ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

It's possible that they're not moving on to August yet because August filers are at just about 5 months.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-10 15:13:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

 

Do you remember when DACA was put out and they just dropped the i-130s and processing times ballooned ?

 

It looks like that workload transfer for the [ i-129 for employer to extend the stay of a H1-B ] is doing the same thing to the IR transfers all over.  

 

It did not move past July 22nd this whole week. 

 

~~~~

 

The other thing that I have noticed they've started doing is not mentioning the transfer date on the status update online:

Before it used to say -  On XXX, XXX we transferred your petition to a local office. Now it just reads this. 

 

The I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN was transferred and is now being processed at a USCIS office.

 

 

 

This look funny to ya ?

I don't know if that's new. I believe mine had the date on it in case status, but the notices I got in email go like this:

 

First notice:

On November 5, 2013, we transferred this case I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN to another office for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action.

 

Second notice:

On November 6, 2013, we transferred your I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN, to  your local USCIS Office for further processing.

 

Third notice:

The I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN was transferred and is now being processed at a USCIS office.

KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-10 01:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

My husband resides in plano, Texas. Jus curious will i be transferred to CSC or TSC or NSC?

It's a ####### shoot. There is no rhyme or reason that dictates where your case goes aside from their workload size.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-08 22:55:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

I was going to write that, but I was too depressed that I would probably be right. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-08 01:42:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

The transfers are a stop-gap measure because it's obvious that the NBC was not going to be able to process all of the files that they have stored there, and I think we finally made enough noise that they realized they weren't going to be able to keep stockpiling cases there. (And most of the DACA files were processed.)

 

It was 7 + months before transfer before because they were just holding our cases and doing nothing with them for that length of time. That they're now transferring July, to me, just means that they've already transferred the cases that were sitting at the NBC before July. I don't think that it's a sign that things are improving in the processing. There are still plenty of people from March and April waiting for approvals, even beyond the 60 days stated in their transfer letter. 

 

We will need to see a lot more approvals on a daily basis, and the older ones will need to be finished, before we can believe that they're making a real effort towards fixing the backlog. So far, we've seen a lot of weird RFE's, and petitions being processed in a very chaotic manner instead of a first in, first out way. They're playing around with the numbers to make them more favorable. 

 

Regardless, if they get the average processing time back to 5 months in May, that will be great for May 2014 filers. Probably less great for everyone who filed prior to that. We won't know until June or July. 

 

I really wish that I could look at it and expect that they'd follow through with what they said. They also told a whole bunch of people that they'd be processed within 60 days of their transfer, and they're currently not doing that either. During this entire process, I have never gotten an accurate answer from them, not even once. (Aside from, "You have to wait, and no, there's no real time frame.") 

 

I don't want to be a downer. I really don't. I want this to change, and I wished very much that I could take what they said at face value. I don't want people to have to wait 8, 9, 10+ months for their approvals. But unless we see a serious uptick in the number of petitions we're seeing approved every day, I don't think that is going to be the reality for most mid-2013 filers.  The new processing data should be up next week sometime. With a new priority date. With the first month where they really started transferring cases. We'll be able to see whether there's a marked improvement, or if it's more bad news.  I really, truly hope that it's the former. 

 

Because transferring cases is awesome, if you're actually processing them. If you're just leaving them to collect more dust at a new location, then transferring is kinda pointless.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-08 01:32:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

I doubt that a federal agency which has been tasked with reducing processing times for the i-130 petition for spouses to five months by May of 2014 (which is in about 3 months) will renege on its word.

 

I was telling the previous poster that the NBC is unlikely to process i-130s on its own except for expedites and/or DCFs.

They are transferring 1000 cases everyday but the SCs are going to most of the work to fulfil the agency directive right ?

 

Not sure what the objection is here ?!?!

I was pointing out the fact that SCs are going to do all the work.

Ok, I misunderstood and thought that they'd sent out new information that I missed.  

 

They weren't tasked with reducing the processing times. There was no directive. They stated that they were going to do so. In the same letter where they claimed that they'd been working diligently for weeks and months to improve the processing times, which we now know pretty conclusively wasn't true. In fact, the processing time *increased* by a month after that letter from them. I don't believe a word they say anymore. They renege on their word constantly, I don't see why this would be any different. I mean, there's not like there are going to be any repercussions for them whatsoever if they don't fix their processing times by May.

 

I think that we've seen a few regular filers processed at the NBC. But not a lot. And the new petitions are going to the service centers and have service center case #'s. So Yes, that would indicate that the service centers will be doing most of the work. I guess if we see new petitions with MSC, then we'll know that those specific people will be processed at the NBC barring a further transfer in the future.  


