ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
USCIS Service CentersProcessing order
Petitions are said to be processed in the order they are received, I don't think it says they are adjudicated in the order they are received. An important factor has to be the country where the beneficiary will have their interview. All consulates cannot handle the same amount of interviews each day, week, or month. Anybody that has called USCIS should realize that they run interference, they may say something different every time, but basically they say, "Wait longer before you call us again". Is just my theory, but I think petitions are approved or denied a lot faster than we would think, and USCIS finally releases them to NVC in a steady rate so that interviews may be scheduled and such. There are said to be no numerical limits to the amount of spousal and fiancee visas that may be issued, but I'm sure the number is not unlimited, or determined by the amount of petitions awaiting interviews.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-08-26 10:59:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)complicated case
My wife is in Colombia and I am preparing an I601 as well. I601's submitted at the embassy in Bogotá are adjudicated at the USCIS office in Panama, and the last time I checked on immigrate2us, they were taking eight to twelve months to process. Many suggest using a lawyer to prepare the I601, but I wouldn't bother with either of the two you have already used. Was the advice of the second lawyer to leave the US, which starts the clock on either a three or ten year ban, that can only be overcome with the I601 waiver of ineligibility. My wife got the same bad advice , and is on year seven of a ten year ban. So check out immigrate2us and read everything you can find written by Laurel Scott about I601's. I hope this helps a little. Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2010-09-04 21:03:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Edward Toro got his I-212 Approval!!!!!
That's great to hear!
Julie y PatMaleColombia2010-09-13 16:10:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)I-601 waiver
Hey Maria, My wife recently submitted an I-601 at Bogota on June 7, and it was received in Panama on July 5. How long have you been waiting so far? They gave my wife a hard time about the waiver questionnaire, had to be typed, but the pdf wouldn't allow you to type in it. We did a lot of cut and paste for that thing. Otherwise we're just waiting again. Hope you hear from Panama soon! Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-08-30 18:51:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Tired of waiting
Is your waiver being processed in El Salvador? How long do they estimate processing to take? My wife turned her waiver in to the embassy in Bogota on June 7, and it was received at USCIS in Panama on July 5. On the receipt letter they said processing is 8-10 months. Hope you hear of an approval soon. Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-10-09 17:40:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)IR-1 after long overstay in US

and why does your husband not join you?

That will be addressed in the hardship letter.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-10-12 16:28:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)IR-1 after long overstay in US
Your husband has a lot of work to do for the waiver that you will file, either at the consulate or at a USCIS lockbox. The hardship letter from your husband will accompany your I-601 waiver. It's good that you know now that you will be filing for a waiver of ineligibility, and don't have to wait to be surprised at your interview. You haven't filled out a timeline, so we don't know if you have an interview scheduled yet. Currently, I601's filed abroad are turned in at the consulate and are adjudicated at a regional USCIS office, Nattychic said her waiver is at USCIS in Santa Domingo, DR. My wife's waiver was turned in at Bogota, and is being processed at USCIS in Panama. USCIS plans to change this in the near future, and all I-601's will be submitted at a lockbox in the US. Not sure what this change will do to processing times. I would check with Nattychic to see what the procedures in Trinidad and Tobago are, such as if they will take it on the day of the interview, do you have to make another appointment, do they want any documents that are not indicated in the I-601 instructions? You and your husband have your work cut out for you, even if you use a lawyer. Best wishes, Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-10-12 05:09:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Deported back to Nigeria...
You've got a tough road ahead of you. I'm pretty sure K1 is able to file an I-601, but in your case, not approvable. Will be low odds of approval even for CR/IR1. But before you even get to the waiver, you must know that you will be dealing with one of the most difficult consulates in the world. Read on these pages long enough and you know that it isn't easy proving a bona fide relationship at Lagos. I'm guessing that even after the ten year ban is up, the crimes will still make you ineligible for a visa, especially if they are drug related. And then for the waiver, even assuming that extreme hardship to the USC can be demonstrated, the aggravating factors may be so much that no amount of hardship will win an approval.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-10-18 17:39:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)quick question about new docs after ap is complete
My wife and I are waiting for an I-601 to be processed at USCIS in Panama, so unless we hear something three months sooner than expected, my wife's medical exam will be expired. She needed a new police certificate in June to turn the waiver in, and in Colombia they are good for one year. I will have a new I-864 for my wife, and have her bring a new DS-230, and G-325's for good luck
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-12-20 19:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)quick question about new docs after ap is complete
If they ask for a new police certificate, it would make me wonder what they do in AP/AR for all those months.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2011-12-20 19:27:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Tegucigalpa improves processing time
For aggravating factors there would be criminal record, denied asylum cases, for mitigating factors being brought to the US as a child and overstaying thereafter. These apply to the applicant, basically why the waiver is needed. The hardships are those faced by the qualifying relative

