lizamaki

let me just encourage you ... you are still better off than where i was. i believe i am one of the very, very few who really waited soooooo long. we filed our petition in feb. 4, got our NOA2 the day after, got our first TOUCH in september, received 3 RFE's, and was finally approved on nov. 26. can you beat that? hahaha. i tell ya ... i have cried buckets of tears over this. i just found it so unfair. but then, looking back, this waiting time and not even knowing when it is going to come, has strengthened my "grip" on God and my relationship with my husband. the more frustrating part about my own waiting is that my husband and i have been waiting to be together for the longest time. we met in 2005 and i planned to visit him in the US in 2006 but my tourist visa was denied. he finally came back here in 2007 and we were married (though not legally coz we filed for k-1). we thought we would be together as early as july ... but then we had to wait longer. it was really exhausting. but as i've said, despite the difficulties, our LOVE for each other and FAITH in God were strengthened. so ... it's all good!

i pray that you will receive your approval soon. it won't be long now. take heart.

and yes, calling USCIS won't really do any good coz they will just tell you to check their site or wait for further notice. you can ask the assistance of your congressman. we did that. it didn't help expedite our papers but at least we found out what was going on. it is more difficult if you are in a black hole.

God bless you.

I've checked several VJ members' profiles whose NOA1 received dated are very close to mine (July 25, 2008) and all of them have received NOA2 but I haven't. Neither do I receive RFE. I start feeling nervous now. Should I wait until Jan 25, 2009 (6 months since NOA1) as shown on USCIS Processing Time for CSC site (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=CSC) before calling USCIS Customer Service at (800)-375–5283 to speak to a Customer Services Representative? A quick check by calling that number is answered by a system voice "...The information you just heard is the most up to date information we have about your case. Our customer services representatives don't have any information that is more current."

Thanks.

Peter

I pray that someone from USCIS will be able to read this.

When we filed for my k-1 petition, I believed everything I read on the USCIS site. This includes timelines, RFE's, etc.

I remembered reading that if there is something missing in your documents or an additional evidence is needed, USCIS will notify you immediately, after they receive your papers. I took this to mean as a week or two after we receive our NOA1.

Since we received our NOA1 on Feb. 6, and got our first touch on the 7th, I never thought we will still be getting an RFE 7 months after. The most surprising part about it is that the RFE was just a very minor error on the application form. It was a space left blank instead of writing "N/A". We kept saying to ourselves, "they could have sent this back to us a long time ago".

As if that wasn't enough, we got another notice that USCIS sent us another RFE the other day. I wonder what it is this time.

I know that I am not alone in this. I know that others have suffered the same fate in the hands of people from USCIS. I know that others feel bad for those like me and they can't do anything about it as well.

I am so thankful to those who continue to encourage me. God bless you more for that.

At this point, it is really in God's hands. I have gotten sick and tired trying to figure out what is happening to my papers. All I want is to finally be with the man I love and start my new life and begin with the vision that God has given the two of us.

Keep us in your prayers.

Liza

wow! i didnt know you could get a rfe for something like that! well...it could happen to anyone. Its in God's hands n He has the best in store for you. everything is in His perfect timing. Keep trusting n praying! God bless u and your fiance! The Lord is with you and will see you through! xx

thank you for this. yes ... the Lord will see us through. God bless you both.

Wow jeca, I looked at your timeline, you even had to wait forever to get your NOA 1's back. Well, I'm rapidly approaching 7 months, so I am not as bad off as some of these poor souls, but it still stinks. Am starting to really regret that me and the mrs. didn't go the K-1 fiancee route. The people I know personally who went that way got through much faster, wickedly faster. I tried to convince my wife of that before we got married, but she had a lot of people around her in her home country giving her really bad advice. She got scared and thought I didn't want to marry her. Now, she's regretting the K-3 route, too.

Good luck to all. Keep the faith, it's about all we've got at this point.

