OctaneGuy

3 weeks and counting. We are still waiting. My wife went to Hong Kong last Friday to get a new medical. I did some searching and got the phone number for the office that approved the I-212. I called them this morning and after 20 minutes, they determined they couldn't find the case and asked me fax them a copy of the notice they mailed to me and would begin researching it. They asked for my contact info. I asked how long might this take whether days, weeks, or months. His reply was "I won't dare to even try to guess that"...

So again, we continue waiting. I don't have words to describe how frustrating this system is....

Richard

EEK - I'm wondering now, if it takes a full month for the casefile to show up.

Unfortunately still nothing...we are in contact with the HK consulate and they are still waiting.... =(

hey - any news ?

It's unfortunately not over. We got the USCIS Letter stating that our I-212 has been granted and the American Consul in Hong Kong has been notified. So I scan it, fax it to Hong Kong so my wife can fly there and take it to the consulate. We arrange for my one way flight out next week and our flight back on a different airline as we have a dog to consider..long story but we are flying out on Cathay Pacific and flying back on United. My wife calls the movers and arranges for everything to be picked up and the rest donated to charity. We are thrilled to finally be back together.

She arrives at the Consul an hour ago and finds out that they have NOT yet been notified by the USCIS!!!!!! And they cannot issue her visa or do anything until they do so. #######??

We are back to the US government playing games...OH I am soooooooooo fuming right now......

US POE is a disgrace. I never experienced it as I always entered US through USC line where they are extra-nice. I had my wife's (then fiancee) K1 visa issued without a single RFE. IN fact, her interview in Moscow was less than 1min. Crystal-clear case. Cannot be clearer from all points of view. We traveled together through POE LAX. This was the first time I experienced how rude, unprofessional US Officers at the POE can be. They were interrogating her for >20 mins for NO REASON. Just to show there power, I guess. I felt absolutely helpless. The first thing the officer (female) said to her was "You know, if I want to I can refuse your entry!". What guests of our country will think about US? How can US project good international image if foreigners are treated like that at POE??

Thanks!!

We now have a pressing issue because our medical will expire next month, since it's valid only for 6 months and we last did it in January during my wifes interview at the Hong Kong consulate. Hopefully the UCSIS doesn't drag their feet on getting this approval letter out because we just need a scan of it to move things forward with the HK Consulate. What's complicated is that for various reasons, the medical was done in her home country (HK), not the one she has been living in for the past 5 years, so if she has to redo it, there is the cost of an international flight involved and time to get it done and expedited....the stress isn't totally gone yet, lol.

Richard

congrats my friend. I know how you feel.

I just want to thank everyone for their support. The contact list of phone numbers was immensely helpful. My lawyer was able to call the USCIS LA Office and talk to the officer in charge of our case and it was determined the I-212 was being approved and that they would be contacting the Hong Kong consulate in the next week.

My baby is finally coming home. I cannot tell you how happy I am...it feels like a dream...we've had so many let downs, I want to believe that this is finally it.

Thank you!!!!

Richard

My God

The more I read, the more I learn, the more discouraged I am.

This post broke my heart

I pray that you and your wife are re-united soon.

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody! Much appreciated! I've googled everything I can about anything related to our immigration case and it's all so frustrating. Each case is always so different, and hard to find anything similar to ours. We really appreciate your help!!!!

Richard & May

spend half a day reading it, so you'll have some idea of who's who, where, and then start xrefing it with 'what they do' and 'domain'.

There's bound to be at least 4 big wigs in there that handle procedural f*ckups, similar to yours.

Thanks! I filled out the form today, but need my wifes signature on it, so just waiting for her to wake up...our timezones are flipped.

But as I have suggested , use the "free" method of having USCIS Ombudsman do the legwork and maybe shaking out the problems in this case;

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cisomb_dhsform7001.pdf

I downloaded it and got overwhelmed with all the contacts! It was awesome, but not certain where to even start!!

there's some super secret squirrel contacts / addresses in GoGo's address book - have you gotten it, yet?