Edited by Julie y Pat, 19 May 2012 - 09:37 PM.

Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-05-19 21:28:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Tegucigalpa improves processing time
I know over on immigrate2us they have a forum section for people with waivers pending in Tegucigalpa. My wife's waiver was processed in Panama, and I would always read in that forum. Don't get discouraged by what your lawyer said about your hardships being as extreme as everyone else's. Read as much as you can, anything written by Laurel Scott, especially about aggravating factors. She seems convinced that the aggravating factors determine what level the hardships must rise to. Technically, the adjudicator is supposed to make a determination of whether there is extreme hardship, and then consider aggravating and mitigating factors in the decision.
My wife's waiver was approved, and I feel my hardships were not as extreme as those of others whose hardships letters I have read and whose waivers were denied, and it seems almost every time there was one or more of the factors Laurel considers aggravating to a case. Fortunately we had none of the aggravating factors and many she considers mitigating. Panama has had average processing times between eight and twelve months, and ours was approved in just over seven. I would concentrate on identifying any factors that would be considered aggravating and try to lessen their impact, than trying to make hardships seem more extreme than they are. A lot of almost extreme hardships can add up. We also filed the waiver without a lawyer.
One more thing, when I checked out the Honduras forum on I2US last night, seems there is a lot of confusion in Tegucigalpa concerning waiver submission. People told to turn the waiver in, then wait for a bill to pay the fee, people waiting many weeks for their waiver to be reviewed by the consulate before they turn it over to USCIS. Check out what has tripped up others going though Tegucigalpa. My best wishes for an approved waiver. Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-05-19 08:27:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)What are my chances?
Is there a chance the I-130 could have been approved even though the AOS was denied?
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-05-20 13:45:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Cancel deportation of illegal alien

Ohh no not the Spanish Inquisition!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0MObFpTI


Wow! Watching that video was torture. Tomas de Tourquemada has nothing on these guys!
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-09 23:14:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Cancel deportation of illegal alien

I think the first post was suggesting that she the Lawyer was going for Cancellation of Removal.

Two things required for COR are 10 years presence and good behaviour.

And a qualifying immediate relative that can show more than Extreme Hardship.

She seems to have neither.


Isn't that three things?
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-09 18:56:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)i 601 waiver

so we got a receipt for I-601 waiver! this is taking longer than i thought ....... :( 06/4/12

when did you submit the waiver to the consulate? it took a month for my wife's waiver to get from Bogota to Panama. I think I could have walked there faster. the receipt notice was dated two weeks after the date they said they received it on.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-09 20:35:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)We're Approved!
That's awesome!
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-07-06 20:55:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Please Help
I think it is most definitely about your husbands tattoos. I recommend going over to Immigrate2us.net, there is a sticky in the Panama forum, and probably other forums that address this issue. Seems they are suspicious of any and all tattoos, and have been known to issue lifetime bans for suspicion of gang relation
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-07-28 09:38:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)EAD Error
Tell your lawyer that it will be faster if they pay the fee because of their error
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-08-08 21:43:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)approved i-601 & med exams
Congrats on the approved waiver, is not an easy thing to do. My wife had to redo her medical after her waiver was approved, but it had been over a year since her first medical. Your husband should not need a new one, but there's no way I could be positive about that, the validity of medical exams may differ from country to country. I know my wife would have gladly redone the medical even if it wasn't necessary, just to make sure the consulate wouldn't be able to give her a hard time about it.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-08-21 00:19:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Follow-up appointment after waiver approval...
I'm not sure how they handle it at other consulates, but after my wife's waiver was approved, which happened to be over one year from the time of her first interview, she had to return for what they called an "IV interview". Turned out to just be a formality, turning in a new DS-230 and most recent tax return info for the I-864, but no questions asked, so it wasn't really a new interview. Hopefully your husband's AP will be over by Sept 4, and they will just ask him for his passport and verify that no info has changed, such as addresses or the like. Best wishes, and congratulations on the approved waiver. Pat
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-08-30 00:01:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)i-601 waiver
Same thing happened to my wife while waiting for an I-601. still mad, because the doctor made her get all of the vaccinations redone, and she got them from him last year. but if it's been over a year, medical needs to be redone.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-08-14 16:21:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)I 601 WAIVER FOR MISREPRESENTATION

