August 2010 CSC Filers!

[Ashex 4]

I did the steps noted in my post earlier today. Just got a text message that my case was updated (8:00pm PST) and checked it out. Petition approved. Yeahhhhhhhh!

That's very promising! My receipt date was Aug 23 with the NOA1 date of Aug 25 so I just may give USCIS a call tomorrow.

[OBX 51]

Congratulations Mike and Minchian and Jessica on your recent approvals.

[Ashex 4]

Just called USCIS to check on the status of our Visa as we're 2 days past the 5 month mark. Ours petition is still pending (I verified twice with her that there was no RFE or any other notices).

The woman I spoke with informed me that CSC is processing Visas from August 16 and that I'll need to wait 10 days. I'm not sure if she meant calendar or business days so I'm going with Calendar days and will be calling them again February 7 if we don't get our approval.

I have a feeling that I set us back a little when I tried to get our case expedited

Edited January 27, 2011 by Ashex

[lmslovesdjr 2]

Ok, so I called USCIS and didn't quite fully understand what the service rep. was telling me in regards to my case.

I told them my priority date and receipt date were Aug. 26 and that I was past the five month mark. She said something about how from the date they received it, there were 2-3 weeks were it hadn't gone into processing ( I think of her way of saying the CSC hadn't caught up to our time frame???) and because of that I was not past my time frame, I repeated to her again that we are 5 months from our receipt date and I guess she put in some sort of service request to the CSC, did not say what for, or when I'd hear a response and just said to call back in 10 days or so, and I should get a response from someone in 30 days. Vague, confusing and not very helpful.

[Ashex 4]

That's almost exactly what I was told. I called back and got the same information then asked to be escalated to tier 2. Currently on hold so I can get the real status.

The same thing happened, she started talking about putting in a service request then back pedaled and said it would be at least 9 business days.

[Ashex 4]

I was on hold for ~40 minutes when I finally spoke to someone. To start things off she didn't have the address that I put on the I-129F for the mailing address. Instead she had my current mailing address. I put a different one down (parents apartment) since when I filed I was about to move and will be moving again before the Visa is approved. Additionally the NOA1 was sent to my parents.

As has been mentioned previously the petition has to be 30 days past due in order for them to file a service request. For us that means once we pass the new estimate (another 10 business days) given by CSC our only option for pushing back is to contact our Congressman.

So instead I asked her whether or not our petition was on someones desk and she was able to confirm that, so I can at least hope for it to be approved within the next 10 business days.

Edited January 27, 2011 by Ashex

[lmslovesdjr 2]

I was on hold for ~40 minutes when I finally spoke to someone. To start things off she didn't have the address that I put on the I-129F for the mailing address. Instead she had my current mailing address. I put a different one down (parents apartment) since when I filed I was about to move and will be moving again before the Visa is approved. Additionally the NOA1 was sent to my parents.

As has been mentioned previously the petition has to be 30 days past due in order for them to file a service request. For us that means once we pass the new estimate (another 10 business days) given by CSC our only option for pushing back is to contact our Congressman.

So instead I asked her whether or not our petition was on someones desk and she was able to confirm that, so I can at least hope for it to be approved within the next 10 business days.

More helpful than what I got. I called back again and they clarified a little more. The second person was better. I do have a service request in currently. So there is more than one level of service request? The original lady said I should call back in 10 days. And they both said I should hear something about the case within 30..... They said they know nothing about my case status or any details and couldn't tell me any reason for a delay, or where it was. They couldn't tell me any reasoning at all.

[Ashex 4]

You spoke to the Tier 1 staff, what they can tell you is a bit limited. Take a look here for more information regarding what Tier 1 can/can't tell you and do.

[Kimo3 3]

So I called today. It's been 21 days PAST the 5 month mark. I spoke with a tier 1 representative so she couldn't give me ANY information regarding specifics of my petition. No problem because all I wanted was a service request to be put in to the CSC.

This young lady was very polite and even though she couldn't give me certain answers... she was easy to work with. She WAS able to file a service request for me though because I am well past the 5 month mark. So while I don't have anything concrete... I feel better that I was able to at the very least get a service request in.

No information on what dates CSC is processing though. She was reading from her script so all I got was the "if you don't hear from them in 30 days, call back."

I will be calling back Monday and every other work day after that until I get some solid information regarding my petition.

The stories given above give me hope though and I'm confident I will see something by Monday.

[Nate & Dina 1]

I was about 6 days past the 5 month mark, which is when i called. At first i got a Tier 1 rep on the phone who wasn't much help, but then he started asking me questions like, am i the petitioner, etc. Once he realized that i was the petitioner, he escalated my call to Tier 2 (he said so himself). This took about 40 minutes. I got a woman on the phone who took my information and told me that she put in a service request, and it could take anywhere from a day to hear from the California Center or even a few weeks. I thanked her and ended the call. I think it was a day or two later, i was on my way home from work and i received a text message letting me know to check my case status online. I was ecstatic that something was happening on my case. At that point i didn't even care if it was an RFE. Anyway, a few days after i got my approval, i did receive the response from the California Service Center verifying the info from the service request. So in total, it took them about 4-5 days to respond to the service request. Their response confirmed my approval.

So, anyone who is able to reach tier 2 and put in a service request, i think the odds are very good that you will be hearing something within the next few days.

[Kimo3 3]

UPDATE:

After Nate's post, I figured I would log into the USCIS site and update to receive text updates.

AND....

The case had been touched... TODAY.

I click on the receipt number to look out of sheer curiosity and BAM! I-129F APPROVED! Mailed out today (yeah... okay )

So the service calls actually work! For those getting close to or beyond their 5 month mark, CALL THEM!

[Adilet&Venera 2]

Looooove hearing such news!!!

Congrats and good luck with the rest of your journey!

[Nate & Dina 1]

UPDATE:

After Nate's post, I figured I would log into the USCIS site and update to receive text updates.

AND....

The case had been touched... TODAY.

I click on the receipt number to look out of sheer curiosity and BAM! I-129F APPROVED! Mailed out today (yeah... okay )

So the service calls actually work! For those getting close to or beyond their 5 month mark, CALL THEM!

Wow, congratulations Kimo! I totally agree...CALL, CALL, CALL until you get them to put in a service request for you! it works, as proven by the CSC actually e-mailing me a response to the service request that was put in for me.

[lmslovesdjr 2]

Wow, congratulations Kimo! I totally agree...CALL, CALL, CALL until you get them to put in a service request for you! it works, as proven by the CSC actually e-mailing me a response to the service request that was put in for me.

Ok, so it looks like I spoke to a tier 1 person and they put in a service request. Now, are there two levels of service requests? How can I get through to a tier 2 person? will this make any difference? I.E. do they file a different or higher sort of service request? or is it all the same? Thanks guys.

[Ashex 4]

Check back a page, I posted a link to a DHS page describing the differences between Tier 1 and Tier 2. You can simply request to be escalated which is what I did, but be ready to be on hold for awhile