How is your NOA2 waiting time?

[Wayne-Rachel 8]

Also, we sent our application to the Texas center, per instructions on the USCIS site, but our NOA2 said our center was California - does anyone know why that would happen?

Texas is a sorting center I believe, the other service centers still exist, but the papework doesnt get sent directly to them any more.

[Ally & Rach 24]

Wow! So sorry to hear that. What did the senators say to your inquiries?

The senators office said they'd put in an enquiry and.. surprise.. USCIS said to wait 30 days for an answe, and that was over 30 days ago..!!

This whole thing has now just left me numb.. Im not a hateful person but I HATE this system and the way we have been treated!!

[patient2010 93]

Texas is a sorting center I believe, the other service centers still exist, but the papework doesnt get sent directly to them any more.

Texas just process your payment then they transfer it to your service center.....

Edited January 14, 2011 by patient2010

[Rwlaird 18]

Just got my NOA2!! Finally!! (NOA1 of July 23rd)

[Ally & Rach 24]

Just got my NOA2!! Finally!! (NOA1 of July 23rd)

Thats great news.. Im really pleased for you.. How did you find out?

[SunDrop 59]

The purported 5 month wait for 15 minutes of work is ridiculous in itself ...

I'm not convinced this is fair. Yes, adjudicators may be expected to get through 30 cases a day, but there is a lot more handling than just the adjudicator. If it were that simple, there wouldn't be a wait.

Don't even ask ..........I think we have you all beat. We filed in April and still don't have an NOA2.

You're filing for a very different kind of visa. Once these K-1 petitions are approved, they need to apply for the visa. Once the visas are approved they need to move and get married. Once married, they need to start waiting again while their work authorisation, right to leave the country and adjustment of status from 'USC spouse with pre-authorization to request adjustment' to 'conditional resident'.

RFEs suck, because it resets the clock. I'm waiting for my EAD and forgot to put a new copy of my co-sponsor's birth certificate in with the I-864. Means instead of 90 days from November 22nd, they've got 90 days from January 3rd. Really frustrating.

We sent outs off at the start of August which was as soon as we could scrape the money together to get it sent off, its kind of a kick in the face because we were hearing of all these couple of week processing times and now were over the 5 month mark and havent heard a single thing from Vermont about this.

We had a little freak out recently because the 'national average' time is something like 22 months, i have no idea how that works out

Those super-fast processing times are probably from before they changed the submission process. Take consolation in the fact they paid a higher fee than you did.

Dunno where those figures came from but looks like that's for all visas? The average for a K-1 is far from 22 months, to the best of my knowledge. Have you got a link?

NOA2 means a couple has been approved and will move to the interview stage right?

NOA2 is a VJ term for the Notice of Action that is issued when the petition is approved. It's their way of saying, 'we've done the pre-screening and cannot see any reason why this couple do not qualify to apply for a fiance/ee visa.'

So, once NOA2 is received how long is it until the next packet with the info for the interview? Does it depend on the country?

It does depend very much on the Embassy or Consulate. Play around with the timelines for your country to see what's happened in the past, time-frame wise. Also the Embassy review might shed some light on their process. For example, I think Manila you can schedule your own appointment, whereas London they do? May have changed recently, so don't quote me

I wonder if this shift from having 2 services centers in CA and VT to one centralized one in TX is causing these delays...

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Any time an organization shifts from one process to a very new one, they have teething problems. Because the USCIS tends to focus on one visa category at a time, depending on their directives, it could also be that there is a backlog building up in 'xyz' petitions, so they've shifted man-hours over there to move those along, with the impact that it's slowed K-1s down. A cruel game of ping-pong if you will.

=====================

I wish you all patience and speedier processes, and can only offer empathy. It's excruciating being so powerless and unfortunately there's little your Representative can do. Take small comfort in the knowledge that you're not the only ones out there - just think how bewildered those sould are who don't have VJ! Part of the reason we didn't start our AOS for so long was that I didn't have the guts to take on another USCIS process without a little mental rest. I realise our K-1 process was blessedly quick, but believe it's due to everyone bar my then-10 year old daughter having already been through some degree of security clearance (my parents and I were L-1/2 holders, my ex had a work visa for the US and my husband and his parents have all worked for the state). But who knows...

Good luck, have faith in whatever works for you and invest time in looking forward to when you're together by planning things together. 'Shop' for furniture together on the Sam Levitz/ Ikea website. Build a wedding registry somewhere or start a wishlist on WishPot. Pick out paint colours and new bed linens (maybe so you can surprise them with it!), spend some time clearing out the junk from the closet and garage or what-have-you, so your fiance(e) has space for their stuff, start finding out what you need to do once they get here to get established and build a 'settling in America' calendar on google, so you can share the process. Get the forms to add them to credit cards, banks, car insurance and deeds. Write out a 'typical' grocery list, so they can add their stuff. Scope out their cultural community in your town and find out where they shop or hang out for a taste of home - they will get homesick, no matter how much they love you! If they have hobbies, maybe start a change-jar you can dump your loose change into so when they get here, you can have a giftcard for Michael's or Gamestop, etc. Find out what publications they'd be interested in reading and grab a subscription card out of one of them, ready to mail once you know their POE date. That first piece of mail brings childlike excitement, lol.

In short, by having something different to do every week that works towards welcoming them into your life in the US, the time will go faster. And if you're the beneficiary, research that kind of stuff for yourself and talk about it with your other half.

[missyouhoney 1]

On the 24 january, we will be up to 4 months. Hopefully just one month of wait left for NOA2.

I so was hoping to spend my birthday at the end of march with my fiancee...but I doubt it will be possible

Cheer up guys, you never know.

Good luck!

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I received the NOA2 email only five or six days before my 5 month mark.

[Rwlaird 18]

I got an email and a text. The email mentioned that the status had been changed online so then I checked and it had been.

[missyouhoney 1]

I received the NOA2 email only five or six days before my 5 month mark.

It´s still very good time. What stage of the process r u guys in?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

It´s still very good time. What stage of the process r u guys in?

Our case was received by NVC on January 10th. We're just waiting for it to be sent to the embassy here in Canada now.

[missyouhoney 1]

we're still in our almost 3 mons. of waiting for our noa2.. but i hope and wish that we will not be exceeding in the the months mark of waiting... hardly praying for that..

hang in there guys, we´ll all make it!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

RFEs suck, because it resets the clock. I'm waiting for my EAD and forgot to put a new copy of my co-sponsor's birth certificate in with the I-864. Means instead of 90 days from November 22nd, they've got 90 days from January 3rd. Really frustrating.

That's not usually true actually. Unless the RFE is major, your place in line is preserved. While the RFE is pending, the case is paused obviously, but you don't start over from scratch. Don't worry. Good luck.

[missyouhoney 1]

Greatest news our I-129F approved email at 5.00 PM today. 156 days from NOA1 THERE IS HOPE FORTHE REST OF YOU

Congrats! That´s wonderful news!

[missyouhoney 1]

Yes I hear ya. 5 months and 2 days since we received our NOA 1 and not a peep.

Yes it is rather frustrating...... but what can we do? Wait , wait and wait some more......

I hope we all hear very very soon.

In the future we will see this with different eyes. We will all make it, we just gotta be patient.

Good luck!