A Congressional Inquiry!

[Kym 0]

Sometimes I feel like everytime I post on this message board, I am bitching and moaning. Something needs to go in our favor!

It seems that our petition (the 2nd time around) is once again screwed up! I am about to lose my mind! And then I come here and read the timelines and everyone receiving their NOA2. While I am very happy for those people, it brings tears to my eyes since we have been trying to get a NOA2 since June, 2006. And I call, what a joke that is...I can not get any answers! They only seem to get confused when I tell them the entire story and they see that there is another petition out there pending that has no activity since Oct. 06. I try and tell them that a laison said it had been "administratively closed" and that is why we had to refile. But the system does not show that. So there sits our 2nd application, and they can't tell me what is going on with it either. I just want to scream everytime I talk to them!

So I have been in contact with my Congressman and his assistant that handles immigration. I received this in an email on Friday:

"Greetings from the office of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II:

Ms. xxxxxxx, thank you for contacting your Congressman's office, proudly serving the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri. Judging from the information you provided with our phone call it may be possible for Congressman Cleaver and/or his staff to look into this matter concerning your fiancés application for a K-1 visa. However the Privacy Act of 1974 requires that you complete the attached form in its entirety in order for the Congressman's office to work on your behalf. Once completed, please send the form to the District office using the information provided on the bottom of the form. If you have any questions please refer to the contact information following this communication.

Warmest regards, "

I also spoke to her on the phone and she said that they would do a congressional inquiry! I just have to fax over the Privacy Act plus copies of our application, etc. I will do that first thing on Monday and I hope hope hope that it doesn't take long to send out the congressional to CIS. I still have a wait in front of me but it gives me some sort of comfort that after almost a year of waiting (just for a NOA2), maybe somebody will be able to get to the bottom of this god awful mess!!!!

[msu17 0]

About time someone helps you!!! Only suggestion is have you tried the RFE trick? I dont know if the approval notification is still messed up, but Cali still has us as being pending when we were approved a month ago. Good luck!

[Boiler 45,470]

Hav you considered DCF in Australia, last I heard visitors could.

[DakotaK1 1]

@Kym I am just curious which Service center did your lawyer file at?

[Arinola 0]

Sometimes I feel like everytime I post on this message board, I am bitching and moaning. Something needs to go in our favor!

It seems that our petition (the 2nd time around) is once again screwed up! I am about to lose my mind! And then I come here and read the timelines and everyone receiving their NOA2. While I am very happy for those people, it brings tears to my eyes since we have been trying to get a NOA2 since June, 2006. And I call, what a joke that is...I can not get any answers! They only seem to get confused when I tell them the entire story and they see that there is another petition out there pending that has no activity since Oct. 06. I try and tell them that a laison said it had been "administratively closed" and that is why we had to refile. But the system does not show that. So there sits our 2nd application, and they can't tell me what is going on with it either. I just want to scream everytime I talk to them!

So I have been in contact with my Congressman and his assistant that handles immigration. I received this in an email on Friday:

"Greetings from the office of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II:

Ms. xxxxxxx, thank you for contacting your Congressman's office, proudly serving the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri. Judging from the information you provided with our phone call it may be possible for Congressman Cleaver and/or his staff to look into this matter concerning your fiancés application for a K-1 visa. However the Privacy Act of 1974 requires that you complete the attached form in its entirety in order for the Congressman's office to work on your behalf. Once completed, please send the form to the District office using the information provided on the bottom of the form. If you have any questions please refer to the contact information following this communication.

Warmest regards, "

I also spoke to her on the phone and she said that they would do a congressional inquiry! I just have to fax over the Privacy Act plus copies of our application, etc. I will do that first thing on Monday and I hope hope hope that it doesn't take long to send out the congressional to CIS. I still have a wait in front of me but it gives me some sort of comfort that after almost a year of waiting (just for a NOA2), maybe somebody will be able to get to the bottom of this god awful mess!!!!

Hi kym,

The Privacy form must be completed before any congress man/woman can work on your behalf so do not fret. If anyone can help you with your petition it is the congress rep. I sympathize with you & your OP and how your former attorney botched your original petition. Everybody on vj wishes both of you nothing but the best outcome. The journey has definitely been very hard and long for you and your partner. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and you will definitely get your NOA-2 any day from now. Also, you should look into the RFE trick at least it won't hurt..... It will help to reduce the anxiety and the tension. All best to you!!

- Cheers.

[Jamie76 0]

How does one know which congress-person to contact in situations like this?

[featherB 1]

@Kym I am just curious which Service center did your lawyer file at?

If I remember right, the lawyer sent the petition to the National Benefits Center in Missouri...

I really really hope you start getting somewhere with this VERY soon, Kym - fingers crossed that the congressman can get people to start pulling their fingers out.

