Need your insight

[The_dip_sticks 0]

Dear Mireya,

This is just to update you on the two petitions you filed last year for Adiel. I completely understand your frustration with the terrible delay for both petitions and here is what I found :

1-129F : USCIS / National Benefits Center is currently processing K3-K4 applications filed on July 17th, 2006. Your petition was filed on July 18th, 2006 (can you believe it?). So, it has not even been processed yet. Apparently, there is a terrible backlog at the National Benefits Center and therefore, this horrible delay.

So, for this petition, it is not outside the processing time and there is nothing we can do about it except wait.

2. I-130 : I called USCIS to inquire about the unusual delay in the processing of your I-130 Petition. It is already way out of the NORMAL processing time. They could not tell me exactly why this is the case but indicated that it is possible that they are going to issue a request for further evidence. This is just speculation and could be with regard to either the issue of the marriage such as the issue of the parties not residing together or they are doing some kind of background check. I believe that they are taking precautions with regard to persons of certain ethnic origin and especially from the UK and some Middle Eastern countries. With this, the agent told me that all I can do right now is to put in a service request for information / update, which I have already done yesterday. They will contact me or you directly with this update / status or request for further evidence. This will apparently happen within 45 days. I calculated that we should hear something about the I-130 no later than March 8th, 2007. Please let me know if you hear anything before the expiry of this date.

Mireya, I am sorry about this. I hope that you understand that this delay is beyond my control. Each case is treated and processed on its own merits. Your case is a little unusual and of course, is complicated by Adiel's summary exclusion, reasons for which are still totally unknown to anyone except them.

Best regards,

XXXXXXXXXXX

Attorney at Law

Now in regards to the thing that she is calling "summary exclusion" she is referring to my husband being denied entry last year in Feb, when he tried to come in for a visit at which time he was held over night and denied entry on his passport for "immigrant intent" . He was turned around and put on the next flight back to the UK the next day. Before we got married he entered the USA with out a problem. We were told by an immigration officer tha beacuse he ws not married to a USC he could no longer enter to visit on his British VWP

When we got married we did not file for any type of visa immediately after because we both had other things to sort out in regards to jobs and school and family. We got married unexpectedly on his last visit to Texa. Our original plans were to get married latter in 2006 but we just could not wait and we took the big step. After we got married he left back to the UK and I remained in TX. 2005 was a tough year. Due to natural disastsers *hurrican Rita, financial strain and because we both had new jobs we were not able to see each other for over a year because we had no allocated vacation and money was tight. Well when we finally got every thing in order we planed for Adiel to come and visit so that we could prepare a Catholic ceremony and get the visa process started. We got married unexpectedly and our plans were to save money and have a more formal ceremony latter with our family and friends. We only had a civil marriage and an Islamic one in a Masjid where only him and I were present with four witnesses and that was it.

Our plans were not for Adiel to stay here but for him to go back to the UK until the whole visa process was complete. Adjusting status here after we got married was not a possibility because he has two small children that he has from a past girlfriend who he needs to provide for. As you can imagine with that kind of responsibility he can’t be with out work for too long. Well to make the long story short when he tried to return latter for a visit we were totally shocked when he was denied because he had never had a problem entering the USA before. This is the complete time line of events:

04/16/03 Met online

08/16/04 Mireya flies to UK to meet Adiel

08/21/04 Trip to Greece

09/02/04 We return to London

09/05/04 Mireya returns to the Texas :0(

12/13/04 Adiel flies to Houston

12/31/04 We bring in the new years with a bang we get MARRIED!

01/06/05 Adiel returns to London.

08/ / 05 Adiel visit to Texas gets canceled because hurricane Rita.

02/12/06 Adiel is refused entry on VWP and both him and I are interrogated by FBI officials at Houston Intercontinental airport. We are both clueless as to this. I was not allowed to see him and he was not allowed to see me. The FBI asked me the weirdest questions like: How many times a day does he pray, has he ever said any thing against the USA, when was the last time he went to a mosque, is that ring on your finger from him or from another marriage? Where does he work, what does he do? How did you meet?

03-04/ 06 Gather fees and all paper work to start K-3

05/23/06 K3 process begins (see time line below)

05/26/06 Mireya goes to UK to be with my baby for a few days THANK YOU GOD!

06/12/06 Mireya returns to Texas :0(

12/26/06 Mireya goes to UK to be with hubby for the holidays

01/02/07 Mireya back to Texas =0(

Our K3 Timeline

12/31/2005 Married

I-130

05/23/06 I-130 was sent to TSC.

