February 2015 filers - Texas Service Center

[desi123 21]

Good morning everyone! My fiance rang me this morning (very early for him) to say that he got the email confirmation that our case was approved, we got our NOA2!! Thank goodness.

And immediately I'm starting to panic about the next steps but feeling very relieved and keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of you.

Congrats to u.I'm praying for my approval, God Pl Pl.

[dmaven 7]

185th day here.. just downloaded the tracker app, which means my obsession with checking has gotten worse haha - is anyone else trying to plan some kind of a wedding?

There are some good discussions on ImmiFairy about this:

http://www.immifairy.com/forums/topic/has-anyone-set-a-wedding-date-yet/

http://www.immifairy.com/forums/forum/family-marriage-based-us-visas/k-1-fiancee-visa/all-things-weddings/

[Egyptian m7tas 1]

hang in there guys , our times will come very soon, my God we already waited 95% or the time, we are almost there

LOL i am giving you an advice but i cant work with it easily , very ironic

i pray so, this waiting truly so tiring, and if you know here in Egypt the process will take another long time as i know until i have the packet 4 and then receiving the visa

okkk , I am Egyptian too .. I thought that i will be with him at our anniversary

[Pennycat 880]

Congrats to you CatherineA, we have exact dates as you, received Feb 17th and notice date Feb 19th! But still nothing, I'm now worried because of what you said about marriage brokers, we met through a normal dating site, but it seems all dating sites are classified by USCIS as marriage brokers, which is not the case. I hope we don't get a RFE after waiting nearly 6 months.

On a more positive note we have our vision for our wedding and are getting married in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the U.S.! How romantic is that. And we've ordered our rings and she has picked her dress, doing that made us feel good in this tortuous process ?

Thanks . Yeah, I've seen that people are getting RFEs for completely normal dating sites which weird (and maybe is a product of new employees?). The good news is it is a normal dating site and if you get an RFE it'll be annoying but not a potentially prolonged problem. The law itself (IMBRA) is something we're all effected by. It's why we have to answer if we've filed for a fiance before, and get these background checks on us etc. Probably a pretty good idea, really, just kind of generally.

I think it's a little insane that regular dating sites are getting RFEs (and even most of the internationally focused sites are still perfectly normal, and not a "broker"...I don't know if we've seen anyone here that would fit that bill). Maybe there was a change in policy, or maybe the "bad guys" have started using normal dating sites for cover? I really don't know. But again, good news is that IF you get an RFE you still won't have any problems and it will be handled quickly.

The marriage broker thing, I think, is aimed at those services that *specifically* look to link Americans to foreigners and also charge one party a significantly higher fee than the other (usually the American). Basically, and I really don't want to offend here.... but when you're talking about that kind of setup, there is a fine line between legitimate matchmaking and human trafficking and it is important to establish who is who. Not a blurry line. It is cut and dry on who is who...but from "far away", it can be hard to be sure at first. So they have to check. (Please note, I'm also not accusing the Americans of human trafficking here. They could be completely unaware that the foreigner was sold to such a "matchmaker"/company by her family, for example). Also please note that these brokers and this type of setup, while unusual, is also usually on the up-and-up. It's just that this setup is also much more easily abused by the "bad people". So I wonder if people who go through such brokers are subject to more extensive processing, and I was guessing that maybe that's what the random K1s handled in Vermont are all about? (Also people who need to file waivers about criminal backgrounds and multiple filings? No clue).

I'm wondering about Vermont because that is also where they do all the Violence Against Women Act claims--where foreign spouses can adjust status without the sponsorship of the person who was going to be their US Citizen sponsor if they have been victims of abuse or trafficking. Think about it-- If you really have been trafficked, you need a way out of that situation. But getting out of that situation also means abandoning the ability to stay in the US which means right back into the environment from which you were trafficked in the first place. Probably with some seriously pissed off people around you, too.

Also, and worse, some sick people, and they do exist, *refuse to AOS*, keeping the spouse in legal status limbo and hold that over their heads forever. They can be a complete psycho about it, and the situation basically is "you don't like your daily beatings, well back to Bangkok with you". Or worse, back to someplace that doesn't exactly treat women non-virgin women whose husbands have divorced them very well for the sake of "family honor". You know? I know this all sounds like it's ripped from the headlines, Law and Order SVU stuff but seriously....this happens. So my random guess, and I have NO idea if this is anywhere even close to reality, and maybe I'm over-thinking this. But maybe for people who do have the big IMBRA red flags (multiple filings, history of violent crimes, meeting through an *actual* marriage broker)....maybe they get transferred to Vermont because they've got some expertise up there? Not a clue.

Either way, if you do get an RFE, there will be no further trouble. Just really annoying.

[Henley1989 10]

Those who got NOA2 this week around the 11th, how long are you waiting until you call NVC for case number?

[dza 46]

okkk , I am Egyptian too .. I thought that i will be with him at our anniversary

me too, but we cant do anything but wait, so you are the fiancee female from Egypt too

[Egyptian m7tas 1]

me too, but we cant do anything but wait, so you are the fiancee female from Egypt too

yes i am ..

[dza 46]

yes i am ..

me too, female Egyptian

good luck with your process

[Egyptian m7tas 1]

me too, female Egyptian

good luck with your process

the same to u

[desi123 21]

I got a response from senators office about my pending case at TSC

August 11

"According to USCIS records this case is pending review with an officer. Once completed a decision will be made."

Got the above mail today but response from TSC was on Aug 11 4:42 pm . How long does it take to review? Should we be worried?

My noa1 notice date if feb 17th..

[falcon26 4]

I am not sure what it means. Mine switched from received to RFE. Perhaps it means it was 'touched' by an officer?

[desi123 21]

I am not sure what it means. Mine switched from received to RFE. Perhaps it means it was 'touched' by an officer?

hmm..hope nothing bad..I know it's a waiting game at this moment...heard RFE's aren't that bad since the file stays on the adjudicators work desk and as long as your reply satisfies their whim. Wish you good luck though!

Found an interesting link

http://www.visajourney.com/content/adjudicator-q-and-a

[falcon26 4]

We are so abused by this waiting time that even RFE sounded a good thing. They received my case on Aug 5th...I thought I will hear something by today. No luck. Back to robotic life of waiting.

That link was interesting. He says that when there is a request from senator the system updates the status forcing them to respond within 48 hours. Maybe because you had a senator request and they are forced to do something, they must have updated the status to 'review'.

Hope you receive your approval.

[falcon26 4]

whoa...just when I gave up for this week, I got an email that it is approved.

[desi123 21]

Congrats dude .. Hope you have a great weekend.

The link / Q n A was from 2007 . Things might have changed since then. Not sure a senator inquiry helps since I still don't have a update after 3 days they responded to his office. I hope my adjudicator officer is not sick or out on a vacation ?