IR-1/CR-1 July 2011 Filers

[foobaz123 39]

So far, my Rep's immigration person is going to call CSC and ask them what's up. One of my Senator's person just gave me the same excuses that USCIS does with a bunch of BS about "We can't/won't do anything until you're past their processing date." This being their self-defined processing date. The same one that USCIS themselves use as a bloody shield to prevent creating any service requests.

I wish I could just define turn around times as whatever the hell I felt like.

[Heartwarming 15]

So far, my Rep's immigration person is going to call CSC and ask them what's up. One of my Senator's person just gave me the same excuses that USCIS does with a bunch of BS about "We can't/won't do anything until you're past their processing date." This being their self-defined processing date. The same one that USCIS themselves use as a bloody shield to prevent creating any service requests.

I wish I could just define turn around times as whatever the hell I felt like.

The wife was on hold for 20 minutes for a tier 2 rep. Then they tell her no service request (medical) was found. They then put a new one through for a status inquiry. Watch this one get swallowed too.....

[foobaz123 39]

The wife was on hold for 20 minutes for a tier 2 rep. Then they tell her no service request (medical) was found. They then put a new one through for a status inquiry. Watch this one get swallowed too.....

At least you got that far. I've never been able to get them to admit there is a tier 2 let alone transfer me to them. "You're within normal processing times sir" (that they define as whatever the hell they want).

[Matt & Rocio 28]

I just spoke with the Immigration Liason from my Congressman's office after she made an inquiry for me. She said that they are about a month behind their goal of 5 months, but that they are still within normal processing times. She said I should call her back if I haven't heard anything by the middle of February. My NOA1 date is 7/27/11.

I wasn't expecting anything different from that call, but I decided to do it anyway in case this does drag out for another month. I've decided to shift my focus from fretting over something I can't control and instead focus on planning a trip to see my wife in the next month or so. Fortunately the Chilean government lets me visit my wife whenever I feel like it

[l.iber.tatis 7]

we talked to a tier 2 officer today and she told us the same BS as they have been telling everybody for the past 2 months. CSC is working on june 16th...

[foobaz123 39]

we talked to a tier 2 officer today and she told us the same BS as they have been telling everybody for the past 2 months. CSC is working on june 16th...

I had an INFOPASS appointment with my local USCIS office and was told more or less the same thing. There were some interesting things in that my file was touched and showed some kind of activity on her computer as late as October, even though the website says that the last update was 4August.

Unfortunately for all of us as long as we're within their self-defined processing time it doesn't seem there is much we can do. The lady at USCIS even seemed surprised that I was bothering them at this point. Not upset, just surprised I was on it that much.

I see you were denied by USCIS once already. That seems pretty rare at that stage for this type of petition. May I ask what happened?

[Heartwarming 15]

.....

[foobaz123 39]

.....

That does a pretty good job of summing up my feelings about the situation as well. The appointment was enlightening in some ways. They told me there have been 'updates' on my petition as late as October, but she didn't know what the updates meant as apparently they were in the form of some kind of numerical code or something. I also found that I had far more knowledge about the current process than she did.

For instance, she was suggesting that: A) I would end up having to wait nearly three years to actually get the visa (untrue unless someone seriously screws something up), B) I should file an I-129F (not true any more as that is for the now more or less unused K3 visa), C) She seemed to think that the consulate we'll have our interview at would allow me in for the interview (also untrue, they won't do so under any known circumstances).

I can't fault her too much as the local office is really nothing more than a place to mainly get some questions answered and get your fingerprints taken and other sorts of administrative tasks done. It's really just here so that people in middle Tennessee don't have to drive all the way to Memphis for such things.

As much as I hate to say it, and likely won't follow the advice myself, it seems all we can do for at least the next couple of weeks is just continue to wait as patiently as we can.

[Matt & Rocio 28]

As much as I hate to say it, and likely won't follow the advice myself, it seems all we can do for at least the next couple of weeks is just continue to wait as patiently as we can.

I agree with you on that. At least we can get together on this forum and have someone to listen to our rants and empathize with us. I just wish I would have done my research a year ago and found this website back then. I would have done things differently knowing what I know now.

