Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
USCIS Service Centers	USCIS Website updated Processing Times page as at 15 June	This is how I understand what they are reporting in their processing updates. USCIS has a processing commitment timeframe for the K visas of 6 months. If they are processing applications within that timeframe, they report a processing date 6 months back from the date of the most recent update (currently June). Dec-Jan = 1 month -Feb = 2 -March = 3 -April = 4 -May = 5 -June = 6 So they could be processing applications from May and would still list Dec on the June update. Next month in July they will report they are processing January applications. CONCLUSION -- You cannot use their processing dates/updates for anything except if they are taking *longer* than their commitment of 6 months. For accuracy of any amount, the updates are absolutely useless! Stick with the Timelines on VisaJourney and keep your records up to date is my suggestion. Hope that helps. God bless, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-06-30 00:21:00
Asia: East and Pacific	Need better service then Yahoo Messinger	Depending on your connection speed, Skype offers some of the best web cam quality. Voice and audio is excellent; however, it requires some higher computer resources and broadband is advisable if not required. www.skype.com	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2006-09-30 10:20:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Both 130 and 129 got approved, which is better??	Hi all! we have seen similar topics in this forum, but would like to ask again on this topic... We just got approval notice for both 130 and 129F ( we filed both in Feb this year....), and wondering what we should do.. Of course, we want to be together at the shortest amount of time...... Has anyone actually went through the same situation and chose one or the other?? I believe the I-130 (CR1/IR1) has numerous steps, touches, payments, movements, etc. between the NOA2 and the NVC sending it off to your Embassy; however, the I-129F (K-3) will not go straight to the NVC and off to your Embassy. You save significant time by pursuing the I-129F. The bummer is the K-3 is MUCH more expensive now with the Adjustment of Status and EAD (working authorization), versus the I-130 Immigrant Visa allows you to work right away and doesn't require the AOS or EAD. The I-130 is better, but slower if at the same NOA2 stage (well assuming something freakish doesn't happen with the K-3).	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-01 20:26:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	Our I-130 and I-129F applications were approved 4 Sep 2007. I received the e-mails late last night. To note, I did send letters to every office of my Representative and two Senators, about 13 letters in total. My Representative's response indicated they didn't do much more than I could have from their feedback; however, one of the Senator's very well could have made a difference, after some specific prayers for approval. Good luck in your continued journey. At first I was in minor shock and disbelief, along with a lot of joy. Now I'm focused already on what is next. For those still waiting, I recommend sending some letters out... God bless, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-05 09:28:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	robin and the rest of you guys you are completely right. I should learn to be more patient, and just flow with the process. I appreciate all the support we give each other in this forum and i do believe soon we will be out of this hole. I got another touch this morning, so ill just relax and see what happens. Irene, Something I learned in personal organizational training for best business practices is "if you touch it, finish it." It takes too much time to shuffle papers around and work on this 5 minutes, then that for 5 minutes, etc., etc. You end up spending all your time shuffling instead of finishing anything by doing that. But if you touch it and finish it, you are more efficient. I have a feeling your adjudicator could learn some great processing tips by attending a similar seminar. My guess is the person is just shuffling papers around inefficiently to either work on the easy stuff or to simply look busy. If so, shame, shame. This would explain why you see so many touches and why you're on the longer waiting list. It seems to be a ####### shoot on who gets our paperwork. Hope to see your approval VERY SOON! Good day, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-17 09:52:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	I just got a letter from my senator Trent Lott. He said that if your case was transferred to CSC from another service center they do not go by your noa1 date but they go by the date cali received your transfer. So now Im really lost, i called uscis and they said my case had been pulled and is in someones office for processing. However, they did not receive my petition from vsc until 5/01/07, so they dont have to do anything with it until 11/01/07. I think Im going to have a stroke. If it is in someones office now, will they likely put it back in storage or will they go ahead and process it. IN A LAND FAR FAR AND AWAY THERE IS A RAINBOW, EVERYDAY MY SOUL TRIES TO SOAR AND JOIN WITH ITS BRIGHT RAYS. HOWEVER THE DEMONS OF USCIS CONTINUALLY SABOTAGE MY WINGS....... AY AY AY Irene, I absolutely do not believe nor agree with the statements in your Trent Lott letter. They are not the USCIS nor are they representing them. I have always understood that your application is processed in order of when the USCIS receives your application, and not even the NOA1 Notice Date. The date they mark it RECEIVED on your NOA1 should establish the pecking order. Everything I have read and heard, with legitimacy, has pointed to this. To be fair, I do not represent the USCIS neither. USCIS seems