June 2013 I-130 Filers (merged)

[BOS_LHR 829]

Random anecdote from one of those days when coping doesn't come easily...

My car insurance is due to renew in October, and my premium is being increased for no reason (I have a perfect driving record). I decided to shop around, and the first company I tried to get an online quote from had two marital status options for me to choose from: "married and lives with spouse," or "legally married but separated." Neither is quite accurate but the latter is closer to the truth, and I hated having to select it. Blah. The next site I tried had just "married" as their drop-down option, so, woohoo! I happily chose that one. Except when I got to the question asking about number of household members, it started at 2 No option for just me...

Stupid really. But sometimes the most insignificant things are made harder or hurtful by this process.

[Ivy. 113]

Aww I am sorry it put you in a bad mood. :*

As for the insurance, my husband's insurance put him as Married and signed me up as non driver on his policy (even though I do drive, but since I am not here...). Just so you know as an option, you could do that perhaps.

[Ivy. 113]

ok, HOW do k1's get their NOA2 in 20-30 days? how? do they not have many of those petitions? do they skip them?

[corlitoa 6]

my receipt i797 noa 1 has the overland park address that it wass sent from there check yours and see what it says

Well I have a June 10 Priority date (I-130 for child of USC). I just received feedback from the USCIS and my file is STILL at NBC/MSC "being worked by and officer" (quote).

I do not believe files will be sent to Overland Park/KSC before it is fully operational.

[BOS_LHR 829]

The USCIS trend site shows 23,701 I-129F pending nationally in June versus 299,492 I-130. It could be that they're just better staffed, and since there are fewer petitions to begin with, approval goes a lot faster. The ratio of approvals to receipts for K1 falls at almost exactly a 5 month average for processing. So basically... K1 is what "normal" looks like.

I wish there were some way to get a straight answer regarding why the I-130 approval rate is so far out of whack. Possibly the hardest part of this for me is the USCIS' refusal to set expectations. It's hard to believe we're almost 3 months from our NOA1 date. If circumstances were normal we'd be over half done with the wait to NOA2. As it is, who knows... maybe we're a third of the way through?

[corlitoa 6]

Do someone know if I can file for a k3 visa directly with the consulate in Dominican republic ..

[BOS_LHR 829]

Do someone know if I can file for a k3 visa directly with the consulate in Dominican republic ..

Doesn't look like it. According to the USCIS, the I-129F to pursue a K3 visa must be filed at the Dallas lockbox.

[corlitoa 6]

Ok someone know why may and june fillers have on the i797 noa1 have the overland park Kansas office address

[corlitoa 6]

This is what I found April 8, 2013- NBC opened its new office in Overland Park, Kansas, where Adjudications Division 7 will process Form I-90 applications. A new division, Adjudications Division 8, also will be located at the Overland Park, Kansas facility. NBC anticipates that Division 8 will begin to adjudicate stand-alone immediate relative Form I-130 petitions by the end of Fiscal Year 2013

[gpcovenant 2]

Another June Filer here. Filing from abroad.

I am living with my wife in HK. After reading through this site I expected to have my NOA2 by July because was filing from abroad. And here it is the beginning of Sept. I started to panic that I had screwed something up or that that Snowden thing was causing problems with HK filers, it caused Washington to delay allowing landing visas for HK citizens, but I get on here and read this thread and it seems to be just bad luck, bureaucracy at its finest.

My application is at the Overland Park office if the address on the NOA1 is to be believed so hopefully I hear something this month.

The worst part is telling my wife not to check the website everyday. No point.

[rudyzn 2]

Hello everyone,

Just spoke with a -kind and helpful- tier 2 at USCIS. I wanted info (anything, something) regarding my expedite request, submitted almost 40 days ago (they are supposed to get back to you in 14 days tops).

The lady, i believe, sincerely wanted to help. She admitted without me even asking that the backlog in MSC/NBC is off the roof (by the tone of her voice you could understand: "Man, you don't want to know how backlogged they are...").

She also told me that even self-imposed time limits for replying correspondence (as my expedite request) are completely not being honored by the MSC/NBC.

The lady even admitted that if I had not heard from them, it meant that they had not even opened the enveloppe. Bear in mind this is for an expedite request, with solid arguments, and as advised by Consular Officer in Paris. Another person in VJ requested expedite in June 16, 2013, and was approved in about 45 days. That's all I know.

Guys, as of your NOA1, without expedite, count on waiting at least 9-10 months (as per Tier 2 info).

Will keep you updated regarding expedite (if and when approved).

[britishdakota 18]

Guys, as of your NOA1, without expedite, count on waiting at least 9-10 months (as per Tier 2 info).

That is depressingly slow, I hope that new centre in Kansas comes through.

[corlitoa 6]

Well as fo us with the overland park adress on ther no1 we have hope that is faster for all stand alone i130 because from what I was told by a tir 2 is that they are going to be adjudicated at the overlanf park and the ones they are handeling are from may and up

[BOS_LHR 829]

To be honest, 10 months is my current hope. It may change with the new service center (and really should!), but processing for now is looking grim. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how October goes.

About a month after I filed, I started tracking our place in line on Igor's list. At that time we were in position 313 out of 339, meaning 92% of filers were ahead of us. I used the time elapsed and that position in line to estimate how long processing would take. It took a month to go through 10%, so I guessed 10 months. As of today we're position 358 out of 476. For one, this shows the backlog is growing, since petition submissions haven't spiked in the months subsequent to my filing. No news there. But it also puts us at only 75% with nearly 3 months gone since NOA1, which hints at more of a year long processing time. If the USCIS were processing according to its goal of 5 months, my position should be closer to 50% up the list. It's not terribly scientific, but the expectations this method has set seem to tally well with anecdotal evidence and tier 2 responses. Not much of a hopeful outlook, but it's easier to be realistic now than disappointed later. And again, who knows what October will bring

Edited September 5, 2013 by BOS_LHR

[BOS_LHR 829]

By the way, a random note in case you guys haven't seen: NVC will be switching over to an online IV application instead of using paper forms. The change was effective September 1. Hopefully this means the bugs in the system will be worked out by the time we June filers finally do get to NOA2!

Edited September 5, 2013 by BOS_LHR