will they automatically schedule an interview for her or must we request one? We can not get a clear answer as the phone number at the Embassy will not answer my wife's questions when she calls.

Thanks!

pushbrk:

thank you for your help, it is appreciated.

best

michael 007

Ok, so my wife finally got the letter from the embassy in Tokyo today with all the info to start the K3 application process. On the cover letter, it has her name listed as well as her 2 sons from her previous marriage (our daughter who was just born in July was not listed, but how could she have been since I flied these papers back in Jan.)

Anyhow, my wife's two sons have never been apart of our lives and have been in the constant custody of her Japanese ex-husband for the last 7 years. She has not even had contact with them since her divorce. I went back and re-read the original I-130/I0129F papers that I sent in the beginning of the year, and right as rain, I did see that the petitioner was required to list ALL children of the respective spouse/fiance.

I know that we can show the update for our daughter's birth on the DS-230 (we have already attained an American passport for her), but do we need to call the Embassy and let them know that we are not applying for K4s for her two sons? I am a bit curious as to how her sons got on the letter anyway since we never submitted paperwork for them in the first place?

Any insight on this?

"Next time you want an immigrant visa, don't file an I-129F for spouse."

Um, not to be rude, but there isn't going to be a "next time."

Thank you for your help, I will be sure to visit the forum for more information.

All:

First, I would like to say congrats to those people starting off this week with approvals. I think VSC is starting to get back into action after a long break.

I have question: I, like many others on this site, got an approval for both my I-129F and I-130 at the same time. My approval date for both was Aug 3, 2008. Today I just got a letter from the NVC stating that my I-129F papers were being forwarded to Tokyo. I am very grateful for this, but I was really hoping to have the I-130 approved and save on the expense of doing an AOS. My wife and I just had a baby on July 5th, so she is not exactly fit for travel at the moment. I know I am going to kick my own ### for saying this, but I do not mind waiting a bit longer to get the I-130 approved.

Any advice on what to do? Should I just keep an eye on the mail for the next week or two and wait to see if the I-130 notice also comes? I do have the right to surpass the K3 and wait for the I-130 to make it to the embassy, correct?

Thanks!

Oh yeah, there was one small trick I did when I filed my petition papers, not that this will help those who are already waiting, but maybe it can help future people.

When the USCIS requests for the passport photos of the spouse/petitioner, I put each respective photo set in a small ziploc baggie and paper clipped them to the respective application. I got that tip from a lawyer I met around town. I have no idea if this true, but apparently a lot of applications get held up at the service centers simply because photos get lost from the paper work. I do not know if that is what helped push my papers through, but hey, anything is worth a shot.

My only touch was for the I-130 and that was on May 5 2008. I recall a lot of people got touches around that time. Just a guess, but I think they were batching petitions together, so anyone with a touch around early May is probably having their papers worked on as we speak.

Best of luck to all of you, I am praying for each of you.

Hey everybody, I was the who started this thread and I was approved for both I-130 and I-129F today! See my other thread called "VSC Approval"

Best of luck to all of you!!!!

All:

About 2 weeks ago I penned a short-lived thread stating that the VSC had been busy working on H1-Bs since April. I also postulated that August would be the turn-around month for us who have been waiting in suspended animation.

Well, all I can say to that is....my hypothesis is true!!!!

Just this morning I got the CRIS email that stated on August 3, my I-130 and I-129 were both APPROVED!!!!!!

My I-130 NOA 1 was Feb 19 and the I-129F was March 3. Just goes to show there is light at the end of the tunnel for us.

I think starting this week a flood of approvals are coming our way, I hope everyone is ready.

Here is to all of you being reunited with you families very, very soon.

Until then, keep hope alive and fight the power!

Hello everyone. I am a long time lurker on this site. I know how much we have all been through thanks to the wonderful USCIS, especially for those at VSC. I have been on the verge of insanity for the last 5 months wondering when I will ever get that golden NOA2. Actually it was the beginning of this very week when I hit rock bottom and thought seriously about giving it all up and starting over but then 3 very important things happened...

1) A mentor at work made a very poignant reminder to me that all things happen in life for a reason and that God never fails to overcome anything (I really needed to hear that, somehow my co-worker just came out of the blue and said it)

2) If you are like me, I have begun to notice a small trickle of NOA2s being posted to this site. So far I've noticed a couple of Jan/Feb approvals.

3) Most importantly, I found out some very big news that I do not think most VJers are aware of regarding the VSC. I work for a major American manufacturing corporation and like many of my fellow freshmen co-workers, we all started our jobs after getting MBAs this spring. It was by chance today at lunch I started mentioning all the drama I was having with the USCIS regarding getting wife and 2 week old daughter home. Needless to say, my co-workers were very understanding and sympathetic to my plot giving the fact they are foreign nationals trying to stay here and work after business school. It was then that one guy piped up and began telling me how the USCIS was putting him through the wringer regarding his H1B visa. I have to admit for someone who has spent many sleepless nights over the last 3 months studying immigration law and the USCIS, I was painfully unaware of how the H1B works.

Now here is an eye-opener for everyone...

If I recalled correctly, someone posted on this site within the last few weeks stating that they spoke to a Congressman regarding the USCIS's slow processing. He stated that the VSC was allocating resources to process other visas, I-130s taking the back-burner of course! Well, what my co-worker told me today blew my mind. We all know that the VSC has been at a virtual stand-still since April. Well, April 1 is when the USCIS begins to process H1Bs (I am not sure, but I think the VSC is the only service center that processes these visas). Out of the hundreds of thousands of international students in the American university system every year, only 60,000 H1Bs are available for post-grad employment authorization.

Now here is how this touches us. According to my co-worker, regardless of whether or not your H1B petition was filed on time, come July 31, the USCIS puts all H1Bs aside and will not process nor even look at a single H1B until next April. According to my calendar, it is July 15, only 16 more days for H1Bs to be processed. I am taking a guess here, but I would imagine that the H1Bs have been taking up over 80% of the officers at the VSC and come Aug 1, I suspect to see a massive realignment of work priorities and with a little luck, those I-130s/K3s will start getting pushed on out the door.

Just my two cents. I a pray for each and everyone of us every day.