Sorry took me a while to type this whole thing out. Note that my wife had a valid visa and passport at the time. The working part was an interpretation of the officer who asked how my wife could be living in the US without working, and she mentioned she was staying with a friend who was offering her food and shelter in exchange for helping do some errands. This was the friend that asked her to come to the US to see if they might be able to do business together in Asia. It turns out that if you are coming to the US to seek out a business opportunity, it IS permissible to be compensated for food and housing in order to do so, but the LAX officer decided otherwise.

****************

Pursuant to section 235(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act),(8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)), the Immigration and Naturalization Service has determined that you are inadmissible to the United States under section(s) 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(1) of the Act, as amended, and therefore are subject to removal, in that:

1) # You are not a citizen or national of the United States

2.) You are a citizen and national of Hong Kong

3.) You are an immigrant not in possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing card, or other valid entry document required by the Immigration and Nationality Act

... (Continued on I-831)

4.) You are an immigrant not in possession of a valid unexpired passport or other suitable travel document, or document of identity and nationality.

5.) You have admitted to living and working in the United States over the course on at least one year without prior approval from the United States Government.

Order of Removal under Section 235(b)(1) of the Act

Based upon the determination set forth above and evidence presented during inspection or examination pursuant to section 235 of the Act, and by the authority contained in section 235(b)(1) of the Act, you are found to be inadmissible as charged and ordered removed from the United States.

Check here if supervisory concurrence was obtained by telephone or other means(no supervisor on duty)

You have been found to be inadmissible to the United States under the provisions of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act(Act) or deportable under the provisions of section 237 of the Act as a Visa Waiver Pilot program violator. In accordance with the provisions of section 212(a)(9) of the Act, you are prohibited from entering, attempting to enter, or being in the United States

For a period of 5 years from the date of your departure from the United States as a consequence of your having been found inadmissible as an arriving alien in proceedings under section 235(b)(1) or 240 of the Act.

After your deportation or removal has been effected, if you desire to reenter the United States within the period which you are barred, you must request and obtain permission from the Attorney General to reapply for admission to the United States. You must obtain such permission before commencing your travel to the United States. Application forms for requesting such permission may be obtained by contacting any United States Consulate or office of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Not sure where I said that, but no, the I-212 is still being reviewed. From what I've been told by the USCIS, the decision is being made by the Los Angeles office where the case was originally submitted and where jurisdiction is.

I've already spent over $14,000 in lawyer fees trying to get this through...I'm out of $$.

You said that they rescinded the 212? How and when did that happen, never heard of them doing that in this sort of case.

I see no need for a 601, not that it really matters as the standards are the same. The 212 gets adjudicated by the POE and the time for that to happen is all over the place. Just wondering if you have been going to the office where the decision is made, unusual to get access directly.

http://www.scottimmigration.net/ Spend some dollars on a consultation with this lady, she will put you straight.

It's my understanding both the I-212 and I-601 are waivers, but the 601 is necessary for requesting permission to re-enter due to a criminal matter, which ours was not. In order to file the I-212, you must prove that there are extraordinary circumstances, including hardship, and citing evidence of good moral turpitude.......

I was just contacted by a "brokenfamily"...thank you for setting me straight!!! I'm on an emotional roller coaster right now...not able to work at all today.

I appreciate all the feedback so far.

Richard

???? Now I am totally confused. A i212 is permission to re-enter after deportation or removal . An I601 is a hardship waiver. If both are needed then they should be filed together. The "reasons" you say you filed the I212 are the reasons someone would file an I601.

Generally working without EAD is forgiven for spouse of US Citizen. Did you file both applications?

Thank you. Not yet. My attorney initially advised me that this could cause delays when we first were waiting for the case to be reviewed. This is our second attorney. Our first one made 4 critical mistakes and the final straw was when I was in Hong Kong with my wife at the HK Consulate and they couldn't find our I-212 application and told the 1st attorney to fax me a copy and immediately saw they filed it under the WRONG case number (numbers were transposed). I flew back to LA, fired the lawyer, amended the case, hired a new one and the wait started all over again from 0.

