delidana

They can. They may need to get a passport first ( Maybe; not %100 sure on passport, but I think they asked copies of it for K1 application, geeez it's been so long since we applied, I can't even remember).

I know this because when i became citizen last year, I asked the officer interviewing me specifically if I can petition for someone I want to marry from Turkey and bring him here, the officer said it should not be a problem at all. He said now that I am naturalized, it is no different than being born here.

Hi Tuana,

Just wandering what you based your expedite request on? Are they asking for a specific reason to expedite the case?

Also, after you get NOA 2, how do you track the travel of the packages? DO you have to call each time, or does this show on USCIS website when we sign in?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Thanks MARI, :):) I shall call you the VJ Police

All kidding aside, thank you for your efforts to make sure we are all well informed. You are the best !

Around 6:30 pm, I got the text and the e-mail as well. It was an approval after all.

I just got this e-mail but no other update. I guess this means NOA2, I am in such disbelief and so paranoid that they may mean, we approved your "case" or we approved your "service request" ... Hahhaaha. This is what Vermont does to you after 6 months 1 week and 1 day of waiting. Just checking with the experienced VJ'ers, is this it?

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

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

VERMONT SERVICE CENTER

75 LOWER WELDEN STREET

SAINT ALBANS,VT 05479

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Emailed to -------------------------

Dear M. ---aya:

On 04/26/2011 you, or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case. Some of the key information given to us at that time was the following:

Caller indicated they are:

-- Applicant or Petitioner

Attorney Name:

-- Information not available

Case type:

-- I129F

Filing date:

-- 10/22/2010

Receipt #:

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

Referral ID:

-----------

Beneficiary (if you filed for someone else):

-- , Azad

Your USCIS Account Number (A-number):

--

Type of service requested:

-- Outside Normal Processing Times

The status of this service request is:

Since the date we received your request, we have approved your cases and approval notices were sent on May 4, 2011, to the address we have on file. If you do not receive these notices within 30 days, and you want an official duplicate for your records, you will need to file a Form I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition. You can download this form by visiting our website at www.uscis.gov.

If you have any further questions, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Please remember: By law, every person who is not a U.S. citizen and who is over the age of 14 must submit Form AR-11 AND notify this office of their change of address, within 10 days from when they move (persons in "A" or "G" nonimmigrant status are exempt from this requirement). To notify this office of a move, visit our website at: www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. The Form AR-11 can be downloaded from our website or you can call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and we can order one for you. Instructions for filing the Form AR-11, including mailing instructions, are included on the Form.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

NOA2 today ..... I am ecstatic !!!!!

I called and called, e-mailed, requested service dadadada.... And finally it worked. 6 months, 1 week 1 day Below is the e-mail I got. No text, and USCIS website has not been updated yet, still showing 11/05/2010 for last update, but I guess this e-mail confirms we got the infamous NOA2 :)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

VERMONT SERVICE CENTER

75 LOWER WELDEN STREET

SAINT ALBANS,VT 05479

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Emailed to AKKAYAOLCAY@GMAIL.COM

Dear M. Akkaya:

On 04/26/2011 you, or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case. Some of the key information given to us at that time was the following:

Caller indicated they are:

-- Applicant or Petitioner

Attorney Name:

-- Information not available

Case type:

-- I129F

Filing date:

-- 10/22/2010

Receipt #:

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

Referral ID:

-----------

Beneficiary (if you filed for someone else):

-- , Azad

Your USCIS Account Number (A-number):

--

Type of service requested:

-- Outside Normal Processing Times

The status of this service request is:

Since the date we received your request, we have approved your cases and approval notices were sent on May 4, 2011, to the address we have on file. If you do not receive these notices within 30 days, and you want an official duplicate for your records, you will need to file a Form I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition. You can download this form by visiting our website at www.uscis.gov.

If you have any further questions, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Please remember: By law, every person who is not a U.S. citizen and who is over the age of 14 must submit Form AR-11 AND notify this office of their change of address, within 10 days from when they move (persons in "A" or "G" nonimmigrant status are exempt from this requirement). To notify this office of a move, visit our website at: www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. The Form AR-11 can be downloaded from our website or you can call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and we can order one for you. Instructions for filing the Form AR-11, including mailing instructions, are included on the Form.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

mines exactly 5 months mark,,i dont know if i should even try and calling that number and trying the same thing DELIDANA did !!!