dumb, slow, heartless, etc., but I believe even the process outlined by Sen. Lott's office is way off and does not reflect reality. I don't even think the VJ timelines would show this effect of delays due to transfers. Your case will be a great test, if you will. The theory is it will be adjudicated soon once it is assigned and on someone's desk. This sure makes sense to me. Good luck and God speed. I truly believe you are okay. One thing I have noticed with myself, and I see it playing out on these VJ forums with fellow members. WE ARE POWERLESS. We cannot "talk to the manager" or complain about bad service and threaten to take our business elsewhere. This goes against everything we are used to in our society. This could start a whole political debate on purpose and involvement levels of governments, but that isn't for this thread. Therefore, we have to dig deep and accept the fate of the process. We are NOT in control. We are powerless. There is only one thing we have control over, and that is our ourselves -- our emotions, reactions, peace of mind, etc. I am so extremely frustrated; however, I try to look at the reality of the situation. Letting this process control my attitude just adds to my negative experience. I know for a fact I had a good idea of the timeline I was signing up for when I married a foreigner. In doing so, I signed up for additional stress and temporary loneliness. This is the time to grow and go through it learning and growing from the situation. If we can't even deal with this process, how are we going to deal with marriage and the stresses that brings into the relationship? (This is not directly at you specifically, Irene.) I encourage everyone on this thread to tap that self-control and maturity and come out of this a better person. Sure, we can throw darts at the USCIS to relieve stress. I have already done this. But if we start talking about addiction to viewing the USCIS status and all these unhealthy issues, that is not benefitting you or your spouse and family at all. I believe we are all doing a wonderful and adventurous thing here. There are challenges, but we are going to enjoy a diverse relationship few get to experience. This is temporary. We cannot change, significantly, the process during our wait. Sure things can improve, but it will not affect us or our waiting. Hopefully it gets better for those in the future. I'm not far behind all of you, maybe a month. If I focus on it, it bothers me. But I just say to myself that I cannot change anything, so I need to remain in control of my emotions -- meaning extreme swings in mood and reactions. Good luck to everyone. Maybe this "lecture" is more directed at me to help me maintain my composure. Hopefully it strikes a chord with some on the list that have let their emotions run a little wild as of late. Unless you KNOWINGLY cheated, lied, or forged something, there is a VERY high chance your application will be approved. They are not looking to deny anybody. They ARE looking for fraud, however. If you know you were honest, I really believe you have absolutely nothing to worry about. DENY versus RFE are very drastic issues. I would hate to receive an RFE; however, that is not a denial of application. So don't focus so much on the negative. Take time to build a foundation of communication with your spouse. This is a trying time, but also a wonderful time to focus on WHO you married. I hate parts of this, but I'm trying to focus on the parts I love. I love my wife! (Wow, eyes a little wet there.) Again, God bless you all. It will be alright. -Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-16 21:19:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	i got the approval notice on I-129f today approved Just to note, you're VJ timeline predicted August 22, 2007 (versus August 14, 2007 actual, off only 8 days) for your I-129F approval and October 11, 2007 for your I-130 approval. Looks like VJ is doing well with the I-129F estimate. CONGRATS on approval. (Friendly request to update your timeline when possible. Thanks) Happy Completion, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-14 12:58:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	K-3 applications are more complex than K-1 applications due to the fact of linking them to our I-130 application. It also appears they are trying to work on them simultaneously so they are approved together. I'm sure that helps them save time, but it costs us time waiting. Regarding the other members that have VERY short waiting periods. I e-mailed one member mentioned and he noted he is military and was able to apply for expedited status. I trust we all understand and support this for those serving in the military to protect us from those insane freak shows blowing themselves up in the name of "Allah." Good luck everyone, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-13 17:39:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	Each USCIS Adjudicator has a limited amount of time to work per day. Every time someone uses this "RFE Trick," they are taking valuable time away from them to actually work on and complete an approval. My estimate is it is probably close to a 1 to 1 loss. Each time this "trick" is used, that person contacted at CSC or VSC cannot complete another application that day. Am I missing something here? What we fear the most, that it will take longer, could be partially be our own fault by abusing this process. Are you really helping anything with the RFE Trick? What did you gain? Did you actually gain any useful information? If it's not your turn to have your file adjudicated, it goes back in the box. But hey, woo hoo, you now have a "touch." What in the world? Think about it. Do we really want to tie one hand behind those actually trying to adjudicate our applications? I'm ticked off at the System, but I'm rooting for each person processing the applications. They have a lot to deal with. We just applied at the Perfect Storm of delays and lag times. It is so frustrating. Do we want to contribute to the problem. I'm not trying to stir up trouble or requesting to be flamed. I just think we should reevaluate abusing this RFE Trick. I argue it doesn't help anything at all. In fact, I think it hurts the overall process. God speed and blessings on your journey. We all need it.