I-130 MARCH 2013 FILERS!! NBC

[mmkextreme1 4]

My PD is March 18th, still nothing from USCIS! This is getting depressing now....

[LoveMyTico 999]

I have a question pertaining to income.

Your income requirements go by your CURRENT income? correct? My last 3 years of tax returns show lower income but I started a new job April 2013 ( this year) and my income is way above the requirements plus I have child support and survivors social security benefits for my kids .

I have read tons of threads about the income requirements .. Am I correct, or am I missing something? And do they include child support and SS benefits when calculating income?

Edited October 3, 2013 by LoveMyTico

[dilmera 124]

my PD also March 20th.. so does it mean I am next???????

May be, may not be... The thing is NBC is not following any order for approving the petitions, which means petitions from any date can be approved while the petitions filed before that date will still be pending. Also, the petitions are forwarded to the local field office. Some field offices are pretty fast at approving whereas some take time. Another thing I read in the February filers thread, page 51, by slvrfx576 is "how adjudicators are rated for their efficiency". According to what I read, the adjudicator "would rather approve 10 easy petitions per day than 5 complicated ones." However, I don't know how much truth there is to that statement and also I don't know what would qualify as a "complicated" case.

[dilmera 124]

There was an August approval but it was for a Green Card holder applying for spouse. One month total... GRRRRR What happened to the priviledges of being an American Citizen in the United States? Out the window I guess.

After watching the approvals lately, it seems there is no order to anything. It could be due to how they split the files up among the facilities.. You'd think they would have more control over the process by now.

Yesterady my lawyer sent me a check list of things to send to him when the approval comes in. He wants me to be ready.... I already had everything ready a while ago. Nice to know he is on top of things though.

Good thing your lawyer is being proactive. I think all of us should do that for now. I am hopeful our approval may come any time soon.

[jeanetteluis 0]

Hello first time i post on here i usually post on a spanish forum and there i saw 2 march aprovals one yesterday and one last week the pd where march 11 and march 15 and both at nbc... my pd is march 14 and still waiting like many of you :/ its so sad we have to wait soo long, ive called a couple of times but can never talk to tier 2 and every time ive called they say they are going in order NOT TRUE : AND TO KEEP WAITING WELL GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

[Steven.Plant 11]

You can learn alot if you look at the F2A filers timelines. We are lucky the USCIS has time for any of us USC at all. Not that I dont want anyone to not get thier visa but this wait is just too long, they need to get more people on this task.

[GoLdEnSkY99 54]

So no approvals today?

[aptiger 3]

yep No approval today. don't know what they are doing.......

[Steven.Plant 11]

There is something I would like to have asked again at the next AILA/NBC meeting. This is a question asked at the last meeting:

http://www.uscis.gov...genda041113.pdf

Question 14:

With the passage of the LIFE Act in December 2000 and the promulgation of implementing regulations in April 2001, both Congress and Legacy INS announced a policy that would, in theory, allow foreign spouses to join their U.S. citizen spouses in the United States quickly and avoid the long separation associated with increased I-130 processing times. USCIS has adopted a policy to adjudicate the K-3 petition (Form I-129F) and petition for alien relative (Form I-130) simultaneously. This practice effectively eliminates the benefits of the K-3 petition and frustrates the intent of the LIFE Act together. DOS takes the position that when the I-129F and the I-130 are approved together, the beneficiary becomes ineligible for a K-3 visa and therefore, proceeds with processing the immigrant visa application. Will USCIS reconsider its policy to adjudicate both petitions together and implement a policy to adjudicate K-3 petitions within 30 days in order to achieve the clear policy imperative announced by Congress with the creation of the K-3 visa?

Response

The K-3 visa was intended to reunite families separated due to a backlog in I-130 adjudications. However, I-130s are no longer backlogged and are currently being processed in under 6 months. Therefore, USCIS does not, at this time plan to implement a new policy on the K-3 visa petition process.

I case you dont know, it was set up as an option to get your spouse with you in 3-4 months (including the NVC time).

My point is USCIS has by policy denied any USC from using the option provided by Congress to timely unite thier familys thru this proccess. Because USCIS states that everything is working just fine now. Six months or less? We should get some traction with this Policy to push USCIS to get more people working on our Filings so they are completed in the stated time.

[En-oh-eh-to now 147]

My point is USCIS has by policy denied any USC from using the option provided by Congress to timely unite thier familys thru this proccess. Because USCIS states that everything is working just fine now. Six months or less? We should get some traction with this Policy to push USCIS to get more people working on our Filings so they are completed in the stated time.

Yes, in fact, it is our representatives in congress who passed this into law, which is now being ignored by USCIS. Perhaps when we inform our reps about delays in our cases, we should remind them that they passed the K-3 into law for their constituents, and that USCIS is now ignoring this policy.

If the AILA cares about their clients, or has any teeth at all, they will bring this up at the November meeting.

[LoveMyTico 999]

There is something I would like to have asked again at the next AILA/NBC meeting. This is a question asked at the last meeting:

http://www.uscis.gov...genda041113.pdf

Question 14:

With the passage of the LIFE Act in December 2000 and the promulgation of implementing regulations in April 2001, both Congress and Legacy INS announced a policy that would, in theory, allow foreign spouses to join their U.S. citizen spouses in the United States quickly and avoid the long separation associated with increased I-130 processing times. USCIS has adopted a policy to adjudicate the K-3 petition (Form I-129F) and petition for alien relative (Form I-130) simultaneously. This practice effectively eliminates the benefits of the K-3 petition and frustrates the intent of the LIFE Act together. DOS takes the position that when the I-129F and the I-130 are approved together, the beneficiary becomes ineligible for a K-3 visa and therefore, proceeds with processing the immigrant visa application. Will USCIS reconsider its policy to adjudicate both petitions together and implement a policy to adjudicate K-3 petitions within 30 days in order to achieve the clear policy imperative announced by Congress with the creation of the K-3 visa?

