February 2015 filers - Texas Service Center

[Sarah89 1]

My fiance called them yesterday and he was told that our file would be processed by them "in 4 months or so"... not sure how reliable this information is, but it is definitely depressing.

I started reading this entire thread today and it feels good to know that one is not alone with all this misery - although at the same time it makes me feel sorry to know that so many people in fact are in just that misery... ;-)

Any suggestions for a wedding dress suitable for 0 degrees and the mountains of snow that will be around in MA when we'll finally get married? I remember we had been thinking of a nice (late) summer wedding in the beginning... then came Texas, woohoo! ;-)

[falcon26 4]

My fiance called them yesterday and he was told that our file would be processed by them "in 4 months or so"... not sure how reliable this information is, but it is definitely depressing.

I started reading this entire thread today and it feels good to know that one is not alone with all this misery - although at the same time it makes me feel sorry to know that so many people in fact are in just that misery... ;-)

Any suggestions for a wedding dress suitable for 0 degrees and the mountains of snow that will be around in MA when we'll finally get married? I remember we had been thinking of a nice (late) summer wedding in the beginning... then came Texas, woohoo! ;-)

Hello there --

My advance welcome to Massachusetts....I am certain that you will be here much before the mountains of snow arrive. Although, you could make headlines by carving hole out of snow pile and getting married in it. LOL!! out here we do have a strange sense of humor.

Our dates are very close so I hope that it will late fall for POE.

Why not cape cod or Martha's vineyard? November is not terribly bad and December is quite cozy in the Cape.

Like you - I was thinking of an August wedding till I started seeing the real timelines in VJ.

[Sarah89 1]

Ice cave wedding, I kind of like the idea

We were actually going back and forth between getting married in Boston, which is where we will live together, or getting married in CT where all of his family live. He has what seems like a dozen cousins - plus their spouses and kids, plus all aunts and uncles and their spouses it makes a huge number of people we'd had to invite over to those places, so we thought it makes the most sense to have the celebration at the house he grew up in From my side of the family only three people will be attending - due to traveling costs

Now we are considering having the celebration on a different date than the actual wedding (next Spring or Summer), because December is not very nice in both Boston and that area in CT

Back to the topic: my fiance would really like me to visit him in September or October, and since with all the conflicting information now there is no way of telling if the TSC will touch our application in July, August, or even October or later, I am hesitant to make plans. Also I am awfully scared of going through customs/immigration at the airport while the file is still pending. I know it is officially allowed to enter the US in that case, but in the end it is all in the hands of the officer you are talking to that day... As I wrote in another thread here, I had to quit my job here recently and my last day there will be approx. 25th August. Not having a job contract to show as a "strong tie to my home country" this makes me even more scared. I also quit my own apartment and moved back to my parents (to be more flexible when the big day comes), so that's another tie that no longer applies.

What do you guys think, does it make sense to plan a visit around this time? (earlier is not possible due to lack of remaining vacation days) Or should I wait in case I'm approved soon enough - and avoid dying of a heart attac before the officer even speaks to me

[StephanieC 43]

Ice cave wedding, I kind of like the idea

We were actually going back and forth between getting married in Boston, which is where we will live together, or getting married in CT where all of his family live. He has what seems like a dozen cousins - plus their spouses and kids, plus all aunts and uncles and their spouses it makes a huge number of people we'd had to invite over to those places, so we thought it makes the most sense to have the celebration at the house he grew up in From my side of the family only three people will be attending - due to traveling costs

Now we are considering having the celebration on a different date than the actual wedding (next Spring or Summer), because December is not very nice in both Boston and that area in CT

Back to the topic: my fiance would really like me to visit him in September or October, and since with all the conflicting information now there is no way of telling if the TSC will touch our application in July, August, or even October or later, I am hesitant to make plans. Also I am awfully scared of going through customs/immigration at the airport while the file is still pending. I know it is officially allowed to enter the US in that case, but in the end it is all in the hands of the officer you are talking to that day... As I wrote in another thread here, I had to quit my job here recently and my last day there will be approx. 25th August. Not having a job contract to show as a "strong tie to my home country" this makes me even more scared. I also quit my own apartment and moved back to my parents (to be more flexible when the big day comes), so that's another tie that no longer applies.

