Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	November 2012 filers	hello guys, i m a november filers as well, yersterday i received this alert when i checked the status that "On April 13, 2013, your Alien Registration Number was changed relating to your I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)." Is that a hope that i will be approved soon!! No one knows for sure, but my impression is that YES! If you receive that notification months after your initial filing, it seems to be an indication that they are actively working on your case and you can hope for an approval (or RFE notice) very soon. If, on the other hand, you receive that notification only a day or two after first sending in the I-129F packet, then it doesn't mean anything, they're just entering the initial data in the system. But since it's been 5 months and you're just now getting that -- I really think there's hope. I am SO excited and torn to see November filers getting approved ... but I just hope they keep up and move a bit more back ... I'm November 9th and you're the 21st, so two more weeks back and I might be next! (Sorry to be selfish and I do feel awful about the July-August-September people!!!)	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-04-14 20:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	November 2012 filers	I WOULD feel like that, but there is absolutely no movement in CSC. That does not bode well I feel like I am on hold. I'm right there with you at CSC, pachacuti, and I'm feeling the same way. There are days when I'm feeling really down because there is absolutely NO sign of movement or life at CSC (July 17th STILL? they were processing July in November when we filed, and they are STILL processing July!). We had really hoped for a summertime POE, which would make life easy given my teaching schedule ... at this point I have no confidence that he'll even get here before Christmas, certainly not summer. Makes the days feel extraordinarily long and lonely. We're now re-evaluating whether I should try to fly over in the summertime just to visit -- we were thinking I might be able to come and help him pack up/say farewells, but at this point I'd be willing to spend the $1000 plane ticket just for a hug again.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-02-13 01:30:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC is moving, slowly but is moving	CSC started to approve October and December files. I how will start soon January, February and March. Are any March filer here? http://www.visajourn...l&dfile=No&adv= How about we let the JULY and AUGUST filers get finished up before anything else? I'm an early November filer but I can't imagine rooting for my own case to be processed before someone who's been waiting four months more than me!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-04-22 19:38:00
USCIS Service Centers	Is CSC slow or people do not update their time line	I already wrote huge letters to the CSC director and had emails answered by the Ombudsman, as part of the letter-writing campaign in early April.  None of them specific to my case number (I didn't even mention it!), just firmly reporting the incredible backlog and unfair treatment at CSC overall.  I really DO feel that helped, and the Ombudsman in particular was at least slightly responsive.  But all my letters then had hard facts, tables, charts and data to back them up.  Now ... two days slowdown on VisaJourney timelines isn't going to convince anyone yet, so I'm afraid we might have to wait until it gets really bad again before anyone pays attention and/or believes us.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-01 02:10:00
USCIS Service Centers	Is CSC slow or people do not update their time line	Although I think it's too early to get overly concerned, I am ... because I'm a worry-wart ... so I am feeling pretty sad when I see the last couple days.   Trying really hard to convince myself not to panic.   I know a few things that can explain the slower pace:   - we all knew CSC would not keep the amazing pace forever, I just hoped it would last a little longer ... - there were MANY more August/Sept filers registered on VisaJourney, so in comparison to two weeks ago, the percentage of recent approvals is down, meaning there are less pure numbers here on VJ to show - I also imagine that the people waiting less long, are not as active about posting their approval immediately on VJ - it is still early and there's still a chance they're approving more that we aren't seeing - in the last couple weeks, the highest numbers of approvals have come on Wednesdays and Thursdays -- I'm hoping for a bigger turnout tomorrow   But yes, I'm on edge.  They are reaching the late October stage and I am early November and I am counting the DAYS until our approval.  PLEASE CSC do not slow down yet!   I feel like when there's road work and the guy holding the stop sign chooses to stop the flow of traffic right as you get up to him ....	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-01 01:42:00
USCIS Service Centers	Possible cause of service center slowdown?	Thank you for finding this news.  I do hope it's the reason why these last two days are so awful ... at least if there's a logical reason, I can hold out hope that they will keep processing K-1's soon and not just STOP the way they did in December ....  I woke up crying this morning because we are SO CLOSE and only days away from being approved, if they would just keep working on our cases!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-01 12:55:00
