ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

Andrew, this may be a silly question, but is there any way to take the information in your spreadsheet and create a graph that shows the completions per week? I'm thinking that in order for me to provide it to my congressman's office, a picture might show what I would have difficulty describing. I'm betting that there will be many flat lines between the peaks, which might put it all in visual perspective for him.

Julie



Hi Julie

I have attached a few links to some unprotected Excel spreadsheets that show the data for New/Under Review/Completed data in 3 different ways.

Please choose which type you prefer, the data is the same but displayed in different chart types.

Chart 1 : Spreadsheet 1 (PDF Version) : PDF Chart 1
Chart 2 : Spreadsheet 2 (PDF Version) : PDF Chart 2
Chart 3 : Spreadsheet 3 (PDF Version) : PDF Chart 3

I have also made PDF files just in case it is easier than Excel for you..

Let me know what you think. :thumbs:

Take care

Andrew

No updates today?? :crying:


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but I doubt if they will update us now until Friday.. but hey we can still have a chat online :thumbs:

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-10 13:21:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
I have just posted the following post on the USCIS Blog site "The Beacon" to the Director of USCIS and the Director of Communications

I doubt if it will do any good, but we all live in hope...

I-601 Waiver Application Timescales

Hi

I have been monitoring the USCIS I-601 Status Update PDF's since October 2009 as I am going through this process myself, however during the monitoring of these updates I have compiled a spreadsheet to make it easier for all involved to get a better idea of timescales and status than what the USCIS publish.

But if you look at the data collected over this 8 month period, you will find it interesting reading, because there are periods of time when nothing happens and other periods when they seem to be trying to beat a deadline.

The spreadsheet can be found here: http://dl.dropbox.co...scale I-601.xls

Just copy this link in to your web browser and it will open up..

What this shows me is the following:

1 - An average of only 1.2 cases completed per week.
2 - End of March must be important as several updates were issued before April began.
3 - Updates are sometimes issued with the following days date.
4 - Lots of periods when no cases get completed.
5 - Updates are not regular
6 - In the last 38 days only 2 cases completed
7 - The longest period without any completions was between 24th Nov - 7th Feb which was 78 days.
8 - Some cases are reaching way beyond the 15 weeks stated with no communication regarding delays to the applicant.

If I was running a department with the sort of figures that I have pulled from this spreadsheet, heads would roll, because how can you go so long without completing cases? without any transparency the applicants are blind as to what is happening and when somthing is going to happen.

Can anyone see what is going on, as we have no way to contact this department, no phone numbers are published or email addresses for this process to get any form of information regarding the status of each application.

Thank you

Take care and have a nice weekend..

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-08 05:55:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

I'm beginning to think they don't begin work on one case until one is moved off of the pile. So if they are missing something in that case that has been "under review" for 112 days, we all wait.

Right now, we've got cases pending for the following # of days:

112 (as in nearly FOUR MONTHS)
85
48
38
37
36
18
18
18
18



Hi J

What you have also got to take in to account is the number of days pending as well though.. so your list will look like this once the total number of days have been totaled:

Under Review Days + Pending Days = Total Days

112 + 89 = 201
85 + 116 = 201
48 (is completed and not under review)
37 + 140 = 177 Our Case
38 + 51 = 89
36 + 53 = 89
18 + 71 = 89
18 + 67 = 85
18 + 67 = 85
18 + 67 = 85

Which makes our case the 3rd longest case overall out of all the current Under Review cases.. :crying:

Take care

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-07 17:41:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

that case is mine lnd 2008 301 001


Congratulations Carl... I have updated the spreadsheet and coloured your row blue and marked you as a "VJ User" as some people like to keep their name private on this list, personally I don't mind adding my name to the list to make it easier to identify each others cases, but I do understand other peoples views and concerns.

If you would rather I mark your VJ Name "CarlHales" on the spreadsheet instead of "VJ User" please let me know.

Anyway welcome to the I-601 waiting club :thumbs: here is the link to the spreadsheet : > I-601 Update Spreadsheet 7th May 2010

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-07 17:19:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Guys

OK here is the latest after digesting the update today (Friday 7th May 2010) :reading:

USCIS have added 1 case to the "Pending" pile, this is case number LND2008 301 001 :cry:

That is it... They have done absolutley nothing else, no more movement from Pending to Under Review or any cases to completed.. in fact they have only completed 2 cases over the last 36 days on the 21st April 2010.

Even with the Bank Holiday you would have thought that they could have completed some more of the 9 London cases that are still Under Review or even if they were waiting on paperwork or other information then why not bring forward some more Pending cases to work on in the meantime?

Well I have written to the USCIS Ombudsman but have not yet received any response to my email, they do have however now have access to my spreadsheet, which hopefully will open their eyes to the long periods of time that we are all having to wait whilst appantently USCIS sit on their backsides doing nothing.

Do I sound a bit negative or pissed off... yes I am.. I am sorry but we will have been waiting for 26 weeks for our case to go to completed when we were told 15-16 weeks, add the extra 2 years that we have also been going through the other K1/K3 processes and you can see why this delay is not welcome and gets us upset. :ranting:

I am going to contact a lawyer that used to work for the USCIS adjudication dept in the London US Embassy to see if he can enlighten us as to why there are periods of time when nothing happens to any cases for months? also I will be asking him about the best way to get someone to investigate the slow service of these cases.

