The I-129F that just won't go away...

[mrsB 0]

Hey all,

So to sum things up, we were originally going for the K3 and started by filing the I-130 in February 2008. We received the information (NOA1) from the USCIS that it had been received in April 2008. We immediately filed the I-129F and received the info that it had been received the information (NOA1) that it had been received in June 2008. Unfortunately, the USCIS had for some reason mispelled our last name in the I-129F and we immediately contacted them (by phone) to get this sorted out. We were under the assumption that it was indeed sorted out, until we started wondering why our case was way past processing dates in December 2008. After contacting the USCIS (by phone) we learned that our name was still spelled incorrectly in the I-129F. The USCIS officer suggested dropping the I-129F as it was no longer useful to us anyway and we agreed that it would be a good way to go. At the same time we inquired about the status of our case and heard that it had just been sent off to be processed (why it took so many months, we don't know). We waited and waited until in February 2009 we got the tip to get the congressman/senator involved in our case, since it was now WAY past processing times. The senator's assistant inquired about our case and 30 days later we received a written update from the USCIS saying that our case was in the FBI security checks. They estimated that we had been in the security checks since January 2009.

Suddenly in April my husband got the request from USCIS to go give his biometrics at the local USCIS office in June. He got 2 requests, one for the I-130 and one for the I-129F - with a different name. He went to give his fingerprints and stuff in hopes of clearing up the problem with the names. And again we waited. In September 2009 my husband got a letter from the USCIS requesting additional evidence. I was visiting him in USA (for the first time during our 2-year-marriage) at the time and we both went to the INFOPASS-appointment we got in hopes of finding out WHAT exactly the USCIS wanted from us. The lady at the USCIS wasn't entirely sure herself, but suggested we'd write letters to the USCIS in regards of our relationship and ask for my husband's relatives to do the same thing. She also suggested we'd seek legal and political help in the matter, even though they're apparently not supposed to advice you to seek political help. We had already had the senator involved in our case and since the meeting, we also consulted a lawyer who helped us a bit pro bono. Interestingly, we had also received the request for evidence with both I-130 and I-129F mentioned... AGAIN. We also wrote a written request (since multiple phone calls & senator's involvement didn't do it) to abandon our I-129F once and for all. Now, when I check our case status online, I can see that with the I-130 it says they've received our additional evidence in the end of October 2008, but the I-129F is still there and says that additional evidence has been requested (but not received as we didn't send anything regarding that form, as previosly mentioned).

USCIS was supposed to provide us with a written decision or update within 60 days of receiving our additional evidence. Of course we haven't received anything. My husband is planning on calling them today, as we're anxiously waiting to see if our I-129F is still dragging along.

Any ideas as to why the USCIS is so unwilling to let go of our I-129F? Could it be that we haven't received an update because we're STILL trying to disregard the I-129F? Is there any way to make absolutely sure that we'll just move on with the I-130 since calling won't help and letters are a bit so-so.

I should probably also mention that we contacted the Ombudsman last year as well and never got any kind of a reply. I assumed there'd at least be reply saying they've received our case? This was before the whole request for additional evidence even.

So besides hiring a lawyer at such a (supposedly) late state of processing, is there anything we could do to make sure the I-129F dies for good and that we start getting some updates/decisions from the USCIS? How long will it take before I can say that our case is unreasonably outside processing times at it has soon been 2 years since we started this all...?

[pushbrk 12,898]

Your I-129F will die its own death as a result of you not responding to the RFE. I would focus on getting the I-130 approved. The senior US Senator from your husband's State is the help I would seek. An aid will actually provide the assistance.

[mrsB 0]

Ah, thank you. I'll dig out this senior senator person and try that way. I was previously instructed to just go with the closest one, like the one in your immediate area. I'm pretty clueless about the senators as we have nothing like it here in Finland. :]

[mrsB 0]

Oh by the way, it turned out the senator we've been contacting IS the senior senator of the state. Husband called USCIS, got no answers, as usual, they put in another service request that'll probably join the other 6-7 that were previously passed on as "dealt with" without being physically touched. So, with that said, my husband's been organizing his finances lately to prepare for the move to Finland so I think we're going to start to go forward with that as we're both stressed out and tired of f*cking around with USCIS and being treated like dirt.

I'm thinking about applying to study nursing, as nurses never run out of jobs anywhere and the degree is very sought after everywhere in the world. I have a bachelor degree from culture & media, but there's no job openings for anyone with that sort of a degree in this country. So I have to find something that'll actually provide me with a proper income, as I'm going to be the sole provider in the family for at least a few years.

Anyway, thanks all for your input and help (not just in this post but my other one that has gone of for ages), too bad USA wasn't the destination for me after all. But best of luck to those who have managed to relocate to USA or are planning on doing so!

Over and out.

[sad_angel 0]

you are not alone , i have been stuck with this so called background checks since july 2008 and not a word from them yet