Jaded I-130 Waiters

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

Roosha and Nola,

Thank you both. I was very upset this morning when I posted. Now that I've had some time to calm down a bit and talk to my husband, I feel slightly better.

I found this information taken directly from the U.S. Department of State website. Could this be used to support my case? Just to be clear, my husband and I are both of the Hindu religion and therefore would be applicable under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

Marriage Certificates

Available. The Hindu and Muslim communities do not usually register marriages, however, marriages by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs may be voluntarily registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of l955. This Act does not apply to Muslims, Parsis, Jews or Christians, who may register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act of l954, or the Christian Marriage Act. Marriage certificates for marriages registered under these Acts may be obtained from the offices of Government Registrar of Marriages, which are located in the headquarters of each district. The certificate will be issued by the Registrar only if the bride and groom personally appear before the official and pay the required fee.

A certificate of marriage between Muslims is usually issued by the priest who performed the ceremony. The document is in the Urdu language, and a certified translation is required. Marriages between Christians are usually obtainable from Church records. If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

Note: A document termed as "Marriage Agreement" or "Deed of Marriage" to live as man and wife (under the Registration Act of l908) is not confirmation of a marriage solemnized legally under the Indian Marriage Acts now in force. Such a document does not confer upon the contracting parties' legal marital status under the law.

Edited February 12, 2013 by AKSinghSingh79

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

IMO, AK you could use the affidavits and include this and the evidence you already have. I suppose if they denied you, you could appeal. I think you'll just have to take what this person said to you with a grain of salt because as so often happens with USCIS, the information being given is not accurate. At this point you've got nothing to lose by waiting it out.

I can't decide whether to get my hopes up about the supervisor at the field office looking at my case. I think Darnell had something similar happen and there was no movement.

I had myself all prepped for April and then this email brings the hope back.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

IMO, AK you could use the affidavits and include this and the evidence you already have. I suppose if they denied you, you could appeal. I think you'll just have to take what this person said to you with a grain of salt because as so often happens with USCIS, the information being given is not accurate. At this point you've got nothing to lose by waiting it out.

I can't decide whether to get my hopes up about the supervisor at the field office looking at my case. I think Darnell had something similar happen and there was no movement.

I had myself all prepped for April and then this email brings the hope back.

Thank you. I hope they give me an RFE rather than an outright denial. Denials can be so hard to overcome. We actually already submitted affidavits with the other evidence. Two from his side, one from his father and a friend who attended our wedding, and one from my mother who didn't attend the wedding but has met/knows my husband from the time he spent in the US and has knowledge of our wedding.

That information from Dept. of State also says that the registration of a marriage between Hindus is voluntary so I'm not sure if that holds any weight.

As for the supervisor looking into your case, I think that's very positive news! At least you know an actual human has their hands on your file. I sincerely hope you get approved soon, especially with your personal situation.

On another note, I wonder if you went into the Hartford office and asked them if they processed I-130 petitions what answer you would get? It seriously both boils my brain and befuddles me how an office does not know the ins and outs of what they do, especially an office as small as Pitt is. The IO actually confirmed that they are rerouting some I-130 petitions to local offices depending on their case load but not all. He clearly said that Pitt is not however. Here's proof that he is wrong: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/398186-pittsburgh-pa-transfers/ and http://dashboard.uscis.gov/index.cfm?formtype=4&office=23&charttype=1

For the record, I'm really bored and looked at all office stats and they all show the same trend. This can't be coincidence.

[squirrelisan 23]

As far as affidavits go, it was my understanding that affidavits only from U.S. citizens matter.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

As far as affidavits go, it was my understanding that affidavits only from U.S. citizens matter.

Not true. An affidavit attests to the authenticity and knowledge of the parties and nature of the relationship. Citizenship of the author does not matter.

In my situation, the affidavits are for different reasons. The affidavits from my FIL and husband's friend were written to show additional proof of our marriage since we are missing a critical document.

Edited February 13, 2013 by AKSinghSingh79

[champi 13]

My heart aches when I read that half of the October filers are approved while folks from June to August timeframe are still anxiously waiting for fair chance at this ridiculous process. No offense to anyone.....

[DigitalSxKitten 1]

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

As for the supervisor looking into your case, I think that's very positive news! At least you know an actual human has their hands on your file. I sincerely hope you get approved soon, especially with your personal situation.

On another note, I wonder if you went into the Hartford office and asked them if they processed I-130 petitions what answer you would get? It seriously both boils my brain and befuddles me how an office does not know the ins and outs of what they do, especially an office as small as Pitt is. The IO actually confirmed that they are rerouting some I-130 petitions to local offices depending on their case load but not all. He clearly said that Pitt is not however. Here's proof that he is wrong: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/398186-pittsburgh-pa-transfers/ and http://dashboard.uscis.gov/index.cfm?formtype=4&office=23&charttype=1

For the record, I'm really bored and looked at all office stats and they all show the same trend. This can't be coincidence.

Well, I've got an email from Hartford that basically says they are processing my case, so I doubt they could challenge me on that one. Perhaps this guy had no idea what he was talking about? We know that people are getting transferred to field offices, so it is either that or maybe all the PA cases are going to a different field office?

I was able to get an ISO on the phone to admit that I was in Hartford once I already stated I knew I was. Perhaps in 2 or 3 weeks you can call and be like "I was told that my case is in Pittsburgh, can I confirm that with you?" There seems to be a second layer or menu they need to go into to see it.

I do hope that we get approved, but I'd be happy if the visa would be approved by September or something.

[The Mean Lady 604]

An ISO could tell you initially that it is not at a field office.

It took mine putting me on hold to look at more info, after I insisted, for her to find the info that I was.

Edited February 13, 2013 by KDH

[speedwell 224]

I found out last night by talking to an ISO that my I-130 was transferred to the Houston field office and then transferred BACK to the NBC a week before it was finally approved. What's up with THAT?

Also, no NVC number yet. Urgh.

Edited February 13, 2013 by speedwell

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

I found out last night by talking to an ISO that my I-130 was transferred to the Houston field office and then transferred BACK to the NBC a week before it was finally approved. What's up with THAT?

That is weird.

Maybe NBC is taking some of the cases back from the field offices because they aren't doing them in a timely manner?

[The Mean Lady 604]

NBC issues the approvals.

So my guess is, that it was approved by your field office, then sent back to NBC, then the approval to you was issued from NBC and that was the date recorded as approval because NBC occurrences are all that we can see in the system.

No one can see what is happening at the field office.

[speedwell 224]

That is weird.

Maybe NBC is taking some of the cases back from the field offices because they aren't doing them in a timely manner?

They were always meant to take them back "early in 2013". I think it's a combination of manager resistance at the field offices, errors made by the adjudicators who must have been taken by surprise (since they would have concentrated on their existing work and waited for nonexistent guidance from higher-ups), and additional staff and training at NBC. But for a transferred file not to stay where it was put, who knows really lol...

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

NBC issues the approvals.

So my guess is, that it was approved by your field office, then sent back to NBC, then the approval to you was issued from NBC and that was the date recorded as approval because NBC occurrences are all that we can see in the system.

No one can see what is happening at the field office.

Theory would hold if people weren't getting approved the same day as interviews (i.e. evidence drop off) at field offices.

USCIS is the great mystery of our time.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Theory would hold if people weren't getting approved the same day as interviews (i.e. evidence drop off) at field offices.

USCIS is the great mystery of our time.

Don't care.

Like my theory best