NOT FAIR! California vs. Texas Service Center

[Maribe1P 3]

I feel you i whine everyday lol. My case was sent to Nebraska :-( its been 42 days and it still says case not found on the website

[Wooderz 314]

Cases are different and that been said, approval time will be different. ...Instructions said is a 6 months wait. ..so Just wait it all...

This from someone who was approved in 23 days 4 years ago. Sorry, but your "just wait" is anything but comforting or sympathetic.

[mrsangie 1]

am at TCS, is just crazy that we all have to go through the same process and others take longer then other, 5 mo, have not heard ;(

[Rob L 3,811]

Thank you! My husband and I have been apart for over 2 years now with this process. We haven't had a real marriage yet!!

Does this really work? If so, I'm doing it!! lol

Your husband needs to be Filipino, not you?

[Puntacana08 3]

Don't feel bad. I waited 11 and 1/2 months for noa2. Then I waited from June to October for interview date with nvc in between. Hang in there. The waiting is just a bad dream for me.

[PazDR 12]

Wow that's a very long time ??

[LoveinGhana 18]

I've been recommending Texas filers have their fiance get Filipino citizenship first, then bringing them to the states. It'll be much faster that way.

Just kidding. Sit back and relax for now. No one knows what's going on there right now.

At least you have a great sense of humor about the entire TSC slow process! I needed a good laugh tonight:)

I really think it's sad the wait is so long. So many have been processed before me and many others and filed months after we did.

[raven52 233]

I have voiced my opinion, so many times, about what to do about the un-equal work load between the two service centers. IF.,.,.TSC, has too many big states, for goodness sakes, make some "state transfers" from TSC to CSC.,.,.this is not hard to figure out. It is "elementary" .,,., my dear Watson!! Just funnin'.,.,.,.,. anyway until the people raise enough H---, nothing will change!

WE suffered plenty at VSC, the equal of TSC, and we ended up at 10 months and 4 days, from NOA 1 to P.O.E...,.,.,,.Atlanta! I KNOW YOUR PAIN! Been there, done that.,.,.,and this was just an ordinary K-1, and from the Philippines!

Thank God, all went well from there, AOS, in a few months ROC, and "I think I have the best wife any man could have!

I wish a speedy, approval for all of the long suffering TSC people, but until enough H---, is raised, nothing is going to happen!

[Nick&Diane 32]

Keep yourselves busy and work on strengthening your relationships. The wait will test your patience and pledge as a couple . Learn patien and your relationship will be unbreakable

I second this.

We have chosen our partners for life. This is the person we have decided to face every one of life's adversities alongside. Sure it is hard to build a relationship when we are physically separated, but this is not wasted time, this is a proving ground for our partnerships.

In our relationship this is the second time my husband and I have lived distant to each other. Each of these separations has been difficult and frustrating but each has developed and strengthened our relationship. We are also less fearful of time spent apart which frees us to pursue personal career goals, knowing that our marriage can expand to allow two separate and equally important careers. Of course our marriage comes first, but we are more open to seizing life's opportunities as they arise.

It is easy to view the time only negatively, especially on the bad days, but that isn't the whole picture. My husband and I have grown in confidence as a couple because of adversity.

And I am speaking from over a year into our immigration process. Each process is different, it is better not to compare because we cannot know what other immigration difficulties a couple faces. Sure someone may get their NOA2 in 2 weeks, but they also might be at an embassy which routinely applies AP, or they may have grounds for inadmissibility. I agree that the differences in processing times are unfair. My best advice is to avoid reading the posts of people who are flying through the process unless you can congratulate them with an unburdened heart. On my bad days, I just don't read happy posts, ha ha!

Hang in there OP - the time will pass.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Nick&Diane

[*Snowdrop* 603]

It is very unfair - the service centers are always unequal - it was the same SEVEN years ago for us and nothing has improved.

I don't know what the answer is - but the system is not well organised and I'm sure that is a huge part of everyone's frustration.

We were at VSC and waited over 90 days just to get the NOA1 - people at CSC were being approved and we still didn't know if our file had even arrived. And there were hundreds (thousands) in the same position.

It really is a lottery.

[nitsirk7562 82]

I think a big part of the problem is as soon as people get their NOA2 and their process does start moving, they give up on the cause! That's why there's no push for immigration reform. Everyone is whining and complaining but when that NOA2 comes, it's all butterflies and rainbows

If we really want to change the system, we need to stand up for everyone going through the process. Sadly, most people are concerned with their own timelines. There's so much focus on illegal immigration in this country, we need to remind our government that legal immigration needs attention!