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-07 23:57:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

i HIGHLY doubt this. 

 

Service Centers have a mandate to get the i-130s done priority. 

Did I miss that?


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-07 23:08:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Because you sent a request to the NVC? Have you gotten your approval from the Us is yet? If not, then the nvc isn't going to be able to help you yet.


If you have, they may not have received it yet, or it may not be in their system yet.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-07 13:21:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

I think it's a good letter, but I don't think that VAWA people should be included in the letter, or at least not put in the middle of the 601 or DACA filers. smile.png I thought that they'd already gone through the process and thus didn't have to file a new I130. 


Edited by Kaylara, 06 January 2014 - 04:03 AM.

KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-06 04:02:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Oh, I'm all for writing a new letter. I'm mentally working on one as we speak.

 

However, I also think that we should consider a legislative solution here. The government is going to be discussing CIR for the foreseeable future, but there is no mention whatsoever of our cases. Which to me, means that the USCIS is going to slam us to the back of the line if it's passed, and it's going to get worse for us. The only solution I can see to this is preparing a legislative mandate that addresses our problems and presenting it to our representatives. 

 

The other thing I want to do is a large scale customer service assessment for immigration services with people self-reporting. I want it to be across the various visa types, and be as comprehensive as possible so that we can see the ancedata of individual cases, but also the overall trend in people's experiences with the immigration system in recent years. And then, I would like to send it and a report about our findings to the Ombudsman, new director of the USCIS, and the entire legislature.  I would need a huge amount of help with this though, and I'm not sure if it's possible. 

 

The reason behind this is because there is a limit as to the complaints that the Ombudsman can deal with. Those limits are set by the USCIS itself, and as such, they probably miss quite a few problems/issues when considering their report to congress with suggestions. I believe that we can not only identify problems from our end more effectively, but we can propose solutions that stand a much better chance of working. And we are not under the same restrictions that the Ombudsman is. We do not have to accept what they are telling us if our data indicates otherwise. 

 

So that's what I've been thinking about. I do seriously want this situation fixed. I think that we can do it if we work together. 

 

 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-05 12:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

No I haven't. That's why it angers me so much everytime I call and they tell me "it's out of the hands of USCIS as soon as you get your NOA1." TWO different people told me this. Do they get a script with dumb answers on it that dont make sense? Ugh

You need to call again, and get to a tier 2 and tell then what you've been told. If they give you the same line of bull honkey, ask to talk to their supervisor.  Your case is in their hands unless/until they've approved it. Record their agent name, number, and the date and time of your call. If you're getting this answer from them, they need to be reported, because it's just not true. Ask the supervisor where your case is and what it's status is. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-05 11:29:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Monday to Friday, but occasionally we have seen a weekend approval.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-05 10:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

I believe the Nebraska One is good and then California 

No, California has been the fastest by far up until now. They might slow down though, since there's been a work load from a different immigrant class there in the past few weeks. Nebraska is second fastest as far as I can tell (although I just got approved, and people who were transferred after me had already been approved, so there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.) and Texas is dead last, and also throwing out a lot of bizarre RFE's. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-03 23:03:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

:D I aim to please!


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 14:38:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

They say that's the fastest that they can provide that information. I think they need time to train the pigeons, and then for them to fly from the various service centers to where ever they're compiling the information.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 10:46:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Yes, they say that they then have 60 days, if it's in the hard copy letter you get in the mail. I believe that the more recent filers who are still within 6 months have not gotten that letter. And I also suspect that they are sending out ridiculous RFE's towards the end of that 60 day time frame to extend the time they have to process it. I think we'll see whether or not that is the case for sure within the next few days as a large group of us hits that 60 day mark.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 10:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

I completely agree with you on this Kaylara.  Most jobs expect a quota to be met.  When you don't meet it you may lose your job.  They should be held accountable.  And worst yet, is the stress being put on the people who applied.......emotionally and financially.  We are just numbers on the files they look at.  No faces means out of sight, out of mind.  Looking at your timeline I can't even imagine why they have not processed your case quickly.  You have been married for years. 

 

Well, someone would actually have to *look* at my case to see that. I don't think that's actually happened yet. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 06:50:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Hey Deep35472, thanks for your reply. So based on your (in depth!) analysis, where are they really? The USCIS site says 13th Feb 2013 (as of 31st October 2013) but i have seen reports that they are well into April touching May now?

 

