lucky FEBRUARY 2009 FILERS

[Rehan 0]

...probably doing a background check on my hubby too...but how come mumtaz got hers so quick and she and her husbby are from pakistan too!

I persoanlly don't think that some cases take 10 days and other 10 months. It's a lie. The main reason Mumtaz got approved is because the case was at CSC. I think they just don't care and they r just approving people. Who will justify people at CSC who are still waiting from Nov, Dec and they r from Europe. They just do not have any pattern and ethics. It is very unfair and I feel for you because my case was supposed to go to VSC. Anyway, Good luck to you and to all others still waiting!!!!!!!

Hi Rehan,

I didn't get that...

Am I lying or the USCIS rep lied?

I'm just posting what my husband has been told on the phone last Friday. That's all!

Taj'samericanwife, don't worry too much, I believe you'll get your NOA2 in less than 50 days, no matter you are in VSC... Cross my fingers for you girl

Thanks

No dear, I am saying that the rep was lying. I think it's just waste of time to call USCIS unless your case is outside processing time. They never give u the right information. If u call another time, another rep may give you the oppsite information and this has happend to me. Good luck again!!

[Rehan 0]

Just a wondering - do y'all think presentation of documents has ANY bearing on how quickly approvals go through? The reason I ask is because I don't know how everyone else did their packets but I do know how mine was done and I did my very best to make it IDIOT proof and I was shocked when I got my approval last week.

Here's how my packet was presented:

First there was the check

Then my cover letter outlining everything that was included in the packet, with each section of the letter numbered and color coded

Then the I-130 directions color coded to match the cover letter sections

Then each item listed in the letter seperated by tabbed dividers each numbered and color coded to match the letter and the directions

I binder clipped it all together

All of this was enclosed in a tie string folder so nothing could be lost

All my documents were color copies of originals (unless the original was needed) and all color copies were certified by a notary to be exact duplicates of originals that were in my possession.

It might help the adjudicator if your file is organized, but I don't think it makes them approve your case quickly. But your package was organized. I did not notarized anything since they didn'y ask it

[SomberCat 0]

That's a good question Whidbeygirl. In my heart, I doubt that it makes any difference, but I made mine as idiot proof as you did also. I figured it couldn't hurt. I put very little proof of relationship in also - just one cell bill, one email and two copies of pics. I got approved really quickly so who knows. I would by no means tell anyone not to put as much relationship proof in as possible, but the reason I went light was because I kept picturing myself being the person who opens the package. I figured if it were me and I opened something as thick as a dictionary, I would say "Oh brother, just shoot me." lol If I opened a package that is well organized, easy to follow and not full of a lot of extras, I would much happier.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

Please indulge me in my distraction tactic - running numbers, computing and guessing!

THIS WEEKS GUESSES (by April 11th):

NOA2 FROM CSC:

Mayra&Robin

avi

eklondon

Chris and Ani

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Betsy El Sum

Cindy & Greg

impblaze

lixer

Mariel_Esteban

Rehan

tootsie11

NOA2 FROM VSC:

HisGirl

POSSIBLY ALSO:

taj'samerican wife

rjctucker

Vernice

NVC CASE # ASSIGNED:

abdelkrim

john1759

MumtazG38

laogongandlaopo

POSSIBLY ALSO:

ecb44

DesiDon

cmls

Driade

myl ove in india

Pily

Remo28

tetyana and ahmed

US math guy

kevinbui86

SomberCat

I-864 BILL GENERATED :

filter

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Chrissy e Ben

Holliday

[Driade 0]

One lil question

As proof only sent 4 bona fide affadavit, it could be a reason to get a RFE. My husband tought sent all stuffs will be to much, so we keep all other for the interview, am kinda scare since mine was pretty crappy compare with some other ppl.

I should prepare another bag just in case for RFE??????