For example this time last year I was helping my then fiance fill out an application for a tourist visa. I was completely naive to the fact that she would have zero chance of being issued a tourist visa because she couldn't prove strong ties to her country. My plan was for her to come to the US for a few weeks so she could meet my family and see what it is like to live in the US. My wife would prefer that we live together in Chile, but my line of work doesn't translate very well there and I have a house that I would lose my shirt on if I had to sell it now. The time came for her interview and as you would expect she was flat denied. I was angry of course, partly because they took the money for the application even though they would never issue her a visa and because I felt like they were calling my future wife a liar. I then consulted with a relative of a friend who is an immigration attorney and he suggested we get married in Chile and then go through the direct consular filing process. I guess he didn't know that most if not all consulates now require a minimum of 6 months of residency in the foreign country before you are eligible to do this. I found out about a week before we were planning to go to the embassy in Santiago. So, if I had it to do over again I would have filed for an I-129f visa instead of a tourist visa this time last year and more than likely I would be with my wife now.

[foobaz123 39]

I agree with you on that. At least we can get together on this forum and have someone to listen to our rants and empathize with us. I just wish I would have done my research a year ago and found this website back then. I would have done things differently knowing what I know now.

For example this time last year I was helping my then fiance fill out an application for a tourist visa. I was completely naive to the fact that she would have zero chance of being issued a tourist visa because she couldn't prove strong ties to her country. My plan was for her to come to the US for a few weeks so she could meet my family and see what it is like to live in the US. My wife would prefer that we live together in Chile, but my line of work doesn't translate very well there and I have a house that I would lose my shirt on if I had to sell it now. The time came for her interview and as you would expect she was flat denied. I was angry of course, partly because they took the money for the application even though they would never issue her a visa and because I felt like they were calling my future wife a liar. I then consulted with a relative of a friend who is an immigration attorney and he suggested we get married in Chile and then go through the direct consular filing process. I guess he didn't know that most if not all consulates now require a minimum of 6 months of residency in the foreign country before you are eligible to do this. I found out about a week before we were planning to go to the embassy in Santiago. So, if I had it to do over again I would have filed for an I-129f visa instead of a tourist visa this time last year and more than likely I would be with my wife now.

Same here on all counts. As the little flag says, my wife is from China. As such it would take an act of a lower deity to have any chance at all of a visitor visa.

As I've told several people online and in person since I learned more. Young+Female+Chinese+NotRich+Single == Denied.

It simply isn't possible to prove ties enough in that situation. The funny bit is that the State department swears up and down they don't discriminate against young people. It's just that the unstated and unwritten standards are such that it is impossible for a non-rich young person to meet them. I too wanted her to visit the US, meet my family, see if she'd really like it here before we made a huge commitment to each other. No dice, no chance. Her interview was barely 3 minutes long, most of which was the VO entering the reasons for denial into the computer. I'm 100% convinced that when the applicant meets the formula stated above, the decision for denial is already made with the interview being nothing more than a formality.

One of the things that make it truly annoying is that people from VWP countries, even if dirt poor and fresh out of high/secondary school don't face any of those problems. They can hop on a plane an fly over here whenever they feel like it with nothing more than a cursory set of questions at POE. Can they be refused entry? Sure. Does it happen often? Doubt it. Would a person with the exact same relative economic and personal ties be refused a visa by a VO? Absolutely. But they're from a 'special' country so they get a pass.

If my wife was born in Singapore, not exactly known for being super rich and everyone living in palaces, she could fly over here any time. Brunei? Same thing. Poor farm girl from rural Japan? Yep, come right on in. Tiny town making no money in Eastern Europe? Absolutely you can come right over. University graduate from China making over the average? Ewwwww!!! No!!! You can't come in!!! Visa Denied!

As Americans our Magic Blue Passport gets us easily into over 160 countries around the world. As a result we don't generally think about things like visas and interviews and automatic denials. Just the other day I was explaining this situation to someone for what had to be the 1000th time and they were totally shocked that she couldn't just come over with her passport. Then when they found out that she couldn't they automatically assumed it was the Evil Chinese Government that was preventing her from coming here. They felt differently when I explained to them that it was 100% our own government who refuses to issue visas to anyone except the special and privileged.

[Heartwarming 15]

Same here on all counts. As the little flag says, my wife is from China. As such it would take an act of a lower deity to have any chance at all of a visitor visa.

As I've told several people online and in person since I learned more. Young+Female+Chinese+NotRich+Single == Denied.