05/30/06 Received Dated

06/15/06 NOA1 Receipt issued

06/20/06 NOA1 arrived in the mail

09/13, 14 /06 Touched Address change

I-129F

06/24/06 Sent I-129 to Chicago NBC

07/13/06 Received Date

07/18/06 NOA1 Receipt issued

07/21/06 NOA1 arrived in mail

08/10, 17, 19 /06 Touched

09/11, 12, 13 /06 Touched Address change

10/22/ 06 Touched

10/27/ 06 Touched Letter saying they need more time for additional review. =0(

11/14/ 06 Touched

11/15/ 06 Touched

Some one please touch us!

Any ways what do you think about what the lawyer has said in regards to why our case might be difficult because we got married and we have not live together? Also it pissed me off that she did not even mention lets try and contact a congressman or senator to make an inquiry. At lease I had sense enough to do that. Apparently she has no clue that even though my application has a receipt for July 18, applications that were submitted way after me have already been approved. =0( My husband is Pakistani but he was born and raised in London and has only been to Pakistan about 2 times when he was like 3 yrs old and some other time when he was in his late teens early 20’s. He is currently 36. I hate the fact that the lawyer implies that because of his ethnicity or maybe even religion we are having such difficulties with the applications. Is the lawyer correct in stereotyping? What are your thoughts to her comments? Is she correct in saying that my husbaned was summaryly exluded is that the term for people that are denied on VWP and refused entry? Am I over reacting? I forgot to mention that this lawyer also wants to charge 1,000 extra to prepare a waiver for my hubby for him to have ready and take to his interview in case they ask him to file a waiver because he was refused last time he tried to come and visit me. Hsi passport got an ugly " refused-intent to immigrate" stamp. She says he is not sure if he will or will not need it but in the event that he does not need the waiver he will have it ready. She is not sure if the waiver will be needed but she chis chargeing 1,000 regardless if they ask for it or not because she is going to "prepare it for him to have at the interview in case they as for one." Let me know your feed back on this also.

[Girona40 0]

Personally, and this is only my personal opinion, I think you have a pretty good attorney. She has kept you updated with the situation and has tried to explain, diplomatically, how the USCIS and NBC works. There may be rules and dates and processing times they are supposed to meet, but in reality it isn't that simple. Rarely do they meet deadlines and many others are in your situation, waiting, waiting, waiting, for one thing or another. When it comes to requesting information as to why certain applications are taking forever, there are specific times you have to wait before you can even submit a question to them! This appears to be the problem with your I-129F and she is right, you can only wait for now. Frustrating I know.

If they are going to issue an RFE with regard to your I-130 you will probably hear soon. She is suggesting filling out the waiver paperwork because she suspects (and probably with good reason, due to her experience) that this is what is going to be required. You have two choices really, you can pay the $1000 and have her prepare it for Adiel to take with him, so he has it on hand. The alternative is to get there, find he needs a waiver and then there if further delay, which can be considerable. It is good that she has requested an "update" and she should hear back with regard to that soon.

I don't think contacting your congressional representatives or senators will help much - they have never helped us and just ask the same questions any of us can ask, really. That's just my experience in dealing with them. I suspect that is why your attorney hasn't even bothered mentioning it. You can request them to help, they will ask you to sign a paper allowing them to request information on your behalf, but they only get the same information your attorney and yourself will, if you put in a request for information.

I don't feel that his ethnicity is the reason for any of the delays, although others on VJ may be able to confirm this one way or another. I think it is just down to huge backlogs that have accumulated in the USCIS, NBC, State Department and FBI. The whole immigration process is just a mess at the moment and the government seem to be placing their focus on how to deal with the problems of "undocumented" aliens over those that are going through the preferred process.

I don't know what happens when you are already married and coming to visit your spouse in the US. I know that you would need to show "ties" to your country of origin to prove that you are not entering to circumnavigate the required immigration process, such as mortgage papers, or a lease, a letter from an employer, bank details, that kind of thing. I am sure there are others on VJ that can advise you on that.

Hang in there! I can only imagine this is torture for you. For what it's worth, to me it sounds like you have a good attorney. She is doing all the right things, she is keeping you informed (which is more than our attorney does) and she seems sympathetic to your concerns.

It will all be over, soon I hope, and you will be able to enjoy married life together. Keep that goal in mind and you will get through this.

Hugs

G.

Dear Mireya,

This is just to update you on the two petitions you filed last year for Adiel. I completely understand your frustration with the terrible delay for both petitions and here is what I found :

1-129F : USCIS / National Benefits Center is currently processing K3-K4 applications filed on July 17th, 2006. Your petition was filed on July 18th, 2006 (can you believe it?). So, it has not even been processed yet. Apparently, there is a terrible backlog at the National Benefits Center and therefore, this horrible delay.

So, for this petition, it is not outside the processing time and there is nothing we can do about it except wait.