Thx.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

That's a good question Whidbeygirl. In my heart, I doubt that it makes any difference, but I made mine as idiot proof as you did also. I figured it couldn't hurt. I put very little proof of relationship in also - just one cell bill, one email and two copies of pics. I got approved really quickly so who knows. I would by no means tell anyone not to put as much relationship proof in as possible, but the reason I went light was because I kept picturing myself being the person who opens the package. I figured if it were me and I opened something as thick as a dictionary, I would say "Oh brother, just shoot me." lol If I opened a package that is well organized, easy to follow and not full of a lot of extras, I would much happier.

We think alike SomberCat! Granted I also worked for the government too. My proof was 3 affidavit letters - 1 from a personal witness at the wedding, 1 from a legal witness at the wedding, and one from my mom who watched my children while I went overseas to get married. I know when paperwork piles up on my desk I work from the easiest thing to the most difficult. I figure I can get more done that way.

When I worked for the Census Bureau (I know totally different agency), we had a certain percentage of cases to complete every week, and we were paid bonuses for achieving above those criteria. So yes, I got the easiest ones outta the way first.

Edited April 6, 2009 by WhidbeyGirl

[=FoxyBLUE= 2]

Just a wondering - do y'all think presentation of documents has ANY bearing on how quickly approvals go through? The reason I ask is because I don't know how everyone else did their packets but I do know how mine was done and I did my very best to make it IDIOT proof and I was shocked when I got my approval last week.

Here's how my packet was presented:

First there was the check

Then my cover letter outlining everything that was included in the packet, with each section of the letter numbered and color coded

Then the I-130 directions color coded to match the cover letter sections

Then each item listed in the letter seperated by tabbed dividers each numbered and color coded to match the letter and the directions

I binder clipped it all together

All of this was enclosed in a tie string folder so nothing could be lost

All my documents were color copies of originals (unless the original was needed) and all color copies were certified by a notary to be exact duplicates of originals that were in my possession.

Question Whidbeygirl? did you also send pictures of you and your hubby? coz i was in the hospital when my hubby submitted he I-130, so he is just following instructions...no pictures attached! im sooo worried, it might cause delays....

Edited April 6, 2009 by Mariel_Esteban

[Holliday 4]

Just a wondering - do y'all think presentation of documents has ANY bearing on how quickly approvals go through? The reason I ask is because I don't know how everyone else did their packets but I do know how mine was done and I did my very best to make it IDIOT proof and I was shocked when I got my approval last week.

Here's how my packet was presented:

First there was the check

Then my cover letter outlining everything that was included in the packet, with each section of the letter numbered and color coded

Then the I-130 directions color coded to match the cover letter sections

Then each item listed in the letter seperated by tabbed dividers each numbered and color coded to match the letter and the directions

I binder clipped it all together

All of this was enclosed in a tie string folder so nothing could be lost

All my documents were color copies of originals (unless the original was needed) and all color copies were certified by a notary to be exact duplicates of originals that were in my possession.

I tried to make things as idiot-proof as possible as well. Actually, when I say "I" there, I kinda mean my husband and I... I did all the copying and organizing and coordinating, because we were pressed for time, as we wanted to send everything off before I went home after the wedding, and we only had a couple of days to get everything ready. Also, I tend to be a little picky about details when I want something done "just right", so it made sense for me to do all that.

We created a cover letter with a numbered table of contents. We attached the check to the letter with a paperclip. We actually sent original documents, other than my husband's birth certificate, because we have a bunch of extras. We used paperclips to keep sets of papers together (the pages of the I-130, the pages of the G325As, photocopies of boarding passes, photos printed on letter-size paper, etc.), and we attached Post-It flags to the bottom of each section and wrote numbers on the Post-It flags which corresponded to the order of the table of contents from the cover letter. I think I read somewhere that 'they' prefer it if the bottom of the pages are tabbed (if they are tabbed at all) rather than the sides, and that nothing should be stapled, so that's why we did it that way. It may have actually been in the instructions... I really don't remember. Heh. I just wanted it to be as easy for the person reviewing the package as possible. I figured that by making everything very clear, so that the person reviewing it didn't have to think about anything or try to interpret anything, I'd be saving them time... and saving them time might mean saving ME time.

We actually sent in quite a few things for 'proof of relationship'...

