BLG

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but my wife who has her green card is interested in taking some classes at our local community college. I was curious if applying for financial aid violates the agreement that we will not take any means tested benefits? I'm really not sure if financial aid comes from the government or not. Please advise.

Hi, fellow June filers! I just found this thread and would like to jump in here.

I sent my petition to the VSC on 5/26 and my NOA1 was dated June 2nd. The back of my check says it was cashed in Lewisville, TX so it was forwarded to Texas as I expected. My case was 'touched' 6/4, 6/7 and 6/8 and then nothing after that. My theory is all these touches show my case being sent back to Vermont, where it now sits awaiting adjudication! Wish us luck, and I pray that we all have a fast and smooth journey - with no RFE's!

Good luck everyone!

You two are engaged to be married. Red for sure

Okay, thanks!

Yes. At this point, avoid yellow (it signals the end of the relationship - a little stronger than "let's be friends now" in the US).

Thank you Brad and Vika, that's the exact kind of info I needed to know! Are pink flowers okay?

Thank you everyone for recommendations!

I have what may be a silly question: Are there any color of flowers that I should avoid? I'm not yet familiar with the traditions yet. The flowers are just a reminder that I love her, so what color should I send? I was kind of hoping to send pink since that's one of her favorite colors.

Thanks!

Cool, thanks Brad and Vika and Мартышк+Мартышка I'll check both of them out too!

2 votes for FlowersToUkraine. Sounds promising. I'll check em out! Thank you both!

Hi, can anyone recommend a good place that I can order from to have flowers sent to my fiancee in Kiev? I'd like to randomly surprise her and send them to her work.

Thanks in advance!

Hello friends!!!!

Well . . i got a really wonderful news from my almost husband

We get our Noa2!! . . i feel happy but . . surprise . . i cant believe it yet . . i saw a lot of people waiting their Noa2 still . .5 months , 4months . . we apply in April 21 and days a go i post here because i was worried of when im going to get it . .

People said "when you get the Noa2 , all is faster from there" . . is this true in my case? . . .im going to wait more for the interview? . .

This is stressful!!! now i dont know if we are going to wait more . .

Somebody in my case?

Can i feel happy? . .

Worried? . .

Thank you so much T___T :wacko:

Congratulations! I hope the rest of the process is as quick and smooth for you as this part was!

About two months is what I'm seeing lately for I-129F. It could change at any time.

Do you mean lately the USCIS has been approving petitions in 2 months or are you saying it's been taking 2 months after the petition is approved until the interview date?

All I can say is that I wish you the best on this journey!!!

Hi, thank you, I appreciate the kind words! I wish you all the best as well!

hi

I waited 4 1/2 months until the case got transferred to NVC.

4 to 5 months is kind of what I am hoping for to be honest. Anything shorter would be great, but that timeframe is where my expectations are right now.

I will tell you what happened to your case. It was received June 2nd. It sat there unopened until June 4th. (did you use Fedex to get it there overnight?) On June 4th the file was opened, sorted into one of their folders (anything you did to prepare the file was taken apart and tossed in the recycle bin) they checked to make sure you signed the check, that the check was the right amount and that you signed the forms. That is all. Your case is now on a shelf in a USCIS binder waiting for assignment to an adjudicator. With any luck an adjudicator will pick it up in the next 2-6 months, review it and approve it about 15 minutes later. There will be no further "updates" until it is approved if that is the case.

Actually I wrote that wrong. They received it on May 28, the NOA1 was dated June 2 and then the case was updated June 4. I was thinking the touch had something to do with them mailing it back to Vermont or something since from what I understand, they forwarded my petition to Lewisville, TX. What do you think?

Thanks for the reply!

Hiya, enjoy the journey you and your fiancee are about to embark on.. buckle up, it can be a bumpy ride at times but it will be totally worth it!

"Touch" just means the last time a case has been updated, but it can mean nothing. Supposedly it means whenever an employee picks up the case and works on it (hardly ever, the lazy bums) and the barcode must be scanned, and this is reflected on the Last Updated section of the website. For me, our case was only touched in the beginning, then for the RFE (grr), then when they mailed it, received it, a random touch in May, and finally when we received our NOA2, the best touch of em all.

As you'll see once you register and log in to the website, you can add your receipt number to your "portfolio" and then check on the last updated date. Anytime it's updated, it's a touch, and everyone gets happy.

No idea with the processing times bit - mine took 126 days from NOA1 to NOA2, and there are still some January filers who have not yet received their NOA2. It's just a bit of a luck of the draw. Let's hope you're not one of the unluckier ones!

Hi, thank you for the explanation. If i understand correctly, there is no place that actually says "Touched" but rather when we see the Last Updated date change, it means that our case has been "touched" is that correct? So since they received my case on June 2, but it was last updated on June 4th, that means someone touched my case on June 4?

By the way, congratulations on your NOA2! I can only imagine how excited you must be!

I received my NOA1 in the mail today. Now, I have a couple of questions:

I've heard people talking about tracking their cases on the USCIS website and make mention of "Touches" and other things. Well, I registered on their site today and entered my case number and I see no mention of anything of the sort. It only says my status is Initial Review. I've attached a screen shot of what I am seeing. Is there another place on the site where I can get more detailed information?