[DakotaK1 1]

If I remember right, the lawyer sent the petition to the National Benefits Center in Missouri...

I really really hope you start getting somewhere with this VERY soon, Kym - fingers crossed that the congressman can get people to start pulling their fingers out.

Thats where we sent out Petition off to start off with,but hte must of sent it to California.Cos when I check my Status online it says "Your case is processing at our California Service Center" I hope this is right.

What do you think?

[Arinola 0]

How does one know which congress-person to contact in situations like this?

By finding out what district you reside in and looking up the the congress person for your district. Once you have it, go to this website and enter the details. http://www.house.gov/writerep/ Good luck!!

- Cheers!!

Edited June 2, 2007 by Arinola

[lawrencetoland 3]

I am so sorry to hear your petition is delayed, not once but twice. Our congress person really got nothing done. We moved onto our Senator and she got it moving again.

[featherB 1]

If I remember right, the lawyer sent the petition to the National Benefits Center in Missouri...

I really really hope you start getting somewhere with this VERY soon, Kym - fingers crossed that the congressman can get people to start pulling their fingers out.

Thats where we sent out Petition off to start off with,but hte must of sent it to California.Cos when I check my Status online it says "Your case is processing at our California Service Center" I hope this is right.

What do you think?

Sounds like you were lucky and someone at the NBC forwarded it on to CSC (if only they'd done that with Kym's petition... )... I can't find our NOA1 now to check exactly what it says on it, but I think that should show that it was sent from CSC? Plus the envelope will have been postmarked Laguna Niguel, or wherever it is... sounds (to me) like you're ok, but maybe check the NOA1 to make sure!!

Edited June 2, 2007 by featherB

[DakotaK1 1]

Sounds like you were lucky and someone at the NBC forwarded it on to CSC (if only they'd done that with Kym's petition... )... I can't find our NOA1 now to check exactly what it says on it, but I think that should show that it was sent from CSC? Plus the envelope will have been postmarked Laguna Niguel, or wherever it is... sounds (to me) like you're ok, but maybe check the NOA1 to make sure!!

Ok thats great,I will ask my Fiance what it says on the envolope.But if it says Processing at California then that should be correct I think.

I wonder why Kym did not notice that earleir,checking the Status online etc.

[Kym 0]

Ok thats great,I will ask my Fiance what it says on the envolope.But if it says Processing at California then that should be correct I think.

I wonder why Kym did not notice that earleir,checking the Status online etc.

I can tell you exactly why we did not 'notice' earlier that our petition was filed wrong...it may sound a bit naive, but it's fact. Darryl and I both have busy lifestyles, not that that is an excuse but rather part of our reasoning for hiring a lawyer. Plus, we simply didn't know squat about the immigration process at the time. We made the decision to hire an immigration lawyer so all this could be handled as efficiently and smoothly as possible (or so we thought). Our lawyer made the error of sending our petition to the National Benefits Center, also known as the Missouri Service Center. When I received my first NOA1, it does not say where it was received but our case number did start with MSC, indicating Missouri Service Center, I assume. However, when I checked online at the USCIS website it did tell me that it was received at the Missouri Service Center. And no, I did not pick up on this....like I said originally, I didn't know a lot about the process and I happen to live in Missouri as well, so it all seemed ligit to me. Of course now, I kick myself in the ### for not picking up on this, but what can I do? I honestly don't feel that I missed this because of stupidity or that I wasn't taking an active roll in my case. It just made sense to me at the time and unfortunately we were putting our trust in an incompetent lawyer, which btw, had been highly recommended to us.

When you check online and it says California Service Center, then you should be fine. That is what it should say! And the NBC did exactly what they were supposed to do in your case, which is forward it on to the correct Service Center. See in my case, my lawyer fowled up and then to top that off, so did the USCIS. They should have either forwarded it or returned it to us. And most definitely, once they decided to close it, we should have been notified. None of that happened...assuming it really is closed. That is something I am still struggling to get a definite answer on. I'm told by one it was closed and by another it is still pending. The reason we are being granted a Congressional inquiry is not because of our lawyers error but because of the way USCIS handled and continues to handle our current petition.

I hope that puts your mind at ease a little about if your petition is at the correct place. Good luck

[Kym 0]

About time someone helps you!!! Only suggestion is have you tried the RFE trick? I dont know if the approval notification is still messed up, but Cali still has us as being pending when we were approved a month ago. Good luck!

I have seen several posts about the RFE trick. Can you please explain to me what this is?

Much appreciated!

[Kym 0]

Hav you considered DCF in Australia, last I heard visitors could.

Direct consular filing is possible in Australia, however that wasn't the best for us given our circumstances. We did consider several routes to take once we decided to marry and the K1 was the best for us. And the thought of starting something over from the beginning...well just can't seem to fathom it. Plus, we would need to marry first, is my understanding.