It won't hurt anything. Try saying, on USCIS website, it is mentioned that if we don't hear anything in 5 months we should call this number" this is why I am calling. Also add hat you are following online forums and you are aware that a lot of people have been approved whose petitions were received after yours. Pick your words carefully, ask for "service request." I mistakenly said expedite and she was saying I can't do that unless I have an admissible reason to expedite it such as illness, deployment etc. I think it also helps that you stay calm and kind, you get a similar reaction. Good luck.

If it helps at all, here is my experience:

My application was received by VSC on Oct. 26th 2010, a day before you basically. I knew from statements here and having contacted my Senator 2 weeks ago that until the 6th month mark, they will not do anything to help you. Today marked the 6th month.

I called 1-800-375-5283, selected the option #3. A customer service rep( I guess this would be a tier 1 person) answered. I have kept very calm and tried to smile so that I won't be shut down. I basically explained her that I know for a fact we are now outside of normal processing time and I would like to put in a service request. She was very nice and cooperative and she processed the request. She then gave me a service request # and said if I don't hear anything within 30 days, I should call them back. I didn't even have to go to a tier 2 person, nor did I have to ask for anything twice. I guess maybe how you try and get your point across is a factor.

Try calling again tomorrow since you will also be now considered outside the normal processing time.

Good luck.

I just realized that the US Embassy in Ankara posts interview schedules on their website. http://www.usemb-ankara.org.tr/consular/english/schedule_iv.html

Looking at the dates here, it seems like they are booked until 7/7/2011. Does this mean that they go by first come first serve basis, or is it possible for someone being scheduled for an interview today to be assigned a date earlier than 7/7.

Any insight into this?

Dear fellow October Filers,

I have, after 5.5 month mark, decided to get the whole Senator shenanigans started to see if it would help at all. Though I think there is not much we can do to get it done faster than the VSC capacity, i thought maybe a lucky touch via this request may turn into a NOA2, but no! I got the standard answer.

" Dear Ms. Ak....,

Thank you for contacting me with your questions regarding the I 129F petition that you filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

USCIS shows that your petition was received on October 26, 2010, and is pending adjudication. Processing time for this form type is 5 months. Processing times for specific applications and petitions at the Vermont Service Center (VSC) are provided on the www.uscis.gov website and are updated weekly. Based on fluctuations and variables that impact the processing times and for the purpose of interim or final adjudicative processing, the VSC allows 30 days beyond the posted date before the case is considered "Outside of Normal Processing Time" (ONPT).

An additional 30 days must be allowed for adjudicative review and processing before USCIS can request expeditious processing based on an ONPT request. If the application or petition is still pending after 30 days, in this case after April 26, 2011, and you request expedited processing at that time, the case will be forwarded to the applicable adjudicative unit for their review.

Again, thank you for contacting me. For further information or to sign up for my newsletter please visit my website at...... "

So, I guess this means after the 26th, I will have a right to expedite, or is it just a comforting thought they are trying to implant me, to make me feel better and shut up. We'll see...

My fellow October filers... I am getting really anxious about this wait to be over and constantly looking for hope for things to speed up. As I was looking at stats for number of applications that VCS got this year, I have realized that after August there is a big dip in the chart. Sooooo this may mean less number of September filers and maybe we'll get it sooner than 6 months!!! What do you say? Big enough a crumb of hope for us all

Seems like they have slowed down again !!!!!!

I got my residency through marriage to US citizen. We met abroad while he was working in my country. I came here as a tourist to visit him, we decided to get married and tied the knot in 1998 right after we filed for AOS (1999). We had a fallout and we divorced 4 months before the conditional residency was removed (2001).

I hired a lawyer, he helped me get my conditions removed based on "marriage in good faith but irreconcilable differences". everyone told me this was impossible, there would have to be some sort of abuse etc, but it worked.

Even though our divorce happened within 3 years of marriage, I had no problems when I applied for naturalization (2007). it was a breeze!

If cooking is your or his thing, try cooking the same meal together with the same ingredients and have a dinner date with candles. Works like a charm and keeps the spirits up for days!

Text or e-mail pictures of things you see that you think is exciting, lovely sunset, snowstorm, a cute kid, your ear, a mess you made, workmates.... whatever anything really. Helps keep each other involved in daily life.