Response

The K-3 visa was intended to reunite families separated due to a backlog in I-130 adjudications. However, I-130s are no longer backlogged and are currently being processed in under 6 months. Therefore, USCIS does not, at this time plan to implement a new policy on the K-3 visa petition process.

I case you dont know, it was set up as an option to get your spouse with you in 3-4 months (including the NVC time).

My point is USCIS has by policy denied any USC from using the option provided by Congress to timely unite thier familys thru this proccess. Because USCIS states that everything is working just fine now. Six months or less? We should get some traction with this Policy to push USCIS to get more people working on our Filings so they are completed in the stated time.

K-3's were taking 10 months in 2008. The whole K-3 thing is a joke. They won't bring them back because they have to hire more people to process them. They already claim they lack resources and staff.

[Steven.Plant 11]

K-3's were taking 10 months in 2008. The whole K-3 thing is a joke. They won't bring them back because they have to hire more people to process them. They already claim they lack resources and staff.

I think your missing the whole point. Why were they delayed then? We are not meant to wait so long. This was worked out for us by Congress 12 years ago. When the USCIS did not care for people then.

[Steven.Plant 11]

Yes, in fact, it is our representatives in congress who passed this into law, which is now being ignored by USCIS. Perhaps when we inform our reps about delays in our cases, we should remind them that they passed the K-3 into law for their constituents, and that USCIS is now ignoring this policy.

If the AILA cares about their clients, or has any teeth at all, they will bring this up at the November meeting.

We need something more to say to the Representative other than " I am so sad this is talking too long, please help me." To then get a reply like "the processing times are now 9-12 months for everyone. or some other random thing they get from USCIS

[LoveMyTico 999]

I think your missing the whole point. Why were they delayed then? We are not meant to wait so long. This was worked out for us by Congress 12 years ago. When the USCIS did not care for people then.

I'm not missing the point. I understand what you are saying...

My point is..... They do what they want...If a K3 takes 10 months when its only supposed to take 3-4 months... Nobody cares to fix it. And we can't do anything but sit tight and wait.

[deleteme 34]

I'm not missing the point. I understand what you are saying...

My point is..... They do what they want...If a K3 takes 10 months when its only supposed to take 3-4 months... Nobody cares to fix it. And we can't do anything but sit tight and wait.

I understand the feeling of impotency, Tico, but I do feel that ought to keep trying. I just wrote to the AILA again. Hat-tip for the "question 14" quote. Let's keep doing our best. Here's my letter:

One month ago, I shared the information below about fears that the processing of standalone I-130's would slow down significantly. Recent events confirm that our predictions were correct. I would like to suggest a possible resolution.

First, you should know, if you do not know already, that since I wrote this email to you, the USCIS has revised its national average processing times for I-130's, so that now they report 16 months, between a NOA1 and NOA2, just to adjudicate an I-130 petition. That means, that American citizens and legal residents who are married to foreigners, are now expected to wait up to two years to unite with their spouses.

Members of my online community of I-130 petitioners and beneficiaries at VisaJourney.com had already noticed the slowdown, based on our self-reports, when I wrote to you. We foresaw this slowdown, because we noticed that petitions were being sent to the new NBC facility in Overland Park, Kansas, which we knew was not operational. And the USCIS did not appear to be sending petitions to field offices to keep up with the pace of adjudication, as they said that they would, because very few of us in our online community were notified that our files were being sent to field offices. Hence, we foresaw the stockpiling of I-130s, which has created this slowdown now.

My suggestion is that you again ask, in stronger terms, will the "USCIS reconsider its policy to… adjudicate K-3 petitions within 30 days in order to achieve the clear policy imperative announced by Congress with the creation of the K-3 visa?" I am referring to question 14 in "USCIS – American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Meeting April 11, 2013". That document is here:

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Outreach/Notes%20from%20Previous%20Engagements/2013/April%202013/AILAagenda041113.pdf

Their answer at that time, was, "The K-3 visa was intended to reunite families separated due to a backlog in I-130 adjudications. However, I-130s are no longer backlogged and are currently being processed in under 6 months. Therefore, USCIS does not, at this time plan to implement a new policy on the K-3 visa petition process."

But clearly, the premise of no "new policy on the K-3 visa petition process" is that " I-130s are no longer backlogged and are currently being processed in under 6 months." That premise is no longer true, by their own self-report - 16 months for I-130 adjudication.

Maybe the new Division 8 Overland Park facility is operational now, as USCIS stated it would be, in their conference with you in the spring. However, we have seen little evidence that adjudications are proceeding at a rate that will quickly reverse these trends. Our inquiries have not yielded any information that might relieve us of distress. We are facing unimaginable circumstances – very long separations.

We expected to wait when we sent our petitions. But even the most patient of us are now bewildered and angry. We are reaching out to our congressional delegations, notifying television news and starting online petitions, but these efforts do not seem to carry any noticeable influence. Proof of all that I am saying is available online, and publicly viewable.

We hope that you might do something that will stir USCIS to action.