I am so sorry for your troubles. I can imagine that it must be agonizing. Have you been in touch with your congressperson? Perhaps a congressional inquiry will get the ball rolling for you. I wish you peace, and a speedy resolution.

An officer at LAX airport accused her of working without a proper visa. From 1987 to 2006, she had never once overstayed a visa, though she frequently traveled back and forth from her hometown in Hong Kong to the US. I first met her in 1991 where we went to Architecture school together and although we were friends and I liked her, I would go on to marry someone else who I later divorced, and rediscovered my wife through FaceBook thanks to a 20 year high school reunion. We met up in Taiwan where she was living, fell hopelessly in love and 4 months later got engaged and 7 months later got married (in Hong Kong), and then began this long road to bring her home.

When she in the US, she was supported by her family and didn't work. From 2005-2006, her mom was dying of cancer and my wife stayed at her side to care for her, a friend of my wife's told her about seeking potential work in Asia, but she would have to come to the US first, her mother urged her to go check it out instead of caring for her...so she made the tough decision to go back to the US, and she got stopped at LAX where they accused her of working and not believing all those years she could be going to and from the US without working. They held her at San Pedro for a week under the mistaken assumption she was an asylum case...they wouldn't let her use the phone, told her she's not a citizen and has no rights...she was able to eventually use the phone and call a lawyer friend of her who got her out, and they immediately deported her. She had a return ticket, but they escorted her to the plane in handcuffs and took her passport..she didn't know her mother had passed away while she was in custody.

We filed an I-212 for a number of reasons that included my own deteriorating health due to stress, my father's recent declining heart problems, the fact I'm self employed and cannot move my business overseas as I have leases and employees to consider and I have lived in the US all my life and do not speak Chinese, and I work in a specialized industry, that I have a 7 year old son who depends on me and an ex wife whom I make child support payments to, and there were a few extraordinary things that happened to me this past year that really devastated me and my wife helped me get through them.

Richard

I am sorry, Maybe a senator or congressman can help your case?

Why was your wife barred in 2006?

Good luck

Hi everyone,

I've been mostly a lurker on this forum but have finally gotten to a point where I need some compassion as I'm at the end of my rope. Today I had an infopass meeting which as usual, is an entirely emotionally draining event. The office my case is at is over 2 hours away, so I've been fortunate to have the chance to stay with a family member who lives an hour away, making it slightly more convenient to get to my appointments. So let me start with some background info as this case can be quite complicated.

My wife's I-130 was approved in July 2010 where I was interviewed in Los Angeles. We were married in December 2009. My wife was interviewed at the NVC in Hong Kong in January 2011 and approved, but her visa application denied because she was barred in 2006 at LAX.

The justification for the bar has been proven invalid by my attorney, and the LA office has had the case for over 120 days now. A month ago, the case had a sticky saying "Pending Supervisor Review on Who Has Jurisdiction For I-212". The officer could give me no further information. A month later, I returned to CIS and they are now saying they need ANOTHER 60 days to review the case to decide what to do about some legal issues. I asked what legal issues they were talking about and they wouldn't discuss them with me. They asked if I was a lawyer and of course I said "no", and the officer said they needed to talk to my lawyer. I asked to talk to the supervisor and after 20 minutes, was told he was too busy and that they need to work out the legal issues. I'm frustrated, sad, and upset. Everytime I go to CIS, I made being subjected to different requirements. My day started out with an officer who couldn't find my case and literally told me that without a proper case number, there was nothing they could do...yet we've been using that same case number for 6 months now. Instead of giving up, I asked to speak to his supervisor. She asks me if I am a US Citizen. I said yes. She asks me if I was born in the US. I say no, I was born in Taiwan. So she says " You were naturalized. I need your naturalization papers". I'm astonished. She needs to see my naturalization papers to inquire about my wifes case??? I pull out my US Drivers license and she tells me they are not the DMV. I tell her I was born 40 years ago in Taiwan but my parents were US citizens! She says, so show me the proof. Fortunately, I had a photocopy of my US birth certificate and she says "Ohh so you ARE a US Citizen. You were born into it". I ask her for her name. Then she asks for a I-212 receipt which I never got one..though I have a payment stub copy which she would not accept. I told her I was here 3 weeks ago. She said give me an official government document that proves that. She wants ME to prove that I was here 3 weeks ago??? I don't have anything like that. She says she cannot help me and I need to go find proof. I tell her the name of the last officer I saw and that she had seen me twice and would remember me. This officer says "Oh...you saw M. XXX, would you like to speak to her?" I reply "OF COURSE". Next thing I know, she is mumbling my wifes name..she was somehow able to pull it up using the previous officers name.