Anyway my rant is over for this week, I hope you all have a good one and will be in touch soon. :thumbs:

As always my updated spreadsheet can be found here > I-601 Update Spreadsheet 7th May 2010

Regards

Andrew AKA "Update Andy" & "The Speadsheet King"

Edited by Traci - Andrew, 07 May 2010 - 06:29 AM.

Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-07 06:26:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
I-601 UPDATED TODAY (FRIDAY 7TH MAY 2010)

I will update you all with the latest changes shortly.

Only one new addition to Pending, no other movements :crying:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-07 05:48:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Just some STATS for you and the USCIS to read whilst having a coffee. :pop:

Number of cases completed by Month

Nov 2009 = 11 :thumbs:
Dec 2009 = 2 :cry:
Jan 2010 = 0 :cry:
Feb 2010 = 12 :thumbs:
Mar 2010 = 8 :thumbs:
Apr 2010 = 2 :cry:

Number of cases from Pending to Under Review by Month

Nov 2009 = 1 :cry:
Dec 2009 = 0 :cry:
Jan 2010 = 3 :cry:
Feb 2010 = 4 :thumbs:
Mar 2010 = 5 :thumbs:
Apr 2010 = 6 :thumbs:

I Hope that you understand the above figures, if not drop me a post or email. :protest:

Created for my wife Traci > :girlwerewolf2xn:

Regards

Andrew

Edited by Traci - Andrew, 29 April 2010 - 08:02 PM.

Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-29 20:00:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi

I thought I would post here a copy of an email I just sent to the Ombudsmen for USCIS, this is for your info only, if you want to send one also here is the address: OLUInquiries@dhs.gov

We will see if this does any good or bad.. :thumbs:

"Hi

I am currently going through the CR1 Visa process as I am a UK citizen married to a US citizen, I was denied at my interview and a I-601 and waiver was submitted, at this time I was told the average processing time was 15 – 16 weeks from the time the case number appeared on the USCIS I-601 Status PDF file on the London US Embassy website: http://www.usembassy..._status-web.pdf

Our case number appeared on 10th Nov 2009 on this Status PDF file, however we were” pending” for a very long time (140 days or 20 weeks) then we moved to “Under Review” which was great as we started to see our case progress, however this has now been under review for the last 30 days or 4 Weeks, if we wait 2 more weeks it will be 26 weeks or 6 Months from the outset of the I-601.

Now my issue is not just how long these take as I understand that some cases are more complex than others, however we talk to others waiting on a Forum and ours is less complicated than a lot of other cases out there, but we have been the longest case under the “Pending” heading since I have been recording the updates and movements of the cases since October 2009.

I just think that we are lacking in few areas:

1 – Up to date accurate information regarding the status of the case
2 – Proper timescales (Best guess based on previous similar cases)
3 – Targets that the USCIS should be processing

I have been keeping a detailed spreadsheet of all the updates since 16th October 2009 which is publicly available here : http://dl.dropbox.co...scale I-601.xls

This clearly shows that the USCIS office in London have not processed any waivers at all during some periods of time and in small spurts they complete a few, but this spreadsheet makes interesting reading as it clearly shows that updates are irregular sometimes as long as two weeks between updates, then sometimes they update the status PDF by changing the date and nothing else or just add a couple of new “Pending” cases to the waiting list.

I have calculated that they have only managed to complete 1.3 cases per week, so if this stays the same over a complete year, this would mean that they would only process to completion 67 cases from their entire case load for the I-601’s per year. Which I consider to be rather a low number considering the amount of cases they must get each year.

Also if you look at the Rome I-601 case status PDF they actually give the results so others can see how many failed or succeeded, the UK system needs this and more.. If I can compile this spreadsheet to monitor how many days cases have been Pending or Under Review or even Completed then I am sure USCIS can, this information can then be used to assist the US citizens and foreign spouses as to how long to expect to wait, as we all have our lives on hold during this entire process which for me and my wife has taken over 2.5 years so far.

It also annoys everyone looking at this I-601 update when they just change the date and nothing else, or as in the case of the last update dated 30th April 2010 which was posted to the website on the 29th of April 2010 1 day earlier than the document states, making it appear that they posted it on the Friday but really it was posted on the Thursday afternoon.

Other times at the end of March this form was updated twice a day which is fine however they then started to post on the 1st of April but cases were backdated to March 31st.

If you could please look in to why we have a unreliable update schedule, Poor information i.e., less than Rome gives on their I-601 update & why cases are taking way longer than the average given out by the Embassy staff.

Many thanks

Andrew xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-29 18:09:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

Andrew, is this the link you posted earlier? Forgive me if it is - my mind is GONE with stress.

http://www.uscis.gov...190aRCRD&CH=afm


I think this is a newer online version than the one we posted, as the one we gave people was a document I downloaded and shared out via my link.

http://dl.dropbox.co...tionOfficer.pdf

I hope this helps... :thumbs:

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-29 18:04:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi

Firstly I would like to say thanks to JustJ, City2CountryGirl & TreeHugger for all their supportive comments to me and my wife Traci and everyone else in this hell hole of Waiver & AP (F)

I have calmed down a bit now. :devil: . but I thought I would do a little research in to making a complaint about the small amount of cases that the USCIS I-601 unit is getting through and the fact that the timescales being quoted are vastly misleading (15 weeks at my interview and we are now approaching 26 weeks), however it seems that there is no way you can complain, and if you do complain to the department of state you do you will be sent a standard form reply letter and basically nothing happens. :angry:

I was reading about one case (Not an I-601 case) that a very ill person applied for an urgent Visa to enter the USA to get treated in a US hospital where they could get the expert medical treatment required, otherwise they would not be able to be treated in the UK and would die. The London US Embassy refused a visa to this person and the officer who interviewed them was apparently very rude stating that they were unlikely to live long enough and therefore would end up dead in the USA causing a lot of issues, they appealed maybe by I-601 but this is a guess and months passed before they eventually got the all clear to attend the hospital in the US, but the person suffered during this time and their health deteriorated enough that they almost did not survive, however they did get the treatment and they are still alive. :wow:

This goes to show that even if you are going to die, you still don't get a break and that was just for a tourist visa? :blink:

What made me laugh though was the final statement on the US London Embassy USCIS i-601 website page:

Processing of The I-601
Upon receipt of the I-601 package, USCIS will send a postcard via email or post to the applicant confirming when the I-601 was filed with the USCIS London Field Office.
If you do not see your case number listed on our tracking system; this will mean that this office has not yet received your I-601 package from the U.S. Consular Officer where you had applied for the immigrant visa. In this case, you will need to contact the U.S. Consular Officer to ascertain the status of your application.

We ask that you please refrain from contacting this office for status checks while your application is pending. Your cooperation will help us ensure that we maintain our exceptional processing times.

They are joking right :rofl:

Thanks for reading my rant.. :thumbs:

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-29 17:15:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
I-601 UPDATE !! (Thursday 29th April)

Well what a NON EVENT...

What on earth do the USCIS think they are doing, we wait 9 days since the last update and they just add 2 more cases to the Pending pile.

No movement anywhere, no more completed cases and no more moved to Under Review...

Do the USCIS think we are stupid, by posting the update today (Thursday) and then publishing tomorrows date (Friday 30th April 2010) as if we would not notice, why rush to update this on the Thursday when they obviously are not going to be doing any work or updates tomorrow, maybe they have wound down for the Bank holiday early... I am mad that they have had 10 days as of tomorrow since the last update to work on the 9 Under Review cases or the 22 existing Pending cases before the additional 2 got added today... what the hell are they doing? How long does it take to make a decision when you have all the info in front of you?

If they continue on with this poor performance and lack of information I will have to raise a concern to the Ombudsman and complain, not just for our case but for and on behalf of all of us.

Lets hope USCIS read this post and decide to pull their finger out and complete some more cases before the end of tomorrow, they have managed to update the PDF file before twice in a day and the next day at the end of March.. lets see if they can repeat that performance to win back our confidence..

I am sorry if I come across as moaning and whinging, but we fall swiftly now in to another month... 15 weeks I was told at my Interview, it is now currently 24 weeks so far another couple of weeks more and it will be 6 months.. What the hell are they playing at? :devil:

Anyway I will update you as and when I hear some more, until then the 2 additions have been reflected in my spreadsheet:> I-601 Waiver Update Spreadsheet 29th April 2010

Take care :thumbs:

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-29 12:03:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
I can only hope that the USCIS are going to hold off until Friday because Monday is a bank holiday and then they should be able to please a few people over the extended weekend..

They have 9 cases under review and they have not updated us now for 7 days and on Friday it will be 9 days.. So if the average of 1.3 cases per week still holds true they will have completed 2 cases on Friday, but if they want to try and up their average then they need to get through a whole lot more as they are currently doing better just recently at 2.25 cases per week meaning that we should hopefully see at least 3 completed cases this time around, but lets also hope they don't try and do the old trick of just approving new cases that do not require much work, some of us have been waiting a long time.

Obviously I will inform you if any changes occur tomorrow (Thursday) but I doubt it, I still think our best chance of seeing any update will be Friday.. So lets all relax and enjoy the wait.

Come on USCIS I want you to make me busy with my spreadsheet, I am getting bored !!

Take care everyone.

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-28 17:42:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Well Monday has come and gone now and the chance of an update tomorrow is unlikely as they always try and do it weekly if possible, so as the last update was on a Wednesday, my best guess would be that they will update us then... Unless of course they want to make everyone suffer the extra 2 more days for a Friday update :devil: ... I hope not !!! :help:

USCIS have managed to complete 9 cases in the last 30 days which works out to be 2.25 cases per week... however their average for completed cases since October 2009 has only been 1.3 cases per week.

So you can look at this in several ways, either they have pulled their finger out and have increased the completed cases by almost 1 per week, :wow: or you could say that 2.25 cases per week is rubbish and 1.3 cases per week is pathetic.. :bonk: I will leave it up to you to decide which way you see things. :whistle:

Anyway lets hope that they can complete some more cases very soon.. USCIS if you are reading this, then please try and get through these cases faster as the waiting that we all have to do is just wasting our lives, we all want to be reunited with our Wifes/Husbands ASAP and this process is just wasting our life day by day, week by week and month by month... I hope you get the picture. :thumbs:

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-26 15:31:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

Andrew, not to belittle your, or anyone else's, experience, but you should be thankful you're not in AP!! No list, no updates, no information, no timeframes...it's not referred to as the black hole for nothing!!

