September 2013 I-130 Filers

[luvwillprevail 5]

Im right there with you blueberry pancake i hope this nightmare is over very soon and we can all start living our good dreams

[eaglekiwi 2]

It is so good to know others are going through the same waiting game as we are-

The waiting and life in general is so lonely without your soulmate.

I love your signature quote Blueberry-

[Murf & Reggie 37]

So hubby called USCIS on Tuesday to get my name corrected, today we received an email with the notification now my hubby's last name seems wrong. He will call again today to see whats wrong since his name was correct on NOA1. Great start if they got it wrong now.

[Ahmed julz 0]

we are september filers, and we are wondering what we need to get ready for after filing the petition??

thank you

[Murf & Reggie 37]

we are september filers, and we are wondering what we need to get ready for after filing the petition??

thank you

Welcome Julz!

Well first a lot of patience, since currently they r taking time to approve our petitions.

During that get ready for the NVC stage best to do that read the NVC filers post to gather all the needed information for AOS.

Good luck for u as well

[r060106 109]

Welcome Samni and Ashydad

Most of us here got out NOA1 email after 3 days. Ish. Then a hard copy a week later.

Haha, I know American do not pick mushrooms. Same with Brits! Come on, guys, it's so much fun

Plus, they're quite expensive, especially right before Wigilia...

You should try it. You might love it

You got me all teared up... such a lovely and sweet post

Re: Overland Park.. In the "Interesting information.." thread, Sukie posted everything that is known at the moment. (For everyone not familiar with the thread : http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/454715-interesting-information-regarding-huge-delays-in-i-130-processing/page-4. Especially Sukie's post #54).

So, in sum, Overland Park will process I-90 (green card replacements, which, by playing with the receipt numbers on uscis, I've seen they have already been working on) AND stand-alone I-130s ONLY.

Ok, so given there will be 500 employees (not including contractors) and let's say .. 300 of them will be assigned to I-130s

Let's say their work day is 8 hours.

8 hours x 300 employees= 2400 hours= 144,000 minutes a day employees would have to process the petitions

It takes 15-20 minutes to adjudicate one case. But let's say it will be 60 minutes for each (I mean, come on, let's be realistic.. they're new, still confused and in training )

144,000/60= they could go through 2400 cases a day

Given USCIS received over 100,000 cases in the first quarter of 2013, it's safe to assume there is a 100,000 cases in Overland Park right now. (filed from May - Sept)

100,000 cases, overall / 2400 cases a day = 42 days. Minus weekends and holidays... circa 55? days should take them to adjudicate all cases they have at the moment.

But let's double it, to be an a safe side.. 2-3 months. We could all be approved by Christmas.

BUT I suck at math BADLY so someone smarter please correct my calculations?

Wait, which part got you teared up? I'm confused. haha

Wow, those numbers look really nice. But, they seem too good to be true. Are you sure you're not just being overly optimistic? Or are you really being brutally honest?

[soulfulsplash 1]

September 2013 filer here too! Fingers crossed for a speedy experience.

A quick timeline for us below. Hoping it grows quickly!

9/14/2013 -I-130 petition sent to Chicago via CanadaPost

9/18/2013 -Delivered

??????? -NOA1 via text and email

??????? -Received NOA1 hard copy.

[Boo1989 0]

Hey guys!! Little progress always good, just received 4 emails/SMS notifying me of the receipt of all applications!! Filed September 14! The journey continues!

[deleteme 34]

I have been tracking VJ'ers timelines, reading threads, and trying to find anything about Overland Park, KS.

I haven't seen any transfers to NBC/Kansas. I've only seen petitions being routed there straight from the Lockbox.

We do not know whether they will transfer petitions filed prior to May to NBC/Kansas.

We actually know nothing for sure right now...

We should know more in the next 6-8 weeks.

It's very possible that they will only process petition filed from May onward and the rest will stay where they are right now.

Last year, when they started transferring petitions to local offices, this only applied to petitions filed after August 15th when they made the announcement. Might be the case this time as well? Who knows...

One VJ'er was told by Tier 2 today that Overland Park WILL be fully operational by the end of Sept and will start working on petitions with Overland Park address on their NOA1.

I'm guessing petitions from other centers weren't transferred to KS? Or will be transferred but ours would have priority?

Blueberry,

The NBC facility where I-130s were processed was at Lee's Summit, MO. I assumed that it was where mine would go from the lockbox, but within a few weeks of reading these forums about the new NBC facility, I checked my hardcopy NOA1 again (July), and yup, it said Overland Park.