- 4 pages of photocopies of boarding passes

- A notarized affidavit from my mother-in-law, which described the circumstances under which she became aware of our relationship, and also about our wedding. (It was actually very sweet! My mother-in-law likes me! Yaaaay!)

- 7 pages of photos. Some were from the wedding, some were from my husband's birthday, and some were just silly... for example, pictures of us eating cookies in Cookietown, OK (it's a real place, and it's tiny and awesome! Well, it's only awesome because it's called Cookietown, but whatever. We drove 3 hours out of our way one day JUST to eat cookies in Cookietown... and then a few months later, we did it again. Heh.), a picture of us in the stands of a Tulsa Oilers hockey game (we found it on the Tulsa Oilers official site. Haha.), and a picture of us snowmobiling together.

- A document from my husband's bank showing both of our names on two different accounts. (We went and added my name specifically for the purpose of submitting proof to USCIS.)

I didn't want to overwhelm them, but I figured since everything was tabbed, they could just browse through it all if they wanted, and if they thought "sheesh! I get it! You guys love each other!" then they could just ignore the rest.

Oh yeah, and we put everything in a file folder with a velcro flap at the top, and sent it off in a big envelope that we purchased from the post office, and that was that.

I have no idea if the organization of the package had anything to do with my speedy approval. If I had to guess, I'd say it probably didn't. I imagine that most people send in an organized package, because to me, it only makes sense to do that.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

Just a wondering - do y'all think presentation of documents has ANY bearing on how quickly approvals go through? The reason I ask is because I don't know how everyone else did their packets but I do know how mine was done and I did my very best to make it IDIOT proof and I was shocked when I got my approval last week.

Here's how my packet was presented:

First there was the check

Then my cover letter outlining everything that was included in the packet, with each section of the letter numbered and color coded

Then the I-130 directions color coded to match the cover letter sections

Then each item listed in the letter seperated by tabbed dividers each numbered and color coded to match the letter and the directions

I binder clipped it all together

All of this was enclosed in a tie string folder so nothing could be lost

All my documents were color copies of originals (unless the original was needed) and all color copies were certified by a notary to be exact duplicates of originals that were in my possession.

Question Whidbeygirl? did you also send pictures of you and your hubby? coz i was in the hospital when my hubby submitted he I-130, so he is just following instructions...no pictures attached! im sooo worried, it might cause delays....

Nope no pictures. Biggest reason is that our wedding pictures that were taken with my digital camera had the wrong date stamped on them, I didn't realize until 2 days after the wedding that my digital camera had the wrong date programed.

[=FoxyBLUE= 2]

Please indulge me in my distraction tactic - running numbers, computing and guessing!

THIS WEEKS GUESSES (by April 11th):

NOA2 FROM CSC:

Mayra&Robin

avi

eklondon

Chris and Ani

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Betsy El Sum

Cindy & Greg

impblaze

lixer

Mariel_Esteban

Rehan

tootsie11

NOA2 FROM VSC:

HisGirl

POSSIBLY ALSO:

taj'samerican wife

rjctucker

Vernice

NVC CASE # ASSIGNED:

abdelkrim

john1759

MumtazG38

laogongandlaopo

POSSIBLY ALSO:

ecb44

DesiDon

cmls

Driade

myl ove in india

Pily

Remo28

tetyana and ahmed

US math guy

kevinbui86

SomberCat

I-864 BILL GENERATED :

filter

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Chrissy e Ben

Holliday

I DO PRAY and hope that I can get mine soon thou....

Just a wondering - do y'all think presentation of documents has ANY bearing on how quickly approvals go through? The reason I ask is because I don't know how everyone else did their packets but I do know how mine was done and I did my very best to make it IDIOT proof and I was shocked when I got my approval last week.

Here's how my packet was presented:

First there was the check

Then my cover letter outlining everything that was included in the packet, with each section of the letter numbered and color coded

Then the I-130 directions color coded to match the cover letter sections

Then each item listed in the letter seperated by tabbed dividers each numbered and color coded to match the letter and the directions

I binder clipped it all together

All of this was enclosed in a tie string folder so nothing could be lost

All my documents were color copies of originals (unless the original was needed) and all color copies were certified by a notary to be exact duplicates of originals that were in my possession.

