Which Senator's are helpfull which are useless??Please help! K1: TODAY 6 MONTHS WAITING FOR NOA2

[Trisha89 36]

...und wenn nicht, sagst mir bescheid und ich haue denen eins auf die Nase

Das klingt nach einem Plan

[VickyP 34]

Das klingt nach einem Plan

Hehe...sag ich doch ...

[Micanda 6]

I feel your pain. I was pretty relaxed until we hit the 6-month mark. Doing something about it helped me. I have spent the last month calling USCIS once a week (eventually you'll get a helpful and knowledgeable tier-2 officer), writing letters to the editor, and contacting a Senator's staff.

I am not very familiar with this site (my husband set up our profile), so I apologize if the following is elsewhere...

What I learned from a Washington insider....

Unless you husband is a big donor, the Senators and Representatives don't care about your problems. But they do want your husband's vote in the next election. And they want him to tell his family and friends how the Senator/Rep helped him so that his family and friends vote for the Senator/Rep, too.

Here's what your husband needs to do...

1. Research his Senators and Rep...if he/she is not running again, move on. What is his/her official stance on immigration?

2. Contact the local in-state office (NOT the DC office). This info is on each of their official websites.

3. Ask to speak to lead person on immigration and/or Director of Constituent Services. If someone doesn't call back in 36 hours (Reps tend to have fewer staff...so they might need more time), call again.

4. Explain your situation concisely and factually. They have heard our stories hundreds of times.

After the staffer receives your release, he/she will put in an inquiry on your husband's behalf and follow up when a response is sent. USCIS has received so many of these inquiries,they have staff that just deal with them.

5. Send a HAND-WRITTEN note to the DC office, thanking the Senator/Rep for staffer's help.

What I learned from a very helpful Tier-2 officer and a Senator's Director of Constituent Services....

1. The staffer can't really do anything when it comes to USCIS, unless a deadline is missed. So if you don't have a decision more than 60 days post transfer, etc., the staffer has something to pushback with. You mentioned 30 days. Do you know which stage your application is in at USCIS? If an officer has stamped your application for processing/review, they have 30 days to make a decision on it. If this is your situation (check with staffer or tier 2 officer at USCIS 800 number if you don't know) and if you don't have an answer by the deadline, let the staffer know immediately.

2. The staffer can help you with step 2 (for example, make a call to NVC). Let them know if you have important reason for expediting step 2. For example, I am concerned my husband won't be able to start graduate school in August. Knowing this, gives the staffer more leverage when contacting the NVC or embassy.

3. No one in DC cares about legal immigration issues. It's not what's in the news.

[christeen 966]

Have your fiancée contact his representative as they have a smaller constituency and thus your fiancée should get better service (my rep was really responsive) but have him contact both senators and reps (he MUST be the one to do this as it is HIS petition at this point) ... Have home contact the tier 2 person and I seen that you have requested a service request... Aside from that, there is the ombudsman route which if you use the VJ search tool, you can get details on that process. Good luck!

[Highyella72 11]

It took me nearly 11 months...when I did K1......

[raven52 233]

Baron555, is exactly correct! These very quick K-1 visa's are coming to an end! It took me and my wife 186 days, for K-1, then problems, after NVC, and was delayed nearly 3 months on the physical.

You are not satisfied, about being months, in my opinion your time is just now comeing. One regular "poster" on this site, says two things, "This is not going to be a short period of time".,.,.,and, "you are not going to like this".,., not his exact words, but close.

I hope your NOA2 is tomorrow, as it is deserved, for sure, but I have seen many go over 8 months, and you seem a little bit irate at USCIS, which is well deserved, BUT.,.. it is not going to do one bit of good if you get 10 senators and congressman, to intervien on your part. Hey, if no "red flags" or rfe's, your time is due, just hang in there, your time is close, for sure.

But, it took, 10 months and 4 days from filing NOA 1 to P.O.E., Atlanta for my K-1.,. you have a long way to go, we all have to go through it, it is their game, their rules, we just play by them! Good Luck, and hope for good news soon!

[Boiler 45,535]

Were you allowed to withdraw your entry or deported?

[offline 4]

10 months!? Hello? You were getting approved after 3 months!! I don't think YOU understand....... Other people already get approved here after one month.... 10 month is ridiculous and I'm sure we are acting right, WHEN WE ACT NOW!!

People who are coming onto VJ saying that they were approved after 1 month are just doing that to get a rise out of other members and cause pain. None of that is true (unless they are expedited, which they are not.)

Hopefully you should hear soon. I see many members getting adjudicated in 6 months-ish. Yes, there were many here who waited 9, 10 months. I know it is difficult but hang in there. Keep bugging USCIS and the senators / congresspeople in your state. Hang in there.

[Removed030114 48]

Baron555, is exactly correct! These very quick K-1 visa's are coming to an end!

Hogwash!

And what do you and baron base this mystical epiphany? Must be some sort of mouse in your pocket? There is no evidence whatsoever that there is any slowdown coming now or in the future. In fact there is every indication that processing times will continue to be reduced as the processes become more efficient.

This past year the processing time for ALL K1s from NOA 1 to interview was 257 days. The past six months, 237 days. The last three months, 213 days.

Edited February 13, 2014 by CNTrav

[kitthekat 1,317]

Hogwash!

And what do you and baron base this mystical epiphany? Must be some sort of mouse in your pocket? There is no evidence whatsoever that there is any slowdown coming now or in the future. In fact there is every indication that processing times will continue to be reduced as the processes become more efficient.

This past year the processing time for ALL K1s from NOA 1 to interview was 257 days. The past six months, 237 days. The last three months, 213 days.

