September CSC filers?

[En&Em 1]

Today I called the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) for a question about my i-129F application, unrelated to timelines.

Before I could ask my question, the staff member said, your application is on a "five-month hold." Although this could change, she said currently, CSC is not scheduled to start processing the application until February 2011.

She added other applications with receipts (NOA1s) from September 2010 are also on hold until February 2011. She said that the hold was necessary because of a significant backlog at CSC.

I continued to ask some questions:

- Was this unique to my application or to those of us with receipts (NOA1s) from September 2010?

- More specifically, was the hold applicable to applications from July, August, October, and November?

- How does the hold affect CSC's official goal of five months for these applications?

She said the five-month hold applied to all I-129Fs (and perhaps some others, but I did not absorb what she said about other types of applications). She explained that July 2010 applications were on hold until December 2010; August 2010 were on hold until January 2011; etc. She again stressed that this was the current information, and it could change.

With regard to the official goal of five months, she really did not say much, other than repeating that the September applications would be processed in February 2011.

I am somewhat hopeful that her information is out-of-date, for example, the transfer of marriage applications to Texas might be an indication that this supposed backlog is already well on the way to being cleared. While I am trying to remain optimistic, I was disappointed with this potential news.

Has anybody received similar information about a supposed "five-month hold" at CSC?

[En&Em 1]

Just to be clear, I know my information is somewhat disturbing, but...

I want to share information, but not cause too much stress, especially until we have more information. I have read posts about the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) giving out conflicting information in the past. Part of the reason I asked so many questions of the staff person is to be sure she was not trying to talk about the five-month goal. She clearly continued to talk about a hold, but who knows. And I think some have said that the NCSC staff does not get cutting-edge and in-depth information from the service centers.

To try to figure this out, I thought it best to compare notes with others, to see if anyone else received similar information. I am wondering if someone else has had recent contact with or without any info about a hold.

[TashaK 1]

This has seriously freaked me out.... I hope that the person you spoke to was just misinformed because otherwise I'm going to FREAK OUT! If they don't even start looking at our applications until February that does NOT sit well with me... what utter #######!

[RokNRich 7]

Crappy news, but thanks for sharing....just when things were starting to look up with half of the June apps being processed...........

[En&Em 1]

This has seriously freaked me out.... I hope that the person you spoke to was just misinformed because otherwise I'm going to FREAK OUT! If they don't even start looking at our applications until February that does NOT sit well with me... what utter #######!

Crappy news, but thanks for sharing....just when things were starting to look up with half of the June apps being processed...........

I would not get too upset. So far, no one else has posted similar information.

Moreover, in thinking about things, the information the rep gave me does not necessarily conflict with the five-month goal. In fact, if other information on the VJ site is accurate, the rep's information would be consistent with saying (this is not what she actually said), "Don't expect your NOA2 early; it's going to take the full five months."

To provide a little more detail about this, in other posts on VJ, some people have described that the CSC staff really needs only about 15 minutes with each I-129F file to make a decision. I don't know if this is true, but considering the number of applications sitting at CSC, it certainly seems possible. Anyway, if sufficient information is submitted (and if these people are correct), supposedly the CSC staff needs very little time to review a single application; under this theory, most of the delay is just waiting for the CSC to get through the files ahead of you. If so and if CSC starts processing September 2010 applications in February 2011, most of those applications could be approved right away in February 2011--but still barely within the five-month goal.

So maybe the NCSC rep chose her words poorly. Maybe someone else will post something about better information than (or information that corrects) what I received. That is the potential benefit of the VJ community.

[RokNRich 7]

I would not get too upset. So far, no one else has posted similar information.

Yeah, just got done reading the other thread...sounds like she was giving you the "5 month" story......

Once again, glad to see that at least some approvals are going through......

[m.h. 1]

Hi !!

