I-130 January 2020 Filers

[Punisher 40]

Reposting below from another thread. Just to add: USC filing for spouse, ONLINE. I hope these fast approvals are no joke!
 

Quote

I'm not the type of person that either frequents internet forums or likes to share details of personal matter, however I now that many present in this forum are vastly interested in current processing times, that's why I decided to sign up to VJ to post the following info:

 

I'm overseas, filed I-130 online in early Jannuary 2020, received confirmation from Nebraska (NSC) so I wasn't expecting approval for a total of 12-16 months.

 

I just checked on my case status and it turns out I got approved a few days ago, after only 5,5 months. Approval comes from California.

 

At first I thought it must have been some system error. First it was assigned to NSC and I'm unaware of any trasfers. Second, when looking at USCiS webpage, processing times at California were not that fast anyways. However looking at some replies in this and other threads, I see that there are number of online filed cases that had been quickly approved recently despite being assigned (at first) to Nebraska. So those of you that worry NSC is the worst possible outcome, you should not. Approval might come sooner that you think.
 

For what it is worth: my USCIS file is rather "thick" (without elaborating further), I have no idea when my case was transfered or if/how many times my case was "touched" since I had no idea how to look for it, all I was doing was refreshing my iPad's app from time to time (not expecting to see anything of interest for another 6-12 months anyways).

 

It's great to know this part of process is complete and now waiting for a transfer to NVC, however I'm inadmissable till early 2021 so I will have to stall my embassy interview till then (which is not a problem as I have talked to embassy about it before my i-130 was filed). While I wish to come to US asap, I can't over come grounds of inadmissabilty. Besides, by postponing my entry until spring 2021, I would benefit from entering as IR-1, as opposed to CR-1 if done at any earlier date. 
 

Nevertheless, this fast approval of my i-130 is a welcome one and allows me to have everything ligned up and waiting for when I'm ready to complete the case (given the circustances). Most importantly, barring anything extraoridary, it allows me to plan exactly when I might be entering back US. 
 

I wish you all the best and more importantly fast approvals!

 

[Punisher 40]

As a side note: this recent influx of quick i-130 approvals makes me think that applications filed ONLINE my have a separate processing track thoughout all service centers, which would make total sense from organizational standpoint. 
 

Additionally, a month ago, when Trump decided to hold off green cards and other visas (with exception of the immediate relatives) to protect US based workers, right then I thought it may cause a lot of strange things happening with approvals, speeding up some by a lot. That might also be the factor at play here. Just my $0.02.

[stringpuller 74]

5 minutes ago, Punisher said:

As a side note: this recent influx of quick i-130 approvals makes me think that applications filed ONLINE my have a separate processing track thoughout all service centers, which would make total sense from organizational standpoint. 
 

Additionally, a month ago, when Trump decided to hold off green cards and other visas (with exception of the immediate relatives) to protect US based workers, right then I thought it may cause a lot of strange things happening with approvals, speeding up some by a lot. That might also be the factor at play here. Just my $0.02.

Maybe but i thought 1 or 2 of the quick approvals were paper filers if im not mistaken. 

I thought all petitions were digitalized when recieved?(uploaded)

[Millikkl 15]

30 minutes ago, stringpuller said:

Maybe but i thought 1 or 2 of the quick approvals were paper filers if im not mistaken. 

I thought all petitions were digitalized when recieved?(uploaded)

Our was a paper filing that was converted into an IOE by USCIS. There was a large bulk of Nebraska filers That got transferred to California, which I believe doesn’t usually do cr-1 processing and got faster approvals. I was a part of this group and didn’t know it was transferred until I got approval notice. I’m wondering if there will be a backup on the ncs and interview stages. 

[Punisher 40]

39 minutes ago, stringpuller said:

Maybe but i thought 1 or 2 of the quick approvals were paper filers if im not mistaken. 

I thought all petitions were digitalized when recieved?(uploaded)

Well, it's all speculation at this point. Trump's decision could be the biggest factor here. All other visas/cases (probably majority) got pushed aside and the relevant (at the moment) got to the front, causing massive deviation from established pocessing times, as all adjudicators now work on these cases.

 

As far as scanning all paper documents to electrnic form, while that is true, it doesn't mean it is same as full electronic filing. Converting to electronic solves a lot of different issues, but the processing track might still resemble old school where it ends up in queue in a particular center uless transfered on purpose. Full electronic filing might be a completely separate processsing track with a slightly different rules regarding final processing.
 

I'm not trying to overthink it, I go with he flow, but I'm sure a lot of people here will be freaking out (rightfully so) about drastic anomalies in processing times and a lot of questions will be asked.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Punisher
Typo

[Punisher 40]

9 minutes ago, Millikkl said:

Our was a paper filing that was converted into an IOE by USCIS. There was a large bulk of Nebraska filers That got transferred to California, which I believe doesn’t usually do cr-1 processing and got faster approvals. I was a part of this group and didn’t know it was transferred until I got approval notice. I’m wondering if there will be a backup on the ncs and interview stages. 

