K1 September 2014 Filers (TSC)

[KristinD 77]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the State Department's travel warnings. Would you be afraid to go to Chicago or New Orleans? You are more likely to be mugged/killed there than overseas.

Was just talking to Stef, what kills me is there's thousands of people on here and I have 57 signitures on our change.org petition, seriously are people that lazy that they can't click one button lol even my mom looked but didn't click. grrrrrrr

[Lizziepeks 12]

Hello Everyone I am new here,

Currently in the US with the boo on a visiting visa, we filled our petition on the 09/29/2014 we got the NOA1 by the 10/03/2014 its would be 4months this week and we are still waiting, it really hasn't been easy on either of us as I have just finished my masters in the UK and ready to start my life with him, I am so happy I came across this forum it gives me a little hope......

[nancies 0]

Hello Everyone I am new here,

Currently in the US with the boo on a visiting visa, we filled our petition on the 09/29/2014 we got the NOA1 by the 10/03/2014 its would be 4months this week and we are still waiting, it really hasn't been easy on either of us as I have just finished my masters in the UK and ready to start my life with him, I am so happy I came across this forum it gives me a little hope......

Hello Everyone I am new here,

Currently in the US with the boo on a visiting visa, we filled our petition on the 09/29/2014 we got the NOA1 by the 10/03/2014 its would be 4months this week and we are still waiting, it really hasn't been easy on either of us as I have just finished my masters in the UK and ready to start my life with him, I am so happy I came across this forum it gives me a little hope......

Hello and WELCOME . My first NOA was on 9/5/2014 . I'm still waiting too. Good Luck to you .

[av8or1 246]

Any VJers who can get together IRL on February 7th are welcome to meet with msbau764 and I in Houston. Time and place are still TBD. I think April from the October filers will join us too, but I haven't heard back from her yet. Anyway, everyone is welcome, so if you can make it we hope to see you in person. Thanks!

[Adam&Alexa 4]

Any VJers who can get together IRL on February 7th are welcome to meet with msbau764 and I in Houston. Time and place are still TBD. I think April from the October filers will join us too, but I haven't heard back from her yet. Anyway, everyone is welcome, so if you can make it we hope to see you in person. Thanks!

Hey my fiancee lives in Houston, I already told him about the meeting and he said he will join . He is very excited to meet vjers as well and make new friends . I will be there visiting him at the end of February hopefully, can't wait.

By the way Noa1 August 27th and still waiting . good luck to everyone here !!!

[av8or1 246]

Hey my fiancee lives in Houston, I already told him about the meeting and he said he will join . He is very excited to meet vjers as well and make new friends . I will be there visiting him at the end of February hopefully, can't wait.

By the way Noa1 August 27th and still waiting . good luck to everyone here !!!

Hi Alexa,

Sure, Adam will be welcomed! We've decided on the particulars regarding the meetup. Please pass them onto Adam. And for any other VJers who are interested, you are welcome to join us too!

At A Glance: Brick House Tavern on 290 NW at 1 pm on Saturday, February 7th

Contact info:

Brick House Tavern

12910 Northwest Freeway

Houston, TX 77040

(713)462-0576

Looking forward to it!

ps-Any folk from the Austin area who would like to come with, you are welcome to ride with me. I'll have plenty of room in The Beast.

Edited January 26, 2015 by av8or1

[Adam&Alexa 4]

Hi Alexa,

Sure, Adam will be welcomed! We've decided on the particulars regarding the meetup. Please pass them onto Adam. And for any other VJers who are interested, you are welcome to join us too!

At A Glance: Brick House Tavern on 290 NW at 1 pm on Saturday, February 7th

Contact info:

Brick House Tavern

12910 Northwest Freeway

Houston, TX 77040

(713)462-0576

Looking forward to it!

ps-Any folk from the Austin area who would like to come with, you are welcome to ride with me. I'll have plenty of room in The Beast.

Hey THANKS so much,

I actually looked up the place and is right next to our house so that's awesome, He is very excited to go and make new friends . Is great that you will be riding from Austin and willing to bring other Vjers with you.

Hope you guys have a good time

[av8or1 246]

UPDATE FROM CONGRESSMAN JOHN CARTER'S OFFICE:

Interesting news from the lady in my local congressman's office today. Sit back (or scoot to the front of your chair, your choice) and get ready for this one. First I must confess that it was a surprise that she actually got back with me like she said she would, but to her credit she did everything she told me she would do. Whaddaya know. Anyway.

She called and spoke with both service centers. Believe it or not - and this took me by ABSOLUTE surprise - both service centers appeared to own up to the time difference! Wha-???! I figured they'd vehemently deny it, but according to her not so much. Well, actually what appeared to happen was that CSC admitted to very fast processing times for the I-129F (roughly 1 month) while TSC admitted that they are behind at 7-8 months. She also confirmed the transfer of "about 3000 fiancee visa petitions) in early August 2014 from TSC to CSC. I asked if that was the number she was given and she confirmed that it was, FWIW. I don't recall reading anything about how many were transferred in other threads, though I could have easily missed it. She claims the number to be 3000. Hmmmmmmm.......