I then looked back at older forums, and saw that others' NOA1's from prior filers had been similarly stamped Overland Park. But, I noticed a strange correlation between Lee's Summit stamped NOA1s + faster adjudication rate, and Overland Park stamped NOA1s + barely identifiable adjudication rate.

This was when I realized that the adjudications basically stopped, that USCIS was shipping the I-130s somewhere and leaving them pretty much alone - and then I discovered that the Overland Park facility was not operational until late Sept (the memo).

Putting all this together, it seemed to me that USCIS made the management decision to route I-130s from the lockboxes to a closet somewhere, awaiting the opening of Overland Park.

So, the backlog, it seems to me, are not transferred I-130s, but I-130s originally sent to Overland Park, and that have been accruing since March-April (not May, as the AILA memo says - look at March-April filers who say Overland Park).

How big is this backlog? I haven't researched enough to try to pinpoint that, or tried to pinpoint the number of FTEs working on I-130s at Overland Park.

I am wary about trusting the Overland Park opening date of late Sept because their info has been conflicting before, and sometimes, higher tier employees have been downright hostile to inquiries. Sometimes we find really nice folks who tell us all that they can, but they rarely know much.

But I don't assume that it's NOT going to open on time, either. I am just in wait-and-see mode, counting the days til my wife arrives for her ninety day visit. If, while she is here (NOA1 + 4 through 7 months), we've not received the NOA2, or learned anything more about the Mystery of the Overland Park Facility, then I'll probably go nuts again, calling USCIS, calling and writing my congressmen, visiting the field officer (with her!), etc.

I found that when I was stressing about all this - when I first learned about USCIS timelines prior to our wedding in Europe, it helped to do something productive about my predicament.

I see that your husband is from Poland. Maybe, you could check with his consulate there, to see how easy it is to make an appointment. That is a good indicator of their workload. You could also inquire about the specific list of docs, approved medical examiners there, etc., that he will need to handle when the good news comes through for you from USCIS.

We easily made an appointment at our embassy in Prague, and when we visited just to review our case prior to sending in the I-130, to learn more about the process and what we could do to speed our case, we learned that their workload was light. They also gave us good information about what preparations to make so that when USCIS sent the NOA2, we would be ready to respond to NVC quickly, then the embassy quickly, then complete the process.

Consular workloads can be heavy and light, we learned, and that is a significant variable, along with your preparation, in the actual speed by which your process reaches completion. So, if you can verify all of this, and prepare, you will be ready to roll when you get your NOA2.

I also recommend a 90 day visit from your husband if you can swing it. We're timing her visit so that the expected end of the process is close to the end of her visit. If the end comes while she's here, great, she's bringing all her docs so that we can work together on the NVC process while she's here, and then she'll just go straight to our embassy when she goes back there. If her visit is winding down and we've heard nothing, we'll pull every string we can, then, she'll go back and stay with family until the end comes. If the worst happens, and the wait continues, she'll come back here again, for another 90 days. This could be a problem with Port of Entry officials, if the wait between trips here is short, but we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. This plan will mean one or could mean two extra round-trippers, but it's worth it to us, and fortunately, I can budget for it. It also means that she will end her job soon, before she has her green card (yes, I am a very lucky and grateful guy).

We just want to be together and start living like a normal married couple asap!!

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

Blueberry,

The NBC facility where I-130s were processed was at Lee's Summit, MO. I assumed that it was where mine would go from the lockbox, but within a few weeks of reading these forums about the new NBC facility, I checked my hardcopy NOA1 again (July), and yup, it said Overland Park.

I then looked back at older forums, and saw that others' NOA1's from prior filers had been similarly stamped Overland Park. But, I noticed a strange correlation between Lee's Summit stamped NOA1s + faster adjudication rate, and Overland Park stamped NOA1s + barely identifiable adjudication rate.

This was when I realized that the adjudications basically stopped, that USCIS was shipping the I-130s somewhere and leaving them pretty much alone - and then I discovered that the Overland Park facility was not operational until late Sept (the memo).

Putting all this together, it seemed to me that USCIS made the management decision to route I-130s from the lockboxes to a closet somewhere, awaiting the opening of Overland Park.

So, the backlog, it seems to me, are not transferred I-130s, but I-130s originally sent to Overland Park, and that have been accruing since March-April (not May, as the AILA memo says - look at March-April filers who say Overland Park).

How big is this backlog? I haven't researched enough to try to pinpoint that, or tried to pinpoint the number of FTEs working on I-130s at Overland Park.