We're September filers too

It's been 2 months and smt since we got NOA1 .... we've been touched twice , once cause of change of the address and second time don't know why :S

Seems to me there are no rules when it comes to NOA2 so i wish us all a lots of luck !!! and patience

[* Kristin * 49]

I would not get too upset. So far, no one else has posted similar information.

Moreover, in thinking about things, the information the rep gave me does not necessarily conflict with the five-month goal. In fact, if other information on the VJ site is accurate, the rep's information would be consistent with saying (this is not what she actually said), "Don't expect your NOA2 early; it's going to take the full five months."

To provide a little more detail about this, in other posts on VJ, some people have described that the CSC staff really needs only about 15 minutes with each I-129F file to make a decision. I don't know if this is true, but considering the number of applications sitting at CSC, it certainly seems possible. Anyway, if sufficient information is submitted (and if these people are correct), supposedly the CSC staff needs very little time to review a single application; under this theory, most of the delay is just waiting for the CSC to get through the files ahead of you. If so and if CSC starts processing September 2010 applications in February 2011, most of those applications could be approved right away in February 2011--but still barely within the five-month goal.

So maybe the NCSC rep chose her words poorly. Maybe someone else will post something about better information than (or information that corrects) what I received. That is the potential benefit of the VJ community.

Thank you *so* much for sharing this information, at least we know we're in for a wait and shouldn't expect anything too quickly!

[Sunny123 44]

Hi All! Another September CSC filer (sept 30) just barely. Like everyone else am just painstakingly waiting too see my noa2. Haven't seen my honey since last March. We were going to live in Switzerland and then circumstances changed and we decided to live in the US instead.

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Mailed I129F : Sept. 27 2010

NOA1: 10/01/2010

Edited November 18, 2010 by Sunny1678

[TashaK 1]

Hi! Welcome to the waiting game At least we can all wait together, right? Two months (and a bit) down... hopefully not much more to go

[dogspot 90]

I'm certainly started to feel a little bit more excited about things with CSC moving again. I am predicting early to mid January for most of us September filers. Best just to concentrate on the holidays and keep our fingers crossed for each other after the new year.

[Geode 3]

waiting with crossed fingers

[KiwiBird 132]

September filer here, too. Got our NOA1 on 9/14.

I'm a little concerned cause I was stupid and only mailed in the I-129F form. I thought the rest of it was supposed to be given to them at the interview! I know I'm going to get an RFE. I just wonder how much that's going to set us back. I'm hoping to gather everything we need before that, so I can return it the same day I get it. Either that, or if they'll let me mail the stuff in early... I'm going to call them on Monday and see if I can do that.

This wait is just agonizing! And knowing I may have set it back a bunch cause I'm stupid... well, that doesn't help either. No chance that anyone knows approx how long an RFE sets a petition back?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

September filer here, too. Got our NOA1 on 9/14.

I'm a little concerned cause I was stupid and only mailed in the I-129F form. I thought the rest of it was supposed to be given to them at the interview! I know I'm going to get an RFE. I just wonder how much that's going to set us back. I'm hoping to gather everything we need before that, so I can return it the same day I get it. Either that, or if they'll let me mail the stuff in early... I'm going to call them on Monday and see if I can do that.

This wait is just agonizing! And knowing I may have set it back a bunch cause I'm stupid... well, that doesn't help either. No chance that anyone knows approx how long an RFE sets a petition back?

Most RFEs only set a petition back a couple weeks. I'm not sure about your case, since there will be a lot of information in the RFE to go through. Hopefully it won't cost you too much time! Good luck.

[KiwiBird 132]

Lets pray for just an RFE... instead of a "You suck, DENIED. Refile." Cause that would have lost me so much time... I'm hearing "RFE, RFE, RFE" all over the place, but one person who did what I did said theirs was outwardly rejected. And others saying "USCIS won't do that, they'll just send an RFE." So I still don't know. I'm going to call them tomorrow for sure!

I don't think I've ever been so worried about something in all my life!