August 2017 I-129F Filers

[RenataIzo 45]

3 hours ago, Robert Estevez said:

Is it weird that I've been reading every single post on this forum and haven't said a single word? Lol

 

120 days here 

 

Just dropped my fiancée at the airport. I feel like throwing myself at the ocean

We're so close people! Let's keep the good vibes. This forum is the only thing keeping us going. We can do this together ❤️

nah, not weird at all. I mostly just read other people's post in the previous months topics =)

 

[Naes 12,205]

6 hours ago, Thelucybelle said:

Seriously - she is the best! Want her to get her NOA2 so badly but then what would we do without her!! @Naes

I'm a September filer so I'll be here everyday till after your noa2  

[Thelucybelle 674]

2 minutes ago, Naes said:

I'm a September filer so I'll be here everyday till after your noa2  

You are so lovely to be keeping an eye on all the different months - you are like the visa journey guardian angel!! I will be keeping everything crossed for you that September NOA2's roll round super fast ( which they may well do once all the crazy holidays are out of the way! oh wait then it will be MLK day and then Presidents Day  - Gah the USA have so many holiday's!!!)

[Sam_O 1]

Hey everyone,

 

I filed in July and received my NOA1 August 1st. My fiancee and I live in Tanzania together for work and are planning to move back to New York where I'm from. 

 

I have a question about the i-134 form. I was a student in 2016 and made very little working odd jobs as I was on scholarship and schooling costs were covered. This year I've made over the amount needed but I haven't filed my returns since the year isn't over. Further, since I get paid in local currency and in cash I don't have bank statements from my paychecks. I can get a written statement of employment and submit cash receipts that I sign to get my salary. My fiancee has a bank account that we use for savings since she gets paid by bank transfer. Should I wire transfer money to my US account and use a bank statement for additional proof? Will that be enough or do I need a co-sponsor?

 

Thank you in advance!!

[geowrian 22,338]

Just now, Sam_O said:

I filed in July and received my NOA1 August 1st. My fiancee and I live in Tanzania together for work and are planning to move back to New York where I'm from. 

 

I have a question about the i-134 form. I was a student in 2016 and made very little working odd jobs as I was on scholarship and schooling costs were covered. This year I've made over the amount needed but I haven't filed my returns since the year isn't over. Further, since I get paid in local currency and in cash I don't have bank statements from my paychecks. I can get a written statement of employment and submit cash receipts that I sign to get my salary. My fiancee has a bank account that we use for savings since she gets paid by bank transfer. Should I wire transfer money to my US account and use a bank statement for additional proof? Will that be enough or do I need a co-sponsor?

Honestly, how much you made or make won't really matter since it's (presumably) from a source that will not continue once you return to the US (before or at the same time she enters the US on the K-1). As such, you either need to use assets or a joint sponsor.

You must also show US domicile - or sufficient intent to establish US domicile - before they will issue the visa. Note that domicile != a physical location to sleep...it's actually and primarily living (or showing intent to do so) in the US.

 

Have you been filing US taxes (USCs are taxed on worldwide income)? The CO will likely (not all embassies ask for this) want to see at least the most recent year's tax return. For the I-864 (for AOS after getting married in the US), you are required to send at least the most recent year's tax return, and have filed taxes for the most 3 recent tax years. If you didn't file taxes and were required to do so, then that must be settled first. If you didn't file because you were not required to file (i.e. under the IRS income thresholds to file), then a signed statement of such can be provided in lieu of a tax return or returns.

 

Assets can be used, although they will typically request sufficient evidence that the funds are established. This is usually via asking for either the last 12 months of statements, or via another letter from the bank showing the total deposits and average balance available over the past 12 months. This is not a strict rule, but I've seen a number of cases where COs made this request...enough so that I wouldn't call it unusual for them to do so. For the I-864 for AOS, you can include your then-spouse's assets in the total household income.

 

Assets would need to be at least 5x the required income level (or the income level gap) by rule, although it's only 3x for a spouse and I've seen cases where COs also used 3x for a fiancee. It's hard to say exactly as the rules for the I-134 are not as well defined as the I-864...the I-134 is only a tool to help the CO assess the public charge risk. The I-864 is an enforceable contract so it carries more weight and is more/better defined.

