NOA1 on 31st July 2006 ... 199 Days

[SanFrancisco-BKK 0]

Time to write to your congress and senator representatives!!!

[The_dip_sticks 0]

I understand how you feel. We got our NOA1 July 18 2006. We have not been approved yet but have had a few touches months appart. For a while we did not have any touches untill I wrote to my senator and then we started getting touche and we got a letter just yesterday that both of our petitions were stuck in background checks with uscis. At this moment im in the process of gathering evidence to send it to my senator so he can send it to USCIS and get it attached my our petition. Things like my hubsbands birth certificate, plane tickets, phone records, affivafits from friends and family, ect. They have not asked for it but we hope that if we submit this it might help. Its a long shot, but its worth try. This information well prove that we have a bonafied marriage and the BC may help to narrow my husband out in case he is stuck in the checks. Just get proactive and contact your representative. Best wishes, and trust me I feel your pain.

Edited March 8, 2007 by The_dip_sticks

[lucy_hk 0]

Hi dip sticks, eric came home a hour ago after the long drive, and spent time talking to USCIS again over the phone. He complained to the representative that when the application was denied 13th Feb no one contacted him. No email notices. No hard copy letter. the repsentative was not very helpful and said would direct his request to the california center soon..

Then eric called an immigration attorney and his receptionist advised basically the appeal request should be within 30 days after denial and now half a month has passed. Thefore eric should appeal no later than 15th Mar. Today is 9th (here 9th 1:06am). We guess USCIS is dishonest trying to delay sending the denial notice to us so that we wont be able to appeal.

The receptionist of the immigration attorney office advised consultation with the attorney costs US$75 and if the attorney accepts handling this case the whole package will cost fromg $1500 to $3000.

Eric will visit the attorney early Friday and see if anything the lawyer can do...

[sakurasama 0]

Lucy,

I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. I won't lay out my whole story but I have been waiting two years to get my boyfriend here and I have suffered through the same, "Why me?!!!" that you are going through. There is no answer! The USCIS has seemed to be the most arbitrary institution I have ever dealt with in my life and if you try to understand it it will only make you crazy. Just know that you are not the only one because I know sometimes I feel like I am the only one left behind.

Being apart, appealing, figuring out your next step can either take a toll on your relationship or build up a lot of trust and commitment. After our first petition was denied my boyfriend and I had a serious talk and decided that we were going to stick it out, no matter what. That has really held us together and one thing I have defintely gained through all of this is a great trust in my fiance. So many people have told me that they could never wait as long as I have or go through all the hell and I always think, "wow, am I glad I am not marrying you" and I appreciate again what a great guy I have found that is willing to stay with me when the going gets rough.

Good luck and I really really wish you the best.

[Dan J 277]

I find it odd that it took so long to make a decsion on the case. It looks like an RFE may have been issued, but never returned. Its possible especially with an address change, your fiancee never received the RFE.

[nyseness 0]

Thank you gwaguy and flutter95...

My boyfriend has never received any RFE notice so far..when he filled the I129F form, it's the latest one with IMBRA fields.

I feel helpless..even an appeal would take forever..

I am afraid even if we get married out of the US, the green card application would still be denied due to this very first k1 denial.

I just kept asking God..why me...but thanks for your care ...

Sorry to hear about your denial, but that is incorrect. I know several ppl they were denied the K1 and either re-applied or got married and applied for the K3, they were all approved. Most of them just re-filed b/c it was a lot easier then trying to appeal. I even remember a board member that was denied but then filed again w/the exact same evidence and was approved the 2nd time around. It just really depends on the IMO.

I too was also denied for the K1 in 2005, but it was b/c we didn't meet the two year requirement. It took them 6 months to deny my case and that was w/the help of our congresswoman. However, she was able to give me the reason before I heard from USCIS and I recv'd the letter w/in a month. I have known my husband for six yrs but was unable to see him b/c of financial and school reasons. That wasn't enough so I planned a trip and was going to re-apply but decided the CR1 was a better visa. We figure we have waiting since 2001 to be together so another few months wouldn't hurt.

We are currently waiting on a decision from CSC but I'm not worried b/c we have more then enough evidence.

I wish you all the best on your next step!!!!