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Your husband needs to be Filipino, not you?

What? I'm not Filipino??? Noooooooooooooooo

[_Paul&Jesica_ 70]

Like I said in another thread similar to this....We were all prepared for the 5 month wait at the beginning. Our NOA2 only took 65 days...We were thrilled!! However, then you start seeing CSC filers getting approved in one month...15 days...and one was 8 days! Seriously 8 days?! So something is really not right...even I kind of felt jipped somehow after I saw that! To me that puts things in a whole different perspective. But we all know by now there is no rhyme or reason to this process. It really seriously needs some redesigning! I work in management, I've been through a few department redesigns, I'd be happy to assist our immigration office in that project!! I pray for us all everyday. Stay positive, have faith, keep your eye on the prize, and stay strong! That precious day soon come!!

It is unclear why some petitions fly through the system so quickly, but some speculation is that a petition may have been pulled from the normal work stream for training purposes which could result in it getting processed immediately. I don't know how valid this is however.

Background checks can take a varying amount of time, especially for the beneficiary. If there are similar names to either the beneficiary or the petitioner that report as hits, they have to be investigated which slows the process way down...

What I find most frustrating is that this entire process is still mostly paper based. There are electronic records that are created but all the supporting documentation is still paper and attached to a physical file. To me it would seem to be much more efficient if all the documentation was scanned into electronic form upon receipt and then the paper docs can be archived. When our packet was sent to Embassy, it was physically mailed via DHL, and we actually tracked the bundle from NVC. There are horror stories of physical case files being lost or sent to the wrong location. Yikes!

I know that some of us may have some perceived "advantages" over others. My now wife is Filipina and we were processed at CSC and our entire K-1 process was less than 90 days (including an RFE), which is very fast. Our AOS process seems to be following the typical timelines so nothing unusual there. But there are disadvantages as well. My wife (when she becomes a USC) would like to bring one of her sister's here so we can take care of her. Her sister would be an F4 category, and for the Philippines, the priority date is in 1991! Everyone else is 2002, more than 11 years sooner. 23 years to bring her sister to this country so sometimes your nationality can hinder you.

The current climate in the US is not immigration friendly. Those of us that are dealing with legal immigration are caught in the middle of all of this. We all just want to be with our loved ones, but it isn't going to get any better until the government can agree on immigration reform.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

It is unclear why some petitions fly through the system so quickly, but some speculation is that a petition may have been pulled from the normal work stream for training purposes which could result in it getting processed immediately. I don't know how valid this is however.

Background checks can take a varying amount of time, especially for the beneficiary. If there are similar names to either the beneficiary or the petitioner that report as hits, they have to be investigated which slows the process way down...

What I find most frustrating is that this entire process is still mostly paper based. There are electronic records that are created but all the supporting documentation is still paper and attached to a physical file. To me it would seem to be much more efficient if all the documentation was scanned into electronic form upon receipt and then the paper docs can be archived. When our packet was sent to Embassy, it was physically mailed via DHL, and we actually tracked the bundle from NVC. There are horror stories of physical case files being lost or sent to the wrong location. Yikes!

I know that some of us may have some perceived "advantages" over others. My now wife is Filipina and we were processed at CSC and our entire K-1 process was less than 90 days (including an RFE), which is very fast. Our AOS process seems to be following the typical timelines so nothing unusual there. But there are disadvantages as well. My wife (when she becomes a USC) would like to bring one of her sister's here so we can take care of her. Her sister would be an F4 category, and for the Philippines, the priority date is in 1991! Everyone else is 2002, more than 11 years sooner. 23 years to bring her sister to this country so sometimes your nationality can hinder you.

The current climate in the US is not immigration friendly. Those of us that are dealing with legal immigration are caught in the middle of all of this. We all just want to be with our loved ones, but it isn't going to get any better until the government can agree on immigration reform.

Yes I agree electronic records would not only help to speed up this process yet also help prevent losing files. Can you imagine an entire file being lost and having to start over?! Yikes!

[PazDR 12]

If we really want to change the system, we need to stand up for everyone going through the process. Sadly, most people are concerned with their own timelines. There's so much focus on illegal immigration in this country, we need to remind our government that legal immigration needs attention!

This is such a great point! To add insult to injury the website had updates and doesn't work... you know how hard it is to look up your case and see no information, and call them and they tell you I dont have any information for you because there were updates blah blah blah...i don't think they really care about how important that one little tool is for us! Our lives are missing something and its our loved ones...we have goals aspirations, plans for our future we just want an organized system I mean this isnt free!..come on already! I can't even look up my case ??