Automatic 2 year wait

[GGG1975 9]

Hello,

I met my husband and married him all in a 5 month period. We didn't really think about the ramification of these actions until afterwards. We were in the mist of falling in love and enjoying this journey we were on. We had our ceremony in Morocco and I had traveled to the country twice before we got married. My family from the States traveled to Morocco for the ceremony and fell in love with our new family in Morocco and visa versa. My husband's Aunt hosted us in her home and about 40 guest (friends and family) attended the ceremony. His cousin has 2 homes in Morocco and gave us one for our honeymoon for about 3 weeks. I was in Morocco for my second trip for 7 weeks in all. It was awesome and has been since meeting my husband a year ago. My husband and I are older and has never been married or have children. We didn't think we would ever marry or find someone. But we found each other and we were just ready to get our lives started.

I recently spoke to a co-worker who worked for immigration and she provided me with some insight. She said that if a couple was married in less than 6 months of meeting, their case was automatically held back and USCIS has 2 years to process the case. And in most cases it is held for 2 years before processing. I wanted to see if anyone else has had to deal with this issue or know what can be done to move our case forward. USCIS has had our case for 4 months so we are still within processing time but when September & October comes my fear is we will be sitting on someone's desk waiting on them to deem us worthy.

She went on to say this usually happens with countries on the RED FLAG list and I'm sure Morocco is on the list. It's one of the hardest Consulates to get visa approval and even our lawyer had stories of his experience with dealing with Morocco. He said a few years back a worker at the consulate hired him because he knew just how hard it was to get a visa. Luckily things went through ok he said there were a lot of in fighting among staff which only made it harder on people trying to get visas. The attitude of the staff was not good.

In addition, for your Vermont applicants, I was informed that each Region only approve a certain amount of visa's, which is why California is blasting along this year compared to Vermont was blasting last year. This isn't advertised or discussed. It's not even a policy but cases are processed slower until it's time for that Region is given the green light.

Thank you and I hope someone has an inspiring story or encouragement to provide.

[Julie y Pat 67]

I think you're getting some really old information from your coworker. From what I understand, it did take a long time for I-130's to be approved in the past, and the K3 visa shortened the wait. Nowadays the I-130's are approved months and not years, so the K3 has become obsolete.

[Ryan H 3,812]

I recently spoke to a co-worker who worked for immigration and she provided me with some insight. She said that if a couple was married in less than 6 months of meeting, their case was automatically held back and USCIS has 2 years to process the case. And in most cases it is held for 2 years before processing. I wanted to see if anyone else has had to deal with this issue or know what can be done to move our case forward. USCIS has had our case for 4 months so we are still within processing time but when September & October comes my fear is we will be sitting on someone's desk waiting on them to deem us worthy. She went on to say this usually happens with countries on the RED FLAG list and I'm sure Morocco is on the list

Your co-worker gave you false information. No petition is intentionally held for the reasons you were given. What I have seen happen is sometimes a Petitioner who is petitioning a beneficiary from a country that has seen high incidences of visa fraud will receive a lengthy request for additional evidence. Even in cases where the petitioner receives such a lengthy request and responds to it before the given deadline, the file is still processed, not held.

In addition, for your Vermont applicants, I was informed that each Region only approve a certain amount of visa's, which is why California is blasting along this year compared to Vermont was blasting last year. This isn't advertised or discussed. It's not even a policy but cases are processed slower until it's time for that Region is given the green light.

Again, you were given false information. Firstly, USCIS service centers don't approve visas, they approve petitions. Approval of visas is the exclusive purview of the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the State Department (i.e. visas are approved or denied by Consular Officials).

Processing times of petitions at the service center can vary because sometimes a particular service center will be directed to prioritize certain types of petitions or applications they receive. When that happens, processing times for the other types of petitions or applications received will increase. Times have recently increased in Vermont because the VSC was tasked to handle Temporary Protected Status applications for Syrian refugees.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Ryan H

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Petition approval is not capped by region. Petitions for immediate relatives have no cap at all - a visa number is always immediately available. You were told a lot of BS.

[Boiler 45,535]

Another vote for the BS.

[Thomas&Cleofe 358]

Are you sure your friend worked for immigration...??? Hmmmm???

[GGG1975 9]

Thank you all for the updates. Yes, she worked for USCIS for many years. She recently spoke to a friend that is still there and they discussed the whole delay process. I apologize for stating "visa approval" I met approval of the applications in the USCIS stage, before being sent to NVC. She told me no amount of evidence, visit, communication, etc offsets the fact that we married within a 6 month period.

I hope you all are correct and they process our case within the normal processing times. I'll definitely keep this topic open and will keep you guys updated. At this point we are praying and hoping for a miracle.

I hope all is well in each of your cases.

Thank you so much for responding.

