2nd Quick Response from Ombudsman

[mysweetlips 5]

Well, what about those files that were not in the filing room? As of March 1, 2013 my file was located in the adjudication division. Senator's Case Worker emailed me saying that I should get an NOA2 by April 12, 2013 or she will follow-up. April 1, 2013 I got an email from USCIS saying there was change of address update to my file. (Cruel, cruel April fool's joke!) Today is April 17 and no NOA2 yet. So far since my last check of the USCIS website. So do I believe the latest story they are telling us? I do not know... except that each day that passes has to be one day closer to an approval...

[dreed 4]

They have soooo much imagination at CSC!!!

As do many of the people here on VJ.

[NomadTravels 5]

Don't you get your I-129F packet back when you receive an RFE? Has anyone received packets that look like they have been drenched?

[Oregon Bound 30]

NOOOO ???? Really??? He had this privilege?

How come they just called him and not other people???

It's not that I don't believe you but It's soooo weird!!

I was on Skype with him when they called. They actually called and asked for me! lol

Here are the emails that we sent to the ombudsman

Dear Sir

I write with concern in regards to the current delays at the California Service Center.

We filed out I-129F on August 7th 2012 and were given the reference number : WAC12904XXXXX

At the time, processing was taking under 5 months. Just after 5 months we called and were told to call back in 2 weeks if we hadn't heard anything. When we did call back we were told we were no longer outside processing times and they had changed the date to July 18th, therefore unable to do a service request. This was back in January.

We are now in April and still we have the processing time of July 18th. How can this be? Is nobody at CSC working on our petitions? I am a member of Visajourney.com and collectively we have been given every excuse in the book. The latest we here now is 48,000 files got damaged when the pipe burst a few weeks ago yet USCIS state that there isn't expected to be any delays due to the burst pipe and the center being closed for 2 days.

It seems the only I-129F's being processed are the ones that have automatic expedite or the few that have been lucky enough to get their senator or congressman to intervene on their behalf. It doesn't seem very fair when USCIS says that petitions are dealt with in the order they are received yet we see CSC filers from September, October and beyond being processed when they have had intervention from their senator or congressman.

Vermont seems to be currently moving into processing October petitions yet here we are, stuck in July since January!

We would greatly appreciate if you could look into this situation. We are all anxious to be with our loved ones and starting new lives. For us that means getting my fiancee's children settled into new schools in the US and my fiancee and I building up the family ranch.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

RESPONSE:

The Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) processing time at the California Service Center (CSC) has slipped based on competing agency priorities. The CSC is realigning resources to address the processing times for certain forms to include the Form I-129F. As additional officers are assigned to this workload, the center expects to reduce the current processing time for Form I-129F. Although the center was closed for 2 days, there was minimal down time and all files affected by water are available for staff to work in date order.

2nd email:

hat is good that all files are available for staff to work on but when are staff going to be assigned to work on I-129f petitions? The customer service centre is still quoting that CSC is working on July 18th. They have been quoting that date since January. When are we likely to see a change?

No Response received

3rd email:

Dear Sir

Ref: WAC12904XXXXX I-129f petition for alien fiance(e)

As I received no reply from my email dated 3rd April, I will ask again. That is good that all files are available for staff to work on but when are staff going to be assigned to work on I-129f petitions? The customer service centre is still quoting that CSC is working on July 18th. They have been quoting that date since January. When are we likely to see a change?

We are told that files are worked on in date order but yet again, to my dismay, on the website Visajourney.com I see petitions being approved from November with no expedite and no intervention from congressman or senator.

I urge you to look into this situation for the many of us that have been stuck in the system for many, many months now. The USCIS goal is 5 months for this kind of petition yet California states they are running at 7.9 months. We are about to hit the 8 month mark yet our petition remains untouched.

It was a few days after this email that my fiance got a call from an Officer Bond at USCIS who assured us that the files were ok and we should hear something in 20 days. If not, we should call back as we will be well over the processing time by then.