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-07 10:24:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	March Filers with NO APPROVAL yet.	Congrats to those receiving NOA2s. A friendly request to update your timelines. Thanks from an April filer.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-07-31 22:44:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (Jas S @ Oct 10 2007, 12:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (snidrv @ Oct 10 2007, 12:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How do I find the phone number to the NVC? I filed 130 in march and 129f also, both approved and I am stuck, dont know what to next and my wife is jumping up and down. I would like numbers and ideas as to what is next. Should I give up on K3 and do cr1/ir1?? Thank you All NVC # 603-334-0700 Hit Option #1 for English Hit Option #5 to be transfered to an operator It should say there is about a hold time of 3 mins. If it says this you got thru, anything else try calling again until you hear that message. Call between 7:30am and 8:00am that is the best time to reach an operator. Good Luck The dialing directions above are correct. I would like to add what I found to be a time saver, too. After you press "5" there will be a pause. If someone speaks in Spanish, HANG UP. You are about to be bounced around and eventually hung up on. BUT, if you hear the same women say she is sorry for the delay, blah, blah, blah, smile -- you are now in line (on hold) and will get through in a few minutes. I found calling early in the morning was the fastest throughput. Longest was evening "Prime Time." I averaged about 3-5 hang-ups per attempt to get through. The shortest was in the early morning getting through on the first try. The longest was Prime Time taking about 10 tries. Good luck, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-10 00:51:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (Superman @ Sep 28 2007, 10:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Five weeks to the day my I-129F was approved the NVC just got it. I hope everone that is waiting gets in soon. Good luck. Congratulations. SHAME SHAME SHAME... CSC. Monday will be four (4) full weeks for us...	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-28 22:48:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	I spoke with USCIS CSC just a minute ago. Like others I'm very disappointed at yet ANOTHER significant delay in my paperwork. I wanted to understand why it is taking so long to ship the I-129F to the NVC. This is what the kind Chinese lady told me. For an I-130 application, they can simply send the application "as is" to the NVC. Therefore, shipping the I-130 is pretty quick. For an I-129F, K-3, application, the paperwork has to be physically manipulated by hand by pulling certain documents and putting them into new file pouches. Then the I-130 application has to be filed and stored to be held for the AOS. This is what they are referring as the staging area. I asked how long this should take. She replied saying they don't have a good estimate, since they are new to this process. (As we all know by now.) So it looks like we are being held up by the huge backlog or surge in applications. We just jumped in at the wrong time for "quick" processing. She said it's been taking about a month. It now doesn't seem to me that we are just sitting around waiting to be shipped. Instead we are again finding ourselves waiting on low resources to deal with the surge they have experienced. Funny, you would think they could keep up with the pace of adjudication. But that would be too logical of an assumption. Hope this helps. For me, IF THEY WOULD SIMPLY EXPLAIN THE SITUATION AND TRUTH OF THE MATTER, I wouldn't have been as frustrated. Although, I have thankfully handled this much better than I anticipated. As my mom says, "Don't pray for patience. The way you learn patience is by waiting." I have not been praying for patience, but I still received a nice, long wait. Sorry if this is common knowledge. I don't remember hearing these specific handling details.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-24 15:20:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	I received a "Touch" today for my I-130 at the CSC. Both applications have been approved. I am in the waiting period for CSC to bulk ship to the NVC. Does anybody have an idea why there would be a touch at this point on the I-130? One of my thoughts was to store that particular application as CSC now holds on to it. Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-21 15:41:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	I called CSC, DOS and NVC today. CSC pretty much confirmed they wait for a batch of applications to pile up and then send them in one shipment. It is not based on timing, but instead quantity. Why would they do this? Having been involved in corporate cost savings programs, one can look really good saving millions of dollars a year. Consider this. I'm not sure how many applications are approved and shipped from CSC to NVC in New Hampshire. Let's say it is one million. If they save $1 in shipping per application, they just saved the CSC $1 million. Just think how good the Director will look now. I'm sure he/she will receive a fat bonus check. Sadly at our expense -- time with our families and significant others. So if CSC is slow approving applications, they will be slow shipping to the NVC. Wow. I'm so ticked, I'll stop while I'm ahead.