January 2013 I-130 Filers

[Roosha 51]

Is that so? Hmmm, I was wondering about that and wow, did you ask for an expedite?

Nope, it was done automatically.

If your I-130 does get sent to a local field office after going to the National Benefits Center, does USCIS notify you of the change via email, postal mail, etc?

Not that I know of, most people get that information after calling in and asking to speak to a Tier 2 ISO. They'll tell you if your case has been transferred. But this is typically done a month or so from your NOA1 date. Some people have been getting transferred to local offices 2 or 3 months after their NOA1 date. It's all just a mess

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

If your I-130 does get sent to a local field office after going to the National Benefits Center, does USCIS notify you of the change via email, postal mail, etc?

From the information I am gathering from VJ, USCIS does not notify you when they transfer to your local field office. The only way to find out seems to be calling USCIS and asking to speak to a tier 2 representative.

[JBoss 12]

I wonder if the "last update" date changes when/if they transfer the case to the local field office... I see online that my case was last updated on Aug 8th 2012. Not sure what happened to my file. Im going to call CIS and speak to Tier-2 again next week.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I wonder if the "last update" date changes when/if they transfer the case to the local field office... I see online that my case was last updated on Aug 8th 2012. Not sure what happened to my file. Im going to call CIS and speak to Tier-2 again next week.

no it doesnt

my last touched is the date it was entered online finally.

it transferred two weeks later

[Jughead 3]

Not that I know of, most people get that information after calling in and asking to speak to a Tier 2 ISO. They'll tell you if your case has been transferred. But this is typically done a month or so from your NOA1 date. Some people have been getting transferred to local offices 2 or 3 months after their NOA1 date. It's all just a mess

Wow. So your case can just sit for 3 months before they do anything with it? And a that point they just send it somewhere else for it to sit a little longer before it gets worked on. Unbelievable. Is it a good idea to call about a month after getting NOA1 to see what's up?

[jdba 22]

Wow. So your case can just sit for 3 months before they do anything with it? And a that point they just send it somewhere else for it to sit a little longer before it gets worked on. Unbelievable. Is it a good idea to call about a month after getting NOA1 to see what's up?

I called at 56 days to see where I was at. I'm still at the NBC. I would wait till about that long to call. Be ready for the ISO to not want to tell you where you are at.

[sophielas 2]

We got our NOA 2 approved 31 Jan! Still in shock. So I am guessing the petition never left NBC as the USC is out of the US.

Baffling, we were preparing for many months of wait. I'm so sorry to all still waiting in 'initial review', but I hope that this gives you hope that they are doing something...

[Jughead 3]

We got our NOA 2 approved 31 Jan! Still in shock. So I am guessing the petition never left NBC as the USC is out of the US.

Baffling, we were preparing for many months of wait. I'm so sorry to all still waiting in 'initial review', but I hope that this gives you hope that they are doing something...

Congrats!

It seems that if the USC is living abroad with the beneficiary they are getting NOA2 really fast. Is there a reason for this?

Edited February 1, 2013 by Jughead

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

We got our NOA 2 approved 31 Jan! Still in shock. So I am guessing the petition never left NBC as the USC is out of the US.

Baffling, we were preparing for many months of wait. I'm so sorry to all still waiting in 'initial review', but I hope that this gives you hope that they are doing something...

Congrats on your approval!

Congrats!

It seems that if the USC is living abroad (with the beneficiary I assume) they are getting NOA2 really fast. Is there a reason for this?

By default, if the USC is living abroad with their spouse, they are entitled to auto-expedite.

[sophielas 2]

Congrats!

It seems that if the USC is living abroad with the beneficiary they are getting NOA2 really fast. Is there a reason for this?

No reason, certainly not confirmed by USCIS, but unmistakable trend with *some* but not all VJer who are filing from abroad. Seems like it's likely, but not certain.

[Jughead 3]

By default, if the USC is living abroad with their spouse, they are entitled to auto-expedite.

Interesting. Not saying it is unfair, but I guess couples living together abroad have that as an advantage to show the relationship is legit, whereas it takes more to prove a relationship is real when the USC is not living with the beneficiary.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

Interesting. Not saying it is unfair, but I guess couples living together abroad have that as an advantage to show the relationship is legit, whereas it takes more to prove a relationship is real when the USC is not living with the beneficiary.

That could be one possibility. I'm not entirely sure why USCs living abroad are entitled to the auto-expedite. If someone else could shed some light on this, I would be interested to know.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

FYI, here are the trend charts for local offices compared with the national trend. Note that in the local office trends you can clearly see a spike in I-130 volume trends post Aug 2012.

They haven't updated since Nov. 2012 unfortunately.

http://dashboard.uscis.gov/index.cfm?formtype=4&office=91&charttype=1

[sophielas 2]

That could be one possibility. I'm not entirely sure why USCs living abroad are entitled to the auto-expedite. If someone else could shed some light on this, I would be interested to know.

From what I understand, and I certainly am no expert, this 'expedite' trend is certainly not guaranteed, and it is most certainly not an entitlement. You won't see it written anywhere on USCIS material, it just seems to be happening with many applications (but not all).

They have been phasing out direct consular filing at many overseas embassies which used to be how USC living abroad with spouses went through the process. I would say it's some kind of legacy to do with the fact that many of these applications now have to go through USCIS, but don't get assigned to a field office.

[The Mean Lady 604]

From what I understand, and I certainly am no expert, this 'expedite' trend is certainly not guaranteed, and it is most certainly not an entitlement. You won't see it written anywhere on USCIS material, it just seems to be happening with many applications (but not all).

They have been phasing out direct consular filing at many overseas embassies which used to be how USC living abroad with spouses went through the process. I would say it's some kind of legacy to do with the fact that many of these applications now have to go through USCIS, but don't get assigned to a field office.

Abroad expedite happened prior to August 15th.

My guess? The gov't wants their americans back in the us