Aug 2013 I-130 filers

[Eastyo 100]

Tier 1 and 2 are only call center employees. They are not the USCIS. They pretty much have the same information as whatyou can look up yourself on the USCIS website. They can put a service request in or an expedite request but that is only if you get one that actually wants to to their job. Many are nasty and rude. Always get their employee ID number when you call. Ask them to repeat it if you miss it !

If you haven't been transferred yet, your file is just sitting . When you get transferred, it goes to another place to just sit. Unless it is actually assigned to someone or you get an RFE, there really isn't much status. Waiting sucks. I have been waiting a few days shy of 9 months. I only found out last week that my file is assigned to someone. The problem with that is, I have no idea what " being assigned to an officer " actually means. Does it mean my file is actually on someones desk OR am I just part of a list for one of the officers that he/she will eventually get to work on? and how long has my file been assigned???

I think August filers have a while to go. They still have many files from March and April that have been collecting dust. TSC and NSC are working slower than Molasses or a dead snail. CSC was getting them approved but now some EINSTEIN decided to transfer I-129's ( work related) to the CSC for procesing .........so in my opinion, CSC will slow down too. As my lawyer told me.... " just let them do their job, it will get done" Not exactly the most comforting words.

But surely that cannot slow things down again, especially after the long "family centred" letter they just posted and the May deadline to reduce the wait time to 5 months....Who is accountable for USCIS? Anyone? I think now overland park is on-line things will speed up. I have been advised March/April for my i130 approval based on a PD of 22nd August. However as they only update every 3-9 months thier times, it is all pie in the sky. The trouble is we all need them, we don't have a choice. And what is worse is that nothing can or will be done? Another mass letter of protest?

Im happy to do one again if it will help, especially as things seem to be going backwards! they made comitments, lets see if they follow them through!

[Kaylara 814]

Oh, I'm all for writing a new letter. I'm mentally working on one as we speak.

However, I also think that we should consider a legislative solution here. The government is going to be discussing CIR for the foreseeable future, but there is no mention whatsoever of our cases. Which to me, means that the USCIS is going to slam us to the back of the line if it's passed, and it's going to get worse for us. The only solution I can see to this is preparing a legislative mandate that addresses our problems and presenting it to our representatives.

The other thing I want to do is a large scale customer service assessment for immigration services with people self-reporting. I want it to be across the various visa types, and be as comprehensive as possible so that we can see the ancedata of individual cases, but also the overall trend in people's experiences with the immigration system in recent years. And then, I would like to send it and a report about our findings to the Ombudsman, new director of the USCIS, and the entire legislature. I would need a huge amount of help with this though, and I'm not sure if it's possible.

The reason behind this is because there is a limit as to the complaints that the Ombudsman can deal with. Those limits are set by the USCIS itself, and as such, they probably miss quite a few problems/issues when considering their report to congress with suggestions. I believe that we can not only identify problems from our end more effectively, but we can propose solutions that stand a much better chance of working. And we are not under the same restrictions that the Ombudsman is. We do not have to accept what they are telling us if our data indicates otherwise.

So that's what I've been thinking about. I do seriously want this situation fixed. I think that we can do it if we work together.

[Julio_Hima 9]

I am august 29 my congressman said I should get approved before April I did so many inquiries tried so much to fish around I am at the very end hopefully things continue this was I will be so happy to see some approvals by the end of feb for us

mine is 3 days after youi reallllly realllllly hopeee i get appvrovedmy Aprill or end of Aprilll, it will beee amazing if it does happens.

[Karmalicious 60]

Count me in Kaylara.. My husband too.

[Julio_Hima 9]

I havent seen him since Oct. And now i have no idea when I will. I cant afford to go twice within a close proximity. So going now or febrero isnt an option. Like, say I bought a flight now for Feb, and they send my cita for march. Id be outta luck without the money to buy another ticket. Plus, putting money away (or lack of) for maternity leave cuz I can't work after hes born. And obviously I wont have him here for monetary support. And the salaries in DR arent exactly sufficient for two households. Pffft..barely one!

If I may ask, how long did it take your congressman to respond to you? I emailed her a week or two ago. Hoping now that the holidays are over I hear from her.