We've been seeing approvals from Jan-June, with several after that as well. (Some with Philippine beneficiaries, some not.) So basically, they're all over the place.  


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 05:20:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

I wouldn't get the police certificate until you have your NOA2. I think that they expire 6 months after issue.  I know that in NL, he can't even ask for the VOG himself. The Consulate has to do that.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-01 12:11:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

My problem with this, is that there are no repercussions for them when they don't meet their goals. They just don't meet them, and go merrily on their way, not meeting them. There needs to be some kind of accountability on their part. With no repercussions for them, there is also no incentive for them to do their job in a timely manner. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-01 11:14:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

I swear Kaylara.. I cringe every time I log on to VJ and still don't see a NOA2 date under your name. March and April filers have been waiting for a ridicously long time.

I do the same thing when I check my email. wink.png We'll get there. And if they don't, do the job soon, well, almost time to start looking for a lawyer. 


Edited by Kaylara, 01 January 2014 - 11:00 AM.

KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-01 11:00:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Yeah, it's the getting to the NOA2 that's the pain in the #######. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-01 10:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

Not at this point. It's a crapshoot.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-30 21:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

does the wait time back to 5 months by May mean most of dec filers will get their approvals by May of next year?

if it does, we aug filers should expect our approvals around Jan and Feb, or at least transfer

We have no idea what it means because they're being intentionally obscure.  I'm assuming that the only thing this means is that they hope that people who file in May will have a 5 month wait.  Anyone who filed before that is in the dark about the actual processing times, unfortunately.  Also, they might not *gasp* actually meet their goal of getting the processing times back to normal by May.  I mean, their processing time goal has remained 5 months during this past year, even when the actual processing time they were reporting was 16.6 months. 

 

It's very possible that those people who filed after me (March filer) will be processed ahead of me because that will bring that national average processing time down. As long as that average is down, then the fact that there are a zillion of us older petitions in the system doesn't matter to them. They can just process the newer ones quickly and then they'll have a lower average processing time. 

 

This is one of the reasons we're going to be sending out the next letter to the House Judiciary Committee. Because that's a whole load of bull honkey right there.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-10 01:26:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

I've already prepared for another 7 months until we get our NOA2, which would make it 9 months. I don't trust that planned 5 month target at all.

Unfortunately, neither do I. But you can look on the bright side... They seem to like playing fast and loose with the average processing times... You might get approved before me so that they can accomplish that. :P


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-10 00:45:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsAug 2013 I-130 filers

 

Would you say the same for September filers? I'm not expecting our NOA2 until June. So around 9 or 10 months. Ugh.

They claim that they will have the wait time back to 5 months by May of next year. I'm hoping that it's close to that for you September filers.  


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-09 23:29:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

That's not a rumor, it's posted even on the USCIS's main website. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-02 05:50:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

We picked a bizarre year to file for the CR/IR-1 didn't we guys... I know things are supposed to fluctuate, but they didn't adjudicate anything for months! I'm new to this game, but have they ever just "stopped" adjudicating certain petitions before?

As I understand it, they first did this to the K1's last year at the start of DACA. However, that backlog was much smaller, and when they finally got on it was cleared very quickly. With us, they just don't seem to care in the least.  

 

I think that the K1's and us are probably the only ones that they do this to, as we're without numerical limits and country caps for the year. But I could be wrong. I understand that they're taking their sweet time with other types of filers as well, but I don't think to the extent that they've done it to the IR/CR filers this year.  


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-30 15:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

I hope for your sake that they actually get their act together and adjudicate your case in under 5 months.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-30 14:42:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

I wish I had your problems. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-30 12:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

I'm a March filer, and my case also hasn't been touched since transfer. This blows. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-18 15:05:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

It better not be 10 months for a NOA2, thats insane. I am seeing people getting NOA2 4 months after getting NOA1 (not all, a few). I was hoping for 4 to 6 months.

10 is fairly optimistic at this point. We're being quoted anything between 12-16 months total to get an NOA2 by the USCIS.  If you see people getting it in 4 months, they're probably overseas filers, or they've expedited their case.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-11-06 04:12:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