Hope you enjoy the gorgeous weather we're having at the moment :)


Hi Tree

I am very thankful that we are not in your situation as it must drive you mad not knowing where you stand at all :blink: , I know that it would drive me nuts :bonk: and as for my wife Traci, well I think her doctor would be handing out the pills like candy. ;)

Anyway we are rooting for you and hope that you also get some good news soon. (F)

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-23 11:58:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone

Well it is now 3pm (UK Time) and still NO UPDATE for this Friday from USCIS :crying:

I guess they are finding it too hard to be able to update us either regularly every Friday !! or every time they even have any changes. :bonk:

So I doubt if they will update today as I am sure they knock off early on a Friday, especially as we have lovely weather here at the moment in London "Sunny and Blue Skies".. B-)

So everybody enjoy the weekend and we will see if the USCIS will see their way clear to update us on Monday instead. :thumbs:

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-23 09:04:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

Ah, it's working now. I read that one before. Of course, it was after we'd filed our waiver. Honestly, I wouldn't have done anything differently. We've told the truth, and if that's not good enough, then.... :unsure: It just is what it IS at this point, ya know?



Hi J

I know, but I would have hired this guy as my Lawyer because any slight advantage he may be able to bring to the table would be money well spent if you get any advantage at all from his skills as a former USCIS adjudicator... I know it is great talking from hindsight, but to have a UK based lawyer is better than dealing across the pond from the UK anyway, also because he worked at the embassy I am sure he has a good deal of insider knowledge as to what makes them tick the Approved box :D

Anyway lets hope for some more news tomorrow.

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-22 08:15:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi J

Which link could you not get to work?

The Adjudicator document link works for me, there is no link for the following article ref the Rome I-601 Status story.

Andrew

Edited by Traci - Andrew, 22 April 2010 - 07:37 AM.

Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-22 07:33:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi me again...

Sorry but my eagle eyed wife Traci also found this following information from the Rome US Embassy.

Not only do they show the results of the cases, which London does not, they also explain in more detail the meaning of "Pending" which is not what we thought the word Pending meant... we believed as do many others that the case has been received but then sat in a pile awaiting an officer from the USCIS to pick it up and work on it only then would it be considered as Under Review.. However from the Rome I-601 status info we can see quite clearly that Pending actually means that they are gathering all the documentation and working on the case, only after they have finished the checks and finalized gathering information and documents do you progress to Under Review, this is when the case is handed over to the Adjudicator to make the decision... I wish that London did the same thing as it would make people who are Pending less stressed as they think that their case is sitting in an in-box somewhere doing nothing for months.

This is an extract from the Rome US Embassy I-601 Status PDF:

Rome Waiver Status - December 2, 2009

Status definitions:

Pending - Case is awaiting documentation or completion of background checks prior to completion
Ready for Adjudication - Case is ready for review by an adjudications officer
Approved or Closed - Case has been completed and has been shipped to the respective embassy or consulate. Please contact the embassy or consulate where you filed the waiver for more information.
Denied - Please contact our office if you have not received your denial notice.

Immigrant Visa Number..........Status
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-22 05:43:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi everyone

My wife Traci came across this interesting article published by an Immigration Lawyer who used to work as as USCIS Adjudicator in the London US Embassy !! :thumbs:

He has an email address and link to his website in the article, he may be able to answer some of the burning question you may have, however I don't know how busy he is, but he is based in Brighton in the UK, If I had known this information before submitting my I-601, I would have engaged him for our case, as not only does he know all about I-601 cases being a former Adjudicator but he knows all about the process and the people who work in the I-601 section.

The document can be downloaded here > UK Based Lawer/USCIS Adjudicator Document
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-22 05:15:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

whenever I liaise with anyone online I usually like to reply with my first reaction so: ha ha :lol: (F)


Hi J

Thanks for your comment and support it is appreciated.. Lets hope we all get good news (This Friday I hope)

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-21 16:57:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List

Andrew - just wanted to say a quick thank you for all your hard work with this spreadsheet. I've stopped analysing the list from week to week, as I can just check your spreadsheet!

Thanks again!


Many thanks for your nice comment Tex... :thumbs:

I will try an keep this going for as long as I can, but if it gets too much for me to continue with during my transition to the USA, I will try and find a suitable person with the relevant skills to continue on with it.

Of course if anyone wants an unlocked copy of this spreadsheet for their own it is available from me for $100 - Just joking I will send you a copy if asked for free of charge :D

Kind regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-21 16:55:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
I-601 UPDATE - Wednesday 21st April 2010

Hi Everyone

Today at 11:50am GMT the USCIS posted another update.. :thumbs:

The changes are:

2 London cases moved from "Under Review" to "Completed" leaving 9 cases still "Under Review"
3 New cases added to the "Pending" pile making a total of 22 Cases
1 Lagos case moved from "Pending" to "Completed" :)

The case numbers for the London cases are:

LND2008 352 021 (20th April)
LND2009 582 005 (21st April)

As always you can see the updates reflected on my spreadsheet > I-601 Update Spreadsheet 21st April 2010

Anyway good luck to everyone and I hope they still do another update on Friday if not before.

Take Care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-21 06:17:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone

The USCIS has decided that we have been good and furnished us with an update today 19th April 2010 :wow:

So the highlights of todays update is:

4 Cases added to the "Pending" pile making a total of 19 UK cases in total now !!
6 Cases added to the "Under Review" pile from the Pending pile, this brings the total UK based Under Review cases to a massive total of 11 :thumbs:
1 Case was removed from the list, this may be completed but they failed to tell us or it was cancelled, anyway the case was Under Review and then disappeared :whistle:

Well this was a mixed bag update, many people will have enjoyed being added and moved from Pending to Under Review at last, however there was NONE COMPLETED :crying: but as they now have so many Under Review they must start to complete some soon... hopefully by this Friday (23/04/2010) I hope, this is my prediction anyway.