-CJ

I'm so frustrated too, touched 8/5 and nothing since. When will this be over, I'm soooooooooo tired of waiting.

can't help but reply to this when i read it. if this is any consolation to you, we opted for k-1, instead of k-3 because we wanted so much to be together sooner. we exchanged vows last year here in the philippines but didn't file or register anything since we wanted to file k-1. and guess what? we filed feb. 4 and until now we are waiting for our NOA2. how is that??? i have seen some k-3's that have moved so fast ... faster than k-1s. it is really frustrating. so ... as you've said, we have to keep the faith. let's keep praying and believing. ~ liza ~

Lets start a place for all of us who are waiting more then 6 months now.

Just a funny (NOT) bit of information I got today.

When I got the mail I saw an envelope from USCIS!!!!

YESYESYES!!!! My Heart stopped beating, I stopped breathing while I opened it.

And Guess what it was????

I called the 1-800 number 2 weeks ago asking for advice on how to find out whats going on with my case, the girl told me to write to them. So I sent a short letter asking them to please just make sure that my file wasn't lost and if it was I would gladly send them a new one.

So you know what they did????

They wrote me back and told me to call the 1-800 number.

How's that for a run-around!

And they sent me back my original letter AND envelope as if they didn't even want it in their trash!!!

Isn't this great?

Wendy

i hear ya. same thing happened to us. we wrote USCIS a letter asking about the delay of my petition and they sent back a letter (with the letter we sent them), saying that we should check their website. duh???

I pray that someone from USCIS will be able to read this.

When we filed for my k-1 petition, I believed everything I read on the USCIS site. This includes timelines, RFE's, etc.

I remembered reading that if there is something missing in your documents or an additional evidence is needed, USCIS will notify you immediately, after they receive your papers. I took this to mean as a week or two after we receive our NOA1.

Since we received our NOA1 on Feb. 6, and got our first touch on the 7th, I never thought we will still be getting an RFE 7 months after. The most surprising part about it is that the RFE was just a very minor error on the application form. It was a space left blank instead of writing "N/A". We kept saying to ourselves, "they could have sent this back to us a long time ago".

As if that wasn't enough, we got another notice that USCIS sent us another RFE the other day. I wonder what it is this time.

I know that I am not alone in this. I know that others have suffered the same fate in the hands of people from USCIS. I know that others feel bad for those like me and they can't do anything about it as well.

I am so thankful to those who continue to encourage me. God bless you more for that.

At this point, it is really in God's hands. I have gotten sick and tired trying to figure out what is happening to my papers. All I want is to finally be with the man I love and start my new life and begin with the vision that God has given the two of us.

Keep us in your prayers.

Liza

I'm very sorry to hear this. I hope you will receive the RFE soon so you can find out what you need to send to them and get the process rolling again. At times, there seems to be no logical reason why CSC operate the way they do. To most of us, we would think that they would have found the first small error way before 7 months but there you go!. We have no choice but to go with the flow of it all.

(And I understand that they have LOTS of files to wade through and are probably way under staffed. But it doesn't stop us from feeling frustrated at the whole process)

If it's any consolation, it does appear (from reading other posts here in the same situation) that once you reply to the RFE the approval is usually quite swift.

so hang in there! Best wishes!

thanks for your concern. i appreciate it. God bless you.

I pray that someone from USCIS will be able to read this.

When we filed for my k-1 petition, I believed everything I read on the USCIS site. This includes timelines, RFE's, etc.

I remembered reading that if there is something missing in your documents or an additional evidence is needed, USCIS will notify you immediately, after they receive your papers. I took this to mean as a week or two after we receive our NOA1.

Since we received our NOA1 on Feb. 6, and got our first touch on the 7th, I never thought we will still be getting an RFE 7 months after. The most surprising part about it is that the RFE was just a very minor error on the application form. It was a space left blank instead of writing "N/A". We kept saying to ourselves, "they could have sent this back to us a long time ago".

As if that wasn't enough, we got another notice that USCIS sent us another RFE the other day. I wonder what it is this time.