Seriously...what is going on? It's been exactly 1 month since I filed I-130 & no updates regarding NAO 2 until at this point...any idea...what's happening?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/03/2013 - I-130 mailed at Chicago Lock Box
10/05/2013 - Delivery confirmed
10/10/2013 - Recieved e-Notification
10/12/2013 - Received NOA 1 in mail







Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're probably not going to hear back from them for quite a while. I'm at 7 1/2 months, and finally got a lucky break in that my file was just last evening transferred out of the NBC. (No idea where to yet.) They're definitely not going to get back to you in a month.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-11-06 04:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsOctober 2013 I-130 Filers

Aha I see.  since i am spouse of green card holder,  I thought that the category is F2A. So long wait starts.

From what I understand, the spouses of green card holders are being adjudicated in under 5 months.  The IR/CR's are not. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-11-06 04:05:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsInterviews in San'a, Yemen

Found this for you guys: http://www.lexisnexi...department.aspx  Not sure if it's relevant for anyone here, but thought you might be interested.


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-02-09 00:10:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsApril 2014 I-130 Filers

Sorry to double post, couldn't edit my other post.

 

Anyway, I just tried to check my case status with the number from the email and it turns out my NoA1 is actually the 22nd and not the 24th.  So, I just updated my timeline and it now gives me an estimate of NoA2 between May 9th and May 12th!  This is strange since when it was set on the 24th it gave a range from May until late July!  Is this some kind of glitch?  I know that this is only an estimate but it seems strange that it would change so drastically from just changing NoA1 to 2 days earlier.

It's based on all of the people going through the same process right now, so it is possible that it's changed. But I really wouldn't take that estimate too seriously. It gave me three different estimates before I got approved. (And I went beyond all of them.)


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-04-30 10:51:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsALL Nebraska I-130 Filers

 

I am a Jan 2014 filer routed to Nebraska directly.

I´m not very confident about the random theory...they are supposed to process cases on a first come first served basis, if not....Why do we need a priority date? Just for filing? The receipt number would be enough for processing, then.

I am skeptical, I think they really take into account the filing and priority dates. According to their official processing times, Nebraska is taking 9 months (average) in doing approvals. So that, in my case, I do not expecty anything until October...

Maybe those cases of December you are referring to are K-1 visas. It seems they handle them quicker than IR-1/CR-1 requests....

It's *supposed* to be first in first out. Right now it's a bloody mess. They're all over the place. They're also claiming that they'll have the average processing times down to 5 months by May. But we're sure that they game the numbers, so who knows how long you guys are going to have to wait. I sincerely hope that it's not the same 9 1/2 + times that we've been having. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-02-26 09:29:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsDec 2013 I-130 filers

Ok, but you got the email with the information in it, right? I would wait until 30 days after they got it to start calling and asking for a duplicate because you didn't get a hard copy. 

 

Don't get nervous and upset yet. :) Even if you don't get the hard copy, you know where your file is going, and you have your information, right? That means you can track your case. (For what little good that is. I can't even tell you how much I hated that friggin' Initial Review message. And then the stupid Transfer message.) Good luck! I hope that your processing time is much improved the earlier 2013 filers! 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2014-01-03 23:31:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsDec 2013 I-130 filers

Good luck to everyone.

my husband and I are December filers - our PD is December 2....so like everyone we are waiting for our approval. Our service center is Vermont.

 

....also everyone is suffering through this broken us immigration process - my family does not benefit from DACA but there is a lot of pain and suffering with them too. As immigrants, we should all support each other - whether we came into this country legally or illegally. The us immigration system is the problem not the DACA kids. Our time of waiting will come  an end - but the DACA kids had no way out and their futures were lost. What PRESIDENT Obama did was the only compassionate thing that could be done.

 

So on that note, may God bless everyone one who is spending this Christmas without their loved ones.ClockWatch2.gif and may God not give us more than we can bear.

Many of us here have compassion for the DACA kids and agree with the idea behind it. The implementation, however, really threw us under the bus. The immigration system *IS* the problem. But because we can't get past the topic of illegal immigration, we can't focus on the actual massive problems that the system has. I understand that people are just trying to get a place in the line. But as I think that the very function of the line is screwed up right now, that's not going to fix things. Adding more people to our current system would be disastrous.   


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-27 03:07:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsDec 2013 I-130 filers

We sent our petition from overseas around thanksgiving and were routed to the nebraska service center. I believe we got our NOA1 on Dec 5th. We have been living overseas since we got married 7 years ago, with 3 kids, all citizens one of which was born in the US. I am hoping for a quick approval, we need to leave by May.

I hate to tell you, but that's probably not going to happen. I hope that I'm wrong and that they process you quickly because you are overseas. But you're in Saudi Arabia, and that means that you're probably going to have to go through AP even after you're done dealing with the USCIS. That can take a ridiculous amount of time. 

 

You and the kids will have no problem. But your spouses will probably have to wait there for the visa process to be completed. 


KaylaraFemaleNetherlands2013-12-18 13:04:00