Back to my wifes' case. The way I see it..is that CIS has realized that a mistake was made nearly 5 years ago in barring my wife, and they are now trying to figure out how to extricate themselves without being subjected to potential lawsuits. My attorney is trying to get in contact with the supervising officer and reviewer, but I'm afraid it's going to drag on for 2 more months.

I guess I'm not really looking for any answers, I just need to vent. I tried to keep my emotions in today, but I couldn't. I literally fell apart when I was told they needed more time and couldn't tell me what the problems were. The reviewer then blurts out that this was her first day on the case..that she was just handed it and wasn't familiar with it. We opened this case in November 2010, it's now June 2011 and they are just assigning yet another officer to it? It's been reviewed 3 times during this time period.

I just want to be reunited with my wife. She did nothing wrong. I don't know who else I can turn to.

Richard

I just looked at your timeline...can't believe you've gone more than twice as fast as us! We began Dec 2009 and utilized a lawyer! When I talked to the NVC in mid November, they told me they hadn't yet begun scheduling interviews for December in Hong Kong, so I would imagine that it shouldn't take much longer for her to get the interview. We are in close contact with the Hong Kong consulate, doing weekly status checks to make sure everything is on track.

How long did it take for the NVC to send the DHL package to Hong Kong for you? And how long was it to the next step?

Richard

Yeah you are right they are very responsive to emails. I sent an inquiry to them last Nov. 23 and i got the respond in 2 days ..saying they received our case and they still conducting administrative work and they expect to send the packet 3 to my beneficiary this week but my beneficiary haven't got any mail today its friday there ..We approved last Nov. 5 so its almost a month now..Wonder if its really that long to schedule an interview in Hong Kong...hopefully next week we got the packet..she is patiently waiting...

We are on a similar track to you. My wife is a Hong Kong resident and where the case is being processed though she currently lives in Taiwan. Our lawyers made a costly mistake that delayed our application nearly two months by submitting the case to Taiwan and telling us that changing it to the Hong Kong consulate would be easy and fast...they were wrong. Well, once my wife and I got involved and contacted the consulate and provided the information they needed to move the case forward, things are moving quickly now.

We have found that the Hong Kong consulate is very responsive to emails using their online form.

http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/visa_inquiry_form.html

On November 29, our expedite request was approved and we are awaiting our package (from NVC) via DHL to arrive in Hong Kong, which we expect any day now.

Your questions are answered in my Timeline which you can see from my posts earlier in this thread.

All I can say is to be patient..it will take longer than you expect. There is nothing quick about this whole process. I had the interview in July, 4 months after the notice, and now it's been nearly 3 months that we are still working with the NVC. We filed in December 2009..our lawyer told us 60 days to 90 days max...complete BS..we're approaching a year now, and we still don't know when my wife will be here.

please i want to aask did you get any letter in the mail that this case is under review after they sent you a letter that your case have been transfer. on the 25th i got a letter saying this case is undereview you should receive a notic within 30days. please any body help i am cofused i tought i was waiting for an interview now i got this letter pls help. thanks

Well I paid the Affidavit Of Support (AOS) fees already and they were pulled from my bank account and we are almost done getting the package together..a lot of time taken waiting for documents...originals or certified copies are needed for everything, and in some cases are at the mercy of the government to acquire them. In our case, we're expecting a waiver might be needed as well so we have prepared one and gotten psychological evaluations done as well.

So as far as the NVC is concerned...we are still in the beginning stages.

hey - can you verify where the casefile is at, now?

ie - at NVC, yer in the middle of nvc processing

or

in limbo somewhere after this interview ??