Do you really even need to know the exact reason for the denial to file the I-601?

You have to know what the ineligibilities are, and specify on the I-601 form. It will only apply to those ineligibilities .
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-17 10:23:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Medical Exam

In Santo Domingo you cant just call the Dr and get info, and the embassy said it was up to the dr office to determine which vaccines were necessary. They are not controlled at all and have free reign to vaccinate people however they want. They ended up vaccinating my husband with ALL of the shots he took last year. He showed them his record and the Dr still insisted that he take every one of them again. More shots = more money for the Dr. That's how things are in the Dominican :(

same thing in Colombia. my wife had to get all of her vaccinations again, and it was the same doctor
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-11-23 22:43:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Just submitted I-601 how long more?
That's awesome dude! My wife's I-601 is in Panama, seven months into an estimated 8-10 month processing time.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-02-13 17:17:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Am I eligible for waivers I-601 and I-212
OP hasn't been back since posting, only active for about an hour. Deportation five years after a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia seems a little heavy handed to me. Being a green card holder from 21 to 26 years old seems to be about five years. Unknowingly pleading guilty to this charge seems to be another way of saying I forgot to mention this on the N-400.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-09 20:48:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Am I eligible for waivers I-601 and I-212
You got caught with a joint and five years later they deported you for it? What do you mean by unknowingly plead guilty to?
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-06-06 21:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Fiance lived illegal for few years and left voluntarily, will that affect his K1 visa?

I think with a deportation thrown in the mix, there may be a need for an I-212 waiver along with the I-601 waiver.  I-601's are tough enough to have approved for a K-1, the missed court dates will be aggravating factors making it that much harder.


Julie y PatMaleColombia2013-05-08 17:21:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Will I be deported?

what you call a little cunning and cleverness, I call material misrepresentation


Julie y PatMaleColombia2013-05-09 20:42:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)I-601/I-212 waivers in Bogotá
My wife and I were married less than a month ago, in Colombia, where she is a citizen. I haven't even filed an I130 yet, but plan to do so in the next few weeks. I have a feeling she may eventually be denied a visa for an overstay in the US. She moved to the US with her family when she was 9 years old, but remained in the US after her visa expired, which she thinks was when she was 14. She moved back to Colombia when she was 30 under advice from her mother and sister, who thought she would just be able to go back and get a new visa, but it isn't so simple. She applied at the embassy for a tourist visa 3 years ago and was informed that because of her overstay she is subject to a 10 year ban. Her father passed away 10 years ago and her mother, brother and sister still live in the US, all legally now. She has been living in Colombia for 5 years now, with her 11 year old USC son, from a previous marriage. Will she be denied a visa and have to file for a waiver, being the wife of and mother of USC's. I am just trying to prepare myself ahead of time for things we may have to deal with. I am new to the site and have learned a lot from what I have read here, but have not yet read about a situation like ours. Any help would be appreciated
Julie y PatMaleColombia2009-09-07 21:49:00
United Kingdombritish wife and adjustment of status
Is Direct Consular Filing really taking 5 months to a year in London?
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-04-15 11:29:00
United Kingdombritish wife and adjustment of status

Did you consider DCF aka filing the I130 through the embassy?