As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 19th April 2010

Well done and congratulations to JustJ who was one of those cases that went from Pending to Under Review :dance:

Well my Website monitoring software worked well, it enabled me to be the first to announce the update and work on the spreadsheet far earlier with my Wife Traci.

Wishing you all the best on the next update.

Take care all..

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-19 06:12:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)THE IMMIGRATION FRAUD CON

Wonderful piece of information....GREAT contribution...you have definately brought up some great points of interest....

Its amazing because we as humans usually never take an interest in a particular part of something, until it happens to us personally....



Thanks Leah & Lucas for your comment it is appreciated. :thumbs:

We are all on here for a reason and that reason is because we want to emigrate or bring our loved ones in to our country.. therefore we should all try and help each other where possible and try and make the process easier for others less experienced if we can, based on our own personal experiences, failures or successes.

Good luck to you and hopefully see you around VJ. :yes:

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-20 06:22:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)THE IMMIGRATION FRAUD CON

That is a mistake, if you seek a definition, you should go to the source that is issuing the visa/permission to visit the US:

USCIS:

Source

And here:


Source (bolding my own)

From State

Source (if you read this FAM article, it lists crimes that fall under, and do not fall under moral turpitude)

I do not believe it's ambiguous at all.


I also believe it's prudent on the traveller to know all the rules/regulations of a country prior to travelling there, including any forms you may have to fill out, but I was trained to think this way in the military, so you may not think this.

Do you have a link to the ESTA wizard you used? CBP ESTA still asks the question as on the form.



First of all, I would like to compliment you on a very well put together response to my post, it is backed up by links to the information where the information was gathered from. :thumbs:

However I must say that I was also in the military and have a disciplined mind and am considered very logical, my argument to your reply would be this:

Any traveler visiting a country is not going to look up every single immigration law or local law of the country in question before travel, some people do not have the time whilst some do not have the ability to do such research either academically or financially. I have read some of the USCIS definitions of the CIMT and one section tells you that manslaughter is a CIMT however it may not be depending on the circumstances, now this to me as a layman who looks things up thinks that that is about as clear as mud.
How can you expect Joe public to understand exactly what a CIMT covers when even Lawyers are not 100% certain themselves and have to read up on the latest interpretation from the USCIS guide, people who are deciding to emigrate to another country I can understand them getting very involved with what is or is not required to satisfy the decision making process, but for your average tourist who works hard all year to then take off 2 weeks for a vacation is not going to be bothered looking up questions to which they have no knowledge of until they receive a piece of paper 1 hour from landing, they will have to use their own judgment as to decipher the wording on the questions and nobody on-board that aircraft will have a clue what crimes are CIMT's I assure you.

So this only leaves the possibility of the traveler to ask the border guards, whom are very busy and have very long lines of people waiting to get through the immigration section for either further travel or to get on with there holiday. The last thing that the border guards want is every plane load of passengers (about 200 - 300) asking them to define if whatever they have done when they were young 25 plus years ago, fits the CIMT question... This would make travel in to any country extremely slow and cause massive lines.

So instead most travelers use commonsense which means they look at the question and think, well I did commit a crime of theft when I was in my late teens, now does that fit a CIMT? well CIMT in bundled in with Drug traffickers (Major Offense) Drug Users (Fairly Major Offense) People that have spent 5 years in jail (Again this must be for a Major offense) so CIMT? well that must mean any other crime that was a Major Offense, not a crime of theft involving a fine? surely, so they say NO to the question... not fraudulently but in a misinformed way, which is the problem... but only when that traveler decides to emigrate, then it is a big issue !!

You can surely see from a logical point of view that this is how most people travel and they would make the same mistake every time they travel until they try and emigrate and only then does the problem occur, which I believe USCIS actually uses to their advantage to help keep down the number of approvals on immigration levels.. (That is my personal opinion)

In the UK there has been a organization in place for a number of years now, to help make any forms or important information clear to read, this means less fine print on contracts and it must be written clearly and in plain english...

Since 1979, we have been campaigning against gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information. We have helped many government departments and other official organizations with their documents, reports and publications. We believe that everyone should have access to clear and concise information.
The campaign officially began after founder Chrissie Maher OBE publicly shredded hundreds of official documents in Parliament Square, London. Entirely independent, the campaign funds itself through its commercial services, which include editing and training. We have worked with thousands of organizations ranging from UK Government departments to World Bowls, helping them make sure their public information is as clear as possible.

We have over 12,000 members in 80 countries and our Crystal Mark is now firmly established as a guarantee that a document is written in plain English. It appears on more than 18,300 documents.


This organization needed to be used on the VWP form so that question B was broken down or made clearer so you had to answer YES to the question if you had committed any crime, then the border guard could spot the question had been ticked YES and the traveler would then be asked to detail the offense. That would be the best way of doing it, but hey this would not fit in with being able to charge misguided travelers when emigrating with Immigration Fraud now would it ;)

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-19 17:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)THE IMMIGRATION FRAUD CON

What exactly are you ranting about, your preclusion from use of the the VWP, or is this more of a rant against unclear verbiage on a piece of paper?


At least my post on this Forum is informational to others and tells people about the prospects of what to expect, as and when they have the interview at the embassy and if they have a CIMT against them, because I know we were not ready for this particular offence being pinned on us...

So if you have something relevant to say about this topic or you have been through the same thing, then I and others will welcome your comments, :thumbs: however if you just want to make unclear and unwelcome remarks then please do as your offensive member photo states. :whistle:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-18 16:00:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)THE IMMIGRATION FRAUD CON
The Immigration Fraud Con for not knowing to tick a VW "Yes" box !!

