Recent Super fast NOA2s (in 30 days or less)

[TeddyHoney 42]

All I know about our government is that they are slow except when they want something from ME! Like taxes. I don't know about background checks and security checks and that stuff. I was just wondering with reference to some of the miraculously fast NOA1 to NOA2 turnarounds lately - How long does it take our government to do a background check on a citizen applying for K-1 or any other type of VISA (K-1 specifically)?

Just cusrious.

TeddyHoney and SqueezyBear

(Derrick and Ritchie)

[Blob18 111]

All I know about our government is that they are slow except when they want something from ME! Like taxes. I don't know about background checks and security checks and that stuff. I was just wondering with reference to some of the miraculously fast NOA1 to NOA2 turnarounds lately - How long does it take our government to do a background check on a citizen applying for K-1 or any other type of VISA (K-1 specifically)?

Just cusrious.

TeddyHoney and SqueezyBear

(Derrick and Ritchie)

USCIS background checks take minutes with no problems. Average petition when being worked on (problem free) is approved within 20ish minutes.

[bt1 42]

USCIS background checks take minutes with no problems. Average petition when being worked on (problem free) is approved within 20ish minutes.

That's right, it takes minutes only to do the check, so that is not what is holding up the approvals in general.

[TeddyHoney 42]

Wow! Okay. Thanks!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The background check done by USCIS for the I-129f takes less than 1 minute.

IF it turns up any "hits" then a manual check can take hours, days or weeks. But a clean background check is done in 30-45 seconds. The entire adjudication, start to finish, is about 20 minutes, provided everything is there. ALL the other time, your file sits in a box waiting to be opened.

[Patrick&Chloe 7]

This is a new piece of information for me! I thought it takes a few months for them to go through your petition, now I know its just sitting in a damn box waiting to be opened.

[MochiKamo 93]

If for 129F petition all you have to do is prove that you have met within the last two years and that you both are free to marry, I wish USCIS had a service where you went to their office and took your official picture together and signed a sworn affidavit that you are both free to marry.

No boarding passes, receipts, visa stamps, etc.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If for 129F petition all you have to do is prove that you have met within the last two years and that you both are free to marry, I wish USCIS had a service where you went to their office and took your official picture together and signed a sworn affidavit that you are both free to marry.

No boarding passes, receipts, visa stamps, etc.

You have it all wrong.

First the idea would not work for people who have a difficult time to get a visa to come to the US. People in most countries cannot just come here and go to the USCIS office.

Second, USCIS doe not approve or issue VISAS, they approve petitions.

FWIW the Vemont Service Center USED to have a walk up window to accept petitions and answer questions. They closed it and disconnected ALL incoming telephone lines. They have NO INTENTION of speaking with the people that file petitions. The only way the adjudicators can get incoming communication is by fax or email and they will VERY rarely give that out. They CAN make outgoing calls. It is extremely unusual for an adjudicator to call a petitioner, but it does happen. There are, in fact, a few adjudicators who are assigned to the congressional liason unit. If a congressman or Senator ever really rattles their cage, they DO call people to clear things up. They will NOT do it because your petition has been there for 5 months and 3 days. They WILL do it if they have made a stupid mistake, such as deny an AOS for lack of vaccinations when you have clearly submitted proof the vaccinations were obtained...twice! OR deny an AOS because the applicant (a K-1 visa) had a round trip ticket but never used it to return. Things like that.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is a new piece of information for me! I thought it takes a few months for them to go through your petition, now I know its just sitting in a damn box waiting to be opened.

If you read the pinned topic at the top of this forum, you will see, basically, a full description from a department manager at USCIS on what exactly happens to your petition. If it is there for 6 months, it sat in a box for all but 20 minutes of that time (in most cases)

"Touches" are usually when they move the BOX it is in from one location in the office to another. Most "touches" have nothing to do with anyone "touching" your file and the entire concept is wacko. It was invented by someone on VJ and no one at USCIS even knows what a "touch" is. (nor are the terms NOA1 or NOA2 meaningful in any way) They are VJ slang.

