K1 September 2014 Filers (TSC)

[sevendelta 17]

Just for fun, I'd be interested in hearing more about the consistencies in regard to batch completions.

There is a gentleman in June filers that is running his own data analytics on noa's and rfe's. What his data is showing is that approvals, less known expidites based on benificiary country relief or request, are approved in clusters based on similar filing dates. So, it gleens that a methodology is in place, but not one that is consistent enough to make narrow individual or group sample forecasts. But a pattern appears to be revealed. None the less, the fact remains that uscis system is not as functional, fair, transparent and efficient as it should be.

[av8or1 246]

Ah I see. So the key metric is filing date, for whatever little meaning it has IRL. Interesting. Thanks for the feedback.

[SincerelyMeike 52]

There is a gentleman in June filers that is running his own data analytics on noa's and rfe's. What his data is showing is that approvals, less known expidites based on benificiary country relief or request, are approved in clusters based on similar filing dates. So, it gleens that a methodology is in place, but not one that is consistent enough to make narrow individual or group sample forecasts. But a pattern appears to be revealed. None the less, the fact remains that uscis system is not as functional, fair, transparent and efficient as it should be.

So I was stalking your time line and I noticed we are around the same NOA1 dates. I wonder if they looked at my file too xD ooh~ I'm kind of excited now!

[SincerelyMeike 52]

So going to have a Trini wedding? I want doubles.

HAHA!! I totally should, my fiancés family would love that.

[pfrederiksen 22]

So last night I wrote a letter to my Congressman. It wasn't a letter to beg for my application to get pushed through, but to explain to him how Maryland (specifically Baltimore City) residents are put at a severe disadvantage as far as visa processing times. It was a long letter explaining how it impacts personal relationships, the process of the visa, etc.

Not expecting much, but it makes me feel better.

[SincerelyMeike 52]

So last night I wrote a letter to my Congressman. It wasn't a letter to beg for my application to get pushed through, but to explain to him how Maryland (specifically Baltimore City) residents are put at a severe disadvantage as far as visa processing times. It was a long letter explaining how it impacts personal relationships, the process of the visa, etc.

Not expecting much, but it makes me feel better.

Yay!! Let us know if you get a response!!

[pfrederiksen 22]

In case anyone was interested. I might have gotten some facts wrong out of misunderstanding processes, but the main idea is correct.

Mr Sarbanes,

I’m emailing in regards to not only my K-1 visa process, but as a process as a whole which affects Baltimore City and Maryland residents.

Some backstory:

In early February of this year, I traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam on a complete whim. I’ve always enjoyed traveling alone so that I am able to travel and tour at my own pace. I also like to go to places that aren’t normal tourist destinations. When I travel, I like to be with the locals and not with other tourists. I am an Army veteran, which in the end gave me the desire for frequent travel. I took a tour of a region of Vietnam with a girl who has now ended up being my fiance. We clicked immediately and I have now made 3 trips back, including one where the duration was a bit over a month. It went great. We are truly in love. I’m not being used, she’s never asked me for a penny. We talk at least twice a day for an hour or so.

On to the issues as it relates to Maryland/Baltimore city residents:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes K-1 visas in two locations. Texas Service Center (TSC) and California Service Center (CSC). Residents of Maryland get processed at TSC. The processing times between those 2 service centers are *wildly* different. As it sits, Maryland/Baltimore City residents are severely penalized by being processed at TSC.

Here are the current K-1 processing times for each service center:

Source: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do(TSC only)
TSC: Currently processing applications from May 6, 2014
CSC: There are no official times reported, but based on community reports, applications from October and November are being processed. You can view these reports for both TSC and CSC at http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/128-k-1-fiancee-visa-case-filing-and-progress-reports/

What does this mean? The average wait time for Maryland/Baltimore City resident applications to TSC would be 7 months assuming the applicant got an approval today. The average approval for a resident of a state serviced by CSC is a maximum of 1-2 months.

An additional note on these times. These are not the times for visa approval. These are the processing times for receiving the NOA2, which only means it’s been approved to the next step which is the NVC, where the background check happens. There is at least another 2 months until visa approval…likely more. The NOA2 only means that your paperwork is filled out correctly and that you have included all the necessary documents and proof of ongoing relationship.