Posted Image

I'm sure that I am just one of many thousands of people on this website that has been denied a visa due to a CIMT (Crime(s) Involving Moral Turpitude) and also now charged with the offense of Immigration Fraud !! :devil:

The main reason behind many applicants having to apply for an I-601 (Extreme Hardship or Criminal Waiver) is because they are being denied due to their past criminal history & the ambiguous "question B" on the old Visa Waiver form, which USCIS will convict you of committing "Immigration Fraud" for entering the USA on the Visa Waiver Program and not declaring your Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude, in question B on the VW form (SEE ABOVE PICTURE) :crying:

The confusion seems to be the terminology USCIS have used for question B... "Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or been arrested or convicted for 2 or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was 5 years or more; or been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities"
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-04-16 20:37:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)I-601 Waiver Advice and Tips
Hi

I thought I would share this post from another forum, the author is an immigration attorney called Laurel Scott, I have found that she produces some very sound advice and helps by publishing documents to help others through this I-601 maze..

Anyway I thought I would give Laurel the praise for any of her work I reproduce on this forum as I do not want to be accused of copying or taking credit for her work. (especially as she is a lawyer) ;)

Do not use these words in your waiver packet

Words that should not appear in your waiver packet either in your letter or letters written on your behalf:


forced

When you say that if the waiver is denied, you will be "forced" to go abroad, or decide between spouse and country, etc., it begs the question "who is forcing you?" Presumably you mean the government is forcing you. Some adjudicators may be annoyed by the subtext, responding that it is your spouse's illegal actions that are "forcing" you to make tough decisions, not the government. There's no reason to get into this argument. Just don't use the word "forced" or variations of it.

hopes/dreams

There's case law that says the waiver was not intended to help people fulfill their hopes and dreams. This is about needs, not hopes and dreams. Realize that hopes, dreams, wants, likes and preferences are not 'needs'. The terms are too weak and when you use them, it instantly makes it seem that whatever argument you are making does not rise to the level of 'exteme hardship'.

sorry/apologize/regret

Unless you have criminal history, you should not be apologizing for your immigration violations. The vast majority of people who violate immigration law really aren't sorry; if you say you are sorry when you are not, it comes across as insincere. But it doesn't matter since the waiver is about extreme hardship to the qualifying relative and is not about remorse and rehabilitation on the part of the alien (except criminal waiver), so why open this can of worms?

fault

Unless there is an extremely clear-cut case of the immigration violation not being the fault of the alien (e.g. entered the US without inspection as an infant), do not try to blame anyone else for the violation. There's no reason to do that and most of the time it just makes the alien look unsympathetic, as though the alien is unwilling to take responsibility for his/her actions. It will rarely help you (except in extremely clear-cut cases) and is more likely to hurt you. The waiver is almost never about whose fault it is that the alien is inadmissible. It's about extreme hardship to the qualifying relative.

unjust/unfair/wrong

Don't get into an argument with the government about whether it is fair or just for your spouse to be inadmissible after violating immigration violations. It will not help you to get into this argument and may even hurt you because it looks like you do not take immigration laws seriously. Just don't get into it.

loose

This is the most commonly mis-spelled word in waiver applications. "Loose" means "not tight". "To lose" means "to be unsuccessful in retaining possession".


Also Laurel has written this very good document regarding an overview of the I-601 and Extreme Hardship Waivers > Laurel Scotts I-601 Overview

I hope you find this information helpful. :thumbs:

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-14 06:14:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Will they charge with Misrepresentation
Well done.. and Congratulations Magmay (F)

Take care

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-25 03:27:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Will they charge with Misrepresentation

There is not a "bar" for working illegally. . .read the INA.

There is a bar for overstay. . .3-10 years. . .waiver available
bar for deportation. . 5-20 years. . .waiver available
bar for Misrep . . . . Permanent. . .waiver available
bar for reentry after deport. . . .Permanent waiveable after 10 years. . .
bar for CIMT. . .....Permanent. . .waiver available

Lots and lots of bars. . .but not one for working illegally. . .



Hi

Although there is not a specific "bar" for illegally working it will surely be captured under the "bar" for Misrep, because they could state that they believe that she entered the USA on a visa that prohibits working and she did work without obtaining the correct visa type, therefore knowing that she was going to work and obtaining another visa to gain entry in to the US constitutes a Misrep.. but this is just my opinion.. I could be wrong and I hope I am for MagMay06's sake, as the Tax issue is another fight.

Good luck anyway with your application, hopefully you will not require a I-601 & a Waiver of Extreme Hardship but it does seem likely, as I in a similar position myself and I am 6 months in to the I-601 process.

Take care

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-05-14 06:27:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)Are they working on your case?

Why oh why do they only do one at a time? That's like only doing one application at a time - how insane!! :bonk: I love your suggestion, though I'm sure you can tell that in the three years since you and your SO went through this nothings changed :no:


Hi Tree

I think you will find that they only do one at a time for a couple of reasons.

1 - It keeps the system slow, that is the way they like it as more cases will fail due to relationship breakdowns, after all they are trying to protect the US borders from immigrants unless they have to be let in legally.

2 - If they contacted all the 3 law enforcement agencies (FBI, CIA & Interpol) at the same time, they could potentially be wasting valuable resources, as it only takes one agency to come back with a negative record that can deny the applicant entry in to the USA, but by doing it individually they can save these agencies excessive requests as I am sure that 10's or 100's of thousands are done each year.