I am wary about trusting the Overland Park opening date of late Sept because their info has been conflicting before, and sometimes, higher tier employees have been downright hostile to inquiries. Sometimes we find really nice folks who tell us all that they can, but they rarely know much.

But I don't assume that it's NOT going to open on time, either. I am just in wait-and-see mode, counting the days til my wife arrives for her ninety day visit. If, while she is here (NOA1 + 4 through 7 months), we've not received the NOA2, or learned anything more about the Mystery of the Overland Park Facility, then I'll probably go nuts again, calling USCIS, calling and writing my congressmen, visiting the field officer (with her!), etc.

I found that when I was stressing about all this - when I first learned about USCIS timelines prior to our wedding in Europe, it helped to do something productive about my predicament.

I see that your husband is from Poland. Maybe, you could check with his consulate there, to see how easy it is to make an appointment. That is a good indicator of their workload. You could also inquire about the specific list of docs, approved medical examiners there, etc., that he will need to handle when the good news comes through for you from USCIS.

We easily made an appointment at our embassy in Prague, and when we visited just to review our case prior to sending in the I-130, to learn more about the process and what we could do to speed our case, we learned that their workload was light. They also gave us good information about what preparations to make so that when USCIS sent the NOA2, we would be ready to respond to NVC quickly, then the embassy quickly, then complete the process.

Consular workloads can be heavy and light, we learned, and that is a significant variable, along with your preparation, in the actual speed by which your process reaches completion. So, if you can verify all of this, and prepare, you will be ready to roll when you get your NOA2.

I also recommend a 90 day visit from your husband if you can swing it. We're timing her visit so that the expected end of the process is close to the end of her visit. If the end comes while she's here, great, she's bringing all her docs so that we can work together on the NVC process while she's here, and then she'll just go straight to our embassy when she goes back there. If her visit is winding down and we've heard nothing, we'll pull every string we can, then, she'll go back and stay with family until the end comes. If the worst happens, and the wait continues, she'll come back here again, for another 90 days. This could be a problem with Port of Entry officials, if the wait between trips here is short, but we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. This plan will mean one or could mean two extra round-trippers, but it's worth it to us, and fortunately, I can budget for it. It also means that she will end her job soon, before she has her green card (yes, I am a very lucky and grateful guy).

We just want to be together and start living like a normal married couple asap!!

Hi Alaskafan

I am the beneficiary, not my husband (USC) But I have already started looking into embassy interviews waiting times, medicals and so on.

The 90 day visit would sure be nice, but ain't gonna happen.. Poland is NOT a part of VWP (pretty sh*tty considering we are a U.S. ally.. ).

And I wouldn't be granted a tourist visa (I spent a few years in the U.S. and fell out of status. My D/S didn't have an expiration date, so I am not subject to ban, but I would never be granted a tourist visa. Had discussed this with immigration attorneys already).

My husband and I LOVE PRAGUE! We went there last winter... that was actually our first trip together Such a beautiful city! I've been there a few times already and am planning on going back again

The Mystery of Overland Park, KS.. Hah, I love that!

No one knows anything for sure.. Everyone is just trying to piece together the scraps of information we manage to find out... Ugh.

We just have to wait and see what happens.

Until then, I will continue trying to solve the mystery though

I'll go through March and April thread again. Are you sure some of their files are in Kansas?

Hey guys!! Little progress always good, just received 4 emails/SMS notifying me of the receipt of all applications!! Filed September 14! The journey continues!

Awesome, Boo! You should receive your hard copies in a week

[Boo1989 0]

Hi Alaskafan

I am the beneficiary, not my husband (USC) But I have already started looking into embassy interviews waiting times, medicals and so on.

The 90 day visit would sure be nice, but ain't gonna happen.. Poland is NOT a part of VWP (pretty sh*tty considering we are a U.S. ally.. ).

And I wouldn't be granted a tourist visa (I spent a few years in the U.S. and fell out of status. My D/S didn't have an expiration date, so I am not subject to ban, but I would never be granted a tourist visa. Had discussed this with immigration attorneys already).

My husband and I LOVE PRAGUE! We went there last winter... that was actually our first trip together Such a beautiful city! I've been there a few times already and am planning on going back again

The Mystery of Overland Park, KS.. Hah, I love that!

No one knows anything for sure.. Everyone is just trying to piece together the scraps of information we manage to find out... Ugh.

We just have to wait and see what happens.

Until then, I will continue trying to solve the mystery though

I'll go through March and April thread again. Are you sure some of their files are in Kansas?

