NOA2 to NVC: Have you been waiting more than a month?

[jward1966 4]

Just hit my 3 month anniversary. Would rather be having a much different sort of anniversary! -Oct 22 noa2... still not received by nvc.

[PEGG 2]

Just to give an update on where we are - (we've been following along here with everyone - the only difference with us is that being in Detroit and Windsor we are able to see each other weekly so that makes this a lot less painful than a lot of you guys)

But we are starting to become really frustrated and wondering why this black hole has swallowed up all our approved applications.

Our NOA-2/I-797 date was October 21. It is valid through Feb 20th.

We've eamiled NVC Research and NVC Inquiry - informing us that Jess is going to contact USCIS on our bhealf

We've contacted USCIS and spoken to Tier 2 IO officers multiple times. A request to have the record sent from the NRC back to USCIS and then NVC has been requested on December 24th and that email says you have to wait 60 days for NVC to get it (which would be February 24th) Earlier this week I was able to convince another IO officer to send a second request/expedited request since the valid period will expire on the NOA-2 before the 60 days will be up.

We've contacted our US Congressmen's office and filled out the PR form at the end of December but have not heard back from them yet.

We passed the 90 day mark this week and are frustrated by not being able to make plans. We hear rumors that the Montreal consulate is backed up on interviews and that it might be another 3 months wait to get an interview if and when our application finally makes it there.

All and all quite disheartening!

[gregory30 1]

Thats a crazy waiting, our noa2 in oct 3 and still doesnt have the case gosh!

[beckysj80 1]

Do you feel like it's taking forever for your case file to reach the National Visa Center? Then this thread is for you!

It is not for you if:

• You have been waiting less than three to four weeks, or 25 business days, or 30 days or 42 days for your case file to reach NVC (these are the random timelines the NVC reps tell you when you call to check for your case number)
• You have received your case number and want to tell everyone how happy you are about it
• You have been waiting however long for your NOA-2 from TSC or your CR-1 approval or whatever; this is for K-1 visa applicants who are waiting a very long time for their NVC case number

Several VJers currently are in the 70- to 80-day range, waiting for California Service Center to send their I-129f case files to New Hampshire. We are approaching the expiration dates on the I-797 (the NOA-2). We are helping each other with the process and I figure more of you are out there but lost in the process.

We have been commiserating in this thread; however, this new thread can serve as a central repository for advice, assistance and complaining.

It's OK to complain, by the way. Many people will tell you to have patience or to chill out. Patience and frustration DO NOT HAVE TO BE EXCLUSIVE OF EACH OTHER. The process is frustrating, especially when you hear a different story every time you call USCIS.

Thus far, we have been told our case files were redirected to our local offices (for me, Spokane, WA); they have been misdirected to the National Research Center (where immigration files go to die); NVC is backlogged and CSC is alleviating that workload by holding back files; and, most bizarrely, a courier is on standby waiting for the right size of packet to be sent to NVC.

We watch as others receive their case numbers in nine days, 10 days, and 20 days. If you have been waiting long past a month for your case number, here are the steps you need to take (many thanks to USMSBOW for his legwork):

1. Scan a copy of your NOA-2 and send it as an email attachment to NVCResearch@state.gov. Here is an example of the email you should send:

Hello,

I was instructed this morning to send you a copy of my I-797 notice from USCIS, which I've attached. USCIS approved my K1 petition on (month day, year), but my case has yet to arrive at NVC.

My receipt #: ABC##########

Petitioner: Name and date of birth

Beneficiary: Name and DOB

You can contact me at this e-mail address (frustrateddude@visajourney.com) or at 1-123-123-4567. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any more information.

Thank you,

(Give me my damn case number)

2. Call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283 and request to speak to Tier 2 Immigration Officer. A Tier 1 agent is no assistance at this point. You must speak to an IO. If your Tier 1 agent refuses, hang up and keep calling until you find a T-1 who will connect you to a T-2. Do not fall for their 90-day baloney. Your I-797 is approaching its expiration date. This is crazy.

You will receive vague, uninformative information from your service request via snail mail. Do not settle for this. Call for another Tier 2 and request further assistance.

You can open a service request on your own on the USCIS website, after you create an account and login to your case file. I don't know if this works. We have not tried this. We preferred to speak verbally with an IO.

3. Contact your representatives in Congress and/or the Senate. Others have seen their cases sped up by doing this. While our Congresswoman is one of the most powerful women in the G.O.P., we have yet to see resolution in this arena but it's only been two weeks since we contacted her office. Once you contact your representative, you will have to fill out a privacy disclosure form. Only then can your rep take action. Get this done as quickly as you can.

Please note: your government representative cannot intervene for an approval or for expedition. He or she can only assist with locating your file.

You can find your representatives on these websites:

Congress

Senate

4. If you are at your wit's end and nothing thus far has given you satisfaction, file a Case Assistance request with the USCIS Ombudsman. You can email this department at cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov.