Skype has been a lifesaver for us. We keep it on as much as possible, with 7 hour time difference, it is not easy but manageable. We spend all of Sunday together. We are up at odd times. He starts his Sunday at 12 am, 7 am my time. We stay glued to screen for hours on Sundays, and at least 2-4 hours everyday. We keep skype on while we are asleep, so that when the urge to see each other is unbearable we peek When I get home after work, I don't use the elevator, instead take the stairs so that I can start turning on my laptop to be signed on to Skype as soon as I walk in. We have dinner dates, movie dates, clean up around together, I teach him how to cook certain dishes, we play backgammon, read the news and send links to each other...

We send each other love letters, poems, jokes, songs... whatever we think will help brighten the day while one is sleeping, the other working. It's great to wake up and find messages in your mailbox, I suggest to do that as much as possible, it helps tremendously to keep the spirits up. Waking up to an empty room is the worst part!

I sometimes keep skype on while I work, we don't talk to not be distracted from work, but knowing we are a click away to see each other is also helpful.

Even then, it's not enough! No matter what you do, it doesn't replace the joy of being in each others presence, but it definitely helps ease the sadness.

This must sound crazy and impossible, the energy and attention it requires and time yo have to spend to do all that. But I guess all the cliche words of wisdom about love is true, it drives one to make things happen. I work 6 days a week, 9-5, sometimes longer hours at a very fast paced and demanding environment. But have no problem keeping up at all.

I have traveled between Virginia and Istanbul 4 times since August and am planning another visit in a few weeks. This is not easy to do for most of us, I get help from credit cards, but I think it's worth it and we'll work together to pay it off.

Also another suggestion is call each others family if possible, chatting with his family makes me feel connected and he does the same.

May patience rain on us like cats and dogs, we sure need it!

Assuming it takes one person 20 minutes for each file to approve, 866 applications in NOV '10 means they must have ~2 people working on K1's at VSC.

It feels unjust to see so many people waiting for an important life changing decision to happen and it's all about a small cubicle and a couple of people trying to catch up! These two chatterboxes to stop filing nails and start working

All kidding aside, I believe the good in people. VSC after all is "humans", these guys are flipping through these folders, seeing photos of us all in love, flickering eyes, big smiles, letters of how we met etc. I don't agree with people when they say things such as "they don't care, lazy VSC etc" If anything it would inspire them to approve us faster.

On previous months they have numbers in the thousands, and going by 20 minute theory, about 10-12 people must have been working on K1's. This only goes to show they are instructed to work on something else. That something else is eventually gonna catch up and they will approve us, it will happen.

All of these inner workings of VSC I understand, what i don't understand is why we get charged 100's of dollars for 15-20 minutes work!!! That's where the anger kicks in for me...

Another October here... Wish us all patience and speedy NOA2's....

ok, so my fiance had his interview today and he was told without even giving him any chance to show ties to country and and looking at folder full of paperwork we have been working so hard on... Flat out, "you have to wait for K1 to complete, your intention is immigration and I cannot give you a tourist visa"

Oh well, not the end of the road at least.

Hi Nicole, thank you for the post. As you know, anything is worth a try while the wait goes on. When you say a lot of stress at the customs, what do you mean? Did they actually try not to let him in? Or it was just you guys worrying? Tell me a little more please. Any bit of information helps.

We now have a date for interview for a tourist visa as well Carla, Jan 19th, I'll keep you posted. ! Good luck with yours.

So, I see you are giving tourist visa a try. We are also going to try this route. We have today applied for the Tourist Visa and hope to get an appointment for an interview in the next few weeks. Have you seen any examples that this may work?

I don't expect it to be easy and I am not too concerned with the $140 dollar application fee, I believe it's worth it. But I am curious if historically they ever approved tourist visas for those who are waiting for the K1, or if they flat out don't even consider it. Have you guys ever heard of a case where they may allow for this? My fiance has his own business and has enough evidence to show he cannot just up and leave, he has a business to sell and accounts to transfer. I am sure our case will be strong enough especially when we show them how many times I traveled to see him.

I feel all of you guys' pain, having found the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with but not being able to be together is major blow. Patience is a tough virtue for me in general and this process is really testing it.

Hello everyone,

I am very disappointed to find out how slow the K1 time line is. We filed a little over 2 months ago and apparently with the rate it's going we will have to wait at least 6 months, before we can start a life together.

Since I have met him in August I have been to Turkey 4 times. I used up my vacation time and looks like I will not be able to travel at least for a few months. It seems like the only solution is to give Tourist Visa a try.

My questions is: Has anyone ever tried this, or know someone who did? I know it's legal and doesn't affect the K1 decision, but is there any hope for approval? What measures could we take to make it possible, etc.

Thanks ahead to those who will respond.