[Sam_O 1]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Honestly, how much you made or make won't really matter since it's (presumably) from a source that will not continue once you return to the US (before or at the same time she enters the US on the K-1). As such, you either need to use assets or a joint sponsor.

You must also show US domicile - or sufficient intent to establish US domicile - before they will issue the visa. Note that domicile != a physical location to sleep...it's actually and primarily living (or showing intent to do so) in the US.

 

Have you been filing US taxes (USCs are taxed on worldwide income)? The CO will likely (not all embassies ask for this) want to see at least the most recent year's tax return. For the I-864 (for AOS after getting married in the US), you are required to send at least the most recent year's tax return, and have filed taxes for the most 3 recent tax years. If you didn't file taxes and were required to do so, then that must be settled first. If you didn't file because you were not required to file (i.e. under the IRS income thresholds to file), then a signed statement of such can be provided in lieu of a tax return or returns.

 

Assets can be used, although they will typically request sufficient evidence that the funds are established. This is usually via asking for either the last 12 months of statements, or via another letter from the bank showing the total deposits and average balance available over the past 12 months. This is not a strict rule, but I've seen a number of cases where COs made this request...enough so that I wouldn't call it unusual for them to do so. For the I-864 for AOS, you can include your then-spouse's assets in the total household income.

 

Assets would need to be at least 5x the required income level (or the income level gap) by rule, although it's only 3x for a spouse and I've seen cases where COs also used 3x for a fiancee. It's hard to say exactly as the rules for the I-134 are not as well defined as the I-864...the I-134 is only a tool to help the CO assess the public charge risk. The I-864 is an enforceable contract so it carries more weight and is more/better defined.

I just spoke with the embassy and they said the same thing - since my current job isn’t in the U.S. I can’t claim it on a i134 and will need a co-sponsor. I saw a comment on another forum that suggested using the co-sponsor as the only sponsor, is that advisable in my situation?

 

How do I go about establishing domicile? Can I use my parents house since we’ll be living with them until we find our own place?

 

I have been filing taxes. However, since 2017 was the first year I had a full-time job out of school, 2015/2016 returns are below the required minimum. By the time we apply for AOS I’ll have a 2017 return. My concern is for the K1 because I won’t have a 2017 return before the interview (if all goes well).

[Naes 12,205]

Hi everyone,

 

By now, you know I am crazy right?

Ok so that's established... I checked March hehe....hehe... distraction from the most needed fire....

It is getting extremely close to my wedding venue... (I feel so bad for even thinking like this )

 

These are the concluded cases - only concluded cases- that will appear as either denial or approval on USCIS reports for this quarter.

This data has March to November mostly up to date.

 

	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Total
Oct W1	74	163	111	7	8	7	16	31		417
Oct W2	58	109	191	4	2	2		62		428
Oct W3	70	95	161	1	1			42		370
Oct W4	60	84	239	2		1		47		433
Nov W1	63	105	345	12	9	11	3	56	8	612
Nov W2	23	59	223	8	3		3	1	41	361
Nov W3	29	83	278	20	2	4	1		26	443
Nov W4	17	74	172	69	1					333
Nov W5	31	63	187	115	2					398
Dec W1	4	35	93	105						237
Total	429	870	2000	343	28	25	23	239	75	4032

 

As it shows around 4000. I want to add something to that number.

I've checked all of March and April.

 

And this is how it looks (I have also checked February but not relevant to our numbers at the moment.)

 

	March	April	Total
Received	2105	830	2935
Pending	859	593	1452
Approved	1019	1898	2917
Excluded	679	636	1315
Total	4662	3957	8619

 

Apparently, especially in March the tracker wasn't working properly,  and I believe we can easily say the same for April & a 20% of May. 

However, as most of March was done by October, I'll only give a 500 cases concluded in this Q for them, and about a 1000 for April.

I believe we can also easily say a 500 cases in May goes into the same category.

