I130 Expedite process status

[AK2011 0]

Guys, I filed for my wife's I130 back in January 3rd (Receipt Date). I called last Friday June 3rd at USCIS for a status and they asked me to wait till June 21st. However I filed for a expedite request and the following answer was provided today.

"The California Service Center acknowledges receipt of your request for expedited handling of your I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. After careful review, it has been determined that the request does not meet the expedite guidelines established by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. As such, the case will be adjudicated in date receipt order"

My question is, does this mean my nothing changed and I have to wait till June 21st to call and look for a status again?

Edited June 7, 2011 by AK2011

[Dave and Kinnari 31]

It's time to contact your local congressman.

[AK2011 0]

It's time to contact your local congressman.

Are you serious?

[Darnell 8,478]

Yup, nothing has changed. You can always call back whenever you want, however.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Darnell

[Dave and Kinnari 31]

Are you serious?

yes

[hellraiser 42]

AK2011, this is what I did:

It took exactly 6 month 1 day for me. I kept calling USCIS from 5 months 0 days and the operators never wanted to open up a Service Request (SR) and constantly kept saying I am not over the timeline. I finally realized the secret of the phrase "not outside processing timeline" and wrote my finding in some other thread. Anyway, on my 6th month, I called closing all the holes the operators may come up with for not opening an SR and continued saying that I want to talk to their supervisor. So they passed me to their supervisor (apparently) who tried to discourage me with similar arguments and I continued saying "The processing timeline defined in USCIS website is not something I came up with, it's their estimate, or their website states if you don't get it done by 5 months call this number to raise a ticket" and something like that. Finally the supervisor put me on hold and got his supervisor and that gentlemen opened up an SR without asking any further question saying USCIS will get back to me with 10 days.

Now the same day I contacted the senator from NY and sent them all the information so they can contact USCIS.

My case was (I-130 and I-129F) approved the next day. Now I know the senator route didn't work on this as the next day I was asked by their office to send another document so they can go after this. But many found similar result from this route.

I would suggest start both. Keep in mind, your Senator (wherever you are) will take it seriously and will try to help you out (whether it's with USCIS, NVC or even with the Embassy). In NY, that is a very common thing for the Senators, and I guess it's the same everywhere.

One final thought. All cases are unique, you can get an idea from others experience but that does not mean you will have the same for certainty. So if someone says something for certainty, doesn't mean that's guaranteed in all instances. Use your own judgement based on all the different experiences and for the rest, you have very little or no control on this miserable journey.

[AK2011 0]

Thank you hellraiser for sharing your experience.

Interestingly, I called USCIS again today only to find out that they now say I need to contact them on the 28th instead of what they said on last Friday. This is a total fiasco playing with peoples lives!!

I sent an email to the local congressman about this awaiting his office's reply. Will try to contact the Senator now as you have suggested. Please keep me on your prayers guys and thanks to all!!

[hellraiser 42]

I could certainly related to you. As I said "The processing timeline at USCIS" is an elusive term, and is more like chasing your own tail. The first line of support guys are there with some pre-scripted information and really has no clue about individual cases. Their job is to push you back with some shallow basic information that may not make any sense. So keep pestering them saying you want to talk to a supervisor. They are supposed to pass you to a level high.

If you call them on 28th and if your case is not complete, you will hear another date saying you are not over the processing timeline yet. Trust me, that will happen. And they will not pass you to their supervisor unless you are over 5 months since your NOA1 as that's defined by USCIS. So once you pass the 5 months mark, get your thoughts together, try to imagine all the BS you may hear from the operator, cover the gaps and go for a supervisor for a SR. At the same time, contact Arnonld Schwarzenegger before his term ends in a normal fashion or abruptly :rofl: . Sorry for the joke, but yes, you can contact your senator either by mail or by phone (go with phone) and put a turbo boost on the query. Keep in mind, a government agency may not be bound to answer to you, but answers to the Senator's inquiry.

Yes, our good wishes will be with you and everyeone else who are going through the rough part of this journy......

[AK2011 0]

Thanks 'hellraiser' for your words of wisdom. Apparently I called in today and again and got the same old information that they are addressing Dec 16, 2010 applications and cannot put in the request since they have not touched any applications for Jan 3, 2011 yet. Also they say the timeline of 5 months on the website for CSC is an 'estimate' only. I tried my level best to speak to a supervisor but the woman said no supervisor was available! I am at a total loss. I guess I will keep on calling them and also pursuing the case with the senator/congressman.