What do you guys think, does it make sense to plan a visit around this time? (earlier is not possible due to lack of remaining vacation days) Or should I wait in case I'm approved soon enough - and avoid dying of a heart attac before the officer even speaks to me

If I can at all set your mind at ease, even if you case is approved in Aug/Sept, you will still need to wait about 3-4 weeks for it to hit the NVC and from there to your consulate. Then after that, you need to get everything together and I think much of it can do online! I think you could probably get away with a visit while you wait.

My fiance is here now with me in in the US and will be until it's time for his interview/medical. He is from Canada so he can stay up to 6 months, but he had very little trouble at the border and I think you wouldn't either. The biggest thing is showing a return itinerary. I'm sure you can show other things to prove ties to home such as car insurance, a bill, car title (slip), even a note from your parents showing you pay them rent.

Edited June 23, 2015 by StephanieC

[Sarah89 1]

What you say makes a lot of sense - thank you

I don't own a car so that's not gonna help. I'm also thinking of starting a part time job or internship to cover the waiting time and arranging it so that this job will begin after my visit. I could show them the contract then. But this of course depends on whether I'll find such a job in time - has to be something that I can easily quit without a long period of notice

[tm11216 0]

My fiance called them yesterday and he was told that our file would be processed by them "in 4 months or so"

Hi @Sarah89, who did your fiancé call who told him that? I called TSC and the rep literally read to me exactly what was on their processing times website. It says it was last updated April 30, 2015 and the last application they processed was from October 8, 2014. The lady on the phone said they STILL are processing apps from October 8, 2014 and I was like "that was the same date since April 30" and she said "yeah that's the latest information as of today; we're experiencing delays, I can't tell you anything else." So frustrating! Is she right? (My NOA date is Jan 26, 2015 FYI so I associate myself with the Feb filers )

[ch3john 308]

Does anyone else check the igor's processing status list? It seems like they have come to a screeching halt with approvals and more RFE's than usual.

This whole process is like a long road trip. You get excited when you get some speed going but only to be slowed back down in traffic down the road. Very frustrating

[Sarah89 1]

Hi @tm11216, sorry for the long silence, it was a rough and busy week. Here's what my fiancé replied when I asked him:

"I don't know the name of the TSC rep who answered, but tm's post sounds very similar to what the guy told me. He said October 8th, and when I specifically asked for an estimate of how long it would take, he said the 4 month answer."

The number he called was 1-800-375-5283 (as stated here (without the first hyphen): www.immi-help.com/directory/texas-service-center.jsp).We had prepared a list of questions that he was going to ask:

1. I’m about to change my address in Boston, and this new apartment is where we will be living when she arrives on the K1. This will make the address used on the form (when we applied for the K1 back in February) outdated. Do I have to update this information now, or when she arrives in the next few months? What is the exact procedure to update this information?

2. My spouse is changing her address in Germany in a week. Does she have to update this information? What is the exact procedure to update this information?

3. Is there any way to estimate how long this whole process would take? What is a reasonable estimate?

4. She would like to visit me in either September or October, for 3 weeks or so. The K1 almost certainly will not be granted by then. Is this acceptable, or are we putting ourselves at risk?

And this is how they answered them last Monday (I'm quoting my fiancé again):

"As for questions #1 and #2, as long as the new address is not the mailing address, there is no need to update the address. As for #3, the guy told me they are processing applications from the 8th of October, not September. Could he have read this information wrong? I don't know where you saw the information. In any event, he estimated that our file would be processed by them in 4 months or so...

As for #4, he didn't have an answer, but said they typically do not advise people to come in when they have a pending file, but that if exact days are spelled out it might be possible. For a more definitive answer, he told me to contact these folks: http://www.cbp.gov/contact"

I will chance my address tomorrow, I'm moving back to my parents' house - to save money and to have a little more emotional support in these tough (waiting) times

I wish all of you a great Sunday and the strength to endure this useless, arbitrary waiting - let's keep our spirits up!

