Estimated delay for I-129f applications?

[Derek Scheyer 83]

It says in the VJ guide to send your I-129f petition to the Dallas lockbox. Where does the California service center come into play exactly? Just curious because i sent mine to the Dallas one and I'm wondering if I sent it to the wrong spot. 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, Derek Scheyer said:

It says in the VJ guide to send your I-129f petition to the Dallas lockbox. Where does the California service center come into play exactly? Just curious because i sent mine to the Dallas one and I'm wondering if I sent it to the wrong spot. 

It's sent to the Dallas lockbox. From there, it will be assigned to the CSC service center for adjudication.

[NoMansLand2020 298]

14 minutes ago, Derek Scheyer said:

It says in the VJ guide to send your I-129f petition to the Dallas lockbox. Where does the California service center come into play exactly? Just curious because i sent mine to the Dallas one and I'm wondering if I sent it to the wrong spot. 

Dallas Lockbox is more of a central location where petitions are collected and your documents are then scanned into the system. I don't believe anything physical goes to CSC. It's all digital and assigned to CSC. 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Solaris81

[SmallTownPA 72]

On 4/20/2020 at 8:18 PM, Solaris81 said:

We are also in the middle of a global pandemic... 

 

That means nothing to me.  Unless you are old/sick you should be at work.   The 'cure' is worse than the illness.

 

So many media lies about what happened... but this is not a place for theories.  USCIS never shut down or posted anything about stopping/reducing paperwork.  Only in person interviews.

 

So actually more people should be able to work on scanning/typing etc.

[NoMansLand2020 298]

21 minutes ago, SmallTownPA said:

 

That means nothing to me.  Unless you are old/sick you should be at work.   The 'cure' is worse than the illness.

 

So many media lies about what happened... but this is not a place for theories.  USCIS never shut down or posted anything about stopping/reducing paperwork.  Only in person interviews.

 

So actually more people should be able to work on scanning/typing etc.

Someone from the Nov filers group contacted USCIS a few weeks ago to inquire about their status and were told that CSC was working with reduced staff. 

A lot of Govt agencies are working remotely were possible. I work for the US DoD and generally work at an US AF base. However, I have the ability to telework and have been along with thousands of others for weeks. 

USCIS might have the ability to do the same. But I am not privy to that. 

Also, approval times seem to be longer than they were prior to this whole fiasco. I am a December filer and have yet to see NOA2. Roughly 40% of December filers have reported receiving NOA2. 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Solaris81

[Aleshere 0]

Good morning everyone. We have spent the last week wondering why VSC had so much longer processing times that CSC. I can now see that it is because they get the “trickier” cases? My fiancée resides in Massachusetts, can you confirm that, normally, will be CSC taking care of our K1 application? That would make more sense, as we noticed many sources saying processing times on average 7-11 months, but then went on USCIS website and saw VSC dealing with 16-21 timeframes (we read somewhere that VSC deals with North East States applications so we where totally puzzled).

thank you

Edited April 22, 2020 by Aleshere
Typo

[geowrian 22,337]

36 minutes ago, Aleshere said:

Good morning everyone. We have spent the last week wondering why VSC had so much longer processing times that CSC. I can now see that it is because they get the “trickier” cases? My fiancée resides in Massachusetts, can you confirm that, normally, will be CSC taking care of our K1 application? That would make more sense, as we noticed many sources saying processing times on average 7-11 months, but then went on USCIS website and saw VSC dealing with 16-21 timeframes (we read somewhere that VSC deals with North East States applications so we where totally puzzled).

thank you

They don't assign service centers for I-129Fs (or I-130s, such as for a spouse) based on residence.

At this time, normally CSC is assigned all I-129Fs for a K-1. A small handful are sent to VSC. For a K-1, usually (not always) this involves a criminal history of the petitioner. Or possible history, in the event of a potential match to somebody else with the same or similar name. There are cases on VJ of people having no issue at all with VSC, and others who have had considerable issues due to various circumstances.

 

Although, typically the case is assigned to CSC first, then transferred to VSC later. I haven't personally seen a recent K-1 case sent directly to VSC, although there appears to be at least 2 fairly recent cases on VJ based on a timeline search.