I know that I am not alone in this. I know that others have suffered the same fate in the hands of people from USCIS. I know that others feel bad for those like me and they can't do anything about it as well.

I am so thankful to those who continue to encourage me. God bless you more for that.

At this point, it is really in God's hands. I have gotten sick and tired trying to figure out what is happening to my papers. All I want is to finally be with the man I love and start my new life and begin with the vision that God has given the two of us.

Keep us in your prayers.

Liza

There is a handful of us in Hell with you. I started a thread below called the 6+ month waiting club. I'm hoping we can all use it to post what has worked and what hasn't worked to hopefully help each other out a bit. It looks like one girl Sara was able to get her's expedited (after OVER 1 YEAR!!!!!) But now they say she has to wait until FEB!!!!!!!!

I think this is cruel and unusual punishment.

Wendy

oh wow! this is so UNFAIR!!! and the most frustrating part is ... WE ARE IN A BLACK HOLE ... not even knowing what is causing the delay. and then you see may and june filers being approved. do you know why "sarah" has to wait till feb?

i used to tell myself that i will be so happy just to get a TOUCH. now all i am getting are TOUCHES. i wonder what is happening. i have already sent my angels to check on it. this is getting crazier! i never thought i would experience this with USCIS. we filed on feb. 4, got our first touch on feb. 7, our 3rd touch in august, then RFE on september, and touches, touches. if not for God, i would have been crazy by now this is no joke!

we called USCIS many times but all we got was a voice recording and almost 2 hours of waiting on the line just to talk to a "live" person. we wrote them and they told us to check their site.....DUH??? the congressman's office already assisted us but they can't do as much as tell us to wait. in fact, it was only after we contacted the congressman's office that we got our first touch after the feb. 7. isn't this ridiculous???

oh well ... just venting out to those who can empathize with me.

Hi, Im one of the feb. filers and as of now im just waiting for my visa. As said from the above pertaining to your papers try to follow up or call uscis to inquire of your petition.

well, USCIS is so difficult to call. there is no way we can talk to a "live" person. we wrote them and they told us to wait. not even the congressman's office could do anything. their advise is for us to wait.

what is happening? anyone has any news why some of us feb filers haven't been approved yet? they have been approving april, may, and even june filers lately, and none from feb and march. i will appreciate any feedback. this is crazy! ~ LIZA

hi there. i understand the depression you are going through right now, but still, no one can feel what you really feel except God. it is no joke keeping everything to yourself so it's good that you are able to vent out through this post.

i don't want to sound as if i know the solution to your problem, coz only God can really help you. i am just a vessel here who God is using to reach out to you and share with you what He has also taught me in this journey called life.

two people who enter a marriage are two separate entities that become one. each one carries with him/her his/her own issues and baggages from the past. the marriage then, should become a healing ground for both parties, with Jesus as the Healer. this is why the Bible says that a threefold cord can never be broken.

marriage is not something that two people can just enter into. most of the time (i am speaking from experience coz i had a failed previous marriage and failed relationships) it even becomes an outlet and a rebound. we enter into it while we are still nursing old wounds, or even covering it up with band-aids.

and since you are already in this marriage, you have to make it work out. it is a commitment to God more than to your husband or to the marriage itself.

cry out to God right now and plead for His help. He will not fail you, believe me. He is the only One who can come through for you.

i can be of help to you in any way that God leads me to. you can reach me through my email ... liza_v23@yahoo.com.ph...then i will give you another site where you can contact me. i am into "on-line" Christian counseling. i set up a site recently.

and look at it this way, girl...

here i am, wanting so much to be with the man i love so much. i have waited for years for God to send me my promised man. i met him two years ago. and now, i am waiting to be reunited with him in the physical. i have been waiting for my NOA2. our love story is a story of how God can restore something broken and make it more beautiful than it has been before. i have all the reason to be approved coz my love story is more than me. it is about God.

and yet, here i am waiting and waiting. and there you are, you are already with your husband, and you are going through this and feeling depressed. i will trade anything just to be with the man i love.

i pray that i was able to be of some help to you in the way that God intended to.

mail me anytime and i will definitely get back at you.