For example if they checked me out and found that the Interpol check was bad against my case enough to stop my application, then they would not need the results from the CIA & FBI saving the resources of both of these agencies, but if they did all three together then the FBI and CIA results are of no use as the Interpol result was enough to stop the application and therefore has just wasted the FBI and CIA's time.

Don't get me wrong I agree from the applicants point of view that they should do them all at the same time as this speeds things up, however the USCIS & DOS are not exactly on the immigrant side, therefore by doing what they do is best for them.

Regards

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-06-19 05:07:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)After I-601??

Hi there Andrew,

I must say that I have been following your thread on waitlists for a very long time now. I was most disappointed to see you post here in this manner. Anyway, I use the same "USCIS ex-adjudicator" that you have mentioned. He is my solicitor (if you must know). I personally know an individual who was granted their waiver 3 weeks ago (and it took them just a few days to recieve it!).
I have a letter from a CPB field director at Newark, who has seen me pass through many a time, and has taken the time and interest to write a small statement about me on CBP letterhead outlining my case (he has known me/interviewed me probably 40 times within the past 6 years).
I will keep you posted. Please continue the marvelous work on the spreadsheets, but keep open minded that 2 cases are never alike, and that the easier the case, the more likely it is that it will be processed quickly.
I hope I haven't offended you!

Bob


PS: I have a US government contractor job (in databases of all things!) and fully disclosed my circumstances, and have been employed on this project for over 7 years. They know of my past and the details and have given me the required clearances. I am on a contract for USAID. (I am probably giving too many personal identifiable details here!)


Hi Bob

You have not offended me at all, this is what this forum is all about, debate and asking questions and seeking answers.

Obviously your right when you say that some cases go through very quickly, as it shows this on my spreadsheet, I was only trying to say that it is hard to come to a conclusion on how long a case should take because they are all over the place, I personally am very upset with how long our case has taken, but what can you do but wait until the USCIS get around to completing it.

I am sorry if my post came over as objectionable, it was not what I intended, I just wanted you to realize as a new person posting and asking some basic questions, that some people with a fair bit of time waiting on this list may know more than yourself, as I know we were in the dark for quite a while, it has taken a lot of time and effort to get up to speed with the process and I still need more info? We get so many new people on here that know nothing and you try and help them and guide them so they do not make the same mistakes that we made, but I do not think any of us here could tell from your posts that you were as experienced as you are or as well connected :whistle:

Anyway I am glad you have the Lawyer you do, he was very helpful when I asked him to answer some questions from an insider perspective, so he should be the perfect person to compile your I-601 waiver.

Anyway good luck with your application and I hope it all turns out well for you, keep us posted and if you go on the list send me a personal message and I will highlight your case and put your initials on it so you can easily identify your case.

Regards

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-06-20 18:55:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)After I-601??

Okay, your advisor is mistaken. . .waivers are not approved in 3 weeks, it takes a few months (exact number depends on what country you're applying through) to adjudicate a waiver, and yes, you do need to prove extreme hardship to your USC spouse or parent. You need to be talking to a qualified immigration attorney. It is very important.


emt103c do not give up giving out advice as what you said was sound, from my studies and from everyone I know on Visa Journey it is very rare for Waivers to go through this system in 3 weeks, in fact I would even say less than 3 months is a result. most of these cases that are done in less time are simple admin cases that require little or no checks or extra processing, they are simple admin errors that then require the applicant to raise an I-601 and provide the extra info to the Adjudicator.

I have spoken to an ex USCIS adjudicator from the London Embassy just recently, and he stated that priority cases go to the top of the pile and depending on the time of the year they will look through the pile for some easy ones to complete to get their figures up and to clear some down before a holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Year end.

So do not worry about this particular person whom is new to the process and quotes from the USCIS bible, because as we are more experienced people, we know they have to stick to rules but can bend them a hell of a way to make sure they get things done their way and they will not rush for anyone.. It will be done when they decide.

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-06-20 15:38:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)After I-601??

I don't have any personal experience of waivers, bobdabuilder, but if you read this thread you might get a better idea what the situation is:

http://www.visajourn...on-waiver-list/

It would seem that no matter how straightforward your case, it does take a lot longer than three weeks.


I must agree with treeHugger here, as I have been studying the waiver timescales since October 2009 to date and I have found vast discrepancies in the time a waiver takes to complete, from 1 week to 40 weeks.

Of course it depends on what the waiver is for, most simple administrative waivers go through the system quickly because some only require newer versions of documents or updated proof, and it is these admin type cases that are resolved within 1 - 10 weeks, the rest are then dependent on the amount of Waivers currently waiting, how many Waivers get prioritized and jump the queue as well as other factors like gathering information from various authorities, CIA, FBI and Interpol.

What I have found is that when my case was put forward for Adjudication I was told the average time to completion currently was 12 - 15 weeks, well my case has just passed the 31 week stage now, yes over double the amount of time quoted... What I found out just recently by my wife whom is the US Citizen who contacted her Senator to get an inquiry done, is that the London US Embassy and the USCIS dept in particular have a backlog of cases and they are only working with 2 Adjudicators, therefore the official average time now being quoted is 10 Months or roughly 40 weeks.

So I would say that you can not go by any USCIS or DOS literature or their estimates, a case will be done when it is done and they will not tell you or advise you of any delays at all.