How this affects me:

The process of the visa application is to ensure that the beneficiary of the visa is not defrauding the government and is in a true and real relationship with the beneficiary. In short terms, that you are in love. This process is so long that it becomes very difficult to maintain a relationship for anyone. Imagine being engaged to someone you see only every couple months hoping every day for the process to move on. Luckily for me and my fiance it hasn’t been a problem beyond missing each other deeply. How is it fair that your location impacts your application approval rate. In the end, living in Maryland/Baltimore City has caused impact to my relationship with my fiance. It has caused financial burden due to the thousands of dollars in flights back and forth to Vietnam. We want nothing more than to be together and she is excited and looking forward to being a productive member of society.

My K-1 case number: XXXXX

Thank you for reading my email. I hope it is possible to make this process more fair, if not for me, but for people in the future going through this same process.

Paul XXXXX
202-XXX-XXX
paul@XXXXX.com
XXXXX
Baltimore, Maryland

Edited December 10, 2014 by pfrederiksen

[JDWright 30]

In case anyone was interested. I might have gotten some facts wrong out of misunderstanding processes, but the main idea is correct.

Let's hope he does something for everyone

HAHA!! I totally should, my fiancés family would love that.

Haha I've been to TnT a few time's it's great there

[sevendelta 17]

TSC sent packet to NVC today. Trying to figure out the whole cut off day thing for NVC processing. Might be calling them sooner than planned.

Pfredrikson, great letter. Hope you get some action.

[Ethline 17]

How many of us are actually doing anything about the process I feel like we all need to start reaching out to our elected officials. Why wait 5 months before we take actions. I've started sending out letters this week and plan to do so every single week. I know nothing will probably be done but it beats sitting around feeling completely helpless

Edited December 11, 2014 by Ethline

[av8or1 246]

So last night I wrote a letter to my Congressman. It wasn't a letter to beg for my application to get pushed through, but to explain to him how Maryland (specifically Baltimore City) residents are put at a severe disadvantage as far as visa processing times. It was a long letter explaining how it impacts personal relationships, the process of the visa, etc.

Not expecting much, but it makes me feel better.

Ok I hope it's ok: I used your letter as a template and followed suit. I sent email to my local US representative and both senators for the state of TEXAS. Also not expecting much, but any light that can be shed on the issue, then so much to the better. FWIW, my letter:

I am sending email in regard to one aspect of the federal immigration process. Specifically, I would like to bring your attention to the I-129F petition, also known as the K-1 Fiancee visa. Currently the procedure used to process these petitions is broken. It is not as fair, transparent or efficient as it should be. Therefore this process has an adverse effect on a large number of citizens, to include Central TEXAS residents.

BACKGROUND

The I-129F petition for the Fiancee visa is a petition to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to allow a foreign person a one-time entry into the USA for the purpose of marriage. The couple has 90 days to decide whether or not they want to marry. If so, they file the I-485 petition (Adjustment of Status) for the person who entered on the Fiancee visa. If not, then that foreign person must return to their home country. To begin the process, a US citizen completes the petition application packet and sends it to the USCIS at its central lockbox facility. In turn, the citizen receives a receipt in the form of a NOA1 (Notice of Action 1). This recepit simply means that the USCIS has received the citizen's petition and that the process has begun. The citizen then must wait for the NOA2, which is another receipt that basically means that the petition contained all of the necessary information required for a formal interview at the US Embassy in (or near) the foreign person's home country. Essentially the NOA2 is just another step in the overall process. The USCIS has several service centers around the country in which they process various petitions. However only two of those centers process I-129F petitions. One is the Texas Service Center (TSC) and the other is the California Service Center (CSC). The USCIS will route the citizen's petition from their lockbox facility to one of those centers, depending on which state the US citizen resides. I am a Central TEXAS resident and the petition I filed in September was routed to the TSC because I reside in the state of TEXAS.