Only a handful of VJ members have timelines showing VSC annually, so the information on what exactly is the cause is limited. There are some known causes (like AWA - or possible AWA - crimes), but that's it.

[MarkellB94 3]

Dumb question, there is no one you can call if you think that your petition is taking to long? It's been 4 months and I guessing I need to wait until the 5th month if I haven't heard anything from the CSC? I was told a month ago that my paperwork was with a officer and it's been almost two month since I have heard anything. I'm guessing that a good and bad being I haven't got any letters saying they need something or I'm missing something but at the same time I thought I should have heard something by now. I also know the average time is 5-7 month processing. I guess it's frustrating when you see people getting approval letter or acceptance letters when your paperwork was sent in a month before theirs. Ok I'm done venting now.

[NoMansLand2020 298]

4 minutes ago, MarkellB94 said:

Dumb question, there is no one you can call if you think that your petition is taking to long? It's been 4 months and I guessing I need to wait until the 5th month if I haven't heard anything from the CSC? I was told a month ago that my paperwork was with a officer and it's been almost two month since I have heard anything. I'm guessing that a good and bad being I haven't got any letters saying they need something or I'm missing something but at the same time I thought I should have heard something by now. I also know the average time is 5-7 month processing. I guess it's frustrating when you see people getting approval letter or acceptance letters when your paperwork was sent in a month before theirs. Ok I'm done venting now.

It's just the luck of the draw really. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

49 minutes ago, MarkellB94 said:

Dumb question, there is no one you can call if you think that your petition is taking to long? It's been 4 months and I guessing I need to wait until the 5th month if I haven't heard anything from the CSC? I was told a month ago that my paperwork was with a officer and it's been almost two month since I have heard anything. I'm guessing that a good and bad being I haven't got any letters saying they need something or I'm missing something but at the same time I thought I should have heard something by now. I also know the average time is 5-7 month processing. I guess it's frustrating when you see people getting approval letter or acceptance letters when your paperwork was sent in a month before theirs. Ok I'm done venting now.

If you have check the USCIS processing times, then you know that it's been running 5-7 months. So, there is your answer. Don't forget "your mileage may vary".

 

Can I share somethings with you that I learned long ago about this process?

    • "the man with the gold makes the rules"
    • it will take as long as it will take 
    • no one with any certainty can tell you when some process will be completed
    • Your sense of urgency will never be equaled to what USCIS, NVC or your embassy demonstrates
    • Your journey is not going to mirror someone else's experience - yours and theirs are not the same
    • They only promised you a YES or NO answer. Never an exact time that their decision would be completed
    • Lowering your expectations will make you a much more relaxed individual

Good luck on your journey 
 

These are the facts. It doesn't matter when we want something, we don't have the gold.

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, MarkellB94 said:

Dumb question, there is no one you can call if you think that your petition is taking to long? It's been 4 months and I guessing I need to wait until the 5th month if I haven't heard anything from the CSC? I was told a month ago that my paperwork was with a officer and it's been almost two month since I have heard anything. I'm guessing that a good and bad being I haven't got any letters saying they need something or I'm missing something but at the same time I thought I should have heard something by now. I also know the average time is 5-7 month processing. I guess it's frustrating when you see people getting approval letter or acceptance letters when your paperwork was sent in a month before theirs. Ok I'm done venting now.

The only number to call is he USCIS customer service line. That said, your case is still within their normal processing timelines (https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/) so they will just tell you to wait. Until it actually surpasses their timelines, there is nothing to do but wait.

[KurtDarryl23 14]

I think they are approving some petitions a little faster as they probably have more time to focus on paperwork. Our petition was received on the 21st January and was approved on the 14th April. Hope everyone’s K1s get the approval soon too  

[NoMansLand2020 298]

12 minutes ago, KurtDarryl23 said:

I think they are approving some petitions a little faster as they probably have more time to focus on paperwork. Our petition was received on the 21st January and was approved on the 14th April. Hope everyone’s K1s get the approval soon too  

I would say it's slower with less staff. I'm almost 130 days now. Tons of December filers still waiting. USCIS receives close to 100 petitions a day. There were 95 received on Dec 19th,including mine. Only 35% of these have had approvals.