Question Whidbeygirl? did you also send pictures of you and your hubby? coz i was in the hospital when my hubby submitted he I-130, so he is just following instructions...no pictures attached! im sooo worried, it might cause delays....

Nope no pictures. Biggest reason is that our wedding pictures that were taken with my digital camera had the wrong date stamped on them, I didn't realize until 2 days after the wedding that my digital camera had the wrong date programed.

That was a relief! i was so worried that they might delay our approval cause we didnt attached any proof of our marriage (aside from the original Marriage Contract) thank you!

[nurse1967 287]

Please indulge me in my distraction tactic - running numbers, computing and guessing!

THIS WEEKS GUESSES (by April 11th):

NOA2 FROM CSC:

Mayra&Robin

avi

eklondon

Chris and Ani

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Betsy El Sum

Cindy & Greg

impblaze

lixer

Mariel_Esteban

Rehan

tootsie11

NOA2 FROM VSC:

HisGirl

POSSIBLY ALSO:

taj'samerican wife

rjctucker

Vernice

NVC CASE # ASSIGNED:

abdelkrim

john1759

MumtazG38

laogongandlaopo

POSSIBLY ALSO:

ecb44

DesiDon

cmls

Driade

myl ove in india

Pily

Remo28

tetyana and ahmed

US math guy

kevinbui86

SomberCat

I-864 BILL GENERATED :

filter

POSSIBLY ALSO:

Chrissy e Ben

Holliday

I am feeling like we may be approved in the next week or two. I hope you are right Whidbeygirl!!

Betsy

[Mrs.Cage 0]

Hi whidbey girl,

why is it that when you look at Igor's list, there are still 8 of us january filers who haven't gotten our NOA2s and i remembered you said in another post the there's only 3 of us left without NOA2.

And no, i didn't get any RFEs yet, i hope i never do.

[=FoxyBLUE= 2]

yeah, i do hope you get approvals soon BETSY....cause if that's the case.....we'll be next! hehehe

[vareska 3]

I don't think that the organization of the package has any bearing on approval, but I did everything I could to make it presentable...

I included a massive amount of proof, and I mean to the point when I knew it was too much, waaaaaaaaay too much , but it was all so well put together.

I used a cover sheet and outlined everything that is included in package. Then, each section again had a cover sheet of sort. for example I would have a tab that said "proof of ongoing relationship: emails" and then on the cover by that tab I put a little narrative how we met online, when, all the email addresses we used, etc. and I put all emails in order, 2-3 from each year. Then I did the same for phone bills, I was lucky to have itemized phone logs dating back to 2003. I sent 70 photos, some from the wedding and some from just hanging out whether back in BOsnia or when hubby visited me here, and I put caption on all pictures. In the pictures were my family members who also submitted affidavits of our bona fide relationship, so I went out of my way to prove those pple came to celebrate a genuine relationship, so I included passport pages with dates when they flew to our wedding, their plane tickets as well as ours, I mean I went into as much detail as possible, but everything was correlated to the next section or the next tab, and like I said each section had its own description why I am including it, witnesses, etc.

All documents were either originals or certified copies, or if I could not obtain certification, I had my sister translate and certify that she is fluent, and she submitted a copy of her passport with that certification. I didn't wanna leave anything to chance. Hubby and I obtained an international marriage certificate, and the form is in french but it has all other languages in the back, however wherever I submitted that certificate people would kick it back to me and ask for certified translations, so when I made my I-130 packet on the cover sheet I wrote " marriage certificate has got english translation on the back page" .... At the risk of pissing someone off by writing these idiot proof statements, I decided I will just not let myself get an RFE...

I don't know if this had anything to do with our somewhat speedy approval, but I certainly think that it did not hurt to have it all organized into a comprehensive file...

[taj'samericanwife 0]

good night you all! not expecting an NAO2...its better that way...just go with the flow!