Awesome, Boo! You should receive your hard copies in a week

Yaay

[deleteme 34]

Hi Alaskafan

I am the beneficiary, not my husband (USC) But I have already started looking into embassy interviews waiting times, medicals and so on.

The 90 day visit would sure be nice, but ain't gonna happen.. Poland is NOT a part of VWP (pretty sh*tty considering we are a U.S. ally.. ).

And I wouldn't be granted a tourist visa (I spent a few years in the U.S. and fell out of status. My D/S didn't have an expiration date, so I am not subject to ban, but I would never be granted a tourist visa. Had discussed this with immigration attorneys already).

My husband and I LOVE PRAGUE! We went there last winter... that was actually our first trip together Such a beautiful city! I've been there a few times already and am planning on going back again

The Mystery of Overland Park, KS.. Hah, I love that!

No one knows anything for sure.. Everyone is just trying to piece together the scraps of information we manage to find out... Ugh.

We just have to wait and see what happens.

Until then, I will continue trying to solve the mystery though

I'll go through March and April thread again. Are you sure some of their files are in Kansas?

Awesome, Boo! You should receive your hard copies in a week

Well, I should have read the fine print that said you are the beneficiary, my apologies. But your good English tricked me. You should fly through the interview. You even can curse like an American.

I noticed that your husband and you were married on 6/21. My wife and I were married on 6/20 in Prague. And we were there the prior winter when you were there. But while I was there this summer, we visited Poland, Krakow, mostly, and I must say, I was surprised how similar Poles are to Americans. The Czech Republic is my second home, and I like Czechs a lot, but I immediately felt at ease in your country. Solidarnosc!

I'm sorry that you don't have VWP there. Maybe the K visa? That could be your insurance, in the event that the I-130 drags out. If the K-visa arrives at the same time as your I-130 approval, then all that you have lost is a filing fee and some work to collect your papers.

[deleteme 34]

Also, Blueberry, I cannot recall the details, but I do remember reading the posts of filers before May who did say that they their NOA1s were stamped Overland Park. Maybe I'm not remembering right, but I'm pretty sure I saw some evidence of that.

[Murf & Reggie 37]

Welcome soulfulsplash

Welcome soulfulsplash

[r060106 109]

Hi Alaskafan

I am the beneficiary, not my husband (USC) But I have already started looking into embassy interviews waiting times, medicals and so on.

The 90 day visit would sure be nice, but ain't gonna happen.. Poland is NOT a part of VWP (pretty sh*tty considering we are a U.S. ally.. ).

And I wouldn't be granted a tourist visa (I spent a few years in the U.S. and fell out of status. My D/S didn't have an expiration date, so I am not subject to ban, but I would never be granted a tourist visa. Had discussed this with immigration attorneys already).

My husband and I LOVE PRAGUE! We went there last winter... that was actually our first trip together Such a beautiful city! I've been there a few times already and am planning on going back again

The Mystery of Overland Park, KS.. Hah, I love that!

No one knows anything for sure.. Everyone is just trying to piece together the scraps of information we manage to find out... Ugh.

We just have to wait and see what happens.

Until then, I will continue trying to solve the mystery though

I'll go through March and April thread again. Are you sure some of their files are in Kansas?

Awesome, Boo! You should receive your hard copies in a week

Yes, Poland not being part of the VWP is something that makes me want to punch my fist through a wall and upsets me like nothing else. It actually makes me dislike my own government very much. My wife applied for one and had to go all the way to Warsaw from Lublin at 5AM in the morning only to be denied the visa. She said she cried the entire 2.5 hour bus ride back home. I was devastated and felt like the worst boyfriend in the world because of how my government, paid by me, the taxpaying U.S. citizen, treated her. I've seen dogs be treated better by my government. I've come to the conclusion they just don't like Poles. The Czech Republic is lucky they're part of the visa waiver program....

Well, I should have read the fine print that said you are the beneficiary, my apologies. But your good English tricked me. You should fly through the interview. You even can curse like an American.

I noticed that your husband and you were married on 6/21. My wife and I were married on 6/20 in Prague. And we were there the prior winter when you were there. But while I was there this summer, we visited Poland, Krakow, mostly, and I must say, I was surprised how similar Poles are to Americans. The Czech Republic is my second home, and I like Czechs a lot, but I immediately felt at ease in your country. Solidarnosc!

I'm sorry that you don't have VWP there. Maybe the K visa? That could be your insurance, in the event that the I-130 drags out. If the K-visa arrives at the same time as your I-130 approval, then all that you have lost is a filing fee and some work to collect your papers.

What do you mean by K visa? Maybe it's something my wife and I should have looked into but didn't.