How do they decide what location will process your K1Visa?

[JenDave3121 30]

My forms were just received at TX dropbox so now I am wondering how they decide if your forms get sent to CA or TX processing centers....is it just luck????

[JIJourney 96]

It goes by what state you reside in.

You may be CSC, but I am not sure

Also please take your Service Center off as Texas.

[beckysj80 1]

I hope MN is the California service center. My k-1 app was just sent in too and had the same question.

[Ning 619]

My forms were just received at TX dropbox so now I am wondering how they decide if your forms get sent to CA or TX processing centers....is it just luck????

Its is based on work load at each center. An effort is made to balance the volume. People always think there is some conspiracy going on but its just matter of the millions of petitions sent in every year.

[sweetswinks 400]

Its is based on work load at each center. An effort is made to balance the volume. People always think there is some conspiracy going on but its just matter of the millions of petitions sent in every year.

No, it's not. It's based off of your location as petitioner. It's split by East coast and West Coast. For instance, my fiancé lives in Pennsylvania, that would normally go to Eeast Coast (Vermon Service Center) but Vermont ceased processing I-129f's and transferred their petitions to TSC.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

It is typically based on location, not workload. If they balanced the workload, then you would not have one approving quickly while the other takes months and months. Sometimes when there is a huge backlog, they will try and ease the workload on a service center, which is what happened when they switched the I-129F processing from Vermont to Texas. However, now Texas is stuck in backlog too.

For the CSC :

If you live in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

For the TSC:

If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia

[aspec 3]

Is this based on what you list as your "Mailing Address" on your I-129F? The reason I ask is because I'm debating whether I should list my home of record (military) address which is my parent's house in Washington state, or my current living address which is on the East coast. I'll be moving in the next 4-5 months so I'm thinking my home of record address would be better just to avoid having to request for a change of address.

[Ning 619]

It is typically based on location, not workload. If they balanced the workload, then you would not have one approving quickly while the other takes months and months. Sometimes when there is a huge backlog, they will try and ease the workload on a service center, which is what happened when they switched the I-129F processing from Vermont to Texas. However, now Texas is stuck in backlog too.

For the CSC :

If you live in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

For the TSC:

If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia

I related what we were told by an officer at a USCIS Info Pass meeting . I am nor sure there is a big difference in easing a workload and balancing one but it could be my English.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

I related what we were told by an officer at a USCIS Info Pass meeting . I am nor sure there is a big difference in easing a workload and balancing one but it could be my English.

The point is, using the word easing or balancing, they do not send the petitions to the service centers with that in mind. If they did try and balance workloads based on where they send the petitions for processing from the intake facility, then there would not be such an imbalance of processing times between the CSC and the TSC. They keep sending out based on location and do not bother to send more to the CSC because their processing times are months faster than the TSC. If they did, then I would agree an effort is made to balance volume and that it is based on load balancing. As it is, no. If people check where they reside based on where their petitions get sent, then almost every one of them holds true to being based on location and the states I posted above.

[JenDave3121 30]

Yes I have heard from another member it is based on your mailing address/state......so EXCITED that MN forms are sent to California....this has completed made my day but I wont fully celebrate until I get it confirmed in the next week or so!!!!!

[Andie 147]

The point is, using the word easing or balancing, they do not send the petitions to the service centers with that in mind. If they did try and balance workloads based on where they send the petitions for processing from the intake facility, then there would not be such an imbalance of processing times between the CSC and the TSC. They keep sending out based on location and do not bother to send more to the CSC because their processing times are months faster than the TSC. If they did, then I would agree an effort is made to balance volume and that it is based on load balancing. As it is, no. If people check where they reside based on where their petitions get sent, then almost every one of them holds true to being based on location and the states I posted above.

True .. (unfortunately).

[Elizabeth+Fred 35]

My forms were just received at TX dropbox so now I am wondering how they decide if your forms get sent to CA or TX processing centers....is it just luck????

The service center is selected based on the residence address of the US petitioner. See the attached map on how the various states have been 'dividied' ...

[Operator 1,927]

Do they not adjudicate I-129Fs at VSC anymore?

[JIJourney 96]

Do they not adjudicate I-129Fs at VSC anymore?

That is long gone. It is now TSC and CSC.

[Megan & Luke 93]

You would think that they would try to split up the extremely populated states.. seriously.. Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas all in one service center?

They need to re-balance that map and go by population to even out the states, if they absolutely refuse to do in-transit workload balancing. Either that... or respond when the workload balance is so far off kilter.

Edited July 27, 2014 by MeganLuke