USCIS Service Centers	case status update frequency	For the K-1 visas at least, I've seen reports here of 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 9 pm and midnight (Pacific time, looking only at the CSC filers).  I can't say that on any given day they'd do ALL of those, but I think it's safe to say that they update multiple times a day until midnight.  So unfortunately, there's no way of knowing when your status might change!  On the bright side, you always have something to look forward to!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-06 23:41:00
USCIS Service Centers	Update Application Before RFE?	I also say, it can't hurt to try sending it with a letter of explanation!  I know when I've been checking WAC numbers, I found one interesting I-129F petition that says "We received your correspondence and it has been added to your file" -- with a date 3 months after initial filing.  It is a different wording from the RFE response statuses I've seen, so obviously SOMEONE sent in additional information (before any RFE) and got it added to their case -- which is still in initial review at this point, along with all the rest of the WAC numbers near me.   Of course there is no guarantee that they will get it and treat it correctly, but I can't see any reason not to try, and possibly save yourself from an RFE!   I would try calling to see what they recommend, but if all else fails, simply send it to the Dallas lockbox WITH a cover letter and a copy of your NOA1 attached.  Just my suggestion, no idea if it will work though!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-04-28 18:18:00
USCIS Service Centers	VSC filers	It is funny how CSC was working petitions in 1 or 2 months when i filed then they stopped completely.  A lot of hard work was done by many filers to get them going again now they have caught up to VSC  and passed them in the dust.  This is the craziest process I have ever seen.     I'm guessing you haven't seen Igor's List this week -- CSC has stopped or slowed to a crawl again.  At this rate VSC will be passing CSC up any day now, so the "race" between the two centers (a stupid thing, there's no reason they should be competing!) is far from over.  I'm sure they will be leapfrogging over each other in tiny spurts for the foreseeable future.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 19:09:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC - New week	It may not be "many" left behind, but please be aware that it is AGONY for those people still waiting, with no idea about where their petitions even are (are they lost? misfiled? waterlogged? being passed around to the whole office and laughed at?) or if they will ever be touched, and with their congressmen REFUSING to help them.  I feel so badly for everyone left behind.  It is completely unfair and to gloss over them as "oh it's just a few" is very hurtful!   On a personal note I'm getting really really panicked, to the point of trembling.  Every single petition around mine (WAC numbers) has been decided, and mine is still sitting untouched.  I am fearing that I'm soon going to join the group of black-hole left-behind FOR NO REASON people, and I cry when I consider that I have no idea how to deal with that.  It's only been a few days though, so I am praying (to the nonexistent god I don't even believe in!) that it will be touched today, tomorrow, anytime soon.  I am going crazy and my stress levels are through the roof.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-13 15:45:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC really picking up speed, VSC lagging	CSC is also skipping over HUGE numbers of people, please keep that in mind.  Just because you see a January filer getting approved, does not mean that they have finished December, or November, or October, or even September, August and July.  There are still many people waiting 6, 7, and 8 months for CSC to even touch their case (not even RFE).   Averages mean nothing when there is no logic or order to CSCs progression.  It is sickening to see people left behind untouched.  I'm sorry that VSC seems slow, but if the alternative is absolute illogic and unfair skips, then I think I'd choose slow and steady!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-14 12:35:00
USCIS Service Centers	ANY ONE KNOW ABOUT THIS NOTICE FROM CSC	Wow, that's the first I've ever seen that notice for a K-1.  You're a late August filer and they're just now transferring your case?   It's not BAD news I guess, but it is strange and a little unique.  If it's accurate -- sometimes there are strange updates to the electronic case info that don't really reflect what's going on.  But if they did transfer it, then at least someone should make a decision on it soon!   Sorry that it's not a straight-out approval, and wish it were clearer for you!  Definitely keep us updated, since that's pretty rare and I'm sure we'd all like to know what comes of it.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-14 23:39:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC way behind national goal. Please don't slow down now....	Queen of Blades ... since the title and purpose of this thread is about CSC, I don't see the point in trying to compare the two centers.  