God bless you.

liza

hi guys. we just need to vent out and ask for any of your thoughts and opinions.

our petition was filed in feb. 4 at CSC. it was touched in feb. 7, and then aug. 15. we have been waiting and waiting for our NOA2.

we have tried calling up USCIS office, so many times, but we never got to talk to a live person. we even asked a friend to call for us and she was passed on from one person to the next, for two hours.

we recently mailed a letter to USCIS, informing them of our situation, and asking at least for some explanation. we were so disappointed with their reply. they said that we should just check their website. duh???

we don't understand this anymore. their website states that if we are beyond their processing time, we should call up customer service or mail them. we did both and look what we got.

this is so frustrating.

honestly, if this thing is happening in my own country, the Philippines, i won't be surprised. but for it to happen in the USA?, i can't believe it. really.

we will appreciate any thoughts you can share with us.

God bless you

jason & liza

We got our NOA1 on Feb 6 2008 and had a touch on feb 24th but nothing since then. No touch at all 192 days. My lawyers keep giving me the "just wait" thing but this is crazy. Can anyone please help with what action I can take. I have financial means and will do anything. Please help

honestly, i felt relieved when i read your post, coz there is someone else out there who is on the same boat as i am. my petition was filed on feb. 4. and i have been waiting and waiting and waiting.

i got my first touch feb.7 and then last august 15. i am still waiting for the approval.

my sweetheart called up USCIS but there is just no one to talk to. it is always the voice recording. he already wrote them a letter. we even asked the help of his congressman's office. until now, we are still waiting.

i have left everything in God's hands now, although i admit that i am feeling weighed down already. so, i know how you feel.

keep in touch and let me know if you find out what seems to be causing all these delays. it is surprising that we are of the same batch and this is what is happening to us. it grieves me when i see april filers being approved and look at us. don't you think one adjudicator is handling our papers? it must be in one box or something. please keep in touch with me.

God bless you. ~ liza

i know a TOUCH can mean anything from your papers being transferred to another person or desk, to an indicator of an approval. whatever it is, i was touched today and i am still shaking until now. my papers were filed on feb.4 and my last touch was feb.7. i have been waiting and waiting and waiting. and now, i saw a TOUCH. and i just kept crying and praising God!

can you imagine how i will be when i get my NOA2 ... or when i finally have my visa ... or when it is my last day here in the Philippines? OMG!!! i just can't fathom it.

for those of you who have been in the same boat or are in that same boat, you know what i am saying. it is just sooooooooo good to be TOUCHED!!!

God is faithful!!!

just wanted to share and give glory to God.

~liza~

Crossposted from my January filer thread....

DATED 8/8/08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We got APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok I still have tears of happiness rolling down my face! I checked email at 9 pm eastern time last night and nothing....I told myself "Go to bed and maybe this day will have brought luck and Gareth will wake me with the good news" seriously I told myself that ......well phone rang at a little after 3 am here and sure enough APROVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD and dated 8/8/08 how rad?! We got off phone and I began to pray and thank God the Lord anyone who made this happen finally haha.....tears of happiness just started flowing and I popped out of bed and had to get on the computer to talk with Gareth more and of course tell all of you my story too! It has been such a long journey I hope and pray the rest goes quick and smooth for us!!!! SIGH this feels so good.....my heart is racing and I could put all these tears of happiness into a bucket to water my plants there are so many heehee!