Anna

[nyseness 0]

I find it odd that it took so long to make a decsion on the case. It looks like an RFE may have been issued, but never returned. Its possible especially with an address change, your fiancee never received the RFE.

Usually denials take a long time to get resolved. I have been this board since the beginning of my visa journey and have seen a lot of issues and problems. If you try calling or inquiring about your case they will tell you your case is w/security checks" but that is not true. I advise everyone who have been waiting PLEASE contact your senator's and/or congressman office. I live here in Chicago and I had Senator Durbin and Senator Obama office's working on my case. ALSO the congresswoman for my ward and they were extrememely helpful. I guess at the time I thought they weren't but seeing what others were going through they did the best they could have.

They are resources that work on our behalf so don't be afraid to utilize them to your advantage.

[lucy_hk 0]

Lucy,

I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. I won't lay out my whole story but I have been waiting two years to get my boyfriend here and I have suffered through the same, "Why me?!!!" that you are going through. There is no answer! The USCIS has seemed to be the most arbitrary institution I have ever dealt with in my life and if you try to understand it it will only make you crazy. Just know that you are not the only one because I know sometimes I feel like I am the only one left behind.

Being apart, appealing, figuring out your next step can either take a toll on your relationship or build up a lot of trust and commitment. After our first petition was denied my boyfriend and I had a serious talk and decided that we were going to stick it out, no matter what. That has really held us together and one thing I have defintely gained through all of this is a great trust in my fiance. So many people have told me that they could never wait as long as I have or go through all the hell and I always think, "wow, am I glad I am not marrying you" and I appreciate again what a great guy I have found that is willing to stay with me when the going gets rough.

Good luck and I really really wish you the best.

Sakura, I am glad to read your post. And thanks for your reply. I was shocked when I read that you have been waiting for 2 years!!! That's insane!!! And, it's still a k1 visa application, not CR1. It's strange what these IMO are thinking. But what's worse is..we never have chances to speak to the case officer directly through phone or writing. Those IMO who eric talked to via USCIS hotline are the detroit ones who read whatever the system displays and apologize for not being able to transfer his line to the CAlifornia centre.

We were and still are clueless...eric thought of immigrating to other countries with me..but where? He is afraid of Hong Kong. Cause it's a crowded city with 6.9M population. Apartments here are tiny.. then we thought of appealing. I was shocked when the lawyer said the appeal package would cost 1.5K to 3K...That's a lot of money ... and the reputation of immigration lawyers is probably not good when reading posts here in this forum...we are thinking thinking thinking..

I didn't even want to go to work today! No mood..but i gotta work...I went to work like usual..so busy today couldn't even spare a second to think about my personal issues. Just work, work, and work. Getting off work by 8:30pm....then took bus and got home by 10:15pm...no wonder why eric is afraid of HK..

[lucy_hk 0]

I find it odd that it took so long to make a decsion on the case. It looks like an RFE may have been issued, but never returned. Its possible especially with an address change, your fiancee never received the RFE.

Hey eric really did not receive an RFE.

But here's the thing....

USCIS NOA1 has his zip code wrong. Correct one is 49512, but the NOA1 reads 49515.

He called several times to the hotline and requested for a correction. No nothing has changed. Every time when the customer representative verfied with him his name, birthdate, address and beneficiary's info (me), they said the system is still showing the wrong zip code.

But i don't think it's the reason we are denied..cause he got his NOA1 by snail mail even the zip on it is wrong. I suppose the post officer would be smart enough to look at the street and apartment name instead of the zip code???

Perhaps the centre just won't care..

[Jasman0717 9]

This is just way too long to get a K approval. I recommend you contact one of your elected representatives to investigate. There have been many posts where the USC contacted their senator or congressman and got quick results. Good luck

[lucy_hk 0]

I have known my husband for six yrs but was unable to see him b/c of financial and school reasons. That wasn't enough so I planned a trip and was going to re-apply but decided the CR1 was a better visa. We figure we have waiting since 2001 to be together so another few months wouldn't hurt.

We are currently waiting on a decision from CSC but I'm not worried b/c we have more then enough evidence.

I wish you all the best on your next step!!!!