It's NOT a competition of any kind -- they use different resources and have different directors and there is almost no coordination between the two.   If I start a support thread crying and seeking help because "my cat is very sick" -- it doesn't make much sense to come into that thread and say "but my cat's even sicker, you should just be happy!".   I do sympathize with VSC people!  You have it bad.  You also have your own threads and topics.  What people complain about at CSC does not really apply to VSC people and I don't see why people keep comparing them.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-17 17:12:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC way behind national goal. Please don't slow down now....	I don't think anyone is trying to say Vermont is ahead.  Vermont is AWFUL TOO.  No question there.   The two centers currently have different problems.  From what I've seen and from looking at those graphs, Vermont is as slow as molasses and all Vermont filers should be up in arms and contacting everyone you can, just like we CSC filers did in April.  (I truly think the outrage in early April led to the uptick in processing at CSC, but it also caused the out-of-order processing as CSC attempted to make themselves look good to their oversight people.)  I would not want to be at VSC anymore than I want to be at CSC, both are horrible.   The issue I think most of us have with CSC is the unfairness and hurtfulness of skipping over large numbers of earlier filers.  Even those graphs show it somewhat, although they can be distorted by people who don't update their VJ timelines.  It's certainly true that big numbers of December CSC people are HAPPY and rejoicing because they moved fast.  Now CSC is getting closer to completing November, working backwards, while at the same time starting in heavy on January.  The only logic there is that they are skipping earlier filers from August-Sept-Oct-Nov to keep their "average" looking at 5 months.   So no, we can't say CSC is "behind the national 5 month goal" anymore.  (April 3 we still could, by all means.)  What we say now is that CSC is completely unethical, unfair, and chaotic, and ... VSC is equally bad in slightly different ways.   No one's trying to win the pity party!  We're ALL disappointed and angry at both centers.  Obviously those of us at CSC watch it more carefully than we watch VSC, I rarely even see what VSC is doing since it doesn't directly affect me.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-17 16:50:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC way behind national goal. Please don't slow down now....	Well, I'm not going to quibble, I can't claim to have 100% complete data.  But of the 50 WAC cases I'm tracking there are 12 still incomplete from those dates.  That's 76%, so I'm still not seeing where 88% comes from -- but I guess I just missed some by manually tracking.  I was calmer knowing I'm of 24% -- telling me I'm in the remaining 12% sends me to bed less comforted.   Oh well.  Thanks for the data anyway, I wasn't trying to argue, just actively very concerned about my case status.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-17 04:05:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC way behind national goal. Please don't slow down now....	november is 90% complete (not igors list, the actual count of applications) and December as well.     Where are you getting that percentage?  I'm tracking Nov 3-9th filers (ALL of them via WAC numbers) and seeing only about 72% complete (and of course by complete I mean adjudicated with EITHER approval or RFE).  Mine of course being one of the incomplete ones.   Of course it's possible that I have a bad week to sample, but telling me it's 90% seems really too high.  Do you have another source?	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-17 03:15:00
USCIS Service Centers	Unfair random approvals. What is wrong with you CSC people?	remember we all have different ways of handling stress and all have different levels of tolerance to stress.  While some rant, some stay calm and wait.   I have one positive thing to say about this excruciating wait (192 days and everyone around me already approved) ... it is showing me whole new layers of my fiance that I had previously only suspected, and I love him all the more for it.   While I am ranting and crying and sobbing and calling senators (no response from one and a complete brush-off from the other), checking USCIS every few hours and scheduling extra appointments with my therapist to deal with the stress ... my fiance is calm, soothing, strong, positive and absolutely the rock that he has always been for me, only more so than ever.     I'll never say thank you to USCIS for the long wait, but it is a learning and growing experience and I guess I should be grateful for that.   I am still experiencing more stress than at almost any other time in my life, but I can certainly agree that there is no right or wrong way to deal with this waiting.  Ranting here is, I hope, allowed because we really do need to blow off frustration, but calm waiting is to be admired as well, and there's room for both types here.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-17 01:53:00