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On August 8, 2008, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

hi. i have been monitoring the movement of my petition and i always see your name, coz you have been at no. 1 for a long time now. and when i saw your name today at the top 1 of those who were approved, i felt so happy for you. i have never felt so happy and relieved for anyone. lol. i am sure you get the same feeling of "why is this happening?" when you see those who filed later than you who are being approved. we filed ours last feb. 4 and so, the waiting has been a long time too, but of course, nothing compared to yours, at this point. and then lately, they have been approving april filers. and if there is someone who deserves to be approved now, it is those who like you and me have filed quite some time ago. seeing your approval gave me some boost. lol. God is so good! you deserve something really good from Him after all this waiting. i speak more blessings upon you right now and a stop to all those delays. enough is enough. be blessed!!! ~ liza

Hey - I remember reading here once that 90 days after the NOA1 you can call CSC and ask them to expedite it. Has anyone tried this? Any truth to it?

hi. i read one time, somewhere here, that if it takes longer than 6 months, then you can call them up. also, when i plotted my timelines, the timeframe for my approval (or the time my papers will be adjudicated) also showed up, and it said that if i don't get any approval by this time, then i can call up. and so, my fiance called USCIS up but unfortunately, there was no one "live" to talk to. it was just a voice recording which says that they will update you. i have posted a message here a few weeks ago, asking if anyone has talked to a "live" person when they call USCIS no., and most of them said that you really can't talk to any. so many of us who are waiting are really getting frustrated with this. my fiance filed my petition in feb. 4 and until now, we are still waiting. and they have been approving march, april, and even may filers. i guess they choose it an random. or maybe, others have better lawyers? haha. i don't know. coz we didn't get any lawyer.

try calling them up. and if you get a response, please let me know. meanwhile, let us continue encouraging ourselves and each other during this difficult waiting time.

be blessed!

liza

THANKS. BUT ISN'T THIS THE SAME NUMBER WHERE THE VOICE RECORDING ANSWERS? HAVE YOU TRIED THIS ONE AND TALKED TO A "LIVE" PERSON?

Please don't type in capital letters. It's considered yelling.

I'm sure you don't mean to do that.

i'm sorry. i don't normally type with all caps, except when i find the fonts too small. in fact, i am used to typing in small caps all the time. sorry again if i appeared as if i was yelling. be blessed!

Try this:

800-375-5283

Select language; press 2; press 4; at prompt press 0.

THANKS. BUT ISN'T THIS THE SAME NUMBER WHERE THE VOICE RECORDING ANSWERS? HAVE YOU TRIED THIS ONE AND TALKED TO A "LIVE" PERSON?

EVERYTIME WE CALL USCIS, IT IS ALWAYS THE VOICE RECORDING THAT ANSWERS, SAYING THE SAME THING. I READ SEVERAL TOPICS HERE THAT MENTIONED ABOUT THEM TALKING TO A "LIVE" PERSON. IS THERE A NUMBER YOU CAN GIVE ME SO WE CAN TALK TO A REAL PERSON AND NOT JUST A VOICE RECORDING? WILL THEY ENTERTAIN OUR QUESTION? THANKS FOR WHATEVER REPLY YOU CAN GIVE ME. BE BLESSED!

The way the process is described to us by a former adjuticator may help explain why there are groups of folks still waiting.

THANK YOU FOR THIS VERY HELPFUL LINK YOU SENT ME. DO YOU KNOW OF ANY NUMBER WHERE WE CAN TALK TO A LIVE PERSON IN USCIS? MY HUNNY CALLED THEIR OFFICE TODAY AND ALL HE GOT (AS ALWAYS) WAS THAT VOICE RECORDING. WE FILED AT CSC. THANKS FOR THE HELP. GOD BLESS YOU. ~ LIZA

try to call USCIS dear!

you're approval is just around the corner!!!

YOU'RE RIGHT, GOD'S GIRL. I JUST TOLD MY SWEETHEART TO DO THAT. ACTUALLY, WE HAVEN'T REALLY MADE ANY FOLLOW-UP WITH USCIS SINCE THE DAY WE FILED. I SEE THAT YOU ALSO WAITED LONG. DID THEY TELL YOU WHY IT TOOK THAT LONG? WELL....I KNOW THAT IT IS ALL IN GOD'S PERFECT TIME. I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW. MAY GOD USE YOU TO BE A SHINING LIGHT AND A POWERFUL TESTIMONY OF HIS GOODNESS. IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?