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-17 16:23:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (Erika @ Sep 12 2007, 06:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just called NVC...they've got my stuff now What a relief to finally know that my paperwork is out of CSC's hands!!!! 21 days between NOA2 and NVC receipt for me...sounds about the norm these days EH, Congratulations! Umm... Have you seen the new mailing addresses for the Adjustment of Status? By the looks of your local office, you will be submitting your AOS to CSC. I think I'm laughing only at the irony. I will be stuck there too. It's like a horror story. Just when you think you killed him -- HE'S BACK... and we thought waiting for the K-3 was tough... isn't the AOS even worse? Anyway, enjoy getting your loved one here. I think the AOS will be easier to deal with once we have our spouses at our sides. Good evening, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-12 20:48:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (ras001 @ Sep 10 2007, 01:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just called NVC and they said they have not received my case yet.. I said my case has already been approved since 4 weeks and the lady said 'We have not received it yet. If you want call back after 2 more weeks'. If you want???? You idiots, I am going to call you and bug you every freaking day until you receive it. I really wish these people were in our shoes.. then only would they understand our situation. Right after that I called USCIS and the person there said that my case was forwarded to NVC on Sept 6th (but NVC has no idea of it). Thereafter I called DOS and they said that NVC got my case today and that I should give them a week at least to forward to Consulate/Embassy (we know that's not happening in 1 week!). Honestly, I don't know who to believe and who not to. As far as NVC is concerned they do not have my case yet!!! Ras001, It is unbelievable how horrible CSC is compared to VSC. The director should be gone for allowing blatent differences against their own policies of adjudicating in order received. Question. What is the difference between calling NVC versus DOS? Do you learn more from one versus the other, or do you receive one piece of information from one and different info from the other. Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-10 14:23:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (jade2004 @ Sep 10 2007, 11:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just called NVC and they DO have my case now yayayyaya!!! Jade2004, Congratulations! Do you have to talk with a person or does the automated line work for I-129F's? I'm on Day 6 after approval, so I'm getting ready to check in on NVC on Day 14 -- well really to see if the bonehead system at CSC sent it to NVC. Once NVC gets it, they seem qucik. Then it's waiting for the interview time. Fun, fun. Also what info is available to them when you called? Will they help you determine receipt date and send dates for our timelines? Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-10 12:06:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved March filers - petitions forward to NVC	QUOTE (LvivLovers @ Sep 8 2007, 04:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We never got our NOA2s for either of our approved forms. I called CSC using the RFE trick after 30 days and told them we never recieved it. The person we talked to told us that their system shows they sent them so she can't send them again. She said contact my post office because she was sure they had been sent. (Funny in all my life I've never had things mailed to me that haven't arrived, but CSC seems to have this problem a lot.) Any ideas what we should do next? Maybe you can call the FBI and report that your mail has been stolen and oddly it was only two pieces of USCIS mail that you know of for sure. And I'm not completely kidding you. Or call the local police first, then the FBI. Ask for a statement or some type of official report/document, because you need it as proof that you never received your approval letters they swore they mailed to you. State that your wife will not be able to join you if they do not investigate the theft and make a report. Or point out an option is to ask CSC to send something they refused to do -- send a "copy." Then mention their time is being wasted due to USCIS not working with you. But I am being serious in a way. I don't want to waste the FBI's time. But if USCIS knows 100% !!! sure they sent them, you just had mail stolen from a Federal system. That is very serious. All I know is I would LOVE to give them as much hell as they have heaped upon us. (CSC that is.) -Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-08 17:43:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	Our I-129F K-3 paperwork left the NVC for the US Embassy in Manila on 10/3/2007. That means there was a 2-day turnaround at the NVC. Good evening, Robin Edited by RobinAtAileen, 05 October 2007 - 12:16 AM.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-05 00:15:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (neel06 @ Oct 2 2007, 08:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (JohnWendy @ Oct 2 2007, 05:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> THIS ABSOLUTELY SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope tonight they make up for the lack of K3 approvals in the month of September. are there still lot of april filers left or have majority of you guys gotten approvals. neel06, According to VJ timelines for those that sent their K-3 applications during April, 2007, I find the following numbers. A total of 33 applications were SENT in April, 2007. CSC - 24 NSC - 1 VSC - 8 As of this post, 18 applicants have received their K-3 NOA2. K-3 NOA2 Received: CSC - 15 NSC - 1 VSC - 2 Therefore 15 applicants are still waiting for their K-3 NOA2. CSC - 9 NSC - 0 VSC - 6 There are 2 K-3 applicants that have their interview. CSC - 2 NSC - 0 VSC - 0	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-03 13:21:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	By the way, I found out last evening that my paperwork has made it to the NVC. It took 27 days for our paperwork to go from NOA2 status to showing up in the NVC database. (See signature or VJ timeline for specifics.) Good luck to everyone waiting. It is tough. It has been more heartbreaking than anything to me on so many levels like missing my wife, wanting to get going with my life and future family, and lesser issues such as how disappointed I am in the USCIS and my government and their absolute real lack of any accountability whatsoever. Talk about job security.