Where do you find out regarding case transfers and such? I wonder how do people get all that info from?

 

Also, do you care to elaborate what did you mean regarding "backup on ncs and intview stages"? Thanks

Edited May 20, 2020 by Punisher

[Just Paul 4,595]

1 minute ago, Punisher said:

Where do you find out regarding case transfers and such? I wonder here do peopl get all that info from?

The petitioner is supposed to get notification.

[Millikkl 15]

Just now, Paul & Mary said:

The petitioner is supposed to get notification.

 

7 minutes ago, Punisher said:

Where do you find out regarding case transfers and such? I wonder here do peopl get all that info from?

 

Also, do you care to elaborate what did you mean regarding "backup on ncs and intview stages"? Thanks

I didn’t receive a notification. But I believe people who actually filed online did. I found out on my approval notice where it said my notice came from California and not Nebraska. I received no updates on my case online except for that they were Reviewing it. My backup thought was in regards to the interviews being cancelled during COVID and all the approvals coming through. 

[Punisher 40]

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

The petitioner is supposed to get notification.

Care to elaborate? What kind of notification are you talking about? Email? Our online account didn't mention we were transfered to CA. And whenever we refreshed iPad app tracker, there was no update either until final approval.

[Punisher 40]

7 minutes ago, Millikkl said:

 

I didn’t receive a notification. But I believe people who actually filed online did. I found out on my approval notice where it said my notice came from California and not Nebraska. I received no updates on my case online except for that they were Reviewing it. My backup thought was in regards to the interviews being cancelled during COVID and all the approvals coming through. 

We did file online  (NSC) and there was no info till approval (that shows it came from CA). 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Punisher

[MlgSea 26]

6 hours ago, Punisher said:

Well, it's all speculation at this point. Trump's decision could be the biggest factor here. All other visas/cases (probably majority) got pushed aside and the relevant (at the moment) got to the front, causing massive deviation from established pocessing times, as all adjudicators now work on these cases.

 

As far as scanning all paper documents to electrnic form, while that is true, it doesn't mean it is same as full electronic filing. Converting to electronic solves a lot of different issues, but the processing track might still resemble old school where it ends up in queue in a particular center uless transfered on purpose. Full electronic filing might be a completely separate processsing track with a slightly different rules regarding final processing.
 

I'm not trying to overthink it, I go with he flow, but I'm sure a lot of people here will be freaking out (rightfully so) about drastic anomalies in processing times and a lot of questions will be asked.

We were one of the paper-filers whose petition got approved in less than 3 months, and I have seen many others experiencing similar expedited timelines despite having filed by mail. Even paper filings received an IOE case number nowadays, which used to be reserved for online filers. So I don't know, I wouldn't want to discourage other paper filers by suggesting that their petitions will end up in a separate processing queue from their online-filing counterparts. Honestly none of us knows for sure the rhyme or reason of these recent approvals..

[Punisher 40]

3 hours ago, MlgSea said:

We were one of the paper-filers whose petition got approved in less than 3 months, and I have seen many others experiencing similar expedited timelines despite having filed by mail. Even paper filings received an IOE case number nowadays, which used to be reserved for online filers. So I don't know, I wouldn't want to discourage other paper filers by suggesting that their petitions will end up in a separate processing queue from their online-filing counterparts. Honestly none of us knows for sure the rhyme or reason of these recent approvals..

You're right, if all paper applications get IOEs nowadays then I guess it doesn't matter how you file, it may be in the same track indeed. It would be interesting to find out if the recent "speedy" approvals also apply to non-IOE paper filers, as that would be a proof in the pudding whether IOEs get separate track or not.

As I suspected before though, the Trump's recent order must be then the biggest reason for the reshuffle in the queue. 
 

Anyways, I wish everyone fast approvals. I'm glad mine came faster than expected even though there are other things down the line that are slowing me down. Best of luck.

[cbro 59]

11 hours ago, Punisher said:

Where do you find out regarding case transfers and such? I wonder how do people get all that info from?

I asked via my Inbox on MyUSCIS website where my case was and how i can check processing times (playing dumb just to see if I could get anything from them), and their reply told me to check Texas processing timelines - but my NOA1 came from Nebraska.

Edited May 21, 2020 by cbro

[Jess_Cah 7]

After reading everyones messages I decided to log into our account and was shocked to see an approval. I wasn't expecting it to be this quick. I thought at the earliest December since we were originally Nebraska. Holy cow...this all just got real. 

[Punisher 40]

59 minutes ago, Jess_Cah said:

After reading everyones messages I decided to log into our account and was shocked to see an approval. I wasn't expecting it to be this quick. I thought at the earliest December since we were originally Nebraska. Holy cow...this all just got real. 

Yeah! Same here. Even though I told my spouse a month ago (after Trump's order) that there might be a faster approval for us, it was still kind of wishful thinking. I expected December or later. When I saw approval on my ipad app tracker I was skeptical they must have messed up or something until I saw others here getting approved as well, which was a sign it is for real.