Anna

Hi Anna, 6 years is a lot of time and even if you did never meet your husband back then you could still prove that your relationship is real and "bonafide". I am sure except for the plane tickets and photos, you already had plenty of evidence... But after the applicant has spent in detail explaining such, USCIS still wouldn't be satisfied. I thought for a second these IMO might have quota of approval and of denial. Just like salesman maintain sales target... I don't know ... I know a section from the USCIS site displays yearly denial paperwork to the public (applicant name and address deleted). Most denial paperwork I saw there talk about not meeting in person over the past 2 years.

When I read them I felt like "rest assured" thinking i should have met the requirement.

Yes I think Sakura is right...that if trying to understand USCIS it will make me crazy...

Anna, would you go with K3 at the same time? Faster? (oh K3 perhaps I should go to another section hehe)

I was worried if it's because I am from China (HK) the US don't like China.

[nyseness 0]

I have known my husband for six yrs but was unable to see him b/c of financial and school reasons. That wasn't enough so I planned a trip and was going to re-apply but decided the CR1 was a better visa. We figure we have waiting since 2001 to be together so another few months wouldn't hurt.

We are currently waiting on a decision from CSC but I'm not worried b/c we have more then enough evidence.

I wish you all the best on your next step!!!!

Anna

Hi Anna, 6 years is a lot of time and even if you did never meet your husband back then you could still prove that your relationship is real and "bonafide". I am sure except for the plane tickets and photos, you already had plenty of evidence... But after the applicant has spent in detail explaining such, USCIS still wouldn't be satisfied. I thought for a second these IMO might have quota of approval and of denial. Just like salesman maintain sales target... I don't know ... I know a section from the USCIS site displays yearly denial paperwork to the public (applicant name and address deleted). Most denial paperwork I saw there talk about not meeting in person over the past 2 years.

When I read them I felt like "rest assured" thinking i should have met the requirement.

Yes I think Sakura is right...that if trying to understand USCIS it will make me crazy...

Anna, would you go with K3 at the same time? Faster? (oh K3 perhaps I should go to another section hehe)

I was worried if it's because I am from China (HK) the US don't like China.

Hi Lucy,

I had tons of evidence letter, cards, pictures, passport stamps, receipts, money transfer receipts...you name I had it BUT it didn't matter. On my denial it states the reason and they cut and paste my letter that I sent to justify not seeing him for that period but it was still not enough. I'm not sure of the quota but I do know that was one of the biggest reasons for denials w/USCIS. I thought we might had a problem but a lawyer told me I still had a chance so I went ahead and filed anyway.

I originally thought about doing the K3 at the same time but the law has change since then. I believe it changed Oct last year. Now you can do both but they will get approved at the same time and your K3 will automatically be forwarded to the NVC for processing. If you chose to go the CR1 route you will have to submit a I-824 form for $200 to have it forwarded to NVC. However, after some serious reseach we decided the CR was the better visa in the long run. We won't have to file for the AOS w/ EAD or AP. Once he recvs his visa he will recv his green card and SS card shortly upon his arrival.

[The_dip_sticks 0]

I find it odd that it took so long to make a decsion on the case. It looks like an RFE may have been issued, but never returned. Its possible especially with an address change, your fiancee never received the RFE.

Hey eric really did not receive an RFE.

But here's the thing....

USCIS NOA1 has his zip code wrong. Correct one is 49512, but the NOA1 reads 49515.

He called several times to the hotline and requested for a correction. No nothing has changed. Every time when the customer representative verfied with him his name, birthdate, address and beneficiary's info (me), they said the system is still showing the wrong zip code.

But i don't think it's the reason we are denied..cause he got his NOA1 by snail mail even the zip on it is wrong. I suppose the post officer would be smart enough to look at the street and apartment name instead of the zip code???

Perhaps the centre just won't care..

Why dont you change your address your self on line. go the USCIS home page and and look for the link to change the address. Maybe it will get updated faster that way.

[lucy_hk 0]

Hi friends, not much update...

but Eric received some BS letters from USCIS since April. Totally 3 letters...

Please see my signature for detailed update...

I regret to have filed for the K1. If I did not leave the US last spring and just got married to Eric and file for AOS, my life would have been happier and easier...

[CountryBoy 0]

thanks for the update .. I was curious as to what has transpired ..

Has your fiancee hired an attorney? did he file appeal ??

CB