USCIS Service Centers	Unfair random approvals. What is wrong with you CSC people?	Ingenuity As we meet the challenges to come, we will strive to find the most effective means to accomplish our goals. We will use ingenuity, resourcefulness, creativity ...   Well I'd say they've met that goal!  It never would have occurred to me, seriously not in my wildest nightmares, that they would choose to process February and March filers while letting September (and July? and August? and definitely October and November) sit completely stagnant -- simply because their average can now be reported as nice and low.  That's certainly CREATIVE and ingenious, but of course insidiously evil and infuriatingly unfair.  Congrats CSC, one out of four goals met!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-16 22:32:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	No real point in being cloak-and-dagger about it.  It just adds fuel to the fire, despite the fact that I'm laughing at your choice of user name!   Nice job indeed.  I'm very much in approval of the info you collected!   To prevent this thread from getting out-of-hand with speculation, though -- which isn't the point, the data is clearly accurate and exactly follows what we see on VisaJourney and Igor's List, just in full numbers rather than the percentages registered here -- I think it's best to assume that the data was collected from the USCIS dashboard by entering case numbers.  Most likely, given the volume involved, some sort of automated script was used, and there is the possibility that USCIS would not be happy about "harvesting" data in that manner.  Thus the anonymity and mystery.   I don't blame the poster for staying anonymous, at all.  But I hope this doesn't turn into a focus on HIM/THEM rather than on the data, which is the most important thing.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-05 01:11:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	Based on collected data, CSC needs to review 72 petitions per day resulting in an Approval, Denial, or RFE in order to keep pace with the current backlog.   As you can see the current processing over the past 3 days averages as 60 per day.     I hope you have sent (or will send) this data to the Ombudsman!!!  It's exactly the sort of hard numbers we need to overcome their tendency to do nothing.  I really appreciate your hard work and hope that it makes a difference for us all!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-05 00:19:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	Wow, TylerDurden, that's quite some hard data there.  I'm assuming it was compiled by manually checking WACxxxxx case numbers?  Since I don't know of any other way you'd be getting that information.   If so, props to you for a lot of TEDIOUS checking.  It's a fascinating list and yes, extremely illustrative of the problem at CSC.  I'm impressed, although at the moment I don't know how to make use of the data since I'm still waiting on a response from the Ombudsman and don't want to push my luck by annoying him/her.   But thank you and I hope we can all see the problem based on those numbers!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-04 22:59:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	I just sent a firmly worded but calm email to the Ombudsman at OLUInquiries <OLUInquiries@uscis.dhs.gov> informing them of this week's sudden slow processing rate, warning of impending backlog and continued delays should it not improve .. and requesting them to investigate why the processing rate at CSC has suddenly dropped to less than 10% of what it was a week ago.   I strongly suggest other people send something similar: repetition and awareness-raising is key.   I'll post here if I get any response at all.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-03 02:17:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	Worrying about them slowing down does no good. Let's do all we can, then wait for the big news.   I agree that simply posting here and worrying, complaining, and ranting doesn't help fix the slowdown/stoppage.  (It can help psychologically, just to vent, and these are definitely support forums which can help in that aspect!)   But -- maybe I'm naive and optimistic -- I honestly think our outrage and activity last month of contacting everyone from the director of the CSC, the Ombudsman, and individual senators/representatives DID HELP.  It isn't permanent help, as we now see -- but it did something!   So I do encourage everyone to YES, WORRY ... and then turn that worry into action.  Send emails to the Ombudsman  at OLUInquiries <OLUInquiries@uscis.dhs.gov> asking them to investigate and do their job (which is oversight and problem solving) ... contact your congresspeople, or even start contacting the higher up USCIS officials if you feel up to it.   The squeaky wheel gets the grease -- I'm planning on squeaking as loud as I can until (and maybe even after) I have my NOA2.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 23:52:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	Aug, Sept, and Oct filers should start asking for help from their Reps and Sen...      I agree, but remember that even if you filed more recently -- even if you haven't even filed YET -- as a concerned citizen you are always able to contact your senator/representative, and more importantly the USCIS Ombudsman.  You don't have to mention any casefile number just to let them know that there is a problem and you are concerned and want them to be aware/look into issues involving the service centers.   When I wrote emails and hard copy mail letters last month, not once did I even mention that I had filed a petition at all, much less a case number.  