"Touches" or updates can either mean nothing or they can mean there is a prblem with your case. They are almost never a "good thing", they are either benign or bad. Bad? Yeah, like your 30 second background check generates a "hit" and now your file is pulled for manual check. Your file gets delayed, you get a "touch" instead of an approval. Woo hoo!

When you really think about it, the whole idea that the process would take longer than 20 minutes is kind of silly. The qualifications for an approved petition (it is NOT a visa) are pretty easy to prove. You are a US citizen? Check. You have met your fiancee in person in the last two years? Check. You are free to marry? Check. You intend to get married? check. You included passport photos, signed the forms and paid the fee? Check. No criminal record? Check. Approved. that's it. Takes about that long to process an I-129f.

The US has what is called the "National Instant Check System" NICS. USCIS uses NICS for petitions. Have you ever purchased a firearm? You know the background check they do while you swipe your credit or debit card to pay for the gun? Same thing.

[TeddyHoney 42]

Oh, and obviously its not a first in first out system either because whiel some petitions are approved in what must be record time, others wait for what may also be record times (like 6-7-8-9-12 months with no RFE or other hold ups!).

Is that right?

[Aztec&Taino 144]

I, too, do not understand how there are some lucky people who receive quick approvals. I mean, there are some cases which are expedited and taken out from the queue in order to be adjudicated. However, there are some petitions which were "regular" petitions, meaning that they did not have expedite processing, that are still approved remarkably fast. Some members in other threads have called these quick approvals, "training exercises" and theorize that the Service Center supervisor just pulled the petition to adjudicate as to show/train adjudicators how to work with a petition. I am not sure I believe this though, if there are training exercises, why not take a petition from the queue and adjudicate that petition as an example? Why get a just-submitted petition to adjudicate?

Unfortunately, having no control over the adjudication (or any part of the process, really) the advice will continue to be the same tired mantra: You must be patient...

Best wishes!

[Al422 221]

I have noticed that most of these ridiculously fast approvals are silent on the beneficiary's country of origin. Could it be that they are from Obamination's poster country (Haiti) and petitioners are hiding that fact for fear of bad publicity here at VJ?

I think what Obamination is doing is an absolute outrage. I wish Congress would impeach him and throw him in jail where he belongs for doing this to us.

[san diego 407]

I have noticed that most of these ridiculously fast approvals are silent on the beneficiary's country of origin. Could it be that they are from Obamination's poster country (Haiti) and petitioners are hiding that fact for fear of bad publicity here at VJ?

I think what Obamination is doing is an absolute outrage. I wish Congress would impeach him and throw him in jail where he belongs for doing this to us.

I think you are too harsh. I think they are working hard. The problem is that they do not have enough budget and as a result human resources. I wouldn't blame them. Regarding the fast petitions: I do not believe in those to be honest with you... I think that some jerks seeing how stressed we are are trying to add to the stress. I truly believe petitions are processed in the order they are received or about that plus/minus someone get sick or takes vacation.

[Al422 221]

I think you are too harsh. I think they are working hard. The problem is that they do not have enough budget and as a result human resources. I wouldn't blame them. Regarding the fast petitions: I do not believe in those to be honest with you... I think that some jerks seeing how stressed we are are trying to add to the stress. I truly believe petitions are processed in the order they are received or about that plus/minus someone get sick or takes vacation.

Enough budget? They don't run on tax money. They run on our money, you know, the king's ransom you paid them when you filed. So why don't they do what we paid them for? They got the money. Now do the work. Plain and simple!

[TwoCats 55]

I have noticed that most of these ridiculously fast approvals are silent on the beneficiary's country of origin.

I went ahead and checked the January/February filers from CSC who got approved, they are from:

Colombia

Mexico

Egypt

Russia

4x Philippines

China

2x Haiti

South Korea

Canada

Edited March 4, 2011 by TwoCats