Based on the results from her research/fact finding endeavor, she told me that she agreed with my assertion/complaint regarding the approximate 8-to-1 processing time difference between the two service centers. Therefore she has spoken with what sounded like top folk in the Congressman's office (but don't quote me on that), and they decided to write an official letter with the full authority of the Congressman to the USCIS. The purpose of the letter will be to formally request another batch transfer of I-129F petitions to the CSC. She told me that this is the only relief that we TSC folk can reasonably expect. When I asked why she said that, she confirmed another assertion of mine (ours really - the VJ assertion) that the August offload did little to balance out the workload. She added that the TSC is likely only to get worse in the coming year, not better. Yup, get that! The TSC is likely to NOT BECOME ANY BETTER during the coming year. I found this personally disturbing, and so I couldn't resist asking "why?" again ... her reply is that the TSC has received an incredibly large number of I-485s that were based on folk who had/have entered the country on a work visa. I thought I heard her say that the TSC handles the majority of such petitions, though I can't recall now if she said that for certain. Regardless, this is the reason that the TSC is behind. And the reason that things are not likely to get any better for us I-129F types in the TSC is because this work-visa-to-I-485 phenomenon will persist throughout the coming year. If anything, that problem will only intensify, which is to say that the number of these petitions will only increase, not decrease.

I then asked why petitions from CURRENT USCs don't have priority over these work-visa-to-I-485s and of course she didn't have an answer for that, which I expected. How could she? She couldn't. But the frustration in me had to ask anyway, so I did. Sigh.

So there you go. When I asked, she confirmed that writing this letter has no guarantee of getting any transfers done. Of course it's obvious that there wouldn't be any control over whose petitions would be sent and whose wouldn't. However she also confirmed that it was our only hope of seeing any change anytime soon. And with that, I thanked her for her time, her effort and her expertise in the matter. I asked her to please keep me apprised of the results of the letter, as this issue is of monumental importance to me. She replied that she would.

Don't know if it helps you, but somehow getting more information helped me. Not really, but somehow. Dunno how, but somehow. I think. Anyway, I'll only post in the September thread with this news, so feel free to pass it on to other TSC filers in threads from other months. I hope it helps you too, if only a little bit.

Thanks

[msbau764 245]

UPDATE FROM CONGRESSMAN JOHN CARTER'S OFFICE:

Interesting news from the lady in my local congressman's office today. Sit back (or scoot to the front of your chair, your choice) and get ready for this one. First I must confess that it was a surprise that she actually got back with me like she said she would, but to her credit she did everything she told me she would do. Whaddaya know. Anyway.

She called and spoke with both service centers. Believe it or not - and this took me by ABSOLUTE surprise - both service centers appeared to own up to the time difference! Wha-???! I figured they'd vehemently deny it, but according to her not so much. Well, actually what appeared to happen was that CSC admitted to very fast processing times for the I-129F (roughly 1 month) while TSC admitted that they are behind at 7-8 months. She also confirmed the transfer of "about 3000 fiancee visa petitions) in early August 2014 from TSC to CSC. I asked if that was the number she was given and she confirmed that it was, FWIW. I don't recall reading anything about how many were transferred in other threads, though I could have easily missed it. She claims the number to be 3000. Hmmmmmmm.......

Based on the results from her research/fact finding endeavor, she told me that she agreed with my assertion/complaint regarding the approximate 8-to-1 processing time difference between the two service centers. Therefore she has spoken with what sounded like top folk in the Congressman's office (but don't quote me on that), and they decided to write an official letter with the full authority of the Congressman to the USCIS. The purpose of the letter will be to formally request another batch transfer of I-129F petitions to the CSC. She told me that this is the only relief that we TSC folk can reasonably expect. When I asked why she said that, she confirmed another assertion of mine (ours really - the VJ assertion) that the August offload did little to balance out the workload. She added that the TSC is likely only to get worse in the coming year, not better. Yup, get that! The TSC is likely to NOT BECOME ANY BETTER during the coming year. I found this personally disturbing, and so I couldn't resist asking "why?" again ... her reply is that the TSC has received an incredibly large number of I-485s that were based on folk who had/have entered the country on a work visa. I thought I heard her say that the TSC handles the majority of such petitions, though I can't recall now if she said that for certain. Regardless, this is the reason that the TSC is behind. And the reason that things are not likely to get any better for us I-129F types in the TSC is because this work-visa-to-I-485 phenomenon will persist throughout the coming year. If anything, that problem will only intensify, which is to say that the number of these petitions will only increase, not decrease.

I then asked why petitions from CURRENT USCs don't have priority over these work-visa-to-I-485s and of course she didn't have an answer for that, which I expected. How could she? She couldn't. But the frustration in me had to ask anyway, so I did. Sigh.