I still got responses from the Ombudsman and feel that I was one of a large number of complaints that finally caused them to pay attention.  Now that my case is approaching its due date, I might mention the number, but there's no reason I would have to.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 20:24:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	I wonder if anyone has emailed the ombudsman and asked why there is a slowdown?   I'm actually planning on doing that tonight after work.  I've had great luck in actually getting answers (that USUALLY make sense and seem accurate) from the Ombudsman email, three different times that I've emailed.  I'll put together a sternly worded question email tonight and see if it gets any response, not holding my breath though.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 18:47:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	Am I wrong in thinking that MOST of the July, August and September filers HAVE been adjudicated?  Many have RFEs that are still waiting for approval, I know that -- but it looks from Igor's list like most of the cases have at least been looked at.  The ones who haven't are mostly those who haven't been on this site in many months, and therefore probably haven't updated their timelines.   I could be wrong though!  I would love to hear from July-September filers who are still actively waiting for ANY response to their petitions?  Certainly there are still lots of Octobers to go, that is true.  But I agree that if there are still earlier filers waiting, they need action NOW, not a stoppage or slowdown again!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 16:52:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	I would be fine if it were four-seven a day CONSISTENTLY.  But it's not -- only ONE yesterday (an RFE approval), two the day before (one was RFE).  That's not at all a good sign when there need to be a steady handful of regular non-RFE approvals to prevent a new backlog from starting.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 16:26:00
USCIS Service Centers	After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?	YES.  I don't like it, I can only guess as to why, but the slowdown is very clear.   My only hope is that (a) they keep up a slow but STEADY pace from here on out and don't let a huge backlog form again, and (b) what another poster found about the priority processing for HB business visas for the next two weeks only, will be cleared quickly.   I am sad and frightened to see CSC grinding to a complete halt after only two weeks of good (amazing!) pace, but I hope hope hope that they at least continue to let a trickle through.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-02 16:22:00
USCIS Service Centers	Why some cases may be faster than others	I can't speak to what happens to IR-1/CR-1 cases at USCIS, but it's definitely not the case for K-1 filers.  Country of origin doesn't matter one bit to the processing time, nor does anything really matter, it seems to be completely random when they pull cases from August and February on the same day for approval.  Insanely frustrating and so glad I'm done with that stage ... for now!  I'm sure it'll be a headache come AOS and ROC time too, though.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-22 15:45:00
USCIS Service Centers	Anyone Else Transfered from CSC	I strongly suggest contacting your local congressional representative, if you haven't already.  You'll need to fill out the privacy release form on your congressman's website.  After faxing to mine, my representative's caseworker filed a request with CSC, and my petition was approved 48 hours later.  Something seems very wrong about the handling of your case and you're long overdue for inquiring!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-23 16:48:00
USCIS Service Centers	VSC is MONTHS behind CSC	I fully FULLY support VSC filers contacting their representatives, ombudsmen and even center directors to make waves and changes and improvements.  VSC is far behind their stated goal and are moving very slowly.  It needs to improve, EVERYONE agrees on that.   I'd like to share what worked and what didn't, from my perspective when we went on an outraged campaign against CSC.  I am not saying you shouldn't do anything and everything in your power -- you should!  This is just my summary of what I feel was helpful:   (1) The OMBUDSMAN at OLUInquiries <OLUInquiries@uscis.dhs.gov> was incredibly responsive to emails, usually answering within 24-48 hours personally.  Be polite and not hysterical.  Cite absolute facts, such as the posted processing times and the national goals and the facts that you are aware of.  Use VisaJourney data ONLY as backup to support what shows on official USCIS sites -- they often respond with "that is not official data and is invalid" if you only reference what Igor's List is telling us.  (We know it's accurate but they deflect.)  When contacting the ombudsman, there is no need to reference your case number -- you can make general complaints and raise awareness without even mentioning that you are currently in the system.   (2) Senators and representatives will generally only respond to specific case number complaints.  There is often a very long wait (in my case, 4-5 weeks) before they even deign to look at your letter.  