COMPLAINT

And this is where my complaint lies. There is a significant difference in the amount of time required to process the I-129F petitions between those two service centers. The TSC is 3 to 6 times slower than CSC (the variance accounts for exceptions). Therefore in a way I am being penalized because I live in our great state. Personally, this is having a considerable impact on the relationship with my fiancee. Her name is Elena. The "pain point" that we are experiencing is that we are expecting our son in the late spring of 2015. I want Elena to immigrate legally and to pay all required fees. I want to follow the process, and I am. However, if our petition had been processed by the CSC, we would have likely already received our approval (the NOA2) and we would be preparing for the interview, or would have already completed our interview, in the US Embassy in Moscow, as Elena is from Russia. And this would help us tremendously with Elena's pregnancy. However because our petition is being processed in the TSC, we are still waiting for our approval (the NOA2). Meanwhile, other petitions that were filed after ours are being approved (NOA2). Therefore it's akin to "cutting in line" when we were all in school. And this is a part of why I stated in the beginning that the process isn't fair. In addition, the process is not transparent because no matter how much you inquire regarding your petition, you receive vague answers - at best - that do little to help you prepare for your future. Furthermore, if your petition does not have a date that is older than the TSC's currently-processing date as posted on the USCIS website, then they won't do anything to help you. You must simply wait and deal with whatever issues result because of that wait. And the recurring theme continues: meanwhile other petitions that were filed after yours are being approved (NOA2) because they went to another service center, the CSC. Ergo, other petitions continue to "cut in line" ahead of you.

Here are the current K-1 processing times for each service center:

Source: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do(go to the service center drop down box and select TSC)

TSC: Currently processing applications from May 6, 2014

CSC: There are no official times reported, but based on community reports, applications from October and November are being processed. You can view these reports for both TSC and CSC at http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1historical

What does this mean? The average wait time for TEXAS resident applications to the TSC would be 7 months assuming the applicant got an approval (NOA2) today. (May 6 until December 6 = approximately 7 months) The average approval for a resident of a state that is serviced by the CSC is a maximum of 1-2 months. An additional note on these times. As I mentioned these are not the times for visa approval as a whole. That doesn't happen until after the interview in the US Embassy. The times shown above are the processing times for receiving the NOA2, which only means it’s been approved to the next step which is the NVC, where the background check happens. There is at least another 2 months until visa approval, likely more. The NOA2 only means that your paperwork is filled out correctly and that you have included all the necessary documents and proof of ongoing relationship.

MORE ABOUT HOW THIS AFFECTS ME AND OTHER TEXANS

The process of the visa application is to ensure that the beneficiary of the visa is not defrauding the government and is in a true and real relationship with the petitioner. This process is so long and complicated that it causes all manner of problems in the relationship. And as I have stated, it is particularly difficult in the specific case of me and my fiancee because we are expecting. We've discussed a number of scenarios regarding the actual birth of our son. Being a native TEXAN, I of course want our son to be born in TEXAS! Elena would like that also, but again, the delay is attributable to the discrepancy in the amount of time required to process the I-129F petitions between the two service centers.

Thank you for reading my email. I hope that there is something that can be done in light of Elena's pregnancy. Even if there isn't anything that can be done in my case, I also hope that it is possible to make this process more fair but for other citizens who file their I-129F petitions in the future.

Jerry XXXXX

My USCIS case number: XXXXXXX

512-XXX-XXXX

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Leander, TEXAS

[msbau764 245]

How many of us are actually doing anything about the process I feel like we all need to start reaching out to our elected officials. Why wait 5 months before we take actions. I've started sending out letters this week and plan to do so every single week. I know nothing will probably be done but it beats sitting around feeling completely helpless

People wait 5 months because you will get the generic answer "you are within normal processing time" if you try and get anything done beforehand. To me, contacting and/or getting a Congressman or Senator involved is a wild card that I want to whip out when I absolutely need it. Don't want to exhaust that avenue now.

[pfrederiksen 22]

People wait 5 months because you will get the generic answer "you are within normal processing time" if you try and get anything done beforehand. To me, contacting and/or getting a Congressman or Senator involved is a wild card that I want to whip out when I absolutely need it. Don't want to exhaust that avenue now.

For asking the Senator to push your case? Sure.

To let your representatives know about the problem between TSC and CSC times? I see no problem with hammering that home as often as possible.

[av8or1 246]

For asking the Senator to push your case? Sure.

To let your representatives know about the problem between TSC and CSC times? I see no problem with hammering that home as often as possible.

And to that end I also mailed hard copies of my complaint regarding the difference in processing times to all three of my representatives this morning.

[SincerelyMeike 52]

OMG!! You go guys!! Let me know if anyone gets a response!! ?????