Never Been treated So Poorly

[Darnell 8,478]

So, a few months ago, I was told to send off a postal inquiry to the address in the NOA-1.

I suggest you try that, and ask what's going on.

Know the address for your local office? send one off there, too !

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I did not say I was prone to worry and obsess... I said I suffer (and have been diagnosed) with a very real disorder called Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I am not worried that some fanciful thing is happening to my case. I'm worried about the very real possibility I am going to find myself in the same boat as many others on this site whi started the same path I did during this mess. I also believe there is plenty you can do to change the process if you only open your mouth about things. I pay my taxes and I am not going to sit back and be treated like I don't matter. I'm not letting anyone USCIS or otherwise take advantage of the power they have simply because they may be the only ones who handle certain things. Change is happening, change needs to happen. That is most definitely not in my head.

I have a strange feeling that they aren't going to expedite mine either. It is ok to be going through all those emotions and every time I see an approval I just sink a little further. It puts a real strain on a person and even a marriage - I break down in crying fits at least every other day. People who think that you can just wish away the stress or feel comfortable just getting in line don't realize how stressful it is when 1. people are being approved in a completely random way and many of them in under 2 months for no good reason and 2. what it is like struggling with mental health and outside issues during the process.

[san diego 407]

There are very few reasons to be expedited. I would probably put pregnancy above any emotional roller coasters as reasons to expedite (not that I ever faced this problem). Everyone goes through these emotions. You just need to hang in there and wait. Everyone here goes through the same emotions, problems, etc. Time will fly fast. There is not much you can do. Just relax. Regarding documents: they do get lost. You have to understand USCIS as well. They are faced with significant budget cuts and I would say they are more effective than most of the government offices. I would put them on the same level as IRS as one of the most effective. They just need to follow guidelines for expedite.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

There are very few reasons to be expedited. I would probably put pregnancy above any emotional roller coasters as reasons to expedite (not that I ever faced this problem). Everyone goes through these emotions. You just need to hang in there and wait. Everyone here goes through the same emotions, problems, etc. Time will fly fast. There is not much you can do. Just relax. Regarding documents: they do get lost. You have to understand USCIS as well. They are faced with significant budget cuts and I would say they are more effective than most of the government offices. I would put them on the same level as IRS as one of the most effective. They just need to follow guidelines for expedite.

I was actually talking to my husband about this earlier, but telling a person with anxiety to just relax is like telling a paralyzed person to just walk, it isn't that easy. Actually, he attempted to get me to buy stamps on my own....and well that didn't go over well.

Pregnancy expedites only happen for high risk pregnancies.

A mental health issue is not an emotional roller coaster, it is just as real and serious as a physical issue (and many times is physical in the brain).

I can't tell you the negative ways it has impacted my life even before this immigration process without derailing the thread, but it is completely serious and nothing to dismiss.

[pieroot 43]

Unfortunately, immigration is one of these things that are outside your control and once you've done everything that you can on your end, there's nothing else to do! I know it's hard for someone with a lot of anxiety, but if you keep focusing on this frustrating experience it will negatively impact other areas of your life.

So keep doing things that make you happy and are relaxing, focus on the positive things in your life and keep hanging in there!!! Hope you get approved soon.

Take Care.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Wow.

It seems the problems youre having are coming from your sense of entitlement.

The website is a courtesy, not a right.

The letter you feel you have legal rights to- may not even exist.

You want to check processing times for your case- use the official links.

As Harpa already explained to you "It looks to me like your file is at your local office to be adjudicated. Why do you think you are having an interview exactly? It used to be that if files were sent to the local office it meant interview, but with these new procedures it doesn't necessarily mean that any more. "

Cases are sent to the local offices via computer. The adjudicators there review them. Then then determine if they want to interview you and when they want to interview you.

So you were told by an ISO that you were 'pegged' for an interview. That means you were 'tagged' interview likely or 'needs an interview' or 'must be interviewed' or how ever they tagged you. So, it goes to the local office, and they will decide if and when the interview takes place. Cases can come in with a variety of tags. Definitely interview, potentially interview, doesnt need to interview. All of the definatelys get interviewed, apx 30% of the potentiallys, and 10% of the doesnt, depending on the workload of the office.