Same i haven't seen my fiancé in 5 months and I'm goingggg super crazyyyyy cannot wait longer than 4 more months lol ski hope i get approved my end aprilll and beginning of may so i canto right way when i finish my senior year

[LoveMyTico 999]

mine is 3 days after youi reallllly realllllly hopeee i get appvrovedmy Aprill or end of Aprilll, it will beee amazing if it does happens.

GUYS, I was told September when I first filed, then Tier 2 told me " you will get approved by Halloween" Then I was told 20 more days, then I was transferred and I am still waiting.... I was transferred on Nov 27th...... The congressman have no clue and really shouldn't hand out timeframes. My best assumption is that they have a special email address or phone number they can call. Nothing more. and then they get lied to just like we do... so really, Don't read too much into it. it is what it is, you can't expect anything unless you actually have your approval letter in your hand and THEN its another 8 weeks at the NVC level.

[Karmalicious 60]

Who is in charge of the August spreadsheet? As long as there is one for August of those hoping like crazy to be transferred soon, can we add my name to the list please? Lisa and Shamo, PD Aug 15

[BOS_LHR 829]

Oh, I'm all for writing a new letter. I'm mentally working on one as we speak.

However, I also think that we should consider a legislative solution here. The government is going to be discussing CIR for the foreseeable future, but there is no mention whatsoever of our cases. Which to me, means that the USCIS is going to slam us to the back of the line if it's passed, and it's going to get worse for us. The only solution I can see to this is preparing a legislative mandate that addresses our problems and presenting it to our representatives.

The other thing I want to do is a large scale customer service assessment for immigration services with people self-reporting. I want it to be across the various visa types, and be as comprehensive as possible so that we can see the ancedata of individual cases, but also the overall trend in people's experiences with the immigration system in recent years. And then, I would like to send it and a report about our findings to the Ombudsman, new director of the USCIS, and the entire legislature. I would need a huge amount of help with this though, and I'm not sure if it's possible.

The reason behind this is because there is a limit as to the complaints that the Ombudsman can deal with. Those limits are set by the USCIS itself, and as such, they probably miss quite a few problems/issues when considering their report to congress with suggestions. I believe that we can not only identify problems from our end more effectively, but we can propose solutions that stand a much better chance of working. And we are not under the same restrictions that the Ombudsman is. We do not have to accept what they are telling us if our data indicates otherwise.

So that's what I've been thinking about. I do seriously want this situation fixed. I think that we can do it if we work together.

These are interesting thoughts. I don't know how far along in the process the current immigration legislation is, but my guess would be that it's too late to shoehorn in something for USCs with foreign fiances and immediate relatives. I'm also not sure it would be permitted if it's possible -- I doubt it's an accident our demographic was left out. Part of that may be awareness, though, as many of us have encountered lawyers and representatives who don't believe/are unaware that there's a problem. Frankly my knowledge of what it takes to pass legislation is somewhere on the level of Schoolhouse Rock, but I'd be willing to do some homework and get involved. What are your thoughts as to what the mandate should be? My feeling is that there should be a two-pronged approach that addresses both processing standards and accountability. When I researched UK immigration I saw they had standards such as processing "95 per cent of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the application date and 100 per cent within 24 weeks of the application date." Having something similar for family-based petitions here, which already exists for other visa types, would be fantastic. We could come up with a pretty reasonable figure based on number of petitions and given processing times in similar countries and adjusted for our own stats. I'm at a loss as to what kind of recourse there could be after failing to meet established standards, though. It gets more complicated when you consider ripple effects on number of staff, fees... how much of that would have to be addressed in the document to make the legislative solution viable? It would be helpful to generate a list of information that petitioners should be entitled to (e.g., petition location, whether it's assigned, anticipated adjudication date) and find out which pieces are functionality gaps in the current software as opposed to those that simply need to be made available to us. Some poking around on the government's IT dashboard might help there. Knowing more about what reporting features USCIS has access to would be really interesting as well.

As for the customer service assessment, I think the best results would come from an impartial third party commissioned directly by USCIS to evaluate its performance, because they have the best access to data for the individuals using their services. Anything less than that may not be taken seriously by the people we need to pay attention. Maybe we can strong-arm the powers that be into commissioning such a report? I think the best we as private citizens could do is a random sample, say through immigrant services in various cities across the country. Another thought is a FOIA request for any kind of customer satisfaction data USCIS is keeping. What ideas have you been working on?