Sooooooooooooo, yep we wait like everyone else lol

[andyjay24 2]

Maybe, but it's a little late to be saying this. Sounds more like an excuse to me.

So how long does it take for the files to "dry out"?

How exactly does a damaged file take longer to process than an I damaged one?

When they process them, are they looking at the scanned information, or flipping through the pages of your file?

Which actual date ranges were damaged, and which were not?

Unless I can get the answer to these questions, I'm going to be firmly in the "I don't believe this excuse" camp.

I agree. It sounds like an excuse. Scanning barcodes for the i-129f are located at the bottom of each application. Those documents are likely scanned with OCR, assigned a receipt number then routed to their respective locations. The image of processing centers with thousands of boxes littering the aisles between cubes is laughable. Adjudicators are accessing an electronic system where this information is stored. If the flood damaged anything...it was likely a server.

On the USCIS website it specifically says in the "Tips for Filing Forms with USCIS" ..."We use special scanners to read your forms and

documents. The scanners will not properly read information that is greyed out, highlighted or corrected using correction fluid or tape."

I know that the USCIS seems antiquated, but I guarantee they are not swiming in soggy paperwork.

[KevinandTrinh 0]

Wow. The information received from Ombudsman seems solid and accurate. First, they said they are aligning their resources to work on K1 and they actually did after a few days. Secondly, they explained the reason why the approvals are out of order (December filers getting their NOA2) and they will start approving K1 petitions sequentially in order starting July and they did again.

I have been reading posts on VJ everyday for many months and this is my first post As a data analyst, I'm very impressed by the statistical analyses that some of the members here have done regarding USCIS processing time.

[Lynkali 163]

Wow. The information received from Ombudsman seems solid and accurate. First, they said they are aligning their resources to work on K1 and they actually did after a few days. Secondly, they explained the reason why the approvals are out of order (December filers getting their NOA2) and they will start approving K1 petitions sequentially in order starting July and they did again.

I agree that I am both cautiously optimistic, and SHOCKED that perhaps the Ombudsman got a truthful answer out of USCIS. We all know there are many untruths being told (saw a post just today from someone whose senator said that DACA had no effect whatsoever on CSC, which made me spit out my coffee!). But with the two significant changes we've seen -- first the huge increase in processing, even if it was December filers mostly, then yesterday's gradual move back to July and August ... a very small bit of faith has been restored. I remain convinced that our letter writing and complaints really did have some positive effect on the situation. So let's not anyone say we should all just "calm down" -- it looks like citizen engagement and action-taking really can have an effect!

Of course, this could all change next week if they come to a complete standstill or, god forbid, start processing Jan-Feb petitions!

[Alex&Amy 28]

I will be writing and questioning why August and September files are being approved when there are still plenty of July filers unapproved. I assume that is the correct thing to do as everyone seems to be unhappy with anything other then seeing their particular month, their particular day, their particular file being worked on and approved, right now, right this instant! Anything else and seeing anyone one else being approved is clearly unacceptable!

[Andreea&Kevin 38]

I will be writing and questioning why August and September files are being approved when there are still plenty of July filers unapproved. I assume that is the correct thing to do as everyone seems to be unhappy with anything other then seeing their particular month, their particular day, their particular file being worked on and approved, right now, right this instant! Anything else and seeing anyone one else being approved is clearly unacceptable!

This is so true. We just went through 6 months of almost nothing and now CSC is approving at an amazing rate. But there is a HUGE backlog, even if we saw nothing but July & August filers and 20 approvals a day here on VJ it would still take 2 weeks for them to clear those months. So, let's be happy for all those recent approvals and be happy to have hope of them working on cases instead of feeling like being in a black hole. CSC has turned things around, but it's going to take months before they can get back on track.

Of course, I still support any July or August filer contacting their representative or the ombudsman to get attention to their case. 8+ months for NOA2 is just ridiculous.