Perhaps smaller states may have more luck, I'm California and my senators have 30 million people to handle.  I recommend trying your local congress representative rather than senator, since they deal with far fewer constituents.  I did not have good luck with broad, systematic concerns about the entire process -- instead, they wanted to know my specific case number and place an inquiry for me only.  They were uninterested in the systematic issues I raised.  Some posters reported their senators saying "yes we are aware of the rising number of complaints" but mine didn't even go that far.  I hope you all have better luck than me in that regard.   (3) We did find the contact information for the Director of the Service Center and sent many postal letters and emails to him directly.  Some received generic canned responses, others got no reply whatsoever.  Even when he did not reply, I feel that the sheer volume of complaints all arriving on his desk in the same week must have made an impression.  Indeed we saw CSC reallocate resources and kick into gear only about 2 weeks after our huge campaign.  Our complaints addressed the entire system as well as the factual backlog specific to CSC.  We had GREAT PEOPLE here on VisaJourney making graphs, charts and tracking OFFICIAL reports of the backlog.  Referencing a graph using official data was, I feel, worth a thousand words that made no effect -- pictures tell the story very well.  Again, however, Igor's List is not going to be of much help - they don't care what individual people enter in their timelines, only what the USCIS officially reports.   4) A few people started to look into contacting media outlets.  I think that's a great idea but it's a bit harder to accomplish quickly.  I don't know of any major media reports arising from our CSC activity, but I do recommend it if anyone has media contacts, I've had great luck with local issues via the media in the past (non visa related).   I truly wish you the best of luck and hope that the situation for EVERYONE no matter what center does improve quickly!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-23 14:23:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC Processing times now showing at 5 months	While that would be nice for you, I have to warn you that I don't expect this CSC pace to continue for much longer.  CSC are working in absolute overdrive mode, focusing all their attention on the I-129Fs trying to catch up with the backlog that started 9 months ago.  At this point, although they have infuriatingly skipped some earlier filers, the backlog is MOSTLY cleared.   It also appears they are ignoring some other petition categories, creating backlogs for OTHER people at the moment -- those people (AOS, ROC and non-family visas) are going to start complaining too, so right now I-129F holds the lucky "priority" spot but it won't last long.   I strongly suspect we will see CSC I-129F processing slow back down to more normal (6 month average) levels very soon.  You can get your hopes up if you want, and of course no one knows for sure, but I suspect you will have a minimum 5 month, if not 6 month wait.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-23 18:34:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC Processing times now showing at 5 months	Completely agree with UK-USA-K1.  I'm overjoyed to see that 5 month posted time NOT because it's reality (it may be but it's incorrectly and deceitfully calculated), but rather because it means HELP IS AVAILABLE for those people left behind.  Until now, even August filers could not get any help from their congressional representatives because of the stupid July 18, 2012 stuck date.  Now they have something to force their case to be looked at.   I am sorry for VSC people that VSC is slower now.  Make noise, send letters, faxes, emails -- I don't know if people realize how MUCH of a fuss we (CSC people) made at the beginning of April: I know over 50 people (and very likely more silent lurkers) just from VJ sent snail mail letters and emails to the director of CSC as well as the Ombudsman and senators.  No one is stopping you from doing that, and in fact many of us will support you if you do!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-22 12:47:00
USCIS Service Centers	CSC from July to January	For what it's worth, I had kept a list of 50 WAC numbers around mine (Nov 5-8 filed), and I was PANICKED when 47 of them were approved, mine and 2 others left far behind with no action.  I've since gotten my NOA2 with help of my congressman, and am busy on the next steps ... but I checked again yesterday and of those 50 -- you guessed it, the two remaining ones are STILL UNTOUCHED.   There are still people left behind.  I don't think it's many, but if 50 files is any representation, then maybe 4-5% of filers still haven't been even looked at.  I cannot imagine being there now, and am really really thankful that I contacted my congressman when I did.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-06-06 02:46:00
USCIS Service Centers	Biggest gap I have seen between csc and vsc processing time	That is not how my senator responded.  Perhaps yours is a better public servant, then.  I've said all I can about why I have focused on CSC,  so I'm out.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-22 17:11:00