[Mithra 1,185]

I wouldn't worry about the uscis stage. I would, however, worry a bit about the consulate. if you haven't filed yet, please front load your app and explain why you married after such a short time of knowing each other. The consulate in casablanca is a tough one and they deny a lot of couples.

[Mithra 1,185]

Oops you did file already. Well I hope you sent plenty of evidence of your relationship with the app.

[Moh&Tam 2]

I am sorry but either your friends info is very old or BS. I would like to say you have some favorable things in your favor especially when you were able to have both families attending your wedding a lots of support and acceptance. The fact that your age and background is similar is also a plus. I wouldn't worry about how short or long it was until you got married. Most CO's must realise that in muslim countries it is more common to marry than to date etc...

My husband I have 5 yr age difference and both divorced so I am not to worried about any red flags, but it seems mandatory AP is the norm for most countries in the region and that can last as little as a few weeks to a year or more.

So just have lots of evidence pics, phone bills, gifts, emails, chat logs, travel tickets, and anything else that would support your marriage.

Holler or send a PM if you need anything or just to chat.

[Boiler 45,535]

It takes 6 months or so for them to process the the appo, perhaps that is where lies the confusion.

But it matters not how long you have been married.

[GGG1975 9]

I am sorry but either your friends info is very old or BS. I would like to say you have some favorable things in your favor especially when you were able to have both families attending your wedding a lots of support and acceptance. The fact that your age and background is similar is also a plus. I wouldn't worry about how short or long it was until you got married. Most CO's must realise that in muslim countries it is more common to marry than to date etc...

My husband I have 5 yr age difference and both divorced so I am not to worried about any red flags, but it seems mandatory AP is the norm for most countries in the region and that can last as little as a few weeks to a year or more.

So just have lots of evidence pics, phone bills, gifts, emails, chat logs, travel tickets, and anything else that would support your marriage.

Holler or send a PM if you need anything or just to chat.

Thank you for your words. I just read an email from my attorney who isn't encouraging at all. He informed me again that the Moroccan consulate has a high visa denial rate and is very difficult to pass. In addition, our age and time of marriage could hurt us. He recommend me moving to Morocco and living there for awhile. That's just not possible. The reason we want to live in America is because I have a really good job, a home, and my husband is in construction and his schedule is a lot more flexible than mine. If I could move to Morocco that would be great but its a better option to start life in America. I'm not sure what to think anymore.

Still praying

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Maybe you missunderstood the two year thing? There are two things it could be:

- if the petitioner is a greencard holder, not a US citizen, there is a waitingtime (for any spouse) of about 2.5 years for a visa to become available.

- If you are married less than two years on entry to the USA, you need to ROC (Remove Conditions) on your greencard after two years to get a ten year greencard.

[GGG1975 9]

Maybe you missunderstood the two year thing? There are two things it could be:

- if the petitioner is a greencard holder, not a US citizen, there is a waitingtime (for any spouse) of about 2.5 years for a visa to become available.

- If you are married less than two years on entry to the USA, you need to ROC (Remove Conditions) on your greencard after two years to get a ten year greencard.

I am a US citizen. I repeated what she told me in order to make sure I heard her right. She said that USCIS & NVC have 2 years to make a determination on a case. So caseworkers could hold cases for that long. She said some would hold it for an additional 6 months because they found that some people would divorce or cancel applications due to fraud when they took that additional time.

I also received an email from my attorney who reminded me that the US Consulate in Morocco is one of the hardest to get visa approval. They have a high visa denial rate. He said our case is not easy based on being married with a 6 month period and the 7 year age difference.

Our families have been very supportive, I make a good income, I own a home, I have seen my husband in person twice within the year. The first trip was 2 weeks and the second trip was for 7 weeks. I see my husband everyday sometimes all day based on our great technology of video-conferencing. We are in contact with each other on a continuous basis. We really just want to start our lives together so the news from my co-worker and my attorney saddens me a little. All we can do is continue to pray and hope.

Thank you for your feedback

[GGG1975 9]

Oops you did file already. Well I hope you sent plenty of evidence of your relationship with the app.

Yes, we applied . And yes we did provide a lot of evidence. The family members that attended wrote letters and my husband's mother and sister wrote letters on our behalf. I submitted lots of pictures and communication.

But the US Consulate in Morocco is no joke. They don't even interview people they simple give them the 221g and tell them to be on their way. It will literally take a miracle because they do not care about our feelings at all.

Oops you did file already. Well I hope you sent plenty of evidence of your relationship with the app.

Yes, we applied . And yes we did provide a lot of evidence. The family members that attended wrote letters and my husband's mother and sister wrote letters on our behalf. I submitted lots of pictures and communication.

But the US Consulate in Morocco is no joke. They don't even interview people they simple give them the 221g and tell them to be on their way. It will literally take a miracle because they do not care about our feelings at all.