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-02 16:25:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (pkewl @ Oct 2 2007, 03:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (valticp @ Oct 2 2007, 01:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It looks like they haven't done anything with k3s for the past two weeks. I hope I'm wrong Thats so true... valticp Check this out: I just compared the K1 vs. K3 NOA2 from CSC for the period of 09/15 thru 10/02...I saw 35 K1 NOA2 versus ONE K3... Ofcourse unless, K3 filers here are getting their NOA2 and not updating their timelines but I am pretty sure thats not the case...Oh well... Good Luck to all pkewl, To supplement, if you don't mind, I have some more numbers that seem to prove your point with the caveat that everybody may not be keeping their timelines up to date. All NOA1 received from 4/1/2007 through 4/30/2007: Total: 116 (100%) IR-1/CR-1: 7 (6.0%) K-1: 76 (65.5%) K-3: 33 (28.5%) then... NOA2 received from 9/15/2007 through 10/2/2007: Total: 36 (100%) IR-1/CR-1: 0 (0%) K-1: 35 (97.2%) K-3: 1 (2.8%) There is definitely a bias towards K-1 visas for some reason. Whenever we see numbers comparing results of K-1 versus K-3 visas, we need to allow for a 76 to 33 ratio (about 2.3 K-1 visas for every single K-3 visa). Therefore there SHOULD have been a distribution of approvals more along the following. Total: 36 IR-1/CR-1: 2 K-1: 24 K-3: 10	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-02 16:16:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	I spoke with USCIS CSC just a minute ago. Like others I'm very disappointed at yet ANOTHER significant delay in my paperwork. I wanted to understand why it is taking so long to ship the I-129F to the NVC. This is what the kind Chinese lady told me. For an I-130 application, they can simply send the application "as is" to the NVC. Therefore, shipping the I-130 is pretty quick. For an I-129F, K-3, application, the paperwork has to be physically manipulated by hand by pulling certain documents and putting them into new file pouches. Then the I-130 application has to be filed and stored to be held for the AOS. This is what they are referring as the staging area. I asked how long this should take. She replied saying they don't have a good estimate, since they are new to this process. (As we all know by now.) So it looks like we are being held up by the huge backlog or surge in applications. We just jumped in at the wrong time for "quick" processing. She said it's been taking about a month. It now doesn't seem to me that we are just sitting around waiting to be shipped. Instead we are again finding ourselves waiting on low resources to deal with the surge they have experienced. Funny, you would think they could keep up with the pace of adjudication. But that would be too logical of an assumption. Hope this helps. For me, IF THEY WOULD SIMPLY EXPLAIN THE SITUATION AND TRUTH OF THE MATTER, I wouldn't have been as frustrated. Although, I have thankfully handled this much better than I anticipated. As my mom says, "Don't pray for patience. The way you learn patience is by waiting." I have not been praying for patience, but I still received a nice, long wait. Sorry if this is common knowledge. I don't remember hearing these specific handling details. I understand many may not have been approved in this thread yet; however, I wanted to share some information on the next step after approval, so you will know what to expect and hopefully not be overly disappointed at yet another month delay.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-24 15:24:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	I received a "Touch" today for my I-130 at the CSC. Both applications have been approved. I am in the waiting period for CSC to bulk ship to the NVC. Does anybody have an idea why there would be a touch at this point on the I-130? One of my thoughts was to store that particular application as CSC now holds on to it. Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-21 15:33:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (Jim-Bob @ Sep 6 2007, 07:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (RobinAtAileen @ Sep 5 2007, 09:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Our I-130 and I-129F applications were approved 4 Sep 2007. I received the e-mails late last night. To note, I did send letters to every office of my Representative and two Senators, about 13 letters in total. My Representative's response indicated they didn't do much more than I could have from their feedback; however, one of the Senator's very well could have made a difference, after some specific prayers for approval. Good luck in your continued journey. At first I was in minor shock and disbelief, along with a lot of joy. Now I'm focused already on what is next. God bless, Robin (G, your chart, for me, was off by 1 day!) RobinAtAileen, Congrat`s but can you please post your updated timelime here. Jim-Bob Jim-Bob, My VJ Timeline was and is up to date. If you were referring to adding signature information, sure, I can and have done that. Let me know if you're not seeing something you are expecting to see. I might not be aware of what you're asking or looking for. Thank you and everybody else for the kind words. Happy Friday, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-07 14:36:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	Our I-130 and I-129F applications were approved 4 Sep 2007. I received the e-mails late last night. To note, I did send letters to every office of my Representative and two Senators, about 13 letters in total. My Representative's response indicated they didn't do much more than I could have from their feedback; however, one of the Senator's very well could have made a difference, after some specific prayers for approval. Good luck in your continued journey. At first I was in minor shock and disbelief, along with a lot of joy. Now I'm focused already on what is next. God bless, Robin (G, your chart, for me, was off by 1 day!)	