Tero

K-1 and Spousal are apples and oranges. Certain centers focus on certain types more so than others. IE: TPS visas are almost entirely VSC and next to none at CSC. Furthermore, as per USCIS instruction: "Form I-130 petitions filed with the Chicago Lockbox (I-129Fs are Dallas) will be routed to and adjudicated at the appropriate USCIS Service Center. This routing will be based on the petitioner’s place of residence." Place of residence instructions are different for I-130 than I-129F.

Lock boxes are being used now to free up the service centers from having to process the payments AND adjucate them. Simple as that. It's what the government does and it is more effective that way too. Less work for staff whos main job is to approve/RFE/Deny. It's the government, it's what they do.

Every single K-1 that I have seen filed here on VJ has gone directly to the service center in the area in which that person lives based on the old rules, regardless of what they "say now". People have had their K-1s sent right to Vermont over the past November to Now even though, by the way, it is backlogged 1-2 months. I put Vermont's address on my Intent to marry and cover letter as I knew it would be sent their regardless after it was sent to the Dallas lockbox, guess where mine ended up after Dallas...

Furthermore, Tier 2s are not CSRs, they are ISOs (Immigration Service Officers) and they are not the "end all be all" by what they say. While what they say is more believable and closer to the truth, a lot of what they say is designed to get you off the phone and stop calling as well.

So stop coming here and acting high and mighty because of what a Tier 2 ISO said.

Twocats is more or less correct in what he posted and has been confirmed by the others posting here on where their K-1s were sent and by numerous other members who have filed in the previous months.

Friend, no one is acting high and mighty. As I don't know you, if I need some information, I can either believe you simply because you sound confident (with no proof) or believe someone else with some direction to the facts. There is no award on here for who is correct, we are all trying to help. If you want me to disregard what I got from the source, you'd have to give me some direction to the facts. The fact that majority of cases still follow that old routing does not mean there are not others that are rerouted in the other direction. I don't wish to split hairs over this issue as it is irrelevant anyways.

Let's use the Port of Entry clearance queues as an analogy again. There are multiple queues for foreigners and multiple queues for citizens. The number of staff assigned to the queues is adjusted appropriately for the relative volume in each category. So, if there are more fiancee petitions than spouse petitions, there are more adjudicators working the fiancee queue than the spouse queue. Get it?

Another analogy for people jumping ahead... Using the same visual, think of the check-out lines at your super market. When the lines get a little too long and another checker arrives to open another lane, some customers manage to jump ahead of others in the transition. I expect that as staff is shifted between tasks, some of the same kind of things occur at USCIS service centers. Perhaps somebody even grabs a stack of petitions from the wrong shelf.

No one here is an expert, or a lawyer, or a spokesperson for USCIS (unless they state otherwise).

You asked me why it was done that way (sent to a sorting facility).

I am not a spokesperson for USCIS, so all I can do is /guess/ at why.

As I said, I have yet to see a K-1 which does not fall under this sorting method.

I will not argue with you further on this. I am simply passing on information.

Good day.

Friend, instead of speculating, you can go to the source and speak with someone (like I just did again) to get more understanding. Here is the number 1-800-375-5283 and make sure you ask to speak with a tier 2 rep. It helps the OP better when you can back up your answer with a proof. OP, feel free to call and ask as well. Here's also another case http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/286038-vermont-service-center/page__p__4336169__hl__transfer+%7C+transferred+%7C+vsc+%7C+vermont+%7C+csc+%7C+california__fromsearch__1#entry4336169

I understand that this is not in the current instructions.

All petitions are sent to the lockbox.

However, I have yet to see a K-1 petition that varies from what was outlined above.

So, as far as I am aware, this is still the way that K-1 petitions are split.

The OP's petition falls neatly under this, as well.

As for why it is done that way:

My guess is that too many people were sending petitions to the wrong service centers.

To save themselves time sending petitions back and forth due to mistakes, they have them all sent to one sorting location.

The I-130 and the K-1 (I-129F) are two separate types of petitions.

They are handled two separate ways.

They are sent to two separate lockbox locations, and sorted two different ways.

I am speaking ONLY of the K-1 (I-129F).

Sorry guesses are not allowed. You have to have the facts. Feel free to call USCIS right now and confirm what I have told you. The OP,s case is an example. There have been many posts here about this time and time again. I'll search out some threads and let you have them.

So forms are all filled and ready to go but I'm confused as to how I can compile and file everything for ease and convenience?

How do you recommend I attach the passports to the forms? How do i put the forms with the supporting documents as well? Any ideas/suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

There is a debate to not use and staple or highlight on your documents. You may find some more help here. http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

I'm sorry queen. but if I haven't learned anything else I've learned God sees our future in our present. So rest assured that He will care for you. Big Hugs!

So, does this mean she should not make any decision and let God decide for her?

This is wrong.

It's actually sent to a service center depending on what state you live in.

Previously,petitions were sent to the service center directly based on your state (it was in the instructions), now the lockbox forwards to the service centers. But it's still the same split up as before.

If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia.