[bruins 14]

Hey everyone - are all your status on USCIS site still stuck in "initial review"? My priority date is August 16th and I have not heard anything moving yet. At what month should we contact our senators and congressmen on the matter to have them inquire on the status of our cases.

Thanks!

[Eastyo 100]

Hey everyone - are all your status on USCIS site still stuck in "initial review"? My priority date is August 16th and I have not heard anything moving yet. At what month should we contact our senators and congressmen on the matter to have them inquire on the status of our cases.

Thanks!

I will at 6 months, we have (to be fair) only been at 4.5 months so i am not going to jump up and down yet. However a letter with another en-mass complaint at this time may well work wonders to make sure it doesn't get any worse. preventative medicine is sometimes the best...... what we DONT want is USCIS getting worse or pushing our cases back to meet the 5 month target..... But also until they update the 8.7 month timeframe on their website they have all the right in the world to tell you they are within timeframe if you complain.

I know this is horrible, but ultimately does the average american care, no, does he want this to go faster, no.... so until this becomes a factor which effects votes, why do they need to sort it? piss off a few hundred thousand people per year, small fry.....

However, as I read currently JULY cases have all but been transferred (correct me anyone if i am wrong) that means that we should see a transfer by the end of January. If not i will call then a tier - 2.

GUYS, I was told September when I first filed, then Tier 2 told me " you will get approved by Halloween" Then I was told 20 more days, then I was transferred and I am still waiting.... I was transferred on Nov 27th...... The congressman have no clue and really shouldn't hand out timeframes. My best assumption is that they have a special email address or phone number they can call. Nothing more. and then they get lied to just like we do... so really, Don't read too much into it. it is what it is, you can't expect anything unless you actually have your approval letter in your hand and THEN its another 8 weeks at the NVC level.

Sorry, what did you file in September? approved by halloween a few months later or a year and a few months later?

I would love to be IN the US by mid August, so approved early August would be fantastic....! thats 12 months start to finish.....

[Karmalicious 60]

Hey everyone - are all your status on USCIS site still stuck in "initial review"? My priority date is August 16th and I have not heard anything moving yet. At what month should we contact our senators and congressmen on the matter to have them inquire on the status of our cases.

Thanks!

Mine is exactly the same. PD August 15. Gathering dust at a very expensive storage facility in Overland Park, KS.

[bruins 14]

I will at 6 months, we have (to be fair) only been at 4.5 months so i am not going to jump up and down yet. However a letter with another en-mass complaint at this time may well work wonders to make sure it doesn't get any worse. preventative medicine is sometimes the best...... what we DONT want is USCIS getting worse or pushing our cases back to meet the 5 month target..... But also until they update the 8.7 month timeframe on their website they have all the right in the world to tell you they are within timeframe if you complain.

I know this is horrible, but ultimately does the average american care, no, does he want this to go faster, no.... so until this becomes a factor which effects votes, why do they need to sort it? piss off a few hundred thousand people per year, small fry.....

However, as I read currently JULY cases have all but been transferred (correct me anyone if i am wrong) that means that we should see a transfer by the end of January. If not i will call then a tier - 2.

Sorry, what did you file in September? approved by halloween a few months later or a year and a few months later?

True. I considered taking a couple days off of work to sit on the phone with the folks at USCIS to see if my case is either in line or in the garbage . I'm sure the expediting of beneficiaries in the Philippines has thrown the whole timeline off. How long is the NVC stage usally? 3 or 4 months?

[Karmalicious 60]

T_{he typhoon in the Phillipines was horrible, the earthquake in Haiti was equally horrible and I am glad that the US opens a door to help those in the world that need help.}

_{What I don't understand why it continuously comes at the expense of the law abiding, US Citizen?}

[bruins 14]

T_{he typhoon in the Phillipines was horrible, the earthquake in Haiti was equally horrible and I am glad that the US opens a door to help those in the world that need help.}

_{What I don't understand why it continuously comes at the expense of the law abiding, US Citizen?}

I agree to some extent. What I don't understand is why in 2014, they have no real system to process paperworks in a timely manner and system.

[ravi.patel 14]

i think USCIS are still working on July transfers....Auguest will start next week i believe....