2. I-130 : I called USCIS to inquire about the unusual delay in the processing of your I-130 Petition. It is already way out of the NORMAL processing time. They could not tell me exactly why this is the case but indicated that it is possible that they are going to issue a request for further evidence. This is just speculation and could be with regard to either the issue of the marriage such as the issue of the parties not residing together or they are doing some kind of background check. I believe that they are taking precautions with regard to persons of certain ethnic origin and especially from the UK and some Middle Eastern countries. With this, the agent told me that all I can do right now is to put in a service request for information / update, which I have already done yesterday. They will contact me or you directly with this update / status or request for further evidence. This will apparently happen within 45 days. I calculated that we should hear something about the I-130 no later than March 8th, 2007. Please let me know if you hear anything before the expiry of this date.

Mireya, I am sorry about this. I hope that you understand that this delay is beyond my control. Each case is treated and processed on its own merits. Your case is a little unusual and of course, is complicated by Adiel's summary exclusion, reasons for which are still totally unknown to anyone except them.

Best regards,

XXXXXXXXXXX

Attorney at Law

Now in regards to the thing that she is calling "summary exclusion" she is referring to my husband being denied entry last year in Feb, when he tried to come in for a visit at which time he was held over night and denied entry on his passport for "immigrant intent" . He was turned around and put on the next flight back to the UK the next day. Before we got married he entered the USA with out a problem. We were told by an immigration officer tha beacuse he ws not married to a USC he could no longer enter to visit on his British VWP

When we got married we did not file for any type of visa immediately after because we both had other things to sort out in regards to jobs and school and family. We got married unexpectedly on his last visit to Texa. Our original plans were to get married latter in 2006 but we just could not wait and we took the big step. After we got married he left back to the UK and I remained in TX. 2005 was a tough year. Due to natural disastsers *hurrican Rita, financial strain and because we both had new jobs we were not able to see each other for over a year because we had no allocated vacation and money was tight. Well when we finally got every thing in order we planed for Adiel to come and visit so that we could prepare a Catholic ceremony and get the visa process started. We got married unexpectedly and our plans were to save money and have a more formal ceremony latter with our family and friends. We only had a civil marriage and an Islamic one in a Masjid where only him and I were present with four witnesses and that was it.

Our plans were not for Adiel to stay here but for him to go back to the UK until the whole visa process was complete. Adjusting status here after we got married was not a possibility because he has two small children that he has from a past girlfriend who he needs to provide for. As you can imagine with that kind of responsibility he can’t be with out work for too long. Well to make the long story short when he tried to return latter for a visit we were totally shocked when he was denied because he had never had a problem entering the USA before. This is the complete time line of events:

04/16/03 Met online

08/16/04 Mireya flies to UK to meet Adiel

08/21/04 Trip to Greece

09/02/04 We return to London

09/05/04 Mireya returns to the Texas :0(

12/13/04 Adiel flies to Houston

12/31/04 We bring in the new years with a bang we get MARRIED!

01/06/05 Adiel returns to London.

08/ / 05 Adiel visit to Texas gets canceled because hurricane Rita.

02/12/06 Adiel is refused entry on VWP and both him and I are interrogated by FBI officials at Houston Intercontinental airport. We are both clueless as to this. I was not allowed to see him and he was not allowed to see me. The FBI asked me the weirdest questions like: How many times a day does he pray, has he ever said any thing against the USA, when was the last time he went to a mosque, is that ring on your finger from him or from another marriage? Where does he work, what does he do? How did you meet?

03-04/ 06 Gather fees and all paper work to start K-3

05/23/06 K3 process begins (see time line below)

05/26/06 Mireya goes to UK to be with my baby for a few days THANK YOU GOD!

06/12/06 Mireya returns to Texas :0(

12/26/06 Mireya goes to UK to be with hubby for the holidays

01/02/07 Mireya back to Texas =0(

Our K3 Timeline

12/31/2005 Married

I-130

05/23/06 I-130 was sent to TSC.

05/30/06 Received Dated

06/15/06 NOA1 Receipt issued

06/20/06 NOA1 arrived in the mail

09/13, 14 /06 Touched Address change

I-129F

06/24/06 Sent I-129 to Chicago NBC

07/13/06 Received Date

07/18/06 NOA1 Receipt issued

07/21/06 NOA1 arrived in mail

08/10, 17, 19 /06 Touched

09/11, 12, 13 /06 Touched Address change

10/22/ 06 Touched

10/27/ 06 Touched Letter saying they need more time for additional review. =0(

11/14/ 06 Touched

11/15/ 06 Touched

Some one please touch us!