I did this just yesterday and today received a form letter directing me to an online form. I attempted this link from the Ombudsman's web page but was given an Access Denied error page. I am at least able to open the form from within the email.

PLEASE NOTE: None of these steps has resolved our situation at this date. I - and hopefully the others - will continue to provide updates to our cases and let you know where and how we achieved success.

ALSO NOTE: I apologize for the lengthy post. I'm a professional writer with a full bottle of wine that's almost empty. That always spells trouble.

ALSO ALSO NOTE: Said wine is the culprit behind any syntax or grammatical errors you may find. I at least ran everything through spellcheck.

ALSO ALSO ALSO NOTE: Drinking is a good idea through this process. If you haven't started yet, I highly recommend red blends from Washington's Columbia Valley, vodka or craft beer.

Good luck. Please let us know if you have attained any resolution in retrieving your NVC case number after a lengthy wait.

[beckysj80 1]

thatangela, are you still stuck in this K1 process until now? OMG....I did the K1 process back in July 2014 too, and my fiance is already here. I haven't been back for awhile, and today, I came back to visit my VJ family and see your post here. I hope things change course for the better for you. Best of Luck.

[TS2014 7]

Just checked and my case is in transit to the consulate. Three months since approval we are making progress.

[jeanie&jerry 2]

I live in the Philippines and we have no fast internet at our house so it is impossible to call to US except expensive cell calls(no magic jack could be used). Our NOA2 was dated Dec 9, 2014 so we have been following this topic since Jan 9. And we haven't called the USCIS or NVC to see where our K-1 is(I did send out 3 emails and no responses). Fortunately for us I just found out from my house sitter that I got an letter from NVC. She opened the letter and it appears they have sent it to the Manila embassy. Joys of joy! You guys just hang in there, it will happen, have patient and most of all have faith. This is my second time with K-1 because during our first k-1 process we found out she needed an annulment even though there was no marriage license. Anyway, that was back in December 2010 and it took us 4 years to get that annulment. So this has been a long process for us. Have faith it will happen, for those four years that's all I had and it happened! Good luck everyone!

[thatangela 134]

thatangela, are you still stuck in this K1 process until now? OMG....I did the K1 process back in July 2014 too, and my fiance is already here. I haven't been back for awhile, and today, I came back to visit my VJ family and see your post here. I hope things change course for the better for you. Best of Luck.

No, we are no longer stuck. We raised hell and had our file recovered and sent to NVC in December. I leave for WA on Monday.

[marktwh 1]

I hope this is the most difficult part for everyone else. On the bright side, after waiting almost 90 days for my case number, I had my interview this morning.

I pack this weekend and leave on Monday.

Stay strong, you guys, and don't give up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Someone just has to replace the dimbulbs at CIS.

Cheers thatangela - Glad you are moving past this step!

[Jing Jing 2]

This thread is getting messy. For those of you still waiting, I will give my interpretation as a summary of those of us who were initially approved on or around mid September.

Mid July- i129f sent.

Mid September first Noa2 received. (3 months).

December-discovered that CSC TOTALLY EFFFED UP and say they accidentally archived our cases.

Probably a lie. 4 months.

Told case would be "expedited". Likely another lie.

Most of us received a new NOA2 early January since they were expiring.

Receipt at NVC mid to late January.

Total time from NOA1 to NVC = 6 MONTHS+!!!!

Tack on another 1-2 months for Embassy receipt and interview, etc.

8 months!!!! Not the lie that the CSC posts of 5 months average.

The one thing i learned from this is "NEVER, NEVER believe the bullshit flowing from the pukes at USCIS nor NVC. They either deliberately lie or say whatever they want to cover their asses and get you off the phone.

I am not convinced that continuously calling or contacting politicians speeds anything up.

Maybe media attention or legislative changes can help subsequent petitioners.

Bottom line - do monitor your case closely but forget about trying to get them to change by consistently tying up their phone lines. That probably just makes it worse for everyone. Instead, keep track by calling once or twice a week once your case exceeds the expectations. Otherwise, try to be patient and forget about the whole thing. And be sure to vote for those who can help clean up this mess.

Edited January 24, 2015 by mechai

[Jing Jing 2]

Can anyone list their experience with current wait times for NVC receipt to NVC case number receipt and then to embassy receipt?

Obviously it is not the 42 day auto re "lie" NVC states. Sounds more like 1-2 days for case number and about another week to the embassy. Correct?

[jward1966 4]

People of this thread, please fill out and update your timelines. It helps us all to track statistics.

[Jing Jing 2]

People of this thread, please fill out and update your timelines. It helps us all to track statistics.

Cannot.

The system error checker is flawed. It states the time from noa2 to nvc receipt is too long.

[jward1966 4]

Cannot.

The system error checker is flawed. It states the time from noa2 to nvc receipt is too long.

I also ran into a bug in timeline but did the best I could to keep it accurate. Had to fudge my service centers. I am csc though. Have a good weekend, everyone.

[TabeaK 517]

Can you not do that? That messes up the statistics for all of us stuck in Texas Service Center hell!