It simply isn't possible to prove ties enough in that situation. The funny bit is that the State department swears up and down they don't discriminate against young people. It's just that the unstated and unwritten standards are such that it is impossible for a non-rich young person to meet them. I too wanted her to visit the US, meet my family, see if she'd really like it here before we made a huge commitment to each other. No dice, no chance. Her interview was barely 3 minutes long, most of which was the VO entering the reasons for denial into the computer. I'm 100% convinced that when the applicant meets the formula stated above, the decision for denial is already made with the interview being nothing more than a formality.

One of the things that make it truly annoying is that people from VWP countries, even if dirt poor and fresh out of high/secondary school don't face any of those problems. They can hop on a plane an fly over here whenever they feel like it with nothing more than a cursory set of questions at POE. Can they be refused entry? Sure. Does it happen often? Doubt it. Would a person with the exact same relative economic and personal ties be refused a visa by a VO? Absolutely. But they're from a 'special' country so they get a pass.

If my wife was born in Singapore, not exactly known for being super rich and everyone living in palaces, she could fly over here any time. Brunei? Same thing. Poor farm girl from rural Japan? Yep, come right on in. Tiny town making no money in Eastern Europe? Absolutely you can come right over. University graduate from China making over the average? Ewwwww!!! No!!! You can't come in!!! Visa Denied!

As Americans our Magic Blue Passport gets us easily into over 160 countries around the world. As a result we don't generally think about things like visas and interviews and automatic denials. Just the other day I was explaining this situation to someone for what had to be the 1000th time and they were totally shocked that she couldn't just come over with her passport. Then when they found out that she couldn't they automatically assumed it was the Evil Chinese Government that was preventing her from coming here. They felt differently when I explained to them that it was 100% our own government who refuses to issue visas to anyone except the special and privileged.

I have heard nothing about my inquiry and I bet it never went through. They told me to make an info pass appointment also. I really think it would be useless for the time being. I guess we will wait it out until the end of the month then start contacting congressmen ourselves for what it's worth. This process is ridiculous and emotionally draining.

[angelo gutierrez 6]

Does anyone here knows how to expedite the case? And what can be the acceptable reasons? I am in the military and im about to PCS (permanent change of station) will this be a valid reason to expedite my case? Im going to be deployed thats why I want to request to expedite so I can settle everything for my wife (house, etc) before I go overseas.

Edited January 5, 2012 by angelo gutierrez

[Heartwarming 15]

Does anyone here knows how to expedite the case? And what can be the acceptable reasons? I am in the military and im about to PCS (permanent change of station) will this be a valid reason to expedite my case? Im going to be deployed thats why I want to request to expedite so I can settle everything for my wife (house, etc) before I go overseas.

I do believe that deployment is a good reason. I think you just need to fax a copy of your orders to them when you make the expedite request. You would send the request through the military fax number though. Just call them as soon as possible to do the expedite request and explain everything to them thoroughly. They will be able to guide you further. Good luck to you!

Edited January 5, 2012 by Funfetti

[l.iber.tatis 7]

I had an INFOPASS appointment with my local USCIS office and was told more or less the same thing. There were some interesting things in that my file was touched and showed some kind of activity on her computer as late as October, even though the website says that the last update was 4August.

Unfortunately for all of us as long as we're within their self-defined processing time it doesn't seem there is much we can do. The lady at USCIS even seemed surprised that I was bothering them at this point. Not upset, just surprised I was on it that much.

I see you were denied by USCIS once already. That seems pretty rare at that stage for this type of petition. May I ask what happened?

lack of evidence was the reason they gave us. so next time we sent in a package that was 3 inch high and pretty heavy too i hope that is enough evidence this time!

[foobaz123 39]

I have heard nothing about my inquiry and I bet it never went through. They told me to make an info pass appointment also. I really think it would be useless for the time being. I guess we will wait it out until the end of the month then start contacting congressmen ourselves for what it's worth. This process is ridiculous and emotionally draining.

An INFOPASS appointment can be enlightening. If the local office isn't too far away and you can shake loose the time I'd suggest to give it a go. If you speak to a knowledgeable person they may be able to tell you far more information than the call center and certainly more than the website.

For instance, the website insists that nothing has happened with my petition since 4August. However, the lady at the local office was able to tell me that at least 'something' happened to it back in October. Unfortunately, she didn't really understand what the records were telling her. That alone was... interesting...

In any case, if it is possible for you to go it is worth the time and it is free after all.