If youre sure you were tagged as a 'definitely' then you have to wait for your interview to be scheduled. I really doubt youre going to be able to make an infopass apt and insist that they schedule your appt right then and there while you wait, or interview you on the spot.

The way the computer works if no slots are available it will display- no slots. When a slot becomes available it will automatically fill your name into it and the notice for the interview will be generated.

So again, your issue is there is NO SLOT AVAILABLE YET at your local office. you have to wait until one opens up. when it does the computer will automatically generate your name into it and mail you your interview notice.

Going to the infopass and demanding they put your name into a slot is impossible. They can not put your name into a slot where there are no openings. You feel you are entitled to a notice of an interview that has not been scheduled yet.

Edited January 24, 2013 by capri

[bigdog 376]

The system is busted and no money to improve it, maybe the next administration will really address the issues. Good Luck, at least you are trying.

[Boiler 45,516]

Reported.

[DigitalSxKitten 1]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas as well as your words of encouragement. All in all noone on this earth has the right to make you feel less than and I will never be accepting of that. Call it entitlement if you want. I just call it protecting oneself, looking out for oneself and being non accepting of wrongs done to oneself just because they have been dealt out by the same entity before. I do not think it is unreasonable to have some form of information. Also to clarify there is NOWHERE on the USCIS gov website for me to check the processing times for my form of case. SO I dont even have that light in the dark so all in all those who think they have ALL the answers maybe they should check out what they are saying before getting so up in someones face. I was TOLD to expect a letter about my interview date and GIVEN A DATE to call back if I had not received it. Their mess up not mine.

[DigitalSxKitten 1]

Reported.

Who did you report?

[aprice138 16]

I think one of the worst parts of the NOA1->NOA2 phase, besides the waiting, is the fact that we have no control over what is happening. During the NVC and Consulate phases, we have control over fee payments, papers being sent in, etc. The waiting game with nothing to do exacerbates a normal anxiousness of wanting to have our dear ones be with us.

So in that, I think a lot of people have echoed the sentiment that during the USCIS phase, we need to learn to let go of the reins. You can't do anything, but everything is fine and progressing normally.

Don't compare yourself to anyone but the norm. Outliers to the normal 5 months are just that. Outliers.

The interview thing, as Darnell has said, seems to be mostly an error. It is not a worry unless you do get the interview, which is rare, but you will receive notice when you receive notice, not a moment sooner.

You are in the Sept filers, and youre right, they are getting approved. So just hold tight. And as my mother is prone to saying, a watched pot never boils!

[DigitalSxKitten 1]

I think one of the worst parts of the NOA1->NOA2 phase, besides the waiting, is the fact that we have no control over what is happening. During the NVC and Consulate phases, we have control over fee payments, papers being sent in, etc. The waiting game with nothing to do exacerbates a normal anxiousness of wanting to have our dear ones be with us.

So in that, I think a lot of people have echoed the sentiment that during the USCIS phase, we need to learn to let go of the reins. You can't do anything, but everything is fine and progressing normally.

Don't compare yourself to anyone but the norm. Outliers to the normal 5 months are just that. Outliers.

The interview thing, as Darnell has said, seems to be mostly an error. It is not a worry unless you do get the interview, which is rare, but you will receive notice when you receive notice, not a moment sooner.

You are in the Sept filers, and youre right, they are getting approved. So just hold tight. And as my mother is prone to saying, a watched pot never boils!

Oh I understand... but Ive been told to expect the notice is what Im trying to tell everyone. I was told to call back if I had not received it by the 23rd.

[Darnell 8,478]

For clarity, get into yer local office on an infopass appointment,

talk with the I-130 unit supervisor,

and find out what's what.

[DigitalSxKitten 1]

For clarity, get into yer local office on an infopass appointment,

talk with the I-130 unit supervisor,

and find out what's what.

Yeah I have an infopass on the 29th D

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Wow.

It seems the problems youre having are coming from your sense of entitlement.

It is not a sense of entitlement to want your loved ones near you in an efficient and transparent manner.

The vast majority of I-130/CR-1 applicants are law abiding citizens and so are their spouses. They are people undergoing a really stressful time in their lives and they do have a right to know what USCIS is doing, when they can expect an answer, and where their case is and what is happening with it.

They deserve to be given truthful and accurate information when they request it as well.