 

So I'll be generous about denials and Make this a total of 3000 cases not updated on the tracker.

which makes a 4000(from above)+3000=7000

 

As a low expected number per quarter would be around 10000 cases. we have 3000 to go.

 

This is a close touch to the end of June to July.

I hope they won't suddenly slow down again, 

however at this point I am expecting for June to be touched every where by Christmas (just like May a few weeks ago, touched everywhere but a few Juners waiting around)

 

And for July to start slowly please understand this really means slowly.

Just like May and June it will start with small amount of 30-40s would be my estimation.

 

I really hope things can pick up further, because at this moment I believe VJ timelines are +-a week correct.

 

But hey I am still hoping for a Valentine day approval----romantic in me never dies and I like to live dangerously

 

*Notice for new comers:

(I'm sorry if anyone is new and never heard or read about the past calculations and discussions has been made here.)

 However, 2 important things to know would be

  1) They don't update every status correctly, we have seen many approvals without an update on the USCIS case tracker

  2) The new month tends to start when "case received" status is around 1000s 

[NICK & PAULA 1,097]

52 minutes ago, Naes said:

Hi everyone,

 

By now, you know I am crazy right?

Ok so that's established... I checked March hehe....hehe... distraction from the most needed fire....

It is getting extremely close to my wedding venue... (I feel so bad for even thinking like this )

 

These are the concluded cases - only concluded cases- that will appear as either denial or approval on USCIS reports for this quarter.

This data has March to November mostly up to date.

 

	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Total
Oct W1	74	163	111	7	8	7	16	31		417
Oct W2	58	109	191	4	2	2		62		428
Oct W3	70	95	161	1	1			42		370
Oct W4	60	84	239	2		1		47		433
Nov W1	63	105	345	12	9	11	3	56	8	612
Nov W2	23	59	223	8	3		3	1	41	361
Nov W3	29	83	278	20	2	4	1		26	443
Nov W4	17	74	172	69	1					333
Nov W5	31	63	187	115	2					398
Dec W1	4	35	93	105						237
Total	429	870	2000	343	28	25	23	239	75	4032

 

As it shows around 4000. I want to add something to that number.

I've checked all of March and April.

 

And this is how it looks (I have also checked February but not relevant to our numbers at the moment.)

 

	March	April	Total
Received	2105	830	2935
Pending	859	593	1452
Approved	1019	1898	2917
Excluded	679	636	1315
Total	4662	3957	8619

 

Apparently, especially in March the tracker wasn't working properly,  and I believe we can easily say the same for April & a 20% of May. 

However, as most of March was done by October, I'll only give a 500 cases concluded in this Q for them, and about a 1000 for April.

I believe we can also easily say a 500 cases in May goes into the same category.

 

So I'll be generous about denials and Make this a total of 3000 cases not updated on the tracker.

which makes a 4000(from above)+3000=7000

 

As a low expected number per quarter would be around 10000 cases. we have 3000 to go.

 

This is a close touch to the end of June to July.

I hope they won't suddenly slow down again, 

however at this point I am expecting for June to be touched every where by Christmas (just like May a few weeks ago, touched everywhere but a few Juners waiting around)

 

And for July to start slowly please understand this really means slowly.

Just like May and June it will start with small amount of 30-40s would be my estimation.

 

I really hope things can pick up further, because at this moment I believe VJ timelines are +-a week correct.

 

But hey I am still hoping for a Valentine day approval----romantic in me never dies and I like to live dangerously

 

*Notice for new comers:

(I'm sorry if anyone is new and never heard or read about the past calculations and discussions has been made here.)

 However, 2 important things to know would be

  1) They don't update every status correctly, we have seen many approvals without an update on the USCIS case tracker

  2) The new month tends to start when "case received" status is around 1000s 

You're so good at numbers, baby girl @Naes. Wow! Thank you again and again. We are updated and sufficiently informed because of you. You're a rockstar! 😍😍😍

[Naes 12,205]

1 minute ago, NICK & PAULA said:

You're so good at numbers, baby girl @Naes. Wow! Thank you again and again. We are updated and sufficiently informed because of you. You're a rockstar! 😍😍😍

I'm good at qualitative estimations not numbers really... I'm expecting Daniel to do the quantitative side of this somewhere next week.. 

