January 2012 - I-130 filings - still no news?

[Hans12 0]

HI,

my wife (perm.resident in US for 4.5 years) has petitioned for me an I-130 to the Californian Service center (WAC).

It was received on Jan 6th 2012 and (as of 2/1/13) the case still has status Initial Review (NOA1).

So far no updates received from WAC and it's now 12 months since filing. We called once and got a letter stating that the petition was received in good order and that they will do their best.

An immigration lawyer told us that there's nothing we can do to expedite - is that true?

Edited February 1, 2013 by HansT

[Hypnos 6,578]

Even once your I-130 is approved you will still have to wait at least another year for your priority date to become current, as you stated your wife is a permanent resident meaning your I-130 is filed under the F2A preference.

The current processing times for an F2A preference is 14 months, so you should expect to hear something soon, but as I said you will still have another wait of at least 12 months following your approval.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Hypnos

[Darnell 8,479]

Ask your petitioner to Call In to USCIS once every two weeks, getting an ISO, and asking for casefile status.

[Ontarkie 14,503]

~~~~Moved to Bringing Family Members of Permanent Residents to America, from IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports, as the OP's wife is a green card holder~~~~

[Athena June 37]

An immigration lawyer told us that there's nothing we can do to expedite - is that true?

It's true - we have been waiting since August 2011. There's nothing we can do at this point to make USCIS look at our case. However, your wife should consider filing for citizenship once she becomes eligible. After she has naturalized, she can upgrade the petition from F2A to IR category and your case will start moving.

By the way, welcome to VJ! It's nice to have another European in the LPR forum.

[Hans12 0]

It's true - we have been waiting since August 2011. There's nothing we can do at this point to make USCIS look at our case. However, your wife should consider filing for citizenship once she becomes eligible. After she has naturalized, she can upgrade the petition from F2A to IR category and your case will start moving.

Ouch, and I thought WAC (CA service center) was the slowest in processing.

For sure when she's a citizen and we're still waiting by that time she'll request a change of status.

By the way, welcome to VJ! It's nice to have another European in the LPR forum.

Thanks.

[Hans12 0]

It is now end of May 2013 - almost 17 months after I-130 filing and still no news about my case.

At least my wife is about 1 month away from her citizenship. When she has her citizenship - what will the change of status do?

My fear is that the case will into the end of a new queue without taking into account the current waiting time.

[apple21 953]

It is now end of May 2013 - almost 17 months after I-130 filing and still no news about my case.

At least my wife is about 1 month away from her citizenship. When she has her citizenship - what will the change of status do?

My fear is that the case will into the end of a new queue without taking into account the current waiting time.

CSC is moving soooooo damn slow for F2A cases.

After your wife gets her Naturalization Certificate, inform USCIS right away so they can upgrade your case to IR1/CR1. No, you won't be put in a new queue because spouses of US citizens always has visas available for them unlike in F2A where we are limited by the visa quota.

Edited May 31, 2013 by apple21