GO GIRL!

THank you lizamaki!You're so sweet!Im claiming now the approval both of my medical and interview.Confess and confess and it will manifest

I will be praying for your approval too.Whenever we call USCIS,nad bugged them lol.they couldnt give us information.

Just be patient and wait!

Let us know if you get your approval!Cant wait to hear that!

GOd bless your journey sis!

HEY SIS. MY HUNNY CALLED UP USCIS TODAY BUT ALL HE GOT WAS THAT VOICE RECORDING AGAIN SAYING THAT THEY WILL JUST MAIL US THE RESULT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. DO YOU KNOW OF A NUMBER WHERE WE CAN TALK TO A LIVE PERSON INSTEAD OF A RECORDING? THANKS. GOD'S ANOINTING BE UPON YOU TODAY AND ALWAYS. ~ LIZA

try to call USCIS dear!

you're approval is just around the corner!!!

YOU'RE RIGHT, GOD'S GIRL. I JUST TOLD MY SWEETHEART TO DO THAT. ACTUALLY, WE HAVEN'T REALLY MADE ANY FOLLOW-UP WITH USCIS SINCE THE DAY WE FILED. I SEE THAT YOU ALSO WAITED LONG. DID THEY TELL YOU WHY IT TOOK THAT LONG? WELL....I KNOW THAT IT IS ALL IN GOD'S PERFECT TIME. I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW. MAY GOD USE YOU TO BE A SHINING LIGHT AND A POWERFUL TESTIMONY OF HIS GOODNESS. IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?

GO GIRL!

TO ALL FEBRUARY 3, 4, 5 ... FILERS ...

I NEED YOUR ADVISE.

MY PETITION WAS FILED IN FEB. 4. I HAVE BEEN MONITORING THE MOVEMENT OF MY PAPER AT http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/igor/vjdata/. I HAVE SEEN APPROVALS BEING MADE ON DATES LATER THAN WHEN I FILED MINE. RECENTLY, THE APPROVALS ARE FROM MARCH FILERS, OR MID TO LATE FEB FILERS. AND I NOTICED THAT THOSE WHO FILED AT THE SAME TIME THAT I FILED ARE NOT GETTING THEIR APPROVALS YET. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY?

I WILL APPRECIATE ANY REPLY. THANKS.

LIZAMAKI

FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE STILL WAITING ... WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS NOT EASY. THERE ARE DAYS THAT ARE BETTER THAN THE OTHERS. BUT MOST OF THE TIME, WE FEEL LIKE THIS WAIT IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER.

ONE THING THAT HAS SUSTAINED ME ALL THROUGHOUT THIS TIME IS GOD AND KNOWING HOW FAITHFUL HE IS.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT HE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS AND PLANS HE HAS FOR US ... PLANS FOR OUR GOOD ... TO GIVE US A FUTURE AND A HOPE.

IT IS GOD'S WILL FOR HUSBANDS AND WIVES TO BE TOGETHER. MARRIAGE IS FROM HIM. AND KNOWING THIS GIVES US THE ASSURANCE THAT HE ONLY HAS THE BEST PLANS FOR US.

SO MANY TIMES I ASK MYSELF WHY I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS. BUT SO MANY TIMES I ALSO REALIZE THAT OUR SITUATION IS JUST MAKING OUR RELATIONSHIP STRONGER. AFTER GOING THROUGH ALL THESE, OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS REALLY BECOME MORE VALUABLE.

GOD IS THE BEST STORY WRITER EVER. EACH OF US HAS A LOVE STORY TO SHARE. AND THIS LOVE STORY IS JUST BECOMING MORE BEAUTIFUL EACH DAY.

MONTHS AND EVEN YEARS AFTER, WE WILL ALL LOOK BACK TO THIS TIME OF WAITING AND THANK GOD FOR IT.

BE ENCOURAGED NOW, AS I AM ALSO ENCOURAGING MYSELF THROUGH THIS MESSAGE.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!

~ liza ~