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-05 09:25:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (Urge To Race @ Sep 2 2007, 01:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> G, Did you call to have a replacement NOA1 sent. You will probably get one now. They did have computer problems, so the system thinks you were sent an NOA1 when you were not. Even if you called a while ago, their problems continued for some time, so again they might have thought they resent it and actually nothing was sent. Robin, I know this wait is frustrating (trust me), but now need to overreact. The RFE trick is not needed here or repeated calling even. G&A submitted their I129F using other evidence of a pending I130 at the end of June. Plenty of us who filed our I130s in April through July waited a month or so to send the I129F because our NOA1 was delayed or missing. Considering that March filers are finally just getting approved, going nuts to get a missing NOA1 isn't going to help the case, nor will it get it expedited. We are all closer to our approvals now that we were yesterday! Cheers Oops. I didn't notice from the signature G&A sent in their I-129F and has received that NOA1. I was thinking they were feeling the need to wait for the I-130 NOA1 to go to the next step. This still shows that USCIS lost its tracking capabilities.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-02 15:59:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (G&A @ Sep 2 2007, 02:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Robin, our I-130 was sent in May and still no NOA1. G G, That is horrible! I am so very sorry to hear about your delay, truly. This is my take. The USCIS CSC, and maybe across the board, had some major programming/computer glitches that either crashed their system or got completely out of wack. I believe they lost their tracking capabilities for a couple of months and some of the problems were not able to be solved. My guess is the system "gave" a print and mail command for your NOA1, but it never made it to the printer and thus never mailed to you. There is no way they can recover whether some people received their NOA1 or not. If I were in your shoes, I would call and write letters to my Congressman and two Senators explaining the situation. I would also call the USCIS 1-800 number constantly and bug them relentlessly. Screw whether or not you offend anybody -- just keep your personal integrity and honor and morality. ALSO, this is one instance I would use the "RFE Trick" CONSTANTLY until I received the answer I wanted. Call, call, call, call and don't stop. DEMAND they resend a replacement letter. Good luck. Please let us know how it turns out. Supposedly according to their documentation. If there are delays due to their fault, they will expedite your case to catch you up to the appropriate point in the process. Again, I would bug the death out of them. I'm ticked at how slow they are already. This makes me hate the USCIS system even more. And for others reading, I blame "the system." I don't blame the individual workers at USCIS CSC and other sites. I trust they are doing the best they are allowed to do. God bless, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-02 13:12:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	April K3 Filers	QUOTE (neenuh @ Sep 1 2007, 07:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> my husband and i are waiting for our NOA1, AGAIN and looking at everyone's timelines, i can't help but freak out it feels we're being singled out by this stupid process it's been over 2 weeks since my husband mailed the K3 packet :sigh: so, how's everyone? Neenuh, Sorry you waited so long for your I-130 NOA1. I just read the following from the USCIS web site. It might explain the delay in your receiving the I-129F NOA1. Please check out the following link. http://www.uscis.gov...0004718190aRCRD The text on the site regarding CSC states: QUOTE U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises customers that, due to a tremendous increase in the number of applications filed, processing of fee payments and entry of cases into our tracking system is behind schedule. As a result, applicants can expect notices of receipt to be delayed. USCIS is working hard to deal with the increased volume. Delay in fee processing and data entry will not affect an applicant’s Change of Status or Extension of Stay eligibility if all other eligibility requirements are met. USCIS continues to process Premium Processing Service requests within 15 days. USCIS will honor the actual date that an application was received in our mailroom; this date will be indicated on the receipt (in the Received Date box) when Form I-797, Notice of Action, is mailed. Until this situation is resolved, USCIS will provide these weekly updates on progress in issuing receipt notices to our customers. We appreciate your understanding. As of August 31, 2007, USCIS has completed data entry and issued receipt notices for applications and petitions received on or before the dates indicated: California