You will experience minimal separation this way, if any. Entering on VWP could be risky, being the spouse of a USC. You could pass through POE with no questions, or be faced with being denied entry or saying something to CBP that could screw you in the future. Yeah, and it would be fraud any way you look at it.

Edited by Julie y Pat, 15 April 2012 - 11:24 AM.

Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-04-15 11:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFSU spouse politics
FSU spouse politics. What is yours like? was the question. What a bummer that Alla can vote in the next presidential election, but would have to decide who sucks more, and vote for the one who doesn't suck as much. My wife is Colombian, so I don't really have any business answering here, but her ex is from FSU, so maybe that will get me in.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2012-04-21 13:39:00
Mexico, Latin & South Americak1 or k3 please help
Hi Ray, From what I understand, I would agree with the previous poster about DCF for a CR1 visa would be the way to go. That is for you to decide after you read further about it, and if you qualify and such. But I know about marriage in Colombia from personal experience. Different notarios may not require exactly the same things from couples wishing to marry. I married my wife with Notario Cuarta in Armenia and I(the USC) had to provide a birth certificate, a notarized copy of my passport bio page, and documentation that I was free to marry. The documents could be no older than 90 days, and needed an apostille seal from the state in which they were issued. These documents then had to be translated from english to spanish, and then the apostilles from the US and the documents and translations had to be "certified", and this can only be done at an office in Bogotá. I will put the address below. Rules for apostilles very from state to state, but make sure that if you have to get a new birth certificate it is one that can be apostilled. The hard part may be the document saying you are free to marry. I live in MA and went to the Registrar of vital statistics and got a document showing a negative result of a search for a marriage record on file for myself. Your fiancee would likely need to have a newly issued birth certificate as well, and this should be stamped from the issuing office as "valid for matrimony". Birth certificates in Colombia are updated with marital status, so that would also be the document that would show your fiancee was free to marry. I hope this information can be of some help to you. The address in Bogotá is Calle 17N 98-53.
Julie y PatMaleColombia2009-11-23 22:35:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaHelp Please!!!
The easiest way I have found for the currency conversion from pesos to dollars is to drop three zeros from the right and divide by two. I have a 10,000 pesos bill left from my last trip that I keep in my wallet, and is about 5 dollars or a little less. I hope this can help..
Julie y PatMaleColombia2010-01-20 22:44:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaHelp!
In my opinion it is best to do everything possible to make this process go as smoothly as possible. When my husband and I were mailing back and forth between Jamaica, we used UPS or Fed-Ex, yes it is a little more expensive but worth it because you get the documents within a couple of days. If your fiance is able to re-do the photos and send you them via Fed-Ex, DHL, etc that would prob. be the best option. The mail down there can be very unreliable. It took my husband almost a month to get a mailing from the Embassy in Kingston... the island isn't that big! wink.gif

Edited by Oneil's_wife876, 19 January 2009 - 11:46 AM.

Oneil's_wife876FemaleJamaica2009-01-19 11:45:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaYardies at home and Farrin (part12)
Night to anyone still around... off to bed finally.
Oneil's_wife876FemaleJamaica2009-01-21 01:21:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaYardies at home and Farrin (part12)
Thanks Nells and Jakes... I work 2 jobs and don't have much chance to get on VJ during the day at work, so when I get home I spend all my night catching up and don't get to say anything. Eventually when hubby gets his EAD and I don't need to work my azz off, I can be a regular and not a lurker!

Oneil's_wife876FemaleJamaica2009-01-21 01:17:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaYardies at home and Farrin (part12)
Sorry if I tend not to say too much... most of the time I am trying to catch up! Even if someone says something to me I don't see the post until like 20 minutes later... I promise I am not really that rude in real life, just a slow reader! innocent.gif
Oneil's_wife876FemaleJamaica2009-01-21 01:09:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaShipping to Jamaica
I think we are going to take the tags off and pack them in our own suitcases. I am going to be nervous as heck going through customs... I was always a bad liar! My husband thinks the barrel is still the way to go and I'm like, honey if you want to pay for it be my guest, but I am sure he will come around to our way of thinking! Thanks again for the advice...

~Alissa
Oneil's_wife876FemaleJamaica2009-06-16 15:39:00