So there you go. When I asked, she confirmed that writing this letter has no guarantee of getting any transfers done. Of course it's obvious that there wouldn't be any control over whose petitions would be sent and whose wouldn't. However she also confirmed that it was our only hope of seeing any change anytime soon. And with that, I thanked her for her time, her effort and her expertise in the matter. I asked her to please keep me apprised of the results of the letter, as this issue is of monumental importance to me. She replied that she would.

Don't know if it helps you, but somehow getting more information helped me. Not really, but somehow. Dunno how, but somehow. I think. Anyway, I'll only post in the September thread with this news, so feel free to pass it on to other TSC filers in threads from other months. I hope it helps you too, if only a little bit.

Thanks

Wow, that is crazy, I owe you a beer. Speechless.

[Wooderz 314]

Wow av8or. That's pretty incredible. I'm going to sit down tonight to write to my congressman and relay the info from yours. Hopefully being "neighbors" they must have some sort of relationship and my rep can get on board with this, too.

That said if we get a transfer, I'm still totally worried about th CSC to nvc issue people are having.

[-Shana- 152]

Hey guys, new to this area of the forum, thought I'd check in to see how people are doing who filed at the same time as me. All I can say is I'm so shocked that so many people are being affected by ridiculous wait times from the Texas center. I cannot imagine the stress and frustration you are all going through, what an awful situation. By taking some initiative and getting in contact with the right people is a great move, I respect that. With the obvious time delay between the two centers, surely they should be taking cases that have been sitting around for the longest and transferring them? Then once California or any other center is ready for more then send another batch...but then again that makes way too much sense, right?

I feel guilty for coming in here and saying that my application is moving along well, my medical is on Wednesday with what should be a February interview on the horizon. But, that's my update fellow September filers!

[av8or1 246]

Wow av8or. That's pretty incredible. I'm going to sit down tonight to write to my congressman and relay the info from yours. Hopefully being "neighbors" they must have some sort of relationship and my rep can get on board with this, too.

That said if we get a transfer, I'm still totally worried about th CSC to nvc issue people are having.

Yeah I understand your concern completely. For me personally, at this point I am willing to accept that risk, choosing to believe it was a one-time mistake.

Thank you for taking the time to write to your rep down there!

[av8or1 246]

Hey guys, new to this area of the forum, thought I'd check in to see how people are doing who filed at the same time as me. All I can say is I'm so shocked that so many people are being affected by ridiculous wait times from the Texas center. I cannot imagine the stress and frustration you are all going through, what an awful situation. By taking some initiative and getting in contact with the right people is a great move, I respect that. With the obvious time delay between the two centers, surely they should be taking cases that have been sitting around for the longest and transferring them? Then once California or any other center is ready for more then send another batch...but then again that makes way too much sense, right?

I feel guilty for coming in here and saying that my application is moving along well, my medical is on Wednesday with what should be a February interview on the horizon. But, that's my update fellow September filers!

Ok I'll bite. First, congratulations regarding your progress. However, there are only two service centers that process I-129F petitions, TEXAS and California. Therefore your "any other center" business doesn't apply and isn't helpful. And finally your progress is 100% because your petition went to CSC and not TSC.

You said that you're new to this part of the forum. Just so you know, you're welcome to post wherever you want of course, but this is the September TSC thread, so I'd suggest that you post your news in the September thread that doesn't have TSC in the title. Reading posts like yours here somehow feels like a bur under my saddle.

Anyway once again congratulations and good luck.

Edited January 27, 2015 by av8or1

[Ethline 17]

Hey guys, new to this area of the forum, thought I'd check in to see how people are doing who filed at the same time as me. All I can say is I'm so shocked that so many people are being affected by ridiculous wait times from the Texas center. I cannot imagine the stress and frustration you are all going through, what an awful situation. By taking some initiative and getting in contact with the right people is a great move, I respect that. With the obvious time delay between the two centers, surely they should be taking cases that have been sitting around for the longest and transferring them? Then once California or any other center is ready for more then send another batch...but then again that makes way too much sense, right?

I feel guilty for coming in here and saying that my application is moving along well, my medical is on Wednesday with what should be a February interview on the horizon. But, that's my update fellow September filers!

Congrats, see this is the perfect examples of how ridiculousness that's at Texas. Filing date 10 days before mines but here you are almost done while I wait this never ending wait. Just another day waiting on Texas I can seem to understand why they are not transferring any cases. I looked at the June blog and there's still a few people that are waiting. Which means another two to three months of waiting time.

[av8or1 246]

Wow av8or. That's pretty incredible. I'm going to sit down tonight to write to my congressman and relay the info from yours. Hopefully being "neighbors" they must have some sort of relationship and my rep can get on board with this, too.

That said if we get a transfer, I'm still totally worried about th CSC to nvc issue people are having.

April-

I forgot to mention that the point of contact in Congressman Carter's office is a lady named Mrs. Brown. I think her first name is Yvonne or maybe Yvonna, but she always stated it rather quickly and with an accent to the point of being indiscernible. For me at least. Anyway, if you hear back from your Congressman's office, this might help. FWIW