Edited June 28, 2015 by Sarah89

[NPM 3]

Hi @tm11216, sorry for the long silence, it was a rough and busy week. Here's what my fiancé replied when I asked him:

"I don't know the name of the TSC rep who answered, but tm's post sounds very similar to what the guy told me. He said October 8th, and when I specifically asked for an estimate of how long it would take, he said the 4 month answer."

The number he called was 1-800-375-5283 (as stated here (without the first hyphen): www.immi-help.com/directory/texas-service-center.jsp).We had prepared a list of questions that he was going to ask:

1. I’m about to change my address in Boston, and this new apartment is where we will be living when she arrives on the K1. This will make the address used on the form (when we applied for the K1 back in February) outdated. Do I have to update this information now, or when she arrives in the next few months? What is the exact procedure to update this information?

2. My spouse is changing her address in Germany in a week. Does she have to update this information? What is the exact procedure to update this information?

3. Is there any way to estimate how long this whole process would take? What is a reasonable estimate?

4. She would like to visit me in either September or October, for 3 weeks or so. The K1 almost certainly will not be granted by then. Is this acceptable, or are we putting ourselves at risk?

And this is how they answered them last Monday (I'm quoting my fiancé again):

"As for questions #1 and #2, as long as the new address is not the mailing address, there is no need to update the address. As for #3, the guy told me they are processing applications from the 8th of October, not September. Could he have read this information wrong? I don't know where you saw the information. In any event, he estimated that our file would be processed by them in 4 months or so...

As for #4, he didn't have an answer, but said they typically do not advise people to come in when they have a pending file, but that if exact days are spelled out it might be possible. For a more definitive answer, he told me to contact these folks: http://www.cbp.gov/contact"

I will chance my address tomorrow, I'm moving back to my parents' house - to save money and to have a little more emotional support in these tough (waiting) times

I wish all of you a great Sunday and the strength to endure this useless, arbitrary waiting - let's keep our spirits up!

Hi, about the change of address and visiting your fiancé in the U.S.:

My fiancé just moved and the process to change the address is pretty easy, you just have to go here https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.doand give some information (case number, old address, new address, all that jazz) and thats it. You'll be taken to a confirmation page and also will get a letter on your new address confirming the change.

About visiting, maybe this thread might be helpful: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/ . I used to think it was impossible to visit my fiancé during the process, but this thread made me feel much better. I actually bought a ticket to come visit him this August.

Sorry I couldn't answer your other questions, but I hope this helps.

Best of luck to you!

[Squamish 10]

We are late January filers and stuck at TSC with you February filers. I am grateful to meet so many on here that are walking through this same frustrating process. All I can say is keep hanging in there. I will shout it all over VJ once we get our NOA2! My fiancé from Holland was here for a month in May so that did help. We have everything ready for our wedding except the visa in hand.

[dza 46]

the waiting is killing me :'(

[Sarah89 1]

Hi NPM,

thanks for the advice The address change form is confusing me though. There are 5 rows for forms / case numbers and I can't remove the ones I don't need, plus once I select I129F the language switches to Italian (and the popup messages are in Spanish).. very odd What do I select under "In the US as a" (just below the citizenship information)? "This form is completed by the Application or Petitioner" - is that me or my fiancé?

When we filed the I129F I had entered my parents' address as my mailing address, knowing that it is not going to change in years to come, and now this is also my new address, so the USCIS already has my new address as my mailing address - the answers my fiancé got from them make it sound like the actual address of residence is not important, only the mailing address. Or am I wrong?

Edited June 29, 2015 by Sarah89

[TabeaK 517]

I am really confused? Which address are you talking about? At this stage, only the USC (=petitioner) address is important and needs to be changed when he/she moves.

The overseas fiance address is not needed at this point. Easiest way to change the overseas fiance address when the case is past the NVC stage is to email the embassy, no need to mess with USCIS.

[Sarah89 1]

Thanks TabeaK, that answers all my questions!

[App2015 1]

Hello guys, I'm following this forum but I am a January filer- accepted case was January 16. Still no NOA2... I hope we're close since some peoples math calculated mid June for January filers :/ I'll keep posted