Any ways what do you think about what the lawyer has said in regards to why our case might be difficult because we got married and we have not live together? Also it pissed me off that she did not even mention lets try and contact a congressman or senator to make an inquiry. At lease I had sense enough to do that. Apparently she has no clue that even though my application has a receipt for July 18, applications that were submitted way after me have already been approved. =0( My husband is Pakistani but he was born and raised in London and has only been to Pakistan about 2 times when he was like 3 yrs old and some other time when he was in his late teens early 20’s. He is currently 36. I hate the fact that the lawyer implies that because of his ethnicity or maybe even religion we are having such difficulties with the applications. Is the lawyer correct in stereotyping? What are your thoughts to her comments? Is she correct in saying that my husbaned was summaryly exluded is that the term for people that are denied on VWP and refused entry? Am I over reacting? I forgot to mention that this lawyer also wants to charge 1,000 extra to prepare a waiver for my hubby for him to have ready and take to his interview in case they ask him to file a waiver because he was refused last time he tried to come and visit me. Hsi passport got an ugly " refused-intent to immigrate" stamp. She says he is not sure if he will or will not need it but in the event that he does not need the waiver he will have it ready. She is not sure if the waiver will be needed but she chis chargeing 1,000 regardless if they ask for it or not because she is going to "prepare it for him to have at the interview in case they as for one." Let me know your feed back on this also.

[dawnnhatem 0]

I wouldn't blame you for having second thoughts about the lawyer. My thoughts on the letter: she/he called the same number you have, recieved the same stock answer ("its not done yet, wait some more, blah blah blah") and passed it on to you dressed up like actual information. In all fairness to the lawyer, thats probably all a lawyer can do until something goes wrong.

By reading your posts, I see that your language is good, you write well, what you write reads to be clear and honest...I don't see one reason for you not write your own letter, if you end up needing one.

This is just my opinion, but I think the time to get a lawyer involved is if either petition gets denied or returned. Then I would want a lawyer that has been sucessful resolving that. I dont think having a lawyer involved any earlier can affect the course of either petition, but thats just my opinion.

I am optimistic for you. I think things just take time. I don't think its unusual for spouses to be denied entry by vwp. I think the I130 is prob being held up because you have a live k-3 processing. i think the K-3 could be delayed because they are checking him out like they would any pakistani man. I think he might have to prove he isn't married to the mother of his kids. I think he might have to explain why they didn't marry or why he would leave his kids(thats where I would expect his religion to be a factor, I know lots of people leave kids, but I dont think they expect that from muslim men, and I think they do expect muslim family men to sometimes hide their actual family status)

But what I think most of all is that a lawyer can't avoid these things from coming up, or respond to them any more truthfully or clearly than you can. I'm hopig the best for and that you hear something soon. Hang in there.

[amal 4]

I think your lawyer is doing a good job. They are keeping you informed quite well. They are right in that there is not much you can do but wait for now. As far as the 1000 dollars...I think you could write a letter just as well and it would save you that money. I had a lawyer through our whole process and I'm glad I did. I really suck at paperwork and it was well worth it to have a professional take care of it for me. I wish you luck in your process.

[doodlebug 3]

Given the fact that you had posted in another area that money is tight with your family right now I'd 86 the lawyer. You seem to be as bright as anyone else in this forum so why not save the $$$ and do this yourself, and then if need be hire an attorney when and if his visa gets denied.

I think the delay has to deal with the fact that his parents are from Pakistan and that he has been there a few times himself. That coupled with the denied visitor visa entry says that they're really really scrutinizing things.

Just my 2 cents.

[The_dip_sticks 0]

Thanks every one for your feedback I really appreciate it. I had little flags going in my head by the lawyer saying that our case might be complicated due to the fact that we got married and have not lived together. Also I’m wondering if they will ask us for pics of our marriage because in all honesty we don’t have any. We got our marriage license and waited the required amount of time needed before getting married. Then on the day that we got married we both got up and got ready. We were both wearing jeans and a black shirt LOL. After that we drove to Austin to the Masjid to see the Imman that was to marry us. When we got there I covered my head in the car with a cool head wrap and we were lead to a little room in the Masjid. Inside there were 4 witnesses that the Imman brought and he married us there. He took our civil marriage license and returned it to us after we were married. When we left my husband and I were also given our Islamic marriage certificate and the civil one as well. After that we just left and headed back to my place to cook our first dinner as a married couple. That day we took a few pictures but they just look like pictures of a regular normal day. We were not focused on taking pics that day because we were just happy to be married and well we planed to have a Church wedding at a letter time. After we got married I sent in the civil marriage license and it was sealed and registered in the state of Texas and it was returned to us as it is customary. My husband and I signed the Islamic marriage certificate but the Imman filed in our names in our civil marriage license. Is this normal, and do you think this will cause us problems? Apparently this was not an issue because it was accepted and registered and returned to us but I’m just wondering if the same thing happened to any of you because I always thought that it was my husband and I who were supposed to have singed that document as well.