[hellraiser 42]

Dear AK2011. Believe me I know exactly what you can hear from the operators as I took the same steps and heard all different types of excuses. Now if you know any fellow Bangladeshi who's case went to CSC and has a later date, use that as a reference. And keep in mind, the first line of defence (Operator) will go in a circle. Someone told me once, we cannot open a SR if your date is not over the processing timeframe. So I asked what is the deadline for that and the answer was, we do not know that. So I am like if you dont know that, how could you ever open an SR and they will continue on a loop. It's frustrating.

This is what I told them for those questions:

1. The 5 months time frame in the USCIS site is not an estimate. It's defined by you (USCIS) not me and no where it says it's an estimate.

2. When they tell you about working on December case, tell them that your buddy from BD was approved who filed after you. Otherwise they will tell you that there are different combinations and stuff like that.

3. If they try to put you on hold, or tell you that there is no available supervisor, ask the agent politely what his name and his agent ID/number is and write it down. Next time you file a complaint against that person. You are entitled for that.

Again, I guess your bad experience is reminding me the one month I passed where I could feel my bloods boiling......

Finally, don't give up on your hope, don't get demoralized. It's getting over. After this would be the NVC part which can be resolved in a month, if you play the cards right. Good luck

[AK2011 0]

Thanks man! I really appreciate you taking the time and explaining the steps. I feel I'm not alone here in this chaos. Thanks again for your tips. I will try my luck again tomorrow and will let you know. Thanks!!

[AK2011 0]

Today I called USCIS again crossing my fingers and taking note of the tips that 'hellraiser' provided. Long story short, the first agent repeated the same version of the story that I kept hearing for the last few days I've been calling them. After severe insistence she passed me on to her Supervisor who provided the same explanation and was more arrogant in the way she was explaining. I understood the fact that their system did not allow to put in a Service Request until it shows over normal processing time for that service center.. hence the situation. I kept insisting and then the supervisor passed me to an Office who said she is emailing CSC explaining the situation but still not able to out any service request since it is not outside processing time for CSC. Interestingly I got the same reply from the Congressman's office of my district stating a request cannot be put in unless it is over 30 days than the original processing time. USCIS also told me there will be no new information available until the next two weeks and I will be emailed with CSC's response on the subject matter.

I guess there isn't any other steps left that I can take other than to leave it to the almighty and fate to run its course. Please keep me and my wife in your prayers guys. May we all be successful in this turbulent journey in the shortest period of time. Thank you 'hellraiser' again for your inspiration and tips the other day.

[hellraiser 42]

Yes. That s a correct conclusion as that's what I ended up believing. As I said and if you look at my earlier statements, my case was approved exactly on 6 months 1 day from VSC, where as another BD girl and her application for her spouse was cleared by the same center in less than 4 months. How do you make any logical sense out of it? I guess you and I just fell through the crack and it's nothing but our bad luck. Anyway, once your SR is open, you will be surprised.

Now regarding this over 1 month theory is something you can't find anywhere. The centers will tell USCIS that they are working on december cases (just an example) and that means that's the processing time line. So if they tell you that the service center is working on Jan 2000 cases, that would become the standard. Logically you will never go beyond the processing date as I've seen plenty of ####### happening. Not saying these guys do bad job or they are slackers, but they can make errors and there is no accountability, also, they can get away with giving you BS answer and worst of all, they know it.

Keep your fingers crossed buddy. You are almost there. Don't get depressed yet as you still have the hurdle of NVC (the smaller one) and the interview set up. I hope those would be easier for you. Good luck and best wishes.

[hellraiser 42]

and one more thing brother; please don't do something because I or someone else did. I had my share of unique experience and you will have yours and there could be huge difference in us. Hence if you do something because someone else did it, you may not get your desired outcome. Just a thought...... I know you are doing it based on your own judgment, and keep it up

[AK2011 0]

Thanks buddy...I'll keep that in mind. Forgot to mention earlier that I agree completely on what you said regarding the gaps and cracks in the system. I also noticed another instance where a person filed later than me but got approved from the same service center back in last month! Thanks again for your words of inspiration and hope my struggle ends soon. Will keep you posted.