FWIW, there's some tweaks you can do at NVC, to speed things along, when the time is right.

Thanks! In took a couple of weeks after the interview before we found our case number (which I assume means it's at the NVC already?), but our attorney messed up and the case was assigned to the country my wife is living in, not the one where she was born or a citizen of. That is, she is living in Taiwan because it is less expensive, but we have been expecting all along to go through Hong Kong where she is from. For various reasons, she isn't listed on a house hold registry..and we believe it would be much more difficult for the immigration process. So we need to get a new case number at the appropriate consulate.

It's taken some time to get the whole NVC packet together. Ran into some hurdles with the affidavit of support document...namely..I had to get a joint sponsor with my father because of losses over the past year with some shady business partners.

Our lawyers also sent by snail mail a document my wife needs to sign..we are waiting for that to arrive..they sent it by snail mail because we got upset at them for sending some documents by FedEx that didn't need to be rushed, nor we even asked them to be sent overseas...they were supposed to be sent to me here in the US..so now they are afraid of sending anything overnight...even if it defies logic.

Fortunately, since I'm going to visit her next week, I will take a copy of that document for her to sign and will probably get that document back before the mail does.

So between internal battles with our lawyer, and the US government, one way or another, we will get her here!!!!

OctaneGuy - some heads up -

even after that interview -

it still takes some time for the local office staff to finish up with the casefile

and then package it up for shipping

and then actually send it off.

A local USCIS office is notoriously slow to do all of this. I wish there was someway to 'stay on top of this', but there isn't - unless you have a contact # with the local office (probably the person that interviewed you).

Then - figure another month to get it back to the 'national uscis' system, then some more time for it to clear out of the EAC/WAC service center, then packed off to NVC.

I wish the local office could 'clear all' at the national level and bundle off to NVC, but I've not read about that happening, this year or last.

Hang in there !!!

It was much like the interview at NVC. They want pictures, letters, cards, etc... so I brought a very large "bankers box" full of photo albums, IM chats, our wedding DVD, momentos, and the USCIS interviewer asked me how I met my wife. I was very nervous but it helped that my wife put a scrapbook together of how we met and held actually airline stubs and movie tickets during our dating, and so I was able to tell our story very convincingly. Especially helpful since my memory isn't the greatest, so using the scrapbook as a guide, I was able to relay my story more comfortably.

I spoke for 10 or 15 minutes and the examiner concluded it was a bonafide marriage, said he would approve the i130 today and send the documents to the NVC next week.

OctaneGuy,

I am insame boat, got an interview in Oct, i found out by making infopass appt. Can you share what kind of questions they asked you. I am suspecting they are calling me in because of my prior marriage. If you were in similar situation can you please share what sort of doc did you take with you. I am totally nervous. Any advise and experience would help. Thanks

Every case is different, but yes, in my case it took 4 months, and might have taken longer if I didn't do an Infopass meeting to find out why it was taking so long. My lawyer hasn't been very helpful. Visa Journey has given us more reliable insight and more reassurance than our own lawyer. I know how hard it is for you to wait. I haven't seen my wife in 7 months because I can't afford it any longer..yet we talk via Skype. We've both experienced a lot of personal turmoil that could have been sooooooo much better had we been together to suffer together..but it is what it is. We're hoping that by the end of the year, we'll atleast know if she will be coming to the US or not.

so it took 4months to get an interview? i am dead

If you look at my signature, the dates are current. The interview did not happen in March. It was just notification that we were scheduled. The actual interview didn't take place until July. We are finished with the USCIS approval process and now waiting on the NVC. We just got our package together, there were some issues with my financial history due to some bad investments, but it's all been resolved, and now we are just waiting to pull a few documents together that my wife in Hong Kong is sending over to us, and that our attorney is sending to her for signatures. I'm going to visit my wife in less than 2 weeks, and will bring her the materials from my interview for her own interview with the NVC.

please can you update if you got the interview i am in same boat same email and the case was touch today what does this mean i am going crazy i ant even eat i just find my self crying all the time pls help

Last week I had a successful interview and got the I130 approved. They were sending the approval to the NVC this week. On Monday I received two texts about updates and when I went to check, there was only one update, and it didn't say approved, but jumped two steps backwards in the process.

hmm.. we all should also visit different section of website atleast News one...

found below on USCIS website news section:

"

My Case Status, Processing Times, Office Locator and Change of Address Online will be unavailable due to maintenance between 9:30 p.m. EST July 27 and 4:00 a.m. July 29 EST.