If you want proof of these figures, just check out my spreadsheet that I regularly update whenever the USCIS update it on-line, it shows some interesting data that will leave you with a headache if you try to figure out any type of pattern or link between cases.

Here is the spreadsheet link > I-601 Waiver Timescale Spreadsheet

Regards

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-06-20 15:26:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone,

I am a slow off the mark this time round due to internet connectivity issues, (I am updating this just after 1 AM UK time).

The I-601 File was updated by USCIS on Thursday 4th November 2010

It has been an amazing 27 days since the last update which is a new record, as this is the longest time between updates so far since I have been recording them for over a year now.

So the highlights of todays update are:

5 New UK & Irish based cases were added to the "Pending" pile this time around!!

DBL2010 632 003 - LND2008 534 015 - LND2008 685 009 - LND2008 731 008 - LND2010 617 007

No cases have changed status to Under Review from Pending

No cases were completed.

This was a long overdue update, I have no idea why they have taken so long this time around to release this update without actually doing any work, after all they have only added a few cases to the Pending pile but not moved any to Under Review and have also not completed any?

Remember If your case number is above as a new case and you are on Visa Journey or immigrate2us, then please let me know your Case number and I will add VJ User or I2US User and your Initials to the Spreadsheet.

The current USCIS average number of completed cases per week figure is down again from 1.4 to 1.3 this update.

As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 4th November 2010

Wishing you all the best for the next update..

Take care all..

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-11-05 21:04:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone, I am now very amazed... USCIS is going super mad... they have produced another update in just 2 days? what is going on.. who cares I hear you cry... just let them continue this mad round of updates forever and ever... never mind about me having to update this every 5 minutes... seriously I don't mind if it helps you guys out like it did for my wife and me.

Today Friday 8th October 2010 the I-601 Waiver Status PDF File was Updated

It has been 2 days since the last update and 2 days before that one, and they have just added 6 more UK cases to Pending and one from Scandinavia.

So anyway the highlights of todays update are:

6 UK based cases were added to the "Pending" pile this time around!!

DBL2009 724 003 - LND2010 560 037 - LND2009 817 003 - LND2009 768 031 - LND2009 761 016 - LND2007 645 005


No UK based cases have changed status to Under Review from Pending


No UK based cases have been completed.


Remember If your case number is above as a new case and you are on Visa Journey or immigrate2us, then please let me know your Case number and I will add VJ User or I2US User and your Initials to the Spreadsheet.

The current USCIS average completed cases per week figure is holding on at 1.4 this update.

As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 8th October 2010

Wishing you all the best for the next update..

Take care all..

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-10-08 13:07:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone, I am amazed... USCIS is going mad... they have produced another update in just 2 days? what is going on.. who cares I hear you cry... just let them continue this mad round of updates.

Today Wednesday 6th October 2010 the I-601 Waiver Status PDF File was Updated

It has been 2 days since the last update and 6 days before that one, and they have just completed one more case from Under Review.

So anyway the highlights of todays update are:

No UK based cases were added to the "Pending" pile this time around!!


No UK based cases have changed status to Under Review from Pending


1 UK based case was completed.

LND2009 844 001

Remember If your case number is above as a new case and you are on Visa Journey or immigrate2us, then please let me know your Case number and I will add VJ User or I2US User and your Initials to the Spreadsheet.

The current USCIS average completed cases per week figure is holding on at 1.4 this update.

As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 6th October 2010

Wishing you all the best for the next update..

Take care all..

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-10-06 13:05:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone, I am a slow off the mark this time round and have managed to update you almost the same day, (I am doing this just after midnight UK time).

Today Monday 4th October 2010 the I-601 Waiver Status PDF File was Updated

It has been 6 days since the last update and 1 day before that one, but this time it has been worth waiting for as they have given us a bumper update today, maybe all the adjudicators are back off holiday now and are concentrating on trying to catch up with the backlog from their vacations in August & September?

So anyway the highlights of todays update are:

2 UK based cases were added to the "Pending" pile this time around!!

LND2009 863 024 - LND2009 328 005

2 cases have changed status to Under Review from Pending

LND2009 319 001 - LND2009 844 001

7 cases were completed.

LND2008 595 001 - LND2009 563 019 - LND2009 577 023 - LND2008 343 002 - LND2008 706 006 - LND2009 596 004 - LND2009 597 023

This was a fairly prompt update, however it was still long overdue considering the last 2 updates only contained a few additions to the waiting list but as there was 11 new changes made on this update I think we should forgive them this time around.

Remember If your case number is above as a new case and you are on Visa Journey or immigrate2us, then please let me know your Case number and I will add VJ User or I2US User and your Initials to the Spreadsheet.

The current USCIS average completed cases per week figure is back up from 1.2 to 1.4 this update.

As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 4th October 2010

Wishing you all the best for the next update..

Take care all..

Andrew :thumbs:
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-10-04 18:54:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi

Another update again today 28th September 2010... USCIS is pulling out all the stops :whistle:

One addition to the pending pile for the UK & Ireland: LND2009 809 003 also 3 others added for Scandinavia

Of course my spreadsheet has been updated to reflect this important update :wacko: : I-601 Update Spreadsheet 28th September 2010

Until the next update...

Take care

Andrew
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-09-28 12:00:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)The 2010 London Waiver List
Hi Everyone

Today Monday 27th Sept 2010 the I-601 Waiver Status PDF File was Updated
Traci - AndrewMaleUnited Kingdom2010-09-27 13:26:00