Second question: On the same page underneath this case status part, there is a place that shows "Processing Times." I've attached a screen shot of that too (I like screen shots ) It shows for the Vermont Service Center that the processing time is 5 months. I'm curious how accurate this is. Is there any weight to this or is it just another generic number they use? Also, what the heck is that USCIS National Average?! 17.6 months?! What all service centers are included in that number?!

Thanks for any info!

If it is any consolation, after sending in our I-129 to Vermont, the VSC fell one month behind in processing, as compared with CSC. Now, they are only about two weeks behind. So, VSC is clawing their way back to parity with CSC. Maybe they are worried about bragging rights at the 4th of July company picnic?

Good luck!

My Sweetie goes for her medical exam next week, and then for the interview on July 6th!

Actually that is rather good news considering how quickly yours was approved even during a time that they were a month behind. How do you know they are 2 weeks behind? Where can I find this information? I'd like to be able to track this if possible!

Thanks and congratulations on the approval and good luck at your interview!!!

This happened to me, too, though I'm a CSC filer. I mailed the I129F May 18th, it was received by the CSC the 19th but the check cleared in Texas and the NOA1 was dated 5/25. The notice does say it was received 5/19, though, which made me feel better for some reason. Our file was "touched" yesterday--maybe that means it's back at the CSC again but of course there's no way to know that. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess. These changes must be why the CSC was so quiet the week of May 18th.

Good luck everyone!

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer that we won't know when our petition makes it back to the original service center (Vermont in my case). I just hope it doesn't sit around at the Texas center collecting dust before they send it back. Oh well, nothing I can do about it!

Oooh I hadn't heard about that! Hopefully processing times will improve with this change (eventually). Good luck.

Yes, I'm hoping it improves the processing times also - fingers crossed!

I-129F petitions for alien fiances are only processed at Vermont Service Center or California Service Center. They are not forwarded to any lockbox. It will stay at Vermont until it is approved.

Your receipt number that you can use to check your case status on the USCIS website should start with EAC.

It seems that they've made a change. You can read the link below. It's unfortunate timing for myself especially since some believe it will cause delays in the process.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=097fb85dc4bc8210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

The case number will be written on the 1st NOA you'll get from USCIS. I never heard of it being on the check.

For my information : how can you look at the check you sent after it was cashed ? Do you work at the bank where USCIS cashes their checks ? I'm confused about that but maybe I didn't get it right.

My bank posts a copy online of checks that are cashed, front and back. I've read from several people on this forum to pay with check so you can get the case number from the back of the check. I know it's being impatient and honestly it's not a big deal.

Correction: I see stamped on the back of my check that it was cashed at a Chase bank in Lewisville, TX, so I guess they did forward my case to the lockbox. They sure managed to cash the check quickly though - 4 days!

Okay, so I checked my bank account today and I see that the USCIS cashed my check. So I have a couple of questions now:

First, I was expecting them to forward my petition to the lockbox, but they only received my petition last Friday and already they've cashed my check. Plus, on back of the check, it is stamped "Vermont Service Center" Does this mean my case was not/will not be forwarded to the lockbox? That should save me the 6 to 8 week delay that was mentioned in another thread if so!

Second question: Which of the numbers on the back of the check is my case number? I see no numbers that start with any letters.

Thanks

No, petitions filed during the transition period will be forwarded. But, according to that attorney's blog, it may cause a delay of 6 to 8 weeks, based on what has happened to other petition types when they've transitioned to the lockbox system.

When I said "improperly filed petitions" I was referring specifically to petitions that were filed with a service center after the updated filing instructions are posted in June and before the grace period expires for the service center to automatically forward them. In re-reading the attorney's article, it looks like he thinks the potential delays have already begun, since USCIS has already begun forwarding petitions to the lockbox, though it's not clear when USCIS actually began doing this, or if all petitions are currently affected by this. If we see a rash of people not getting timely NOA1's (I've seen a few posted already) then we'll know...

Thanks for the clarification. I guess all I can do is wait and see!

Thanks everyone for the replies

Though USCIS will forward improperly filed petitions to the lockbox during the transition period, at least one lawyer's blog says you can probably expect this would add a 6 to 8 week delay to your petition processing, based on prior performance by USCIS when transitioning other forms to the lockbox.

http://www.masudafunai.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=5833

That's what I was afraid of. When you say improperly filed petitions will be sent to the lockbox, do you mean that those that are properly filed will not forwarded during the transition period?

Thanks

So I called to check what this new change means. It means that only future applications will be sent to the lock boxes and then will be further sent to the appropriate services centers. She didn't say why they were doing this but that if your application has already been at the California Center and started being processed there, it will continue to be processed there ( not at any other lock boxes of sorts).

Thanks for the reply. I just sent mine last Wednesday, so I assume mine will be forwarded to the lockbox. I just wonder if this is a good or bad thing as far as the speed of the processing goes. Either way, I assume it will not effect it TOO much, but every little bit counts when waiting to bring ones loved one to be with them!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=097fb85dc4bc8210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

I'm curious if someone can explain what the above link actually means for the visa process. I just mailed my petition in last Wednesday, so I am curious what to expect. First, I'm in Texas, so should I expect them to forward my petition which I sent to Vermont back here to Texas? Secondly, does this mean they now have two more centers processing petitions for a total of 4? If so, that would likely shorten the waiting period, correct? Or are they merely using these TX and AZ centers to process the intake? To me this would add an extra step in the process and would lengthen the waiting period a little. In short, can someone please just explain how this will impact my petition?

Thanks!