"

I met at the USCIS office and they wanted me to prove the validity of the marriage. Had to show pictures, and tell our story, and provide evidence that my wife was NOT in the USA and that the marriage was real. Took about 7 minutes and then they said "Ok there is no doubt that this is a real marriage...your I-130 is approved and we'll forward this on to the NVC next week".

Yes it's highly unusual to interview at this stage but it was what they required.

What kind of interview it was? I have never heard about interview during USCIS I-130 processing.Can anybody explain?

Hi Mike. One of our immigration lawyer friends said that the long delay for the interview was likely triggered by the fact we showed two different addresses on the petition for me (USC) and my wife (overseas) without explanation.

The reason for denial was they claim she didn't have proper documents including an unexpired passport...which isn't true..she had a valid unexpired passport that they canceled when they denied her, and they said she was working, which she wasn't, and they couldn't prove that she was. She was living with a friend who provided her room and board while in the US. The officer put her as an asylum case which was never asked if she needed it, so they held her for a week until my wife was able to contact our immigration lawyer friend to get her out.

My wife was 36 at the time of the deportation and she had been in the US since she was 17 originally as a foreign exchange student. Her visa was good until 2015. She would buy a round trip ticket from Hong Kong (she's a HK citizen), and come to the US, and return before her 90 days was up. She never overstayed the visa, never committed a crime, and we have proof of all her entries and exits. After being released, she was escorted by officers to the boarding of the plane which she had a return flight already paid.

Her mother was gravely ill and she was taking care of her in HK, but she would return to the US often. In fact, her mom passed away while my wife was in custody, but because she was in detention, she was not permitted to make or receive phone calls. My wife speaks perfect English, yet they still treated her as a criminal.

And now that our I130 is approved, and we wait for the NVC, we are very aware that the airport could still deny her entry into the US just like they did in 2006 despite having proper documents, and this stresses us both like crazy. Once we have all the documents, she needs to end her apartment lease, move all of her belongings by boat to the US, and she's coming with her dog. Imagine if they deny her and she had to go back with nothing left for her to go to? I'm planning to fly back with her, so if the unimaginable happens, I can atleast be there for her, as she suffers from depression and this would have certainly traumatic effects on her...because of me, her depression has been kept in check but this whole immigration process has certainly affected us both!

What was the reason for the denial of entry? That may have something to do with why it's taking so long for you now.

Just a thought.

Thanks!

Mike

Well the USCIS received our petition in January and was transferred to the Los Angeles CSC in March. Yesterday they interviewed me, because my wife is living in her home country. We got the I130 approved and the examiner said he would send it to the NVC next week. But because there is a 5 year bar in place and she is in the 4th year, we are expecting the visa to be denied, and need to go through the waiver process. She was denied entry back in 2006 despite having a valid visa and passport, no criminal record, no overstays, and this was before our relationship began.

What is happening to California Service Center?! there is a week left in july and they are still not done with March filers!some are accepted,and some are just skipped seemingly....when are they even gonna start with the April filers?! our timeline keeps going further and further away,what is up with that?seriously!...they used to be faster than Vermont Service Center with a whole lot,now it's far behind(accoring to the timelines on visa journey,Vermont is processing the April 5th filer,and Turtle speed California Center is still processing March 30th filers(which i doubt is exact)...What is wrong with them?are they ever gonna speed back up?Why have they gone and maintained being so slow?!!!.....

Thanks in advance for your answers/comments,and Goodluck with your journey!

After months of no updates, our attorney got an Infopass meeting today and got our interview scheduled in 3 weeks! Woohoo! Not exactly sure what this means though..waiting for more details later on today.

Hello!! Welcome to VJ.. Enjoy your stay!!