Unapproved Oct-Nov 2015 Filers (CSC)

[Am & Ra 19]

I started this thread for unapproved October & November 2015 California Service Center filers to help understand and share our knowledge as a group. I've been noticing October 2015 filers being approved during December without the issue of RFE. If you are one of these filers in October maybe you can share your experience and understanding of why our approvals seem to be delayed. Also if any of us are receiving (RFE) before being approved that information would be helpful too.

Here are just a few questions to help kick off this topic.

• Tracking, Is it possible to track all petition's in que on USCIS database showing dates, order and number of approvals each day?
• What RFE's are we as a group receiving?
• Has anyone of us experienced issue of RFE for meeting on dating site?

I know there is a couple (Jaime & Aisha) who filed in November and have some knowledge and understanding of the above questions. Jaime & Aisha, if you could help by sharing your information on this thread that would be of great help to all of us too.

Thank you.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Amy & Randy

[Am & Ra 19]

It would also be nice if everyone here as a group can share our current status and when we are approved, my Filipino fiancee and myself are November 9, 2015 filer still in "Case Received Status." waiting for approval.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Amy & Randy

[Dama&Carlos 0]

We are 19 Nov,2015 filer and we are in the same boat u.u at least im glad that im not the only one waiting. I think that holidays are slowing down the process!! lets be patient

[JudithF 1]

I received my first NOA on Oct 19th and wasnt approved until Dec 8. Everyone else filing later in October had gotten their approval faster than me.

I then heard that if you have been on another visa in the US before they might have to do some more checks or get some more information that you didnt overstay or anything else. This is what could cause a delay but not sure....But made sense since I had a J1 visa twice before....

Good luck to everyone

[AlinaB 43]

I get the need to try and understand every detail as much as possible. Our petition was pretty simple. My fiance has never been outside of Indonesia and has never been married, no kids, he is also Christan (which sadly may have helped things). We met in person at the field site where I did my dissertation work. We had tons of pictures together and have been living with each other for several months. I've been living in Indonesia for over a year and submitted proof of that as well. Neither of us has ever been in trouble with the law and we both have college degrees. We organized everything in a folder in our packet according to the table of contents.

Don't get too worried yet. Remember that there are lots of steps to this process and if you or your fiance has been to multiple countries there are more places for background checks. If you have lived in multiple states in the US that probably matters too. Different countries and different states probably have different response times to background check requests. If you have been married before, or had trouble with the law, or met on a dating website, these things could also slow things down.

Then there are the holidays. The people at the CSC are real people. They could need sick days, vacation days, or just have days with more difficult files. I'm really sorry you all got stuck in the waiting game, but I'm sure you won't have to wait too much longer. Ultimately, the CSC helps protect our nation and tries to ensure that engagements are legitimate. It's a tough job.

[ARosario 2]

For Question #1, yes you can track other petitions using USCIS case tracker app in iPhone and Samsung.

Let me share my experience to all of you. Our NOA1 was dated Oct.20, and heard nothing from USCIS after a month while almost everybody on my timeline and filed later got approved. Of course, calling USCIS wasn't any help at all. But fiancé called again at 7 weeks of waiting and requested to speak with a Tier 2 agent, the agent then told him that our case is still within the 5 months processing time but was advised to call by last week of January if there isn't any update yet.... And then, fiancé checked his mailbox Dec.21 and received our NVC letter... Wait.. What? NVC letter but no NOA2 yet? Yes.... We got the hardcopy with our MCN, and upon tracking our USEM Manila got our case on Dec.16. And so we are confused, we called USCIS to verify and they said in their system we aren't approve yet. Of course, what the agent see's in their system is what we can see too. We then called NVC to verify, all our infos are correct, they said we are already approved that's why we have our Case Number..

[Kehinde 45]

I am a Oct-Nov filer. My time line was the same as Jaime & Ashia's and I'm still waiting. I never received a rfe. It's been 60 days and still nothing.

[Am & Ra 19]

I'm flying to Philippines this Thursday 01/07/16 to visit my fiancee for 17 days, and wouldn't you know it I just got notification I was sent an RFE on 01/04/16. It's coming from the California service center one state over to state of Washington where I live. I'm hoping I get it in mail before I leave, called USCIS and they wouldn't give me any information on it except it was mailed USPS priority mail. I'm hoping it's a verification request to prove that the social site we met on is not an IMB. I heard that California Service Center has been sending the IMB RFE's, has anyone else been receiving this RFE?

[Am & Ra 19]

Back from the Philippines now, the RFE request was for beneficiary's intent to marry, proof of circumstance of meeting, they also mentioned they wanted proof the site christianfilipino.com was not an (IMB). Strange because all the documents proving all this were already sent during original submission of I-129F. Talked to Rapid Visa who we paid to do our application and they just said to resend updated letter of intents from both petitioner and beneficiary. I also sent them time stamped photos showing I was currently in the Philippines with my fiancée, and medical certificate showing my fiancée is pregnant and conceived during the time of my last visit. I also sent copy of email from christianfilipino. com and website statement that they are not an (IMB). Our case status has now changed to request for more evidence received and they will be working on case again as of 1-25-16. Now just patently waiting for approval, hopefully by 2-1-16.