Service Center Form Number: Date Received: I-130 8/06/2007 N-400 7/24/2007 All Other 8/16/2007 Since your sent date is right around August 16, 2007, it looks like your NOA1 receipt is in the mail or will be first thing next week. -Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-01 19:55:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	QUOTE (edp333 @ Oct 25 2007, 10:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Torito Baby @ Oct 25 2007, 08:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hey guys! i have a new question for you... What is the minimum income required for affidavit of support? I mean i will need information for I-864 form. Does anyone know about that minimum amount required?! Or is that calculation really important!? Meeting the 125% of poverty is important. If it is just you and the spouse, the sponsor's income needs to be at least $17,112. This PDF gives the the amounts specified by USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov...form/I-864P.pdf Sometimes assets can be included, such as having money in the bank. Correct. And I was told to use the AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) from your 1040 tax form.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-10-25 10:32:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	I posted this initially in the March thread waiting for transfer to NVC. I'm posting to this thread to hopefully allow you to set your expectations on the step following approval. Sadly, once again, it is best to lower our expectations. I spoke with USCIS CSC just a minute ago. Like others I'm very disappointed at yet ANOTHER significant delay in my paperwork. I wanted to understand why it is taking so long to ship the I-129F to the NVC. This is what the kind Chinese lady told me. For an I-130 application, they can simply send the application "as is" to the NVC. Therefore, shipping the I-130 is pretty quick. For an I-129F, K-3, application, the paperwork has to be physically manipulated by hand by pulling certain documents and putting them into new file pouches. Then the I-130 application has to be filed and stored to be held for the AOS. This is what they are referring as the staging area. I asked how long this should take. She replied saying they don't have a good estimate, since they are new to this process. (As we all know by now.) So it looks like we are being held up by the huge backlog or surge in applications. We just jumped in at the wrong time for "quick" processing. She said it's been taking about a month. It now doesn't seem to me that we are just sitting around waiting to be shipped. Instead we are again finding ourselves waiting on low resources to deal with the surge they have experienced. Funny, you would think they could keep up with the pace of adjudication. But that would be too logical of an assumption. Hope this helps. For me, IF THEY WOULD SIMPLY EXPLAIN THE SITUATION AND TRUTH OF THE MATTER, I wouldn't have been as frustrated. Although, I have thankfully handled this much better than I anticipated. As my mom says, "Don't pray for patience. The way you learn patience is by waiting." I have not been praying for patience, but I still received a nice, long wait. Sorry if this is common knowledge. I don't remember hearing these specific handling details.	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-24 15:27:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	QUOTE (G&A @ Sep 12 2007, 07:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Robin, Thanks. I think the NOA2 have Priority Dates printed on the top in one of the boxes. I was wondering what the date is for the I-129F NOA2 to if it reflects when they originally received your petition at MSC or when CSC received it after it was transfered. There is no Priority Date listed in the I-129F box. There is one only for the I-130. I believe the reason for this is the Priority Date is related to an Immigrant Visa application; whereas we know, the I-129F is for a Non-Immigrant K-3 Visa. OKAY, wait. I have all the NOAs in front of me. Here we go... I-129F: NOA1 (Receipt Notice): Receipt Date: April 22, 2007 ; Notice Date: April 25, 2007 NOAT (Transfer Notice): Receipt Date: April 25, 2007 ; Notice Date: May 11, 2007 NOA2 (Approval Notice): Receipt Date: April 25, 2007 ; Notice Date: September 4, 2007 ; Valid from 09/04/2007 to 01/03/2008 I-130: NOA1 (Receipt Notice): Receipt Date: April 2, 2007 ; Notice Date: April 9, 2007 NOA2 (Approval Notice): Receipt Date: April 9, 2007 ; Priority Date: April 2, 2007 ; Notice Date: September 4, 2007 It appears the I-130 NOA2 Approval Notice's Priority Date reflects when they first received the application. I believe that is on there due to visa number issuance at NVC. On the I-129F NOA2, there is no Priority Date. It is blank in that box. The Receipt Date on the NOA2 is the Notice Date from the NOA1. (Same for the I-130 -- The Receipt Date on the NOA2 is the Notice Date from the NOA1.) I give... Good evening, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-12 20:41:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	QUOTE (G&A @ Sep 11 2007, 01:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (RobinAtAileen @ Sep 10 2007, 03:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> G&A, I received both NOA2s in the mail today. Dates are for both I-130 and I-129F, K-3 9/4/2006 - Approved (Notice Date) 9/6/2006 - Post Marked (Mailed) 9/10/2006 - Received in mail For my I-130, it states the "Priority Date" was 4/2/2007 for a Receipt Date of 4/9/2007. Thanks, Robin Robin, good news. This is awesome. Happy for you. btw, does your 129F priority date show the April date when you filed it with Chicago or the June date when it was accepted at CSC? Good luck with the rest of the process and keep us posted as usual. G, Thank you. All the dates I can gather are in my signature. I didn't quite get what you were asking. I think the Priority Date has something to do with authorization or eligibility for NVC to issue a visa number. The Received Date in my signature is(are) the dates that USCIS physically received my application in the mail and signed for it from Express USPS Mail. I hope that answers your question. -Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-12 17:24:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	G&A, I received both NOA2s in the mail today. Dates are for both I-130 and I-129F, K-3 9/4/2006 - Approved (Notice Date) 9/6/2006 - Post Marked (Mailed) 9/10/2006 - Received in mail For my I-130, it states the "Priority Date" was 4/2/2007 for a Receipt Date of 4/9/2007. Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-10 17:25:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	Our I-130 and I-129F applications were approved 4 Sep 2007. I received the e-mails late last night. To note, I did send letters to every office of my Representative and two Senators, about 13 letters in total. My Representative's response indicated they didn't do much more than I could have from their feedback; however, one of the Senator's very well could have made a difference, after some specific prayers for approval. Good luck in your continued journey. At first I was in minor shock and disbelief, along with a lot of joy. Now I'm focused already on what is next. God bless, Robin (G, your chart, for me, was off by 1 day!)	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-09-05 09:24:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	QUOTE (davejaz42107 @ Aug 28 2007, 11:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Application Type: I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN Current Status: Approval notice sent. On August 28, 2007, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service. Woohoo! I just the email from CRIS saying that they sent the notice today. G&A please update Davejaz42107, Congrats. VSC does it again. Any word on your I-129F? Also, are you a "standard" applicant, or do you qualify for any expedited process such as military deployment? Others reading this thread, If you have received or do receive approval and you are on some type of expedited track, please note this in either your timeline comments and or your signature or post on this thread. This will help with the majority going through a "standard" process. I have seen on some threads people get upset and overreact because someone is way faster then they are. There can be reasons for this. A simple comment of "Expedited process for military deployment" or other similar note would be great. Thanks, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-28 15:08:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	QUOTE (G&A @ Aug 19 2007, 01:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Robin, i will update everyone's I-129F NOA2 estimated date based on your stats. I have my sheet sorted by the NOA1 column and I peg every other date to it. So i will be using the 131 and 112. (used to be 126 and 112 so CSC is 5 days longer and VSC is the same since your latest stat) Do you think we should include the NOA2 for I-130? Thanks, G G, The I-130 NOA2 estimate would be extra information and good for curiosity; however, VJ timelines doesn't have a column for days calculated for the I-130 like the I-129F, and I don't have the time nor patience to run all those numbers while throwing out skeptical data. The service centers are trying to complete both at the same time anyways, so I would just put the same date in for the I-130 NOA2 estimate. How about this for an idea? Add a column at the very end of your chart and label it something like, "Last Estimated Date for I-129F NOA2." (Abbreviated of coarse.) This way we will be able to compare actual vs. chart estimates as approvals begin rolling in a few years from now. (Oops, I mean a few WEEKS from now. Sorry, a little CSC administration sarcasm steam.) You could even add a column for the "Last known VJ I-129F NOA2 Estimate." (Data acquired through user input.) Then, this thread and your chart would be a great archive for the accuracy of the VJ timelines and its estimates. Just a couple of ideas. Thanks again for maintaining your chart. I will continue to try and support you with the estimates; however, I will be in SE Wisonsin this coming weekend to visit my family. Good evening, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-20 19:57:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	G&A, Taking the latest data and dumping questionable (extreme lows and highs from average) entries, I come up with the following wait times for K-3 I-129F's sent in March 2007. CSC: I-129F Sent to NOA1: 9 days I-129F NOA1 to NOA2: 131 days Total: 140 days VSC: I-129F Sent to NOA1: 9 days I-129F NOA1 to NOA2: 112 days Total: 121 days Rounded to days. Used NCS and TCS data for CSC stats. Note breakdown to fit your spreadsheet appropriately. (Not sure which number you're using.) -Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-18 21:49:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	*** K-3 May and June 2007 Filers ***	Approveddd!!!!!!!!!!! I130 approved My I130 was approved on Aug 8. I just got the NOA2...I am hoping my I129 gets approve soooooonn..plzzzzz... Asmo Asmo, Congratulations. It does seem they're trying to process both applications together these days. I will be surprised if you don't see another approval within a day or few. To possibly help others waiting, I would like to ask a qualifying question or two. One person that received approval quickly was awaiting deployment in the US Military. Are you on any expedited process, or do you believe your paperwork is categorized the same as everyone else? I notice your papers were at Vermont. It seems like they definitely have things going much smoother there than CSC. Again congrats and thanks for any reply, Robin	RobinAtAileen	Not Telling	Philippines	2007-08-16 22:32:00