The stats you are referring to are reported statistics, from visajourney members. That does not constitute "all K1s", and the stats are not 100% clean (many times people misreport dates, due to misunderstanding, or other reasons).

Members who have been here much longer than I have will have a better idea of the rollercoaster nature of the processing times. What goes up must come down, and vice versa. While K1s are going pretty fast right now, it would be a pretty good prediction that the processing times are going to slow down. They have actually already started to slow down...you don't see as many people getting approved in under 3 weeks as you did three, four months ago. If you look at the graph on the page you got your statistics from, you'll see that apart from a big drop in the second half of last year, the reduction in processing times is starting to decelerate.

With all the furor over the delays in processing I-130s, it's very likely the USCIS might start prioritizing those case types instead. They have promised to improve the processing times for the I-130s by mid 2014. If they put manpower on adjudicating those cases, that is manpower away from other case types. That is why people are saying that the lightning quick approvals that K1s are seeing are likely to come to an end soon. K1s have been this quick in the past (years ago), followed by a terrible slump where people waited 8-12 months for NOA2 (1.5, 2 years ago?), and now they are back up again. The same thing happened with the I-130s. They used to be processed in 5-6 months, now it's taking 12 months or longer, even. Definitely did not become more "efficient" over time. It's the circle of USCIS.

Edited February 13, 2014 by kitthekat

[Removed030114 48]

The stats you are referring to are reported statistics, from visajourney members. That does not constitute "all K1s", and the stats are not 100% clean (many times people misreport dates, due to misunderstanding, or other reasons).

Members who have been here much longer than I have will have a better idea of the rollercoaster nature of the processing times. What goes up must come down, and vice versa. While K1s are going pretty fast right now, it would be a pretty good prediction that the processing times are going to slow down. They have actually already started to slow down...you don't see as many people getting approved in under 3 weeks as you did three, four months ago. If you look at the graph on the page you got your statistics from, you'll see that apart from a big drop in the second half of last year, the processing times are starting to decelerate.

With all the furor over the delays in processing I-130s, it's very likely the USCIS might start prioritizing those case types instead. They have promised to improve the processing times for the I-130s by mid 2014. If they put manpower on adjudicating those cases, that is manpower away from other case types. That is why people are saying that the lightning quick approvals that K1s are seeing are likely to come to an end soon. K1s have been this quick in the past (years ago), followed by a terrible slump where people waited 8-12 months for NOA2 (1.5, 2 years ago?), and now they are back up again. The same thing happened with the I-130s. They used to be processed in 5-6 months, now it's taking 12 months or longer, even. Definitely did not become more "efficient" over time. It's the circle of USCIS.

I've been here since 2005, how about you? I have been watching the immigration process very closely since that time. While I agree that processing times have experienced some slowdowns, the overall trends have continued to decrease the processing times. I would like to stay focused on K1 as that is this community and other visa types may confuse the issue.

One thing that rings true in immigration watchers and posters is that there is always conjecture based on a few statistical anomalies and talk among the immigration posting sites about what's happening. Talk is cheap. Where is the evidence? The biggest contributor to slowdown problems was IMBRA. A good intentioned law that catches and slows a segment of the population.

Edited February 13, 2014 by CNTrav

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to K-1 Progress Reports - topic is case status/wait times ~

[kitthekat 1,317]

I've been here since 2005, how about you? I have been watching the immigration process very closely since that time. While I agree that processing times have experienced some slowdowns, the overall trends have continued to decrease the processing times. I would like to stay focused on K1 as that is this community and other visa types may confuse the issue.

One thing that rings true in immigration watchers and posters is that there is always conjecture based on a few statistical anomalies and talk among the immigration posting sites about what's happening. Talk is cheap. Where is the evidence?

Perhaps you would like to focus on K1 because widening the scope to other visa types weakens your argument, but the fact is that USCIS does not only process K1s. They have a limited pool of manpower, and prioritising one type of petition will mean less time for their workers to process other petitions.

Extracted from an email from USCIS:

Through concerted efforts, USCIS is now adjudicating U.S. citizens’ immediate relative Forms I-130 filed as early as February 2013. This is a significant step forward, as previously published guidance reflected the processing of these Forms I-130 filed in October 2012. Furthermore, USCIS expects the processing of these Forms I-130 to be increasingly timely in the ensuing weeks, culminating in the return to an average processing time of five months for these Forms I-130 by May 2014.

[Removed030114 48]

Perhaps you would like to focus on K1 because widening the scope to other visa types weakens your argument, but the fact is that USCIS does not only process K1s. They have a limited pool of manpower, and prioritising one type of petition will mean less time for their workers to process other petitions.

Extracted from an email from USCIS:

Through concerted efforts, USCIS is now adjudicating U.S. citizens’ immediate relative Forms I-130 filed as early as February 2013. This is a significant step forward, as previously published guidance reflected the processing of these Forms I-130 filed in October 2012. Furthermore, USCIS expects the processing of these Forms I-130 to be increasingly timely in the ensuing weeks, culminating in the return to an average processing time of five months for these Forms I-130 by May 2014.

Trisha89 began this thread and a few members have been discussing issues that she is personally experiencing regarding K1. Please don't hijack it and expand it to discuss issues that do not pertain to her.

[kitthekat 1,317]

Trisha89 began this thread and a few members have been discussing issues that she is personally experiencing regarding K1. Please don't hijack it and expand it to discuss issues that do not pertain to her.

I believe you started the debate?

Anyway, my apologies, Trisha. I hope you get your NOA2 soon.