USCIS Service Centers	Biggest gap I have seen between csc and vsc processing time	The main reason we can only be concerned with one or the other is because our senators are only concerned with one, and indeed our senators only have contacts at one or the other service center.  When we write letters pointing out the slowdowns, we are asking our senators to address the issues that they have authority over.  My California senator has no contact with VSC and knows nothing of its processes, nor does she have any authority to address the problems VSC is having.  In addition, when we write to an ombudsman as a direct request for assistance or even as a general complaint about processing times, they respond with inquiries to one particular service center.   The system is divided.  Do I wish it were different, sure!  Do I wish I could wave a wand and address the entire unfair system at once, sure!  Do I wish we could have contacts that would have oversight and authority to make changes to both centers at once, sure!  But we don't.  We live with what we have and try to make life better for those that come after us.   If you find contacts to send emails and letters to that will have any hope of addressing the systematic issues, I will join in the campaign.  I want BOTH centers to be fair and efficient.  But until then, I will work locally to address the problems that I have a realistic chance of affecting -- as indeed we did affect CSC in April.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-05-22 17:03:00
USCIS Service Centers	Are VJ K-1 Guidelines Complete?	Ah okay - got it.  Sorry Lynkali - I missed that detail of your previous post!  Right - so 2 I-134s.  Got it!  Thanks so much! Oh by the way - one last question... You don't send in the I-134 with your I-129F petition, do you?  They don't ask for the I-134 until your fiance goes to her interview, is that right?   That's correct, the I-134 (or two of them, if you have a co-sponsor) are requested only when the applicant goes to the interview at the embassy.  There's no need to send I-134 in your initial petition.   Procedures do vary slightly at the embassy stage -- some embassies ask you to mail the I-134 to the embassy as packet 3/4, as you're setting up the interview date, while others like our process just physically carried the I-134 to the interview by hand.  But nowhere requests it prior to setting up the interview itself.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-11-22 22:25:00
USCIS Service Centers	Are VJ K-1 Guidelines Complete?	from what I'm reading it sounds like you and the co-sponsor would both fill out one copy of the I-134, both of which would then be presented at the interview if/when asked.     YES.  I just said that in post #9 of this thread.  I don't know why the original poster is still talking about the I-864 -- that just is NOT USED at the embassy stage unless you have been specifically requested otherwise by the consular officer.   If you have a co-sponsor, you need TWO I-134 forms for the embassy interview, each filled out with supporting documents.  Yes, the embassy absolutely DOES check if you don't make enough on your own, which is why you need the second I-134 form already prepared from the co-sponsor.  No I-864 involved.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-11-22 18:38:00
USCIS Service Centers	Are VJ K-1 Guidelines Complete?	I think you're mostly confused about the need for a co-sponsor on the I-134, correct?  Since you're saying you don't make enough and will need a co-sponsor, but the I-134 itself doesn't initially appear to show anything about co-sponsors.  So: every embassy is different and you'll need to head to the MENA forum and find out what Pakistan will require, but IN GENERAL: if you need a co-sponsor for the I-134 at the embassy stage, you'll fill out one I-134 yourself (showing not enough income), and your co-sponsor will prepare/sign a second I-134 with their own supporting documentation.  They will look at BOTH I-134's at the interview.   Once you get to the USA and file for adjustment of status, that's when the I-864 comes into play, and it is much clearer how to use co-sponsors with that.  But usually for the embassy stage, they want I-134 from you and a second I-134 from a co-sponsor if you need it -- again it depends on your local embassy, so find out for sure what Pakistan wants/requires via the local forums or email the embassy directly.	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2013-11-21 19:07:00
USCIS Service Centers	National Benefits Center and AP	I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm not sure there's anything you CAN do.  You did have an RFE, if I recall correctly, so that does add some time to the processing, and they do estimate 90 days without any RFE, so you're not really out of the accepted processing times.  And if they won't file a service request for you, then there's really nothing to do but wait.   You could contact a congressman, or try an info-pass appointment where you can talk face-to-face and try to get an official to expedite or service-request your AP, but given that it really hasn't been that long yet, in my opinion there's not much chance of success there.   There are many filers from November who haven't gotten their EAD/AP yet, you're not alone.  Many have (like us, we were lucky I suppose), but unfortunately you just have to wait.  I'm sorry that it messes with your plans for the trip home, but ... there are no guarantees on timelines in immigration!	Lynkali	Female	Finland	2014-03-01 15:34:00