Vermont Service Center

------------------------------------------------------

If you live in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

California Service Center

The current instruction form only have the lockbox address and no regional assignment like you have listed. You can't just automatically assume that it has to be the same service center. If that was the case then it would defeat the purpose of sending to the lockbox first. Can you tell me why you have to send your petitions to the lockbox first, when you could have sent it directly to the service center? I have asked a Tier 2 level CSR who confirmed this. So, what other explanation is there for the OP's case. My K-1 was processed through Vermont, but my spousal is through California now while my address remains thesame. They do not want one service center very busy while the other is not. You can confirm this by calling USCIS to speak with a Tier 2 CSR.

I am just happy i can now interact..

What have you been waiting for? You're welcome!

I am sure you did not send the petition directly to Vermont. What they have been doing is make you send it to a lockbox facility, where it is sent to whichever service center that is less packed. This is to ensure evenness in workload so that one service center does not get chocked/backlogged while the other gently cruises on. Your case could be sent back and forth between the service centers in order to even the workload.

They are approving both. Far more K1 related petitions are submitted than spouse petitions, so far more are also approved. What set of facts leads you to believe otherwise? Reporting on VJ is a very small portion of the number of petitions being filed and is NOT a representative sample.

Bringing a spouse is not less expensive if you need to arrange an additional trip abroad to get married.

Sorry I'm a little confused. If there are more K-1s than spousals, how can the queues still be roughly the same length? Please, throw more light.

Usually, yes but the queue's are roughly the same length. Once in a queue though if the process slows, it slows. It would take far longer if, like some suppose, they were to make sure nobody with a later receipt date got ahead of anybody with an earlier one. The flow doesn't work like a US Bank queue, where everybody is in one line and they take the next available teller. It's more like clearing immigration at a POE, where some lines move a bit faster and others get pulled aside for secondary inspection.

Another analogy is it's also not like my last departure from Nanning, China, where we just called ahead to a connection with airport police, my overweight for domestic flights baggage was waived through, the whole family was escorted to the VIP waiting area to wait with me, served snacks and tea and then I was escorted through a special hallway bypassing security and allowed to board the plane ahead of the other passenger.

You don't get to call your friendly Senator and get whisked ahead. This is the USA, not China.

It's about time! This thread got too serious!

They are approving both. Far more K1 related petitions are submitted than spouse petitions, so far more are also approved. What set of facts leads you to believe otherwise? Reporting on VJ is a very small portion of the number of petitions being filed and is NOT a representative sample.

Bringing a spouse is not less expensive if you need to arrange an additional trip abroad to get married.

Just wondering, are there a different set of staff working on the K-1 from those working on the spousal?

i wana say pushbrk we know there are hundred of petition approves everyday....but all we saying that they are approving k1 more then cr1 its not about the turn its about that they are concern bout K1 vIsa if you see there are so many k1 visa approve but Cr1 only few so its not true that waiting for ur turn make it long ....its dere procedure which nobody understand because they neva want nebody to know how they work....just simple is dat

Maybe it's because they make more money from K-1s than CR-1s or there are less documents to verify.

Oh no you didn't!

Just make sure you know those 100 question and answers, as they'll probably pick a random 5 or so

Was this after the interview or before?

Ah! I just got an idea I should have use when I filed. My cover letter should have read ..

Dear adjudicator, I am a prophet and God has sent me to give you this message. Something good is going to come your way sooner or later ...depending on how soon you finish processing this petition. Mind you, the longer it takes you, the less likely it is for you to receive this wonderful experience. It's your call!

turns out the letter was nothing but a bogus form letter after all

visa was approved today

Great news! Congrats!

Might also help to read the reviews of the consulate

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Nigeria

The advise above is correct. Also checkout these guides..

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

I understand how that can feel frustrating.. and maybe my feelings will change after I have been waiting several months... But this can actually be a good thing overall depending on how it is done. If, as some have said, at the end of the day some director somewhere is grabbing an extra box of fresh applications and going through them... so what? As long as the extra 50 applications being done do not push back other applications no problem... The backload of work is being reduced in that case.

No doubt these directors know how the metrics are being generated and they are doing what most people who are judged by meterics do - they work the system to generate the best metrics. At some point the higher ups will still get complaints if people are not being served and adjust how metrics are examined to better match customer satisfaction... Such as average backload, the average wait times not counting the top and bottom 5% or better yet.. have the metrics weigh the length the time an application has been sitting so that there is a reward for doing them in the correct order.

How can picking cases behind you not push you back?

Those first customer representatives were put there as a wall to bounce/filter off the naive. When I first filed my K-1 I did not know about any senior level reps and was helpless each time I called and got thesame info, word for word, that I got online. No specific answer to any specific questions whatsoever. I hope is does not get worse enough to need a Tier 4 reps to address specific inquiries as I sense that the more people know about tier 2 level reps, the more "walls" they'll put between us and them. Soon enough, foreign reps would be involved in picking our calls to give thesame default response to all inquiry.

Well people make themselves.. thier case/s place stress upon them. Why be angry, heck I have 3 different petitions pending.. am i angry no..? anxious - yes!! Per your post you took it upon your self yo contact the uscis's national customer service line.. to ask questions.. Heck they should have asked you how did you know this.? How you know the cases were true.... hmmm validate. perhaps that would have been a quick shut down. Your case will be processed in due time.. all of you. These are some of the things we MUST deal with when we make the decision to marry a foreign spouse. We have options. We Choose it. We will deal with it.

I concur!

If freedom extended to immigration like you expect, my whole village, heck! my whole country would be here already!