 

and I admit I am tiny bit reading to the postive side, because if go negative I'll go all the way to - no approval till 2019! - level negative 😂😂😂😂😁

[NICK & PAULA 1,097]

1 minute ago, Naes said:

I'm good at qualitative estimations not numbers really... I'm expecting Daniel to do the quantitative side of this somewhere next week.. 

 

and I admit I am tiny bit reading to the postive side, because if go negative I'll go all the way to - no approval till 2019! - level negative 😂😂😂😂😁

Nooooooo! Please don't ever go negative on us. We really need your optimism during this very pessimistic and long suffering because of what's happening to the processing times right now. I am your avid fan and I get excited whenever you post something like this in the forums. And I know that everyone feel the same way as me. We are so grateful for you and the others who tirelessly put big efforts into this to keep everyone sane at this moment. Please continue to infect us with a lot of positivity. 😍

[geowrian 22,338]

3 hours ago, Sam_O said:

I just spoke with the embassy and they said the same thing - since my current job isn’t in the U.S. I can’t claim it on a i134 and will need a co-sponsor. I saw a comment on another forum that suggested using the co-sponsor as the only sponsor, is that advisable in my situation?

Depends on the embassy/consulate. Typically, an I-134 form the petitioner is necessary even if they do not qualify to sponsor on their own. A handful of embassies will accept an I-134 from just a co sponsor.

For the I-864 later, the petitioner must file one even if they have a joint sponsor.

 

3 hours ago, Sam_O said:

How do I go about establishing domicile? Can I use my parents house since we’ll be living with them until we find our own place?

You can use the living arrangements with your parents (get a letter from them laying out the plan) as part of domicile evidence. That's probably insufficient in itself, so other evidence of US domicile should be provided as well. There's many threads on the subject, as well as a section on domicile in the NVC wiki (even though K-1 doesn't do much at NVC...the domicile examples apply the same way). http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Things like getting/renewing a state ID or driver's license, applying for US jobs, researching moving costs, opening/using bank or  credit card accounts, etc. all help show that you will return to the US. The visa class being sought is for family reunification, so they need to know that both individuals will actually be living in the US together.

 

3 hours ago, Sam_O said:

I have been filing taxes. However, since 2017 was the first year I had a full-time job out of school, 2015/2016 returns are below the required minimum. By the time we apply for AOS I’ll have a 2017 return. My concern is for the K1 because I won’t have a 2017 return before the interview (if all goes well).

Then you can provide the 2016 return. The fact that it is below the minimum is what it is. But if you're a wage earner, then pay stubs and an employment letter show current income more than a tax return. But the way it sounds, you may need a co sponsor anyway since the current income source can't be used for the I-134 anyway.

[Majesty 72]

Hello! I'm new to the forum. Confusion is what brought be here. We received out N0A1 on August 21st 2017. Our package was sent to the CA due to the hurricane in TX around that time. I was starting to get worried but from what im understanding from this forum is that, USCIS is only processing May 2017 filers.   None the less, this  website is informative. I hope that were all patient through this process as its a very hard one. So...do you guys think that August filers will be looked around February 2018? -Maj

[Julia Cancun 60]

On 03.12.2017 at 11:57 PM, shalyn said:

 

 

2 minutes ago, Majesty said:

Hello! I'm new to the forum. Confusion is what brought be here. We received out N0A1 on August 21st 2017. Our package was sent to the CA due to the hurricane in TX around that time. I was starting to get worried but from what im understanding from this forum is that, USCIS is only processing May 2017 filers.   None the less, this  website is informative. I hope that were all patient through this process as its a very hard one. So...do you guys think that August filers will be looked around February 2018? -Maj

hello, fortunatly USCIS is processing June 2017 and the rest of May.

[Majesty 72]

That's good to hear Julia. Crossing fingers hoping the process miraculously speeds up.

[amarilloslick 13]

Hi, guys, is there a way we can withdraw our Visa application? We already have our NOA1. We changed our mind. Thanks.