[Am & Ra 19]

Approved today 1-28-16. Below is a copy of the cover letter sent with RFE response. Our (NOA1) date was 11-09-15 and we were approved 80 days after that. We were upset that RFE asked us for evidence we already supplied in original submission of I-129F. However, we kept calm and just used this RFE as an opportunity to update documents and send additional evidence.

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
P.O. Box 10590
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0590

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

RE: “Request for Evidence” WAC169012xxxx

Dear Service Center Professional: January 12, 2016

Enclosed is the evidence you asked me to provide in regards to Beneficiary’s intent to marry me in the United States. Also enclosed is the information you requested in regard to christianfilipino.com website, and circumstance under which we met to establish a relationship, and evidence they are not an International Marriage Broker. I have also included additional evidence showing my fiancée is now pregnant with our child, and I am currently in Philippines visiting her.

• Updated “Letters of Intent to Marry,” from Beneficiary and Petitioner.

• Circumstance of Meeting: After first meeting my now fiancée Amy on christianfilipino.com social website on October 18-19, 2014, we soon after started communicating by telephone service everyday using Impact Connect and Vontage. We also began communicating using Facebook Messenger, Facetime, and our Facebook timelines. I am also resubmitting a copy of the I-129 F Supplement: Part 2, Question 34a that was sent with I-129-F Petition.

• International Marriage Broker (IMB) Enclosed you will find a copy of the ChristianFilipino.com disclosure printed from their website stating why they are not an International Marriage Broker. I also emailed them and attached a response email from them dated November 24, 2015 which they also state they are not an international marriage broker.

• Medical Certificate and Ultrasound Report showing Beneficiary is pregnant with dates showing she conceived during my visit September 4-13, 2015.
  
• Additional evidence enclosed: I am currently in the Philippines now visiting my Fiancée; I arrived on Friday, January 8, 2016. Enclosed are some time stamped photo’s and copy of entry passport stamp and Airline receipt and boarding pass. I will be departing back to the United States on Sunday, January 24, 2016.

Thank you for you time and effort in reviewing our I-129F application for fiancée visa, it is much appreciated.

Thank you

Edited January 29, 2016 by Amy & Randy

[cristina16 81]

Congratulations Amy & Randy! Now as soon as you have your MNL you guys can proceed with the next steps! Good luck!

[tyler007 26]

Back from the Philippines now, the RFE request was for beneficiary's intent to marry, proof of circumstance of meeting, they also mentioned they wanted proof the site christianfilipino.com was not an (IMB). Strange because all the documents proving all this were already sent during original submission of I-129F. Talked to Rapid Visa who we paid to do our application and they just said to resend updated letter of intents from both petitioner and beneficiary. I also sent them time stamped photos showing I was currently in the Philippines with my fiancée, and medical certificate showing my fiancée is pregnant and conceived during the time of my last visit. I also sent copy of email from christianfilipino. com and website statement that they are not an (IMB). Our case status has now changed to request for more evidence received and they will be working on case again as of 1-25-16. Now just patently waiting for approval, hopefully by 2-1-16.

Welcome back. Congratulations!

Hope other Oct-Nov filers get approved this month as well.

Tyler

[Am & Ra 19]

Congratulations Amy & Randy! Now as soon as you have your MNL you guys can proceed with the next steps! Good luck!

Hey Cristina16, just wanted to let you know your blogs are amazing and very helpful in helping us understand our next steps to take.

[cristina16 81]

I am glad to help out And Congratulations! A baby! ?

[Am & Ra 19]

Just want to let other VJ members know from our experience of 80 days to get (NOA2) approval, we are proof you need to be patient. The RFE we received was for documents we already submitted with original filing of I-129F. I've noticed also that more RFE's are being issued, I've also learned that they are required to issue a percentage of RFE in relation to the ones they approve.

This makes sense why we and others were asked to send evidence that was already sent. My advise is to be patient don't call and harass USCIS because it will only do more harm than good. They are not going to speed your process up because they are approving other applications who filed a month after yours. We stayed calm in order to not be deliberately ignored or placed at bottom of pile from complaining.

Chances are if you have not been approved and others who filed a month after you are, then the odds are you are going to receive an RFE. Just use this opportunity to front-load your application with additional evidence other than what they are asking for. Many filers are receiving RFE'S for meeting on dating or social site.

If this is the case with you then its a simple hurdle to overcome. Just send cover letter showing copies of the websites disclosure that they are not an (IMB) and copy of email you sent to site and their response. It is my opinion that they just need to issue a percentage RFE's to show that they are in compliance with making sure they are monitoring these sites.

I have also noticed depending on which country you are petitioning your fiancee from can cause delays with background checks during the USCIS phase. If you have not received an RFE and you are 2-3 months behind other filers getting approved then it is likely you are in a slow background check process. As long as your not receiving a denial letter then you are fine.

Just thought I would share our experience being we were one of the unfortunate filers delayed for no apparent reason. My wheels were spinning for 80 days until our approval, I wanted answers and I know you do too, if you haven't been approved yet.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Amy & Randy